The art and act of speaking Week 45, 2026

 Let’s look now at the third principle which is also in Ezr 8:16-17(ESV): Then I sent for Eliezer, Ariel, Shemaiah, Elnathan, Jarib, Elnathan, Nathan, Zechariah, and Meshullam, leading men, and for Joiarib and Elnathan, who were men of insight,   and sent them to Iddo, the leading man at the place Casiphia, telling them what to say to Iddo and his brothers and the temple servants at the place Casiphia, namely, to send us ministers for the house of our God.

What is said and how it is said is critical in service. Jesus Christ practiced this. Notice for instance when Jesus asked the disciples to get the donkey for the triumphant entry, He told them in Mk11:3(ESV) If anyone says to you, ‘Why are you doing this?’ say, ‘The Lord has need of it and will send it back here immediately.’” When they obeyed and released the donkey, some opposition had to be overcome by well-spoken words: Mk11:5-6(ESV) And some of those standing there said to them, “What are you doing, untying the colt?” And they told them what Jesus had said, and they let them go. Consider also what happened at the garden of Gethsemane. Jn18:8-9(ESV) Jesus answered, “I told you that I am he. So, if you seek me, let these men go.” This was to fulfill the word that he had spoken: “Of those whom you gave me I have lost not one.” I want you to know Jesus had to speak in this manner to make sure the right outcome came. There are many sincere leaders whose words have hindered rather than helped their ministry. Gideon was harshly accosted by the Ephraimaites when he returned victorious from war. His wise answer calmed situations down (Jdgs8:1-3). Jephthah was also accosted by the Ephraimites after his success at the war front. He was not diplomatic, and a civil war broke out which claimed 42,000 lives (Jdgs12:1-6). We must practice Col 4:6(ESV) Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person. Simply speaking the truth anyhow is not good enough. It needs wise and loving communication. Three sets of soldiers were sent to fetch Elijah. Two sets died by fire called down by Elijah. Tactful speech by the third captain spared his life and the lives of his men (2Kgs1:9-15).

It was wise speaking by his servants that helped Naaman when he was at the verge of losing his miracle under the ministry of Elishah: 2Kgs 5:12-14(ISV)  So he turned away and left, filled with anger. But then his servants approached him and spoke with him. They said, "My father, had the prophet only asked of you something great, you would have done it, wouldn't you? Yet he told you, 'Bathe, and be clean...!' So he went down and plunged himself into the Jordan River seven times, just as the man of God had said, and his flesh rejuvenated like the flesh of a newborn child. And he was clean. It was the speaking of the Syrophoenician woman that got her daughter healed; something that her following after and kneeling down before Jesus Christ wasn’t giving her. Mk 7:29-30 (ESV) And he said to her, “For this statement you may go your way; the demon has left your daughter.” And she went home and found the child lying in bed and the demon gone. Let us train ourselves in right speaking. Prov15:23(ERV)  People are happy when they give a good answer. And there is nothing better than the right word at the right time.

Inexplicable healing Week 44, 2026

 Bro. J O, a senior colleague leading CAPRO Diaspora work in Edo State, was on his motorcycle in May this year while returning from the Easter DGT and going for discipleship when he was knocked down by a vehicle and fractured his shoulder . He was taken to both traditional and orthodox healers and after about three months of unsuccessful treatment in Benin, his doctors recommend surgery. When the surgery was estimated at N2million they sought advice in Enugu. He came to the National Orthopedic Hospital Enugu, where he was seen in Dr Muoghalu’s unit (a senior consultant Orthopaedic surgeon specialising in arthroplasty). Here is his voice note report on 13^th of August: “Good evening. How is the programme going?  Thank you.  I was able to go and see the doctor, and I saw him today. After seeing him, he said that the bone head - the humerus head - has been damaged so much that it can no longer function again, that we need to change it and put a plastic one. And to buy that one they need to order for it from abroad, and that one the money will be so much it will cost 12 million naira - both to order and the surgery - and everything will cost 12 million naira . So this is what the doctor said today, and I don't know what to do, but we are trusting God to see how he will help us to achieve it.”

Ps 55:22(ESV)  Cast your burden on the LORD, and he will sustain you; he will never permit the righteous to be moved. Through prayer and mobilisation, God provided the money. However, after further consultation, including with medical partners, we were advised to consider Kano, where the procedure could be done at a lower cost. J and his wife travelled there, and the doctors recommended a different procedure costing less than ₦2 million. Then came the miracle!

