Top Inspirational Christian Living Books Online [Phanuel Muverengwi]

How to Overcome the Devil

2011-12-13T11:01:00.002+02:00

[Based on NIV except where specified]

“The seventy-two returned with joy and said, ‘Lord, even the demons submit to us in your name.’ He replied, ‘I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy; nothing will harm you’” (Luke 10:17-19).

So we declare that the devil is a defeated foe. The question that begs an answer is: do we see the devil defeated in the life of every Christian? Don’t we see defeated Christians around?

Indeed we see victory, total victory, in the lives of some Christians. On the other end we see Christians who are so defeated that they wish they were dead.

Before I got saved, I used to play with one young man who looked like he was on fire for God. Then he abandoned the way of the Lord.
“Why did you quit?” I asked him.
“I had realised that there was no God,” came the reply.
The reply satisfied me at the time because it was consistent with what I believed. But looking back I now realize that Satan had thoroughly defeated the young man. This is a destination we all need to avoid at all costs!

The devil is defeated. This however doesn’t mean that the devil does not fight Christians. It doesn’t necessarily mean that he just walks away. Neither does it mean that we should relax. What it really means is that if we put our focus on it, we will always emerge victorious over the devil. If we stay prepared, the devil will flee from us.

In the opening verse, we are told of our authority over the devil. We have to believe this; not only that, but we also need to exercise the authority. If we do not exercise our authority, then the devil will do as he pleases with us, to the extent that the words of Jesus would appear a lie.

An armed person could be defeated by an unarmed one if the armed does not appreciate his superior position. He could be apprehended using bare hands while holding a fully functional, state-of-the-art assault rifle, loaded with a thousand bullets!

The point is that we, as Christians, are superior to Satan. But we will not defeat Satan unless we exercise our superiority!

The question that I am going to address in this article is: How could one exercise his/her superiority over Satan? How could one overcome the devil? I thank God, because His Word contains the answer(s) that we need.

I want you to picture a biblical warrior. Imagine him getting ready for battle. I am sure you have seen some drawings or films of such warriors. They used to dress in a certain way and carried a specific kind of weaponry. They would, for example, have a helmet on, a covering for the chest and legs in place, a shield and of course a sword in hand.

Below, I am going to give the outlook that you need if you are to overcome the devil each time he comes stooping at your doorstep.

First: “I want to remind you that your strength must come from the Lord's mighty power within you” (Eph 6:10, TLB). This is an important instruction. Your strength must come from the Lord’s mighty power within you. There is a mighty power within you and that power should be the only source of your strength! But what we see in some Christians is that once the devil attacks, they run almost everywhere for solutions.

The Word is telling you that the source of your strength is inside you. So if you’ve to run anywhere, then you ought to run inside. Some Christians still visit witchdoctors for solutions to their problems; such Christians take the witchdoctor to be the source of strength. This is unfortunate.

Years ago, a dear Christian woman said to me, “Mukuwasha, kana zviri zvekuti mwana arwara ini chero kun’anga ndinoenda,” meaning, “If it is about my child’s health, I will never hesitate to visit a witchdoctor. I will do all I can.” The question is: does such a Christian appreciate the ability that has been deposited in her?

Your strength must come from the Lord’s mighty power within you!

Second: "Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes" (Eph 6:11). I have given you a picture of a warrior ready for battle, how the warrior should be dressed and how he should be equipped. Ephesians 6 v 11 is too important to underrate. The verse gives us the outlook that we should have if we are to overcome the devil.

Note that the verse does not instruct us to put on the armor of God; instead, it instructs us to put on the full armor of God. Only then would we be able to stand against the devil’s schemes. Victory is not assured for somebody who puts on partial armor, for the devil will find in that person some weak points to exploit.

Why full armor? It’s because, for example, if the warrior does not have his helmet on, then his head is exposed. Once Satan sees an exposed head, he goes for it! If the warrior does not have a shield in hand, then his entire body is exposed. If he doesn’t have his shoes on then his mobility is limited, for his feet are exposed to thorns and other dangerous objects. If he doesn’t have the sword in hand, then it becomes difficult to take him seriously! So it has to be the full armor.

Third: “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand” (Eph 6:12-13).

For a Christian to overcome the enemy, he needs to first be clear in his mind as to who the enemy is. One shouldn’t waste time fighting against an imaginary enemy; it must be the real enemy! If one fights against an imaginary enemy, all it means is that he is already defeated because he is doing nothing about the real enemy. He would be spending his ammunition on the wrong target.

People are never our enemies. Our enemies are never physical. Our battles are never physical. We are not physical beings, but spirit beings. So we have no business fighting in the physical.

Our battles are spiritual, because our enemies are spiritual. Every human being who behaves like an enemy is actually being propelled by a spiritual force; so we target not the human being, but the force behind.

We will lose all our real battles if we think they are physical.

After defeating the devil, the Christian should be found standing. Glory to God! It’s only when you have the full armor of God that you will be able to achieve this. Some Christians achieve shaky victories because they lack certain pieces of the armor of God. At the end of the battle, although having succeeded to drive the evil one away, some Christians appear as though they have passed through a fire; some are badly bruised and some are found not standing, but leaning against trees and rocks. This happens when one exposes part of their territory to the devil.

After defeating the devil, you should be found standing.

Let us now look at the means to victory:

First: “With the belt of truth buckled around your waist” (Ephesians 6:14).

You need to keep the belt of truth buckled around your waist. You should never unbuckle. The moment you unbuckle, the ‘fasten your belt’ sign lights up. If you unbuckle, you expose yourself to the dangers of turbulence. As you travel, as you sleep, as you work, as you make merry, the belt of truth should always be around your waist!

But what is this ‘truth’ that Paul wrote about? Truth is what the Word of God says. Paul said if you are to defeat the devil, then you need the belt of truth. The devil might come in the manner of Goliath. You could see him towering over you, with you appearing like ‘just a boy’. But what is the truth? The truth is that Goliath is a defeated foe, glory to God! That’s what the Word of God says; that’s the truth. If you appreciate this, then you will defeat Goliath. He might even flee without a fight. But it only happens to those who keep the belt of truth around their waists.

If one does not keep the belt of truth in place, then you will find them defeated, lying down, in need of rescue. And if you ask them how the devil could have defeated them, they are likely to say, “I looked like a grasshopper against him.”

Second: “The breastplate of righteousness in place” (Ephesians 6:14). Paul was addressing the saints at Ephesus, the faithful in Christ Jesus. So his message is as relevant to us as it was to the Ephesians. We should keep the breastplate of righteousness in place if we are to live victorious lives. The Living Bible uses ‘God’s approval’ in place of ‘righteousness’.

We are the righteous ones of God. But do all Christians keep their righteousness in place? I think it’s not every Christian who does. But what does it mean to keep one’s righteousness in place? First it means that one should always be conscious of this status that has been bestowed on them. They should also understand its importance.

Some Christians actually believe that they are not righteous, and Satan feasts on them because of this. Ignorance is a big disadvantage.

Second, it also means that the righteous should live lives that are consistent with their righteousness. Some of those who appreciate their righteousness actually live like they are not aware of it.

Imagine you bathing a three year old and dressing her nicely. Imagine that you then go on to instruct her to sit on mud. Would she heed your instruction?
“What!” she would exclaim, “You want me to get dirty? Don’t you see how smart I am?” This should be the attitude of the saints of God! At one leaders’ meeting we were taught that among the things that we teach the members of our cell groups, we also teach them language. Which language? The language of righteousness of course! The kind that is consistent with our righteous nature. I am sure there are things that you now avoid because due to your righteous nature, they have become repulsive to you.

“Brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable-if anything is excellent or praiseworthy-think about such things. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me-put it into practice” (Philippians 4:8-9).

Third: “Your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace” (Ephesians 6:15). Paul is talking about the shoes that you should put on. He says the readiness that comes from the gospel shall be your shoes. You go only because the gospel has prepared you for the journey. You overcome Satan only because the gospel has prepared you for it. You put on the readiness and run! The readiness is your shoes!

This demonstrates the importance of the gospel. Without the gospel we can never be ready for anything. Without the gospel Satan will find us unarmed.

How much time do you spend in the gospel? Remember the more time you spend in the gospel the more prepared you will be to face both the good and the bad.

Fourth: “Take up the shield of faith” (Ephesians 6:16). Faith is one’s response to the Word of God. If the Word tells you that you are the dominant one and you believe and act on it, then you have faith. If the Word tells you that Goliath is actually at your mercy, then you should believe and act on that. Whatever the Word says, believe and act on it. Paul says it is by your faith that you could extinguish the flaming arrows of the evil one. So you need faith; you also need to perpetually grow it and only through the Word could you do so.

Paul said “take up the shield of faith.” It’s within your means.

Fifth: “Take the helmet of salvation” (Ephesians 6:17). Salvation is a process. It does not end at the point of receiving Christ. We are saved over and over and on various issues pertaining to our lives.

Salvation is our helmet. Without it our heads could be destroyed by the enemy’s sword. Paul says “take the helmet”. He does not say “receive the helmet”.

We have come to a point at which we have matured enough to take. The ball is in our court. If one where to go before God and say, “Lord, please give me the helmet,” God would answer, “I actually have been wondering all along why the helmet is still here. It has been available to you for ages but you’ve not collected it. If you want the helmet then go ahead and take it.”

As we stay in and meditate on the Word, as we shut out the many worldly voices that clamor for our attention, we get to a point at which we take. Glory to God!

Sixth: “The sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God” (Ephesians 6:17). Good God! The sword that we use! Mighty through God! The Word of God is our sword. The Spirit of God is the sword that we use. This is why we do not fight in the physical. Our weapons are not physical, but spiritual. Just take a moment to reflect on what the Word of God could do in your life.

