Florrie's

noreply@blogger.com (Florence Bugembe) — Wed, 28 Oct 2015 08:37:00 +0000

In the void, in the shimmering darkness, I am. In there is my true self.

I am the wind that blows, I am the snow flake that floats, and I am the consciousness that grows

Then there a semblance of self. A centered calmness; warm and gentle

He is delightful. He is me. He is home. .

He is me- my I am.

- For Harold.

Namaste

A New Me....

noreply@blogger.com (Florence Bugembe) — Wed, 28 Oct 2015 08:35:00 +0000

I am now getting to know who i am and from hereon, my posts will be more about my self-awareness and my journey to and experiences of my road to I AM-ness.

As my past blogs were a huge part of this path, i will not delete them, but will allow them to be a mirage of these new experiences...

-Namaste-
(the spirit in me salutes the spirit in you)

The Grace of God.

noreply@blogger.com (Florence Bugembe) — Tue, 10 Dec 2013 08:45:00 +0000

Jesus said “you shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free” (John 8:32). It’s not truth that sets you free; it’s the truth you KNOW that sets you free. So here goes…

Out of his fullness we have all received grace in place of grace already given. For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. (John 1:16-17)

Grace is undeserved, unearned, unmerited favor. Jesus is the face of Grace. For he died sins he didn’t commit for a people who absolutely deserved death but didn’t get it- Grace was the end of the old and the beginning of the new covenant. The old covenant of “you do this, and I will do that” is gone, what we have now is God saying “I have done this and that- you just receive” This new way of living under Grace.

In this new covenant, the law has changed, and so has the way we do things. We might still do the same things as we did before we believed, but the intentions and the attitude behind our acts has changed. E.g in Kenya the law of drinking alcohol was changed to only after 5pm- people still drink, but now only after 5. Likewise smoking in public was banned, people still smoke, but only from smoking zones. Also the law changed in that when you co-habit with your partner, you are deemed man and wife after 6 months- couples still date but probably would now not co-habit so readily or if they do it is till 5.5 months (lol)…point is, when the law changes, the acts might remain, but the way of doing them changes.

Back to the new covenant- it is no longer give 10%, but give as your heart leads, it is no more he who prays longer and louder gets heard, but we are told to pray in secret, it is no more that when you sin you should offer a lamb as a sacrifice, but receive the forgiveness already offered; God is no longer YHWH (a name that cannot be spoken) but we now call him “Abba Father” (Daddy)! And so much more.

In Grace, because it is undeserved, there is nothing we can do to make God love us more or hate us, because when Christ rose, God now sees Him instead of us. Our bad deeds are hid in Christ. Grace is all about receiving, by faith, what Christ has already given us. Grace is a guarantee “Therefore, the promise comes by faith, so that it may be BY GRACE and may be GUARANTEED to all Abraham’s offspring.

(Romans 4:16.) Things are easier for we do not have to do anything to get from God, we simply need to believe and receive. “Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, BELIEVE that you HAVE RECEIVED it, and it will be yours” (Mk 11:24)
In summary, Grace is the essence of the Gospel, it is the Jesus in the flesh. For us to continue to understand and live the life Christ died to give us, knowing Grace (and faith) are of paramount importance.

The old law is not just the 10 commandments, it is all the 613 rules and regulations in Leviticus that were given to the Israelites.

.not my, but let your will be done

noreply@blogger.com (Florence Bugembe) — Tue, 10 Dec 2013 08:45:00 +0000

-

This was not Christ implying that he did not know the will of God, but was more of Christ submitting to the will of God. A will that, BECAUSE he knew was going to come to pass, was in agony over it in the flesh-hence the Angel needed to come to strengthen Him in the Spirit- (This is profound on its own).

God will comes to pass when we obey His word, and when we are weak in the flesh to do this, we like Jesus, can in faith receive strength from the Holy Spirit, to submit our flesh and believe in the promises of God.

Faith in Action

noreply@blogger.com (Florence Bugembe) — Tue, 10 Dec 2013 08:44:00 +0000

Faith is believing you have something as true/real before you see it. Technically, we walk by faith every day. E.g we believe that when we give the lady at the kiosk 1,500 shillings, she will give us a bottle of Coke. Let’s imagine that the lady did not give you the bottle of coke after giving her 1,500, what would we do? Logically we would find out if the price went up or if she run out of coke. Right? So as long as the kiosk is open, stocked and I have my 1,500 Shs, I know and believe that I will get my Coke.

Now, has God’s supply run out, or has he upped the price? Clearly no. Similarly, as long as God lives, and His promises still stand, and I have faith, I know and believe that I will get what I ask.

So let’s examine the principles used to get this Coke.

1- I will need to know that the kiosk sells Coke.
2- I will need to have 1,500 shs in my pocket.
3- I will need to walk to the kiosk.
4- I will need to ask for coke.
5- I will need to pay 1,500.
6- I will get my coke.

Translation:

1- I will need to know that God promises my healing (Read the Bible, find the promise)
2- I will need to know the cost of healing. (Christ)
3- I will need to go to God in prayer. (Pray)
4- I will need to ask for healing. (Ask in prayer, speak your faith, say it)
5- I will need to pay for my healing. (Christ)
6- I will be healed. (Yay!)

Here’s the fun part- the price for healing was already paid at the cross! So this is what we have now:
1- I will need to know that God promises my healing.
2- I will need to go to God in prayer.
3- I will need to ask for healing (knowing and believing it has already been paid for)
4- I will be healed

A combination of all these principles nurtures belief. For when we are sure that we will get whatever has been given unto us, we believe and cannot doubt. (Mark 11:24)

So can we believe we are righteous, forgiven, saved, healed, rich, and happy? Sure, as long as we can find a promise in the Bible that God said, we already got it!

Why do bad things happen?

noreply@blogger.com (Florence Bugembe) — Tue, 10 Dec 2013 08:43:00 +0000

One of life’s most famous questions.

Following the destructive Typhoon in the Philippines, the terrorist attack at Westgate, a lady gang raped for endless days in Uganda; just open a newspaper, we see bad things happening each day (1 of the reasons I do not read newspapers or watch/listen to news).

I believe we live in a fallen world (Adam and his chic did this) and because of it, there are some natural things that will happen, things that will be bad and/or done by bad people because of the evil in this fallen world. Earthquakes in Haiti were just the natural results of tectonic plates rubbing against each other; the Typhoon was caused by a storm that drew lots of heat from the ocean and reached peak intensity when reaching the island, the Westgate tragedy was done by bad bad people as were the rapists.

We honestly cannot say God did all these. “Those who are submitted to God have supernatural help to deal with life in a fallen world and those who don't have a relationship with the Lord find how limited their natural abilities really are.”

We cannot think that God did these things, for if that is the case then we should not try and help or pray against them coz then we will be going against God’s will. If God is doing all these, lets us get out of the way and let God do his thing. Sounds ridiculous, right?

Blaming God for tragedies has turned some people against God.

