STORY TIME

2 |ANSWERING GOD'S CALL: Matthew 2:1-23| Image: worksofheartbyml.com Highlighted Verses 13-15: Now when they had departed, behold an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, “Rise, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt, and remain there till I tell you; for Herod is about to search for the child, to destroy him,” (14) And he rose and took the child and his mother by night, and departed to Egypt, (15) and remained there until the death of Herod. This was to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet, “Out of Egypt have I called my son.” When God calls you, how do you respond? Do you follow His call, or do you choose to ignore it? It’s an interesting question to ponder upon because some of the us-me!-are good at desiring to hear God’s voice, then ignoring him when he finally speaks to us.  You see, I woke up this morning with a strong desire to comment on this gospel passage. But it would not be the first time because I had also woken up yest...

|WORLD WAR I| Final moments: The Archduke of Austria Franz Ferdinand with his wife Sophie in Sarajevo minutes before his shooting (AP) On June 28, 1914, Gavrilo Princip, a Bosnian Serb, assassinated Archduke Francis Ferdinand of Austria and his wife Sofia in Sarajevo, setting off a chain of events that would culminate in a world war by August. Five years later, on June 28, 1919, Germany and the Allies signed the Treaty of Versailles, formally ending World War I and providing for the creation of the League of Nations. It may come as a surprise to many, but Nigerian soldiers also participated in the war by fighting in the West African Divisions alongside soldiers from Sierra Leone and Ghana. West African troops on service in East Africa after the British attacked the German colonies there The Nigerian regiment saw action in the Cameroons from 1914 to 1916 and in German East Africa from 1916 to 1918. Gavrilo Princip 19-year-old Bosnian Serb, Gavrilo Princip, the man who assassinated the...

|AIR FRANCE A-300B AIRBUS HIJACKED AND DIVERTED TO ENTEBBE, UGANDA| On June 27th, 1976, Air France Flight 139 en route from Tel Aviv to Paris was hijacked by two Palestinians from the Popular Front of the Liberation of Palestine, and two Germans from the guerrilla group Revolutionary Cells. They forced Michel Bacos, the captain of the flight, and his crew to fly to Benghazi in Libya. After refuelling at Libya, they forced Michel Bacos to fly to Entebbe, where the hijackers were joined by at least three more Palestinian militants and Ugandan troops. Uganda’s leader, Idi Amin, was also at the tarmac to welcome the hijackers who demanded the release of 54 militants and five million dollars as ransom. Idi Amin, Uganda’s erratic dictator at the time, was a staunch supporter of the Palestinian cause and a professed enemy of Israel. Idi Amin talks to hostages.   Photograph: AP

|BIRTH DATE OF BRIGADIER-GENERAL BENJAMIN ADESANYA MAJA ADEKUNLE| Photo Credit: Terry Fincher   Brigadier Benjamin Adesanya Maja Adekunle was born on June 26th, 1938. He was a Nigerian Army officer whose career was shaped by his active participation in the Nigerian civil war against the South Eastern secessionist army of Biafra lead by Chukwuemeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu. During the conflict, he gained the nickname of "Black Scorpion." Brigadier-General Bengamin Adekunle Scene from the Nigerian Civil War - Starving Biafran Children There are many eye witness reports detailing the attacks on Biafran hospitals and health workers by the Nigerian Army during the civil war. Also, many innocent civilians were subjected to starvation by the blockading forces of the Nigerian government. 

1 (The Genealogy of Jesus Christ: Matthew 1:1-25) Highlighted Verse 17: So all the generations from Abraham to David were fourteen generations, and from David to the deportation to Babylon fourteen generations, and from the deportation to Babylon to the Christ fourteen generations. Reading this makes me question how I am affected by this genealogy. But I think it is a blessing to be counted amongst the children of Abraham through Jesus Christ, who is my father, lord and personal saviour. Abraham was God’s most beloved servant in the old testament, and God blessed him abundantly because of this great love. So, when I accept Jesus Christ and invite him to come and take his rightful place in my heart, I am allowing myself to become an heir and partaker of that love and grace, which God showered upon Abraham. It is a beautiful thing to think about. Yet, it gets even better. Jesus Christ, himself, is the son of God, and savior of mankind; and he gives himself freely to everyone ...

|Franklin D. Roosevelt Signs Executive Order Banning Racial Discrimination in the Employment of Workers| Workers, many of them migrants from Africa, grading beans at a canning plant in Florida during the Great Depression in 1937. Source: Library of Congress, Washington, D.C., Arthur Rothstein (neg. no. LC-USF34-005788-D)      Seventy-nine years ago, on this day, June 25, 1941, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed an Executive Order, which banned racial discrimination in the employment of workers in defence industries and government agencies. The Fair Employment Practices Committee (FEPC) was established to help enforce this order. Furthermore, as wartime labour needs opened employment opportunities for blacks in positions previously reserved for whites, African Americans championed the idea that their children deserved much better schooling than they were getting in local segregated schools.  However, racial segregation would continue in American schools until 1954...

George H.W. Bush & Nelson Mandela image source:  https://bush41library.tamu.edu/audiovisual/photos/37 |South African Black Nationalist Nelson Mandela arrives in Washington DC|  Nelson Mandela arrives in Washington DC as a just-released political prisoner. Mandela, who served 27 years at Robert Island Prison, Pollsmoor Prison and Victor Verster Prison, was released by President F. W. de Klerk in 1990 amid growing domestic and international pressure.

|A Short Story About Young Men Living On The Streets In Nigeria|       Chibuzo is a young man living in the slums of Lagos, Nigeria, a world marked with hardship and a desperate struggle to survive. Having watched his father fail in his attempt to acquire fortune and success, Chibuzo is determined to take life by the horns and break free from his wretchedness. But he is misguided, and the path he treads eventually bring him face to face with death.  This story was inspired by the lives of the many young men living on the streets in Nigeria. You can purchase the full copy of this work at:  https://www.amazon.com/dp/B092STP4YQ/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=Like+Coconut+Fruit%3A+A+Short+Story&qid=1618736764&sr=8-1 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B092P76P3F/ref=sr_1_2?dchild=1&keywords=Like+Coconut+Fruit%3A+A+Short+Story&qid=1618736914&sr=8-2 Or keep readinfg  for free at:   https://www.scribd.com/document/503296677/LIKE-COCONUT-FRUIT...