Someone needs you

Do you feel Useless?

Two weeks ago, I had a conversation with a lady who felt like she was the worst woman on Earth and she did not believe that God or anyone had need of her. Her past had a hold on her; it hindered her from being useful to herself, her children, her family and indeed her generation. Her tale of woe almost got me to accept that she was the most useless woman. But by divine prompting, I recommended that she read my book “Winning Ways for Wise Women” and get back to me. She called me back today sounding so excited about the book. When I asked her what Chapter challenged her the most, she said “from the foreword, to the positive confession, every part of the book inspired and encouraged me; but if I must choose one, then it will be chapter 18” She thanked me for the book and promised to make sure all the women in her life read it. After the phone call, I quickly opened chapter 18 of Winning Ways for Wise Women and yes, it is very encouraging. 

Sweet Sisters Serving the Savior

God is raising women from all across the globe and He is placing them strategically at the right places for the Master’s use. They are everywhere and they got it all. They are beautiful, skilful, intelligent, creative, enterprising, spiritual…name it, they have it; they are the Sweet Sisters Serving the Savior. The moment they met the Lord they gave their hearts, time, resources and all they have to worship the Master. They do everything within their ability to propagate His love to those in need. From every tribe and tongue, racial barriers are broken, as God’s loving ladies take their place in the forefront to ensure this gospel is preached in every nation. They served in the days of Christ, the Apostles and till date, women are holding it down in the name of the Lord.

Saved to serve- From the well to the City

John 4:5-30

When Jesus stopped by to ask for a cup of water from a Samaritan woman, the disciples thought it was a little bit odd that:

1) He was talking with a woman and no one questioned Him

2) The woman was from Samaria and the Jews had no dealings with Samaritans.

They wondered “why would Jesus relate with a woman who, under normal circumstances, He should not relate with?” Well, I know. Things are not always as they seem at first; to the ordinary eyes it looked as if He wanted water to drink because He had come from a long journey. To some it might look like He wanted to chit-chat with a lady. Some may even think Jesus was trying to foster peace between the two communities. But no, Jesus knew this woman would become a sweet sister who would use her knowledge and experience to advance His cause. It was much more than the cup of water, the woman or her tribe; it was not even about Jesus this time, it was about God’s Mission

This woman, whom the writer did not identify, had no clue when she woke up in the morning that she was going to have a life changing experience. She probably went to that well daily to fetch water, but this day was different. She met a man, a different kind of man. Her conversation with Jesus led them to the issues she had battled with all through her adult life- Men issues. She was living with a man whom she was not married to, and she had married five men before the present man. I am not too sure if I agree with some who claim that this woman was a prostitute. In the first place, prostitutes do not marry their clients do they? Probably not! And Jesus said she has had five “husbands” not five “civil partners”. Not five “Live-in lovers”. Not five “clients”. The master said she had married five men, so it is clear that this woman was married to five separate men at different times, and each of the five marriages ended for whatever reason. She must have gone through all manner of issues with these men that she probably was not ready to marry anymore. I mean, that is my explanation for her not marrying the one she was living with at that time. She probably is one of those hurting women who put up a front so nobody knows what they have been through. Maybe some of her ex-husbands abused her and abandoned her. Maybe others just found another woman they considered better than her. Or, it could be that some cheated on her and she dumped them. Or may she cheated on one and was dumped. We can look at her from afar and judge her but what ever the case, Jesus was not as interested in her past life as He was interested in giving her “a future and a hope” (cf. Jeremiah 29:11).

When Jesus told her who she is and her antecedents, she was amazed and concluded that He was a prophet. She was that deep; you may see her as a sinner but she was sensitive enough to know that standing before her was a God sent man. Like someone said and I agree “men have sight but women have insight”. That deep knowledge that Jesus was a man sent from God, would have been enough to convince her; but to get more revelation, she quizzed Him further and Jesus exposed some divine mysteries to her and opened her eyes to see more than the ordinary. Hit by the power of Jesus’ revelation, she ran back to the city and told all the men of the land about Jesus. She lifted up the name of Jesus and drew men unto the Lord “And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all [men] unto me” (John 12: 32 KJV). Mission accomplished! But wait a minute; during the few minutes she spent with Jesus, she contacted a prophetic anointing? “The woman then left her water pot, and went her way into the city, and saith to the men, Come, see a man, which told me all things that ever I did: is not this the Christ?” (John 4:28-29 KJV). To call Jesus a prophet was deep but to tell the world that He is the Messiah? That is prophetic anointing right there.