In the words of Esther, J's wife, "My husband's case has become a point of reference to the glory of the Lord God Almighty who heard all our cries and answered us beyond our expectations. After the CT scan and MRI, the team of surgeons agreed to put a metal plate to hold together the fractured bone and give it time to heal before the plate will be removed. As reported by the surgeons, when they opened up the hand in the theater, they discovered that the fractured bone (the damaged humeral head) had healed! They said however, that they discovered another bone that had become an obstruction making it difficult for him to raise the hand. They corrected the obstruction. One of the doctors said for now, he has no need for the metal plate, nor for the artificial bone (except if any other complications arises in future)! The doctors were amazed and so were we. When  my husband tried to ask them to help us understand what really happened, the head of the team Dr Salahudeen (the Muslim surgeon) asked J "Didn't you say you are a cleric?" When my husband answered yes, he replied: "Your God has answered your prayers, simple!" Hallelujah! The healing itself is a miracle, but the opportunity God created to speak to the hearts of these Muslim physicians is another tremendous testimony. Bro J O has returned to work

Rom 11:33-36(ISV)  O how deep are God's riches, and wisdom, and knowledge! How unfathomable are his decisions and unexplainable are his ways! Who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has become his adviser? Or who has given him something only to have him pay it back?" For all things are from him, by him, and for him. Glory belongs to him forever! Amen. To God alone be the glory! 

Ugo leads the diaspora team of the south

Ezra’s principles 2 Week 43, 2026

 So what is the second principle?

It is found in Ezr 8:16-17(ESV) Then I sent for Eliezer, Ariel, Shemaiah, Elnathan, Jarib, Elnathan, Nathan, Zechariah, and Meshullam, leading men, and for Joiarib and Elnathan, who were men of insight,   and sent them to Iddo, the leading man at the place Casiphia, telling them what to say to Iddo and his brothers and the temple servants at the place Casiphia, namely, to send us ministers for the house of our God.

I see a long list of names, what principle are we to glean from here?

Delegation. Ezra could have left the company at the River Ahava to get the needed Levites himself, but chose rather to send others to do the work.

So what is to be gained by that? Are you unaware of the saying, “If you want something to be well done, do it yourself?” I have heard you say you had to take matters personal to get things well done at the hospital. Practice what you preach

 When you delegate you involve people in the work and they take ownership. It makes it a “we” thing and not a “them” matter. If you never delegate who will carry on after you? And how will they learn? But it isn’t just blind delegation. You must carefully choose who you delegate. Ezra went for leading men, and for Joiarib and Elnathan, who were men of insight to help with the work. These are qualities to identify before delegating. Moses also delegated to men with such qualities in Ex 18:21(ESV)  Moreover, look for able men from all the people, men who fear God, who are trustworthy and hate a bribe, and place such men over the people as chiefs… I do delegate my brother.

Did you notice what happened in Act 6:3(ESV)?  Therefore, brothers, pick out from among you seven men of good repute, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we will appoint to this duty. All the men they chose to solve a matter between Hebrews and Hellenists were all Hellenists! I know so because all seven had Greek names. Act 6:5(ESV) And what they said pleased the whole gathering, and they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit, and Philip, and Prochorus, and Nicanor, and Timon, and Parmenas, and Nicolaus, a proselyte of Antioch. That’s the kind of thing you get by delegating!

Some level of input by the person you delegate things to is inevitable, yet that may not make the person unfaithful by such inputs. In delegating what matters most is that the principles you gave must be followed. Never delegate without giving the person(s) clear principles to follow. The request was followed to the letter, and  seven men of good repute, full of the Spirit and of wisdom came forth. Ezra specified where they were to go - the place Casiphia, who they were to meet - Iddo and his brothers and the temple servants, and what the assignment was  - bring Levites. Once they followed that, the results were endorsed in Ezra’s time as well as in the apostles'. Act6:6(ESV) These they set before the apostles, and they prayed and laid their hands on them. Getting the flavour of the messenger is normal even in Christian service. Even when a prophet speaks expressly from God the accent of the prophet is heard. It does not make the prophecy fake. 

Ezra's principles Week 42, 2026

 I remember him primarily for his commitment to the teaching of the law - Ezr 7:10(ESV)  For Ezra had set his heart to study the Law of the LORD, and to do it and to teach his statutes and rules in Israel - and am convinced that is the foundation of true leadership. Many of us have focused solely on this aspect of teaching and omitted other requirements. It is not enough that you have the word, the rhema, and is an acclaimed teacher of the word. Other skills are necessary to be added for excellence in ministry.

I am not interested in being a leader. Just being a believer is enough for me

Ah, no matter what you say there is someone who at some time looks at you and takes a cue from you. Besides, these principles help you in all aspects of living. Learn from Ezra three important practices for success as a person and a leader. One: Ezr 8:15(ESV)  I gathered them to the river that runs to Ahava, and there we camped three days. As I reviewed the people and the priests, I found there none of the sons of Levi. 

