When you wake up in the morning, you never know that this day holds a miracle that I will be a part of. We are all pieces of the puzzle that reflects the glory of God and there are days when the reflection is right where you are and so this was for me today. Having spent the week looking for a word, praying, being silent…nada, zinch, zero. So there we were, on our way with nothing to say. Felix had made an invitation to the zone leaders for anyone wanting to join us on our way to Mngwangwa and they showed up and then some. We ended up picking 16 people from different points who wanted to come with us to hear the teaching. The vehicle was beyond packed, sardines have better breathing space because we had stuff to deliver in Mngwangwa too along with Diamond’s bike. Anyhow, we made it.
We arrived amidst singing and praising God and still. We joined in the worship already taking place in the room after getting the youth to join us, which was the only thing I felt led to do. Little did I know that it was all God needed…He took over. The worship was awesome with people leading from everywhere leading. For a while I thought perhaps this was all we were meant to do today until….
Midway through, the Spirit of the Lord nudges me and takes my hand and leads me. We keep standing and I begin talking to the youth about the Holy Spirit, about being empowered to be. We begin by speaking about the youth that are the NOW church and yet are sitting in the bandstands watching the older run the race as they cheer and never take up the baton and run themselves. Out of the entire group, none are baptised in the Spirit. So we go through John 20:22, Acts 1:6-8, Acts 8, Acts 10, Acts 19 giving the youth the opportunity to see in the word this subject that is often debated. We speak about the difference between witnessing and being a witness. We speak of power – His power and I reminisce about the time I was baptised in the Spirit. I tell them about how God touched me and changed me forever when He empowered me to BE that witness. I step out in faith and declare that God is going to do it with them. All we need to do is believe and open our mouths so the Spirit of God can give us words. An interesting analogy pops up. We are like megaphones. The megaphone gives voice to the speaker, like our mouths give voice to the Holy Spirit in us speaking things to the Father. But a megaphone has a button that has to be pressed down in order for the sound to be heard. That is our choice. We can cooperate with Him and thus hear Him out of our mouths or we can choose never to depress that button and never hear. We talk about how this is not a church issue or a denominational issue but a God issue.
We invite those who want to be baptised in the Holy Spirit and 31 people come forward. I have the faith to believe but what God does goes beyond me. In a matter of minutes 29 people begin speaking in a language from above, 29 people! I stood in wonder as part of me prayed and laid hands… I stood in wonder. Today when I woke up, I never knew I would be witness to a miracle. What is frustrating is trying to articulate the atmosphere and the energy and the awe and wonder that filled us as we saw God lay His hand on the hunger of the young people for more of Him. It was amazing. Even now, I am writing and yet I sit in wonder and stare….
We did a little exercise after with eyes open and each person individually spoke in tongues so that the fear of shame and embarrassment would flee, so the devil would not come in with his lies and deter them. Earlier I had asked them to repeat after me…’procrastinate’ and they did. I asked them if the understood what they had just said. They said no. I asked them if they were embarrassed to have said it and they said no. ‘So, why are we embarrassed to speak what the Spirit is uttering in our spirit?’ that had them thinking and slowly the mindsets had broken to make way for the liberty that is found where the Spirit of God is. 29 people. What almost brought me to tears and it does so now as I write is one of the faithful grannies who always comes, she was baptised in the Spirit and she spoke with other tongues… in her eighties! It was overwhelming. God will do anything with anyone so long as we are willing to believe. It was incredible to hear her speak in a heavenly tongue. I was touched and so were all who heard her as they applauded God.
It was hard to say goodbye. There was so much expectation in the air. We had stood for two hours and 15 minutes from the start of worship until the end and it only proved what God had said. There are things we can only do when we are empowered by Him to do them.
I witnessed a miracle today and for a while got to see God move and touch people around me. I witnessed a miracle today in that the prayers I have prayed all year were fulfilled in that moment. I witnessed a miracle today and what a privilege to have the Spirit of God lead us by the hand and invite us into His workings. There was so much joy, so much excitement and we sang all the way home, giving glory to God who, rightfully, had blown our minds, expanded our expectation of Him and stretched our faith to believe that anything can happen when you believe!
Saturday, November 8, 2008
Monday, November 3, 2008
Saturday, November 1st, Mngwangwa
The car was silent for the most part, odd as we were five people going in the same direction. Interestingly, it did not bother me too much even though I did question it some. Upon arrival worship was on and we joined in together and worshipped. We were in the medical room and so space became a factor but we made do. In the end we were 69 people and a little bit of a squeeze for those sitting. Midway through worshipped we stopped and spoke about Whom we are worshipping and expanded on how great and awesome He is. Sometimes worship becomes such a routine that it is a wonder how we can address such an awesome wonder of a God in that manner… casually, routinely.
The incredible thing though, about the communities, is that worship has no timeline. It isn’t twenty minutes here and then let’s get down to business. These are the people I feel most comfortable worshipping with. It is total abandonment… each to his own. If there is a place I can fall on my face, it is here. Here there is no protocol and no rules (said or unsaid). We challenged everyone to think on how awesome God is and then dare to give Him a lazy praise. There is a reason He created us the way He did. Why give of our energy and strength and passion to someone we can see and yet with Him throw scraps? I have heard on many occasions that as Africans we are always jumping about in praise and we need to learn to have heart too. I often wonder if heart is slow and sways to and fro… For me to stand still is impossible, not in my makeup. This is why we cannot teach others how to worship. We have to teach people about God and let them respond to Him and not a system! We spend a little time talking about giving all to God and then the praise and worship changes. There is a sense of abandonment and release that is sweet. It is beautiful and seems to go on forever. I haven’t been in this atmosphere for some time and I have missed it.
As we worship God gives me an analogy which I share with everyone once we sit down. There is a MK1 coin, MK100, MK500 and 50 pound notes on my hand.
“Some of us worship God like He is a MK1 coin. Worth nothing much and we approach Him that way. Others it is MK100, nice to have but not much. To some He is a MK500 note and we celebrate some because we value the MK500 to some degree. But then there are those to whom He is like a 50 pound note.” I give them the choice of picking one of the notes between the MK500 and the 50 pounds. They pick the MK500.
