Kaduna State: When a "military fortress" becomes the playground of bandits -Vanguard Newspaper

Nigerian Defence Academy;

Armed Forces Command and Staff College, Jaji;

Nigerian Air Force Base;

Air Force Institute of Technology, AFIT; Ground Training Command;

Army Training Depot in Zaria; Nigerian Military School in Zaria;

Defence Industries Corporation, DICON;

Nigerian Army School of Artillery in Kachia;

Nigerian Navy School of Armament Technology;

Command Engineering Depot

Command and Staff College

Kaduna State is also host to the State Security Service Training Academy,

Police College,

Nigerian College of Aviation Technology, NCAT, in Zaria

Borstal Training College, among others.

Given the sheer number of military establishments in the state, Kaduna is supposed

to be a no-go-area for bandits or terrorists, but the reverse is actually the case! This is because the state has more or less become a playground for bandits and kidnappers, who have now graduated from stealing of cows and overrunning of villages, to attacking military

A LONG EXHORTATION

THEME - What if...

Woke up this morning with a puzzling question in my spirit. Dint pay much attention to it, but, as I got out of bed to begin my morning & daily drill of 60mins-90mins of Thanksgiving, that question again interrupted my thoughts 💬.

2.
The question was just packaged in two words....WHAT IF?

Before I could process the thoughts, a barrage of other questions began to roll in, and then, I knew I had to UP my game in my daily Thanksgiving drill.

You see, I do this Thanksgiving "drill" every morning before I

3.
progress to praying in the spirit and then in my understanding and with relevant bible passages. (Thanksgiving is key to my relationship with God, because, I Know this for sure...THE UNGRATEFUL CARRIES A MARK OF RESENTMENT)

NOW;

4.
What if you woke up this morning and you began to "knock" on the gates of heaven, and as you did, an angel appeared and told you, "hey, sorry bro/sis, God is still resting. He had a busy day yesterday, and cannot attend to anyone until 4pm...")

5.
What if you knocked on heaven's gate and was denied access because, the accuser of the brethren just used his reggae to spoil your blues the previous night

What if you needed to pour out libations before seeing God?

Something's brewing.

Something's happening again on the 1st of March.

It's the 2nd Edition of our Bi-monthly Prayer & Intercession live broadcast on Facebook & Instagram.

Theme -(is taken from)
Isaiah 45v13b CEV
...and I will make the roads easy for him to follow.

#HOW?

Isaiah 45:2 MSG
"I'll go ahead of you, clearing and paving the road. I'll break down bronze city gates, smash padlocks, kick down barred entrances.
Isaiah 45:3 MSG
I'll lead you to buried treasures, secret caches of valuables...

You will enter BARRED TERRITORIES

A SHORT EXHORTATION

THE TRUE HELPER

It's a horrible thing to remain defenseless in this wicked world, and that's why we all need Jesus.

There are places your millions will not be able to defend or help you.

Places where the high and mighty you know are not only helpless,

but, unable to defend you.

There are times the best doctors you know are helpless when you are rushed to the hospital.

Places where your security measures even run into hiding and unable to defend you.

The name of Jesus, that name alone is the ultimate defense. The ultimate

name everything and everyone bows down to.

A ready help and helper in time of need.

Others may want to help, but are unavailable or unable.

Others may initially want to help, but, suddenly change their minds in your time of need.

Others may have the capacity to help, but,

choose not to help or offer you help at a cost you are unable to afford.

Jesus is different. He is the real deal.

Always ready
Always available.
Always willing to help.

Psalms 46:1 MSG
God is a safe place to hide, ready to help when we need him.

If no one else chooses to

A SHORT EXHORTATION

They wanted to make sure He remained dead, but...

Matthew 27:63 MSG
They said, "Sir, we just remembered that that liar announced while he was still alive, 'After three days I will be raised.'

Matthew 27:64 MSG
We've got to get that tomb sealed until the

third day. There's a good chance his disciples will come and steal the corpse and then go around saying, 'He's risen from the dead.' Then we'll be worse off than before, the final deceit surpassing the first."

