Christian Actress Yvonne Orji Shares Prayer She Used to Attract Her New Boyfriend Emmanuel Acho!

Hello World,

Yvonne Orji & Emmanuel Acho seem to be getting serious…

So almost a year ago, my interview with HBO “Insecure” actress Yvonne Orji, a devout Christian, was published for THE LOOKOUT. I interviewed her about her TEDx talk she gave about celibacy as she decided at 17 years old to be celibate due to her Christian faith and was still a virgin at 34 years old.

Below is what she said about her stance:

“From the time I was 17 until now that I’m 33 going on 34, I’ve seen too much. I’ve seen the hand of God over the years in my life, and this one thing that he asks of me. I mean he asks many things of us. But this one thing [virginity] that is a roadblock for so many people, he’s been so faithful to me in the darkest of my days, it’s no biggie.”

You can read the entire article at: lookoutmag.com.

When I interviewed her, it seemed that she didn’t have a boyfriend, but as of May, babay, according to Yvonne’s Instragram page, her status has changed! Whoop, Whoop!

This is how she announced it….

Jesus out here answering prayers on a Sunday.

A post shared by Yvonne Orji (@yvonneorji) on

Won’t He do it? Yes, he did! God answered Yvonne’s prayers and her faithfulness by sending her a man with the same name as His son! How special is that?! So who is Emmanuel Acho? He is a 27-year-old (yes, Yvonne’s got a younger man) former Philadelphia Eagles’ linebacker. A committed Christian, Emmanuel, who has bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of Texas at Austin, is currently an ESPN analyst. Although she is technically the artist in the relationship, he can also sing and play the piano! His father is from Nigeria and Yvonne is from Nigeria as well! Both have done charitable work in Africa. He wrote this about his experience in Nigeria:

Even though I’m proud of the work we did in Nigeria this summer, I know we left way too many patients unattended to. Our short stay there was not enough to treat all of the country’s ill and afflicted. Living Hope Christian Ministries has set out to build a real clinic in the Isuikwuato, Nigeria that would cost roughly $2 million — and we’re almost there. But unfortunately, when funds stop coming in, the building stops going up. We need a real clinic, we need a real staff and we need your help. In my profession, my goal is to hoist the Lombardi trophy, but in my everyday life, my goal is to save lives. To help us accomplish our goals, visit LivingHopeMinistries.us. Read about the rest of his experiences at theplayerstribune.com. 

He sounds like marriage material and from what Yvonne is posting on her Instagram right now, things look they are heating up!  I’m not sure if they are baecationing together, but as of now, according to social media, they are in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico!

 

And this is what she said about praying for her new man:

Dear God,
May he have abs like David•
Skin like Sampson•
A smile like Joseph•
Fingernails like Solomon•
Eyebrows like John The Baptist &•
A heart (and finances) like yours•
In Jesus’ Name•
Amen•
😂🙌🏾🙏🏾
#YallAskedForTheSpecificPrayer
#ThatWasntItButItWasClose
#HeGotMeAboutToStayInTheGym
#ButTheWayILoveCarbsTho😩😩
#HisAbsAreDisrespectful🙄🤬

So did God answer her prayers or what? From the looks of things, a marriage proposal may be on the way. And did you pray specific prayers about a mate? I did! Were they answered? Mine were!

Yvonne Orji and Emmanuel Acho seem like a perfectly matched couple! I can’t wait for the Nigerian wedding!!!

Any thoughts?

