Category: Seek God First

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Not Around the Corner

The last time I was on these streets, I said it felt like the end of the season might be around the corner. I was both right and wrong! And I’m glad I added the disclaimer that whether right or wrong, I was trusting God to give me the courage and faith to be more like Jesus (I had forgotten this part though). 

If you haven’t already guessed, what seemed to be around the corner is taking much longer than anticipated. In that sense, I was wrong. However, I was at the same time right because the season did somewhat shift. 
How so? I hear you ask . . . 

I can only describe the shift as an adjustment in training intensity. You know like going from beginner to intermediate level. If I thought God was working in me before October, what He has been doing since then makes the earlier lessons seem like child’s play. And who can blame Him? I did, after all, invite Him to give me faith and courage to be more like Jesus! 

What I know now, that I did not know then, is that you cannot become more like Jesus unless you are aware how far you are from him, and what needs to change. Has the Lord ever put a mirror to your heart to show you what’s there? That’s what He did with me, and I can tell you what I saw was far from pretty. 

Rebellion, selfishness, pride (this one in particular caught me totally off guard!) . . . such things. Characteristics that I would not have thought applied to me. But, He has been so gracious in this new level of training. He didn’t show me everything at once. We’ve been going gradually. Like you would in a school curriculum. 

Have I mastered the lessons? Certainly not! Can I master them? Possibly not. What’s possible, though, is to day-by-day increase my dependence on God. Becoming like a newborn; utterly dependent on God for every decision, choice, action . . .  constantly inviting Him to weigh my motives for me.  

“'My son, do not make light of the Lord’s discipline, and do not lose heart when he rebukes you, because the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and he chastens everyone he accepts as his son.' Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as his children. For what children are not disciplined by their father? If you are not disciplined—and everyone undergoes discipline—then you are not legitimate, not true sons and daughters at all.” 
Hebrews 12:5—8 NIV

Am I enjoying the training? Certainly not! But, I can wait for what God promises as the end result: 

“No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.” 
Hebrews 12:11 NIV
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He is at Work!  

“For it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfil His good purpose.”                                               Philippians 2:13 NIV

Ever given thought to what this verse really means? Another version says “God brings forth the desire and effort.” This verse came to mind as I reflected on two conversations I had over the past two (consecutive) Fridays. These conversations revealed a new me that I was unaware existed. 

Friday One: I received a call asking me to re-send payment details for bank transfer I had done a month ago. This accountant was reconciling his books and couldn’t find the payment I made. I did as asked, then he called to say he still couldn’t find the payment. I confidently told him to check with their bank because the transaction had cleared on my end. Then, as we were speaking, I found myself saying that I too would check with my bank just to be sure. I wasn’t sure why I said that, because I had confirmed that the transaction was successful, but since I had said it, I had to check. And you know what? It turned out that the transaction was reversed into my account a day after the payment, and I missed this on my statement! So, while I was confident that I had made payment and the error must be on their end, it turned out that this wasn’t the case! I promptly called the accountant back and told him what had happened, and then I thanked God that He had kept me from being brash. 

Friday Two: A friend and I were chatting. She and I often have differing views on some aspects of how to live out our faith. On this day, our conversation veered in the direction of one of our differences. As she shared her view on a certain matter, I was surprised to find that I was unusually open to hearing and considering her view. This is in contrast to the usual <silent> opposition that would be in my heart. When I got home, I looked up a verse that we had discussed, and it ended up being that the Lord was pointing me to the part B of this verse—the part she and I didn’t discuss. I let my friend know that she was right, and again thanked God for using her to pass on a word from Him. 

On Friday One, I took note that my heart’s disposition had shifted—softened a bit—but didn’t dwell on it much. So on Friday Two I took time to compare the two conversations. My conclusion was that without my knowledge, the Lord had been working a new level of humility in me. He had been working in me the ability to “consider others as better than myself” (Philippians 2:3). And, He made this change in me without my having to do anything! 

