God graces us to be who we are and not who we are not

 You are who you are and I,who I am.
 
The world would be one boring place if we were all the same. Like the same things, do the same things, like the same food all of us, same songs, same…everything. This would be one boring world. I tend to consider our differences as God’s way of spicing up the creation. Variety I say is good.
 
When we differ in opinion that is not a bad thing. It opens room for debate which tests the viability of every opinion and in that process, the best is left on the sieve while the rest goes through.
 
It’s the difference in our cultures that has made boom the country’s tourism sector-both local and international. I will not pay to go see how Masaai’s dress if I dress like them; how Luhyia’s engage bulls in a fight if we do it in where I come from, no. I will pay to see what I don’t have where I come from.
 
All this difference is good and fun too I say! It also diversifies one’s point of view and in making decisions or opinions, you have a wider scope of consideration.
 
Now, back to what I was to talk about. Every quality in a man comes with its special grace. In as much as we may be from the same source-God-human beings differ in many ways both physically and spiritually. If you are a man, you will have sufficient grace to sustain you as a man and to tackle whatever comes your way. Same case applies to a woman. Grace sufficient is given to her to give birth and do whatever else is outlined for her to do as a woman.
 
The grace given to a woman is not the same given to a man. Some grace will however be given to us by virtue we are human beings.
 
Some are born with disabilities while others are born okay. For whatever disability you may be born with-considering you did not choose to have it-I trust the Almighty who made you see the light of the sun has put in you sufficient grace to help you live-on with that situation on planet earth where He has also placed people with no disabilities.
 
How else can you explain a blind man eking a living from photography? I call it grace, grace so amazing! God will not bring you here to suffer the wrath of problems; I trust He will give you enough grace to go through whatever situation that comes your way. If you are blind, there is sufficient grace to walk you through your life on earth.
 
At times, we have faults on our bodies. Some were born with but others we have gotten them on our walk on earth- God is not unfamiliar with this too. He will not let His own walk alone in the shadow of death nor watch trouble drown them. There is grace sufficient to handle whatever quality/situation brought in our lives.
 
You will agree with me, you don’t have a problem with your big-bodied size until someone teases or you or comments about it or say you find yourself in company of slim people. You do not have a problem with your height until someone comments about it and then you start thinking about it.
 
You don’t consider it a fault until it’s challenged.
 
We hardly have a problem with who we are until we are challenged about it. That explains why you are so confident when alone and so ‘reserved’ in the presence of other people. Some may attribute this to company-we can’t refute that- but I say there’s more to it than just that.
 
I tend to think that no one had a problem with the way they are until someone/something negatively influenced them. It could be someone spoke badly about your height or size or any other and that is how you got that bad/wrong attitude about yourself now. Originally speaking, you dint even realize it was ‘odd’ until someone said it. It then got to you so hard that you now hate yourself.
 
The attitudes and understandings we get of ourselves as we live on do not cut shot the grace that God set-forth for us from the beginning. If you consider yourself less than what God created you to be, the grace set out for you remains under used-its only wise to live up to who you ought to be and use it up don’t you think?
 
No man should be be-littled by a disability or fault they have on them. Why God chose to create a planet for all humans regardless of their physical nature is reason enough for you to feel at home and well able to survive like any other human.
 
Consider self esteem as God given grace for you to be who you should be.
 
The thing is, no one is perfect, we are just imperfect in different ways, I falter where you pass and the opposite is also true.

THE POWER OF WILL

  God decides it’s time to restore mankind back to me. There is a way, the only way for this case. He sends down a part of His own. He had the option of the twenty four elders, the angels and other heavenly creatures but He decides, I will send out my son.

  John 3:16-For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten son….

The Lord wills to save mankind, the next thing He does is to give His best. Is man willing to be saved?

Life is ‘programmed’ in a way that some things will never come your way until you will that they come. We call it THE WILL POWER. Just as magnetic unlike poles attract, so does willpower attract some ‘good’ for/in our lives. You are most likely to do so much of what it takes to attain something that you so much desire, in this case that which you will.

Christ walks on to a lame man and when the man asks Him “Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean.”, Jesus tells him ‘“I am willing,”’(Matt.8:2).

The Lord wills to do it for us, question is, are we willing to ask and receive it? Had the man not willed to get healed, he wouldn’t have come forward. It all starts with us. There is a way for those who will- WHERE THERE IS WILL THERE IS WAY!

Salvation shall come to him who hears His word and wills to receive Him in His heart. God will not force salvation upon men. He lets them know His intention-to save them- but leaves it to them to freely/willingly accept it rest man says ‘God you forced me into this’. No matter how right, wise and essential salvation is, it’s up to man’s will to take it in.

