Week Two in Africa

The second week is coming to a close and the third week is in sight. God has blessed us in so many ways! It is always a blessing to me to get up in the morning and know that I am in a place where God wants me to be. No matter if I am here in Kenya or back home in Tennessee, Gods grace is always sufficient for the day. And best of all, I am right smack in the middle of it.

The experience of being here in Kenya is giving me a broader sense of who we are as the body of Christ. Seeing the faith of these lovely friendly people has increased my faith and given me an enlarged vision for what Keith Green had sung about years ago. Open Your Eyes was the title of the song I believe and it made me see that going to minister Gods word and give of my time was much more beneficial than giving a few dollars each month to an organization which may not direct those funds to those that need it.

Being here and being a part of this life here gives me the opportunity to touch people's lives and directly affect them in a positive way. Not necessarily with money but with a helping hand to physically construct a structure, pray with someone, share words of encouragement, teach new skills, and when required, donate money to a worthy cause which will benefit many people in the church. This, to me, is a better solution. More personal and more productive.
Our friend and fellow God follower, Steve Saint, says we should not just give a man a fish, not even just teach him how to fish, but we should teach him how to teach others how to fish.

What an awesome thought about provisioning those who are without. Yes, the short term provision needs to be supplying those who are hungry. But the longer term provision is to teach others how to do the things necessary to earn a living that will provide for themselves and their family. Then the final provision is for them to pass that knowledge along to others in their village or community.
We are here in Nakuru Kenya, where over 300,000 people live in currently the fourth largest urban centre in the country located about 6000 feet above sea level. Tourism and agriculture are the primary industries and there are many small business shops within the main streets of Nakuru. Many more small shops line the many streets of dirt roads within the numerous neighborhoods. These are a economically depressed people but very industrious and willing to learn how to better themselves.

Our purpose is not to better them or Americanize them, but to love them and share with them this wonderful and awesome life that God has given us. They are open and willing to hear and learn all that God has done and is doing right now. They are having to unlearn many things also. (Didn't we do likewise?) The Charismatic and Evangelical missionaries that originally helped to place a Christianized religious foundation here have trained the people here to work with soulish excitement to motivate people into an environment of audibly painful expression of song, shouting and preaching.

We have challenged many traditional way they are using to express themselves, not to squash them but to cause them to look honestly at the roots of their praise and worship before the Lord. We have challenged them to live out their profession of faith on a daily basis and not just on a Wednesday or Sunday service. We have asked them to consider why they act so radically different on Sunday at church than they do the rest of the week. Where is the consistency in their walk with the Lord?

So, I might ask the same question of us in America? Where is our consistency in our walk with the Lord? Maybe there isn't any consistency. Maybe we live like saints on Sunday morning and like heathens the rest of the week. If that is our testimony then can we really call ourselves Christians? I understand the term Christian to mean something more than just acknowledging there is a God, spending some time on Wednesday night and Sunday morning to sing Christian songs and talk about things that pertain to a watered down gospel of apathetically recited Bible stories.

Where are the real Christians? Are there any disciples around any more? Does anyone really care to give up their lives and follow God every day, all day long, seven days a week? Where are those Christians that pursue finding God in every place, person and thought they meet? Are there any of those who may be warriors or champions for the cause of God's life in us?

As we address the little church here in Nakuru, we find that they are not much different than those in America. They live different lives during the week than they do on Sunday.

How can we help these here and those back home see the difference between those who are caught up in the world and those who call themselves Christians?

I believe the best way is to show them how to live that life. We need to demonstrate how our lives are in consistent keeping with what God tells us to do if we want to name the name of Jesus Christ as our Lord and Saviour. We need to get involved in the lives of those around us by giving up our personal lives of preference. We obtain our many splendored things, stuff that we collect around us, that makes our lives so much easier to enjoy OUR life. We spend our substance upon activities, outings, meals, movies, and anything that will entertain us or make OUR lives more comfortable. The same thought process is about doing it's work here in Nakuru, too.

It's not how much you own or want. It's not how often you visit the pew you sit in on Sunday. It's not how many times you curse or praise in the name of the Lord. It's where you live with God. Is He in you and you in Him? Is He your best friend? Does he come into consideration for every thought and word? Does He go everywhere you go and do everything with you? Are you following Him or expecting Him to keep up with you? Is your life His life or are you just finding a place to somehow fit Him into your life, when you feel like it?

You have the answer to these questions. But hear what the Psalmist David has to say.

 Psa 111:10The fear of Jehovah is the beginning of wisdom; A good understanding have all they that do his commandments:

Be wise. Get smart. Get Life. Get in line with what God requires of you. Seek and you will find. Find His Life and live it to the fullest. Live it every minute of the day and every day of the year. Set the pace for those around you. Demonstrate the full life of the Christian life and cause an effect in the lives of others. You don't have to come to Kenya to do that. You can start right where you are. Maybe one day we will see you in the midst of those who are in need of your testimony and consistency with the Life of God.

I hope so.