LT26 | Atheist, Theist, Agnostic? —Believer.

Part 1

The Stillborn?

I of all persons should have known that man is not purposeless on earth; that God truly knew us from the womb and called us. But I guess we sometimes choose to deny obvious things in our lives whenever it feels convenient to do so.

The story of my birth is a dramatic one: A picture of the dead being raised to life again; given a second chance at life – a life that’s not theirs to live [as they want]. My parents were told that the child being carried was dead – it would be still-born; and the most logical thing to do was to carry out an abortion to remove the decaying organism.

This process went according to plan. But the twist in the plot came when I was found to be breathing. Now this is no time to berate medical practice for their misdiagnosis because in actual fact, my body was decaying – I have some marks of that to this day. I would later have a plastic surgery to correct some of these anomalies. I don’t mean here to sound petty, but I would later learn that the surgeon died barely a week after conducting that procedure. I was told that one role he had in life was to give me a chance at a normalised life – he did his part and signed out of this world. I therefore must see clearly that God had put him in place to help me get this far with life.

Growing Up

I grew up feeling very effeminate. If the cause of this was that I was groomed by a lot of aunts and my mum; or that the manly figure in the family was working from a distance to maintain us – I don’t know and it doesn’t matter.

I thought very little of this until I stepped into higher classes at Primary School and I became the taunt of the “manly boys.” For the first time, I couldn’t accept myself as I was and there is no doubt to a purposeful life than the thought that there is a fundamental emotional or psychological error in ones composition. In my case, it had me raising questions:  What have I done wrong; did God make a mistake; was I inadequate; was such a life worth living anyways? Questions turned into doubt about God’s creative ability; then anger brewed! Rage formed within me for all who taunted and I spent time hating going to school more than concentrating on the issues at hand.

Mind battles: down the lane of corruption

A moment came in my growth process when I used to hang out with my uncle to watch late-night Nollywood movies. One can, of course, imagine that a child of 7 had acquainted himself with the popular thematic issues of rape, adultery, ‘cheating’, and romance for which the industry was famed for. Then I noticed how much I loved the coziness that those intimate TV scenes created within me and there was the beginning of the end of sexual innocence and the start down a terrible road of years of masturbation. I would never realize early enough that doing things to change our perceptions in front of people to gain the favour of men, could lead down roads of disasters and irrecoverability.

At school, I could not perform well in my academics. If I looked at the board, I was almost seeing through the teachers’ clothes. To make matters worse, I could even fantasize about female and male teachers. And to think that this is what it meant for a child to do things men did! In class results, I had a consistent position/grade among the second tier of 10 and our class sizes were not large. I then began to think (and seriously too) that my brain was dysfunctional.

Strangely enough, I carried on with my movie nights; with watching music channels and doing all the things DSTV premium could give the viewer. I had a fun experience with growth and grooming: I spent a lot of time at my Uncle’s. He was a legislator and lived in a large house; there was stable power; the freedom of DSTV; the pleasure of not having him around till late at night; the vast network of people to help with chores; the air of aristocracy. Without anyone to regulate me, my viewing interest became gravely corrupted.

Part 2

MY SPIRITUAL EVOLUTION

Use The Rod, Spare The Child

Years later in mid-Primary 4- 5, we had to live with my parents more often now. My dad was working within the state now and my mum had some ease with her study schedule. This is when the discipline for all those years came in arrears. I was beaten with brooms, canes and anything. I surely had shocked this lady with how different I had become. Under these normal circumstances, the influence of TV had weaned; and as a devout person, mum led us out of the shadows of gloom and evil to a regenerated life in the way she could. As a devout person, mum would lead us into prayers and Bible reading (cultures I always abandoned once beyond her supervision).

Thankfully, my academics began to improve and I saw a great boost in my spiritual life. I became very respectful and a good student at the ‘Sunday Schools.’ Sadly, my anger and unforgiveness towards my classmates continued. I was always in an inferiority war with the males in particular and loathed them when they seemed to have the upper hand. Recently, I realized that I hadn’t let go of the anger towards them but I have received grace to forgive.

The Moralist

On admission to Secondary School, I basically used the faith of my parents to survive. I realize now that I never had a faith of my own; I was serving the God of my parents and not my God. Though in a Christian School [devoted to training child disciples of Christ]; I was a committed moralist and nothing more. I had a venomous temper- it was so noticeable. When I was first told this, I abhorred the observer, wondering whether his standard of morality could measure up to mine in order to qualify him to pass a judgement. Was not the hallmark of life to be a conformist to societal norms and have generous approval ratings; to be seen as a good man? Much to my dislike, this boy was absolutely right but I had no interest in changing the state of those affairs.

