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Why I joined the EQUIP Program: Bukunmi’s story

Tattyom
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Why I joined the EQUIP Program: Bukunmi’s story

In this article, we hear from Bukunmi as she reflects on joining the EQUIP programme, a year of theological education and hands-on Christian service, where participants explore what full-time ministry looks like through learning, serving, and discerning God’s call on their lives.

Why EQUIP Felt Right

“There were many reasons why EQUIP felt like the programme I needed. I had known about it for months and even encouraged others to apply because I could see its value. Yet I wasn’t prompted by the Holy Spirit to apply myself until the very last moment. When I read through it again, it finally clicked. This was a programme I wanted to be in too.

It felt like I had to trust God more than ever, like jumping out of a plane, trusting He holds the parachute I cannot see, and already sees the field where I will safely land.

I applied for EQUIP straight after On Mission’s FOCUS25. At the retreat, I saw how some of my life experiences allowed me to connect dots for those around me and meet them where they were, because I had been them in so many ways. I saw Romans 8:28 manifest: how God’s ongoing restoration in me could extend to others. Not because I’ve arrived, but because of who Jesus is. That retreat highlighted how much I wanted to be used by God, for Him to speak through me, not with my words, but His truth and love, because He knows their path and already sees the work completed in them (Philippians 1:6, Zechariah 4:10).

Growing Through Community and God’s Word

In these past years, I’ve grown to love spaces where we as believers can safely bring our whole selves to God, supported by people who are held by Him. In these spaces, the Holy Spirit acts as a mirror, revealing areas to walk with Him and new paths that shape how we see ourselves and know God. Those spaces of fellowship and authenticity have helped me cultivate a deeper relationship with Jesus (Psalm 37:4). EQUIP offers that same opportunity.

My desire to know God’s Word has grown intensely, and I’ve fed that desire through small groups, book studies, and Bible studies where His Word could be wrestled with deeply. EQUIP encompasses that: rich theology, a space to be challenged, use my gifts, and be guided in how to study and lead others through His Word. I want my care for people to be rooted in God’s Word and His wisdom, so they see God more than they see me.

How God Has Been Shaping Me

For years, my heart was like a cluttered garden, full of weeds and junk. The soil was tangled and choked, making it hard for any seeds from God to take root. Over time, God has been gently ploughing the soil of my heart, dislodging what was buried and preparing it for new growth while planting new seeds. He has met me personally, and through others.

Through EQUIP, I’ve experienced beautiful pastoral care: people meeting me where I was and helping me to unpack it all, while showing His presence, care, and faithfulness. (Genesis 16:13, Isaiah 54:10). Through this, God has taught me to surrender, teaching me that apart from Him I can do nothing, but with Him, everything changes (John 15:1–5). Somehow God brings everything: our past, grief, personalities, mistakes, strengths, weaknesses, minds, neurodiversity, joys and devastations — and makes it work for His good. Because of what God has done for me, I want to help create spaces for Him to do the same for others.

Looking back, I see how God has been preparing me all along for a program like EQUIP, which is the next step for me to continue being rooted, shaped, and restored in what He has begun. I want to help not from my own strength but through God, pointing people to restoration in Him (John 10:10). My life experiences come together in areas I desire to serve pastoral care, community building through architecture, discipleship, children’s ministry, and more. I am open to what this year brings as I explore different areas of church ministry, and I am deeply grateful for this experience. EQUIP is helping Him continue to plant the foundation I need, one built on Him, not me, and the program has already been amazing.”

Helpful Bible Study Tips for Growing in God’s Word

Jeremiah Ayara
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Helpful Bible Study Tips for Growing in God’s Word

Praise the Lord for guiding us into another year! At the beginning of the year, many of us take time to reflect on our spiritual disciplines and identify the areas we want to grow. Maybe you have started a new Bible plan, set a goal to read the Bible in its entirety by the end of the year, or committed to studying a chapter each day. Whatever form it takes, the desire to want to know God through His Word is a good and worthy one.

With that in mind, I have compiled a list of practical tips you may find helpful as you seek to grow in consistency, depth, and reverence when studying Scripture. These are simply practices that have helped me along the way, and I hope you may find them useful in your own walk as well.

