Of Dressing and Demon Control

I attended a seminar a few weeks ago where I heard a very interesting statement that has had me pondering over since.

‘You hide what you value’. In other words we do not go on displaying our valuables to all. I have never seen anybody displaying a lot of money on the streets unless in places where the currency is not worth much or where crime is nonexistent. And even then it is not for display but due to the hassle of spending.

We have safes to keep our most valuable documents and property.

In Swahili we have a saying, ‘kizuri chajiuza, kibaya chajitembeza’, meaning it is the worthless thing that seeks to display itself as the good one is its own market.

There are places in cities that one has to camouflage his status to visit due to the disparity of incomes. I know places in Nairobi that deals in millions yet it is very rare to find people dressed rich due to the past reputations. There are places you would be a fool to walk with your trendy handset and expensive watch.

What has this to do with dressing? We talk of private parts. What are they? They are parts of our bodies that are sacred as they are reserved for one special person I will be vulnerable to. They are our most cherished body parts that deserve all our protection as their use, if it can be called that, unless it is by the ONE person is called defilement. Touching someone’s private parts or even ogling over them is called harassment, even abuse. That is how precious they are.

Who should see those parts? I don’t conceal my valuables to my partner. I don’t hide them from someone I fully trust. I hide them from strangers. The reason they are called private parts is because they are meant to be displayed to the person I have totally surrendered to.

And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed. (Genesis 2:25)

This is the context of the revelation of our private parts.

What happens when they are displayed outside the marriage bed? Why are they displayed outside the marriage bed? What happens if you carried a full wallet in your hands? What happens if you carried your safe on the streets? It makes people imaginative. How much money is in that wallet or safe? Where is he taking it? Why is he flaunting it? What would I feel if it was in my hands? Etc.

That is what such dressing leads to. Just as there are leading questions where whatever answer you give would lead you to the place the questioner wants, such dressing is not simply what people call suggestive, it is simply leading to the bedroom. There are also clothes that leave very little, if anything to imagination. Sometimes it makes one wonder why they did not walk naked. Transparent, revealing, tight, made of material used to make nightdresses and petticoats etc. is it the tailor to blame or did they just follow instructions?

The Bible talks of the attire of a harlot. It takes no education to identify a prostitute. Her dressing simply and clearly says ‘ready for sex’. I am sure that Judah thought Tamar was a prostitute because of the way she was dressed (Genesis 38). Then he couldn’t require haggling and fight to commit adultery. In fact the opposite is true. A prostitute short-circuits the process by making sex so easy; requiring no struggles as the ‘battle’ has won itself even before you arrive and food is already on the table. No wonder a harlot multiplies the unfaithful among men.

We know that drug abuse is a doorway to demon control. Drugs do not contain demons, surely we know that. But what is a drug? A drug is a substance that alters the functions of the body to achieve a particular purpose. A painkiller simply kills the sensitivity of the body to pain. When we take painkillers to be able to torturously punish our bodies in exercise or body building we are abusing painkillers.

The body was custom made to be able to do certain things to a certain level. Pain is the thing God created to tell us when we are exceeding the limit. When we abuse painkillers, we are in effect faulting God with creating pain to give us limits. We want to exceed the limits to ‘be like God’ as Eve was deceived to believe. Agreeing to abuse painkillers then opens our spirits to the spirit of rebellion. That is what demon possession is all about. We have surrendered our spirits to the devil simply by wanting to be more than what God created. The same can be said about sleeping pills and any other medication, even beverages.

I have talked about ‘innocent’ drugs so that you can appreciate the fact that drug abuse is not so far from us. If you can’t sleep or keep awake without this then you are opening yourself to the devil. By the way even the hard drugs were initially used for medicinal purposes. Some are even today used that way. The difference between a medicine and drug abuse is the purpose. When a drug becomes essential to your life, then it has become your master and behind it is the senior master, the devil. Simply said, drug abusers are demon possessed, and that is a verifiable fact.

What has that to do with dressing?

But if they cannot contain, let them marry: for it is better to marry than to burn (1Corintians 7:9)

Sex has a physiological function with desires to that function. Of course it has higher functions which are not easily visible or verifiable. We talk of sex appeal. What does that mean? It simply means that the person so deemed is desirable for the purposes of having sex with. It is like food aroma. It is simply the scent food sends to the nose that makes us simply desire to eat that food. It is food that can induce hunger even when it is not there.

