Fatima's Story | Stories of Christian Persecution

       Everyday we read headlines in the news about churches getting burnt down, Christians being taken hostage or killed in various parts of the world.  There are threats from Al-Shabaab, Boko Haram, ISIS or other Islamic or Buddhist Extremists and it is no longer a safe world because you do not know whether the attack will find you in a shopping mall, a church, a school, an embassy or just somewhere minding your own business.

The question for those of us who have not been directly hit, what are we doing about the ever increasing Christian Persecution in the world?  What is our response?


The other question is how are we living out our Christian faith?  Are you living your faith in your heart and in your actions?  Are you one who can say like Fatima that you are Christian unto death? 


When you listen to a story like the one of Fatima below, does it stir something on the inside of you?  Does the story move you at all?  Does it move you to action?  Do you go on living your life the same way you have been living?

It Started Pouring; Heart of Gratitude

It started earlier on; It stared pouring and I now it is still pouring.

Thank you, thank you, thank you Papa.  Thank you Jesus.

That was what was pouring from my heart earlier during the day when I was walking along the corridors of Kenyatta National Hospital.

I had two patients that needed to be admitted and one can get frustrated trying to get things done at KNH.

So I was humbled that even though I have not worked there for long, God has given me favour and whoever I called or went to was helpful.

To me is is not my making but God's hand at work.  That's why I am saying thank you.  It started pouring and it continued.

Then earlier this evening,  I was teaching the children the bible like I usually do every Friday.  

But today's preacher didn't not show up and so I had to preach and give a memory verse all at the same time.

Well,  I did my thing and the way I do the memory verse usually is with actions.

But the best part about it is that I never think beforehand of what the actions will be.

The Holy Spirit just brings them to me as I start speaking.   I really enjoy it because it is new to me as it is new to the children.

So again it started pouring, that is something I say thank you Papa.

Even after the fellowship,  when Margaret said I am a very good teacher and I do it so well, it started pouring.  

Gratitude started pouring from my heart.

Just a few minutes ago,  I was talking to my son in the Lord ( Muchoki) - the one who left a few weeks ago to go volunteer with Mercy Ships in Madagascar.

Well, this morning he was the one preaching during their devotions in the ship.

I asked him how it went,  and he said he was a bit nervous but he managed to speak about the fig tree with leaves but no fruits of the Holy Spirit. 

I told him that one sentence has blessed me and would like to hear more. 

When he expounded it, I was in tears of joy and saying thank you to God that my son is already being used of God.  

God is really not a respector of persons.   He can use any availability vessel.   Thank you Papa.  Strike three and God is yet to do more.

My heart filled with gratitude.   I can't stop saying thank you.

For what He had done, I say thank you Papa.

For what He is doing,  I say thank you Papa.

For what He will do, I am more than grateful.   THANK YOU, THANK YOU,  THANK YOU PAPA.

Spiritual Firebrands

        Today I was reading Judges 15 and I came across the word firebrands.  Judges 15:4 says "And Samson went and caught three hundred foxes, and took firebrands, and turned tail to tail, and put a firebrand in the middle between two tails."  When I read that, I was curious to know what a firebrand is and what it looks like.  From the Webster dictionary, a firebrand is:-

1.  A piece of burning wood
2.  One that creates unrest or strife (as in aggressively promoting a cause) : agitator
 

Another online dictionary defines a firebrand as a person who is passionate about a particular cause, typically inciting change and taking radical action.
 
        The reason why Samson put firebrands in the middle between two tails of the foxes is because his wife was given to his companion.  In revenge to the philistines, his set the philistines' grain fields on fire.  The quickest and surest way to destroy those fields was to tie foxes tail to tail in pairs and fastening a burning piece of wood to every pair of tails.  I think Samson must have been a crazy man or a pure firebrand and was just very set about getting revenge on the philistines in whichever way possible.  One of the questions I ask myself is, how does one man go out and catches 300 hundred foxes? Does he catch them one by one and comes and locks them somewhere while he goes to catch another one?  Also, did he catch them all in one day?  

        I tried to find out why Samson tied the foxes two by two and this is what I found from the McClintock and Strong's Bible Encyclopedia;  "They were probably not so tied that they should pull in different directions, but that they might run deviously and slowly, side by side, and so do the more effectual execution. Had he put a torch to the tail of each, the creature, naturally terrified at fire, would instantly have betaken itself to its hole, or some place of retreat, and thus the design of Samson would have been wholly frustrated. But by tying two of them together by the tail they would frequently thwart each other' in running, and thus cause the greater devastation."

