….its a virtue

PATIENCE IS A VIRTUE NOT A VICE 

Joshua 14:10 ¹⁰ And now, behold, the Lord has kept me alive, as He said, these forty-five years, ever since the Lord spoke this word to Moses while Israel ^[b]wandered in the wilderness; and now, here I am this day, eighty-five years old.

2 Samuel 5:4  David was thirty years old when he began to reign, and he reigned forty years.

Isaiah 55:8“For My thoughts are not your thoughts,
Nor are your ways My ways,” says the Lord.

Patience is a desirable trait that is elusive even to the best of us. Premature gratification is the order of the day, what with instant coffees, instant noodles etc..our generation wants stuff immediately. Better man than me failed because they lacked this quality, talk about the first King of Israel Saul who could not wait for Samuel to arrive and offer the sacrifice, need I mention Hananiah who disagreed with Jeremiah’s prophecy of 70yrs in slavery in Babylon. This morning I placed myself in Abraham’s shoes soon after receiving word from God that I will be the father of many nations and deciding to share my good tidings with my nephew Lot. Imagine the ridicule and jokes that would have been made at my expense as years , became decades with no child in sight  even one out of wedlock. I believe being Abraham I would begin to question whether I had heard from God truly or I was a schizophrenic, I would become disillusioned and bitter. Patience and faith are conjoint twins, you cannot have one without the other and its particularly important to us brethren considering to our maker a day is like a 1000yrs and vice versa ,you will abandon the faith without it. The reason most of us are rush and lack the ability to wait on God is because we think God behaves like us , forgetting that he sees things differently , he has a clearer view of our lives than we do . In fact we might have a brain herniation if we tried to fit God’s thoughts into our cortices , we cant fathom or comprehend how he plans  or works but thankfully Jeremiah preempted our worries and told us that what ever God plans its for our good. Caleb was quite young when God gave him a word but it took 45yrs for the word to bear fruit..imagine how it might have felt all those years barren but having already received a word. Being shown a vision does not translate to gratification, it might take time…even David had to wait, anointed king at 17 but 10yrs later he was living in the wilderness not in the palace. Dont let you current position make you doubt the word God spoke over your life just remember the patriarchs who preceded you who were patient and reaped a thousandfold. Stay blessed and listen to Bill

 

Advertisements

…yes its possible

Joshua 7: 3-4   And they returned to Joshua and said to him, “Do not let all the people go up, but let about two or three thousand men go up and attack Ai. Do not weary all the people there, for the people of Ai are few.” ⁴ So about three thousand men went up there from the people, but they fled before the men of Ai. 

 

1 Samuel 4: 3 & 10-11  So the Philistines fought, and Israel was ^[d]defeated, and every man fled to his tent. There was a very great slaughter, and there fell of Israel thirty thousand foot soldiers. ¹¹ Also the ark of God was captured; and the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, died.

2 Corinthians 12: 7-10 And lest I should be exalted above measure by the abundance of the revelations, a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan to ^[b]buffet me, lest I be exalted above measure. ⁸ Concerning this thing I pleaded with the Lord three times that it might depart from me. ⁹ And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.

TO LOSE OR TO FAIL DESPITE BEING BORN AGAIN AND SPIRIT FILLED.

The above is a continuation of my title , yes its possible and before you get all worked up and start shouting heresy give me time to plead my case. Today I am going against the tide and have to warn you that today’s message is not meant to make you feel good its not a motivational talk but a sober one I think. I believe its possible for a born again’s business to go bankrupt and also that believers get sick  sometimes or that their plans dont always come through. I believe today’s ministers are packaging the gospel wrongly to the populous , no wonder we have so many bitter and disgruntled Christians in our midst ,  because they were  promised a rosy journey by those who ministered to them first instead of a rosy ending, an expected ending as God tells Jeremiah. As much as you can do all things through Christ remember also that we prepare for the battle but the final outcome belongs to God. At some point the children of Israel were losing in battle and they thought bringing the ark into the battlefield will tilt the tide to their side but the Bible tells us they lost and even worse the ark was captured. The ark represented the dwelling place of God, or the essence of God so imagine losing whilst he is among-st them. Lest I be accused of basing my argument on one scripture, allow me to bring your focus on Joshua for a minute. The man whom God told no man will stand before him and he ended up getting a hiding from the people of Ai. Of course many factors were involved but it doesn’t take away the point that Israel lost, the chosen ones of God. The Apostle Paul is responsible for two thirds of the new testament but even him got an ailment that he asked God to heal three times and got nothing. They are many instances in scripture which supports my hypothesis but the loss or failure should not make one doubt God’s abilities…but rather someone should believe in the expected ending and that all things including those we recognize as failures will work together for our good. His thoughts and his ways are higher and different form ours, he sees things differently but its always for your good.  Stay blessed.

