DO WE LEARN FROM OUR MISTAKES

                                                                                                       

SO MANY HORRIBLE                 ACCIDENTS ON OUR ROADS!

One woman, Jacinta Achieng, a survivor, together with her son Brian, from a truly horrific bus crash in 2000 was reported at the time as saying 'Ít is by God's Grace that we have survived - I know now that there IS God, and we shall Praise the Word of the Lord all the time'.    It seems she had not had much time for God before the accident.   And it was a hard way to  wake up to the fact of God.    BUT what of those other who survived with her?   Were they all aware  of God's protection and care?   Or were some of them as blind after the accident as they were before?
And then again, what about all those who actually DIED in the crash?  Where are they NOW?  Were they especially sinful that they had to die while others lived?    So many questions.    There was another Accident involving two matatus and a falling Blue Gum tree that fell on them both just near Wareng School, here in Eldoret.   In one of the vehicles a man was sitting between others, and those on either side of him died instantly - but HE lived!   WHY?     How did it happen that the tree fell just at that moment, and was so selective in choosing who it struck and killed?   And of course, there are all those who are grieving because of the loss of a loved one.   
Where IS God when we are hurting?    
Tragedy and Hurt always raise a multitude of questions among the Believing and Unbelieving alike - and, let's face it, there is hurt occuring all the time, everywhere.   People are hurting all over the world, as they suffer the pain of living.   If God is a God of LOVE, how is it that He allows all this suffering and torment?    And, whilst not easily finding an Answer to these questions, many turn away from the whole idea of God, and even set themselves against Him, and all those who declare God exists!     Hard to blame them at times!
JOB - in the Bible - lost his property, his family, his land, and his health, all in a matter of days.   His wife said to him 'Why don't you just curse God and die?     But Job replied and said to her "You speak as one of the foolish women speak.   Shall we indeed accept good from God, and shall we not accept adversity?'   Earlier, when the first news of the death of all his children in a hurricane was brought to him he had said  'Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked shall I return there.    The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away.   Blessed be the name of the Lord'.     There are not many who take total calamity in their stride, like that. Job was only able do so because he had an unfailing faith and trust in the existence and goodness of God, no matter what happened.   It is also said of ABRAHAM, concerning his indefatigable faith in God, that - under hopeless circumstances Abraham hopefully believed.     He had nothing, and no one other than God, to hang on to.    Abraham Lincoln once said   ''I have been driven many times to my knees by the overwhelming conviction that I had nowhere else to go'.   Overwhelming circumstances coming unexpectedly upon us can often force us to cry out to God - a God we had previously ignored, as we trusted in our own strength and conceit.
And God, the only God, who created each one of us is determined to do all that He can to catch our eye and make us realise our need of Him.   He is even willing to HURT us and to make us SCREAM out!    WHY?   Because He Loves us, and knows that if we do not turn to Him, and trust completely in Him, we WILL die a death far more terrible than any we might still have to face in this life.
Look at Luke 13v1-5.    Some told Jesus about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with the Sacrifices.     And Jesus said to them  -  'Do you suppose that these Galileans were worse sinners than all other Galileans, just because they suffered such things?   I tell you NO.   BUT unless you repent you will all likewise perish.   OR those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them;  do you think that they were worse sinners than all other men who dwelt in Jerusalem?  I tell you NO, but unless you repent you will all likewise perish''.   SIN has nothing to do with people dying in bus accidents and so on.   We are all sinners, and all facing the Death Sentence UNLESS we have come to Christ and the Cross.   HAPPY are those who die in faith with Christ, for they are now with God for ever, and have no Judgement to face that will seperate them from God.    BUT, alive or dead, without God we are IN our sins, and under God's Wrath, and wait only for Judgement.   God is anxious to make us to consider our end, and where we now stand.    Where to YOU stand?   Are you ready, at a moment's notice. to meet your Maker and look Him in the eye without FEAR - but with gladness?
In the last Book of the Bible, the Book of Revelation, we are told of the terrible worldwide calamities and plagues, and judgments that God will let loose upon Mankind in a last effort to bring him to his senses; to make him to realise his iniquity, and to repent of his sins. In Revelation 9v20 it is written -  'But the rest of mankind who were not killed by these plagues, did not repent of the works of their hands, that they should not worship demons and idols of gold, silver, brass, stone and wood which can neither see nor hear, nor walk.   And they did not repent of their murders, or their sorceries, or their sexual immorality or their thefts...''   ALL these HURTS will be permitted by a Loving God in an effort to turn those living a lifestyle unacceptable to Him.   To bring them a change of mind and heart - to repentance.      The whole purpose of CHASTISEMENT is turn us away from a worse punishment - from DEATH itself.      INDEED, a very old and wise doctor of medicine from India once shared with me when I was suffering pain, and he said, 'Be GLAD for the pain - for without it you would not have come to me, and I would not be able to save your life.   Pain alerts us to our NEED, and LEADS to LIFE''.    He was a Brahmin Hindu, and his words opened up my understanding to so many truths.

