Baptism

Yesterday, we had baptism going down in church. It was amazing seeing young people make a bold step not only to embrace salvation but to also symbolically follow in the footsteps of Jesus and get Baptized. John the Baptist once said to the people who came to him to be baptized that "I indeed have baptized you with water: but he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost and fire" Mark 1:8-9 (KJV). 

Bishop dedicating the water


So to all the newly baptized believers, I urge you to desire the true baptism of the Holy Ghost. Baptism by water is just symbolic but to desire the infilling of the Holy Spirit is the best thing you could ever desire then you shall receive power from on high and you shall be the witnesses of Jesus in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria and to the uttermost ends of this earth. (Acts 1:8)

                                             Some of the witnesses

 He wasn't going in for a swim, don't wonder why he is fully dressed. He was going in to baptize people.

                                                                  And now it was time to dedicate the waters.

                                          God bless the man of God.

                                          And David took the first step

                                           The joy of baptism

                                            Amen

                                            Joy all over Vickson's face.

Congratulations to all of you!! Walk with God. (Psalm 119:105) 

Feeling like a Failure?

Well you are not alone. Last week I was denied visa to travel to Finland. I immediately felt like this was yet another failure on my part. One time I got admission I applied to University and just when the admission came, I could not get money for tuition so I never enrolled. A fiend told me about tuition free universities in Finland and immediately I took interest and applied. I did everything just to make sure I had what they needed to gain admission. I took IELTS and passed, did the entrance exams and passed and I was granted admission. I was so elated that finally me dream of going to College was almost a reality. The resident permit application process proved not to be a walk in the park. Very few people were willing to help but nevertheless I got two people who helped and finally I was ready for the interview at the embassy. After two months of waiting, the decision finally came. As I sat in that small room with the visa office, my heart was pounding. I had faith I would get the permit but the possibility of being denied was also playing in my mind. "Your decision is here and the immigration service will not be granting you the resident permit." This are the word that sent my heart right to my stomach in shock and disappointed. It was 5 minutes of feeling so disappointed, sad and hopeless. Something suddenly clicked within me and the next words I was uttering to myself were "Thank you God, I know your will has prevailed." Immediately I spoke this words, every negative feeling I had before disappeared. I was ready to get up and go. Its like I was so energized to move on to another challenge.

After almost not being able to finish high school, years of jobs that have not been paying well, numerous attempts to get into college and failing, one must surely feel like a failure. Well I realized I only become a failure if I allow myself to feel like one. Sometimes we feel we have failed so much in life that we even feel there is nothing good we can do for God and since we never try to do anything we end up imagining that we have failed God.
This words of Jeremiah give me hope that failure is not defeat

• Remember my affliction and my wandering, the wormwood and bitterness. Surely my soul remembers and is bowed down within me. This I recall to my mind, therefore I have hope. The LORD'S lovingkindnesses indeed never cease, for His compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness. "The LORD is my portion," says my soul, "therefore I have hope in Him."
  (Lamentations 3:19-24)

  There is hope because God is God.

  God did not restrain me from failing either because I deserved to fail since you I not choose to obey Him, or because He wanted to teach me something, to cleanse me, make me more like Him. It is part of the discipline, the "child-training" of those who belong to the Lord.

  All discipline for the moment seems not to be joyful, but sorrowful; yet to those who have been trained by it, afterwards it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness. Therefore, strengthen the hands that are weak and the knees that are feeble, and make straight paths for your feet [walk righteously!]....
  (Hebrews 12:11-13)

  
  

  In all this I press toward the mark of the price of a higher calling. Those who keep looking back at their failures will never win the race set before them. We can evaluate where and how we failed for the purpose of learning and growing; however, the past is never to be our focus. If it is, it will cripple our future. As we look at failure, we need to understand why we fail and when we fail.

  So having said all this, what do you do when you fail?

  1. Run to God and ask Him why, if you do not know.
  2. If God shows you that you failed because you erred or sinned, confess your sin or your failure. Name it for what it is. Then make it right with God and with man, if necessary. It helps to clear the air.
  3. Throw yourself on God's mercy. Ask His counsel.
  4. Remember the character of God. Remember His promises — cling to them. You have His promise if you cling. Psalm 119:31 says "I cling to your testimonies; O Lord do not put me to shame." The secret to recovering from failure is to continue to cling to your God. We are here to teach you to cling to Him...and not let go. I urge you to go deeper into His Word this year. Number your days, discipline yourself to be a man or a woman of the Lord. When the test, the trial or the temptation comes, you can overcome. "...This is the victory that has overcome the world-our faith" (1 John 5:4).