In our city there are hawkers. They are always fighting the authorities over their right to display their wares on the streets. They are always refusing to take their wares to their designated places. Why? Simply because when they are in their designated positions I will visit them when I want to buy whatever. I don’t go there for the sake of going. But when they are on the streets they are simply taking advantage of my eyes. I will see something I don’t even need displayed and it looks so desirable until it appears essential because of its ‘beauty’. The price also appears very affordable, simply because I don’t even know how much it costs in a shop or what my budget looks like. Of course I have not budgeted for it but it appears like the offer of a lifetime. I therefore will buy something I may never need for the price that may be astronomical.

I stopped buying from the hawkers one time I saw something I needed but which was not a priority. What made me make that decision was that I bargained and they halved the price, yet when I went to the shops I found out that I paid three times more than its worth in a shop, and it was not a few coins!

What does that have to do with dressing? You are asking. Well, a woman’s attraction should be her character as the Bible teaches. Of course we are also attracted to her beauty which will include her face and figure. The texture of her breasts do not add to that attractiveness. Her thighs are not part of the package that will attract a man to a woman. Those are private parts. They draw a man to crave sex with you. The reason they want to hug and pet you is to come as close to sex as they can, and that because they fear you will not agree or tradition will frown on it.

A woman who exposes her private parts, be it the cleavage or any part of the leg above the knee is attracting men sexually, whether she agrees with me or not. When men are drawn to you it is not to your person, but to you as a sex object. Your attractiveness is like the attraction to food when you pass a kitchen preparing good food, and that whether you will eat or not. This is the reality however noble men will try to convince you otherwise. Your attractiveness gives them a sexual kick and nothing else. Even if they will want to marry you it is purely for the purposes of sexual fulfillment which is the reason very few attractive girls are able to maintain a good marriage. Simply because the man did not consider anything else apart from meeting his sexual and probably display needs.

What happens when a man is thus exposed yet is not in a position of meeting those sexual needs he will be as frustrated as a person next to a kitchen cooking very good food yet he can’t access it. He will feel hungrier than he really is, eventually become very frustrated.

But if they cannot contain, let them marry: for it is better to marry than to burn (1Corintians 7:9)

This is the pressure a man is put in by women who dress bedroom in the streets. If he is not married that pressure will seek an outlet somehow, which many times will be the most vulnerable female around. Ever wondered how all those mad women get children? Or the weak and sickly? Even some who are shabby or dirty? Sometimes it is the girl entrusted to one’s care; of a driver, a teacher, a pastor, an uncle etc.

With all the craze about women empowerment, some wives deny their husbands sex for whatever reason. I think that may be a reason fathers are even turning to their daughters for their sexual release.

Now I am not defending men in the least. Sin is sin and is not dependent on the temptation.

Men do not despise a thief, if he steal to satisfy his soul when he is hungry; But if he be found, he shall restore sevenfold; he shall give all the substance of his house. But whoso committeth adultery with a woman lacketh understanding: he that doeth it destroyeth his own soul. (Proverbs 6:30 - 32)

The fact that overexposure of bedroom body parts will excite and bring frustration on a male does not explain away fornication or adultery. Nobody has a reason to sin.

What I am saying is that such dressing has a direct bearing on the explosion of sex sins and abuses we are seeing nowadays. Perverts and sinners will always be because of the sin nature in each of us. But I think I can not really be an innocent victim if I enticed the criminal. I can’t blame the slum dwellers for stealing my very expensive handset if I was parading it in their need. They might steal it just to punish me for showing off my stinginess, something that I may never have noticed.

Where do the demons come in? I am sure you are wondering. When you become self centred in your use of attractiveness, you are playing in the devil’s league. In my book ‘Perceptions’ I explored modest dressing as the Bible teaches. Modest is simply dressing that draws no attention to itself or the wearer. If my dressing will draw stares my way, I am not modest, and this includes even dressing in sacks! This is why the Bible advises against expensive clothes, gold or pearls as it is certain to attract attention to self (1 Timothy 2:9) if the Bible advises against dressing that draws attention to itself, what do you think it has to say about dressing that brings the bedroom to the street, even the church?

