OLUSEGUN ISAAC BLOG

"For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. (Luke 2:11 NKJV).              Have you heard the saying that Christmas comes but once a year? That's because the world has set aside a particular date, December 25 of every year to commemorate the birth of Jesus Christ the Saviour of the world. It doesn't matter on which day of the week it falls, leap year or not, Christmas day is Christmas day.  To many Christians, particularly in the western world, it is the greatest day of the year. Even non-christians look forward to the day as a special holiday marked with joy and festivities; there are many who, like Christians, spend their money buying and shooting fire-crackers during the season! My wife and I asked two of our casual workers what a particular December public holiday was. They both said 'Keresimesi' (Christmas in vernacular). But it was not Christmas; it turned out to be Mohammed's birthday which fel...

The book of psalms is a collection of Hebrew poetry and songs compiled for use in individual, devotional and congregational communion. It reflects the religious, relational and worship life of the Hebrew race for about 1000 years of their history. It is composed of 150 chapters, comprising King David's poems, songs and prayers (50%), those by Asaph (8%), Korah's sons (8%), Moses, Solomon and Ethan (1 song each), other named psalmists (26%) and other unnamed writers (6%). Bible scholar Dr. Charles Greene explains the popular religious use of psalms: "In the course of dealing with the adversities of life, people are often frustrated by not being able to express adequately their emotional pain or mental anguish. The psalms release us from that frustration. With emotionally drenched complaints, humble confessions, desperate pleas, penitent prayers or screams of pain, the writers of the psalms skillfully expose and express the yearning of our deepest thoughts...By song and spi...

' Then Job arose, tore his robe, and shaved his head; and he fell to the ground and worshiped. And he said: “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, And naked shall I return there. The Lord  gave, and the Lord has taken away; Blessed be the name of the Lord” (Job 1:20-21 NKJV).        There is the story of an American multi-millioneer who left the details of his burial before he died. At his burial, two peasant farmers watched from a distance as an elaborate musical funeral parade in white brought the remains of the rich man to the cemetry. He was dressed in white three-piece suit with white shirt, tie, socks, shoes, hat and gloves all white, and a large white-coloured cigar stuck in his mouth. He was seated in a white vintage limousine driven by his chauffeur, also dressed in white. They came to his specially designed electrified white marble vault, housed in a white-painted mausoleum. The chauffeur drove the limosine right to the top of the whit...

' "Ye shall not need to fight in this battle..fear not...for the Lord will be with you". And Jehoshaphat bowed his head...worshipping the Lord. And the Levites...stood up to praise the Lord God of Israel with a loud voice on high' (2 Chr. 20:17-19 KJV).           King Jehoshaphat of Judah I rank high among the list of great worshipers of Jehovah God in the Bible. Not only was he David's great, great, great grandson, he too had a heart like his fore-father David in the fear and worship of God, reinstating sincere worship. He had a similar propensity for success; he caused reforms in the land, stopped the worship of foreign gods, appointed God-fearing persons into key positions in his administration, renewed economic ties with the richer nations far and near, began profitable trade both on land and sea. More remarkably, he re-instated the worship of Jehovah God throughout his realm making formal temple services the order of the day (2 ...

"...I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lifted up, and the train of His robe filled the temple. Above it stood seraphim...And one cried to another and said: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of His glory!” '(Isaiah 6:1-3 NKJV).          The name Isaiah itself is shortened from 'Yeshaiah' meaning 'Yahweh is Salvation'. One writer says that the book of Isaiah is like a miniature Bible. Like the 39 books of the Old Testament it contains 39 chapters, speaking on sin and judgment; the remaining 27 chapters like the 27 books of the New testament declaring a message of hope and redemption by the coming of the Messiah.  Prophet Isaiah alone in his book gives us some 20 out of over 175 names of Jesus Christ that we now adore. These are: i)Lord, ii)Branch of the Lord, iii)Immanuel, iv)Wonderful, v)Counsellor, vi)Mighty God, vii)Everlasting Father, viii)Prince of Peace, ix)Rod of Jesse, x)Cornerstone, xi)King,...

