The Other Side

We are faced with so many decisions every day. We cannot sit on the fence in many instances, we must make a choice. Some are simple things, like what to wear, at least it is simple for most men. Some are more complex things, like which career path to follow, or whether to marry that particular person, or whether to accept the job offer in a place far away from your comfortable surroundings. I have began to notice a distinct connection between how I handle the simpler decisions and what I eventually decide when the bigger options are presented to me.

Learning the will of God is a similar process. Knowing the will of God is a climax of instances of obedience in small matters. Jesus said that those who loved Him would be loved by Him and by His Father. And that the Father would reveal Himself to such as loved Him. He also says that if we love Him then we will obey Him. One of the fruits of loving Jesus is obeying Him. If we learn to obey Him in the ‘small’ matters such as refraining from drunkenness, gossip and so on, then it can be easier for us to discern His direction in the bigger things because we are used to the pattern of His expectations.

It may seem too late to establish a pattern of obedience in your life, but it is never too late for anything in God’s economy of time. Abraham and Sarah were not too old, in God’s eyes, to have a child. You are not beyond repair, you are not beyond help. There is still hope for you as long as you are alive. It may seem difficult, but look on the brighter side, the other side, where God is. May His will be done in your life.

Bone-Fire

The Prophet Jeremiah saw many visions from God and also saw many troubles for sharing those visions with the people God sent him to. He was not a willing servant, he served mostly because he had to. He openly shares his struggles with us in Jeremiah 20:9. As much as he may want to hold back the words in him, it is like a fire shut up within. How many of us feel this way, you don't really want to be out there openly sharing what God has laid in your heart, yet you know that you have no choice but to share it. So much for willingly being a servant of God. The feeling Jeremiah experienced of having fire shut up in his bones is what I refer to as a bone-fire.

However much we desire to romanticize our calling, it is still a call. It is not a request or an invitation. Jesus didn't send out his guests to preach the Gospel, He sent out his friends, co-workers, His servants. Paul likens the Christian faith to an athlete, a soldier, a farmer but not a visitor. We are supposed to be aware that God will send us out to share His gospel one way or another. You will always have the opportunity to share Jesus with somebody, whether it leaves you looking weird or not. Question is, will you actually do it? Too many of us are busy looking for the riches our pastor promised we would get if we gave money to the church, meanwhile neglecting our neighbours who don't have Jesus.

We are not saved to live safe. I am not saying that we should go out looking for danger, but being a Christian has been far more dangerous in the past than it is now. People were openly murdered for their faith and in some countries some people still face persecution. Some of us may never share the gospel because we are scared people will think we are strange, yet the same people we are afraid of sharing with are suffering, imprisoned without God, looking for any way out. Pray, read your Bible then keep your eyes and heart open. The opportunity to share Jesus is coming your way soon.

Dead Lions and Live Dogs

Ecclesiastes 9:4 Anyone who is among the living has hope, even a live dog is better off than a dead lion (NIV). We praise lions even when they are dead and decomposed. We shudder at their mention, and scenes of splendour and jungle majesty accompany their name. When we talk about dogs, however, they are mere servants or pet friends, security providers or scary rabies-carriers. Yet a living dog has more hope than a dead lion, with all the images the latter's name can conjure.

I use this verse a lot in my life, because there are many times when I feel useless and when I start to believe that there is no purpose to my existence anymore. Sometimes I entertain thoughts of my demise, wishing I was already home with Jesus, away from my troubles. Perhaps you have been at this point too in your life, surrounded by emptiness and thoughts of failure. Those are precious moments, when those who normally protect you from dealing with your issues are no longer available to cushion the reality you have to deal with.

We are reminded that hope is the essential thing in such moments. When we feel like dying dogs, we should be thankful that we are not already counted among the dead. People will remember you for good or bad, but as long as you are still alive, you have to make your existence count for something. If God thought your assignment on earth was done, He would have already called you home. In the meantime, get about handling His business in this planet, for you are born with a purpose and destiny. Please stop feeling sorry for yourself and move on in His strength. As long as there is breath in your lungs, there is need for your genius. Bless us!

