"EVERY PASTOR WHO COLLECTS TITHES IS NOTHING BUT A THIEF AND A ROBBER" - FEMI ARIBISALA.

According to the scriptures, money is not acceptable as tithe; it has to be food-crops or livestock. 

As far as many pastors are concerned, the most important scripture of all is not to be found in the word of Jesus.  Neither is it even in the New Testament.  That scripture says: “‘Bring all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house, and try me now in this,’ says the LORD of hosts, ‘If I will not open for you the windows of heaven and pour out for you such blessing that there will not be room enough to receive it.’” (Malachi 3:10).

This scripture is drummed repeatedly into Christians on Sundays.  However, the only time Jesus mentioned tithing in scripture, he pointed out that it was not a weighty matter of the law. (Matthew 23:23).  Hebrews says people only receive tithes “according to the law.” (Hebrews 7:5).  It then insists tithing (and everything else under the law) has been annulled: “The former regulation is set aside because it was weak and useless.” (Hebrews 7:18-19). Nevertheless, mercenary pastors continue to insist on the payment of tithes.

Latter-day Pharisees

Jesus rebuked the Pharisees for keeping part instead of the whole law. (Matthew 23:23). That is what tithe-collecting pastors do today.  If we insist our congregants must pay tithes, we must also insist that they keep the rest of the law.  James says: “Whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is guilty of all.” (James 2:10). Therefore, if we insist on tithing, we should also refrain from eating pork.  We should stone adulterers, execute homosexuals, kill Sabbath violators and restore blood-sacrifices. 

Tithe-collecting pastors counter this by maintaining the payment of tithes pre-dated the law.  Here Abraham is cited as the cardinal example of someone who paid tithes before the promulgation of the Law of Moses, as did Jacob, his grandson.  However, such arguments are disingenuous. 

Before the law, tithing was at best an example but not a commandment.  Moreover, pastors fail to mention that Abraham only tithed once in his lifetime.  When he did, he did not even tithe his own money: he tithed the spoils of war.  He gave ten percent of the plunder he took when he rescued Lot to Melchisedec, king of Salem.  But then he did not even keep the rest but returned it (all ninety percent) to the king of Sodom.

For his part, Jacob also tithed only once.  He did this in a “let’s make a deal” arrangement he offered to God: “Jacob made a vow, saying, ‘If God will be with me, and keep me in this way that I am going, and give me bread to eat and clothing to put on, so that I come back to my father's house in peace, then the LORD shall be my God.  And this stone which I have set as a pillar shall be God's house, and of all that you give me I will surely give a tenth to you.’” (Genesis 28:20-22).  This kind of deal about accepting God only under certain self-serving conditions should certainly not be a term of reference for any serious believer.

Lies upon lies

The first lie pastors tell Christians is what some have referred to as “the eleventh commandment:” “Thou shalt pay thy tithes to thy local church.”  But the bible says no such thing.  The storehouse of Malachi was not a church.  It was a place where food was kept. 

Pastors hide from church-members the fact that money was not acceptable as tithe.  The tithe was a tenth of the seed and fruit of the land and of the animals which ate of the land. (Leviticus 27:30-32).  That is why God says: “Bring all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be FOOD in my house.” (Malachi 3:10).  He does not say “that there may be MONEY in my house.”  The food was used to feed the Levites, the poor, widows, orphans and strangers. 

Pastors also conveniently fail to teach the biblical tithe.  The principles of tithing were not laid down by Malachi.  They were laid down by Moses.  The study of Moses’ guidelines quickly reveals that the biblical tithe has no application whatsoever to Christians and is mischievously violated by tithe-collecting pastors today.  

According to the Law of Moses, the tithe was divided into three allocations.  The first year, it was given to the Levite.  The second year, it was given to widows, orphans and the poor.  The third year, it was eaten in the company of the faithful before the Lord as thanksgiving for his faithfulness. (Deuteronomy 14:22-28).  In the seventh year, there was no planting and no reaping and therefore no tithing.

So the next time your pastor asks you to pay tithe, ask him about the seventh-year reprieve.  Also ask him if you can give your tithe to the orphanage, or bring it as food items to be eaten in church.  Believe me; he will not agree with you because it is your money he is after. 

