Tell me about yourself? What do you do?
I am Poku and I am 24 years old. I am currently attending University in Richmond, studying Development studies. I am a Lion of Judah.

2. What do you do for fun?
I love to listen to music when I can, which is all the time. I love to spend some of my time writing and reading the bible. Cartoons are my favourite genre to watch and Avatar last Air bender and the Boondocks are my all-time favourite cartoon/animes. Aside from entertainment, I just love talking to people. Getting to know my fellow neighbour is one of my great life pleasures.

3. Are you born again? When did you decide to be and why?
I was baptised in church when I was 14, maybe 15. I didn’t really understand the meaning of baptism back then but I know my heart was in the right place. I just wanted to give myself to Jesus, you know. Getting baptised at an early age was mainly to please my mum as she was a serious Christian. Aside from that, after baptism, one can say I was just a normal teenager. Still doing all the worldly things that was available.

4. What is your relationship like now and before you found Christ?
My relationship with Christ has been a rocky one. Almost a love hate relationship. Being baptised at an early age and without really recognising the importance of it, I swayed away from the church when I turned 20. My life as I saw it was changing and no one around me understood that. The church still looked at me with innocent eyes whiles my mum thought I was this well-mannered young adult. And to be honest parts of me was still that innocent kid. But my head was being filled with ungodly things. Pornography, depressive music, drugs and alcohol all became companions of mine during this transitional period. I call it a transitional period because it was.

After a difficult break up with my girlfriend at the time, I decided to leave the church for two years. Yap exactly two years. I made a conscious contract with Jesus that he should leave me to do whatever I wanted for those 2 years and I will come back to him. Low and behold he did exactly that, therefore I dabbled my new found “freedom” raving, women, raving, ganja, loads and loads of ganja, some hard drugs and all the galore of worldly music. Everything I did was justified in my eyes because, the deeper I went into this new world, the further I began to loose the sight of Christ. Frequent arguments with my mum was common, swearing became second nature and the sound of anything churchy was the worst sound that could be made in my ears. Jesus at this point became non-existent and annoying.

Two and half years away from the church, it took a night out where I must have done more than two grams of ecstasy to realise the next morning, shiiiiiit!!, I need Jesus now. And I mean now now. After denying the name of Our Lord Jesus Christ on multiple occasions, here I was in my room scrounging around everywhere looking for my bible. I was so lost, so so lost in life I could no longer look into my own future. The sight of joy for the future had become completely bleak. Then upon finding my bible and God already knowing what is on my heart opened the page for me at random and set my eyes upon Numbers 6:1-7. It was the verse 5 that convinced me that there is indeed a living God and most importantly, my identity in Him. Now all I strive for is the Love of Christ and I have never looked back. All my soul and spirit desire now is gospel music, gospel music, the word of God and cartoons of course. But the word of God is sweeter than candy, I tell you. Jesus is sweet.

5. What kind of issues did you face as a Christian?
As a new born Christian who is baptised of the Holy spirit, I don’t find any challenges to be honest. At first I lacked the boldness to let people know where I stand in terms of Christ but now, the Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. Whom shall I fear when the living God is with me. I understand that in our time now, there is a lot of sensitivity around, especially when it comes to expressing your faith, but I mean, if you don’t do it now, when can you do it. The world moves on and so must your faith. Let Jesus Christ be the perfecter of your faith and he will give you the boldness to call on him in front of crowds of men. My only real challenge now is quitting some of the fleshly things I still enjoy in this world. The ganja is a continuing battle but I know I have overcome that already. I do need to remain humble though, humbleness, long suffering and meekness is what I am striving for this year. The fruits of the Spirit is amazing.

6. How did you face them?
I prayed and relied on Jesus. Simple as that. If I could overcome all of these challenges myself then what is the point. The point is as the Apostle Paul states in Roman 7: 15-21:

“We know that the law is spiritual; but I am unspiritual, sold as a slave to sin.  I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good. As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. For I know that good itself does not dwell in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it.

So I find this law at work: Although I want to do good, evil is right there with me. For in my inner being I delight in God’s law; but I see another law at work in me, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within me. What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death? Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord!”

7. Why did choose now to get close to God?
Because of his peace. He said “my yoke is easy and my burden is light”. And it is very much true. I feel his peace every single day. Plus, the beauty of getting closer to God is, he actually reciprocates that. He loves to get closer to you. Once I discovered that the deep calls unto the deep, well after that, all I wanted was to go deeper in God. He is full of splendour, love and joy. Nothing is too big for Him. He is Holy and almighty. He just is. The I AM.

8. Do you think it is easy for men to get close to God?
Yes and no. No because we are ignorant. We are blind. We see and hear and feel and touch with our earthly senses and that is stupidly enough for most of us. The weirdest thing is, all men in this world are waiting for something extraordinary to happen to the world or in their individual lives. Yet they miss it every single day when the sun arises. It is a brand new day, every day, every single day. But no one sees the sheer miracle in that. Why? Well because we are blind. It is very easy to get close to God when you have received the Holy Spirit. I mean very easy. There is this desire in us when the Holy spirit is in us to seek the Lord. Why because all the Holy Spirit wants is the Holiest of Holy. And I want that too.

9. How did your faith change your view on worldly things?
It changed everything. Nothing that is made, is made the same way with my new eyes. Spiritual eyes are really cool to have. Yes, I still see the world like a normal man, but I don’t interpret those images in the same way. God likes to show me things from time to time. That’s how he works. He shows in order to redeem. He is just the almighty. His Love surpasses all knowledge and understanding. So please, get to know Him as soon as possible. Jesus is Love and his love is on offer everywhere. The best thing is, He has amplified the dose of the Holy Spirit he gives out. I have never felt so close to him in my whole life. He is more real to me than my own skin that I see on my body every day. He is just there, you know. I AM.

10. How did your friends and family act towards the new you?
My family were pleased for me as they could clearly see me slipping away from me when I was not in Christ. My behaviour had changed without Christ. Now they are happy. My little sister still mocks me sometimes though. But it is all love. Her time will come very soon when she also gets licked on the ground with the LOVE of Jesus. My friends have been alright with it but I have had to slowly distance myself with some of my close friends though. The temptation to slip back into my old ways was too much. But the Holy Spirit is good. He directs me constantly on how to deal with the daily dose of temptation we all face every day. As James says, count it all joy because “blessed is the man that endures temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him”. So I count it all joy when it comes. I just have to endure my trials and tribulations whiles standing on the word of the Lord.