Hope for the tree that has been cut down.

 

Job.14.7 "If a tree is cut down, there is hope that it will sprout again and grow new branches. (NLT

Job.14.8 Though its roots have grown old in the earth and its stump decays, (NLT

Job.14.9 at the scent of water it may bud and sprout again like a new seedling. (NLT)

A message of hope for 2025 for you who you see yourself as a tree that has been cut down. Do you consider yourself dead and buried and your dreams dead, buried and forgotten in the annals of history?Maybe your faculties have not processed that we are in a new year because you re constantly in a hole that you cant master your way out of.

This message is for you.like tender shoots (boughs)off that stump you will rise again.Like boughs which come a live at the scent of water,we come alive when Christ infuses his life in us.He always quickens us to life.He is the resurrection and life.

There are those who specialize in cutting others down,stock piling them into a sea of forgetfulness.Your case may be that of unfair dealings before men.Are you drowning in a sea of tears because of what you've lost?Others have lost property ,career and dignity of living.Many hàvè been slaughtered,massacred alive.Man indeed has become the biggest perpetrator of injustice on the earth and a gteat rejóicer of the downfall of his neighbor.

No matter how a person may look disadvantaged and most unfortunate,don'8t write him off yet and if you do ,at your own peril.You may cut him down,bury him alive and even beautify his tomb but at the slightest scent of water,at the sniff of life ,he rises up again.

Jesus says that he is the bread of life.He who comes to him will never hunger and he who believes in him will never thirst..john 6:35.

He is that scent of water that makes people  bud and you my brother and my sister will bud again and your new branches will be a constant reminder of his faithfulness to cause you to spring to life . Just fix your taste buds and your nose to piçk the slightest scent of water/,life.

Stretch forth your curtain wide and lengthen your stakes for your territory will extend to the east and to the west....isaiah 54:1-4.…There's hope for that tree that has been cut down.

The blessing of pain'

How can it be so?How can pain turn out to be a blessing and how can we process this through the phases of life? Do you mean to say that i can warmly embrace pain and suffering and actu not loathe at its detestable effects?

 In Isaiah Jesus is depicted as the suffering servant .

 Isa 42:3 ISV A crushed reed he will not break, and a fading candle he won’t snuff out. He’ll bring forth justice for the truth.

 Isa 53:3 ISV “He was despised and rejected by others, and a man of sorrows, intimately familiar with suffering; and like one from whom people hide their faces; and we despised him and did not value him.. 4.Surely he has borne our sufferings and carried our sorrows; yet we considered him stricken, and struck down by God, and afflicted. 5 But he was wounded for our transgressions, and he was crushed for our iniquities, and the punishment that made us whole was upon him, and by his bruises we are healed. 

 These portions of scripture are messianic prophecies,meant to be  fulfilled in the fullness of time by christ coming to the world. He would come ,live as man,suffer pain,rejection and betrayal but by his death bring salvation to mankind.'The blessing of pain' right? The birth of Jesus as announced by the angels in luke 2:8 as good news Of great joy to all people.But was this so for his young mother Mary whose life was about to be thrown off balance by this immaculate birth? What about his betrothal to Joseph?How was this birth going to be explained to a community that valued chastity and purity before marriage?Thank God that the assurance came and Joseph was able to stand by Mary all through,the momentarily pain brought joy at the end..common they became the proud guardian of the God man himself! 

 I believe the message of christmas is more than whats meet the eye,more than baby jesus on a manger or a silent night in Bethlehem when christ was born.Our imagination should be stretched to take into account what his life on earth really meant and what his death and resurrection means for us and to somehow grasp its full effects.(Phil 3:9-10.) I believe with the advancement of technology and innovation, christmas songs should capture this reality really well:not just away. In a manger, ooh holy night, ooh come let us adore him...this is a good starting point but where does the reality of christmas stretch towards? What about the Jesus who grew in stature and in favor with God and men?what about the Jesus who the zeal of his father's house consumes him,what about his life in us now after his death and resurrection?Do we wait till easter to run the drill?The reality is with us all day all year long..

Because Jesus came and lived as a man, suffered died and rose again,we have a fresh and a ressurected view of our human experience. To here is hope in pain and laughter in the cry.

