TIME.

The one thing we all share is time. It is allocated equally to all of us, and how we use the time we have determines where we are going to end up in the future. A minute is a minute in China and in Africa, the dynamics of time do not change no matter where you go.

It's a simple truth that time waits for no man, however in our everyday life we live each day in the moment and confined in the walls of reality we live our lives as if we are going to live forever. 

Knowledge is power, what sense  does it make to know you are going to die one day, the one thing that we are all certain about, but continue to ignore it. We might think of the eventuality of death when we read the obituaries, when we bury a loved one, when we pass through a near death experience, when there is traffic on Langata road and you are stuck opposite the cemetery and the tombstones contains names and pictures not very different to the names and faces of the man on the mirror. 

But if I live everyday thinking about the death of the man on the mirror, I'll shrivel and I won't enjoy life. To live ignoring the fact that I am going to die one day means I don't understand the value and importance of life and time.

It's a great dilemma. However when faced with issue like this, I look to the Bible for answers. Jesus Christ lived on this earth, and many times He told his disciples that he was going to leave them, He knew death awaited Him at the cross. However He was not fearful, the thought of death didn't cripple him, neither was he ignorant of the fact he was going to die.

In John chapter 14(read the whole chapter if you can) verse 30, Jesus said to His disciples, " I don't have much more time to talk to you, because the prince of this world approaches. He has no power over me, but I will do what the Father requires of me, so that the world will know that I love the Father. Come, let's be going."

Time is running out.

Jesus knew His time on earth was coming to an end, he did not shy away from the fact He was going to die, rather he approached it motivated with a purpose and most importantly motivated with love. All Jesus wanted to do was to fulfill God's plan for Him and to reveal to the world that He loves God. 

Time didn't wait for Jesus, He knew God had a plan for him, He had to do many things before His time on earth ran out, He knew every second counted. Most importantly Jesus knew He couldn't accomplish anything without loving God.

I know I will die but instead of fearing death or ignoring it's inevitability, I chose to walk upon the path God laid out for me and to live every single day loving God.

The only way I can wake up every day and love God, is to remind myself that God loves me. The only way we can love God is know that He loved us first, so much so that He gave his only begotten son, Jesus, to die for our sins. Jesus said "All those who love me will do what I say . My Father will love them, and we will come to them and live with them." (John 14:23, John 3:16, 1st John 4:19 respectively.)

Even though Jesus died on the cross, He rose again, death had no power over Him. Death has no power over you either, it is upon you to know Jesus loves you, to love Jesus and to accept Jesus into your heart. You won't have all the time in the world to accept Jesus as your personal Saviour, your time is limited. Jesus has waited for you to accept Him into your heart all your life, He had a plan for you before you were even born, and part of His plan is for you to spend an eternity with Him. Make the right choice accept Jesus into your life today.

Say this prayer if you want Jesus to live in your heart, "Oh God, I know I am a sinner. I believe Jesus is Lord. I believe Jesus was my substitute when He died on the Cross. I believe His shed blood, death, burial, and resurrection were for me. I now receive Him as my Saviour. I thank You for the forgiveness of my sins, the gift of salvation and everlasting life, because of Your merciful grace. Amen.”

To every single person reading this, God has a mission for you to accomplish before you die and step one is to accept Jesus Christ as your Lord and Saviour. Welcome aboard, have a relationship with Christ and live life knowing you are everything God intended you to be. Accomplish your mission on this earth, make the best of the time you have on this earth.

Be blessed.

The Other Cheek.

John 10:10, "The thief comes to steal kill and destroy..." This is a verse we hear from time to time but it's days like this that we see the true nature of the enemy. The attack on the Westgate mall has shocked the nation, who can do such a thing, shoot women and children indiscriminately, shoot innocent to further whatever wicked cause that the devil has burdened on them.
Times like these we turn on the television and the news leaves tears in our eyes and the thought that if it were not for God's grace, I would be at Westgate mall, enjoying my Saturday like all the victims were. I read the status update of one of my former classmate on Facebook, she was praying for her family which was at the Westgate Mall.  Her update shook me and I wondered how can such a disaster strike so close to home?
The attackers are still at Westgate Mall, they continue their siege on innocent people and brave officers. It's easy to be afraid and to let your joy and peace be robbed by the predicament our country faces. But I will not fear neither will I let my joy and peace be robbed by these attacks.
I might not know anybody who is a victim, at least not that I know off, I might not know what the victims and their families are going through right now, but I know this much, when Jesus was asked what to do when attacked by evil people, he said the following words, " But I tell you, do not resist an evil person. If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to them the other cheek also" Mathew 5:39.
Don't be afraid, give them the other cheek. This doesn't mean that we let them attack us without defending ourselves, or that we put ourselves willingly in the face of danger. It means that when they attack us like they have, we respond from somewhere we haven't been hit. They can injures us, persecute us but no matter what they do they can't touch our soul. The soul in which Jesus resides in, the soul full of love, peace and kindness.
So today, whether I am a victim or not, I will respond with love. I will pray for the victims and I will pray for my enemies as well. I will pray for the attackers for God to free them from the hate and evil spirit that has consumed them. I will turn the other cheek, just like Martin Luther King jr did, just like Nelson Mandela did and just like my Saviour Jesus did.
When Jesus was hanging on the cross, He prayed, "Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing." Luke 23:34. So today I ask you to pray for our enemies, to respond with love as opposed to hate and vengeance. An eye for an eye will make the world go blind, so when they expect violence, hate, restlessness and stress, we will show them love, peace and understanding that comes from God so that they too may get to know the love that God has for them.
It might be difficult for you to do this, but I ask you to pray that God gives you ability to see the attackers just as God sees them. This should be our prayer and even in the horror of these attacks, the light of Jesus Christ will shine bright even to save those that attack us.

