Life & Boxing

I like boxing, especially heavy weight boxing.
When I came across the picture above I liked it immediately and felt it is right for this article because the quote is just apt for this topic I thought to write on.

Life is like boxing in many ways, more so when you consider what life is about from a philosophical and spiritual perspective.
In life, you don't automatically get what you deserve. You get what you fight for.
Life gives to you what you negotiate for.
In life you negotiate by 'fighting' for what you want.

Boxing is a fight, it is a fight of two contenders who are contesting for the same glory, the same honor, the same position, the same belt!
The aim of each boxer is to emerge victorious, to out box, out shine, or be preferred over his opponent.
In life we go for job interviews.
When we go for job interviews our aim is to be victorious at the interview, to outshine, do better or hopefully be preferred or favored over other candidates who want the same job.
When we liken each interview candidate to boxing gladiators we see that they are in a 'fight' too but the way they fight is just different.
While boxers fight with their fists by throwing punches in a ring, interview candidates 'fight' by highlighting their skills, experience and qualifications.

Individuals and organizations 'fight' or compete for for the same contracts in the area of commerce and business.
From every type of sport, to games, quiz shows and even politics we see a 'fight' to win and be dominant across the board.

There is competition in life.
There is a place for being competitive in life particularly if it's healthy competition.
The moment we loose our healthy competitive nature or spirit we have lost our zest for life.

With the sport of boxing there can be casualties, there have been boxers who who went into comas after a fight or a punch. There have been boxers who went into the ring with confidence and a certain pride but were taken out of the ring on stretchers.
Life can also be like that.
There have been individuals who unfortunately ended up casualties of life.
They started out great in life with great prospects and opportunities, but one 'blow' on life's journey and everything changed negatively for them.
In boxing, one blow or punch can change the dynamics of a game.
In life one wrong decision, one wrong advice or mistake can change the direction and dynamic of life for anyone.
In boxing every boxer has a game plan until they get into the boxing ring.
In life, many people feel they have it all planned out and know what they will do to end they way they want until they realize life's journey is not exactly ABC.

Scripturally, life is likened to a contest.
The contest that best describes life is boxing.
In Isaiah 49:25 God says He will contend with those who contend with you and spare your children.
This is like God saying I will give your enemies the knock out punch while I protect your children!
God can box. He will contend with your enemies.

The scripture also talks about the cloud of witnesses.
The cloud of witnesses are saints who have gone to be with the Lord. They watch from the grand stands of heaven as the saints of God here on earth run the race and fight in the contest of life.
It's kind of like the 90,000 audience in the stadium who watched the Anthony Joshua and Vladimir Klitchko fight as well as the huge crowds from other boxing matches.
With boxing, each person in the audience has a boxer he supports and hopes will win the fight.
Spiritually we have our 'fans' to, our supporters group from the spirit realm in the form of angels and people of God's household who have gone to be with the Lord.
As we fight the fight of faith here on earth we have fans who are cheering us on from the grand stands of heaven. Our heavenly audience!

In boxing, it helps the boxer when he has great punching power.
In the spirit realm our faith is our punching power!
In life faith will take you far.

In Psalm 118:34 and Psalm 144:1, scripture talks about God training hands for war, fingers for battle and arms to bend a bow of bronze. The arm, clenched fingers and hands are the major tools of boxing!
God is the one who gives strength and victory just as a champion boxer gets the victory over his opponent.

Do Aliens Exist?

In the last thirty years or so, there has been an increase of interest in finding out whether extra terrestrial creatures exist.
This interest and field of research has captured the minds of my generation.
My reasons for believing this is not far fetched. There are many films about aliens or extraterrestrial creatures out there - Star Wars, Men In Black, Aliens, Predator, Cowboys and Aliens, E.T, Independence Day, Alien Abduction, The Alien Factor to name a few.
Some of our children's cartoons are full of 'aliens' and alien like creatures, and many of our comic superheroes are aliens from another planet.
We also have people who have dedicated their lives to researching and observing the phenomenon of Unidentified Flying Objects (U.F.O)'s.
U.F.O's are believed to be aliens who come to earth from out of space with space ships or "flying saucers". There are people who've claimed to see U.F.O's and there are others who claim to have been abducted by them and brought back. They have stories to tell.
It is believed they are studying us (the human race) and perhaps taking DNA from those who were abducted.
In many circles it is believed that aliens walk among us in human form.
Such aliens must be shape shifters.
They live among us, marry, tend to be very intelligent and take up high flying jobs among us.
I recently watched a video clip about a man talking about a woman he knows in the United States. The husband of the woman in his story is an alien according to the wife. When her husband is upset he shape shifts around his face and when he is aroused he morphs.
The man telling the story claims to have been abducted by aliens a number of times himself.
He is free from such experiences right now and seems very knowledgeable about this matter.
These happenings bring about the question - do aliens exist?

