Calling all messengers

A few months ago, I received a message on WhatsApp urging me to do a short test. The test was simple, or so I thought. Four questions were to be answered within the shortest time possible with a bonus question thrown into the mix. Since I have never been one to shy away from an opportunity to prove my genius, I gave it a go. Suffice to say, after scoring a measly 1 out of 5 questions, I arrived at the humbling conclusion, that it was God’s infinite grace that got me through Secondary school and granted me a first class honours at university. Imela, Papa!!! As misery loves company though, and being desperate for my ineptness to be matched or even outdone, I forwarded the test to as many of my contacts as possible. I didn’t even wait for the prompting at the end of the message to share it, I just forwarded it because  like most forwarded messages on WhatsApp are, it was creative, insightful, and a very good laugh.  

I don’t always get funny messages though but also messages about Jesus and ironically, my reaction to them has been lukewarm or worse, cold. They start off with some nice story. Gradually the underlying message is revealed as you begin to put two and two together. The analogy between the characters in the story and God is often quite precise; so precise, that your heart is deeply moved, appreciative of how gracious, loving and merciful, God has been to you.  Suddenly, the tone becomes highly persuasive. “Please, send this message to 9 people on your contact list in 10 minutes, you will be blessed, your blessing will be received soon! This very night!”  

It’s all downhill from there as I feel the message has been watered down by those ‘imminent’ blessings. What if I just wanted to forward the message out of appreciation of God’s grace or to spread God’s love, or for Him to get the glory instead of just desiring to be blessed materially?” As if reading my thoughts, the tone becomes Ultra-persuasive. “Don’t break this chain, if you love Jesus, you will forward this message!” “Off-course I love Jesus. I just don’t like the idea of sending a message solely for blessings rather than God getting glory!” I reason. Meanwhile, my conscience is being battered into submission. “Prove you love Jesus, Prove it!!! Boy, don’t you walk away from that forward button, I see you boy, hit that forward button, hit it NOW!!!” Inevitably out of guilt, remorse, shame that I hesitated so long I hit forward and the message is sent. Outside social media, I have been faced with the same choice, talk about Jesus or keep mum and tightly lock my faith in a box; sadly I have chosen the latter. Frequently, I have passed up the chance to profess my love for Jesus. After, I end up thinking that I could have shared the gospel, would have shared the gospel, should have shared the gospel but I didn’t.

In African culture and many other cultures, we greatly appreciate the words of a dying man. They are important, obliged to be carried out. How strange it is then, that Jesus’ words of instruction, after dying then RESURRECTING and finally ASCENDING are treated with indifference. Matthew 28:16-19 speaks of the great commission. The command that Jesus gave to his disciples which was to go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit and teaching them to obey everything He commanded them. It’s explained further in Acts 1:8- “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of earth.”..... That’s his command, that is the Great commission we were charged with. Unfortunately, I have taken the great commission to be the great suggestion.

Image courtesy of www.wmu.com

Too many times, I’m content with just going through the motions in the body of Christ. It’s been the sad case of just playing church rather than helping grow church as He desires. After all his love in forsaking all those Godly privileges just to be among men, all his love enduring great pain, ridicule on the cross and triumphing over death so that I may live, why then the silence. Shouldn’t I be eager to tell of his great love for me and others? Why don’t I?

Fear.  Fear that if I speak I will be ostracized by my friends. Fear that I will be beaten hands down by an atheist in a verbal match. Fear that I will give the faith a bad name if I don’t have the answers to their questions. Fear that I will look out of place and alone in a world that believes less and less. Fear that I will be deemed a hypocrite for my many past sins.

Fear that I will be reminded of the many spiritual leaders who swindle God’s people, leaders who have no qualms engaging in adultery, who steal, who have false prophesies. Fear that I will be reminded of the ‘good’ state of affairs in war-ravaged Israel, the chosen people of God. Fear that I will be reminded of the empty churches in Europe, the very same continent that gave us the gospel.

Fear that I will be asked if God is present and loves us so much, where was he as Al-Shaabab stormed Westgate and claimed innocent lives, where was He as Boko Haram kidnap girls and cause havoc in Nigeria, where is he as ISIS continue to decapitate people with relish.