Whats in a brand..?

Ephesians 4: 1 I, therefore, the prisoner ^[a]of the Lord, ^[b]beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called,

Acts 11: 26  ⁶ And when he had found him, he brought him to Antioch. So it was that for a whole year they assembled with the church and taught a great many people. And the disciples were first called Christians in Antioch.

 

No one understands branding more than a kid born in Zimbabwe , for we grew up under the impression that toothpaste was Colgate and geisha was the only bathing soap. No one bats an eyelid when someone sends them to buy them mazowe and you bring them Quench because to us mazowe is a drink we dilute . The above statements illustrate the power and effects of brands but what differentiates one product from the other, why does one thing sell and the other doesn’t..whats the pull. On Saturday as I was driving to work I had an epiphany  and understood branding, I passed a certain service station which was selling fuel and they was no queue only to find 10 cars in a queue at a  total garage 100 meters away and was amazed. I searched around for a good definition of  a brand and below is the one I liked, a brand is a unique design, sign ,symbol, words or a combination of these employed in creating an image that identifies a product and differentiates it from the rest. Christianity is a brand which has been franchised to us to use as we traverse the earth but unfortunately for some of us the privileges will be revoked soon. A few years ago Rainbow towers was known as Sheraton hotel but due to depreciating  standards the Sheraton brand could no longer associate with the hotel. They are certain expectations and standards that are pegged to any brand, no wonder Paul tells the people in Ephesus to be wary of the brand of Christ they carry and walk worthy of it lest they bring it to disrepute. I would like to believe the people of Antioch saw the mannerisms of the disciples there to be similar to a brand they knew before ..Christ.. and decided to associate this new breed with it and called them Christians. I beseech you brothers and sisters to be circumspect in our walk with Christ and always be conscious of the fact that we franchised a unique and effective brand and try to abide by the standards that were set by the founder of the brand  when he walked the earth…. the world is comparing brands beloveds , make them choose ours.

 

A logo doesn’t sell directly , it identifies . -Paul Rand

…after God’s own heart part 1

 

 

 

ACTS 13:22 And when He had removed him, He raised up for them David as king, to whom also He gave testimony and said, ‘I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after My own heart, who will do all My will.’

2KINGS 3:15 But now bring me a musician.”Then it happened, when the musician played, that the hand of the Lord came upon him.

Last month I had the privilege to listen to various preachers and teachers of the law rightfully dividing and dissecting the above scripture to try and make it easier for us to understand what it means to pursue the heart of God and why David is the poster child of someone who sought and found the heart of God. But If they was one man who would have been grieved if he had heard God telling Samuel that he had found David the son of Jesse to be a man after his own heart it would have been Saul and I would have probably taken his side too considering the alternative is to side with a murderer and adulterer. What is it then that distinguished David from his predecessor , since we have already proven that he too wasn’t a righteous man. David beloveds was a man of worship, scripture tells us that he was so talented with harp such that demons fled  when he played not these singers who now play to get applause from people, true worship changes the heart and mindset of those listening. If we worshiped right altar calls would become obsolete because people will be delivered during praise and worship as David used to do for Saul. You need to raise your voice with such dedication and completeness until your worship is one with angels in heaven. Not only was David a great player but an inspired composer too ,  the book of psalms is a living testament to his prowess and dedication to writing songs that gave praise to the father. I believe worshipers are closer to God than any other group of ministry in the body of Christ, because worship  brings down the heaviness of God , case in point is the above scripture whereby Elisha says bring me a musician before he got a word of knowledge from God meaning singing provokes God if done right. They is something about a man who worships God earnestly  that elevates him above his peers , scripture tells us that King Hezekiah extended his life by telling God the grave can not praise you ie how much God loves worship. So brothers and sisters one thing we get and learn from the life of David is that we should be worshipers if indeed we also want to be men after God’s heart…everywhere we are at any time of the day we should be people of praise and only thus can we get the heart / mind of God

Stay blessed

 

….. ..pluck out my eye

1John 2: 16 ¹⁶ For all that is in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not of the Father but is of the world.

