Scrambled thoughts on sin management

Forgive my style of writing but bear with it. If He shows you even one thing, Hallelujah! Receive it.

Is there a possibility we are appealing to the wrong man when we make up so many rules and take up so many habits to try and not sin?

"Col 2:20  If then you died with Christ from the elements of the world, why, as though living in the world, are you subject to its ordinances: 21 touch not, taste not, handle not;  22  which things are all for corruption in the using, according to the commands and doctrines of men? 23  These things indeed have a reputation of wisdom in self-imposed worship and humility, and unsparing severity of the body, but are not of any value for the satisfying of the flesh.

Before you bring pangas out - what is Paul saying? There is a key issue we forget when we attempt to control the flesh using these carnal means.

Paul says, "if then you died" and goes on to say "with Christ". It seems many of us completely ignore the knowledge of our death in Christ. Many of us come to Christ as forgiven men and pledge to LIVE FOR CHRIST and forget that when we came to Him, we had to give up our own lives. He must be the one living!

"and the strength of sin is the Law." "Rom 7:9  For I was alive without the law once. But when the commandment came, sin revived and I died. "

The issue of death has to be taken seriously. "You are dead to sin".

There are things Apostle Paul said that were just so heavy with life - Rom 8:15  For you have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption by which we cry, Abba, Father!

So many of us are trying to manage addictions or conceal them, others are trying to be strong yet we know we are weak. Trying to please God with our natural selves. Making ourselves promises we cannot fulfil. A friend of mine once wrote "It isn't me making promises to God,its God making promises and me saying thank you...lol ".

Fear of sin, fear of condemnation is crippling especially to us who walk in the flesh. We want to please God but our fear makes us walk like debtors to the flesh, going through the "what i do not want to do, I do" phase.

But we were adopted. We rejoice in weakness. We are claypots decaying but filled with a treasure! We are no longer our own.

We have a new Father. We have new lives. The old ones are dead. Adam is dead.

2Co 5:17  Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. 

That we take our eyes off Adam, that we forget Adam's memories. Adam embraces the tree of knowledge good and evil, a little after Babylon is built, an attempt to be like God which cannot happen.  He depends on rules. The very same thing Paul talks about in Colossians 2.

How about we forget him and take on the mind of Christ. Our natural mind cannot comprehend this Christ. Why? We are dead. "Joh 3:6  That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. "

For we have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear, but we have received the Spirit of adoption by which we cry, Abba, Father!

Let us live then! Rom 8:1   There is then now no condemnation to those in Christ Jesus.
Rom 8:2  For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set me free from the law of sin and of death. It's about life. Christ, the tree of life. In whom we find love producing life. We are in Him, He in us.

"For ye have not received a spirit of bondage again for fear, but ye have received a spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father. " | "There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear; for fear has torment, and he that fears has not been made perfect in love. "

A spiritual life motivated by fear cannot be a spiritual life. After all, faith works by love.

Managing sin is impossible. That is why we die to it and live to Christ. Christ must be our life. How that happens is entirely upon our seeing Him.

"Gal 2:20  I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me. 21 I do not frustrate the grace of God: for if righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain".

Back to the Beginning Again

Switchfoot's latest album is called Fading West. It was released early Jan 2014 and incidentally the last song on it is called "Back to the Beginning Again". Really neat way to end an album huh? Yet I found it so significant and so fated! 

Few of us realise that when we are, or when God is dealing with us, He really is not bringing us to a new end, an alternative turn of events but rather He is trying to return us to the beginning, the real purpose, the only purpose, the one intention.

When many of us listen to an album, we feel different emotions; and imagine what a variety of things Switchfoot can induce, yet that is the sum total of who they are and they prolly just pointing me back to the beginning whatever theirs is.

 We have for so long thought God had a plan, man messed it up and then God came up with a plan B. But what God is this? God has always had a purpose and plan for man. It is to be plainly that man is found in His Son as His Son is found in Him. Genesis and Revelation share such great things together that I wonder why I had never realised it!

I would go into detail but I rather you take time to read Genesis 1 and 2 and Revelations 21 and 22 and see the great likeness thereof.

The story in between shows the desire of God to be one with man. To be his city, his kingdom, his light, his life, his love, his provision, his clothing, his everything.

There's a sneak preview here when Jesus prays for his disciples

John 17:20-26
New American Standard Bible (NASB)
20 “I do not ask on behalf of these alone, but for those also who believe in Me through their word; 21 that they may all be one; even as You, Father, are in Me and I in You, that they also may be in Us, so that the world may [a]believe that You sent Me. 

