Small Things Are Great

Today, we began our study of the book of Revelation in our fellowship. But before diving deep, it’s good to pause and reflect on the full title of the book. It’s not simply “Revelation” — the proper title is: “ The Revelation of Jesus Christ. ” This isn’t about when Jesus will return, but about how  He will be revealed in the final days. It’s a revealing, not a calendar. Don't fall for the temptation to work out dates like 2nd August or any other. As we began exploring, something flipped in our understanding. Flashback to a Question. Let’s rewind to Mark 13. After Jesus predicts the destruction of the temple, four disciples — Peter, James, JOHN , and Andrew — pull Him aside privately and ask: “ Tell us, WHEN will these things happen? And WHAT will be the sign that they are all about to be fulfilled? ” – Mark 13:4 Jesus gives a prophetic answer, but doesn’t respond to both parts of their question. Instead, He finishes with this statement: “ But about that day or hour NO ONE knows...

Let me share with us what feels like a small win like the height of the floor in our discipleship journey — something so small, but so deeply moving. We recently wrapped up the book of Hebrews in our home fellowship, and we’re now diving into Revelation. A couple of Sundays ago, one of the boys in our group had a minor bike accident. His left foot got injured, and the wound got worse, requiring hospital visits and rest at home. Today I visited him just to check in. While chatting, I noticed an exercise book beside him. I flipped through it casually… and then paused. The handwriting was baaaad, but the words — they caught me off guard. The boy, in Grade 2, had been spending his time copying the book of Revelation, word for word. He may not fully understand what he’s writing yet, but the choice of activity tells you something deeper is already being formed. I sat there holding back tears. I felt it deeply — God 1, Satan 0. We keep making disciples. One heart at a time. One page at a time...

A few weeks back, I visited a recently widowed lady, and our conversation led to an unexpected discovery. God is more serious about saving souls than saving relationships. He's more serious about the eternal relationship than the momentarily one. As we spoke, she opened up about how their marriage began. The early years were marked by confusion, wonder, and deep disappointments. When children came, things didn’t get better—in fact, they grew harder. Her husband began breaking the marriage covenant and was sleeping around. She sought counseling. She paid for it. They attended the sessions together. Eventually, the man began to change. He repented. His repentance ushered in a new season. He managed resources better. They were able to buy a house, own a car, and establish several businesses. The lady was happy. So were the children. But the bliss didn’t last. Her husband was involved in an accident and died. That’s when the Lord spoke. As she shared her story and reached the point whe...

I’ve carried this thought with me for quite some time now: that not every word in the Bible—even when we include the often-debated books that were removed or left out—is necessarily scripture. Some of it is. But perhaps not all. This conviction began to take shape as I sat with Paul’s words to Timothy—words we often quote without pausing to listen: > “ All Scripture is God-breathed...” Two words held me still: ALL  and BREATHED . And not just the wording, but the tense . Paul is pointing backwards—he’s describing something that was already given,  not something being written in real-time (like the very letter he was penning). It made me ask: What was Paul referring to as scripture? Whatever it was, he believed it had already been breathed out by God  —inspired, spoken, revealed to men who then faithfully wrote it down. This “breath” of God isn’t poetic fluff. It’s essential in his wording. For someone to speak, breath must pass through their lips. Not just to stay aliv...

We’re currently reading through the book of Romans in our fellowship, and this past Sunday, we landed on chapter 13. Let’s just say—we didn’t sing. We prayed, then dived straight into the deep end. It wasn’t planned, but everything from our hearts to our history books showed up. One kid showed up with an injury and so we started by nursing the wound and hearing how his Batman stunts backfired, then we went into maandamano and finally the Bible. Romans 13 talks about leadership and love . The chapter begins by saying that all authority comes from God, and that resisting authority is like resisting God. Paul calls government leaders “SERVANTS OF GOD”, and that line alone shook the room, especially considering the times we’re living in. Romans 13 (GNT) reads thus... Everyone must obey state authorities , because no authority exists without God's permission, and the existing authorities have been put there by God . Whoever opposes the existing authority opposes what God has ordered; an...

