Trying to make amends

hi everyone,
i'm gonna pick this up again in january. ensure that you are all in the mix when i do...

Is death truly better than living with destruction? pt2

I have been increasingly getting pissed off by the reference to this man's mental instability and the interpretation of his video tirade as "thinking he was a kind of Jesus". Cho Seung-Hui wasn't even Christian! Is that what the world has come to? Using religion and the personalities related to the same to describe insanity??? Does this also equate religion to insanity? God help us if it is! If we can't understand something are we using religion as the crutch to carry all the ills of the world? God Help us if we are! All in all, My heart goes out to the families of all the victims in the Va. Tech. incident; Cho's family as well. God grant them the peace they need to accept this tragedy and move forward into your love and peace that surpasses all human understanding. But in the absence of understanding let us not camouflage evil with sprinkles of all that is righteous and true

Is death truly better than living with destruction?

The world is shaken by the news of the massacre of 32 students at Virginia Tech. University in the US. The tortured soul of the South Korean boy that committed this massacre was released to the press and seemingly gave us a glimpse into the mind of the killer. It is somewhat surreal that Cho Seung-Hui found his life so unbearable that he preferred death to living with the destruction that surrounded him. The families of 32 victims will agree with me when I say... yes, sometimes life is hard, kill yourself though... leave others out of it. But I believe that to some people to see and experience death, is the only way that they can feel alive. Sick? Yeah I know. I am thinking how many times we have watched this on TV about kids in schools that have been treated badly or that were not popular and hated themselves and everybody else because of it. Music has been done about it; with Kelly Rowland doing 'Stole' and some Alternative Artists singing about tortured minds. So when does death become more welcome than picking up the lemons that have been tossed at you by life and making lemonade anyway, no matter how bitter? .

Bless the Lord O my Soul Part 2...

And all this tells me is when you are at your lowest point the only way to go is up. And the Lord has to take you there so that you realise that in your weaknes... really the only thing you can do is praise him and worship him.
Some of you will think I am talking about music, maybe I am... because that is what I closely identify with but I am talking about other ways of worshipping too... You don't need to be in a church to worship him. Build the house and He will live in it, and when He lives in you.... it's natural in your lowest state to reach out for him and cry out to him in a song of thanksgiving and praise for the things he has done and not looking at what you need Him to do. The bible says in Psalm 104 :33-34
³³ I will sing to the LORD all my life;
I will sing praise to my God as long as I live.

³⁴ May my meditation be pleasing to him,
as I rejoice in the LORD.

My prayer is that even at my lowest point I will learn to praise the Lord and Bless him always. It's my reasonable response.... It's all I can offer.

Holding on when everything else is gone...

I would like to share 2 stories with you: One is about Darlene Zschech, I am sure many of you have heard her music; she had just lost her child and was driving herself home from the hospital. SHe was so angry at God for having allowed the unfortunate incident to happen to her that inside she was asking Him so many questions. She began to cry out to God and praise him even in the unfortunate situation. As she began to slowly be healed by the presence of the Holy Ghost and be comforted of her pain; a song poured out of her. It turned out to be one of the most popular songs of her music career. "Shout to the Lord".
The 2nd one is of today's greatest women of God; Prophetess Juanita Bynum. She had been through some seriously turbulent times when God introduced her to the power of worship. In the worst of her situations she would pray until she was hoarse and cry out to God until she literally had nothing left within her. Totally on the brink of passing out and her voice would disappear because of how hoarse she was. She said that only meant that it was an opportunity for her to sing in her spirit even though her physical voice was gone.

For the Word is right and true... pt 3

SO which brings us back to the matter at hand>> What happened to the Fanny Crosby's and the Keith Greene's of this world. Setting the standards for upcoming artistes everywhere.
And David says in Psalm 33:3 :
Sing to him a new song;play skillfully, and shout for joy.⁴ For the word of the LORD is right and true;he is faithful in all he does.It is like the cause and effect theory. Be unique when it comes to God make everything a NEW song and the next verse says for the word is right and true and The Lord is faithful in all he does. It's not so much an admonition but a guideline of how and what you can do in songwriting to make the worship of the Lord perfect in the strength of his word. I believe that is a challenge to all songwriters out there.... do better and at least strive to be excellent as your father in heaven is excellent.

For the Word is right and true... pt 2

The bible says in Matt Chapter 5:13-14:¹³"You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men.¹⁴"You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. ¹⁵Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. ¹⁶In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.I think this is a great indication of how we are to conduct ourselves as Christians in areas, professions and situations that are dominated by non-Christians. The verses are simply self explanatory and so I put it to you that what exists before the other in the case of darkness is light and in the case of salt food. Therefore I should see a distinction between the other Kenyan artistes and the Gospel artistes. Kenyan artistes have a knack for making catchy, danceable tunes that fade immediately the next catchy danceable tune is released. For some it is longer than others other times it is a short time, but always there is a culmination to all the hype surrounding these Kenyan 'hits'.

For the Word is right and true...

