Princesses in Marriage

I am writing this as an observation to help the youth and their parents especially in things spousal choice.

Have you realized that as you read the Bible that girls from dynasties introduced difficult dynamics in the places they were married into?

Why was Moses unable to control Zipporah? The most likely reason was the fact that she was the daughter of a priest. It was thus difficult to have her in subjection to a spiritual ‘nobody’ from Egypt. Though all Israel submitted to his calling, his wife had real struggles to do the same because she was from a connected branch.

Why did David have issues with Michal yet they were so much in love? She was a king’s daughter and really struggled to transfer her submission from her father to a husband, especially because her father was opposed to him. She was therefore torn between love and submission. I hope you remember why Saul gave her to him in the first place.

Do you realize that Absalom was not the first or even second born in David’s family?

Yet why did he overthrow his father? And why did his younger brother also plan a takeover even before David died as a right when we see him asking for Solomon’s heartbeat?

Their mother was a king’s daughter.

And did you also know that Jezebel and Athaliah were also king’s daughters?

And did you also know that Solomon was led astray by princesses that he had married, seven hundreds of them?

Everyone carries with them a spiritual heritage from their roots.

And that heritage shades everything they do, especially to their husband’s position and authority.

It is sad that the other world knows about this dynamic even as most believers have no clue. Just like Jesus said when he was talking about the use of money.

It is no surprise therefore that believers are taken advantage again and again by this dynamic.

Do some little research and you will discover that many ministers who were called in their youth lost their cutting edge after getting married. Dig deeper and you may discover a girl whose past was muddied generationally. She therefore brings that muddied dynamic into his ministry and calling and like Jezebel and those others will shift his focus into other things.

Even sadder is that the enemy will then bring ‘success’ to that partnership to ensure that the blinding is complete. Remember Jezebel had eight-fifty prophets at her disposal! And that Solomon’s business partnerships (marriages) made silver as common as stones in Jerusalem.

This serves to cover for the spiritual discontent when someone considers their past when they were sold out to God.

How many times have you heard people saying that the pastor would be okay but for his wife?

I have written elsewhere that by design connectors ensure that spiritual firebrands get married to extinguishers. That is a spiritual reality.

But young people will not listen, or so we think. Probably we do not know how to speak to them even as the other side has a complete software package to connect them to these extinguishers.

We must thus become more intentional in the way we instruct our youth to help them understand and especially follow Christ in their spousal choices.

The Bible clearly says that we are not unaware of the devil’s devices. But it is instructive to acknowledge that we many times play along with his dramatics.

Ask Solomon. Ask David. Ask Noah. Ask Lot.

I am therefore writing this to raise awareness that marriage in the spiritual realm is not just about a young man and a maiden. There are spiritual dynamics involved and our ignorance is not any sort of defense. On the contrary the other side treats it with utmost importance.

It means we will always be on the losing side as our future and vision will be curtailed by those decisions we make without seriousness.

But it was not so in the past. Parents made a thorough research on the suitor for their child to ensure that the vision of their family will thrive because of that union.

Will we choose to do that as spiritual leaders?

Spiritual Leadership Kills

Have you ever wondered why David was so aged before turning seventy?

How was it that he was unable to keep warm that they had to look for a girl to lie by his side? How come he was unable to rise to the occasion with the girl yet I suspect that may have been the primary reason she was sought, to increase his temperature?

Leadership, more so spiritual leadership, is especially draining on mortal flesh.

On the same plane why are witches and wizards wizened and withered?

The spiritual dimension is not your normal playing field that depends on your muscle tone and exercise regimen. It is a field that opens you to interact with the spiritual and do business with it for the mortal realm.

David was such a leader. The Bible talks of him as someone beloved of God and the people. In other words his testimony was good whether you consulted heaven or earth.

And that takes immense effort, effort that places a heavy weight on mortal flesh.

It could be the reason priests were commanded to retire at fifty. Twenty years of priestly ministry is enough to take a priest to retirement.