Adam’s sin not only affected mankind, but the animals “Cursed are you above all livestock and all wild animals” (Gen 3:14) – meaning, the livestock and wild animals were also cursed; the world as well “Cursed is the ground because of you”- (Gen 3:17). Things are now not perfect!

This is why we need to study the word to know what we have, to be able to live in this fallen world. Jesus was born in a fallen world. He lived in it for 33 years, and he too dealt with natural forces-storms and winds (Mark 4:39), hunger, sadness, fear etc. I believe the reason he rose from the dead was to defeat the curses and redeem for us the authority that Adam lost; and then God gave the apostles revelation to tell us how to live with this new authority that we now have in Christ.

But it takes knowledge and persistence to grow and develop our God given authority to the point of making a difference in our lives especially in times of disaster and suffering.

Sample Bible Study

noreply@blogger.com (Florence Bugembe) — Tue, 10 Dec 2013 08:42:00 +0000

We all know these verses from 2 Peter 1:2-4

2 Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord,
3 According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue:
4 Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.

…now this is how the Spirit has opened it up to me, after study…..

Unmerited abundant favour and complete, whole provision and serenity has been numerously increased to me IN the intimate perception and discernment of God and Jesus our Lord,

because His absolute exercisable authority has given to me everything that is related to physical existence on earth and in Heaven, and everything that pertains to being like God and having godly character through intimately perceiving and understanding God who called me because of His extensive importance and good moral character;

and it is THROUGH this intimate perception and discernment of God, and through this absolute exercisable authority that I have been given unlimited, countless and highly prized promises, that through these promises I have a share in the being, self, desire, nature, and very emotions of God, because I have escaped the exploitation, deceit and dishonesty of the world’s excessive and uncontrollable desire.

Now imagine how much more, will be revealed when I meditate on it!

There is power in mediation, for in it, the Spirit speaks to us

Why we Should not Sin.

noreply@blogger.com (Florence Bugembe) — Tue, 10 Dec 2013 08:41:00 +0000

SIN DOES NOT AFFECT GOD, BUT IT AFFECTS US. God said he will not remember our sin no more. Therefore, when we sin we are the ones who will REMEMBER it, we are the ones who will FEEL CONDEMNED and we are the ones who will live with the GUILT.

When we sin, we give the devil a foothold to condemn and fill us with guilt; and guilt causes doubt and unbelief which hinders our faith and relationship with God. The times you feel that God is mad at you- this is the devil using your sin to condemn you. So when we are tempted to sin, remember we are only going to HURT OURSELVES, NOT GOD.

For now that we are born again in Spirit, our CONSCIOUSNESS HAS CHANGED, and is now more sensitive to God and less sensitive to sin. This is why even before we sin, we know that what we are about to do is not right, but sadly, we do it anyway.

We ALREADY have Favour!

noreply@blogger.com (Florence Bugembe) — Wed, 23 Oct 2013 10:51:00 +0000

I thank my God at all times for you because of the grace (the favor and spiritual blessing) of God which was bestowed on you in Christ Jesus
“[So] that in Him in every respect you were enriched, in full power and readiness of speech [to speak of your faith] and complete knowledge and illumination [to give you full insight into its meaning].

In this way [our] witnessing concerning Christ (the Messiah) was so confirmed and established and made sure in you That you are not [consciously] falling behind or lacking in any special spiritual endowment or Christian grace [^[^a^]the reception of which is due to the power of divine grace operating in your souls by the Holy Spirit], while you wait and watch [constantly living in hope] for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and [His] being made visible to all.

And He will establish you to the end [keep you steadfast, give you strength, and guarantee your vindication; He will be your warrant against all accusation or indictment so that you will be] guiltless and irreproachable in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ (the Messiah).

God is faithful (reliable, trustworthy, and therefore ever true to His promise, and He can be depended on); by Him you were called into companionship and participation with His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.- 1 Corinthians 1:4-9 (AMP)

The favor of God WAS bestowed on us when, through Christ, we believed. There is nothing we can do to get it, only receive it. How exciting is this! Contrary to popular belief, favor is not so much about wealth or material possessions, but more of being found delightful, pleasurable and receiving kindness from God. This should be the end of striving to please God. We should rest in the knowledge that through Christ we have now (freely) obtained favour from God.

Mary was called highly favoured – as the chosen Mother of Jesus; Rachel was beautiful and well favoured, Joseph was also well favoured, Esther obtained favour in the King’s sight. Now, from the verse above, we have this same favour, (This is the year of the Lord’s favour) and more for we are sons of God! Rachel, Joseph and Caleb are good examples of what the favour of God means, but we are more blessed than them for with favour we also are dead to sin and can enjoy this favour without condition.

Favor is “Charis” in the Greek, which means Grace.

WERE enriched!. “Banange!”, do you see what this means? This same favour has enriched us with FULL power and COMPLETE knowledge. Let me break it down: The favour of God has given us full range of knowledge and power in all things! The KJV says is better “That in everything ye are enriched by him, in all utterance, and in all knowledge” What can defeat you, if you have it all knowledge? Nothing in creation!

Our reception of the favor of God in knowledge and power is a testimony that we have all the spiritual gifts we need. God says we are not lacking in any special endowment, who can say otherwise? Christ did not only come to save us from the wrath of God, but also to give us all the blessings and favor of God to live on this earth “while we wait” for Him to return. We do not need to wait to get to Heaven to live good lives, we have been given that life now, and we can choose to triumph or live in defeat.

How wonderful is our God. Not only has he given us favor, He has also guaranteed to protect us against the accuser or anything that comes against us and sealed us till Christ returns.

I will not water-down this last verse in anyway, for I know it speaks for itself.

So clearly we see from the above verses that God wants us to prosper and live a good life. Pain and suffering do not bring Him glory. We need to know what we have been given, receive it and like the parable of the talents, with like enthusiasm invest to develop and grow all for the Kingdom of God.

Trees and Water

noreply@blogger.com (Florence Bugembe) — Sun, 08 Sep 2013 20:02:00 +0000

Today I was studying Isaiah 55 and I found my looking up the myrtle tree in verse 13. This is an ever green tree that has deep roots but grows about 12 inches a year. In the context of this verse, God is telling the Israelites that they will come up as a myrtle tree.

The word of God is in many places said to clean us, as if water. Psalms 1:3 says we shall be like a tree planted by rivers of water; Jesus told the woman at the well that he has life giving water; John 1 calls Jesus the word, in John 15, Jesus says he is the vine. Naturally, we all know that water is essential for tress to grow. So I find it interesting that the tree and water symbols are used often to describe our dependence on Jesus.

Jesus (the word, the living water, the vine) sustains us (the tree, the branches) so we can produce fruit. Without him, all our works will count for nothing but with and in him, we will be strong ever fruit-producing branches that are ever green and even when in drought we shall not be afraid and shall always yield fruit (Jeremiah 17:7-8)

Isaiah 55:13-“Instead of the thorn shall come up the cypress tree, and instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle tree; and it shall be to the Lord for a name of renown, for an everlasting sign [of jubilant exaltation] and memorial [to His praise], which shall not be cut off.”