Their Future Glory
22 The glory which You have given Me I have given to them, that they may be one, just as We are one; 23 I in them and You in Me, that they may be perfected [b]in unity, so that the world may [c]know that You sent Me, and loved them, even as You have loved Me. 24 Father, I desire that they also, whom You have given Me, be with Me where I am, so that they may see My glory which You have given Me, for You loved Me before the foundation of the world. 

25 “O righteous Father, [d]although the world has not known You, yet I have known You; and these have known that You sent Me; 26 and I have made Your name known to them, and will make it known, so that the love with which You loved Me may be in them, and I in them.”

Could it be that all along, from Genesis 3 to Revelations 21, God is simply singing a hook in Switchfoot's song, or perhaps gave Switchfoot that song to sing? Back to the Beginning Again.

Let's think about that for a while.

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Some scriptures to ponder

Romans 16: 25-end

25 Now to Him who is able to establish you according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery which has been kept secret for long ages past, 26 but now is manifested, and by the Scriptures of the prophets, according to the commandment of the eternal God, has been made known to all the nations, leading to obedience of faith; 27 to the only wise God, through Jesus Christ, be the glory forever. Amen. (NASB)

Ephesians 3:8-11

8 To me, the very least of all [d]saints, this grace was given, to preach to the Gentiles the unfathomable riches of Christ, 9 and to [e]bring to light what is the administration of the mystery which for ages has been hidden in God who created all things; 10 so that the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known through the church to the rulers and the authorities in the heavenly places. 11 This was in accordance with the [f]eternal purpose which He [g]carried out in Christ Jesus our Lord, (NASB)

2 Tim 1:9

who has saved us, and has called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given to us in Christ Jesus before the ages of time, (Darby)

Titus 1:1-3

1  Paul, a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ (according to the faith of God's elect, in the acknowledging of the truth which is according to godliness 2  on hope of eternal life, which God, who cannot lie, promised before the eternal times, 3  but revealed His Word in its own times in a proclamation, with which I was entrusted by the command of God our Savior,) (MKJV)

Changes

I have a feeling. Call it instinct. Or fate calling, or destiny, or a voice in the wilderness. Call it something that makes sense to you. I have a feeling that I may write a little bit different from what I have been writing usually.

I do not know how I will talk about things I have talked about before but I might talk about them again. I will write but I do not think in the same light. 

What do you call reality? What makes the most sense to you? When I say sense surely I am even using a double emphasis. Sensible, sensational, sensibility. The environment and how it relates with you. What you feel, taste, touch, smell, hear, understand even.

When your reality changes, a lot has got to change with it. Not a forcible change of getting into a tailor made suit but one that involves moulting, changing, naturally blending, becoming new, dying. 

I guess what I mean is that so much no longer makes sense to me and so much stuff now does I almost feel mad. I feel off. I feel different. I feel alien. And I do not want to resist it. I want to become more off, more alien, more unusual, more not from here because that's what the reality is dictating.

I have a feeling, I might not write the same way I have been all along. So, if you're a reader of this blog. Bear with the changes.  

I used to believe in love....

I used to believe in love until so and so broke my heart. I was a romantic before my last 4 relationships. My heart has been hardened by my experience. I do not believe in true love any more. I am sure you have heard one of these statements before. No? Well, you are blessed dear. Unfortunately for me, I have heard these, and predict that I will keep hearing them.

Before a certain point t, call it ex boyfriend, or some expletive term you might also use in your head to refer to him, you had these honeyed views, these rainbow feelings about what true love was.

You dreamt and fantasised about the man, the guy, the dude, the Prince who would one day smile at you and your heart would melt away, into happily ever after. Oh the visions you had. Your wedding day was a pearl and diamond affair. It was a thing of dreams!

Till you met Nev. Nev, the all too sweet charming gentleman who had nothing but love for you. At least that is what you saw and thought. He said sweet things, made you feel wanted, made you feel like a girl should feel. He was the Prince you were expecting. You gave over your heart. You did not resist, you did not hold back. This was your dream come true. You believed, no, you knew this was meant to be forever.

Forever has different durations, it has come to my attention. For you, the day he said he loved you no more, the day you found him with that other girl, the day he left you coz his parents did not accept people from your tribe, that day forever ended.

It ended and with it your notions of true love. It was the end of your dream.  The day your heart started becoming stone.

To some, this happened two, three or four times for it to sink in. After that, "I used to believe in love until so and so broke my heart. I was a romantic before my last 4 relationships. My heart has been hardened by my experience. I do not believe in true love any more."

So, I no longer give everything. I give a bit of me. I hold back. I do not trust easily. My heart is hardened now. True love does not exist.

I hear these words and wonder, what did you think love was? What did I think love was? Some custom made fantasy land where all my dreams come true and chocolate flows in the streams, while honey drips off vanilla grass?