Let the light of Christ shine through in you today.

So start a prayer chain, pray for the victims, the attackers and our country. And thank God for his grace that saves all that choose to believe Jesus is Lord.
I didn't quote the whole of John 10:10. The full verse reads as follows,"The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full." So today I ask you not to be afraid, Christ comes so that  we may have life, peace, joy and love. Christ came for you, me and the attackers to.
 If you want to experience this peace and love, all you have to do is follow the instructions on the following scripture, Romans 10:9 'That if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.'
Say this prayer with me, "Oh God, I know I am a sinner. I believe Jesus is Lord. I believe Jesus was my substitute when He died on the Cross. I believe His shed blood, death, burial, and resurrection were for me. I now receive Him as my Saviour. I thank You for the forgiveness of my sins, the gift of salvation and everlasting life, because of Your merciful grace. Amen.”
Rest assured that God will use all these things for good and for his glory, so we might mourn for our loved ones and country men and women today, but we will rejoice tomorrow, whether in this earth or when we march as Saints into the gates of heaven, I know one thing, a better day awaits us.
Be blessed.

The Story That Changed My Life.

The dreams I had as a boy sounded better in the day time when I told my loved ones than when I saw them in the night time. "When I grow up Mum, I'll be a Pastor, just like Daddy." The dreams I had as a boy felt best when I preached to my childhood friends (Thank you Benjamin for reminding me of this.) and for the first time saw the talents God had put in me.
As I grew up, no matter how many dreams I had, I still remembered the young little boy telling his parents how he would step on a pulpit one day. But soon enough, those dreams soon became distant memories. Every once in a while, the window panes in my room turned to mirrors which reflected the dreams I had. Like a white screen in a movie theatre, my life would play before my very eyes and I would feel robbed of my dreams. The tape would stop rolling the moment I got to where I was in life,  and then the darkness that lied beyond the window panes became apparent.
I would try to picture my future but it was futile, I had a better chance counting the mosquitoes I had killed by smacking them against the wall and they left a small blood stain on the dull white walls of my hostel room. I had no big picture like I once had, so whatever goals I set, new year resolutions, short term goals, long term goals, basket goals, academic goals and goals towards improving the relationships I had with my friends and family, I fell way short.
It was frustrating at first, then the frustration slowly turned into hopelessness and despair. When it seemed it couldn't get any worse, I failed to complete my academic requirements for graduation, I had let myself and others down. My goals were no more, I took each day as it came my way, it was like staring into a black hole of hope and aspirations. The darkness that was beyond the window pane was right before me, and with every step I took, with every passing day, I stepped further away from the dream projecting canvass. Distant memories turned into painful ones, and my joy and peace were robbed.
I turned to the mirror, and although I never said it or thought it, it always seemed that I asked the mirror, " Mirror mirror on the wall, who is the biggest disappointment of them all?"   Then those hardened hopeless eyes on the reflection would look right back at me, and as we locked eyes, I would fell like the biggest disappointment of them all.
I know these look like first world problems or an overreaction, but imagine failing in all you do, imagine failing on what you define yourself by  picking yourself by, imagine failing at what you love. Now imagine yourself forgetting who you were, and watching your identity getting snatched from you. Imagine being the sole reason behind all this, being the reason to why you're friends and family don't trust you anymore. When you feverishly point towards anything to blame but the rest of your fingers point right back at you as the cause of this fever that was almost bringing you to your demise.

But in this dark place, the brightest light shone at the end of the tunnel. A story of love authored by Great I AM got to where I was. The story is one sentence long, but it  reads longer than any past I had lost. The story is one sentence long but it feels better than a breeze on the hottest day, better than a cloud on a sunny afternoon. The story is one sentence but it's a pat on the back and a soft palm that wiped my tears away. The story is one sentence long but it's everything I desire and more than I can imagine. The story is one sentence long but it's better than any high that any drug(s) can make you experience. The story is a true story.
The story reads; "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life."
In my despair God reminded me of his gift to me, and I made the decision that I had postponed for most of my life (the time is now!). I accepted Jesus into my life and I asked the Lord to forgive me of my sins. And nothing else mattered, my problems didn't flee, I still had a long and difficult path to walk, but whenever I felt defeated all I had to do was to call upon God and all of my burdens were lifted.
It's not a cliché, it's not a claim that I am good or of what I have done, this is not me condemning others, rather this is me being a witness to God's awesome grace. I felt it, the new start, the new living translation in Ephesians 2:8 states,' God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can't take credit for this; it is a gift from God.' To God be the glory, He stretched his loving hand to a sinner like me and embraced me, He made me spotless and gave me a clean slate, a slate that He wipes clean every time I fall, even when I don't deserve it, Jesus still loves me.
So whenever I feel like I am falling or failing,  I remember the words of 1st John 4:17, ' As Jesus Christ is, so are we in this world.' As Jesus is in heaven, with no sin, disease, fault, failure, stress, pain, lust, despair, troubles, worries, hunger, addiction, with no troubles of this world, so are we here on earth. Whenever I think about the mirror mirror on the wall, Jesus Christ reminds me, it's not me about me on this earth, it's about Himself.
And on that darkness beyond the window panes, He speaks these words to me, Jeremiah 29:11 "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." Hope and a future awaits me, and they await you too if you choose to let my Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ to save you today.