Matthew 27:65 MSG
Pilate told them, "You will have a guard. Go ahead and secure it the best you can."

Matthew 27:66 MSG
So they went out and secured the tomb, sealing the stone and posting guards.

Men were assigned to the tomb Jesus was buried. They were not mere men...

they were trained soldiers. They wanted to make sure He remained dead.

His adversaries had so much hatred for him, yet, they feared every word He spoke about resurrecting again on the third day.

Even if He arose, He would not be able to get out of the tomb, they said to

themselves, but, they were soooo wrong. His purpose must be accomplished.

I don't know what or who has been assigned to keep you down.

Keep you down from achieving your purpose.

Jesus broke through. You will break through that hindrance.

They could not keep Jesus from coming

1
Written by Mrs.Bimbola Bamgbelu Oludipe.

*PARENTS IN d CHURCH, YOUR SILENCE WILL KILL THE YOUNG GENERATION!*

This Saturday evening, I went to a chemist to buy some drugs.There were lots of pple there. D shop had some chairs for customers to sit while waiting to be attended to

2.
When I came in, the man on one of the two seats was through and he left. I took the seat. A young girl like 15,16, was on the other seat, also waiting to be attended to.

In a few seconds, an old mama, looking 60ish, well dressed & looking educated came in. Her mien was that

3.
of a sick woman, exhausted and needing help. I noticed she was looking at the girl on the second seat with an expectation to do the needful... but i was faster in giving up my seat. She sat down, blessing me with prayers in her gratitude. It felt good. I noticed the girl

4.
pretended not to care. I was enraged with anger. I also noticed some askance on the face of the shop owner. It was clear to us all that girl was not sick but just not ready to give up her seat.

In a few minutes, an old man walked in. All his hair was grey. Only an idiot

5.
(I hate using this word in public space) would not honour such a 'dad'. He was looking here and there for something to hold or where to sit. The girl was still there pretending not to see the 'dad'. The shop owner motioned her to stand up but she just looked away... "I am also

*This is a true story*

I title it;
*No more crossing of boundaries*

A certain young man named Bayo (not real name) was in a competitive market here in Abeokuta, selling similar items with a few people. He was doing well, infact, he was the envy of everyone in the market.

He made more sales on a daily basis, and most times to his amazement.

Suddenly, sales began to go down "south". He began to lose customers, debtors refused to honour their obligations and consequently, sales were now nothing to write home about...

Meanwhile, he just came

unannounced to my home alone with his wife and I innocently asked him, *how's business?" He said fine, but, his countenance was saying otherwise. His wife was quick to chip in, "Pastor, there is wahala o. We don't even break even, let alone, make profit. Sales has been so bad

lately..."(Thank God for great wives who have your back)

I dug deeper until he opened up himself and narrated everything to me. We said a short prayer & d Lord led me to this scripture...

1 Samuel 7:13 MSG
The Philistines learned their lesson and stayed home - no more border

crossings. God was hard on the Philistines all through Samuel's lifetime.

To cut the long story short, he called me a few days after our meeting and said, he needed to see me and discuss an urgent but strange occurrence with me..

He came a few minutes after the call and gave a

JUDAS -Part 1

Mark 14:10-11
Our text today deals with a man named Judas Iscariot.

He is, without a doubt, d most notorious & most vilified of all d disciples.

His name appears last in every list of d disciples, except in Acts 1, where his name does not appear at all.

2. Every time he is mentioned in the Bible, the Word of God reminds us that he betrayed Jesus .

Judas was a failure as a disciple, and this why...
- He was exposed to the same teaching d others heard.
- He saw d same miracles & was involved in the same ministries.

3. Yet, Judas never came to saving faith in Jesus Christ.
Judas spent 3 years with d Jesus & he died lost.
- The others were converted during their time with d Lord; Judas only became spiritually hard, calloused & hateful.