The writer of the hymn "its well with my soul..Horatio spafford wrote the hymn after loosing gour daughters.pain and grief didn't wipe away his pain.Apostle Paul went through a fair share of suffering from being stoned to imprisonment to being shipwrecked to being bitten by a snake (2cor 11:21-33).There is a hope that a man/woman with christ carries that no suffering on earth can wipe away. ..tafakari hayo.!

Why is the gospel the good news?

Because it is an announcement:

if I had something good and keep it to myself, the good thing remains with me. The gospel is not the gospel without an announcement. Luke 1:19 "I am Gabriel," the angel answered. "I stand in the presence of God, who sent me to speak to you and tell you this good news. This angel came with good news that Mary was to be with child and this child is to be the savior of the human race.

The announcement has got something to do with you:

If someone came with good news and told you that he actually carries with him good news and such news has got nothing to do with you, the excitement levels will drop but if the news has got something to do with you, and something at would change your world completely, it would suddenly change your countenance and will warm your heart and depending with the intensity of the news, in ways that you cannot fathom. The announcement has something to do with the whole world. The news is that Mary was to carry within her the savior of the world. The gospel is a universal message. Jesus is the remedy for the sins not ours only but also of the whole world (1 john 2:2) We owe it to Jesus that the course of history has changed for the whole world. He came not be served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many.

The announcement changes the whole course of history.

The child is to become the savior of the whole human race. He is the Wonderful counselor, mighty God everlasting father, prince of peace.

Jesus was the son of a woman born under the law to redeem those who were under the law in order that they may receive adoption as sons. Gal 4:4-5. He has come to change your history. You who were condemned in sin to be set free from its yoke. The Gospel has got something to do with the whole world and something to do with you! And that’s a game changer. It means that the course of your history is changed. You are no longer a person without a God and hope in this world! Don’t feel excluded from this announcement join in by opening your heart and get ready for a world full of fresh possibilities!

Be cross conscious.

1st Cor 2:2” for I decided to know among you except christ and him crucified.”

This is what Paul was determined about,to know and to be identified with  and he plunged his life wholesomely to proclaim the gospel. Paul was determined to be cross conscious ad he reiterates this else where he says that he is not ashamed of the gospel for it is the power of God unto salvation.(rom 1:16-17)

Paul elsewhere says that all he has known throughout his life he considers as dung for the sake of knowing Christ.philippians 3:7 

God wants you to be cross conscious. He wants you to be aware of the cross and what Christ has accomplished for you.

Christ wants you to know that though his cross you may have eternal life which is knowing God and knowing Christ. He wants you to know that by looking into the cross and seeing the glory of Christ in the face of God, you are daily transformed.

Like Paul today purpose to no nothing other than Christ and him crucified. When Christ is removed from the cross, we remain with a rudderless ,directionless christianity.

Christ crucified means a lot of things. It means you have been united with Christ, in death burial and resurrection .We are not in an uphill task of trying to be united with him.  It means that now its no longer you who lives but Christ and the life that you live you live in the faith of the son of God (Gal 2:20). This means that Christ has taken over whole of your life if you are in him. The truth is that to be cross conscious means that you are aware that you are united with Christ forever. If you have been crucified with him , you are also living with him. What a wonderful truth to know, that you and I are forever united with Christ and this is what God has chosen for us in Christ Jesus. You may know choose to know nothing other than what God has chosen for you in Christ Jesus.

The Immediacy of the gospel..

I am in awe of how the gospel of mark unfolds. The uniqueness of this gospel unfolds with the use of phrases ‘soon, immediatly, at once’. This theme to me shows haste and immediacy with which the gospel must be communicated out and its results seen.

Mark the author is not concerned with the account of Jesus’ history nor is he concerned with the circumstances of his birth and growth but he just plunges us into the deep of activity straight like a block buster movie with a scene that looks like its climax in the beginning.

The immediacy of the gospel; Jesus the man of immediate action.

Its in chapter 1 and mark has already thrown us into the thrust of Jesus; ministry. He introduces us to John Baptist who at the sight of Jesus sees a man of action and destiny. A man who needed to baptize John not the other way around.

Matt3:14 John would have prevented him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you

When you are reading the gospel of mark get ready for phrases ‘soon, immediately and at once.

