HE AIN'T ON BREAK

I was reading the Scripture about Elijah and the prophets of Baal in 1 Kings 18 this morning and I thought of sharing a few things.

So now the altar is set.Elijah gives the prophets the opportunity to win.He lets them choose their 'favorite' bull and allows them to take their sweet (well am not sure if it was sweet) time to call on their god.They call on their god till noon and no response.I found myself comparing their frustration to   that one gets when you ask for a service and you get the message Server not found.

  
Elijah then asks them in Verse 27. 

 “Shout louder!” he said. “Surely he is a god! Perhaps he is deep in thought, or busy, or traveling. Maybe he is sleeping and must be awakened.”

As if they took the advise seriously the prophets actually cried aloud .They even started cutting themselves.They continued their theatrics and gymnastics till evening to no avail.

Then came Elijah’s turn. He tried to make the battle tougher for himself by daring the prophets to pour a lot of water on both the wood and the sacrifice.The prophets must have been eagerly waiting for Elijah to fail.Yet Elijah made a simple prayer. In Vs 36-37

“Lord, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel, let it be known today that you are God in Israel and that I am your servant and have done all these things at your command.

Answer me, Lord, answer me, so these people will know that you, Lord, are God, and       that you are turning their hearts back again.”

Immediately the fire came down and consumed the sacrifice.And the people fell and worshipped God

What stood out for me as I read through this story is the fact that God is invincible. That which took the prophets of Baal hours and theatrics to not achieve took Elijah only a prayer to conquer and surpass the expectation

I was reminded of Daniel 3:17-18

Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego replied to him, “King Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter.

If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to deliver us from it, and he will deliver us from Your Majesty’s hand. But even if he does not, we want you to know, Your Majesty, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up.”

It must have taken Elijah a lot of faith in God for him to challenge the Baal prophets and that is the same kind of faith that we are to have .It was strong confidence in God that gave the three men the audacity to look at the king straight in the eye and let him know that they would not bow to his god. Throughout the Bible whenever people dared to fully trust God, He came through for them.

Perhaps as Elijah mocked the prophets, the Baal might have actually been busy traveling or asleep.    Isn't it relieving to know that we can always get through to God? That He never sleeps He never slumbers He is never too busy to hear us. He is never on safari.

  
Friend, I thought of reminding you of God; The Almighty God. That as David says He is an ever present help in times of need.You might be in a situation that has left you wondering where is God. Well the truth is God is right there with you and He will see you through it.He ain't on break.

LET THAT GIANT KNOW

I am currently studying  the book of 1^st Samuel and this morning, I was reading chapter 17 that tells  the famous story of David defeating Goliath. Just the appropriate scripture that I needed for the day. 

As I read through, the mental picture I got was a bit interesting. Picture this, Goliath was huge. As in he was HUGE.To  add to his already intimidating size, Goliath had a bronze helmet,a coat of scale armour of bronze weighing 5,000 shekels(about 57kgs), bronze greaves, a bronze javelin and a spear.Pause.

Now contrast David. A tiny shepherd boy, facing a mighty giant with only five smooth stones and a sling, no armour no bronze helmet. No wonder,The giant looks at him and despises him asking, "am I a dog that you come at me with sticks. I will give your flesh to the birds of the air and to the beasts of the field”

What struck me about the story of David  and Goliath was the kind of faith, crazy faith, that David had in God.  His response in verse 45-47 is particularly interesting. He tells the giant, "You come to me with sword and spear and javelin but I come against you in the Name of the Lord Almighty, the God of the armies

Verse 50  then records “So David triumphed over the Philistine with a sling and a stone, without a sword he struck down the philistine and killed him”. David knew that what he truly needed was not the huge armour, but God. No wonder when Saul offered his tunic, David politely refused it.

Friend, I am not sure what giants lie ahead of you. The kind that are staring at you and threatening to tear you apart, I write this to encourage you that with God you can face that Goliath. Lean not on the strength of your armour but instead anchor yourself in the Name of the Lord Almighty. Go forth, and Like David, tell the giant the strength of your God. Don't let it intimidate you into thinking that you can't make it. Also, like David,Remain confident that the Lord who saw you through the lions and the bears is still with you.  

My dear, You can and you will make it through that giant.The battle is the Lord's, The victory is yours and the glory is His.The Lord who has always fought for you is still by your side.He will deliver you again.

 

HE KISSED THAT STINKING SON

A story is told of a father who had two sons. One of the sons asked for his share of inheritance and left home.He went to a far away place where he squandered his inheritance and soon enough it was finished. Things got thicker. This son decided to look for something to do to at least silence his rumbling stomach.Fortunately, he got a job to feed pigs. A smelly job but it was better than nothing.Thicker Thickened and he got so hungry that he started not only feeding the pigs but also feeding with the pigs.

