10 Things You Should Do When You Feel Like Complaining

Today I was feeling weighed down and really felt like complaining to ease off my burden.  I told myself that I really do not want to complain even though something happened that made me want to.   So I asked myself what I can do to stop me from complaining.  Below are 10 things that I came up with.  You don't have to do all the things but you can pick the ones that are applicable to you or your situation. 

1. Pray to God.

    When you pray, the bible says that the peace of God which transcends all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ (Phil 4:7).  So God gives you peace and calms your heart over whatever was bothering you.

2.  Sing to the Lord

  I have found that singing also helps ease off any weight in one's heart.  The bible says, through the praise of children and infants, you have established a stronghold against your enemies,  to silence the foe and the avenger (Psalm 8:2).  What you are basically doing when you praise is inviting God into your situation (Psalm 22:3).

3. Meditate on the Word of God
Meditating on the Word of God helps in removing the focus off of what is weighing you down.  Colossians 3:2 says set your minds on things above, not on earthly things (not on your problems or on your burdens)

4. Demolish arguments, imaginations and all pretensions
There are times when what we are going through requires warfare.  In that instance, we need to get our weapons of warfare and engage in battle.  Anything thought that tries to make itself bigger than God need to be brought down.  There is nothing that's too big for God (Jer 32:27)

5. Take captive every thought and bring them to the obedience of Christ
Thoughts are very powerful and you have to be constantly aware of them.  If you are not careful you can easily make a mountain out of a molehill.  The bible says, guard your heart for out of it come the issues of life (Proverbs 4:23).  After you have taken captive or arrested all thoughts that are contrary to the word of God, you need to bring them under the subjection of Christ.  No thought should make you feel overpowered.  You must master it.

6. Stop judging
The bible says, do not judge or you too will be judge (Mat 7:1).  Sometimes we get weighed by issues because we judge the situations through which they have come about or the people that have caused them.  

7. Stop comparing yourself with others
When you compare yourself with others and find yourself falling short of "standards" then you can easily be ensnared by negative thoughts.  The bible says in 2 Corinthians 10:12 that those who compare themselves with themselves are not wise.

8. Count your blessings
A little reminder of the goodness of the Lord, will go a long way in reminding you that whatever burden you have right now, Lord is able to lift off of your shoulders (Matthew 11:28-30).  Hasn't he done it in the past?  Well, He can do it again.  Hebrews 13:8 says that God is the same yesterday, today and forever.

9. Get some rest
When you are weary you become less discerning and therefore more vulnerable.   Someone once said that when fatigue comes in, faith goes out.  If God rested on the seventh day from all his works then it is a clear indication that you too need to rest.

10. Let it go (Forgive)

Sometimes people do or say things that are hurtful or demeaning. If someone has done or said something that is hurtful, it is not worth it to hold that person in your heart.  LET IT GO. Forgive and forget.  How times should you forgive?  Seventy times seven (Mat 18:22).

Praying Prayer Partners

                 Another one of the young people has given his life to Christ today.   I invited the 3 that got saved last week to a prayer meeting at church and two were able to come and one could not make it.  One invited one of his friends and when the prayer meeting finished,  they waited for me to say hello.   Well, that was all it took.   I didn't even have to preached, I only quoted Romans 10:9 -10 and we prayed right there on the side of the road behind the church.   How true the words of Jesus in Matthew 9:37 that the harvest is plentiful.   It truly is plentiful.   I like the fact that they have started inviting their friends - my pastor used to call it "operation Andrew" (come and see the Messiah).

               I believe God has started a good work in the midst of these young people and I know the best is yet to come.  What I need therefore is praying partners who will stand in the gap for these young people and for the Children's Orphanage at large.  I have been praying for them and I feel led to involve anyone else out there who might be interested in standing in the gap.   If you are that person please email me or direct message me on Twitter @masaimissionary and I will send you a name to be praying for.  God bless you as you pray about considering to be a praying prayer partner.

They Call Me Doctor

They call me doctor.

They call me doctor because I am the first person who answers their call when they call the hotline numbers.

They call me doctor because I am the person they call when they are being tossed around at the hospital (even though most of the time am not in the hospital and there is nothing much I can do).

They call me doctor because when they don't have fare, I send it to them.

They call me doctor because when they are discharged home without proper instructions, I "prescribe" them lactulose.  Why would I have to bother the other doctor while I know they (RVF patients) should have gone home with some sort of laxative?

They call me doctor because when they have a migraine after surgery due to anesthesia, I go and buy them a coke or two.