So what is the principle here?

Inventory.  We need to know how many are in our congregation, and so like the good shepherd we will be able to recognise if any is missing and search for them. The early church kept count. Act1:15(ESV)  In those days Peter stood up among the brothers (the company of persons was in all about 120). Also see Act4:4(ESV):  But many of those who had heard the word believed, and the number of the men came to about five thousand. We also need to know the type of people we need for any work and determine if they are there with us. Moses who was before Ezra did so Num10:29(ESV) And Moses said to Hobab the son of Reuel the Midianite, Moses' father-in-law, “We are setting out for the place of which the LORD said, ‘I will give it to you.’ Come with us, and we will do good to you, for the LORD has promised good to Israel.”…“Please do not leave us, for you know where we should camp in the wilderness, and you will serve as eyes for us. Do you know your people’s trade? How can you pray well for them and teach them and deploy them in God’s service if not? We must also know the physical count of equipment and items God has blessed us to serve Him with 1Chr9:28(ESV) Some of them had charge of the utensils of service, for they were required to count them when they were brought in and taken out. 

Interesting. So what’s the second and third learning point?

We are not done with the first.  Checklist. It is very spiritual to have a checklist of what needs to be done before embarking on a journey or procedure, even an outreach. Like Ezra, at a set time before you start, get through the list personally to determine the readiness for the journey, outreach or process

Did Jesus Christ practise such things?

Of course. Lk 22:8, 11-12(ESV)  So Jesus sent Peter and John, saying, “Go and prepare the Passover for us, that we may eat it.”  tell the master of the house, ‘The Teacher says to you, Where is the guest room, where I may eat the Passover with my disciples?’  And he will show you a large upper room furnished; prepare it there.” Do likewise

Power in the Spoken Word Week 41, 2026

 I have many testimonies of the power of God, but the one that immediately comes to mind is that of my niece, my eldest sibling’s daughter. She was staying with me at that time, and one day, when I returned from the day’s activities, I found her lying down with blood on her mouth. I took her to the hospital, and she was admitted to the ward at the University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital. On the third day, she was fully unconscious. The deepest level of unconsciousness is when one is unresponsive to pain. I took a blood sample from her, and when the needle went in, there was no response at all. In addition, her condition was complicated by a clotting disorder - Disseminated Intravascular Coagulopathy - which manifests as persistent bleeding. When I took the blood sample, the site of puncture persisted in bleeding awhile. Several specialists were attending to her, and they came up with a diagnosis: meningococcaemia. The lead doctor called me aside and asked, “Is she your daughter?” “No,” I replied. “She is the daughter of our eldest.” “Call her parents,” he said. “Let her die before them, lest anyone think something else happened.” The doctors had given up! I opened the textbooks to read about the condition. In the textbook, it is written that it is a severe and life-threatening condition with poor prognosis even in the best of centres. This meant that even if we were in an American hospital, there was little hope of her survival.

All this while I had been acting as a doctor and not as a believer. I excused myself and went to look for a brother - Evangelist Chris Akosa. I told him the problem, and he agreed to come with me to pray for her. When we arrived, she was still lying unconscious with her eyes closed. Eze37:4-5(ESV)  Then he said to me, “Prophesy over these bones, and say to them, O dry bones, hear the word of the LORD. Thus says the Lord GOD to these bones: Behold, I will cause breath to enter you, and you shall live. He then asked me to stand aside and began to declare the word of God to her. “Every system in this body: begin to align properly. Every biochemical function: work normally…” As he declared the word of God, she opened her eyes and looked around. I  was not told; it was all in my presence. Eze37:7-8(ESV) And as I prophesied, there was a sound, and behold, a rattling, and the bones came together, bone to its bone. And I looked, and behold, there were sinews on them, and flesh had come upon them, and skin had covered them. He continued to declare the word of God to her, and she sat up. By now the entire ward was in pandemonium. Eze 37:9-10(ESV) Then he said to me, “Prophesy to the breath; prophesy, son of man, and say to the breath, Thus says the Lord GOD: Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe on these slain, that they may live.” So I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived and stood on their feet, an exceedingly great army. Chris Akosa continued to declare the word of God, and she began to walk around. I have never seen anything like it before then, or after that time. There is power in the word of God. She was instantly healed and remained healed as the word of God was spoken forth. Heb 4:12(ESV)  For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. This same person has completed her Masters’ degree 

Obi Okye is a consultant at UNTH Ituku Ozalla

A missed opportunity Week 40, 2026

 Mat 19:22(ESV)  When the young man heard this he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions. This passage reminds me about a chapter in the book “The Pursuit of God” by A.W. Tozer - The Blessedness of Possessing Nothing. In it he makes a distinction between holding wealth, people, and other blessings from God as a trust, or as our own possessions. Having a readiness to give them up at any time required by God who is the owner, and who entrusted it to our care. People with such a mindset do not possess the items (and those items do not possess them either). This man had those possessions and would not let go. He lost an opportunity.

