My shirt!!

Finally my new shirt arrived...its neither a Pierre Cadeen (so old, i can nolonger remember the spelling)..andsory it's also not a Tommy Hillfiger (who still wears these shirts anyway?!!).
Its not the latest Hugo Boss-like shirt. And yes, i know Hugo Boss is a famous perfume!!

Though my shirt tarried, it arrived!And the wait has been worth it! Itsall nice, am not sure it manufactured in China....as some arebeginning to think!But then again, who cares?? It is quality!And China rocks...did u watch the opening ceremonyof the Olympics?!

Back to my shirt...........

My shirt has the famous brand Nike on it. And it also has the phrase "FlyEmirates" firmly imprinted on it. Now, for the uncultured ones, Emirates is te name of a famous airline! It was the second after Singapore airlines to fly the superjumbo A380-800 aircraft. UNited Arab Emirates (UAE) is middle easter federation of 7 states, with Dubai as its main city.....

Damn, how did i find myself talking about Dubai? Alright, let me get on with it..
Dubai is most famous for its moden architecture....and its real estates namely the Dubai Palm islands (and beaches). Dubai is also home to one of the largest airports in the world...well, that was before Beijing International airport was built! And Beijing is.......

Sorry, i have to get back to the story line......the SHIRT!

So what was i saying? Yes, by now you should have figured that i was into some kind of sports...that is, or thatwasbefore i lost ye all....with my winding or beating around the bush! I hear "beating about the bush..such a odd weird phrase!! The English should have come up with something better! Do the even have a enough bush to beat about in the West...they should have saved it for Africans! The only Bush i know in the "West" is George W.Bush (father and son) and boym whar have they done to this world!!

So, my shirt has both Nike and Fly Emirats written on it. Its a newly designed shirt, to commerate the 20th anniversaryof some victory at Anfield! I do not wat victory of 2oyears, iwant vicory NOW! Go tell the Le Professor AW.

By now, you have figured that like all men i watch soccer...and like most sane men, i support Arsenal!Why? Because I am a romantic, a purist, i love to watch the beautiful game played as it is supposed to be! So i ordered the brand new edition of first team shirt, and though it tooklonger than necessary to arrive,,,Lo and Behold, i now have it in my hands! With my name written on it! Personalised!Watch me step out in it kesho (2moro).

Now, am beginning to sound like a young boy! Who ever said their is a child in every adult was probably right!!

Asociety at its deathbed!!

A prominent American’s daughter was interviewed on the Early Show and referring to the September 11th 2001 terrorist attack, Jane Clayson asked her. “How could God let something like this happen?”

Anne Graham gave an extremely profound and insightful response. She said “I believe God is saddened just as we are, but for years we have been telling God to get out of our schools, get out of our government and to get out of our lives. And being the gentleman He is, he calmly backed out. How can we expect God to give us His blessings and protection if we demand that he leave us alone?”

In light of recent events.....terrorist attacks, gun shootings, knife killings, suicide, a generation of children who seek instant gratification, drugs, sex, booze....it is bizarre what is going on.
Some say it started with Madeleine Murray O’Hare (she was murdered, her body found recently) who complained that she didn’t want prayer in our schools, and we said OK. Then someone said you better not read the Bible in school.... We said OK. But this is the Bible that says....Thou shalt not kill, thou shalt not steal, but thou shalt love your neighbour as yourself!
Then Dr. Benjamin Spock said we should not spank our kids when they misbehave because their little personalities would become warped and we might damage their self-esteem. We agreed with him, because his is an “expert” and therefore he knows what he is talking about. So we said OK, the expert is RIGHT!! But this is this is the same guy whose son ended up committing suicide. I only wish we could wind back the clock and his son lives again.....

Then someone rose up and said teachers and principals should not discipline our children when they misbehave. The school administrators said no faculty member in this school had better touch a student when they misbehave because we do not want any publicity, and we surely don’t want to be sued. But we need to understand that there is a vast difference between disciplining and humiliating, smacking, beating etc. Of course we agreed with the schools...and said Ok, No More disciplining our kids in schools. Yet this is the place where they spend at least 75% percent of their awake/active hours during the day.

Then someone said, let our daughters have abortions if they want. It is their choice. They won’t even have to tell their parents. And we said OK.

