Choices

If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple. (Luke 14:26)

I feel God wants to remind us about some choices we need to make to be able to effectively follow Him. But I will focus on the one we have refused to consider, many times even living and teaching the contrary.

How many times have we been told (even by implication) that a wife determines God’s call for her husband? How many times have we been taught that the displeasure of one’s wife can be interpreted as God’s voice? Or something that has been spoken over and over until some use it as scripture, that the voice of the people is the voice of God? Where in the Bible did you read that God follows universal suffrage to lead? Since when did God move by popular vote? Or where do you see God speaking as a democratic leader?

The sad fact is that many western missionaries taught a false doctrine of marriage, and still do. And the dilemma is that it is not consistent with Biblical doctrine. It is sad because it rearranges priorities once someone gets married. I fact it rearranges priorities everywhere else to be more consistent with the world (read the European culture, plus of course a few others, especially matriarchal societies) as opposed to God’s word.

In that doctrine, a man’s call is subject to his wife for it to be valid. Put very bluntly, God must consult a man’s wife before calling him. Meaning that the wife and not God is the overall determinant of a man’s calling.

If that is not idolatry tell me what it is. In actual fact it may go all the way to blasphemy. Just look at it soberly without the veil of tradition.

Thou shalt have no other gods before me. (Exodus 20:3)

That tradition simply and easily breaks the first commandment if we were to look at it without bias.

Is the stability of a marriage of greater worth than God and His call?

Let us look at a few scriptures to get the scriptural direction.

Do you think Abraham consulted Sarah when God asked him to offer Isaac as a sacrifice? Did his wife lead him to the conclusion to obey? Could Sarah have agreed that kind of sacrifice?

Why did God stop speaking to Mary, the well favored one that the Lord was with once Joseph took her as his wife? Why did He start issuing orders to Joseph about Mary yet her status had not changed as far as God was concerned?

Why was Adam’s first confrontational error listening to his wife?

And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life; (Genesis 3:17)

Why was Ahab judged for the sins that clearly were his wife’s, some that he knew nothing about?

Seeking peace at the expense of revelation is detrimental to one’s relationship with God. Seeking stability of a relationship as a compromise is an assault to God’s authority.

But the question to ask is really one. Who is God to you? What is your understanding of who God is?

You see, you live out the kind of God you serve. Just like chewing raw onions will give out their smell long after you have chewed the last bit, your life will live out the kind of God you serve (or to some, are served by).

The second thing follows. Assuming you serve the God of the Bible, how much of Him do you know? How do you know Him?

Does the God you serve speak? How does He speak if He does so? How much authority does His voice carry? Is that voice subject to anything else? Finally, does He speak to you?

I am not against marriage as I enjoy one and have enjoyed it for twenty years. But I will be like Ahab if I sought a great marriage at the expense of God’s orders or calling. And I am saying this because I have had a few hard knocks from God as I sought to appease my wife when an order came that was not acceptable to her (not that it was to me as well when I received the command)

At one time I was at the point of death when I asked God what was wrong. He told me that I was not doing what He had ordered. Of course I explained that I was still trying to make my wife understand so that she could accept to follow. God shocked me by telling me that He had not given the order to her.

Were it not for the fact that I had been going through severe judgment, I simply could have trashed that voice, or tried burying it. It was so contrary to what I had been brought up believing and taught again and again as I heard instructions on marriage and ministry.

And the voice was unmistakable. God’s call supersedes everything else. Our comfort, even life should prostrate to that voice.

But I must be careful to state that we must remove proxies from that voice. We must know how to distinguish that voice from similar voices. We must be in a position to hear that voice for ourselves without needing some other receiving brokers to hear for us.

My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: (John 10:27)

You see, it is only when the voice is clear that you will be able to know whether you are defying it or not. A fuzzy image can be interpreted whichever way, but a clear image has no differing interpretations. It is the same with God’s voice. Compromise and alternatives appear because an order is not very clear. Sarah must have made Abraham reexamine or reinterpret the promise for him to sleep with Hagar for a son. Yet it is also important to realize that it was Abraham and not Sarah who had to deal with the issues resulting from that detour.

I am not saying that God does not speak to women, only that in a marriage the divine order is contrary to our humanistic structure and that the man is answerable to God in the way He responds to God’s orders.

