by Mark Ibigbami GreatMark | Feb 2, 2018 | Articles, Events |
He was a leper, yet he was still very active in the Government as the commander-in-Chief of the Armed forces. Despite being stigmatized with the deadly disease, he never considered it honorable to resign his appointment in order to take care of his leprosy.
In fact, common sense should tell him, as well has members of his cabinet and his subjects that his infirmity has the capacity to spread unto others who daily come in contact with him. At least for this reason he should have resigned, rather, he continued to hold on to his office as if his life was dependent on it.
I wonder why he was allowed to go to war and command the battalion of soldiers under his control. How did he function with this deadly disease and yet no one seemed to have complained. Was he so powerful a soldier that he could not be replaced?
I wish I knew why his boss was so much in support of him retaining his position that instead of dismissing him, he was made to travel abroad to treat his leprosy, after all the efforts to provide medical solution in his country failed. This commander-in-chief must be very important to the country to merit this special favour.
By the way, why was the solution to his healing only found outside his country? Is it because there are no qualified doctors, healers or prophets in this case? Or could it be that the medical facilities available are insufficient to solve his predicaments, and those of others, as some of our leaders now claim?
I’m actually talking about captain Naaman, the commander-in-chief of the Syrian Army. It was said of him, “Now Naaman, captain of the army of the king of Aram, was a great man with his master, and highly respected, because by him the LORD had given victory to Aram. The man was also a valiant warrior, but he was a leper.” (2 Kings 5)
Naaman, whose name means delightful, pleasant, beautiful or gracious, became a reproach and a striking contrast to his appearance and probably also to his disposition because of the disease which had attacked his body. Though he didn’t find healing in his own country but by divine provision however, he got healed in Israel through Prophet Elisha (2 Kings 5:1-19).
In life, you can’t have it all rosy! Man is naturally identified with imperfection, limitations and struggles. There will always be something that would draw us back to our creator for help. He only is the All-sufficient God who also perfect and unmovable. Our salvation and deliverance from life’s troubles remains our choice. Like Naamna, we can chose to either believe in the God-given solution or remain locked up in our captivity.
As we remember the World Leprosy day, the case of Naaman reminds me how many of our countries have so far addressed the issues of leprosy vis-a-vis treatments and controls of the deadly disease. It also make me wonder why it is so difficult for the government to establish a viable health sector that would see leprosy and other deadly diseases treated in his country.
What you should know about Leprosy
Nigeria introduced the MDT (Multi-drug Therapy) in 1998 and nearly two decades later, the country has achieved the World Health Organization’s (WHO) leprosy elimination target of less than 1 case per 10,000 populations at the national level. However, this is still a far cry from what is expected globally.
The effective control of leprosy have been seriously hampered by low public awareness, stigma and discrimination against victims; and of course extreme poverty and societal exclusion. However, the World Leprosy Day observed every last Sunday of January, has continued to help promote public awareness of this that many people thin is extinct.
Speaking on the dilapidated state of the nations referral/rehabilitation centres, Nigeria Minister of health, Dr. Isaac Oyewole said, “I wish to use this opportunity to call on stakeholders and our development partners to support upgrade of facilities and other social amenities.” He also gave assurance that the Federal Government of Nigeria will do her best in mobilising resources to improve the standard on living of the in-mates.”
Leprosy is an infectious disease that causes severe, disfiguring skin sores and nerve damage in the arms, legs, and skin areas around the body. The disease has been around since ancient times, often surrounded by terrifying, negative stigmas and tales of Leprosy patients being shunned as outcasts.
According to reports from WHO, outbreaks of leprosy have affected, and panicked, people on every continent. The oldest civilizations of China, Egypt, and India feared leprosy was an incurable, mutilating, and contagious disease. Around 210,000 new cases are been reported annually, and many more people are living undiagnosed.
Our government ought to implement appropriate strategies to increase leprosy detection, improve treatment outcome, as well as prevent disabilities and provide physical and socio-economic rehabilitation services to affected persons.
Away from leprosy, what stigma do you carry? What issues in your life give you so much pain, anxiety and shame? You may have been named after the familiar predicaments that have afflicted you for so long. That’s the best the world will do; they will call you by the problems you are known with. They will describe you with names like: “that sickler”, “that poor and unfortunate neighbor” and so on.
Like Naaman embraced the life-changing solution from God, you too can seek God to bring you out of the mess you are plunged into. You can be free; you can be delightful. You’re winning. Yes, we are winning!
For further reading:
DONT BE ASHAMED OF YOUR SCARS!
http://www.searo.who.int/entity/global_leprosy_programme/world_leprosy_day/en/
Leprosy: A Biblical Disease (or so we thought)
https://ozarkderm.com/leprosyhttps://ozarkderm.com/leprosy
by Mark Ibigbami GreatMark | Jan 23, 2018 | Articles |
- Broken News: The world’s famous tyrant and owner of the fastest growing recruiting firm finally resigns and closes down its operation world wide.
