Of Looks and Destruction

For the commandment is a lamp; and the law is light; and reproofs of instruction are the way of life: To keep thee from the evil woman, from the flattery of the tongue of a strange woman. Lust not after her beauty in thine heart; neither let her take thee with her eyelids. For by means of a whorish woman a man is brought to a piece of bread: and the adulteress will hunt for the precious life. (Proverbs 6: 23 - 26)

Look not thou upon the wine when it is red, when it giveth his colour in the cup, when it moveth itself aright. (Proverbs 23:31)

Whose idea is it that women dress immodestly? Whose is it that products that lead to hell are sold in very desirable packages? Why is it that dens of death are so flashy? Whose idea is it that paths to death contain so much gaiety? Why is it that the road to destruction is so wide?

The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light. But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness! (Matthew 6: 22, 23)

It is said that a picture is worth a thousand words and that seeing is believing. The eye is such a vital organ of the body that it defines the world to most of us. The eye has such a great command that to most people things that cannot be verified by sight simply do not exist. It takes revelation to move beyond eye sight to some inner vision that originates from a higher plane.

It is therefore plain that the devil makes use of this vital organ to lead us to the way of death.

What does that have to do with dressing? Dressing is our PR to the world. What we appear is what the world interprets to be us.

Let us also remember that sight was a key ingredient of the first temptation

And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat. (Genesis 3:6) 

People are thinking that poor dressing simply leads to sexual sin. They forget that the devil has a future to plan, a future in which he seeks to have as many as possible join him in hell. A future that he wants as many as possible not on his team derail their pursuit for the heavenly call. A future in which those preaching about heaven start doubting of its existence. A future that has even those who know they are going to heaven live lives as if it is so far away as to be irrelevant to their living on this earth.

For by means of a whorish woman a man is brought to a piece of bread: and the adulteress will hunt for the precious life. (Proverbs 6:26)

Eve ate the fruit and messed up everybody else’s life. It was her single action that brought death, suffering and all the evil we see today. And that is what the devil is doing using flimsy and almost naked dressing of the women in our generation and especially making it appear normal that it is being accepted for official wear, even to the extent of being worn to church. Unless you want to tell me you have never seen a woman with her breasts almost falling off in church or a woman whose panties can be seen yet she is seated at the front pew. (I remember once we had a very tough time editing a church service because of such an eventuality as we had to literally cut her off the video which was difficult because it interfered with the sound (sermon) flow. And she was middle aged. The cameraman noticed it at the editing point).

Why is it that alcoholic poisons are packaged in very desirable bottles, bottles that are so attractive that some display them to improve beauty of their sitting rooms? Why is it that tobacco products are in packets that look as if they can neutralize the poisons they contain? Why is it that gambling dens are surrounded by so many flashing lights that seem to draw one inside these dens of destruction? Why is it that haunts of immorality don’t repel someone who detests the vice?

Since we know that a journey, however long starts with the first step, I want to state that all this is the initial point of a long journey of disobedience. That peep into the forbidden being carelessly flashed before your eyes has the capacity of getting you into the long journey of sin. David saw and his life was never the same again. The eye is the contact point for covetousness and many other sins.

I’m convinced that all drug addicts start the habit just for fun. That puff or sniff opens you into drug dependency and related vices. That first swig of liquor starts you into alcoholism before you realize what is happening. Is it not interesting that even the most expensive drugs are normally offered free to initiates? And why is that? Nobody would be willing to acquire such an expensive addiction or any addiction at all. It is after you are addicted that the cost is passed to you because then the drug defines you more or less. You can kill to get high. I have seen the same even with tobacco products and alcohol. The pusher knows that once you are hooked you will be a customer for life. Investing a portion of the drug is therefore a worthy investment in that direction. For me that is the real explanation of planting a seed.

Flimsy dressing is therefore the devil’s way of planting a seed of wickedness in the hearts of men. He wants people to look at abnormality normally. He seeks to make lust appear normal. Then he will take us the way of addiction as far as God’s values are concerned.

