Park the Bus

Photo Credit: Sky Sports

" We won the tie in Barcelona, but everyone talks about Barcelona winning and says we parked the bus in front of the goal. We didn't park the bus, we parked the airplane and we did it for two reasons. One, because we only had 10 men and two, because we beat them 3-1 at the San Siro, not by parking the bus, or the boat, or the airplane, but by smashing them at the San Siro."

That was typical Jose Mourinho, on the back of a dogged, resilient defensive performance by Inter Milan to eliminate Barcelona at the semi-final stages of the 2009/10 Champions League season. Critics came out in full force to condemn Mourinho and Inter's defensive approach to the game and the current united manager, in bullish fashion, delivered a fitting riposte to them. In truth, who could blame him? 3-1 up, playing with only 10 men, away, against Barcelona with more than a hour of normal time to play, playing any other way would spell doom.

Instead,  He made Inter park the bus, which is to play with a lot of men behind the ball, limit spaces at the back and defend like your lives depended on it. His tactic worked like a charm. Despite relentless pressure, Barca labored to break Inter down, the normally effervescent Messi was kept quiet, and although Pique managed to score in the last ten minutes, Inter would lose only one-nil on the night but win 3-2 on aggregate. Organized defense triumphed over phenomenal offense.

Not for the first time has this worked and neither will it be for the last time  as Mourinho proved again against Liverpool, this time as manager of Manutd. The 0-0 draw at Anfield was largely in part to United parking the bus against Liverpool, with the hosts struggling to carve out clear chances. The plan was basically the same against Chelsea, although after only 30 seconds, the plan blew up in Mourinho's face and failed even more spectacularly over the course of game as Chelsea cruised to a 4-0 drubbing of United. Perhaps parking the bus against a team also known to park the bus has a cancelling effect of the strategy; this could explain why Smalling and co's defending was so shambolic. Generally though, it is an effective strategy, and one Christians would also be wise to deploy when coming against the devil, principalities or people keen to attack their faith.

It is no secret that as Christ seeks to establish his heavenly kingdom, the forces of evil are working around the clock to counter it. They will stop at nothing to disrupt the advancement of his kingdom and this spells imminent danger for the evangelical, disciple-making, righteous, God-loving christian.

The christian must be prepared to erect a strong line of defense, he/she must be willing to park the bus at all cost, because the enemy is on the prowl, ready to attack and he doesn't play fair. Matter of fact, he has a broad arsenal of weaponry to chose from,  a diverse range of strategies to deploy and if we aren't on our guard, we will be on the losing end pure and simple.

All it takes is a momentary lapse in concentration, negligence in one single moment and you're defense line is breached(just ask Chris Smalling). The late Jim Rohn astutely stated that everything affects everything else, just the smallest neglect of a discipline, and you have started an infection, insidiously it becomes a disease ravaging your soul where you have lost the said discipline with it a crucial part of your identity.

It applies to the christian this way, on one Sunday you decide to skip church on a whim, suddenly you're skipping it for a couple of Sundays, soon you're not going to church at all. Decide to skip having a devotional in the morning in favor of reaching the office on time, soon your quite time becomes thrice every week, instead of the whole week, in the end, it becomes difficult to read your bible more than once a month in the morning.

Just a small lapse, just a small compromise and your consistency goes.  One stare at her body, one look at the raunchy video, one night of passion, one drink too many and you give the Devil a foothold to enslave you to lust, porn, sexual promiscuity, drunkenness. It always starts small. It always starts simple and then he has you hook, line and sinker.

Parking the bus, on a football pitch requires that you curb your natural attacking instincts and line up in defensive tactics. Same thing with the Christian faith. Parking the bus will sometimes require you to repress your natural tendency to focus on your self and your body's desire. Repressing your desire to ogle, to drink, to have sex. This may mean suppressing your desire to live for yourself, to focus just on advancing your career. Parking the bus, to defend your relationship with Jesus may mean saying no to a host of opportunities if those opportunities amount to you being unavailable to serve God, or to fellowship with other believers.


Naturally, we want to be secure, we want to lead a comfortable life but if attempting to secure a comfortable life means saying no to the calling Jesus has for you, no to serving the body of Christ, no to fellowship with other believers, no to using your talents, spiritual gifts and your unique personality to build up the body of Christ; then your defense line is highly vulnerable to an attack that will prevent you from experiencing a deeper intimacy with God. Evil will just use his strategy of distraction, keep you busy on your interests and divert your attention from focusing on God's interests, in the end making you a luke-warm believer or causing you to gradually drift completely away from the faith.