In JS2, I became quite unhappy with myself. I began longing for the feelings I had been having from masturbating. Sadly, I seemed to get really silly in this class, and academics suffered greatly. I started a relationship with a girl. I was completely lost and I realized my need for God. At a tarry meeting one Friday night on campus, I was convicted by the passage in Isaiah 1:18 that calls on the people to come to God and reason with Him over their condition. He promises that though their sins are as red or dark as the deepest forms of those colours, they shall be white as snow.

Finding God

I began my first deliberate walk with God by mid-JS2 and the first moments were ordinary and without any explosive or sensational encounters. I recall that I used to pray for the gift of speaking in tongues earnestly so as to pass French but it was never answered. I began to slide into despair. I would do everything as rightly as a normal Christian should, but I felt no inner joy of salvation; I was so saddened that God didn’t give me an intelligence-boosting miracle. Now I know what Job meant when he said ‘though He slays me, yet I will trust Him,’ though I don’t see turnarounds in my physical life, I would serve Him still. But I didn’t know this!

By JSS3, an education evangelist came to our school and educated us on having a reading plan/schedule and following it. He basically spoke on academic discipline and I needed this rather than a contention with God over a mind-blowing miracle. Essentially, those moments of weariness with the faith would have been dispensed with if I had simply been disciplined as a good soldier of Christ. Looking back at it now, I realised that it was really wrong to expect that faith would save me without works aimed at achieving those goals.

Part 3

Standing In The Middle

I had very good moments in this class. I was in love with studying my Bible. I read it through. I read through my hymn book to glorify God through the praise He had inspired on the lips of men. I had amazing understanding of my books. I later in the class assisted the Chapel Prefect. Honestly, the sort of discipline that I exhibited during that period was surprising even to me. I continued in this light till SS1.

By this time, I started slipping back to bitterness: I hated my colleagues who taunted me and bullied. Strangely, many people assume that it should be taken as normal because it is presumably a joke. But jokes should not be made on persons or about them no matter how they appear not to show any emotion at first. We called it “kwaffing”; we used that cover to attack families, physical appearances, etc, but had no idea how it left the victim. I had so much anger and unforgiveness towards many of my classmates. Then I had to ‘break up’ with my girlfriend to ‘date’ another (though this new one never exactly accepted me). I sometimes feel very sad that I caused so much pain to that young girl. It’s why Solomon says we shouldn’t stir up love before it is time – the devastation from that heartbreak haunted us till we left school.

While in SS2, I used to fantasize with some people who weren’t my enemies about what I would do when I became the Senior Prefect [for having an office in SS1 had by tradition, placed me next in line]. I had won at the student electoral college the previous day and was receiving congratulations; but was really surprised when a different name was announced the next day. I was later told that a member of management raised an objection. This all plunged me into a deep depression; anger towards whoever did that and a great suspicion of my colleagues who rejoiced at this turn of events. This was coming at a time when I lost my ‘girlfriend’ to another guy. I felt so broken that I refused to do anything in that position for almost an entire term. I was ungrateful and had a sense of entitlement. With my pride crushed, I abandoned spirituality and was getting involved with romance novels.

Taking A Turn For The Worse

At one period of my despair at home, I used my Uncle’s phone and came across pure pornography for the first time. I was completely spell-bound by what I saw and never wanted to leave. My thirst for this sexual-stimulant drove me to deep interaction with the network of girl who had and rotated such novels in my class. Knowing that it was bad, we would cover them with papers to ward off inquisition. Thankfully, there was this movement or campaign in School called ‘True Love Waits’. It would be the restraining force holding from implementing the things we read. But sadly, I became bound to masturbation for the remainder of my time there. It is needless to say that my spirit was decayed

Part 4

Becoming An Atheist

When I got into University, my father retired from service. After making some huge investments, the businesses crashed. I hated that there was not enough money or that things were getting hard. I became obsessed with trying to get wealthy so as to never experience this kind of misfortune again. I began to see my dad stay at home more often and I was losing my respect for him with each passing month.

In 2015, there was a moment when the church where I had grown from childhood was preaching something different from what we’ve always known – the modern hyper-grace message. My parents were really shocked at this turn of events and suspicious of the outcomes. By February 2016, my mum was finding solace with a new Church that was quite extreme; Dad stopped going anywhere; I started having doubts about everything I previously knew about. Then there was all the talk from Marx about ‘religion being the opium of the masses’ and from Dan Brown with his novels. I began to question so many things; disrespect church leaders; view religion as a grand extortion scheme; think that ignorance and simplicity made men need religion.

