Recovering From Spiritual Failure

1. Admit failure on your part. Don't look for someone else to blame. Psalm 32:1-5

2. Ask for the Lord's forgiveness. 1John 1:8-9

3. Accept this forgiveness, realise that God loves you. Jeremiah 31:3

4. Go on/ move in confidence. Hebrews 4:16

Millionaire Pauper

I have some money. That's always a good thing unless you've stolen it and the police are looking for you. I have some expenses. That's where the money I have will be going. If someone looked into my books, they would think I was doing well, and when some look at me they wish they had the stuff I have. I look at some of these people who look at me and wish I had their life. I wish I was married, sometimes, yet some married people wish they were like me, sometimes.

I am rich by virtue of my position in Christ, yet sometimes I wish I didn't know the truth so that I could indulge my lusts and cravings. I know sin has some fun in it but I also know that the pain far outweighs the pleasure it momentarily provides. There is a constant struggle to ignore the spirit and gratify the flesh but the flesh is a harsh master, the spirit is too gracious and gentle.

Perhaps we share similar struggles, you and I. Maybe you fall so many times into sin that you doubt the possibility of any more grace. God consistently reaches out to us in love, showing us that He is always willing to pardon. He isn't a harsh Judge waiting to punish you for every crime you commit. There is mercy at the cross. I'll meet you there.

Loving And Serving

Luke 10:38-42

Martha invited Jesus to their home and He accepted the invitation. She invited Jesus as her guest and went straight into serving Him. She also expected her sister, Mary, to do the same. She expected Jesus to compel Mary to join her in preparing for their esteemed guest. She was worried about so many things, as would many of us if we were entertaining a special guest.

Many of us received Jesus as Lord then went straight into some form of ministry courtesy of some overzealous evangelist or a pastor with a lean staff. We spend so much time taking care of the ministry and serving God that we neglect the even more important relationship that God requires with us. He saves us first to be His children, then next to service, but He is in no hurry to push us into service.

Mary wasn’t the one who invited Jesus but she got the most out of His visit. She prioritized dwelling at His feet and learning from Him than she did serving Him. Jesus commended her for choosing the greater action. She received reassurance that the fellowship with Jesus wouldn’t be taken from her.

We can learn from Martha that we do need to make the step to invite Jesus into our lives but we can also learn from Mary that Jesus should transform from guest to friend, to someone who actually lives with us.

Finally, Jesus tells Martha to not be so troubled and worried by so many things but to focus on what’s important. That is our relationship with Him, we should serve Him out of love, not love Him out of service.

Sacred Romance- My notes From the sermon At Church Today

-Mark 2:1-12 - There was no obstacle that could stop them from getting their friend yo Jesus. - Sometimes we have to dig to get access to breakthrough. - Our friends help us to get healthy relationship with God - His FRIENDS brought him to Jesus - it was the faith of the friends that got him healed, not his own. - Jesus doesn't call us to faith in isolation from other believers. It is not a hermit faith - It's not a spectator sport. All have a part to play - The people you hang around have a great impact on your life - Who has God put around me? - Purpose of E-groups: Accountability Belonging Care Discipleship - we can receive a blessing other not from the faith or lack of faith of our friends - Our faith can be a blessing to other people Challenge - Who are the four friends in your life? - What kind of friend am I? - Am I willing to be bold and creative to get others to come to fellowship? - What will I do for my friends to let them know that I value them?

Self- Preservation - Joshua 2

Rahab knew that war was imminent and that Jericho would lose. They were already afraid of the Israelites, having heard of the things God had done for them since departure from Egypt. They had no desire or strength to fight and they were sure they would lose. The instinct of self-preservation almost always overrides loyalty to an ideal or a cause. She gave Jericho away, and in turn spared herself and her family. It was a helpless situation, really. Even if she gave the Israelites up to the authorities of the city, they would still eventually lose. So she made the most of a bad situation and ended up safe, and is also mentioned in the lineage of Jesus the Christ. Sometimes, it is useful to look out for oneself. Sometimes, as selfish as this may sound, one needs to abandon the ship if it looks likely to sink and take you along with it to the depths. When the situation is beyond repair, get to high ground. Secure yourself, God still has use for you.

Post Success Disorder

We were learning about listening to God in church on Sunday. The sermon text was 1 Kings 19 but I must admit that I got stuck at verse number 4. A man who had seen fire coming from heaven and licking up a soaking-wet altar with its contents was now super depressed and desiring death. I wouldn't understand how he felt if I wasn't a regular victim of the same feeling. You do super things and everyone puts you on a pedestal, then you go to the silences of your private moments and wonder what it was all about. I have learnt to allow those moments to pass, for they do pass. God is interested in our every detail and He teaches us the value of His presence in those empty moments. We realize how vain our pursuits are and appreciate the real meaning of being on a journey with Him. The next time you find yourself on a spiritual low, use the opportunity to reach out for the void-filling presence of Jesus. Then your post success disorder will turn into a post success reminder of Jesus. Happy sulking :-)

Not again!