BUT JOB was a good man, and was in favour with God, was close to God.    YET God permitted him to go through the worst of multiple calamities.    WHY?    It was not to catch Job's eye or heart.   NO! It was to prove something to the Devil.   Satan was sure he could make Job curse God and thus die,   but God knew that a man or woman who truly trusts in Him would never be moved.   He or she would be secure, established, and unable to be brought down.
Kind David in Psalm 16v8 says   - I have set the Lord continually before me;   because HE is at my right hand, I shall not be moved.''   and in Psalm 23v4 he says ÝES. though I walk through the deep sunless valley of the shadow of  death (hopelessness) I will fear and dread no evil, for YOU are with me..'  And in Psalm 62v7 he says 'With God rests my salvation and my glory; He is my Rock of unyielding strength and impenetrable hardness, and my refuge is in God.   Trust in, lean upon, rely on, and have confidence in Him AT ALL TIMES.''     God wants us to know these things.   He also wants the Devil and all the Powers in High Places to SEE this.    We MAY be hurt, may suffer loss, may endure emotional conflict and anguish of heart, BUT HE WILL BRING US THROUGH INTO JOY.    In Psalm 66v12 David again writes and says out of his own experience - "You caused men to ride over our hearts when we were prostrate; we went through fire and through water, but you brought us out into a broad, watered place;  to abundance and refreshment.'

JACINTA,  the lady in the bus, having come through what must have seemed worse than death, could truly say from her experience - "I NOW know there is GOD''.     And thus also David again in Psalm 124 writes - Íf it had not been the LORD was on our side, Israel can now say.   If it had not been the :LORD who was on our side when men rose up against us, then they would quickly have swallowed us up alive when their wrath was kindled against us; THEN the waters would have overwhelmed us and swept us away; the torrent would have gone over us; THEN the proud waters would have gone over us.   BLESSED be the Lord who has not given us as a prey to their teeth.   We are like a bird escaped from the snare of the fowlers.   The snare is broken and we have escaped.  Our help is in the name of the Lord, Who made heaven and earth.''    ALL this is so true, but we MAY still suffer loss; we may suffer pain, we may shed tears - BUT we will never be given up for dead by the One Who wants to SAVE us from all our afflictions if we BELIEVE in Him.

WHERE IS GOD WHEN IT HURTS?
HE is right by our side; with us in the trial and in the hurt - and HE wants to prove Himself to you, and He wants YOU to prove HIM for yourself by trusting in Him, and trusting in HIM in the midst of your pain.   HE doesn't just want your love and trust when all is well and life is easy.  He wants you to love and trust HIM in the Bad Times, so that He can show you even better days.
DON'T spend time trying to work our WHY the Accident happened, or why some DIED and some did not.    IF your life was spared it was for REASON.    If people died it was for a PURPOSE.   Remember even JESUS died and suffered, yet HE was without sin, innocent of all accusation.     God let HIM hang and suffer, and DIE there on the Cross, even as He loved Him. WHY?     It was for ME - for YOU.      It HURT Jesus, and GREAVED his friends - but the PURPOSE was to bring eternal JOY.    TRUST IN  the Lord with all your heart and BELIEVE in His Goodness, and in the fact that HE wants the BEST for you.

HAND OVER your doubts, bitterness, hurts, and unbelief to God right now, and say LORD, I want to trust in you right now just as I am.       He will come right there where you are, to quieten, comfort and altogether satisfy all the longings of your soul.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

LET JESUS BE YOUR STRENGTH AND SHIELD

30th JULY 1999 - I wrote this article, and it was broadcast on Radio SAYARE   Today nothing has changed.

'LAST WEEK the papers were reporting the death of John F. Kennedy Junior.   Many members of this family, including John Junior's father, President J.F. Kennedy, have died over a comparatively short period of time, giving rise to the idea that maybe the Family have been 'cursed'.    BBC-tv stated at the time of junior's death -   ...another tragedy, the latest in a long history which has become known as the Curse of the Kennedy's.
BUT is it really possible for family to be put under a 'curse'? Can it actually happen?   Yes, I believe it can indeed -IF you believe it for yourself - anything can happen.   Certainly many people also believe this throughout the world.   The BIBLE believeS in the power of the Devil and evil spirits, and prohibits any godly person from becoming involved with such powers and practices.
The Book of Leviticus 10v31 in the Old Testament of the Bible says   'TURN not to those mediums who have familiar spirits or to wizards, do not seek them out, to be defiled by them.   I am the LORD.'        AND Isaiah 8v9 says - 'When people (instead of putting their trust in God) shall say to you - Consult for direction mediums and wizards who chirrup and mutter, should you not instead seek and consult your God.   Should you consult the dead on behalf of the living? - think about this.'
THE KENNEDY FAMILY have, reportedly, all been faithful practicing Catholics.   Is it possible for Christians to be actually cursed - or perhaps even be involved in the occult?   Do YOU believe that?