4.
1. The other eleven disciples were used of God in amazing ways.
2. Their lives demonstrate the truth that common, ordinary people can be used of the Lord in extraordinary ways.
3. Judas, on the other hand, stands as a stark warning about the dangers of wasted opportunities,

5. hardness of heart, wicked lusts, and spiritual carelessness.
While Judas could be considered a failure as a disciple, he was the most successful hypocrite of all time.
1. He played his part so well that no one but Jesus Himself knew that Judas was a fraud and a pretender.

🔰WORD4TODAY🔰

Isaiah 58:9 MSG
Then when you pray, God will answer. You'll call out for help and I'll say, 'Here I am.'

*When God Shows Up -Day 1*

*Luke 7v11-17 MSG*
Talks about a widow, whose life was filled with losses & misery. She lived in Nain.
👇🏼
She had no name.

👉🏼Her misery was used to describe her.
👉🏼Misery had indeed wrapped itself round her like a fitted garment. She was only identified as *THE WIDOW OF NAIN*
👇🏼
She had lost her hubby, probably a few months or years back, & now, her only son was gone.😥
👇🏼
Nonetheless, this widow of

Nain proceeded to bury her only son.
👇🏼
There were people there pretending to be mourning, meanwhile, they were gossiping amongst themselves..🤷🏽‍♂️

👉🏼"When did she lose her husband that we are once again burying her only son?

👉🏼Are we sure she is not a witch?

👉🏼Is she the only

one in town?
👇🏼
From one tragedy to another.

👉🏼God must be punishing her for her sins."
👇🏼
By this time too, the grave diggers were waiting. They had completed the task of digging the sons grave, & only waiting to be paid their balance

👉🏼The mourners at the graveyard were

waiting too, but, suddenly, the Lord saw her...felt her pain & showered her with compassion.
👇🏼
*Luke 7:14 MSG*
Then He went over and touched the coffin. The pallbearers stopped. He said, "Young man, I tell you: Get up."
*Luke 7:15*
The dead son sat up and began talking.

🔰 *WORD4TODAY🔰

*Isaiah 58:9 MSG*
Then when you pray, God will answer. You'll call out for help and I'll say, 'Here I am.'

*When God Shows Up -Day 2*

The whole of *Exodus 14* shows so much intrigues like no other place in the bible.
👇🏼
When the Israelites left 430yrs of

slavery In Egypt, they breathed a sigh of relief.💃🏼
👇🏼
Their joy was however, cut short when they confronted the reality on ground.🙆🏽‍♂️

👉🏼They were in a position that had little or no way out. They were in-between the massive Red Sea & the merciless soldiers of Pharaoh.🙆🏽‍♂️
👇🏼

They knew it was a dead end & Pharaoh & his army knew it too. There was no way out.😥

Exodus 14:3 MSG
"Pharaoh will think, 'd Israelites are lost; they're confused. d wilderness has closed in on them

👉🏼 Suddenly, God showed up in His Almightiness, in His power, in His Might
👇🏼

*Isaiah 43:2 MSG*
When you're in over your head, I'll be there with you. When you're in rough waters, you will not go down. *When you're between a rock and a hard place, it won't be a dead end* -
👇🏼
👉🏼No nation on earth could help the Israelites..
👉🏼No army in the world could

It's Day 3 tomorrow morning (4am-5am or 5am-6am)-Praying in the Spirit

Are you in?
Are you still in?

The way you begin your month really matters

Day 3 theme-

1. Deut 28:8a NLT
“The lord will guarantee a blessing on everything you do . (It's on all you do)

2. Psalms 67:7 MSG
You mark us with blessing, O God. Earth's four corners - honor him! (Because you are marked...Esther 2v15b ESV
Esther was winning favor in the eyes of all who saw her... (You will keep winning favours throughout this month)

3. Genesis 27:27a NLt
So Jacob went over and kissed him. And when Isaac caught the smell of his clothes, he was finally convinced, and he blessed his son. He said, “Ah! The smell of my son is like the smell of the outdoors, which the lord has blessed!