Psalm 1:3-“And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water that bringeth forth his fruit in his season, his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.”

Jeremiah 17:7-8 [Amp]-“[Most] blessed is the man who believes in, trusts in, and relies on the Lord, and whose hope and confidence the Lord is.For he shall be like a tree planted by the waters that spreads out its roots by the river; and it shall not see and fear when heat comes; but its leaf shall be green. It shall not be anxious and full of care in the year of drought, nor shall it cease yielding fruit.”

Finally!

noreply@blogger.com (Florence Bugembe) — Mon, 16 Apr 2012 05:24:00 +0000

Yesterday was my day of reckoning for all of my life.

I cannot, I know I cannot put in words the experience I had yesterday, but I am sure of one thing, and that is that I will remember it for the rest of my life.
God is truly truly truly amazing. I cannot imagine where I would be and what kind of life I would have had had I not known Him.

The scripture in Jeremiah:
“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future…”
has never meant so much to me like it does now.

Yesterday I let go of the past, and are now looking ahead, with God (and B), we are moving ahead, to bigger, better things, a prosperous future. No more tears, no more pain, no more false joy.

…and He said “Let go and move on, do something you have never done!”

Ho ho ho… bring it on world, am ready for this, been preparing for this!

Oh what a day! What a day indeed!

God Bless you Father Raymond, bless you immensely!

Is there anything too hard for the Lord?

noreply@blogger.com (Florence Bugembe) — Wed, 21 Sep 2011 11:00:00 +0000

"Never was God so Godlike as when Jesus died upon the Cross! Never was Omnipotence so potent as when He died that men might live, crushing the old dragon as He bled, leading captivity captive while He was, Himself, bound to the accursed tree, casting death into an eternal grave..." CHS

God has done tremendous things and has displayed his power, and proudly so countless times in the Bible. We read of how He created the Heavens and the Earth from nothing, how He fed three million people for 40 years on food from above, how He destroyed those who disobeyed Him in a flood and how, (from the quote above) He saved mankind from death by demonstrating His love through the death of His Son on the cross. And it is not just the big things that He can do, He even has power over the little things: He takes care of the birds in the air, He ensures that the plants are blooming without effort (Math 6:26); and even He sent ravens to feed Elijah.

Now when we think of our problems for which we cry to God ever so often and doubt seems to over take us, let us remember the paragraph above, (the details of which we should read more on from the Bible). For be it, hunger, financial difficulty, a dwindling ministry, loneliness, little faith, addiction or any and all of our trials, - there is nothing too hard for the Lord.

Therefore, let us trust, believe and exercise our faith. Let us live in hope, love and joy knowing that everything and anything when put before our Father in Heaven, is possible because and through His Son Jesus Christ. Let us serve Him, rejoice in Him and live as free men in Christ, because out God is a big God, such that in times of trial and pain in our physical circumstances, we see, joy, victory and the glory of God reflecting through each and everything we do, think and say.

Written after a night of meditation on the fear of doubt creeping in from unfavorable circumstances regarding the very thing for which i am praying for for the last 10 days.

Priorities…priorities (Cont’d)

noreply@blogger.com (Florence Bugembe) — Thu, 14 Apr 2011 07:32:00 +0000

I have, for two days, been searching the scriptures, praying and meditating on how to seek God, and now I believe i have found the answer and it is this simple…God will help us to seek Him!

I believe that, there is not only one way, one written way in stone in which we can seek Him, because we all have a different relationship and experience with Him. All he needs from us is the expression of the desire, the hunger, the thirst for Him.

“Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink.” Jn 7

We need to go to God, heavy with a deep intense thirst for Him and He will satisfy our thirst- “and the water that I give them will become a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” For we may not know how to absolutely surrender to Him, we may not know what to do or not to do or even how to seek Him. However, we have the assurance that:

“it is God that worketh in us, both to do and will of His good pleasure” Phil 2

- This is what we should seek. As Andrew Murray says:

“...to go on our faces before God, until our hearts learn to believe that the everlasting God Himself will come in to turn out what is wrong, to conquer what is evil, and to work what is well-pleasing in His blessed sight. God Himself will work it in you.”

Remember Abraham, all he did was believe, then God made him righteous:

“Abram believed the LORD, and He credited it to him as righteousness.” Gen 15

He did not do anything, or use his intelligence to do good works. He simply believed in God’s promises and he received righteousness. Oh how I have searched for righteousness in the past thinking I needed work for it by my might! But if we only go to God, even with our feeble and fearful hearts and say “God I am willing, make me willing”. He will remove all our fears, and replace it with the boldness to say “I can conquer everything!”

God will help us to surrender, He can, and He will.

Priorities, priorities…

noreply@blogger.com (Florence Bugembe) — Tue, 12 Apr 2011 10:33:00 +0000

Jesus gave us our priorities in life. If we do nothing else, but first- Seek the Kingdom of God, and second- Seek the righteous of God, then all things- not some things, or a few things or most things; but ALL things, we be added to unto us.

In life, we need many things. We need basics like food, shelter, clothing- luxuries like love, cellphones, TV, Internet etc. Sadly we do not have enough time to do and have all we want to have. So we spend waste time chasing this and that. I know someone who keeps saying “life is hard”, and I keep telling him it isn’t. But come to think of it, how can life be easy when we want everything and have to get it ourselves? Of course it will be hard- very hard actually, especially considering man’s average potential.

Jesus knew this, and hence he said “Seek ye first the Kindgom of God”. As in, forget what u want, and need, and desire; seek the Kingdom of God- FIRST.

Priorities. We need to know what our priorities are. Before our husbands, parents, children, job, before anything- God’s Kingdom needs to come first. It is the No.1 Priority!

The question then is: How do we seek the Kingdom of God?

Love..finally!

noreply@blogger.com (Florence Bugembe) — Fri, 04 Mar 2011 11:36:00 +0000

Until today, I have been under the delusion that love is a feeling.

Now I am talking of real love, not the eros or philia-the kinds which I now know do not last and are both selfish; but the real selfless agape love as commanded to us by God. I have waited a long, long time for someone to love me, [the proverbial “right person”] and all I have gotten is the roller-coaster, short-lived eros, philia type that has left me more drained than fulfilled.

Love is an art, it can be learnt and the real love still loves even when there is nothing in return. (1 Cor. 13: 5).

People end marriages mbu “I just do not love her anymore”- men say. The Bible commands “Husbands, love your wives”; thus if you do not love her, you are disobeying God! Funny, I have never heard a woman say that she is ending her marriage because she does not submit her husband anymore- seeing that we women are commanded to submit ourselves to our husbands.

Love is action. It can be demonstrated. If I say “I love John Smith”, he would not know it lest I show it. I would need to do or not do(for that matter) certain things for him to “see” my love; but with this feeling-based love, how would one see these so-called feelings? Love should be action-based, not feeling-based. Do (act) first and the feelings will follow.

