Lessons from Prison 3

Today’s post can as well be named ‘Curses Galore’ as I am talking about council by law enforcers. It of course will include other rogue law enforcers.

Let me put John the Baptist’s admonition to the law enforcers of his day.

And the soldiers likewise demanded of him, saying, And what shall we do? And he said unto them, Do violence to no man, neither accuse any falsely; and be content with your wages. (Luke 3:14)

Again I will borrow heavily my prison experience.

What happens to the hawkers merchandise when they get arrested?

A friend was talking of his experience in a council car under arrest with all sort of stuff at night. They were told to eat all they could and dress as best as they could from the loot as they could take nothing away. And we are talking about people’s investment and capital.

But that is even better as it at least spreads the wealth in a very small way to other arrested before they can buy their freedom, of course by paying their ‘deliverance’ fee.

Another friend told me that he left Nairobi because all his capital was confiscated by the arresting officers and he was therefore unable to raise capital again.

For people who are struggling to make ends meet, is that not akin to forced poverty, if not outright theft? Yet the officers are enriching themselves with people at the bottom of the ‘food chain’.

I was in prison with a person who was arrested as he was coming from the market to purchase his stock. What do you think God feels when you falsely send someone to prison after stealing all his stock?

It is interesting that though there were many hawkers in court that day, I did not see any exhibit at all. Is there an agreement between those thieves and magistrate that no evidence is required in that court? Remember I said that anyone who challenged his charges, especially with documentary evidence was sent to prison remand for two weeks, or was required to pay cash bail five to ten times the fine he would have paid had he pleaded guilty. And he would have to spend more time in prison as his case proceeded; by what time the person who admitted guilt would have long gone home even if he had been unable to pay the small fine. Of course none of those cases have any evidence if anyone wants to spend their time and money defending themselves. Again like was my experience, they will arrest you and then think of what to charge you with. Imagine being guilty of a crime you are unaware of! Yet that is the reality of council askaris.

I was told of this middle aged man in a suit and tie who was charged with hawking potatoes when he refused to talk nicely to them.

Is it right to arrest at will? Is it right to arrest without verifying whether the ‘criminal’ is guilty?

I ask this because I heard of a woman waiting for a friend arrested and charged of soliciting for prostitution in one of those swoops and no amount of explaining could free her. Is it criminal to stand on the pavement? All the while as actual prostitutes line whole streets barely dressed and are not arrested any time of the day or night.

Should freedom be for sale?

I write this as a warning. Such conduct is a magnet to curses, curses that will run through whole lineages, curses that will destroy everything you have built.

Why do I say so?

How many tears are shed by people you have forcefully deprived of their livelihood? How many children are crying because they slept hungry or dropped out of school because of what you took?

When I was being booked into prison, they got to know that I am a minister. Then the council office who had brought us was surprised.

Why did you not tell us you were a minister when you were arrested? He asked me.

You did not ask me, was my response.

Why do they not wilfully arrest ministers?

Chances are that they fear spiritual repercussions of doing so. Maybe they have done it once and been blighted. Judgment from heaven can be swift. And some ministers are very vengeful with all that spiritual authority.

But framing someone has repercussions, even if is a criminal you are framing. You see, stealing from a thief does not clear you of theft. Doing so because the law is on your side is even worse. Remember Nathan’s confrontation of David after his cocktail of sins? Look at this verse.

Take heed that ye despise not one of these little ones; for I say unto you, That in heaven their angels do always behold the face of my Father which is in heaven. (Matthew 18:10)

That is not a minister, mark you. It might not even be the person you arrested. It could just be the child suffering from the consequences of your flaunting of the authority the law gives you.

I am therefore using my position as a minister to serve a notice to you. You are not going far. Judgment is already at the door.

And it cuts across the board. From the magistrate who judges according to their moods to those who hide files to ensure someone goes to jail to prosecutors who prepare fake charge sheets to the one who takes a small bribe to not arrest an innocent person.

And I am not saying it is sin to do your job. But arrest the guilty. That is your job. And make sure you return their property once they serve their sentence. Unless the judgment says confiscate. And even then transfer the loot, all of it to the government. Be allergic to what does not come from your sweat. And taking by force is not the kind of sweat I am talking about. Otherwise you will be judged very harshly. And there will be no escape.

