In Genesis 15, right after God sealed his covenant with Abraham, God told him his descendants will spend 400 years in Egypt
God also promised that he would bring the descendants of Abraham out of Egypt with a mighty hand
Abraham didn't argue with God, he accepted God's verdict as

An apostle was addressing his own members
If not for technology, you wouldn't be privy to his discussion with his members
He was sharing with them within the context of their understanding of his message, nature, and personality how he thrived in the middle of a season of casting

down
He mentioned what he achieved and even though it might sound like a boast, he was not boasting to you
He was boasting to his church members and as such, you cannot call it a boast
A father does not need to boast to his children and a shepherd surely does not need to boast to

his sheep
Newspapers needed a scandal and felt the message of the apostle was the right fit in their quest to get eyeballs
You read it and you began to insult the apostle
You, the son of a dog from Abatan refuse dump decided to drag an apostle on Twitter
Do you understand what it

means to be an apostle?
The angels working with an apostle are innumerable, they do not only work at his command, but they also work at his behest!
They are entrusted with the duty of ensuring that the Lordship of his office is respected by both spiritual and mundane entities

In the days of Jesus, many of the Pharisees and religious leaders treated his words and actions the same way many of the gutter bred stone casters with 100 Naira data and stolen or London used phone treated the words of the apostle
Jesus warned them at the time that they were

The first time he heard that his wife was cheating on him
He cried all the way from Atlanta to Nigeria
He saw a message from his mother
The message said one of the instrumentalists in his church went to report himself to some elders in the church for disciplinary action because

had been engaging in sexual immorality.
Upon investigation, it was discovered that the person he was having sexual relations with was the pastor's wife
The elders didn't know how to go about it
Some said the instrumentalist was framing the pastor's wife in order to bring down

the pastor's ministry and tear his family apart
Others said the pastor's wife should be invited to face the elders and defend the allegations
it was a political issue
Had it been any other person, they would have acted swiftly but the pastor's wife was off-limits, even for the

elders
So they took the case to his mother and his mother sent him a message asking for directions
The message was not such a shock to him
His wife had been threatening that she would ruin his ministry for several months if he does not quit the ministry and return to his medical

practice
He had told her what she was asking him to do was next to impossible
He knew from the age of twelve what his calling was in ministry
He preached his first sermon at a village crusade at the age of fifteen
He got his B. TH degree at the age of twenty before proceeding to

I found myself unable to discuss or see people in a negative light
It was a strange place to be
A whole new realm that isolated me in some way
When I am among people and the topic goes in the direction of Mr. So and So did this evil thing to me or Mrs. Such and such said the

following things about me
I find my skin crawling and my defences up
I don't do this naturally, it just is.
When I am with my team and we're discussing stuff, I dodge all the unnecessary stuff
I don't want to know who is doing that bad thing or who is not performing up to par

I find it nauseating to say the least
Talking ill of people even when it ought to be discussed
A brother caught covid from his girlfriend
They were not married and ought not to be together that way
Someone pointed my attention to it and I felt somehow
Like the person wanted to

force-feed me poison
The person meant well and I should know what is going on but I really couldn't bear the heaviness of such talks
I understand that it is normal for people to share such talks and bond over it
I once worked as a personal assistant to a pastor who will pick a

person and talk about the person with his wife all the way from Lagos to Ibadan and will still chew the person like a bone all the way from Ibadan back to Lagos
He will keep digging out faults and misdeeds like a dog unearthing buried bones
It was a crazy habit I could barely

They called it elephantiasis
A disease said to be caused by a strange mosquito
I was at the Bible College at the time
I had been sent for my Teaching Practice at a church located at Ogudu Ori-Oke
The pastor of this church was a gentleman
He and his wife were chartered accountants

and they were blessed
I was a personal assistant to another pastor and the coordinator of the Bible College had to practically beg my boss to allow me to observe the Teaching Practice at another church (He had insisted I do it with him and I would have spent the time carrying his

Bible and practicing nothing)
When I reported for duty, I was assigned the duty of follow up and evangelism
My primary assignment was to liaise with the follow-up lady and visit all the members who have not been to that church in weeks
I was also given the altar to minister one

Sunday a month (sermon) and other Sundays in various capacities like leading the church in prayer, taking testimonies, and closing prayer
We met this brother on the way to a member's house early one Sunday morning
He was sitting outside a building, wearing yellow slippers and

looking hopeless
We had walked past him but my spirit reached out to me, so I asked the sister to turn around with me so that we can minister to this brother
He was happy we came around
He said he had spent everything he had on the leg and he was desperate enough to accept any

She kept hanging around him
She told herself she was just being a friend
He was somebody she could talk to
He was somebody she could relate to comfortably
She enjoyed being around him
He enjoyed being around her too & he made it obvious
But he told her right from the outset that

he was a single parent with children
His wife had died giving birth to his twin girls
He had a thriving pharmaceutical drugs import business and was making a lot of money
She met him by chance
She imported some goods for her online business from China
When the goods arrived

the country, she realized she didn't have enough money to clear them
She reached out to some people for a loan
A friend told her about this guy in their church who definitely had the money and would love to help
She went to the church the following Sunday and asked to see him

the service
She told him what the problem was and he sent her the money she needed instantly
He was rich
He was the kind of person she would like to relate with on more than a transactional basis
He was a friend worth having but they had nothing in common
There was no basis for

any familiarity
She cleared her goods and went to return the loan two weeks later
He thanked her for keeping her word and that was it
She changed her church the following week
She wanted to be around him
Perhaps its the money or the fact that she didn't have such as him in her

Muslim thought in India can be thought of as having two lineages

1. Islamic puritanism

Lineage : Sirhindi -> Shāh Walīullāh ->Syed Ahmad Barelvi, Deobandi movement, Maulana Azad -> Jamaat e Islami

2. Muslim nationalism

Syed Ahmed Khan ->Jinnah, Iqbal - > Ayub Khan/Musharraf

The former originated largely as a religious movement.