Approach God’s Word With Reverence

Before we consider the practical tips, it is important first to reflect on how we approach God’s Word in the first place. In 2 Timothy 3:16, Paul reminds us that Scripture comes from God Himself. Because God is the author, His Word carries divine authority and should be approached with reverence. Reverence means recognising that when we open the Bible, we are not merely reading human opinion, current news, or the work of a skilled writer. We are listening to God Himself speak.

Approaching Scripture reverently also requires humility. This means allowing Scripture to examine us: to convict, challenge, and reshape our thinking, rather than selectively choosing verses we like or bending the text to fit our own views.

Finally, we should approach God’s Word prayerfully. Inviting the Holy Spirit to illuminate the text helps us not only to understand Scripture, but to know God more deeply through it. As we read, let us do so with reverence, humility, and prayer.

Eight helpful Tips You Can Apply To Your Bible Study

How to read the Bible

  1. Read slowly: Reading slowly is not primarily about the amount of time spent reading, but the pace at which we read. When we rush, we often skim over truth without letting it settle in our hearts. Slowing our pace helps us listen more carefully to what God is saying, sometimes by reading a verse or passage more than once and sitting with it before moving on.
  2. As time permits, read whole books, not just sections: While chapters and verses are helpful, they can sometimes limit our understanding. Reading an entire book helps us see and understand the message in its entirety and keeps us from isolating verses from their context. Even reading a book over a few sittings can help us remember what came before and understand what comes after.
  3. Read with others: Reading Scripture in community — whether in church, small groups, or prayer meetings — exposes us to insights we may not notice on our own. Hearing how others encounter Christ through the Word strengthens our faith and often helps clarify passages that once felt unclear. God frequently uses His people to teach and encourage us through Scripture.

How to uderstand the Bible

  1. Ask questions: Asking questions helps us engage actively with Scripture rather than reading passively. Simple questions such as “What does this reveal about God? Why is this included? How does this point to Christ?” can open up deeper understanding and reflection as we read.
  2. Pay attention to repeated words and phrases: Repeated words or phrases often signal what the author wants to emphasise. Noticing these patterns can help us identify key themes and better understand the heart of a passage, rather than focusing only on individual verses in isolation.
  3. Take on focused studies: Alongside regular reading, it can be helpful to study something specific: a theme, a word, a character, or a repeated pattern in Scripture. For example, you might study prayers in the Bible, prophecies about Christ in the Old Testament, or the attributes of God. Focused studies help us trace God’s truth across Scripture and gradually build a deeper, more connected understanding of His Word.

How to respond to the Bible

  1. Pray before, during and after reading: Prayer prepares our hearts, sustains our focus, and helps us respond rightly to what we read. Scripture study is not separate from prayer — it should be surrounded by it. When our minds wander or passages feel difficult, prayer re-centres our attention on God and reminds us that understanding comes from Him.
  2. Seek opportunities for application: The goal of Scripture is transformation, not information, and true understanding of the Word leads to obedience. A helpful piece of advice I once received from a pastor was this: “When you hear a sermon on Sunday, pick just one thing—even one small thing—to focus on or practise during the week.” The same is true of personal Bible study. Even applying one small truth can reshape our daily walk with God.

It is a great blessing that we have God’s Word so readily available, and that through it we can know the Father through His Son, Jesus Christ, by the power of the Holy Spirit. As we continue through the year, may the Lord draw us nearer to Himself, and may our hearts be shaped and transformed as we devote ourselves to His Word.

A Prayer for Renewal Over Reinvention in the New Year

Tattyom
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A Prayer for Renewal Over Reinvention in the New Year

As this year draws to a close, I have found myself reflecting on a familiar phrase often spoken in anticipation of what lies ahead: “New year, new me.” This year, however, instead of blindly embracing it, I’ve come to a different conclusion. As I look toward 2026, I am not just asking God to do something new in my life. Instead, I am also asking Him to revive and restore what already exists.

2025 was personally challenging for me in ways that I didn’t anticipate. Financially, emotionally, relationally, mentally, and spiritually, I faced pressures that stretched me deeply. In the midst of those trials, the details of which I will refrain from sharing publicly, I began to notice something subtle but significant. With each challenge, small parts of my faith began to slip away.