Seventh: “And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests” (Ephesians 6:18). This also is a piece of armor. Prayer; glory to God! We overcome the devil by our prayers. And we do not just pray; instead, we pray ‘in the Spirit”. And we do not pray for just one thing; we pray for various things, we make various requests. Neither do we pray just for ourselves, but we also pray for others, whether in Zimbabwe or not, whether we know them or not, as long as there is a cause we pray. As we achieve victory for others, we also achieve victory for ourselves. He truly is a defeated foe!

Eighth: "With this in mind, be alert" (Ephesians 6:18). As I walked through the plains one afternoon, a snake holed up nearby sensed danger. It raised its head so high that it could clearly see 360 degrees. It focused on me as I walked, making sure I kept my distance. The snake remained ready to strike, ready to destroy. I kept my distance. I appreciated the fact that the snake was on high alert. It was ready for the enemy; never to be found napping.

That’s how alert we should be.

There is lots of noise in the world, but never allow any of it to ruin your focus, your alertness. When the evil day comes, the devil should find you ready and alert. Otherwise you will be bruised!

Stay victorious and God bless!

Wealth is on my Mind

2011-06-29T18:17:00.001+02:00

I could do with more wealth. I know I am not the only one in this condition. You also could do with more of it.

I know a number of people that are seeking improvements with regards to the status of their wealth. They are frantically looking in various places for this. Yet when I look at it, I sometimes feel as though people generally take the lead when it comes to wealth creation, leaving God behind, leading to a lot of debris as people blunder their way to wealth.

“And Moses said unto the people, ‘Fear ye not, stand still, and see the salvation of the LORD’” (Ex 14:13, KJV). God is wonderful. He says, “As far as your life and wealth creation are concerned, panic ye not.” What comfort! Stand still. Praise God!

Consider this as well: “So do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them” (Matt 6:31-32, NIV). Your Father, the unlimited provider, knows that you need these things. Because He knows you need this and because He is your provider, He will “satisfy you fully” (Joel 2:19, NIV). So “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God” (Phil 4:6, NIV).

I have noticed some misfiring in a number of believers - they desire more wealth to the extent of negating all that God has done for them. They are anxious, always edgy and sullen, simply because they have not got that which they seek.

Consider this: “Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus” (1 Thess 5:16-18, NIV). Believers should be joyful always; they should give thanks in all circumstances. This is something! Whatever situation you might be in, you’ve got to give thanks to God, with joyous hymns, because life is good!

There should be no room for anxiety in a Christian’s life. Jesus’ instruction on anxiety is clear enough. He says, “Do not be anxious about anything.” If you find yourself in a closed box with regards to wealth, you now know what to do. Don’t get angry or restless. Instead, present your requests to God, keeping in mind that you should ever be joyful and thankful. Thank Him for what you possess. Thank Him also for what you hope for.

If you have the basics of life, then you are in a good state. God will take you from there to yonder places if you dedicate yourself to living in accordance with His principles. Just listen to this: “But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that” (1 Tim 6:7-8, NIV). Do you have food? Do you have clothing? Do you have shelter, even if rented? If so, then you should be ashamed of yourself if you are living a miserable life. Jesus said, “…we will be content with that.” We will be satisfied with that. You should be content with that. You ought to be thankful and your gratitude should beam right into the throne room.

Of course you should always take steps to create new and more wealth, but your starting point ought to be different from the starting point of non-believers. While non-believers might start from a point of dissatisfaction, believers should make it a point to start from a point of satisfaction.

I have learnt some valuable lessons. Here they are:

1. God delights in the prosperity of His children.
2. God is willing and able to take His children to spacious places in terms of wealth. He can enrich us exceedingly above even the wildest of our imaginations.
3. However, God wants Christians to begin their journey from a point of satisfaction, not dissatisfaction, acknowledging every good thing that He has done for them.

A satisfied life is a life well lived. It is a full life, with no regrets. With God the past, present and future belongs to you. You can reclaim, with compound interest, everything that was meant for you but which had somehow eluded you.

Wealth is on my mind, and life is good!

God bless!

Doing the Will of God

2011-06-15T13:29:00.005+02:00

Listen to this: “As a result, he does not live the rest of his earthly life for evil human desires, but rather for the will of God” (1 Peter 4:1-2, NIV).

I want you to relate to the verse above, so I rephrase it as follows: “As a result, I do not live the rest of my earthly life for evil human desires, but rather for the will of God.” Glory to God! This must be your confession. This must be the reality of your life. What a lovely arrangement! Living for the will of God, not for evil human desires! Do you identify with this kind of life?

Salvation is the most spectacular of miracles. Through salvation, one instantly passes from death to life, from darkness to light – a new creation with no past. The disturbing thing though, is that some Christians think that salvation is both the beginning and the end. I do not see it that way. To me, salvation is just the beginning, a new beginning.

After saying the prayer of salvation, believing and confessing Jesus as the Savior and Lord of one’s life, at this point one enters the household of God. He/she has just entered. So this cannot be an end, but a beginning.

I always watch when people visit me at my home for the first time. As soon as they step into the house, their eyes begin to rove, scanning the new environment. This is a way of satisfying their curiosity and of getting used to the new surroundings. They begin to learn how furniture is arranged and how people generally conduct themselves in my home. That is, or should be, the same with anybody who comes into the house of God.

People come into the house of God as infants. They don’t know anything. They can’t walk. They can’t speak. They are in a new environment, quite different from the natural one. So, it would be logical for them to ask, “How does one live here?” That’s an important question. “What are the rules of the house?”

There is no other principle by which one could live in the house of God except God’s will. God’s will is the guide to life in the house of God. If you want to know how to walk, talk or respond, all you need to do is look at the will of God. In every situation, learn to ask yourself the question, “What is the will of God for me?” Once you establish the will of God, your next step should be to act according to it.

It is because of Christ that we are Christians. I have heard of Christians being described as followers of Christ, brothers/sisters of Christ, joint heirs with Christ, etc. So we need to learn from our brother.

What was Jesus’ attitude towards the will of God?

Listen to this: “For I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me” (John 6:38, NIV). By saying this, Jesus meant that there absolutely was no room in Him for his will. Jesus never followed His will. He did not come down from heaven to do His will. Similarly, God did not save you so that you would do your will. Like Jesus, you should confess that you were not saved to do your will but the will of the God whom you worship. Not only that, but you should also go on to align your life with your confession.

I want to bring to your attention three kinds of will that cry out for a person’s attention. There is the will of God, one’s own will and the will of other people. Some Christians follow their will, some follow the will of other people, some follow the will of God and some follow a cocktail. Consider Jesus; He was not a confused man. He lived a clearly focused life. Everything about Him was based on the will of God. Won’t you emulate Him? Won’t you learn from Him?

One day, Jesus’ disciples came to Him and urged Him to eat something since He had not eaten anything on that day. In His response, Jesus told His disciples that He had food to eat that they knew nothing about. As the disciples wondered whether somebody could have brought Jesus some food, Jesus said to them, "My food is to do the will of him who sent me” (John 4:34, NIV). Jesus’ best food was ‘doing the will of God’, but to some Christians of our day, nothing beats pizza!

It is important for us to live for the will of God. That’s the way we could bring salvation to the world. That’s the way God could use us to achieve His goals on earth. That’s the way God would find it easy to move us to higher levels. A Christian would not grow to maturity unless he/she is dedicated to doing the will of God.

As the cross and pain beckoned, Jesus prayed, "Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done" (Luke 22:42, NIV). Jesus wished God would take away the cup from Him. He however understood that it was not His will, but the will of God that had to prevail. He therefore gave free course to the will of God, giving us the opportunity to stand in His grace, as we do today.

Every Christian is destined for heaven. It is however important to note that we don’t need to wait for death for us to live the heavenly life. When we received salvation God, through the Holy Spirit, came to reside in us. So I could argue that heaven is already in me and I am in deep in it.

In heaven, everything is subject to the will of God. So you too should live for the will of God, never for your will. You should not just be a child of God, but you should be a child who lives for the will of his/her Father – a totally obedient child – a better child of God.

Is your life fully aligned to the will of God? If not, you should make the following declaration: “I will no longer live the rest of my earthly life for evil human desires, but rather for the will of God.” Now go on and live it!

My First Day at School

2011-06-15T12:58:00.001+02:00

Sitting on a rock
Under the shade of the old Msasa tree
By the small, silent stream
That I considered to be a river
A cool wind blowing over my face
And birds chirping in the old tree
My small mind running
My eye on the cattle and goats grazing
Lest they stray to Munjanja’s maize field
And he beats the hell out of me

Nearby was the local, village school
The major symbol of civilisation
In the largely peasant community
And as I watched, I admired
Pupils in uniform, enjoying their lunch
Of mangai, manhuchu, maputi, bull mangoes
And in my little heart
I knew school was good
For my mother had told me so

So patiently, like a sniper I waited
For my chance to come
So I would also attend school
And recite a, e, i, o, u and a, b, c
And meet the headmaster and teachers
So revered by the elders in our village

And sure it did come
My first day at school
But when it did I was no longer sure
That I really wanted to go to that place
Clad in my oversize khaki uniform
Behind the door of the hut I stood
For my first day at school
Was already overwhelming me
Before I even left home

“It’s time to go to school, Phanuel”
In her soft voice my mother urged
“Oh how you’ve look forward to it!”
Still behind the door I stood
So she took me by the hand
And led me along the way
Across the small stream
That I had always taken to be a river
Right up to the classroom door
Quietly I entered and sat down
Heralding a new beginning
And all eyes were on me

Warrior in the Arena

2011-05-09T22:47:00.005+02:00

Spear and shield tightly in hand
Sweat trickling down his forehead
Covered by the thickness of the forest
Muscles flexing, eyes nomadic, his jaw set
Heart beating, on the watch-out, expecting, all set
Fully and properly clad for this encounter
He is a warrior, set to cause confusion
In the camp of his marauding rivals

