God's answers

 
I was excited I had just bought beachwear at a cheap price, now all I had to do is to wait for the go-ahead from the lecturer. He was to tell us the date we would travel to Mombasa as part of our  field study. I had never traveled to the Coast and I had been waiting for this trip since I was a freshman to add on top of the excitement it was the last semester of my senior year in college so I thought it would have been the best way to wrap up the amazing four years with my friends.
The lecturer kept on pushing forward the dates, we kept pestering our class representative to follow up on the details of the trip until we eventually gave up when the exam timetables came out alerting us we were coming to the end of the semester and I had to camp in the library to catch up on the lost time spent fantasizing about my stay in Mombasa. So for the first time in the history of my school we were the first seniors who did not go to Mombasa for the field study (sad face).
I eventually got over it and did my last exams and moved back home. Every time I think of what happened next I am always blown away by how God plans out events. A close friend of mine got an offer from one of my former lecturers to act as a student guide for students from California and in the process got me a spot into that, to cut the long story short, I eventually went to Mombasa for a week! I ate the best Swahili dishes daily! I visited the best beaches and visited an Island and to top it off we stayed for a day in a 5 star hotel! Oh! I 'swam' in the ocean for the first time.
That was the best week of my life!
No, am not starting a travel diary am sharing this because through this I learned that......

So many times we want God to do something for us and we give Him details on how it should be done, when and where and when it does not turn out the way we had planned we assume God did not answer our prayers.

1 John 5:14-15: And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to His will He hears us. And if we know that He hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of Him.

James 4:3: You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions.

Could you be praying  for something right now and it may seem God is taking forever to answer? Ask yourself what are the motives behind you asking for that thing are they for selfish reasons? Do your motives line up with God's word? Sometimes we do not get what we ask because we ask with all the wrong reasons.

 Habakkuk 2:3 :For still the vision awaits its appointed time; it hastens to the end—it will not lie. If it seems slow, wait for it; it will surely come; it will not delay. 

Isiah40:31: But they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.

Psalm 27:14:: Wait for the Lord; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the Lord! 

 Or are you even giving God time to reveal it to you at His own timing? or are you busy checking your own calender and thinking God is delaying and maybe at times try and do it on your own?

 I believe that God did not allow me to go to Mombasa the first time because I had the wrong motives, studying was no where close to what I wanted to do and how I wanted to spend my nights was no where close to me honoring God.
I also believe He answered my prayer in His own timing, I had the chance to visit Mombasa when the weather was not that hot and in the process made new friends and I believe it brought me closer to that particular friend I went with. I am forever grateful I went when I went.

So instead of giving God a timeline on when, how and where when you ask Him for anything, let Him present it to you at His own time and let Him give you what He knows is best for you and not what you think is best for you. So trust God's timing always and you will never be dissapointed He repays you the time you spent waiting. For me He simply answered " I have something better for you"

                                                 Me and one of my best friends

                                                         The view was amazing!

                                                  The new friends I made

Christianity 101 retake

Lessons from kids

If you grew up in Kenya, I bet you sang or heard kids sing " One, two make a circle, three, four, a big circle like a *sufuria" I heard this today and thought to myself, "A *sufuria?" it depends a *sufuria for bachelors? or a *sufuria for the graduation parties or wedding ceremonies? LOL! Our adult like mind always has  a way of complicating things doesn't it? So I blogged about how we can trust in God in our day to day life by going back to the beginning here and also a few lessons about Christian living lessons from kids here

Hope the posts will help you rely on God with child like faith.

*Sufuria- Swahili word for  a flat based, deep sided, lipped and handle less cooking pot or container,

Be yourself

One of my favorite pastime activity is watching wildlife documentaries, I just love love love them. Now that we know the degree of my interest in watching them I just had to share some things I learn from this.

