THAT REMEMBRANCE

Sometimes we underestimate the power of forgiveness. Not forgiving can be a hindrance to many blessings that can come our way. Holding grudges only slows us down, serves as a burden on us a always replaces the happiness we should have whenever we think of the person we are holding the grudge against.

Some sins seem unforgiveable, but if God can forgive us, send His son to die for us, who are we not to forgive our fellow man. Forgiveness only opens the way for greater things and brings us closer to our maker.

I will be sharing in this article, a brief message by Prophet TB Joshua of the SCOAN concerning forgiveness.

Please let us always try to forgive, no matter how hard it seems.

"Mark 11:25, “And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive them, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins.”

You must always remember that you are a sinner saved by grace. It is the will of God for you to remember that you sinned and have been forgiven. For it is that remembrance that creates a loving, helpful and compassionate heart in you towards others. Forgiveness is not based on the magnitude of the sin but on the magnitude of the Father’s love. Jesus never bothered how grievous your sins were when He said, “Father forgive them”.

In mercy, we are not excluded. It is always unreasonable to forgive your enemy until you realise that you were once an enemy of God until He forgave you. It is this remembrance that creates love, compassion and helpfulness in your heart. Until that forgiveness is voiced and received, we should not pray because if we are not forgiving, the power of faith is short-circuited. Thus, it was Jesus’ great design to engage all His followers to love and forgive. As you read this, begin to remember, who you need to forgive today. Anywhere you are, as you have forgiven those who sin against you, get ready for your forgiveness to be voiced and received in the cleansing power of the blood of Jesus Christ by faith.

PRAYER: Forgive me, Oh Lord; I will be forgiven, in Jesus’ name."

By TB Joshua

I personally find it hard to forgive in alot of situations, though I end up forgiving. This should let us know that forgiveness is not an easy thing.

I remember sometime back in school when a senior borrowed some money from me in his moment of need, I took more than half of my remaining money and lent it to him. He promised to pay me in a week.

Well let's call 5 months later a week, he came into my room one day and dropped the money on the table, walked out and never said a thing. It pained me because I never reported the matter to anyone, he should be laughing and telling me "hey boy, you are a good guy, you never disturbed me all this while and never reported".

No he walked away, honestly I never greeted him afterwards, I hated him for that. Count sometime down the line, I read about the importance of forgiveness and had no option but to forgive him.

We can forgive, yes.....as for forgetting, it is not humanly possible in all cases. I might be wrong though.

Have a nice time with Christ brethren.

THE DEVIL’S CHATROOM---- Secrets Of Cyberspace Crime! : Part 2

 continued from part 1

Largely enticed at the prospects of getting rich overnight rather than the desire to help, those involved would be stripped to the last penny. They would be connected to a fake bank where they would soon begin to lose money through remittances in an attempt to have the said funds transferred. Unknown to the victim, it would be the same fraudster, Benson, and a friend, playing the role of bank manager and his associate.

In some instances, he played the role of a beautiful girl looking for a man to marry online. He had hundreds of nude pictures from pornographic sites. These pictures he used in fooling men. In no time, he would begin proposing to travel to the potential victim’s country. Here is when the scam would really get going, as he would be asking for money to help with air tickets and other itineraries.

In yet another strategy, he had sophisticated illegal software which he secretly installed on public computers in cyber cafes. Back home, he would be able to follow every transaction by every person using the bugged computer. Such information he would use to dupe people through impersonation.

He had many people on his hit list and, unlike many of his colleagues in the trade, he netted the biggest catches. He even internationalised his network, with people representing him in other countries, particularly Europe.

He had become a master par excellence in his trade, to the extent that he duped people from across the globe of huge sums of money, which he deposited in various bank accounts holding tens of thousands of US Dollars.

Unknown to Benson, it was the evil spirits connected to the family idols that had possessed him and aided his nefarious gimmicks.

No Free Lunch With The Devil Satan gives with one hand and snatches back with the other. It did not matter how much money he made, he squandered it on beer and women – patronising bars and strippers. He started throwing the money around, as if it were scrap paper.

As he caused others to suffer, the demon also caused him to suffer. At one point, he was arrested while collecting $5,000 USD at a money transfer agency. Sometimes, he spent months in prison and would lose all of his ill-gained money in trying to get out.

The risky and evil life he led, defrauding people, resulted in a life fueled by fear and playing hide and seek with the police wherever he went. He returned to Nigeria and strange things started to happen under the influence of the crafty Idigun.

If he bought a car, he would ride it for a few weeks and it would develop mechanical problems. The more money he made, the more the problems. When he tried to invest in land, he lost everything. He would spend huge sums of money to purchase land and, from nowhere, another person would come with documents, claiming ownership of the land. He started building a house but clashes over the property led him to abandon the project after investing a large amount.