Again look at what happened to Daniel when he interacted with revelation

Therefore I was left alone, and saw this great vision, and there remained no strength in me: for my comeliness was turned in me into corruption, and I retained no strength. (Daniel 10:8)

What happens when you are interacting with such consistently as your ‘profession’? And how many of us have felt completely drained after some intensity of seeking God’s face concerning something or dealing with a spiritual situation?

As I write I remember one time I made a particular prayer and thought I was going to die. I was very sick and recovered when the answer manifested.

Yet that is the normal fare of spiritual leaders. Always praying, seeking God’s face concerning this or the other, receiving this or the other revelation, and so on.

I do not want to mention doing battle with the enemy of souls because our job is to follow our Commander.

But for me the sad fact is not that spiritual leadership ages the minister. It is that some ministers refuse to acknowledge what is obvious to everybody else.

Think about Hezekiah. He was so effective in his ministry as king.

God is satisfied with his job and seeks to rest him in death. I am convinced that the king had exhausted his spiritual potency.

But the king protests, using the reason God was resting him as the reason he should go on. And God gives in to his cry.

What then happens? He has already become too soft to spiritually serve right. His spiritual muscle is gone. His spiritual sensibility is done.

The only thing left is to produce Manasseh, the wickedest king Judah had.

This brings out another observation. A drained spiritual potency is dangerous for raising posterity. One has become too soft to handle discipline right.

We see the same with Eli who was unable to handle the indiscipline of his sons though we know he tried to do what his age is good at, reasoning with them. Again look at how David deals with situations, leaving Solomon with the assignment of closing cases that he could have easily and quickly dealt with in his youth.

You see, age rounds off the sharp edges of indignation. And it happens as we grow old, especially in ministry as grace makes a greater impact in our lives.  We will therefore go slower when in our youth we exploded, sometimes to the point of being thought to have backslidden or compromised. That is why it is not normal to hear an old minister preaching those fire and brimstone sermons even when the sin in their congregation is evident.

But it is not all negative.

As a common proverb in most of Africa says, an old man can see farther while seated than a young man can on top of a tree.

It thus means that an old man is able to see better through his experience beyond the physical or empirical. This is spiritual insight that is the product of walking with God as we serve Him. That is where that ‘unreasonable’ grace proceeds from because he can see beyond the immediate.

But we are dealing with spiritual leadership and how it drains the minister. I just thought to highlight some other things it does.

Spiritual responsibility hastens the aging of a minister. And it is not only physically.

It therefore means that I should slow down earlier than the person who is in the secular realm.

Refusing to do so will severely limit my effectiveness and impact as it will negatively impact my judgment. Again have you ever after some intense prayer or ministration felt so tired as if a truck was lying on you?

What am I saying?

A minister should at the earliest moment start preparing for his retirement from active ministry. And that is what discipleship is.

But many ministers resist that with everything they have because they feel that they will become useless. It is sad that some even attempt to deny aging by dressing young and dyeing their greying hair.

But nothing could be farther from the truth.

Getting away from active ministry opens greater doors to minister according to your strength levels. It will in fact maximize your impact and range because you will then be ministering to ministers as an elder. (I am avoiding to say overseer because of the abuse associated with the word).

Like it was in the African culture he will be available for ministry consultation any time as he is not being held back by timelines and deadlines. And he will be doing it at his own pace.

Lack of this could be the reason many senior ministers die in their prime while yet others are getting compromised by everything from the world to politicians. They overstretch their capacity to be the best they can be for Christ because they refuse to hear the command to relax and allow and facilitate others to minister.

Another outcome is the lack of accountability in ministry because every minister is active in his field and so unable to know what another minister is doing unless they read the doctored reports their junior ministers bring, and even then to just flip through.

Is God saying anything to you?

 

Ravi Zacharias

I have made inference to this character on a few posts recently, especially concerning his ‘sin’ and our response to the same.