We have made idols of true love, defined it with fairy tales, names of movie characters, and the like and so when our own image disappoints, we break. Our hearts break. Our minds change. We repent of it and adopt an even worse idol of it.

On this planet, water is life. However, water can be poisoned, sweetened, made bitter but that does not change it's essential intrinsic nature. Water is key in giving life. If I drank a cup of water that gave me typhoid, do I then repent of water and curse it till the day I die? (Which thereafter comes knocking on your door quickly).

Why then do we have the same views of love? We have been deceived of the true nature of love. And our hearts have hardened and crafted golden calves of what it is to us now. To some it is no longer even an idol but an imaginary pink elephant.

Love does not change. Love remains as steady as time. Love may not come in the gold or purple we have been told but it's intrinsic nature cannot be missed. We on the other hand change. People make mistakes, people hurt people but do those things change what love is? Love is never changing.

Perhaps it is high time we came to the true picture of love and maybe then we can never say words like "I used to believe in love until..."

Love is a person. He does not change. He is patient; He is kind; He is not envious or boastful or arrogant  or rude. He does not insist on His own way; He is not irritable or resentful; He does not rejoice in wrongdoing, but rejoices in the truth. He bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

When we come to Him, may we let Him remove all our imaginations and notions of what love is and allow Him to show us what is truly is.  May we see. May we accept. May we be changed.

Selah.

Voices in your head.

Did the sun just suddenly set on the day,or was it a steady fading away till there was no light to see? Did the shore suddenly disappear or did you not see the waters slowly covering the sands?  Was it ever in the blink of an eye, that what was here no longer was?

Death. Maybe. It just burns the city down in an instant like Sodom burned. Salt woman coming out of the dark recess of regret.

But what about the burial? The memories? The letting go? Do you in an instant forget? Make peace?

We always see it coming, don't we? We see it at a distance and turn our heads Pretending we saw a mirage. Yet it still approaches, while we construct soothing words birthed in a walk of delusion not sight. We call it hope, perseverance, love, name it...Yet deep down it's fear.

Fear of losing what's in your hands. Fear of losing what's a gem to your soul. It could be that relationship. It could be that job.

The texts reduced and stopped; the calls, well they didn't come. You said "I love you", a million times but heaves and sighs came in return.

Or that appraisal, and the meetings after, there are whispers in the corridors, very odd stares,and then the sermon from the boss.You take steps. Take new breaths convincing yourself it will be okay. But guess what...

They don't love you any more,they don't trust you any more.

So they'll change the passwords, they'll change the locks. You're cut off completely from their world. The sweet words that once were the sun become bland and tasteless. You have run your course; The blade of grass has given in. Death. Separation. Took over. You knew it would come. But you closed your physical eyes,thought your invisible ones would help you see.

Now you're out on the corner in the pouring rain, at the cliff with your loosened tie, no one will be coming. You're on your own,you're in the dark,you're on the edge about to fall and ask "Why was I so blind?"

Why do we ignore them sometimes, those voices in our heads? Coz sometimes we forget the heart wants what the heart wants.

Comfort of Promise

Hey people, my friend Eunice and I worked on this piece together. I hope it makes sense. It's about coming to that place when you lose it but know it was never yours to have and that He can give you what He thinks you deserve.

Can you keep your heart from breaking? 

Can you keep it from feeling or wanting to feel? Can you say to the heart. Stay. Wait. Stop here?

          Your heart is fragile, Yes, I know.

          It feels, Yes it wants.

          I walk with your heart, allow me to rule it then.

You know those times when you climb the mountain

Yet you do not have to?

When you go up with your Ishmael

He has not been asked for but you go with him,

You set up an altar to make the sacrifice,

Remove the wood and the knife, 

And start to kill the sacrifice?

          You tell me of those times at the mountain?

          You tell me of those times when the sacrifice was heavy?

          And the Altar was ready?

          But your heart was not ready?

In a different life, you pray and hope 

With sweat and tears

That maybe you will hear a lamb bleating

Caught in the bushes

Or that the angel of God will stop your hand

....nothing

And your knife goes through him, your precious Ishmael, 

And his cries are your cries, 

You set a fire, watch him burn

Everything lost, everything gone...

          It is in your loss that should you gain

          It is in your tears that should you laugh again

          The power of resurrection is found in death

          And my reward has been set on you my servant

…..Aaahh

          Weep not then, Rejoice and sing

          Revive your crushing spirit, Dance…

          For your loss is not of waste

          And your heart will wail again

          You find Grace, You find Favour

Can you keep your heart from breaking?