It’s easy to cede ground on all this fears. I know I have. It’s easy to focus on all the negatives but his word is powerful, as cited in Isaiah 55:9-11- “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. As the rain and snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it, without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish so that it will yield seed for the sower and bread for the eater so is my word that goes out from my mouth, it will not return to me empty but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.” As much as many people ignore his word, the word still penetrates and is accepted by just as many. Regardless of what is going on,  here are some interesting findings  as presented in an article on Crosswalks.com;

• More Muslims in Iran have come to Christ since 1980 to date, than in the previous 1000 years combined
• The government of Papua New Guinea mandated Bible teaching in every school in the country(Vision 2020)
• About 500 Muslims come to faith in Christ every month in Iran- a country ranked among the top ten persecutors of Christians in the world.
• No Christian was officially allowed to live in Nepal until 1960. Now there is a church in every 1 of the 75 districts of Nepal with estimates of over 850,800 believers.
• The Jesus film has been translated into nearly 1271 languages in 220 countries and over 200 million have indicated decisions for Christ as a result of the film.
• In 1900 Korea had no protestant church. Today Korea is 30% Christian with 7000 churches in Seoul alone with several having over 1 million members (Vision 2020)
• Of over 400 million Latin Americans, more than 50 million have become evangelical Christians.
• There are as many as 200 million Christians in China with between 10, 000-25,000 converts a day.  Some say there are over 30, 000 conversions per day (Open doors)

Remarkable isn’t it. These are facts that are conspicuously absent when fear instigated by the Devil is telling you not to share your testimony about Jesus. Here’s another mind-blower as per the same article on Crosswalks. If only 1 out of every 6 believers “reproduced themselves” (which I believe is just to witness to 1 person) one time each year, the entire world would be reached for Christ by the year 2020!!! Astonishing! The whole world would have heard of our loving saviour if we took time to witness to just one person every year! 

Fear is a destructive force but love is more powerful, considering Christ great love for us, it is a privilege I should take to reciprocate his love for me by sharing my testimony of him along with the gospel. The immensity of our God is seen in the intensity of our worship. Worship isn’t just song and dance, it’s a lifestyle of obedience, obedience to His great commission which is to go out and make disciples by sharing the gospel. 

I used to think witnessing was just for outreach guys, well it isn’t, it’s for all of us. I used to think that I was ill-prepared, knew too little scripture, and knew too little about God to answer those hard-hitting questions. Well, a lifetime on earth spanning a century will still not give you enough knowledge of God. His thoughts and ways are so much higher than ours. Like Job in Chapter 42:5, just when you think you know him since you HEARD of him, He will turn your world upside down and then you will really SEE him and EXPERIENCE him in a whole different light.

Do you know John 3:16? Yes?!!! That’s all you need. Index 1!!! You have just been conferred a first class PHD in witnessing! Therefore go!! Share the gospel and share your testimony of God in your life!When we have Jesus as our Lord and saviour, we have the Holy Spirit dwell in us.  We become changed, transformed. We no-longer desire to conform to the world’s practices. Consequently we become weird to the world because of how we live. They, notice the change, and like any inquisitive human being are eager to know the reason behind it. They will therefore ask. At this point, you may feel a certain voice urging you to talk about Jesus, do what the voice says and share the impact of having Jesus in your life, but do it with gentleness and respect(1 Peter 3:15).

Witnessing is two-fold. It is not an activity but a lifestyle where your life is radically changed and is manifested in you not conforming, living life differently that is seen as weird by the world, a good, unbelievable kind of weird. The other side of witnessing is just explaining your weirdness to others and thankfully this weirdness is diverse in nature.It ranges from being weird because you wake up early in the morning just to pray and read scripture daily so that you know more of God, it could be going to church every Sunday, It could be spending Friday, Saturday nights at home instead of a club, it could be avoiding sexual relations till marriage, It could be paying taxes early and consistently with psyche even when that tax is being wasted by our leaders, it could be visiting orphans, sick children on weekends, it could be putting others before yourself, the range of weirdness is endless. 

When you do explain that you do these things because of having Jesus in your life, you may be  dismissed or ridiculed but a seed is planted within their hearts. A seed that the Holy Spirit takes and waters using other people’s testimonies and poignant life events until it grows to a conviction and a compelling need to seek Jesus. Remember your job is not to convert a person; it’s just to share your testimony, only the Holy Spirit converts and changes someone’s heart. Jesus is the living water and calls people through His Spirit to drink, ours as Christians, is just to make people thirst after him. 