“We choose this because it makes sense to us, we understand its value. But God is beyond this. He is beyond simple understanding. He is like this 50 pounds, which is worth MK15,000.00 (this get everyone giving oohs and aahs). “No one picked it because no one knows it. But God is worth taking the risk, trusting that He is more than what we see. This is why if we found someone celebrating over 50 pounds we think them foolish. What are you celebrating? What is it? We do not know the value of something we do not understand fully. And even after we are told its value, we don’t really believe it and are not willing to go there to the place they tell you to go and make the exchange. There are people speaking some odd language and calling it heavenly! What nonsense, some may say, and yet… it is my 50 pounds and perhaps you don’t understand and so you choose not to go there but I do and so it is for worship.”
All the while I am in awe of God and how He can bring us to understand things. I was there speaking and yet watching and listening and asking myself, “how do you Keta, worship God?” I thought He had changed the message and yet it was only our introduction to our subject, which was the woman at the well. This was a true challenge for me as it was the first time I brought a subject of something I was studying and brought it as it was, not something I had lived but was living right now. I was very nervous as to how I could teach it as it is a subject close to my heart as I am that women at the well. The message is fresh and raw and personal. I prayed throughout asking for the Holy Spirit to help me and He brought it! Oh yes He did! It was also the first time I did not simplify a subject and just taught it as I would to anyone, trusting God in this case to help us all rise to where He wanted us in order for us to receive. It was about reception. Teaching a subject is not tough until you take into consideration, the reception. What is the point of bringing a power message if the people you are addressing have no reception to it? It is like baiting a certain type of fish with the wrong stuff. It may work for other but not these.
I was excited and on fire as I watched most of us rise to the place where we could receive. It was beautiful to see, to speak, to hear. Sidwell Mwale could not keep still and he was my eye contact person (I always have one). I just knew God was breaking things in us. He was opening us up and exposing us, like He did that woman at the well. HE was exposing our questioning of His capability to meet our needs and whether we truly believe Him to be our saviour or are we like this woman who, in the end, still said, “I know Messiah is coming.” You may be God but I am waiting for another deliverance to my situation. And yet Jesus says, “I am it. I am He. Stop looking for something else to come along and save you from what is going on with you. I am He.”
We left changed. I left transformed. Much has happened in the time I have been away from the villages and it was only then that I could see a glimpse of the Potter’s hands on me. Seeing eyes catching words that seemed to come from a place even I did not know of was incredible. Experiencing the same as I spoke was beyond explanation. There is no room to think you are ‘all that and a bag of chips’, not when you know that you are in the hands of the great ventriloquist!
The trip back was noisy and full of energy! Everyone wanted to speak at once. Edward testified about how violently ill he was the previous night and that morning. He thought he needed to get to a hospital and didn’t sleep from 2 in the morning. Against all that he made his way to the office challenging the enemy all the way. He couldn’t ride his bike because he was so weak and instead used public transport and yet here he was bursting with energy. Last time he was coming into the village to interpret with me he lost his voice, no cough, no warning, just woke up without his voice. We prayed and he managed to share. His recent testimony made us smile. Ah, that ancient serpent whose ways never change.
There are things you do because you love them. There are things you do because you have to and there are things you do because that is natural course of the thing. We breathe in and out because it is natural. When I teach in the communities, it feels like I have just stepped into exactly what I was created to do. What a blessing. What a treasure for God to entrust such awesome beautiful hearts to us. Every time we leave them, we leave home and in the midst of the joy is a tinge of sadness.
The incredible thing though, about the communities, is that worship has no timeline. It isn’t twenty minutes here and then let’s get down to business. These are the people I feel most comfortable worshipping with. It is total abandonment… each to his own. If there is a place I can fall on my face, it is here. Here there is no protocol and no rules (said or unsaid). We challenged everyone to think on how awesome God is and then dare to give Him a lazy praise. There is a reason He created us the way He did. Why give of our energy and strength and passion to someone we can see and yet with Him throw scraps? I have heard on many occasions that as Africans we are always jumping about in praise and we need to learn to have heart too. I often wonder if heart is slow and sways to and fro… For me to stand still is impossible, not in my makeup. This is why we cannot teach others how to worship. We have to teach people about God and let them respond to Him and not a system! We spend a little time talking about giving all to God and then the praise and worship changes. There is a sense of abandonment and release that is sweet. It is beautiful and seems to go on forever. I haven’t been in this atmosphere for some time and I have missed it.
As we worship God gives me an analogy which I share with everyone once we sit down. There is a MK1 coin, MK100, MK500 and 50 pound notes on my hand.
“Some of us worship God like He is a MK1 coin. Worth nothing much and we approach Him that way. Others it is MK100, nice to have but not much. To some He is a MK500 note and we celebrate some because we value the MK500 to some degree. But then there are those to whom He is like a 50 pound note.” I give them the choice of picking one of the notes between the MK500 and the 50 pounds. They pick the MK500.
“We choose this because it makes sense to us, we understand its value. But God is beyond this. He is beyond simple understanding. He is like this 50 pounds, which is worth MK15,000.00 (this get everyone giving oohs and aahs). “No one picked it because no one knows it. But God is worth taking the risk, trusting that He is more than what we see. This is why if we found someone celebrating over 50 pounds we think them foolish. What are you celebrating? What is it? We do not know the value of something we do not understand fully. And even after we are told its value, we don’t really believe it and are not willing to go there to the place they tell you to go and make the exchange. There are people speaking some odd language and calling it heavenly! What nonsense, some may say, and yet… it is my 50 pounds and perhaps you don’t understand and so you choose not to go there but I do and so it is for worship.”
All the while I am in awe of God and how He can bring us to understand things. I was there speaking and yet watching and listening and asking myself, “how do you Keta, worship God?” I thought He had changed the message and yet it was only our introduction to our subject, which was the woman at the well. This was a true challenge for me as it was the first time I brought a subject of something I was studying and brought it as it was, not something I had lived but was living right now. I was very nervous as to how I could teach it as it is a subject close to my heart as I am that women at the well. The message is fresh and raw and personal. I prayed throughout asking for the Holy Spirit to help me and He brought it! Oh yes He did! It was also the first time I did not simplify a subject and just taught it as I would to anyone, trusting God in this case to help us all rise to where He wanted us in order for us to receive. It was about reception. Teaching a subject is not tough until you take into consideration, the reception. What is the point of bringing a power message if the people you are addressing have no reception to it? It is like baiting a certain type of fish with the wrong stuff. It may work for other but not these.