Ever looked at how a neat estate becomes a shanty? It starts very gently, almost imperceptively. It may start with a person throwing a used packet of something along the road. Then another and another until a corner becomes the dumpsite. Eventually trash becomes normal until it is all over. Then questionable characters start loitering along those dirty streets because they more or less don’t look much different from them. Then street lights stop being replaced and disappear one by one and darkness becomes a terror. People who had lived there for generations find it impossible to stay and move out one by one, being replaced with people who don’t mind the new estate as they found it that way. Eventually what shocks people is not crime but the gruesomeness in it.

In the book ‘America’s Last Call’ by David Wilkerson, he reports how pastors in the early 20^th century started preaching against short dresses saying that they will lead to lust and immorality. Interesting to note is that the dresses had gone higher than the ankles then. Incidentally that is what happened.

Look at America a short century later and you will see what I am saying. The dresses went on going up and up until there is no more up they can go. Even women preachers and singers now think a dress that covers the knees may be unchristian. On the flip side look at the morals and you will see an even worse scenario. Divorce, a key indicator of immorality, is so rampant that a stable marriage is more of a shock than divorce. Pastors and other ministers are treating divorce as normal by divorcing and remarrying at will.

But it has gone farther than that. Homosexuality has been accepted in church that we have even bishops who are openly homosexual being given churches to shepherd. Recently, the highest court legalized gay marriage and the president came to Africa to advocate the same. That is the end game for the devil. This is because he knows that homosexuality is an abomination to God and its presence MUST attract God’s wrath.

You can be sure that it is a matter of time before America is destroyed, not just judged. This is because God does not call homosexuality an abomination for fun. Before the American society and especially the courts defined marriage to include same sex unions, it was called an unnatural act, the way it is called in more progressive states. I say progressive because homosexuality sinks a person below the level of an animal, however progressive they may think they are. And that is the reason any civilization that sunk that low had to be wiped from the surface of the earth. Animals become more moral than people God created in His image.

In my book ‘The Road to Sodom’ I have given the progression using comfort as the catalyst. Comfort pursued for its own end leads to destruction as that is what happened to the city of Sodom, from where we get the word Sodomy.

Behold, this was the iniquity of thy sister Sodom, pride, fulness of bread, and abundance of idleness was in her and in her daughters, neither did she strengthen the hand of the poor and needy. (Ezekiel 16:49)

A body that is not very active and a spirit that is not engaged to God form a very destructive team. You see it is in the spirit that morals are defined.

And when Jehu was come to Jezreel, Jezebel heard of it; and she painted her face, and tired her head, and looked out at a window. (2Kings 9:30)

Jezebel knew that looks have the capacity to distract any purpose. We know she was the adulterous and idolatrous wife of King Ahab. She was a witch who knew about the operations of the demonic side and thus knew the efficacy of looks.  She knew that any man can be diverted from noble purposes by seeing a woman who has just the right packaging. And we can be sure she was sure of succeeding as she knew Jehu as well as Jehu knew her. I think her message to him was simply to let him know that she was all his especially now that he was the undisputed ruler.

I am sure that were it not for the fact that Jehu was in a fury, and of course God’s whole purpose, he could not have been able to get through her as I think that is the reason Ahab’s dynasty was able to stay long as she may have played the same game.

When a woman offers herself to a man like she did, the man becomes mixed up. It takes a resolve that comes from beyond the present to overcome the temptation. It takes a vision that has great focus on the future and especially from God to see the futility of that enticement.

I think that may also be the reason he ordered her death as her wiles were irresistible and he suspected that he may not have the strength to resist her for long. I am sure that she was irresistible attractive and had the power to get men to do anything she wanted. She could, by offering ‘all’ of herself to you turn you to jelly that could be melted at will to meet her purposes. And I think that is why the princes were kept away from the palace so that she could get time to melt any resistance to her dynasty. What did she do to men to kill the innocent Naboth? No wonder Elijah ran for his life! Nobody could resist this hot mama.

