FATHER'S DAY

Today (June 21 is Father's Day)when dads are honoured by loved ones. I thought of my dad who passed on in 2006. What I miss most? His art of communicating advice/discipline in a story. He was a fine example of a principled man who called a wrong, a wrong and lived by example. My wish for this wonderful day? No more than carrying the torch my dad lit and hopefully passing it on.

Genesis 38 and 39

Genesis 38 and 39 talk about two brothers. Chapter 38 is about Judah while chapter 39 is about Joseph.The two brothers were indeed different by all accounts. Judah compromised himself to sexual sin (ending up siring a child with his daughter in law!!). Joseph refused to sleep with his boss's wife (Potiphar's wife) and ended up in prison for something he never did. I asked myself why these 2 stories are side by side and learnt that evil and good are not very far from each other. It is almost a given that you will hear of some evil thing soon after being blessed with a good deed and vice versa.When evil appears to be winning, take comfort that the good hand of God is just around the corner.

NO THANK YOU

As heard from the man of God. An elderly woman left instructions of how she wanted her funeral conducted. She wrote, "when I die, I don't want any male pall bearers. Only women should be allowed." To this instruction she added,"I have ben a single woman the entire time of my life. No man took me out. As such I don't want any man to take me out in death."

MEMORIES..MEMORIES

Visiting Zambia brought back old memories (I was there for almost 5 weeks between April and May). Most memorable sites/events were captured on pictures:

A: Driving along a rural road (empty and serene) Kapirimposhi to Serenje Road

B: A roadside market (Lusaka-Kabwe Road)

C: The dam at Musonda Falls (Mansa to Mwense road)

D:Cabbages on a farm (Lusaka west)

THE WORLD BECOMES ONE IN 2010

The above heading catches your attention as you drive on Zambian roads (see photo). Indeed, prepartions are in high gear for the world game of soccer. Zambia is in a tough qualifying group with the likes of Egypt, Algeria and Rwanda. Today, Zambia plays Rwanda at Konkola stadium. I look forward to seeing the results. Fortunately, soccer has advanced to the point where there are no underdogs, thanks to the new era.

FREE LUNCH

"Good top soil is the closest thing we can get to a free lunch." Quote was seen on a slide presented by John Wiener of Colorado State University at the CPASW meeting held in Oklahoma, National Weather Center(March 24-27,2007).

CHARIOTS OF FIRE

'Chariots of Fire' is an old movie which shares the real life story of Eric Riddel, a Scot. He worked as a missionary to China but had a passion for running. He wanted to please God with his gift of running. During the Olympic heats, he learnt that he was scheduled to run the 100 meter dash on a Sunday. He flatly refused to run. The solution was found by exchanging his heat fro a 400 metre race. Eric went to win gold and his 'friend,' an English man went to win gold in the 100 m dash. The build up to the race is full of struggles and disapproval from Eric's family. In particular, Eric's sister, Jane did not think that running was in line with Go'd command to be still and know that He is God (Is 46:10).

VALENTINE'S DAY

Who was Valentine? I have read about him and you possibly have. I have something in common with this person. I was born on February 14, going by my official documents. My wife is proud of my birth day and so was my mom. As we celebrate love on February 14, let us remember the one who loved us first before we ever learnt to love other people (1 John 14: 9).

BRITISH COLUMBIA

I visted British Columbia in early February. The mountains are scenic and speak of God's glory (see photo in lower left panel), mountains are in the background of the water front. British Columbia or BC as it is fondly called will be hosting the winter olympics next year. One of the projects underway is the construction of the undeground train service to the city centre from the airport. I captured the tunnel under construction in the upper right photograph. I was most fortunate to visit BC during the first week of February because the weather was nice (above 5 degrees C on most days). Most important though was that it never rained for a week! BC is known for its rain and cloudy weather. It was a blessing to be around when the weather was nice and sunny, just about perfect to enjoy one of God's most beautiful creations.

GIVING

My older son overgrew most of his clothes. I was quite happy that his young brother would take them and save us some money on new clothes. He flatly refused to wear "hand me downs." Today, a man of God reminded me of how I pass on hand me downs and left overs to God. He talked about the old sytem of the old testament where people brought unblemished animals to atone for their sins. Today, when there is so much wealth and sucess, we would rather give God what we don't want or just the change from our big purchases. Big purchases on entertainment and junk food which he called rust and dust is 10times more than we give to charities and God's work.

My Confidence for 2009

Today, I read about the disciples struggle with the wind across the lake as recorded in Mark 6:45. They were scared that they would drown. Fortunately, Jesus saw their struggles (he was not in the boat). He walked to them and calmed the wind. As I face the uncertainty that the new year will bring, I am convinced that he will see my struggles and come over to calm them. This is my hope for the new year.

THE FIRST WILL BE LAST

When I first read the story of the servants who were hired at different times of the day from Mathew 20, I agreed with the servants who grumbled when the land lord paid each one of them the same wage. I reasoned like the servants in the story that if I am hired at 6am, I should not get the same pay as someone hired at noon. The logic being that working longer entitles one to more pay. Not so, according to the economics of Jesus. You all get the same pay!
This story was amplified by a catholic priest as follows (I must say, I was most blessed by his message). He said the most difficult challenge we face as believers and non believers is to be happy for others. When we stand in a long line at a grocery store for example, we get angry when all of a sudden people behind us are called to a checkout that just opened. As well, we get angry when 2 days after we buy some item, we see it going on sale and probably don’t feel like telling the next person that the item is on sale. We just don’t want the other person to be happier than us. This is the essence for the grumbling in the hired servants’ story. The hired servants is a story about getting in the kingdom of God. It doesn’t matter when one is saved. Those who have been saved many years ago will get eternal life just like those who got saved yesterday or today. Thus the last will be first, the word of God says. Gracious as He is, there will be rewards that will be given in accordance with how faithful we have been.
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CHRISTMAS LIGHTS

Tonite, I drove around with my wife looking at Christmas lights. We saw many symbols of Christmas depicted by the lights, many of them not mentioned in the Christmas story. For examples there were lots of rendeers, bears and of course St Nick. Clearly, the Christmas story has taken a new meaning. At City Hall, the greeting is no longer "Merry Christmas" but "Seasons greetings!" This is clearly a dramatic shift from the traditional Christmas we know. Fortunately, lights are still burning. They remind us that the light has come in the world even though the world has chosen to misrepresnt this light with symbols that do not represent the light. Yes, our tour of Christmas lights around the city also showed typical Christgmas symbols such as the shepherds, angels, the manger and of course the baby Jesus. This was refreshing.