Whether you call them challenges
Or you consider them to be obstacles
Whether you take them to be difficulties
Which some call trials, setbacks or complications
Poverty, disease and sour relations
All it means is that we are all warriors
And our arena is the battlefield
In which we find ourselves in this life

Each one of us has their own
Spear, shield and an adversary of some form
Poverty, disease, sour relations, such other
All it means is that you too are a warrior
And your arena is your battlefield
School, church, workplace, home or country
You must be on the watch-out, ever set
And fully inspired to cause confusion
In the camp of your prowling adversaries

What would you rather be?
The victor or the vanquished?
The hero or the villain?
A person of honour or disgrace?
Indeed all of us are warriors
And our arenas are our battlefields

Fully prepared, we must always be
To cause confusion in the enemy camp
And scatter our foes in a dozen of directions
For this we were created to be, to fight to win
Not beating thin air, shadow boxing, in a daze
For that would be fighting in vain, wasting time
And no prizes are won that way, no gain
Instead, you should be ever-ready
To cause pandemonium
In the camp of all your pillaging enemies
Whichever form the enemy might take
Because if you don’t do so
Totally yours will be the blame

Above All

2011-05-08T11:21:00.003+02:00

In your quest to arrive at
What you consider to be
The summit of your height
Always keep at your mind’s fore
That God is above every summit
And that all that you aim for
Should always prove to be right
In the eyes of the Lord Jesus Christ

About your paths ponder strictly
And along them stride skilfully
Your deeds examine closely
And your actions execute graciously
Your intentions polish accurately
And with a spotless robe adorn neatly
For promote you it will not
To acquire everything in the whole wide world
And to be a person of a specific mould
Yet in the process forfeit your own soul

Train yourself to look far and wide
Your mind teach to rove, and the landscape scan
And in your priorities, wisdom should never be scant
For in this world are important issues of life
And also the unimportant that often cause strife
So in whatever you do, say, plan or think
The chaff learn to separate from the wheat

There is such a thing in life as the norm
Yet that the norm is not always best reality knows
Nothing but a term of numbers the norm indeed is
And from numbers you need to sometimes escape
And in your mind doubts you need to expel
If that is what is needed for you to excel
And from today onwards always remember this
That everything that you might be aiming for
Should at all times be judged to be right
In the eyes of our Lord Jesus Christ

Whereto From Here?

2011-05-08T11:08:00.001+02:00

The body and the spirit
United, in life they exist
But the two are destined to split
Then the destiny of the spirit
Shall be obvious before the light

One was with us yesterday
Alive and kicking, so people say
He left us early today
After reaching the end of his day
On and on, the story goes
With people going their own way

Earthly life comes to an end
The life after life has no edge
The earth’s pleasures are momentary
The joy of the after-life is forever
So as long as we live
Let us prepare to meet Jehovah

The body hungers for food
The spirit thirsts for God
So as much as we feed the body
Let us also keep in mind
Our call to feed the spirit right

Wake up from your slumber
Arise and shine with others
Surely this is no time to snooze

Make hay while the sun shines
After all this is your only chance
To worship the Most High God
By preaching and praise
And by prayer, song and dance
Shouting, “Holy is His great name!”

Holy, holy, is His mighty name!
Our Father who dwells in the heavens
The God full of love and kindness
The lovingkindness that’s second to none
To us has His Kingdom come!

If Worshipped Only

2011-01-31T18:02:00.002+02:00

One could only be a child of God if they worship just Him. Somebody said, “God is God if He is worshipped only.” I support this statement. As far as I am concerned, it is unheard of, even in the natural world, for one to have a multitude of fathers.

"You shall have no other gods…” (Deuteronomy 5:7, NIV).

It is critically important for worshippers to examine their worship constantly. True worship is both exclusive and well-defined. It stands alone. One should never mix it with another kind of worship, because once that happens it ceases to be true worship. It actually becomes one big risk.

When one becomes a new creation, he/she becomes a ‘different’ creation. The Bible says, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!” (2 Corinthians 5:17, NIV).

The old has gone, the new has come. One cannot be old and new at the same time. The moment that one gives their life to God, they become new, without a past or background. They have just been born.

An infant does not know anything called ‘the past'. The infant only knows the present, and looks forward to the future. The past that a Christian recalls at the time of their re-birth relates to the time when they were still unsaved. It is actually a ‘natural’ past - the kind that disappeared. This is the life that was replaced by the new life.

When one receives salvation, they should straight away begin to examine every aspect of their lives in the light of the new creation status. They should begin to ask questions like, “Does this still relate to me?” or “Should I continue along these lines?” or “What is God’s position on this?”

Every living being is a worshipper of some sort. Before one receives salvation, they would be following a certain kind of worship. However, after receiving salvation, one should abandon this and adopt just the kind of worship that pleases God, the ‘in spirit and truth’ worship.

At the time that one receives salvation, they are an infant in the House of God. They do not know anything, because they have no past. Whatever they will proceed to learn, they will learn from the Father. When they eventually face certain situations in their life, they say, “In situations like this, this is how the Father expects me to proceed…”

The problem with some worshippers is that they just cannot separate their natural past from the new creation status. While claiming to be Christians, they proceed along the path of the natural. They say, “We have always worshipped like this…” Where did they get that from? If they are a new creation, then they have no past. They therefore cannot talk of how they used to worship, because they are just beginning to learn how to worship. How could they have worshipped in the past when they were born only a few seconds ago?

There are types of worship that emanate from mankind, and there is a kind of worship that emanates from God. Every worshipper should learn to abandon the man-kind of worship, if they are to be children of God. There are choices to be made regarding worship. Some of the choices might be difficult to make, but one should understand that worshipping God comes with a price tag.

What did Paul do to gain Christ? Listen to this: “What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ” (Philippians 3:8, NIV). For him to gain Christ, Paul had to lose his past. This is the meaning of the ‘new creation’. He had to lose everything that he stood for. The same applies to you. You have to face a loss. You should part ways with those things that are unacceptable in the Father’s House, including those that might appear right at face value.

I write the way I do because I know that our God is a jealous God. “He is a holy God; he is a jealous God” (Joshua 24:19, NIV). He says, “You should be mine exclusively; you should cut ties with another” He adds, “If you are in touch with another, then it means either that we were never married, or it is time for us to divorce.”

That is the jealousy to which I refer. I appreciate it fully; it is just not right for one to cling to the created instead of clinging to the Creator!

God is God if He is worshipped only. Keep this in mind.

God bless!

Fiction to Inspire

2010-12-15T08:40:00.000+02:00

The urgency of it not only besieged me, but its intensity also took me by surprise. A scream jammed midway along my throat.

It was something that I needed to do, one thing I eagerly wanted to be, something that I had eagerly waited for; and it was time. My eyes shifted to the handcuffs, cold as ice, slowly eating into my wrist-bones. Drops of sweat covered my palms, and my brow was no different.

I looked at my legs; the leg irons were still in place, ironically shining, determined, evidence of what I had been all these years, and what I still was. “Oh God I want out!” I sent out a cry that pierced the quietness, unsettling even me, as my soul longed for a breath of fresh air.

Walls on every side, threatening gullies along the way, vigilant predators; for me it was nothing but the prison of life. As I pondered my next move, I observed that I had grown one dreadlock, its roots etched in the desert of my skull. As I continued to watch, one more sprouted. Soon my head was all dreadlocks, all green, life’s oil, so I guessed.

Then a whirlwind blew around me several times, lifting my chest and sending me gasping for breath, and in their trembling, my hands displayed shimmering muscles, evidence of new strength acquired. With one hand on the Eastern wall and the other on the Western, Samson-style, I brought my enclosure down; in one, mighty heave it all turned to dust.

As I sauntered out of my debris, my feet stepped on soft ground. I felt like something heavy had dropped off my shoulders. I also felt like I had jumped from a spider’s web, but landed softly, if only to give me the opportunity to recount what happened. I raised my hands high. What a new order of things! I began to jog; it just had to be, for it was time.

Perfume filled the air; the kind that could come only from mature flowers. A wind blew gently, sending the leaves hissing, my soul rejoicing. Sweet beaky sounds invaded my privacy. The beauty of freedom!

I looked at my shoes, after that at my clothes. They told the story, the complete story of my life. “I sure have been traveling; a long journey, through valleys and thickets, and it shows,” words escaped my mouth. As I stood, with my mind I took a picture of myself; a picture that was soon to be the only one of its kind. As I stared at the picture, a voice cut through the silence. “Is that you, Phanuel?” the voice asked with absolute clarity.

My ears picked yet another sound. Although I could not tell what it was, I could tell the direction from where it came. At once, I waded through the lilies and the budding bushes, and there before me slithered a small stream. The ease with which the water flowed, the purity and the peace there was! After spending ages in the muddy waters of life’s prison, the kind that could easily define a people, the water of this stream brought with it the change that I had been eagerly seeking after.

I was dying of thirst and I smelled heavily of sweat. I bent down to drink from the stream, but something immediately caught my attention, stopping me before I took the first sip. I stood up, gasping, trying to catch my breath. What a sight! My face; I had seen my face in the water! All the time that I languished in prison I never had the chance to look at my face. All I ever did was imagine it. The cracks, the wrinkles and the paleness that I had seen in the water astounded me. “Is that you, Phanuel?” “Oh God I wish it wasn’t me!” I cried out. “But that’s me my God; but that’s surely not me!” I added, struggling to give sense to the contradiction.

It was time. I stooped once more and with eyes closed drank until I was full. After doing so, I began to feel as though I had become one with the stream, a constant, tranquil flow of amazing beauty, so I allowed my soul to imagine.

Time for a complete bath, a deep one! I discarded every old piece of clothing. Water violently splashed to the edges of the stream as I took a dive. I spent my sweet time under the water that I came out ‘waterlogged’. As I emerged from the water, my soul watched in wonder as the desert traced its footmarks back to source.

