Abraham Inetianbor

Just like that, the year 2018 is counting down. Our physical life is short and will not last forever like the spiritual one. As some of you may already know, George H.W. Bush (41st) just passed. I saw the news just after midnight but it's almost 3am now so I'm guessing he passed away Friday night or just after midnight today - not sure. My heart goes out to the Bush family. Now, let's talk about becoming a child of God. In about thirty days from now, you'll be hearing people talk about their 2019 goals. If you are not already a child of God, do you have this as a goal? If you are a child of God, do you know someone who can use a change in their life? Christianity is the word used to describe the lifestyle you choose to live after becoming a child of God (Acts 11:26). The people who live such lifestyle are called Christians, Christ-like or followers of Christ. They are not perfect, they sin but they do not continue to practice or live in sin (1 John 3).

To have a child, …

"Mr. Bee" has 5 kids. He comes home everyday drunk, arrogant and rude to everyone except those who pour him more liquor or feed his ego. He lays out insults while name calling or abusing his wife and kids. When his neighbors tell him to tune down his erratic behavior, they too get insults and name calling. He is the head of the household who is expected to lead by showing the kids what respect means, not perfectly rather by taking the parental responsibility seriously. 

Anyone who questioned Mr. Bee's ability to be a parent or challenged Mr. Bee was met with force and retaliation. Mr. Bee enjoyed his abuse of power because he was in fact in charge of his household. Even law enforcement was not immune to his insults. One day, kids numbers 4 and 5 got tired of the abuse from their Dad. They both told their Dad to stop the continuous abuse and start being a Dad. Kid number 3 was quick to jump in, essentially telling the other kids to be respectful of their parents. Kid numbe…

To understand one another in a relationship is to "stand-under" by supporting and putting the relationship first. Did you notice my "word play" above? I flipped the word "understand" backwards to explain my point. The easiest example I often use is a table. If you want a relationship to work, then learn to stay humble by being a leg of the table. If the top of the table represents your relationship and all parties involved represents the legs of the table, then that top, which is the relationship will always take precedent over everyone involved.

Everyone involved will always put the relationship first and focus on holding it up. When pride kicks in and one of the legs decides to show off by being bossy, that table top, which is the relationship will begin to wobble and may fall if that prideful leg doesn't get back where it belongs. Now imagine if all parties involved think too highly of themselves and then move away from underneath the table top; the…

Some of you have asked over and over again what my favorite verse of the Bible is. I've shared with some of you via emails or over the phone but I thought it would be better to answer it here to avoid getting the same question. First, I thought of answering this question on the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) page but I quickly realized the answer would be too long for such. Besides, I also needed to say "why" not just answering the question by giving my "favorite verse of the bible."

My favorite Book of the Bible I wish I can honestly say just one. It's a toss up between 4 books of the Bible.
Proverbs - You can't find better wisdom anywhere elseRomans - Helps me understand God's plan from the Old to the New TestamentEphesians - I call this the Christian lifeHebrews - This to me is the book of faith and hope. In many ways similar to both Romans and the book of Ephesians.
The reason this is a "toss up" is because the books of Romans, Ephesia…

If you haven't done so yet, I strongly encourage you to first study and understand what the grace of God is before reading this piece. It will help you get a better picture of what this unforgivable sin really is in biblical terms. 
Christians sin but they do not practice sin. Let's say you can't swim and you are drowning. The Holy Spirit came to your aid with the lifeline that can save your life. You rejected it or you deliberately let go after first holding on. So sin against the Holy Spirit is like telling the Holy Spirit to "go kick rocks" when you're being offered the lifeline call grace. Why is this sin against the Holy Spirit different from "sin" you may ask. It is different because grabbing hold of the lifeline (grace) and "slipping off" is not the same as deliberately letting go. It's just like Peter did when he took his eyes off Jesus (Matthew 14:22-33). The cry for help by Peter represents repentance and the repentance was fo…

This question in the title is often asked of me with profanity especially from what I call the team with the Trump-ism movement but I have the clean version on this post's title as you can see. If speaking truth to power or stating a matter of fact in reality is considered "resentment" then have it your way folks. As long as I live, I will continue to "resent" or speak against bullying, divisiveness, discrimination, spread of hate and racism. Resentment of such actions does not mean I "hate" the "actors" or individuals involved.

I'm not telling you who to vote for because politics is corrupt. But don't go out of your way to defend the evil actions of those you voted for when you know better; and I do not have the godly right to do the same either. 

Book, chapter and verse may be at stake in our churches these days but basic human decency is what is at stake in our society today. This is one of the reasons we can't seem to be able t…

"Human forgiveness to me is mercy but God's  forgiveness is what I call Grace." - Abraham Inetianbor. God's forgiveness takes away sin, something that a human forgiveness cannot do. This is why it's called grace (Acts 4:12). Grace is a word that is used to describe an event that was planned from the beginning but took place starting from The Cross to The Right Hand of God (Ephesians 4:7-10). Showing love, mercy, forgiveness, or kindness to a fellow human being doesn't mean I gave them grace because bible context of grace is much bigger than just an unmerited favor. Yes, I can say they don't deserve it all I want but it's still not grace in bible context. The dictionary definition of grace is plastered everywhere and that's not what I'm here to talk about because that definition has left us in a place where we find ourselves trying to equate mortality with immortality (John 3:1-12). The Greek word Chari means grace, kindness and life. You can us…

In order for us to truly appreciate life and keep a level head through the good and the bad, we must understand that the difficulties in life is there for a reason. It is intended to make us better not bitter. When we go through a difficulty, it should make us stronger not weaker. So count it all joy like the scripture says because what seems so hard right now will look like a "warm up" for you in the future when you come across the same situation. And people are going to wonder why you are so calm under such pressure without knowing that this is not your first go around. 

True happiness in life is how you choose to see things. I try to find a reason to smile through a difficult situation but this doesn't mean I enjoy pain and suffering. I've learned to understand that there is no condition in life that is permanent - good or bad. Any situation you find yourself in, regardless, may change slightly or drastically. This is why you have to be always prepared for changes.…