In the book, Mere Christianity, C.S. Lewis describes how Satan can allow you to experience victory over a temptation if doing so allows you to fall into a subtle but greater temptation or bondage. Busyness, the corporate world  does just that. You may not be involved in drunkenness or sexual promiscuity or a double life as you were before but it's even better for the devil, if you're now not serving God, if you're now not witnessing, if you're now never available for fellowship, if you now never have quiet time with God. Why? Because slowly your fellowship and closeness to God through these activities dwindles, and soon, he has you isolated, and weak to submit to him in any way of his choosing.

Isolation leaves you open, therefore parking the bus will demand the opposite and require you to be involved in community. God, made man a social being, it is not good for man to be alone was not just the context for a wife, but the need for a friend, the need for community, the need to do life with somebody,which is especially true for the Christian life. This life of faith requires community, accepting Christ as one's Lord and savior inculcates one into a body of other believers and it is imperative to stay in that body.

Parking the bus, means having a strong emphasis towards fellowship. Fellowship not just being about going to church but also being active in a small group of Christians whom you study God's word with and encourage one other in your walks of faith. The defensive line formed by a group of Christians against evil is much stronger than one put up against a solitary Christian. Therefore, seek fellowship, go to church regularly and enjoy the fellowship of other believers. Be in a small group and share burdens and encouragement, aside from God's word. Have an accountability partner, to whom you should share your progress with Christ and also your stumbling so that you can muster strength to pick yourself up and start again when you fall. Alone, you will just crumble into shame and self-condemnation and the devil will have a field day accusing you primarily by magnifying your deficiencies. Park the bus by being in community and he will have a hard time breaking you down.

Parking the bus is not an option, it's a necessity. Working out your faith with fear and trembling demands it. Scripture's guide to parking the bus comes in the form of Ephesians 6:13-18 which gives us our weaponry to park the bus and stand our ground when evil comes knocking. Starting from the top is the helmet of salvation.

Evil will try to attack your head or mind, and accuse you the moment you slip back to that dreaded old habit, the moment you fall into temptation, he will be filling your mind with doubt, accusing your status as God's child. The helmet of salvation is your defense, salvation is putting your faith and trust in Jesus as the only one capable of saving you from sin, forgiving you for it, reconciling you to God as a result. A genuine confession and acceptance of this from the heart, declared by mouth and action through willful submission to the Lordship of Christ is your helmet and it is a robust foundation even if you fall from time to time. As the parable of the prodigal son exemplified, distancing yourself from God by indulging in sin doesn't change your status as his child, it doesn't take away your salvation as evil tries to convince you it has. Therefore, park the bus with the helmet of salvation and be confident in God completing the work he started in you regardless of the Devil saying otherwise.

The crux of our spirituality is our hearts, and so they need a lot of protection. Think of the heart as a computer, a reservoir of data. Think of media, books, people like friends, family being flash disks. It''s hard to think of someone as a flash disk but kindly, work with me here!!! Sometimes flash disks have viruses, sometimes books, media, people carry with them virus-like philosophies, themes, convictions, like bitterness, hatred, profanity, and the like, once they plug in into your heart, in with the bad stuff making your heart corrupt, bitter, perverse.  A corrupt, bitter,  perverse, unforgiving heart will spew out corruption, hatred, vengeance, bitterness and perversion in thoughts and actions. The breastplate of righteousness parks the bus by choosing to do right regularly and  doing right with the help of the Holy Spirit. This may mean limiting contact or access with some people, TV programs, songs e.tc. It may also mean just doing righteous acts- offering help to someone, refusing a kick-back, or a one-night stand, giving to the poor, volunteering at a children's home. Since an action is immanent, meaning as much as you do it externally, it kind of stays with you, and remains internally as a memory. That memory of the action of good, of right is stored withing your heart, the more righteous things you do and choose, the more it is in your heart, the less space for evil and it also enhances your capacity to chose to do righteousness even amidst heavy opposition in the future.

The belt of truth, God's word, God's promises, give you the stability to stand firm amidst shaking principles, relativism and fluctuating emotions, or feelings, especially fluctuating feelings. Our feelings  sometimes get the better of us, and out of hurt, anger, jealousy, envy, lust, we end up doing things we later regret. When we park the bus basing our confidence on truth, we are able to demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself against the knowledge of God(2 Corinthians 10:5) We are able to prevent evil from swaying us with lies, because of the truth of God's assurances to us.