Starting Over

There are some voices always present in our heads, always telling us how much we have failed. There are those experiences in our pasts that we would rather forget and we wish we could either undo or erase. We cannot return to the past, and truth be told, we would probably repeat those mistakes under the same circumstances. What then are we to do about our past, now that we seem so messed up in our current lives? How can we regain the self-confidence that we so desperately need to move on in life?

We must first understand that we cannot, on our own, withstand the enemy’s onslaught. We can resist him for a while, but sooner or later we will succumb. He has been at this game for a long time, and he has still some time left. We then understand that we need to invite Jesus into our lives, to allow Him to take complete control over the affairs of our lives. Some of us are content to give the Holy Spirit a room in our lives, yet He desires the whole house. He doesn’t want to be resident, he wants to be president.

God ALWAYS has our best interests at heart. We cannot claim to have a better plan for our lives than Him. He has great ideas, loving motivation and the resources to craft a glorious path for our lives. For some of us, the journey could have been much shorter and less painful, if we had already chosen to give Him control. He is ready, and He is willing . As soon as you read this, would you please take some time to allow Him to speak into your life? Would you quiet yourself, even if for five minutes, to allow Him to give you strength and direction? Try it. All the best.

God waits, He will be heard

The voice of God speaks so loudly, yet so gently. His Spirit convicts and directs, yet the human heart resists His promptings. God doesn't give up, constantly trying to get a word in. The 'prayers' made are mostly one-way traffic, directed at God then concluded with a quick AMEN before snoring ensues. God sighs and waits for the dreams to start, He will be heard tonight. The dreams begin and the human mind takes over from the heart. Every effort at Godly communication is blocked by a perverse thought and so it seems, God 'loses' yet another match in this unending struggle. God waits for the morning, He will be heard.

The alarm clock rings and the annoyed hand reaches out to stop the noise. The mind is displeased that it has been denied a few more minutes of slumber and so the day begins in anger. Should he read His Bible this morning, a thought dropped by God, or should He go direct to the showers? The Bible is left untouched as the shower gets some extra minutes to 'wash away' the anger developing withing. The radio is on, Christian music supposedly, but the man cannot listen to the words, he is too busy moving to the beat. The song does not inspire, it causes him to perspire instead, so he spends a few more minutes washing off the sweat built up under the hot shower. God waits for the day, He will be heard.

The matatu tout calls for passengers to his loud vehicle. Other touts call to the man as well, they are all similarly loud and the quieter matatus are playing radio stations that have questionable content. He is not listening out for the best music or wholesome conversation, he waits to hear which matatu is cheapest. He boards and survives the sexually explicit conversations on radio as he continues to seeth at having to pay so much more busfare to town. The traffic jam annoys him even more and now he is ready to bite anyone's head off. God waits for His chance. He will still be heard.

Divine Disappointment

I had the incredible opportunity of listening to eight young people giving their testimonies here in Bielefeld this week. I usually really enjoy listening to the stories of people's lives, especially where God features prominently. I love happy endings, and testimonies of Christians always end happily, because once God comes in, there is no really sad ending. Weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning. In the New Jerusalem, there will be no more weeping or crying, no more mothers mourning for their sons. All will be comforted and all will live in the glory of the Lord, how I long for that day.

One particular young man gave the story of how he was imprisoned by marijuana and alcohol. He was so deep into it that it was beyond addiction, he was possessed by the drug. He no longer abused the drug, it abused him. He shared how he asked his mother to pray with him that he could change, and when she was praying, a real spiritual struggle ensued. He hit his hand against a household object and ended up needing a cast on his hand. There was a distinct connection between his drug abuse and some foreign unpleasant spirit living in Him.

I also heard of a man whose best friend died in a car accident and he now holds God responsible for his loss. He says a loving God who knows everything and has everything under His control should not have allowed this misfortune to happen. He has suffered divine disappointment. How can he be shown that God's love extends beyond our finite time here on earth, well into infinity with Him?