(The smell of your scent

will get the attention of helpers, in Jesus name)

3 awesome scriptures from the throne of heaven to mark the last day.

Not too late to join this season. 4am-5am or 5am-6am, praying in the spirit. (Check flyer for more details.

You entered April in Grand Style, in Jesus name


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@azu4real2004-
@Cappeddrummer
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@FabunmiP
@anthonyabakporo
@Banji_Mike
@AbrahamTaiwo13
@folufifi

1.
A very, very short message on "when God shows up"

The 3 Hebrew boys knew something others did not know. Infact, What they knew influenced their stance. It was, "if we perish, we perish..." Crazy I'd say.

They were resolute in their decision not to bow down to man made gods.

2.
They were indeed defiant and unconsciously playing to the gallery of their enemies, who without a doubt, wanted them dead.

Note, Defiance had consequences at this times.

The consequences of their defiance was death, horrible death, the slow kind of painful death, yet,

3.
they defied the most powerful king on earth.

This brazen act of bravado though, extraordinary, was nonetheless, unacceptable. No one defies the kings decree, least of all, Jews.

The king was duly updated by some "Tatafos" & under Persian law, decrees, once pronounced by the

4.
king and sealed with the royal seal, could not be reversed.

They were subsequently arraigned before the king and with what I call the guts of a meniac, they looked the king in the eye, and told him point blank, that on this issue of bowing to your man made god, we are not

5.
going to bow down. This was no longer a joke.

Daniel 3:16 KJV
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, answered and said to the king, O Nebuchadnezzar, we are not careful to answer thee in this matter.

[17] If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning

"Lord, thanks for showing up, but where were You when we needed You most?"

A "sensible" and justifiable question we sometimes ask

Isaiah 58:9 MSG
Then when you pray, God will answer. You'll call out for help and I'll say, 'Here I am.'
Well, this time Lord, you were not around.

You dint "show up" as promised

Mary, one of Lazarus' sisters, knew too well from following Jesus, that He could heal the sick, the possessed, the blind etc, so, when her brother fell ill, there was no other person to call on, but, Jesus, their very dear friend. she then, quickly

sent words to Jesus before things got out of hand, before things became irredeemable.

John 11:3 MSG
 So the sisters sent word to Jesus, "Master, the one you love so very much is sick."

She was fully persuaded He would leave every other thing He was doing and come running,

afterall, Jesus was a close family friend, and besides, that's what friends do.  She recalled how they had sheltered Him, fed Him etc. " I know, He will be here soon," she said boldly and openly.

She sat all day by the window from sunrise to sunset, confident He would show up.

Day 1, no appearance of Jesus. Dint He get the message, or did they not tell Him what critical condition Lazarus was? 

Day 2, Day 3, Day 4, and by this time, hope had given way to hopelessness. She was, as it were, "mortally disappointed" how can Jesus do this to us, the ones

🔰WORD4TODAY🔰

Gen 16:13 MSG
She answered God by name, praying to the God who spoke to her, "You're the God who sees me!" "Yes! He saw me; and then I saw Him!"
👇🏼
Circumstances chased her (Hagar)out of her home, chased her out of the place she once felt safe & comfortable.😭
👇🏼

She was now at a place she felt rejected, dejected, abandoned, neglected, humiliated and depressed. No one saw her at this particular time of her life, no one saw her there, yet, God saw her.

📌In her rejection, God saw her.
📌In her dejection, God saw her.

📌In her abandoned state, God saw her.
📌In her neglected state, God saw her.
📌In her humiliated state, God still saw her.
📌In her depressed state too, God saw her.
👇🏼
Hagar was invincible to everyone, but, not God. God saw her.

📍She said, "I have seen the One who sees me"

*Genesis 16:13b MSG*
"You're the God who sees me!" "Yes! He saw me; and then I saw him!"
👇🏼
Many do not " *see* " God at times like these, and if truth be told, these are not easy times to focus. They can be overwhelming if one isn't sensitive.
👇🏼
*Good news today;*

🔰WORD4TODAY🔰

Isaiah 58:9 MSG
Then when you pray, God will answer. You'll call out for help & I'll say, 'Here I am.'