Certainly it is a fact that many Christians today, even though they may testify to being 'Saved' still often lean toward the Witch-doctor to provide themselves with comfort, protection, and even deliverance from evil spirits, curses and even other human enemies and so on, trying to fight evil, and even their suspected foes with more evil!
And others will go to the Fortune Teller to gain some insight into their future, in order to give themselves some kind of advantage, willingly agreeing to wear charms and amulets as further aids to 'Good Luck' against some fear or another.   YET why should the Devil protect or care for any that is not already his own, and who does not believe in him?  Some bystanders in Jesus day seeing Him casting out demons, said that He cast them out by the power of Satan.   Jesus replied and said to them 'If Satan is divided against himself how shall his kingdom stand - Luke11v18.   Do YOU believe that the devil will actually work against himself?   NO, indeed not.   It is the Devil's work to curse, and to bind, and to destroy, and he will not save us from such things... Those who consult with mediums, wizards, and other occult persons, believing in them and their ability to keep them safe are CURSED still more when they go to the the devil for deliverance!    AND WHEN ANY TRUE CHRISTIAN goes back to such practices in his or her's Christian Life, he /she puts themselves voluntarily back into the hand of the Enemy, and out of the Redeemer's Hand.

To go to the Witch-doctor or Fortune Teller is to go AWAY from God, and His Christ.   and to cease trusting in Him.   And that is SIN.    If you are NOT trusting in GOD you have disobeyed the 1stCommandment, and you are in the hand of Satan, -   and he can do whatever he likes with you - and he likes to arrange your death.
JESUS once said  - ' When you pray believe that you have what you ask for, and you will receive it ' - Mark 11v24    In other words you get what you BELIEVE for - good or bad.   Yes God will let you have what you WANT badly enough - but be as a dying person.    And if you believe for sickness, if you believe for trouble of any kind, if believe in being cursed, that is what you will experience in your life.    Why not just believe in the Goodness of God instead?
SOME YEARS AGO, a young teenage boy in my home discovered that someone had put some bones inside one of his school exercise books, and hidden them in his belongings.   He came to report to me that someone had put a curse upon him.  I went immediately to his belongings and found the bones just as he had described.   I took the bones from the book into my hands in the Name of Jesus, and went with them out of the house.   And there I burned them to ashes.     Whilst I was doing this another young man began to get very excited, jumping up and down, and saying that he was the one who had placed the bones in the book in the first place - AND, that now I had touched them I would surely die!   These boys were all in their teenage, and all of them now began to crowd around me, as silent as the grave, no doubt waiting for me to actually fall down dead at their feet - that was almost fifty years ago!     Brother and Sisters! If Jesus is your Saviour, and if your life is under the protection of the Blood that He shed on the Cross, you have nothing to fear - NOTHING shall by any means hurt you.   This incident I have just related concerning 'old bones' was the beginning many of the first children that came to shelter in Testimony Faith Homes learning that Jesus IS more than any ju-ju.   More powerful than Satan himself.     If  JESUS is with you GOD is with you.
BUT there was another incident.    In 1971 my wife and I were living in Siaya District as it then was, some eleven kilometers from Luanda Market at a place known as Ramula.   Returning from Kisumu, we found ourselves motoring into a heavy wind and rain storm.   As we journied I kept looking at the sky and saying 'I'm sure our tin roof will blow of our house if this continues.....REALLY I KNOW it WILL blow off!'    As we turned into the compound a few minutes later the tin roof of our house just lifted up and sailed past and over us and across the road into a field.    We lost all our personal effects in that storm, which continued unabated for some hours.   I had believed for the 'evil' and forgot my Saviour.    I believed for the worst and that is what I received.   It taught me lesson - though not, regrettably, for the last time.       IF we have trusted in Jesus, and the Blood shed for us on the Cross, we have no more need to look elsewhere for our Salvation.   WHY?    Because in the Name of Jesus even Demons have to flee.   When we are under the Blood not even the Devil Himself can Harm us!    
In the Old Testament Book of Exodus chapter 12 when Moses under God's direction was helping the Israelites to leave Egypt and slavery. He was told to make sure that every family killed a lamb, and first off, daubed its blood over their doors.   And God said,  WHEN I SEE THE BLOOD I will pass over you, and the plague shall not come upon you.     It was  a DEATH plague and thousands of Egyptians died that day, but all those who put the blood of the lamb over their doors LIVED.     Because of their faith in the blood of the lamb people lived and were delivered from their slavery.
They called it The PASSOVER.      To-day God points to JESUS and tells us that to as many as believe Him, He will be OUR Passover - our Saviour, and Deliverer.   Our Protector from all things.
NONE OF US need be under a curse; none of us need to invoke our ancestors or other spirits, or the power of the witch doctor, to keep ourselves safe, or to defend ourselves, or to free ourselves, or to deliver ourselves, or to provide for ourselves. All we need is to TESTIFY loud and clear as to WHOSE we are, and to WHOM we belong. Satan and every evil thing will have to flee from us.   NO WEAPON that is formed against us shall prosper.

