Moses and the Call

Moses..
A man of God,
Once moved with a flaming zeal to pursue God's will and calling,
A man ready to bury for the sake of the call
A man ready to act prematurely out of anger,
.....a man zealous for God.

40 years later...
Under the scorching desert sun, all hopes gone,
all fancy desires of being in command gone,
the zeal that once stirred him faded into oblivion,
Simplicity and no future are now the new norm,
The man no longer has the fire of youth to pursue and be all that he thought he would be,

Wonder in the Name- The Name of Jesus

There was once a man who invited his friend for dinner at his house. Every time the host wanted something from his wife, he called her pet names such as honey, sweet, flower, chocolate etc.. As the night progressed, the visitor could not keep his admiration of their love so he leaned over and asked the host "How do you keep the flame of your love burning after all these years? How come you say these nice pet names to your wife with every time?" Without blinking, the host replied, "Honestly, I have forgotten her name".

The Power of Worship: Psalm 91

He that dwells in the secret place of the Most High, shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.

Worship is an integral part of our walk with God. In fact it has been stated that man was created, chiefly to worship God. It is evident from scripture that God cannot worship Himself, He on various occasions boasts about His power but never do we see Him worship Himself. Worship is the reason for our being.

Dare to be a Daniel: Standing firm for the Lord

The book of Daniel begins at the end of the Kingdom of Judah. Different prophets  for a long period of time had warned about the imminent destruction of Judah, the temple and the captivity of the people thereof if they would not turn to God, but time and time again we see them going back to idolatry and syncretism, now the time had come for God to rain judgement.

Daniel being of the royal family is taken captive and kept in the courts of the king of Babylon together with his friends. Despite the moral degradation in the land of Judah, God always had a remnant who kept His word, and I strongly believe that Daniel grew up in a godly family which instilled the knowledge of God in him fro a tender age.

Analysis of The Book of Zephania

Background History

The book was written by Zephaniah who is evidently a direct descendant of King Hezekiah. The book was addressed to the house of Judah and it was written during the early times of Josiah's reign, a time when the word of God was almost forgotten and ironically lost inside the house of God 2 Kings 22:8.

It was was a time when Judah was coming out of a great religious and moral depravity in their history which had been commandeered by Manasseh the arch-villain of Judah who had spilled much innocent blood and had led the nation to idolatry and its vices. Now under the leadership of Josiah, who was Manasseh's grand son, some religious reforms had taken place.

Although little is said about the political situation during Josiah's reign, it is certain that he remained loyal to the Assyrians to the very end even when the Assyrian's prestige had begun to wane, this loyalty cost him his life 2 Kings 23:29.

Literary Analysis

In the first two chapters, God spewed judgments to Judah and its environs promising of a coming day "of the Lord" when His vengeance will be poured down upon the land, but in the third and last chapter we gaze at the wonder of Grace. 

In the third chapter we see a God who is ready to dwell with His people, a God who is promising restoration. As a sign of delight in the restoration promises, the author calls God's people to sing joyfully to God Zeph 3:15-16.

Zephaniah 3:9-20 carries the allusion of the messianic time, when Christ is with God's people and delights, enjoys and rests His love on His people.

Contextual Analysis of Zephaniah

The book opens with the foretelling of the destruction of Judah by the Chaldeans due to their sins which provoked God, these sins Zephaniah openly declares them. God calls them to repentance, threatens the neighboring nations with the same destructions and finally ends with encouraging promises of their joyful return out of captivity and restoration which is a reference to the grace of the gospels.

Theological Reflection

The main theme that God relays here is judgment, forgiveness and restoration of His people. The word "I will" is rampant  in the final part of the book

The Sense of Wonder

Wonder is the awe we hold when our minds get a glimpse of who God is...It is the " Depart from me Lord for I am a sinner", yet we desperately long for His presence.

It is the "I am of unclean lips" yet we are eager to say, send me Lord.

It is the "Oh am but a child" Yet we discover that God has put a deposit in our hearts big enough to make us stand before Kings...

God is amazingly wonderful

~>Dunmo.

Let go of the past, Embrace Today and Receive the Future

Why You Should Let Go

Everyday history is being made all over the world. What you are witnessing today, tomorrow will be history and it may be something good to remember or a loathsome past that you would want deleted from your history book of life.

The past has a way of holding people down, be its past glories or failures, we tend to be tied to the past with some invisible cords and at times the past seems to wield a commanding sword that could stop us from attaining our desired and deserved future.

I recently had a chat with an old man whose greatest life achievement as I learnt from my conversation with him is that he was the first person in his village to own a Vinyl Record Player. As he opened up to me on how great it was in those days to own such a grandeur device, suddenly you could see his face light up as he expressed how the whole village revered him, his social status was suddenly elevated and he could sit with the village elders and the learned during village parties, this was due to the fact that his RP machine was always hired to entertain people on various ceremonies.

Addicts of Antiquity

What is Addiction?

Psychology Today, describes addiction as "A condition that results when someone consumes a substance  such as alcohol, Cocaine etc or engages in an activity which may be pleasurable but its continuation becomes compulsive and interferes with normal responsibilities of an individual such as work, relationships or even health." It further states that "People who have developed an addiction may not be aware that their behavior is out of control and causing problems for themselves and others"

While doing my small research about addiction, I came across a scientific word (Dopamine) which weighs in a lot when it comes to addiction. Dopamine is a chemical neurotransmitter that is in charge of the brain's pleasure and reward centers. Without Dopamine one cannot lust, love, be motivated, pay attention, learn or be addicted. For the purpose of this article my attention of Dopamine will be centered on addiction.

How Does One Become Addicted?

As a recovering alcoholic and a nicotine addict, the raging question that has been on my mind is how these drugs came to have a hold on me and why I could not easily let go of them. There were times when I could not think properly, or so my mind conditioned me to think, if I was not under the influence of alcohol or tobacco or both. These questions drove me to study more on this areas and how to come out of addiction. I am free from alcohol and Tobacco now and this victory came through first acknowledging that I had a problem, then I started seeking for solution.

How to Hear from God

God speaks enormously and in diverse ways to all His creation. There is no generation that has ever gone without hearing His voice in different ways. To some it might be a distant rumbling or a vague voice through nature or people yet to some who are close to Him it might be a "This is the way, walk in it."

How marvelous can it be to you when the God of the universe speaks to you in a personal way? not the the general message the we at times get when gathered in a congregation but rather a personal specific word from God that gives you direction in life or in a specific challenge that you are facing.

The truth is that God is constantly longing to hung out with His creation and to share secrets with one who is willing to listen, at times it might not be the sweet scented voice of "I love you son" but it might be "If you do not change your ways, destruction is inevitable" yet in all these, if it is a voice coming from God, you will be sure that if you obey His voice, all will turn out for your good despite the current circumstances.