The story of the days of Noah comes to mind, when fallen angels (Nephilims) came to earth and married women because they found them attractive.
I believe these Nephilim's didn't appear on earth with any kind of angelic or celestial countenance when they won the women of the earth over.
They were most likely shape shifters who took on the form of human men. Handsome, charming, human men.
Angels are not created to marry human women.
Jesus Christ who is Lord over angels told us angels neither marry or are given in marriage.
What those angels did was illegal and it attracted God's rebuke, God's judgement!
God punished them by putting them in a compartment beneath the earth called Tartarus where they are held down by chains.
We find from this story of the days of Noah in Genesis 6 that angels can take on human forms, live on the earth, find women attractive, and marry.
A fallen angel that comes to earth to live or marry is an alien.
The earth has not been given to angels but to men. Earth is the home of humanity.
Some sects of Christianity believe in the notion of spirit wives or spirit husbands. It's a school of thought that holds to the view that a spirit entity can have children with a human woman or man.
While there is some truth to this, I do not accept the spirit wive or husband doctrine but believe unclean spirits attach themselves to people and seek to function in our lives in illegal ways.


There are different schools of thought with regards to aliens.
There are people who believe aliens are a figment of the imagination, at best they are fiction.
There are other people who believe aliens are watchmen over human beings, the guardians and protector of man.
Some other people believe aliens are not 'friends' of humanity but enemies who will one day wipe out the human race and take over our earth.
There are loads of conspiracy theories out there and it's worth knowing the truth.
I'm a Christian, a follower of Jesus the Christ.
I hold to the scriptural view.
I believe aliens exist.
I do not believe they are creatures living in other planets who study humanity.
I believe they taken on forms and they are the fallen ones God's people are up against spiritually.
I believe they are fallen angels, sinister spirits who do the bidding of their master - the devil.
They make themselves seen occasionally as we are in times where there is a strategy in place to sensitize us to their presence.

Prince Harry & The Royal Wedding

                               
 There's another royal wedding coming up. Nice!
It is an exciting time for the royal family.
Prince Charles has been made the head of the common wealth, there's a new royal baby and Prince Harry is getting married to Ms Meghan Markle.

It's almost seven years ago I wrote an article on this blog about Prince William and his wife Kate Middleton, they got married in April of the year 2011.
It's nice to see the royal couple have become parents of three children in the last seven years. While they celebrated a seventh year anniversary in April of this year 2018, they also welcomed the birth of a new baby boy into the World.
A congratulations is really in order.


Weddings are usually exciting for the couples involved and guests that are present.
So it's an exciting time for  Prince Harry and his bride.
At this point I am wishing them the best for the future and a successful wedding day, it's my prayer and hope that their marriage will be a greater and bigger success than their wedding.
This wedding is an event the entire nation is happy about and rightly so.
I'm happy for Prince Harry and his bride, they come across as an authentic and nice couple.

A unique wedding it will be in some respects, perhaps because of the uniqueness of the individuals getting married.
As the eyes of the world and the United Kingdom will be on the event and royal couple on Saturday the 19th March 2018, I look forward to relaxing, making myself comfortable with family, following it on television and enjoying day.
Blessed be the day!

The Fine Art Of Boxing

For those of us who are boxing enthusiasts the Anthony Joshua and Deontay Wilder unification showdown which will determine which boxer is the undisputed world heavy weight champion is the match to look out for this year 2018.
It's our hope the boxing match will be this year and that the Joshua and Wilder camps will come to a contractual agreement soon, it will be a real show down!
May the better man win, may the 'true king lion of the jungle' emerge.
I'm an Anthony Joshua fan.
He is young, well built, tough, has knock out punches and has proved himself even at Olympic level.
He has quite a clean image, he has kept a level head since he took on boxing, and he relates well with his fans and admirers.