When you come to the cliff and are pushed off,

When you're left alone standing in the middle of the desert

When you're called an outcast by those who 

You thought loved you?

          The pieces of your crushed heart

          I will cherish, I will honour

          When you are alone, you are not alone

          Today, rejoice , Stand in my embrace

          And know, that my very own heart is what I give now

          If your heart breaks again,  it will be that mine is breaking too. 

Nightmares

Cracked windscreen. The drops from the clouds hit the car like an adulterer being stoned.
It is violent and unrelenting. This weather has a vendetta!

Visibility is low, the wipers are working like horses in a battle. Still I cannot see much of the road except for where the headlights hit. Moisture forms on the inside, I have no AC, I have to clear the windscreen with my hands.

The sound of the blowing wind and the battering is harsh! It's screaming at me to get off the road. Mixed with the urgency of the wipers, there is a din in this car. I am not alone in this metal box. Yet I am alone.

It's a dream, you know. This. You know it. You just know it's a storm but do not know when it started. You do not know where you're going or where you're coming from. You know but you don't know. You just focus on the road, at least the nearest of it you can see.

You are in a shadowy cloud of your world. You have not even thought to look behind or on the side. You have an unnerving tunnel vision right now. Nothing else matters. Just the shadows you're fleeing in the car.

Why are you running? What are you escaping?

It's a nightmare by the way, not just a dream. You know that thing when you have irrational fears for some reason being rational? You wish you could just reach wherever it is you're going. You wonder why the weather will not simply ease up on you. The shadows are growing yet not engulfing you. This weird place.

You know what I am talking about, don't you?

The windscreen continues to crack. It's getting colder. There's a chill in your spine. Something might just go wrong now.....a screech, a bang, a scream and

........

Dark world these imaginations. Cold world these uncertainties. Helplessness this underworld. You wait for the Light of Hope to break through. He will breakthrough. He has broken through.

Ephesians 5:14
English Standard Version (ESV)
14 for anything that becomes visible is light. Therefore it says,
“Awake, O sleeper,
    and arise from the dead,
and Christ will shine on you.”

Here's a Note to the Glow

The Glow,
Light subtle,warm and ever so gentle;


I met the Glow. I just did not know it.

You know the kind of person who you meet in passing at first and are warmed up by their instinctive smile. You feel good about it. Smile from your heart, grin a little on the mouth. Yes, the smile warmed you inside, like somebody lit a torch in a cold room.

It happens for about a minute or two and you move on. You glowed when you saw it but soon forgot as you continued walking.

However, you meet again. In a large crowd. You see the Glow. She smiles a wild sunflower smile and even waves! She waves. You're just so infected by her beams you have no option but smile back and wave! The cold room of your soul keeps warming up.

You think to yourself, wow! That's one happy soul.

Well, somehow you got to know her name and she got to know yours. In this digital age, NSA are the pros, people are the rookies. So you get to find out emails, URLs, handles etc and before you know it- smiles turn into conversation.

But that's normal.

So this one day, you meet, not by accident of course; your circles keep on  intersecting. This time she is so happy, her arms open wide and take you in.

Pause.

There are things that are easy to explain. There are those that are hard to explain. This one lay on the peripheries of both but neither. It was soft vanilla ice cream covered in rich buttery caramel with a touch of melted chocolate topped with sugars and strawberry!

She took me in. Owned me. Put her whole soul into the embrace. Cold room totally warming up. You could feel the cadence of  fire in her skin. Peace in the arms of this Glow.

 So, this note is a little thank you. I'd wait 29 just to spend at least 29 seconds in those brown arms, where there is silence, peace,joy, contentment and gratitude.

Happy Birthday the Glow.

Yarn Ball

The other day I thought about a scenario.

What do people who daily meet at the bar talk about? Or what do people at the drinking joint talk about usually? Is it the taste of beer they prefer? Do they prefer it in a glass or directly from the bottle? Or do they prefer a straw? Do they prefer their own pot or sharing with everyone else? Do they mix their local brew?

What do they talk about?

People in the tall buildings with the views of the city, those below, in the valleys with streams of sewerage running between their houses. The conversations are definitely different.

One speaks of going to Davos and then to Los Angeles, and maybe Lagos to close some deals over the week. They will eat at the Sheraton, Hilton, or some other famous big name hotel. Juices, bacon, omelette, fancy food. Rent is no problem, their home is where they are at the moment.

The other has a bunch of items to carry to town. He hopes to make just enough to grab something for lunch, it should be able to take him to the next day. He sweats the entire day walking through parks asking people like me if I want crisps, a toothbrush, Kisubi tea or something. When he retires, he needs just a sheet to cover him in a room that has lots of other people catching their hours of rest. Sometimes he bets and hopes to make some cash off Arsenal's win so that he can save up on that boda boda.