Reading the history of Israel I am convinced that many tried to overthrow her dynasty. But none was able to get past her. There are very few places we see God judging a woman but we see God doing it to Jezebel in the severest form.

I believe she really knew how to use a look to achieve what she wanted. We see the same with her daughter who killed all the potential threats when her son died. How was she able to kill all the princes of Judah? I am sure she did not do it personally. She simply knew what men wanted and offered it in exchange for the death of the potential kings. Even ruling a kingdom for six years was no simple task as we know she was the only woman to reign in Judah through all her history. Yet she was able to do so. Her wiles were strong enough to keep men subservient to her.

What I want us to realize is that the devil never does something for the present consumption only.  Though he intends it to look like that, he has a wider view of things and plans accordingly.

Let me break down what I think the devil’s plan is for careless dressing.

The first thing is lust which more or less leads to sex, sex that is not appropriate. Such sex is of course painful in all ways as fulfilling the craving for the physical act of sex leaves other aspects of the same hanging. Many times (and the devil will want that) someone feeling dissatisfied will think it was the partner’s problem thereby seeking multiple partners to take them to the summit of the sexual experience, a summit that can never be reached as it is only in a marriage that sex finds its fulfillment. Overexposure to such sex, apart from the health risks associated with it has severe consequences for the sinner as it ends up corroding the other departments of their personhood, leading them lower and lower from humanity. They will then start behaving like animals.

Eventually they find it even more frustrating having so much sex. They will then think of having kicks out of having inappropriate sex. And that is where homosexuality and bestiality come in. By then they have sunk far below the animals and of course attracted God’s wrath. And that is the end result of bad dressing.

Another road that poor dressing leads to is the marriage route. Many people after having sex will gauge the suitability of their spouse by the experience, a purely physiological assessment. They will then make a decision that is of course not wise as the criteria they used was faulty. By using sex as the gauge of marriage, they will discover that only a very small amount of time is used in that activity. This brings frustration very early in the marriage as they will realize that they did not make any reasonable decision to get married. They deceived themselves into get married so as to get unlimited sex. Such a marriage cannot be sustained, however hard they worked.

Due to that, they will look for excuses to get out of the prison they put themselves in. they could decide to divorce if they got married properly or as is most common decide to dissolve their ‘trial’ marriage. Since they still may attach a lot of importance to sex and its compatibility, they may seek to get another spouse who is more compatible but using the same yardstick. Marriage ends up being a circus and a lot of pain and frustration being experienced. As usual the marriages will have children who will compound the problems a milliard times because the couple will transfer their frustrations to them.

One big problem with man is that he will always have excuses for what they do. Only a fool admits wrongdoing when they can cook up an excuse. You see that with Adam and Eve at the first fall. What happens is that we will look for justification for our sins and rebellion that we know is against nature. We even create laws that make our diversions acceptable.

And that is what we are able to see in nations that have sunk lowest morally. They have made divorce so easy because they do not want to take God’s prescription for their mess. They have even legalized homosexuality so that God has a free hand to judge them. I will not talk about abortion (which is murder), crime, drugs and many other vises associated with sexual sin. The point I wanted to pass across is that the devil looks farther than us when he brings temptation our way. Agreeing with him leads you the way of certain death, and that in many ways.

Only the grace of God is able to get us out of the mess we are creating for ourselves. Only the grace of God makes us acknowledge that we are sinners in need of saving. Only the grace of God allows us accept God’s say on our lives. Only God’s grace has a capacity to get us out of the prison we have bravely locked ourselves in. only the grace of God offers any hope for those who have walked in the devil’s lie. Only the grace of God can give you a new lease of life. Only the grace of God will free you from the guilt that you are trying to cover up by creating a very brave face to conceal your torturous life.

Will you accept it?

Just cry to God to give you eyes to see sin the way He sees it. Then acknowledge your sins and tell Him to forgive your sins and transgressions against Him. Then ask Him to start leading your life in ways that please Him. Appropriate Christ’s death on the cross for the forgiveness of your sins and cleansing from all the dirt you have been accumulating as you have been walking contrary to His revelation.

