Do You Feel As If You Are Lost?

“Then Moses led Israel  from the Red Sea, and they went out into the wilderness”  (Exodus 15:22).

Many people who find themselves stuck in difficult situations often feel as if they’ve become lost.  Somehow, they’ve arrived in a wilderness where everything has dried up and nothing seems to be growing.  Many of them have lived in this wilderness for so long that they have given up on things changing and concluded that this must be all God has in store for them.  On numerous occasions, they have attempted to change their situation, but all of their efforts have failed.  If this sounds like you, you may not be lost at all!  You may be squarely within the Will of God.  All dry places in life are not the result of being lost.  Sometimes God uses dry places as a place of preparation. 

In Exodus 3:8, when God met Moses at the burning bush, He told him that He was going to deliver His people from bondage and into a land flowing with “milk and honey”.   Yet, we know when God delivered His people from bondage, He led them directly into a “wilderness” where they spent 40 years.   We know that their wilderness experience had a purpose because the Bible tells us that there was a shorter route available that they could have taken and avoided the wilderness altogether. Exodus 13:17 says, “God did not lead them by the way of the land of the Philistines, even though it was near.”  

Whenever God leads you some where He has a purpose and a predestined place for you, even if the route is a long or a dry one. 

Often, your wilderness is the doorway to your promise.  At the initiation of Jesus’ public ministry He was led into the wilderness first before He ever preached a sermon.  If you are in a wilderness right now, remember what you learned while there because it will be necessary to sustain you in your Promised Land.  Don’t faint or lose heart.  You may be at the door of your promise and purpose.  You may not have been lost at all.  You may have simply been led!

Rev. James C. Matthews
 

Know God, Know Love

THE FRUIT OF THE SPIRIT: LOVE

Have you ever wondered how Jesus performed so many miracles during His earthly ministry? The secret to His supernatural lifestyle was love.

Romans 5:5 says, “And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.” When you become a born-again Christian, the force of love is deposited into you. As a result, the power of the Holy Spirit gives you the ability to walk in the same love as Jesus!

Walking in love is a choice that you make. It is deciding to be a giver, not a taker. Your decision should not be based on emotions or feelings, but on the desire to follow Jesus’ example of loving others in every situation.

The Bible’s definition of love is found in 1 Corinthians 13:4-8:

Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil; rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth; beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things. Charity never faileth: but whether there be prophecies, they shall fail; whether there be tongues, they shall cease; whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away.

The characteristics of love are the characteristics of God’s nature. The essence of Who He is resides in these qualities. Check out your love life. Are you walking in the God-kind of love toward others? If not, renew your mind and change your behavior with the Word. Recognize that you have the ability to exhibit God’s love in every area of your life and to everyone with whom you come in contact!
 

Ther Power Of Prayer; by Muirani

Those who are Christians and believe that Jesus Christ was and is son of God, believes that by praying to our creator, we do communicate with Him and we can submit freely all our needs and desires to him and him only.

When things goes wrong in any country, we do tend to blame the government but in the real sense its we as Christians who have failed in our duties to pray for the governments.

Here in Sweden, we are told that, whenever you are in trouble, call 112.Even young children in schools knows about 112. For us Christians, God’s hot line is Jeremiah 33:3-”Call to me and i will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know”

Our key to victory is “Chronicles 7:14-”if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then i will hear from heaven and forgive their sin and will heal their land”.

Why do we pray? Isaiah 54:17-”no weapon forged against you will prevail, and you will refute every tongue that accuses you. This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD, and this is their vindication from me, declares the LORD.”

What prayers does: Gen. 25:21-”Isaac prayed to the LORD on behalf of his wife, because she was barren. The LORD answered his prayer, and his wife Rebbecca became pregnant”.

2Kings 6:18-” As the enemy came down toward him, Elisha prayed to the LORD, “Strike these people with blindness”. So he struck them with blindness, as Elisha had asked” Read also 2Kings 20.

Prayer gives direction: Jeremiah 42:3 “Pray that the LORD your God Will tell us where we should go and what we should do”.