Today I want to go frontal against his ‘enemies’. And I want to do so because there are some things they do not want to face.

David sinned and concealed the evidence. Incidentally that is man’s automatic response to sin.

But then God sent Nathan.

Who is Nathan in Ravi’s case? And where was he when Ravi was getting soaked in all that sin?

Why are we condemning a dead man instead of looking for the silent Nathan who ought to have restored or at least confronted Ravi? And why do we not want to acknowledge that we are part of who he was because we did not point him away from his sin before he died.

Now I do not know him and have never interacted with him. The closest to him I have come is watch part of a lecture he gave somewhere.

But he is my brother and I am concerned that by battering a dead man we are muddying the Gospel he preached. To appear righteous we are painting someone with no capacity to change black instead of looking to use his sin to educate the church.

By unordaining and undegreeing and unnaming him you are actually calling yourselves spiritual fools as you had no discernment when you offered those awards. You should therefore revisit your spirituality for your indiscretion. Your sin could actually be worse than his.

Nathan was so connected that he risked his life to confront the king. Here we have men who defame a witness to sin and victim because they believe their hero does not sin. Or maybe they do not want to face the fact that they need the man more than they need his restoration.

There is something else Jesus said.

Face a sinner alone. If he doesn’t agree, take two or three others. If he still doesn’t change take him to the church. Then, if he doesn’t change de-everything him and treat him as a non-believer.

Why did Jesus command that?

Sin is deceptive, very deceptive.

Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God. But exhort one another daily, while it is called To day; lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. (Hebrews 3: 12, 13)

That is why it is very important to follow those steps Jesus gave.

We can’t therefore condemn someone for sin if we have not confronted him for it. Sin’s camouflage needs external eyes to see clearly. And that is what Nathan did.

We can’t condemn Ravi if we can’t trace his Nathan’s testimony, at least not when he is dead and buried. Not only is it unfair, it actually serves no purpose.

Why was his circle so blind?

Let us look at David.

I doubt any in his circles could have confronted him. I suspect Uriah could have comfortably handed over his wife to David had he known that she was pregnant by the king. It is David’s guilt that drove him to what he did.

Or have you never heard that Mohamed’s adopted son divorced his beautiful wife when he saw the prophet eying her with desire so that the prophet does not sin in marrying her?

We many times cover for our heroes. We do not want to imagine that they are frail like us. We do not want to face the reality that they could fall and so look for anything to defend them.

I have been battered many times when I took a transgression to its source that was a man of God at the top. These statements are repeated all too often to lend credence to what I am saying.

The president is not corrupt. It is his appointees and family who are. The pastor is very good hearted. It is the deacons and elders who are wicked. The chairman is alright. It is the board that is not supportive.

Like they say, fish starts rotting at the head (that is what I have always heard). You can’t blame the fins for the stench. But when the head starts rotting, the whole body has no option but to join it.

Do not shame a dead man. Start confessing to being part of that sin, essentially because you padded it by hiding from acknowledging it when there was a chance to rectify matters.

And that is why I am asking about a Nathan in this scenario. Was he silenced? Was he demonized? Or did he close his ears because he did not want to face such a man? Or probably was scared of the consequences and did a Jonah on the assignment?

Could the boards that are now shaming a dead man have contributed to the emasculation of this Nathan? Could they have blocked him from reaching Ravi? Could they have killed him so that their hero doesn’t repent because doing so would have removed butter from their bread? Are they reacting with indignation because they realize the mess they caused yet are not willing to face to the fact that they might be the reason Ravi died without repenting?

I do not like talking about the dead. I do not do ministry to the dead.

And it is not because I am scared of them or death itself.

Like the Bible says, a living dog is better than a dead lion. Why waste ministry on the dead when Christ has called us to minister to the living? Why waste so much effort killing a dead man when there are so many on the verge of death crying for our ministry?

I will close by asking again. Where was the Nathan? And where is he?

He is the one we should be stoning.