I was exhibiting bad behaviour at home. I would dodge the chance to go to Church. I could lie that I was going to my mum’s church but I would sneak to school. I would claim I went to church with my cousin, but I would spend Sunday reading in my Faculty. In addition to these, I had influence on Facebook and constantly conjured stories and articles that promoted atheism. With a background of criticism and taunting, I had no issue when people attacked me for those posts. I would even challenge my critics that it was better to be a moral atheist than a Christian (judging by the standards of Christians who still struggle with sins). I would tell them to thank me for saying what their lifestyles represent- that they live as if there is no God. I made friends with a colleague who turned after reading the book; A Farewell to God. My cousin exposed my reckless statement to my parents and I got a good beating.

Family feud

One day, I had a quarrel with my little sister. I had always hated her for her weight and that she was the last to be born. What started as a worry that seatbelts at the back could accommodate only 3 children, grew to a suspicion that if not for her, there would be more resources for us. I already had two sisters and a half-sister. The birth of this one was completely an unnecessary addition in my estimation. How this began as a simple idea and grew into a sophisticated vendetta had amazed me. One day while we had a quarrel, I promised her that I would kill her.

My parents took this threat seriously and my Dad took me to his church. It was an early morning meeting. I was woken from sleep and asked to follow along. I thought it was a usual medical emergency concerning a family member and dressed without much care. To my surprise, we arrived at a church hall. I spent the whole meeting sulking and getting so angry that I was there; improperly dressed at that! At the end of the service, the pastor called me out and asked me why I was moody throughout the session. My father mentioned that I was having some mental issues and the pastor concluded that I was to be delivered from madness. The congregation began praying for me and I was anointed with oil. I was enraged! I would not forgive him or my little sister for a long time.

Part 5

A Troubled Soul

I was so hateful of my Dad that I completely shut him out of my affection. I never spoke to him except when greeting him or asking for the weekly pocket money. I wouldn’t stay in the same car with him. In short, hatred had so formed that I thought of killing him as the characters in Chimamanda Adichie’s Purple Hibiscus had done to their ‘tyrannical’ father. But the sword he had in his room was sharper than the machete I had access to.

A watershed came in December 2016 with the collapse of a church building on congregants. I was absolutely thrilled as the atheist community was, that we have fresh proof that God was powerless- and surely no commentators were able to refute that claim or do so intelligently. I relished the vindication that tragedy brought to my argument.

In the mist of all these, I was making tremendous waves in academics- serving as a model to people that there could be success in life without religious devotion. I’m bound to say that I was enormously proud. I got involved in student politics and got an executive appointment. I was called the ‘most reasonable adviser of Mr President’. I insulted seniors and even said that they ‘were not my intellectual mates’. From outside, I seemed not to have issues, but within me, I was completely engrossed with masturbation (I could not go a day without it) and I’d convince myself that I wasn’t raping anybody; I was deep into sad music from singers like Enya, Adele, Rihanna and others who sang any depressing or heartbreaking song. My playlist made me enjoy lonely moments and deep broodings within myself.

At some point, with this strange feeling of heartbreak, I became strongly involved in the LGBT cause. I somehow started convincing myself that women were heartbreakers and this marriage or relationship thing would not last and should not be promoted. I became overly suspicious of any female; I distrusted them. I convinced myself that gay relations would last longer and have less issues. I was ready to date a guy at the earliest opportunity or at least campaign for the acceptance of homosexuality- after all societies that brought our religion to us had accepted this. If they taught us what we now know, we should follow them all the way.

I had no peace. I would sleep very late and wake up early. I would leave to school early enough to avoid conversations with my parents and come home very late (9pm at least) to ensure that we were too tired to have a conversation. On my bed, I would feel very uncomfortable and keep turning and swirling. The last thing I knew was joy. This was all so much torment. Yet I kept my pretentious ‘all-is-well-face’ during the day.

Part 6

Pleasant Acquaintances: God Found Me

I made some friends along the way while being notorious. First, there were these colleagues of mine in God’s Lighthouse (a male and female) who strangely and for reasons beyond my comprehension and for which I cannot particularly place, were acquainted with me. At first, I had the usual suspicion for the female, and my gay resolve made me reluctant to think of making her a friend. I always tried to push these two away once I surmised that they were from the same stock. But I later got weary trying to shrug them off. They were very friendly and kind to me, unlike a lot of theists who would curse me by their gods.