Then, skin lotion! It was time, and nothing could hold me back. As I oozed with sunshine and smiled into space, the voice spoke again, “Is that really you, Phanuel?” Meanwhile my skin was beckoning, waiting, salivating, hungry for lotion. I took my time, carefully applying the lotion, until every pore was thoroughly nourished, following which I put on a new set of freshly pressed clothes.

Finally, I once more stood in front of my kind of mirror, this time tall, assertive, fearless, ready to take on Goliath. “Welcome Phanuel!” the message of the voice had now changed. It was the journey of life. I stepped back from the mirror, turned and began to take brisk steps into space.

“Goodbye, Phanuel,” the voice faded behind me. “Welcome, Phanuel!” Ahead of me, the sound of drums, horns and tambourines filled the air. It was the sound of victory. The future looked bright.

Look, the Lamb of God!

2010-12-12T20:54:00.001+02:00

John is on my mind.

I was reading the Book of John one day and it occurred to me that I should write a small article on just two verses that caught my attention.

The first verse says, “When [John] saw Jesus passing by, he said, ‘Look, the Lamb of God!’” (John 1:36, NIV).

As I meditated on this verse, I noted two things. The first is that John was exceedingly excited about Jesus. I could tell by the exclamation mark at the end of his statement, that the sight of Jesus simply blew John up. John acted like a small child who was seeing his father after a long period of separation. It's the kind of excitement that one would not be able to contain.

Then a thought came to me saying, “This is how excited I should always be about my Lord.” How true! You and I have to be this excited, always. This is what God expects of His worshippers. He is never excited about people of low temperature.

I also learnt another great lesson, i.e., if one is excited about Jesus, they just cannot afford to keep quiet, even if they wanted to. They would find themselves shouting, “Look, the Lamb of God!” I realised that I too was doing exactly the same thing. For some time I have been writing articles on Jesus and the Kingdom life. That is my way of saying “Look!”

You too have a similar obligation. You should always confess Jesus. You should always talk about Him, whether to Christians or non-Christians. You really have no option.

This is what happened to those who heard John shout — “When the two disciples heard him say this, they followed Jesus,” (John 1:37, NIV). Praise God!

When they heard John shout, the two disciples followed Jesus. This is soul winning. This is what God expects us to do, to win Him souls. Other people won us over to Christ. We should in turn do the same for others. “How?” you might ask. By shouting, “Look!” You can do it your own way. John did it his own way. However, whatever way one chooses must amount to, “Look, the Lamb of God!”

Is it just the unsaved who need to look? The answer is 'No'.

Christians face various challenges in their lives. Because of this, some of them take their eyes off Jesus and begin to focus on their challenges, in the process giving undue respect to the challenges. This practice magnifies the challenges and makes them look invincible. We need, once more, to point such Christians to Christ. “Look at Jesus, not at your problems,” we should advise them.

It is not every Christian who emerges victorious from a fight with the devil. Victory is for Christians who fix their gaze on Jesus, not those who fix their gaze on their challenges. Those who fix their eyes on their problems continue to face defeat until they revise their focus.

As children of God, we must keep looking at Jesus, whether we are in trouble or not. That is why we are called ‘Christians’.

Look, the Lamb of God!

God bless!

On Being Led by The Spirit

2010-10-23T13:37:00.009+02:00

“…those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God” (Romans 8:14, NIV).

Who are the sons of God? Who are the daughters of Abraham? It is “those who are led by the Spirit of God”. Glory to God!

The unsaved cannot be led by the Spirit of God because they are not of the Spirit. They, however, might eventually become of the Spirit. On the other hand, the saved need to seriously think about Paul’s statement in Romans 8:14.

A Christian should always be attentive to the Spirit’s direction. We need, as Christians, to keep our antennas high and searching, so that we remain in touch with the thinking of the Spirit at every point of our lives.

Consider the radar; it’s always on the alert. Once an airplane gets into the radar’s area of coverage the radar immediately shouts, “There is an airplane in our airspace!”

That’s exactly what Christians should do. We should never miss the Spirit’s mind concerning our lives, not even once. A Christian who is always attentive to the Spirit is able to capture the thoughts of the Spirit at every turn.

It doesn’t mean that one should necessarily hear a voice, although some people do hear God’s voice. Even without hearing a voice, one would know what God’s thoughts are with respect to any area of their life, if they are attentive.

You might decide to go somewhere, but before you go, you need to ask yourself the question: “What does the Spirit say about my plan?”

You might have been wronged by somebody and you are in the process of considering your options; you should ask, “What does the Spirit instruct me to do under these circumstances?”

You might be in a clothing shop, trying to grab some fashion; before you buy, you should be in a position to tell what the Spirit’s mind is regarding any item of clothing that you might be admiring.

God is a God of our entire lives; not just part of our lives. We shouldn’t surrender just a portion of our lives and affairs to God; instead, we should surrender everything! God should have a say on everything about us.

I do not believe people who say God approves of everything that we might decide to do or to be; if He did then to me He wouldn’t be God. In addition, we should never confuse our will for God’s will. Under all circumstances, it should be very easy for a Christian to come to a decision. All one has to do is ask themselves, “What is the mind of the Spirit on this?” The mind of the Spirit becomes the decision!

There are children of God who are in not so good a shape. These people allow God to direct them only in some areas of their lives and keep certain areas exclusively to themselves. They reach certain decisions and stay put even if God were to direct them otherwise. This is disobedience!

Several Christians behave like this. Even when they know too well what God’s direction is regarding something about their lives, these people proceed as if they knew nothing. Just because they like it that way, they say, in effect, “Even God will not shift me from this.” What do you make of it?

The Bible mentions some people who ‘wandered from the faith” (see 1 Timothy 6:21). I wouldn’t be surprised if any of the disobedient Christians eventually wander from the faith, because their conduct is already inclined that way. They might end up disobeying the Father in everything!

I implore you to act and react only in a manner that’s consistent with the direction of the Spirit. There might be something that you love to do, or a behaviour that you might find irresistible, or gatherings that you can’t avoid. The bottom-line is, “What is the mind of the Spirit regarding this?” You should always be convinced that your conduct in life is exactly what the Spirit ordered.

“What is the mind of the Spirit on this? What does the Spirit instruct me to do? Would God be pleased if I were to do it this way?” That’s how Christians make decisions.

Just as I was about to fall asleep one day, the thought of writing this message entered my mind. I then decided to postpone the writing until the next day. However, when I asked myself, “What does the Spirit say I should do?” I realised that the Spirit wanted me to wake up and write the message straight away. So I did.

I sure hope the article has helped you. If it has, then it was worth my writing. Remember that you will never mature if you don’t give the Spirit free reign in your life.

God bless!

On Being God’s Friend

2010-09-08T12:40:00.003+02:00

There is this thought that keeps coming to my mind. The thought is provoked whenever I read the following verse: “And the scripture was fulfilled that says, ‘Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness,’ and he was called God's friend” (James 2:23, NIV). Abraham was called God’s friend; what closeness! How was this possible? It was because Abraham believed God. Marvelous!

Now when the Bible says Abraham believed God, it means that He believed everything that God told Him. When God said “Leave this place,” Abraham left the place. When God said, “Give Me your son,” Abraham ‘gave’ Him his son. Abraham believed everything God told Him; hence he was called God’s friend.

When I read the Bible I find that God told His plans about Sodom and Gomorrah only to Abraham; He did not tell it to anybody else. I believe that God told Abraham because the two were as close as one. God didn’t want Abraham to feel let down by his Friend. If God had not told Abraham about it, Abraham could probably have subsequently queried, “But my Friend, why didn’t you give me just a hint of what You were planning to do? Am I no longer your friend?”

In the process of considering what He was going to do to Sodom and Gomorrah, God remembered His friend. Listen to this: “Then the LORD said, ‘Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do?’”(Gen 18:17, NIV). How beautiful. I imagine God saying the same thing about me. I picture Him saying, “Shall I hide from Phanuel what I am about to do?” Glory to God!

So when I look at this I conclude that God told Abraham because Abraham was His close friend. He could tell him His secrets and plans. When God eventually told Abraham about His plans, Abraham actually bargained with God on a friend-to-friend basis; and God never took offence at Abraham for asking almost the same question several times. Imagine somebody asking, “What if they are fifty?” then “What if they are forty-five?” then “What if they are forty?” then “What if they are thirty?” then “What if they are twenty?” then “What if they are ten?”

Our God is a patient God. He answered all these questions without any hint of impatience; after all, it was a close friend who was asking the questions.

This is my view: Although every Christian is loved by God, not all really get into the closeness that God had with Abraham. There are Christians who have dedicated their lives completely to ‘walking the tight rope”. If certain things are not of God, these people will never associate with such things. These people believe everything God says, and everything that God has said through the medium of the Bible. I believe that these people are first Christians and they have gone a step further to become God’s friends.

On the other hand there are Christians, really born again and heaven-bound, but they appear and live like they are not. They choose what to believe and what not to believe. If God says, “This colour is red,” they believe. When God takes another colour and says, “This is blue,” they say, “But it looks greyish; it can’t be blue.” God cannot get into deeper closeness with such Christians because they are unreliable. In fact, some of these Christians are actually in danger of abandoning the faith. If it were Abraham, he would have said, “Yes” on both occasions, because it was God who would have given the colours!

I say this not to offend, but to encourage. You need to examine yourself and to change whatever might need to be changed, all the time guided by the will of God. If you chose the Christian life, then you need to be on the move, always. There is no room for monuments in Christ; there is room only for divine movements, people who are always on the go.

Every Christian is building his/her life on the foundation called Christ. But what does the Bible say about this building exercise? Listen to this: “If any man builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, his work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each man's work. If what he has built survives, he will receive his reward” 1 Cor 3:12-15, NIV.