Our political 'leaders' are at it again. They are using the very thing that got us into trouble to jostle for political supremacy in the country. Some are under judicial process, alleged to have been behind the senseless violence that occurred only a few years ago, whereas some are seen to hold their current positions by virtue of the same. They seem to have so quickly forgotten that we wouldn't have killed each other if they had led us otherwise. I didn't hold a weapon to anyone but I am still to account for what happened because sometimes I hated some communities in my heart.

I want to love those from other communities and I normally have no problem doing so, until the time for the elections arises. It is in this time that my tribe suddenly counts for something and I am expected to join my tribal bandwagon and usher 'one of our own' into office. Sadly, this is the mindset that even some of my supposedly christian friends have. I use the word 'supposedly' because christianity unites us in the Kingdom of God and God gave us the same country to live in. By virtue of the work I do, I travel a bit and I meet many people in their community settings. I learn to appreciate the good and wonder at the unpleasant. I don't want to be a tribalist, and no voice will make me one.

I have one vote and I intend to use it. Let me be counted among the few that voted with their conscience instead of voting with their surname. I am not my tribe, I am not even of this world. As long as I am in this world, I will endeavor to serve Jesus through my speech and my actions, and the electoral process is a big part of this action. Please allow yourself to love this country and its people more than you love your part of the country and your people. God bless Kenya.

Staying Connected

John 15:1-4

Some versions render it ‘abide in me’ whereas other versions say ‘remain in me’. Regardless of the version, the important thing is that the statement has the general idea of a connection to God. This connection to God is as vital to a Christian as a power output is to an electrical appliance. A Christian has to be connected to Jesus, it is the only way you can be Christian. We get our name from His so we cannot lay claim to the title of Christian if we don’t have Christ living in us and working through us.

A connection to Him allows Him to channel His love, grace and compassion through us, not solely for our own benefit but for the sake of the lost and hopeless world around us. So many people seem to be okay when the reality is that they are just getting by. Many simply survive, while we think that they thrive. We are to be the hands and feet of Jesus in their lives and we cannot give that which we have not received. It is, therefore, important for us to be in constant and consistent communion with Him: learning from Him, loving Him, growing deeper in Him, so that those who tap into us tap into His very essence. In the same way, those who we touch would benefit from the touch of the Master.

Our reaching out will be automatically fruitful if we remain in Him. When others are busy looking for quick solutions to life’s challenges, we draw strength from the inexhaustible fountain of the life of Jesus. Abide. Remain. Bear fruit. Much fruit. 

Weak-ened

This week has been quite challenging for many of my friends. I have also encoutered my fair share of spiritual opposition but nothing I faced came close to the level of trial that some special people have gone through. As much as we may be happy for the weekend as a sign of an end to this week, the situations in their lives may not be following our regular calendar and may insist well into the next days, weeks, months or even (heaven forbid) years. We don’t get to choose the situations in our lives in which we need an enormous infusion of God’s grace, and some of us would prefer death instead of having to endure some things.

Sometimes we wonder how close God really is to us. Sometimes we feel as though He is far away in the very moments we wish He would be closest to us. The concept of tough love and punishment are not things we want to hear at such times. We especially get angered by sentiments that try to remind us of overused verses that would be expected to encourage us at these times. We want something tangible, solutions we can see, touch and feel. We demand instant release from our suffering and anything else seems harsh and ungodly. How does God work His salvation in our lives in the hard times?

Elijah had his moments at the summit of despair. He would have gladly taken death at the hands of God rather than at Jezebel’s hands. He didn’t want to take His own life and wished God would do it for Him (1 Kings 19:1-21). If God answered such prayers from His children, so many of us would already be gone. In His wisdom and grace, He overlooks such prayer requests and continues to be our cover in times of great distress. Whatever you are going through is important but may be an unnecessary result of your actions. Feeling guilty about what brought you there won’t help much. Now that you are in that situation, how can you best allow God to make a way of escape for you from it? How can you best encourage yourself in God so that His word carries you through and out of that valley of the shadow of death. Remember that you are to walk through the valley of the shadow of death, not set camp in it. 

You will make it. You will bear some scars that will remind you of this particular season in your life, but Jacob also bore a limp after his wrestling encounter, and still went on to be remembered as Israel. The scar is a souvenir of the experiences you are going through, and in a strange way reminds you of the victory you have in God. Jesus still bore the marks of the nail in His pierced hands even after He had conquered death, hell and the grave. Your scar is your testimony. You will make it, and your testimony will encourage those who will be going through similar things in future. Be strong and of good courage.