The quiet strength I once carried gave way to weariness. The fire that had burned brightly for God began to dim. Where prayer had once been my first response, it slowly became something I avoided, particularly in community. Somewhere along the way, I began to view God through the lens of my pain rather than His faithfulness. But this shift did not happen all at once. It was gradual. Often unseen, but still deeply felt. Peace dulled, passion faded, and faith became harder to access.

By the end of the year, I am grateful to say that I received some form of testimony in each of the five areas where I faced challenges, all by the grace of God. Yet even in the midst of answered prayers, I became aware that I had lost a part of the woman who once carried a strong, childlike faith in Christ, a faith I have been trying to reclaim amid waiting and uncertainty. 

Brought back, but not yet whole

This longing for restoration in some ways echoes the cry found in Psalm 85, which some Biblical scholars associate with God’s restoration of Israel from captivity. Although the people had been brought back into the land God had promised them, the fullness of restoration had not yet been realised. The land was economically fragile, foreign powers still exercised control, and the spiritual unity of the community remained fractured. They were home again, but they were not yet whole.

That tension feels familiar to me in this reflective season. Throughout the year, circumstances have shifted and prayers have been answered, yet the deeper work of renewal still feels unfinished. 

Choosing restoration over reinvention

In the same spirit of the cries echoed in Psalm 85, I have come to see that what I need most in 2026 is not reinvention, but restoration. A return to what matters most: a faith that trusts, and a heart that loves God simply and fully. With this realisation has come the acknowledgement that faith is often sustained through God’s quiet work in us over time, just as much as through dramatic change, and I am learning to make space for Him to do that work in me.

This has shaped my prayer as the year comes to an end. I am asking God to renew me, strengthening my faith, deepening my joy, and steadying my commitment to His kingdom, even when life feels uncertain. And this time, with the added confidence that hindsight brings, I trust that whatever comes my way, my walk with God means that I will still remain standing.

I may not know what you have walked through in 2025, but perhaps this could be one of your prayer points too.

10 Reasons You Should Fast and What It Actually Does

M.T. Omoniyi
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10 Reasons You Should Fast and What It Actually Does

Fasting has become one of those Christian practices we admire from afar. We love the idea of it, but we rarely step into it. Yet when you look at Scripture, the people God used most seemed to treat fasting the way modern people treat their phones. It was always close. It shaped their decisions. It kept them awake to God in a way comfort never could.

Unlike I thought when I was growing up in youth church , fasting is not a spiritual punishment, nor is it a way of impressing God. It is a posture; You are saying with your body what your soul hopes to become true. Here are ten reasons fasting matters and the real work it does beneath the surface.

1. Fasting sharpens your prayers

When Daniel needed answers, he “turned his face to the Lord God, seeking him by prayer and pleas for mercy with fasting” (Daniel 9:3). The hunger made him hungry for God. Fasting doesn’t manipulate heaven, it clears the fog so you can pray with focus and honesty.

2. Fasting pulls you into humility

In Jonah 3, even the pagan king of Nineveh put aside food to show how desperate they were for God’s mercy. It was humility in its rawest and most simple form. When we fast, we are saying, “I cannot fix this on my own.” The beauty is that God responds to that kind of posture far more than polished prayers with big words.

3. Fasting helps you confront your own impulses

Paul confessed that he had to “discipline my body and keep it under control” (1 Corinthians 9:27). This shows us that fasting exposes how quickly the flesh grabs the steering wheel. Once you notice that, you can begin to loosen its grip. When we fast, it’s quiet training for stronger obedience.

4. Fasting creates space for spiritual clarity

Moses received the law while fasting. Jesus stepped into His mission after fasting. Daniel gained visions during fasting. This pattern is not random. Like everything God does, its a very intentional pattern meant to teach a very simple truth. When distractions shrink, spiritual sight grows. You hear God more easily because the noise is not competing anymore.