Inapplicability of tithes

Tithing was only applicable to Jews and to the land of Israel.  When large populations of Jews lived in Babylon, Ammon, Moab, Egypt, and Syria, these lands became tithe-able lands.  However, tithes were not acceptable from strictly Gentile lands.  So you need to ask your pastor how come he is collecting tithes in Nigeria. 

Servants or slaves who worked on the land did not tithe because the land did not belong to them.  Since only agricultural and animal resources were included, a fisherman gave no tithe of his fisheries.  Neither did a miner or a carpenter pay tithes, nor anyone from the various professional occupations.  So if you are not a farmer or a keeper of livestock, tell your 419 pastor tithing is biblically inapplicable to you. 

Moreover, the only people authorised to receive tithes were the Levites. (Hebrews 7:5).  So if your Pastor is a “tithe-collector,” ask him if he happens to be a Jew.  Remind him that, even though a Jew, Jesus could not receive the tithe because he was not from the tribe of Levi but from that of Judah. 

The trick, of course, is for pastors today to claim we are “Levites.”  If your pastor is one such dissembler, ask him if he lives as a Levite.  Remind him that Levites had no land and did not have private property.  Ask him also how he knows he is from the tribe of Levi, which happens to be one of the lost tribes of Israel.  Point out to him that even Jewish rabbis don’t claim to be Levites today because all Jewish genealogical records were lost with the destruction of the Temple in AD 70, ensuring that it is no longer possible to ascertain the true identity of Levites. 

Therefore, if Jews no longer tithe because the Levites are a lost tribe, how can Christian pastors collect tithes when we are not even Jewish, how much more Levites?  If Jewish rabbis, whose terms of reference remain the Old Testament no longer collect tithes, then pastors who insist Christians are under a New Testament have no business doing so. 

The conclusion then is inescapable.  Every pastor who collects tithes is nothing but “a thief and a robber.” (John 10:1). 

"THE MADNESS ABOUT PRIVATE JET OWNERSHIP IN THE GOVERNANCE OF NIGERIA"

Nigeria has about 17,500 public elected and appointed officials at all levels of her government. These political leaders account for about 0.001% of the entire Nigerian population of around 160 million citizens. These public officials gulp about 1.13 trillion Nigerian Naira ($7.1 billion) yearly as their yearly salaries and allowances out of the federal budget of 4.9 trillion Nigerian Naira ($30.6 billion). In terms of numbers, the 0.001% of Nigerians are using 24% of the federal budget of Nigeria for themselves in the name of democracy and public service and leaving behind the 160 million ordinary Nigerians to jointly share the remaining 76% of the nation's income or $23.5 billion. The data above shows that Nigeria as a nation practices the highest wealth gap, the most massive poverty-creation scheme and the most pronounced income inequality today all over the human universe through this system of governance.

Today in Nigeria, some of the 36 governors are now acquiring expensive private jets that run into tens of millions of the American dollar through their tax payers' monies, state budgets or their own state security votes in the name of governance or public service. The states that most of these governors run in 2013 do not have the basic MRI machines in their hospitals, computers and internet connections for the students in their public schools. The roads in the states that they govern are all 21st century death traps and their citizens do not have any access to treated water or employment opportunities. These governors who own those private jets govern states that are so geographically small or insignificant in their territories or landmass and their states can be criss-crossed easily in two hours of road driving.

The only two public elected or appointed officials in Nigeria today that can truly justify the ownership of those private jets are the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and his foreign affairs minister. The President has constitutional responsibilities that cover the 36 states of Nigeria, ECOWAS, African Union, Commonwealth of Nations, United Nations, bilateral agreements and treaties with other governments and nations of the world. The foreign affairs minister has a portfolio that takes him or her to all the nations of the world that have diplomatic relationships with Nigeria. The other federal ministers and the 36 governors in Nigeria do not have any demanding constitutional responsibilities that are worldwide in nature in all truth, honesty and reality to own those private jets. They can fly on the first-class or the business class tickets of the major commercial airlines that fly into Nigeria from the nations of the world and also fly out of Nigeria to the nations of the world.

"I COME TO BURY JONATHAN" - RUDOLF OGOO OKONKWO

President Jonathan has said that corruption in Nigeria is exaggerated. In the eternal words of William Shakespeare, if it were so, it was a grievous fault on the part of those Americans who pointed it out. And grievously have those Americans answered it.