I was excited and on fire as I watched most of us rise to the place where we could receive. It was beautiful to see, to speak, to hear. Sidwell Mwale could not keep still and he was my eye contact person (I always have one). I just knew God was breaking things in us. He was opening us up and exposing us, like He did that woman at the well. HE was exposing our questioning of His capability to meet our needs and whether we truly believe Him to be our saviour or are we like this woman who, in the end, still said, “I know Messiah is coming.” You may be God but I am waiting for another deliverance to my situation. And yet Jesus says, “I am it. I am He. Stop looking for something else to come along and save you from what is going on with you. I am He.”
We left changed. I left transformed. Much has happened in the time I have been away from the villages and it was only then that I could see a glimpse of the Potter’s hands on me. Seeing eyes catching words that seemed to come from a place even I did not know of was incredible. Experiencing the same as I spoke was beyond explanation. There is no room to think you are ‘all that and a bag of chips’, not when you know that you are in the hands of the great ventriloquist!
The trip back was noisy and full of energy! Everyone wanted to speak at once. Edward testified about how violently ill he was the previous night and that morning. He thought he needed to get to a hospital and didn’t sleep from 2 in the morning. Against all that he made his way to the office challenging the enemy all the way. He couldn’t ride his bike because he was so weak and instead used public transport and yet here he was bursting with energy. Last time he was coming into the village to interpret with me he lost his voice, no cough, no warning, just woke up without his voice. We prayed and he managed to share. His recent testimony made us smile. Ah, that ancient serpent whose ways never change.
There are things you do because you love them. There are things you do because you have to and there are things you do because that is natural course of the thing. We breathe in and out because it is natural. When I teach in the communities, it feels like I have just stepped into exactly what I was created to do. What a blessing. What a treasure for God to entrust such awesome beautiful hearts to us. Every time we leave them, we leave home and in the midst of the joy is a tinge of sadness.
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
6th - 7th September 2008, Mngwangwa
The return to ministry is like breathing after a long time holding my breath. Everything falls into place. The world can be all that it is but somehow it isn’t as hard as it was. We returned to Mngwangwa. It is our second week. Every month we spend 4 days in Mngwangwa. We had distributed about 100 bibles to the people there but with the firm warning that everyone should read and memorise scripture. It is hard to give a weapon to a soldier that places it under a tree and goes to sleep… it is hard to do this when weapons are few and the war is raging! So, we did the classroom thing… if you got as bible from us, you had to for a start, memorise Psalm 1/1-3. If you failed, we took the bible back until you did. To encourage everyone, I promised to memorise it in Chichewa, which was tough (I didn’t know some words) but by the grace of God I managed.
We had a wonderful time that Sunday. After a week of practice, both men and women spoke aloud and proudly recited their scriptures. For some (dare I say most), this was the first time to memorise scripture and I was privileged to be a part of it. Yowasi Luseni memorised the entire psalm. It was a joyous time and there was an excitement in the room. Even as we had blessed about 100 people with bibles, there were still other newer people who did not have. Nonetheless, it is the first time we have walked into a meeting and more people have bibles than not. What a thing God has done. Wrap your mind around this and marvel with me! People have bibles... they can go home and read them! They can mark them. Having never had to borrow a bible, I cannot really understand but I can look into their eyes and see the joy that overflows as they receive them. This I can attest to and because of it, praise the God of impossibilities. I promise you this, when we began working in the villages, I never envisioned a day when each person walking into the room has a bible. But now, I see that this day is soon coming! There is a day when the windows of heaven will be opened up and God will pour out a blessing we cannot contain. As I hear more and more people give of themselves towards bibles, I have come to understand that there is a blessing that shuts you up. It is the blessing that drains you of all excitement… you are left dumb and immobile; you cannot even express your joy. This is happening. God is doing the incredible! It is watching a wonder happen, too marvellous for you, your body, your emotions and your mind to comprehend or respond to.
Even as we continue to distribute bibles, we set our hearts further towards God and His desires for the people He loves. We are now preparing to launch “Light @ Night”, our new bible initiative. We want to purchase a bible and a lantern as a combo for those who want to read their bibles at night but fail because of no access to light at night. The natural light and the spiritual light. Light at night. Even as I write this I am reminded of a time when accessing the bible we have now seemed a dream…and yet. Be a part of it; help to bring light at night. If you cannot, pray for us, that God will show forth His mighty hand and outstretched arm. He is the God of impossibilities. He can do exceedingly, abundantly, above anything we can ask or imagine. He is and always will be the Father of lights.
Generally, writing this blog is about processing and recording what I see, feel and hear as God works within the people and places He invites me into. This time, though, I wanted to speak directly to you, the reader… yeah, I went there! I wanted to thank every person who has campaigned, given and prayed for bibles. Because of you, things are happening, lives are changing. The seed of the Word is being planted and we shall see (together) the harvest should the Lord tarry. So, thank you! Smile; there is a wonderful reason to.
We had a wonderful time that Sunday. After a week of practice, both men and women spoke aloud and proudly recited their scriptures. For some (dare I say most), this was the first time to memorise scripture and I was privileged to be a part of it. Yowasi Luseni memorised the entire psalm. It was a joyous time and there was an excitement in the room. Even as we had blessed about 100 people with bibles, there were still other newer people who did not have. Nonetheless, it is the first time we have walked into a meeting and more people have bibles than not. What a thing God has done. Wrap your mind around this and marvel with me! People have bibles... they can go home and read them! They can mark them. Having never had to borrow a bible, I cannot really understand but I can look into their eyes and see the joy that overflows as they receive them. This I can attest to and because of it, praise the God of impossibilities. I promise you this, when we began working in the villages, I never envisioned a day when each person walking into the room has a bible. But now, I see that this day is soon coming! There is a day when the windows of heaven will be opened up and God will pour out a blessing we cannot contain. As I hear more and more people give of themselves towards bibles, I have come to understand that there is a blessing that shuts you up. It is the blessing that drains you of all excitement… you are left dumb and immobile; you cannot even express your joy. This is happening. God is doing the incredible! It is watching a wonder happen, too marvellous for you, your body, your emotions and your mind to comprehend or respond to.