5. Fasting strengthens repentance

This is the part we often avoid. After David’s sin, fasting was one of the ways he expressed grief and turned toward God. In Joel 2:12, God Himself invites His people to return “with all your heart, with fasting.” Fasting adds weight to our repentance. You can feel the seriousness of your own turning from sin and turning back to the Lord.

6. Fasting prepares you for the assignments God gives

The early church fasted before sending out Paul and Barnabas (Acts 13:2–3). It wasn’t just superstition, they simply knew the work ahead needed clarity, courage, and the Spirit’s leading. When they fasted, it made room for God to shape their readiness.

7. Fasting deepens your hunger for God

When Jesus said, “Man shall not live by bread alone” (Matthew 4:4), He was not speaking in poetry. Fasting teaches our soul that truth in real time. Every craving becomes a small reminder of who your actual source is. You learn to want God more than comfort. You accentuate your spiritual hunger with a physical one.

8. Fasting intensifies intercession

In the old testament, Ezra fasted because he needed protection. Esther fasted because her people were on the edge of extinction. These were not quiet, polite prayers, they were cries that came from the deepest place of dependence. Fasting unites your whole self to the prayer you are carrying.

9. Fasting steadies you in crisis and grief

When David was undone by sorrow, he fasted. When Nehemiah heard of Jerusalem’s devastation, he fasted. When life hits hard, fasting brings you into a posture of surrender. You let God hold what you cannot carry. The absence of food creates room for the presence of God.

10. Fasting opens your eyes to others

Isaiah 58 is possibly the most convicting text on fasting: God says He rejects fasting that is self-centred. Real fasting pulls you outward. It wakes you up to injustice, shifts your attention to the poor, and pushes you toward compassion. The fast God chooses always transforms the heart, not just the schedule.

Fasting will not make you more impressive before God. It is not a way to buy favour from the lord. Fasting will make you more aware, more grounded, more dependent, and more available to God. It is an old practice, but it has a way of telling the truth about who we are and who God is. If you want depth in your spiritual life, fasting is one of the places where depth begins.

Living a Faith That Speaks Through Action

Tattyom
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Living a Faith That Speaks Through Action

There’s a sobering thought that has followed me this week – that one day, my faith will be weighed not just by what I claimed to believe, but also by what my life revealed. The thought surfaced after a recent Bible study where my small group focused on James chapters 1 and 2. Our discussion centred on how genuine faith perseveres through trials and is authenticated by obedience and works of love, not by favouritism or empty words. It was a reminder that faith is meant to be lived, not just professed. The conversation lingered with me long after we closed our Bibles.

In the days that followed, I began to think about what that kind of faith looks like within the ordinary patterns of my own life. I’ve been reading of a growing reference to the “rise of the influen-CEO” – people who build platforms and social capital through personality, style, and the ability to draw attention. These influencers amass large followings and go viral overnight, suddenly finding hundreds or thousands of people hanging on to what they have to say. In that sense I guess it’s easier to trend than to be transformed, and that reveals something about the times we live in: our lives and our faith are often measured by reach and recognition, rather than by depth. It’s the kind of favouritism James warns against – the preference for appearance over substance, where the approval of people is often mistaken for the approval of God. And it got me thinking: at a time where it’s so easy to confuse visibility with fruitfulness, how can we steward our influence so that we might one day give a faithful account before God?

The Discipline of Obedience

When I return to the book of James, I find a grounding place to begin. In chapters 1 and 2, James is not writing about status or leadership, but about how genuine faith forms character. Yet the qualities he describes – humility, integrity, and attentiveness – lie at the heart of true discipleship. To a community of scattered believers, he says: “Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry.” (James 1:19). It’s a verse I keep coming back to.

Bringing it back to the notion of trends over transformation, ours is a culture that speaks before it considers, and forms conviction faster than it forms character. A few words shared in haste on a Live, can travel further than any act of patience or prayer. And yet James’s order is deliberate: to restrain our speech, and to master the passions that so often master us.