           Is it any wonder Jesus send the disciples two by two? (Luke 10:1)  Is it any wonder why Jesus said where two or three are gathered in my name, I am in their midst? (Matthew 18:20) Is it any wonder Paul said, quoting the old testament, that at the testimony of two or three witnesses a case will be established?  (2 Corinthians 13:1).  This means then no one can accomplish God's purposes single-handedly.  When we run side by side with like minded believers, we tend to be more effectual in the work of the gospel.

           The other two conclusions I draw from this story are:  One, we have to be burning torches ourselves for us to spread the fires of revival.  We have to be spiritually burning.  We have to be hot not cold or lukewarm.  Remember those who are neither hot nor cold, will be spewed out (Revelation 3:16).  Two, we have to be zealous about spreading that fire; we have to be spiritual firebrands.  We have to give our eyelids no slumber until all the fields that are ripe with the harvest have caught the fires of revival.  God has called us to be firebrands in both ways; having that fire and being passionate about spreading it.

        If we want revival to come to the land, we have to be spiritual firebrands.  We have to be passionate about spreading the word of God.  We have to be radical about speaking out our faith.  We should not leave any stone unturned.  Let us witness Christ in our offices, in our schools, in the market place, in the restaurants, in the gas stations, in the business meetings, in the parks, in the city and in the country.  Let us becomes radicals about making him known and making him famous.  Let us knock on heavens doors and bring the Glory of God down.    In our praying, let us become even fervent; in our worship, let us pour our hearts more; in our study, let us dig those wells more; and in our sharing let us become even louder and bolder.  Let us not keep silent and let us give him no rest until he establishes your city; your nation; your school; your organization; your family; your neighborhood; a praise in the earth.  Isaiah 62:6-7.  Selah!

        

Living a Life of Fire

            Living a life of fire is constant burying of oneself in the word of God.  A constant staying connected with the Holy Ghost in prayer.  It means meditating on the word of God day and night.  Yet we are surrounded by so much worldliness that to be in constant fellowship with heaven is a big struggle and a huge sacrifice to say the least.

         I have come to realize that thoughts play a very big role in maintaining the presence of God.  I have struggled today to maintain that presence.  I don't feel that heavenly influence and interference like I felt last Monday.  But then I know that what happened last Sunday that did not happen yesterday.  Last Sunday we did more praise and worship songs at Church.  We even had an evening service that had us singing more praise and worship songs.

          I have found out that the more I sing the more I have a song that lingers in my heart.  Same thing applies to prayer.  The more I spend time in my prayer closest, the more the spirit of prayer lingers in my spirit long after I have left my prayer closest.    That is also the case with studying and meditating on the Word of God.  I find that the days I spend more time in the word, even the next day I can still sense God's presence.

         But then I have also realized that there is a place of Grace in our lifes.  Grace says that even for those moments when you don't feel his presence, God is still there and he can still use you because he does not depend on your strength to bring his purposes to pass.

          So, O wretched that man that I am,  what should I do to become the perfect host for the presence of God?   I find that the things that I want to do like praying I don't do and the things I don't want to do like sleep more or watching a soap, those are the things that I do. 

That Woman; The Apple of God's Eye

         Sitting in the bus with other women from our church on our way to the retreat,  I try not to think; I try not think of that woman.  I try not to think of the plight of that woman: Yes THAT WOMAN.  I don't want to think about her.  I want to enjoy the bus ride and listen to music on my ipod.

         But her story keeps coming to my mind.  It's no use!  My thoughts are filled with the pictures of her frail body lying in that hospital bed after a fistula surgery that failed.   My thoughts flashback to what the surgeon said: that her tissues could not hold because she has an underlying disease which has rendered her inoperable, most likely tuberculosis.  

            In my mind I see her lying in that bed knowing quite well that hers will not be a success story.   I pray for one of the other patients next to her. I remember her asking me to pray for her too.  I had skipped her because we could not communicate; she is from DRC and only speaks a little Swahili.   I remember going back to pray for her very humbled and almost apologetic.
  