It has its origins in Sirhindi, who voiced the view in 16th cen, that Akbar's policy was "Indianizing" Islam too much

Too much of Din-e-ilahi crap.

Let's keep Islam pure

That lineage continues in the thinking of 18th cen theologian Shah Waliullah , the Delhi based Islamic scholar who lived b/w 1703 and 1762

Waliullah like Sirhindi emphasized segregation/purity
and loyalty to the Ummah (the global Islamic whole)

Not to South Asian muslims per se

Waliullah once said

"Muslims, no matter where they live, they should be completely separated from the natives of that country in their culture, traditions and mannerisms. And wherever they are, they must be immersed in their Arabic splendor and Arabic trends”

This line of thinking continues in two 19th cen movements-

That of Syed Barelvi - who fought valiantly against Sikh rule in Punjab at Balakot

And that of the Deobandis in late 19th cen

Hello Dear Tweeples!

It’s Siddhars time of the week! Last week I shared story of Guru (Machamuni or Yogi Matsyendranath), this week I bring you information on his Shishya.

#Thread on Gorakanathar Siddhar.

@LostTemple7

His origin story is interesting, though I couldn’t verify it’s authenticity, so not sharing the story here. He’s shishya of Machamuni Siddhar and also learnt from Agasthiya Siddhar.

@HelloNNewman @RajiIndustani @Kishoreciyer1

Unlike other Siddhars, he is depicted as either with a Tiger or seated & wearing Tiger skin. While I couldn’t find any explanation for this. My interpretation is as follows:

Tiger is a predator that lurks around and attacks unexpectedly.

Our 5 indriyas and 5 vikitis also similar to Tiger, they lurk around and attacks our thoughts when we’re least expecting. Gorakkar is said to have mastered these aspects, thus to denote this, he shown with Tiger.

@Itishree001 @VarierSangitha @jananisampath

Gorakanathar or Gorakshnath (as he’s known in the Nath Sampraday) is celebrated Guru in both Northern and Southern part of India. He’s one of the NavNath in Nath Sampraday and also 18 Siddhars of Tamil tradition. During his life, he’s travelled Indian subcontinent extensively +

Don't act smart with Shankaracharya, you will get roasted...

This is a very interesting story from ShankarDigvijaya where Mandan Mishra tries to insult Shankaracharya but gets insulted in return.

The fun lies in the twisting of meanings of Sanskrit words by Shankaracharya.I will try my best to translate while preserving the real meaning.

Shankaracharya went to house of Mandan Mishra to debate with him, but he found the door locked so he took alternate way and went in

The conversation that followed went somewhat like this...

On seeing Shankaracharya

Mandan(angrily)- From where did you come, you bald fellow?

Shankar - I am bald till neck.

(He said कुतो मुण्ड्य Shankar took meaning as, 'How far are you shaven?' so he replied till neck. )

Mandan - I did not ask this, I asked your way

Shankar - Then what did the way reply?

(Mandan ment "I asked about your way" (From where did you come?) Shankar twisted meaning as 'I asked your way' so he said "What did the way reply?")

Mandan (frustrated) - It said, your mother is bald.

Shankar - But you asked it, it must be talking about your mother not mine.

Whenever we discuss about Mahabharata, we discuss same characters again & again. I thought we should discuss about lesser known but significant characters.

My #thread on Shalya, he was Charioteer of Karna & how he played an important role in the duel between Arjun & Karna. 👇🏼

Shalya was King of province called Madra. He was also known as Madra Naresh and he was the brother of Queen Madri, 2nd wife of King Pandu & Maternal Uncle of Nakul & Sahdev.

Pandavas called him Mama. Mama Shalya had pledged his supports to Pandavas, but then comes a twist.

Pandavas had gathered 7 Akshauhini Sena, while Kauravas had 9 Akshauhini Sena

According to epic Mahabarta, one Akshauhini contains four different types of armed forces
 21,870 chariots
 21,870 elephants
 65,616 horses
 109350 infantry

Pandavas knew Shalya has 2 Akshauhini Sena

With Mama Shalya joining Pandavas, things would have been squared at 9 Akshauhini Sena each. But Shakuni tricked him.

While Shalya was travelling towards Kurukshetra, Shakuni arranged excellent hospitality for him along the road for him & his Sena. Shalya was highly impressed.

Shalya was under the impression that this has been arranged by Yudhistir. After Madri went Sati, Nakul & Sahdev lived with Kunti instead of living with their uncle. Hence Shalya barely got chance to meet his nephews

He met Duryodhana on his arrival & he thought it was Yudhistir