What do you do as a man when lightning strikes twice—and keeps on striking? Do you pray for the storm to end, ask God to reverse events, or just curse Him and die? I think that’s what happened to Job. He received a series of terrible news, one after another. It’s also what happens to many men. When lightning strikes at a distance, it’s a wow moment. " Did you see that ?" "That was huge!" People smile, point, and marvel. But when it strikes home—and all you’ve been building goes up in flames—that’s when you desperately hope to find someone who’s gone through the same storm and learn how they stood again. Unfortunately, most men coil back. We try to run the course solo and the world allows it. I relate deeply with Job. This being Mens Mental Health Month, I’ve been reflecting on my life—as a child, a boy, a man, and a minister. It's been fun, tough, and threaded with every shade of emotion. As the lastborn, I received the end and last bit of everything—from clothe...

There’s a blank page in most Bibles — right between Malachi and Matthew. No words. No lines. Just silence. But I’ve been wondering lately… what if that page isn’t just a divider of testaments — what if it’s a symbol? A reminder of what life becomes when God withdraws? Blank. In Malachi 2:16, God SAID something raw and direct: “ I hate divorce ,” says the Lord, the God of Israel. He’s talking about covenant-breaking, not just relational splits. And yet, right after that book — God goes quiet. For over 400 years, not a single prophet speaks. No visions. No burning bushes. No thunder from Sinai. Just… silence. To me, it feels like a separation. I think He actually divorced them. Israel had repeatedly walked away from Him — idols, injustice, lip service without life change. God had warned, pleaded, sent messengers. And then… He stopped speaking. He didn’t stop being God. He didn’t stop loving. But He stepped back. And I wonder… is that what divine separation(divorce from God) looks like? N...

I find it fascinating that when Jesus was laying the foundation for how His Church would grow and thrive, He only chose five titles to describe the roles of those who would serve and lead: * Apostles * Prophets * Evangelists * Pastors * Teachers Just five and yet, when Jesus arrived on the scene, there were already plenty of functioning religious titles: priests, Pharisees, Sadducees, scribes. He could have used those. But He didn’t, and that makes me pause. Why Not Use the Old System? The old Jewish system had spiritual roles clearly laid out. Priests handled sacrifices and temple worship. Scribes knew the Law inside-out. Pharisees were law-keepers. Sadducees were the elite, skeptical about resurrection and angels. It was a fully staffed religious enterprise. So why didn’t Jesus just tweak it a bit? Why not update the job descriptions and keep the same framework? I think it because Jesus wasn’t interested in renovating religion. He came to rebuild humanity — to establish something rad...

When Paul told Timothy to pray for those in authority, he said: “First of all, then, I urge that petitions, prayers, requests, and thanksgivings be offered to God for all people; for kings and all others in authority, so that we may live a quiet and peaceful life with all reverence toward God and with proper conduct. This is good and it pleases God our Savior, who wants everyone to be saved and to come to know the truth.” — 1 Timothy 2:1–4 (GNB) Now, not many of us think of this instruction from Paul as a soul-winning strategy . Most times, we take it as a governance prayer guide because of how verses are broken up. Verse 1 is read on its own, verse 2 separately, verse 3 and 4 independently—and we miss the flow and connection. As a result, when we’re told to pray for leaders, we pray for their performance, not their salvation. We view them as civil servants in need of common sense, not sinners in need of salvation (#Jesus, Yeshuah, The God who saves). But here’s the truth: common sense...

ROMANS 1–5: The Problem and the Promise Theme: We all fall short — but God offers us righteousness through faith in Jesus. Guiding Questions: 1. Who do you think Paul is writing to, and why is he so eager to talk about the gospel? (Romans 1:1-17) 2. What does Paul say about people who ignore God even though they can see His power in creation? (Romans 1:18-20) 3. Paul talks a lot about sin. What does he mean when he says, “All have sinned and fall short of God’s glory”? (Romans 3:23) 4. If we can’t become right with God by keeping the law, how can we become right with Him? (Romans 3:28; 5:1) 5. Why does Paul talk about Abraham’s faith? What lesson can we learn from that? (Romans 4:1-3) 6. Romans 5:8 says, "While we were still sinners, Christ died for us." What does this teach you about God’s love? ROMANS 6–10: The Change and the Challenge Theme: Grace doesn’t give us a license to sin — it gives us power to live differently. Guiding Questions: 1. Paul asks, "Shall we conti...

In our fellowship — by God’s help — we wrapped up Acts last week. We’ve now dived into Romans, aiming for 3–4 chapters a week with a group discussion during our Sunday meet-up. Now I must confess: this letter — sorry, book — isn’t my favourite. And honestly, I doubt it was a favourite to its original readers either. For starters, it’s long. I asked ChatGPT, and according to the NKJV, we’re dealing with 9,447 words. That’s a lot. Was Paul writing a letter or applying for a theological doctorate? I pity the scribe. Secondly, some scholars still argue about who actually wrote it. Many say it couldn't have been Paul because it doesn't fit in his Acts missionary trips. I hate arguments. The fact that our predecessors couldn’t agree unsettles me. Thirdly, let’s be honest — teaching through a long, debated document is a heavy responsibility. But, our leader didn’t consult me when choosing this next book, so my opinion didn’t count. And so, here we are again… studying Romans. Every tim...