Clearly they have the same blood.

So many. So so many. Almost like insects crawling on the face of the earth. Different minds. Breathing the same air. Pursuing individual interests. Some form organisations and call others to them to have an appearance of a collective pursuit but deep down each one has that thing their heart wants the most.

My mind is stuck. We are so many. Everywhere. Yet individuals. We are 7 billion planets on this mass of earth. All orbiting in each other's space. Collisions occurring. Gravity pushing and pulling. Some so small. Some so big. Some so hot. Some so big. Some so wise. Some so ignorant. Yet all sharing the same space. Interfering each other because there's no where else to orbit alone!

This post offers no advice. No big answer. My mind is just in a roller coaster of thoughts. It's a yarn ball of questions that maybe needs no kick of an answer. Hopefully at some point, in this life or this next, it will be unwound, thread straightened out. Or maybe it can never be fully wound out.

Random scattered brain

So I wake up with haze over my eyes
I am supposed to be refreshed
but something is clutching my heart
You know the feeling when you know somethin's wrong
But you try to act as if everything is going to be fine

So step out of bed and I'm not sure that I can stand
My head is light as a feather,
My body is lighter,
I lean against the white wall try not to tip over

I got the strangest nausea building in my chest
Feel like throwing up a whole mountain
But certainly afraid
I get down to my laptop try to muster some sense
Open blogger hit my create
And this is what I came to say

I am a reed in the swamp
New leaf in a left over stump
My heart is running like Usain Bolt
But at the same time being pensive
Like that statue of old

Call me when you're sober
I hope I'll be sober too
When you finally land from the inverted heights
Loneliness is easy,
If the heart isn't warm

So I pull my covers try to keep my thoughts warm.

Happy because

I want you happy you know,
Not to just see the form of a smile on your face
To know there is no darkness behind that curtain
That there are no finger shadows behind smoke screen

Genuinely,
Not a radio voice, a Bbaale Francis tv look
Sweet on the ear, dark on the heart,
Smiling above the face, in shorts below.

What I mean is,
Listening to a heart that beats at ease
A cadence of a river winding through a forest
Rays of sunshine breaking through dark nimbus.

Not Hollywood style special effects
Where you read a script and I am supposed to believe;
Not a ballet session where you've been choreographed
But where you dance according to the flutter of your heart.

Not just happy for the sake of it
Yet happy because there is a breath of life in you
Happy because perhaps you're happy with me
Happy because perhaps it's the natural thing to be.

Devil's Pool

I do not know how these things work. 

Honestly, I do not know. 

I must have missed that lecture. Maybe I was sick. 

Maybe it was taught during the holidays. 

I do not know.

I came to the falls quickly! 

Got stuck at the Devil's pool; 

it was peaceful. 

See, the precipice was a few inches away; 

the cliff, but I wasn't going over.

Yea, I am sure I missed the lessons. 

How to paddle, how to fight the waves, 

how to stick to the course. 

But then I imagine, 

it might be a good thing not to learn.

Going down rapids, battered, slapped, 

cut by the waters and by some fortune or 

misfortune ended up in this belly, 

this Devil's pool. Calm. 

How this happens, I do not know.

Right here is a serene purgatory. 

However that is the problem. 

In this place, the water isn't going over the cliff, 

and all around is more water. 

No going back. No going forward.

Devil's pool, heavenly purgatory 
but hopeless place. 

No way back, uncertainty ahead. 

I really don't know how these things work.

New

New

See I have been reading you.

Reading, you;

from the crown of your head to the soles of your feet.

I have been reading your notes,

following your heartbeat through your hands

letter by letter, syllable by syllable.

I have been following you

through your ascents and descents and winding curves.

I have been reading you

following the stars in your eyes,

the cherry on your lips,

the caramel on your skin.

I have been listening to your breath,

your song, your voice;

they that accompany your hands,

your feet, your waist,

they that sync in rhythm.

I have been reading you.

I have felt the cadence and the tone.

Heard the whispers and the screams,

snickers and laughs.

I overheard the pain and the moans,

the sadness and the regret.

I pressed further to hear the hope and the dreams. 

I came eye to eye,

ear to ear,

heart to heart ,

mind to mind

with another soul.

A whole new universe

with a constellation of emotions,

joined together by different times,

places and people.

I came to a new frontier and placed a white flag.

The sky was golden, the sand was brown.

There was a river flowing, waterfalls in the distance.

Hope in the future,

Life in the air

Love pervading my whole being. 

I came to a new life.

I came to you.

What could church be?

I am writing because perhaps it is a good time to write.

The year is ending according to many of our calendars and many of us right now have a heightened sense of new beginnings.