It is when we actively share our faith that we have a full understanding of every good thing we have in Christ (Philemon 1:6) including His great unfailing love for us, the vast riches of grace we share with him, our lofty position over dark forces, strongholds that we share with Christ and victory over temptation along with so much more. It is when we witness that we fulfill our true purpose as sons and daughters of the most high, considering it food to do God’s will. (John 4:34). It is when we witness that we are able to make people have fellowship with God and show our love for him, which results in yet more love from God as said in John 14:21- Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me. He who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love him and show myself to Him. Therefore what are you waiting for, heed to the call of Lecrae and For King and Country, as wonderfully sung in the link below 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=ZqH7azFRUYU 

Be a Messenger!!!

Don't judge things too quickly

Photo credit: tinybudha.com

Judging things or people on first glance can turn out to be quite humorous. Take this situation , for example, 
DINNER GONE WRONG

Since I have taken the liberty of posting this video, my subsequent description  cannot be deemed a spoiler. I find this video especially timely as 14^th February approaches; I pray that no man may suffer the fate that befell this unfortunate chap. For those unable to watch the clip, the video starts of with this guy rushing home to prepare a romantic dinner for his lady. He is busy cutting some vegetables,when unfortunately his cat knocks over a saucepan and spills its contents leaving a terrible  mess. He grabs his cat to avert any more mishaps. Unfortunately, his date walks in and is greeted by the bizarre spectacle of him holding his cat by the neck in one hand, while holding a knife in the other with a puddle of sauce on the floor. She promptly fills the blanks, concluding that the cat is the dinner! Nothing could be further from the truth but on first glance of the situation who could blame her? The video aptly closes with the line: Don’t judge too quickly, we won’t.

Quite often, as a believer, I have been like the lady and now more than ever, I've been required to put the closing line into practice; don't judge too quickly. Sometimes things aren’t always what they seem; it would be highly prudent if I withheld drawing any conclusions before I knew all the facts. Sometimes, too quickly I judge with comic or tragic results. Matthew 7:1-2 urges us not to judge others or we too will be judged and with the measure we use, it will be measured to us. How terrible then if we judge on first glance, or on the opinion of others or worse, just by fickle emotion, then it follows that we too will be judged the same way. As much as we possess a superior intellect to animals enabling us to know and reason, judging others has never been meant to be our specialty, that is the preserve of God, who, unlike us, can gaze deep into the depths our hearts and see things as they really are. As a believer, naturally I look out for my fellow brother and sister in Christ keen to encourage them in their walk but sometimes I have been too quick to reprimand them for their sin when in fact, they may actually be doing more good than harm, as the case in the video. Case in point, Christians working in what I label ‘Unchristian settings’ because of the nature of the work involved or the product the company manufactures.

Spare a thought for those working in EABL, BAT, the entertainment industry, hospitality and tourism. At a quick glance, I have rushed to the conclusion that a Christian’s involvement in some of these settings can be nothing but trouble. "He/She must be backsliding, He has crossed over to the dark-side! Look at them preaching water yet drinking wine!” I have thought to myself.  I have been oblivious to the fact that Christ resides in their hearts, that day in day out, they face a monumental struggle choosing between doing what’s right and  wrong, choosing between what Christ would do and what the organization wants. The violent tug of war within their conscience puts their faith to the ultimate test,  a test that they often pass with flying colours but instead of lauding them for their victory over temptation, I have judged and criticized them for imaginary backsliding.

Kirk Franklin in the song  ‘Lose My Soul’ alongside TobyMac and Mandisa said that, “ Who you are is not what you do!” Truly profound.  It’s taken some time for God to convict me but slowly I have grasped the weight of this statement. Although they are some people who find their identity in work, who idolize their career and desire nothing else other than career progression at the expense of relationships, their beliefs, values and principles. Others though,  have their identity separate from their work and the activities of the organizations they work for. Kirk Franklin's statement though has rang hollow in the minds of many, mine included. Sadly, their identity in Christ has been nullified just because of where they work and what they do.

Like the lady in the video, I and so many others have reached a variety of incorrect conclusions all too quickly. Presumptions are made that the lady or gentleman working as a marketing executive, accountant, or public relations manager in BAT loves to smoke. Presumptions are made that the HR officer in EABL cannot do without a regular beer, tequila shot or glass of wine and that he encourages drinking wherever he goes. Presumptions are made that the actor/ actress involved in soaps or movies is high on diva-like tendencies, philandering, violence as he/ she is on-screen. Presumptions are made that the Restaurant manager who is tasked with increasing the sale of alcoholic beverages to increase profits is satisfied having more customers drunk. Presumptions are made that the restaurant manager whose premises host parties and cocktails is an all-out party animal too. Presumptions are made that the hotel receptionist lacks a moral compass when she checks in a known married man into a hotel room, late into the night with a much younger lady in tow, who is definitely not his wife.  Worse still is that it is usually hotel policy for front office staff not to disclose any information about the guest without the guest's prior consent. Staff are thus compelled to respect the guest’s right of privacy. She is thus torn between telling the truth, which is right and refusing to be a whistle-blower,  which is wrong and in a way showing tacit approval of the clandestine liaison, but it is what the hotel expects and demands of her to do. In choosing the latter, she is deemed to be a self-centred lady, only after her payslip regardless of what immoral activities occur on the sidelines.