They call me doctor because when they tell me they had cervix cancer and went through radiology which caused them a fistula which in turn caused kidney failure, I try to be strong and give encouraging words even though all I want to do is cry.

They call me doctor because I sit in the examination room when they are being screened.

They call me doctor because I sometimes help them to clear with the hospital after they are discharged if no relative has come for them.

They call me doctor because I sometimes take them to town to make sure they get on the right bus to go home and call to make sure they reached safely.

They call me doctor because I sometimes watch them being repaired in theatre.

They call me doctor because sometimes I give them hugs and get really stressed (to the point of getting migraines) on their behalf.

Most importantly, they call me doctor because I care and I pray for them.

If you are not convinced I am a "doctor", then you are not a believer.  The fistula patients believe I am.  I stopped telling them I am not a medical doctor because they don't listen.  Well, I have learnt to accept my new title gracefully and humbly - Dr. Seeyian.

Saved by the Blood

    I have just started an online course on missionary training and one of the books that I have to read as part of the course is Unveiled at Last by Bob Sjogren.  The first page of the book caught my attention and had me hooked on the book immediately.  Though I am only on chapter two, thought I would share an interesting story that starts the book off.  I will just copy it here as it in the book.

         "Feel the wind blowing hot over the scrub in the foothills on the edge of the desert.  Listen to the cracked, dry twitch of locusts.  The sun is mercifully fading over this speck of Southern Ethiopia.  Night is coming quickly, prompting the lighting of torches in the boisterous encampment of the semi-nomadic Mursi tribe.

         Sitting in the dirt next to Britisher Malcom Hunter, you're a link in the great circle surrounding a festive stick-fighting ceremony.  You can hardly hear Malcom over the shouts of the fights and the lowing of the herd surrounding the camp. "Nomads are some of the most God-conscious peoples on earth," Malcom says.  "They liver under God's stars, and appoint prayer leaders to pray to the Creator for rain."

         Just then an entourage of seven warriors strides before you.  They push a huge, muscled old man forward.  Stoic as s statue, he's smeared with rancid butter and glistens in the firelight.  One who can speak a little Swahili shouts to Malcom, "He is your brother!"  Malcom looks at you.  "I must not be understanding him.  His Swahili is pretty rough."

        "He is your brother," the warrior insists.  "He has your blood in him."  Through the evening, squinting against the swirling dirt of dust devils in the hot wind and listening over the cracks of the stick fighting, you piece the bits of the story.

         Decades ago, the Mursi, now about 6,000 strong, were being decimated by a yellow fever epidemic.  The tribe council finally chose eighteen of the strongest warriors to travel to the edge of the bush and find medicine.

          After days of waling and near death from the fever, the eighteen staggered in to a tiny hit that was a clinic staffed by a young American doctor.  The doctor had himself been inoculated against yellow fever, but he had no yellow fever antidote.  He didn't even have a way of taking blood samples from the dying men.  But he did what he could.  He inserted a needle into his own arm and began giving blood transfusions to the dying warriors, giving as much blood as he could without losing consciousness. 

          Fifteen of the men died.  Three miraculously survived.  The last of those legendary warriors stands before you.

          Excited, Malcom leaps to his feet and begins in pantomime and "trade" Swahili to explain to the gathering crowd: "This mighty warrior is a picture to you from the God who sends rain.  The God of the stars became a Man.  He, too, gave His blood to save the Mursi!"

       What an amazing story and analogy of what Jesus did for us.  What a sacrifice.  I have his blood.  I am saved by the blood.  The bible says in Hebrews 9:22 that without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins.

     I have been praying for the youngsters who gave their souls to Christ last week and I felt in my heart I need to start meeting with them and pray with them and just have fun together in the Lord and learn a thing or two from the word of God.  When I was reading this book yesterday, a thought occurred to use the book as a bible study tool and I am very excited about it.

   Please pray that:-

• The Lord will keep these dear ones in salvation and go on to minister to others for the Glory of God
• They will attend the meetings and that God will provide for their fares.
• They will be eager to learn the word of God and find time to study the Word
• They will be strengthened in the faith and the hold of sin over their lives will be broken
• God will give the grace to devote time to the course, the study of the word and prayer.
• God will provide for the other courses.
• I will not grow weary of doing good.  It is only by grace.