Gen 3: 6 So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate.

Matt 5:29 ²⁹ If your right eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and cast it from you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell.

A lot has been written about the eyes being the windows of the soul but today I will go against the tide, Instead of categorizing eyes as revealers of what is in our souls I will categorize them as gateways to the soul of a person with the responsibility to make one pure or evil. What we see is kept in our subconscious mind more often than not and with repeated exposure may become part of our being and character , infarct most sins can be traced back to eyesight. Remember the woman in the garden saw that the fruit was good and desired it and similarly in today’s world all the stealing , rape , jealousy and strife is because of what the eye sees and evokes desire in the mind. Better the world would have been if only men  were blind, talk about small houses , incest and any of the seven deadly sins and you will find out that their root cause was eyesight. That is how sin got into the world in the beginning and that is still how the devil traps us in this day and age. Remember how Jesus was taken to the top of the mountain and shown the world if only he could bow down to the devil. The devil understood what emotions can be evoked just by looking, no wonder they is an influx of porn sites on the internet so as to stimulate young minds at a tender age to indulge. Why else do you think kids are indulging at a younger age if not due to repeated exposure to porn. Even designers of clothes are aware of this fact that is why clothes are becoming tighter and shorter and you question why Paul spake of modest apparel for christian women , he knew that what the eye repeatedly saw it will want eventually.  Lest some of you be confused by the last verse I quoted , I am not looking for zealots to pluck of their eyes so as to remain sin free but I’m simply looking for smart Christians who mind what they see lest what they see leads them to temptation .. so be on guard beloveds such a small organ as the eye may be your undoing..*stay blessed*

….the pride of life

1John 2: 16  For all that is in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not of the Father but is of the world.

Gen 3: 6 So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate.

Proverbs 16:18 Pride goes before destruction, And a haughty spirit before a fall.

“When you are as great as I am it is very difficult to be humble..” The preceding statement is attributed to Mohamed Ali , one of the greatest boxers to have ever lived and it perfectly illustrates each and everyone’s attitude when success catches up with them. Rather as Christians we should aspire to be more humble the higher we are elevated , why don’t we emulate the forms of address for the clergy in the catholic sect. It seems the higher you are up the order the more reverend you are assumed to be of God not the more you get adulation from peers and followers. At the bottom is the reverend who is in charge a parish , then comes the venerable vicar-general, then the very reverend dean , the right reverend bishop and lastly the most reverend archbishop. As it is in that order so should it be in our lives , success and riches should make us more reverent of the Almighty . But I have to admit that at times it’s not our fault but that of the people around us who continuously find a need to praise and uplift us …remember John refusing to baptize Jesus that day or Peter trying to deny Jesus the opportunity to wash his feet. It is for this reason that the tree with the forbidden fruits was placed in the midst of the garden so that as Adam ruled and subdued other creatures he will always be reminded they is one who is above him. So anytime you start thinking more highly of yourself than you ought to remember the tree. The Bible says when Eve saw that the tree could make them as wise as God she desired it and to be fair to her though who wouldn’t , after all she is not  the first Lucifer tried it before hand , but that is one habit we should learn to cub from our lives… the need to be seen , it’s no wonder many volunteer to preach or to sing but no one shows up for cleaning..we all crave attention instead of being beacons which point to the one who deserves the attention. Before your children went to varsity you brought them for prayers to the priest but now that he has graduated no prayer @ his party you are busy showing people his accolades only. How different are you from Hezekiah who after being healed by God did not show those who came to visit him the clock which God had pushed back nor his body which was nor disease free but rather showed them weapons and stuff as if those where the ones which fought of his illness. Brothers and sisters  in whatever field you are in allow me to remind you of that guy who used to get better grades than you in school but is not a doctor or that pretty girl who is still single and not married or those families breaking apart because of barrenness … all you have is because of  God give him his due , pride cometh before a fall. LUKE 4:25-27  But I tell you truly, many widows were in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the heaven was shut up three years and six months, and there was a great famine throughout all the land; ²⁶ but to none of them was Elijah sent except to Zarephath,^[m] in the region of Sidon, to a woman who was a widow. ²⁷ And many lepers were in Israel in the time of Elisha the prophet, and none of them was cleansed except Naaman the Syrian.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

…marital bliss…

John 19:34 ³⁴ But one of the soldiers pierced His side with a spear, and immediately blood and water came out

Gen 2:21  And the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall on Adam, and he slept; and He took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh in its place.