World most affluent man and the founder of the fastest growing recruiting firm resigns as the CEO and has closed down its operations which has spanned hundreds of years.
This vital information was disclosed to our correspondence when the Happy Valley news made a courtesy call to the world ageless deceiver, leader and accuser. He was said to have revealed that he has had enough employees, and have met his d to shut his doors to any new entrants.
Having being known to be a mastermind of virtually all the evils in the world, and having recruited and trained millions of disciples worldwide, he said his abode—hell is full and it’s doors closed to new candidates.
He opined that since he is retiring from evil, anyone who desires to continue to do evil and commit sin is on his own and should never blame it on his diabolical influence. Having suffered so much blames and accusations, “I will henceforth vehemently fight against anyone who blames me for the crime they commit”, he warned
On what becomes the faith of those who still wish to continue to follow him, the old tyrant said, they should join his competitor who still have more space for people. However, they must have to adapt to the new condition which is very different from his own. And if peradventure they chose not to, then they should wait till the next badge of hellistic candidates but “I cannot guaranty there would be aCI cannot guaranty there would be any slots!”, retorted the tyrant!
To say that Satan would resign from his evil perpetration and diabolical influence on man is unthinkable! That he would consider that there’s no longer space in hell to admit evil doers? This is too good to be true! This is Utopia!
It will never happen! Satan is the god of this cosmos and his goal is to steal, kill and destroy. The tyrannic activities of Satan shall not cease until the world is rolled away. Likewise admission into hell will never cease until the end of the age. It is impossible that an unregenerate man will end up in heaven with his evil and unrepentant lifestyle. You can only wish!
Hell is like a sepulcher. It is written thus, “Sheol developed a huge appetite, swallowing people nonstop! Big people and little people alike down that gullet, to say nothing of all the drunks (Isaiah 5:14). Hell is big enough to take as many that chose to forsake the way of salvation. If you are an employee of satan, you must have agreed to his terms and have chosen to be such.
In the same way, God’s mercy and grace for salvation will never cease until the earth and its inhabitants are destroyed. The continuous wickedness of man does not change the character of God, He remains the Almighty!
Though eternity continues in both hell and heaven and satan continues to rule and torment his disciples in the lake of fire. Likewise, the reign of God and his saints will continue forever more in the heavenly abode. Where will you stand?
As the earth reaches its end, evil shall be on the increase and the love of many shall grow cold. However, no matter how depraved the minds of men are, God will always retain a remnant of people who would be devoted to him and offer themselves as ambassadors of the kingdom of heaven.
“The Angel continued,…Time is just about up. Let evildoers do their worst and the dirty-minded go all out in pollution, but let the righteous maintain a straight course and the holy continue on in holiness.” Yes, I’m on my way! I’ll be there soon! I’m bringing my payroll with me. I’ll pay all people in full for their life’s works…(Rev.22:11-12).
Where do you stand in the plan of God? The victory that overcomes the world is our faith.
You’re winning! Yes, we are winning!
by Mark Ibigbami GreatMark | Sep 1, 2017 | Articles, Lifestyles |
Out of curiosity, I decided to do a little research about the significance of the “Ileya” festival, which literally means, “Let’s go home…for Eid Al-Adha”, in the dialect of the Yoruba tribe of Nigeria. I grew up to know that this Islamic event, also known as Eid Al-Adha or Eid ul Kabir is usually celebrated few weeks after the end of the Muslim fast.
It is normally associated with the sacrificial slaughtering of rams and considered as the holier of the second of two Muslim holidays celebrated worldwide each year.
I recall the usual fun-fair that precedes the Eid-el-Kabir: when as kids we would delight ourselves in being spectators of the contests of rams in our neighbourhood. Owners of rams proud themselves in the strength of those rams who emerge winners after a tightly contested fight.
Even though ram fight has become unpopular (and forbidden in some quarters), but then it used to be very interesting for me to see the excitement in my Muslim friends and neighbors. I do hope many of them truly understands the significance of this celebrations.
From the accounts I read on the Encyclopedia, The Eid al-Adha (Arabic: عيد الأضحى, translit. ʿīd al-aḍḥā, lit. ‘Feast of the Sacrifice’ is to honor the willingness of Ibrahim (Abraham) to sacrifice his son Ismael, as an act of obedience to God’s command. Before he sacrificed his son. God intervened by sending his angel Jibra’il (Gabriel), who then put a ram in his son’s place.
This is of course the account of the holy Quran. However, the son is not named in the Quran, but Muslims believe it to be Ishmael, though it is mentioned as Isaac in the Bible. What however, is striking and worthy of note here is the issue of obedience to God as demonstrated by Ibraham (or Abraham in Hebrew).
