murderer turn god

“…Paul gathered a pile of brushwood and, as he put it on the fire, a viper, driven out by the heat, fastened itself on his hand. When the islanders saw the snake hanging from his hand, they said to each other, ‘This man must be a murderer; for though he escaped from the sea, Justice has not allowed him to live’… but after waiting a long time and seeing nothing unusual happen to him, they changed their minds and said he was a god…“ Acts 28:3-6, NIV Italics and emphasis mine

It is interesting to see how our Leaders today, both in the politics and in church, will go out of their way to please people even at the expense of their calling and assignment. People would rather please people they see than God (who is unseen with natural eyes) and in so doing, we become hypocrite…we project who we are not inside in order to please people and win their seal of approval, recognition and popularity.

The trouble with people, as we see in the above text, is that they are so fickle; within a span of hours (the same night) Paul verdict moves from a murderer to god. Paul said, ‘If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a servant of Christ’ Gal 1:10b. I am not saying that we should ignore peoples’ opinion, but we need to be convinced of who we are and what we do regardless of people’s opinions. Malcom X once said, ‘if you don’t stand for something, you will fall for everything’

________________________

copyright ©2008Light to my path _† † _† by TJM Kyara

What you don't know

“…then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free…” John 8:32 NIV [italics & emphasis mine]

A decade a go we had a slogan which said ‘what you don’t know, can’t hurt you’ this slogan was used in many context but mainly in election campaigns; electoral candidates seemed to favor policies which advocated dissemination of information on a ‘need to know’ basis-they decide what you need to know. On the other hand, there are those who believe that ‘knowledge is power’ and advocate sharing everything to everyone failing to note that the right information in the hands of wrong people can be disastrous, do not cast your pearl to swine, Matt 7:6.

The truth of the matter is, knowledge in and by itself is not power, but rather knowledge put into action. But what is the truth? Jesus said, “…sanctify them by the truth; your word is the truth…” John 17:17 NIV. God’s word is the truth and Jesus is the word of God...hence Jesus is the truth. When we know God’s word (Jesus) and act upon them (what he says), it sets us free. Free from fear of future uncertainty, fear of men, fear of death etc It is only the truth that you know will set you free, indeed “…my people are destroyed for lack of knowledge…”Hosea 4:6 KJV, “…my people are gone into captivity, because they have no knowledge…”Isaiah 5:13 KJV

________________________
copyright ©2008Light to my path † † † by TJM Kyara

Destiny, Choice not Chance!

“…large number of people followed him, including women who mourned and wailed for him. Jesus turned and said to them, "Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me; weep for yourselves and for your children…” Luke 23:27-30 NIV [italics & emphasis mine]

When my son was born, immediately the pediatrician who was in the room took him and gave him a nudge, he began to cry and everyone around (nurses, esthetician, and surgeons) cheered and laughed with joy. William Jennings once said, Destiny is not a matter of chance is a matter of choice. God has given us power to make our own choices in life; while we can choose our choices (actions), we cannot choose the consequences thereof.

When a child is born, it cries and everyone around it rejoices…if this child live right and to the fullest potential (life of service to mankind like Jesus Christ), at the end of child’s life, the child will smile and everyone around will be crying-because a good man has fallen asleep. God says, “…I have set before you life and death, the blessing and the curse. Choose life, then, that you and your descendants may live…” Deuteronomy 30:19-20a NAB

________________________

copyright ©2008Light to my path _† † _† by TJM Kyara

Attitude Tune_up!

“…though I am free and belong to no man, I make myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible. To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win the Jews… I have become all things to all men so that by all possible means I might save some…” 1 Cor 9:19, 20a, 22b NKJV [italics & emphasis mine]

I read a story about a wealthy businessman who would pay people to dine with him and hear gospel talk; he talked to fellow wealthy businessmen, statesmen and poor homeless people all the same. Yet I hear other stories of wealthy Tele_Pastors/Evangelist whom when you invite, you have to fly them first class, prepare limo ride from the airport and book them 5 star hotel, otherwise do your own gospel campaign for they won’t come.

Now compare these two contrasting attitudes and that of Paul in the above scripture; how many believers do you know (including yourself ;-) who will go out of their way to win the lost soul? We serve God and preach the gospel ‘when it is convenient’ to us. Where have we lost the ‘sacrificial attitude’? Have we forgotten that most of us got saved because someone went out of his/her way to reach out to us? Remember: “…for everything you get free, someone paid for it…”

________________________
copyright ©2008Light to my path † † † by TJM Kyara

Labels

“…Isn't this the carpenter's son? Isn't his mother's name Mary, and aren't his brothers James, Joseph, Simon and Judas?...Where then did this man get all these things? And they took offense at him…And he did not do many miracles there because of their lack of faith…” Matthew 13:55-58 NIV [italics & emphasis mine]



We recently organized a leadership workshop in a hired hall, the kitchen to the hall was meticulously in layout; every cupboard and draw was painstakingly labeled. They had draws/cupboards labels for cutlery, tea cups, mugs, plates, tissues etc. it made it easy for us to find things and more importantly where to put them back at the end of the workshop. Needless to say, everything in the world has a label (name), whether the label is there physical for us to see or mental label.



The desire to label everything is inherent in our human nature; we label things (and people) so that we know where they are and how to relate to them. The Jews in the above scripture had labeled Jesus as ‘the son of carpenter’, they would have no problem with him had he been selling furniture; but because he came out different to the label they had of him, “they took offense”. We need to be careful with the label that people place on us, if we accept these labels (in order to please people), we become limited in what God can do to and through us.



_________________________
copyright ©2008Light to my path † † † by TJM Kyara