For the purpose of simplifying this argument, let us forget everything that happened when Goodluck Jonathan was Deputy Governor under Governor Diepreiye Alamiesegha or when he was the governor of Bayelsa State following the impeachment of Alamiesegha for corruption - including the arrest of Mrs. Patience Jonathan for money laundering (redacted and deleted from the memory of Nuhu Ribadu and the EFCC). Let us forget all that happened when he was Vice President under President Musa Yar’Adua or Acting President following his death. Let us start from the time he won elections as President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria on April 16, 2011.

Two weeks later, on April 29, 2011, President Goodluck Jonathan secretly approved the transfer of $1.1 billion to the London account of Malabu Oil and Gas owned by former Minister of Petroleum and a convicted money launderer, Dan Etete and Sani Abacha’s son, Mohammed. The money came from funds paid to the Federal Government by two multinational companies; Nigeria Agip Exploration Limited and Shell Nigeria as part of the settlement of the Malabu oil block case between the Federal Government, Malabu and the two multinational oil companies. As soon as the money got into the account of Malabu Oil in London it was wired to secret accounts of cronies and some political associates of President Jonathan. One of the beneficiaries was Abubakar Aliyu. He received over $500 million of that money through several companies he owned. Nobody could fathom what his companies did to warrant such payments. All that we know is that the man is a close associate of Diepreiye Alamiesegha and that he was the same man who (with President Yar’Adua’s help) bought 80,000 square feet of NITEL’s land in Abuja for N1 billion and turned around (with President Jonathan’s help) to sell the same piece of land for N20 billion to the Central Bank of Nigeria.

Other than travel round the world, the next big thing President Jonathan did was increasing the price of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), otherwise called petrol, from N65.00 to N141.00 on January 1st 2012. This action prompted spontaneous protests across Nigeria and abroad. Even though President Jonathan and his team threw around conflicting figures- which showed they had no understanding of what was really going on in the oil industry- they kept arguing that the pain would be temporary and that after the pain the benefits would overwhelm Nigerians. They promised urban buses, monthly publication of the amount of money saved, maintenance of the Port Harcourt refinery, construction of eight major roads, two bridges etc. The subsidy they said had gulped down N1.43 trillion by the end of 2011. With subsidies removed the government said it would realize N1.134 trillion. The protests forced the government to adjust the PMS price to N97. That would have brought half of the projected N1.34 trillion; that is N600 billion into the coffers of the government. However, a year later, none of the promises had been fulfilled. Nobody can say, with any authority, where the N600 billion made in 2012 in subsidy removal was.

In the course of the tussle over the subsidy removal, the Ministry of Finance was forced to set up an inquiry into the government’s subsidy payments to oil marketers and importers. The committee led by Mr. Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede, looked at the subsidy claims of 2011 and discovered that the Federal Government had overpaid importers and marketers of petrol by a whopping N430 billion naira. Yet, before December 2012, the Federal Government had exhausted N888 billion of the 2012 budget meant for payment of subsidies. An additional N161 billion in supplementary funding had to be approved for subsidy payments else marketers and importers were going to carry out their threat to cease importation of petrol into Nigeria, thereby grounding the country.

(Please pause and think of this: In 2012, N600 billion was realized from partial subsidy removal. N430 billion in over payment to marketers and importers was discovered from the 2011 receipts. Also N888 billion was budgeted for subsidy payments in 2012. Yet, by December 2012 an additional N161 billion in supplementary funding was added. So despite the identified overpayment of N430 billion, Nigeria spent N1.14 trillion in subsidy in 2012. And if you add the unaccounted N600 billion saved, that gives us an amount of N1.6 trillion wasted.)