 It sounds like I'm possessive of Jesus when I say Jesus Christ is my Lord and my Saviour, but as a witness of what the Lord has done for me and the peace and joy that I now enjoy, you will understand why I am like this. For the Lord has restored my soul, and He restored the years the locust stole from me, and Jesus wants to be your Lord, Saviour, Restorer and your best friend. All you have to do is follow the instructions on the following scripture, Romans 10:9 'That if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.'
Say this prayer with me, "Oh God, I know I am a sinner. I believe Jesus is Lord. I believe Jesus was my substitute when He died on the Cross. I believe His shed blood, death, burial, and resurrection were for me. I now receive Him as my Saviour. I thank You for the forgiveness of my sins, the gift of salvation and everlasting life, because of Your merciful grace. Amen.”

Read the Bible as much as you can, try and start with reading the Gospels, Mathew, Mark, Luke and John and read about the life of Jesus on this earth. Be a member of a Bible based church, follow what the Spirit of God tells you and in all circumstances Praise the Lord.
Be blessed.

 Then I was a boy and I was oblivious of what I was doing, now I am a man very aware and a witness of the Grace of God. Because of the Great I AM, I am. I am forgiven of all my sins, I am realizing God's purpose for me, I am at the best point of my professional career and sports career and I am free indeed. From a boy dreaming to a man living the dreams! Thank you God for Your Grace. This is my testimony.
Be Blessed.

Questions and Truths.

I got questions and I know you do too. Nothing is worse than battling with questions in your head and having no surety of whether the position you hold on the matter is right. All the questions I had can be summerised into one, and I'm sure we all battle with this question. Eternity? Eternity? Ecclesiastes 3:11 says that God  has put eternity in every person's heart, so don't lie to yourself, don't run from the question or neglect it.
Eternity? well Ecclesiastes 3:11 continues to say that we can not fathom what God has done from beginning to end. So it begs the question, if I can't understand it, why did God put it in my heart? Well the answer is simple, eternity is not something we can understand or describe, it is something we LIVE. Eternity is not a question that we can answer on pen and paper, when the author of Ecclesiastes wrote this verse, he did not follow to give a detailed answer to what is eternity, but instead he mentioned how we can't understand the works of God from beginning to end, because God is eternal, so don't expect an answer to eternity from me. But I can tell you one thing, we all Live it.

The choice then becomes, how can I get the best from eternity? How can I get eternal life? You MUST be SAVED! Jesus said to Nichodemus in John 3:3, " I tell you the truth, unless you are born again, you cannot see the Kingdom of God." 
Then comes this question why must I be Saved? Romans 3:23 says, 'for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,' we are all sinners. This is a simple truth that we must all accept.
Then the question becomes, why must sinners be saved? Romans 6:23 reads, 'For the wages of sin is death...' It's as blunt as that, sin begets death. The word wages is used, wages is pretty much the salary one gets at his job, a salary is what you earn, what you deserve, so for being sinners, death is what we deserve! And by death, the author means eternal separation from God, in Hell! But it's not game set and match, we can be saved.
The question then becomes how can I be saved? When Paul and Silus were asked this question by a philippian soldier in Acts 16:30-31, their answer was short and precise, read it for yourself, ' And brought them out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved? And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.' BELIEVE ON THE LORD JESUS CHRIST AND THOU SHALT BE SAVED! How awesome is that! It's simpler than reciting the alphabet.
But it doesn't end there, being saved isn't the end of the story, it's merely the beginning. Remember Romans 6:23, the verse that told us about the wages of sin, I left out the best part of the verse, 'For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.' Imagine yourself drowning in a pool, then a life guard comes and saves you, but after saving you, he gives you a gift. God gives us the gift of eternal life, through Jesus, all we have to do is believe.
But it doesn't end there either, remember Romans 3:23, 'for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,' well I also didn't mention the awesome verse that follows it, notice how Romans 3:23 ends with a comma, this is the end of the sentence. Here is what follows, Romans 3:24, ' and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.' We are justified! What does this mean? Justified is a legal term but break it down just-if-i'd, it means just as if I had. Just as if I had done what? All are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus; just as if you had never sinned, just like Jesus! How cool is that!
Jesus paid your wages, He died on the cross so that we may live. John 3:16-18 says, " For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.  For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.

Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son." Understand that we are already condemned and nothing we can do can change that, but God has given us a gift, His one and only Son, so that whoever believes in him shall not perish, whoever believes in  Lord Jesus is no longer condemned. Don't let anybody lie to you, Jesus came to save us not to condemn us, He holds out his hand and gives to you his gift of salvation, but it is upon you to receive it.
So what are you waiting for, receive God's gift. "How do I receive God's gift of salvation?" you ask. Scripture is very clear on this. God really wants you to be saved, so He has made the instructions very easy:
Romans 10:9
That if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.
It's that simple, if you are dumb don't worry, use sign language or whatever way you communicate, confess that Jesus is Lord. Speak this simple prayer with me today if you are willing to receive this gift today, “Oh God, I know I am a sinner. I believe Jesus is Lord. I believe Jesus was my substitute when He died on the Cross. I believe His shed blood, death, burial, and resurrection were for me. I now receive Him as my Savior. I thank You for the forgiveness of my sins, the gift of salvation and everlasting life, because of Your merciful grace. Amen.”
If you said this simple prayer with me, God gives you the surety of spending an eternity with him in heaven! Don't be fearful that you will sin again and not go to heaven, righteousness is a gift you have received from God, and it's not a gift if you have to work for it or live in fear of the gift being taken from you. So if you sin, ask for forgiveness and remember that God justified you, and you are just as if you had never sinned!
In conclusion, we can't define eternity but we live it, you either receive the  gift of eternal life, Matthew 16:27 'For the Son of Man is going to come in his Father’s glory with his angels, and then he will reward each person according to what he has done.'

What have you done today, have you received the gift of salvation? Eternal life or eternal damnation, heaven or hell, Deuteronomy 30:19, ' This day I call the heavens and the earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live.' Choose life, choose Christ.

Make sure you read the bible everyday, pray, go to a Bible based church and be a living testimony to this gift. Tell every person you can about it and praise God at all times. Check out the following links for more encouragement,

http://www.truthortradition.com/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=379

http://www.godssimpleplan.org/gsps-english.html

Be blessed. 

HOPE

Once upon a time, there lived a young boy, tall and black, happy and adventurous. The world was his playing ground, even though he would have to return to a 12 by 12  mabati (iron sheet) shack. When the sun shone bright, all his troubles went away, he was always out that door when the cock crowed, but when it crowed again, it was time to endure one more night.

The food wasn't that good, but it's not like his neighbours were eating anything better, it didn't disturb him much. The bed wasn't that big, and he had to share it with mama, but that didn't bother him much either, it kept him warm when the winds raged and whistled and their house swayed from side to side like a flag at day break. When it rained, the iron sheets turned from a roof over their heads to the sounds of a thousand school bells rung right at his ear, but that didn't bother him either, he could sleep through a hail storm without moving an inch.

But one thing made his stomach churn. Every day he had to look at the sun set on the horizon, the light would be soaked up by the darkness like a raindrop that fell on a giant sponge. One by one, the cars on the adjacent highway would light up their head lamps, the street lights next to the highway would light up simultaneously. The one big flood light that overlook his part of the slum would light up, but the shadows of the shacks still filled the sewer filled alley ways.

 He would stumble home every day, on those dark alley ways jumping over sewers and walking past drinking dens where most of the men drank away their families future on illicit brew that reeked more than sewers he just jumped. He would walk past Mama Pima selling roasted fish by the corner, the sight of her fish left his mouth drier than the Sahara, her fish was the stuff of his dreams. He would walk past the jobless corner filled with talented youthful men and teens that had nothing better to do than to tell stories and share broken dreams and those who could still dare hoped and dreamed for better days. After passing a few rows of the shacks, the darkness would set in and the light from the huge lamp in the slum would be a distant memory. Only God knows how he knew which row his home was. He would walk down past a few doors and right there was his home. 

This was the time of day he hated the most, nothing was worse than walking past the door and finding his home engulfed in darkness. Even the black tarmac on the highway looked brighter than their home. He and the tarmac had a lot in common, both are black and life seemed to trample him as much as the car rolled on the tarmac, but at least the tarmac had street lamps and head lamps shining on it. A tin lamp was their only source of light and kerosene was scarce, only mama was allowed to light it. Mama would make it home from work at around 7, burdened with the choice to take a matatu (14 seater van) home or to buy Kerosene for the lamp, mama always made sure that tiny lamp shined, "what were feet for anyway?" she would always say sarcastically.

She would come with food at times but when times were hard she had to go to the kitchen and fix up whatever she could for them to eat. The kitchen was the space right outside our door, if she would cook inside the room it would be filled with smoke. But at least we graduated from the three stones cooker to a meko one. Mama was so awesome she even found firewood in the concrete jungle. The funny thing is how regardless of taking the kitchen outside, the smoke still filled the room. 

The lamp was only put on when mama had finished cooking, she always left the door open so that the light from the fire sipped through the door opening and the holes on the wall. Then she would put the wick on, say grace and we would eat whatever mama could get that day.

In all this mama could see how the dark got to his boy. How the night time removed the sparkle in his eye and the life in his words. So right before they retired to bed, mama would reach under the mattress, on the side where they rested their head right to the mabati wall, and she would pull out an old  Kiswahili Bible. She would carefully move it next to the tin lamp, careful not to burn its old light dusty pages. She would read his boy a story and she would bring it to life, using voices actions and even songs. And just for a moment nothing mattered for both of them, they would get lost into this book till the light on the smouldering wick would start to flicker, but this didn't bother them, that book would light up their room more than the head lamps and street lights lit up the highway. They wouldn't stop until both their spirits were both lifted and not even the burdens of life could bring them down.

When they were done, and were ready to retire to bed, mama would look down on his boy, she would kiss him on the forehead and move her fingers in his hair and she would say to him, "Yesu ndiye mwangaza wetu Fatuma." ("Jesus is our Light Fatuma.")

THE GREAT VICTORY!