We know that when Christ is enthroned in our lives, He takes ascendance over everything, including self (John 3:30). This means that it is the devil I am submitting under if I am dressing in a way that draws attention to me. As such I am allowing the devil to start controlling me as I believe being invisible as God says in His word is not a good thing. In my search to be marketable I have departed from the faith as my lifestyle is saying that God’s prescription is senseless. And just as the case with drugs I want to go farther than God set, break through the boundaries God set.

If I am a Christian, this will start quenching the Spirit but I will start explaining away the guilt saying sexy is the new way of dressing. Eventually, and slowly, I allow the devil to help me deal with the guilt his way, which is by simply helping me get enough justifications for that. I am slowly allowing the devil to run my life, a thing he is very good at, especially by linking me with friends more deeply sunk in that control and so may not even be ashamed walking naked as they are fully in his clutches. But he will take you so gradually that you will not even notice. He won’t refuse you going to church as he knows that is where he needs to use you. Making your conscience to sleep is the only thing he needs to do especially as pastors are nowadays scared of preaching against such dressing, as they are scared against other sins.

Eventually I will start being comfortable in sin, allowing the devil to lead me lower down as he is now able to give me rationalization for sin. Then he starts to use the latest argument of ‘you shall not judge’ to kill opposition to your sin not caring to know that the Bible says that saints will judge angels and therefore are qualified to deal with disobedience, especially on people who claim to belong to Christ.

I don’t want to talk about possession, obsession or the rest because I want to avoid picking theological arguments. Suffice it when I say that you are simply giving the devil permission to run your life. Whether he is in your life or outside is not important at this point. The devil leads you deeper and deeper into sin so that you even are not able to see it. He can even convince you that what you are doing will bring glory to God like many people who marry non believers to bring them to Christ against God’s word, or like this girl who told me that God had asked her to have sex with me as the answer to her problems.

Let us explore another thing sexy dressing leads to. We have already explored the fact that it leads man to desire sex. It physically sexually excites a man.

What happens when there is overexposure?

Hast thou found honey? eat so much as is sufficient for thee, lest thou be filled therewith, and vomit it. (Proverbs 25:16)

Two things, the first is an obsession with sex leading to a lot of experimentation and hurt. This is because sex as God created it is meant for one partner. This is especially with the young people who are exploring to understand the issues of life. The pleasure and the fantasy that desire for sex arouses in a young person lets them imagine that the act itself will be heaven. But sex for its own sake is depressing. Sex without commitment, apart from leaving a lot of guilt will leave someone unfulfilled.

Chances are that the young person will think that the partner is the problem, making him go on ‘testing’ until they find just the right person. But this, apart from battering and draining the youth physically, emotionally and even spiritually will expose him to health dangers. Their body is not mature enough to handle all that experimentation and of course there are complications that come into play. There is pregnancy that can mess their education and especially diseases that they are likely to contract, some which have no cure.

Of course we know some will be taught the facts of sex by people who appear to be more knowledgeable, who don’t know much because they are most likely their peers. Some have taken conception blocking pills against the recommended usage, some dealing their productivity a death blow as they will never conceive. Some young men on seeking even greater thrill have resorted to take aphrodisiacs and died in the process especially because they do not understand what they are doing and they can’t risk asking an expert’s opinion because they know they are ‘stealing’.

But the worst part is the youth may dismiss the whole idea of sex as being beautiful due to the many wounds it has inflicted on them. They think that the beauty of sex is a lie. They will then seek experiences that are different and ‘less risky’ especially as concerns a pregnancy. This is where they seek to be involved with their own sex, what is known as homosexuality, something God calls an abomination. Others will dismiss marriage altogether. That is where the devil wants the world to head because without marriage there is no birth, the only thing the devil has tried to counterfeit without success.

Some will detest girls and look at them as pests, especially when they are so dressed. The dressing therefore becomes counterproductive and the loser is the one who started the whole process. They will realize that the peers they dressed to impress fail to notice your presence, leaving you frustrated since you might find them pursuing your conservative friends. Ever noticed that a man will play with and use glamorous girls yet retreat to their primitivity to look for a wife, some taking even an illiterate one? And this even before the craze of exposed bedroom parts came around.