Revelation 12v11 says - 'They overcame him - the Devil and all his angels and servants - by the Blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony.'

DON'T BE AFRAID,,,,,BUT BELIEVE in the Lord Jesus Christ.    Are you still tempted to visit the Witch Doctor or to rely on fetishes?    Are you wearing some unchristian charm or ju-ju?    Are you still trusting in your ancestors to see you through. Put such things FAR from you.   Cast ALL you care, instead, upon JESUS.   He is more than Conqueror, and will KEEP you safe from enemy and tribulation alike, bringing you unscathed and untouched through into victory and safety.

BEGIN THE WEEK AHEAD with confidence.    Put your trust in God, and His Redeemer and Maker, JESUS CHRIST.   Come under the Blood of the Lamb with me, and let us together believe to DO great exploits for the Kingdom of God.   Remember, NOTHING that is planned against you can prosper, as long as you are hiding under the Blood of the Lamb that was slain for your salvation.

HAVE A FEARLESS WEEK!

THERE IS A WAY THAT SEEMS RIGHT.....?

ON THE 12TH DECEMBER 2015 Harare's 'CHRONICLE' reported    Zimbabwe's Chief Justice Godfrey Chidyausiku  with the headline

CHIEF JUSTICE SLAMS ANTI

CORPORAL PUNISHMENT ADVOCATES!

I found this interesting - if only because no one else seems to have been saying what he has, and also because of an article that appeared on Page 8 of our Kenyan Daily Nation on Friday 22nd January this year.

BOY DIES AFTER TEACHER CANES HIM FOR LATENESS 

'14 year old boy, in Standard 6, died after being caned by a teacher for coming to school late.  Caning is banned in Kenyan Schools..'     The boy was caned with nine strokes.   He collapsed while he was being caned.    This was excessive punishment to my mind.   

There is no doubt in my mind that children are still being caned by teachers, even though they are well aware of the Ministry's directive New teachers joining our own private school are often found to be using the cane even against clear instruction not to do so.    There are, no doubt, clear dangers to the child - or anyone - where corporal punishment is allowed without proper restraint and supervision, but should it still be on the statute book anyway?

In the 1950s teachers and parents could be arrested and sued for improper and excessive corporal punishment.    But at that time International Law still permitted and accepted corporal punishment, as had been the custom and practice for more than time remembers. The change in thought came suddenly - within a very few years, and ever since we have seen mankind slowly protecting himself from hurt or pain of any description - from a headache to correction of any kind.    Where this has been related to punishment for anti social behaviour it has not been seen to produce a drop in anti social behaviour as a whole.     Our prisons are still as full as before - if not more so, and our educational institutions continue to riot, and discipline is increasingly more difficult to enforce.

Chief Justice Chidyausiku lifted the BAN on Caning in Zimbabwe on 15th June 2015 whilst requesting a careful and balanced consideration of caning as a disciplinary measure in his Country.

Later in the year, in November he was to challenge the Lawyers and other legalists by asking them 'to explain the impact of such an action on the behaviour of children in Zimbabwe.'    He again 'asked the lawyers if it was prudent that Zimbabwe simply adopts the decisions of other countries ........in other Countries that don't allow corporal punishment, how do the children behave?   Do you think it will be acceptable in Zimbabwe to have children going to school with knives and guns in their jackets?   We hear of Zimbabwean teachers who have gone to teach in such countries, who have had to abandon the profession because the children are uncontrollable.'           

It is interesting that recently the Chinese Government have found no reason to ban the cane in Schools, and that parents are quite happy to use it at home as well.

My personal opinion remains that Corporal Punishment should be established and permitted as part and parcel of criminal and anti social behaviour of all kinds, and that where improper implementation of this is discovered then it should individually be dealt with as it has been in the past.