As part of the gains of the protests, a presidential panel was set up to look into what was really happening at the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC). The Ribadu-led panel came out with a report that suggested that Nigeria had lost about N4.64 trillion in the last 10 years from deals Nigerian government officials signed with foreign oil multinationals. (A good example is the recent deal involving Petroleum Minister Mrs. Diezeani Alison Madueke and Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) Limited over foou large oil blocks (OMLs 26, 30, 34 and 42). The Madueke deal is said to shortchange Nigeria to the tune of billions and billions in loss associate with billions of cubic feet of gas. Five aggrieved oil-producing communities in Delta State are engaged in a fight with the minister and her friends at the multinational companies). The Ribadu report also revealed that the NNPC had failed to report N86.6 billion to the government in 10 years by simple manipulation of exchange rates by officials of the corporation. The report further showed that about 150,000 barrels of crude oil are stolen each day in Nigeria. So Nigeria loses about $13.5 million per day (at $100 per barrel). In a year, that stands at $5 billion (N750 billion)

In January this year, a presidential committee on public service reform discovered that top government officials in Nigeria take home N1.126 trillion a year in salaries and allowances – out of a national budget of N4.9 trillion. These public officers constitute just 0.013 per cent of Nigeria’s population. It is common knowledge that Nigeria’s 108 senators each make over $1.7m dollars a year when US President Barak Obama only makes $400,000 a year. That alone is $183.4 million (N28 billion). Then the 360 members of the House of Representatives each takes home over $1.2 billion dollars, which amounts to $432 million dollars (N65bn). Again, each state governor collects an average of N200 million naira a month just as security vote. In a year, they each get N2.4 billion naira. So our 36 governors take home N87 billion naira on security votes alone every year. Add our 38 ministers and ministers of state, 100 plus heads of federal and state agencies, over 432 state commissioners,  774 local government area chairmen or caretakers, almost 10,000 councilors and you will understand where the N1.126 trillion goes.

While all these were going on, a former speaker of the House of Representatives, Dimeji Bankole was arrested and charged for embezzling a N10 billion naira loan borrowed on behalf of the House. He has since been released- awaiting trial, like many governors of the past 13 years. Also an assistant director in the Federal Civil Service, John Yusuf together with his friends stole N27.2 billion from the Police Pension Fund. He was tried and sentenced to 2 years in jail with an option of a N750, 000. At the same time, a Pension Reform Task Force set up by the government to recover looted funds found billions in some banks. Its chairman Alhaji Abdulrasheed Maina transferred the recovered funds to his private account. When asked to appear before the senate, he absconded to Malaysia.

Around the same time, the former Minister of Education, Mrs. Oby Ezekwesili accused Presidents Yar’Adua and Jonathan of squandering in 4 years the $67 billion in External Reserves left by Obasanjo’s government in 2007. She offered to have an open debate with Jonathan’s government but the government called her names and shut her down. Jonathan’s team told Nigerians excited by the prospects of a debate to keep quiet; after all, Nigeria’s external reserve is back up to $48 billion and our national Sovereign Wealth Fund is now $1 billion. (Big deal, until you look at what Algeria ($190 billion) and Libya ($130 billion) and India ($290 billion) and Singapore ($260 billion) have in their foreign external reserves.)

This is the world of revolving billions and trillions that President Jonathan and his 0.013% of Nigerian public officials are living in. In such a world you will understand why President Jonathan had no sense of outrage as he pushed through a proposal for a First Lady Mission that would cost N4 billion to build. You will also understand why a food allowance of almost N1 billion did not sound outrageous to the presidency. In this world of revolving billions and trillions, where everyone in their circle is getting theirs, you will understand why nobody who is getting paid will seriously raise a hand to point at others in the same club.

Many of us do not know but Nigeria makes an average of $20 billion dollars (N3 trillion) in oil and gas revenue a year. Nigeria also makes N5 trillion from Federal taxes. From Customs duty, Nigeria makes another one trillion. That is a total of N9 trillion. If you add a typical year of $10 billion in Excess Crude Account, you are looking at an annual income of over N10 trillion.

In a typical year, Nigeria budgets N4.9 trillion. N10 trillion in revenue minus N4.9 trillion budgeted you have about N5 trillion out there for politicians to play with. If we were to share the N10 trillion naira revenue amongst 170 million Nigerians, every citizen should get N59, 000.00 naira each. A typical family of six will get N354, 000.00 a year.

And if Jonathan closes the loophole through which N750 billion is lost in stolen crude oil, even if it is by 50%, an additional N370 billion will come in. Last December, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala announced proudly that Jonathan’s government has recovered N29 billion naira from oil marketers out of N234 billion certified as stolen. Again if Jonathan ends the waste from oil subsidy, at over N600 billion a year, Nigeria will get an additional revenue of one trillion naira a year for a grand total of N11 trillion each year.