I am also not trashing the fact that God speaks through people because it would be saying that you are reading my guess work. I am saying that God seeks to speak to you in as clearest way as He can. Only His voice should be beyond second guessing or interpretation.

We are told to test prophecy and prophets from the Old Testament to the New because their word is not absolute. That word can be so accurate yet be shaded with personality as to lead astray.

Seek to hear from God for yourself. Let secondary messages be for confirmation or assurance and not clarity. Let the final source and determinant of clarity be the Bible, God’s infallible word.

And the Bible is what trashes most prophets as they do not lead those they cheat (and that word is put with emphasis), those they prophesy to. They will quote the Bible without giving the impression that others should spend their time reading it, unless it is the passages they are using to deceive.

I am not talking of cults here. There are enough ‘orthodox’ preachers who have swayed to extremes even cults are ashamed of in their twisting of scripture and God’s voice to their advantage. There are some whose doctrine and scriptural application is without visible fault yet they are deceivers as they do not seek to connect their people to be able to clearly hear from God so that they can continue listening to their sermons and buy their books to fund their opulent lifestyles.

According to the Bible, the test of a true minister is someone who is able to make people so connected to God that they would render him jobless if God does not bring in other people for the same.  That is why Paul was able to reach city after city with the Gospel of Christ in not very many years. Someone who keeps people coming and coming and asking for more is an aberration of a true minister of Christ. A true minister and church is the one that is in the business of releasing ministers, and effective ones, to the ends of the earth. A church that fears to confront sin for fear that the offerings could go down is clearly not the church of Christ, unless we are talking of a false Christ. A church that is proud of swelling its membership as a balloon instead of spreading like a vine is as confused as fish in an aquarium. A church that celebrates increasing its membership through getting members from other churches instead of those they have lead to Christ  is… (let me not continue as I might break a few hearts)

If your pastor or whatever else they may be called is the ultimate in the direction God gives, I am afraid that he can be summarized as someone after a full stomach and nothing else. Else he would be spending enough effort helping the least among his congregation to also hear God’s voice for themselves. If he is the only one who can preach, I am afraid you are following a bloated ego crook who does not know the least about the ways of God. But sadder still he may be leading from the direction of the enemy of our souls.

Christ intends for us to be hearing His voice continuously. That is His expectation. Otherwise you would not be His sheep but a goat that knows enough to live without any guidance. And that is why it is very difficult to see a fat goat where there are enough pastures. I found it interesting that the places with the fattest goats are deserts where they are more like scavengers eating anything they can find as there is nothing to choose. Incidentally those are the places people go for goat meat. That is what happens when we do not value God enough to seek to accurately hear His voice. Remember this?

Thus saith the LORD; Cursed be the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart departeth from the LORD. For he shall be like the heath in the desert, and shall not see when good cometh; but shall inhabit the parched places in the wilderness, in a salt land and not inhabited. Blessed is the man that trusteth in the LORD, and whose hope the LORD is. For he shall be as a tree planted by the waters, and that spreadeth out her roots by the river, and shall not see when heat cometh, but her leaf shall be green; and shall not be careful in the year of drought, neither shall cease from yielding fruit. (Jeremiah 17:5 – 8)

Making people the source of our revelation places us in direct danger. And it is worse because God has made it clear that He wants to guide us Himself and not by proxy, whatever else they may call themselves. He wants us to her His voice for ourselves.

We do not need to go atop mountains to be able to hear that voice. The prayer closet is the place we need to make that connection. Otherwise we may be visiting heathen high places where we could easily hear voices other than the only one we should be hearing. The Bible and an expectant heart are the things you need to clearly hear from God.

How does God lead you?

Caplet Christianity

I want you to imagine with me a nutritional breakthrough. This is a caplet or pill that is packed with all the essential needs of a body. You just need to take one and you have all that your body needs to function.

You do not need to waste any time visiting restaurants. In fact you do not need to cook. And imagine having no dishes to wash! You will just need one small swallowable caplet and your body will be good to go.

How much time will we save? How many man days will we be able to save to do other useful things after eliminating lunch breaks and cooking times? How much more time will we be able to have to develop our relationships?