Mark 11:23 “I tell you the truth, if anyone says to this mountain, “Go, throw yourself into the sea”, and does not doubt in his heart but believes that what he/she says will happen, it will be
done for him/her”.

James 5:13- “Is any one of you in trouble? He/she should pray. Is anyone happy? Let him/her sing songs of praise”.

why should we call God? Psalm 145:18 “The LORD is near to all who call on him. To all who call on him in truth”. Psalm 50:15 “and call upon me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you will honor me”.

Psalm 56:9 “Then my enemies will turn back when I call for help, By this I know that God is for me”. Psalm 25:14 “The LORD confides in those who fear him; He makes his covenant known to them”.

Prayer frustrates our enemies. Micah 7:7-8-”But for me, I watch in hope for the LORD, I wait for God my Savior; my God will hear me. Do not gloat over me, my enemy! Though I have fallen, I will rise. Though I sit in darkness, the LORD will be my light”.

God is doing a new thing in Kenya and to the Kenyan people. He will hear our cry and he will answer our prayers for peace and stability in our country. Its through prayer that we do communicate with God and let us all Christians joins together and may the name of
our Almighty LORD reign supreme all the times. Amen!

Githuku wa Muirani.

Peace At Last: Glory To God

We sure pray and serve the God of miracles, with whom all things are possible. He that makes a way where there is no way, is with no doubt our only source of hope when we do not have it.

His promises are Yes and Amen and when He said that, “If my people, on whom my name is named, make themselves low and come to me in prayer, searching for me and turning from their evil ways; then I will give ear from heaven, overlooking their sin, and will give life again to their land”, He really meant it.

I want to thank and praise God for His goodness toward Kenya and her people. We all know that we have cried to God over the last two months and trully He has heard and answered us. We’ve not earned this salvation that we celebrate today as our leaders agree on power sharing. No, it is His own doing according to His promises. He said He will neither leave nor forsake His children.

And God also works in and through us. It is written that His eyes are on the earth looking for one person that is praying and standing in the gap so that He may show His mercy upon the earth. If you’ve really commited yourself to prayer for our dear country, I want to encourage you to continue. Let not circumstances and situations discourage you. This is the time for us to renew our strength in the spirit and pray like never before. Yes, we are victors but we should know that the devil is not happy with what has happened. And let us not be ashamed of the gospel and the word of God, for it is the power to our well being and salvation. 

The step that our leaders have taken needs to be appreciated by all peace-loving Kenyans. A lot of thanks to them for choosing to put the interest of our country and its people first, before their own. We know that it hasn’t been easy for them but they have humbly compromised their ego for the sake of peace. We hope and pray that they will work together as a team and avoid anything that could take us back to where we’ve come from. Let us also pray that coming generation of leaders will be people filled of the fear and Spirit of God.

Bwana Asifiwe!

Muraya

What’s Love Got To Do With It? Everything!

Dear Kenyans In Stockholm,
In my search and prayer for what we need most as a community, I’ve come across the following sermon delivered by Dr. Creflo A. Dollar and as it has helped and blessed me, I hope someone out there will also be blessed. 1 Corinthians 13:13;  And so faith, hope, love abide [faith--conviction and belief respecting man's relation to God and divine things; hope--joyful and confident expectation of eternal salvation; love--true affection for God and man, growing out of God's love for and in us], these three; but the greatest of these is love.

   

What’s Love Got to Do With It? Everything!

At some point during the course of my marriage to Taffi, I realized her great interior decorating skills. At first, I thought white walls were impressive and the thought of using color on a wall was out of the question. However, as time went on, I saw for myself how great she was at putting colors, textures and fabrics together to create beautiful rooms in our home.

If you have a knack for decorating, you know that curtains are essential to enhancing any room. And without the rod to support them, they will fall. That’s just how it is with the love of God. Jesus said that the greatest commandment of all is to love God. The second is to love your neighbor as yourself. When you fail to follow these two commandments, you short-circuit your connection to the abundant life. Jesus came so that we could have abundant life, to the full, until it overflows (John 10:10, AMP). But if love fails to operate properly in your life, everything pertaining to your prosperity will fail as well. Your faith, prayers, healing and prosperity won’t have any support unless they all hang on this law of love.