Mark 1:30Now Simon's mother-in-law lay ill with a fever, and immediately they told him about her. 

We see here Jesus and his disciples in the mission field going around villages and proclaiming the good news being accompanied by miracles. It made me excited to see Jesus already on the move in chapter 1. Every time I decide to go through the gospel of Mark, I conclude that Mark is one interesting author.

In their trip, they decided to pass by Simon peter mother’s home on hearing that she was ill. Jesus makes it important in his mission to pass there. This teaches us that Jesus will attend to the matters at hand that troubles us in the depths of our homes. While we serve Jesus, let us know that he will also attend to our matters with immediacy. This we don’t usually see it come to play the way we want it. The immediacy with which our lord Jesus operates does not usually agree with how soon, how immediate we want things to pan out in our lives. That’s why we must keep focusing our mental faculties on the things above where Christ is… Colossians 3:1.

The immediacy of the gospel causes a healing of the body and soul so immediate and complete. 

Mark1;31 Jesus went to her. He took hold of her hand and helped her up. The fever left her, and she served them a meal.

The healing was immediate, there was nothing to argue with the power that was in Christ. The healing so immediate and complete such that Simon Peter’s mum began serving them a meal. May God move in your house, in the matters affecting with such a great intensity and immediacy.

The outflow of a healed body and soul ought to be a heartfelt service such as we see being employed by Peter’s mum.

I see an absolute certainty, immediacy and completeness with how Jesus carried out his ministry on this earth. Remember the feeding of the five thousand for example? While the disciples were calculating how to make a trip to the market to get food supply enough to feed over 5,000 people, Jesus already had an immediate solution.

Jesus will take your hand and immediately help you up.

No matter what you are going through Jesus is always present. He is your ever-present help in time of need. This means that we can count on his immediate help instead of meandering and wallowing in the wilderness of worry. May he hold your hand and help you up today. You are very likely to get well and you will likely overflow with gratitude and service.

Fellow excellencies

We in Kenya have gently and rapidly slept into an electioneering and campaign mood courtesy of the BBI talk and the upcoming 2022 election. There re myriads of people in the political class who want to be remain relevant and somehow maintain a royal lifestyle. The allure for power is pregnant in the minds and lips of many. We in Christ however have a more excellent and honorable calling as we are going to investigate shortly. 1st Peter 2:9” But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation a people for his own possession that you may proclaim the excellency of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.” You and I are called to display the Excellency/eminent goodness of the Lord. We are called a chosen race with Jesus being the first born of creation. We are of the creation of God and also of salvation orchestrated by Christ at the cross. Before man, we may have no royal rating. We may appear as items of dishonor but not before God. We are called a royal priesthood. This is to tell us that we are of the royal family of Christ, elected chosen and born into the family of God with Jesus being our first born and coheirs to the throne of God. Our mission should therefore be to proclaim the goodness of God who has brought us to his kingdom. We are for the display of his splendor and as we do so we are glorified in him. He is the one who is glorified by our lives but we are also made great in him. we become royal to him. We do not only serve him but we are also royal in nature. God sees us as kingly and Jesus is the king among many kings and he is the Lord among many lords. Its apparent in scripture that we will reign with him forever Meanwhile we are invited to take what the enemy had stolen from man and start reigning with him even presently. You are royal; you are a priest to minister the life of God to many. You have been filled in Christ and have been made royal in Christ Jesus, Amen.

of chaos. wind and storms

 

If there is something that 2020 has shown us is chaos and tempest. Before even the year settled on its feet, a worldwide pandemic struck the world and of colossal proportion because it has affected every fabric of our day to day living. We started to see wave after wave of mass infections and death, business that once thrived were brought to their knees, airlines were cut off from business, hotel industry almost became nonexistent as well as the massive global tourism and so much.

The chaos even so much was felt by families, communities, employers to employees; life has generally been turned upside down. Talking about chaos, this is not the first time we are facing a global pandemic. Who remembers the swine flu, SARS, Ebola and the great Spanish flu of the 1900?

These kind of occurrences can be likened to a mighty tempest, or a storm that shipwrecks any vessel on its sight. Scientists estimate that some of these winds causing the mighty typhoons and hurricanes travel up to a speed of 200km per hour. That’s not anything near a snail velocity.