How practical is that? Supposing it is possible, or even feasible, how positive will it be in our lives?

Do you think you will enjoy that breakthrough?

Of course it looks like a joke because it is impractical. It is simply against our body and its functioning.

The digestive juices and acids will simply consume our body when they lack any material to interact with. Our teeth will become weak through lack of chewing exercise. Our intestines will collapse as there will be nothing passing through them as the caplet will invalidate the functions of the intestines.

Of course hotels and restaurants will close because nobody will be eating there and we know that eating is a key element of those businesses. Farming will be unnecessary as what will all that food be for as no one will be eating it?

And of course societies will die because eating is a key element in any communion. Just imagine a very serious meeting without sharing food!

A caplet can never be food, however complete or convenient it might be. You can never feel full by taking a caplet.

This is why it is strange that though we may disdain the idea of caplet nutrition we have no problems with a caplet Christianity.

We love reading newspapers from beginning to end yet are encouraged to read just a few verses of the Bible. Reading a few verses a day is enough to feed one’s spirit for a day or more. To some even an hour a week is treated as sufficient spiritual nurture to last a week.

We have been brought up to believe that we will suffer spiritual indigestion if we spend more than a few minutes in prayer. We can suffer spiritual constipation if we read more than a favorite verse.

All the while as we are being taught that refined foods are not healthy; that the body needs roughage to be able to digest food properly. In other words it is important to eat food with absolutely no nutritional value as it makes the body able to get more out of nutritious food.

But we are told that it is not wise to read passages we do not understand. We are told that it is dangerous to read books whose message is scary. That is why Revelation is a no go zone for many believers as they are scared of dealing with the issues they are not ready to face.

Yet even in the mental sphere it does not go that way. How many topics do we study to be able to answer three to five questions in an exam? Why do we study so many topics yet the exam may just cover a fraction of them? How do we study for years to answer a few questions in the final exam? Why waste all those years yet those topics could have been covered in a few weeks more conclusively?

I know you may be laughing at my ignorance now. Of course you will need to study all those ‘irrelevant’ topics as they contribute to the wealth of knowledge of the course you will be pursuing. That is why you may study accounts in an engineering course, or chemistry in a cookery class.

Then why do we choose to take caplets in the spiritual realm? Why do we relegate the study of the Bible to theological seminaries? Why do we behave as if Biblical understanding is the preserve of professional ministers?

It is because we are caplet Christians. We have been taught from our childhood that the Bible is too big that only a select few can read and understand it. We have been taught that understanding anything bigger than a favorite verse can kill us. We are taught to memorize all our denominational books but run away from memorizing a verse of the Bible. The catechism we learn by heart is bigger than some books of the Bible yet we can effortlessly recite it word for word yet will sleep if we tried to read a chapter of the Bible from which much of it is taken from.

Even in literature the same plays out. We are supposed to read the works many times to be able to gain enough comprehension. Why is it that someone who has read the Bible through only once (some only a book or two) becomes an expert on what the bible says? What makes you an expert when the only thing you know is the Hebrew or Greek words used in the Bible you barely read?

Do you really know what God has said when the only thing you know is a verse here and another there? Is that what God intended when He released His word to His creation?

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)

Is that possible if we spend more time reading other things and are content just glancing through a verse or two? Do you know that we are created in such a way that we will meditate on what we consistently feed our minds on? Why do we expect peace from God when we spend a much greater time on the news than we spend on His word?

And we wonder why there is so much fear and suspicion. We spend most of our waking moments feeding our minds from hell yet fervently and desperately pray to dream about heaven.

Many people ask me what they should do to passages they do not understand. I will take you back to your studies. Surely you do not trash a topic or subject you do not understand that is part of your course. You will read even more than the topics you easily understand so that you will be up to date when an exam comes.

Another thing I say is that we read the Bible because it is the word of God and He has said we read it. And there are no passages that are optional in His command. And the only requirement for reading is connecting with God, the author of the same.

The Levites, from whom came the scribes were not trained in theology. They were just a tribe God exempted from other occupations to devote their time instructing Israel on His ways. But all Israel was supposed to know God’s word. From Jesus’ interactions with the Jews we know that they read the Bible, and not just favorite passages. We know from history that the Bible was written in the simple language that anyone could understand for the same purpose.