The heavy weight division has been interesting lately and Tyson Fury's recent come back after a compulsory break of over two years makes it all the more so.
Tyson Fury is tall, hilarious, has a strong presence, and a unique ability to dominate fights. He is also quite well liked and remains undefeated, he has been at the game of boxing since he was a kid.
He remains lineal heavy weight champion and he has a hunger to get his belts back. A big guy with a long reach, he can be hard to hit when confronted in the boxing ring since he knows how to use his hands well and dodge punches.
He calls this the fine art of boxing or the sweet science of boxing.
The fine art of boxing or the sweet science of boxing is the skill that involves hitting and not getting hit, punishing your opponent and not getting punished or hurting your opponent and not getting hurt yourself.

The fine art of boxing is a skill Floyd Mayweather knows all too well.
It is the secret to his 50-0 victory in a boxing career that brought him fame, financial fortune and boxing longevity.
It's this skill coupled with experience Tyson Fury is banking on to defeat other boxing heavy weights particularly Deontay Wilder and Anthony Joshua.
Whether he will achieve this feat is yet to be seen.
Deontay Wilder is a hard hitter who has 'heart' and doesn't give up easily and has amassed a 40-0 victory in a career that has spanned over twelve years with 39 knock outs.
Anthony Joshua we all know is no push over, he has so far been a herculean task for other boxers to defeat.
Whether Anthony Joshua will defeat Deontay Wilder, I do not know. It is extremely hard to predict.
But it's my hope Anthony Joshua defeats Deontay Wilder and I do not doubt he has what it takes to do so.

Amir Khan is back, Saul Alvarez Canelo is back soon , Dillian White is back on track in the heavy weight division, Luiz Ortiz is a rugged fighter who has picked himself up after his loss to Deontay Wilder.
There is a lot to see and expect in the boxing world.

I watch eagerly but patiently to see the direction boxing particularly the heavy weight division will go.
But whatever is ahead, it is looking exciting!

Subtle Infiltrations Into Children's Programs

Growing up I was the type of kid who liked his entertainment.
Though I was reserved I liked my television programs.
 As a grown man I still do.
I'll settle for an interesting movie at home any day, or go to the cinema if I have good company to go with. It's my major way of relaxing.

I remember watching children's cartoons like Jayce and the wheeled warriors, Mask, Transformers, Esteban and the city of Gold, Judo boy, and Belle and Sebastian.
My siblings and I also used to watch Masters Of The Universe. We found the characters interesting, the macho looking male heroes, the fights, the story lines and the adventures were captivating for our young minds. Not to mention the strength of He-Man, "the strongest man in the universe"
How no one knows in that cartoon world that the lazy prince Adams is He-man despite their resemblance and the similarity of their tigers baffled me.

There were many children's programs and cartoons that were informative, educative and entertaining in what seemed to be more innocent times with children programs.
Years have passed by, I have grown and I have since developed spiritually.
I have come to realize the enemy is after souls and he even devices ways to infiltrate the souls of humanity even from a young age.
Looking back I realize a few programs are not as innocent as they seemed and they had subtle bits and representations of witchcraft in them.

Consider Masters Of The Universe for instance.
He-Man gets his transformational powers from a castle- castle gray skull.
The skull is not a positive representation but an evil one which is a popular symbol of the occult and dark side.
Castle gray skull is a mysterious looking, dark, isolated castle with something of a baboon or gorilla looking entrance with its mouth wide open revealing fangs.
You have to walk through such a front entrance to get into her.
This is kind of symbolic of walking into evil, into darkness or death!
To think that toys of castle gray skull where made, parents bought them for their children and kept them in their homes.
Within castle gray skull lives a beautiful woman known as the sorcerer who sits on a throne and has an outfit on that has feathers, kind of like a bird.
She has the power to turn into an eagle or hawk.
She's He-Man's god/goddess and the one He-Man calls out to for empowerment and transformation.

In other words, He-Man is empowered by a witch!
It is a subtle way of saying witchcraft is the strongest power in the universe because that's the source of the main heroes character who is regarded as the strongest man in the universe.
Masters Of The Universe promotes a lot of magic, witchcraft, and new age beliefs.
This was in the 80's.