Even as we continue to distribute bibles, we set our hearts further towards God and His desires for the people He loves. We are now preparing to launch “Light @ Night”, our new bible initiative. We want to purchase a bible and a lantern as a combo for those who want to read their bibles at night but fail because of no access to light at night. The natural light and the spiritual light. Light at night. Even as I write this I am reminded of a time when accessing the bible we have now seemed a dream…and yet. Be a part of it; help to bring light at night. If you cannot, pray for us, that God will show forth His mighty hand and outstretched arm. He is the God of impossibilities. He can do exceedingly, abundantly, above anything we can ask or imagine. He is and always will be the Father of lights.
Generally, writing this blog is about processing and recording what I see, feel and hear as God works within the people and places He invites me into. This time, though, I wanted to speak directly to you, the reader… yeah, I went there! I wanted to thank every person who has campaigned, given and prayed for bibles. Because of you, things are happening, lives are changing. The seed of the Word is being planted and we shall see (together) the harvest should the Lord tarry. So, thank you! Smile; there is a wonderful reason to.
Friday, September 5, 2008
THE SEQUEL
30th – 31st August, 2008, Mngwangwa and Mtsiriza
Here we are, back! i feel like this is the sequel to the first phase. unlike most sequel (that tank) this one is better. something like, terminator 2 and the Lord of the Rings sequels, that tied into one another and got better and better.
It is hard to express how wonderful it is to return to what you know in your bones you were created to do. The day begun on such a wonderful note, that as we went, we were so expectant of something… what exactly, we were not sure of but one thing we did know in that car; God was doing something in us. It was hard to contain our excitement but Diamond and I began ministering to one another all the way there. We were preaching it! “It is time to cross over the Jordan and step into another level of grace where we are now co-workers with God”. We spoke (and this is only in the car) of God bringing us out of childhood of feeding us manna, to growing into picking up a hoe and embracing the privilege to work WITH God.
By the time we arrived we were ready for the something. We were not the only ones ready. Mngwangwa was ready. We drove up by the CCAP church that we meet in and I could hear praise songs. They were there, already worshiping God. Beside this building is the medical room that we sometimes use. This is where Diamond was having his youth meeting. We found the youth there too, listening to the ‘proclaimer’ (talking bible). It was 9:00 and both our groups were present. It was a wonder. God indeed had something planned for us. We looked at one another and just laughed. God was certainly in control here and everything seemed to be in place, ready for Him. Perhaps I sound like a fictional writer at this point but I don’t know what words to use in expressing what was in my heart and bones as we went in. we stepped into praise! I always say this, and it is good to be reminded and it is that God is bigger here! He is higher and stronger and more present! I know is God everywhere so I will say it this way; FOR ME, God is bigger here. There is a freedom to praise that hits you. We praised with drums and the tambourine and hands clapping. It felt like psalm 150 was manifest.
Our subject was sin. It didn’t start out as that. We begun in Ezekiel 37 and continued from our last meeting. As we went through Jesus speaking to the fig tree and cursing it, we took a turn into the subject, sin. We spoke about the appearance of godliness and not the character to prove (the leaves and not the fruit). The title and the bible and yet… no love or faithfulness. And then God did it! Right there I heard myself and knew that He had taken my mouth. My brother tells me that God is the most incredible ventriloquist there is. He throws His voice and something else speaks it. I felt that. Our conversation changed and we began to challenge the ‘zithumwa’s’ (the twigs and pouches that witchdoctors give as charms for different things). God just challenged how we could sit in the room and hold bibles in our hands when we were wearing these charms around our waists and below our chests (out of the view of the public). I spoke words that challenged the power of these things that were made from what God has made. I spoke about the ones that make them that only do what they do under the cover of night. ‘I am not afraid and you should not be afraid because everything was made through Him and for Him’. And challenge after challenge, God said things and there I was… speaking and at the same time standing there mouth gaped open at the words that the Holy Spirit was saying. ‘Bring it on!” that was it. Everything in me said…”huh?”
The next morning we were in Mtsiriza. We had never ministered in Mtsiriza. One of the pastors from the pastors bookset had asked us to come and minister the word on giving seeing as they were raising funds for their church building. Even as I prepared, I realised I was in some kind of trouble. It was the first time I have ever been afraid of what the reception to the word would be. Sometimes we get so comfortable with the people we minister to… they are safe. Unlike the time when I had ended up in a village with some hard folks, this was totally new. It is one thing to be led by the Spirit of God and give a strong word as He leads when you are ministering. It is another ball game when you PREPARE a tough word. This is not what they were expecting. They were looking to be inspired to empty their pockets and here I was bringing a word that rebuked and exposed the motive of our giving. This is a word you stop and think about. I have to believe that for what followed that there were those that HEARD. After the delivery of the word, they proceeded to have four or more offerings for the building project. One was for those who have ties on, another for those in suits, another and another…. Then there was the auctioning off of the ties that had been given in the offering basket. “who will give me three thousand for the two ties, because we don’t need ties, we need money.” This continued, auctioning off cell phones, baby trousers and ties. It was a sight to see. It was painful to watch and broke my heart because of the things we have begun to do in the temple of God. The things we now accept as progress within the church, is beyond right. It is the world making itself at home in the presence of God. What took place Sunday morning was the stuff of weddings, people making change with the money counter and throwing twenty kwachas one at a time in the offering basket. This is not what we aught to do. It makes me wonder what else we do that should not be in His Presence.
In the same place, I met a son of God. He was the gentleman that ministered the word. He was a son of God, a father in the faith… a true unsung hero. This sounds poetic but the truth is, these are the words that came into my spirit as he spoke. “I have nothing worth boasting about, other than I love God and I obey His word.” These were his words and with them came a true repentance for focusing on so many other things that were not the MAIN POINT! Loving God is the MAIN POINT! Everything else is dressing.
We left for Mngwangwa, edified and built up in the Holy Ghost. And praise God for Mngwangwa was on fire! God was cleaning house and we stood and beheld His move. We talked about citizenship and the army of God. We spoke about dual nationality and how the Kingdom of darkness welcomes it knowing that if you are part of light and dark, then you really are of the dark for the Kingdom of light rejects dual nationality… it is one or none!!! I have not the words to express what God did in that room with 150 people present. In the end 35 people came and gave their hearts to God. It was a sight to see. I was overwhelmed. What a mighty God! One of the men who got saved was the uncle of Mr. Nkhoma (who is the head of the Mngwangwa group). This uncle was a devoted ‘gule wankulu’ dancer. Gule wankulu is a cult that believes in the worship of the dead. His uncle came forward and gave his heart to God. Satan has lost. He has lost this line. Gule wanulu is generational, passed from father to son and God had broken that change. What a mighty God.