The Kenyan music scene has reached a very healthy level of competition and diversity now. What's amazing is just when you think.... Oh no... they just didn't go there.... they usually did. And this is what sucks. I had thought that at least Gospel music would have reached a new level after 10 years of evolving and imitating and recreating itself. And don't get me wrong, There are a few artistes who have actually managed to come up with some 'listenable' tunes. But when it comes to music that is not just for jamming.... (yaani ya kujibamba) we have grossly miscalculated the retention power our music can actually have. Many people hated on me about saying the "Fundi wa Mbao" song was just a jamming song. But to be honest, if I was not born again, I would fall in love with the groove of the song and the beats and totally disregard the content. Also seeing as the content has no nourishment whatsoever for the Christian Soul. Also considering if it is not meant for that purpose then it should be made for the purpose of ministry. I would have no idea of what they were singing unless I had background of the bible I am sorry and furthermore... Pardon me, but I do beg to differ.... because my Jesus is more than 'just' a carpenter.

Weekend Recap...

It has been a weird start to the week. I have been trying to stabilize myself both at work and just generally. But it has been difficult. I'd just like to give a holla to all my pals who have been standing by me throughout my 'adjustment' period at my place of work. I know that my whining has been increasing. But I know it is for a reason that I am here. If the Lord could tell me the reason maybe I could chill out. Lakini, I have started feeling better about the whole thing. I just need to bring my body and the sleep that is plaguing me under submission. For those of you that are thinking ok... this has nothing to do with worship.... Chill out, I am going somewhere with this. My humanity sometimes makes me weak but Praise God that in my weakness his strength is made perfect. I needed to tune out the whole world and start listening to God about so many things. It is working, but all in all I am wrong to treat this job like just a vocation and begin to do it with an air of worship around it so that I can submit to God's will and purpose for bringing me here. Yeah... so hard lessons, God doesn't just put you somewhere you don't like for the purpose of bullying, anajua what he was doing, SO if you hate your job just remember that until you learn what it is God sent you to learn, you will NEVER find something else. Accomplish the season that you are in before u move on. That's the honest truth!

Worshippers and Service to the Almighty

Today I just wanna talk a little about the gravity of being a priest in the house of God. You seem to hold a lot of responsibility in your hands and are answerable for many things that you have to learn as you go along. In our service and ministry as worshippers and even as Christians we sometimes forget that we are Levites in our own right. The bible calls us a holy nation; a chosen generation; a royal priesthood. The rules that were intimated for the Levites were very strict. There's a whole book about them yaani. And reading Leviticus you start to see how particular God is. Malachi 3 talks of preparing the way for God's messenger who shall prepare the way for God and then goes on to speak about who will be able to stand before the Lord when he comes. And I quote: But who can endure the day of his coming? Who can stand when he appears? For he will be like a refiner's fire or a launderer's soap. 3 He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver; he will purify the Levites and refine them like gold and silver. Then the LORD will have men who will bring offerings in righteousness, 4 and the offerings of Judah and Jerusalem will be acceptable to the LORD, as in days gone by, as in former years.
As worshippers we are the Levites that we may be purified to be able to stand in the gap when the time comes. I like a verse further down in the chapter though because the bible for me has always been an action--reaction book, so from v16 says: Then those who feared the LORD talked with each other, and the LORD listened and heard. A scroll of remembrance was written in his presence concerning those who feared the LORD and honored his name.
17 "They will be mine," says the LORD Almighty, "in the day when I make up my treasured possession (act). I will spare them, just as in compassion a man spares his son who serves him. 18 And you will again see the distinction between the righteous and the wicked, between those who serve God and those who do not.
I don't know about you guys but I wanna be passed through the refiner's fire, through the launderer's soap that he may write my name in the scroll of his memory as a person who feared Him and honored Him. So that I may be totally his.I pray that for you as well! God Bless You!

Standing in awe of an awesome wonder!

The bible speaks in Exodus 33 about when Moses and God would fellowship at the tent of meeting. It says that Moses would go into the tent and the pillar of cloud that would follow the Israelites as they wondered through the desert would come down and settle at the entrance of the tent. The rest of the Israelites would wait for this moment when Moses and God were having their fellowship and stand at the door of their own tents and worship God as if they too were in communion with Moses and God. I feel that in some sense Moses was a worship leader. Because he was the initiator of the conversation between God and his people. And through him many found a moment to bask in God's presence. Any way, in v12 Moses becomes fed up with just feeling God's presence through the cloud and he asks God a question I would like to ask God everyday of my life: "If you are pleased with me, teach me your ways so I may know you and continue to find favor with you. Remember that this nation is your people." and God promises that his presence will go with Moses and that he would give Moses the rest he was looking for. But Moses is adamant and tells God, "If your presence doesn't go with us then do not send us up from this place; how will people know that you are pleased with me and what will distinguish me from the other people on the earth. God then tells Moses that he will go with him because he is pleased with him and he knows his name. After that Moses thirsts for more of God and asks that God show him His glory. I wonder if today we would have had the same thirst. We are satisfied with just smelling the incense in the throne room of God and yet we should seek to be close to him and worship before him to the point that he will tell us, "Child now you are as close to me as any human being can be and still live" He should cover our faces with his hands as he is magnified before us and leave the mark of his glory on our faces shining long after he has passed us. I yearn for that, to be held in the bossom of God and feel his awesome presence with me everytime I open my mouth to lead worship. Ecclesiastes 5:1 - 6 Which Justo brought to my attention earlier today-- directs us on how to behave in front of an awesome God. We should be bold enough to approach his throne of grace and mercy and prepared enough to bask in the consequences of our requests. I mean Moses was bold enough to ask to see God's glory and was steadfast in his vow, how much more should we as worshippers speak the affirmations that set our brethren free while we are in the presence of God. I pray that he makes me as bold a worshipper as Moses was...