A leopard had just caught prey and some lionesses had their eye on the meat so they were determined to have it by any means possible, the leopard picked up the meat and climbed up the tree. The lion tried to get up the tree but could not get half way up the tree for obvious reasons-lions are not designed to climb trees.
My favorite hunters are cheetahs, they usually start sprinting for their prey from a far distance compared to lions who creep up to almost being a stone throw away from their prey. Despite cheetahs sprinting from afar they almost never miss their prey, wuuuh! they are fast!
I cannot talk about wild animals without mentioning one of the wonders of the world, the wildebeest migration, its amazing how they know when to move from Serengeti National Park to Maasai Mara hey! that is what leaves us wondering.

So what am I getting at? I think one of the things that fascinates me about animal behavior is that they react and act the way they do out of instinct. Its how God created them to be, you will never see a cheetah trying to behave like a lion or vice verse. They seem to know their limits and strengths e.g the lion trying to climb the tree reached a point and knew that no matter how hungry they are that tree climbing was just not for them and the cheetah who undoubtedly knows they have speed hence they do not creep up on the prey for long.  Even the migration, no one tells or leads them to cross the Mara.
Just like the animals, when God created us He placed specific talents, gifts and personalities in each one of us. We all have our strengths and weaknesses, we were uniquely created for our different God-given destinies.

Jeremiah 1:5: “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations.” 

Psalms 139:14: I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well. 

So where do we get the idea that we have to act like someone else to be better, that we  get jealous of what someone else has or when they get what we wanted?

I believe that we all have our portion in life and that God did not make a mistake when He made us look the way we do, when He gave us the talents and gifts we have or giving us the personalities we have. He simply has a plan for me and you and they cannot be the same so quit being jealous of others, quit trying to be like someone else embrace what you have, discover God's will for your life, get to know your talents and gifts that God placed in you. Maybe you have believed the Devil's lie that you are weird but God says you are different because He made all of us different so as to fulfill different things.

So, stop competing with everyone else and just be YOU because God created you to just be YOU.

Christianity 101 lesson 3

Lessons from friends

 

 

I am truly grateful for the friends I have,they add value to my life and every time am with them I learn new things about being a light in the world and being a blessing to others. These are just a few of the lessons I have picked up from them...

 Look out for Others Interests
Just recently one of my friends gave birth to a bouncing baby boy, I have just seen the pictures and I can't wait to see him up close. So two of my friends, Shakina* and Shataya*  have visited her more than once since and being the girls they are they always do a lot of shopping before heading there. They show me what it means to be a true friend because they celebrate you through the good and the bad, they help our "mama" friend with the new born and am talking about the waking up in the middle of the night kind of help and changing diapers (Will have to confirm if they changed diapers).Oh! I might add the "mama" friend does not live that close by. They show me that being a friend means taking time out of your schedule and being there for a friend in need, going out of your way and show her that you care, that words are not enough but actions will truly show that you love and care about them.  They show selfless love.

Philippians 2:4 
do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others.

 Being Generous
Francisca* is a friend I have known since I was 10 years old and she was 11. We usually introduce ourselves as sisters to strangers. I usually have to fight with her about who will pay the fare, pay for lunch or any kind of bill we might incur when we hang out because she always insists on paying for everything not because she is rich but because she believes you do not need to have more than enough to be a giver. When am broke she always has my back and she gets me lunch or whatever or when I get myself complaining how I have so many things to do and no money to do them, her response is always " YOU ARE A CHILD OF THE MOST HIGH YOU SHALL NEVER LACK". This is what makes her have such a giving heart because she has mastered that God will always bless a hand that gives and He shall never let us lack, the same way he takes care of the lilies He will take care of us. So our lack should never be a hindrance for us to be a blessing to others.

Proverbs 22:9 He who is generous will be blessed, For he gives some of his food to the poor

Luke 6:38: Give, and it will be given to you; good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, they will pour into your lap. For by your standard of measure it will be measured to you in return.