      That woman;  Her story is more than a case of a failed fistula surgery and a suspected case of tuberculosis.   I wish that was all I could think and say about that woman.   You see, she has a nephew (also from the DRC) whom I had to call to get that woman's story.   Her story,  to me, starts 6 months ago.   I am sitting in the bus with earphones in my ears and now I have stopped trying not to think.   I am thinking of how that woman was kidnapped 6 months ago by the rebels in DRC.   As if it was not traumatic enough for a 60 plus year old woman to be kidnapped,  the rebels raped her.
  

         I am thinking of how she managed to escape from the hands of the rebels and I can't picture it in mind.  I usually have a very good imagination but this one escapes me.  You see, this part I wasn't told in pictures and I like pictures.   Don't blame me.  But the story is not about me; it's about that woman. 

        I am thinking;   I am thinking;   I am thinking of that woman who by the grace of God escaped from those monsters but now has a fistula from the rape and a tattered dignity.   I am thinking of how that woman got to Kenya by taking different buses with little pocket change and a little or no mastery of the different languages spoken in the various countries she had to pass through.
 

            Yes,  now you know what I am thinking and why I was trying not to think of that woman.   You see, tears are rolling down my big cheeks as I think of that woman.  But there is more I have not told you.  That woman reached Kenya by hook and by crook.   But now she is lying in bed and her surgery has failed.
 

          I am thinking of how her nephew called me and told me their story,  how they don't have much.  I remember how they could not afford Ksh1,000 for that woman to do the blood work and how they called me to see if my organisation could help.  I am thinking of when that woman's nephew was telling me he cannot do much himself in terms of work because he is lame on both feet though he was not born that way.

        I am also thinking of how the nephew told me that they were told to do some tests including an ex-ray and they have no money for the same.   I remember what I told him: that my organisation can only pay for tests related to fistula.   I also remember telling him that I will pray for the great provider to move heaven on behalf of that woman.

         I am thinking of how after I put the phone down, how I held hands with a friend who was with me in the office and cried earnestly to the Lord of the Angel Armies to come through for that woman.  If you don't know that already, that woman is the apple of God's eye;  just like you and me.  So am expecting God to do a miracle for THAT WOMAN.

Hour of Visitation; Don't Miss Out on God!

         

Today I almost missed the time of God's visitation because I was too engrossed in the pain I was experiencing physically.   Thank God to the nudging inside that told me I needed to go for a walk.  Little did I know that God was sending me on an assignment to go and pray for someone who needed to recommit his life to Christ.  I don't know what would have happened if had stayed in the office and didn't go out.  Please note that God's purposes would have still been fullfilled in Kevin's life.  God would have sent him another labourer but I would have missed to witness that miracle of salvation.  If God has to, He can even raise stones to do his good pleasure but it is a privilege that He chooses to use earthen vessels like us.

          Many are times when we are too engrossed on what is going on in the physical world that we become desensitized to the spirit world.  Just because we cannot sense the spirit world, it does not mean it ceases to exist.   The spirit world is more real than the physical world.  after all, everything that is seen was made from what is not seen (Hebrews 11:3).  But how many of us can say we are constantly aware of what is going on in the spirit world?  More especially the things God is speaking to us and doing in us through His Spirit?  How about the wars that go on in the spiritual realm?   And more specifically the wars that have to do with the souls of men?  Heaven and hell are constantly fighting for the souls of men.

        You see, what God wants to do is not always obvious to the "fleshy" man.  You need a spiritual magnifying lense.  What would have happened to the widow at Zarephath if she did not see in the spirit and obey the word of the Lord spoken by the Prophet Elijah in 1 Kings 17:7-16?  She would have missed out on God's miraculous provision.  What would have happened if the boy in John 6:9 refused to give out his lunch of 5 small barley loafs and two small fish?  He would not have witnessed the miraculous multiplication and the feeding of 5000 people from a small boys lunch. Of course Jesus would have probably found another way but the boy would not have been part of the miracle.

           Luke 19:42-44 says, “If you had known, even you, especially in this your day, the things that  make for your peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes.  For days will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment around you, surround you and close you in on every side, and level you, and your children within you, to the ground; and they will not leave in you one stone upon another, because you did not know the time of your visitation.”  May this not be our portion.  May we learn to be sensitive to His Spirit.  May we learn to silence the other voices and listen to him.  MAY WE NEVER MISS OUT ON GOD.  MAY WE NEVER MISS OUR HOUR OF VISITATION.