These are just physical expressions of how chaotic a tempest or a storm can be. What of chaos and storm that can ravage a human heart because the peace in it has been disturbed?

Let’s delve into scripture.

 

Mark 4 :37-39And a great storm of wind came up, and the waves came into the boat, so that the boat was now becoming full.

Mar 4:38  And he himself was in the back of the boat, sleeping on the cushion: and they, awaking him, said, Master, is it nothing to you that we are in danger of destruction?

Mar 4:39 And he came out of his sleep, and gave strong orders to the wind, and said to the sea, Peace, be at rest. And the wind went down, and there was a great calm (BBE-Bible in basic English)

 

Great storm of wind can rock the boat of your life. What do you do when your life has suddenly been unsettled by strong wind causing storms of epic proportions in your life, because you see whether you like it or not if you are in the sea which is this world you’re likely to face storms which come to disrupt your life.

In the scenario in the passage above, Jesus and the disciples were about to board their boat to cross the sea of Galilee to the other side of the shore. Jesus had just delivered some powerful teachings about the kingdom of God by the sea side and had ordered the disciples to get into the boat to sail to the other side but strong winds came up and waves came into the boat and Jesus slept soundly right in the thick of things! Astonishing!

This scenario can be likened to the storms we face of life, it could be storms of loss like that which faced job or storms of conspiracy and battle like that which came into David’s life before he became the king of Israel. It could be storms of diseases plaguing your body or a mixture of storms threatening to topple the vessel of your life. What encouragements can we draw from the passage above?

 

1.       Its Jesus who said “Let’s get to the other side” Every storm has the other side. Every journey has a before and after. Jesus has promised to carry us safe to the other side. Is there anything too hard for him? Isn’t it he who started it? He shall surely transport you safely to the other side.

2.       He is asleep in your boat. Not unconcerned but rested…. And he himself was on the back of the boat sleeping on a cushion. You see you are the one perturbed by the waves not Jesus. Why have you forgotten his mighty works by the seaside shore so quickly? Hasn’t he performed for you before? Why should he fail you now? Why should you wail as if the master has vacated your life and left you to your own defenses?

3.     
…  And he came out of his sleep, and gave strong orders to the wind, and said to the sea, Peace, be at rest. And the wind went down, and there was a great calm.

Like a starring in a blockbuster movie who never dies, Jesus will always come with mighty acts of deliverance. He arose from his comfort and lambasted the chaos disturbing the disciples by giving strong orders to the wind and spoke to the sea peace. Notice that he didn’t rebuke the sea because there is nothing wrong with the sea, it’s just that its peace has been disturbed.

There is nothing wrong with you, it’s just that your peace has been disturbed. Thanks be to our God who always performs his mighty acts off deliverance on our behalf.

What is the chaos and storms of your life? Do you know that Christ has promised to transport you to the other side of your destiny? Do you know that he is there with you right in the thick of things? Have you tasted of his mighty works of deliverance? What about hanging in there a bit more?

Not dead but asleep

But overhearing what they said, Jesus said to the ruler of the synagogue, “Do not fear, only believe.”

Mar 5:37  And he allowed no one to follow him except Peter and James and John the brother of James.

Mar 5:38  They came to the house of the ruler of the synagogue, and Jesus saw a commotion, people weeping and wailing loudly.

Mar 5:39 And when he had entered, he said to them, “Why are you making a commotion and weeping? The child is not dead but sleeping.” Mark 5 :36-39

Is your situation dead and buried? Are you forgotten in the annals of history? The disciples thought so of Jairus as reports came that his daughter lie dead of sickness. It’s good that he cries to Jesus and not to the not condescending disciples.

We can learn some few things from this account.

-          What is dead to you is not so to Jesus. The disciples had given up on the man Jairius and his situation and even told him not to bother the master again. Its amazing how the disciples did not have any room for positivity in this situation. Is it possible that we follow Christ but we are full of negativity and unbelief? From the disciples’ attitude, it seems so.

          It is astonishing how the disciples dismissed the man Jairus …... Do not bother the master. Jesus intervenes and reassures the man. don’t be afraid …... yes, that word that is found at least 365 times in the bible (at least one for each day of the year.)