Otherwise you will suffer; with your posterity. God will never let you go unpunished. All those properties you own will be marked for worse than the demolitions we are seeing because it is God who will be doing the judging.

Misplaced Self-Importance

I have been thinking of Solomon and how come he fell so badly. How can someone God appeared to twice erect a shrine to an idol in the house he had built for the Lord?

One thing stands out. He ascribed the building of the temple to himself, especially by showing that David had been disqualified from doing the same. In other words, he was saying that he was the one who was qualified by God to do that assignment.

But was that really the truth?

David started the project. It was his vision. It was his act of worship. It was his initiative.

But that is not all.

He bought the land on which the temple was to be built.

He prepared all the materials for the building, way beyond the requirements.

Then God gave him the plans for the whole campus and not simply the temple.

He even arranged the singing, storage, in short the whole congregational worship and its leadership.

He made the instruments of music and also arranged courses to do the same.

And finally, he rallied all Israel to stand with and support Solomon, because of his inexperience. Remember he even negotiated with foreign kings to supply materials and workmen before he died?

Yet look at the words he uses when dedicating the temple.

But I have built an house of habitation for thee, and a place for thy dwelling for ever. (2Chronicles 6:2)

And he says the same when he talks about the temple. I have done this. My father wanted but he was disqualified.

I suggest that this was the beginning of his fall.

Imagine trashing all the work that had been done prior to his involvement? Imagine trashing the work done in 1 Chronicles 21 to 29?

It is like painting a house and boasting of building it.

No wonder he felt that he needed a pat in his back; that even God ought to have cut him some slack for the gigantic job he had done. He felt that his sin ought to have been looked at within the context of that project.

No wonder he so completely lost it and cried, vanity of vanities.

Is he the only one? By no means.

When was Peter most sharply rebuked? Was it not after a revelation that even Christ commended him for?

What was a precursor of Hezekiah’s miracle? It was a bitter cry. He seemed to be telling God that he deserved better. Look at him parading his works before God as if He had been asleep when they were being done. Entitlement

Yet what was the result? He backslid. No wonder Manasseh was that wicked as he was born in that season.

Remember Uzziah wanting to take over priestly duties? And why so? He had an enviable CV.

We are prone to such falls when we ascribe more to our effort than is due. We fall when we forget that there is much more behind our success than our effort.

There really is no self-made man or woman. Even the legendary founders of Rome owed their life to a wolf.

I am who I am because many people have contributed to me. From the prayers and discipline of my mother to my experiences growing up to my disciplers and ministry opportunities over the years. I really am a product of many, many people. And that is how God means it to be.

Looking to take credit for my achievements with the exclusion of others brings me to the pinnacle of achievement. Sadly, that pinnacle is a cliff edge of character and spirituality. And like Solomon and the others I have mentioned a fall is imminent.

We must develop a heart of gratitude to slay this dragon of entitlement.

The fact that you started your ministry single handedly does not make you a superstar. Even the people God brought your way to minister to should share in that glory you want to make sorely yours. And how many other people were praying for God to send someone to that harvest field before you came? And they may never yell you.

I remember a few times that someone in a slip of the tongue made me realize that my being there ministering in a particular way is a direct answer to some prayers.

I do not print and give books because I hear God more or have overflowing moneys. I am sure there are people praying, most of whom I might never even meet. That is why God speaks to other people to give the monies for the printing of the books when the time comes.

Therefore, when you see my ministry overflowing, get to know that there is a great army that is part of it, an army that for the most part only God knows. And it is not only the moneys and prayers. There is that cup of cold water, that shade to rest by the way, that child who plays with you to defuse the stresses of ministry, that waiter who seems to instinctively know your order, that driver who knows the right music to play when ministry is tough.

Forgetting that the church is Christ’s body with each of us having his unique and essential part to play misleads us to elevate some ministries above others, forgetting that God will reward according to our faithfulness and not massiveness of the ministry He has given us.

May God help us to run from Solomon’s error today and forever.