WHAT ARE YOU GIVING HIM THIS YEAR?

In spite of the differences in terminology to what we celebrate around December, it still remains Christmas. The date may not be correct but we know that He was born of a virgin Mary and His name was Jesus Christ. Wise men brought Him gifts and people today exchange gifts at Christmas more than any other time. One story goes like this. A little boy who had grown up in Sunday School woke up on Christmas day and found many presents under the tree. They were more tha he needed. He started to cry and said to his mom. "I have all these presents but what did Jesus get?" The little boy decided to give his heart to Jesus. What a lesson! Think of what you can give to Jesus this Christmas. After all, it is His birth day we celebrate.

WISE SAYING

"Only a fool tests how deep the water is with both feet." African saying

THE MAN CALLED PAUL

Paul is a common name. The Paul that I lknow best was once called Saul. When his life changed, he was renamed Paul. How his life changed is another story. Let me just say that he got in trouble with the Roman authorities for preaching about Jesus. Verdict was to die by beheading. While awaiting death in a prison he wrote a letter to his friends at a place called Phillipi. He started by saying that he was very happy to write to them from prison. This got me thinking. What would Paul be happy about in a prison cell? He could have shared how tough it was but nay. I reflected on how many times I have been in a fix and shared my circumstances in graphic detail to people who cannot do anything about my situation! Paul chose to spur others to doing good things by writing a letter of love and hope to his dear friends at Phillipi. After reading Paul's letter (Phillipians-by the way, my Bible Study group is studying this great epistle) , I realized I am a victim of self pity or just plain sympathy seeker. Paul was not. What a guy!Thanks, Paul ans see you there some day.

MISSIONARIES

I am not a fan of big missions. Don't get me wrong, I am a firm believer of Mathew 28:19-20 or whathas come to be known as the "great commission." It is missionary work by everyone. I once heard a preacher say that "you may be the only bible some people have ever read." By this he meant, the way we live and act. This was refreshing. Sending money for someone to spread the gospel is good but even more importatnt is to be a missionary wherever God put you. This may be your home, classroom, workplace or gym. The greatest missionary I ever knew was my mom who taught me by her actions how to love the unlovable.

BEING A RAT!

Have you ever observed a rat and wondered what it might be thinking? It is amazing that scientists do so many things to rats in the name of science these days. I actually dropped biology in High School, partly because I did not want to look into the gut of the rat (I also couldn't see myself dissecting a frog!). That said, all we do to understand a rat is mere guess work. People in laboratories can oberve the physical and behavioural changes but it is all superficial and outward. We still don't understand what goes on in the rat's head.

God did something strange to understand the human race (we are not rats but his image). He gave up all the glory and became a nobody to become one of us (see Hebrew 2:17). This is amazing! God became flesh and experienced the same frustarions I go through every day! He was hungry. He did not have any wealth to speak of. All his meals were provided by well wishers and friends. He had no house of his own. Many of us spend the majority of our adult life wanting to be better than the other person (we call it working). The beauty of it all is that, after sacrificially being put to death,God the Son, rose and went back to His glory and said, "I will plead your case (pray for your weaknesses) since I understand what you go through." Is this something I would want to do for the rat? Probably not. It is more than experiencing what the other person is going through. It is called LOVE everlasting.

YOU CAN BE A WINNER IF YOU TAKE A REST

My Youth Pastor preached about the value of rest in God's kingdom. He made a simple illustration as follows. Two wood cutters entred into a competeition to see who would cut the largest amount of wood. They had the whole day to compete. Wood cutter 1 worked very hard and only taking a short break for lunch. Wodd cutter 2, equally worked hard but took quite a number of breaks between cutting the wood. At sunset, judges came to announce the winner. Surpise, surprise, the winner was wood cutter 2 who took not less than 5 breaks. Wood cutter 1 was quite disturbed and wanted to find out how it happened that he had less wood than wood cutter 2. Wood cutter 2 responded that the trick was his breaks. He took time to sharpen his axe each time he took the break, thus he cut his wood with efficiency. Likewise, people recharge and work better after a break. It is no wonder that God rested on the 7th day when he created the world. He encouraged those he created (us) to take a break every week.Shouldn't you?

BRUXY CAVEY

I am reading a book by Bruxy Cavey called "The end of religion." Bruxy is a Pastor of a church from Toronto. Before I picked his book, I heard him at Briercrest Seminary at Caronport where he was the key note speaker. Bruxy's message is simply that God came in human form and He doesn't want any extras or frills before you can know him personally. He is not interested in traditions, structures nor experiences. It is amazing how people have complicated God's good news. What is more, the first Christians did not have any churches. They met in houses. They heard the good news and got baptized there and then! Today, we complicate matters by demanding what Bruxy calls add ons. This is all religion which takes us away from God. His message is to come as we are. It is wonderful to be connected to a mainline church for encouragement and fellowship. It is however a consequence of becoming a child of God and not a pre-condition.