Mark 10:9 Therefore what God has joined together, let not man separate.

“till death do us apart is a long time ” and any self respecting catholic would tell you marriage is one of the sacred sacraments and should be entered into with reverence and trembling. Together with beavers, wolves and eagles..Christians mate for life .I remember with awe the day Christ married us on that cross..mimicking what Yahweh had done in the beginning he we came from his rib after the soldiers had pierced it with a spear to verify that he had passed not knowing they where facilitating the birth of the bride from the rib. For some like Mary and the chosen 12 it was a day of sorrow and mourning but for me it was my wedding day and deserved to be marked with jubilation food and drink. I entered into the union with my eyes opened , I was not bribed or tricked ..I am aware of my role in this marriage which is total submittance to Christ who is the head knowing fool well I have his unchanging , unquestionable and unquenchable love. I am secure in my marital bliss beloveds , I hear of divorces , spousal abuse negligence from neighbors who knew not who to marry. My union has been bliss from day one , they talk about the “honeymoon phase” as if its something transient but I seem to have been in it from day one. Nothing separates me from his love , be it famine, pestilence or death ..I am his everything , his love for me you can not comprehend ..its depth , width and height can not be measured at all and I am secure in it. In my shortcomings ,failures and weakness he is with me..if I walk in the waters they wont overflow me nor does the fire burn me. I am not afraid of the terror by night nor of the arrow that flies by noonday because I know he is beside me. I pity those who chose their spouses wrongly for I am in bliss and they is still room

Rev 3:20²⁰ Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me

 

..close call

Job 14 : 1 “Man who is born of woman . Is of few days and full of trouble.

Ecclesiastes 12: 1 Remember now your Creator in the days of your youth, Before the difficult days come, And the years draw near when you say, “I have no pleasure in them”:

Psalm 90:12 So teach us to number our days, That we may gain a heart of wisdom.

 

“The gods envy us. They envy us because we’re mortal, because any moment may be our last. Everything is more beautiful because we’re doomed. You will never be lovelier than you are now. We will never be here again.”

I decided to start by a quote from one of my all time favorite movies Troy so as to bring things into perspective. I don’t know how many of us believe the breath they have just taken might be their last or that the friend they have just finished talking to on Skype ..that might be the last time. On the contrary most of us live and plan as if we will be here for centuries, forgetting that we are pilgrims residing in these tents we call our bodies whilst awaiting our actual bodies in heaven our home. Many a times a near death experience is required to sober us up and make us contemplate about another life besides this one. Indulge me for a second as I narrate to you a true story of what transpired two days before the new year as I made my way to Harare in a car I had hiked in Bulawayo contrary to what I usually do which is book a seat on one of the luxury coaches available. To all accounts and purposes it was a normal ride , we were not speeding neither were we moving slow….we were just fine for most of the journey until my designated chauffeur decided to overtake 2 haulage trucks at one go. Granted I would have done the same considering we were now driving at a tortoise pace because of them..but in this case the God’s had probably turned away from us because as soon as we overtook the first truck and traveling at an astounding 140km/hr a car began approaching from the opposite lane and as my driver tried to return to his lane the truck we had overtaken thought it prudent to accelerate at that point and occupy what little space we could enter and we ended up being trapped between a rock and a hard place. I could see the approaching car, its horn blaring and already imagined what my eulogy would be like but luckily the driver of the approaching car had a heart and drove to the side and passed us amicably. Two more cars came and did the same thing nearly causing a myocardial infarction to us the passengers until my driver recovered his sanity and came back to our lane..that brothers could have been it for me. From that day I now appreciate that I have one chance and one opportunity at having a go at this life.. no nine lives for me or you.. I mean to get the most fun from this life but forever mindful that I will be answerable for my actions to the creator at the end . I pray that God may teach you and me to number our days that we may gain a heart of wisdom..Amen !!

…I am a wealthy man…my testimony

Revelations 12:11  And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death.