  
  

Christ the center of my Teen age!

This has been a very interesting week. My small twin sisters were saperated for the first time in fourteen years thanks to high school. This is a week when teenagers are joining high school entering into a new environment, meeting new people, making new friends, studying new subjects and many other new things.

When teenagers get into a new environment they tend to become very much aware of things around them. The urge to change so that you can adapt and fit in becomes their number one priority. Teenagers: change is not bad, but is it Christ centered change? Lets look at some of the issues that teenagers grapple with as they seek to change. Some of the things I have noticed include; puberty, weight, popularity in school, boy girl relationships e.t.c.

Puberty tends to make most teengers hyperactive causing them a huge lifestyle change, either for the worst or for better. Weight issues have drawn teens to conditions like anorexia and many others. In search of popularity, teens end up involving themselves in sinful practices assuming that when you fit in, then you gain popularity. They begin to struggle with fornication, drugs and drug abuse, lack of interest in anything academic. This leads to deteriorating grades which inturn burns up a prosperous future.

Teens, sometimes when facing such challenges, decide to go to church to try and avoid these habits. As much as going to church is good, it is not a solution to avoiding bad habits. Have you ever thought about completely and totally giving your life to the one person who will guarantee you a drama free life and complete victory from the clatches of the devil?

Being “saved” and “born again” are terms Christians use. Both come from the Bible.

The Bible says you cannot see the kingdom of God unless you are born again (John, 3:3). Being born again means you enter a new spiritual life through God's Holy Spirit.

Christians say that when someone gets “saved”, it means they have personally and deliberately put their trust in Jesus Christ. The Bible identifies Jesus Christ as the Son of God, and He will “save” you from everlasting punishment in Hell (the place of eternal torment) after you die.

---

If you want to live a Christ centered teen age, you can deterine in your heart that your path is that of eternal life. The prayer below will do the magic.  (You can change the words to make it more personal.)

Dear God,
I am a sinner and need forgiveness. I believe that Jesus Christ shed His precious blood and died for my sins, and then rose from the dead. I am willing to turn from sin. In the best way I know how, I now invite Christ to come into my heart and life as my personal Savior.  Amen.

You too can become saved today if you can genuinely pray the sentiments in that prayer and believe it!

Speed Up or Slow Down?

Speed Up or Slow Down?

Some of us need to speed up. We find reasons to not make decisions or initiate conversations. We procrastinate, avoid conflict, and are perfectionists.

Others of us need to slow down. We do everything so quickly that we get ourselves in trouble. We fire off emotional emails, make phone calls the minute we sense that there is any conflict, and make major decisions quickly.

Speed Up Already

Instead of being paralyzed by decisions or projects, remember that perfectionism is the enemy of progress. The stars don’t have to be perfectly aligned for you to make a decision. Choose to make a decision.
Instead of continuously finding reasons to avoid conflict, realize that conflict does not go away when you procrastinate. In fact conflict often worsens with procrastination. Initiate the conflict that you know is necessary.
Instead of keeping your thoughts and opinions to yourself, realize that you have a valuable contribution to make. Your wisdom is critical for us in the slow down category. Step up and make your voice heard. You might scare the rest of us but that is probably what we need.

Slow the Heck Down

Instead of making your decisions so rapidly, take a little more time to research, reflect, and consider. You will likely make a better decision by slowing down.
Instead of initiating conflict the moment that you sense tension, give yourself some time to let your emotions settle. I don’t mean 5 minutes but a day or two. We all know that you aren’t afraid of conflict.  You will probably be thinking more clearly tomorrow.
Instead of always speaking so quickly, slow down your communication. Think before you speak. For more than 5 seconds. You will find yourself needing to apologize a lot less.

How to keep Drainers from taking over your life

How to keep Drainers from taking over your life

Most of us can identify things that are draining to us (Drainers). We also know that there are things in our lives that are energizing to us (Gainers). Here is one example for me. I love to be with people. For most of my adult life my job has been to spend time with people. But too much time with people and I am drained. I have learned that time away is good. In fact, “Away” is one of my favorite places!
Time away from people can be quite energizing to me. Time alone thinking, reflecting, and praying is also energizing to me. Time with my family is energizing to me. (Most of the time:) Just being aware of your drainers and gainers can help you to stay in balance and keep you from going crazy! To keep your drainers from taking over your life, grab a pen and a pad of paper and walk through the following exercise.