Then a school board member rose up and said, since boys will be boys and they are going to do it anyway...why souldntwe just give our sons all the condoms they want so they can have all the fun they desire, and we wont even have to tell their parentsthat they got them from school. And we said OK. We should have instead preached Abstinence until marriage, being faithful to one sexual partner when married...and then condoms should come last in the priotity list.
Then some top elected officials said that it doesn’t matter what we do in private as long as we do our jobs. Agreeing with them, we said it doesn’t matter what the president, minister or any government officials does n private as long as I have a job and the economy is good. Ask the Americans, they have a story to tell. Ask other nations, and they will relate stories of corruption in government offices. It all stems from a desire to satisfy self above all else. We do not care what pain we cause others, as long as we are happy and our immediate needs for self-gratification are met. That carries itself from the private and shows itself in the decisions we make every day.

Then someone said lets’ print magazines with pictures of nude women and call it wholesome, down to earth appreciation for the beauty of the female body. And we said OK. And then we wonder why so many people cheat on their sexual partners! The rates of divorce are so sky high and the innocent children of course are the worst affected by all these.

And then someone else took that appreciation a step further and published pictures of nude children and made them available on the internet. And then we wonder why the cases of paedophilia are ever rising!!

Then the entertainment industry said, let’s make TV shows and movies that promote profanity, violence and illicit sex. Let us record music that encourages rape, drugs suicide and satanic themes. Ad we said “It is just entertainment, it had no adverse effects. Nobody will even take it seriously.” And there we went. Imposing age restrictions or parental guidance will not help. The parents themselves need to be guided most of the times.

So now we ask ourselves why our children have no conscience, why they know right from wrong. But we are the ones who told them that there is neither right nor wrong. We told our kids that they are free to believe whatever they want as long as it works for them. That there is neither right nor wrong. And then we wonder why it doesn’t bother them to kill strangers, their own classmates, and even themselves. The rates of gun and knife related crimes on the streets of London are not only increasing, but even the ages of both the victims and the criminals are decreasing. The gruesomeness of the attacks is getting worse and worse. It is not the government only to blame.

Probably if we think about it long and hard, we can figure it out. I think it has a great deal to do with “WE REAP WHAT WE SOW”

Quotable quotes from The Life of David Galed

We spend all our whole lives trying to stop death....eating, inventing, loving, praying, fighting, killing!!
But what do we really know about death? Just that nobody comes back?
But there comes a point in life when your mind outlives its desires, its obsessions, when your habits survive your dreams. And when your loss, maybe death is a gift, you wonder!!!

Taken from the movie, The Life of David Gale.

Every Morning

Every morning in Africa a gazelle wakes up and knows that it will have to outrun the fastest lion or it will be killed.And, every morning in Africa a lion wakes up and knows that it will have to outrun the slowest gazelle or it will starve to death.So, in Africa, it doesn't matter if you are the lion or the gazelle. When that sun comes up, you had better be running.

Author Unknown

This is one those quotes i learnt when i was reading "The World is Flat", written by Thomas Friedman,a colmnist with the New York Time magazine. It challenged me (almost said 'to death') so much. Globalisation is right here, you can now plug and play (not an original phrase) from everywherein this world!

In this world, integration andcollaboration is going to be seen in everything we do. The thing is, that there is no longer anyone to rule...thequestion that i ask myself is, how can i create for myself opportunities! This is a great book, that forces you to think beyond your environs, and start to think of yourself as a global player!!

Problem is....after reading this book, if you rae not careful....u might become more materialistic...u begin to compare yourself with the Indians who are inventing software in Bangalore, then all you think about is "How can i make it?".

Worse still, we are living in a world where people are judged by what they have...which is not right! We should judged more bythe content of our character, our right values etc. We need to read it carefully, think of how we can use the principles of the book to make a tangible difference in the lives of people...and just think f our own skin...and how we can make it thicker!!

Charismatic Revivalism vs. Character Based Renewal

This is an article posted by Andrew Strom online at http://antagoniz.com . I do not know him, neither had i heard of him before. But it was worth a read.