There are definitely people suffering from divine disappointment around you. The wife who keeps praying for a child, the other wife who has suffered more miscarriages than she cares to count, the university student who cannot pass his exams, the high school student who cannot afford school fees, the man who lost his job and cannot seem to get another one, the girl who every boy ignores, the boy who doubts whether he will ever be good enough for his demanding father.....the list goes on. Pray for someone today, then pray with them this week.

Water in the Tap

I come from Umoja Innercore Estate, in the Eastlands section of Nairobi City. We are not described as poor people but we aren't called rich people either. We are the people who have just enough to survive and a little extra to buy nice phones. We are also the people who are used to not having water in the tap sometimes for a whole week or more. We are accustomed to electricity black outs, and it is not uncommon for the matatus plying our route to double the figures when it rains.

I am now in Bielefeld, Germany. I have traveled through a number of German cities and 'villages' so far but there is some difference between them and Umoja. There is always water gushing out when you turn the tap. The electricity never fails, unless you don't pay the bill. The roads are either in good condition, or under repair. People actually follow traffic rules. Kids here are not beaten up by parents when they are causing a nuisance. They are talked to, and by talking I don't mean shouting. They don't go to school with uniforms and in many cases it is okay to go with your mobile phone to class as long as it doesn't ring in class.

In Kenya, the sun generally shines when it is supposed to, and our winter hardly goes under 12 degrees. We spend much less on transport, food and housing in Kenya and the fruits taste better. We live close to Mombasa and some of us are just a short drive away from national parks. We don't have to wait for the Olympics to see our athletes running. We have lots of freedom to speak out our faith in schools and other public institutions.

Each country has its benefits. There are many things that can change for the better, but we still have many things to be grateful for. Perhaps instead of pointing out the endless annoying things in our lives, we can take some time to be grateful for the good things we have, no matter how small. Psalm 95:1-3

German, Turkish, Russian, Kenyan

These four nationalities met in a German car (Volkswagen) for a two-hour journey to similar destinations, all from different occupations and headed for different weekend activities. They all shared in common the need to save on the cost of traveling in Germany and also the need for each other for companionship as the drive continued. The Kenyan, me, is normally a talkative guy but he met his match this day. The Turkish guy was soon asleep as we joined the highway traffic, but the German and Russian talked animatedly about their jobs and families. Strange how much information people can share with each other in fifteen minutes.

Soon, the Turkish guy woke up from his short slumber and immediately joined the conversation. The topic of discussion moved from families and jobs, to German hospitality and the standards of hospitality in other countries. The Turkish and Russian felt that Germans are not as hospitable as the people are in other countries. They felt that Germans were too selective in their friendships, but it seems they haven't read my blog post on German Hospitality :-) The German did her best to defend her Fatherland (it is not the Motherland in Germany) and she was actually quite good at interrupting the men. The best thing was, the discussion never threatened to escalate into a quarrel. They remained cordial and respectful all the time, although the Russian guy had to drop out of the conversation once in a while to focus on driving.

After and hour's drive, we needed to refill the fuel tank and so we stopped. I went to the nice little room downstairs ;-) and they stood outside chatting. Upon my return, I was the only one who wasn't smoking and who appeared to notice the cold weather outside. We got back in the car and after an hour we arrived at the Frankfurt Airport where I took a train to my destination. We were all so different, but for the need to save on costs and boredom, we found something to unite us. How many times do we fight over things, when all we need for unity is right there with us?

A Thousand Words

They say that a picture is worth a thousand words. I recently had the honour of posing for one of the most impressive upcoming photographers I know, one Tanja Kibogo of Kibogo Photography (www.kibogophotography.com). She had previously not been to photo sessions with male clients , so it was mostly trial-and-errror for us. In the beginning, we were both a bit apprehensive and I was a bit cold, thanks to the unpredictability of the month of April. However, she soon got into her stride and snapped away. She got more inspired as the photo-shoot progressed and eventually had to restrain herself when she saw that her "model" was nearing freezing point.