The shield of faith is our defense against his lies, and works with the belt of truth. An unwavering belief that God is able to do what he promised, a belief in the things he has promised for you, like a job opportunity, a spouse,a house will prevent you from falling to the evil arrows of lies thrown by the evil one, telling you that the only to get these blessings is by compromise.

The sword of the spirit, may be used for attack, but it is also handy in defending when fending off thrusts from the evil. God's word is strong, living and active, (Hebrews 4:12) coming to life at the exact moment you're in need of it when facing doubt and is useful for every good work(2 Timothy 3:16-17). It is the sure and trusted weapon of defense so read, it, meditate on it, memorize it and the devil will just keep firing blanks because of the impenetrable wall of defense based on God's word.

At the bottom, we have feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. What better defense from being consumed by this world than by being eager and rushing to share this gospel of peace. One rushing to advance God's kingdom and usher in eternity will be able to withstand the devil's desire to preoccupy his mind with just living for the here and now.

Last but definitely not least of all, occasions. pray. Pray thanking him for the good. Pray when you need help, Pray for wisdom, pray for courage, pray for healing, pray for self-control.Pray when you're sick. pray when you're healed. Pray for a friends salvation. Pray for more people to know Christ. Pray for God's grace and mercy to bounce off you to others when you're struggling to love them as Christ loved you. Pray even when the cancer doesn't get healed. Pray even when the previous prayers aren't been answered to your liking. Pray for someone who hasn't forgiven you. Pray for those who ill-treat you  Prayer is not just praying to get things, it is pouring your heart to God and when you speak to him, he speaks back, not always as you would like but he speaks back all the same, and that's important, because you need his word and you also need his peace which besides transcending understanding, makes it incredibly difficult for evil to shake your confidence in |God.

Barcelona. complained of anti-football tactics, pundits say Mourinho ruins the game as a spectacle with these negative football.the bottom line is that Inter won on aggregate, the bottom line is that we win our fight against the devil and the other principalities  even if it means parking the bus at times and in doing it and looking boring to the outside world because our treasure is our faith, and it must be guarded at all costs from the thief.

CAT-ECHISM

Photo Credit: www.esarcasm.com

Experience has always been known to be a good teacher, nature, in my opinion, makes a worthwhile substitute. Ants teach us hard work, dogs teach us about loyalty, eagles teach us about the painful yet necessary cost of renewal, then there's my dear cat, Mystique. Mystique has been an integral part of the Minishi household since as far as I can remember, which is 2003. That would make her around 13 years old at the very least, she is a teenager, perhaps this could explain why these days she just starts howling spontaneously craving for attention.

Mystique was not named after the shape-shifting X-men character, if she did possess shape-shifting powers, me and brother would be in serious trouble. I shudder to think what retribution she would serve us for the way, shall we say, 'mishandled' her in the past. She is Mystique, because she is a mysterious cat whose whereabouts before the Minishi household shall forever be shrouded in mystery. Mysterious she may be, but in all those years she has been with us, I have drawn some vital lessons from my life with Jesus just by observing the life of our 4-legged family member.

As scarcely believable as it sounds, it's true. Matter of fact, here are 5 lessons my cat has taught me about my walk with God;


1. Food is a big deal

Our beloved cat is very particular when it comes to food. She likes Whiskas or Go Cat cereal in meat flavors like rabbit, beef, veal, chicken. She likes cat jelly like FELIX- Purina as well. In spite of the pack or can containing chunks of cat food with the jelly, she opts to slurp up the jelly and leave us with chunks of jelly because she is a kind-hearted soul who loves to share her food.

She loves lungs, yes you heard me lungs,  they are her favorite and mean that  I have to go to Kawangware every once in a while to buy them for her from the Butchers who sell matumbo. Try feed her cereal with a vegetable flavor or fish flavor, omena, ugali, chapati, bread and she will give you that cold icy stare of  "seriously, seriously, chapati, seriously, smh." Before, she  sashays  away thinking how her human masters just wasted 10 seconds of her precious cat life.

When she does get her food, she is not the kind to chomp it down in a minute, unless it's lungs or she's ravenously hungry; she normally eats in installments.