The God-commanded love, the Agape Love is the one and only solid basis for marriage. In marriage one loves, even when they will not be loved in return- selflessly. Of course I am no authority on marriage, but if my newly acquired knowledge on love is any qualification to go by, I can say now I know one of, if not the most important thing about marriage.

“Love is not a feeling, love is a decision you make and continue to make in order to create an experience that is described as love. Love is an action that if you don't use it you lose it. Love is like any communication, if you never send it out, you won’t get a return. Love is something you give to others not something you feel because something happens to you.”

Remember love is not a feeling!

Have I finally realized the truth about love, how to have it, how to create it and how to sustain it? Maybe…

…and what is the point of having all this knowledge if I do not share it with the world. So here you go world!

Know Him

noreply@blogger.com (Florence Bugembe) — Thu, 30 Sep 2010 17:03:00 +0000

The whole world is full of the glory of God, and tonight I have seen His glory sparkle in my house, and I am inspired to share how such an awesome revelation has come to pass from the knowledge of God.

We spend a lot of time doing the things we need to do to survive and live in this world. We are always thinking about the things we need and how to get them in our possession, or it is about how we feel and how to hold on to those feelings if they are good or change them if they displease us. The jobs, the relationships, the money, the possessions, all the things in the world can never meet or give us that which we truly and inherently desire- God.

Believer or not, whether we realize it or not, we are all searching for the same thing- God and a knowledge Him. Sadly unbeknownst to most this is the only thing that will truly and permanently satisfy our souls.

“The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you.”

We do not have to look very far to find Him. He is not in a particular worship house or present on Sundays only. He appears not only in the morning when we wake, or at night before we sleep. Remember his name is I AM, not “I was” or “I will be.” He is ever present, He is here now, He is here forever. So look into your soul, answer His call and dedicate your mind to seek, study, learn and know Him.

When know Him, then His glory is reflected through our lives and affects the lives of others. We need to spend quiet time with Him and in Him until we are so filled with His presence and glory that it reflects all about us.

However, to begin this journey, is to accept Jesus Christ.

The Importance of the Law

noreply@blogger.com (Florence Bugembe) — Thu, 19 Aug 2010 13:11:00 +0000

I have always wondered how the Law in the Old Testament is relevant to a believer in Christ, till I read an article by Tyndale, which I am going to attempt to summarize below:

The Law was given by Moses, for the purpose laying down the commands of God to His people, and the consequences of following or not following them. It laid down strict and specific instructions and only those that obeyed ALL of them were considered worthy of God’s love.

As a new covenant Christian, the purpose of the law is to bring us to the knowledge of who we are- so that we can perceive our nature. It is this Law that condemns us for from it we realize that we can never, even if we be ever so good, do anything by and of ourselves to please God. For the Law requires a perfect life and nothing less.
The Gospel is the good news, the news of joyous tidings about Christ and the evidence of God’s love for us by freeing us from this Law. It is Christ telling the whole world that if you repent and believe in Him through faith and grace, the bondage to the law will be broken and we will be restored to life and saved.

Man’s disobedience earned us a nature so evil and corrupt that we are bound by it. Because man chose to disobey God, the devil became our father. We naturally consent to the devil’s will and because of that we are nothing but loathsome and damming in God’s sight. For us to come to this realization of our nature is when we read and or hear the Law, for from it we then realize that we can never fulfill it to the extent that it requires. The Law convicts and sentences us to damnation and offers not a way out, and for this reason, without hope or mercy we are left with guilt and the fear of impending death.

This is what Christ came to save us from, for with His blood, he purchased for us new lives, loosed us from the law and through Him, Our God could then “see” us as His children once more! – This is the Gospel!

For when the Gospel is preached, and believed, then the Spirit of God begins its work in the new believer. Love, kindness, goodness, faithfulness then becomes evident in our lives. We live not to go to Heaven, for this is already obtained for us through the blood, but to love, obey, worship and follow the will of our Father. There is nothing we can do to earn ourselves a place in Heaven, but through Christ, we, by faith, believe that we are co-heirs of all that is promised.

…and now, I hope, I have shed, even if it be a miniature of light, on the value and importance of the law, without which we would never know the magnitude of what Christ did for us and how, without faith in Him, it is impossible to please God.

“By Their Fruit”

noreply@blogger.com (Florence Bugembe) — Thu, 19 Aug 2010 12:13:00 +0000

The beauty of Christ is seen in the fruit of the spirit because Christ is the tree, and we are the branches. A life touched by and in-built in Christ will show a godly character.

True spiritual maturity is measured by the fruit of the spirit which are goodness, faithfulness, peace, patience et al (Gal 5); and not the gifts of the Holy Spirit like wisdom, knowledge, healing, speaking in tongues(1 Cor 12). Gifts are what God gives us, which we are supposed to use to edify others.

For us to know that we live in Christ and that He lives in us, the fruits of the Holy Spirit need to be part of our character and this is what we give to God by yielding to the Holy Spirit and allowing Him to touch our personality.

So check yourself, do you use your gifts to educate, enlighten and teach others about God, Christ and the Gospel? Do these fruits (character, personality, behavior) continuously worship God?

A carnal person may be able to manifest the gifts of the Holy Spirit, but it takes a person who has dedicated herself willingly to the Lord to manifest the fruit of the spirit.

This evening- a witness of the miracle at Cana

noreply@blogger.com (Florence Bugembe) — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 07:51:00 +0000

Tonight, God has dealt with me, and pleasantly so, about trusting Him to give us what we need in His time, not in the time we feel we need it.

Sometimes we feel that His presence is hidden from our hearts and He has forgotten about our needs, yet far be it from the truth. Like at the wedding in Cana when Jesus’ mother entreated unto him “They have no more wine” to which he seemingly checked her with “Woman, why do you involve me… my hour has not yet come.” sometimes His hour has not yet come for Him to act towards our needs. Out of ignorance, nonetheless, we have gone unto God, complaining that we have not seen the manifestation of His love in our lives for we lack those things that we believe we so earnestly deserve and at the exact time we think we need them. Sometimes Christ seems to be telling us, like unto His mother “why do you involve me?” which makes us downcast and dwindle in our faith.

Friends, do not become faithless before our God, even when the facts of life show that the sky is falling (like Chicken Little); because notwithstanding our circumstances, even those little things that may seem irrelevant for God to care for, like the fact that I was so wrought with sorrow, fury and an attitude of resignation towards my employ a few hours ago this evening, about a reprimand I believed I didn’t deserve; if we choose to cast it unto God, he will surely, as surely as I am testifying herewith, always, always come through for us; and with a wow manifestation. And like the master of the wedding banquet at Cana said “saved the best, till now” God’s timing is always perfect and the manifestation the best.

God will see us through the hours of painful extremity, till our human will is broken and till we learn to look up to Him, unto His blessed countenance, then He will show forth His glory, so that we can know for certain, that He will always turn our water into wine!

Be then not discouraged, when God does not immediately return your prayers, but at all times, praise Him, like I did while driving home tonight. Remember all the times He has saved, blessed, healed and answered you; and remember to, like His mother said “Do whatever He tells you.”