Most of us have heard the story of David and Goliath. The story of how a humble shepherd from Bethlehem defeated the Champion from Gath on the biggest stage there was. Don't worry if you don't know the story, you can find it in The Bible in the book of 1st Samuel Chapter 17 from Verse 1 to verse 58. Here is a link.
Isn't it fascinating how this great war between the Philistines and the Israelites comes down to this duel of David and Goliath. Imagine being in the shoes of David, a young boy on who has the fate of the entire Nation of Israel in his hand!
 Let us relive the great battle. The first thing that God revealed to me when reading this passage was how the two sides drew their battle lines on this valley, they were split between two hills separated by a valley (the valley of Elah), each camp was on it's hill . Both the Israelites and the Philistines knew themselves, they knew which side of the war they were in. There is no record of an Israelite in the Philistine camp or vies versa in this story. The symbolism being, you are either for God or against God.
It is a call for us to know ourselves, in Mathew 12:30 it states "He who is not with Me is against Me, a clear indication that we cannot serve two masters either we are of God or of the world."  
The story gets better, in this story Goliath is described as a Champion, not as a description of his future but of his past. He is a champion not amongst God's people but a champion amongst his countrymen. Goliath is described as a giant amongst giants, I once went shopping in Gikomba for shoes and I stumbled upon this pair of size 15 shoes, I was shocked, it looked  like a baguette  (no offence to guys with size 15 shoes.). Now if you consider the average height of a man with size 15 shoes is 6'8 or 7 feet then you will be in awe of this great giant. Goliath is described to be 9 feet 9 inches. He was basically the height of a basketball rim, a basketball coach's dream! His armour alone sounds like the product of an entire bronze mine. Goliath was huge to say the least.

This giant not only looked big but his mouth also played the part. He said unto the Israelites 1st Samuel 17:8-10,  “Why do you come out and line up for battle? Am I not a Philistine, and are you not the servants of Saul? Choose a man and have him come down to me. If he is able to fight and kill me, we will become your subjects; but if I overcome him and kill him, you will become our subjects and serve us. This day I defy the armies of Israel! Give me a man and let us fight each other.”
Verse 11 - 'On HEARING the Philistine’s words, Saul and all the Israelites were dismayed and terrified.'
The Israelites would have said sticks and stones may but words will never hurt me, but this guy had a spear that was heavier than Rambo's dumbbells. But here is the most fascinating thing about this story, immediately after the Bible mentions Goliath and how the Israelites were terrified, the focus of the story shifts completely to David. The very first thing the Bible does is to bring out the IDENTITY of David. verse 12 Now David was the son of an Ephrathite named Jesse, who was from Bethlehem in Judah.
Jesse sends David to check on his brothers ( David's brothers were Israelite soldiers) , and Jesse sent David with food to give his brothers. Early in the morning David left the flock in the care of a shepherd, loaded up and set out, as Jesse had directed. Here is the most amazing thing, David when he got to the battle field, he left the food with the keeper of supplies. When you picture David being an obedient son, who do you picture, Jesus obeying The Father! David was obedient and he went to the camp with the food as commanded. But he didn't leave his food with his brothers or with the commander, why? You can answer that David got there when they were doing their battle cries and preparing to go to battle, so he couldn't possibly give them their food at that time. Well he could, if he wanted to. Here is the answer, picture Jesus bringing the Gospel to the world, the word of Grace that all may be saved! When David gave the food to the keeper of supplies, the food would be used to feed any of the soldiers of Israel that received it!
It gets even better! When David was at the camp, after he gave the food to the keeper of supplies, he went to check out his brothers. While he was chatting up his brothers, Goliath did his usual antics, he stood tall and said his defiant words.  David heard the words and he didn't cower like the other Israelites. He asked what the reward was for defeating Goliath, and he was told. His eldest brother tried to bring him down, but he asked again and was told of the reward again. David was taken before Saul, and he said he would fight Goliath, Saul saw how young David was and said to David that he couldn't take him on. Then David spoke to Saul this most amazing testimony and on hearing this Saul dressed David up with his tunic and amour and gave him his sword, but David wasn't used to these. He was a shepherd, all he did was pick up 5 smooth stones at the river, he put them in his bag and he went to face Goliath with a staff, his sling and five smooth stones.
Picture David going to face Goliath, but when you picture David, don't only picture a young shepherd, picture an Anointed King. In just the previous chapter, David is anointed as king of Israel! David went to face Goliath as an anointed king, he went against Goliath not with his stones sling or staff, but with the Word of the Living God. And with just one stone cast, he killed this great giant and cut off his head with Goliath's own sword.
This is exactly what Jesus Christ did! Did you know Christ is derived from the Greek word Christos which means anointed?! Messiah means the Anointed One! Jesus is our Anointed King!
David did the most peculiar thing after he killed Goliath, he cut off his head with Goliath's sword and took it to Jerusalem. This was symbolism of God's plan. About 1000 years later one of the descendants of David defeated a far greater giant than Goliath in Jerusalem in Golgotha. Golgotha derives from the Aramaic word Golgolta meaning the place of the skull! It is right next to Jerusalem. Right at this place where David took that skull is where Jesus was crucified and he defeated the devil and our sins. He gave us the greatest victory of, He died for our sins so that we may be free from them!
Goliath symbolizes our sins and the devil and Jesus defeated them all at Calvary. If you listen to the devil, he gives you thoughts that you are horrible, you are a sinner, you can't possibly beat sin, you will be dismayed and terrified just as the Israelites were. See after 40 days of staying in the battle camp none of the Israelites dared to face Goliath, they were scared, but David, used as a sign of what Jesus would do, beat Goliath and won the battle for the Israelites. All those soldiers didn't have to raise a sword for that war to be won! David before throwing that stone said,  "...All those gathered here will know that it is not by sword or spear that the Lord saves; for the battle is the Lord’s, and he will give all of you into our hands.” 1 Samuel 17:47. 
Our Anointed King, Jesus Christ, already defeated our sins and the devil, it is not your battle. He gave us the gift of salvation that if you believe in Jesus all your sins may be forgiven, and He doesn't stop there, He gives us eternal life! The battle is already won, it is upon you to choose life and be saved. The victory of the battle is being given to your hands today. Do you know what rewards David got for the victory? "...The king will give great wealth to the man who kills him. He will also give him his daughter in marriage and will exempt his family from taxes in Israel.” 1st Samuel 17:25. We are the brides of Christ,and Jesus is coming back for His brides. We no longer have to pay for our sins, our taxes are exempt! Jesus offers us great wealth, His victory let's us be rich in spirit 2nd Corinthians 8:9
The victory doesn't end there, Jesus rose from the dead and will reign forever! Jesus rose from the dead and He is coming back for His brides (believers). If you die in Christ, you get to spend the rest of eternity with Christ in heaven. 1 Corinthians 15:57 But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. 