The Christian Faith of David Oyelowo…

Hello World, dr. king

As is my custom on the Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday, I always watch the Martin Luther King, Jr. Annual Commemorative Service held at Ebenezer Baptist Church on television. You can count on hearing inspiring speeches that espouse the beliefs of Dr. King, seeing people of different races crowd the sanctuary, politicians promising to work together…You get the idea…All of it is good, but it is a rather lengthy service…And just like in any long church service, no matter how good it is, you realize that after some time that you are no longer listening, you are rather waiting for it all to come to an end…

This year, however, there was one speech, a jewel of a testimony, that shone because of its rarity…David Oyelowo, the actor that portrayed Dr.  Martin Luther King, Jr. in the biographical film “Selma,” openly spoke about how his faith in God led him to the role of Dr. King…This is how he began his speech…

“I stand before you today as evidence that what God starts, He will finish. On the 24th of July, 2007, having read a script for ‘Selma,’ God told me I would play Dr. Martin Luther King in the film ‘Selma.’ It came during a time of prayer and fasting, and I know the voice of God.”

Oyelowo said he later auditioned for the role, but the director of the film at that time (not Ava DuVernay) did not agree with God so he did not get the role. However, in the mean time (How many of you know that when God promises something to you, it doesn’t mean it will happen immediately even though you know that you know His promise is being fulfilled? Or that there won’t be some roadblocks along the way?), he went on to play a part in the movie “Lincoln.” In 1865, his character said these words to Lincoln regarding the Gettysburg Address. “You cannot say these words. You have actually have to act upon them. Maybe one day we”ll get the vote.” He goes on to tell what happened when he did get the part.

“Seven years after God told me I would play this role in another film called ‘Selma, 100 years later. In ‘Lincoln,’ I played a character in 1865. In ‘Selma,’ I played Dr. King in 1965. Nineteen presidents later, my character as Dr. King asks the very same question. What God starts, He will finish.”

Insert praise dance…

praise

He could have shut down his speech right then…But he had more evidence that God led him straight to the role of Dr. King…As tears shone on his face, he revealed that he prayed to God to “allow the spirit of Dr. King to flow through me.” And God answered his prayer…Just before one scene in the movie, as he portrayed Dr. King giving a speech in front of the capitol steps in Montgomery, Alabama, Oyelowo said he felt a “palatable, indisputable fear of death” and that he “felt a huge need to ask for the buildings around to be swept.” He concluded: “I’m an actor. I’m not Dr. King, but it was very real for me. At the end of that day, I was shocked I was still alive.” And he said it was no accident that Dr. King had the name “King.” “He was a king. He was a priest. He was ordained by God. He was a child of God.”

Oyelowo also introduced the sanctuary to his father who had flown in from the United Kingdom and talked about the tribal marks his father, who is from Nigeria, has on his cheeks and his stomach. The tribal mark on his stomach means “King.” Oyelowo said he thought the tribal marks his father and other Nigerians bear are a custom that predates slavery; however, in a conversation, his father told him he was mistaken. The tribal marks originated during slavery times.

“When we were taken away from Africa, we marked ourselves so that when we made it back, our people knew who we were and where we are from. I’m in the first in my line of over 400 years to not bear those scars.”

Insert shout…

bernie

Oyelowo concluded his message with some words about Hollywood (I’m guessing he was referencing the fact that “Selma” was snubbed during the Oscar nominations…).

“In my industry, in Hollywood, we are celebrated more for being broken and subservient than playing kings, than being leaders, than being in the center of our own narrative. I stand before you today as a man that has played a king.”

To see the speech in the entirety, please check these two videos….Thank God for E Powell who recorded the speech…

Any thoughts?

Your Sinners & Saints Christian News Roundup…The Good, The Bad, & The Ugly…

Hello World, pastors.jpg

Have you missed me? I hope so…I haven’t been posting as much. I usually post on Sundays and Wednesdays but due to a pending deadline this month, I will only be posting on Sundays…So I hope my Sunday posts are worth waiting for :)…

Just because I’ve been focused on meeting my deadline doesn’t mean I’m unaware of all of the shocking news stories that have been unearthed in the Christian world…These stories are ugly…And I’ve come across some new stories that may not cause shock waves in the Christian community but are bad nevertheless…And thankfully, I’ve come across some good news that take a bit of the sting way from the ugly and bad stories that tarnish the testimony of the Christian faith…