Meanwhile, Nigeria’s external debt has been on the increase since Ngozi Okonjo Iweala came back. It is projected to hit $20 billion in external debt and N6 trillion in domestic debt next year. That means, in less than 10 years after Ngozi Okonjo Iweala paid $12.4 billion of Nigeria’s money to the Paris and London Clubs to fulfill her now abandoned goal of having Nigeria as a debt free nation, Nigeria’s debt is back in full.

President Jonathan is lucky that Nigerians are too busy with more important things – fighting over Chelsea and Manchester United and Arsenal and the decision the coaches of each team make each Saturday and how the European league referees perform on the pitch. So far, Nigerians have abandoned their own team, their own coaches, their own referees, their own pitch and the matches that affect their lives the most.

The day Jonathan’s luck will run out is the day Nigerians will grab a calculator and add up these billions and trillions. Until then, it is mere exaggeration when I say; I come to bury Jonathan not to praise him.
 

ARE YOU A BEREAN CHRISTIAN IN TODAY'S WORLD?

A group of Christians in a town of Berea in the Early Church in the New Testament represented Christianity to the entire world forever in its true color, light and nature. The Berean believers stood out forever as unique examples of Christians in the Early Church for many reasons. The Bible called them "noble believers" which means "spiritual nobles or the first-class citizens of God's kingdom" in the Koine Greek, which was the original language of the New Testament Bible. 

The Berean believers were teachable, lovers of the Bible and were excited daily and were always ready to learn from the Word of God and its divine truths or revelations. Their Christianity or their Christian faith was built on the sound Bible doctrine, the teachings and the words of Jesus Christ and never on the dogmas and teachings of men. They put the Word of God above the teachers of the Word of God. They hated heresies and were ready to challenge any false teachings and the false teachers with the biblical truth.

What is your Christianity or your Christian faith built upon? Are you a true follower of Jesus Christ in all reality or you follow the men of God? Why are you a Christian? Do you see Christianity as a means to your financial goals in life? Do you know Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Saviour? Are you an example of a Berean Christian in today's world? Do you have the hope of eternal life? Do you practice the truths of the Scriptures or you follow heresies of men and organizations? Do you put heresies and heretic teachers above the sound biblical doctrine of the Bible and the Lordship of Jesus Christ?

IS POVERTY TRULY DEMONIC IN NATURE OR A MAN MADE AND MAN CREATED PHENOMENON?

Why are so many people poor worldwide? Why is poverty a citizen of every country including the richest nations of the world? Why is poverty not a respecter of persons, races, genders, languages, cultures, religions, sexual orientations and political affinities? Is poverty truly a generational curse because it runs in a particular family from one generation to another? Is poverty man made or not in all truth, honesty and reality? Does poverty come from Satan directly or indirectly? Does poverty have the real life practical solutions? Is poverty preventable or avoidable in this life? What are the real practical causes of poverty or the reasons for poverty in life?

 Is global human poverty a direct product of the economic policies of the governments of the nations of the world? What roles do multinational corporations and employers of human labor play in the creation of global poverty? Why are so many babies born into chronic or abject poverty worldwide? Why are other human babies born with silver spoons at birth in their mouths? Why are some of the nations of the world today so rich with their vast economic opportunities for their citizens and the other nations are so poor without any significant economic opportunities for their own citizens? Is education an effective weapon against global poverty today? Are employment and financial opportunities in life the most effective weapons against poverty? Is prosperity gospel of the faith movement around the world today the true biblical answer to solving the issues of poverty in the world of Christianity?

"MONEY CAN EASILY BUY THE HIGHLY COVETED AMERICAN CITIZENSHIP"

While most U.S. residents cannot put a price tag on the value of citizenship, Svetlana Anikeeva and her husband can -- $500,000. That’s because the Russian immigrants came to the U.S. through the EB-5 visa program, a federal initiative that allows foreigners to earn a green card granting them permanent residency – and a path to citizenship – in return for investing at least $500,000 in an American business and creating at least 10 jobs.