Warfare Triggers

Warfare, actual warfare, begins when someone connects to what they were created for.

Do you realize that David had the favor of all as long as he had not started being what he was anointed for?

What do I mean?

He was precious in the king’s court when he was the court musician. Even the king loved him and asked that he stays in the palace permanently.

But what happens when he starts connecting to his anointing as king?

His brother starts berating him. The army starts discouraging him. The king gives him a reality check.

You see, the devil knows in a great way what will launch you into what people now call your purpose. And since it began with God he knows it is unstoppable. He will therefore start to dissuade and delay you from launching as that is the only chance he has of blocking the avalanche that God will release with and in you.

But if you are like David, you will press on anyway. And you will overcome and be released into prominence due to that breakthrough.

Then the tables will drastically turn from dissuasion to actual opposition.

You see, after killing Goliath he was launched into the kingdom in such a way that the rejected king was in no doubt that the youngster was the one Samuel had told him about in his rejection speech. And he was not through with being king. He simply did not want to agree with God that he was rejected.

The devil will never fight you if you do not pose any threat to his kingdom.

Do you know why you are enjoying your life without any challenges?

Chances are that the devil is comfortable with the way you are running it. You pose no challenge to his kingdom. If truth be told you are doing his biding however connected you may think you are to the divine.

You know, the devil is never threatened by your living right if it does not threaten his reign.

David could have played the harp before Saul for a hundred years without issues. He was then a treasured member of the court.

Living holy is the key to attracting opposition. Taking your assignment seriously is what the devil fears and will do everything to discourage it from all fronts.

And I can remember with my life the kind of opposition I have encountered when I decided to do what God orders.

Ask for a transfer to ‘nowhere’, leave a good job, write a book, give out your books, do not take ‘pay’ for ministry, etc.

You can be sure that you will never do it if you listen to reason, even spiritual reason as it all points to you being the idiot of the century like David appeared. Some of my most vehement critics are prominent ministers with titles that can fill a page.

But it always delivers because it stems from obedience. And that is what the devil is scared of.

But warfare does not stop when you obey. It actually intensifies. But at least then God has allowed you to taste victory.

Then he will take the frontal approach as he has been unable to stop you from the sidelines.

Everybody discouraged David from taking on the giant. But the king and his army resorted to looking to kill him when he succeeded because there was then no way of blocking his march.

Incidentally you even see Saul confessing that he knew that David would become king to the point of seeking protection from him for his descendants once it happened. Yet he continued looking to kill him!

Comfort could be a clear pointer that your life poses no threat to the enemy of souls.

Look also at Paul. He had everything going for him when he was serving the interests of the ecclesiastical leadership and their boss.

Yet see what happened when he connected to his identity in Christ?  2 Corinthians is a clear indicator of the kind of opposition he endured as he sought to obey that higher calling.

Of course even amidst that opposition there are moments of respite. We see Paul’s coming when he is taken to prison and David when he finally was able to bring down all his enemies.

But it is a lull as the enemy looks for another strategy. Or do you not read that the devil after failing to bring Jesus down left Him for a season?

He will still come, again and again.

It is therefore imperative that we internalize that reality as it will help us navigate this whole dynamic of spiritual warfare. Otherwise we will become like David when he remained home in the season kings go to war. 1 Corinthians 10:12 is instructive.

And all men of God went through that, from Joseph to Moses to the prophets to the apostles.

Have you never wondered why you might have been enjoying social media for years without any challenges but get blocked and have your posts blanked when you post what the Bible says about abominations?

You have just realized that God wants you to speak His language, a language that is diametrically opposed to what the god of this age stands for.

But many will chicken out to be able to enjoy the likes and views.

You cannot obey Christ and fail to offend the devil. And of course the devil will not stand back to allow you to bring down what he lives for.

The choice is yours; warfare or spiritual irrelevance amidst comfort.

But comfort is not the conclusion. It is an introduction to destruction that is the end game for those who choose to walk on the broad way.