         May we never miss out on God becuase we too focused on our own problems.
May we never miss out on God because we are too engrossed in ourselves.
May we never miss out on what God wants to do because we are too focussed on our inabilities.
May we never miss out on God because we are too engrossed in our pain.
May we never miss him because we are too proud or argumentative.
May we never miss to hear the voice of God because we are too busy listening to others voices.
May we never miss out God's hour of visitation because we are too busy worrying about what we will eat or wear.
May we never give him a reason to raise stones to do his work.

         May we always remember that our response or failure thereof may cost someone an eternity.
May God help us to respond with an urgency that the assignment requires.  The King's busines  requires haste (1 Samuel 21:8).

Operation Andrew! Come and See!

        Today, one of my sons in the Lord (Maina) made me so happy.   He invited one of his friends, Eric,  to come for bible study at church.   It tells me that he is growing in Christ and is not ashamed of the Gospel.  Romans 1:16

      My former spiritual father used to teach us about Operation Andrew.   Quoting John 1:40-42 "One of the two who heard John speak, and followed Him, was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother. He first found his own brother Simon, and said to him, “We have found the Messiah” (which is translated, the Christ). And he brought him to Jesus. Now when Jesus looked at him, He said, “You are Simon the son of Jonah.  You shall be called Cephas” (which is translated, A Stone)."
 
     When Andrew had found Jesus - the Messiah,  he did not just follow him alone.  He went to find his brother Peter and brought him to Jesus.  That is what my Reverend used to called Operation Andrew - just telling others to come and see; inviting your colleagues to church;  inviting your family members to crusades.   And of course, once they come they will have an encounter with the Lamb of God; the one who takes away the sins of the world. They might even have their names changed from Peters to Simons or Sauls to Pauls.

      That was the case for Eric today.  He came by invitation and he accepted Christ as his Lord and Saviour.   Hallelujah!   O what joy there is in heaven right now.  Once again heaven has scored and one sit has been left empty in hell.   Glory to God.  I thank God for using Maina to invite his friend to church.   May God make them more and more bold to stand for the Gospel of truth.  So dear friend,  be bold and tell them about Christ and if you are not sure of what to say, tell them to come and see.   After all,  the great commission is for all of us.  We are all commanded to go.  Don't let anyone's blood be required I from your hands.

#Thereisjoyinheaven
#Humbled
#Fillingheavenonesoulatatime
#Powerintheblood
#Salvationbygrace
#Nogreaterjoy

The Spiritual Plateau; Getting Out of it

 Merriam-Webster describes a plateau as:-

1.  A large flat area of land that s higher than other areas of land that surround it.

2.  A period when something does not increase or advance any further.

        Yesterday at church, our pastor was giving us a story of a young man who went to his office and told him that he is tired of christian life; that he is just not being excited about his walk with the Lord anymore; that nothing is happening in his life.  The pastor went on to say that he challenged him to remember what Christ has done for him and that even when he is not putting any effort he continues to breathe and that breath is from God and he pays nothing for it.

       But as the pastor was speaking, something came to my mind - the word plateau.  You see, that is a word that is not unfamiliar to me.   I remember being in the same very place.  I was a Christian yes;  was still going to church and doing all those churchy things that Christians do.  God had blessed me.  I had walked with God.  I was not a "beginner" Christian.   I knew how to speak the church lingo.  I had seen Christ fight for me and experienced him win battles for me.  I knew the scriptures;  had even memorised a few verses and if you work me up in the middle of the night,  I could say them without blinking an eye.  After all, doesn't David say to hide his word in our hearts?  I even remember my pastor used to call me the walking bible. 

     You see, just like that area of land; God had enlarged me.  He had raised me up and elevated me spiritually.  There is nothing wrong with that you day.   Well,  there is no problem with the enlargement or elevation above the rest.   The only problem is the flatness.  I had plateaued spiritually.  I reached a place where I was not no longer progressing.   I would get excited at church but that excitement did not last long. The joy of a daily walk with Christ was no longer there.   

    

       In a spiritual Plateau the Christian lives each day in trial and error or rather in spiritual highs and lows.  One day she/he feels the presence of God and joy of being a christian then the next day that joy is gone and they don't even want to pray or study the word of God.  And to be honest with you, the spiritual lows are usually more than the spiritual highs.   