Ps: read Christ as God and the reverse- for they are one.

In the Spirit and Truth

noreply@blogger.com (Florence Bugembe) — Tue, 06 Jul 2010 17:45:00 +0000

“Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks.” John 4:23

From the context above, we are told to worship God in the Spirit and in truth. These words were spoken to a Samaritan woman by our Saviour Jesus Christ, a woman from a culture that was never to associate with the Jews. But as it is to be feared, out of those many thousands of us that say we worship God daily, weekly or whenever we choose to, very few, comparatively speaking, are aware of the kind of worship that is acceptable to our God. I cannot, therefore, but think it very necessary to us all of the words of our Lord on the instructions of how to worship our Father in Heaven.
In accomplishment of which I shall:

First, define what is meant by worship;
Secondly, lay down a detailed discourse on how we are to worship in the Spirit;
Thirdly, expound briefly on how we are to worship in truth

The word “Spirit” here is written with an upper case “S”- which denotes the Spirit of God.
Worshiping God in the Spirit therefore, means that we should worship Him with all fullness of awareness in our hearts, and soul; with an attitude of consciousness about what we are doing and with the assistance of His Holy Spirit- in the Spirit. Our thoughts, at the time of worship, should be only on God, not on other things.

First, define what is meant by worship;
For us to fully comprehend how to worship, I feel inclined, first to define worship and how I understand it. English defines worship as the “reverent honor and homage paid to God”, but I will personally take it a step further and define it as an “act of conscious awareness, with the help of the Holy Spirit, intended to glorify, revere and pay tribute to our God, Father, Son and Spirit.” The emphasis I put here is on the words “act” and “awareness”.

Worship is an act, it should be actionable. Think of all the ways we worship God, all these ways should be “doing things”- if I can use our P.3 definition of a verb. Worship can be singing, dancing, praying (yes, prayer should actionable as well), even going about our daily activities. Realize here that worship is not limited to public praise in a gathering or amongst fellow believers. There is also private worship, and this can be expressed through our acts of obedience toward God. Suffice it to say that in the broad sense of the word, worship can be when we tell another about the Gospel, when we teach children about Jesus, when we help the needy, when we obey our elders, when we love our husbands and just about any obedience of the Word of God could be largely construed as worship.

Secondly, lay down a detailed discourse on how we are to worship in the Spirit;
Worship is a way of expressing our love, adoration, and thanks to God. However, it is only the Spirit of God, who can afford us the grace to worship God right. We cannot truthfully decide to praise and worship God outside of the Spirit that dwells in us. However, recognize that worshiping God is not for His own benefit. Whether or not we do it, God is not affected in anyway, He is unchangeable. Similarly, whether we glorify God or not, he is still the same yesterday, today and forever. Let me digress here and mention that when “give” glory to God, it is not because he does not have enough glory and thus He needs more, no. We give glory to Him because glory belongs to Him! Because he deserves it! Because He is glory, in and of Himself!

Worship has to be with “awareness”, and this in-Spirit awareness is of whom we are directing this worship to – God. Seeing that God is the object of worship, He has the right to specify and stipulate what kind of worship He accepts. Paul tells the people of Athens about a kind of “ignorant” worship “I see that in every way you are very religious. For as I walked around and looked carefully at your objects of worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: TO AN UNKNOWN GOD. So you are ignorant of the very thing you worship—and this is what I am going to proclaim to you.” in the verse preceding verse 23 above, Jesus says to the Samaritan woman “You Samaritans worship what you do not know”. Likewise, many of us today know not whom we worship. If we are ignorant of who God really is, how then can we claim to worship Him every day or every Sunday morning? (For those who put God in the “Sunday box”)

Thirdly, expound briefly on how we are to worship in truth
To worship in truth, one has to know what that truth is, and to know the truth, one has to read, meditate and understand what is in the Word. For us to truly worship God, we have to do whatever is commended in scripture. The Word of God, which God placed above His own name, has the dos and don’ts of His instruction. Do not be deceived by those who tell you that you can worship God in your own way, if it feels right then it is ok, or that God will understand. Nedda! God has laid down, and very explicitly so, the truth in the Bible, and if our ways of worshiping Him are outside His instruction, then that sacrifice of praise, or worship or prayer or dance or song, will be unacceptable. Just because worship is offered does not necessarily make it acceptable. Isaiah prophesied of those who worship God based on human teachings and principles (Is 29:13).

I must emphasize, that worship like prayer, is not optional, it is expected of us. When we learn study and receive the Grace to comprehend God in His fullness, we will understand why we need to worship Him. In the meantime, let me try and express upon you here the most basic example of our obligation to worship: We all know that God created Heaven and earth, and that he made all things and offered them to us for our own use. The Children, the Job, the family, the health, the joy the very air we breathe and everything that we see or do not see, everything that we know or cannot comprehend, all that we wish for… was created by God! If I offered you 100,000 shs, what would you say? Thank you, right? Now friends, God has given us life, breath, sight, love and so much more… how cannot we not say thank you? Friends, each time you take a step, know that God gave you those legs, each time you look at your children, remember God gave you those eyes, each time you breathe, remember God gave you that breath! We should be thanking God every day, every hour, every second we are alive! (PS 150: 6) How then, I fear, can we go about our own business, steal, kill, lie, cheat, fornicate, insult people, get drunk and then go to church on Sunday to worship Him? How can we? Some would say, ‘well I repent before I go to church.’ Sure, you do, but what is repentance if you are going to do it again next week? Others would say “I was tempted.” Ok, but there is a difference between premeditated sin and temptation. How insensible can we be of all the free gifts we have from God that we cannot afford true and Spiritual worship toward Him?

Worship is a culture; it is a culture of the children of God in the Kingdom of God. We should not only go to a worship service, we should BE a worship service! (Ps 34:1). We can tell a Muganda from the way they dance, we can tell a Munyoro from the pet names they have, all these cultures are observable and we move with them wherever we go. Likewise, seeing that worship is a culture, we should be worshiping God all day, every day as with our human cultures. We should me moving with a song on our lips, a spring in our steps all the while practicing our Kingdom culture of worship, prayer and praise all day and night!

Remember, God, the creator of all things seeks man’s worship; Let us ALWAYS give it to Him.

Putting God in a Box

noreply@blogger.com (Florence Bugembe) — Tue, 06 Jul 2010 17:36:00 +0000

We serve a limitless God, but in the routine walk of life, it is not shocking to see how many of us usually forget this. Our God, the God of Abraham, Moses, Jacob and David, is the same God we serve today. We all know the amazing things that God did for these men of faith- he parted the Red Sea, he fed His people bread from Heaven, He led a few hundred men to conquer an army of thousands and many other exciting things. These are the stories we heard in Sunday school and read from our Children’s Bible books, but sadly for most of us, this is where we left them.