It would then be imperative if you looked for the Bible and started reading it to know what it is He wants of you.

Do Encouragers Hurt?

Can support structures break? Do ministers need ministry? Do prophets also need a word? Do supporters need to be supported?

All this is a pointer to one great need we have among ministers, key among them being ministers whose ministry is vital yet mostly concealed from the public eye.

It is all easy to remember the pastor in our prayers and support. It is not hard to forget the evangelist or missionary as we are getting regular updates from them. The prophet is very visible when he is delivering the latest ‘word’. What happens when he is waiting for another one?

Whoever remembers the pillars of a house when the house is standing, especially if the builder has carefully concealed them? Does anyone looking to buy or rent a storey house ask where the pillars are? You see at that point the plaster and paint are more important. He is not being petty; he just assumes the building was put up properly.

Ever seen a skyscraper being put up? The foundation takes some time. Then the building proper does not seem to take as much time. The finishing takes a lot more time, sometimes even than the building itself.

Does this also talk about ministry and ministers? You see the finish is the selling point of a building. A building may be as stable as Noah’s ark yet fail to get tenants if the finishing is shoddy. Most of these buildings falling on the tenants are great looking outwardly, yet contain rot in the structure itself.

What am I talking about? Some ministries are very lonely and easily forgotten just as the pillars in a building. Some, like the paint are always visible and at times more ministered to than minister. Some, like King Saul can be rejected by God yet continue to minister ‘effectively’ for generations after the rejection. To some even prayer is a simple publicity stunt.

Others must pray or they will perish. They simply do not have any cosmetic aspect to their ministry. They will have to listen to God or listen to God.

Do we realize that unless for Ahab who was looking for Elijah the prophet was completely forgotten in Israel for the 3 ½ years he was out of active ministry? And even the king was looking for him to kill him! No wonder he became depressed after it all!

Barnabas went to Europe to look for Paul when the church leadership had rejected him. He discipled him and mentored him into the apostolic ministry. Yet what happens when he seeks to do the same for John Mark? Paul simply drops him and he disappears from the picture. We of course see Paul later acknowledging his ministry in a veiled way.

Did Barnabas continue in ministry? The book of Mark is the evidence of such. And I am sure that he continued even after growing Mark to maturity. But the church does not know him because his ministry was down there where there was no fanfare. Many assume that he left Paul as a backslider because Paul continues in the limelight while he disappeared. But nothing can be farther from the truth.

Whoever thinks of prayer warriors unless they have a pressing prayer need? Whoever thinks of an encourager when they are in high spirits? Whoever thinks about intercessors when they are in no need of the intercession? Whoever thinks about counselors unless they are confused? Whoever feels the need for builders when they are in nothing to build?

What happens to these ministers in their off season? Who prays for them when they are invisible? Who supports them when they are outside the limelight? Who deals with them in their down times? Who gives them focus when they are underground?

Elijah is a hero when he fells 850 false prophets. Then he simply disappears and is so low that he prays to die. One reason for that is that he had no other person to give him perspective and especially company. And no wonder God ordered him to bring Elisha into his team and we do not see any depression again. His high times were very fine as he mostly had crowds irrespective of whether they feted him or sought to slay him. They were company all the same. Between assignments not only are there no crowds. There is no company at all.

We see Jesus also struggling with the same at His greatest hour of need. Even His disciples are unable to keep awake with Him even for an hour. David had such seasons as we read in many psalms.

What is the point of all this? I am sure you are wondering.

First, it is important to realize that there are ministers out there whose ministry is so potent that they hold the society together. Elijah was told as such. There were 7000 invisible worshippers in Israel, among them one right in the palace. There were even prophets among them, only that that may not have been their season or their assignments were elsewhere.