Time, I hadn't considered time and what is was till I thought about the church. When we think about time many of us look at it as regards how it affects us directly or the people around us. There are those willing to go a step further and because of curiosity find how it affects the people they may not know about but are curious about.

The issue of identity is taken serious by some and lightly by others because they do not have that privilege of it being passed down. There were days of family crests, honour, name; I believe in some places they still exist. Most of the people in these families have a unified sense of belonging either due to the crest or their patriarch.

The Jews considered for a long time and still do now that they were of Abraham and that meant they were special. Yet we come to find that those of Abraham are not those of the flesh but of faith.

What am I saying. Do you ever regard the church as Presbyterian, Catholic, Evangelical or perhaps Anglican? Have you asked yourself whether that ever comes to play in GOD's mind? See, this God is 

outside time.

Do you suppose He has any business understanding the church any other way apart from Christ, the Son? 

Does He write down encyclopaedia for the understanding of this thing called church? Do you realise the church is? What I mean is, the church isn't trying to become something, the church is - the body of the Son, the bride of the Son. She is timeless.

Can we really say the church today? Yesterday? Can we express a need to change church or rather a true understanding of church? Ever since the blood and water flowed from the Saviour's side, the church has been. Apostles have lived and lost their tents, so have many other believers.  The church, can she be understood any other way apart from being the body of Christ expressed on earth?

Could the church be in Tokyo as well as in Kampala, distant but not separate? Could the church be in Kuala Lumpur and Mbarara distant and not separate? Living from the same breath of new life called the Spirit? Living in the new realm of the Faith of the Son of God? Separated but yet not apart?

Could the church be a stream of life flowing through the ages, making manifest the aroma of Christ in every space and time without being branded? Could she be the bride who lives to please her groom? Could she be the expression of Him outside time?

And could we simply be tasked with letting His light illumine our darkness? Simply be tasked with beholding Him so that we are changed into likeness of Him? Could the church simply be a revealing of Christ in individuals and in the groups?

Until there is no ear to hear the prophets.

Until there is no ear to hear the prophets.

It shall come to pass
That as long as men pursue themselves
In the pursuit of happiness
In the pursuit of dominance
In the pursuit of gratification
That they shall only destroy one another
Until there is no ear to hear the prophets.

For the white man shall drain the black man's land
The black man shall sell his brother for some silver coins
The Christian shall preach their Jesus as long as his coffers are full
The Muslim shall use his coffers to destroy the Jew
The feminist shall denigrate the man
The man shall subjugate the woman
The father will provoke his child to wrath
The child will rebel against his father
Until there is no ear to hear the prophets.

The irie man shall harvest his leaves
The Mexican man shall sell these leaves
The american man shall kill for these leaves turned to powder
And some unknown teenager shall acquire a masterful addiction
And smite his veins with needles
And lay in his couch for hours
And drown out every other hint of life
Until there is no ear to hear the prophets.

The media man shall broadcast the good news of sex
And shall invite the poor Hispanic to bare her body
Even the desperate black girl shall come
With her white sisters as anchors of this salvation
And men shall read this gospel
And empty their loins
And lose their mind
Until there is no ear to hear the prophets.

Indeed the weak and even the strong
Shall not suffer this unfair tension
And the gun will seduce the host
Albeit it shall be the bomb
Worse still the gas that kills
And many shall fall at their feet
And cow in despair
When the winds and pungent smell of death
Fill their eyes with tears and mouths with wails
Until there is no ear to hear the prophets.

As long as men shall pursue themselves
There can only be one end,
And this end with a scythe appears
But its forms and cloth are a varied lot
It will come as famine, as disease
As the wars that ruin fertile lands
It will come as murder in the streets
Dissension in the bungalow homes
And there will be division even unto death
And no one will be able to use their ears to hear the prophets.

Sad feelings

Lately there has been an uproar in the circles of Christians. It seems that finally a people who might have been afraid to speak their mind have finally come out of the darkness and have had their minds known. A little while ago, something like the size of a man's hand came out of the sea and in a short time it has overtaken the world like a storm, at least the Christian world and its affiliates.

The gospel of Grace.

Up until the gospel of grace, Christianity was a precinct of people who had been born in it; it was pretty straightforward. Baptism, confirmation and then maybe if you were a Catholic, needed a rosary. It would seem that the knowledge of God was a reserve of the very spiritual, those who were fond of God. In fact if you were one of such, you might need to go to Theology school and get ready to live a life of holiness. You might lead a church, become a nun or a brother. Generally, there was a general knowledge of God and then a specific knowledge which those fond of God had the privilege of keeping.

