Leviticus 6:12-13

¹² The fire on the altar must be kept burning; it must not go out. Every morning the priest is to add firewood and arrange the burnt offering on the fire and burn the fat of the fellowship offerings on it. ¹³ The fire must be kept burning on the altar continuously; it must not go out.

. What makes the fire go out? Too much ash and lack of fresh fire wood. God has made us priests in our homes, in our work places and in our lives. He commands us never to allow the fire on the alter go out. When we allow the challenges of live, our relationships, our experiences cloud us, they can easily put out the fire. Remove the ashes and throw them away by being forgiving and loving. Don’t burden your heart with un necessary burdens, travel light. Add fresh fire word by walking with God and reading his word and fellowshipping with others

 

Jer. In chapter 4:3b-4a tells us to break our unplowed grounds and not to saw among thorns. He also advices us to circumcise our hearts.

I have had the privilege (or is it experiencing the pain) of converting a bush into a shamba severally and I think this is the hardest and most painful thing I’ve ever had to do. There’s the bush clearing, the uprooting of the shrubs and trees. Burning the bushes and thorny shrubs which poke you in the process. The digging and the harrowing.  It surely is a harrowing experience. Yet if you must plant, you have no choice but to go through the experience for you can’t saw among thorns and grass.

This is how our walk with God is. If we are to live with him eternally, we need to work on our heart. Clear it off the small foxes, the small sins that so easily entangles, clear the hate, the jealousy, the backbiting, the self-righteousness, the judging etc. This is a process we need to consciously embark on. It is not easy, it has its own pains and challenges, but there is no short cut. The good thing is, we don’t do it alone, the holy spirit makes the process easier, just that you must invite him for He can’t force himself. Let pray with David that God may create in us a clean heart and renew a steadfast spirit within us.

When we read about the parable of the good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37) we tend to focus more on this good Samaritan and aspire to be like him. But unfortunately, most of us are worse than the priest or the Levite who left the man to die, we  are the robbers who beat up this man. We are the robbers beating our fellow Christian and leaving them in the cold to die. We strip them off with our words and judging them as we play God. Regarding them as of lesser spiritual standards (adopting the rats cockroaches and people like us concept). Someone said the church army is the only institution that kills its wounded soldiers. Are we the kind of Christians who kill our wounded soldiers, leave them to die in the wilderness, or do we pick them up, cover them and walk with them? Are we too ashamed to be associated with our struggling Christians. Are we ready to go to their level, understand them and walk with them? God is asking us to show care and love to our wounded brothers. We are called to be shepherds to provide care and support. To care for those life is pushing out of the road, not to kill what is remaining of them. How can we claim to love God whom we have never seen and fail to love those in our midst?

 Parting shot 

DON’T JUDGE SOMEONE JUST BECAUSE THEY SIN DIFFERENTLY, DON’T JUDGE SOMEONE WHO FAILS A TEST YOU YOURSELF HAVE YET TO PASS. DON’T JUDGE SOMEONE UNTILL YOU’VE CRAWLED INTO HIS SKIN AND WALKED AROUND A BIT. DON’T JUDGE SOMEONE UNTILL YOU KNOW THEIR CONVERSATION WITH GOD IN THE CLOSET

LIFE NUGGETS 

Learn to light a candle in the darkest moments of someone's life. Be the light that helps others see: It is what gives life its deepest significance... Roy T. Barnet

“ Never wish them pain. That's not who you are. If they caused you pain, they must have pain inside. Wish them healing. ” ― Najwa Zebian

“ Keep your face always toward the sunshine - and shadows will fall behind you. ” ― Walt Whitman

“ In the end only three things matter: how much you loved, how gently you lived, and how gracefully you let go of things not meant for you. ” ― Anonymous

“ At the end of your life, you will never regret not having passed one more test, not winning one more verdict or not closing one more deal. You will regret time not spent with a husband, a friend, a child, or a parent. ” ― Barbara Bush

“ In every community, there is work to be done. In every nation, there are wounds to heal. In every heart, there is the power to do it. ” ― Marianne Williamson

“ Life isn't about getting and having, it's about giving and being. ” ― Kevin Kruse

“ You often feel tired, not because you've done too much, but because you've done too little of what sparks a light in you. ” ― Anonymous

“ Make yourself a priority once in a while. It's not selfish. It's necessary. ” ― Anonymous

“ Those who bring sunshine to the lives of others cannot keep it from themselves. ” ― J. M. Barrie

 

Romans 7:14-25

WALKING WITH GOD

We as human beings have two components,

The body which Is the physical being that we see and also the spirit or the souls which resides within us.

The spirit is the essence of who we really are. When God said let us create man in our own image, he did not mean the body but the spirit.

The body is just a house for the spirit and in death the two separates. The spirit lives on while the body dies

In our lives, our body and our spirit are usually at war with each another. Many are the times they don’t agree that is why paul says in Romans7;15 that what he want to do he does not do, but what he hate he does.

I believe we have found ourselves in such situation at some point. You know what is right but you find yourselve doing the opposite. It is actually easier to do wrong than right  because doing the wrong things is our default setting. That is why we find a child being mischievous.

The spirit in us wants to be good and do right but the body desires totally different things.

We all know that God and the devil are spirits, they have no body. They can only use our body to accomplish their purpose when we allow them

In the garden of Eden when the devil wanted to separate man and God, he borrowed the body of a snake to accomplish his mission. He could have used a cow or a dog to accomplish his mission but there must have been a character in the snake that made it a better choice for him

In the same way, If we allow him, the devil will borrow our bodies for his mission based on what is in us that attracts him to us. For example if we are full of hatred and jealousy we become easy targets for the devil to use. If the devil wishes to create strive in people, he knows the best person to use based on some undesirable character he has refused to deal with.