One thing I am always confident about is that I will always be my parents daughter no matter what happens. Even when I have wronged, I am still a child to mommy and daddy. This our son seems to have held a similar opinion. So on this particular day he came to his senses and decided to go back home to his father and ask for forgiveness.One more request was that the father would at least take him as one of the servants.

The son went back home.His father saw him from a far off and ran to him.He embraced him, hugged him and kissed him. He then ordered that the son be cleaned up and a fattened calf be slaughtered in celebration.

One thing that I had never noticed in the story is the order of events. The father kissed the son while he was still stinking. He did ask that the son be cleaned up first.

It is that period of Easter again when we remember the the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. He stretched His arms wide on Calvary as an invitation to the world. He didn't ask that we go and clean up first. To date He says Come as you are.

You may have done stuff in the first that makes you feel like you have too much baggage for the Lord to accept. The good news is that you are not too far that the grace of God cannot reach you. You are not beyond grace. You are not beyond forgiveness. Don't let this Easter pass you by. This is the right time to make it right with God.Today is the day.

DON'T WORRY, BE PRAYERFUL

We walked into church and this courteous usher handed us the service leaflets. He showed us where to sit but this particular Sunday we had purposed  to sit on the upper deck.So up we went. Normally I look at the leaflet during announcements but this time I looked at it sooner; reason being I did not know the hymn.

The theme inscribed on the leaflet was Cure for Worry and being a patient of the disease in question, I could not wait for the sermon. You would expect that deep worship songs are what were running through my mind but funnily, the song in mind was one I loved years back. Don't worry be happy. Especially the part that says ..The landlord says your rent is late he may have to litigate ... Don't worry be happy. I knew you would check the date.Haha

Anyway, soon enough the pastor took to the pulpit and he began by reading a common verse.You know those verses that you easily complete for the pastor.

Phillipians 4:6-7

⁶ Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. ⁷ And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

 Like you would guess we were hearing the verse for the umpteenth time. However for some reason it sounded so different this time.It sounded so fresh. It did not say that I should be happy.It said that instead of worrying pray.It said that I should not be worried about ANYTHING. 

For any professional worriers like me out there, you would agree that nothing is ever too small to worry about. So this time I felt like a burden was being lifted off me. I was getting a new alternative. That instead of wasting my energy in worry, I could invest it in prayer. Worry begets worry. But Prayer begets peace. Incomprehensible peace.

Next time I am worried about anything no matter how petty, I will present my request to God in prayer and petition with thanksgiving. Before I call a best friend, I will call on the father. I will cast my cares and burdens unto Him before I cast it on men. I know He cares about me. So I will not be worried about today, nor about tomorrow. I will not be worried about what to wear what to eat, what job where, how, when..No I will not. If He can take care of the sparrows, If He cannot left them fall, how much more does He care for you and me.

Don't worry,be happy, Pray

QUIT THE MATATU SYNDROME

I use matatus every morning and evening. As you would rightfully guess I was going to write about them sooner or later. In my observation, you will hardly find a matatu with wheels aligned straight on the road, especially in heavy traffic. The wheels always face the next lane.  They change lanes at an annoying frequency.I don't mean to complain; after all, I appreciate that they are a faster means compared to private means due to their ability to dodge traffic. However, the level of competition,impatience and occasional rudeness is something to write home about.

Sometimes our lives are so much like the matatus on our roads. We want to get to our destinations fast enough yet we are not willing to make the sacrifice of leaving earlier; neither do we have the patience to bear with the consequences of our lateness. At times we are the least bit concerned about other people on the way, as long as we get our way.So we treat our fellow pilgrims with disregard and disdain.

Grass is greener on the other side; they say.So we struggle to change lanes; once we get to the other lane, we want to go back to the one we came from.We want to be on both at the same time. Just in case this one moves faster. We want to step on the greener grass but not take the time to manure and water our own.

Our christian lives are also like that, sometimes. We are double minded. We want to be in the world but we also want to be in salvation. We want to trust God for answers but we have a lane B just in case His answer delays.While we wait on God we say He helps those who help themselves. So we try to help God to help us.After all we 'should prepare for a rainy day'.

Friend, it is time to quit that matatu syndrome. That competition and lane hopping. You need not compete with that other friend and that cousin of the brother of your neighbors friend. It is not worth it. In God's own time, purpose and will, your desires shall come to pass.  In the meantime delight yourself in the Lord,stick to your lane and be diligent. The Lord shall bless the work of your hands.

Quit the double mindedness and choose for yourself today whom to follow. Choose a temperature, either hot or cold.If and when you have chosen to trust God, trust and obey Him fully. FULLY.

Have a blessed week. Let me get onto the next matatu.