Are you building using gold? Or are you building using straw? The Bible says whatever you are building will undergo the test of fire. Can straw withstand fire? These are questions that every Christian needs to be always seized with. We should not move aimlessly in this faith; rather, we exist to aim for the PRIZE!

“Be very careful, then, how you live-not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil,” (Eph 5:15-16, NIV).

God bless!

Views on Life & Personal Success

2010-08-30T08:15:00.002+02:00

People look at life differently, depending on what they believe.

In year 2003 a friend introduced me to success motivation and personal development. I then began to attend workshops on the subject, but came out a bit confused.

What confused me was the almost exclusive focus on wealth. I thought to myself, “Does success mean just wealth?” I believed that success was broader than just the material things. I also believed that success was supposed to be based on a certain foundation.

I sought God’s view and came across a verse that struck me. It says, “Dear friend, I pray that you may enjoy good health and that all may go well with you, even as your soul is getting along well” (3 John v2, NIV). “This is it! This is the definition of success!” I seemed to shout to myself.

If you are enjoying good health, if all is going well with you, if your soul is getting along well, what more would you seek in life?

John wished his friend nothing but real success. I believe this kind of success can only come from God. So as far as I am concerned, God is the source and foundation of genuine success.

I hope that I have helped you…or ignited controversy. Either way, I think it’s worth it.

Yes You Can!

2010-08-20T08:06:00.001+02:00

I remember when I was still a teenager. I was a stranger to God then. I kept grudges; real grudges, I mean. I would tremble in anger, even against an elder, sometimes to the point of crying.

But He moulded me! If you see me now, you see a totally different person. Simple. I can forgive easily. I associate with everybody without problems. It is now very difficult for anybody to make me angry.

But it is not my power or genius that has made me so. It's because He touched me, He continues to touch me, I let it be so. I really love this life; I just wouldn't function without God!

Here is a lesson that I learnt from this experience: God will mould you if you are flexible to His hand. He can't and won't mould clay pots from dry clay; we all know that. Only wet, "mouldable" clay will do.

If you are a Christian, the power to forgive is already in you. Victory over anger has already been deposited in you. But the deciding point is this: Are you willing to forgive? Are you willing to let go of the bitterness? Is your will subject to God's will? If it is, just say, "I am willing, my Lord!" and God will activate all these abilities in you.

In the end it is entirely a personal decision. It's not the Pastor's, or mine; the decision is YOURS.

Attitude & Action

2010-06-09T16:11:00.004+02:00

I have, on a number of occasions, overheard people say, “I am a Christian; I should therefore live a life that’s free from problems.”

That’s an unfortunate attitude. Whenever these people get into problems, as is sure to happen, they complain, “Why should this be happening to me? Why have you left me alone my God?” I don’t think God is amused by this kind of behaviour.

A Christian with this attitude finds themselves in perpetual frustration, because they are ill-prepared to deal with problems when they show up. Their weakness arises from their belief that they should never encounter problems in life simply because they are God's children. Because they don’t expect any problems, they have never sought to understand how Christians could deal with problems; neither do they care. But when problems show up, all they can do is lament.

This should never be the case with you.

God never said Satan will let Christians alone. The truth is that Satan remains totally opposed to every child of God and will do everything within his power to place stumbling blocks across the Christian’s course. Jesus Christ was no exception either. If you read about His life, you would agree with me that Jesus faced problems at every turn.

My position is that a Christian is not defined by freedom from problems; in fact I believe that there is nobody who could be free from them. While I understand that God protects His own, I believe that a number of times He actually rescues them. I also believe that problems build character; they teach good lessons. I would have been damaged if I had never encountered problems in my life.

A Christian is not defined by freedom from problems. Rather, he/she is defined by the way he/she views and deals with them. In this article I am going to give you one attitude and one action that are, or should be, the hallmarks of every Christian.

Here is the attitude: “If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to save us from it.” (Daniel 3:17, NIV). Exactly! It’s true that Christians find themselves in furnaces on many occasions. Some get burnt in the process; but some come out unscathed because they trust in God.

I have given you the appropriate attitude. To achieve victory, however, one has to translate their attitude into action. One might believe that God is willing and able to deliver them from problems. This however will not make them any different from the one who doesn’t. The difference only comes from the action that one takes on the basis of what they believe in. If you are a believer, you ought to implement your belief through the actions that you take. If you don’t take action, then your good attitude will not be of any help to you.

Here is the appropriate action: “The disciples went and woke him, saying, ‘Master, Master, we're going to drown!’ He got up and rebuked the wind and the raging waters; the storm subsided, and all was calm.” (Luke 8:24, NIV).

I am inspired by both the attitude displayed by Jesus Christ and the action that He took. Jesus retained his composure in the midst of problems; that’s attitude. He got up and rebuked the wind and the raging waters; that’s action. The storm subsided, and all was calm; that’s the result.

Here are three lessons for you: First, you need to trust in God. Second, you need to rebuke the wind and the raging waters. Finally, you need to make your results show.

God bless!

To God be the Glory

2010-05-11T08:05:00.017+02:00

“You may say to yourself, ‘My power and the strength of my hands have produced this wealth for me.’ But remember the LORD your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth, and so confirms his covenant, which he swore to your forefathers, as it is today.” (Deut 8:17-18, NIV).

Today I have two kinds of Christians on my mind.

The first kind is comprised of those who earnestly pray to God for a financial breakthrough. When they get the breakthrough, these people forsake God and immediately run into the wild, like warthogs, as if their breakthrough came from Satan.

The second kind is comprised of Christians who, after receiving the breakthrough, go on to take the glory…like, “I am bad! I am bad! You know it!” thus disregarding the fact that they asked and were given. “What do you have that you did not receive? And if you did receive it, why do you boast as though you did not?” (1 Cor 4:7, NIV).

“Be very careful, then, how you live-not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil.” (Eph 5:15-16, NIV).

May you give glory to God at every turn!

Lost Ark of the Covenant

2010-02-21T20:45:00.000+02:00

Some people have sought my views regarding the lost Ark of the Covenant, with specific reference to its linkage to Zimbabwe. My position is that I am yet to reach a position. I still need a great deal of additional information on this issue. It seems to me that the information provided so far is not adequate enough for one to be convinced of the Zimbabwe connection.

Raise Your Bar

2010-02-01T15:16:00.014+02:00

I remember it well; I can clearly visualise it. But back then, I thought it was just a game that children played.

There was this game that we often played while herding cattle and goats down in Njanja, Zimbabwe. I was about nine years old then and had two friends, both roughly my age. We would agree to play a game to entertain ourselves, because staring at cattle and goats grazing was to us the most boring undertaking.

Our options included swimming, playing soccer, bull fighting and high jump. We often opted for high jump. We would cut three long sticks and find ourselves a sandy place, which normally was close to the small stream that ran through our village. We chose sandy places to protect ourselves from injury, for after jumping, one would need to land softly. We would stick two of the sticks into the sand, about two metres apart and use the third as the crossbar, which we tied to the vertical sticks using string made from the bark of the mutondo tree.

We would then tie the crossbar initially at about half a metre from the ground. Then we would take turns to jump, each contestant evidently eager to emerge the champion. If we all managed to jump the initial height, we would raise the crossbar a little. We would again take turns to jump. We would continue like this until we reached a level at which only one of us could jump, and that person became the champion, to the disappointment of the other contestants.

I noted that those who failed to become champions, me included sometimes, would be greatly disturbed by their failure and would be engulfed by a strong sense of inferiority. The matter would become worse whenever the champion took our failure as a subject for ridicule. We would also wonder what it was that made the other boy superior and we would put extra effort in our practice, with a view to eventually dispossessing the defending champion of the crown.

I think you’ve noted that we were never satisfied with the comfort zone; we were always eager to go beyond it. We never kept the crossbar at the same height. Instead, we continued to raise it until we got to a level that was beyond us. Even when we got to this level, we never took that to be the end of the road. We would continue to focus on the game, putting more effort in our practice and competing more and more. That’s how some people break a world record and then after breaking it they go on to break it again. It’s called ‘breaking one’s record.”

I write today to urge you to ceaselessly raise your crossbar; and I am not referring to just one area of your life, because I believe that personal growth needs to be whole and balanced. In every area of your life, in every noble endeavour, you need to keep pushing the boundaries; you need to keep enlarging your territory.

I am never excited by the position called ‘best’. Instead, I respect the position called ‘better’, because after a ‘best’ there should be a ‘better’. ‘Better’ is always better than ‘best’. That’s how I look at life. People need to keep moving forward. Your life, your speech, your conduct, your performance should all exhibit continuous progress.

Look at this: “When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me” [1 Corinthians 13:11, NIV]. I am always inspired by this kind of talk.

What catches my attention most is the fact that Paul spoke in the past tense. He said, “I was a child”. When he was still a child, Paul thought, talked and reasoned like a child. That’s normal. But here is the exciting part: “When I became a man…” Glory to God! I appreciate the substance of it.

Paul said something like, “I was a child at one time, but never remained one; rather, I graduated into a man”. Do you catch this? He said when he became a man, he put childish things away. Oh God help us; there are still so many men and women in our society who still cling to childish ways like they are clinging to some kind of treasure!

As a child, Paul thought, reasoned and spoke like one. But when he became a man, he pushed all childish things away. But today we have so many men and women who still think, talk and reason like children, causing others much concern. Talking should never be taken to mean the emission of any kind of vocal sound. Rather, the sound ought to be structured, well thought-out and deliberately helpful, otherwise the result would be indigestible.

I often hear people say, “Mungatevedzere zvababa Moyo here?” [Meaning “You should never take Mr. Moyo seriously.”] This is so because even though Mr. Moyo is 50 years old, he still thinks, talks and reasons like an 8-year old.

You need to put childish things away; all of them! Start thinking, reasoning and talking like an adult. This is critical. You either grow up or lose credibility; no two ways to it.