WILL is the ‘purchase’ power that man has to attain salvation in his life. You can only will to get saved and then believe in your heart and confess with your mouth-and there you are saved!
It cost God His best but for us it takes the will. You will receive that which He has laid out for you if you will in your heart to get it.

Avoid unhealthy political debates, save that relationship!

I as a Kenyan and as a friend would greatly urge Kenyans to put aside unhealthy political debates. By unhealthy I mean those debates that end up in a fight or one going quiet on the other or say, shut the other up in a bad word.

I have seen several end like this. I have also been in situations where I get overly vexed that I go silent or rudely end the debate. Not that I want to be rude but there just doesn’t seem to be another way to end it. Calling it off politely will just end it for a while only to have it back again.

One thing with such conversations is that they tend to be very tempting. You will always want to say something after the other person gives a point. When you call it off, the other one makes a statement that awakens another one in you… and it goes on and on. Simply put, they are complicated to end.

Another thing is, you always think you have the better point or put, you know more. They are just so annoying at some point! You quickly rub off the others’ points terming them void-which in most instances you didn't even listen to understand. We listen to nullify the other person's point and not necessarily to understand it. It becomes even worse if an informed fellow debates with one who is ignorant with information. You will not like the way they argue things out. No matter how researched and true your point is, they will trash it as though it was a bad joke.

I don’t have a problem with people sharing their different opinions on matters concerning politics. Am just worried of how it leaves relationships. I once had to declare to a close friend of mine that we are never to have a political debate in our encounters as it never ended well especially because we shared different stands on presidential candidates.

The moment you realize you have different sentiments and stands on political matters or any other debatable matter, I say you respect that. Listen to each others take and respectively/politely nullify it (if you have to). Else, consider each others sentiments as opinions which all people are entitled to, you will not hate me for my opinion right? After all, it’s my take that makes me different from you and difference brings variety and new ideas.

Let the debates be the least in your frequent conversations. Unless triggered by an unavoidable situation, keep them few and secondary. If all they do is start a fight between you, I say you officially keep them out of your relationship and find other topics to discus.After all,what matters most to you,the friendship or some political guy you 'tetea' so strongly?

Uta acha mbachao kwa msala upitaoo??
Shall you loose/fracture a relationship for a political guy you only know from afar?

Sellah!

Arise and cause to rise…

Cause to rise oh God, cause to rise
A chosen people in this generation
A remnant of this time
Cause to rise oh God, cause to rise.

Breathe and life fill these bones,
Array Your army,
They that You train to war,
Empower and cause to rise a holy army.

Consider not the wrongs of the chosen ones,
Forgive and cause to rise they called by Your name,
A people that bear your name,
Let Your presence fall and be with them.

To uproot, tear down, destroy and to overthrow all works of darkness,
To build and to plant the purposes of God on earth,
Arise oh God in the midst of your people,
Let your wonders follow them wherever they take your message.

Such a time oh God, such a time to release your army,
That you continually train, equip and empower,
Full of and guided by the spirit of God,
Release and cause to rise the army to establish Your name and purposes down here.

They that fear nothing else but You,
Out for one course, the purpose of their Father,
United they are in spirit, guided by Your holy word
Before them is You as a fire,
Above them is You as a cloud cover,
Surrounding them is Your Holy presence,
A people, an army led of the Lord

How you look at it from your eyes...

You think so? Well, it depends with how you look at it. You think it’s good? Well, that’s you looking at it from your eyes.

Realize how different we are though we all human. Different people will look at the same thing yet give different versions of it. Take for example a glass with water half way. One will see a glass half-full while the other will see a glass half empty. They are all right but it’s interesting how different they view it. I call it taking pictures from different angles!!

Note, I don’t disapprove of diversity of views, rather I appreciate it. It makes one look at things all around and not just from one side. This is helpful especially when dealing with a given situation that affects more than just you. Though not all views may be right, atleast you get something out of them.

I think how we see things we look at is determined by some factors. Take for example gender. Picture this-a billboard besides the road advertising some body lotion and besides the lotion is beautiful lady. What a guy will see on the board is totally different from what a girl will see. Not that the girl is jealous of the beautiful girl in the ad but then the product being advertised will get much of the attention. Some critics of course will follow of the ad girl-she too dark, that smile isn’t so good…and so on. The guy on the other side dint even notice the body lotion which is the reason for the ad in the first place. His eyes are quick to rush over the product only to get stuck on the pretty ad girl. It must be the hair, the skin, the outfit or rather the beauty that gets his attention. This can result to some differences somewhere…

According to my religion, it’s wrong to do something say like, worshiping an idle. In some others, it’s not wrong. They do it and believe it’s the right thing to do. Either parties think that the others are wrong and mistaken in what they do or believe. They sin!