In one of my outburst at school, I promised that as well as I could, I would fight to ensure that faculty halls were not unduly used by the student fellowship to the dismay of non-Christian students. This statement is important because sometime in 2017, I was seated in the hall when the fellowship walked in to hold their Bible Study as the rain disturbed them at their usual venue. They explained to people in the hall the circumstance (as they usually do) and some people left. I moved to the back of the hall and continued with my work.

The teacher was a very audible speaker. He taught as one having authority and I couldn’t avoid hearing him. Had I not needed to power my phone and finish my work, I would have left but did the Lord want that? I stayed on till he mentioned that he and his father had never been on good terms. I got interested when he mentioned this. He later on told their story and how it ended in victory through forgiveness and submission.

After the season, I met with him as he approached me to request for some charge on his device. I spoke of how I had a similar situation at home, and that I felt stonewalling my Dad was the solution. He spoke with me about forgiveness and submission, but I simply said those weren’t things I was willing to commit to. Thankfully, this was the beginning of a long friendship or mentorship.

I started hanging out with him and another student of his. From the resources on his laptop, many of my arguments seemed to be collapsing and the Lord softened my heart to acknowledge when to let something go. It would all be different if I was pig-headed about what I thought I knew. I joined him on a team to prepare for the Faculty accreditation from the Universities Commission. During this time, I listened to so many teachings and saw a lot of things from his resources. Much later, I joined him to hold the pre-study for the fellowship. Though I didn’t like it all at first and only stayed out of courtesy for him, I became emotional about what he taught and started bringing my Bible along. At home, to ensure we attended church, we divided church attendance between our parents and cousins in a month.

Within the same timeframe, I accepted to join my male friend from GLH to a meeting hosted in one of the study halls of the university. I felt we would get over with it soon, but the meeting lasted and centred on relationships and marriage- and testimonies of finding the right person at the right time under the right circumstances. Out of courtesy for my host, I stayed, but I hated it.

Slowly I began to submit to my Dad’s authority; resist the urge to quarrel with my siblings and so on. At the same moment, my academics began to suffer. I had wasted considerable time on politics and I would desist the invitations to join brothers in the fellowship to study. I count this as a miracle because I needed some wounding to my pride in order to stay level-headed. Those moments made me consider the things that mattered and how we went through life concerning ourselves with less important ones. I thought of myself and the power we had as a stepping stone to a ‘greater future’; but it turned out that all flesh is grass and its loveliness is like flowers in the field which wither and fade (Isaiah 40:6-8).

Part 7

Learning To Walk

By August 2017, my mentor and friend was done with school. I met him and confided that I thought I should give my life to Christ. He encouraged me and prayed with me. I shared my testimony with the Pastor at my Mum’s church and got baptised in September. I was left with those two friends from GLH and for the first time, I willingly accepted an invitation to come. My atheist friends (now an agnostic) had come previously and we enjoyed making fun of the things said.

I joined the male for an evening meeting but could not stay till the end. I was absolutely enraged that it lasted for that long and presented all the arguments against having meetings till that time. It took a lot of persuading from the female friend to attend subsequent meetings as she guaranteed that I could leave when I had to. The series being studied was on wisdom (worldly wisdom versus heavenly wisdom) from James 3:13-18 primarily. I saw myself in that series; a young man who had been pursuing the earthly, sensual wisdom, but needed the true wisdom that comes from above.

I thought I should stay on, but GLH demanded a lot of devotion of time, concentration, seriousness and commitment and I was being careful not to get back into what my parents came out from – a Pentecostal denomination. The problem was that I couldn’t exactly tell if this was that type of church or not. From the messages they shared with me and the other materials we got, we saw things from other preachers especially those who taught truth; persons unknown in the popular circles of Christendom. For the first time in my phone’s usage, I could use my phone for something spiritually beneficial.

Sometime in year 2018, my mum was speaking about some disturbing trends she had observed in her church and how she would want to fully commit to the non-denominational organization she was involved in. I thought I needed a break from that too and I tended to join her for the house-service or devotion than go anywhere. As the Lord was merciful, the brothers at GLH have a great way of checking up on one another. I was reached out to with words and encouragement to continue in this new path. I don’t think I wanted to devote myself there, but my female friend was really on my neck.

