Deliverance ministry: is it Biblical?

by Anyaogu Emeka
 A deliverance ministry is a church or a prayer house that aims to release people from the influence of demons.
The church is based on the belief that problems are caused by demons which inflict pains on people. These problems include: physical infirmities, delay in marriage, torment, mental illness, recurring sin, addiction, financial problems, ancestral curse, spell, lust, pornography, etc. The pastors or the overseers of those churches usually go with the title ‘prophet’, they conduct deliverance session by taking authority over Satan and his demon, using the name of Jesus Christ.

Some Christians run to those prayer houses seeking solution for their problems. The moment they enter such places, they will be made to believe that their problems were caused by demon or by an ancestral curse.

 The problem with those churches is that they spent more time focusing on demon rather than the love of God which is the basic and foundation of the church. The idea of needing deliverance from demon goes against the fact that demons have no power other than that given to them by God. See Job 1:6-12, 2:1-6. We are commanded to fear God, not demons. God controls the universe, demons do not. They cannot separate us from the love of God.

As Christians we should not become obsessed with Satan or demons and blame outside influence for our problems instead of our own sinful nature. This makes it difficult for us to take responsibility for our behaviour and leads to seeking deliverance instead of seeking repentance. It also makes us feel incapable of resisting our spiritual enemy and needing to rely on others for deliverance. Instead of going from one deliverance ministry to the other we should pray daily that God may ‘lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil’ (Mathew 6:13), and stand against the enemy by living in the power of the gospel. We can actually overcome the devil and live a victorious Christian life by obeying the scripture and applying their principles with wisdom to our lives. Satan is not crushed under our feet by miracles or by deliverance but by obedience to God’s word. Every Christian is capable of resisting Satan through the Holy Spirit. ‘Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you’ (James 4:7).

SERVICE ABOVE SELF

by Chimuanya Obubua

 Francis Collins in 1911 promoted the idea that people who desire to serve should operate on the principle of “service, not self.” This was to be remodeled to “service above self” and adopted in 1950 as the motto of Rotary, the world’s foremost service organization.

 There are two aspects to service: the one who serves and the party being served. The mundane part of man naturally opts for the position of master in preference to the position of servant. It is the position of master that material and other forms of profits can be maximized. “Service above self” is the idea of serving others without selfish motive. Such services seek to reconcile the ever present conflict between the desire to be served and the need to serve. It also undertakes to reconcile the constant clash between the innate desire to profit oneself and the duty to serve the interest of others. Thoughtfulness of others is the basis for such service and helpfulness to others is the expression of it. “Service above self” is a sympathetic response to the need of other people. It is practical action instigated by genuine concern for the welfare of others. It is the giving of ones most valuable possession, namely oneself. Such self sacrifice is altruistic service, which is service based on the well being and happiness of others first. This is the philosophy of the ideal of service and service at its best.

Some people are called upon to serve in high office in the full glare of publicity while it is the lot of many to serve in obscurity. Some indeed are called to services that are anything but attractive. Yet these services are all complementary. In whatever capacity we serve, we must remember the injunction of Wilfred Grenfell. He said, “The service we render to others is really the rent we pay for our room on this Earth.” It is obvious that man himself is a traveler, that the purpose of this world is not to ‘have and to hold’ but to ‘give and to serve.’

There abounds in our world a lot of unpleasantness, suffering and human tragedy. There are those who are afflicted by diseases but have no means of looking after themselves. There are those who because of social stigma are abandoned in leprosy settlements to endure ignoble existence. There are the mentally retarded who make the streets their home eating whatever they find in refuse dumps. There are the blind whose only companion is total darkness. There are the deaf who are daily tormented by the total absence of sound. There are the orphans who have never known a mother’s love. There are the aged for whom life is slow death in seclusion and rejection. There are many today who, though not physically handicapped, suffer great socio-economic disability. For many, the basic essentials of life such as food water, shelter and minimal clothing are unattainable luxuries. In our vocations and businesses, honesty and uprightness receive little recognition. Fraudulence, graft and greed have almost come to be accepted as the norm. Truth and fairness receive little attention. Personal advantage overrides other considerations. If there is a yawning gap in the Nigerian polity today, it is for leadership that will enthrone “Service above Self.” Those who aspire to leadership position more often than not, are self-seeking.

We have gotten used to leadership that is not backed by example. The following statement by Abraham Lincoln, the sixteenth American president and one of the most notable, may be instructive. Of leadership by example, he said “there is just one way to bring up a child in the way he should go and that is to travel that way yourself.” One wonders how many, in the motley crowd that is asking us to call them our leaders, have given a moment to the imperative of ‘service above self’? Service-oriented leadership is not easy to come by. We forget that as Hans Haselbath puts it “those who want to reign must serve.”

Mouth odour and the solution

By Chinyere Kalu

 Young people make lots of effort to look good; some have even mastered the art of a good dress sense. However, all their efforts and good dress sense could be ruined by oral health deficiency known as HALITOSIS or simply called bad breath.

 Our mouth is an important part of our body system which houses the teeth, tongue and other digestive parts. It serves as a passage for food and its likes. Besides that, we use our mouth for conversation, during this conversation, if bad breath is noticed, it could demoralise the individual in question and make nonsense of all his or her good looking efforts.

 Bad breath is primarily caused by poor oral hygiene, it is a condition in which the teeth and gum are attacked by disease such as tooth decay and gum disease. This mouth disease is caused by build-up of bacteria in one’s mouth, which causes inflammation in the mouth that gives of noxious odours that smells like sulphur. Some other underlying factor can also cause bad breath, such as medication and diet, however, the ones caused by medication and diet does not last for a long time and it can easily be fixed. But Halitosis or mouth odour is a kind of bad breath that even though the Victim brushes his or her mouth, he or she will still experience it.

 One must be very watchful about Bad breath because it could be so embarrassing to you and tough on people around you, it is even capable of ruining a relationship. The bad thing about bad breath is that some people who have it don’t realise they do because people are afraid of telling them. However, if we refused to tell the person, we are not helping him or her.

 To avoid bad breath therefore, the following preventive measure and oral hygiene care can be taking.
1. Clean your teeth and gum properly and regularly at least twice a day using chewing stick or toothpaste that contains fluoride
2. Avoid food particles from hanging between the teeth. It invites bacteria to the gum and teeth
3. Rinse mouth properly after each meal
4. Eat nutritious food such as fruits and vegetables. It provides the body with nutrients that build strong teeth and gum
5. Try and avoid eating foods, diets that cause bad breath if you have to, ensures that you rinse your mouth with clean water or mouth-wash.
6. For bad breath caused by medication, this is temporary and will be gone when you are through with the medication.
7. Don’t keep quiet for long hours without talking, situations like these increases or enable bacteria activities. Make use of mint in such situations.
8. Most importantly, visit the dentist to check your oral health; there you will receive proper treatment for halitosis and more advice on how to prevent it. Remember cleanliness is next to Godliness