Further in religion, it depends with what corner or Christianity you stand. For the Protestants, they believe in the Holy Spirit while the Catholics don’t. The Catholics think you are nuts when you speak in tongues whereas the protestants will appreciate if they could do the same.

If we were to be judged by what we believe, different judgments would be ruled out for the different parties or say followers.

When it comes to cultures and traditions, different people do things differently. I tend to think that this is the other most influential thing to men besides religion. Some meals/foods we eat are as a result of the culture we were brought up in. Every tribe-with its own unique culture, has a specific type of food they are associated with. Githeri for the Kikuyu, Fish for the Luo, muthokoi for the Kamba and so on.

You will dress in a skin and not leaves depending with your culture. The piercing of the body also differs from tribe to tribe.

Traditions to some extent dictate also our believes. One will believe in Ngai as their source while another believes that they erupted from a mans knee. It all depends with what your culture brought down from the fore fathers. A man will marry ten wives because his culture allows while another will marry one.

All these people are in the same world but do things differently depending on what influences the choices they make and how they do what they do. One will ask, where does all this diversity come from now that we all live in the same planet,we’er all human and are under the same bracket of needs-food, shelter and clothing.

Our beliefs somehow come to merge at some point-there is a supernatural being. But still we look at and do things differently. We possibly won’t come an agreement at this life time but at the end of it all, we shall all go back to where we came from and there shall we be accorded our rightful ‘prize’.

The days are the Lord’s….

 Of what shall make of a man?
Of what shall become of him that stands not on faith?
 He that trusts and relies on his own strength, He that brags of the days yet he holds them not,
Shall he stand? He that stands not on faith? 

What dreams does he dream he that relies on his own understanding?
Shall he plan for a day and how to do what to do in that day?
What grip has he on the day?
Does it not belong to the Lord?
To He that holds the heavens from the earth, does it not belong to him?

 The days are the Lords,
And He is the Lord of the day(s)
 He that put light in the day and dark in the night,
 He stands as the distinction between them,
He owns the days and calculates the times.

Perseverance

One thing for sure I this life is that not all things come easy. Some demand that you persevere for you to get them. At times you even work that hard and still miss it.Well; you would say life is unfair. I wouldn’t blame you if you did but then, I trust there is some goodness in everyone life and days. If you do not have it today, you will certainly have it tomorrow.

There is this friend o mine who so passionately wanted to join the army. He had all the required documents and even as per the qualifications that were being considered he was good to go. That was immediately after he had finished high school and the results were not yet out. He always had it in him that joining the army was his destiny let alone his greatest desire. It was surprising that at the end of the day he was not chosen as one of the recruits. There was so much corruption involved that he stood no chance. It left him broken but after some time with himself and with God, he was able to rise again and got back to pursuing his big dream.

Following year came and he still went out to try his luck, this time not so confident that he would pass because he feared the same thing that happened the past year would repeat itself again. Infact, this year he had something else to lay his faith and hope in and not only the fact that he had what it took to be recruited. This time he went hoping and trusting God for the best .He was sure that that is what he was created for among other greater things.

He never lost his vision and he never gave up his dream. He held tight on to it and for sure it came to fulfillment. The second time he tried out he was selected among other few and he is now a soldier. It is with no doubt that right things always happen at the right time.

What this young man did was to hold on to his dream even when he at one point felt so weak that he would has easily let it away and look at something else lower than that. Now that is what I call perseverance! Holding on to something even when all things and circumstances dictate that you let go. It can be a relationship, a dream, a faith or any other thing in one’s life that is crucial, right and just.

Hold on to what you have…he who overcomes I will make a pillar in the temple of my God…Rev 3:11-12

Those who hold on firmly are awarded richly. They are make pillars i.e, someone that can be relied upon. Someone who can handle great things and watch them stand again from a state of falling. Someone who can establish something from nothing or from a state of destruction to great glory.

You’ll need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what He has promised…But my righteous one will live by faith…But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who believe and are saved. Hebrew 10:36-39.

Holding on to your faith is also rewarding. When you hold on to that which you believe in, it will save you.Leting go means you are exposed and that can only lead to destruction.

Persevering for that which is good, just and right is God rewards. He has something special hidden for them. Something made by Him and in his own kitchen.

…to him who overcomes I will give some hidden manna.Rev 2:17

Rev 3:21-To him who overcomes I will give the right to stand to sit with me on my throne just as I have overcome…

Over comers are long suffering/persevering people just as Christ proved to be. He never let go of what He believed was right and just. Our Go also is patience in His loving making Him persevering. He does not let go of his love for us just like that. In fact, He has never let it go. He has always been loving despite the things we do that in one way incite Him to forget His great love for us.

Mvumilivu ni kweli hula mbivu!!