When God Shows Up-Day 4

Luke 5:2-9 MSG
Peter and his pals were having a very baaaaad day at work😥
👇🏼
They worked their fingers to d bones, yet, no harvest👎🏼

*It was EFFORTS 100% WORK DONE Zero*
👇🏼
Well, let's go home...we try again tomorrow, & as they were washing their nets, Jesus Himself showed up.
👇🏼
He said to Peter, "cast your nets on to the other side." (I can imagine the looks on his face & those of his fishing pals.)😱

Someone asked, who is this guy trying to teach us what we already know? 😡

Another answered, "He is the carpenter's son"

What, Really? Was the response.😡

Peter answered, one more try wouldn't kill anyone...They they gave it one more shot
👇🏼
They had no clue what was coming.

They dint see it coming.

*Luke 5:9 MSG*
When they pulled in that catch of fish, *awe, overwhelmed* Simon and everyone with him.🙆🏽‍♂️
👇🏼
Whenever God Himself shows up, the outcome is usually *UNBELIEVABLE*

*Job 29:24 MSG*
When I smiled at them, they could hardly believe it;

their faces lit up, their troubles took wing!

*IN ALL YOUR ENDEAVOURS THIS MONTH, GOD HIMSELF WILL SHOW UP*

*Isaiah 65:23 KJV*
They shall not labour in vain...

*You will no longer labour in vain.*

*Isaiah 65:23a MSG*
They won't work and have nothing come of it...

A SHORT EXHORTATION

Theme -Never get to this point
1 Kings 11:11b KJV
...I will surely rend d kingdom from thee, & will give it to thy servant

Rending d kingdom from an individual cld mean a ship load of things

It cld mean taking away, a source of wealth, influence, affluence,

strength etc

It is never a thing of joy or something to be celebrated.

English dictionary defines
rend (plural rends) As a violent separation of parts

When God did some kingdom rending from kings in the Bible, it was because, they obviously crossed some red lines.

When Adam & Eve crossed the red line, (Garden of Eden) they experienced a rending.

Many kings too suffered the same fate.
King Saul had his kingdom rend from him. His disobedience not only cost him his kingdom, he "lost" his God.

1 Kings 11:11 KJV
Wherefore the Lord said unto Solomon, Forasmuch as this is done of thee, and thou hast not kept my covenant and my statutes, which I have commanded thee, I will surely rend the kingdom from thee, and will give it to thy servant.

You see, there is nothing more

painful than seeing what made you great being taken over or bestowed upon you considered "lowly"... That is a recipe for high blood pressure.

Rending is COSTLY.
Rending is PAINFUL
Rending is SHAMEFUL.

What God has blessed you with to glorify Him and benefit mankind, must never

🔰WORD4TODAY🔰
Part 2
It's your day💃🏼
It's your week.💃🏼💃🏼
It's your month.💃🏼💃🏼💃🏼
👇🏼
*On a day like this, it was Mephistopheles day,

Reading thru 2Sam 9:1-5 KJV
And David said, Is there yet any that is left of d house of Saul, that I may shew him kindness for Jonathan's sake?
👇🏼

However, one man named *Ziba* who was strategically positioned in the palace, purposed to stand in the way

*2 Samuel 9:4 MSG*
"Where is he?" "He's living at the home of Makir son of Ammiel in Lo Debar."
*2 Samuel 9:5 MSG*
King David didn't lose a minute. He sent and got him

from the home of Makir son of Ammiel in Lo Debar.
👇🏼
Lodebah, where Mephibosheth was, was a place of no pasture. ( *You recall I mentioned yesterday that, when it's your appointed day, your location isn't a barrier* .)
👇🏼
👉🏼In lodebah, Everyone had a sad story to tell.