Mystique taught me that my spiritual food is a big deal. I should dig in with relish the same way she does, not just the 1 spiritual, happy meal of Sunday, but in installments, day by day, a chapter of scripture in addition to my Daily Bread devotional.

I'm also allowed to be choosy. I'm not compelled to consume whatever the media or contemporary culture feeds me in terms of fads. I must chose my music, movies, television viewing, philosophies, not everything I see is palatable for my spirit. Brazenly, I slurp the soup in music or movies I consider not bad which are mostly animation flicks and then leave out chunks which everyone sees as the main meal like Game of Thrones for example.


2. The door will be opened

Our cat will sit close to a door intently fixing her gaze on the door knob. This is not to say our cat wields extra-ordinary tele-kinetic powers but she trusts that the door will be opened for her. She has an unwavering conviction that simpleton Ken will notice her desperate telepathic pleas for the door to be opened and I will very much oblige.

At times she may let out a cry or a whimper, but rarely. she has taught me that I have to possess a similar, unwavering trust in God to open doors. I need to be still and in due time, he will open the door of a job, open the door of a healing, open the door of a relationship amongst other doors.



3. Some people will think you've lost it

Mystique has the curious habit of 'being in the moment' at times. Unfortunately for us, there is no preview to this state of being, it just happens.

During this period, our cat loses all sense of dignified calmness and scampers across the room like a lunatic.

Her dilated pupils, coupled with the intense look in her eyes paint the picture of a deranged cat. She looks left, dashes to the corner. Takes a breather, scurries off to the opposite side of the room, as the sound of her claws scratching across the wooden floor punctuate the air. Sometimes she tries to catch her tail, attempting in vain to bite it. One would be forgiven for thinking that our cat has lost the plot. Sometimes I think it to be the case, but for the most part, I realize Mystique is just being Mystique and she's not crazy regardless of what people think.

People might think me a fool/lunatic for believing in a God I can't see. People may find me weird or crazy for opting not to compromise on my integrity because I'm trying to practice what Jesus said and did. People may see me as insane for choosing not to follow the crowd. I know who I am, I'm not crazy, my identity is in Christ, not in my looks,  possessions or a job. I'm not insane, it's just that my love for Jesus makes me do things which appear insane to an unbelieving world and I get it. I will just keep on, no matter what people think, I'll be in the moment.


4. Cool, calm and collected

Mystique is generally calm under pressure. Well, that's if pressure isn't a another cat(no matter the size) entering her territory or the sound of a water tank pumping water, or when she is hungry, on those occasions she is definitely not calm. Usually, she just has the knack of taking things casually, purring heavily, as she curls herself up on her bed.

The electricity bill is not paid, our water tank is running on empty, the gas is about to finish. Mystique won't care one bit. You will find her just frolicking in the sun or lazing in bed the whole day. She will make you wonder whether having a conscience and the ability to think rationally is way overrated. Looking at her sleep the whole day can have you wishing God made you a cat.

This penchant for staying cool, calm and collected isn't just the preserve of our cat. As a Christian, possessing God's holy Spirit, and committing things to him in prayer, a far greater peace is within my grasp. Colossians 3;15 cites that as members of one body we were called to peace. Christ give us peace that transcends human understanding when we pray to him, focusing not to be anxious about anything, but offering our requests and petitions to him, with thanksgiving.

It's a peace that gives problems a cold shoulder. A peace that doesn't have us running scared or panicky when a job doesn't seem in sight, marriage and life with children looks a far way off or financial stability is just but a distant dream and just getting by is the norm. It's a peace so strong that it is comfortable not placing security in money, a career, a prized possession but is comfortable because of placing one's trust in Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith.(Hebrews 12:2)

"Be still and know that I am God."(Psalms 46:10) You can argue that it's easier said than done, but when the storms of life rage around us, and you know Jesus is in the business of calming storms not necessarily removing them from your life, it's definitely possible to be cool, calm and collected.

5.  I am prone to forget

Ripley's believe it not, take a bow, Mystique has just served us something special.

The setting was the kitchen. Ivan the terrible(I will bestow on the mouse/rat a name befitting for the misery it caused us) was finally reeling from the effects of consuming the rat-poison tablets. Ivan lay still on the floor, in almost plain sight, the poison had ravaged his body so he couldn't escape at will like he did so many times in the past. He was breathing heavily, gasping for air, counting down the days or hours to his demise.