When we give out our bodies to the devils to use  its important to realise that his main intention is to separate us from God then leave us facing the consequences like he did in the garden of Eden. The snake got the punishment yet it never ate the fruit, it only give out its body for the devil to use. This can happen to us as well. We get ourselves in problems because of ledding our bodies to the devil to use.

What do wee need to do to ensure the devil doesn’t use us? We must strive to live a holy live, a live that is pleasing to God, a live that reflects the calling we have received, we need to deal with our bodies. As paul says in 1cor 9:27 we must beat our bodies and make it our slave so that we don’t preach to others and latter Get disqualifies, We shouldn’t  deny ourselves the things and the pleasures of this world and still loss eternal life. That is a double loss

We will have denied ourselves the pleasures of this world and still miss the kingdom.

We must make our bodies our slaves, we must be incharge. We must control our anger, our emotions, our greed. Can you imagine doing all the work we do for God just for our bodies to make us loos eternal life like it did to moses who preached of a land full of milk and honey but his anger caused him to miss it, He briefly give out his his body to the devil and his body cause him to miss what he had waited for for so long.

Jer. In chapter 4:3b-4a tells us to break our unplowed grounds and not to saw among thorns he also also advices us to circumcise our hearts.

Hosea in chapter 10:12 repeats the same words. That we should sow for ourselves righteousness and reap the fruit of our unfailing love. That we should break up our unplowed grounds for its time to seek the lord..

Ploughing fallow grounds is a lot of work. And if the grounds could talk I believe they would complain of the process. Ive had the privilege of turning an area full of thony shrubs into a farm and it is not a walk in the park.   Ngamba igigatuika mugunda ungirimwo ni wira muingi. No nginya uhure nyeki ndawa, uchimbe, uhure haru… it requires a deliberate focused effort to get the results you want.

Similary, circumcision is not a massage either, it is a painful experience that marks the beginning of another pharse in the live of a man. We don’t become the kind of Christian christ is looking for through wishing full thinking. Just seating and wishing and desiring to be right.  It is a deliberate effort that requires us to give up a number of things that our body loves.

Hosea tells us to seek the lord and Isiah adds that’s we should seek Him when he may be found. For the wicked to forsake his ways and the unrighteous his thoughts. This grace God has given us to fellowship with him has an expirely date so this is the time to act. We need to do deal with the so called small sins especially those we easily hind in our hearts.

Our salvation and walk with God is a deliberate effort. we must deliberately decide to deal with many areas in our lives,  and follow christ. The small foxes like Anger, gossip, hatred bitterness, heavy hearts. We need to travel right in this journey of faith. Otherwise how shall we run the race set out before us with all the baggage

Let us not sow among thorns. When we serve God and and our hearts are full of the baggage it is like sowing on thorns, it is work in futility for we wont harvest anything. Let us join with David and deliberately ask God to Search us and know our heart; to test us and know our thoughts.  

Let us ask him to create in us a clean heart and put a steadfast spirit within us. That way our bodies will not be desirable to the devil for his use

Let us remember that the body is already at home in this world. It is not going anywhere else. Our bodies are already home, But let us not allow it to de rail our spirit from finishing the race set out for us

OPEN DOOR

Doors: Have you ever noticed that most doors only open when you pull them towards you? However this doesn’t mean that every door opens this way. Some doors slide open automatically when you get near them. Other doors, like garage doors, have to be pulled up. There is danger in assuming that every door will open in the one and only way you are accustomed to. Before you walk away from the seemingly closed door of opportunity, don’t just assume that it is locked. Just because the door didn’t open when you pulled it towards you, or upwards or when you walked towards it doesn’t mean it is locked. What if the door you’re facing only opens by pushing it inside? The door to your destiny often requires than you dig in your heels, flex every muscle, lean against it with all your weight and push it open. Remember you don’t need a walkthrough — you need a breakthrough. It is called a breakthrough because some things have to break while you go through. Sometimes you might have to break a few bones while you breakthrough. Therefore breakthrough disparaging voices, limiting circumstances, and obstacles. Breakthroughs require radical faith and radical action. "Since they could not get him to Jesus because of the crowd, they made an opening in the roof above Jesus by digging through it and then lowered the mat the man was lying on." No amount of prayer can substitute taking action. If there is no way, make a way.

BE PATIENT WITH GOD

I READ THIS AND LOVED THE LESSON IN IT
TWo weeks ago, I was about to prepare lunch for my family, when I took out a fresh Titus fish from the freezer.
Suddenly my one year five months old daughter who stood by watching, started crying and demanding that I give her the fish to eat. I Kept trying to tell her in my own way that the fish was raw, I needed to spice it up, cook and then take out the bones so it can be ready for consumption, but my toddler wouldn't hear but chose to cry louder and even fell to the ground and no one was able to comfort her.
I decided to ignore her, went ahead to do what was right and when it was ready, she had her fish and didn't even remember all the drama she had put up.
But the Holy Spirit ministered to me that this is how many of us cry for a blessing that is not yet ready. God is saying am spicing it up, cooking it and taking out the bones so you don't get choked.
If only my little daughter knew, she would have waited patiently instead of being anxious. (Phil.4:6) God is saying to someone here that you should be anxious for nothing, Be still and know that I am God I am spicing up that blessing so you will enjoy to the fullest.
Wait on the Lord! (Is.40:31) Like Job said..All the days of my appointed time will I wait till my change comes. (Job 14:14)
Change is coming, Help is on the way

Be inspired