What does the Word of God teach on these issues? It says, “Grow…” [2 Peter 3:18]. Praise God! This is a clear instruction. The Word of God also says, “Set an example...” [1Timothy 4:12]. But if one is living a roundabout kind of life, how could he/she set an example for others? The only example that such a person could set is a bad one, an example unfit to be emulated. When God exhorts you to set an example, His desire would be to see you transformed into a light that shows others the way; a good example.

This teaching should be construed in the context of one’s Christian life, career, education, marriage, family relations, social relations, business, etc. In all the facets of your life, you ought to ever raise your crossbar. Go to a higher level. Seek what’s better and go for it!

I once had the opportunity to listen to the speech of one man who was filled to capacity with divine observation. Here is one of his statements that caught my attention: “In fact, though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you the elementary truths of God's word all over again. You need milk, not solid food!” [Heb 5:12-13, NIV].

This is a serious indictment! The writer was of the view that his audience should have transformed into teachers, but they were, unfortunately, still struggling with elementary issues. What a disappointment it would be for you to awaken to the fact that the person who is supposed to teach you is himself/herself still struggling with vowels (a, e, i, o, u); my goodness!

Back then I thought high jump was just a game that children played. But I have since discovered that the game pointed to fundamental principles of life.

God bless!

Don't Worry; Be Happy!

2009-12-22T12:58:00.000+02:00

Today’s article is, at least as far as I am concerned, very important. By the way, I never publish anything unless I am convinced that it will benefit at least one person, and I hope that you too will find the teaching contained in this article not only useful, but also practical.

I must say that I find it extremely amazing that some a number of people choose to ignore very clear and valuable instructions; and these people obviously do so to their own disadvantage.

I will start with a very clear instruction that Jesus Christ gave his disciples. It says, “Therefore I tell you, do not worry…” (Matthew 6:25, NIV). I just love this. Clear. No ambiguity. No exceptions. Jesus said, “Do not worry.” Is this instruction flexible? No; it’s rigid. It says, “Do not.” You are instructed never to worry, whatever your personal circumstances might be. You sure need to give yourself some time to reflect on this.

I know that there are people who, after reading the above verse, rush to say, “It’s not possible,” and that mentality is the very reason some people are worrying themselves to death right now; real death, I mean. You are free to choose how you want to live your life. You are also free to choose where you want to live. You could opt for Wonderland; alternatively, you could opt for Worryland. The choice is yours. But whichever place you choose to live in, you need to first convince yourself why you have to live there!

“Do not worry,” Jesus Christ instructs us. I agree with the instruction; I also live it. If you continue to read the verse a little further you will note that He went on to teach that you should not worry about what you will eat or drink, etc. This however does not mean that you are expected to be loafing around waiting for manna from heaven! It actually means that you should never waste your time worrying; rather, you should use it to engage in useful activity. There indeed is a strong work ethic contained in some of the teachings of the Bible. Jesus Christ values work; but He hates worry. Worry is not work; nobody has ever profited from it. In reality, many people have suffered great loss because of worry!

Amongst your friends and relatives you sure could easily pick out experts at worry. I call them “accomplished worry warriors”. All these people do is brood over their circumstances. They are always sullen, with faces deliberately disfigured, always sighing, always hissing, shaking their heads and talking to nobody. And these people think they are doing themselves service! My goodness!

But why does Jesus Christ detest worry this much? Why did He teach against it? Why do I accept His teaching? Why should you accept it too? Just listen to this: “Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?” (Matthew 6:27, NIV). That’s the point! Jesus Christ expects you to always engage yourself in activities that are beneficial. Worrying is certainly not one of such activities. I am yet to see a man or woman who can stand up and testify that he/she got something positive by worrying. But I have already seen a lot of people who have been destroyed by it!

I am yet to see a man or woman who has managed to solve his/her problems by worrying. But I have seen that everybody who befriends worry only adds to his problems. If you are facing one problem and all you do is worry about it, then you add many more problems that you might even end up with at least five more, sometimes with each additional problem bigger than the original!

It’s common to hear somebody say, “I can’t find sleep; I am so worried,” and they say so as though they would be talking about something cute. Can one solve problems by going without sleep? No. You find that after spending a week without sleeping the person’s problems are still sticking to him/her. In some cases the problems would have multiplied due to lack of solution. Can one solve his/her problems by looking sullen? No. That won’t help! And do you think that by looking sullen somebody will come to your assistance? If that’s your mentality then you are still childish. Adults are not expected to be like that; rather, they are expected to deal with their problems and take charge of their lives. Can you add an hour to your life by worrying? This question still begs for an answer from you.

I suggest you do the following if you are faced with a problem. First, write down, as clearly as possible, the nature of the problem that you face. I have spoken to a number of people who thought they had problems when in reality they had none; the people had, instead, become their own problem because of the way they viewed the circumstances of their lives, as well as how they reacted to such circumstances. And after some discussion I would hear one say, “So why was I worried?” So you should make sure that you are clear about the nature of your problem before you start running around broadcasting that you’ve got a problem.

Second, and if you are convinced that you indeed have a problem, write down how the problem came about, i.e. your understanding of the source of the problem. If you know how the problem started this might help you in solving it or in preventing its recurrence in future.

Third, and probably the most critical step, you need to ask yourself the question, “What are my options.” I believe that for every problem there’s quite a range of possible solutions, which are the options available to you. Write down all your options, including those that might appear silly. Once you complete the list, and convinced yourself that there are no more options remaining, you should go on to select what you consider to be the best option and implement it.

For example, somebody may be mad at you because of something you did to them, and they have told you that they no longer want to see you. You might, however, still conclude that the right course of action to take, from the options available to you, is to go and see them and offer an apology. So you should go and offer an apology. It might be accepted; it might not, but you would have done your very best under the circumstances and you should therefore consider the matter closed.

Instead of taking this course of action, some people spend eternity worrying about their situation. “Oh he no longer wants to see me!” they lament day and night; but what benefit does it bring? Will you be accepted because you’ve worried about it? No. So, all that’s needed is for you to take positive steps to solve the problem! Situations are not changed by worry. Problems are not solved by worrying. Rather, the only person who will live a quality life is one who has sent worry to hell. All that this person does is to take positive, calculated steps to rectify whatever problems that he/she might encounter in life.

If you do not sleep because of worry then you are most likely to develop sleep disorders, hence health problems like high blood pressure. In addition to this, people who operate in partnership with worry lack proper concentration on virtually everything pertaining to their lives…their work, their family and their future, because all the time they are lamenting, and thereby neglecting the useful things of life. These people are perpetually overwhelmed by their problems! So they lose out on health. They lose out on wealth. They lose out on relations. They may even lose their lives. So worry is negative; it is therefore clear why Jesus Christ taught against it.

I have also noted something; many of the problems that people face today are self-created. People often bring problems on themselves because of the manner they choose to conduct their lives. It may be by what they plan or decide, the ideas they choose to implement or the words they choose to utter. One sure way to minimize problems is to tread the path of life meticulously, all the time being sensitive of the feelings of others.

But somebody might ask, “But how could I overcome worry?” I am a Christian; I draw my abilities from a bottomless well. So do my brothers and sisters in Christ. My brothers and sisters do not ask this question because their wells are deep. But if you really want an answer from me I will give it to you. The answer is: “Just change your focus”.

When faced with a problem, you have two options to focus on. The first option is “worry”. You could opt for worry whenever you are faced with a problem. By the way a number of people actually think that worry is kind of cute!

The second option is called “solution”. It is only those people who do nothing about their problems who are prone to worry. Those who immediately take steps to solve their problems have no room for worry because their entire attention is taken up by their quest for solutions. It’s really a choice one has to make, and I sure hope that you will always opt for solutions!

Having come this far I now take the honour to give you a sparkling instruction. Here goes: “Be joyful always” (1Timothy 5:16, NIV). Wonderland! The fact that you’ve read this article up to this point suggests that you understand the language used. But I pray to God that He gives you a deeper understanding of the meaning of two words used in this verse. The words are ‘joyful’ and ‘always’. Praise God!

Is the teaching contained in the above verse flexible? Absolutely not! It says ‘always’. Are there exceptions? No. Should you be joyful when it’s raining? Yes. Should you be joyful when it’s overcast? Yes. Should you be joyful when the sky is clear-blue? Yes of course. Should you be joyful when you have enough? Yes. Should you be joyful when you lack? Yes. That’s the point! That’s the definition of ‘always’. But it’s not just about being always joyful; what it means is that in your joy you should solve whatever problems that you might face. Now that’s what I call real joy!

So, don’t worry; be happy. Do I hear some whistling?

God bless!

Phanuel Muverengwi is a renowned Zimbabwean Christian motivational writer. His books are on sale in bookshops in Zimbabwe and online at www.muverengwi.co.zw and www.verenga.com..

Mind That Tongue!

2009-12-16T20:13:00.000+02:00

Never take your tongue for granted.

The tongue is a very valuable piece of equipment but only if deployed from the launch-pad of wisdom. If deployed anyhow, the tongue always proves to be a very dangerous chemical weapon that destroys not only the intended victims, but its owner as well. So never take your tongue for granted.

Consider this: “The tongue has the power of life and death, and those who love it will eat its fruit” (Proverbs 18:12, NIV). Now look at this: “The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole person, sets the whole course of [his] life on fire…” (James 3:6, NIV).

The Bible contains a lot of useful teaching on the subject. For a start let’s focus on the following verse: “My dear brothers, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak” (James 1:19, NIV).

There are so many people who are currently living with deep regrets because of the words that they recklessly uttered. The words have brought great misery, discomfort and embarrassment to them that they now wish they had never uttered them. This situation arose because the people spoke or responded in haste. Unfortunately, outside Parliament it’s not easy to eat back one’s words; what has been said cannot be ‘unsaid’, and an apology might not work either. If only these people had listened to James! James taught people to be quick to listen but slow to speak. But some people are by choice slow to listen and quick to speak, resulting in debris all over the place!