” ICA” APOSTLE SPEAKS OUT ON LAKELAND” Andrew Strom

First, let me start by saying that Robert Ricciardelli has been incredibly bold and courageous in speaking out on this issue in recent days. He is one of the very few from NAR circles who have dared to speak up - firstly on blogs and on the radio - and even on our own Forum at RevivalSchool.com, etc. Robert is a “marketplace apostle” in Peter Wagner’s “International Coalition of Apostles” (ICA). He is the real deal. For him to speak out about Lakeland is a very brave act indeed. Plus he is a Charisma Magazine writer and a friend of Lee Grady.
Last week on July 14th Robert was a guest on Radio KGNW - where he spoke of how he had just come back from Lakeland, and told of his deep concerns and the background research that he had been doing. On July 16th he commented on one Internet blog: “Truth is there are very few people being healed in Lakeland. I have worked with Charisma Magazine editor Lee Grady in discovering how many false reports have been released as facts. These are our brothers and sisters involved in this, but this move of God has been a move of men with God still touching some who come to seek Him.”

On another blog he wrote: “Charisma reporters and a few others like myself have tried to get these verified and cannot… We actually had offered to help, because any news of a resurrection in my opinion is world news if it can be validated. But then when the totals continued to mount which led to hype and embellishment, they began to ask us to stop asking questions. Hmmmm?

“Friday night, Todd said that God said there were 1000 people that were to give $1000, and they were to receive a 1000 fold blessing. The one hour drama on this giving subject was so deceptively evident that it was embarrasing to watch. On top of that, those that would give that money were able to come to the platform to be recognized.”

Concerning the ‘Resurrections’ in Lakeland, Robert wrote: “We have investigated the 20 plus “raised from the dead” claims as we want to report them to the media, and they cannot be verified, but were only called in, or sent in from an email. This is not responsible reporting, and leaves many questions, which also adds to the claims of hype and embellishment.” [~Robert Ricciardelli blog comments - ‘jasonclark.ws’ & ’stevehickey.wordpress.com’]

The hour-long broadcast that Robert did on KGNW is also causing quite a stir as it does the rounds on the Internet

On our own Forum at RevivalSchool.com, Robert publicly added the following comments:

“Peter Wagner and Chuck Pierce nominated me as a marketplace apostle 6 years ago. I threw the title away before I ever got it. I am not into titles, but I am into functions. The Lord told us “yes” to engage, and He was going to show us some truth in the process. Being engaged has given us a great oportunity to see the good, the bad, and the ugly of the apostolic/prophetic movements. The biggest thing along the way is the friends and associates we have met that have a biblical worldview much the same as we do…

“After this year we will pray about next year and so far it looks like the Father is giving us a sense that we may not to be a part of the ICA if Peter and the leadership do not reconsider their impromptu decision to jump into the Lakeland stream, when many of us warned him not to. It was a mistake to coronate, when they needed to father and correct Bentley from the direction he is heading others into. It just put more fuel in his errant tank.

“I am praying for Todd, because he really is an evangelist, and he is a gifted evangelist. But he cannot go on embellishing, speaking untruths, hyping, manipulating, shoving, kicking, slapping, leg dropping, and bamming his way on the pulpit without consequences. God will not be mocked, and Todd and others must answer to Him for everyone led astray.

“The biggest thing about Lakeland is the lack of the fear of our Awesome God, lack of repentance and humility. Many have exchanged the truth for a lie and chosen experience over content. Angels, trances, and 3rd heaven focus has replaced the gospel as a focus… Lord do what only you can do to bring your divine alignment to all of us in Jesus name..” [-end quote]

I took note of the fact that Robert said that “many” had warned Peter Wagner not to jump into the Lakeland stream. I also noted that Robert seemed to be saying that he himself may leave the ICA over this issue. I thanked him publicly for his courage in speaking out, and asked him if there really was a lot of disagree- ment even within Wagner’s own movement?

Robert replied:
“To answer your question, yes there is at least a dozen ICA members that I know of that are extremely concerned at Peter’s endorsement and more to follow as the nonsense continues. The transferring of anointing, the focus on man bringing anything but the gospel is amazing and sad…. if Peter Wagner, Bill Johnson, and some distinguished members of the Who’s Who in Charismania say it is all good, then people just go with it. Some have begun to see the YouTube and other information and begun to change. Some go as far as to claim it as deception, others say it is a move of God that needs correction.