It was okay. Everything was fine if you paid your allegiance; that is, went to church on Sunday, belonged to either Mothers'  or Fathers' Union or had a Christian name or something that showed you were respectful of God. Grace was unknown. Grace could have easily been the doctrine of demons at the time.

Then there was a movement that bred the "Bazukufu" (The Sober). These carved out for themselves a name. They were in this world but not of it. They would not touch it's things, engage in its things, have pleasure in any of its things. They were clearly distinct. They might have been a bit proud but in the area of holiness as judged by us, they were indeed spotless. One school can be noted for having such a nature, and it is a girls' only school. However, most of its adherents were at the time of the coming of grace aged. It has been long since I saw a Muzukufu, the last one I saw was a teacher of Literature when I was in High School.

Then the new fiery "Balokole" came along. At the start, they mostly preached hell and destruction and a great many of us got swept into that movement for fear of losing our souls. For a time, our lives were lived carefully, we might say something bad and be hit by a car having not repented and go straight to hell. Our lives were supposed to be exceptional. Shunning everything of the world and following Christ. For a time this worked out into public holiness and also public contempt for those who were not of us. The relationship between Balokole  and the world was one of a judge looking down offering a pardon if they met some demand. It was the same between older Balokole and younger ones. Not that this is true for all.

Then the small cloud.

They said we were forgiven. "2Co 5:19  To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation. "
They said God was not angry. They said we could serve Him without fear. They told us we were free.

Brother, sister, you should have been there. There were so many reactions from those who heard it. Most of the clergy in the religious systems called it all sorts of names. It was a lie. It was mockery. Slowly it turned into cheap grace and then when there was an overwhelming appeal from it, it was embraced.

The sinner who loved to sin rejoiced! He said to himself, finally, no judgement, no price to pay, I can go and live as long as I am forgiven. This one was a bit worse off in my judgement than the earlier religious system where you needed to perhaps pay a tithe, go to church on Sunday or do something to appease God. This one had reins removed. Or that is what we thought.

There was the righteous brother who felt wronged. Who felt he had done a lot of things for the Lord and that how come he would share with his unworthy brother who has not earned it? He sounded like Jonah. He sounded like the brother to the prodigal son. He continued his work but for a long time had bitterness. However, who knows, God loved Him too enough to remind Him it was okay.

Then there was the brother bearing burdens who could not imagine this is what God thought of him! He finally saw no more reins. No more shackles. No more reason to be afraid. He could walk ahead with complete assurance that God was with Him. Emmanuel.

So much happened when the cloud came.

And now it has been raining a long time. And many are fed up of the rain. The cloud is getting its original fame. A doctrine of demons. A half preached heresy. An unnecessary deception. An invention of latter day sinners. Something we have not been taught by our Fathers.

I am saddened. For true freedom has come and while has opened the door has exposed our true hearts.

Luk 5:32  I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.
Mat 5:1  And seeing the multitudes, he went up into a mountain: and when he was set, his disciples came unto him:
Mat 5:2  And he opened his mouth, and taught them, saying,
Mat 5:3  Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Mat 5:4  Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted.
Mat 5:5  Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.
Mat 5:6  Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.
Mat 5:7  Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.
Mat 5:8  Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.
Mat 5:9  Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.
Mat 5:10  Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Mat 5:11  Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake.
Mat 5:12  Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you. 

I am saddened for when we heard of the cloud, we mistook it for something it is not. However, we shall not stay in this sadness, but shall rejoice that He who began the work, shall complete it.

Selah. And Hallelujah to the only God who makes us stand.

Thoughts on Zimmerman and Trayyvon

There is no dividing wall of hostility in Christ Jesus. There is no Jew or Gentile, no male or female, no black or white. No Zimmerman or Trayyvon.

"Eph 2:13-14 But now in Christ Jesus you who were once afar off are made near by the blood of Christ. For He is our peace, He making us both one, and He has broken down the middle wall of partition between us,"

We are hurt by people, their selfish actions, their pride; we hurt people the same way. There are some actions that make forgiveness a hard pill to swallow because we are truly hurt. We must remember Christ in these situations for in the cross, He unites the offender and the offended and gives them life the same way He united God and Man. Only if we could come to the cross!

"2Co 5:16-21  So as we now know no one according to flesh, but even if we have known Christ according to flesh, yet now we no longer know Him so. So that if any one is in Christ, that one is a new creature; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.

And all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given to us the ministry of reconciliation;  whereas God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and putting the word of reconciliation in us.

Then we are ambassadors on behalf of Christ, as God exhorting through us, we beseech you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.  For He has made Him who knew no sin, to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. "

The Zimmerman verdict has surely hurt many African Americans and Africans the world over because a white man has walked free after he murdered a black teenager but we who now see the world in the eyes of Christ must not take the sides of race, but  be found in the love of Christ, where we are forgiven, where we can forgive, where we are comforted, where we can comfort. Where we can receive love, where we can give love.