Are you like this woman and you have had your heart broken in pieces, and you doubt if there is any hope for you? There is healing for you right now. If you have not received Jesus, let Him in today. He is ready to work on you. If you have embraced Him but still hurting, it is time to let go and let Jesus fix you. It is time to let him reveal to you the depth of His love. You have been in the house of the Lord carrying this pain all over; the time for your healing is now, because the master has need of you. The woman ran back to “men”, same people who hurt her; she went to give them the good news. When you are truly healed, you will be bold enough to face your past headlong and deal with it. This sister was no longer shy, hurt, or unforgiving; she went to the men of the town and told them the good news of her new life. She became one of the sweet sisters serving the savior.

Sometimes your past holds you down and does not allow you become the woman God made you to be. The enemy comes to steal your peace, to kill your joy and to destroy your life; but Jesus came to give you an abundant life full of testimonies, and he wants to help you live beyond your every limitation (cf. John 10:10). The Lord needs you physically, psychologically and spiritually whole. He does not want anything that will weigh you down and not allow you do the work He has called you to do. So like the woman at the well, who left her water pot behind to go do the work, let go of every weight that will be of hindrance to your serving the savior. “Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us” (Hebrews 12:1 NASB). 

Free your heart of every hurt. Free your spirit of every burden. Free your body of every weight. The master needs you.

Excerpt from Winning Ways for Wise Women. Get yours @: 

US: http://www.amazon.com/Winning-Ways-Wise-Women-Gogo/dp/9789358822
UK & Europe: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Winning-Ways-Wise-Women-GOGO/dp/9789358822

What do we do with David Cameron

Sad Sunday Morning

Sundays have always been exciting for me. From my years as a teenage musician in a local church, to the years I had the rare privilege to occupy the hard, mind-numbing, challenging but exciting role of a pastor, going to church on a Sunday morning has always been special. The church, for me, is a place of refuge from the scorching heat and turbulence of our wicked world. From Monday to Saturday, the week may have been tough and I may have had some bad experiences that probably got me discouraged, stressed or even close to giving up, but when I wake up on Sunday morning, nothing that happened to me the past week was important anymore.  Once the day breaks on any Sunday, hope comes alive; my face glows, joy floods my soul and every weakness in me disappears, all because I am going to the house of the Lord to worship the King. Not ill health, bad weather, riots on the streets or threats to my life stopped me from going to church; come rain, shine, hail, snow or brimstone, if I am alive, I am going to church on Sunday morning. Indeed “I was glad when they said let us go to the house of the Lord”.

But as I write this, it is Sunday morning and I cannot go to church as usual. I woke up, looked at the clock and rushed to the bathroom because I was late for service. While I was dressing up I looked out the window and realized that I was in a different country, a place where everybody who chooses to worship “openly” must worship on a Friday. It is the culture/law of the land that everyone who wants to worship must do so on Fridays. My countenance and “joy level” dropped and with sadness I chose to turn on the television to see if I can, at least, see/hear something edifying. It took me a couple of minutes to find a channel that broadcasted English and when I found one, what did I see? No it is not good news. It is not songs of worship and celebration. No I didn't hear anyone celebrating my King. What I heard in the news was a protest. I heard some disgruntled fellows protesting a statement made by the British Prime Minister.

State of confusion

David Cameron called Britain a Christian country and some atheists, humanists, secularists, and some confused Christians, teamed up to blast the Prime minister.  Their argument is that Britain is a plural society and the Prime Minister’s assertion has negative consequences for their politics and society. They vehemently rejected any attempt to tag Britain “Christian Country”.  The news worsened my day.