Bearing in mind 1 Corinthians 10:23-24-“Everything is permissible”- but not everything is beneficial. “Everything is permissible”- but not everything is constructive."  I may berate these believers for their abuse of God’s grace and their resultant freedom when in fact they may be mindful of their actions towards others, as described in  verse 24- “Nobody should seek his own good, but the good of others.” They may actually be greater witnesses to God’s kingdom than I ever have been. Jesus desired that the gospel reach all ends of the earth so who am I to judge that EABL and co. are not worthy of having a Christian work at their premises to witness? Who am I to judge that witnessing is only done through outreach? It is carried out everywhere! As a result, I have come to understand that God gave us different callings, different competencies so that He could use us to minister to people in different places.

Many like myself would rather we work in an environment that does not tempt us or make us compromise. Many would take the easier way out in working in organizations that are ‘OK’ or ‘Faith-based’. Alternatively, you could opt to venture into entrepreneurship and start your own business, free from the risk of an organization imposing its compromising practices on you. Truth is not everybody can work in these environments. The truth is that God called some of us to work in those ‘Unchristian’ environments.  Are employees of EABL, BAT, the hospitality Industry, the film industry deemed unworthy of God's kingdom? Not at all! His grace is for all! People in these work places are meant to be ministered to and who better to do it than their saved work mates. Though they may appear to be places of darkness because of divisive products that could be abused by the customer, questionable practices, lack of integrity and corruption amongst others, don’t they need the light? Don’t they need a shining star to point them towards Christ?

I love the quote by St Francis of Assisi, “ All the darkness in the world cannot extinguish the light of a single candle." Lights were meant to shine IN darkness not in isolation of it. In fact total darkness is the absence of light, it diminishes to partial darkness when light is present or increases. Darkness only reduces with the presence of light. Christians in these places are therefore the necessary light to the darkness, the bible to those who might never set foot in church. Through their everyday lives, they can be the light to Christ in a number of ways.

Christians in these areas work industriously. They are the ones first to arrive and last to leave.They are the ones who avoid cutting corners when doing any assignment. They refuse to take kickbacks  or bribes.Theirs is not a matter of getting the job done quickly but getting the job done well, done with integrity.

They are the employees who dress moderately both on the job and during black-tie events. They manage to pull off a look that isn’t too flashy or too provocative but decent and sometimes even elegant enough to feature on Lilian Muli’s Saturday Fashion Watch.

They are the employees who exercise sobriety and moderation during office parties, cocktails or parties held within their premises. They are the ones who take wine, under a clear conscience, devoid of any doubt that they are sinning because they do so by faith with no intention of getting tipsy nor fully wasted, while being 300% certain that nobody among the company they keep will be offended by their drinking. They are the type of believer depicted in Romans 14:2- "One man's faith allows him to eat everything,..." On the contrary though, in light of how difficult it is to drink in moderation, with drinking moderately always being the starting point of drunkenness if one is careless or the divergent views on alcohol in Christianity, as exemplified in the last section of the same verse- "but another man, whose faith is weak, eats only vegetables." They may also be the ones declining alcohol altogether.

In willful submission to God’s word, taking these verses into consideration: Matthew 22:39- “Love your neighbour as yourself." As well as John 15:12-14-“My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command.” Out of love therefore, they are mindful of the fact, that their brother/sister in Christ is their neighbour, who is in need; a need to avoid falling into temptation. Out of love, they desire the good of that person and are aware that some were alcoholics in their past life while others are still struggling with alcohol, desperate to break away from it. In solidarity, and laying down their own wants, they chose not to drink for the sake of their brothers and sisters so as not to entice them into sin. In doing so, they follow 
1 Corinthians 8:9-13, 1 Corinthians 10:31-32, Romans 14, in particular verse 21- "it is better not to eat meat or drink wine or to do anything else that causes your brother to stumble."