Let me give you a punching statement: “Do you see a man who speaks in haste? There is more hope for a fool than for him” (Proverbs 29:20, NIV). Do not belittle these words; they proceeded from the mouth of a very wise man. Applying his wisdom, the man undertook a study on how people were using their tongues, and from the results that he got he concluded that a person who speaks in haste is worse than a fool in status. A fool has more hope in life than a man who speaks in haste. Just imagine this; you might not consider yourself to be a fool, but if you speak in haste then you have less hope than a fool. If this is the case, why would you still insist on being quick to speak? Train yourself to think before you speak; you should never permit floods to burst the banks of your mouth!

As I was reading my Bible the other day I came across a statement that got me thinking. Here goes: “No man can tame the tongue” (James 3:8, NIV). We surely need the enabling power of the Holy Spirit in this regard. We might try to tame the tongue on our own, but we always come short. There are several people who have vowed never to speak in a certain way only to catch themselves doing just that! Such people often touch their lips and exclaim, “Poor me, I have just said it!” So, no man can tame the tongue; what we need is to surrender this gadget to the One who can tame it for us.

We have established that a person who speaks in haste is more hopeless than a fool. Let us now consider the position given to one who always uses his tongue wisely. Just listen to this: “If anyone is never at fault in what he says, he is a perfect man able to keep his whole body in check” (James 3:2, NIV). Praise God! This is an important statement. Do you identify with it? The verse states that if you can control your tongue, then you can control the other organs of your body. But if you deploy your tongue in a reckless manner, then there is a high likelihood that you also deploy the remainder of your organs in a similar way. This will certainly land you on a very hard place!

The other lesson that I got from the Bible is that the tongue has an immense ability to create specific situations. Depending on how you deploy it, the tongue could be an architect of either order or chaos. The way you speak makes you either a construction worker or a member of the demolition team. One sentence can bring sparkling sunshine across the whole world; another can send heat waves of sorrow and suffering to the entire human race.

I have learnt a thing or two from what God did when He created the heavens and the earth; the first being an appreciation of the power of creation embedded in our tongues and the second being the need for each one of us to use the tongue only in a manner that results in the common good.

If you read the story of creation in Genesis Chapter 1 you will note that God used specific words to create the universe that He had first captured in His imagination. For example, God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light (Gen. 1:3,NIV). If you continue to read the chapter you’ll see statements like, “God said…” and “And it was so,” meaning whatever God commanded to come into existence did come into existence.

We do so daily, sometimes in an absent-minded kind of way. Every day there are people using their tongues to create evil; everyday there are people deploying their tongues to create wonders. We need to be very careful what we say, because by what we say we create what we want to see! Never take your tongue for granted, ndapota zvangu!

The most touching part about the story of creation is this: “And God saw all that he had made and it was very good” (Gen: 1:31). I am humbled. This is a challenge for you and me.

This is what happened in this case: First, God captured in his mind the kind of picture that He intended to produce. After that He spoke certain words to bring forth the desires of His heart. Second, God looked at what He had produced and saw that it was not only good, but ‘very’ good.

Consider for a moment the kind of words that you’ve used in the past month. What did they produce? Was the product good or bad? If it was good, was it ‘very’ good?

This is the lesson: You should not start by speaking; rather, you should start by establishing that which you intend to create by your speech. After establishing that then you use words to bring about your desire. But all the time you need to learn from God. In the story of creation mentioned earlier you should have noted that God decided to create something good and used relevant words to bring it about. After creating it He evaluated it and found it to be very good. So He was satisfied. I implore you never to be satisfied by something that on evaluation turns out to be very bad!

I urge you to think about these issues always. Keep training your tongue in the Lord. Do not give up if at the first, second and third attempts you don’t succeed; surely someday you will become a perfect person who can control first his tongue, then the rest of his organs. What a joy it would be for the world for just one person to take dominion over his tongue!

God bless!

Zimbabwean Writers: Phanuel Muverengwi is a renowned Zimbabwean Christian motivational writer. His books are on sale in bookshops in Zimbabwe and online at http://www.muverengwi.co.zw/ and http://www.verenga.com/.

Walk In It!

2009-11-29T12:13:00.000+02:00

From the time God arrested me I have sought to learn; I have sought to understand the deeper things of God. It’s an endless process; I am still learning. I will only stop learning when I am taken up to Heaven.

Over the years, while querying certain things in my mind, I have come to believe that there are two kinds of Christians; just two. The first group comprises Christians who mean business, Christians who are serious about worship, Christians who are strictly focused on the Kingdom life. Such Christians are always alert, always seeking deeper knowledge pertaining to this wonderful life.

On the other hand there are Christians who appear absent-minded, regardless of the period they’ve worshipped God, to the extent that those who ought to be teachers are still fighting for milk reserved for those in kindergarten. These Christians are ignorant even of the most basic Christian principles and are not even worried about this. It actually appears as though they are unaware of their new-birth status. This is quite disturbing!

It’s not enough to be born again. God does not expect us to end at the point of receiving Christ in our hearts. He expects us to go further and live the new life. Yes we are children of God, but we must walk in the light of our new birth. Why should Christians live like they are not born again? Why should Christians act like they are still in the world? The new birth should burst forth from the inside and manifest on the outside. We should not just hear the Word and shout, “Praise God!” but we should go forward and live it!

Look here: Christians are supposed to be Christ’s ambassadors. Zimbabwean ambassadors abroad are addressed as His/Her Excellency because they represent the Head of State. They talk the same language as the Head of State, they behave like the Head of State, they do only those things that they know the Head of State would approve; otherwise they would be recalled.

In the same manner we have a Heavenly Head of State, and as Christians we should be representing Him here on earth. People should not see us in us; instead they should see Christ in us! If people continue to see us in us it means that we are not walking in the light of our new birth. It is just like an ambassador going around claiming to be a Head of State, representing himself. Would the real Head of State be happy with such an ambassador?

As soon as God arrested me I awakened to His abiding presence. Even as a brand new Christian I became acutely aware of the will of God on various issues pertaining to my life. I believe the Spirit of God started ministering to me right from the time I said, “I do”. I corrected whatever I felt needed to be corrected. Wherever I was, I felt like the Father was towering over me all the time; I still feel the same way. God was moulding me, just as He continues to do, teaching me to walk in the light of the new birth, teaching me how to always be a true representative of Christ on earth.

There is a certain verse in the Bible that makes my heart beat a little faster each time I read it. Here’s the verse: Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle and set apart for the gospel of God (Romans 1:1, NIV).

Each time I read this verse my attention is drawn to two words. These words are “set apart.” Paul was set apart; glory to God! Peter was set apart. I too was set apart. You were set apart.

The striking thing in this verse is that Paul was fully conscious of his calling; this is why he could speak like that. He said, “I, Paul, was set apart for the gospel of God.” Excellent! Paul could live within the confines of his calling because he was always conscious of it. He was separated unto the gospel. His knowledge of this resulted in him living in the light of his separation! Are you conscious that as a Christian you were separated unto God? If you are, why would you still want to live like you were separated unto another?

The Bible says, “You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl (Matthew 5:14-15, NIV). This means one thing. If you are not living in line with your new birth then you are a light located under a bowl. This kind of light is the same as no light, for it benefits nobody, and God would not be too happy with a light that does not serve the purpose He intended for it.

But what’s the Lord’s instruction on this matter? Here goes, “…let your light shine before men that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven (Matthew 5:16, NIV). Do you see why God gets disappointed when you fail to walk in the light of your new birth? It’s because people will not see any good deeds in you and will therefore not praise God because of what they see in you. But if your light shines as it ought to, then people will see the sparkle in your life and will want the same thing. You will draw them to God so that they praise Him together with you. You see?

You need to be thinking about these issues always. The world is groaning for salvation, but salvation will only come to them if we, as ambassadors of Christ, live lives that will shine over the unsaved. But if our lights are in reality darkness, then how would we succeed in exhorting others to come to the light that they do not see in us?

Here is something to think about this week: “…let your light shine before men that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven (Matthew 5:16, NIV).

God bless!

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On Tithes and Offerings

2009-11-06T07:30:00.000+02:00

I have listened to pastors teach on tithes and offerings and have reached my own position regarding the issue.

I have observed that some pastors encourage members of the congregation to give their tithes and offerings on the basis that the congregation would get more back. I have no quarrel with this, it's biblical; but I think that there is need for pastors to go further in their teaching than "getting more back." As far as I am concerned, the attitude of just wanting to "get more back" has the potential to lead some christians astray.

Many people now consider the issue of tithing and offering as an economic principle. You put something in, you get more out; what a rate of return! Because of this mindset, some people have taken the Spirit of God out of their giving; and it's quite unfortunate, at least as far as I am concerned. Giving to God should never be taken as a mere physical act; it's spiritual. I do not think that Jesus would be too happy with a christian who is just focussed on "getting more back"!

My position is that pastors ought to teach their congregations to give in order to support the work of God. Look here: we donate to charity because we feel it's a worthy cause. Right? Why then should we insist on the "getting more or something back" when it comes to giving to God? Truly, hasn't God given us a lot already? Is the blood of Jesus an ordinary gift? Is the life that He has given us inconsequential? Won't we just give because we are grateful for what He has already accomplished in us and for us?

As far as I am concerned, if anyone would not give to God unless their giving is linked to "getting more or something back" then that person is either not a christian or is still an infant in the Kingdom, regardless of the number of years he/she has worshipped God.

I believe that people ought to be taught more on giving to God and the teaching should not just dwell on "getting more or something back". The world is groaning, waiting to see the manifestation of the mature sons of God, and we cannot grow to this level unless we understand the need to give to God without conditions!

What did the early believers do? They pulled everything they had together to further the Ministry of Jesus Christ. The bible says, "none of them had something to call his own"; what an elevated position!