Many like to quote the old adage 'Spare the Rod and Spoil the Child', and others deride this as from God.   Actually these exact words are not found in the Bible as such.    BUT the Bible does uphold, as necessary,corporal punishment, and the principles found in the Bible have their root in distant antiquity and have been found relevant and true.     For example in Proverbs 13v24 it is written -

'He who spares his rod, hates his son,

but he who loves him disciplines him promptly.'

And again in Proverbs 19v18 -

'Chasten your son while there is hope,

and do not set your heart on his destruction.'

I see no lack of wisdom in these words - all embraced by Solomon who is believed to have been the one most endowed with wisdom ever to have lived.    His Wisdom came from experience, and is confirmed and backed up by GOD, as His Word for our life.       I can only personally remember being caned twice in my life - once by my parent for a serious misdemeanour in our home - and the other was at school for a fault mistakenly committed.    I did not enjoy either occasion, but I was grateful for both, and I believe a lesson was learned which affected the rest of my life.    I have never resented it, but instead have profited from it with thanksgiving.      

I believe that King Solomon was also prophetic when he also wrote in Proverbs 16v25 -

'There is a way that seems right to a man,

but its end is the way of death.'

ONLY GOD knows and is able to communicate the Way that leads to LIFE - a healthy life spiritually and physically.      MAN is not always right in the way he thinks, and is easily deceived into believing that he is even more intelligent that the One who Created him.     GOD warns and exhorts us when He says

TRUST IN THE LORD with all your heart, and lean not to your own understanding.

IN ALL YOUR WAYS ACKNOWLEDGE HIM, and He will direct your paths.

Do NOT be wise in your own eyes - fear the LORD.  Provers 3v5-7

FINALLY for today, I feel truly ENCOURAGED by the words of the Hon. Chidyausiku;  so refreshing to find at least one person who doesn't jest swallow what the rest of the world is saying, but examines everything in the light of his own culture and faith.   Very refreshing.     The Chief Justice actually deferred final judgement, but I hope he is finally courageous enough to stand with God rather than with Man.

A GREAT FALLING AWAY - FIRST!

IS THIS THE END OF CHRISTIAN BRITAIN, 

asks the Daily Mail Newspaper?  

The majority of white adults say they have no religion, and the number is set to rise.?  46% of adults have NO religion, while 42% are Christian but generally non religious.  Churches are emptying, and only a small number with a hyped up presentation of the Gospel appear to be filled with young people.   The Roman Catholics and the Church of England are both experiencing a reduction in numbers of worshippers in their churches.    Yet when His Holiness the Pope visited England he was given a rapturous welcome by vast numbers - as was the case here in Kenya last year when he visited us.   WHY should this be so?    There are a number of reasons I believe....

BUT in Kenya ALL churches still seem to be filled, and well patronised, from the Traditional to the freer, and more varied Protestant and Evangelical Churches.   This could be due to the fact that here there is a greater liberty in how Church Worship is organised and expressed.     However I would say that in Kenya people generally accept the existence of God, and feel the need of His help and interest in their lives.   Indeed although the western nations still moan a lot about their hardships socially, it is in Africa and much of the Third World, that people suffer and struggle to live.     Might I put it too bluntly when I suggest that the First World has less to discomfort it than the rest?      On the other hand even the majority of those attending church in Kenya have little real knowledge of the Saviour who came to deliver and save us from sin, and instead of seeking God's forgiveness and then giving back to Him their life in love and service, they run to seek profit and pleasure.    I do a fair amount of interviewing for potential staff and an astonishing few, when questioned about their religion, though accepting they are 'Christian' have hardly any understanding of WHY they are, or WHAT Christ has to do with their life - apart from protecting them from trouble and paying their bills and other financial needs through prayer.    The truly 'spiritual'aspect is missing.    Religious they may be but there is no NEW LIFE about them.       All want a more comfortable life, from the poorest (the majority) to the richest!     Man has travelled far from the Garden in which he first knew happiness with God.
Esther and I travel in Europe and the UK occasionally - say once every ten years.   Each time we go we see diminishing returns in the churches -  smaller congregations, and less interest in the Word of God.
The Christianity of today, compared to the days of our fathers, lacks LIFE!     It lacks the manifestation of Christ's commitment and dedication to God the Father.     And, to an extent, this is the cause of a progressively lost VITALITY in Christians generally.      Not much that would make one AWARE of him; he is is just as others are with hardly any visible difference.     Jesus did not come to Earth with the intention of inventing a new Religion called Christianity.   Jesus came to introduce and GIVE us a NEW life - a WAY of living that would be in startling contrast to the way we were first born into at birth.         When we believe in Jesus, we are told, ALL things become NEW, including ourselves.     Adventure, Challenge, and Power lay before us.     BUT INSTEAD we find ourselves attending Centres hoping for Free Offers; and also Bargain Hunters, and Fund Raisers for those finding themselves in need to build houses, buy cars, or travel abroad.      WHERE is the NEW LIFE focused on giving to and loving those who have nothing; The new SINLESS life that is no longer corrupt?
Again, in England we found churches being built and even renovated to provide the greatest comfort - plush seating, lavish furnishing and decoration,  and it is being introduced here in Kenya as well.

