STAY HUNGRY! WHAT ARE YOU HUNGRY FOR? Proverbs 16:26The appetite of laborers works for them;their hunger drives them on. Christian Standard BibleA worker’s appetite works for him because his hunger urges him on. Contemporary English VersionThe hungrier you are, the harder you work. Good News TranslationA laborer’s appetite makes him work harder, because he wants to satisfy his hunger...
UNDERSTANDING UNANSWERED PRAYERS James 4:3When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures. Unanswered prayers are one of those things that seriously challenges our faith. When we pray, we expect answers exactly as we prayed. By the time we decide to pray, we are getting desperate for answers. Therefore unanswered prayer...
THEY HAVE NO FEAR OF BAD NEWS! Psalms 112:6Surely the righteous will never be shaken;they will be remembered forever.Psalms 112:7They will have no fear of bad news;their hearts are steadfast, trusting in the LORD.Psalms 112:8Their hearts are secure, they will have no fear;in the end they will look in triumph on their foes. Fear of bad news dogs our lives. We worry that something bad will be...
ARE YOU WORRIED YET GOD IS LAUGHING? Psalms 37:13but the Lord laughs at the wicked,for he knows their day is coming. Jesus warned against worry. Jesus told us that worry doesn’t add value to life instead it destroys it. The most useless thing we can engage in is a worry. Matthew 6:25“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you...
IT IS I WHO HOLD ITS PILLARS Psalms 75:3When the earth and all its people quake,it is I who hold its pillars firm. Very interesting imagery is used here. That the earth has pillars to support its structure. That people, individuals, have pillars to support them. Then God tells us that when these pillars quake, threatening to collapse bringing destruction to the earth and its people, it is God who...
GOD CANT FORGET BUT HE WILL FORGET! Hebrews 8:12For I will forgive their wickednessand will remember their sins no more. ” God has made so many covenants with human beings. Every time God makes a new covenant it is because He is loving and gracious to give us another chance. In every covenant, God did not fail by making a faulty covenant, it is human beings who were unfaithful to the covenants...
HE FILLED THEIR HOUSES WITH GOOD THINGS Job 22:17They said to God, ‘Leave us alone!What can the Almighty do to us?’Job 22:18Yet it was he who filled their houses with good things,so I stand aloof from the plans of the wicked. Job a righteous man has had misfortunes. He has lost wealth, health, and children. His friends come to comfort him. The comfort session turns into a debate about how God...
YET I PREFER TO APPEAL TO YOU Philemon 1:8Therefore, although in Christ I could be bold and order you to do what you ought to do,Philemon 1:9yet I prefer to appeal to you on the basis of love. It is as none other than Paul—an old man and now also a prisoner of Christ Jesus— Onesimus was a slave to Philemon. Onesimus stole things from Philemon and ran away to Rome. Philemon was angry and had he...
WHAT YOU CHOOSE TO REMEMBER INFLUENCES YOU Esther 9:28These days should be remembered and observed in every generation by every family, and in every province and in every city. And these days of Purim should never fail to be celebrated by the Jews—nor should the memory of these days die out among their descendants. The book of Esther in the Bible is unique. It traces the actions of God without...
THE UNPARDONABLE SIN / ETERNAL SIN Matthew 12:31And so I tell you, every kind of sin and slander can be forgiven, but blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven.Matthew 12:32Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but anyone who speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come. Mark 3:28Truly I tell you, people can be...
I sit in church or religious class and I struggle to understand what is being taught and preached. I realise a few other people are struggling too. The meeting ends and we are satisfied with having appeared. Somehow in my mind I decide that only a few people can ever learn and understand certain things. But this is not right. I read scholars' articles on very serious issues, the vocabulary is deep, the language is way above the average member of the church. My mind wonders and struggles with, how can this be simplified for everybody? God's word cannot be a preserve of only a few people. So at some point in my life, I resolved that it is my mission to make things simpler that even the least educated and youngest child can understand the word of God. Apart from my love for grey colours, traveling and eating chapati, I have a passion for teaching, preaching and simplifying everything for those I address. My continuous worry, is always, was it simple enough for everybody?
Dr. Rei Towet Kesis is a Senior Lecturer of Applied Theology and Religious Studies at the University of Eastern Africa, Baraton. He has over ten years experience in teaching at the University and training pastors. He has also served the University as Dean of Men, Chaplain, Special Assistant to the Vice-Chancellor and currently as Deputy Vice-Chancellor in charge of Student Affairs and Services.