And whosoever shall offend one of these little ones that believe in me, it is better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and he were cast into the sea. (Mark 9:42)

In conclusion I want to clearly state that if your dressing reveals in any way what you are ashamed of displaying in front of respectable company, God says that you have opened yourself to the devil to lead you to fulfill his agenda on earth which is contrary to what God has in store for you. God gives life but the devil steals, kills and destroys and seeks to use you to do it before eventually doing the same to you.

If you feel that I have been too harsh, please pray and ask God to clarify to you what I have written. I do not contain all revelation. I am just a Christ’s slave and am writing what He is teaching me with the hope that it will rescue someone from this perverse generation by seeking to live as God directs. You see, if your dressing in a small way contributes to leading someone to stumble, you can be sure that you will be judged whether you believe you are led by the devil or not.

Woe unto the world because of offences! for it must needs be that offences come; but woe to that man by whom the offence cometh! (Matthew 18:7)

May God teach us to listen to and obey Him in all aspects of our life.

God bless you

Call to Prayer

It is interesting how fervent we are in prayer when we are faced with a crisis. We will even fast to add to our prayer when we are facing an interviewing panel. But look at us when we get the job or promotion! You might think we are daring God to deny us that job. Look at the great lengths we go to when we are looking for a spouse, especially when our clocks are ticking dangerously. What happens when God gets us that partner? Many times we will pay occasional homage to the church that had become our second home in our search.

Reminds me of a story I heard long ago.

Hyena was starving to death and realized that unless God performed a miracle he had no energy to pursue even a lame animal. He had to find immobile food to live.

He therefore resorted to prayer, pleading with God to spare his life by giving him food so that he continued living.

As he was limping along he was shocked to find a tethered calf. That was the food he could have given anything to find. It was soft and tender, a treat of a lifetime. He could eat it all considering how hungry he was feeling.

‘Well God, I have finally found food. If you are the one who gave me this calf, take it now’. He was convinced that God could not tether or untether anything.

Then he found something even better. The rope tethering it was made of hide.

He reasoned that it was better to start with the hard rope so that he will later get to the tender parts of the calf, which is how most of us reason.

As he started gnawing on the rope the tether of course broke and the calf fled, leaving the hyena with the very short part of the rope.

‘I was only joking, God. Please save my life. You are the one who ….’ But the case had already been closed and he starved to death.

Hands up if this story connects with someone you know. Could it be you? What do you do when God answers your prayers?

I felt the urgency to share this message because I sense a similar sentiment in Kenya. Since last year we were so prayerful especially as we neared the elections. The reason was the chaos we experienced during the last elections and the resulting hardship. Everybody prayed peace and preached peace. Even the famed Kenyan media which is known to enjoy spewing our dirt to the world was very responsible. Nobody wanted Kenya to burn. It was the international media that tried to report sensational issues to fan whatever they wanted because they had a stake in the chaos should they occur. But Kenyans were focused. No war at any cost. We prayed. We prepared. We preached. We voted. Peace was the enduring message.

Have we forgotten so quickly? Or like the hyena are we thinking it was all due to us that our land is peaceful? Do we acknowledge God in our affairs or do we seek Him when our situation looks risky? Do we pray for protection only when we are walking in risky environs yet forget He is our security even when things are fine? Do we realize that He is the reason we are safe even in safe locations?

Are we praying as a matter of course or do we pray as if we believe that God is the centre of all we are?

When our leaders were being inaugurated, they knelt before God in acknowledgment that it was God who gave them that trust and that it was only through Him that they will fulfill it. I have heard some people say that it was a PR exercise. Who are you to gauge the sincerity of someone’s confession?

In any case why don’t you start being as genuine as you wanted them to be and kneel genuinely and humbly before God? Why don’t you pray them into genuineness, since you know what genuineness looks like?

But the main reason I write is to challenge us to remember how passionate we were as we were praying for peace as I believe that this time round people were more concerned for peace that about the person who would be president as we knew that as the reason leaders used to incite people to kill and displace others so that they could share the ‘bread’.

Are we as passionate when we are praying about the challenges our government is facing with security or terrorism? Are we as passionate when we are praying about the MPs seeking to increase their salaries? Do we even pray or are we more concerned about protests? Are we as passionate when praying for wisdom for our leaders as they serve us? Are we as passionate as we pray about joblessness?