Step 1: Make a list of a few things that are draining to you.

This may include certain kinds of work, too much time alone, too much time with people, or activities and habits that are contrary to what you believe.  Spend a few minutes brainstorming and naming these drainers. Just naming them and being aware will help you to not get swallowed up by drainers.

Step 2: Make a list of a few things that are life-giving to you.

Your list may include people who are life-giving, work that inspires you, creative outlets, exercise, time alone, or time with God.  Naming and being aware of these gainers will help you to commit to spend more time doing these things.

Step 3: Look for ways to limit your drainers and expand your gainers.

What can be limited?  What can be eliminated?  Is your entire day dominated by drainers?  Do you have a planned day off?  What will you do to re-charge?

What are your drainers? What are your gainers? Feel free to comment.

Light

John 8:12

Human beings will always find themselves initiating projects that benefit society. Its hard however that when they need a favor they will always point out what they did. Picture Esther Passaris for instance. She seeks to be elected women's representative in Nairobi County. Today I was reading some of her adverts on the highway. One of her slogans read.... "Warembo na mama taa" to translate it simply means "beauties with the lighting Mama". She is remembered in the city of Nairobi for what she did with her Adopt a Light Company that won a tender to lighten the city. A job she did well.

Adopt a light is what caught my attention. A thought just went through my mind, what if we decided to adopt Jesus. Adopt a light in a way brought light into the city of Nairobi and it was great because right now it is safe to drive, walk and work in the city even late at night. Lets now focus on the part where we start adopting Jesus. Jesus as we know, is the light of the world. We sing always that he is the light of the world that stepped down into darkness.

Imagine if we were to adopt Jesus, how many aspects of our lives would he light up. Talk, physical, emotional, spiritual, mental, psychological, in other words, everything would light up. If you are leaving a miserable life, try adopting Jesus and see how he is gonna turn your life around. The good thing about Jesus is that he will never remind you of how much he has done for you. Jesus needs us, but even when we turn away from him he still tries to light our world. It is only until when the devil drives us crazy that we run back but still get him with arms stretched wide. 

I love Jesus and I choose to adopt Him now. I need light in my life. Try Him today. His arms are stretched wide. I know he hears your cry. Speak to Him now. Tell Him how much you need him. Adopt Him today and lighten up your life.

Jesus Loves me this I Know!

A few days ago, while heading to work, I passed by a mother taking her little girl to school. The little girl sang "Jesus Loves this I know" so loudly and with a lot of pride that I was just amazed. It was Clear to me that the little girl was proud that Jesus love for her was so certain that she was not ashamed of singing it out loud. That was last week.

Today morning, I wanted to observe the mood in the air. Being a Valentines day, I have spotted so many reds around. Unlike the little girl who probably has no idea what Valentines day means, the adults who know the meaning put more importance on Valentines and public display of love for fellow man rather than public display of their love for God.

I desired that I would turn back time and find myself being as young as the little girl. Jesus one time said that the kingdom of God belonged to those that  are like little children (Luke 18:16, Matthew 19:14, Mark 10:14). If I can sing out loudly every morning how Jesus loves me and how I love him, I would be proud to be associated with the same Jesus and to get others associated to him as well. 

The primary meaning of the word "love" in Scripture is a "purposeful commitment to sacrificial action for another. Today many will take pride in the fact that some one professes love to them. I take pride in the fact that Jesus did not just profess eternal love to me but he also demonstrated his love for me, that while I was still a sinner, Christ died for me (Romans 5:8). This love was demonstrated through a sacrificial action, he became the sacrificial lamb who ransomed me. Upon the cross He took my sin and by His blood he set me free.

Today, people will front emotions and the flesh will be glorified. People will exchange strong emotions for true love. Emotions will vary, but a commitment which has its basis in biblical love will not be affected by the whelm of emotion or of one's circumstances.

Our example of true love is shown in God's love for the sinner. Romans 5:8 says ". . .commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." The lost sinner living in rebellion and sin is still loved by the Lord. He loved us enough to die for us and pay our sin debt while we were sinning against Him. This shows that true biblical love is a matter of will....not of emotion. God choose to love us and His love was not based on our meriting it in any way. 

My love for God will be the basis of my love for man. Just as He has loved me so should I love my fellow man.

Happy Valentines Day!