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FIND YOUR SILENCE

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According to the Gospel of Mark, Jesus rose, “Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, He departed and went out to a desolate place, and there He prayed ( Mar 1:35 ).” The context of this Text was after our Lord had one of the busiest schedules of His ministry. He had just spent the previous day healing all that were sick and demon possessed. And it seems like the following day wasn’t going to be any less hectic either. In fact, in every Gospel account, you will find our Lord busy with something: attending a wedding in Cana, travelling to Jerusalem, having lunch at Zacchaeus’s house, teaching in Galilee, rushing to the tomb of Lazarus, raising a dead girl in Capernaum and healing a blind man in Bethsaida. Even when He finally had time to sleep in the quietness of the sea, we are told, His disciples awoke Him to calm the storm ( Luk 8:22-25 ). I do not think there ever has been a busier man like this. Yet, amidst all that, He still managed to depart to a solitary place; to ha...
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HOW TO GET RICH & POWERFUL USING THE CHURCH: 10 STEPS

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Years ago, a very respectable, well-meaning man of God gave me this advice: "You have a good gift in teaching the Bible. Someone like you should not suffer in life." Well, in all truth, I was not hearing that kind of thing for the first time. It is an open secret among a majority of African spiritual leaders that church is big business. That is, if you are young, ambitious, unemployed and perhaps not very educated, there is another way to make it in life. Start by opening a church ministry and then (depending on your conscience or lack thereof), apply these principles below... 1.) Present yourself as the holy man – The most strategic part of any commercial product is to be accepted by the people. In this case, the product is you. You start by branding yourself – by giving yourself a title. Call yourself Pastor, and then progress to Bishop, then advance to Overseer, then finally, qualify yourself as a Prophet. You can also add Major, Emeritus or even own all those title...
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DISTRACTIONS: BEWARE OF THEM

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Now and then, there is always something "trending" in the media: something that is the centre of everyone’s attention. It could be a war in Iran, a new virus from China or a tragic event in the country. There is no shortage of these "burning issues". Just the other day, I came across a report about one such concerning matter that is currently affecting the community of my residence. You would not believe how it provoked my spirit. In fact, I was so stirred to such a point that I resolved to do something about it – immediately. I planned to start with a long, well-researched response on my social media page, just to spread further awareness about this problem. It's safe to say that I was deeply concerned. Fortunately, I gave my emotions a good two days just to think it through. Well, it turns out that was the wisest thing to do for my Christian soul because I realised that the so-called thing of concern had nothing to do with the Gospel of our Lord Jesus. Just a...
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HOW CAN YOU ADDRESS THE CONCERNS OF YOUR CHURCH?

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Being a good Christian also has negative connotations. That is, you begin to be concerned about the cause of Christ – how He is worshipped; how this and that should be done, especially in the house of God. Imagine yourself being part of this church community, perhaps you have been a member for as long as your mind can recall. You love this congregation with all your being; you are so connected to the point where it is unthinkable to imagine yourself somewhere else. What then should you do if you begin to see a few things (perhaps many) that you are not pleased with? And I don’t mean just what you don’t like according to your personal preference, but the point is, as you look into Scripture: how the church is supposed to be run biblically, then you see that your local church no longer aligns with that. The issues can range from minor issues like the music style to serious problems like a leadership that is walking in sin. If you are doctrinally conscious like I am, then false teaching i...
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"Be Holy As I am Holy." But, How is that Even Possible?

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Everyone agrees that a believer must live a "holy life". But what does that even mean? Practically, and realistically, a person who is living in holiness is a person who is doing what? I know a certain so-called preacher who used to teach his followers that they were not allowed to wear makeup, earrings, short-sleeve shirts and even watching TV was forbidden. Any Christian who does these things, he said, would not enter heaven because God demands 100% holiness.  Because of such wrong teachings, many of us now shy away from the "holiness talk" because that is what we imagine Christian holiness to be. That, my friends, is not holiness —far from it. In fact, it is the purest definition of legalism. A belief that by outward observance, one can please God. "Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh?", asked the Apostle ( Gal 3:3 ). Believe it or not, that is the kind of "holiness" that Jesus rebuked the Pharisees for. There ...
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If there is a God, Why So Much Evil & Suffering?

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On 7 February 2013, Zambian News outlets were flooded with the report that 53 people had lost their lives after a high-speed collision between a bus and a truck in the northern part of Lusaka. Just months ago, gunmen stormed a tavern and shot dead 11 humans in Sausville, South Africa. All those lost lives were real people who had families and future plans and bank accounts and phone passwords. They vanished from this earth with one moment of brutal madness. If, perhaps, you have attended the funeral service of a similar tragic event, what questions would you have in your mind? How about, "Where was God when it happened?" If God is All-loving and All-powerful, then why doesn't He stop all this evil and suffering? We can rightly blame Satan for all these bad things, but who created him? If the Almighty knew that Lucifer would become the devil and end up deceiving millions into suffering and death, why was he made in the first place? Think of it another way: suppose you kno...
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Should You Confess Your Private Sins?

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It's not a pious statement for me to say that the greatest trouble of my Christian life is sin. And the fact that “ I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out. For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing .” I am also comforted by the promise, “ if you confess your sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us for our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness .” Furthermore, the Christian life is not lived alone. There is a community of other saints that you share your faith with. That brings the issue of transparency before them, or as the good Apostle says, “ You yourselves are our letter, written on our hearts, known and read by everyone ” ( 2 Cor 3:2 ). Another verse that is in my mind goes like this: “ Confess your sins to one another , and pray for one another, that you may be healed... ”( Jam 5:16 ). Okay, here is the big question: how open must you be before your fellow brethren? Do they have the rig...
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