With Diamond ministering to the youth and 15 coming to Christ, 50 people were saved in Mngwangwa this past weekend. You sure learn how not to get pompous and big headed out here, for which man can claim he has done this? Is this not the work of a might God? Every time we are out here, we see Him and He expands and we MUST reduce to accommodate His greatness. This is the village. This is where God can move without puffed up men getting in the way. Out here, there are so many humble hearts that when Jesus shows up we recognise Him for He is the only one standing! Out here there is no protocol and church politics. There are no special seating and large and colourful introductions. I love this place. I love to see Jesus. To God be the glory!
Here we are, back! i feel like this is the sequel to the first phase. unlike most sequel (that tank) this one is better. something like, terminator 2 and the Lord of the Rings sequels, that tied into one another and got better and better.
It is hard to express how wonderful it is to return to what you know in your bones you were created to do. The day begun on such a wonderful note, that as we went, we were so expectant of something… what exactly, we were not sure of but one thing we did know in that car; God was doing something in us. It was hard to contain our excitement but Diamond and I began ministering to one another all the way there. We were preaching it! “It is time to cross over the Jordan and step into another level of grace where we are now co-workers with God”. We spoke (and this is only in the car) of God bringing us out of childhood of feeding us manna, to growing into picking up a hoe and embracing the privilege to work WITH God.
By the time we arrived we were ready for the something. We were not the only ones ready. Mngwangwa was ready. We drove up by the CCAP church that we meet in and I could hear praise songs. They were there, already worshiping God. Beside this building is the medical room that we sometimes use. This is where Diamond was having his youth meeting. We found the youth there too, listening to the ‘proclaimer’ (talking bible). It was 9:00 and both our groups were present. It was a wonder. God indeed had something planned for us. We looked at one another and just laughed. God was certainly in control here and everything seemed to be in place, ready for Him. Perhaps I sound like a fictional writer at this point but I don’t know what words to use in expressing what was in my heart and bones as we went in. we stepped into praise! I always say this, and it is good to be reminded and it is that God is bigger here! He is higher and stronger and more present! I know is God everywhere so I will say it this way; FOR ME, God is bigger here. There is a freedom to praise that hits you. We praised with drums and the tambourine and hands clapping. It felt like psalm 150 was manifest.
Our subject was sin. It didn’t start out as that. We begun in Ezekiel 37 and continued from our last meeting. As we went through Jesus speaking to the fig tree and cursing it, we took a turn into the subject, sin. We spoke about the appearance of godliness and not the character to prove (the leaves and not the fruit). The title and the bible and yet… no love or faithfulness. And then God did it! Right there I heard myself and knew that He had taken my mouth. My brother tells me that God is the most incredible ventriloquist there is. He throws His voice and something else speaks it. I felt that. Our conversation changed and we began to challenge the ‘zithumwa’s’ (the twigs and pouches that witchdoctors give as charms for different things). God just challenged how we could sit in the room and hold bibles in our hands when we were wearing these charms around our waists and below our chests (out of the view of the public). I spoke words that challenged the power of these things that were made from what God has made. I spoke about the ones that make them that only do what they do under the cover of night. ‘I am not afraid and you should not be afraid because everything was made through Him and for Him’. And challenge after challenge, God said things and there I was… speaking and at the same time standing there mouth gaped open at the words that the Holy Spirit was saying. ‘Bring it on!” that was it. Everything in me said…”huh?”
The next morning we were in Mtsiriza. We had never ministered in Mtsiriza. One of the pastors from the pastors bookset had asked us to come and minister the word on giving seeing as they were raising funds for their church building. Even as I prepared, I realised I was in some kind of trouble. It was the first time I have ever been afraid of what the reception to the word would be. Sometimes we get so comfortable with the people we minister to… they are safe. Unlike the time when I had ended up in a village with some hard folks, this was totally new. It is one thing to be led by the Spirit of God and give a strong word as He leads when you are ministering. It is another ball game when you PREPARE a tough word. This is not what they were expecting. They were looking to be inspired to empty their pockets and here I was bringing a word that rebuked and exposed the motive of our giving. This is a word you stop and think about. I have to believe that for what followed that there were those that HEARD. After the delivery of the word, they proceeded to have four or more offerings for the building project. One was for those who have ties on, another for those in suits, another and another…. Then there was the auctioning off of the ties that had been given in the offering basket. “who will give me three thousand for the two ties, because we don’t need ties, we need money.” This continued, auctioning off cell phones, baby trousers and ties. It was a sight to see. It was painful to watch and broke my heart because of the things we have begun to do in the temple of God. The things we now accept as progress within the church, is beyond right. It is the world making itself at home in the presence of God. What took place Sunday morning was the stuff of weddings, people making change with the money counter and throwing twenty kwachas one at a time in the offering basket. This is not what we aught to do. It makes me wonder what else we do that should not be in His Presence.
In the same place, I met a son of God. He was the gentleman that ministered the word. He was a son of God, a father in the faith… a true unsung hero. This sounds poetic but the truth is, these are the words that came into my spirit as he spoke. “I have nothing worth boasting about, other than I love God and I obey His word.” These were his words and with them came a true repentance for focusing on so many other things that were not the MAIN POINT! Loving God is the MAIN POINT! Everything else is dressing.
We left for Mngwangwa, edified and built up in the Holy Ghost. And praise God for Mngwangwa was on fire! God was cleaning house and we stood and beheld His move. We talked about citizenship and the army of God. We spoke about dual nationality and how the Kingdom of darkness welcomes it knowing that if you are part of light and dark, then you really are of the dark for the Kingdom of light rejects dual nationality… it is one or none!!! I have not the words to express what God did in that room with 150 people present. In the end 35 people came and gave their hearts to God. It was a sight to see. I was overwhelmed. What a mighty God! One of the men who got saved was the uncle of Mr. Nkhoma (who is the head of the Mngwangwa group). This uncle was a devoted ‘gule wankulu’ dancer. Gule wankulu is a cult that believes in the worship of the dead. His uncle came forward and gave his heart to God. Satan has lost. He has lost this line. Gule wanulu is generational, passed from father to son and God had broken that change. What a mighty God.