Whole countries are sustained by a single intercessor who may be unknown even to their family and of course acknowledged by none but God who depends on their prayers to avert disaster. We may acknowledge the many titled prophets and other professional ministers who as per Matthew 7: 21 -23 may be paving their road to hell.

My mother is one such though I know I have several other similar partners. I don’t know about much else but I know she prays for her children and the results prove it. Raising 8 children single handedly in poverty and having all of them involved in ministry, most vocationally (some would say full time) is no small fete. And being the second last I know about her prayer effort. She never went to school but she touches God where it matters.

That is one invisible pillar to the Gituma you see and know, yet I also know that my ministry is mostly invisible.

May we seek to support such pillars in whichever way God shows. May we appreciate the strength they have that we can lean on without their asking for affirmation or reward. May we seek to alleviate their pain as they do work so pivotal yet unappreciated and unacknowledged by most. May we stand for them when the ‘visible’ ministers aim innocent jibes at them for their lack of spirituality. May we appreciate them and pray for them so that they may remain focused on the ministry we may not understand.

I want us to acknowledge those invisible pillars in our lives and the lives of our fellowships. It will range from that gateman whose smile gives you the right attitude as you get in somewhere to that tea girl whose tea tastes heavenly. It may be that person sitting next to you in church who opens your Bible to the passage being read because you do not even know that the book is in the Bible. It may be the one who pesters you with questions about the Bible that drive you to want to know the Bible more to answer their questions. We should then start thanking God for them and realize that they may contribute more to our stability than that two hour high we get on the service and especially the thirty or so minutes of inspiration from the sermon.

Second, as ministers we need to prize the off season ministry as it is where we get our bearings. I thank God that He has taken me through various seasons of ministry and so am speaking from some sort of experience. There was a time that I got opportunities to preach anywhere I went. I remember times going places nobody knew me yet would be called from behind the church to preach and that several times. Then God got me from the pulpit to small group then personal ministry and eventually the writing ministry. I am presently with a combination of all of them.

We should not think we are not ministering when we are in our ‘off’ seasons and so should not think we are not as useful. It is God’s purpose that we are fruitful, but not spilling fruit endlessly. We produce our fruit in season (Psalm 1: 3). There is the season to prepare the fruit, nurture the fruit and finally produce the fruit. Being perpetually on the final stage is living a delusion. Seeking to create a situation where I am continually pouring forth fruit is unsustainable. Worse still it will kill me.

I think it might explain how these senior ministers find themselves in hell (Matthew 7: 21 – 23). They may have forced fruitfulness beyond its season. This of course means they will be forcing fruit to be produced which in other words is operating in the flesh.

There are pastors whose leave is an opening for ministry in other places. Others treat a sabbatical as an abomination. Why? They can’t risk getting off their ‘productivity’ for anything. This may be because they are insecure as they know they stopped operating in the spirit a long time ago. They therefore fear that going off may give others more spiritual an opportunity to get into his position. Worse still the congregation may recognize the fleshy fruitfulness and refuse them back into the pastorate once they start feeding from fresh pastures.

Let us as ministers value time to refresh. Let us appreciate times when God withdraws us from public ministry. Let us enjoy the desert seasons as it is the place we may get to have the clearest glimpse of the King we serve.

Of Conmen and Gamblers

And he said unto them, Take heed, and beware of covetousness: for a man's life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth. (Luke 12:15)

I felt the great urge and conviction to write this message due to the great effort being focused on the populace to throw their good money after bad.

Many times as I have gone through the city I have come across people weeping after they have been swindled of their money by card playing crooks. Many times it is a student who has been wiped of their entire fees and doesn’t know where to turn to. At times I have even seen grown men weeping like children as money meant for a project has been conveniently transferred to others who appear to have better use for it.

A few months ago I was talking with a pastor who was still feeling the pain of being conned of his bus fare yet he was schooling in a foreign country long ago. He had to literally beg for food and the means to get back home for the holidays and the shame of falling prey to such a foolish prank.

