Small Things Are Great

There is a song by our sister Chevelle Franklin that goes, “Be lifted high, be lifted high, O Lord, be lifted high, for you are holy, awesome, and worthy Lord. O Lord, be lifted high.” I am not sure whether she is the original artist or was singing a song composed by someone else, but the words got me thinking. There are several other songs with similar lyrics. We sing about lifting Jesus higher through our praise, worship and adoration. Think of one praise song such as; “inua Bwana inua, inua inua, inua Bwana inua, sababu yu mwema.” Another one could be when a soloist calls on us to "inua Bwana inua, inua!” The impression one gets is that our praise and worship is what lifts him, exalts and gives him the honor due to Him. We might be wrong. I suspect much of this thinking comes from Jesus' words in John 12:32: “... and I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself. ” The assumption seems to be that the more we lift Him through praise, the more He draws...

I am shocked, and honestly, surprised! A few days ago, a friend called me and asked whether I would mind reading Psalm 15 so that we could discuss it later. Somewhere along the way, my ears heard Psalm 50 instead. So I went ahead and interacted with Psalm 50 until I later came across their text message and realized that we had been talking about two different Psalms. 😂 However, something caught my attention in Psalm 50, and when I sat down again this morning to review it, I was shocked to discover something I had misunderstood for years. One famous line in this Psalm is found in verse 10: “ For every beast of the forest is mine, and the cattle upon a thousand hills ” (KJV). Many of us know this verse, especially in Pentecostal circles. It has often been used to remind us that God is not broke. He owns cattle on a thousand hills! He can sell one or two and sort out our financial problems. Wueh! 😂 But when I read the Psalm in its context, I realized that God was not making a promise to...

We are in the book of Nahum — or Nehem, as some pronounce it. This little book comes roughly a century after Jonah, and if you don't remember what happened in Jonah, wueh! You might miss why Nahum is saying what he is saying. Remember Nineveh? These are the people who repented when Jonah announced that God would destroy their city. God saw their change of heart and relented. Jonah wasn't particularly excited about God's decision, but that is a story for another day. Now, fast-forward a few generations. The same Assyrians are terrorising other nations and behaving as though the world belongs to them. They attacked Israel, conquered Samaria and carried many Israelites into captivity. Later, they even besieged Jerusalem, only for God to intervene and deliver the city (2 Kings 18–19; Isaiah 36–37). You would think people who had once experienced God's mercy would know better. Apparently, history can repeat itself, even after a very powerful repentance meeting! This is where...

Reading the document Zechariah is like reading Revelation. If not careful, you can be caught up in the vision as the writers were but end up missing the whole communication. Just as in Revelation, the prophet is in the company of an angel. All this is in a vision, 8 to be exact, but our brother almost sleeps after the fourth vision and the angel has to wake him up. Similar to John whenever he was called upon to "write!" as he got lost in what he was seen. Two things are guides to understanding this prophecy. One, the name of the prophet and two a phrase that's repeated 4 times.  First, the name. Zechariah. This means "The Lord remembers." Reminds me of The Lord remembering Noah and his family. The only thing The Lord does not remember is our sins once we've repented. This book, a contemporary of Haggai is all out to remind Israelites who were in captivity that God does remembers. What does he remember? Two things. His promises and His people. Israelites had...

One thing I have come to admire as I continually study the Scriptures is the remarkable order in which these writers communicated God's message. Either they were very smart, or the Spirit of God gave them such clarity and direction that even their writing followed a deliberate flow. The more you study these prophetic books, the more you begin to notice that what initially looks like a collection of disconnected prophecies is actually a message unfolding in a particular direction. We finished Micah chapter one looking at the places. God comes down from heaven to earth, and specific places begin to appear in the picture. Samaria, Jerusalem and the surrounding towns are brought into view as judgment moves through the land. Chapter one, therefore, gives us the places. Chapters two and three shift our attention from places to people. First, Micah addresses the general population, particularly those who plan evil and oppress others (Micah 2:1). He then turns to the prophets, some of whom...

When what is far away makes it home. We are now in the book of Micah, and this is one book that gave me quite a bit of a struggle when I first started reading it. I could read the words, but I was not necessarily seeing the flow or getting the direction. I went through it three or four times, and there were moments when I genuinely felt stuck. I would read and think, “What exactly is going on here?” Thankfully, the help came through, and eventually I began to get a sense of what Micah was saying and where he was taking us. As we begin, it is important to note that there are several people called Micah, or names closely related to Micah, in the Bible. The spelling varies depending on the person and the English translation. For our purposes, let us narrow our attention to the three who are commonly rendered Micah. The first is the Micah we meet in Judges 17 and 18. This is the man who made an idol, established his own shrine and hired a Levite to serve as his priest. Eventually, the trib...