I am reminded that for as long as we are committed to spending time in God’s presence, He will be at work transforming us, and making us more Christ-like. 

“Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed—not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence—continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfil His good purpose.” Philippians 2:13 NIV

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Of Grass and Flowers


There’s nothing more calming than walking through a shamba (field) with green grass and pretty flowers . . . I hope you agree! So I found it curious the other day when I stumbled across a verse that describes people as grass and flowers. 

“All men are like grass, and all their faithfulness is like the flowers of the field.” 
Isa 40:6b NIV  


That we are like grass—here today and gone tomorrow—wasn’t new to me. What I found surprising is that we are as faithful as the flowers. Now it so happens that there’s a pretty flower at home that blooms on its own schedule. Sometimes it opens up, while other times it remains closed all day. One flower could be in bloom today, while the one right next to it remains closed. When it does open up though, it is so pretty that I could admire it all day. However, there doesn’t seem to be a sure pattern to indicate when it will open, or how long it will stay open.

Thinking of myself as being unfaithful—even with all the effort I put in towards seeking God—came as a bit of a shocker. You see, I very often forget that the effort I make to seek God and learn His ways does not make me righteous.  Only being covered by the blood of Jesus makes me righteous. My good acts or attempts to follow a set of rules cannot bring me anywhere close to God, because I would have to be perfect 100% of the time. An impossible feat! 

Relationship, not rules, is what gets me into God’s presence.  

Which makes me think how wonderful it is that God made a provision that allows us to approach Him in a way that is fitting of His stature as the Almighty, Holy God! Without Jesus as our Way, there is absolutely no other way we could ever come anywhere close to God. 

Today then I’m reminded to say, “Thank You, Jesus, for making a way for me to have a relationship with a holy God!” 

“But God demonstrated His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” 
Romans 5:8 NIV


Perhaps every time we walk by a flower it should serve as a reminder to give thanks for Jesus’s precious gift to us . . . 

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Am I the Cause?

Comea long today as I share a thought on matters work etiquette.

But first, I’ll start by saying that before my recent career change, I worked in the area of customer satisfaction. Not the popular practise where businesses call to find out your experience post-purchase, but rather where companies internally strive to sell only what will satisfy their customers. Being proactive about customer satisfaction is what I’ve worked on for close to two decades. 

Naturally, even though I’ve changed career, my attention is quickly drawn towards matters customer satisfaction. And I’ve been increasingly noticing something peculiar about us as a culture. I’ve observed that we are primarily interested in the money we will collect during a transaction, and less interested in the other end of the transaction —where we give the customer what they’re paying for. What’s more, this attitude seems to cut across all sectors. The landlord/agent is interested in collecting rent & deposit, and not so much in making sure they’re handing over a functional house. The car-wash guy wants to collect his pay, with little care for how thorough the cleaning is. The investment company is quick to take your cash, but works at snail’s pace when it is time to give the money back. The food vendor is happy to receive your money, with little concern for the safety of the food they’re serving. Then there’s the tailor . . . there are endless examples! I used to think that as a society we lacked awareness on matters quality and customer satisfaction. However, I now view this as a greed problem. 

That’s a strong assertion, I know. But hear me out.

You see, when I read Romans 1:21–32, I can’t help but wonder whether you and I are the cause for the economic and political state we find ourselves in as a country. My take-out from these verses is that whenever our hearts are repeatedly rebellious towards God, then God “gives us over” to be oppressed by the very thing that we are choosing instead of Him.  