I would have gladly committed to following the Lord but I still felt dirty. I couldn’t exactly stop masturbating or let go of depression and unforgiveness or anger. My consolation throughout that period were associates and friends both at the fellowship and GLH. I had access to phones and collected messages and audios which were helpful in my despair. I was among brothers who shared their passwords and had nothing to hide. I really prayed to reach this level someday- when my closet would be rid of skeletons. As the Lord strengthened me, I came as I was.

I must say that at the time, I was not particular about attending the Believers’ Bible School. I however gave in. Sometimes it surprises me how foolish my own disobedience was. With the BBS, I truly heard stuff I hadn’t heard before and understood signs, symbols and shadows that were all over the scriptures. I was reluctant to attend subsequent cycles despite being expressly told during announcements that we should attend until we knew how to teach it. It would be only till much later that I attended these classes the way I should.

Part 8

Woes Of Disobedience

In August 2018, I attended a retreat in Abuja from my mum’s organisation. In Kogi, we were attacked by gunmen. Seeing the Muslim community running out to help rescue us made me understand that Muslims or herdsmen were not exactly the issue. These were rustlers or pure bandits and if they were fighting to eradicate Christians, this Muslim community wouldn’t have rallied around to help us. I saw the army arrive within minutes and help out. It was a moment to reflect on the lessons we were taught back at GLH about love and forgiveness towards our fellow countrymen. I was really grateful to God after that near-death experience. The rest of the year had me devoted to study, the word and discipline. I was engrossed in reading books and listening to many audios.

Incidentally, I started to develop an infatuation for the sister who helped bring me to GLH. Looking back at the situation, I discovered that I must have been spending a lot of time with her and this bonding went too far. In comparison, I didn’t make a lot of friends with other people in GLH- much to my regret. We had always been told to mingle and build true friendships among ourselves; but I never really did this because I told myself “I am not a social person”. Understandably, I got emotionally attracted to the person who was close to me already. I never reported this to my shepherd (senior brothers or sisters in the faith who assist newer people to grow in the faith). I forced myself to make excuses for this even when I knew that this sought of behaviour is not permitted.

Sometime in 2019, I became painfully aware that I couldn’t keep this up: I couldn’t woo my sister; we couldn’t allow ourselves get into a relationship. She seemed to see me as a brother, but I wanted her for myself. I think I confided in my shepherd (I am not too sure); then I was given a message on “Emotional Stability for Leadership”. I had to let go of the castles I had built in my head about this sister; it was such an agonizing period for me. However, I couldn’t say I never knew the consequences of inordinate affection; we had always been told to guard our hearts and have love for Christ, but doing something wrong requires that you delude yourself that you are doing the right thing or at least make excuses why your case is different. Dear reader, I can’t explain enough how a heartbreak ruins your spiritual life- whether Bible study, prayer or fellowship. It seems to drown you in misery. I started becoming friends with more brothers and sisters and the likelihood of having someone special shrunk.

Braving It On The Streets: Love And Evangelism

The Pastor usually tells us that if we can’t handle the devotion and intensity of a deep walk with God, we could choose to leave. Although I had heard this a lot of times, I somehow convinced myself that I would brave the circumstances and continue to stay. Alas, it came to the point where we had to go on evangelism, boldly declare our faith to other people, talk about the words of God like current affairs, preach in public transport and similar declarations of Jesus. I began to falter when it got to this stage: fear more than I could imagine had gripped me; I had such difficulty in doing this. I waited for months before I could start. I was not faithful to the message I had heard and I didn’t want to feel shame for Christ; or lose my dignity or life for Him. It weighed me down so much whenever my brothers and sisters testified of how they had overcome their fears and become bolder, while I was still far behind. I had to cry out for help: I confessed to my shepherd and I sought help from the brothers.

Part 9

My Journey In The Faith

I started very slowly: I would speak with the taxi driver beside me; I would speak with classmates individually; speak to roommates and co-workers; smuggle in my life testimony and the work of God into situations of other people similar to mine. It was not easy at first, and I had a lot of quaking. However, the grace of the Lord was sufficient to me. Ordinarily, I like to remain in my shell, mind my business and not answer anybody. But it seems clear to me that the Lord expects us to go out of our way to make things clear to people. He expects us to reach out of our selfish shells and self-centeredness to meet the spiritual needs of our neighbour. This is what it means to love God and love your neighbour as yourself. Your devotion to God obligates you to work for Him and your love for the neighbour obligates you to introduce Christ to them. In the same vein, we cannot resign to say things like “that’s how I am”. We are called to change how we are constantly until we get into the full image of Christ. We must make ourselves better versions everyday as we see the dawn whether melancholy, sanguine, etc.