The sacrifice of his priced possession was one of the main trials of Abraham’s life. God was out to test his faith and prove his love, and the extent of his obedience to Him. In this instance, “Abraham had shown that his love for God superseded all others: that he would lay down his own life or the lives of those dearest to him in submission to God’s command.”1
Muslims commemorate this ultimate act of sacrifice every year with the believe that God ultimately prevents the sacrifice, additionally signifying that one should never sacrifice a human life, especially not in the name of God. (Quran, sura 37 (As-Saaffat), ayat 100–112[18]) (more…)
by Mark Ibigbami GreatMark | Mar 21, 2017 | Articles, Lifestyles |
Imagine being invited to a dinner party for fundraising for those who are suffering from depression, and to your amazement, you discovered that these people were on the guest list: Abraham Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt, Robert Schumann, Ludwig Von Beethoven, Edgar Allen Poe, Mark Twain and Vincent van Gogh.
When you arrive Schumann and Beethoven are discussing the movements in their most recent musical compositions, Poe and Twain are listening to Van Gogh talk about the meaning of his art, while Roosevelt and Lincoln discuss politics.
You wonder to yourself why these people are here. After all, this is a fundraiser to help people suffering from depression. Maybe they all have someone in their family who suffers from depression? The time arrives during the dinner for speeches by special guests. You are shocked as one by one each of these famous people describes their own battle with depression.
Lincoln even quotes from a letter he wrote to a friend some years earlier: “I am now the most miserable man living. If what I feel were equally distributed to the whole human family, there would be not one cheerful face on earth. Whether I shall ever be better, I cannot tell. I awfully forebode I shall not. To remain as I am is impossible. I must die or be better it appears to me.”**
You are not the only one who is been challenged! Therefore, suicide should never be an option. There are many others whose case are even worst than yours! To think that the whole world is against you; and that your life isn’t worth living is a lie of the devil! You are relevant that is why you are still breathing.
Why would you contemplate Suicide?
To think that you must take your life for whatever reasons you consider tenable is foolish! A mad man roaming the streets is better than a man who commits suicide, because he still has hope of being rehabilitated some day. You may not be where you want to be; you may even be far from your dreams even though you have labored so hard to get to where you are.
Perhaps, you have thought that when you have achieved your goals, then you would be happy and free, but sadly, you are still plunged in depression and fear. I tell you, you need to quickly look beyond yourself, for true victory is from above. Those who think they don’t need God always end in painful regrets, no matter how intelligent, wealthy or famous they may have lived.
Later on in another letter, Abraham Lincoln, encouraged everyone to persevere. He wrote, “The year that is drawing toward the close has been filled with the blessings of fruitful fields and healthful skies. These bounties are so constantly enjoyed that we are prone to forget the source from which they come.”** Imagined if he had given up on himself when he was dissatisfied about life, he would have not had this beautiful testimony of God’s magnanimity.
How to live above Depression
Who are you, what have you achieved that you think you are bigger than your creator? Even great men whose names and successes remain indelible understood that the way out of depression and hopelessness is God!
Here is one secret to live above depression, and overcome the act of suicide: let your heart be positioned towards God, and then you will be connected to heavenly signals that would position you for divine excellence. If you stand up now from your depression mood, turn towards God and tilt your faith towards heaven, you will be connected to possibilities, and trust me, you will be locked down to winning mode!
Those who are locked down to winning mode are those whose help is in the name of the Lord (Psalm 124:8). “God is always on the alert, constantly on the lookout for people who are totally committed to him…” (2 Chronicles 16:9).
Are you so worried about your performance? Have you received so many queries and rejections that you think you are so worthless? The truth is, that which you do is not who you are. Your performance is a product of what you do; and who you are is what God has made you to be.
You might have failed in what you do but that doesn’t make you a failure. Your performance may change but who you are doesn’t change! God says you’re His child, His masterpiece -beautifully and wonderfully made. He says you are good, and you are more than conqueror! So why settle for less of God? Why even think of suicide!?
Look, the enemy will do his best to magnify your problems. You’ve got to make the decision that you’re going to keep a positive attitude to life. So many things around you will seek to demoralize you but you must choose to be happy. The enemy always fight you the hardest when he knows that God has great things in store for you. Your best days is right ahead of you!
You’ve got to keep doing the right thing even when the wrong things are happening to you. You’ve got to stay positive and make a decision that you are going to step out in faith and outlast the enemy! Don’t settle for mediocrity so you don’t miss out on God’s best.
Just beyond the adversity is a place of abundance. You are winning! Yes, we are winning!
Also read: THE MANY BLESSINGS OF AN UNGRATEFUL MAN
How to overcome depression: https://thiswayup.org.au/how-do-you-feel/sad/
GreatMark
*Source: based on information found in an article by Liora Nordenberg “Dealing with the Depths of Depression” at US Federal Drug Administration website. **Final Lincoln quote found at sermons.com