Furthermore, just as they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, so God gave them over to a depraved mind, so that they do what ought not to be done. They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice. They are gossips, slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant and boastful; they invent ways of doing evil; they disobey their parents; they have no understanding, no fidelity, no love, no mercy.
Romans 1:28–31 NIV


I cannot help but wonder if Paul had this in mind as he wrote the above:

“But my people would not listen to me;
    Israel would not submit to me.
So I gave them over to their stubborn hearts
    to follow their own devices.”
Psalm 81:11–12 NIV


Could God have given us over to economic hardship because of our love for money? Could the chaos/protests we are witnessing be an indicator of our disregard for law and order, or our impunity? Could God have given us over to our penchant for shortcuts by allowing us to be consumers of sub-standard goods? These are the questions on my mind today. More importantly, how have I contributed to the situation? 


Very often we hear that if we fast and pray then God will forgive us and heal our land. What I rarely hear mentioned is the part of 2 Chronicles 7:14 where we turn from our wicked ways. God incorporates us changing the wrong actions that are causing us to be oppressed. Without a turnaround in behaviour, we should expect more of what is currently going on. 


I can certainly see how I could do better when God brings the next tenant . . . things to make them comfortable. How about you? Might any of your actions have contributed to God punishing the nation by letting us have our own way? These are weighty matters and deserve serious soul-searching and a commitment to do right.

God promises in Psalm 81:13–14 that when we return to His ways, He will quickly subdue our enemies.

It is definitely worth giving thought to what changes you need to make . . . 

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Increased Similarity

So, the other day I called a friend, and about a minute or so into our chat, I realised that the person on the line sounded like my friend, but at the same time not like her. I was extremely puzzled for a moment, then quickly put together that it wasn’t actually my friend but her 20-year old daughter! Her voice is extraordinarily similar to her mother’s, I must say. 

When I was done catching up with my friend — the real her — I found myself thinking about how alike their voices are, and was taken aback by how long it had taken me to notice the similarity in their voices. It always intrigues me to see a child and parent bear a striking resemblance or similarity in conduct! 

This thought was quickly followed by another one . . .  when people speak to me, do they hear any similarity between me and my Father in heaven? And, do I know my Father in heaven’s voice well enough to tell when it is Him speaking or the enemy lying to me? 

The first question reminded me of Jesus saying we should be like our Father in heaven – perfect, just as our Father in heaven is perfect (Matthew 5:48). Now, on the one hand, I am already perfect because Jesus gave me His righteousness as a gift when I put my faith in Him as my Saviour. Yet, on the other hand, there is still some work to be done in me to make me more like Jesus so that when I speak (or act!), people can hear/see a similarity between Jesus and I. And I very much would like to be known as the girl who sounds like Jesus in her speaking and doing. 

The next question brought to mind the second beast of Revelation 13. This beast looked like a lamb, but spoke like a dragon. Only one who is highly conversant with the real lamb can identify the fake one. I don’t know about you, but I want to be able to distinguish between God’s voice and the enemy’s voice. I certainly don’t want to be taking instructions from the enemy, thinking that it is the Lord! Especially today when we are surrounded by massive deception everywhere! 

Both questions have been on my mind and for the past couple of weeks. Which, I suppose is an indication that these are not actually my thoughts but a challenge from the Lord . . . 

Which is why, in response, I’ve begun to compile a list of the traits that I would like people to associate me with. My list is an opportunity to invite the Lord to work in me so I become more and more like Jesus, and noticeably so! I also see more reason to keep up my “triple the word” study because it is in knowing the Scriptures that I can be familiar enough with my Father in heaven to minimise deception, and at the same time have Him work in me so the similarity between my voice and His increases. 

As I trust the Lord to help me work through these two quests, I extend the challenge to you. All you need to do is invite Him to work in you, and co-operate with Him. After all, 

"... it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose."
Philippians 2:13 (NIV)

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By Your Truth

Remember how I got started on reading triple the word? (If not, you can click on the link) 

I thought I should share a quick update on how that’s going. 

This morning as I was having my morning chat with the Lord and acknowledging His grace in freeing me from holding onto an offence that I just couldn’t shake off no matter what, a verse dropped into my heart.