What reasons do you give for not reading the Bible in its entirety consistently? Can you start your journey of reading the Bible the way God intended for it to be read?

That is the reason we offer Bible reading plans for whoever is interested. In fact on this blog you will find one such. And you can request for me to send you one on e-mail.

We also produce Audio Bibles, though not to substitute the reading part. Reading is very important.

Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand. (Revelation 1:3)

Will you stop being a caplet Christian?

God bless you.  

Absurdity

To the weak became I as weak, that I might gain the weak: I am made all things to all men, that I might by all means save some. (1Corinthians 9:22)

It is interesting that we take noble things and make them base, then take a verse to explain our depravity. We choose to remain infants in the faith yet use verses to make others respect our waywardness.

Why do some assume that becoming all things to all men means that we become sinners to win the sinners? Or compromised to win the compromised?

The essence of that verse is making ourselves acceptable to be offered the responsibility of lifting people out of their depravity as opposed to making them comfortable there. Or have you ever seen a drug addict looking to be rescued out of addiction by another addict?

It breaks my heart when I see pastors avoiding confronting sin to keep sinners coming to church. A prostitute can get so comfortable in church that she may assume that her trade is useful even in heaven due to the value being placed on her person by the sermons being preached year in year out.

Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God. (1 Corinthians 6: 9 - 11)

Keeping sinners cozy in church could be healthy for the church’s balance sheet but is disastrous for their eternity. I for one know that had I chosen the popular route in ministry I could be swimming in earthly prosperity and provision, but at the expense of being rendered useless in the spiritual realms and probably accursed like many I see.

If the difference between a secular leadership ‘expert’ and a Christian one is the presence of verses in one then the truth is that both are secular, only that one chooses to deceive the gullible with an appearance of spirituality. And it is the same with motivation and many other efforts people use to make money.

Our effort should lead people to a total surrender to Christ, not a pocket full of money. We are therefore deceived when we associate great financial returns with effective ministry.

I will repeat. I must be out of the dumps to be able to rescue anyone out of the dumps. And I must be completely out of the dumps in his eyes for him to consider me able to rescue him. It is also important that he sees me as completely outside the dumps for him to desire to be helped. Trying to help him make the best out of the dump is therefore detrimental to his person. Yet that is what we do when we do not challenge sin.

We love them to change them, not to make them feel better. We accept them unconditionally so that they can get a foundation to change, not to feel alright where they are. That is how Christ operated.

And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God. (Romans 12:2)

All these things we are doing to draw people to church are sadly not drawing them to Christ.

Yet there is something even worse we are doing. We have completely refused to draw any distinctions whatsoever on many of the things we do.

Listen to a Christian advert and a secular one. Is there any difference? Listen to Christian and secular radio and tell me the difference as far as content, programs and presenters are concerned, forget the verses being quoted. The things being sold are the same, only that pastors are the salesmen and churches investors on Christian media. I speak as one who was in the media.

Sermons have become so cheap that a beggar can preach them to beg as they have stopped being releases from heaven.

Our search for relevance has gone full circle. We have become trivial and irrelevant to the world we seek to draw to Christ, ending up becoming worldly and spiritually worthless in the process. We have become irreverent to the point that a man of God has sunk to the level of a trickster, at best a motivator.

Our relevance originates from heaven and nowhere else. Seeking it elsewhere defiles it irretrievable at times because we actually sell ourselves to the devil as we do so.

Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God. (James 4:4)

And I say this as someone who is involved in rescuing people from dumps; drugs, sin, rejection, backsliding and many other dumps. Just look at your motivational expertise and tell me how many desperate cases you have rescued from sin by keeping them motivated. Yet they are always coming to one who is hard on sin to be helped out of it, and they are able to get the victory.

The Gospel has never changed. Only the preacher is deceived to think that confronting sin chases people from Christ when the reality is that it is the offerings they want to keep flowing without caring to know whether the offerers are right with God or not.

I Will be Late

Greetings

I am sorry my weekly post will be late due to unavoidable circumstances.

My son is wedding next week (4th) and there are so many things that must be dealt with. But my laptop keyboard went on strike but I have sought a short term solution.

Please pray for me. I will be posting as soon as a post is complete.

God bless you