Trusting God
Camilla* has gone through a lot this year she lost her sister and her relatives ended up in hospital for sometime but now thank God they are okay. I was amazed by the strength she had during this tough time in her life, she would say that her heart will bless the Lord through it all and in the end she believed God will see her through. I am not sure I would have had her attitude if I was in the same situation probably I would have been mad at God and decide that I was better off without Him. She never gave up on God, she never saw the tragedy as His fault but she looked to Him to be her source of strength and praised His name and thanking Him that through it all He held her hand.

Philippians 4:12-13: I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. I can do all things through him who strengthens me.

1peter 5:1: And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you.

 Being an example

Diane* , I have known her since my freshman year in College,its amazing how God builds friendships. We barely said a word to each other during our first semester and now we talk daily and talk about EVERYTHING that happens to us  to the smallest details. She was and still is an example to me of Christian living, she would wake up daily at 5am and go out to spend time with God in prayer during this time I had one foot in the world and the other in church so I did not see the sense of her going through all that trouble and our first class was to start at 10am, I usually told her she would rather go for a jog. Now I understand why it is important for a Christian to prioritize time to spend time with God in prayer and reading the word. It is that close relationship with Christ that sets apart the true Christian from the Luke-warm Christian.

Ephesians 5:11: Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children.

1 Corithians11:1 :Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ.
 

Mathew 5:16: In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven. 

 * the names have been changed for certain reasons. I love my friends.

The S word

We live in a generation where one of the things that seals two people's agreement to become boyfriend-girlfriend is to have sex, then you are branded as so and so's girlfriend/boyfriend. We live in a generation where we believe we have to "test drive" each other to be sure if we are compatible. We live in a generation where we believe we have to "practice" to perfect the art of sex. We live in a generation where there are articles and radio and television programmes by "night nurses"giving tips on how to please your girlfriend/boyfriend. We live in a generation where having random sex has become so casual that we call it "hooking up". We live in a generation where an awesome weekend is not complete if we haven't gotten laid. We live in a generation where girls believe that giving sex to a boyfriend is a reward. We live in a generation where a girl is told that for a guy to respect you do not give him your "cookie" until 90 days are over. We live in a generation where a guy is considered a gentleman or a good guy if he waits for at least 3 months before he starts demanding for sex.We live in a generation where we believe as long as we are in love and sleep only with each other God will understand we are in love so He is okay with it. We live in a generation where girls think the only way to keep a man is to sleep with him after all men are the more sexual beings so they cannot wait. We live in a generation where girls are so eager to lose their virginity and "get it over with". We live in a generation where sex outside marriage is so glorified that having an orgy is cool. A generation where "the saved" push boundaries and console themselves that they have not gone all the way it was just a bit of rubbing here and there so they are safe.
All am wondering is with all this going on with all this pressure where is the space to preach about young people being sexually pure? The church does not even talk about it as much it is busy telling young people that God will bless them and give them good cars and fat wallets.
Am not saying that it is wrong, yes God will bless us. But we have been so deceived by the enemy to believe that God's standards for sexual purity will be lowered just because we are "in love" or because we are young and we should be experimenting what we forget is that God is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow.

1Corithians 6:18: Flee from sexual immorality. Every other sin a person commits is outside the body, but the sexually immoral person sins against his own body.

1 Corinthians 10:13: No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it. 

1 Thessalonians 4:3-5: For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from sexual immorality; that each one of you know how to control his own body in holiness and honor, not in the passion of lust like the Gentiles who do not know God;

Sure God put these desires in us but He commands that we remain sexually pure that we treat our bodies as the temple of the holy spirit. Actually sexual sin is considered to be the one sin against our bodies, why then do we think that living this kind of life will still make us right with God? Sure we can repent and God will always forgive us, but the meaning of repentance is to completely turn away. Your life as a Christian is not to always recite the sinners prayer but to get hold of that life which Christ died for on the cross. God designed sex to be in the context of marriage where two people who have committed to each other express their love in a matrimonial bed.