By August 2019, we had to leave GLH because our time there was at an end. I had fears of continuing in the faith without the immediate supervision of my brothers or shepherd. Nevertheless, I had cause to reflect on the last couple of years. I noticed that I had truly received the washing of water by the word. I reflected on how much I had been soaked in the word that my speech and conversation had changed; my habits of masturbation had not crept up for the longest time; my unruly temper was lost and forgotten; questions which made me doubt the faith at first were issues which I was explaining expertly; my parents and I had a mutual spiritual interdependence; my relationship with my family was restored and I felt so loved; I made friends with so many people even I previously termed myself “unsociable”. With this confidence in how far the Lord has helped me, I began to bravely accept life beyond GLH. It was all a training, and it was time to live as I’d been taught.

 On another limb, I had seen God provide for my every need. I always had the ambition to make a lot of money so as not to suffer from limited resources as I did. But it turns out that the Lord had truly worked on my passions. I learnt to see Him as my provider and I never got disappointed with Him. I walked long distances when I didn’t have enough money, and I learned humility in asking the siblings for help when I needed some. For reasons beyond my comprehension, I saw myself finishing school with all my bills paid and my needs provided. I saw first-hand the demonstration of financial reliance on God. Even though my Pastor had been testifying from his own experiences, the reality kicked in when I saw it myself.

Part 10

Academic Excellence!!!

In the trimester of July to October, I had cause to test my academic abilities. I noticed how good my understanding had become. I was excelling in academics and experiencing a flourishing intellect. I found favour with my lecturers and their courses. By favour, I mean that I had marvellous understanding. My siblings in my class obeyed instructions from pastor to form study groups in order read together and we took these very seriously. Our group studies and prayers were such a blessing to me and I had clearer insights on what I was taught. I could explain my courses of proficiency and rely on the experience of others for ones I didn’t understand as much.

The popular thinking is that people in GLH don’t excel because they have an astonishing devotion to God. The truth is that the things which make up “academic proficiency” have been infiltrated with examination misconduct, dishonesty with assigned tasks, and plagiarism in research. If these are filtered out and there is a levelled ground, students would discover that honest academic strides cannot immediately measure up with the former ways. With this understanding, I want to make it clear that academic success is possible as it was with me. But it comes with hard work, discipline and devotion. Having learnt these, I went on some competitions in the course of the period and excelled therein. We won the national rounds of a competition and became 1st runners-up at the continental level. This shows that we aren’t some anti-educationists and we shouldn’t be mistaken for that.

My final year Long Essay was a testimony to God’s provision and inspiration. I am saying this because I had lost the drive for that project and whatever I could write was a result of His grace. I had a “B” for the work and I published it much later.

At this moment, pride was something which had naturally crept in. It was very subtle and it would appear as gratitude to God or motivation to others, but within me it was pride in my accomplishments. I might not be skilled in pointing what pride is in another’s life, but when it comes to that man called myself, I knew I needed the Lord to help me stay humble.

By the beginning of 2020, I had to relocate in pursuit of another degree. While there, I resolved to advance in my faith regardless of the distance. Thankfully, the tools for live streaming of services and the interactive platform on messaging platforms kept me in close touch with the siblings at home.

I devoted myself to having a schedule as we were taught in church I was strict about my prayer times and intercession for fellow students. I joined the body of Christians there in order to teach the truths I had learned back at home. I showed my roommates the exemplary Christian life. Although I hesitated for weeks, I eventually discussed with my roommates the Believers’ Bible Series. After that experience, evangelism became less awkward and I could even challenge false doctrines permeating the fellowship.

My journey in the faith has been a tumultuous one. I have had moments of despair and uncertainty. Even now, I don’t consider myself too experienced not to submit to the authority of my shepherd or the house. At a time, my shepherd was my colleague and I still had to show her the respect I would have shown the previous one. The temptations have been very strong and the seasons have been induced with fear. But the grace of God is the strength He gives us to run and not be weary. His strength is made perfect in our weaknesses and He helps us overcome them daily. God’s way is a daily work and as He wants us to fight well and overcome. The way to overcome is to hold fast to what we were taught.

The End

– Bro AEA

2020 Update:

AEA is advancing through a career in Law and Diplomacy. He is devoted to raising disciples of Christ among younger persons in Secondary schools in Akwa Ibom.

He can be reached via email at testifiers@g-lh.org

© God’s Lighthouse 2020