The Old Testament God seems so ancient and distant to our seemingly modern and fast-paced lives. Our “modern “ lives have a timetable so God has to fall in there somewhere, and for most of us, Sunday morning is His time. All the praise, prayer, song, and obedience is done within that set time, outside of which, God and all that is “religious” would be definitely misplaced. We “modern” Christians have confined God in time and space and deciding for him when He can move and act. I was reading a Bible verse at work a few weeks back and a colleague saw me and said
“Eish, Florence, hope you are not starting a cult”- My heart wept!

Friends, allow here me to me share with you an excerpt from Andrew Wommack’s article:

“Many people think there can be no such thing as a limit on God. They see that as removing His divinity. A god that can be limited isn't really a god in many people's thinking.

I will say this: God isn't personally limited by anything or anyone. But when it comes to us receiving from Him, we can limit what He wants to do through us or for us. God doesn't sovereignly do what He wants with us. We have to cooperate.

God Himself is limitless, but what He can accomplish is limited. Not because of any lack of power or ability on His part, but because of the part we have to play.
Ephesians 3:20 says, "Now unto Him who is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us..." Many people stop after the first comma and proclaim God can do anything, but that's not the truth of this verse. God has limited Himself to what we believe Him to do. If there isn't the power of faith working in us, then He can't, or you could say, will not, work independent of us. “But do you want to know, O foolish man, that faith without works is dead” James 2:20

God is who He is, regardless of what we think or believe. If we don't believe God is real, that doesn't make Him cease to exist. As far as our experiences go, we won't encounter Him until we change that opinion.

Take salvation for example. Second Peter 3:9 says, "The Lord is... not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance." You can't make it any plainer than that. It is not God's will for people to perish, but they do. Why? Not because God wills it, but because God gave them a free will, and they choose to reject God's provision for their salvation.

That's a very sobering thought! People don't like that truth because it makes them responsible. Most people don't want to be responsible for their lives. They like to think that God just sovereignly makes things happen in their lives. That way, they can blame God for the mess they are in and say, "God is teaching me something or making me a better person." But that's not what God's Word says.

The Lord willed for the Israelites to enter into the Promised Land in a short period of time. But the generation that came out of Egypt died during the forty years in the wilderness. That wasn't God's will. That was because of their own choices.”

Why we Should Suffer- Part 2

noreply@blogger.com (Florence Bugembe) — Tue, 15 Jun 2010 09:41:00 +0000

Now, we have lived, in our formers lives, submitting to the desires of the flesh, and from this we reaped “lust, drunkenness, orgies, carousing and detestable idolatry.” – Now read the above sentence again and let in sink in for a minute…. Do you see the rewards of following the flesh? Is this the life we should be living, a life of unending partying and clubbing, a life of orgies and sexual immorality, a life of greed, envy and strife? Is it? Of course no, no way! That WAS our former way for life, but now we have a new one- a Kingdom life, a life so different from what the world expects or regards as normal such that the world will be “surprised that you do not join them in their reckless, wild living, and they heap abuse on you.” Now, when the abuse is heaped on us, then then we will feel the suffering I am speaking of here. Hehehe… I think we are now beginning to see why the apostle Paul said we should rejoice when we participate in the suffering of Christ. For more than sharing in the glory of Christ, we now know that we should accept this suffering, and this should make it easier… ok, more bearable.
“But they will have to give account to him who is ready to judge the living and the dead.” Now there is a scary statement! Judgment is not a fable, it is real and it is coming. We will all have our day to answer for the type and kind of lives we have led, and each will be judged according to what he knows. So if you are reading this, you now know the truth, so there, your excuse of ignorance is out the window! The living God will ask us to account for all, each and everything, so if we do not have a good excuse, which I believe there is none, I suggest we quit pleasing this world and live the new life Jesus died to give us! About this, I will be blunt and say no more.

For this is the reason the gospel was preached even to those who are now dead, so that they might be judged according to human standards in regard to the body, but live according to God in regard to the spirit. There are many reasons, I believe the gospel is preached, and here we are told one of them. Now if you read my previous blog, I ended with a deep conviction on whether we decide to choose life or death because judgment is coming. Now in the same vein I will continue. While the judgment of God, the fear-worthy judgment of God is coming, we are already facing a much less but quite sorrowful judgment here on earth. This judgment is according to human standards and though I somehow feel inclined not to label it sorrowful, I will maintain that it is so in the sense that it is us human beings who judge each other and to me that is pathetic- maybe then I should label it a pathetic judgment- which is also guaranteed! People will judge you when we are not like them: they will call you pretender and a hypocrite if you decide to go to church on New Year’s Eve instead of going to the club like you used to; they will laugh at you and call you weak and a failure when you decide to quit smoking, drinking, fornication and clubbing; they will hate you because you do not gossip and use perverted language with them anymore; they will call you old and boring because your choice in movies, and music is no longer bordering on X-rated; I mean the world will judge you for just about anything that is not “normal” to them- by human standards. But remember, that we “live according to God in regard to the spirit.”- and this is why we live a different lifestyle. The lifestyle of the one, who lives for Christ, should be seen! Do not think salvation is a onetime process and once you receive it, it’s a done deal. No. Salvation, though free, needs to be worked at to be maintained. Paul in his letter to the Philippians urges them to “work out your salvation with fear and trembling”. So as we live, no, as we choose to live according to God, we are working out the salvation we received, because choosing this life, like we have previously seen, comes with a lot of suffering in this world. But is eternal life, joy and the glory of God so small a trifle in our esteem, as not to be worth a few fleshly sacrifices? Is eternal life so steep a purchase, as not to deserve the temporary renunciation of a few worldly pleasures? Surely it is.

The end of all things is near. Therefore be alert and of sober mind so that you may pray. Lastly, Peter exhorts us to pray after a warning about the end of things. Now let us take the statement “The end of all things” verbatim. Read it again. “All things”! not some things, not earthly things, not bad things, but “all things”. People, everything is coming to an end, things we see and do not see; things we have and long to have; things we love and those we hate; all things are going to perish. I believe this might be the reason Jesus said that we should not store things on earth, but in heaven. So when Peter tells us to have an alert and sober mind, it denotes that there is a possibility of losing focus and being confused by the things of this world, in this world, which will wash away anyway. You see, it is easy for us to become so wrapped up in our day to day activities and the material things in the world hoping that they will give us what we need in life. We get absorbed by our jobs, our families, our material possessions, our lax and worldly lifestyle that we are bound to forget that all these things will be gone one day and all we will have left will be the last account that we will give to God of what we did on this earth, to glorify Him- yes we were created for that reason. Friends, what will you tell God? How will you tell him that you chose the world and rejected him, yet all He had for you was love? Think on that, people. Think!

So as Peter lastly exhorts us, let us pray…

Let us pray that when we suffer in this world, we are always mindful of the sufferings of Jesus Christ and like him the spirit of the Lord will always grow in us the attitude to persevere the judgment of the world. Let us pray that we continue against all odds, to work out our salvation and live a life according to the will of God our father who created us to glorify his name among the people so that people may believe. Let us lastly pray, that we always consciously choose life, and the treasures of heaven and that we always keep a sober and watchful mind, a mind full of prayer, and a heart full of the word of God. In Jesus’ name.

