THE PEN AND THE OPEN BOOK

I n the course of my work, I met a friend who was very clear about his relationship with God. After we had a heart-to-heart, he told me something that has left me speechless ever since. He said, "I now know his voice." How often are we sure that God is talking to us? Have we ever been so sure that God is speaking to us now? Knowing how to hear God's voice is a skill that every Christian should learn. If there is something special about God's voice, it is that everyone who has heard it is sure it is God. When the Holy Spirit is at work in our lives, he tells us what to do. But does that mean that every thought we have is a message from God? How can you tell the difference between a prompting from God and a lie from Satan? When Satan gets inside our minds, he only wants to hurt us. No matter how he does it—through discouragement, temptation, frustration, depression, or despair—his goal is always to keep us from being close to God, to hurt our spiritual health, and...

In a world enamored with worldly metrics of success—popularity, influence, acclaim, and charisma—it’s easy for Christians to be swept along with the conventional secular thinking of our day. Church attendance and cultural acceptance have gradually but steadily replaced holiness and authentic worship as our primary goals. There is a perception that preaching the Word and confronting sin are archaic and ineffective ways to convert the world. After all, most people are put off by these things. To attract new members, why not offer what they want, create a welcoming atmosphere, and appeal to the precise desires that drive their strongest impulses? If we can somehow make Jesus more likeable or less objectionable to the unconverted worldlings, we might get them to accept him. As a result, the church's mission is distorted. No, the Great Commission isn't a sales pitch for products or services. When it comes to evangelism, you don't need marketers but you do need prophets. God...

Since arrogance is easy to achieve, repentance is a difficult task. Because we don't want to admit when we've done wrong, we have a hard time making a honest confession of our sin and then repenting of it afterward. How frequently, when you have been confronted with your sin, have you thought, "Yes, but...," or anything similar? Sin can only be dealt with effectively by confronting it head-on and without making excuses for oneself. If we truly want to wipe it out completely, we have no choice except to confront it straight away, with honesty, and without any hesitance. In the kingdom of God, strength is found in weakness (2 Corinthians 12:9–10), grandeur is found in service (Mark 10:43), and wholeness is found in brokenness (Isaiah 54:17). (Psalm 147:3). According to the format of the traditional prayer, Let me learn by paradox that the way down is the way up, that to be low is to be high, that the broken heart is the healed heart, that the contrite spirit is ...

  Padlet of Promises by Odeny J. Onduru   The season is ripe, prolific, and snacky At the sight of helicopters, gas guzzlers and other locomotives People yell, squeal, yelp, howl, and hiss Soon, they are subdued by the elegance and affluence of their leader They recoil and mute as they reverently wait for his bunches of promises   With eloquence and assertiveness, he pews out all manner of goodies The construction of Mahare to Kanyamruaka Road The clean water connection from Kagilo to Peninsula The bursary provision to all school-going children The assurance that little children will no longer cross the fierce Odora river to school The resurrection of women's chama activities For him the padlet promises all   The seemingly insightful, and the excited crowd responds with chaotic claps and shouts Scorched in the day's sun and drenched in their own sweat,   they hurl and sing praises for the leader The promises are illustrio...