When I was in school I remember an incident when a form 4 student was conned the entire fees for his final year. He cried like a baby until the conmen ‘had pity’ for him probably because he came from their tribe. But they still went with a substantial chunk of his money as well as play games with his mind for long enough.

Another thing I feel you need to know is that to conmen/women it is a job like any other. You need to know that the card players (karata in Kenya) operate in very large teams to be able to take care of any eventualities. Some of them are there to bait you by consistently winning, others to encourage you to press on when you lose and even others to lose gracefully as you are losing so that you do not suspect anything. But many are there to make you think that very many people are also playing the game so that you can feel safe to play. Still others are on the sidelines to watch out for the police since it is an illegal trade.

I say that as I have observed them for some time and have been able to identify many of them as I passed through their haunts. But I confirmed when a few times a strong man becomes bitterly violent after losing handsomely. That is when you will see real teamwork and realize that the winners and losers are all in the same team. Even the women in the team are war hardened and can deal with any threat properly. And they are rough when they need to. But they are a very large team.

Let me highlight a few strategies they use to bait you. The first is mainly to hand over a lot of money to a ‘winner’ as you are passing. This draws your attention. Of course they will be congratulating the winner and the winner might exclaim how easy it was to win. Once you get to their ‘table’ they will use all means to get you to play. Of course you start by winning once or twice to be sure to place a huge bet of sorts then you will lose. NOBODY ever won a game of cards when it is someone’s business, just like nobody ever won a lottery as what they get is what has been taken from the millions of the losers. I also need to highlight that once you get to their game they could go as far as taking money from you by force. Many times they will create some commotion so that their robbery appears like a conflict, even between them with you in the centre.

The most crafty I have seen is throw a card where you are passing and pretend it flew off unintentionally if they realize you are not interested. They then plead with you to pick it for them. Interesting enough there are people who are surrounding their table who can but will not pick. Once you pick you are sunk. They will profusely thank you and offer some money in appreciation until they force you to leave your money with them as they will more or less force you to play. I have seen that a few times also.

I am not talking about things I have heard. These are things I see almost daily in Nairobi. It is the cries of the conned that are driving me to write this. It is the pain I have seen of a traveler who has lost all the money they needed not only for the journey but also for the purpose of the travel. It is the pain of the student who has to create a story to convince their parents that the money was not gambled away. It is the pain of a parent who has to work extra hard to replace the money for their greedy child to continue with education. I hope someone’s eyes will be opened to avoid these pitfalls.

But I will not be true to my calling if I left this at this point. As a minister I represent God’s side of things and must therefore delve deeper than the visible. And that is the main object of the article.

Why are people conned? Why are some people more prone to conmen than others? What do the conmen use to steal from us?

I will say confidently that the conman/lady will use only one thing in our constitution, greed or in other words covetousness. Unless he is able to drive you to that point he will simply give up.

Simply said it is my desire to get more than I have that he will use to transfer what I have to his hands. Look at any conman anywhere and you will realize that is the script they are following whatever ploy they use.

As I write I remember another conman I met and was in stitches as I left him. He was playing the fool who was looking for someone bright enough to ‘con’ him. He played an illiterate Maasai dancer who had picked something a tourist had accidentally dropped and left before he could return to him. He seemingly didn’t know what it was as he couldn’t read and wanted me to help him read what it contained. Well, the test tube had some sort of crystals with stamps from South Africa to Zimbabwe certifying that it was 25 carat gold and its weight. You are a goner once you decide to get involved, worse still if you decide to con this illiterate ignoramus.

Greed is the poison of our generation. We encounter it in all our interactions. All the advertisements are meant to fuel it to frenzy. Radio and TV programs allocate a huge chunk of their time to feed it, from call in programs to text gambling, though it is not called such. Billboards are all over.

Win this, win that by just sending a message to this number. Get this by answering a question a two year old can answer. Sadly even some Christian stations and programs run along such lines. They simply fuel covetousness that the devil knows how to manipulate. In fact I think that is the only tool the devil has used since the old times. The rest is subsequent to that.

Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee. (Hebrews 13:5)

Remember Eve. The tree looks good, is desirable for giving wisdom and elevating us to be gods. The lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes and the pride of life all revolve around me getting and being something I presently do not have or am.

And through covetousness shall they with feigned words make merchandise of you: whose judgment now of a long time lingereth not, and their damnation slumbereth not. (2Peter 2:3)

Some preachers have also joined the bandwagon of the conmen. Give this seed to get this breakthrough. Give the other for healing etc. As soon as I see the message saying your money is safely in my account you will access your miracle. Buy this anointing oil from Israel to finish your land case. Buy this specially anointed handkerchief to get your troublesome spouse to behave. I am sorry to say this but I will need serious Biblical basis to refute my statement. This is PURE WITCHCRAFT. Sponsor this program and you will get customers was one I heard as I was writing this.

A relatively new one is a prophetess who approaches saying God has sent her to you. As you are wondering another one comes so excitedly to greet the prophetess who resolved all her issues. She was wondering how to find her to express her thanks. Even before you digest that another of her ‘beneficiaries’ joins the team with an even more astounding testimony. If you have taken the bait you will be convinced to get the money you need to be prayed for from the bank. She is only ministering as God has sent her to you and will not need your money. You will get it after the prayers. It will be after prayer that you will realize that they have made off with all your money.

Anything that drives you from being content only with your relationship with Christ MUST come from the devil. Anybody who will appear as if they have my answer through their action alone is an idol, and we know idols are fed from hell. If Gituma is your sole solution, then he becomes a god, a god that must be destroyed by fire.

But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. And having food and raiment let us be therewith content. But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition. For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows (1Timothy 6: 6 – 10)

A minister points people to God, and God alone. You will be blessed as you support me and the ministry God has called me to. But I will not be the source of the blessing, God is. It is only as you support what God has instituted that you will access GOD’S blessings. The blessings will never come from the minister, however anointed they are. So support me if you can, but it is as you touch God as you give that He will release His blessing to you. It is not me who will release your blessing because I don’t hold it anyway. But your giving will touch heaven, the source of all blessings.

There was a certain man in Caesarea called Cornelius, a centurion of the band called the Italian band, a devout man, and one that feared God with all his house, which gave much alms to the people, and prayed to God always. He saw in a vision evidently about the ninth hour of the day an angel of God coming in to him, and saying unto him, Cornelius. And when he looked on him, he was afraid, and said, What is it, Lord? And he said unto him, Thy prayers and thine alms are come up for a memorial before God. (Acts 10: 1 – 4)

We don’t see God talking about the prayer of a man of God, only his prayer and alms. We don’t even see any substantial man around as alms are given to the poor.

But the reason we are conned into getting to all those circuses is because the ‘man of God’ will manipulate you to desire something you do not have and even fan it to real covetousness or greed. You will then become irrational. Once you get there it is just a matter of time before you fall into his trap.

This is also fuelled by a desire for instant answers. I am not willing to wait as long as God has purposed because others are getting breakthroughs faster than I do. I have mentored and discipled people who are ‘very far’ in terms of ministry and support that I feel the urge to get the break too. This can easily lead me down that path.

Marital tension is a normal aspect of marriage. Looking for a short cut to resolve instead of addressing the issues causing it will also open you to these conmen. Only witchcraft can alter someone’s character without resolving the issues causing the deficiency. Even God must be given a chance to change someone before He steps in.  No offering or ‘seed’ can do what a decision should do.

A dispute with neighbors is normal. It is witchcraft if you must buy some oil to deal with it instead of praying for wisdom and favor to resolve the dispute. Some pastors have even become better than lawyers and judges because they can by your buying this or that from them or planting a seed dissolve the case and in your favor. Again that is plain witchcraft, only that we are so ready for short cuts that we will not think straight when we are given that solution.

Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry: (Colossians 3:5)

What is the solution then? Simple connection to Christ will deal with covetousness. How? you may ask. Once you agree with Christ about your life and take His solution for all your problems, the first being your sin. Once you ask Jesus to forgive your sin and take over your life, you are on the way to a life that draws God’s favor.

