Live Blogs: K.A.G. Annual National Youth Conference 2015, Day 3

Thursday, 23rd April, 2015 (Day 3)

6.00am
The first thing I'm doing this morning is uninstalling DU Battery Saver Pro. This thing is a hoax. I bet I'll have to reinstall that Battery Doctor thingy or quit using Android battery savers for good.

9.00am
I'm in. The praise and worship is great this morning. Christ has done something to these guys, I promise. They sound better and with a better sense of direction to where they are "taking" us.

(Today is World Book Day by the way, if you didn't know. Read a book or two, quote your favorite author etc etc. Become one of those fake pundits who show off how "well read" they are or have become...)

Parking lot and Eastern side of the administration block

9.05am
The Assistant National Youth Director welcomes the National Youth Director onto the podium.

9.13am
Then the guest speaker stands up to minister today earlier than he did yesterday.

Here's the sermon:-

Speaker - Rev. Jeff Kennedy.
Text - 1 Samuel 3:1-10 (the story of the call of one Samuel)
Topic - Back to the Basics (A Call to Priesthood)

(Before I roll down to today's sermon notes, I'm now having a strong feeling that very few preachers stick to a theme. Very few preachers preach with relation to a theme... I see this all the time...)

Sermon Notes:-
1. We are priests, just like Christ - a kingdom of priests.
2. Samuel is born for one purpose: to become an extraordinary priest representing Israel to God.
3. Somewhere "in the middle of the night", God also wants to speak to our lives.
4. We need to be alert to know what God wants to speak to and about us in such a time.
5. Unlike Samuel who didn't understand that the LORD was calling him, we need to read His Word and know what He is saying; and later be ready to obey Him.
6. Wherever we have been called in our professions or work places or homes or schools or churches, we are priests in those places to influence the people we engage with for God's extraordinary plan. We need to understand that we are priests wherever we are for the sake of God.
7. Functions of priesthood;
(a) Represent God to people
(b) Represent people to God
Altar call.

10.30am
Break.
STL (Speed the Light) tings.
Districts are preparing to give the STL offerings. We have a total of 32 KAG districts in Kenya (not administratively separated.) 

(This is when we happen to take the photo below.) 

Part of guys from Kakamega

11.45am
Guys at Vision TV marketing their youth friendly programmes.
CIC Insurance Group is also here, selling their products.
I've switched sitting places for the time being due to this STL thing.

12.18pm
Rev. Jeff Kennedy coming in to foresee STL (Speed The Light) offering giving. The offerings are towards supporting missionary work.
This is what he says:-

1. STL is not about the money but people.
2. We're giving to those in need.
3. We should give to our neighbors even when we feel they don't deserve it.
4. We should give to the undeserving for Christ did the same. We are not for our own selves only. Give mercy, give forgiveness, give prayer etc.
5. When we give, it'll be given back to us.
6. Through events like STL, God funds our dream of reaching more people.

(Again, as a side note, remember this: while in a conference meeting, shut to ears to anything everyone's saying against it. Open your mind to what the LORD is doing and you'll be blessed.) 

The guy from CIC Insurance Group talking about their products

12.40pm
STL offering itself.
Giving is per district - 32 districts in total.
The project is buying our National Youth Director a car worthy 2million Kenya shillings.

13.30pm
After giving our KSh. 12,000 STL contribution as Kakamega District, I'm back to posting yesterday's blog.

(And it is this time I'm now learning about Google's Project Fi. They're saying it's ready to roll out. That sounds good because the modern world will be able to access a working network anywhere in the world...)

(Also, Charles Stanley (you should know him) Declines an Award after Jews Question His Views on Gays is another headline I'm reading as they count that STL money.
Okay, if you don't know him (Dr Charles Stanley), then you know his son, Andy Stanley, right? Andy Stanley of "Your Move With Andy Stanley" podcast? If you don't know either or both of them, you're dead. Hah. You should know people. You should know people who speak sensible and beautiful stuff.

Read their family story of divorce, separation and reunion here and here. Theirs is a very moving story.)

2.14pm
Back to STL stuff...
Nairobi takes away the STL trophy by raising a whooping KSh. 218,315. This is absolutely awesome!!
The total amount raised is KSh. 829,221. (Including a contribution from the guest speaker, Rev Jeff Kennedy).
Order of the top five districts with amounts raised:
1. Nairobi District - KSh 218,315
2. Uasin Gishu District - KSh 44,850
3. Mombasa District - KSh 41139
4. Mt. Kenya District - KSh 30,590
5. Eastern District - KSh 27,475

Rev Jeff Kennedy

3.15pm
There is an incidence that we are called as leaders to solve which involves gossip about something without supporting evidence. Just useless gossip that sweeps away people, tarnishes others' image and destroys relationships. Words can't be withdrawn; even after forgiveness is offered, words cannot be undone. That's the point.