For Anikeeva, she knew after spending her junior year of high school in Savannah, Ga., that she wanted to one day call America home. The student’s return to the United States was not immediate or certain. She went home to Vladivostok, attended college, then spent seven years in Japan with her husband and daughter, helping run the family’s luxury automobile export business.

But as their daughter grew, Anikeeva and her husband decided they wanted her to have the advantages that come with an American education. And they were willing to pay to make it happen. "It was most of everything we had at the moment,” Anikeeva said of the money. It was a calculated risk, but one that Anikeeva felt would give her daughter the best shot at an education in the United States. In 2009, Anikeeva sent her application to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services and, after it was approved, invested in an office and retail space in downtown Seattle. Now, she’s waiting by her mailbox in Redmond, Wash., for what she hopes will be a permanent green card.

"My American friends, they don’t realize that the simple fact they were born here is worth $500,000," she said. For reasonably deep-pocketed immigrants like Anikeeva, the program is a win-win. It allows investors and their direct family to earn permanent green card status while pumping money into the American economy. The program, which began in 1990, has been growing in recent years, with some in the U.S. business community using it to fund projects in the midst of a slow economic recovery. Since the financial collapse of 2008, the number of applications for EB-5 visas has risen dramatically. During fiscal 2007, just 776 foreign investors applied for visas, a number that ballooned to 6,040 last year. This year could be the first time it reaches the 10,000 visa cap.

Citizenship is the driver 
Over the past seven years, foreign investors who have applied have had a good record of being approved, with around 80 percent getting into the EB-5 program, according U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services statistics. More than 85 percent of those investors were ultimately granted permanent green cards. Foreign investors who participate in the program nearly all do so for the chance at citizenship, not profit, according to Miami-based immigration lawyer David Hart. "Generally speaking, they are not looking to make a substantial return. What they are interested in obviously in getting their green card then trying to ensure that the jobs will be created so that their green card is maintained," he said.

The easiest and most common way for most foreign investors to go about the process is through a regional center. There are currently 287 throughout the U.S., all staffed by immigration lawyers who help clients navigate paperwork and find projects that will ultimately allowthem to stay in the U.S. for as long as they want. They help USCIS verify that jobs have in fact been created. Those jobs can range from waiters working in a new restaurant built with EB-5 money to construction workers building a new retail space.

Regional centers also help investors in what can be the most difficult part of the process – verifying and vetting where the funds are coming from. The government spends a huge amount of time verifying that the funds were not obtained illegally or sourced back to an entity deemed hostile to the United States. Once an application is approved, investors are granted a two-year conditional visa while their project gets underway. If all works out, a permanent green card is issued and investors are free to live anywhere in the United States.

Many regional centers sprung up after the economic collapse of 2008. Immigration experts like Hart, who has been an immigration lawyer for more than 20 years, saw the program as an opportunity. In March 2009, he gained approval to start the South Florida Investment Regional Center, which is working to renovate the Astor Hotel in Miami Beach using EB-5 funding from 16 would-be immigrants. "Around that time the economy was going south, so to speak, and banks weren't lending money. And so EB-5 is a source of cheap capital. ... With my background in immigration law, I recognized that opportunity existed," he said.

Many of the projects are centered on service industries, like hotels and restaurants, that have the potential to create plenty of jobs quickly. But investors, lawyers and business owners point to the slow pace with which investments are approved by Immigration Services as one of the program’s biggest downfalls. Some foreigners originally interested in coming to the United States turn to other countries with similar programs that move faster, they say. And with the program’s popularity growing, the delays are only getting worse.

Hart also contends the government can be inconsistent on what does or does not get approved. He says he has experienced the USCIS originally approving a project, only to change its guidelines after the investment is under way. "That lack of predictability makes it very difficult for any business to really get off the ground," he said. The program also frustrates some who administer it. Jim Ziglar, who headed USCIS under President George W. Bush, said the program was not popular among those in immigration services because of the perception that it was a way for some people to pay their way to the front of the line.

“There is a certain crassness in the American mind that somebody, if they happen to have $500,000, they can buy their way into the U.S.,” he said. Ziglar recognizes some of the merits of the program, but hopes to see the $500,000 minimum raised to increase the economic impact. That number has not changed since the program’s inception in the early 1990s. Anikeeva has no patience for those who see the EB-5 program as un-American, allowing foreigners to buy their way into the country. She says the work her family did to raise the funds and go through the investment process was just as difficult as any other pathway to the United States. 