You will then seek to know His will especially through regular intake of His word, the Bible. Read it. Study it. Memorize it and if you can get it, have an audio version and constantly be listening to it. Let it be what you listen to in your car. Let it be the background noise in your home.

When I was being discipled we had a very famous statement we used though I don’t know its origin. Garbage in, garbage out. Choose carefully what you listen to and watch. To some I will advise you to even throw that radio or TV away because it has become your idol. I have talked about that in another article on the blog. Determine to kill everything that feeds your spirit with discontent. Stop watching programs that are displaying people who are winning lotteries. Stop watching programs being sponsored by people whose business or products you do not agree with. If you are always hearing about this or that person who has won this or the other by either calling or texting, you are setting yourself up on the road to being conned or conning others to feed that greed.

Avoid company whose conversation is around who got this or that as that is what they will plant in your spirit. Decide to saturate yourself with what God delights in.

This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success. (Joshua 1:8)

And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart: And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up. And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes. And thou shalt write them upon the posts of thy house, and on thy gates. (Deuteronomy 6: 6 – 9)

You can never go wrong by feeding your spirit with the word of God. You can never sink into covetousness when you are feeding your heart with what God says. You can never be discontent with your lot when what guides your meditation is the constancy of God’s revelation. You will never rush to take that handout that you have no idea as to its source when God’s word is stored and has a say in your mind and thoughts.

I will encourage you to deflect attention from yourself as this is what the devil uses to feed covetousness. It is very easy to feel I need something somebody else has if I am thinking only about myself. If I looked around I will be shocked at how blessed I am as I realize that what I have, however little it is, is so much as there are many who do not have even that. I will also realize that not only is it enough for me, it can bless so many others.

I minister to the disadvantaged and can tell you that first hand. The meal you call meager can be a family feast to others. The shelter you are complaining about is palatial to the homeless. The salary you call insufficient would be enough for a clan. The security you are always complaining about is Eden in some areas. That health you do not even think about is priceless. Let us focus on gratitude to God who gives all to us. I have dealt with ministering to the disadvantaged in my book ‘The Road to Sodom’.

Consider persons with disability and the picture changes completely. Imagine if you will be taken wherever whoever wants because you can not see or your limbs do not function. Imagine your mother being divorced just because she bore you. Imagine you can’t visit anybody because of incontinence. Imagine people calling you a curse just because you are different from others. Imagine a stranger giving you a handout just because they think you are desperate because you have a disability.

As I say that I want to appeal for assistance for a blind friend who needs a computer that is compatible with that disability, for example one that can read as one types. Please get in touch if you are able to provide or know someone who can provide. I know they are there. I am also involved with disability through the Handicapped Community Fellowship Ministry. Visit www.handicappedcommunity.org to see how you can be involved.

As I minister in the city I am grieved by the depths persons with disability are sunk to especially beg for the rich. Some are even imported from other nations because the economy of our city is vibrant. But try to put yourself in the shoes of someone who has to stay without food or clothing to look desperate enough to compel you to give money that will not benefit them in the least.

Support ministers whose ministry identifies with what you read in the Bible. Do not support someone who will use guilt or manipulation to ask for your support. Do not support a conman like the ones I have mentioned. Above all pray for God to guide your support. Many people are disappointed when they want me to give them guidelines to their supporting me when I tell them to just pray for God to give them direction. Inasmuch as I need support, I know that God is the one I serve and who will speak to people He wants to support me. I won’t refuse support but I don’t want to manipulate that support. Probably God is asking you to support me and the ministry God has called me to. Just pray and seek for clear orders. That is unless God has asked you or you need some clarification from me as you support. You see you can never be conned if you prayed before you joined any money making venture. You will never lose it when you prayed before listening to a prophetic proclamation. You will never be snared if you will pray before supporting whichever ministry or minister.

May God guide your interactions with the world so that they are guided by God’s clear revelation.