The Bishop of the Diocese of Akure (Church of Nigeria-Anglican Communion), Rt Revd Simeon Oluwole Borokini, has encouraged Christians especially in Nigeria to seek refuge in God for their protection instead of seeking traditional haven.
The Bishop made this call shortly after the Diocesan lent message for Clergy held at the weekend at the retreat centre of the Church at Igoba, Akure.
While reacting on the implications of seeking traditional powers in combating herdsmen attacks especially in the South West part of the nation, the cleric described combining the Christian faith with African traditional powers as “syncretism.”
His words: “It is either you have absolute trust in Jesus Christ as our saviour or take to the other side. You cannot combine the two. As Christians, we should face our Lord Jesus Christ and rely absolutely on Him. We should not mix anything. In the commandment, God said he would not share His glory with any other gods.
In the Old Testament, the people of Israel were making golden image and God frowned at it. So, it is either you believe in Jesus Christ or not. As Christian I will encourage us to have absolute trust in Jesus Christ, believe in Him and continue to worship Him.”
He revealed that the Diocese picked the theme, “God Our Refuge” as her teaching during the Lenten season because of the challenges in the nation adding that,
“We know that for a traditional ruler to be killed, even traveling from Owo to Akure is not safe again. There is no place that is safe. The issue of COVID-19 is there. It is only God who can save us, who can be our refuge. That is why we have decided to choose this topic at this time because it is only Him that can save us, that can guarantee our safety and that can be our refuge.”
“Even in Ondo State because of poor resources, the revenue from the Federal Government has drastically reduced. Our Governor has been borrowing money to augment the workers’ salary but now even some of the banks are not ready to loan some States money because of the fear of repaying it back.
“With God all things are possible. If we will be more prayerful especially at this time that we are faced with myriad of challenges, our God is a faithful God and He said we should call upon Him in times of troubles that He would answer us. And He said knock, it will be opened, ask it shall be given to you. This is a period for us to ask and knock so that He would listen to us and He would have mercy.”