Selah.

Of stories telling other stories.

Stories teach many lessons. Most stories though usually without knowing it, speak of the One whose story we all are in: Romance - we speak of His love for us, for His church; action - we speak of His jealousy and constant contending for us; dramas - we speak of His patience through our unfaithfulness and perplexity; horrors - we affirm we have an enemy; comedy - we remember His joy is our strength; animations - we dream of the final day when finally we shall see Him.

Many stories inadvertently speak of our Lord, so I go beyond the story and consider the everlasting story of a community of beings who once hovered over the waters trying to find a home; of a one being yet three with one who set in place a home for one they would make out of their own image. Of a being whom they desired live in them and they in Him. Of an enemy who stole their creation away, of a temporary setback in their quest for a home.

Then we see endless stories all leading to the day one of them would live as the creation and restore all things to order and bring about a unity of them and the being they created.

Many of us are groaning for a saviour, someone to restore us to the Father, to the community of God. If we could but recognise His name! He is not Superman, or Captain Planet, or Iron Man, or Romeo, or Okwonkwo, or Rubashov or Golola Moses or whatever our simple minds have named our heroes - His name is Yeshua - The Lord Saves, Emmanuel - God is with us and He longs for a people He calls home.

He speaks all the time. He might shouting out His Son's name through that story you're reading. I pray you hear.

Selah. Amen.

The poem you are.

They say I write too much about love
And not just too much about it but too often,
That I have no time for other pursuits
Like money and health and God,

That I risk ending up a dreamer
With a lofty castle in the air but without throne
A man whose thoughts look as divine as a peacock
But which never lift off to fly, very much like the dear bird.

They say I should take it easy, calm down, breathe a little,
That I should not again put my heart to the test,
They tell me , they tell me lots of things

The man with the white collar and the long beard
Walks up to me and says
"Son, do not awaken love before it's time,"

Mama tells me with earnest voice
"You can't hurry love,
No you just have to wait"

The boys say
"Love won't put bread on the table,
Work your behind off man".

And I wish I could believe them.
I wish you could let me believe them
But no.....

You just have to say those words the way you do,
Speak as a proud linguist yet at the same time
As a delighted princess who chats with her mother.

I mean look how you make your steps
As though you were ascending a throne
And yet at the same time were walking with friends

There are jewels in your eyes and they are yet to have a name
When they look at mine eyes, with your day breaking smile
I am weak to think I can put off love.

See you're a poem in a person, right from your body to your spirit,
And my dear woman, I cannot lie to you no more than to self
There's so little  you could do to discourage me from love.

Your mind is a treasury of wisdom,
You rivet me with tales, and proverbs and riddles
You have learned the word that said, in all your getting get wisdom.

Your spirit a force enriched and enlivened
Dead to what we once gloried in
Alive to an eternal King, you the daughter of a princess

Your beauty, I have no brushes to paint
Yet one look at you and you become
All the muse I will ever need.

Can I put off love then, dear woman
Whose very being draws mine from body to spirit
How shall I not love you after reading a poem
As wholesome as you?

Roots

The church in Corinth had "serious" sins. Look, there were divisions, a man was sleeping with his father's wife, there was carousing, gluttony...name it! Paul's antidote  to this is that "don't you know you're in Christ?" In essence, he reveals the Christ in them.

What's "strange" is that in Corinth, there was a free flow of the gifts of the Spirit! I mean look at 1 Cor 12... tongues, healing, wisdom, knowledge..name it. Why wasn't their behaviour hindering the flow of the Spirit? (???)

It's like Paul's concern was that they didn't know who they were!

But guess who Paul calls "bewitched" and "foolish". The church in Galatia. Why? For they were trying to be absolved by works of the law in this particular case - circumcision.

However, even in this church the Spirit was flowing but they seemed to be crossing over to another gospel. He asks - Gal 3:5  Then He supplying the Spirit to you and working powerful works in you, is it by works of the law, or by hearing of faith?

Both these churches had the Spirit flowing. However the common issue according to Paul is  that they were departing from their roots and identity. Corinth's actions were forgetful of their identity in Christ. Galatia's faith was forgetful of the gospel of Christ.

Now for us, God have mercy. We are grappling with going back to the roots. Going back to who we are. Because if we do not know who we are in Christ, we shall be caught in the same error both these churches had, one of living according to the flesh, the other of believing according to the flesh and falling into strife, divisions and exalting everything else apart from Christ.

The root and identity is Christ. May He be formed in us! Colossians 2.

Selah.