MIRIAM is a transformation account. It is the story of the refinement of a plain village girl from raw to high quality, from crude to top grade purity. Her latent potential in the worship of God was discovered early by a dedicated and gifted missionary who proceeded to mould the ordinary lump of clay into a refined piece of vessel most fit for the use of the Master, an icon to her generation. The name, "Miriam," is enough to elicit interest in both Christians and Muslims, even in Jews. The book, MIRIAM , should therefore attract the attention of wider audience because of the personality of Miriam, her place and her role in the three faiths. The book passes across its message to the readers aptly with the aid of undiluted humor, suspense and spirituality. This is done with the aim of capturing the imagination of its readers. The book has a plot that was fully developed and makes you believe that it is one true story. At the end, you would have read a model fo...

'...You have made Your servant king instead of my father David, but I am a littlechild...therefore give to Your servant an understanding heart to judge Your people...” Then God said to him: “...see, I have given you a wise and understanding heart...And I have also given you what you have not asked: both riches and honor..."(I Kings 3:7-13 NKJV).     There is a story I love. Three wise old men named Wisdom, Wealth and Well-being came and sat near the frontdoor of a house. They were invited in but they declined, saying only one of them could be invited in. The family deliberated on the matter as who to invite in and finally resolved to invite Wisdom in. To their amazement, Wealth and Well-being also got up and followed Wisdom into the home! He who has wisdom has everything! Solomon succeeded his father David as king over Israel. After establishing his reign as king he went and offered a whopping one thousand bulls as burnt sacrifice to God, an unprecedented act in ...

'So he [David] left Asaph and his brothers there before the ark of the covenant of the Lord to minister before the ark regularly...to give thanks to the Lord ...to sound aloud with trumpets and cymbals and the musical instruments of God' (I Chr. 16:37,41-42 NKJV).              While we would be right to say that Miriam led the first praise and worship of God directly after the Red Sea crossing, we would equally not be wrong to say that King David instituted formal temple worship according to the scripture above. David   chose, separated and organized musicians for God's worship in the temple (1Chr.25:1-6). Out of the 150 songs, poems and prayers in the Book of Psalms, 75 were written by King David. Moses, Solomon and Ethan wrote one each; and the remaining 72 were written by other known and unknown writers. These others were mostly Levites, notable among whom were Asaph, Jeduthum, Korah, Heman and their sons. Levites were workers in the hou...

'...He raised up for them David as king, to whom also He gave testimony and said, ‘I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after My own heart, who will do all My will’ (Acts 13:22 NKJV).             Here in part is the dossier of King David, whom God described as 'man after His own heart'. It is given here for our emulation. 1)He had learnt skills for God's worship early in life; he wrote Psalm 23 at a very tender age. 2)At 17, he was picked up from the pits as a shepherd lad and anointed in place of a despotic king in Israel. 3)He dared to fight Goliath to honour God when but a teenager and acquired the knack for battle.  4)He endured over 10 years of persecution by King Saul before he was finally crowned king at 30, thereafter reigning for over 40 years. 5)He knew the power in the praise and worship of God and in prayer. 6)He honoured God in his ways and reverenced the symbol of His glory - the Ark of Testimony. 7)He asked God first before making...

“I will sing to the Lord , for He has triumphed gloriously! The horse and its rider He has thrown into the sea! (Exodus 15:1 NKJV). Rumours had it that Michael Jackson, one of the celebrated popsingers of all time, got a place on Mount Everest reserved for his burial with the motive that when he died, he would be preserved in the icy peaks of the world's highest mountain and his body would be fresh and ready for him to inhabit again when he reincarnated. But alas, his last song was released after his death, and he was not buried on Mount Everest; American authorities insisted that the body of a legend like him had to be buried in his homeland! Talk about vanity upon vanity... Moses' song of praise to God, partly quoted above, was after he beheld God's awesome power!  He beheld God's great power that parted the Red Sea, made him lead the chidren of Israel safely across on dry land and the returning tide that swept away Pharaoh and his host hotly pursuing them. On the o...