Wealth is a very difficult word to define because it means different things to different cultures, religions and individuals.Its one word that truly brings to life the phrase “one man’s meat is another s poison.” The oxford dictionary defines wealth as  an abundance of possessions or money whilst the Bible talks about storing up wealth were rust and moth cannot touch it. The word wealth comes from the Middle English word welthe, from well or weal, on the pattern of health , implying wealth has to do with healt . I will not want to venture a definition of myself of what I consider to be true wealth but I believe after reading this snippet of my testimonial you will get a gist of my definition. Wealth has to do with influence and who you know , the more people you know the wealthier you are which is one of the reasons I never miss the chance to make new friends and acquaintances . So im a dentist by profession and as you well know the equipment we use is expensive and students are not spared but because of my wealth I was spared the turmoil. Upon being told the price of a single hand-pierce inquired from a friend and dentist whom I fellow-shipped with if he had old ones he no longer used because the prices where too steep for me but lo and behold he bought me a new one to use just because of the friendship we shared and common faith. As if that was not enough one of my seniors who had just finished her exams decided to leave her complete set with me so I ended up with an excess of requirements and gave to those who didn’t have. But I truly appreciated that true wealth is in who you know when @ the end of my 3rd year my dad retired and the economy took a nose dive. My mom called me and said she had no money to pay my tuition and advised me to see what I can do …imagine being told that and you had no source of income to talk of.  Predictably I called one of my high school classmates seeking links with any organization that offered scholarships and he ended up saying he will pay by tuition and board until im done… If that alone doesn’t make you kneel down and repent then you are a heartless man. That day I understood the magnificence and power of my God and began to appreciate that true wealth is in the friendships we form…the people whose lives we touch….remember Dorcas ..they is no known cure for death but because she was a wealthy woman they spoke up for her to Jesus and she was brought back to life. I may go on all day citing examples in my life and in other people’s lives but my point is beloveds instead a walking around smug and arrogant looking down on people lets be making connections, building relationships as the psalmist says in psalm 133Behold, how good and how pleasant it is For brethren to dwell together in unity! then you will know true wealth…God bless you all and get connected.

….levels

Matthew 8: 8  The centurion answered and said, “Lord, I am not worthy that You should come under my roof. But only speak a word, and my servant will be healed.

Mark 5:23 and begged Him earnestly, saying, “My little daughter lies at the point of death. Come and lay Your hands on her, that she may be healed, and she will live

Mark 5 :28  For she said, “If only I may touch His clothes, I shall be made well.”

Greetings beloveds in Christ , after constant meditation on the above scriptures I came to the conclusion that as much as we are of one faith or belief in God’s abilities is different and mostly influenced by our knowledge of him. Three people received deliverance from Jesus but I would like to believe they each expressed different amounts of faith and trust. The Jewish leader Jairus spoke as most of us do and expressed what I would like to call beginners or common men type of faith. This is when a believer accepts healing only through the touch of the hand of the man of God ie. when you hear people insisting that the pastor should visit them in hospital and physically lay his hand on them that they might be healed.  It works in a way as illustrated above but I also believe they is a certain downsizing to the ability and power of God , its as if we are making comparisons between him an electricity which requires a medium of conduit to be effective and it limits those whom can receive their miracles. An extension of the beginners kind of faith is that which was expressed in the book of Acts whereby handkerchiefs and shadows of the apostles were used in ministering healing. The above is just a step above that expressed by Jairus and is shown by those still drinking milk. Allow me to take away your attention from Jairus and his sick daughter for a bit and focus you on a woman who was part of the audience that heard Jairus make his plea to the Lord. She was on a different level to Jairus and just figured touching God in itself ministered healing and likewise it did. Her focus was not on the power in the hands of the man of God but rather her trust and belief in the God he worked for she was proactive. This is where most young men and women derive their desire to serve their pastors be it as drivers or ushers because they believe touch the briefcase of an anointed man directly imparts them as well..ps.remember the dead man who fell on the bones of Elisha(just saying). Without digressing further let me go to the epitome and mother of all faith levels which Jesus even marveled @ , the one whereby you take the Lord at his word and say only your word will do Lord I don’t care what the economic analysts are saying or the unemployment rate in the papers your word has my miracles. May it be the prayer of every believer today to be word based and scripture oriented. May God increase our belief and confidence in his word and be like Peter who said I might not have caught any fish by my effort but because you spoke , because I read it in scripture its yes and Amen.