In yet more displays of love, they are the employees who show care and concern for others. The employees who accord respect to all and sundry. They respect a person's dignity, treating everyone fairly from the CEO to the housekeeper. They are the ones who visit fellow staff when they are sick. They are the employees who contribute towards another employee’s welfare when a bereavement occurs or when help is needed to raise funds for school fees, medical bills e.t.c

They are the employees who actively take part in CSR activities like visiting children's homes, visiting old people’s homes, tree planting, public clean-up. They desire to be a change in the community because they want to give the community what Christ gave them; hope.

They are the employees who stay clear from office politics. They have little time for flattery or peddling rumours/gossip, instead , they mind their own business. They compliment workmates only when the need arises not with a manipulative motive behind their words. They defuse potentially explosive situations by declining to slander someone behind their back; instead they keep the peace even when the heat is turned on them unfairly.

They are the actors/ actresses who  DTR prior to contract talks which is to Define their Relationship in Christ before taking up any acting roles and negotiate to be excluded from any compromising roles. In addition, they are the thespians who decline sexual advances in order to get ahead. They are the ones who spare their time to take up roles in Christian productions that don’t pay as much or give them glamorous roles that have them gracing the red carpet in anticipation of a Kalasha award. Instead, they are just grateful for the opportunity to use their talent to make Jesus known.

We may presume these believers are regressing when in fact they are progressing with Christ, thriving in their faith in an environment we mistakenly assume should deprive them of it. They have read the bible cover to cover and continue to dig deeper into God’s word. They have an active prayer life, praying not just for themselves but their family, friends, workplace, country, church and whoever else comes to mind. They value fellowship and join accountability groups in church or those outside church composed of people also facing the same challenges.  They obediently give God His tenth, no matter how big or small it is, in appreciation of the many blessings God has given them, their jobs included. They even give God of their time, abilities or themselves to serve in church in the worship team, ushering ministry, as a teacher in Sunday School or any other area of the church.

Surely upon doing just a few of these things their light will shine. Surely people will take notice and ask questions. With 1 Peter 3:15 in mind, which is to be ready to answer anyone who asks of the hope they have, but to do so with gentleness and respect, they will share their testimony, the motivation behind their actions being Jesus Christ. Surely their admirable behaviour will cause the unbeliever to introspect, and question their disbelief in God, paving the way for the Holy Spirit to slowly convict them and convert them at the appropriate time.

Will their involvement in these ‘Unchristian’ environments be in vain? Certainly not! God works in ways higher than our own (Isaiah 55:9) , who am I, a mere man, to judge how he does it? Derek Minor, Dee-1 and Lecrae came together to record the hit single, Dear Mr Christian. It cautions the Christian not to judge the video vixen/ porn actress, drug dealer or drunk but first listen before condemning. Similarly, I have come to know the same thing: Don’t judge too quickly, those I may rush to judge may be ushering God’s kingdom far better than I have been doing.

As Valentine's draws closer, some are eagerly anticipating the festival of love. For singles, maybe not so, sad they don’t have somebody to love and forced to listen to all types of commercialization of Valentine's including Valentine’s offers for items that haven't even the slightest connection to love i.e. generators, washing detergent, shoe polish!! Trust Kenyans to be creative under the guise of Valentine's! As I have come to learn only  few days ago, I have been single for so long, I no longer consider it a status, but a job. After all, I have worked at it diligently, in the process acquiring loads of experience spanning more than the usual 5 or 10 years for job applications till it’s not even funny. The only thing left is a salary. Will I be sad that I don’t have a special someone? No! Not that much. Okay maybe just a little. You know once you get into the full time job of singlehood, with its glorious perks like doing things solo! Who would want to quit? Yeah right!  Honestly, sometimes, like Willy Paul, I look around at couples and cry out , "Where is she, Lord?" Thankfully, the grace of God is sufficient to sustain me during this period of singleness and help me embrace it. His grace has actually made me appreciate the many other blessings God has lavished me with as well as cultivate the need to work on myself  for the benefit of my future-significant other. Watch this space. When God permits, I will quit singleness like a boss!!!

As much as the focus will be on couples this Valentine's, I'm happy for them by the way, there is one person who needs the love of a Christian more than anybody else during this time; a fellow Christian in a tough mission field.  As Jesus said in John 13:34-35, “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love another. All men will know that you are my disciples if you love one another.” How can you love them then? Simple, by not judging your fellow Christian too quickly.