The'atmosphere' is changing within the Church and her places of worship.     In a way this, to me, is not the worst change.     Buildings alone are nothing these days.    A thousand years ago they built the old cathedrals and churches with a regard for the OWNER of the house; with love, care and sacrifice. You can feel it when you walk in - that this house is God's.     But more often today we just throw up a church cheaply without much attention to beauty,,but rather to how many it will hold, or how much of a sensation it will cause.     JESUS said in John 4v20, 23-24  ' Believe me, the hour comes when you shall neither worship the Father in this mountain or even in Jerusalem ---- The hour comes, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth; for the father looks for such to worship him.    God is a Spirit; and those who worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth..,     TRUE worship for God will be in the heart!    

BUT, how many hearts are reaching out to God in fact.    How many even BELIEVE in God?   More and more of our Teachers, Lawmakers, and others live and talk as if He is and always has been a myth.
We could be on the way to a world WITHOUT any Religion,     In fact we are being told that NO RELIGION is the new norm in society as a whole - yes I know we can point out exceptions but even these are feeling the effect of a changing world unaware of God generally.      And this has an effect on our humanity as a whole, for without GOD consciousness where is the CONSCIENCE OF ANY NATION?     If the Christian is leaving the church where is he going to if Christ is not in his life and heart?    He is being sucked out and away into a 'black hole' of unbelief that has no bottom.

St. PAUL says that the END of the world will be be preceded by a 'falling away first - AND then the Man of Sin will be revealed (2. Thessalonians 2v3).    AND Jesus said in Matthew 24v12 - 'Because iniquity / sin / corruption shall abound the love of many shall grow cold.'     These words are a commentary on our world society as it is today.    People do not love God, do not honour, respect, or put him first  BECAUSE of  love of their own way more.     Look at 2. Timothy 3v1-5 as a back up to this.
THINGS ARE CHANGING.     Be sure it is not for the better.     Do not be abandoned by God.   Do not tempt Him to break the thing that He lovingly made and in which He had such good intentions.

SENSITIVE ISSUES

WILL THIS BE A HOLY CONVOCATION, or a rather UNHOLY huddle of Anglican Bishops? 

Hard to tell from a photo like his one.   There will be Bishops from Kenya attending this year's Conference in Lambeth Palace in London. Bishops from all over the World who belong to the Anglican Communion of Christians.
Reading in this week's Daily Nation, here in Kenya, I found it interesting to read the comment included, relative to this 'Bench' or 'Psalter' of Bishops!     They are the Leaders, the Shepherds of their Flocks; those looked upon as the Guides and Teachers that hold up the Word of God, rightly dividing and defining that WORD as the ONLY Truth and Way of Life that will bring a Believer to GOD, and to the Kingdom of God.     Millions look to them for the correct 'example' and advice on how to respond to the 'Darkness' of this World.
BUT being a follower of Jesus Christ in this present world is no Fancy Dress affair.    It is not partying and revelling but a rather challenging and awesome affair.     For more than two thousand years it has needed that 'believers' COME OUT of the World; out from AGREEMENT with what the world holds to be righteousness.    A Believer is separate from the unbeliever, and does not accept what the world accepts.   And although he lives IN the world,  it becomes clear that he cannot identify with it, its ambitions or its pleasures.  
SEVENTY years ago in England, there were still fewer Believing Christians than unbelieving sinners - yet generally the population, like the little demons, accepted the FACT of God, and 'trusted' in the Bible that it WAS God's Word.       Even today they Swear by Almighty God in the Law Courts, holding the Bible in their Hand as confirmation that they will 'Tell the Truth'.     BUT there IS a change sweeping through the land.     Perhaps in Kenya also?     LESS are READING the Bible, and even LESS are BELIEVING in what it actually SAYS.     The majority never open it, and its importance and relevance - even as literature - is fading fast.        We cannot today rely upon the uplifted hand declaring THE TRUTH, even with the Bible held up firmly with it!   AND IF, the BIBLE can be put aside, even ridiculed; if it can be re-interpreted, and even scorned, how should we be surprised that the world is seeing the disintegration of Christian Opinion and religious thought and morals universally?    YES the world is moving on, and perhaps in this age, it is actually leaving the spiritual knowledge and respect and belief in ANY God BEHIND it.    It this is so then indeed we all together face a depth and quality of DARKNESS worse than the Dark Ages;   A darkness more totally terrifying than the darkness within the stomach of Jonah's Whale, or the thick, powerful, blackness of  the stalking Panther.    The WORLD has always lain in 'darkness' since the beginning, and its government is still -for the moment- in the hands of a Dark Lord, even Satan, but not for long.

