At exactly 11:00 p.m on February 14th, Jake, a handsome and promising man, had his vitals pierced and inflamed, and his destiny shattered by a dart of misplaced passion! It was a night of fun…He did not know it would cost him his life! In the same party was Judith, who was meeting her boyfriend for the first time two weeks after connecting with him on Facebook. Delectable, but naive, she had made up her mind to have a fun-filled valentine’s day, and recount to her friends the experience of her first date. She did had fun, but by the morning of February 15th, she woke up in the midst of five guys…she was never the same again, as her highly priced and inestimable virtue was forcefully taken from her. Oh, how sad! The story of Jake, is like the sad story of a young man, who like one in fetters to be given to a fool, was ensnared by his misdirected lusts (Proverb 7:21-23).

This made me want to examine again the reason behind the celebration of Valentine’s day. During the third century, an oppressive Roman Emperor called Emperor Claudius II had made it a capital punishment (death) to worship and serve Christ. He had decreed the Romans to serve and worship his gods, and deprived the young Roman soldiers of getting married. But an elderly Christian had stood his ground for his faith and had insisted on serving Jesus Christ and preaching the love of God to the young soldiers. This was considered treason against the government. He was arrested, sentenced to death and jailed. In the last weeks of his life in the prison, the jailer (prison commander) who observed that he was very learned and possessed very good Christian character, brought his blind daughter to him for counselling.

He taught her about God and told her many Roman histories and stories from the Bible. He taught her the love of God so much so that the blind girl got so used to him. On his last night, the elderly prisoner left a note for Julia, the blind girl, encouraging her to love God and serve Him. And in ending the note, he wrote: “From your Valentine”. His death sentence was carried out the next day, February 14, 270 A.D. *The name of this martyr was Valentinus*, a man who died for standing for the Preaching of the Christ and teaching people about the love of God. So, for his love for God, he was regarded as ‘Saint’.

Archaeologists have unearthed a Roman catacomb; an ancient church dedicated to Saint Valentine. During 496 AD, the Pope marked February 14 as celebration in honor of his martyrdom. February 14, is known as Valentine Day. But the essence of Valentine Day historically was a celebration in honor of the martyrdom of a devoted preacher, Valentinus, who stood on his faith in Christ against the devilish idolatry decrees of a Godless Emperor. He preached Christ to the Roman soldiers and spread the love for God and humanity when it was a crime to do so.

Sadly, the devil has rewritten history today. All over the world, the history has successfully been erased and the story rewritten the way the devil wanted it. The reason for the DAY has been blotted out from people’s memory and a minor aspect of the whole story had been blown beyond proportion. The little card note Valentinus had left behind for Julia, his young beloved convert, whom he taught, preached to and prayed for, as been mis-construed and replaced with ungodly passion. Today, forces of evil will be out in their large numbers to possess people with the spirit of rape and drug abuse. The amount of pregnancy preventive drugs and materials that shall be sold today is imaginable.

I say unequivocally that the destinies of several young men and girls will be aborted today, because they have believed the lies of the devil, who has rubbed off living and dying for Christ and replaced it with living and dying on the bed of immorality. Today, many young girls and ladies will give their virginity away for a gift of phones, ipads, bags, clothes, and even valueless gifts as little as chocolate, sweet, fried chickens and plates of pepper-soup and salad. By the evening of this year February 14, demons of fornication and adultery will invade our streets and storm our night clubs and hotels to take register of those who are dying soon of STDs, including new candidates who are going to contact HIV and AIDS.

Spread LOVE not LUST! If you share this, you might be able to preserve the  destiny of one person! You are winning! Yes, we are winning!

GreatMark

Contributions from Pastor Jubril Yahaya.