An interesting observation

We were in Homa Bay town after completing the ministry that had taken me to the village far from town.

We had found out that all the buses were full, some until Sunday.

We therefore booked a minivan, called Box by Kenyans and were waiting for the time it departed as it was already night.

Then a hawker approaches me and speaks in dholuo. I tell him that I do not understand what he was saying. Then he tells me this

Leta pesa nikupee njugu. Bring money I give you peanuts.

I was stunned.

From his language he appeared as if he was ordering me to give him my money; then he would give me roasted groundnuts.

Then I thought. Could it have been that he made a direct translation of his sales pitch?

So we try to understand people beyond the words they speak?

Homa Bay

I am from ministering in a village some distance from Homa Bay town.

I want to thank all of you who prayed for me after I sent you the request.

Let me give you one incident to make you see God at work.

I had taught the young people (it was a youth camp) and gone for a break.i had been sharing about sharing the Gospel.

A man in his late thirties stopped me. He commended my introduction, saying that it really touched him. Interestingly I could barely remember what I said as it was a one minute introduction.

He then started sharing his life with me, a very difficult life; a life that made no sense to him. he also had many questions on the same.

Of course I took him to the Bible and apart from responding to his questions shared the Gospel with him.

He started kneeling to be prayed even before I had shared the Gospel as he confessed that he really needed my prayers. Incidentally, he had intruded on a conversation we were having with an elder of the community. The elder helped me to help him make sense of his messed up life, having been someone who had wasted his life in the not so long past.

I explained him that he really did not need my prayers if he was not ready to hand over the control of his life to Jesus. Jesus is the only one with the power to take over someone’s life and completely transform it. I told him that he was the one to ask Jesus to take over his life.

He then knelt down and prayed. I could not understand his prayer as he was praying in Dholuo but the earnestness in his prayer was evident. I then prayed for him and he stood up.

He beamed.  The first thing he said is that he was drunk when he was kneeling but he then felt sober.

I then went on to explain to him the dynamics of his new life and asked him to get a Bible and reading plan from the pastor.

Let us pray for him. His past is a battle with addiction and uselessness though he is well trained and skilled.

The Crossing

This is the Portuguese edition of the Bible Study book ‘Fruit that Lasts’.

I am immensely grateful to God for this breakthrough He has afforded me after so long a time of preparation, prayer and partnership.

I believe this is the break God has occasioned for other languages. This is because my primary purpose of preparing this study was a response to the call for the very many church leaders from all over Mozambique for discipleship materials. I believe it is in God’s purpose that it is the first language to have its translation in print.

It is interesting that there have always been offers to translate the book into several languages since I released it. Some literally begged me to allow them to translate it, not knowing that the main reason I prepared it is to have it translated into as many languages as do not have discipleship materials.

Like I am saying I believe that the floodgates have been opened to have the book printed in many languages. This is the reason I am calling this a breakthrough and momentous instant in missions.

The Swahili translation is already done and what is left is the layout (I confess that I have been lazy lately but it is not much work) and printing. A pastor friend offered to translate it into Amharic (Ethiopian national language). There have been a few offers to translate into French but none has so far come out positive and I am still waiting. There are also a few Kenyan vernacular languages with offers but I am also still waiting.

For anyone who feels a responsibility (call it a burden or call) of translating it into their language, just ask me for the soft copy and I will send it to you. You can print wherever you are or we can do it from Nairobi. However, it will require God providing the resources, unless you can provide. Then I will get the most affordable printing for whatever money you will be able to raise.

I will repeat that this book is not copyright protected. Provided you will not change its content or format, you are free to reprint or translate it in whichever language God asks you to.

I need to also mention that my books are not for sale for the simple reason that most people who need such materials may have no finances to buy the books and/or might not appreciate the value being placed on a material they may not even think they need. Call your investment in discipleship as sowing the seed of the Gospel. Forget these fraudsters who preach a false doctrine using the same words. And you will harvest. I am always harvesting from my books ministry. Let me say that the greatest harvest is the transformation and growth you will see in a person who has grown through the material. I would like you to receive some of the testimonies I receive from people I have never met because of the benefit they have got from my books, especially this Bible Study book.

Welcome to partner with me.