Thursday 30 July 2015
Charles Haddon Spurgeon
There is not a spider hanging on the king's wall that does not have its errand; there is not a nettle that grows in the corner of the churchyard that does not have its purpose; there is not a single insect fluttering in the breeze that does not accomplish some divine decree; and I will never have it that God created any man, especially any Christian man, to be a blank and to be a nothing. He made you for an end. Find out what that end is. Find out your niche and fill it. If it is ever so little, if it is only to be a chopper of wood and a drawer of water, do something in this great battle for God and truth.
Tuesday 28 July 2015
Politically Correct Little Red Riding Hood
There once was a young person named Little Red Riding Hood who lived on the edge of a large forest full of endangered owls and rare plants that would probably provide a cure for cancer if only someone took the time to study them.
Red Riding Hood lived with a nurture giver whom she sometimes referred to as "mother", although she didn't mean to imply by this term that she would have thought less of the person if a close biological link did not in fact exist.
Nor did she intend to denigrate the equal value of nontraditional households, although she was sorry if this was the impression conveyed.
One day her mother asked her to take a basket of organically grown fruit and mineral water to her grandmother's house.
"But mother, won't this be stealing work from the unionized people who have struggled for years to earn the right to carry all packages between various people in the woods?"
Red Riding Hood's mother assured her that she had called the union boss and gotten a special compassionate mission exemption form.
"But mother, aren't you oppressing me by ordering me to do this?"
Red Riding Hood's mother pointed out that it was impossible for womyn to oppress each other, since all womyn were equally oppressed until all womyn were free.
"But mother, then shouldn't you have my brother carry the basket, since he's an oppressor, and should learn what it's like to be oppressed?"
And Red Riding Hood's mother explained that her brother was attending a special rally for animal rights, and besides, this wasn't stereotypical womyn's work, but an empowering deed that would help engender a feeling of community.
"But won't I be oppressing Grandma, by implying that she's sick and hence unable to independently further her own selfhood?"
But Red Riding Hood's mother explained that her grandmother wasn't actually sick or incapacitated or mentally handicapped in any way, although that was not to imply that any of these conditions were inferior to what some people called "health".
Thus Red Riding Hood felt that she could get behind the idea of delivering the basket to her grandmother, and so she set off.
Many people believed that the forest was a foreboding and dangerous place, but Red Riding Hood knew that this was an irrational fear based on cultural paradigms instilled by a patriarchal society that regarded the natural world as an exploitable resource, and hence believed that natural predators were in fact intolerable competitors.
Other people avoided the woods for fear of thieves and deviants, but Red Riding Hood felt that in a truly classless society all marginalized peoples would be able to "come out" of the woods and be accepted as valid lifestyle role models.
On her way to Grandma's house, Red Riding Hood passed a woodchopper, and wandered off the path, in order to examine some flowers.
She was startled to find herself standing before a Wolf, who asked her what was in her basket.
Red Riding Hood's teacher had warned her never to talk to strangers, but she was confident in taking control of her own budding sexuality, and chose to dialogue with the Wolf.
She replied, "I am taking my Grandmother some healthful snacks in a gesture of solidarity."
The Wolf said, "You know, my dear, it isn't safe for a little girl to walk through these woods alone."
Red Riding Hood said, "I find your sexist remark offensive in the extreme, but I will ignore it because of your traditional status as an outcast from society, the stress of which has caused you to develop an alternative and yet entirely valid worldview. Now, if you'll excuse me, I would prefer to be on my way."
Red Riding Hood returned to the main path, and proceeded towards her Grandmother's house.
But because his status outside of society had freed him from slavish adherence to linear, Western-style thought, the Wolf knew of a quicker route to Grandma's house.
He burst into the house and ate Grandma, a course of action affirmative of his nature as predator.
Then, unhampered by rigid, traditionalist gender role notions, he put on Grandma's nightclothes, crawled under the bedclothes, and awaited developments.
Red Riding Hood entered the cottage and said, "Grandma, I have brought you some cruelty-free snacks to salute you in your role as wise and nurturing matriarch."
The Wolf said softly "Come closer, child, so that I might see you."
Red Riding Hood said, "Goodness! Grandma, what big eyes you have!"
"You forget that I am optically challenged."
"And Grandma, what an enormous and fine nose you have."
"Naturally, I could have had it fixed to help my acting career, but I didn't give in to such societal pressures, my child."
"And Grandma, what very big, sharp teeth you have!"
The Wolf could not take any more of these specist slurs, and, in a reaction appropriate for his accustomed milieu, he leaped out of bed, grabbed Little Red Riding Hood, and opened his jaws so wide that she could see her poor Grandmother cowering in his belly.
"Aren't you forgetting something?" Red Riding Hood bravely shouted. "You must request my permission before proceeding in a new level of intimacy!"
The Wolf was so startled by this statement that he loosened his grasp on her. At the same time, the woodchopper burst into the cottage, brandishing an ax.