Have you ever met a Believer who knew how to pray down a mountain, but was as mean as a rattlesnake? There are a lot of Christians like that. They know the seven principles to this, and the four steps to that, but when it comes down to how they treat other people, they fall short. It doesn’t matter how “spiritual” you appear to be. If you aren’t walking in love, you are powerless.

Most Believers don’t understand the true meaning of love because they have only experienced human love, and not God’s agapé love. Human love is the exact opposite of agapé love; it is emotional and conditional. It always wants to be pleased. You can say that you love everybody, but if someone offends you in some way by cutting you off in traffic or not letting your child participate in a school program your conditional human love will kick in.

God’s love, on the other hand, is unconditional, which means it puts up with anything. It doesn’t respond favorably based on what a person thinks or how he or she feels, and no one has to qualify to receive it. Agapé love is always focused on the needs of others. When the Bible says that you should love God, it is actually referring to the verb form of agapé, which is agapeo. This word is an action word meaning, “to love; to totally give yourself over to; to totally commit.”

You probably feel that you are committed to a number of things in your life. For example, your friends, family and career are all important commitments. But when you truly love God, you make a decision to place Him above all of those things. It’s great to have relationships and material possessions, but you should never get so tied to those things that you fail to make your relationship with God your first priority. Not only must you place Him first, but you must also allow His love to govern your thoughts and your attitude.

The benefits of committing your life to God are that you become empowered to bless others and are able to fulfill His will for your life. Allowing Him to be in the driver’s seat of your life is a matter of trust. You have to be able to trust that He knows what’s best for you and that He will provide whatever you need. Growing up, I never thought in a million years that I would be a preacher, much less that I would pastor a mega church. My dream was to become a professional football player, but I was committed to God and I allowed my love for Him to take control and change my thinking. Before long, I was sharing my love for God with other people and experiencing more joy than I ever could have imagined.

Perhaps you’ve tried to pursue a particular career, but in your heart you keep feeling a need to do something else. Maybe your friends, family or teachers have often said that you should be doing something different, but you ignored them. If you don’t have peace doing what you’re doing right now, it may be God’s way of telling you to make a change. If you are constantly struggling in your current field, it may be time to reconsider.

Love doesn’t stop with loving God only. You also have to show genuine love to others. Jesus’ entire ministry was focused on other people and their needs. There may be someone at your job who is just mean and difficult to be around. Through Christ, however, you have the ability to love that person and dwell with him or her in peace. Maybe you are having trouble with your spouse. When you demonstrate God’s love to him or her, things will change and your relationship will improve. It may not happen overnight, but believe me, it will happen.

If you really love God then you must learn to love all people regardless; there’s no way around it. The world is tired of hearing about our God without seeing the results of our commitment to Him. The message series called Love: The Greatest Commandment gives more insight into the power of agape. Take time today to share agapé love with those in your life. When you do, you will experience life in abundance, to the full, until it overflows.

Scripture References: Matthew 22:34-40, 1 John 3:16-18, 1 John 4:7-8

The Blame Game

Bishop Donald Hilliard

“The woman you put… with me…gave me… the fruit, and I ate it.” Genesis 3:12-13 (CEV)

A man smokes 3 packs of cigarettes a day for 40 years, dies of lung cancer, and his family sues the tobacco company. A woman crashes while driving drunk, then blames the bartender. Your kids are out of control so you blame violence on TV, lack of discipline in school or the influence of their friends.

Excuses - we’ve got hundreds of them! Our parents failed us…our friends let us down…somebody gave us bad advice…our mate doesn’t understand us. The blame game isn’t new; we’ve been playing it since the dawn of creation. In Genesis the first couple offered God every excuse in the book to avoid responsibility for their actions. Adam actually blamed God by saying, “It was the woman you put…with me.” And Eve was no better, she said, “The snake tricked me.”