What God Can Do No Man Can Do

Yesterday I was fasting and because I did not go for lunch, by 2pm I was tired of sitting in the office so I decided to go to the cafe for coffee.  Little did I know that my coffee break was a divine appointment of one young lad with the Lord of the angel armies.  I ordered my coffee and this young lad came and sat with me.  I don't even know how I started sharing the word of God with him but coming home and remembering some of the things I said to him I knew there is no way I could have thought of them myself.   All I could say is that it is true what Matthew says that what you will say will be given to you at that time.   God is good truly amazing.  What God can do no man can do.

Then today after coming from Kenyatta National Hospital,  I again went to the cafe for coffee (I think am getting addicted...hehe).   Once again God had another soul set up to meet with him.  To be honest I did not expect another miracle of salvation but all God needed was a vessel to use.  Mine was to open my mouth and God was more than ready to fill it (psalm 81:10).  After sharing the word of God with him and prayed with him to receive the Lord,  I also prayed for his eyes which he said were itching because of allergies and needed to go see the nurse.   I left him and went back to the office.  

When I went back to the cafe to relax before I could go for fellowship with the young children in the Home,  again there was another divine appointment.   One of the girls who works at the cafe decided to re-dedicate her life to the Almighty God.   Hallelujah! The young man whose eyes I prayed for said that the itching had stopped and didn't need to see the nurse.  Praise God!  What God can no man can do.   

I am so humbled for only a God like our God would do #amazing things like that.  I am honoured that He would choose me to be a conduit for His glory.  It is my prayer that God will keep them and that the fire of revival will continue in their midst.   Praying that God will encourage them to keep on keeping on.  I also pray for grace to disciple them and that the Holy Spirit will be their mentor.

God Spoke; So Must We!

              In the beginning God said let there be and it was.  He spoke everything into existence.  The first thing the bible says existed in the beginning was darkness so it was only imperative that the first thing God spoke into being was light.  In Genesis 1:3 God said, Let there be light and there was.  God saw that the light was good and He separated it from darkness.  God went on to speak the earth, the land, the seas, the birds, the  fish, the plants, the animals, the heavens and the reptiles into being.  God never regreted anything He spoke into being.  He saw that everything was good.  

                   The question we should ask ourselves is, what have we been speaking?  And is what we have been speaking good?  Jesus said in John 6:63b, the words I have spoken to you - they are full of Spirit and life.  We are created in the image and likeness of God (Genesis 1:27) and since God is a speaking God, we also need to speak.  Psalm 119:89 says that the word of God is forever settled in heaven.  In heaven, the word of God is confirmed, it is established, it is fixed, is sure, it is immovable.  If that is how it is in heaven, then how is it here on earth?  Someone on earth needs to speak the word of God to establish it.  

                   Job 22:28 says, you shall also decree a thing and it shall be established for you: and the light shall shine upon your ways.  So it it possible that the reason why we have dark situations in our lives is because we are not speaking?  Or perhaps we are not speaking the Word of God?  Is what we are speaking full of Spirit and life?  Are the words we are speaking building other people or they are breaking them?  Are we speaking to bring healing or we are causing more hurt by our words?  Are our words bringing hope to those who have lost hope?  I also want to ask, out of what we speak everyday, how many of those words are in line with the Word of God?  Can we give an account of every word we speak?  Jesus said in Matthew 12:36 that everyone will have to give an account on the day of judgement for every empty word they have spoken.  Selah!

                 I do not want to end this blog without speaking what is in my heart.   The last 3 months, I have had the privilege of knowing a very wonderful young man called Nathan.  He came to volunteer at the Children's Home since July when I was still in Sierra Leone.   I met him in August when I came from Sierra Leone and we served together in the Children's camp that was going on in Kibera.  Since then, we have taught bible studies to the children together, we have shared and prayed together.  What is wonderful about Nathan is that he loves the Lord dearly and loves the word of God.  You would always see Nathan in the Home walking around with a bible in his hand.  He did not only walk with it for show but every time he sat down and he had some spare time in his hands, he was reading it.
             
                 I have enjoyed being around him for he would always ask questions like, "why does it say this in the bible?" or "where is such and such found in the bible?" or "Is it christian to think or do this?"  He was an inspiration to say the least.  Oh, and the children adored him.  He made them smile.  Actually, he made everyone smile and would talk to everyone he met (including strangers in the street) even with the little Swahili he learnt.  He reached out to the smallest, the biggest, the weak, the strong and treated all of them alike.  He was not afraid of making a fool of himself to make everyone else happy.  When I heard yesterday that he was leaving in the evening to go back to Scotland, I had to go to my room to cry.