So let’s get the ugly out of the way…

THE UGLY…

  1. Montgomery Pastor Admits to Having AIDS, Sleeping With Church Members...This, by far, has got to the be the ugliest news story in the Christian world that I have seen in 2014….Apparently, he had sex with several of the female congregants knowing he has AIDS, was using drugs and mismanaged church funds…I really don’t know how no one in the church confronted him about any of these three sins (Whatever happened to female intuition or the prompting of the Holy Spirit?) and likely way before he confessed all that mess to his church and removed from his post…
  2. Enugu Pastor Impregnates His Church Member, Forces Her to Abort Pregnancy…But former Pastor Juan Demetrius McFarland ain’t the only pastor acting up…Instead of a praying for a young girl in his church, allegedly Pastor Friday Onuh of Nigeria preyed on the young girl church, got her pregnant and “took her to a patent medicine dealer” (Are they talking about a witch doctor?) in order for their child to be aborted…Whew…I cannot imagine….
  3. Faith Under Fire: A Westlake Church Rallies Around Its Pastor After Charges That He Sexually Abused His Adopted Daughter…Allegedly Pastor Paul, as he is known to the congregants at Church on the Rise, is “awaiting trial on six felony charges of allegedly sexually abusing his adopted daughter,” But at least one congregant is pointing a finger at the adopted daughter rather than Pastor Paul…In fact, members are still packing the pews… (Whom do you believe?)
  4. 7th Heaven’s Stephen Collins Reportedly Admits to Molesting Underage Girl, Fallout Reaches Hollywood…As ugly as this story is, at least this story is about a fake pastor…Collins portrayed Rev. Camden, pastor of the Glen Oak Community Church on the TV series “7th Heaven,” is “longest-running series on The WB.” Although I am shocked and saddened by this story, Collins only portrayed a pastor on TV (If your pastor is a fake pastor on television, you need more than Jesus) …that point needs to be emphasized….

THE BAD…

  1. Boko Haram Destroys 185 Churches, Beheads Seven People in Borno…While this story is ugly, I put in the bad category because this isn’t the first time this Islamist terrorist group has committed crimes against humanity (Lord, please intervene…)…On April 14, more than 200 Christian and Muslim Nigerian girls were stolen in the middle of the night from their boarding school in Chibok town by this group
  2. Jersey City Sunday School Teacher Stabbed to Death By Ex-Fiance, Police Say…As a former Sunday School teacher, this story is particularly troubling…Reportedly, Patricia Santana’s former fiance was a “nice guy” and went to church with her…(Just because a man comes to church with you, doesn’t mean he is saved, and even if he saved…well, see above…

 THE GOOD…(finally, right?)

  1. ‘Homeless’ Pastor Rick Cole Goes Home to Capital Christian Church…In spite of the shenanigans and crimes committed by a few “pastors,” I do believe the overwhelming majority of pastors have good intentions and are committed to serving God and their people…This pastor left his home, “living on Sacramento streets for two weeks to raise money for the area’s winter shelter program.” (Praise God for this pastor…)
  2. Columbus Churches Come Together for Prayer Walk…Under the leadership of Pastor Christopher Smith, Word of Truth Ministries partnered with other churches in the community to walk through its neighborhoods and pray for the people that live there…(Prayer is so powerful…)
  3. The Beauty of Small Church…Don’t get me wrong, megachurches are great, but bigger is not always better (#smallchurchestandup) and Rev. Hope Lee, lead pastor of Kirkwood Presbyterian Church, agrees with me…She wrote a sweet tribute to the small church in which she was raised…As a daughter of a pastor who leads a small church, I’ve had similar experiences…
  4. Christian Brothers Automotive & Lake Pointe Church Offer Free Oil Changes for Single Moms…Again, although the church and its leaders should be open to criticism when warranted, I believe that most churches and its leaders want to do good…(What about free or discounted oil changes for newlyweds? :))

Any thoughts?