There’s a man who went by the name of Epaphras. Yap. I know you maybe know no one by that name. He’s mentioned three times in the New Testament. The first time as a fellowship starter, the second time as a fervent prayer warrior, and the third time as a fellow prisoner — free even in prison. All three mentions are by Paul, as he pens(it was a feather though) his letters to the church in Colossae and to our brother Philemon. His journey is believed to have started in Ephesus. In Acts 19, we read that Paul spent two to three years there, teaching about the baptism of Jesus and the Kingdom of God. Paul became a lecturer there and had some students under him. It’s believed Epaphras was one of those who heard the gospel then and when he travelled back home to Colossae, he simply preached what he had experienced and learned. As a result, a fellowship was started. (bursts in song: ainuliwe Bwana wa ma bwana, ainuliwe ametenda mema...) What catches my eye is the casualness with which he is men...

As we continue in this journey through the Bible, I have been highlighting three things that I believe are very key as we study the Scriptures. When I say Scriptures in this particular context, I am talking about the Law, the Prophets and the Writings, not the New Testament. There are three questions I believe we need to keep asking as we read. Number one: Who is God? Number two: What is going on? Number three: What is my place in whatever is going on? When those three questions begin to find answers, something changes in the way we read. Every book has its own setting, its own people, its own immediate circumstances and its own voice. Hosea was not writing while looking over his shoulder at Chronicles to make sure the two books matched. He was not thinking, “Let me make sure Paul will understand this one day.” Paul, Peter, James and Luke were not Hosea's immediate audience. Neither were we. This then begs another question: Is the Bible history, or is it just a story? Whatever your...

The book of Hosea is almost like the book of Romans(jk) in the New Testament, although this romance is a very different kind of romance. I have seen enough stories of how God calls people and then does ministry through their lives. We see prophets being called, we see their assignments, we see the messages they carry, and we see how God uses them to speak to His people. The ministry Hosea is engaged in, however, is one very unique ministry. Yes, it is the ministry of reconciliation. God is trying to tell the northern kingdom, the ten tribes that were called Israel, that what they did was wrong. When the kingdom divided after Solomon, they followed Jeroboam and separated themselves from the southern kingdom of Judah. That separation became much more than a political division. It became a spiritual journey that took them further away from the Father. One wrong turn led to another, and another, until Israel had wandered so far that God now wanted them back. To paint a picture of just how ...

After the Rhema Feast, there has been enough banter online from those who are for it and those who are not. Some have said the whole event is not a good thing. Others have had issues with some of the speakers and speeches, while others were fully in it and were not bothered by the naysayers. On Sunday morning, however, I realized that this is not a new matter. There was a time when the Corinthians were divided between two opinions, and perhaps more. Some were flying the Apollos flag while others were friendly to Paul. Others had chosen Cephas, while some had taken the seemingly safest position and declared, “I follow Christ.” This is what Paul and Sosthenes wrote to them concerning the divisions. They kicked off with an introduction that was surprisingly warm. Before touching the matter that had brought them concern, they reminded the Corinthians of who they were and what God had already done among them. “ Paul, called to be an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and our brothe...

This week in our discussion, we began by pointing out how one of our brothers here in Kenya, Julius Owino, was inspired through the book of Isaiah to even do an album themed Exponential Potential. The first song in that album is called “Isaiah 58.” We also pointed out the fact that the United Nations headquarters in New York has a wall commonly referred to as the Isaiah Wall. On that wall is inscribed part of Isaiah chapter 2, verse 4. It is interesting to note how the first part of that verse was not included in the inscription. Isaiah 2:4 says, “ He will judge between the nations and will settle disputes for many peoples. They will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not take up sword against nation, nor will they train for war anymore. ” Beautiful words. Humanity wants that outcome. We want a world without war. We want nations to settle their disputes. We want swords turned into farming tools and people to stop preparing for war. There ...

The whole essence of making something is for the purpose of either USING it, SELLING it or GIVING it away. Think of a manufacturer of engines or plastic containers. If you walk around and observe what happens to the things they make, you'll notice those three aspects in play. They are either using the same product themselves, selling it for a profit or giving it away as a charitable donation. This thought came to me while I was chopping some branches from a tree for purposes of getting firewood and preparing for the rainy season. I smiled because I know that was God speaking. One thing I have not loved in my ministry journey is the awkward moments when I hear God asking me to move stations. It seems He always asks me to move at the point of success or fruition. Severally, I have hesitated and even delayed my speed of obedience. Sometimes I have struggled, especially when a season ends and I hear nothing from the Lord about what or where next. Those are the seasons when I find mysel...