                He was scheduled to leave on the 15th of December but due to unavoidable circumstances he had to leave abruptly.   When we dropped him off at the airport, I came back home and was praying and asking God why his departure upset me so much.  Then I realized that I was not only going to miss him as a friend and ministry partner but I knew there was somebody who going to do exploits for God.


               I realized that my cry was not so much a cry of sadness (even though I know I will miss him dearly) but a cry of intercession to God:  Intercession to the souls and lives he is going to touch; Intercession for God's preservation and protection:  Intercession for the joy and healing he is going to bring to many.

In the spirit of speaking and declaring, please allow me to declare that Nathan is a man destined for greatness.  He will go on to do exploits for the Kingdom! Na Shetani ashindwe! (Devil be defeated).  That's a statement he picked up from the kids and he loved to say it.  Hallelujah!  The devil is already defeated.  He has been an encouragement to me and I am honored to know him.  PS - He left me the best gift of all - his study bible.

Battle axe or Ox goad?

I was reading the other day in Jeremiah 51:20-23 and this is what it says:-


Thou art my battle axe and weapons of war:
for with thee will I break in pieces the nations,
and with thee will I destroy kingdoms;
21 and with thee will I break in pieces the horse and his rider;
and with thee will I break in pieces the chariot and his rider;
22 with thee also will I break in pieces man and woman;
and with thee will I break in pieces old and young;
and with thee will I break in pieces the young man and the maid;
23 I will also break in pieces with thee the shepherd and his flock;
and with thee will I break in pieces the husbandman and his yoke of oxen;
and with thee will I break in pieces captains and rulers.

I also read in Judges 3:31 which says:-
And after him was Shamgar the son of Anath, which slew of the Philistines six hundred men with an ox goad: and he also delivered Israel.

When I looked up ox goad, this is how wikipedia describes it;  The goad is a traditional farming implement, used to spur or guide lifestock, usually oxen, which are pulling a plough or a cart;used also to round up cattle. It is a type of a long stick with a pointed end, also known as the cattle prod.

For battle axe, this is what wikipedia says about it; A battle axe is an axe specifically designed for combat. Battle axes were specialised versions of utility axes. Many were suitable for use in one hand, while others were larger and were deployed two-handed.

So here is are two instruments, one is traditionally used for combat and the other is not.  It is interesting to note that in the Jeremiah passage about, God is equating King Cyrus of Persia to a battle axe, an instrument of combat to shatter Babylon and restore back the captivity of Israel.  God has used several people in the bible as his battle axe.  For example David, God used him to shatter Goliath to pieces.

The ox-goad, though traditionally used to spur or guide lifestock, Shamgar was able to use it for combat.  Meaning the instrument was used both in times of peace and in times of war.  It does not matter what you have available in your hands, God can use it to bring glory to his name.

If the Jeremiah passage was being written today, I feel like something like this would have been added.If the Jeremiah passage was being written today, I feel like something like this would have been added.

and with thee will I break in pieces ISIS;
and with thee will I break in pieces ebola and other hemorrhagic fevers;
and with thee will I break in pieces al-shabaab;
and with thee will I break in pieces al-Qaeda;
and with thee will I break in pieces Boko Harama;
and with thee will I break in pieces tribalism;
and with thee will I break in pieces racism;

So whether you are a battle axe or ox goad in the hands of the Almighty, God expects every christian to be a useful tool in his hands to fulfill his will and shape destinies of individuals, nations and the world at large.

So are you a battle axe, ox goad in the God's hands or a toy in the hands of the devil?    

Mistaken Assumptions

A few weeks ago I had very interesting dream.   In that dream I saw a Masai girl – Salepo (a name I have given her) who goes to school and leaves her mother at home.  In my dream, it seemed like a world of two Salepo and the mother.  

The school that Salepo went to appeared to be a boarding school because I didn’t see her coming back home – ever.  When the mother (a typical Masai woman) misses her, she looks for non-traditional clothes to wear to go and visit Salepo.  Since she would normally wear her traditional outfit, her good non-traditional clothes were not good enough.  Even as I write this, I can still picture her clothes in my mind.  But the sad part is, when she got to school, Salepo refused to see her mother.

The mother, heartbroken, went back home cursing, assuming that the fact that she could not afford better clothes or didn’t know how to dress well was the reason for her daughter’s rejection.

She felt sad for a few days but when she overcame all that due to the love she had for her daughter, she decided to go and see her again. She appeared to be wearing the same clothes she had the first time she went visiting, but without the blue chiffon clothe she had covered her skirt with.  I then realized the reason she covered the skirt the first time.  For beneath that chiffon, there was an all torn skirt, and one could see the black lining off the pinkish burgundy skirt.  