You see the fact that your preferred candidate did not win is no reason to think God did not answer your prayers because I think deep down you know that was a secondary request. In any case who gives leaders? If God said that He is the one who raised Pharaoh and Nebuchadnezzar, who are we to believe that He could not do it for Kenya?

Since we were so committed to organize ‘keshas’ and fasts to pray for peace during elections, why don’t we do the same about other pressing needs our nation faces?

May we be found ready to know what God has in store for us so that we can play the part He has for us to fulfil His purpose for this great nation.

God bless you

prayer and partnership

Greetings

I wanted to request that you join me in thanking God for the far He has taken me with respect to passing the messages He has given me over the years.

So far I have been able to publish 7 of the books I have written as well as assist new authors to get theirs out by editing, proofreading and layout. I have also published for probably five so far and am in the final processes of doing the same for a few others.

Since this is a ministry God gave me, I can not go the business way as He was very emphatic on that when He gave me the commission. I also do not sell all my books as many times God asks that I give them to people who need them so that His message can have the kind of impact He wants. I continue to receive testimonies of the impact such gestures and books have had over the years. I continue to be amazed by what God can do with what we have released to Him.

Recently, I was also led to start a blog (biqil.blogspot.com) where I post the messages God is giving me. Not very many people visit it since I have not publicized it but I am also excited to share that people are hearing God and being transformed as they visit it. My guiding principle as I got into writing was that I would be content if only one (1) person benefited from God’s message, whether a book or even an sms. I would be content if after publishing 1000 books only one person receives or is ministered to by the message. But I continue receiving reports of the impact of the messages God has given me in my books, sms and the blog and affirm what the Bible says that a word proceeding from God will not return to Him void.

I want to report that all my previous books are now out of print. Actually only two of them have less than 20 books remaining. I have probably 5 other complete books that are ready for publishing and have been so for some time for lack of finances. I am trusting God for some 300 000 shillings to be able to print all of them at once. This includes reprinting my previous ones.

But the main reason I write this is one book I feel has come to its time. It was ready over two years ago. In fact ‘The Opportunity of a Crisis’ overtook it because that was the message I felt God wanted out then.

I now strongly feel that the time for this book has come and that it should be released without further delay. The title is ‘The Encounter, the confessions of a successful pastor’. It is a work of fiction, a parable God gave me to speak to His people. For it I need 30 or 50 thousand shillings to produce 500 or 1000 copies.

Please pray that God will release this money. Pray also to know whether He wants you to be involved in the same as I continue to feel the urgency of the message at this time, something I have not felt since I wrote it as I have earlier mentioned that another book, probably two, came later and was published before it.

Let me also share something I think business people are concerned about. What does my business get by giving money for the printing of the book? I feel that God has released me to partner with business in this venture. I want to suggest what I feel is beneficial to them. If you release funds for the printing, I could give you the inside cover to talk about your products and services. Of course I will mention that your business funded the printing of the book, probably fix your logo on the cover. Another thing we could do is have an insert or probably a book mark that will market your business to all who will read the book.

It doesn’t have to be one business. I will acknowledge all who will give towards the printing of the book who want to be acknowledged and give some space for them to be visible. But it has to be business that agrees with scriptural values and that is something we will have to be firm about.

So think about giving 5000, 10000 even the whole amount to facilitate the release of a message whose time has come. If you do not want the publicity, well and good, that also agrees with scriptures. But I don’t want to leave out a business that wants to support this venture on business terms. But whatever you give will be appreciated.

But please continue praying that this ministry will grow and that as I empower Christian writers I will continue to enjoy God’s victory.

God bless you

Food in God’s House

Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the LORD of hosts … (Malachi 3:10a)

We love to speak, teach and preach about the tithe, especially the fact that it should be brought to the church that ‘feeds’ you.

That is not really a problem. My problem is the reason for bringing those tithes and offerings in that storehouse which is the second part of the verse. I am yet to see a preacher touching on that very simple and easily understandable thing. The temple had many stores whose main purpose was the storage of the tithe.

Overlooking that fact may be the reason for a lot of frustration on some who are faithfully tithing yet continuing to experience leanness in their lives. By leanness I am talking about lack of fulfillment and joy.

It is true that God expects us to tithe, and faithfully so.