But was Abraham not rich? He had a lot of wealth too - Gen24:34-35(ESV)   “I am Abraham's servant. The LORD has greatly blessed my master, and he has become great. He has given him flocks and herds, silver and gold, male servants and female servants, camels and donkeys. How come Abraham did not lose his own opportunity?

It is true Abraham was rich. But did you notice even the servant acknowledges these things were given, and they were not acquisitions that held Abraham. He had already given the most precious blessing - Isaac - back to God. Hear David: “But who am I, and what is my people, that we should be able thus to offer willingly? For all things come from you, and of your own have we given you. 1Chr29:14(ESV) If the rich young ruler practised this would he not have willing done as Jesus requested? You give up something to gain someone higher Php 3:7-8 (ESV) But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ.  Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord.

Which brings me to a puzzling thing: since the man stood to gain in this present life a hundred fold more what he was asked sell and give to the poor, why did Jesus allow him to go? Why not run after him and say “Wait up. There’s a hundredfold awaiting you if you give this up! Don’t go away.”  Mk10:30(ESV) Jesus said, “Truly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or lands, for my sake and for the gospel, who will not receive a hundredfold now in this time, houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions, and in the age to come eternal life. I wonder why He let him go.

Don’t wonder at all. When Peter and other disciples left all to follow Jesus their target and motivation was not money or material acquisitions. It was and ever is Jesus Christ Himself. Motivating people to come over to Jesus Christ to gain money is a wrong approach

What is wrong with that approach? I mean it is true isn’t it? A hundredfold does show up in this present life. He would have gained a disciple - and an eager one too.

Far from it. 1Tim6:5(GW)  and conflict between people whose corrupt minds have been robbed of the truth. They think that a godly life is a way to make a profit.You would have simply robbed him of the truth, confused him and further lost him by suggesting that. Mk4:19(ESV) And others are the ones sown among thorns. They are those who hear the word, but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches and the desires for other things enter in and choke the word, and it proves unfruitful. If you must follow Jesus into eternal life He and He alone must be your pursuit. 

The Rich Young Ruler Week 39, 2026

 And as he was setting out on his journey, a man ran up and knelt before him and asked him, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” And Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone.Mk10:17-18(ESV)   Why did Jesus answer him that way? Is Jesus not God incarnate? I heard a man once cite this quotation as meaning Jesus acknowledged He is not God, also alluding to the idea that Jesus was imperfect.

On the contrary, Jesus is saying, “ Recognise who I am and know it is God speaking to you. I am God.” Unfortunately, he fails to grasp that and the next time addresses Jesus no longer as “Good Teacher” but simply as “Teacher”. Mk10:19-20(ESV) You know the commandments: ‘Do not murder, Do not commit adultery, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Do not defraud, Honor your father and mother.’” And he said to him, “Teacher, all these I have kept from my youth.”

Now, how come Jesus asks him to keep the law to gain eternal life? Isn’t eternal life a gift from God through faith in Jesus? Is it that up until Jesus died the way was through obeying the law? I am confused…

No need to be. Jesus drew him in to see the impossibility of his thinking that by a good deed he would inherit everlasting life. He claimed to have obeyed all, but in making that request, Jesus makes him see he has not loved his neighbour as himself, which he claimed. Mt19:19-20(ESV)  Honor your father and mother, and, You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” The young man said to him, “All these I have kept. What do I still lack?” Can’t you see Jesus pointed it out? Mk10:21(ESV) And Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, “You lack one thing: go, sell all that you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.”  Jesus knew fully well that trying to keep the commandments can save no one. To qualify for righteousness by the law, one must have always obeyed everything written in the law all through their lives. No one met that criterion. Gal 2:16 (ESV)  yet we know that a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, so we also have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because by works of the law no one will be justified.

So what exactly did Jesus say about the way he was supposed to gain eternal life?

The same way any other person today can gain eternal life. What was the last thing Jesus said to him? Mk10:21(ESV) ...and come, follow me.   

By following Jesus?

Exactly! All who truly follow Him eventually come to that conclusion. Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life, and we have believed, and have come to know, that you are the Holy One of God.” Jn 6:68-69 (ESV)  

It is a great pity he went away, if only he truly understood Jesus. Why did Jesus let him go?

It seems he loved his money more than he wanted eternal life. Jesus will never force anyone