Fast forward to the 2000's.
There are many spiritual teachings and spiritual gurus about with their new age teachings, selling books and making a name for themselves.
Some of them are probably witches, wizards and warlocks.
Their emphasis is usually on the universe, not on God the creator, the person.
While I believe God created the universe and sets laws in place that control the universe we should not acknowledge the universe as the giver over God the person.
While there is truth that the universe can deliver to us because the universe is created for man and not man for the universe we should not worship the universe because the universe is God's creation.
The cosmic laws in the universe is put in place to serve man.
It's man's responsibility to discover those laws and make them work for him for it is to the glory of God to conceal a matter but to the honor of kings to search them out.
Universal laws and cosmic laws which many new age teachers are not giving God the creator credit for is not known or being used by the church. We should, it is an aspect of our dominion!
Unfortunately, the powers/laws of the universe are being manipulated and used by the children of this world who are wiser than the children of light in their own generation.

Truly, those with witchcraft powers have set themselves up deceitfully and falsely to be the masters of the universe.

Many children's programs are not as innocent as they used to be.
Even a number of Disney programs for children are darker than they used to be to the observant eye.
Parents have a great responsibility to be there for their children, guide their children, be discerning and spiritual.
Keep an eye on what your children watch.
Peace be.

In Honour Of Evangelist Billy Graham

God bless the evangelist Billy Graham for making himself available as a 'tool' for God to use.
The far reaching impact of his ministry will only be fully seen in eternity.
Any man who has been at his post for over six decades should be commended, particularly when he runs a huge evangelistic organization like Billy Graham's.

I grew up getting to know about Billy Graham and his evangelistic efforts as a young chap when I'd watch Christian television stations like CBN and shows like 700 Club back in the days.
I remember finding his charisma, good looks and passion impressive and rather different compared to many ministers of the gospel at the time.
Seeing those huge crowds all over the world who showed up at his crusades and the responses to his 'altar calls' was something special.
Truly, he was a chosen evangelist!

Our well wishes, prayers and condolence goes to the Billy Graham Family.
His was a life well lived.
A foremost evangelist, a prince of the kingdom and a productive human being who set the standard for global evangelism.
May his soul be at peace in paradise!

STAND YOUR GROUND

2 Samuel 23:8-12

You are a warrior in the army of God's kingdom if you have made Jesus Christ your Lord and saviour.
2 Timothy 2:3-5
The mighty men of David we read about in the text passage above are a classic example of what warriors should be like.
There are many things we can learn from them.

1) They were loyal to their king - king David.
Just as we should be loyal to our king - Jesus Christ.
Luke 9:62

2) They were powerful, valiant and courageous warriors who killed giants, defeated Philistine armies and went all out for their nation/kingdom.
In the same manner we should be powerful, valiant, and courageous sons and daughters of God who go all out for the kingdom of God.

Like Jesus let's go about God's kingdom.
Matthew 9:35
David was a prosperous king, a master warrior himself and he had a great army.
Among David's army 37 warriors stood out.
And among these 37 warriors, 3 stood out.

3) What we see with these 3 outstanding warriors of David is that they stood their ground.
Their names were Josheb-Basshebeth, Eleazar, and Shammah.
If you are going to be outstanding this year you have to stand your ground for God.
Ephesians 6:13

Which areas are we supposed to stand our ground?
a. Stand your ground for Jesus Christ - for His teachings, your love for Him, and His promises.
b. Stand your ground for God's kingdom - for your belief in God's kingdom, your place and reward in God's kingdom and the values of the kingdom.
c. Stand your ground for what God has given you - your health, your gifts and talents, your children, your spouse, your money, your business, job, career, academics and your life.
d. Stand your ground against the kingdom of darkness - fallen angels, demons, unclean spirits, familiar spirits, wizards and witches.
e. Stand your ground against the works of Satan - voodoo, witchcraft, sorcery, health afflictions, financial loss, manipulation and oppression.
f. Stand your ground against your flesh - our flesh is the biggest hindrance to our serving God. Our flesh is the realm where the devil is able to reach many of us.
Our flesh is the major cause of many of our sins.
Our flesh is usually our weakest link.

How do we stand our ground?
BY GOD'S SPIRIT: Isaiah 59:19, Romans 8:13
RESIST THE DEVIL: James 4:7, Luke 10:19
USE THE WORD OF GOD: Ephesians 6:17, Matthew 4:1-11

Teacher-Pastor Olutosin Ogunkolade shared this message.