To listen is to pause long enough to perceive both truth and heart – to discern what another person is truly saying, or perhaps what they cannot bring themselves to say. It is to choose empathy before judgment, and curiosity before defence. But that is never easy. I myself am as prone as anyone to desire to be heard, to speak quickly so that others know where I stand, especially in a heated discussion. Even within the Church, visibility can masquerade as faithfulness, as if the quantity of our activity or the volume of our worship were proof of our obedience. However, James unsettles that illusion. He reminds us that faithfulness begins not with assertion but with attention to God, to others, and to the present moment. Listening, in this sense, is not passivity but participation: a spiritual discipline in which humility makes space for wisdom to take root.

A Faith That Speaks

Seen through this lens, faithfulness to me looks different. I find myself less drawn to the impressive and more to the consistent – to those who quietly serve and act with integrity when no one is watching. The true measure of faith, I am learning, is not shown through who notices us, but in who, or what we notice. It is about seeing value where others overlook it and serving without seeking recognition.

And maybe this is what the world needs most: believers whose faith listens, truly lives what it professes, and loves without condition. A Church that learns to hear and obey the Gospel before it seeks to proclaim it. When my time is done and God asks, “What did you do with your faith?” I hope I can say, “I listened when You spoke. I tried to love well. I stayed faithful, even in the small things. And in that faithfulness, I did what You instructed.”

That, I think, is what enduring faith looks like: one that listens first, acts with integrity, and endures with love.

The Danger of Waiting Without God

Jeremiah Ayara
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The Danger of Waiting Without God

“They have turned aside quickly out of the way that I commanded them. They have made for themselves a golden calf and have worshipped it…”- Exodus 32:8

It’s easy to judge the Israelites for the idolatry they displayed and forget that we too, are often guilty of the same sin. In Exodus 32, after forty days of Moses’ absence in the Mountain, the Israelites created a golden calf to worship out of fear and impatience. God had delivered them from Egypt, provided for them in the wilderness, and revealed His covenant love, yet still, they turned their worship away so quickly. This story thus exposes the condition of the human heart: sometimes restless, impatient, and prone to question in seasons of waiting.

John Calvin also brings attention to the condtion of the the human heart, calling it “a perpetual idol factory.” Our hearts, referred to in the Bible as the root of sin (Matthew 15:19), continually invent new things to worship. For the Israelites, it was the golden calf, but for us today, idolatry might look like placing work, success, our relationships, or comfort as the key desires of our hearts. That’s why the first commandment is so clear: “You shall have no other gods before me” (Exodus 20:3).

Uncovering The Truth Behind Idolatry

One of the things that the Israelites’ story teaches us is that idolatry takes root when we lose sight of God’s greatness and try to shape Him into something we can understand or control. Their actions in Exodus 32 reveal just how limited their view of God had become in the midst of their impatience:

  • They credited their deliverance to “Moses, who brought us out of Egypt” instead of the Lord (verse 1).
  • They replaced the living God with false gods: “These are your gods, Israel, who brought you up out of Egypt” (verse 4).
  • The calf was meant to represent God – a distortion of His true nature: “Tomorrow there will be a festival to the LORD” (verse 5).
  • Their worship became self-indulgent: “They sat down to eat and drink and got up to indulge in revelry” (verse 6).

But where the Israelites reduced God to something small, other examples in the Bible such as Moses and Paul saw Him as He truly is. Moses appealed to the Lord’s power and covenant faithfulness, and Paul described Him as the “immortal God.” Their lives remind us that a right view of God always leads to right worship.

Turning From Idols to God

When God seems silent as we wait for a miracle, when prayers for healing or restoration feel unanswered, or when a long job search stretches on, our hearts can drift toward other things to trust. We easily make idols of the works that we create when the results we want don’t come quickly enough, and ourselves when we try to take control instead of trusting in God.

The first step away from idolatry, then, is simple but also hard: displaying honesty before God. Ask Him to reveal what has quietly taken His place in your heart, and consider these three questions: Where does my mind wander when I’m at rest? What do I depend on for comfort or control? What do I fear losing most?

As we begin to shine a light on these idols and ask God to reorient our desires, freedom begins. Overcoming idolatry therefore isn’t just about removing what’s wrong; it’s also about filling our hearts with what is true. The more we behold God through His Word and Spirit, the less we crave what cannot satisfy.

The cross is the difference.