Solomon says, “The wise are glad to be instructed…fools fall flat on their faces” (Pr 10:8 NLT), because the ability to accept responsibility is the measure of your character and maturity. But more importantly, God can’t forgive and restore you till you acknowledge and turn away from your sin. Nowhere in Scripture does He ever excuse your sin because of somebody else’s behavior. In fact, when you make a habit of blaming the other guy you’ll never reach the place of honest repentance.

The Bible says we’ll all “appear before Christ and take what’s coming to us as a result of our actions” (2Co 5:10 TM).

Acknowledging your sins and shortcomings here and now frees you to receive God’s forgiveness and move on to maturity.

God”s Boundless Love

Sometimes as we go through life, we can begin to lose sight of God or question and doubt His love for us. We can become mired in erroneous thinking that God loves somebody else more than He loves us, which the Bible says is certainly untrue (Galatians 2:6). Circumstances in life can be very unfair, but our God remains the same as He has always been, which is love (1 John 4:8). God is love, He defines love, He does loving things, and He cannot do any unloving things. God’s very character, nature, makeup, and personality is love.

The wonderful news is that God doesn’t just keep His love to Himself, but He demonstrates it to the world. Romans 5:8 says, “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” God spared nothing by giving us the most special and beloved gift which He could give, His Son, and He sent Him to a world which didn’t deserve such a gift. We were sinners, not looking or even desiring to love God or even be loved by Him because we loved our sin and our own selfish ways. Yet God initiated love because love is Who He is; His own nature compelled Him to give us Jesus. John 3:16 says, “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.”

God made man because He loved man and He wanted to have a relationship with man. Yet because of sin, man’s only hope at being restored to fellowship with God was for a ransom to be paid. God demanded holiness, and we failed to measure up. Thus, God sent His perfect Son to live a perfect life and die in our place as a perfect sacrifice. Thus, as we repent of our sins and trust in Christ’s work on the cross, we can be saved, forgiven, and free to enjoy a relationship with God forever. God loved the world so much that He gave up His Son to utter humiliation, even forsaking Him because of our sin which was placed upon Him (Mark 15:34), so that we could be received by Him (John 1:12-13). God has indeed demonstrated perfect and pure love beyond compare. We have never been loved like this, and only God can love us so perfectly. Only in knowing Him can we find perfect, grace-filled, redeeming, and restoring love. If and when we doubt God’s love, we need only consider the cross.

But the love of God doesn’t end here, for He keeps on giving good and perfect gifts. James 1:17 says, “Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow.” He hasn’t changed, for the same God Who did not spare His own Son is the same God we serve today. As Romans 8:32 says, “He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him over for us all, how will He not also with Him freely give us all things?” Thus, God’s love is not only demonstrated in the cross, though the cross sufficiently proves His love, but it is also manifested in the good and perfect blessings which He gives us in this life.

Yet let us not become so absorbed with this life such that we forget that the greatest gifts are yet to come in eternity. At that point, we will experience release from all pain, sorrow, and the burdens and troubles of this world (Revelation 21:4). The coming of Christ will bring with it an end to persecution, strife, struggles against sin, and every kind of hurt and betrayal. Relationships will be perfect, and we will see our Savior face to face. There we will worship Him, and He will bestow upon us the crown of life (James 1:12, Revelation 2:20) and all the rewards and honor due us (2 Corinthians 5:10).

The best is yet to come because Jesus is coming back, and we who have been redeemed will go to Him. Soon, and very soon, we will be able to enjoy the perfect Lover of our souls, the One Who alone is good, perfect, and the very definition of love. There, forever, we will bathe and bask in the overwhelming, wonderful, and boundless love of God.

Maoni Kuhusu Amani Nchini Kenya

Huku mamilioni ya wakenya na pia ulimwengu wote tukingungojea kwa hamu na ghamu, matokeo ya mazungumuzo nchini kenya ya kuwapatanisha viongozi wa PNU na ODM ambayo yanaongozwa na aliyekuwa katibu mkuuwa umoja wa kimataifa, Bw Koffi Annan.

