OLUSEGUN ISAAC BLOG

  For thus says the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel: “In returning and rest you shall be saved; In quietness and confidence shall be your strength.” (Isaiah 30:15 NKJV) A particular scenario in the bible fascinates me: 'And when it was day, the magistrates sent the officers, saying, “Let those men go.” So the keeper of the prison reported these words to Paul, saying, “The magistrates have sent to let you go. Now therefore depart, and go in peace.” But Paul said to them, “They have beaten us openly, uncondemned Romans, and have thrown us into prison. And now do they put us out secretly? No indeed! Let them come themselves and get us out.” And the officers told these words to the magistrates, and they were afraid when they heard that they were Romans. Then they came and pleaded with them and brought them out, and asked them to depart from the city.' (Acts 16:35-39) Decades ago while I was a student, I was driving my renovated jalopy along Kilburn High Road in central London on m...

The story below, posted recently on social media, caught my attention and I decided to look closer at the question raised by the writer, 'Who are you following?', and perhaps ask ourselves again, 'Why are you following him?' 'Before the Benin-Ọrẹ highway was repaired to its current state, it was known for terrible traffic. I once got stuck there, we had already spent about five hours between Ore and Benin and had barely made any progress. Then we saw a Hilux take a detour, and our Agofure driver decided to follow. Soon, many other vehicles followed us, trusting that the Hilux driver knew a better route. We followed him for about 40 minutes deep into unfamiliar area. Suddenly, the Hilux turned into a farm driveway. The driver got down to open his farm gate. We were shocked. We asked him, "Oga, nor be shortcut to Benin be dis?" He replied, "No, na my farm I dey go." We asked why he didn’t signal or warn others, seeing how many vehicles were trailin...

  Introduction     Listen, and I will teach you what the wise have said. Study their teachings, and you will be glad if you remember them and can quote them. I want you to put your trust in the LORD ; that is why I am going to tell them to you now. I have written down thirty sayings for you. They contain knowledge and good advice, and will teach you what the truth really is. Then when you are sent to find it out, you will bring back the right answer. 21.Being wise is better than being strong; yes, knowledge is more important than strength. After all, you must make careful plans before you fight a battle, and the more good advice you get, the more likely you are to win.   22.Wise sayings are too deep for stupid people to understand. They have nothing to say when important matters are being discussed.   23.If you are always planning evil, you will earn a reputation as a troublemaker. Any scheme a fool thinks up is sinful. People hate a person who has not...

  Introduction Listen, and I will teach you what the wise have said. Study their teachings, and you will be glad if you remember them and can quote them. I want you to put your trust in the LORD ; that is why I am going to tell them to you now. I have written down thirty sayings for you. They contain knowledge and good advice, and will teach you what the truth really is... 11.  Pay attention to your teacher and learn all you can.   12.  Don't hesitate to discipline children. A good spanking won't kill them. As a matter of fact, it may save their lives.    13.  Son, if you become wise, I will be very happy. I will be proud when I hear you speaking words of wisdom.  14.  Don't be envious of sinful people; let reverence for the LORD be the concern of your life. If it is, you have a bright future.   15.  Listen, my child, be wise and give serious thought to the way you live. Don't associate with people who drink too much wine ...

Shout to the Lord, all the earth; break out in praise and sing for joy! Sing your praise to the Lord with the harp, with the harp and melodious song, with trumpets and the sound of the ram’s horn. Make a joyful symphony before the Lord, the King!  (Psalm 98:4-6 NLT) Birds are among animals that wake up early at dawn. Most of them sing first, making melody to their Maker for the food and safety of the previous day and the gift of a new day. The common nightingale, a small, plain brown bird, stands distinct among singing birds. It is best known for its rich, hearty and sweet song with prominent crescendo effects that can keep people smiling at night or amazed at dawn. Our Lord loves praise rendered to Him in exuberance, and instances of this abound in the bible: 1)After the Israelites successfully crossed the Red Sea into freedom from bondage in Egypt, Moses burst forth in high praise of Jehovah and the whole congregation of the children of Israel joined him in what must have been th...

Then Noah built an altar to the Lord, and took of every clean animal and of every clean bird, and offered burnt offerings on the altar. And the Lord smelled a soothing aroma. Then the Lord said in His heart, “I will never again curse the ground for man’s sake...nor will I again destroy every living thing as I have done".  (Gen. 8:20-21 NKJV) Cain and Abel brought their offerings before the Lord; the Lord accepted Abel's offering but rejected Cain's offering. Why? There was a clear difference. Cain's offering had an aroma detestable to God while Abel's offering had a fragrance delectable to God! In those days of old, offerings were burnt on an altar set in a manner that enabled the smell to rise up high to heaven, to God! God responded differently to the aroma He smelled. Cain's aroma was foul because it rose from: 1)unclean heart; 2)unclean source-the ground; 3)grudgingly; 4)sparingly; 5)without shed blood. Abel's was vice versa. In the opening text, notic...

According to an ancient Greek legend, Damon and Pythias traveled to live in Sicily where Pythias was convicted of plotting to overthrow the despotic King Dionysius of Syracuse, and was sentenced to death. Before dying, Pythias wanted to return to Greece to see his family. Damon offered to take his place and agreed to be executed if Pythias did not return. In the end, the bully king Dionysius let the two friends go because he had never seen such a friendship. Several years back, a very close friend of ours came to me one morning to ask for some money for a pressing need. I had some money with me which we kept for a particular purpose coming up, so I gave it to my friend. When the purpose for which we kept the money came and neither my friend nor I had returned the money, my wife became furious and fought me for days despite the fact that I told her who I lent the money to and the urgent need he had. I didn't mind the castigation but consoled myself by the fact I showed love to a dea...

  But Jesus said to him, “No one, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.”  (Luke 9:62 NKJV) History tells us that the great General George Washington in his battles at the birthing of America as a nation, employed a peculiar strategy. After the conquest of a battle, he moved on, crossed the river and sets ablaze the bridge on it behind them. First, his own soldiers no longer have the temptation to deflect to the enemy camp; secondly the enemy would not sneak to their camp behind them for a counter-attack!  Moses led the children of Israel successfully across the Red Sea and the Lord closed the sea first, to destroy the Egyptian forces in hot pursuit, and to avoid a turning back by Israel, for no sooner had the people crossed over to the other side after some difficulties than they started hollering to go back to Egypt. God does not expect us to look back with desires to go back to the old sinful ways of our past. Remember Lot's w...

  Simon Peter said to Him, “Lord, where are You going?” Jesus answered him, “Where I am going you cannot follow Me now, but you shall follow Me afterward.”  (John 13:36 NKJV) Henryk Sienkiewicz was a Polish journalist and Nobel Prize-winning novelist. He was one of the most popular Polish writers at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, and received the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1905 for his "outstanding merits as an epic writer." Quo Vadis is taken from a scene in Sienkiewicz book with the same title. The scene reveals that, persuaded by the saints in Rome, horrified Saint Peter is leaving Rome and suddenly he sees Jesus going towards the city. He asks Him 'Quo vadis, domine..?' (where are you going my master?) Jesus says: 'I am going to be crucified for the second time, because you do not ought to'. The legend says Peter immediately turned back to the city and faced his martyrdom. He was killed in Rome around the same time as Saint Paul. Fiction aside,...