I was thinking about that photoshoot and about a picture being worth a thousand words. A good photo can capture emotion, experience and time and express so much that the normal eye wouldn't have seen at the moment the photo was taken. One can look at a photo and remember so many things from the past, that's the powerful trigger a photo has. Once a photo is etched into memory, anything about it can set off a pattern of thoughts, and some of us end up daydreaming because of such photos.



We are told that we are letters to be read by people. We are the image of Christ just as Christ is the visible image of the invisible God. We are to be His representatives and thoughts of Jesus should be triggered whenever people see us, or think about us. This is indeed a high calling, in these days when we would much rather do what we want and not be ""judged" about our actions. So the next time someone sees you, what will be the thoughts that you trigger in their minds?

German Hospitality

I arrived in Germany on the 9th of April to an unpleasant welcome from the skies. It was cold, dull and rainy and I couldn't find my luggage. What should have been the beginning of a three-month journey of bliss suddenly had a sour taste. I tried my best to compose myself and accept the fact that this particular airline was not known for losing passenger luggage. I was also impressed by the joyful nature with which they handled my complaint. They made me feel as if my bags were in the manager's car on their way to my first stop. Two days later, my bags were in my host's apartment in Marburg, unharmed and well-handled.

I have travelled a bit since then. I went from Marburg- Osthofen- Siegburg- Düren- Leverkusen- Soest- Haiger and am currently in Geldern. I will be in Gelnhausen and Fulda this weekend before I go on to Bielefeld. There are still many towns on my roughly-sketched travel plan but at least I understand what's written on it.

The most amazing thing so far has been the awesome welcome I received from all my hosts. I have eaten food that I can't pronounce, and I believe I am well on the way to adding more weight than I need. Perhaps I should remember where I put my jogging shoes when I get back home, I may need them. I have been given warm and comfortable accomodation, clean towels, hot showers, unending offers of coffee, great food,  the chance to speak of my faith and my testimony through music and the incredible opportunity to make new friends. The journey continues, but so far, let's hear it for German hospitality.

River Psychology

Follow the path of least resistance. This is the mindset of a river in normal flow. However, the psychology changes when the river floods its banks. It becomes a threat to everything in its path. It sweeps away everything     and chooses the straightest path its force can take. An idea is very much the same.

In the beginning, most of our ideas are like a river in normal flow. We look for opportunities to enhance the development of our ideas and are quick to stop when someone raises an objection or points to a flaw in our ideas. However, when our ideas come to maturity, they are like a powerful river. Nothing can stand in the way of an awesome idea. It will sweep everything in its path and no resistance can be strong enough to stop it.

Which ideas do you have in you? Are you allowing them to die a slow death or are you preparing for the time when they come to maturity? Will you allow circumstances to squeeze the very life out of your plans or are you patiently waiting for that grand moment when your ideas will have room to occupy the minds and hearts of men?`

Big Dreams, Small Heart

What breaks the human heart so easily? Why is it so possible for human beings to deal with hurricanes and other instances where nature strikes at the earth, yet they can't deal with rejection and slander? How can someone survive a potentially fatal car accident yet succumb to the wounds caused when a lover walks away? It is true that the heart is a muscle, and this muscle can be tired by deprivation of oxygen, so be careful who becomes the source of your oxygen.

Some of us have big dreams, things we want to accomplish before our time on this earth is over. Some of us have more manageable dreams, things that don't need so much input from others. Yet some of us have no particular direction in life, taking each day as it comes, not caring much for anything. For every size of your dream, you need a matching heart size. Big dreams need big heart. Incredible dreams need incredible heart.

I have dreams so big I don't think some of them will happen in my lifetime. Some of them will indeed happen while I exist on this planet and some of them will begin while I am alive and come to maturity long after I am home. Do you have a dream? Do you have something so big that you need an army to bring it to pass?