-          Jesus speaks to the dead situation. “Do not be afraid, just believe.” “The child is not dead but asleep.”

It’s an enormous statement! How can Jairus be still and refuse to be afraid of the death that had just visited his home?

-          Jesus is still in the business of waking people from their sleep.

The question is what is it that has made you asleep? A physical infirmity or deadness of spirit? Are you just destitute and hungry for hope and inspiration? He is here to wake you up from asleep.  May he wake you from sleep today.

Is there anyone left?

It can feel catastrophicly sad to feel left out, forgotten and destitute. We live in a selfish world where people look out only for their interests. Have you ever felt left out and forgotten only for someone out of sheer kindness looks out for you? “What about Kevin?” Its not fair to leave him out!

Well David the king in the Old Testament was wallowing in comfort and plenty in his castle then all of a sudden a gush of kindness burst forth!

2 Samuel 9:1” Is there anyone still left in the house of Saul to whom I can show kindness for Jonathans sake?”

The initiative starts with David and there is absolutely no reason humanly speaking for him to do so. This was a king who subjected him to an amount of suffering.  He was Vilified by Saul but for what? being a fine young man who kept after God becoming his favorite? King Saul chased this man up to the caves but even as the most opportune time presented itself for David to have his revenge in the caves of Adullam, still he would not lay his hands on the lord’s anointed.

He asks “is there anyone still left in the house of Saul to whom I can show mercy?” Maybe you are there feeling left out, insignificant and an object of distant and fading memories. The stakes looked like so for Mephibosheth. But the king remembered him.

The king is a type of God himself who has promised to draw us to himself with his loving kindness. Jeremiah 31:3. We can rely on his unfailing love.

What is your servant that you should notice a dad dog like me?  2Sam 9:8

But we look down on ourselves, we get to pin ourselves down and the thumb of low self-esteem hovers over us. What matters is the kindness that the master has shown us.

Vs 13. Mephibosheth lived in Jerusalem, cause he always ate at the king’s table; he was lame at both table.

Despite being lame, we are always invited at the kings table. What is it that is our lameness? Is it sin? Is it shame?  Reproach of men? There is an invitation for us at the kings table set out right there in the midst of our enemies!

Someone estimated that the kings table as enough covering and is decorated well enough to cover our disability. He has covered us. The king has covered you. Don’t ever leave that table!

A Global pandemic..

The Covid- 19 otherwise known as the Corona virus has romped 2020 like a Blockbuster television series which has captured the attention of the whole world. I have never known of a global pandemic like this in my lifetime but this one has stolen the show. There was the Spanish flu in 1900’s which swept millions of people and has been regarded as one of the worst pandemic in history.

A virus that originated in The City of Wuhan in central china with such a high infection rate has been so incessant in its spreading bring with it infections and death of global proportions so far.

The global atmosphere is replete with fear. The global economy is on a down right now with literally all sectors of the global economy taking an almighty hit. Countries are increasingly on a lock down with many losing their jobs. Its said that almost half of jobs in Africa will be lost in the coming month thee are really trying times. We are noticing some things as we lie through these trying times.

1.    The fear is real!

An afternoon a day after the first case of the virus was announced, as I went to a supermarket store here at the heart of Nakuru town in Kenya, I was met with a flurry of impact buyers flocking the supermarket; there were notices all over. Keep a distance of 1.5 meters apart! We entered the supermarket 5 people at ago. The supermarket staff had all adorned the facemasks some of which I later learnt were not the ones recommended by the World health organization. I even so one lady covering her face with a handkerchief. The atmosphere was rife with fear and emergency. Why? The first case had just been reported in the country and the president had gone to issue some directives. All learning institutions were to send the students home and more directives were to follow in the coming days.

Having had enough off the drama I cut short my shopping. In the midst of all the cacophony and confusion, I still heard that small voice.  “Be still and know that I am God.”

We thank God that a month and a half after, the situation is not that dire but the fear is still palpable.