The Hope That Sets Us Free

The truth is, we all fall into the trap of idolatry, loving created things more than the Creator. And while God’s law demands complete devotion, none of us give it perfectly all the time. That’s why the gospel is such good news.

God, in His mercy, sent Jesus to free us from the idols that can never satisfy. He obeyed the law perfectly, took the penalty of our sin upon Himself, and offers His righteousness to all who believe. The law was never meant to save; it was meant to show us our need for Him – the only One worthy of our worship.

This truth should humble and free us. We no longer have to chase what cannot satisfy or strive to earn God’s favour. Where our hearts have turned to idols, Christ’s love draws us back. He alone can change our desires and redirect our worship toward what is true and lasting.

So the call isn’t to work or try harder to remove these idols, but instead to turn to Jesus, bringing our misplaced works before Him in repentance and trusting that His grace is enough.

Trusting God in the Transition From Campus to Career

Phoenix
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Trusting God in the Transition From Campus to Career

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.” – Proverbs 3:5–6.

Finishing a course of study, completing training, or stepping out of a familiar season can feel both exhilarating and unsettling. Up until that moment, life may have followed a clear rhythm: classes, assignments, and structured timetables, all alongside friendships that form in shared spaces. Then suddenly, the structure disappears. One day you are settled in the familiar, and the next, you are holding a certificate or a degree, and facing a new set of circumstances…staring at a future that doesn’t come with a timetable or a syllabus.

Questions quickly rise to the surface: What’s next? Will I find the right job? How do I live out my faith in this new season? The transition from campus to career – or from one stage of life to another – is more than a change in routine. It’s an invitation to trust God in uncharted territory.

The Gift of Community in Transition

When life changes, it often reshapes our circles too. Seasons of study come with built-in friendships, but the workplace, or new stages of life, can sometimes feel lonelier. That’s why community is God’s provision in transition.

Scripture reminds us: “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves” (Philippians 2:3). A humble, Christ-centred community pulls us out of comparison and competition, reminding us of our true identity as children of God.

Think of Joseph in Egypt. His journey from pit to prison to palace was anything but straightforward, yet each stage prepared him for the role God had in store. In the same way, God often uses “not quite ideal” roles – or even seasons of waiting – to prepare us for a calling greater than what we can see today. Along the way, mentors, church family, and Christian peers can be anchors of encouragement. A prayer shared over coffee or a text from a friend after a hard day can steady us when the weight of uncertainty feels heavy.

Work as Worship

And when we finally do make that transition, it’s tempting to separate faith from work, to think of Sunday worship and weekday grind as two different worlds. But the Bible collapses that divide in 1 Corinthians 10:31: “So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.”

That means your career – whether you’re drafting reports, serving customers, caring for patients, or working shifts – is not separate from your walk with God. Even the smallest tasks can become acts of worship when offered with the right heart.

This perspective transforms even mundane routines. The commute on a crowded train becomes time to pray for colleagues. A staff meeting becomes an opportunity to encourage. A lunch break becomes space to listen to a coworker who feels overlooked. Through this lens, the workplace is not just about tasks, but about people – people whom God loves and whom He has placed you alongside for a reason.

Trusting God with uncertainty, leaning on community, and approaching work as worship are not separate lessons, but different ways of living out one truth: God is faithful in the transition from campus to career.

And when we begin to trust God in the midst of our uncertainty, we also start to understand that work is not just about what you do – it’s about who you do it for.

Turn off your notifications and listen to God

Tattyom
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Turn off your notifications and listen to God

September often feels like a new beginning. Summer fades, routines restart, and life begins to pick up pace. For many people, it’s a period where calendars begin to quickly fill – lectures begin, workplaces get busier, group chats explode and inboxes overflow as responsibilities pile high. In all this busyness, silence can often feel like a luxury. Yet one of the most important questions for us as disciples of Jesus remains: how do we hear God’s voice in a world drowning in notifications?

In 1 Kings 19, Elijah finds himself weary, overwhelmed, and afraid. He flees to Mount Horeb, where he witnesses a great wind, then an earthquake, and then a fire. But the Lord is not in them. Instead, God comes in a gentle whisper.