  

       Christian friends, this is usually where the road meets the rubber.  If one is not careful, they would easily fall off the charts here never to be mentioned in the Christian Chronicles.  If one does not have accountability partners, it is very easy to fall through the cracks. 

      So then, you ask dear friend, how does one overcome the spiritual lows and highs?  How does one come out of the spiritual plateau?   Well, the answer is very simple.  I will tell you shortly.   It came to me yesterday when I was sitting in the pew at church.   I realised that I was no longer in the spiritual plateau.   I don't even remember when I came out of it but somehow I was no longer stagnant.   Then I understood why I was no longer in stagnation.  

          As I sat in that pew, my heart was burdened and constantly lifted up in prayer for one my spiritual sons who to me looks like he is not spiritually progressing.   I was thanking God for the others who are making baby steps in their walk of salvation.   Then I realised I have no time to be stagnant when I am doing that which I was called to do.  THAT IS IT.

        Today, I went to mail some parcels via G4S (FedEx or DHL equivalent).  The G4S  closest to us is a moving van and not an office.   So when I got there, the sun was already up (for those who know Nairobi weather,  the sun is scorching hot at this time of the year).  The G4S guy got in to write the mailing forms for me.   When I mentioned I was uncomfortable with the heat, he invited me to sit with him inside the van (I felt like Phillip being invited into the chariot by the Ethiopian Eunuch).  So I sat there I waited for him to finish writing the forms.  As soon as he finished, I started on the ABC's of the gospel.  And right there and then he accepted Christ as his Lord and Saviour. 

     So as I walked back to the office filled with joy #unspeakable, I continued to think high so many Christians reach a spiritual plateau.   It is so wrong to sit in a church pew Sunday after Sunday and receive spiritual impartation/anointing and yet do nothing with it.  We go for conferences and seminars and when we come back we do not share the knowledge we have received or try to reach out others.   You see, many of us are like that servant who hid the talent.  We are not occupying till he comes so to speak (Luke 19:13).

       Dear friend,  to whom much is given, of him shall much be required (Luke 12:48).   So if you bury your talents, you are not only in danger of it being taken away from you but you are also in danger of hitting a spiritual plateau.   So if you are already there, IN THAT PLACE OF STAGNAGNATION, please get up and start occupying.   Get up and start doing what God called you to do.  The anointing you have received is to be used to advance God's Kingdom and bring the glory unto his name.  SO OFF ON YOUR TOES AND STARTING RUNNING THE RACE YOU WERE MEANT TO RUN.  If you are not a Christian,  it is never too late to start.  Pray the prayer below and look for a bible believing church and tell them of your decision to follow Christ. 

     

      Dear Lord Jesus, I know that I am a sinner, and I ask for Your forgiveness. I believe You died for my sins and rose from the dead. I turn from my sins and invite You to come into my heart and life. I want to trust and follow You as my Lord and Savior. In Your Name.

Amen.  

     You can also read more about how to know God at http://www.billygrahamlibrary.org/PGView.aspx?pid=13

Voice or No Voice! I Shall Yet Praise Him!

       For the past one and half week I  have been battling a very bad cold - headache, running nose, fever, sore throat to name but a few.  But the worst of all is that on Wednesday evening my voice started getting horse and by Thursday morning I woke up with no voice at all.  I had body aches all over and any little movement was a painful effort.  I could not even get myself up to go and see the nurse.  So I was confined to my bed all day on Thursday.  

       Now, a person who loves to sing and to share the word of God, it is very frustrating if you can't voice your words.  And if patients have to call you then it even useless to answer the phone because no one can hear you.  Plus any effort to make any sound is painful. 

  

       But voice or no voice, I shall yet praise the Lord.  Sundays are usually my favorite when I have to spend time in the house of the Lord but on Sunday it was only a reminder that I have a thorn in my flesh that was bothering me.  I prayed that it goes away, but just like Paul, God assured me that his grace will be sufficient.  

        Job 13:15 says that though he slay me, yet will I trust him.   Psalm 42:11 also says why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted within me? hope thou in God: for I shall yet praise him, who is the health of my countenance, and my God.  So with my voice,  I shall praise him.  Without my voice,  I shall yet praise him.  With a sore 

throat,  I will praise him.  With a cold and running nose and pain in my joints, I shall yet praise God.   FOR HE IS THE HEALTH OF MY COUNTENANCE.