Kabla ya PNU na ODM kujadiliana kuhusu vile watakavyogawanyana viti, lazima amani nchini Kenya irudi kwanza. Kugawanya viti wakati huu sio jambo mwafaka,mbali nikuona Rais Mwai Kibaki na kinara wa ODM Mheshimiwa Raila Odinga wakihudhuria mikutano pamoja ya amani nchini Kenya.

Matumaini ni makubwa sana kwa wakenya eti amani itapatikana hivi karibuni na suluhisho la kutatua mzozo uliomo baina ya viongozi wa serikali na upinzani.

Wakenya ambao wamehama makwao juu ya kuogopa makabila mengine, lazima warudishwe makwao na serikali iwasaidie na pesa za kujenga nyumba ambazo zilichomwa na wahalifu ambao hawataki amani nchini Kenya.

Rais Mwai Kibaki na Raila Odinga lazima waonyeshe wananchi na ulimwengu kwa jumla ya kwamba eti uamuzi ambao watatekeleza wa kisiasa si kwa jumla wao wenyewe, mbali ni katika manufaa ya wakenya wote pamoja.

Kama katiba ya Kenya itabadilishwa, ni vizuri vikundi mbali mbali pia zihusishwe kwa sababu kenya sio ya wanasiasa pekee. Viongozi wa kidini, wanasheria, wafanyi kazi, vijana, wanawake na pia wasiojiweza ni muhimu pia wao wawe wamehuzishwa katika ubadilishaji
wa katiba mpya na pia katika njia za kuleta amani nchini kenya.

Damu imemwagika nyingi sana na chuki kote nchini imo. Ili wakenya waweze kuaminiana tena na pia kuishi pamoja kama hapo awali, lazima kuwe na tume ambayo itahusisha wakenya wote wa tabaka mbali mbali katika harakati za kuleta na kuhubiri amani nchini mwetu.

Historia ita wahukumu vibaya sana viongozi wote wa kisiasa wa sasa, kama hawataweza kusikizana na kufikia suluhisho maalum la kutatua msukosuko wa kisiasa uliomo nchini kenya.

Viongozi wa kidini pia lazima wawe kwenye msitari wa mbele pia katika heka heka za
kutafuta amani.

We Represent Kenya, Not Merely Tribes

Differing lines have recently emerged due to the ongoing post-election violence in our country Kenya. Of course, nearly all communities have, at one time or another, differed when it comes to matters such as beliefs, religion, politics and so on. However, it seems that, until recently our different opinions would always- in one way or the other- reach a compromising and fraternal level.

Good examples would be the merger between National Democratic Party (NDP) and Kanu in 2002, LDP\NAC which resulted to NARC, ODM\KANU, etc.

With such a history, it is saddening the way things are turning. Back home, things have been so orgy that even those of us living abroad have never had any peace since. Our attention and heart are always out to our suffering brothers and sisters back home.

The fact that tribal lines have emerged in the diaspora is an indication that we are losing trust and hope of a common understanding ground on Kenyanism.

As a Kenyan, I always feel proud to represent Kenya wherever I go. Yes, I belong to an ethnic group and I’m proud that way. But I feel more proud to be Kenyan. I share a lot about Kenya with my friends from other countries but I do not remember one occasion that I merely represented my tribe.

We should try and remain the way we’ve always been- Kenyans- period. Or what answer do you give when people ask where you come from? Kenya. And that makes all of us “Kenyan Ambassadors” wherever we go.

We should be examples to those back home since we’ve been priviledged to see how successful communities become when they unite, which makes us sophisticated. Without suggesting that we forget our tribes, cultures and traditions, I pray that we will all rise above tribal lines and invest quality time in beautifying and speaking good of our country and fellow country men\women.

I pray that we will take the enthnic diversity as a blessing. The different tribes are, to Kenya, like many cords that make a strong fabric or an unbreakable rope. Ecclesiastes 4:9-12;   Two are better than one, because they have a good [more satisfying] reward for their labor; For if they fall, the one will lift up his fellow. But woe to him who is alone when he falls and has not another to lift him up! Again, if two lie down together, then they have warmth; but how can one be warm alone? And though a man might prevail against him who is alone, two will withstand him. A threefold cord is not quickly broken.