The lesson is clear: God often chooses to reveal Himself in ways that require us to be still and pay attention. While culture celebrates what is loud, dramatic, and constant, God’s voice often moves quietly, calling us to listen more deeply.

A call for disciples to be still

Our generation may be more connected than ever before, but it is also more distracted. The endless scroll of TikTok, the constant pings from WhatsApp groups and the pressure to reply instantly all compete for our attention, making it harder to find moments of stillness. This tension presents us with a choice: to conform to the noise, or to try a different way of living.

I’ve felt this tension myself as a working professional – often promising to read my devotional on the train into work, only to be sidetracked by news alerts, a crowded inbox, or the lure of a quick doomscroll. By the time I reach my stop, the moment for quiet reflection has slipped away. For me it’s a sobering reminder that if I don’t guard these moments of silence intentionally, the noise will always win.

And so, the question I find myself asking is not whether God still speaks, but whether we are willing to slow down long enough to hear Him.

As we see with Elijah’s story, hearing God’s voice does not require dramatic action. Often, it begins with small but deliberate steps to slow down. Here are some ways I have been learning to make space for God in the midst of the noise:

  • Digital pauses: Every so often, I step away from the doomscroll and write – either journalling or writing letters to God. It is in those quiet moments of writing that I find the clearest answers to the questions I have been carrying
  • Sacred pauses: I take time to acknowledge God’s goodness and welcome Him in. For me, that often looks like closing the door to my room, putting a worship song on repeat, and letting that space become a meeting place
  • Scripture meditation — I reflect slowly on a single verse, letting it to speak to me more deeply than a rushed sentence could. Right now the one echoing in my heart is “Be still and know that I am God” (Psalm 46:10)

The distractions of our age may be relentless, but they are not final. The God who spoke in a whisper to Elijah still speaks today – to each and every one of us. The challenge is therefore not for us to do more, but to be still long enough to listen.

So here’s the invitation: as we step into the closing months of the year, don’t just fill your life with more noise. Instead, subtract something – mute a chat, walk without your headphones, or log off of your socials early. Resist the urge to replace that silence with something else. Instead, try giving it to God.

At a time where voices are amplified on social platforms, group chats and virtual spaces, discipleship begins with the courage to be quiet, and the wisdom to be still.

A Life, A Death, and the Witness of Grace

M.T. Omoniyi
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A Life, A Death, and the Witness of Grace

Charlie Kirk was only thirty-one years old when he was shot and killed this week. Just a little bit older than me. His name has been on the political scene for as long as I have been paying attention, and whether you agreed with him or not, he had a way of making sure you could not ignore him.

What has disturbed me even more than the violence of his death has been the reaction online. Within hours, people were mocking him. Some went as far as celebrating. Others used his death as a weapon in political arguments. Watching it unfold felt like staring at a mirror, reflecting just how much our moral fabric has frayed.

Hero or villan

The temptation in moments like this is to flatten a man’s life into a simple story. For some, Charlie was a champion, a truth-teller, a Christian who stood unashamedly for his faith. For others, he was reckless, provocative, and part of what they saw as a toxic political culture. The reality is that human beings are never this neat. None of us are. Scripture reminds us that all have fallen short (Romans 3:23), every single one of us. That includes Charlie Kirk, and it includes the people mocking him today.

This is where I think Christians are called to resist the spirit of the age. Jesus did not give His followers permission to cheer when enemies fall. He told us to love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us. That is not sentimental advice. It is a radical command that cuts against the logic of outrage. It is uncomfortable because it forces us to see even the people we disagree with most fiercely as image-bearers of God.

Learn from his boldness

What strikes me about Charlie’s life is the boldness with which he lived out his convictions. You might not agree with his politics, you might not even like his style, but you could never accuse him of being timid. He spoke loudly, sometimes brashly, about what he believed. In a culture where silence often feels like the safest option, his refusal to be ashamed of his faith is something worth noticing. Paul wrote in Romans that he was not ashamed of the gospel. Charlie seemed to live by that same principle, for better or worse.

I do not say this to sanctify him. Like all of us, he was flawed. I say it because his death is a stark reminder of how short life really is, and how little time we have to decide what we will do with our own convictions. It is easy to spend years watching, critiquing, scrolling, and waiting for the perfect moment to act. But none of us are promised tomorrow.