With Diamond ministering to the youth and 15 coming to Christ, 50 people were saved in Mngwangwa this past weekend. You sure learn how not to get pompous and big headed out here, for which man can claim he has done this? Is this not the work of a might God? Every time we are out here, we see Him and He expands and we MUST reduce to accommodate His greatness. This is the village. This is where God can move without puffed up men getting in the way. Out here, there are so many humble hearts that when Jesus shows up we recognise Him for He is the only one standing! Out here there is no protocol and church politics. There are no special seating and large and colourful introductions. I love this place. I love to see Jesus. To God be the glory!
Thursday, July 31, 2008
BIBLE SEARCH??? BIBLE FIND!!!
So I must say that this is one of the best entries I get to write. There has been so much going on that when the dust settled I was able to stop and take stock of all that God has done. I’ll TRY make this short and sweet!
At the start of this year I was on a bible search. I challenged people through the blog to give towards bibles and I have to tell you all that God has done a MIGHTY work. Our target to begin with (yes, to begin with) was 100 from within and 1000 from without. At the time I thought I should set a reasonable target… one that would not disappoint. The truth is I was using faith even then, even with the REASONABLE target. At the time I had nothing, not one. The idea that we could raise over 1000 bibles sounded crazy. I shared the need to get the word in the communities with the office staff and my brother bought 10 full life study bibles!!! Next, I shared it with a friend in Wales and she sent money for 65 new testaments for the youth! We were on the road. I was overwhelmed at the response. We separated the oversees partners and friends from the local partners and friends to encourage us to take a stand and not wait for our family outside the country to help before we did something ourselves! Altogether as the body of Christ from different places and spaces, we have raised MK 1, 206, 940.00 (US$ 8,683.02). This is within 6 months… if you did not believe in miracles, I want you to know that you have been a part of ONE. If you wanted your hand to stretch out and make a difference, I want you to know that you have!!! The greatest miracles are the ones that are seed… they keep on going! I am the most privileged of people as I get to see THE EFFECTS, but blessed are those who believe without seeing. I get to hand them out and watch their eyes as they own their very first bible! I can promise you that your blessing and sacrifice and effort and everything else you have put in together with us in seeing this come to life, I can promise you that God, who is El Roi, sees. He is the all seeing God and what you have done in secret He will reward you in public. I have cried all the joy tears I can. It is such a grace to know that so many will be blessed through you. At present our kitty is at MK 1, 121, 200.00 (US$8066.18). our plan is to buy different types of bibles. Below is the list of bibles
800 Bibles - for all who cannot get access to bibles
24 Children's bibles – for teachers within the centres and Sunday school teachers in some churches
20 Proclaimers – this is the ‘talking bible’ that is solar powered for those who cannot read and for the children to listen to. They are able to get together and have a group listen and study.
200 Full Life study bibles – for the many pastors who still do not have access to the bible!
Remember this, this is the beginning. Remember that so many remain in the dark without access to the Word that is light. Don’t ever stop caring about this because the Word of God is the lamp to our feet and the light to our path. The Word of God is powerful and the revealer of our heart condition. The Word of God is the crusher of resistance. The Word of God is food for our spirit. The Word of God is LIFE!!! IS CHRIST!!!
This goes out to all of you who gave, prayed, campaigned and believed with us. Together let us declare into the heavens that He that called us is Faithful!!!
Okay, so it wasn’t short but it sure was sweet!
Smile, that’s it! Just smile!
At the start of this year I was on a bible search. I challenged people through the blog to give towards bibles and I have to tell you all that God has done a MIGHTY work. Our target to begin with (yes, to begin with) was 100 from within and 1000 from without. At the time I thought I should set a reasonable target… one that would not disappoint. The truth is I was using faith even then, even with the REASONABLE target. At the time I had nothing, not one. The idea that we could raise over 1000 bibles sounded crazy. I shared the need to get the word in the communities with the office staff and my brother bought 10 full life study bibles!!! Next, I shared it with a friend in Wales and she sent money for 65 new testaments for the youth! We were on the road. I was overwhelmed at the response. We separated the oversees partners and friends from the local partners and friends to encourage us to take a stand and not wait for our family outside the country to help before we did something ourselves! Altogether as the body of Christ from different places and spaces, we have raised MK 1, 206, 940.00 (US$ 8,683.02). This is within 6 months… if you did not believe in miracles, I want you to know that you have been a part of ONE. If you wanted your hand to stretch out and make a difference, I want you to know that you have!!! The greatest miracles are the ones that are seed… they keep on going! I am the most privileged of people as I get to see THE EFFECTS, but blessed are those who believe without seeing. I get to hand them out and watch their eyes as they own their very first bible! I can promise you that your blessing and sacrifice and effort and everything else you have put in together with us in seeing this come to life, I can promise you that God, who is El Roi, sees. He is the all seeing God and what you have done in secret He will reward you in public. I have cried all the joy tears I can. It is such a grace to know that so many will be blessed through you. At present our kitty is at MK 1, 121, 200.00 (US$8066.18). our plan is to buy different types of bibles. Below is the list of bibles
800 Bibles - for all who cannot get access to bibles
24 Children's bibles – for teachers within the centres and Sunday school teachers in some churches
20 Proclaimers – this is the ‘talking bible’ that is solar powered for those who cannot read and for the children to listen to. They are able to get together and have a group listen and study.
200 Full Life study bibles – for the many pastors who still do not have access to the bible!
Remember this, this is the beginning. Remember that so many remain in the dark without access to the Word that is light. Don’t ever stop caring about this because the Word of God is the lamp to our feet and the light to our path. The Word of God is powerful and the revealer of our heart condition. The Word of God is the crusher of resistance. The Word of God is food for our spirit. The Word of God is LIFE!!! IS CHRIST!!!
This goes out to all of you who gave, prayed, campaigned and believed with us. Together let us declare into the heavens that He that called us is Faithful!!!
Okay, so it wasn’t short but it sure was sweet!
Smile, that’s it! Just smile!