"Mwana mkaidi hafaidi hadi siku ya Idi" was a popular proverb back in my high school days. Like many others, it had a rhythm to it that made it stick. We’d get so caught up in the rhyme that sometimes we’d completely miss the meaning! Remember sayings like: Cha mkufu huha, Mwenda tenzi na omo, Maskini akipata... They had a way of gluing us to the words. Which one was your favorite? Now, I opened with the Eid proverb because today we’re taking a break to mark Eid al-Adha. I say “we” not because everyone is celebrating, but because it’s a national public holiday. However — just like those catchy proverbs — many of us don’t actually know what this day is all about. You might hear the resurrection of the Akorinos joke “When will the Akorinos give us a public holiday?” 😅 But truly, most of us hear “Eid” and carry on without asking questions. So, What Is Eid al-Adha? I encourage you to make the internet your friend today. Look up what Eid al-Adha means. It's more than just a d...

The registration of church fellowships with the government has, in many ways, done us — the members — a great disservice. In this article, I explore how registration has led to: * Divisions  among believers, * A shift in domain and authority, and * A deep negative impact on discipleship . 1️⃣ Divisions Born from Denominations Let’s begin with a basic truth: The government does not register the Church — it registers denominations. The Church, the body of Christ, is not an organization but an organ — a living, spiritual organism. You can’t point at a building and say, “That’s The Church.” That may be a church building — but not The Church. Because the Church has no earthly CEO, the government engages what it can control — registered denominations. These have: * Names, * Physical addresses, * Board members, * And signatures. And that's where the trouble begins. We begin to mobilize people toward denominations instead of Christ. We think of ourselves as separate from other believers...

Do you have a favorite word in your life? A word that you maybe make use of daily without fail? Maybe it isn’t your favorite in that you chose to use it, but one that you always find yourself using. My personal favorite word is “hallelujah.” I love it for two reasons. One, the meaning behind it is “praise the Lord,” and secondly, it almost sounds like “hello” at the beginning. Most people who’ve ever called me know that I usually say hallelujah as a salutation instead of hello. It not only connects well with believers, but also tends to kickstart conversations on matters salvation with unbelievers. What’s your word? Recently I was reviewing the writings of Luke and I realized there’s a word he loved using. The word is “GREW.” Checking through his writings, I found that he uses the word 13 times, and 9 of those times, he uses it as a transitional word—from one thought to another, or from one part of the narrative to the next. It’s a word he uses to mark progression. In Luke, it’s about ...

My mind was taken back to my high school days— not the fun kind TBT. I remembered my first week in Form One, fresh out of a two-month holiday, suddenly dropped onto the hills of Masaku. Our school was perched up high, between Machakos and Wote Town. The view? Beautiful. But I only discovered the best view while in Form Two—because that view was only visible from those classroom windows. From there you could see the night lights of Machakos, Athiriver and Nairobi City at a distance. It was mesmerizing. 😎 Enough of nostalgic moments. Let's rewind to Form One, shall we? That first week was pure brutality. Every teacher who walked into class had either a pile of books or a prefect carrying them—and of course, many came armed with a cane. (Not all, but enough to make an impression.) This is not sugarcane BTW, but a cane that hits your character before hitting your body. 😁 The routine was simple: * Introduce themselves. * Announce their subject. * Dive straight into the lesson. It was ...

God Doesn’t Leave Gaps – A Reflection from the Book of Acts. We just concluded reading through the book of Acts in our fellowship, and this time, one truth stood out for me louder than the rest: God doesn’t leave gaps, and so we shouldn’t either. Acts 1 and 2 open with two significant replacements— Jesus ascends, and the Holy Spirit descends. Judas departs, and Matthias is appointed. God fills the gap He left with the Holy Spirit, while the apostles feel the weight of Judas’ absence and act: they propose, pray, and poll. (That’s a sermon for another day.) From there, the book of Acts becomes a beautiful dance of divine substitutions. When a saint dies, a sinner is saved. When someone turns away, someone else steps up. In fact, Saul's conversion might’ve been God’s way of saying, “Since the ones I sent won't go, I’ll raise one who lives to go.” Saul— a lover of travel and starter of chaos—was turned into Paul, who traveled and caused holy chaos in hell’s camp. This humbled me ...