Here I am, in a country whose government tagged “Islamic”, a land whose legal system is “Sharia” and all the people who live here must abide by that; I cannot worship openly, I cannot worship on Sunday, I may not be able to say I am a Christian, yet some people have such privilege in their country and do not appreciate it. Here, it doesn't matter what your religion/belief is, you are in a Muslim country and you are expected to live your life according to the principles of their religion. They are proud of their religion. Even though they claim to accommodate other cultures and religions, they will not as much as give you freedom to worship when you want, not to think of allowing you pray to any other god publicly. I mean, even my Chinese friends cannot get their famous fortune Cookie after eating in a Chinese restaurant. Why? Because there is only one national religion here and allowing you have your cultural food here is big enough. In this land, they will not tolerate any attempt to contaminate their religion with any strange practice; they are an Islamic country, they practice it openly and they are proud of it. Their religion is their culture and it reflects in every aspect of their lives including their politics. As a matter of fact, in this region, if you want to participate in government, you must have a strong inclination to their religion. Their religion and State are one and same.

The people in this region exalt their religion even beyond their business. They take breaks from their business/work to pray and nothing stops them from doing this daily. They have prayer rooms in their offices, malls, airports and other public places. Good for them, right!?

In contrast, many Western countries are beginning to deny or reject their religious heritage. They claim that modern day society is secular and not religious; they believe that State and religion are two separate things and should be separate. In some Western countries, people are clamoring for the removal of anything related to God, Jesus or religion in public places. Some have taken prayers out from their schools, and many do not bother to worship on Sundays because they have come to accept the new ideology. People mock those who still have time to pray over their food and some school teachers go the extra mile to make sure children do not make a public declaration of their faith. I have not seen a Christian prayer room in any Airport in UK, US, or any Western country. There may be, but I have not seen. So, is Christianity becoming weaker and less influential? Some say it is called pluralism, but I doubt that pluralism is a call to deny or downplay one’s faith.

Pluralism or Identity crisis?

Simply stated, a plural society is one in which people of diverse belief and cultural orientations coexist.  It does not mean lack of religious inclination. It does not mean rejecting or denying your cultural or religious identity. In a plural society there are people from various cultures, religions, beliefs and practices; they are all expected to live together in peace while each practices their convictions freely. In such heterogeneous society, freedom is the name of the game. Everyone is allowed to express themselves. I do not believe however, that a heterogeneous society means not to identify with a religion. There may be several cultures and religions in such society, but there has to be a “host religion” so to say. The leader and indigenes of the land are expected to highlight and promote their faith. But sadly, in most Western society, that is not the case. Pluralism, in my humble opinion, should not mean that we are afraid to identify with our home religion. It can only mean that we tolerate other religions/cultures but do not fail to identify with and celebrate, by all means, our honorable faith. Promoting and celebrating one’s faith is probably the cure to identity crises.   

WANTED-Defenders of the Faith

If you are a Christian politician, manager, supervisor, etc. and cannot take a stand and declare your faith, then you have failed not only the people whom you represent, but also God. In case you do not know, there is a purpose for every promotion and I can confidently tell you that you are lifted to bring honor and praise to the name of the Lord. This is not to say you should confuse work with religion, it simply means that you should do your work in such a way that Christ is exalted. Have you ever used your break time to worship or pray? No! Your belly is your God so that’s what you “worship” during your break.

You are either for us or against us. If you are for us, then you will represent and defend our faith no matter where you find yourself.  There is no middle ground, you are either raising the banner of Christ or you are bringing shame to His name. God is looking for men and women who will take a stand and declare their faith.  He wants men and women who will stand up and defend the many believers who are persecuted daily. If you are a Christian in power and you don’t care about the plight of the brethren, then you are not qualified for greater honor.  God needs defenders and promoters of His cause. God needs you.

And For David…

While some people criticize David Cameron, I think he is a hero of the Christian faith. The British Prime Minister deserves to be honored with the highest form of honor. If the British people will not celebrate him, I believe that there is a remnant that applauds him for his stance. I am one of those who celebrate and appreciate his boldness. He is not like some other leaders who are either ashamed or afraid to take a stand. He is strong enough to declare his faith even at the risk of his political career. Such a man should be celebrated. He is a hero who knows that even though Britain accommodates other cultures and religions, it cannot afford to deny its heritage.  We need more leaders like him. We need people in government who will stand for what they believe. Hopefully we can have a “David Cameron” in the US who will motivate and challenge America to celebrate their holy heritage. 

Lord, send a messenger to remind the American people that unless they return to and trust in the Lord, they are heading for doom.   

On this I rest my case.

Selah!