The only way to receive the victory is to accept Christ into your heart today. It's the easiest and best choice you can make. All you have to do is speak to God, with your mouth ask Lord Jesus to come into your heart, ask Lord Jesus to forgive you of your sins and He will not only do that but He will give you the gift of eternal life and He will live in your heart! You get to have a relationship with Jesus!You get to rest knowing that heaven awaits you, Jesus is building a spot for you in heaven. Be blessed folks.

Everything God wanted me to be.

I.....I.......I............ I am the only.........the only...........barrier between my relationship with God. I... my wants... my desires... my thoughts... my lifestyle...  my flesh...  my sinful nature.... I, by myself , out of no circumstance and in every circumstance, am the only hindrance between my relationship with God. But thank God for Jesus, for dying on the cross for my sins, for forgiving my sins, for living in me and for giving me eternal life. Jesus died on the cross so that I may have a relationship with God, so that I am out of the picture and my imperfections don't matter. So that I may no longer exist, but for Christ to exist in me and I to exist in Christ. So that I may no longer live, but for Christ to live in me and I to live in Christ.
If you desire this perfect relationship, all you have to do is accept Christ as your Lord and saviour, ask Christ to come into your life and ask Jesus to forgive you of your sins and just like that, you get to have the most awesome relationship with God.
Today, we learn how to live in Christ through the gifts of the Holy Spirit. We learn of the conflict that exist between I, the flesh, my sinful nature and the Spirit of God. This conflict is mentioned in Galatians chapter 5. What follows next is an excerpt from Galatians chapter  5, and a poem by Max Lucado, I hope it blesses your hearts.

   Gal 5: 13-25 "You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh[a]; rather, serve one another humbly in love.  For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”  If you bite and devour each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other.
 So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.  For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever you want. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.
The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery;  idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions  and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.  Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.  Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other.

IT’S QUIET. It’s early. My coffee is hot. The sky is still black. The world is still asleep. The day is coming.
In a few moments the day will arrive. It will roar down the track with the rising of the sun. The stillness of the dawn will be exchanged for the noise of the day. The calm of solitude will be replaced by the pounding pace of the human race. The refuge of the early morning will be invaded by decisions to be made and deadlines to be met.
For the next twelve hours I will be exposed to the day’s demands. It is now that I must make a choice. Because of Calvary, I’m free to choose. And so I choose.

I choose love . . .
No occasion justifies hatred; no injustice warrants bitterness. I choose love. Today I will love God and what God loves.

I choose joy . . .
I will invite my God to be the God of circumstance. I will refuse the temptation to be cynical . . . the tool of the lazy thinker. I will refuse to see people as anything less than human beings, created by God. I will refuse to see any problem as anything less than an opportunity to see God.

I choose peace . . .
I will live forgiven. I will forgive so that I may live.

I choose patience . . .
I will overlook the inconveniences of the world. Instead of cursing the one who takes my place, I’ll invite him to do so. Rather than complain that the wait is too long, I will thank God for a moment to pray. Instead of clinching my fist at new assignments, I will face them with joy and courage.

I choose kindness . . .
I will be kind to the poor, for they are alone. Kind to the rich, for they are afraid. And kind to the unkind, for such is how God has treated me.

I choose goodness . . .
I will go without a dollar before I take a dishonest one. I will be overlooked before I will boast. I will confess before I will accuse. I choose goodness.

I choose faithfulness . . .
Today I will keep my promises. My debtors will not regret their trust. My associates will not question my word. My wife will not question my love. And my children will never fear that their father will not come home.

I choose gentleness . . .
Nothing is won by force. I choose to be gentle. If I raise my voice may it be only in praise. If I clench my fist, may it be only in prayer. If I make a demand, may it be only of myself.

I choose self-control . . .
I am a spiritual being. After this body is dead, my spirit will soar. I refuse to let what will rot, rule the eternal. I choose self-control. I will be drunk only by joy. I will be impassioned only by my faith. I will be influenced only by God. I will be taught only by Christ. I choose self-control.

Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. To these I commit my day. If I succeed, I will give thanks. If I fail, I will seek his grace. And then, when this day is done, I will place my head on my pillow and rest.

From When God Whispers Your Name
Copyright (Thomas Nelson, 1994) Max Lucado

I want to rest knowing I was everything God wanted me to be, I can only do this through living in Christ. Living in Christ is not only a choice that we make, it's a walk. It's a walk with God for the rest of our lives.
Be blessed.

WILL YOU RISE?

Let's look at the state of things in Kenya right now. Inequalities are wide with the top 10 per cent of Kenyans earning 44 per cent of the national income, whilst the bottom 10 per cent earns less than one per cent. I guess that is what has led to a 46% of people living below the poverty line.

The unemployment rate is at an all time high of 40%, and 65% percent of the unemployed are persons under the age of 30. Insecurity is on the rise, in 2011 there were 75,733 reported crimes. Sexual violence is largely ignored, 1 out of every 5 girls experience sexual violence, this number has risen by 5.1% since 2003. Teenage pregnancy is on the rise,  3 out every 10 teenage girls are getting pregnant, an estimated 10,000 to 30,000 children have been caught up in commercial sex trade, mainly in the coastal towns. There are more children bore out of wedlock than ever before, there is a great rise in single mothers, a statistic that shows the gravity of this is that an estimated 75% of the ladies in the Kenya national football team are single mothers. There is a 7.8% HIV prevalence rate, approximately 1.3 million Kenyans are currently living with HIV, including about 156,000 children. More drugs than books are being passed around the youth, research shows that 60% of the youth got exposed to drug or substance abuse while in high schools. Recent statistics show that at least 30% of the youth in substance abuse got to it in primary school. Only 86% of children enroll in primary schools, of that number only 71 % get to go to secondary school, and only a grim percentage of these secondary educated kids get post secondary education. This is a broad generalization, not factoring in the number of drop outs. More than 15 million people – including more than half the rural population – are without access to safe water or sanitation facilities.

We can go on and on with these statistics, and even that wouldn't paint the real picture. I state all these without mentioning the Kenyan political scene, it's a mudslinging Olympics, come election time you are left feeling sick, disgusted and worried about the State of this great country of ours.

It's hard to rise above all these, and confronted with the reality of the situation, we all tend to look for an escape. Just like Elijah in the Bible, when he received the news that Jezebel (she was the queen of Israel at the time) was out kill him. At the time, many of the Lord's prophets had been killed at Jezebel's command, and she ordered specifically for Elijah to be slain, she even gave it a time frame of 24 hours upon which her command was to be fulfilled. So Elijah escaped to the wilderness for fear of his life.

With all of these things against us, it's hard to beat the odds, especially for the youth. Even I as the author is not exempt, I'm currently staring down the barrel of one the grim statistics stated in paragraph 1. The statistics are our Jezebel and every now and then, confronted with our situation we tend to look for an escape, somewhere where you can be yourself and forget about everything else. Some people find it in drugs, some find it in music, others in partying, others in sports, others in literature and the arts, others in sex, others in food, others in acting, others in their careers, others in movies and series, others in video games... you name it. You do it to a point that it doesn't help anymore, and you have to look for a new haven. I was right there, but no matter what I did I never was content, I was never at peace. It even got a point it was all about keeping up an appearance, and to the least it was exhausting.

Elijah got tired of running too, after a day of running in the wilderness, he was tired and famished, just like I was, maybe just like you are right now.  The Bible best describes Elijah's situation in 1st Kings19:4 'But he himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a broom tree. And he prayed that he might die, and said, “It is enough! Now, Lord, take my life, for I am no better than my fathers!” 

It's hard to find a positive in Elijah's situation, but at least Elijah found a broom tree to rest under. When I was in my wilderness I had no where to find rest, and it's the same for all of us. But God is good and His Grace is abundant. When faced will all this the Lord says,  “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” Mathew 11: 28 - 30. Jesus is our broom tree, no matter what life throws at us, we just bring our problems to Jesus. And under that broom tree you get to be real with Jesus, tell Him like it is, tell him what you feel just like Elijah did.

 Elijah was just from doing marvelous things, he prayed to God for fire to fall down from heaven and God sent fire from heaven, he had prayed for it not to rain for 3 and a half years, and only at his prayer did it rain again! But even this guy after doing all these felt defeated, because after all these acts, the people of Israel still didn't turn to God. And he thought he was no less than his ancestors, people who had fallen short of God's glory, and he wanted for all of it end. So he asked God to take his life, but God didn't answer this prayer.

God is so good, when Elijah had passed out under the broom tree, He sent an angel to Elijah. 1st Kings 19: 5 - 7 'Then as he lay and slept under a broom tree, suddenly an angel touched him, and said to him, “Arise and eat.”  Then he looked, and there by his head was a cake baked on coals, and a jar of water. So he ate and drank, and lay down again.  And the angel of the Lord came back the second time, and touched him, and said, “Arise and eat, because the journey is too great for you.” 

Imagine that, being fed by angels! But you know we too can rise. Just like Elijah, as long as Jesus is our broom tree, all you got to do is Arise and feed of every word that comes out of the Word of God. The Bible is our cake and jar of water, an age old book but when you read it, it's refreshing as if it was written today just for you! The cake was baked on coals and it was baked just for Elijah, it was ready and hot for him to eat it, and so is the word of God for you. 