Before I share the verse, allow me to give you some background on the offence . . . since the year 2020, a young lady I had helped raise, began to increasingly speak to me with anger and disrespect. Her attitude got so bad that in 2022 she said the worst thing anyone has ever said to me. Her mother was with us at the time, and she made no effort to correct her daughter. Mark you, her mother is close to two decades older than me. I was very hurt and angry. I kept thinking “after all my time and effort in caring for her since she was a child this is how she treats me? And her mother is silent about it!” As I’ve since learnt, offence comes with the entitled attitude that “I deserve to be treated better because of what I have done for them.” 

Despite my entitled attitude, I knew the offence I was harbouring in my heart was wrong and not pleasing to God. Yet, no matter how much I prayed, the offence wouldn’t go away. I couldn’t get myself to say anything other than hello to the young lady. Which in turn made me feel terrible that I was not being a good ambassador of Christ. 

This tug-of-war ⏤ wanting to feel and act better, but instead holding on to the offence and being unable to speak to her ⏤ raged on and on. And doesn’t the Bible so aptly describe this struggle . . . 

“For in my inner being I delight in God’s law; but I see another law at work in me, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within me. What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death? Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord!”
Romans 7:22 —25 (NIV)

But this Christmas season, I was pleasantly surprised to discover that the anger was no longer there. I could actually speak to her without an inner struggle! My deliverance from God had come through without me even realising it! This deliverance is what I was thanking the Lord for this morning when this verse dropped into my heart . . .

“Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth.”
John 17:17 (NIV)

And it quickly dawned on me that one of the things that had happened as I spent more time in God’s Word was that He was sanctifying me. The offence had been cleaned out — swept away just like that! See how powerful God’s word is?

As we usher in the new year, I pray that in 2025 you would purpose to spend more time in God’s word, so He can sanctify you by His truth!  

Happy New Year and God bless you!  

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Watch!

In the past few days, interesting content has popped onto my YouTube feed. I say interesting because these videos have spoken about Jesus’s return, and some of them have gone ahead to suggest roughly what year that will be. Before you roll your eyes and dismiss this post with “nobody knows the day or the hour,” (which, like you, I believe!) hear me out. 

As I watched the videos, and heard how close to the current year (2024) that these predictions are, I found myself wondering . . . what if they’re right, and Jesus’s return is that near? Am I watching out for the signs He said would precede His return? Am I being a wise and faithful servant? Am I living in the way that Jesus said I should live? Am I pursuing the things of the world, or am I pursuing things related to the Kingdom of Heaven? Am I living as though His return is a far-off event, and putting myself at risk of being caught unaware when He comes back? Will I be one of the wise or foolish virgins on His return? 

Weighty questions! And I find myself sighing as I share these thoughts because I can’t say that I am living as one who is aware that the King is coming soon. 

“Therefore keep watch because you do not know when the owner of the house will come back—whether in the evening, or at midnight, or when the rooster crows, or at dawn. If he comes suddenly, do not let him find you sleeping. What I say to you, I say to everyone: ‘Watch!’”
Mark 13:35–37 (NIV)

So in addition to the new actions I purposed to take recently, I include a new prayer, 

“Our Father and our God, only You know when Jesus’s return is. I am not living in a way that has my focus on Your Kingdom and being found ready. There are so many distractions all around me! So many things for me to pursue so I can survive here. I need Your power and strength to stay awake and do the things that Jesus said I should be doing. I would like to be found ready on Jesus’s return. Help me, Lord.  Do a new thing in me and change my heart’s desires.  I ask in the name of Jesus.”


I am encouraged to know that God answers all prayers that are according to His will, so He will prepare me. He will prepare you too, if you ask Him. Consider praying the above prayer. 

To him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy— to the only God our Savior be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore! Amen.
Jude 1:24 (NIV)
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New Actions

This is part three of a previous post. Catch up with part 1 and part 2 before you dive into this.

Knowing that the Lord was waiting on me, I decided to take action and do two things differently. 