Yet we need to ask the vital question, what is the purpose for the tithe? Could it be that we are tithing alright but displeasing God with it? Could it be that our tithing is not God directed? Could our tithing be a tithing that adds no value to the values God values?

What does the Bible mean when it talks of there being food in God’s house? Was there need for that food? Has that need expired with the times? What was the purpose of the tithe anyway?

We have been flooded with the doctrine that the tithe was for the Levites, and that today these are the pastors who double up as the managers of the storehouse. Are pastors the equivalent of the priests? Why or why not? Did the Bible have any other recipients for the tithes?

In the Bible, the tithe was a designated giving that was targeted at the people of faith. I see several different terms talking about the tithe. Among them you will find the tithe of your increase, the tithe of all your flock and herd, the tithe of your land, the tithe of the tithe, eating your tithe etc.

One of the things you notice when you do a study on tithing is that there were three distinct recipients of the tithe.

The first was the Levite, who in turn tithed to the priest.

The second was the disadvantaged; the poor, orphan, widow and the alien who was most probably a refugee.

The community who would keep a certain tithe to celebrate God’s goodness at the place God had designated.

Why was the Levite given the tithe? The primary reason was that ministry was his inheritance. When God gave land to the other tribes, He intentionally left out the Levites. They therefore did not have any agricultural land. The only land they received was cities and their pasturelands so that they could take care of the sacrificial animals. They therefore were dead apart from the tithe. That is why you see a lot of problems when the society is apostate as it will leave the Levite with no option but to hustle for food. But it also worked the other way too. The Levites’ key role was spiritual instruction and any laxity on their side brought the tithe down as the community saw no need for giving as they had lost their passion for the spiritual.

The Levites were the spiritual instructors and judges because they had been excluded from the things that contribute for societal conflict which is greed, ambition and envy. Their status made it possible for them to be unbiased because theirs was a lifestyle shielded from the ‘pressures’ of life. This required them to spend all their time studying the scriptures and teaching the same. Ezra 7: 10 summarizes the responsibilities of the Levites.

You will realize that most prophets were Levites. All the temple singers were also Levites as were the porters and storekeepers. Even the watchmen (gatekeepers) of the temple were Levites. Any spiritual responsibility belonged to the Levites. We can therefore understand why they had to be given the tithe.

The other group was the disadvantaged through no fault of theirs. God took care of them using the tithe. You will also realize as you read the Bible that apostasy really hit hard on this group since they had no place to turn to as the storehouse had been emptied and capitalism then reigned supreme.

Apostasy also affected religious celebrations for the same reason.

When did the house of God stop being the storehouse? When was it that the church stopped having food? In Acts, we can clearly see something of the Old Testament as we see people selling their lands and the proceeds are taken to the storehouse to cater for the needs of the congregation. In fact we see the apostles emphatically refusing to be brought anywhere near that storehouse as they had a different assignment. The deacons were chosen because there was food in the storehouse so that needs were effectively met.

‘As poor as a church mouse’ is a statement depicting the church as the place we do not expect any food. This may guide us to know how long ago we transformed the church from a storehouse to empty space, in some places called the vestry. This also tells us how long ago we started abusing the tithe. That is not about the time, but we can comfortably predict that by the time that statement gained currency the tithe had been abused for so long that many people had completely lost sight of the second part of Malachi 3: 10.

Another contributor is the changing the tithe into money or otherwise making people give their tithe in monetary terms. All tithes were in kind. A shepherd tithed his flock and herd. A farmer gave of his harvest. A perfumer gave from his perfumes. A dressmaker gave from his work. Remember Jesus talking of the Pharisees giving the tithe of perfumes that were dealt with in very small measures? I believe one reason the storehouse has disappeared is implying that all tithe must be converted into something mammon can corrupt. You see it is difficult to hoard cows or beans. Only money can remain ‘fresh’ for ten years and not rot unless the bank collapses, which is something all of us expect at the back of our minds. Christ also mentioned the same though to many it appears so far of as to be impossible.

Which pastor is willing to break out of mammon’s grip by challenging his flock to start bringing the tithe out of what they are doing? Then the storehouse will have clothes from the tailors, food from the farmers, insurance premiums from those traders, cars from the dealers, houses from the builders, transport from transporters … and it will be so much that no single person can keep for themselves. And that will not stop churches from being built because what we have talked about is the tithe.