Kenya is a great Nation!

Muraya.

Confronting The Enemy That Is Tribalism

Story by PHILIP OCHIENG
Nation Media, Publication Date: 2/10/2008
For years, Kenyans have clamoured for laws better than the present ones. But, surely, there must be some good laws among the existing ones. What can be better than the one which states that a Kenyan can live in any part of Kenya?

It is a crime for a Taita to prevent a Teso from putting up a home in Taitaland, unless the Teso has acquired the land illegally. Yet that is precisely the law that we are now so busy breaking. Kenyans are chasing Kenyans with the civility of a cheetah pursuing a gazelle in the Maasai Mara.

WHAT CAN IT MEAN? SURELY, THIS – THAT THE “betterness” of a piece of law lies not in its wording but only in whether it is achieving its purpose. There are two ways in which it can do this. One is through the police – both to prevent flouting and to punish flouters.

But by far the cheaper and more effective one is to obviate the need for policing. Why waste resources — which might be direly needed in vastly more important social areas — on what Dostoyevsky called Crime and Punishment?

It is important to catch felons and bring them to book. Yet this can deal only with “manual crime.” But, as Jacob Bronowski remarks in The Ascent of Man, the hand is not an independent agent. The hand is merely “? the cutting edge of the mind?”

It is the mind that instigates the crimes that we commit, including the chauvinism which leads you to attack your neighbour on account of his ethnic affiliation. The upshot is that, in the war on crime, mental education is a hundred times more effective than a hundred manacles.

The chief failing of all our upbringing – including the classroom formality that we claim to be “education” – is that it does not attempt to remove from our minds any of the groundless assumptions, sentiments and thoughts that we hold against one another as ethnic communities.

THE CHIEF CULPRITS ARE OUR PARENTS, OUR teachers, our priests and – by the favouritism with which they hire and fire – our government officials. If these are members of our most “educated” elite, how can we expect our mass of peasants and proletarians to know any better?

That is why it is not surprising that, as we cut one another’s throats, most of us clamour merely for a greater police presence.

The police may have prevented much of what has happened. They may arrest us and the courts may sentence us to stiff punishment.

But they cannot arrest and detain or jail the parochialism that hag-rides us as races, tribes, genders and religions. It is not their duty. Appalling is the revelation, since December 27, that, since independence, Kenyans have not moved even a flea-hop in the direction of mental education, uplift and refinement.

Nothing is more embarrassing than to listen to PhDs from one community, seated at the counter of a pub, uttering the most fetid drivel about other tribes. They demand “revolutionary changes” in the body politic but only if these changes are manned by members of their tribe. At the counter – that’s why I call them counter-revolutionaries.

FOR IT IS THEY WHO OUGHT TO PLAY THE VANGUARD role in our seemingly insuperable task of creating a single national mind out of a conglomeration of disparate ethnic minds. Yet since December 27, I have not seen even a single suggestion from the academic community that tribalism is our national bane number one – leave alone how to tackle it.

If our professors are the ones who have created this straitjacket of thought during the 43 years in which we have been independent – probably uttering the bosh in front of their co-tribal students – how could we possibly have avoided December 27 and its aftermath? I ask you, my brothers and sisters: Is this what is called intellectual leadership?

The government says glibly that, economically, we have grown by six per cent. But I would be much prouder to hear that we have grown even by one per cent in our mentality, in our national awareness, in our sense of justice in governance, in our dedication to skill and experience alone when hiring cadres.

No, December 27 has not intensified our parochialism. It has merely removed the outer coating of our small-mindedness. It has merely laid us bare. It has merely made us the laughing stock among the comity of nations.

But, clearly, we cannot blame it on any absence of law or any shortage of policemen. We can blame it only on the refusal by our government and other institutions of moral upbringing to face tribalism full-throttle, to hound the behemoth by every weapon to us, till we slay it.