The Devil is a liar! you do not have to "test drive" people to know if you two are compatible, it takes more than sexual compatibility to build a great relationship or marriage, You do not have to "practice" to be good its already naturally placed in you. You do not have to sleep with each other before the right time to prove that you are in love, actually it gets in the way of two people truly getting to know each other as the focus will be on how well the other person performs.

I know its hard and I understand to live in purity in this day and age, but I challenge you to be an exception to be the ONE that God will look down on earth and say I am proud of you because you chose to live in obedience. If you may be thinking you it too hard check what you read, what you listen to and what you watch is it leading you to sin? what are you pursing sin or Christ?

Following Christ will cost you your life...Luke 9:23: And he said to all, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.
So give it up to Christ and repent He will forgive you, pray He strengthens you when tempted, pray that He guides you to wait for the right time. I believe it will be worth the wait.
 

Flavours

This post was written by a very close friend of mine whom I have learned a lot from and she surprised me with this post and I just had to share it....truly I am blessed with great friends. 

Most of us have a dire need to make something to be (for) pleasurable to our senses. It may be  an addition of salt to food to please the tongue, it maybe a specific type of lotion you apply on your skin for that fair touch; or it could even be that very expensive perfume you save for months just to ensure you smell good. We all have those things that we call our favourite of something, the things we think we cannot do without and those we would sacrifice almost everything and anything to ensure we had all the time. All these things we attach ourselves to, are meant to make life easier for us or to simply ‘spice’ up our lives. These are the things I would like to call ‘flavours’ for this post.
Well, I don’t think it is bad or wrong to have something as a favourite or to have a ‘flavour’, unless it is in excess and swaying us from doing good than harm. Most people love spicy food, with all the cloves, cinnamon, cardamom and black pepper…you name it! That is when they eat in plenty, with more and more servings till their stomachs cannot take it anymore. But it is rather obvious, that it gets to a point when the body cannot handle any more extras, and what happens?
We either voluntarily let go of exceeding the limits our body can take, or we reluctantly let nature take its course and teach us a lesson. An example is when one takes too much salt, then after some time, (s)he gets salt related complications and unfortunately the doctor advices that salt be avoided. If it were you, you would tend to think that life without salt is impossible but with time you get used to doing without it till you find yourself in a comfort zone. Another case scenario is when one indulges in too much alcohol till a life threatening situation presents itself thanks to that same bottle! Then that’s when this person decides to quit alcohol for good…and that’s when a self realization is made, that this ‘type’ of flavour is not good and life without it is best!
Different things work for different people, your ‘flavor’ might not be my ‘flavour’ but what we should remember is that we were not born depending on these things because they are not essentials that we need for our survival!
There was a time my flavor was a person; this person would make me feel excited whenever I had a glimpse of them passing by. All of a sudden I felt my life depended on this being solely, and every decision I would make would be communicated earlier on before everyone else to them. I was extremely happy with my life at this juncture, and at times to think of my future life without this person- would be simply absurd. However things tend to change- and my ‘flavour’ stopped being my flavour. I felt like my life was crumbling into tiny pieces, I cried to myself, to others and then finally to God. I had totally given up, and I was sure that no one could help.
Sometimes it’s hard to find answers just when we need them most. Life was difficult then, but it was through FAMILY and a few friends’ support that I could trust; that I critically thought of life without this spice and I realized that it would be very much possible. I also started putting more trust in God; and the end result- I realized that God is the only ‘flavour’ that can never be too excessive for me to handle. I am still making baby steps, I know I am not perfect but at list now, only GOD is my flavour [Psalm 86:4]. I am more content after making this decision!


1st Peter 2:10  Once you received none of God’s mercy; now you have received HIS mercy.

Zephaniah 3:17 The LORD your God has arrived to live among you. He is a mighty Saviour.

He will rejoice over you with great gladness. With His love, He will calm all your fears. He will

exult over you by singing a happy song.


Psalm 86:4 Give me happiness oh Lord, for my life depends on you.


Proverbs 3: 5-6 Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding.

Seek His will in all you do, and He will direct your paths.