Tag: #born-again

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Best Discovery Ever

Here to testify has brought back memories of my early days as a follower of Jesus. And how friendship with Jesus is the best thing that has ever happened to me. 

You see, back then, I lived in my head. I was constantly worrying what people thought of me, and wondering whether they liked me. My family background made me feel unlikeable. Which made it incredibly important for me to please others and, even more so, to fit in. One of the key things I did to fit in was to become a party girl. 

In my late twenties I lost my job due to downsizing. It dawned on me then that my friends were not genuine friends, because they didn’t seek me out much when I could no longer afford to hit the clubs with them. This got me thinking that I needed new friends, and I went ahead to pen a prayer in my journal asking God for new friends. 

Not too long after, I  made a few new friends. One of them invited me to join her at a certain weekly Bible study. I’m not sure why I said yes, but I suspect it was partly because I was worried what she would think if I refused to go with her. A few months into the Bible study, I leant something I did not know about God. I discovered that being saved wasn’t about God giving us rules to follow, but about friendship with Him. A friendship that God offers as a free gift. So quietly, one evening alone in my flat, I told God that I wanted this free gift. 

Here I am about fifteen or so years later, and I love the fact that I can talk to God about anything, anytime. Which means I now spend less time worrying. Plus, I’ve learnt that God created me perfectly just as I am and I don’t need to please others to fit in. I can be myself, and because God loves me, I don’t need to be consumed by thoughts of whether people like me.

I’m certain that without this discovery and my friendship with God, I’d be a worry-wart and aimlessly seeking approval from others.  


"For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast." 
Ephesians 2:8—9 NIV
"I thank you because I am awesomely made,
wonderfully; your works are wonders —
I know this very well."
Psalm 139:14 CJB

Thank You, Jesus, for Your friendship! ❤️

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City On a Hill

A few years ago I got to go on a tour of the Holy Land. The trip unexpectedly came together at the very last minute, long after I had given up all hope of joining that particular tour. As I write this I am reminded how God often works things out at the eleventh hour! If you’re a Kenyan, then you know how we are a nation of “last-minuters”— it must be the one character trait of God that we bear collectively!

Then, yesterday my bible reading took me to a verse that always reminds me of this tour . . . 

As our bus made its descent into Jerusalem, a cluster of houses suddenly jumped out at me. There was nothing fancy about their architecture—they were entirely ordinary—yet something made them stand out.

The houses were extremely conspicuous. Impossible to miss! 

You probably can’t tell from this blurry photo taken from a moving bus . . . but the houses were perched right on the side of a hill.  And the moment I saw them, a specific verse instantly popped into my mind: 

“You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden." Matthew 5:14 NIV

And I instantly knew that the Holy Spirit was telling me that as a follower of Jesus, my life should be so different that I stand out wherever I am. Not in a snobbish, judgmental kind of way. But in an “I do things differently” kind of way. 

For instance, when there is heavy traffic—one of my absolute pet peeves—do I stay in my lane, or do I overlap like everyone else? When a friend or family member confides that money is tight, do I just offer a sympathetic “it’ll be okay,” or do I actually share what I have? When a conversation takes a turn down the “juicy gossip” route, do I jump in and contribute or stay silent?  And when someone trusts me with a prayer request do I repeat it under the guise of “sharing the burden” or do I keep the matter strictly between the Lord and me? 

Very often we associate being different with the more obvious things such as our dressing, how much we indulge in alcohol, whether we are keeping our bodies pure. But it goes much deeper than this. My everyday choices should continually reflect that I am different because I allow the Holy Spirit to guide my words and actions. 

 So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever you want. 
Galatians 5:16—17 NIV

Lord, help us to be like a city on a hill! 

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Conformed or Transformed 2

Remember how I almost got married a decade ago in a bid to conform to society’s expectations? If you haven’t read part 1, start here. All caught up? Let’s continue . . .