That’s why she’s waiting by her mailbox in Washington, hoping for word that her temporary green card has been made permanent. If all goes well from there, she plans to begin the process of becoming a U.S. citizen. "I think the wedding day is supposed to be the happiest day of one's life? I think the day of my citizenship will be the happiest day of my life," she said - From NBC News.

WHY DO SO MANY TELEVANGELISTS LAND THEMSELVES IN JAIL? - CHARISMA NEWS

Newpapers, online magazines and bloggers across the coutry are buzzing this week about televangelist Juanita Bynum landing in jail. The controversial prophetic preacher, recording artist and author was arrested and carted to Lew Sterrett Justice Center—and spent the night there—after failing to show up at a Dallas civil proceeding that named her as a defendant. The case involves a judgment that ordered her to shell out $140,000 to ALW Entertainment. Apparently, she did not follow through on a commitment to perform in a play ALW was producing. Charisma News contacted Bynum’s office Wednesday but did not receive a response.

Of course, Bynum is hardly the only television evangelist to sit behind bars. Last July, Maryland pastor Robert J. Freeman, a televangelist who lived in a $1.75 million home with five fireplaces and two four-car garages, was sentenced to 27 months in prison related to a bankruptcy case. Also known as “Dr. Shine,” the charismatic pastor was convicted for hiding church assets so he could get out of paying a mountain of debt faith couldn’t move.

“Freeman lived a life of fraud and deception, using millions of dollars from church members, and fraudulently obtained credit to pay for luxury cars and a mansion while falsely representing in court that he was indigent,” Maryland U.S. attorney Rod J. Rosenstein said in a statement.

Who could forget televangelist Creflo Dollar landing in jail for allegedly choking his daughter? Charges were later dropped, but his mug shot appearing in media headlines caused quite a stir. Televangelist Eddie Long didn’t land in jail, but the civil suits against him have piled up. Some hoped doomsday prophet and televangelist Harold Camping would be arrested for his false prophecies about the end of the world that led so many astray.

This is by no means an exhaustive list of televangelists who have had brushes with the law. But it was somewhat exhausting to recall all of these scandals. Believe me, I don’t like reporting on them any more than you like reading them. But if we turn a blind eye to these issues—or let the secular media take the lead—we are neglecting our responsibility as Christian media. (I'm sure that statement will drive plenty of debate, but are we really supposed to ignore anything negative that happens in the body of Christ, even when it's all over the secular media? There's a difference between responsible reporting and heresy hunting.)

So I said all that to ask this: Why do so many televangelists land themselves in jail? Many famous Christian preachers have been in jail—I’ve been in jail—but that’s supposed to be part of your pre-Christian testimony rather than the event that brings reproach on your ministry.

I’m not here to throw stones or drag anyone's name through the mud. But we need to deal with this problem in the church. So I’ll ask the question once again: Why do so many televangelists land themselves in jail? Are they being falsely accused? Perhaps sometimes. Did they fall into temptation? Certainly that’s happened. Did they slide into deception that greed introduces? I think that’s the answer more times than not.

When you look at the list of televangelists that have landed in jail, you’ll notice a running theme: greenbacks, big bucks, mighty dollars, finances, Benjamins, dead presidents, dinero, moolah, dough, riches, lucre—money. Then again, it’s not really the greenbacks, big bucks, mighty dollars, finances, Benjamins, dead presidents, dinero, moolah, dough, riches, lucre—the money. It’s the greed.

“For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows” (1 Tim. 6:10). That’s why the writer of Hebrews warns us, “Let your conduct be without covetousness; be content with such things as you have. For He Himself has said, ‘I will never leave you nor forsake you’” (Heb. 13:5). I'll stop there. Amen.

What are your thoughts? Why do you think so many televangelists are landing in jail? For all those who make headlines, there are many Christian leaders without television followings who are also landing in jail. What say you?

Jennifer LeClaire is news editor at ;Charisma. She is also the author of several books, including Did the Spirit of God Say That?You can email Jennifer at jennifer.leclaire@charismamedia.com or visit her website here. You can also join Jennifer on Facebook or follow her on Twitter.