Small Things Are Great

I reviewed Paul's letter to the Philippian church today as I went about my duties. One portion struck me more deeply than it has before. Paul writes: "Moreover, as you Philippians know, in the early days of your acquaintance with the gospel, when I set out from Macedonia, not one church shared with me in the matter of giving and receiving, except you only; for even when I was in Thessalonica, you sent me aid more than once when I was in need." (Philippians 4:15-16) A little earlier in the same letter, he also says: "But I think it is necessary to send back to you Epaphroditus, my brother, co-worker and fellow soldier, who is also your messenger, whom you sent to take care of my needs." (Philippians 2:25) Paul was not in the habit of asking for support for the ministry he had set out to fulfil in obedience to the commission he had received. Even while writing to the Philippians, you can sense that he is more concerned about their welfare than his own. He seems c...

"Mom, kwani ulinizaa ndio ukue ukinitumatuma!?" That was the question a young boy asked after being sent on what felt like his millionth errand of the day. Visitors had come to the house, and his mother had suddenly discovered a hundred things that needed doing. The moment he asked the question, the whole room burst into laughter because many of us have either thought that question or actually asked it when we were children. Parents have a tendency of turning their children into small helpers #KYMs. Suddenly, there is someone to fetch the remote even though it is only a few steps away, someone to bring a glass of water from the kitchen and smeone to go downstairs and check whether the gate is closed. Tasks that parents once did for themselves somehow become the responsibility of the children. Do you relate? But, of course, that is not why children are born but that boys question brings us to a much bigger question: Why are we here? Every human being must eventually wrestle w...

We're commonly known as PKs. Not because we're sweet like the chewing gum, but because we're actually sweeter. Having a PK as a friend is a breath of fresh air. Most of us graduated from unofficial theological college by age 14, with advanced certificates in Bible reading, Scripture memorization, and identifying the key verse before the preacher asks for volunteers. The PK title doesn't only belong to children of pastors. It stretches across the entire ministry department: bishops, elders, deacons, evangelists, and every other title that comes with people asking, "Na wewe mtoto wa mtumishi unasemaje kuhusu hili jambo?" I belong to a fellowship of Pastors' Kids here in Thika. It's a wonderful gathering where we meet, hang out, laugh loudly, and make all the noise we are not allowed to make during church services simply because sisi ni watoto wa watumishi. My own PK journey has been quite interesting. Before I was born again, my father was already a past...

If you dial *773# on your phone, you will receive a message from your service provider that the code is invalid. At least so far. But before you check that theory out, what's this book called Samuel doing in the Bible? Interestingly, what we call 1 Samuel and 2 Samuel today were originally one continuous book. However, as history moved from scrolls to easier methods of copying and carrying texts around, the scroll became too large and was later divided into two sections. Personally, I call Samuel the USSD code because it gives us the Unadulterated Story of Samuel, Saul, and David.  It's a story of prophets and politics, worship and warfare,  obedience and insecurity, heroism, hooliganism, heartbreak, and holiness. Three men stand at the center of this transition and through them, Israel moves from the era of Judges into the era of ushering the King. Samuel — The Voice Before the Throne Samuel steps into the story as the last major Judge of Israel and the prophetic voice of Go...

After spending part of my day engaging believers on the subject of Bible reading, I ended up with something far more interesting than statistics. What began as a simple question slowly turned into a living conversation full of honesty, laughter, confession, theology, frustration, discipline, failed New Year resolutions, Bible apps, church traditions, and even a brief appearance of the television series Lucifer. The question was simple: “ Have you ever read the Bible cover to cover? If yes, what made you continue? If no, what made you stop?” The answers came in waves. Some sounded like seasoned saints, others sounded like survivors of Leviticus while some confessed with confidence. There are those that sounded like students explaining missing homework to a teacher who already knows the truth. I see you friends. But beneath all the different answers, one thing became very clear: Most Christians are not avoiding the Bible because they hate it, many are simply trying to figure out how to a...

Reading through the book of Ruth and I couldn't help but think of it as the story of the 3 widows - Naomi, Orpah, and Ruth; When Women Loose MEN But Not MEANS. The Era of Judges was one of the darkest time in Israel history. It seems God had taken a break to let them be. It was a period of disobedience, idolatry, and violence. Even in those days, however, some people did what was right in God's eyes. The book of Ruth records the good story of one such family. Later generations would recall that two widows, a covenant - keeping man, and a welcoming community followed God's will. Ultimately, David, the King Israel needed, came through these honourable people. We live in a time where women have apparently been so "empowered" that we sometimes fail to see the place and role of men in their lives. In this book, we see women who had leadership, presence and the guidance of men. It also appears that this men were not lazy men. They provided, protected and participated in...