You therefore get to choose to fight here and rest later or enjoy here and ‘fight’ later.

And that simply by choosing to listen and obey God and His word or choose relevance to the world.

Sin versus Abomination

Have you ever realized that whereas sin seeks concealment, rebellion seeks attention?

As I was going through the book of Judges this came out very clearly, even when we link it to the destruction of Sodom. Remember the precursor to the Benjamite war?

I have never seen anybody demonstrating to be allowed to sleep with their neighbor’s spouse. I have never seen a thief proudly demonstrating prowess in his art, whether in the pickpocketing, armed robbery or seeking legal protections as part of their jobs.

Why then do we have homosexuals all over the world demonstrating and fighting to be protected by the law? Why do we have harlots advocating for their ‘rights’? Why do atheists fight to make their voices heard all over? And why do we not have adulterers doing the same?

The reason is the difference between the two.

Sin is a transgression against laid down rules, many times the product of a temptation. Though it may be pleasurable, it carries with it a tinge of shame and regret. Remember Adam and Eve hiding once they sinned?

Homosexuality is a rebellion, not only against God, but also against creation and everything it represents. It is a choice one must make long before they start practicing it. They must mull over it since they know it represents rebellion against everything they know as right.

Atheism involves making a decision to go against everything one has known and experienced about God. Again I must decide long before I confess that I stand for everything wrong.

Misery loves company. And nothing makes rebellion look good than its expansionist zeal.

They want to convince others that what they are unable to convince themselves is right is actually right as if denying the reality of gravity will do anything to annul it.

Why does the whole city ask Lot to give them his three visitors to sodomize? And why do they refuse to take his daughters instead?

Why does the city ask for the single priest to sodomize? And how does a whole city rape a single woman the whole night?

Have you ever witnessed hordes of men proudly flooding brothels? Do they not hide as they seek those services?

The difference between sin and abomination is as glaring as the one between day and night.

Though they are both sins, one is akin to shaking a fist against God and everything He represents, especially what He has so clearly said.

What causes a sober father disown his son?

It is not because the son has broken a rule, or even a tranche of sins. It is because the said son has blatantly taken sides against his father and everything he represents.

Reuben was disinherited because of that. Ishmael was chased away because of the same.

But I want us to appreciate the fact that abomination is not simply the act of sinning.

How does two siblings wittingly get married? How do you explain the fact that the nakedness of a sibling of the opposite gender does not produce the ‘excitement’ a stranger’s does?

How does a parent have sex with their own child?

That is so unnatural that it must require immense ‘encouragement’ to even think about it.

It is no wonder that they all seek to build their confidence in numbers because they know it is wrong. They know they have no argument against their rebellion.

Incidentally you will find the same in femininity. They know they are standing against God’s declaration about marriage and the place of the woman in it and so must shout it from the rooftops to gather a following.

Otherwise explain to me why there are no women in stable and fulfilling marriages in those forums. Why is it that it is women who are unable to get or keep a man at the forefront of those movements? Why do they not look at Proverbs 31 to see what exactly a woman needs to thrive?

And you see the same with divorce and remarriage. Why do they not seek the counsel of couples who have remained married for decades to guide them through that labyrinth?

Rebellion is a choice. And it is a choice against what God has revealed.

It therefore seeks to recreate a new narrative to make the rebellion acceptable by making so much noise to attempt to swamp God’s voice. Let me get us a verse.

Then they cried out with a loud voice, and stopped their ears, and ran upon him with one accord, (Acts 7:57)

These characters could not trust any one method to block Stephen’s witness. Just imagine that scenario?

Yet that is what abominations seek to do to counter truth.

That is why we have governments the world over fighting to legalize abortion and homosexuality. They want to buffer their rebellion with laws as if could ever make it right.

But there are only two choices; doing right or being wrong. Nothing can be done to convert one into the other, irrespective of the volume of the voices shouting otherwise.

Will you choose to be on the Lord’s side?