2.    Fear on steroids breeds confusion.

People have been thronging supermarket sweeping literally everything. If you witnessed the madness of shopping during this period in the united states, people have been mad about Tissue paper; fighting over them, the tv stations are glad to show these images which doesn’t help in aggravating these fears. Fear has revealed selfishness in us because we want to keep ourselves safe. This pandemic has revealed lots about the human nature

3.    Governments are taking measures, but can they ever be enough?

Various Governments have swung into action to protect their populace curfews have been imposed, public awareness have been advanced, in preparing for the worst, ICU wards have been boosted and improved with equipment, the ventilators and other testing kits in place, some governments have gone to the extent of fumigating all public places and areas deemed as High risk areas but can they do enough?

What about the drive in test centers? That looks eccentric and modern but even that is enough to guarantee human life.

4 The Scientists are not sleeping.

This is a new virus and highly infectious in nature. We can estimate that it has mutated along the way. Scientists around the globe are trying to find a cure for this virus and ooh my they have sweated. No wonder President Uhuru confessed.” Even Science needs God.”

This is just one among the many family of Corona viruses that is said to originally resident in wild animals. This Covid 19 is reckoned to have mutated along the way changing its form on the way.

Has this virus come to reveal the futility of man’s effort? No scientific discovery has assured man of immortality. Every day there is still hop that the elusive vaccine will be found

What Now. Hope or despair?

The default premise for any normal person would be where is God? How could a God of love let this virus cause so much havoc in the world? Has God abandoned the world to the fate cosmic occurrences?

Before we drag God into this debate as if we were age mates, let us remember that he is transcendent over the works of creation.  The psalmist declared in Psalm 24:1 declared that the earth and its fullness thereof is the Lord’s.

The earth is the Lords and he preserves his superintendence over the course of creation. Probably man has been running on auto-pilot of self-dependency and this pandemic should serve as a reminder that God is in charge. This is enough reason to lose hope. At the end of it, God will have his way and his plans too can’t be thwarted (job 42:2).

Though a threatening situation, there is no reason to despair and loose hope. Through all this, it’s going to become even more evident that the earth is the Lord’s and its fullness thereof. Psalm 24:1. Meanwhile we linger in wait for the Lord’s deliverance.

 

The sonship of men ; Part 1

In the last three posts, we learnt about the fatherhood of God. We learnt in summary that God is our

-Our source

-He is our identity and

-He is the one who has taken initiative.

The issue that has still grasped my attention is the fatherhood crisis spread all over in our contemporary society. We must go back to the basics in order to retrack sense of normalcy. Once the issue of fatherhood has been settled, then we can understand and appreciate our place as sons of God. (male and female)

Man is a complex being. Sociologists have termed man as a social animal in that he is wired to live in interaction with other human beings, and that he finds satisfaction and fulfillment in this. This is true but I see more.

1.Man is the bearer of the image and likeness of God

Genesis 1 :27 So God created mankind in his own image,
    in the image of God he created them;
    male and female he created them.

If God is the source of all things, if he is the creator, then man came out of God. By bearing the image and the likeness of God, I am not insinuating that man is a god or he has superhuman D.N.A. Man simply originates from God and the creationist theory makes the most sense out of all the theories out there about the origin of man.

The beauty of a human being is in the beauty of being; Being alive, being healthy, being happy, etc. The primary identity of man is not in doings, as in we are not human doings but human beings; and that’s what I want to highlight here as being the bearers of the image and likeness of God. I believe this essence is what God was trying to communicate to the Israelites. “Be ye Holy for the lord your God is holy” Leviticus 11:44-45

People don’t become holy out of doing holy things. its not about what people can do to become holy. The Israelites kept flopping in their attempt to become holy by ceremoniously keeping themselves clean and the yearly cycle of sinning, repenting offering sacrifices, true worship, apostasy and back to sinning was full circle. they could sustain this lifestyle in Moses’s lifetime and upon the rise of other servants of God, but otherwise they were in serious flops and they completely forgot God overtime.

Its not a matter of doing but being, the essence of God is holiness, its love, God is never worried , he is not hurried as if he is running behind schedule and such and so much more about his attributes are we to image and display the same likeness , we do out of who we are.

2. The son ship of men: Man was created to dominate -rule

God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it.Gen 1:28 NIV

Gen 1 :27b-28

 God created human beings;
        he created them godlike,
    Reflecting God’s nature.
        He created them male and female.
    God blessed them:
        “Prosper! Reproduce! Fill Earth! Take charge! (Message)

The primary evidence of our heritage as sons of God is locked up in the very first chapter of the bible . God underlies the theme of creation and the creation of man is like the grand finale in his great exhibition. Man was created to dominate over the works of creation. God is the principle owner and the initiator over the works of creation but he has mandated and given man the authority to subdue , to take charge to dominate over it.

