What is God saying?

Genesis 26: Isaac and Abimelech: The desolate Gerar!!

Here is an exciting story of one of the patriarchs-Isaac. At one time Isaac went and settled in Gerar the land of the philistines.  Now, the blessings of Abraham were with Isaac. He found his way in the land, first, by cheating that Rebecca was his sister.  He may have learned the trick from his dad Abraham (Genesis 12:10-13). Parents help shape the world's future in the way they instill their children's values. He settled and planted the land. The Lord blessed him there. He was so successful that the people there were threatened by his blessings. In the days of the patriarchs, the presence of God 's people in the land came as a threat to the worldly. A dispute on water arose! This was purely out of Jealousy, otherwise all that Isaac did seemed blessed!!

Jealousy is a dividing force strong enough to tear apart the strongest of friends or nations.

When you find yourself becoming jealousy of others, try thanking God for their good fortune. Before striking out in anger, consider what you could lose-a friend , job, or a spouse!!

When is it right to withdraw or fight ?

Gerar was in a desert! Water was precious gold! And wells were out rightly a show of ownership of the land. Some wells were actually locked to prevent theft of water! Terrible crimes included filling other peoples' wells with dirt! The philistines ruined Isaac's wells but he chose to fight it differently. This happened three times but Isaac moved on. He compromised for the sake of peace?

Who is ready to forsake a key position or possession to keep peace?!

Here are some of my earlier blogs that I had not posted.
 

Wednesday 9^th January 2013.

This night, My lovely wife Maggie and I discussed about the WE program in our Church that she heads. We talked about one Zipporah Kalekye, who is a beneficially of this program. From our discussion, we felt that Kalekye's case is one of its kind.. She has four kids to take care of. She also has a grand child whose mother left to look for a job in the City.  One of her daughters, Carol is a victim of hydrocephalus, a condition that has left poor Carol on a wheel chair for over twelve years now. Kalekye stays in a very dirty environment. The place has lots of lice and  bedbugs, an indication of the degraded hygiene.  She has always sold eggs in bars and pubs and actually walks alot to trade her business. She is living with HIV and Aids, she is a single mother and a grand mother at 36. She has been married six times and none of her marriages survived. Her sixth marriage was very abusive.  She always comes to the WE program late, sometimes very tired and sleepy and even other times she comes with her grand son because she has no one to take care of him. Kalekye is one amongst the vulnerable people that the Lord has brought in our Church. 

When my wife and I went to rest that night I had a dream:

I saw in my dream that I was walking next to a slum area. Just besides one of the roads near the slum was a structure made of old rusted iron sheets.I realize that it was a community Center within a slum. I was with someone else and we decided to enter the place and see. As we walked inside, there were very nice compartments and many women who seemed busy in their jobs. I also noticed that there there was a Chapel where people from within the center did their prayers. The Place had a tall tower supported by very tall posts and there were very many needy people. I remember at some point I climbed on one of the tall polls and came down. There was even a compartment for the elderly people. At some point I saw Dr. Stanley Mutunga  join us and he seemed familiar with the place. Actually we leaned from him that the name of the place was Community Transformers. He said that this same place resembles another Community center within a slum area in Nairobi City, whose name is also similar; Community transformers., but this was unique in its own ways. What moved me the most was the sight of a crippled woman who had just given birth to triplets. I met her outside crawling back and forth as she tried to carry one kid, place her down ahead, then get back the second and the third.  She really struggled to do this. The kids were half naked and the place looked muddy and rainy. This wrecked me!!!

Kalekye's situation always reminds me of the great words, " People don't care how much you know until they know that you care." All that my wife and I can give to Kalekye is Love! 'Oh Lord give us more love for people like Kalekye'

God is calling you and me to arise to the occasion and  meet felt needs from around us. This is all Jesus did and I am assure if He walked around like in the early times, He would do the same.

What's God saying? June 2013

Today during my morning devotion at 2am I read Genesis chapter 27. It's a about Rebekkah and Jacobs scheme to get Esau's blessings! Esau had to reap from his earlier actions while Jacob had to pay for his deeds later in life! But God allowed it, it was His permissive will!! Why then did He allow it?I can't figure out how many times God has worked centrally to my expectations. Whatever happens, I am now experiencing the reality of His words in Isaiah 55:8, "my ways are not your ways, neither are my thoughts your thoughts..."

I also read J. Oswald Sanders book on Spiritual leadership.I was struck by some ways he shares on  investigating one's potential. From His book, I picked on the following questions.

Have you ever broken a bad habit?
Do you keep self control when things go wrong?
Do you think independently?
Can you handle criticism?
Can you turn disappointment in to creative new opportunity?
Do you readily gain the cooperation of others and win their respect and confidence?
Are you a peace maker?
Do people trust you with difficult and delicate situations?
Can you induce people to do happily some legitimate thing that they would not normally wish to do?
Can you accept opposition to your view point or decision without taking offenses?
Can you make and keep friends?
Are the people who report to you generally at ease?
Are you interested in People?

Now, these and some more questions from the same writer have spoken directly to me. I think it awakens my constant desire to develop my leadership skills. Thank you Lord for speaking to me today. I can best be a leader in your making.

For sure, God is not interested in what I can do for Him but in what He wants to do in me first!!