Verify Podcast

Sometime last year, a prominent clergy man in Nigeria lost his adult first son. In the days that followed, social media was awash with all shades of comments. Many were in shock and clearly sympathetic as should be, but there were some who faulted his standing with God, because according to them, he should have known before time, that the unfortunate incident would happen, and perhaps somehow avert it...

I once had a pastor who even though she believed in the miraculous, taught me to focus on knowing God, rather than on what He could give to me. One day, she asked me a blunt and unexpected question, "Isioma, what if God never gives you what you are asking Him for? Will you still serve Him?” I often say that that day, I grew up a thousand years.

My pastor is long gone now as she died a few years later, but her question never left my heart...

There are motives behind our daily actions and many times, I have found myself taking decisions out of selfishness, the need for reward or recognition, competition with others, and sometimes even fear.

Sometimes we give an offering in church, not primarily because we want to support God’s work, but simply because our minds are focused on the harvest of blessings we will receive in return...

I love to watch movies when I can find the time, but I’ve found that no matter how intriguing, I hardly settle down to watch the same movie twice. The 1980 Hollywood block buster, ‘Guyana Tragedy’ is among the few exceptions. I’ve watched it several times and it still holds a certain fascination for me. It tells the story of how on November 18th 1978, a man named Jim Jones led 918 people to their deaths in the biggest mass suicide event in modern history...

A few years ago, a colleague at work made a comment about how she had never seen me pregnant before, even though she knew I had been married for several years. She went on to tell me categorically, that if I wanted to get pregnant, I must go beyond just praying and trusting God, and I must give God an ultimatum! Now, I had heard many things in my time of waiting to have a baby, but this one struck me differently...

I have heard some preachers say that after we accept Jesus into our lives, our works do not matter and we must cease from works. They say that any focus on doing good works, downplays Christ’s sacrifice on the cross. Some say our righteousness is like filthy rags in the eyes of God anyway, so we need not bother. In fact, the word “works” has been vilified in many Christian circles, such that it is usually given a negative connotation...

Several years ago, I read somewhere that it is no longer in vogue for believers to pray or seek for God’s will to be done in their lives, because as someone actually put it, “our wills now supersede God’s will”. I have also heard a believer being rebuked during a prayer meeting, for raising a prayer point that God’s will should be done in an area of his life that he was uncertain about...

Before I go into today’s episode, I must start out by saying Happy Independence Day Celebrations, to everyone listening in from Nigeria, the land of my birth. I pray that as we step into this highly anticipated New Year, we will indeed start a journey that will turn the fortunes of our country around for good...

I have heard it preached, that if a professing Christian is caught committing fornication at the exact moment Christ returns, the person would go straight to heaven, because there are no eternal consequences when a believer commits sin. This teaching has been amplified by prominent individuals across the body of Christ, and backs the lifestyles of many professing Christians, but does it have any rooting in scripture? Please stay with me, let’s find out...

I got married in the year 2009 and I didn’t give birth to a child for almost 10 years. In Nigeria where I come from, this is quite a big deal and so with time, I heard several insinuations from people, that it was somehow the fault and sins of my husband and I that had caused our condition. I encountered the notion that anyone going through a tough time doesn’t have enough faith, hasn’t prayed enough or isn’t as spiritual as those who have had it easier...