There is a verse in the book of psalms that almost seems blasphemous if you don’t study it objectively.

Psalm 82:6 said, “You are gods,
    sons of the Most High, all of you;
⁷ nevertheless, like men you shall die,
    and fall like any prince. ESV

The mandate for man to rule, dominate, subdue and to take charge over the works of creation is intensive for this psalm alludes to reality of men as gods (Gods representatives on this earth). Man will never take the place of God. What man is and dispenses is in the light of what God has mandated him.

Well that’s enough for today. In our part 2, we deal with the third aspect that I highlight of the sonship of men: Man was created to work the land. There is a great truth about the purpose of man that we will unravel next week, meanwhile my take away home for part 1 will be simple; That you have been created in the image and likeness of God. You carry the God D.N.A in you even without doing anything yet. Begin to rule, dominate and subduing the earth like your father. Ask God and he will reveal to you your purpose and the God kind in you that will rule over in your specific flair. Once you find it, run with it like you are the best in your field. Remember the formulae always starts with God or otherwise you will be putting the cart before the horse and it will be hectic moving forward.

Stay put!

The fatherhood of God part 3

In my last post, I highlighted that that we were going to address some attributes of God as our father. My attention amongst many attributes that we can associate God with as our father as

1.       Our source

2.       Our identity and

3.       The one who takes/has taken initiative

We tackled the first one, God our father as source and now let’s take about the rest of the attributes.

2. God our father as our identity

The biggest battle of a human being the battle of identity. Once we figure out the why of our reason for being in this world and once we figure what our mandate is, then we are good to go as regards to life. Similarly, man (Male)’s biggest battle is the battle of identity. A man without identity is like a commoner sitting on a jumbo jet and trying to control it to its destination. I believe a lot of boy child issues like ‘drugs and substance abuse, irresponsible, illicit sexual behavior, violence, suicides, low self-esteem, a lot of transgender issues; Homosexualism, etc stem from this core that the identity of the male child is under threat. We saw it from the statistics in the last post that only 20% of young people enjoy a healthy relationship with their fathers.

This can only spell danger to many people growing up in a miasma of a great identity crisis, our young people are always the biggest target of a negative media influence which majorly wants to portray a negative or a superficial self-image.

But what is man’s identity? (male and female) Are we defined by our pasts, our dysfunctional or even functional families? Are we what the media tells us we are; that a functional man is successful (material wise), is appealing, has a great drive of fulfilling all kinds of desires? I will ask you a direct question. Who are you?

John 1: 12 Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God— ¹³ children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God

The primary identity of man is of being Gods child. You are not what you do. You are not defined by what you wake up early in the morning everyday to do? What you do is very important but does not suffice to define you.

The bible says that if we receive Christ, then we have received the privileged permission of being called a child of God.

43      God our father as the one who has taken initiative.

Men are wired to take initiative in providing solutions, giving direction, innovations and simply calling out things, creating and executing dreams and most importantly, building and sustaining a home.

There is nothing as powerful as a man with a purpose who takes initiatives, is not afraid of risking it out to bring success.

This is a picture of who our heavenly father is; the one ho has taken the initiative. First of all, when he created man, he made sure that man had the suitable environment for his success on earth. Simply no human being ever born on this earth has been born incomplete as if God will come and complete the work of creation later.

And even after the fall of man, God took the initiative of doing whatever he could to restore man to himself. And that’s what love is; it takes initiative.

John 3:16 for God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son, that whosoever may believe in him will not perish but have everlasting life.

In conclusion I will address the fathers or if you are a father figure or a man in the road of finding your purpose.

-          Fatherhood is not chest thumping or self-advocating: I have heard men who are disgusted with other people exclaim “Utatambua Leo Mimi ni mwanaume” or if a man is annoyed by a woman, then in an anger rush throw careless words which are demeaning or less deserving of respect.

A lion never roams around the jungle announcing itself as a lion. It just prowls stealthily and though the beast is not the fastest animal on land it will bring down an animal twice as fast as itself.