All you got to do is accept Jesus into your life, do it in your own words, ask Him to be your broom tree, to take all your troubles away, all your sins away and to give you eternal life. Then you can rest in Jesus and feed of His word and you'll beat the odds. 

When Elijah was done resting, He woke up and even though he felt lonely and defeated, God had a plan for him and was with Elijah every step of the way, he never had to feel lonely again. In the same way God has a plan for you. 

What is so awesome about Elijah's story is God didn't let Him die, Elijah was carried to heaven with chariots of fire when his work was done here on earth. 

God is so graceful that he didn't let him die! Elijah never died!  How cool is that, if you find rest in Jesus, when you die you get to rise just like Jesus did after dying on the cross for our sins, and you get to spend the rest of eternity with God in heaven. Or better yet, if we live on this earth to see the day  Jesus comes back for His people on the day of rapture, we will get to rise to heaven just like Elijah. Only life and life in abundance awaits for those who find rest in Jesus. 

These are the last days, all signs point to it, what happens when Jesus comes for His people and you aren't ready for Him? Even if you don't live to see the day of rapture, what awaits you when you die? Will you rise to eternal life, or awake to eternal damnation? 

Chose Jesus, chose life. And with Jesus the odds are in your favour, because we are more than conquerors through Jesus Christ, but the choice is yours. Will you rise?

LIGHT OF THE WORLD.

GOD LOVES YOU, JESUS LOVES YOU! Don't take my word for it, take God's word for it. Right from the first chapter in Genesis, there  is evidence of how God loves us. The first command that God gave was that of Grace, one that expressed in His action how much He loved us.

In Genesis chapter 1 verse 3, God says "Let there be Light." I know what you are thinking, what has this to do with anything? Why is this command so important? Well to us light is what enables us to see, to a physicist, light is a name for a range electromagnetic radiation that can be detected by the human eye. Don't quit on me, I just mentioned the physics part to sound fancy. All this might be true but there has to be more in this command, being that it is the first command that God wanted us to see when we read His word. There has to be more to it than electromagnetic fancy stuff. 

In the first day of creation God said let there be Light, it is only until the fourth day of creation, in verse 14 is there mention of the sun and the moon, so there was Light before the sun and the moon and the stars. We can pretty much throw that electromagnetic fancy stuff out of the window by now, this is not what God meant by Light. 

When God says, "Let there be Light.", God speaks of the Light of the world! In John 8:12 there was a man that said "I am the Light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the Light of life." These words were spoken by Jesus Christ.

 Jesus Christ is more than a man, He is the Son of God! Why would God order for this Light upon the earth then, upon our world? Why would He will Jesus Christ, His only son for the world as His first command?

You see before God created man He knew we would sin and fall short of His glory. He loved us so much that He made man in His own image, He made man pure and free from sin, and He gave man a soul. Unlike all other creations, we were made so special that we can fellowship with God! But sin destroys that fellowship, when Adam and Eve bit that forbidden fruit they were no longer worthy to be in the Presence of God. So they were cast out of the Garden of Eden. 

But thank God for His Command, the Light of the world. God wanted to restore this relationship that once was there before our short comings. So God did the unthinkable, He sent us His one and only Son to the earth, the only pure thing other than Himself, to die on the cross for us so that we may be forgiven of our sins and have a relationship with God. 

Imagine that the purest thing God had, the best that He had, what He willed first, He gave it to us. John 3:16 'For God so loved the world that he gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.' Imagine that, forgiveness from your sins and eternal life, just for believing in God. Oh what grace the Light brings.

We are all sinners, except Jesus Christ, and the wages of sin is death, imagine what fate awaited us if Jesus didn't die on the cross for us. Eternal damnation. But God loved us so much that His first command was for us grace us with His Light. 

See there is nothing good that we can do to get us into heaven, Ephisians 2:8 'For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God.' Jesus is the only way to heaven, don't be fooled that there is another way. In John 14:6, Jesus "I am the Way, the Truth and the Light, no one cometh to the Father but by Me."

John 3:17 'For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him.' God wants to save you today, He wants to give you life and life in abundance. Imagine the destiny He has for you, to live forever WITH Jesus in Heaven as opposed to forever without Him in hell because of your sin. Yeah, live in Heaven with Jesus, He died on the cross but He rose from the dead on the third day!

Jesus made it so easy to be saved, all you have to do is to ask Jesus Christ into your heart and ask Jesus to forgive you of your sins. Do it in your own words, God will hear you from wherever you are, whether you shout it or whisper it. 

 And you know what, God will remove your sins and He will separate your sins from you as far as the east is from the west. Angels will write your name in the book of life and Jesus will not only come into your heart but He is preparing a place for you in heaven! 

This is the best choice you can make in your life. And for you that have accepted Christ into your life, trust in God, obey His spirit and His commandments. Read the Bible as much as you can, here is a guide for what to read in your journey as a new believer.  

And just as the plants need the light to grow and to process their food, we need Jesus to grow and to process God's word. And just like the plants follow the light, we will follow Jesus. 

'This is the message we have heard from Him and declare to you: God is Light; in Him there is no darkness at all.' 1st John 1:5. Be blessed all you God's Beloved.