The BIBLE says Satan, through his governance and evil influence, has deceived, and will continue to DECEIVE the world, and the people of the world in particular!      We are likely all being led in the direction that will find WHITE is believed to be BLACK and vice verce.        In the days of Jesus, his Roman Judge, Pilate, asked the question 'What IS Truth!'      Today it is  billions of times more difficult to find the answer - especially if you cannot accept God's answer which He gave through Christ   'I AM the Truth, the Way and the LIFE.'
There IS no other truth - everything can only be measured up against Jesus, His Words, His Life.

Well in the Nation article in this Tuesday's addition page 6 the writer says -

'Sensitive issues like gay rights and same sex marriages

are expected to dominate discussion in the meeting

convened by Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby.

He, Welby 'said a split in the communion over homosexuality

would not be disaster but a failure'

''These disagreements over sexuality could lead to a walkout

by conservative bishops'.

A SHARP division of the ONE Christian denomination could spell even great disaster for the whole of the Christian World.      The argument above is not merely one of moral opinion and interpretation, it is one which willfully holds the BIBLE, God's WORD, open to new values and understanding.   

The thing that seems to offend is the idea that Gays should be held to be wrong in the eyes of God, as far as their style of living is concerned.   The Bible clearly states that those who are practising Homosexuals will not be able to enter the Kingdom of God on their death.      They can sit in Christian Churches but they will not be able to become priests or bishops as long as their life style remains unchanged.     It is the outworking of having to be BORN AGAIN.     After all, would it be right to put a murderer who was unrepentant and likely to murder again into the church leadership?

It is sad when people seem to be, and sometimes are shut out or shunned in society.    We should accept ALL as men and women worthy of our compassion and consideration, but even if we do so, we still have an obligation, if we are Believing in the Word of God, not to encourage or accept what others do or say, if it might hurt society or confuse, and also may be prevent them from pleasing the God who is our Final Judge. 

St. Paul says of himself that he was 'not a man pleaser'.    He did not live to please MEN, but GOD. 

In this corrupt and self pleasing world society, his testimony would be a little, if not completely, considered foolishness.     BECAUSE of this corruption flourishes.      Because there is not a hard and fast bottom line - to base our life upon - firmly in place, we can all exchange and barter away our morals and integrity in a bid to grab whatever we can in whatever way we can from this deceitful world.

All men and women, gays and others, are free to choose their way, and to expound upon it.     Thus also those who may disagree are free to say so, and give a reason why.     I value, myself, all men and women just as they are.     In my heart I may be cast down because their lives seem to court the judgment of God, finally, at their end, but I cannot find it in my heart, either, to judge 'them' but to still reach out to those who are ready to be my friend - just as I am - and just as they are.   WHY all this LOUD, despicable and self righteous clamour.   Love each other; do good to each other; forgive each other - pray for each other - and take care of each other.   Remembering, as a duty, to warn one another, and to exhort rebuke and encourage one another away from spiritual death,,,,,,,to Eternal Live and the commendation of God.      Recently I lost an employee of many years.  He came to me confessing he was Gay, and I took him on.    He did his work well and honestly, never showing any sign of trying to encourage others in his lifestyle.   He was a friend - a good friend - to all, and will be greatly missed.      He knew how I felt and never showed resentment for it; we were also good workers together.    He will be missed.     I am glad I let him in.    But I do still think his choice was a wrong one, and it would be tragic for him to find himself in front of God, only to hear he missed his way in life - missed the TRUTH about himself.  And I pray for him that he will one day, before it is too late, come to know it.  

In allowing this freedom I have myself been blessed.      But I could not have done any of it without knowing and trusting in God's Word - a Word of Love, but also a Word of Justice.

When God says something is wrong, nothing and no one can change it.    It IS wrong.
How we deal with this wrong, how we permit Mercy, Compassion to work with Justice, Forgiveness, will depend largely on our own spiritual disposition.        What a man SOWS in his life and body he WILL reap the reward from - good or bad.     The fact remains God will not LIVE with in Eternity, what he has declared on earth He cannot accept or approve of.       Our decisions in life in regard to everything will evolve on who we want please and to put first - ourselves, people we live with, or GOD.    

God Bless the bishops!     God help them with strength and courage to stand for HIM, and for HIS declared and revealed Will through His written, and LIVING  Word.