-           Fatherhood is not male chauvinism: You don’t climb the fatherhood figure by belittling others, looking down on members of the opposite sex. Irrationality, roughness, violence has never brought anyone near the Guinness book of records. Real men are calm, collected and reasonable and is able to control his anger. The bible likens a man who has mastered his anger to a fortified city.

-          Remember a man always takes the initiative. Don’t sit down and observe as your world crumbles before you. You can do something. God has made the man (The woman too) as potent as he can be to tackle anything that sets itself against him. Its time fathers offer leadership and direction to their homes. Fathers will not sit and lament when their sons and daughters waste away under the pressure of this world. Men carry solutions, foresight. A man at his best (Man with God) can conquer anything!!

The fatherhood of God, Part 2

In my last post, I highlighted the state of fatherhood today and the crisis of fatherhood with the spotlight in  m nation of Kenya. I do believe the statistics border one another across the globe.

The conclusion was to bring us to attention to the source of our being; to him who has loved us unconditionally and limitless.

And I love this verse by john which we finished with in my last post.

Behold what manner of love the father hath bestowed upon us that we should be called the children of God, and such we are. For this cause the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not. (1^st John 3:1 American standard version)

 See what great love Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him (NIV)

Notice the choice of words by the NIV translators ‘lavish’ which is a stronger word than ‘to bestow’ which has an insinuation of expending excessivelyor profusely. God our father has expended, given us his love excessively or profusely. This is our heavenly father who typifies what our earthly fathers should be; those who expend love, care and protection profusely to their members but why is the crisis of fatherhood so rampant today? I believe its because the devil is damn aware of the potential and power of a loving dadand is determined to curtail and prevent this potential from being realised at all cost.

In our post today, I will seek to delve deeper into this issue of the fatherhood of God. We will explore some attributes of God our father and marry them with what earthly dads and men in general should typify.

1.     God our father as source

 God in history was never refereed to as father until the new testament, though he has been the father of creation, father of all who lived from the old testament.

1 Cor 8:6yet for us there is but one God, the Father, from whom all things came and for whom we live; and there is but one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom all things came and through whom we live. NIV

Isaiah 64:8 Yet you, Lord, are our Father.
    We are the clay, you are the potter;
    we are all the work of your hand. NIV

Acts 17:22- 29

Paul then stood up in the meeting of the Areopagus and said: “People of Athens! I see that in every way you are very religious. ²³ For as I walked around and looked carefully at your objects of worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: to an unknown god. So, you are ignorant of the very thing you worship—and this is what I am going to proclaim to you.

²⁴ “The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by human hands. ²⁵ And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything. Rather, he himself gives everyone life and breath and everything else. ²⁶ From one man he made all the nations, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he marked out their appointed times in history and the boundaries of their lands. ²⁷ God did this so that they would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from any one of us. ²⁸ ‘For in him we live and move and have our being.’^[b] As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are his offspring.’^[c]

²⁹ “Therefore since we are God’s offspring, we should not think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone—an image made by human design and skill.

He is our source of life, no matter how strong or self-sufficient a man (male and female) seems or suggests to be he is never self-sufficient. He can never be like a former giant retail chain in Kenya ‘Nakumatt’ whose catchphrase “You need it you ve got it almost got all of us Kenyans esteeming Nakumatt as a demigod of the supermarket chain industry. Who thought that Nakumatt would go under the way it went? Man is not a ‘you need it, you ve got it’ he has a beginning and an end’ predetermined by God who is the source of life for in him we live, move and have our being.

He is your source you are the clay and he is the potter. THE Very works of his hands, readily available at his disposal to use and to form at will. Until this truth is settled in man, he will operate as a rabid dog biting everything it comes across. Until man’s identity is firmly secured in his God as the source of life, he will chest thump, belittle, pride, take credit for everything, work hard, self-love, overarch, lord it over others, etc. perhaps more than he should.

Wow this just one point out of three that I had, lets reserve the next two for the next post lets this becomes a very large and lengthy post. I hope this concept is beginning to take shape as we progress. The next two points; God the father as our identity and God the father; who has taken initiative and my conclusion will   be covered in my next post. Stay blessed and stay put!