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
Mngwangwa Explosion
I remember thinking when I arrived and found over forty or fifty people present, “who are these people?” I knew only two or three. As it was, the room soon filled with 180 people. Perhaps I should write that again… in words. One hundred and eighty. Yes, there were that many in the room. The thing is, I have never ministered to that large a number of people and it was a new thing for me. I ofcourse thought that they had come for something else that had not panned out and they ended up at our teaching. I was corrected at the end when Milanzi stood and informed us that every person present had come for the teaching. I was overwhelmed. There were grannies, I mean real grannies with the magnifying glass kind of spectacles. They danced and celebrated Jesus and once again I was reminded that this is a privilege, that these people, precious and beloved are KNOWN. Every aspect of their life is known and God values them.
We spoke about Ezekiel and the valley of the dry bones. We have been teaching about the Word of God. The object of our lesson was “chifukwa chiyani?” (why?). The Spirit of the Lord took Ezekiel and placed him in a valley… why a valley? Why not a mountain top? He made him walk about the bones…why? What was the purpose of this?
The entire time we were teaching about asking ‘why’ as we study the bible and being aware that God PURPOSELY uses words and ORCHASTRATES things with PRECISION. In view of this we aught to be mindful of WHAT He says and HOW He says it. Every statement we read brought a ‘why’ and every answer they gave brought a further ‘why’. Through laughter we were able to express the need to question and to seek the Spirit’s guidance when studying the bible.
The entire time I was close to tears because I knew that at the end I was to announce that I was taking a month and a half out from ministry. We had already informed the other groups but Mngwangwa… we had to go and teach and tell them in person. They took it better than I anticipated.
In an effort to serve I have sacrificed my relationship with God. Instead of walking in grace, I have stomped my feet in works and felt the effects. When the joy of serving becomes the mandate and burden of serving there is a moment when we must reassess. Even though I do believe there is a burden to carry… it should be light. He promised that His burden is light and that His yoke is easy so there is something to be said when the joy is gone and the strength cannot be found. Of course I did try cutting down the hours of ministry but that was MY way. God’s way was to take me OUT and saturate me once again in HIM that I become so full, my OVERFLOW feeds many. The true servant serves out of relationship. The extent of service is parallel to the depth of relationship. There are things you are willing to do for the ones you love; the greater the love the less burdensome the service. Love is the great burden lifter. Marriages face challenges sometimes because the service to one another has outweighed the love and it is now works rather than grace that keeps the couple together. The same can be said for a job. When the love for what do is outweighed by the mere responsibility to DO IT, trouble is on the horizon. There is a very short distance we can effectively go before we recognize that we have wondered off from dependency on the Holy Spirit. My consolation is that in recognizing it, we have encountered God’s grace and are available for transformation.
So, in truth, I have been benched because I am tired and not much good for the team at present. You see, our coach is LOVING. He intends to use us for a long time and so, He is a visionary, He sees past THIS game and to the next and the next. I know I am in the team for keeps. I am a warrior. There are many battles ahead and if I do not step back in this one to heal my wounds and feed my soul, I may not be of any use in the next. So, as to the village ministry… one month out. I will be back in 31 days. I will back, filled, fired up and saturated. I leave you with this thought… If you find that you are tired constantly and the passion for whatever you do is fizzled somewhat (it doesn’t have to be drastic), then perhaps my circumstance can be a propeller towards your renewal. Let us meet as soaring eagles, for the Word promises us that we will walk and not faint, run and not grow weary and above all, mount up as eagles.
We spoke about Ezekiel and the valley of the dry bones. We have been teaching about the Word of God. The object of our lesson was “chifukwa chiyani?” (why?). The Spirit of the Lord took Ezekiel and placed him in a valley… why a valley? Why not a mountain top? He made him walk about the bones…why? What was the purpose of this?
The entire time we were teaching about asking ‘why’ as we study the bible and being aware that God PURPOSELY uses words and ORCHASTRATES things with PRECISION. In view of this we aught to be mindful of WHAT He says and HOW He says it. Every statement we read brought a ‘why’ and every answer they gave brought a further ‘why’. Through laughter we were able to express the need to question and to seek the Spirit’s guidance when studying the bible.
The entire time I was close to tears because I knew that at the end I was to announce that I was taking a month and a half out from ministry. We had already informed the other groups but Mngwangwa… we had to go and teach and tell them in person. They took it better than I anticipated.
In an effort to serve I have sacrificed my relationship with God. Instead of walking in grace, I have stomped my feet in works and felt the effects. When the joy of serving becomes the mandate and burden of serving there is a moment when we must reassess. Even though I do believe there is a burden to carry… it should be light. He promised that His burden is light and that His yoke is easy so there is something to be said when the joy is gone and the strength cannot be found. Of course I did try cutting down the hours of ministry but that was MY way. God’s way was to take me OUT and saturate me once again in HIM that I become so full, my OVERFLOW feeds many. The true servant serves out of relationship. The extent of service is parallel to the depth of relationship. There are things you are willing to do for the ones you love; the greater the love the less burdensome the service. Love is the great burden lifter. Marriages face challenges sometimes because the service to one another has outweighed the love and it is now works rather than grace that keeps the couple together. The same can be said for a job. When the love for what do is outweighed by the mere responsibility to DO IT, trouble is on the horizon. There is a very short distance we can effectively go before we recognize that we have wondered off from dependency on the Holy Spirit. My consolation is that in recognizing it, we have encountered God’s grace and are available for transformation.
So, in truth, I have been benched because I am tired and not much good for the team at present. You see, our coach is LOVING. He intends to use us for a long time and so, He is a visionary, He sees past THIS game and to the next and the next. I know I am in the team for keeps. I am a warrior. There are many battles ahead and if I do not step back in this one to heal my wounds and feed my soul, I may not be of any use in the next. So, as to the village ministry… one month out. I will be back in 31 days. I will back, filled, fired up and saturated. I leave you with this thought… If you find that you are tired constantly and the passion for whatever you do is fizzled somewhat (it doesn’t have to be drastic), then perhaps my circumstance can be a propeller towards your renewal. Let us meet as soaring eagles, for the Word promises us that we will walk and not faint, run and not grow weary and above all, mount up as eagles.
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
Simisi Village
Simisi village. This village was far out of town, a road with many twists and turns. The closer I got the more uncomfortable I got and I was not sure why. With ministry so many questions come to mind. Am I prepared? Do I really have a word from the Lord? Am I meant to be here, you know, am I following the cloud or am I way off? All this is magnified because this is a new place.