"Hands off!" cried the woodchopper.
"And what do you think you're doing?" cried Little Red Riding Hood. "If I let you help me now, I would be expressing a lack of confidence in my own abilities, which would lead to poor self esteem and lower achievement scores on college entrance exams."
"Last chance, sister! Get your hands off that endangered species! This is an FBI sting!" screamed the woodchopper, and when Little Red Riding Hood nonetheless made a sudden motion, he sliced off her head.
"Thank goodness you got here in time," said the Wolf. "The brat and her grandmother lured me in here. I though I was a goner."
"No, I think I'm the real victim, here," said the woodchopper. "I've been dealing with my anger ever since I saw her picking those protected flowers earlier. And now I'm going to have such a trauma. Do you have any aspirin?"
"Sure" said the Wolf.
"Thanks."
"I feel your pain," said the Wolf, giving a little belch, and said "Do you have any Maalox?"
~ Courtesy of Chris Long chris@laughandlift.com
Red Riding Hood lived with a nurture giver whom she sometimes referred to as "mother", although she didn't mean to imply by this term that she would have thought less of the person if a close biological link did not in fact exist.
Nor did she intend to denigrate the equal value of nontraditional households, although she was sorry if this was the impression conveyed.
One day her mother asked her to take a basket of organically grown fruit and mineral water to her grandmother's house.
"But mother, won't this be stealing work from the unionized people who have struggled for years to earn the right to carry all packages between various people in the woods?"
Red Riding Hood's mother assured her that she had called the union boss and gotten a special compassionate mission exemption form.
"But mother, aren't you oppressing me by ordering me to do this?"
Red Riding Hood's mother pointed out that it was impossible for womyn to oppress each other, since all womyn were equally oppressed until all womyn were free.
"But mother, then shouldn't you have my brother carry the basket, since he's an oppressor, and should learn what it's like to be oppressed?"
And Red Riding Hood's mother explained that her brother was attending a special rally for animal rights, and besides, this wasn't stereotypical womyn's work, but an empowering deed that would help engender a feeling of community.
"But won't I be oppressing Grandma, by implying that she's sick and hence unable to independently further her own selfhood?"
But Red Riding Hood's mother explained that her grandmother wasn't actually sick or incapacitated or mentally handicapped in any way, although that was not to imply that any of these conditions were inferior to what some people called "health".
Thus Red Riding Hood felt that she could get behind the idea of delivering the basket to her grandmother, and so she set off.
Many people believed that the forest was a foreboding and dangerous place, but Red Riding Hood knew that this was an irrational fear based on cultural paradigms instilled by a patriarchal society that regarded the natural world as an exploitable resource, and hence believed that natural predators were in fact intolerable competitors.
Other people avoided the woods for fear of thieves and deviants, but Red Riding Hood felt that in a truly classless society all marginalized peoples would be able to "come out" of the woods and be accepted as valid lifestyle role models.
On her way to Grandma's house, Red Riding Hood passed a woodchopper, and wandered off the path, in order to examine some flowers.
She was startled to find herself standing before a Wolf, who asked her what was in her basket.
Red Riding Hood's teacher had warned her never to talk to strangers, but she was confident in taking control of her own budding sexuality, and chose to dialogue with the Wolf.
She replied, "I am taking my Grandmother some healthful snacks in a gesture of solidarity."
The Wolf said, "You know, my dear, it isn't safe for a little girl to walk through these woods alone."
Red Riding Hood said, "I find your sexist remark offensive in the extreme, but I will ignore it because of your traditional status as an outcast from society, the stress of which has caused you to develop an alternative and yet entirely valid worldview. Now, if you'll excuse me, I would prefer to be on my way."
Red Riding Hood returned to the main path, and proceeded towards her Grandmother's house.
But because his status outside of society had freed him from slavish adherence to linear, Western-style thought, the Wolf knew of a quicker route to Grandma's house.
He burst into the house and ate Grandma, a course of action affirmative of his nature as predator.
Then, unhampered by rigid, traditionalist gender role notions, he put on Grandma's nightclothes, crawled under the bedclothes, and awaited developments.
Red Riding Hood entered the cottage and said, "Grandma, I have brought you some cruelty-free snacks to salute you in your role as wise and nurturing matriarch."
The Wolf said softly "Come closer, child, so that I might see you."
Red Riding Hood said, "Goodness! Grandma, what big eyes you have!"
"You forget that I am optically challenged."
"And Grandma, what an enormous and fine nose you have."
"Naturally, I could have had it fixed to help my acting career, but I didn't give in to such societal pressures, my child."
"And Grandma, what very big, sharp teeth you have!"
The Wolf could not take any more of these specist slurs, and, in a reaction appropriate for his accustomed milieu, he leaped out of bed, grabbed Little Red Riding Hood, and opened his jaws so wide that she could see her poor Grandmother cowering in his belly.
"Aren't you forgetting something?" Red Riding Hood bravely shouted. "You must request my permission before proceeding in a new level of intimacy!"