As he lay helpless on the floor, rather curiously, the disdain I had for the pest disappeared. In it's place was pity, pity that Ivan had to depart from this world in such an undignified manner. Feeling woiyee for the rat, and not having the guts to put him out of his misery, I did what only any sane human being would do; I summoned Mystique, the undertaker, to carry out the execution.

Since I have never been a fan of horror flicks, I was naturally apprehensive about the blood spilling that was sure to follow. I tried to contemplate what would be Mystique's method of choice, would it be strangulation? Would she slowly torture Ivan  to death or would she give him one of those fatal feline jabs like those ones Simba gave Scar(Scar, that's what you get for killing Mufasa). As our cat sauntered into the kitchen after I coaxed it out of it's sleep, you could feel the tension, the room was on a knife's edge as I looked on waiting for it all to unravel.

Then Mystique did the unthinkable. After I directed her to Ivan( she didn't even pick up his scent, smh), she took one glance at the rat, a sniff at him, and then casually walked out of the kitchen to bask in the sun to my utter bemusement.

Dear friends, was Tom and Jerry a sham? Were we so gullible as kids as to believe the lies we were fed by Cartoon Network? Seriously,  when did cats lose interest in rats or mice? Maybe Garfield is based on a true story? There has to be a reason for this!!! Maybe, just maybe, Mystique possesses a conscience so clear that killing  Ivan in the state he was in was sinking to the lowest of lows.  It seemed to her downright pathetic. Perhaps, she strongly believed in a code of honor, ascribing to it so passionately that violating that code for a cheap meal was nothing short of distasteful.

However,  my imagination is large, sometimes larger than life itself. In formulating these far-fetched explanations, I seem to be running away from the obvious truth. Mystique has lost her cat-ness. She has lost her identity as a cat, which is to hunt, stalk and kill vermin. She has forgotten her intrinsic predatory, feline instinct and has become a cultured cat, in dire need of refresher courses on how to be a cat. Although she may bare semblance of a cat; whiskers, paws, tails and all, she doesn't behave like one.

Mystique is not alone in this. Many times I forget my identity as a child of God, heir of God, co-heir with Christ.(Romans 8:17). I forget I have been forgiven of my sin of seeking to be independent from God or my occasional wrong-doing. Instead I opt to wallow in shame and regret over my sin of lust, stalking someone on social media, my lying. I beat myself up for my past mistakes,my failed relationships, my words of hurt to others not realizing my identity as a forgiven child of God for those many mistakes.

Like Mystique, I may look like a child of God, praying, reading God's word, having fellowship with other believers but I may  forget my Christ-ness. I may forget my Christ-ness which is firmly entrenched on the solid foundation of Christ's love, grace and mercy for me, which was made very apparent on the Cross, when he shed his blood for me, eager to reconcile me to his father.

He bridged the gap that my sinful nature and sin had created between me and God, which no amount of righteous living could ever hope to fill by offering himself as a mediator between me and God. I forget because of what Jesus did, God sees Christ in me, perfect and  sinless because with Jesus my sin is cancelled. He doesn't see me as the guy who just lusted at a lady, who has entertained bondage, domination masochism fantasies in his head, who has been pharisaical, cynical towards the growth in other believers' lives but he sees me as his child whom he still loves in spite of his mistakes, his sins and is making him into the likeness of his son day by day.

Like Mystique, I can become cultured. I can tend to focus on building my career, making investments, living just for the here and now and forget I have a God-given calling to love God, to live for him, to live with eternity in mind, to witness his grace, his love and share the gospel. I lose my Christ-ness when I focus on building my own kingdom rather than God's, sashaying away from reaching out to unbelievers, shying away from telling others about Jesus, opting to live the easy life of a job, marriage, kids and retirement.

Yet, despite all this, Jesus is still patient with me, Jesus still graciously gives me job opportunities, health and second chances galore to live for him and his will, to serve him and others by using my spiritual gifts and abilities. I need to get refresher courses of my identity, which the Holy Spirit does a splendid job of teaching. In applying John 14:26, He reminds me of what Jesus said to me through stirring sermons or talks, his word, songs, movies and rebukes from family and friends to get me back on track.

There are plenty of lessons to learn along the way when it comes to this walk of faith. I am thankful to God for showing me some of them through our cat. No-doubt he will show me plenty more through his word, through people, through life and circumstances. For now, like the  student I am, I will learn and hopefully apply these lessons to grow and succeed in my walk with him. Thanks Mystique, class dismissed since you can say the word yourself our dear cat.