Amen.

Why we should suffer- Part 1

noreply@blogger.com (Florence Bugembe) — Mon, 14 Jun 2010 05:36:00 +0000

“Therefore, since Christ suffered in his body, arm yourselves also with the same attitude, because those who have suffered in their bodies are done with sin. As a result, they do not live the rest of their earthly lives for evil human desires, but rather for the will of God. For you have spent enough time in the past doing what pagans choose to do—living in debauchery, lust, drunkenness, orgies, carousing and detestable idolatry. They are surprised that you do not join them in their reckless, wild living, and they heap abuse on you. 5But they will have to give account to him who is ready to judge the living and the dead. For this is the reason the gospel was preached even to those who are now dead, so that they might be judged according to human standards in regard to the body, but live according to God in regard to the spirit. The end of all things is near. Therefore be alert and of sober mind so that you may pray. 1 Peter 4: 1-7

I read this scripture last night and it got me thinking a lot about my life, the decisions I have made and why I am at this stage of my life. I read it the second time, and it hit me-most of the things that I have set my mind on in the past, have ended up eventually manifesting in my life, and this is the reason I am where I am today. All the good things I have thought about and cultivated in my life have produced good fruit and all the bad things have equally produced dead fruit. Then I read the scripture the third time, and I saw just how much truth and revelation was embedded therein; so I asked the Lord to give me words of wisdom and the grace so that I can share with you the truth that has just been revealed to me in the hopeful attempt that these words, in the least bit, just might be the turning point in someone’s life, just as they have been in mine. So I will expound on each verse with the wisdom that the Spirit has granted me so that I leave no truth assumed, but plainly understood.

But before I proceed, I am going to take it for granted that all who are reading this have, in the least bit, heard of the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, and that whatever the religion they follow to practice their faith, they believe that there is one true God;

I am also going to take for it granted further that you believe that the word of God, which is the Bible, was written by the inspiration of the Spirit and is the eternal truth;

And lastly, I further take it for granted that you believe that Jesus is the Son of God, the messiah and the savior of all mankind.

“Therefore, since Christ suffered in his body” We all know, or should I say, we assume we know how our Lord Jesus suffered. The Bible says that he was tempted by the devil, arrested by his own people, called a thief, carried a heavy cross, whipped, insulted, spat on, crowned with thorns, crucified, speared, and many other dreadful things. However, Jesus knew that he was meant to suffer. Consider though, that all of Jesus’ sufferings were to his body. It was his body, his human body, to which all the above things were done. The human body that our lord inhabited, brought him tremendous suffering why? Because the body’s characteristic desire is to make man want to do, say, hear, and think things that are of the world, things that are against the will of God, and when we do not follow these desires, these ways of the flesh (read the world) we suffer, or more accurately, our body suffers. So Jesus did not obey his human desires. He did not obey the devil who was telling him to turn stones to bread or throw himself down; he did not choose his family over the rest of the people; he did not prove or boast that he was Messiah even when he was slapped and spat on; he did not even turn away from death yet he feared that the burden was too heavy to carry.

So how do we, as followers of Christ, suffer today? When our body is too tired and lazy to go to church and we force it to- it suffers; when our bodies covet another woman’s husband, or desire to have sex outside marriage, and we ran from it- it suffers; when our bodies desire to imbibe that glass of whisky, that cold Bell, that extra piece of black-forest cake, and we say no- it suffers; when we hold back on indulging in gossip, insulting that irritating taxi conductor, taking that bribe, lying to our friends, hating people, back-biting and being spiteful of our boss, jealousy, selfishness- all things that come naturally to our human body- the body suffers. Now the suffering I am speaking of here is not the I-need-more-money, i-long-for-a-husband, i-am-losing-my-house etc type kind of suffering. Not that that is not suffering, it is, but the type I am referring to here is the suffering we face because we deny our bodies the things it craves when we choose to follow the will of God.

Now to some of us, suffering is many things and happens in various ways. Not to belittle anybody’s kind of suffering, but I think whenever we are having a tough time, fighting off the temptations and issues of this world, it would help us a long way to remember Jesus’ suffering which was way, way more painful than what we go through, but most of all, it would help us to remember how he came out victorious at the end of it all. The important thing though, is to learn how Jesus persevered through his suffering. This was by having a different attitude, which Peter exhorts us to carry below:

“arm yourselves also with the same attitude”, Now the attitude being spoken of here is the attitude Jesus had when he was suffering. Throughout the times Jesus was suffering, he always, rested on the word of God, he always did what the will of God commanded that he should do, but I also think he wore humility above all else. When Jesus was tempted by the devil, he quoted the word of God, when Jesus was afraid of death, he prayed; when Jesus was insulted, mocked, speared and crucified, he forgave his condemners sins. Imagine that! Even as I write this, I am so totally humbled; and cringe at the thought of the complaining and grumbling I do mbu when I am suffering! We have not known suffering; none such as the one Jesus went through yet can you imagine how much we exhibit weakness, protest, misery and a complaining attitude because we want to have things our way? So, when the scripture says that we should have a similar attitude, this means that all the while we are suffering, (denying our fleshly desires) we should arm ourselves with the Word, wear humility and generally have a Christ-like attitude. Note that, suffering is not optional. The Bible says in many instances that we shall suffer, and should share in the sufferings of Christ so that we shall share in his glory as well. There is hope however, at the end of all this- “because those who have suffered in their bodies are done with sin. As a result, they do not live the rest of their earthly lives for evil human desires, but rather for the will of God.” Can you imagine what is like to be done with Sin? When sin, the devil and all his legions have no hold on you, and you are living a life, a life so high above the kind and type of this world, free from fleshly desires and all? Now that is living the Life! This is a promise, a promise written in black and white, that we can take to the Bank, as it were. The apostle Peter is telling us the rewards of suffering which is the great reward of freedom, and living the ultimate kingdom Life- a life that we as believers in Christ are born to live. Succumbing to the desires of the flesh is the worldly way of living, and since the evil one is the king of this world, do I really need to spell it out whom we will have chosen to serve if we choose to follow our bodily desires?

“For you have spent enough time in the past doing what pagans choose to do—living in debauchery, lust, drunkenness, orgies, carousing and detestable idolatry.” This is so straight forward and obvious that I think I should not comment on it at all lest I water it down. I mean, we all know the kind of lives we lived before we received salvation. But I think I should comment on the use of the word “choose”. This word clearly denotes the presence of option. This means that, we do consciously decide to do the things that we do. So when suffering comes, the action we take at that moment, will either give us the kingdom life, or lead us to the grave, yes the grave- because the reward for sin is death! I guess I should remind you or probably press on you here that when I say suffering I am not merely speaking of emotional distress and/ or physical pain - I am speaking of all sorts of suffering that we as followers of Christ undergo when we choose, there is that word again, not to follow the ways of this world; even though emotional and physical pain are most usually the consequences of choosing the worldly life. In other words, what I am saying here is that, when we follow Christ, we are guaranteed to suffer- yes I think this comes out more clearly. We will suffer; and there are no two ways about it.