First, rather than pray “please end this and take me back home,” I will instead ask for strength to go through the challenge. 

Second, I will spend 30min every morning praying and meditating on Ephesians 3:16, asking for His strength. My desire is that the Lord would strengthen me with power so Jesus will dwell firmly in my heart, and so I will know with all my heart that God loves me. 

I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ,

Ephesians 3:16-18 (NIV)

Then, when I am confident in God’s love for me, and in no doubt that He has my back no matter what, I can stop being like a pendulum. I can be relaxed like Jesus was when He slept through the stormy boat ride. 

The strength and power I need can only come from the Holy Spirit. I cannot ‘empower’ myself. So, in my 30minutes I am expectant that as I silently sit with the Lord, He will strengthen me. 

Today marks day one of these two new actions and I’m excitedly looking forward to the new thing the Lord does in me, and through me.

Pray for me, won’t you? Or, if like me you need new strength, please join me in taking these new actions!  

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Triple The Word

Since my last post, I have had to relocate to a different town to support a relative. What I thought would be a 2-week stay has turned into 6-weeks, with no sign of my return home in sight. In these six weeks I have learnt a few lessons I would like to share.

Initially, I thought I was here to help my relative. However, one week into my stay I discovered the Lord has me here so He can separate me from my every-day tasks. Why? So I can spend extra time with Him. I’ve sensed Him guide me into tripling the time I spend reading my Bible. Yup! You heard right . . . tripling!

And you know what’s odd . . . about six months ago a friend invited me to a Bible study that I thought covered way too many chapters per day. I told her it wasn’t possible for me to fit in that many chapters into my day and politely declined to join. Well . . . that’s exactly the number of chapters I now find myself reading! Ha! I guess you could say the Lord helped me “create” the time. Doesn’t the Lord have a great sense of humour?

While at the start it seemed like a lot of reading, I have experienced how reading the Bible has a way of increasing my faith. I can’t quite explain how, but it certainly brings to life the verse about faith coming as a result of hearing the word.

Now, if like me, you find yourself in a situation where you need to turbo charge your faith, I recommend you spend more time reading your Bible.

Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word about Christ.

Romans 10:17 (NIV)

I’m grateful for this first lesson. And praying for grace to maintain this new reading pattern in the days & years to come.

Be sure to look out for lesson two!

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Use the Key!

Monday September 30, 2024.

If you live in the same country as I do, then you’ll no doubt be aware that there is a lot of evil doing happening here.

When I consider all that’s going on, I cannot help but draw parallels between us and what the Old Testament nation of Israel went through in the period of the judges. We are repeatedly told that Israel did evil in the eyes of the Lord by serving foreign gods, which angered God. The result? God “gave them over” to oppression. And isn’t oppression the right word to describe what’s happening to our children, our payslips and farm produce?

But every time Israel turned back to God and cried out for help, the Lord sent a leader who would lead them in pushing back the oppressive enemies. Then the land would have peace until the people again turned away from God. And thus the pattern goes throughout the book of Judges.

Now, it’s easy for us to point fingers at our leaders and call them greedy and all sorts of other names. However, we too need to look inwards to check on the state of our hearts. What is our relationship to money? Who, between Jesus and money are you serving? Who, between the two has more influence over your choices? Is your top priority to accumulate wealth on earth (where moth & vermin destroy), or to store up treasure in heaven? 

These are questions I have had to grapple with recently. And I was shocked to find out that my desire to grow financially was deeper than my desire to submit to Jesus and put Him first in my life. It was a painful and heartbreaking realisation to discover that my heart was just as flawed as those I criticised, all while believing I was one of the ‘good ones.’ 

Today, I invite you to do some introspection . . . 

See, when you and I acknowledge that we are just as greedy for wealth as our leaders are, then truly repent; that will initiate the change Kenya needs. When we commit to serving God and not money, God will hear our cry and push back the oppression.

You and I hold the key to turning things around. The question is — will you use the key?