The Wolf was so startled by this statement that he loosened his grasp on her. At the same time, the woodchopper burst into the cottage, brandishing an ax.
"Hands off!" cried the woodchopper.
"And what do you think you're doing?" cried Little Red Riding Hood. "If I let you help me now, I would be expressing a lack of confidence in my own abilities, which would lead to poor self esteem and lower achievement scores on college entrance exams."
"Last chance, sister! Get your hands off that endangered species! This is an FBI sting!" screamed the woodchopper, and when Little Red Riding Hood nonetheless made a sudden motion, he sliced off her head.
"Thank goodness you got here in time," said the Wolf. "The brat and her grandmother lured me in here. I though I was a goner."
"No, I think I'm the real victim, here," said the woodchopper. "I've been dealing with my anger ever since I saw her picking those protected flowers earlier. And now I'm going to have such a trauma. Do you have any aspirin?"
"Sure" said the Wolf.
"Thanks."
"I feel your pain," said the Wolf, giving a little belch, and said "Do you have any Maalox?"
~ Courtesy of Chris Long chris@laughandlift.com
Monday 27 July 2015
Prosperity Gospel (Richard Innes, Daily Encounter)
"I [Jesus] have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble [tribulation]. But take heart! I have overcome the world."(John 16:33 NIV)
Daily Encounter reader from a much poorer country than North America asks, "Can you please write a message on prosperity teachings. [Some preachers have said or implied] … that it is a sin to be poor and when you are prosperous [have financial wealth] you are blessed."
Amazing isn't it?
If God has gifted me to be a good businessman and to make money, and I can do that honestly, then I'd say it would be my responsibility to make money … not for personal indulgences but so I would be able to give generously in supporting the Lord's work on earth.
I for one, however, don't have that gift or that calling. Neither am I a gifted fundraiser, so financing God's work for me has always been a challenge and probably will be until the day I retire or die … whichever comes first!
However, to some degree I have been gifted with an ability to communicate. Thus it is my responsibility to be trained in this area and communicate God's truth and the gospel to the best of my ability. Not to do so would be a sin for me as the Bible says, "Anyone, then, who knows the good he ought to do and doesn't do it, sins." (James 4:17 NIV)
To claim that everybody is gifted to make money or to communicate effectively is not true—and, if claiming this to be true, could lead many to doubt God's blessing on their lives. The same goes for those who are led to believe that it is God's will for every Christian to be financially prosperous.
Think of Jesus, for example. Was He prosperous? Not at all. Were the twelve disciples prosperous? Matthew, the tax collector, may have been at one time but through questionable methods. Peter and the other fishermen and disciples probably made just enough to make ends meet. True, Moses came from a well-to-do background, having grown up in Pharaoh's household, but he gave it all up to serve God and lead the people of Israel.
If, however, prosperity is God's will for everyone, then let's take this message to the poverty-stricken parts of the world where untold thousands of people are dying of malnutrition. We all know the fallacy of this suggestion.
For the rest of us less prosperous ordinary folks, let's do the best we can with the gifts God has given to us to help make our world a better place in which to live.
~ Richard Innes, Daily Encounter
**********************
Dear God, please grant that I will always be a messenger of truth and never be misled by false promises from false prophets who claim to be speaking in God's name. If ever I teach a false message, please reveal that to me so it can be corrected immediately. Thank You for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus's name. Amen.
Dear God, please grant that I will always be a messenger of truth and never be misled by false promises from false prophets who claim to be speaking in God's name. If ever I teach a false message, please reveal that to me so it can be corrected immediately. Thank You for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus's name. Amen.
Sunday 26 July 2015
BREAKING INVISIBLE BARRIERS (PASTOR NYAMBU, GOSPEL ASSEMBLY CHURCH DAR ES SALAAM)
If we are overcomers in Christ, why are we still struggling?
1.
You must identify the barriers you face.
2.
These are spiritual barriers not physical.
3.
Such barriers include ignorance, neglect and
busyness etc.
4.
These are the kinds of barriers that separate
you from keeping close to the Word of God.
5.
The light to your power, to overcoming is hidden
in the Word
6.
The secret is in meditating on the Word and
tapping into its power.
7.
Hear the Word
8.
Keep the Word
9.
Abide in the Word
10.
When you hide within the Word, nobody can touch
you for you become anointed!
Isaiah 51:1 “Hearken to me, ye
that follow after righteousness, ye that seek the LORD: look unto the rock
whence ye are hewn, and to the hole of the pit whence ye are digged.”
Joshua 1:8 ”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.”
Rev 2:7 “He that hath an ear, let
him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I
give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God.”
Zach 1:16 “Therefore thus saith
the LORD; I am returned to Jerusalem with mercies: my house shall be built in
it, saith the LORD of hosts, and a line shall be stretched forth upon
Jerusalem.”
(Pastor Nyambu was preaching on 18th
June 2015 at Gospel Assembly, Mombasa)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)