This is my attitude: I tithe and give my offerings to God because I understand the importance of doing so. I am happy already; I am grateful to God already. So when I give I do not expect anything back, honestly. My giving is just an expression of my gratitude to God. I do not want to see the work of God being hampered by lack of finances and I know my contribution comes in useful.

Does God bless me for my giving? Yes, He does, and I am extremely delighted about this! So what's the difference? The difference is that when I give my eye is not on blessings, but on ensuring that whatever needs to be done would not be stopped due to lack of resources.

Honestly, I will never link my giving to blessings. I will never say to God, "I will only give to you on condition that you give me more or something back." I feel it would be highly selfish for me to do this. When God gave me this new life He didn't attach conditions to it. If He had attached some conditions, I sure would have failed to meet them. So His gift was unconditional. Where would I get the courage to demand of Him something just because I gave to Him a dollar that He gave to me in the first place!

God gives. He is a loving, generous, providing God. But I think we need to change our mindsets. If you give according to the will of God, with a cheerful heart, then you've done what you need to do. Nothing would discourage you in future, because your part is done. But if you make unwise demands on God and you "see" nothing happening afterwards, you are bound to be negatively affected.

So be sure of your ground when you give to God! You've to be sure of your motivation. This is my position regarding these issues. What do you think?

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You've Never Lost Out

2009-08-31T11:34:00.003+02:00

It struck me one day.

Here I was, walking down the street, when suddenly my mind’s voice said to me, “Phanuel, you must understand that you have never lost out on anything in your life.” I stopped and asked myself, “So what has been happening?” The voice said, “You have been gaining, gaining, gaining. All the things that you thought you had missed are actually in a ‘bank’ account from which you are free to withdraw both the principal sum plus compound interest.”

This to me was like a breath of fresh, fragrant air. I had spent a number of years thinking I was losing out. When I failed to get the job that I desired, I thought I had lost out. When a project that I started failed mid-way, I thought I had lost out. When I fell sick, I thought I had lost out on good health. I just thought I had lost out.

But here I was, being lectured on the correct perspective to the issues of life. The voice said, “You have never lost out on anything in your life.” I had to make a choice after I heard the voice. I either had to believe the voice, or ignore it, and each of the choices was going to have far-reaching consequences to my life.

I chose to believe the voice. “So what has been happening?” I asked. “You’ve been gaining.” Oh how excited I was! It was like I was awakening from some kind of sleep and discovering that a new day had dawned.

I have been gaining. I have been banking. I have never lost out on anything. I am free to withdraw not only the principal sum, but also the compound interest. Glory to God!

I have learnt this great lesson; the state of a person’s life is strongly dependant on how they view their past, present and future. It is a function of how one defines the things that happen to them or things that occur in one's environment. It is also a function of the ingredients of one's vocabulary.

For example, whenever I thought and said, “I lost out,” I really felt that way and lived that way, and my life was badly affected by this kind of attitude. But now that I believe I have never lost out on anything, and that I can never lose anything, I am like a brand new person. I now think that it’s bad to use the same kind of vocabulary. I also think it’s evil to even entertain similar thoughts.

As a Christian, I have the ability to pursue, overtake and recover.

I am a child of God; God is my Father. Whatever belongs to my Father belongs to me. My Father has never lost out on anything. In fact, He cannot lose out. He is the Creator. The Creator cannot lose that which He created, because if it were to happen, He would simply create a trillion of the same kind. Do you see how the principal sum and the compound interest come into being?

Satan is a liar and an enemy of everything good; he is against progress. Satan fights against a positive frame of mind and godly positions. In reality, the Satan-induced thoughts result in false positions.

You’ve got to be careful where you draw your inspiration and information from. You either go with God or go with His enemy. God’s positions are diametrically opposite those of the devil. God’s training is totally different. The fruits that one obtains from associating with God are different from those obtained from associating with the devil. In God you get ‘day’. In the devil it is always a ‘night of pitch darkness’.

From today, never say, “I lost out on money-making opportunities.” Never say, “I lost out on good health.” Don’t say, “I do not think I can salvage my relationship with my parents.” Never say, "I lost out on education". Never entertain the thought that your relationship with God has been irreparably damaged, or that God will never accept you as His child after all that you've done. Don’t entertain such ideas! You must adopt the mindset of pursuing, overtaking and recovering.

The important thing is that you’ve got an opportunity to complete a withdrawal slip. On the slip you should write something like this:

Nothing can separate me from God.
I claim all outstanding opportunities with interest.
I take back 200% control over my health and wealth.
Even though we now do not see eye to eye, my parents and I are going to have the best relations of our lives.

After this you’ve got to sign the withdrawal slip and hand it to the ‘bank’ teller.

But you need to be sure of your ground. You need the right attitude if you are to turn your desires into reality. If you doubt, you certainly will fall short.

Take charge of your spiritual life. Take charge of your health. Take charge of your wealth. Take charge of your relations. Take charge of your present and future, at the same time drawing lessons from your past.

It’s time to withdraw the principal sum plus the compound interest. Are you ready?

God bless!

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Zimbabwe International Book Fair (ZIBF) 2009

2009-06-19T13:14:00.000+02:00

The motto of this site is: "Reading maketh a full man, conference a ready man, and writing an exact man." Sir Francis Bacon.

So it was with great excitement that I learnt of this year's edition of the Zimbabwe International Book Fair. Reading maketh a full man. Writing makes an exact man. And this year the full man and the exact man have been given an opportunity to meet at the Zimbabwe International Book Fair. And the theme is quite relevant; it says "Reading and Writing Zimbabwe", which means that the full man plus the exact man equals the Zimbabwe International Book Fair. Being both a full man and an exact man myself I will make it a point to attend. I urge you to attend as well; it's important. If you are not a writer then at least you should be a reader. You certainly can't be none of the above! So you will stand to benefit by attending.

The ZIBF will run from July 27 to August 1, 2009 and Senator David Coltart, the Minister of Education, Sports, Arts and Culture, is expected to officially open the Fair.

"We are seeking to come up with something new. Our objective is to give the readers and stakeholders what they want and provide an opportunity for them to meet some of the leading authors as well as discuss current challenges in the book sector," Greenfield Chilongo, the Acting ZIBF Executive Director, said.

"The grant received from the Culture Fund has made it possible for us to ensure that the visitors to the Book Fair are admitted free of charge," Chilongo said. Now this is encouraging. There obviously is no reason for one to miss this year's edition of the Zimbabwe International Book Fair, for visitors will be admitted free of charge, thanks to Culture Fund!

One of the highlights of the ZIBF is the Indaba conference. The conference, which will be held at the Crown Plaza Monomotapa on July 27 and 28, provides an opprtunity for stakeholders in the book industry, i.e, writers, publishers, academics, readers and booksellers to discuss industry developments and way forward.

The other events that will take place at the ZIBF 2009 are book launches, author and publisher awards, literature reading, writers' workshops, literary debates and book exhibitions.

Be sure not to miss the 2009 edition of the Zimbabwe International Book Fair!

Hope - Life's Driving Force

2009-06-10T18:24:00.000+02:00

I hope I find you in the best of health, both spiritually and physically, and may the good Lord bless you as you read this article.

I have observed and have become totally convinced that there are just two kinds of people in this world, and the lives of these two kinds of people are as different as day is to night. Only two kinds, not more.

There are various trials and tribulations in this world, but only two kinds of people. There are various levels of poverty, but only two kinds of people. There are various forms of sicknesses and disease, but only two kinds of people. You put the two groups under exactly the same difficulty and they react in totally different ways. It’s amazing!

Whatever situation you might be facing right now, you are either hopeful about it or hopeless. These are the two kinds of people that I have been referring to. One kind is made up of the hopeful and the other is made up of the hopeless. You are either hopeful or hopeless; there’s no middle position. And I find the word ‘hopeless’ quite disturbing!

You need to stay armed with hope; it's critical.

But what is hope? The Random House College Dictionary Revised Edition defines hope as, “The feeling that what is desired is also possible, or that events may turn out for the best. To look forward to with desire and reasonable confidence. To believe , desire or trust.”

Let me give you some of the characteristics of hope:

First, hope is not passive; it’s active, energetic. Some people think that to be hopeful is the same thing as sitting down on the doorstep and staring at the horizon, waiting for something to pop up. To me that’s not hoping at all; it’s sheer idleness! Goethe said, “Sitting and waiting is not my way of doing things.” You surely need the same mindset. If you sit and wait, then you are doing nothing. If I see somebody sitting down looking sullen, I would think that something will be the matter with him. Hope is active! If you hope for something you don’t sit and wait for it to manifest; rather, you bring it into manifestation. Hope is not passive; infact, real hope is a turbo-charged driving force. If it doesn’t drive you, then it’s no hope it all; it’s something totally different!

Second, hope never relents; it just never surrenders. The hopeful persevere. That's the power of hope. The hopeless never persevere and some of them never even attempt a thing; all they do is shout at others. If you are hopeful, it means you have the feeling that what you desire is possible. That’s positive thinking. It means that you have reasonable confidence regarding what you look forward to. So nothing could stop you from working towards that which you hope for.

Third, hope does not disappoint, unless it is the 'sitting and waiting' type. The Bible also teaches that hope triumphs over difficulties (Rom. 4:18).

What problems are you facing right now? What difficulties? What ailments? What level of poverty? The result of these circumstances on your life will depend on whether you are hopeless or hopeful about them. Mark my words - hopelessness is a killer. It kills the spirit first, then the body follows. So from today, make a deliberate choice to be always hopeful. You’ve got to learn to look beyond the circumstances.

God bless!

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Zimbabwean Writers: Phanuel Muverengwi is a renowned Zimbabwean Christian motivational writer. His books are on sale in bookshops in Zimbabwe and online at http://www.muverengwi.co.zw/ and http://www.verenga.com/.-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------