He also had been at the receiving end of evil attacks, dreaming of the two family idols, Idigun and Olokun, fighting over him. Idigun would have two heads, a human and a dog’s, while Olokun appeared with human male and female heads.

continued here

THE DEVIL’S CHATROOM: Secrets Of Cyberspace Crime! : Part 3

continued from part 2

Free At Last! He realised then that he was in deep trouble and the downward spiral his life had taken pointed to a bitter end. He knew he would be completely destroyed without divine intervention. He decided then to come to The SCOAN, accompanied by his younger sisters.

On that phenomenal day, the Man of God, Prophet T.B. Joshua offered a prayer of rescue. It was such a powerful prayer that after others sat down at the end of the session, Benson remained in fervent prayer.

He prayed that his case would not escape the anointing of God and the moment came. As Wise Man Christopher stretched his hand in his direction, the once calm man snappily dressed in suit, contorted and suddenly changed into a wild and angry being. Light had caught up with the dark creatures illegally residing in him. It was now just a matter of time before the demons were cast out.

The dirty spirit in him, unable to withstand the power of the Holy Spirit, ruptured and spoke: "I am the Idigun in the family. His father dedicated him to me. I gave him the spirit of stealing on the Internet and made him a professional. He collects money from foreigners – Canada, Europe, Pakistan, India and all over the world.”

The demons confessed all the evil they had caused him and the destruction they had perpetrated in his life. According to the idol, some of Benson’s victims had committed suicide.

“He is the instrument I am using to make people suffer,” said the idol. Benson was delivered, in the mighty name of Jesus Christ. He returned the following week, looking splendid and immaculately dressed. With him were his family members. He thanked God for his deliverance, but not without a warning to those abusing the Internet: “Those in my former state, you have nothing to gain; all you get is trouble. Surrender yourself to Jesus. Only Jesus Christ can set you free.”

This deliverance is a dramatic exposure of the ugly claws behind numerous frauds that reduce rich people into paupers, while turning notorious criminals into instant millionaires of dirty money that eventually ruin them. Today, free and saved, he lives a happy life away from Internet fraud, womanising and drugs. He has given his life to Christ and warns that evil begets evil and everything that starts dubiously, ends dubiously.

This article comes from the first issue of Read Us, the official magazine of The SCOAN! 

THE DEVIL’S CHATROOM: Secrets Of Cyberspace Crime! : Part 1

It is clear that the devil has infiltrated social media to perpetrate the most heinous activities one can dream of. The Internet, a good resource and networking base, has unfortunately become a conduit for the most sophisticated crimes in the world. Many banks and corporations have lost huge sums of money, while many individuals have been duped of their hard-earned cash by people they met on the cyber-network. The executor comes in sheep’s clothing, seeking friendship and later asking for what would appear a very innocent favour, just to deceive and strike a vicious blow when one least expects.

Such was the scandalous lifestyle of Benson, a Nigerian living in Ivory Coast. Born in 1976 in the midwest of Nigeria, he grew up to become an Internet fraudster. But behind the mischief was another malevolent being – a demon, which gave him the knack for hacking and raiding the Internet to perpetrate terror.

Born and raised in a polygamous and idol-worshipping home of four mothers, Benson was the first born from his mother’s side. From a very young age, he watched his father serve an iron god known as Idigun, while his mother had her own deity, Olokun, a marine spirit. Unwillingly, he would join the family in an infamous ritual, which involved bludgeoning dogs, cooking and eating them in a sacrificial act to their family gods.

Little did he know that although he detested such diabolical exercises, the two idols had nonetheless possessed him and would soon begin to torment him through criminal acts such as taking of illicit drugs. He also found himself lusting for women wherever he went, and joined one of the most notorious cult groups, Black Axe, while at university.

It was through this bad company that he was introduced to Internet fraud, at a time when he needed breakthrough, which was hard to come by. For 13 years, powered by the family idols, he prowled the Internet. He patronised dating sites, searching for potential victims, on the pretext of looking for love. When the friendship gathered steam, matured and trust was established, the unsuspecting victims would be cunningly defrauded of their money.

Sometimes, he would use search engines to look for email addresses of naive individuals. He would send them emails with touching stories they would fall for. He had a deceitful template he would send out in bulk, depicting a girl in her twenties who owned millions of dollars left for her by her wealthy late father. This girl would be looking for someone to help her transfer the funds from a dormant account to a safer off-shore account. Whoever agreed to help her would receive a hefty financial reward. Often, the girl would hail from a war-torn country and her father, a former top government official or private individual, but one who was filthy rich before his death or assassination. Blindfolded by the smell of easy money, gullible people would not see what hit them the moment they got involved.

Another format depicted a sick old woman whose husband, also a rich man, left huge sums of money for her. About to die, she would seek to give the money away. She would have about one month to live and before she died, she must have the money transferred to charity or otherwise. As soon as a person showed interest, the game of defrauding would start.

To be continued:

Culled from the first issue of SCOAN magazine READ US.