Today I was reminded of something that ties beautifully to an earlier write-up on parenting — more specifically, spiritual parenting, or discipling our children in the Lord. I called it: “Don’t Be Like Your Parents” and you can read it here https://mapstage.blogspot.com/2025/02/dont-be-like-your-parents.html This is a build up on that and the prompt came from a powerful moment in Joshua 1:16–17. Then they answered Joshua, “ Whatever you have commanded us we will do, and wherever you send us we will go. Just as we fully obeyed Moses, so we will obey you. Only may the Lord your God be with you as he was with Moses. ” When I read that part — “Just as we fully obeyed Moses…” — I paused. My first thought was, " did they really fully obey Moses? ” I remembered how often Moses was frustrated by their rebellion. The Book of Numbers reads like a record of arguments, complaints, and outright disobedience. So how could they say this? Then it hit me. I was remembering the wrong generation and...

In one of my discipleship conversations this week, one lady mentioned she's currently reading the book of Kings—and naturally, Elijah came up. We had quite the exchange about this wild, fiery prophet of God. Now, Elijah is no ordinary figure in the biblical storyline. - For starters, his very name means "Yahweh is God" (El-iYah). - Secondly, his story strangely parallels key New Testament timelines—appearing during Jesus' transfiguration and being referenced by John the Baptist and others. People thought John was Elijah (John 1:21), and some even thought Jesus was Elijah returned (Matthew 16:14). - Thirdly, he never died —he was taken up in a whirlwind (2 Kings 2:11), which means there's a future moment when he may return and finally taste death (Revelation 11:3–12, referring to the two witnesses). Despite all these unique traits and heavenly accolades, James drops a bombshell. Ati... "Elijah was a man just like us." James 5:17 (NIV) Wait, what!? You mea...

1. Yesterday was a beautiful, wet-eyes kind of day as I caught up with some disciples of our Lord. 2. The best part was realizing they’re still keeping on in the journey of faith—hearing God’s voice and walking in repentance. 3. In one of our discussions, I was reminded of something crucial: the need to read the Bible while IGNORING CHAPTERS AND VERSES . 4. Instead, we should look out for thoughts  —Where does a thought begin? Where does it end? 5. You see, it would be quite odd to receive a heartfelt letter or email with random numbers inserted mid-sentence to indicate lines or paragraphs. 6. Like I was just doing with this write-up. 7. I'll stop now, but that’s essentially what happened to the Bible. The original writers of Scripture didn’t put in chapters and verses. That was added much later—by two well-meaning brothers. While helpful for reference, it also became a great undoing for many. Take Matthew 6:33 for instance. It’s one of the most quoted verses—but often taken out o...

"Do suicide people go to hell, heaven or in between?" That's how a friend started a conversation earlier this week. Long story short, thoughts of committing suicide had crossed their mind several times. They went on to state that "...I am just tired... Drowning really fast... The feeling is stronger everyday..." as we continued with the chat. This someone is a Christian and this is not an isolated case. Suicide is real and is taking lives daily in our world. Depression has been cited by WHO as the major contributor to the causes of suicide and the trend appears to be going up. Depression is no respecter of age, gender, education, wealth or health, and has gone to the extent of been referred to as the "common cold of mental health problems." It is the single largest contributor to global disability. You would think that Christians would be spared considering they have Christ. Nothing could be further from the truth. Many believers could not in the past ...

Not everyone is trending. Some are hidden, healing, and hearing. Elijah's story might just set your heart at peace. This year, while reading 1 Kings 17, I noticed something wild. That chapter is literally 3 years long.   You see, last year, as I was rushing through the Bible, the Lord gently told me that I was reading too fast and ended up missing key moments. It’s easy to miss these golden bits when we’re trying to finish a program , prepare a sermon, or prove a point. 🤦 So this year, I’m repenting by slowing down my reading. Niombewe nifaulu kwa hii safari. Now, back to chapter 17:   It kicks off with Elijah delivering a bold message to Ahab — that it won’t rain until Elijah commands it. Where does he get that confidence? It's grounded in God’s earlier word to Israel in Deuteronomy 11. Then when chapter 18 begins, it says, " …the word of the Lord came to Elijah in the third year… " — meaning, between 17 and 18, a whole 3 years pass! I noticed a few crazy things:...