EMPTY TEAPOTS

WHEN I FIRST ARRIVED IN KENYA, I found myself living on a windy hilltop in a very rural and poor area of the country.    I had been given an old and derelict Chief's Camp comprising a number of rather decayed and neglected colonial brick buildings.    I was using them to take care of some 39 destitute boys.    I had little money and no support for this venture, and as the only one of distinctive colour and little cultural knowledge I often found myself getting into problems with the local community.     THEY welcomed us with open arms, and were really very charming, but they thought I had come to develop their area, and in particular the Old Chief's Camp by providing a hoped for Medical Centre, School, and even more!    This stemmed from their own private assumptions and dreams  -    I, meanwhile, just thought their interest and friendliness was due to an inborn kindness and charitableness, that was appreciative that I had come to use the run down centre to help homeless children.     One day after I had been there about three months, I was approached by the Chief of the area who asked if I would mind holding a Barazza (a Meeting) with the local people and leaders.     Again I thought this was a good thing that interest was growing, and I happily agreed.     The Day arrived and my compound of some 5 acres was half filled with folk from all around.          After some little polite pre-amble, the elderly Chief stood up and commenced his Speech.     He said.    "We have come today to complain.     When we saw you come into our midst we thought you would lift us up and prosper us, in our long struggle against poverty.  But instead you take our water, and import children who are not from this place to mingle with our own to bring bad manners.         Bwana Green, you are a 'Teapot without any Tea'" and he sat down amidst considerable applause.   I was very much taken aback; in fact I did not immediately see what he was saying   =-   But of course I quickly realised that I had disappointed the whole community by not coming up to their expectations.     They had seen a hopeful source of comfort and provision.  It looked good on the outside - a white man always has money, influence contacts.   Surely one adventuring into the undeveloped countryside MUST have MORE money and plans to build, expand and develop.   Soon the shillings would be poured out, signs of building commence - but NO, we just sat and did nothing.     The Teapot looked enticing and profitable but when it came to it, there was no Tea inside it.    It was EMPTY!     And so we had to be informed and warned that we were not welcomed any longer unless we could fill the Teapot with Tea that could be enjoyed by all.    WOW!
Soon after that we moved to Elgonview in Eldoret.

Are YOU a Teapot without Tea?    Does you outward 'image' promote hope where there is NO hope?
Do you encourage Faith in your ability to make a difference when in fact you lack the ability to make that difference.     Isn't this very often at the bottom of getting elected to a Board of Management, or even to Government.     Elect me and I will.............       BUT will you in fact do so...are you ABLE to do so.....do you INTEND to do so?     Are you a man or woman of your word?       Are doing what you do in order to attract attention to yourself, or are you doing it solely to put YOUR shoulder toward helping the community as a whole. WHEN I took Testimony Faith Homes to the rural area I imagined they would sympathise with my small effort to help the homeless - even their own homeless.    I thought they would encourage me AND the children with me.   I though WE would encourage them by demonstrating how to overcome misfortune and human hurt,   It just did not work out that way.      Everyone was looking at US to improve themselves, without any thought of joining hands with us to help reclaim broken lives.       I suppose this is the same with the People and the Government.      The People WANT assistance.  They look at the Government to BRING and PROVIDE the assistance - immediately, overnight and without delay.  The government knows this, all those vying for election to some post or other know it.    They say "Elect me, I will build you a road, a school, a medical centre!    I will bring industry and provide jobs........"      And if they don't ? Well then there must be a Barazza and a confrontation of dissatisfaction.

I was a Teapot without TEA.       Sure I WAS in fact a Teapot, but the Tea was not made.   The tea leaves were there,  and maybe even the milk and sugar were to hand, but there was NO HOT WATER yet; it had not come to the boil..........and those who were thirsty were lacking in patience because their need as for NOW, and they would not wait.      PERHAPS, if they had, then Testimony Faith Homes and School would be THERE, and not in Eldoret.      Their impatience LOST them what they needed - at least for that time, and from us.       Voters and Governments often suffer the same way.     The People think 'heaven' will come the day after the Elections, and governments forget to explain BEFORE Elections, that it takes time to produce and supply what has been promised.   Much is often lost in the process.

I have a lady friend in England.   A married lady with family.   Since she was a teenager she was fascinated with Teapots and she began to collect different shapes, colours, sizes that she came across. She had hundreds of them now, and they are stacked up shelves in her home in a kind of display.They are quite interesting to look at - BUT they are ALL empty!     NONE of them them has ever had tea leaves or even hot water inside them - they have always been and always will be empty, and thus of little practical USE.       Just ornaments?     Well, yes I suppose so - but can really admire what is of no use.

God made us all to be Teapots; teapots with a high potential to be of use and benefit  to the world around us.    How goes it with us?   Do we live to be admired?   Or are we constantly being filled in order to be poured out to satisfy the NEED of those around us.     Think about it.