As it was, I was right to be nervous. We arrived and the community began to assemble in an open field. As the chief begun to speak , I knew I was in trouble. He had been told by a pastor from his area that we were a ministry that did wonderful things for people and so they were assembled to ‘hear’ what we had to offer them. The words were said with an air of ‘what you got?’ So there I was, intimidated, wanting to dig a pit and cover myself within. I was tempted to tell Felix to get into the car and leave them all in the dust. And, yes, thoughts like that do cross my mind from time to time. There was a strong spirit pressing and pushing me out.
We sat down and faced the 70 or so people in the field. We sat and I begun to ask about salvation, still sitting. I was too weighed down to stand. How do you minister to people that are not gathered to hear the word? I guess that is the challenge to our comfortable lives. We are so accustomed to ministering to people that WANT to hear the word. But every one must come to the place where to minister to people who do not want to hear what you have to say. So we asked about salvation. What do you say it is? Religious answers ensued, “salvation is knowing what is good and bad and doing the good”. “Salvation is living a good life”. Salvation is this, salvation is that, salvation is work, work, work. So we asked the series of questions that help draw out the truth about salvation. What are we being saved from? Who is doing the saving? To where are we being saved? How can we be saved?
The chief kept looking back into the crowd and saying things to get them to laugh. This is ministry, facing opposition in the enemy’s favourite subtle way and standing you ground. Yes, eventually we stood! It took thirty minutes of challenging questions to get some of the group alert and leaning in to know the truth. The chief eventually stopped baiting the crowd and fell asleep. We used that to our advantage and preached Jesus. There is no greater message to bring than that of the simplicity of coming into relationship with Jesus, accepting His free gift and being made new. One of the greatest moments in my life is SENSING the atmosphere change and KNOWING that He is in control and has come to embrace those that would come to Him. So Jesus showed up and drew men to Himself. 29 people stood up and came forward to receive Christ. It was overwhelming for me because it was more than I had anticipated. All the while as I was teaching, I was praying, “Please Jesus, speak to someone’s heart”. I kept saying, “If you have an ear to hear, hear the call of God”.
Felix prayed with the group and our work was done. How many of the 29 had a true experience with Jesus, only He knows. Our job was to go forth with the good news of the Kingdom and we had. Our work is to introduce Jesus into the lives of those in the dark, what ever else transpires between them is between them. We returned to the city with rejoicing.
on the way home we talked a little with the pastor who had invited us to the village. he is native of the village but lives in the city. Too many pastors rush into the towns and cities, leaving this great void of a multitude of people feeling their way in darkness, searching for a way out. The thing is, there is not much the villages offer in terms of sustaining oneself. Pastoring in the villages is difficult, tithes are few and life is hard and so many called to the ministry run to the city, for a better life, for the PROSPERITY that so many modern minister talk of. not all are self seeking when they move to the city. every man has to feed his family. We asked the pastor with us why he was pasturing in the city when his village did not even have a church within an 8 kilometre radius. His response was that he went to the city to be able to do some business to take care of his family.
I think of the people who came to Jesus and I stand on the word that He that begun a good work in them, shall complete it at the coming of Jesus. i must believe that God has this, and I do. He has this. He always does.
As it was, I was right to be nervous. We arrived and the community began to assemble in an open field. As the chief begun to speak , I knew I was in trouble. He had been told by a pastor from his area that we were a ministry that did wonderful things for people and so they were assembled to ‘hear’ what we had to offer them. The words were said with an air of ‘what you got?’ So there I was, intimidated, wanting to dig a pit and cover myself within. I was tempted to tell Felix to get into the car and leave them all in the dust. And, yes, thoughts like that do cross my mind from time to time. There was a strong spirit pressing and pushing me out.
We sat down and faced the 70 or so people in the field. We sat and I begun to ask about salvation, still sitting. I was too weighed down to stand. How do you minister to people that are not gathered to hear the word? I guess that is the challenge to our comfortable lives. We are so accustomed to ministering to people that WANT to hear the word. But every one must come to the place where to minister to people who do not want to hear what you have to say. So we asked about salvation. What do you say it is? Religious answers ensued, “salvation is knowing what is good and bad and doing the good”. “Salvation is living a good life”. Salvation is this, salvation is that, salvation is work, work, work. So we asked the series of questions that help draw out the truth about salvation. What are we being saved from? Who is doing the saving? To where are we being saved? How can we be saved?
The chief kept looking back into the crowd and saying things to get them to laugh. This is ministry, facing opposition in the enemy’s favourite subtle way and standing you ground. Yes, eventually we stood! It took thirty minutes of challenging questions to get some of the group alert and leaning in to know the truth. The chief eventually stopped baiting the crowd and fell asleep. We used that to our advantage and preached Jesus. There is no greater message to bring than that of the simplicity of coming into relationship with Jesus, accepting His free gift and being made new. One of the greatest moments in my life is SENSING the atmosphere change and KNOWING that He is in control and has come to embrace those that would come to Him. So Jesus showed up and drew men to Himself. 29 people stood up and came forward to receive Christ. It was overwhelming for me because it was more than I had anticipated. All the while as I was teaching, I was praying, “Please Jesus, speak to someone’s heart”. I kept saying, “If you have an ear to hear, hear the call of God”.
Felix prayed with the group and our work was done. How many of the 29 had a true experience with Jesus, only He knows. Our job was to go forth with the good news of the Kingdom and we had. Our work is to introduce Jesus into the lives of those in the dark, what ever else transpires between them is between them. We returned to the city with rejoicing.
on the way home we talked a little with the pastor who had invited us to the village. he is native of the village but lives in the city. Too many pastors rush into the towns and cities, leaving this great void of a multitude of people feeling their way in darkness, searching for a way out. The thing is, there is not much the villages offer in terms of sustaining oneself. Pastoring in the villages is difficult, tithes are few and life is hard and so many called to the ministry run to the city, for a better life, for the PROSPERITY that so many modern minister talk of. not all are self seeking when they move to the city. every man has to feed his family. We asked the pastor with us why he was pasturing in the city when his village did not even have a church within an 8 kilometre radius. His response was that he went to the city to be able to do some business to take care of his family.
I think of the people who came to Jesus and I stand on the word that He that begun a good work in them, shall complete it at the coming of Jesus. i must believe that God has this, and I do. He has this. He always does.
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