Oddly, despite making the decision to soldier on, I continued to say a prayer that went something like — “Lord, if this guy is not the one for me, please remove him from my heart and life. Don’t let me make a mistake.” Strange, yes? God, in His mercy, answered. One day I felt something like scales fall off my eyes and simultaneously had a series of flashbacks of all the red flags I was ignoring. And boy, were they many! I saw the entirety of our dating life from a crystal-clear perspective. It was like watching a movie of someone else about to make a colossal mistake. That day, I knew I could not go ahead with the wedding. So, I called off the next visit in our cultural process. Actually, truth be told, I didn’t have the courage to outright cancel it. I instead postponed the date, without offering a new date. He knew something was wrong, but he did not make a fuss. But (and again I shake my head) I continued to date him. I didn’t have the courage to leave. He had not been unfaithful, or abusive, or any other majorly negative thing. I continually asked myself, “In what universe does a 30-something-year-old-girl call off an engagement yet the guy is faithful and honourable? What will people say?” I kept this up for perhaps a year. All the while praying for God to remove him from my heart and life. Again, like I said, God in His mercy answered my prayer. He gave me both the courage and opportunity to call it off. God even ensured my dad had my back because dad told me that it should not matter what people think of me, only that I was making the right decision. So, I called off the engagement.

I thought the shame and pain would kill me. But God! God is so faithful! I did not cry once after I called it off. Instead, I felt relieved and joyful and eager to see what God had in store for my future. I also thought He had a husband waiting right around the corner; but that’s a story for another day.  

Now that I am older, and slightly more mature in my faith, I understand that marriage should represent the love Jesus has for His bride/the church . . . it isn’t something to be taken lightly. It certainly was madness for me to want to get married just because I was getting old. At only 33! Ha! 

Like I said in part 1, I am now 43. Knowing what marriage symbolises, makes me want to go into it for the right reason, and with every intention of honouring my vows.

Some days I despair about whether it will happen. 

But then, even if I never get married, it doesn’t diminish my worth, or my love for Jesus!  I’d much rather keep being transformed than conform to society’s expectations.

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Goody Two-Shoes, or Born Again?

Goody goody. Remember that snack? Hmmm . . . what a pleasant memory! If you grew up at the same time I did, there was this totally yummy chocolate called ‘goody goody.’ Those were the days! Even a mental image of the goody goody wrapper brings a smile to my face. 

But enough of my childhood memories! 

On to today’s matter. Are you a goody two-shoes, or a born-again Christian . . . 

So, goody two-shoes describes a person who always wants to do what’s right. I used to be a goody two-shoes. Always striving to be well behaved; to make the right choices and say the right thing. My motivation for being a goody two-shoes was to get people to like me. I figured that if I was obedient, courteous, docile, and agreeable then people would think I am a nice person. I guess you could say I was looking for acceptance from people.  

Then, there were other times that I just wanted to do what is right, because I was brought up that way. For instance, when I started my own business, there was an economic standstill due to political issues in the country. A friend introduced me to a board member at an organisation with offices country wide. This board member offered to make sure I won a tender that was yet to be advertised. All I had to do was inflate my quotation to include a handsome cut for him. To my friend’s surprise, I declined the opportunity. A small part of me wondered what I was doing, given the (harsh) economic situation at the time; but I knew I had made the right choice. My confidence in my choice was based on lessons from my dad as I was growing up. My decision had nothing to do with representing Jesus at work. At the time, I believed it was sufficient to do the right thing. I was simply a goody two-shoes.

More than that, I thought God was pleased with me for being well-behaved and making ethical choices at work. I even thought I was better off than some of the born-again people I knew, who did things I disapproved of! What I didn’t realise is I was still a sinner in God’s eyes, despite being a goody two-shoes. How come? Well, because all of us have sinned and fallen short of God’s glory (Romans 3:23). As you can imagine, I was rather surprised when I learnt this! What with all the effort I made to have people like me and accept me, I was nowhere close to being accepted by God!

Now, this realisation created some turmoil in me because I did not want to be ‘one of those saved people.’ Bit by bit, however, I became conscious that the only solution in God’s eyes was to be born again. I began to grasp that because of Jesus, God treats us much better than we deserve, by freely accepting us and setting us free from our sins (Romans 3:24).

How about you? Does doing the right thing rank highly for you? Do you like to be courteous and speak to others nicely? Do you believe in treating others fairly? Perhaps, like many Kenyans, you’ve perfected the art of throwing in an ‘amen’ here and a ‘praise God’ there? Well, . . . these are all good-to-do, but they don’t get you into God’s good book (also known as the Book of Life).

So, don’t just be a goody two-shoes. Be born again! Ama?

PS: If you are not sure that you are born again or you want to be born again, let’s chat some more on ‘precioushonouredloved@gmail.com’