I do want you to digest all the above so I will stop here in an attempt to let you take this all in. However, if I should have one more thing to say it will be this- as long as we are alive in this world, life will always, always throw us a curve ball, and this is not the worst thing that can happen. There will always be times when this body we inhabit will try to get its way to make us obey it. When we choose to continuously follow these desires of the world and permanently kill the spirit of God that lives in us- then the worst thing has happened, for then we will die! And no matter how God loves us, and He loves all of us, we will not, even with this intense love, survive his wrath and the end of days if we “choose” not to obey his commands. As Mr. Dollar once said, if you do not obey His word, God loves you enough to lead you to the path of hell and even open the gates for you, while loving you all the way, because love is His nature. However, only you, you, you, can make the decision right now, to choose life, or death!

May the Lord watch and keep you always.

Break me, O' Lord

noreply@blogger.com (Florence Bugembe) — Tue, 01 Jun 2010 08:12:00 +0000

I fear to admit that I believe that I am self- righteous….. There it’s out!

…and I know it, seems like I have always known it. What is harder though is that I know people like me, are on the road to perdition. So now I have decided to take on the fight and bout this out. In total submission , I refuse to nourish this attitude any further and am beginning the battle to change, and consciously choose humility.

This attitude can creep up on you. I know that I do not choose to be like this, but I have come to the realization that sometimes, pride takes over, even for a tiny space of time, in my daily relations with people. Sometimes we boast of having a great memory; material possessions like cars, houses; physical attributes like great abs, beautiful hands; giving the needy money so that others can see; praying longer and louder than the rest; even that we believe more in God than others do… it does creep on you, I said.

Matt 6:1: "Be careful not to do your 'acts of righteousness' before men, to be seen by them." When the Lord says, “Be careful,” he signals just how tempting it is to take earthly credit and boast about what one has done.

Admitting that we have these feelings, I have realized, is the key to gradually getting rid of them. Well you do not have to publicly do it, like I just have, but in the least bit, there has to be some sort of admission because by nature, as humans, we are inherently smug and self-righteous, “Every way of a man is right in his own eyes...” So in my own self- righteousness I sometimes boast of my knowledge, my talents, my experiences, my continence, my abilities and my accomplishments, All of these, if we come to think of it, are credited to me by God. So how dare I, how dare I!

The degree of self-righteousness will vary from person to person, but all in all, I have realized that this self- righteousness is more deeply ingrained in me, first as a human and then as me, than I thought was so.

I have figured, that for me, the key is recognizing when such an attitude presents itself and consciously remembering to willfully curse it out, to nip it in the bud, as it were, and choose not to continue in its tenor.

Let us remember that it is the praise from our Creator that counts, not the praise from other people and strive not to be like the Pharisee in Luke 18:9-14.

If there are any like me out there, I exhort you, please join me and let us battle the evil nature so that we can be victors of our accursed human nature.

Almost Doesn't Count

noreply@blogger.com (Florence Bugembe) — Fri, 14 May 2010 13:03:00 +0000

Life seems so much harder, when you decide to do the right thing.

I have believed for a while that I was an unfeigned believer and that God was the first priority for me; but it not until last night that I realized that this was not so, not as much anyway, as I thought myself to be.

We as human beings are inherently selfish, sinful and weak. There is an evil dark side of our nature that, for most, fuels our very existence. This dark side is what our first parents, Adam and Eve, let into our lives when they fell from grace and obeyed the devil over obeying God. This same human nature is against everything that we were created to be and is in constant conflict with our true nature. True in the sense that, God, in His image, created in us a nature like His, in which we were to identify with Him. It was the correct and actual semblance of what human beings were supposed to be like.

Because of His love for us, God sent His son, to redeem us from our fallen selves. Jesus took the cup of death in our place. He purchased a new life for us, through his precious blood. He saved our souls, our hearts and our very lives from damnation. The Lord, in his infinite love took our place; he died, was buried, went to hell and rose on the 3rd day- he won the battle for our souls!
How then, do not owe him our lives. What sort of justification is there, if any, for us not to give ourselves wholly unto him?

It is this understanding of what It means to surrender our lives to the Lord, and to give up our heart, soul, body and mind to him- that has led me to suffer in the realization that I have not yet wholly given up my life to the Lord.

Most of us live a double life. We waver between the things of this world and the things of God. We secretly hope that God will not be too strict so us to remember every little thing that we do wrong, so long as we go to church on Sunday, fast every month, are generally good to people; while yet we can indulge in a little sexual immorality, get drunk once in a while and be negatively good- we are “Lukewarm- neither hot nor cold”. We forget the consequences of such a life- God promises to spit such people out of his Kingdom.

The Lord requires our full hearts. We are to give ourselves wholly unto the Lord, holding nothing back. Jesus gave up everything for us, why would we think that it is sufficient to give him back just a portion of our lives? It is not right that we say a chain of prayer every Monday morning yet when we get to the office, we gossip about our boss; that we preach about being born again yet we are recovering from a hangover from the night before; that we place “I love Jesus” bumper stickers on our cars as we drive to commit acts of fornication; that we pray the morning prayer at our desks in the office yet we spend half the time on internet chat flirting with friends. God forbid!

Let us exhort ourselves through the pain of our lives to let go and let God, to really let go and let God. God demands our full commitment, not just part of it, lest we are struck dead like Ananias and his wife Sapphira for pretending to offer their hearts to God yet they kept the greatest part for themselves.

If God can help us, guide us, feed us, clothe us and keep us alive, even when we are sinful as we are and without much effort, how much more will he take care of us when we let Him lead the way? Why O why are we so in love with the flesh so as not to fully renounce our bodies, which for the most part of our lives has held us bound in chains of disease, pain and suffering? Why?

Most times, we are afraid of our fellow man. We suffer to imagine what people will say when we become born again and are liable for our actions. Many of us serve the world, the flesh during the day and then like Nicodemus we sneak into the night, secretly for fear of being judged, fall on our knees to God, with a mind to see God’s power in our lives, but inherently afraid of being ridiculed by our friends and peers. But what did the Lord say of such behavior: “the friendship of this world means enmity against God”.

But if there is anyone we are deceiving, it is ourselves, because “God cannot be mocked”. He sees our hearts and judges us thereof. True, when we choose to do the right thing, we will be judged and will be met with contempt. We may loose friends, jobs, and pride, but the price of eternal life is too grave a gift to forego. What we should let go of are the eccentricities of the world and walk the narrow path. Life seems so much easier when we follow the world, but it far less rewarding.
We should embrace the servile character of our Lord and humble ourselves before God. We should consciously seek to learn, to know and to see God and His power manifest in our lives today.

Let us think then, let us repent and change our lives. Let us receive a new and clean rebirth. We might think that we have already done much for Christ, but we cannot afford to loose even the little we have because we could not do more. Let us every day, every moment give ourselves to the full will of God, always praying, always watching and always yearning for Him to lead us to the truth- for those that are led by the spirit of God are the children of the God.