As I reflect on his death, I find myself less concerned with what people thought of Charlie Kirk and more concerned with how I am living my own life. Am I bold enough about what I believe? Am I quick to show grace even when I disagree? Am I willing to love when the crowd is cheering for hate?

Those are the questions this moment presses on me. My prayer is that we as followers of Christ will not let cruelty and outrage disciple us. That we would remember the witness of Stephen, who prayed forgiveness for the people throwing stones at him. That we would remember the words of Jesus, who asked the Father to forgive those who nailed Him to a cross. That we would be different.

Charlie Kirk’s death is tragic. But maybe it can also be a reminder. Life is short. Convictions matter. Grace is still the better way.

We have a choice

When Stephen, the first Christian martyr, was stoned, Acts 7 tells us he prayed, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” That prayer echoed the words of Jesus Himself on the cross. Both men faced violent injustice. Both refused to let hatred have the final word.

Charlie Kirk’s life and death confront us with the same choice. Will we be a people who let politics define the boundaries of our compassion, or will we remember that even our enemies are worthy of dignity and prayer?

I am the same age as Charlie. His death rattled me because it forced me to see my own mortality. None of us are promised tomorrow. Which means the real question is not simply, “What do we think of Charlie Kirk?” The real question is, “What will we do with the time we still have?”

May we spend it with courage, with grace, and with a determination to resist the cruelty of the age.

Here Is Why Reading The Bible Is Non Negotiable

Chude Obuaya
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Here Is Why Reading The Bible Is Non Negotiable

Technology has made life easier. Everyday tasks that once took real effort can now be done with barely a thought. You no longer need to preheat the oven when you have an air fryer. You don’t need a clothesline when you’ve got a tumble dryer. You don’t even need to sit down with a book when you can just listen to one on your commute. Efficiency is the new norm, and in many ways, it’s made life more convenient.

But not everything benefits from being sped up. Somewhere along the way, this pursuit of convenience has shaped how we approach spiritual things too. If technology can make everything faster, then why not our time with Scripture? Can we really know God’s Word without slowing down? Should we expect the same results if we cut corners?

Psalm 119 offers us a different pace. It’s the longest chapter in the Bible, and almost every verse points us back to the value of knowing and loving God’s Word. It’s not a chapter you rush through. It’s a chapter that invites you to sit down, take your time, and pay attention. Verse 1 opens with a bold claim: “How happy are those whose way is blameless, who walk according to the Lord’s instruction.” Then a few verses later comes a question many of us are still asking: “How can a young man keep his way pure? By keeping your word” (verse 9). The message is clear. If we want to live wisely, if we want to walk in God’s ways, we need to know what He’s actually said.

That kind of knowledge doesn’t come passively. In verse 97, the psalmist writes, “How I love your instruction! It is my meditation all day long.” This isn’t background noise. It is focused, daily attention. Real love for God’s Word doesn’t come from exposure alone it comes from engagement. Jen Wilkin once said, “Your heart can’t love what your mind doesn’t know.” That line stays with me. Because in a culture where we’re used to quick results and multitasking, we risk approaching Scripture like everything else, something to be skimmed, scanned, or summarised. But the psalmist reminds us that joy is found in the slow process of learning, not just in the results.

Verses 15 and 16 give us a beautiful window into that joy: “I will meditate on your precepts and think about your ways. I will delight in your statutes; I will not forget your word.” Notice how delight doesn’t come instead of discipline. It comes through it. The more we sit with the Word, the more it shapes us. The more we return to it, the more it becomes a source of real joy.

It’s easy to think we’re engaging with Scripture just because we’ve played a podcast or scrolled past a verse. But the truth is, you can’t rush transformation. You can’t fast-track relationship. There’s no substitute for taking time in God’s presence, reading slowly, asking questions, and letting His Word speak to you.

So maybe the challenge isn’t to find the quickest way to spend time with God. Maybe the challenge is to resist that instinct entirely. To put the phone down, open your Bible, and stay a little longer. Because the joy isn’t just at the end of the study — it’s found in the study itself.

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