👉🏼In lodebah, Mephiboshet's princely status was forgotten.
👇🏼
He was forgotten by his nation and worst still, by his family.
👇🏼
*He had lost all.*
Down in Lodebar, Mephibosheth lost his rank, lost his prestige, lost his respectability, lost his reputation, lost his superiority,

lost his self-will.

👉🏼Down in Lodebar, Mephibosheth went from living in the palace to hiding out with a family friend.

👉🏼Mephibosheth went from the prince to servant.

👉🏼Mephibosheth went from powerful to afraid.

*And On a day like this, his big day came. God remembered

Are you ready for the DAY 2 Edition?

3 days of Praying in the Spirit for 1hr
(4am-5am/5am-6am/6am-7am. IN YOUR PRIVATE CLOSET)

AUG 1st-3rd

*Theme for Day* 2-(Tomorrow morning, Aug 2nd) IS GOD HAS A SURPRISE FOR YOU

The day before Samuel was to meet Saul,
Kindly RT

God had a private discussion with him (Samuel) about this unknown young man (Saul)

IN;

1 Samuel 9:15 MSG
The very day before, God had confided in Samuel

1 Samuel 9:16 MSG
"This time tomorrow, I'm sending a man from the land of Benjamin to meet you. You're to anoint him as

prince over my people Israel.

SAMUEL was already waiting for Saul on the APPOINTED DAY, which was the next day. He positioned himself at a strategic position.

1 Samuel 9:17 MSG
The moment Samuel laid eyes on Saul, God said, "He's the one, the man I told you about.

God is

confiding in Great men and women. He's told them what to do.

You may not know them, but, they now know you. Don't worry about a thing. They will know it's you, immediately they lay eyes on you.

Encourage others, friends, family members to join in too

STOP MAKING THE DEVIL FAMOUS
1.
"The Devil is a liar" shouted his wife as she tried to turn on the car.

"How is the Devil a liar? What has the Devil done this time?" He asked his wife as he sat on the passenger seat. She was to drive today.

"Well, we've run out fuel and we need

2.
to get to the Church event quickly. I am preaching today and the Devil is trying to frustrate me. Honey. The Devil is a liar" she said then declared some Bible verses.

He laughed and looked to the side.

"What are you laughing at?" She asked him turning to face him.

3.
"Why are you making the Devil famous?" He asked her.

She looked at him surprised. Giving him that shhhpiritual face.

"Honey, the Devil is not to blame for the low fuel, we are. You forgot to go to the petrol station yesterday after the visit from your mom.

4.
You are giving the Devil too much credit. When things go wrong it is not always the Devil's fault. He is not that powerful. Many times it is just a matter of poor human decisions and laziness" he said.

She looked at him intently.

Silence.

He smiled and continued,

5.
"Yes honey, like the day we were financially struggling. That wasn't the Devil plotting against us. It was just us who were making a mess and not making good financial decisions. We were borrowing too much, spending too much and living above our means. Once we got more

A SHORT EXHORTATION

The Holy Spirit Helps in many ways and in every way

This is just a very brief testimony.of how I lost something valuable yesterday and later found it this morning.

Woke up to the news that my wallet was missing... missing ke? How, where? My biggest concerns

were all my ATM cards therein etc.

My son and I began turning the entire house up side down with no comforting result.

Afterall, I only stepped up briefly yesterday to get some fruits and it was a distance of about 200mtrs.

I said to myself, this cannot happen. I have never

lost anything and not recover it, not even when one of my staff defrauded the branch of a bank I was managing some years ago.

I said a short prayer. Holy Spirit, thank you for covering my wallet wherever it's been since yesterday. Thank you for leading me to wherever it is. As I

step out in search of it, let me come back home with it.

I stepped out in faith and viola, as I got to the fruit seller's shop, everyone was gazing at me in a funny and unusual way. Suddenly and in one accord, they all asked me "what are you looking for?

There and then, I knew

my wallet was in safe hand. Infact, the elderly woman said, someone found it on the floor and since the fellow knew I was a regular customer here, dropped it at her shop. Infact, she said, she was about sending her daughter to bring it to my house. Long and short of it, I came