“It is my opinion that it was man orchestrated and demonically influenced from the very beginning. The worship has been good and Roy Fields is an awesome worship leader, so many in the worship and even watching from afar can sense God in the worship of His people. The truth is God has been engaged in the worship and has touched and healed some. This is why it has been so confusing to some. I have heard that Roy Fields has stated a few times that when the worship ends, God’s presence leaves the platform, and then Todd Bentley operates void of His presence. That is why most all of what they have claimed cannot be verified, because it just is not happening.

“We have heard a few people getting well, being touched and so on. There is a church here in North Carolina that brought 27 sick down there for a week. Some with cancer, leukemia, diabetes and such. None got healed and most were worse when they came back. The emperor is not wearing any clothes and the truth must be known. Many are claiming that Todd is the new thing that God is doing. The fact is he is still operating in the old thing, and operating with less integrity and character than the previous one man shows.

“God is about nameless and faceless people who are operating without any agenda but the Lord’s. Preaching about the King and His Kingdom, and moving supernaturally after Him, and as they do, signs and wonders follow. The problem in Charismania is that they seek the sign, they seek the thrill, they seek the craft supply quality gold dust, feathers and gems. They may get the chills and frills, but leave with nothing more than goose bumps and really little spiritual change. When they seek the King, the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, you begin to see transformation take place at the heart level. This is God’s way and always has been… Bentley is just a product of the Charismatic/ apostolic/ prophetic trending away from Plumb line truth. At the same time the fact is, none of us amount to much, no not one. But in Him and dying to self and living His agenda, we can move mountains… The church is getting there, I wrote an article for Charisma that everything that can be shaken is being shaken, and this is what is happening in a great way right now…” [end quote]

Friends, please write to Robert encouraging him if you can for the courageous stand he is taking. See more of his comments + links to his article & radio show on the ‘Scrolling Forum’ at the following website (main page) - http://www.revivalschool.com

Transformation

“PEOPLE DO NOT drift toward holiness.
Apart from grace-driven effort, people do not gravitate toward godliness,
prayer, obedience to Scripture, faith, and delight in the Lord.
We drift toward compromise and call it tolerance;
we drift toward disobedience and call it freedom;
we drift toward superstition and call it faith.
We cherish the indiscipline of lost self-control and call it relaxation;
we slouch toward prayerlessness and delude ourselves into thinking
we have escaped legalism; we slide toward godlessness
and convince ourselves we have been liberated.”

-D. A. Carson, For the Love of God

Transformation is not a one time event, it takes place with time. But is an effort that is driven byth garce of God. It does not happen entirely becasue of our efforts, lest we start to feel proud and feel that we deservesalvation. and somehowGodowes us something because we have proved ourselves. Infact God doesnt owe us anything, he already gave His life for us.

Contrary to what people claim...that you know if we accept Jesus into our hearts, then all will be well in our lives, we will become rich, we shall get job promotions..etc! That is not true! The nly reason why we shouldcome to God isbecause we are sinners who need to besaved by Him.

We owe him everything. Our lives,our breath, our ambitions..everything! And the true test is when, we are willing to accept God and trust in Him, even if everything around us seems bleak! Even if trusting in Him means that we stand to lose everything. Now, this doesnt take place overnight! We need to grow in our faith in Him aswe know more about Him by the day. Infact, it is as He reveals himself to us everyday!

It cant be good for your health!!

I have realised that however much we do....only God can do His work in a man's heart!
Picture this...u have done many Bible studies with this man.....and you get this feeling that perhaps some progress is being made in his life!

Then of all a sudden, we were discussing the danger of porn.....and the man takes a position that pornography is not actually a bad thing! My heart bled, i wanted to cry.....i rushed to my room and wanted to cry!

Ijust concluded that only God can do a work in a man's heart! It is not about us, it is about Him. How can you say you are a christian, and still claim that pornography is not bad..it can be looked at as just an art! May God help us.

The facts are simple....if a man watches pornography, he will begin to look at women in a different light....more as sex objects! He no longer sees a woman as a nother human being with whom he can relate to.

We are living in a generation that has lost its sense of direction...whoever said Generation X.