One thing you will notice is that any revival brought back food in the storehouse, many times much more than the Levites and needy could handle. How are we comfortable talking about revival yet our storehouses are nonexistent? Where do we expect the revived to take their tithes when we don’t have a storehouse?

1 Corinthians 16: 2 we see Paul encouraging them to be consistently stocking the storehouse so that when the time came they would simply take what they needed to minister to other saints. I believe that is what made Christianity so attractive to outsiders.

Another product of a storehouse (we are talking about real food here) is that it is not easy to be stingy with a full storehouse. Food is easy to share. Money isn’t. Though we have stingy farmers, they normally look very ridiculous hoarding food instead of sharing it as it will eventually rot.

As I have been in ministry I have also realized that conmen will never seek to convince you to give them food. They will be targeting your pocket even when they are talking about hunger. Food is the solution to most of the evil which we are getting into with regard with what God has given us. I have realized that taking time to feed someone who confesses to being hungry very easily chases the crook. It also shows us the really needy. That is the route God used to get me to be involved with the needy.

Even begging will be decimated if we stocked the storehouse. You see the beggar wants to capitalize on your concern without wanting your involvement. And that is the reason we have beggars who are landlords and business magnates. If every church had a storehouse, that would die a natural death.

Let me also mention that most religions have storehouses which are managed by their priests. We even have needy members from churches who go to those religions to receive food which is a great shame to the church that should be the example to them. This because the food has already been offered to the gods worshipped there. I remember once leading a team to such a temple and we were offered so much food, very nicely made and presented, and we had not even requested! We declined but what would a hungry person do?

One part of worship is celebration where there is plenty to eat and that is not possible without a storehouse. Potluck is not the ideal when we are talking celebration. Outside catering also does not do it. There is the fellowship and bonding as people prepare food, get burns in the kitchen to gain experience and enjoy food made by many cooks. And that was the purpose of the third part of the tithe.

The storehouse has a capacity of bringing more converts to the church than the evangelistic thrusts we spend so much time and money on.

Even as I share this I remember a ministry recently launched in Kenya as a chapter of the one in Korea. The ministry concept is very simple. Pastors of small churches are supported to meet the needs of the poorest in their society. These are not members of the churches and the pastors do not even introduce themselves as such. They feed and care for them constantly. As a result the churches have really exploded as anything done in Christ’s name will draw people to Him. Churches that had problems supporting their operations are able to now take care of their needs with some even being able to support their pastors. They have taken the same to countries without the Christian witness and the results are the same.

We are trusting God to explore the same for Kenya.

But I believe this will be eased if we have a storehouse. Then it will be easy to simply cook food and either take it to the needy or invite them to eat. Then we won’t need loudspeakers to share the Gospel as we will have availed the same to the needy just by having a storehouse. And the reception is almost guaranteed. I don’t know whether you realize that most conversions come from crises and hunger is one such crisis.

What do you use your tithe for? Does your tithe provide food in God’s house? Does your tithe meet the needs of people God has called out of their ‘inheritance’ to His ministry? Does your tithe minister empowerment in your fellowship? Does your tithe enhance worship by providing for a time and food for bonding in celebration? Does your tithe contribute for the evangelization of your neighborhood by ministering to the needy unbelievers, especially the most vulnerable (aged, disabled, sick, orphans, widows, refugees)?

Do you abuse the tithe by using it to build structures and monuments at the expense of stocking the storehouse? Do you abuse it by focusing all of it on only one class of ‘Levite’ in that structure? Do you abuse it by ministering to people and structures that have the capacity to ‘revenge’? Do you abuse the tithe by organizing retreats and outings only for the fellowship of the ‘elite’?

Haggai 1 talks of the consequences of neglecting the building of God’s house. I believe there are consequences of neglecting, even abusing the storehouse in God’s house. I believe they are similar but not limited to only those mentioned by Haggai. Apart from blunting the edge of the Gospel by short circuiting our love to the nations, it brings about a discontent in the spirit as the fulfillment that proceeds from a heart in tune with his society is lacking.

Just as we are passionate about preaching about and bringing the tithes, may we be more careful to know the kind of storehouse it goes to and where it is expended.

But I think the main message is to the managers of the institutions that are receiving the tithes to examine the whole purpose of the tithe especially as it concerns the storehouse.

God bless you