….. ..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*

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….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.

….manna

Exodus 16:18-19 And when they measured it by the omer, the one who gathered much did not have too much, and the one who gathered little did not have too little. Everyone had gathered just as much as they needed. Then Moses said to them, “No one is to keep any of it until morning.”

One of the things we can all agree upon is we are sojourners on this earth and the wealth we accumulate we will leave behind for our kin for naked we came to this world and naked we shall depart. Solomon accurately captured the moment when he said all is vanity ..What is today will not still be tomorrow , the world is dynamic and they are no guarantees , everywhere we travel they are stories of wealthy people who now languish in poverty or long-shots who became millionaires . They is no sure way to ascertain your future in this land , after all stock markets crash, strong currencies devalue and gold prices are constantly on a see-saw. This has created a nation of paranoid and nervous individuals who are always in a bid to secure their futures by hook or crook…surprisingly even Christians are uncertain of the future and my only advise to them is how dare you. How many times does God have to hammer into your head that we live by faith and not by sight , we dont rely on the currency of the merchants to survive, as long as we have our heavenly currency FAITH we are good. The above instruction is an amp portrayal of how God wants us to live on a daily basis ; no worries about the future, collect enough for today and go to bed sure that tomorrow again he will do it. We are not being called to hoard money under the mattress , to stock pile basic commodities just because that is whats trending….remember when others were migrating to Egypt because of a famine God told Isaac to sow in that land and he  reaped a thousandfold. Brothers and sisters in spite of what you read in the papers or the supposed fragility of the economy dont you dare worry because you will be diminishing the greatness of my God….because what you leave unsaid is  GOD I DON’T THINK YOU ARE STRONG ENOUGH TO PROVIDE FOR ME IN THIS ECONOMY. If you truly know your God you hear of fear from neighbors and friends for we are guided by what I call the manna principle..his grace is sufficient for us on a day to day basis. So stop worrying and start believing , the same God of Moses is the same God in Zimbabwe or in your life today Alleluia !!!  HE DID IT BEFORE SO HE CAN DO IT AGAIN.

Identity crisis….

Rom 12:2  And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.

Eph 4:14 ⁴ that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting

Ps 11:3 If the foundations are destroyed,What can the righteous do?

“Only the manufacturer of a product can tell us the function of that product.” Man is God’s creation and rightfully only God can tell us why man walk on the face of the earth. The problem with men from the time of Adam to now is that he wants to live independent of his creator, author and finisher and henceforth in the process loses his identity and birthright. No wonder the preacher said in Ecclesiastes I was astonished to see servants on horses whilst princes are on foot. All this is taking place because of loss of identity by the christian community , they mimic the Israelites of old who said to Samuel that they wanted to be like other nations and have a king. They could not appreciate their uniqueness in God and that rather than be like the world they were supposed to show the world how its done.Its becoming difficult to differentiate a believer from a non- believer these days because our actions are the same : they both cheat on their spouses ,  those who work are scheming side deals from their employers & not forgetting the rampant sleeping around amongst the youth. Its only when you notice the sticker on someone’s car which proclaims that they belong to such & such a church that you realize they are saved. Our foundations as Christ-like people was eroded way back through compromise and exciting doctrine which preaches prosperity more than the evil of sin. Most young men are being swayed to pursue miracles rather than Christ because they lack the foundation in the word which is Christ. We have sacrificed our principles on the altar of expediency as a people : but today I encourage those who can to reclaim our inheritance in Christ. We are no different from Esau who sold his birthright because he wanted food, same as us beloveds its our love for money , fame and success that has caused us to forgo our upbringing and become like them. Our identity is in Christ brethren and the manual of how we should function is the word, it has not changed. Remember it is grass which withers and flowers which fade but the word remains true AMEN !

…born to fish

Matthew 4 : 19  Then He said to them, “Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.

WHAT DO YOU WANT TO BE WHEN YOU GROW UP ? ….that my friends is the million dollar question that every child is asked during their formative years in kindergarten and an array of answers usually accompanies the question. Rightfully the teachers tell the toddlers that every answer is correct but two decades later since my kindergarten years I would like to correct those teachers. The above question has a specific answer to it which should be the goal of every living soul on the face of the earth. Brothers and sisters we did not randomly come to exist on the face of the earth nor are we a product of some freak of nature which theorists call the big bang theory but we are offsprings and unique creations of a supreme being and trust me when I tell you that he is too big to have created you just for the fun of it. Beloved’s we are called to be fishermen on this earth and that is the only profession worth pursuing , forget accumulating wealth and buying houses and focus on the number of fish that you have caught in your net thus far because you will need that figure when you are standing before his throne @ the end of times and woe to him whose nets have nothing in them let alone still appear brand new. In African culture the last words of the deceased have a lot of weight and the bereaved usually follow them to the later , hence my shock with brethren not abiding to the last words of Jesus before ascending to heaven. He reiterates that call for us to be fishermen , to continue where he left of so that the earth may know the Lord. The reason you are not taking up the call is because you are myopic and  thinking of mukuvisi river or lake Kyle whilst the Lord is thinking of the Indian ocean . Imagine how many fishermen are needed to exhaust the Indian ocean beloveds , which is a habitat of fish of various weights and sizes. So like my saviour before me 2000 years ago i compel every born again , spirit filled believer to take up the call to be fishers of men as James and John did then because the harvest is plenty but the labourers are few. In your sphere of influence do not forget that you were born to fish…… men…Amen

I AM WHO I AM…

Exodus 3:14  And God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM.” And He said, “Thus you shall say to the children of Israel, ‘I AM has sent me to you.

 

I have often wondered what I would ask the saints who preceded me if I was given a day of fellowship in heaven. Like say, brother Abraham how did you relate to God during your days on earth? or ask David how it felt like to defeat a giant @ 17 or you guys are probably  like me you just want to ask Sarah how she managed to look so hot at 90 such that her hubby had to say she was his sister. Jokes aside i think the main question I would ask is how they saw God as whilst they where on earth , which is an echo of the question Jesus asked his disciple(who do men say I am ?) I would like to believe Abraham would say he knew God as a provider (Jireh) which is different from David who knew him as a God of war(nissi) whilst his son Solomon would talk about a peace keeping God. To a non believer this may be confusing – how can one man have different descriptions but to a believer its profound and rightfully explains the nature of a God who can not be limited my circumstances or a human mind. Moses probably didn’t fully appreciate what Jehovah meant when he said tell them I AM sent me…because obviously they would have laughed him off..who the hell is I AM. But the above different responses of our forefathers outlays it better. In essence God was saying to Moses don’t make the mistake of limiting me to fighting your wars like David because what will happen when you need provision ..I can be whatever you want me to be. If you are sick I will be Rapha and if storms arise don’t worry I can be Shalom also so let no situation or circumstance overwhelm you brothers we have a multi facetious and multi dimensional God who becomes what he has to become depending on circumstance.I believe God for anything in my life and am inviting other saints to join the movement of believing in a limitless God who does not fit into the mindset of a mortal being  the great I AM. Don’t you dare limit him, he is everything and in everything and can be anything hence the name I AM , whatever you are thinking right now brother I AM that .