When she got to school, she received the same treatment from her daughter Salepo.  Salepo didn’t want to see her and because she gave her no reason, her mother thought it was because of the clothes.  She left the school which she had to walk a long distance to get to and went back to her manyatta (her traditional house).  This time around she took some time before going to see Salepo.  When she went to see her the third time, Salepo still would not budge and did not say why.  

This time around I was really heartbroken and as a silent observer (I think that’s what I was) in the dream, I decided to ask Salepo why she refuses to see her mother who loves her so much.  Salepo said she does not want to see her mother because her mother wants to take her out of school to give her away in marriage (or that’s what she thought).   I explained to Salepo that her mother does not want to give her away in marriage and furthermore when they want to give away a Masai girl in marriage, it is the men who come to take her away – not the mother.  

Salepo felt bad and regretted how she mistakenly treated her mother but by this time her mother had already left and vowed never to come back to the school.  Her mother became very demoralized and the next time I saw her was when Salepo was finishing her primary school education where she had grown even taller than her mother.  It is a sad re-union for me to witness because the mother had not only lost her sparkle but also her drive to live.  

Salepo told her that she was going to High School and she got some money out and gave it to her.  When Salepo asked her what she has been up to these days, she pointed to a hill at a nearby distance and Salepo seemed to understand that her mother was involved in some shady dealings because I heard her say “shame on you”.  

I saw them hold hands and left towards the hill together but as soon as they started walking up the hill, I had some huge rocks trampling down towards them and that’s when I woke up crying and I really cried and prayed for Salepo and her mother (or what they represent).

My heart ached and bled for what the two represent.  Talk of mistaken assumptions; think they don’t happen in real life?  Think again.  It is a reality in our families, schools, work places and even in our churches and ministries.   There is so much pain and brokenness that has been caused by mistaken assumptions.  

But one thing is clear – it is a tactic of the enemy.  Let us not allow mistaken assumptions rob us of something beautiful like the love of a beloved or even the love of God.  Even if you have been wronged, let it go.  Psalm 130:3 says, If you, Lord kept a record of sins, Lord, who could stand?  

Think about that and pray!

A Call to Prayer for those in the Healthcare

Today I went to Kenyatta National Hospital for routine clinic.  I popped into the Matron's (Senior Nurse) office in Clinic 66 to say hello.  She smiled when she saw me but you could see and sense the frustration on face.  I sat down and waited for her to put the phone down.  She told me she is trying to look for a doctor to come and review the post operation patients and she can't find any.  

When I went to the clinic, the nurses there were also frustrated and they told me that one of the doctors, a registrar, that was assigned to the clinic did not show up and had even turned his phone off.  I could not believe I was hearing that with my own ears. I thought things like that only happen in Sierra Leone.  The nurses finally had relief when they called a consultant doctor who was assigned to the labor ward.

Brethren, what am I trying to say?  I am just saddened by such doctors who could neglect their call of duty without even being apologetic about it.  On the other hand, I am encouraged by the likes of this consultant doctor who showed and is passionate about what he does.

On the same note, another patient came in for review.  She had her surgery last week but sadly enough her wound was infected.  Her brother who was with her expressed concern that she was infected in the ward and that the nurses there are not doing a good job.  Whether that is true, I don't know.  But from my knowledge, wounds get infected when patients go home, not when they are at the hospital.  Now, that is just very very sad.

My sisters and brothers in the Lord, please help me pray for our healthcare workers and practitioners (especially in Africa).   

• Pray that they will have a passion and be dedicated in what they do.  Pray that they will value the lives of those they are called to serve.  
• Pray for their protection especially for those in West Africa that are helping battle ebola.  
• Pray that those who are not called in the healthcare should find their purpose in life.
• Thank God for the ones who are dedicated and pray that they will not grow weary of doing good.
• Pray that those who do not know the Lord will come to the saving knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  Let them acknowledge the Great Physician and involving Him in the healing business.  After all, that's why He came.
• Pray that God will give them wisdom and understanding to handle every case with compassion, sensitivity and care it deserves.
• Pray that God will bring healing to the healthcare system in most of the nations in Africa.  My heart bleeds and cries for the nation of Sierra Leone where ebola is shaking an already broken system.  Pray, pray, pray.  Let lack of facilities and medical equipments and supplies be a thing of the past.

The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective. James 5:16b