3.30 - 7.00pm
My phone goes off.
But that's after watching this guy blabber about I don't know what for around 2hours.
Guys break for games... And I gotta go out for a walk...

(Several guys from our District have been trickling in one by one. We are around 36 or so people from Kakamega District by now.)

7.44pm
Diner time.

8.30pm
Back inside the hall.
And The Bible Challenge is back. Reloaded. It is way better than it was yesterday. (I guess first attempts always create room for improvement.)
15 districts are contesting today. Ours is represented by one John Githanga.
Yesterday's winners (5 out of the 15 that competed yesterday) compete with today's winners (5 out of the 15 that just competed.) We come out at position 9. Not bad. Mt. Kenya District emerge as winners.

(I've spotted one ninja wearing an orange suit and a pink tie on a black shirt. ORANGE!! SMH.)

(Also, there are news floating all over the place of stuff that happened today at the Groove Awards Nominations, 2015. Grasp the news on the links below;
I Love You BRO: WILLY PAUL And BAHATI Prayed For And HUG Each Other In Public [IN PICTURES] and Willy Paul slams accusers by bringing his mother to Groove Awards Nominations)

22.56pm
Good night people, let's do this again tomorrow.

For #KAGNYC2015 #NYC2015

Bonface Morris.

Live Blogs: K.A.G. Annual National Youth Conference 2015, Day 2

Wednesday, 22nd April, 2015 (Day 2)

 

Scrapbook moments

7.00am
It seems like a fine day, this one. I've woken up late and it is therefore likely that I won't be taking breakfast. But I decide otherwise: to drink that fake tea the mama chai at the gate makes. 

8.30am
Some noisy but average praise right here... Average praise and worship. I guess it'll pick up with time... I choose to sit at the furthest end of the hall (a 3,000 capacity hall) - onto the left hand side of the preacher. 

The Hall

8.40am
There's a power blackout right in the middle of the worship service!! (I later learn that the amplifier had failed.) There's nothing as staining to a worship leader as leading thousands of people without the backup of instruments and microphones. Let's see how it fairs on... First days are always very complicated logistically. 

8.56am
Power ain't back yet, but the activities are on. 

9.04am
Presentations time. There's a guy here. Paul Mwai (or something close to that) is his name. I can't hear whatever he's singing. It's either he's singing in English or in Kiyuk or both. But guys clap before he's done - and that simply means that he's boring. 

9.11am
A lady is on the platform. (I'm sorry I can't take their photos because I'm kinda 60m away. Yeah, this hall is that big). From this time onwards, there are guys coming up to sing their own song compositions and all kinds of other presentations.
There is a projector over there but it seems these technicians are not ready to put it to good use.
Another guy just sang - a good worship song actually. There's another one with team building gestures.

9.28am
All the presentations upto now are peculiarly weird. And you still ask me why I don't sing at conferences? Come on!
Some guy just played us: he went there to present and did nothing. He just stood there, did nothing and came out from the podium.

Within the hall. (Focused from the furthest part of the left wing)

9.51am
The projector guys are now putting it to good use.
Some chiq attempts to sing Zahara's Loliwe but on a high key. It flops badly. This guy is trying it again. He started well, then changed the key. He has changed the key 3 times!! Dang. We are uninterested already. 

10.32am
And because these guys are boring, lemme read my devotion now. 

10.41am
There is a call to prayer just after I've chronicled and posted yesterday's events.
Guys from Vision TV (a subsidiary of KAG) are here. 

11.00am
Pastor Sammy Kihu Mwangi, the National Youth Director, is on the pulpit. We're excited. He invites this year's guest speaker, Rev. Jeff Kennedy and his wife (Assemblies of God ministers) who've traveled from Michigan USA to minister in the conference. 

Preacher - Rev. Jeff Kennedy
Text - Acts 4:13-15
"When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus.
But since they could see the man who had been healed standing there with them, there was nothing they could say.
So they ordered them to withdraw from the Sanhedrin and then conferred together."
Topic - Back to the Basics (Living Extraordinary Lives) 

Sermon Notes:
1. God is going to take our ordinary selves and make them extraordinary.
2. The Word is the fundamental thing in spiritual living.
3. We have to learn the essentials to Christian Living in order to be effective in our Christian living.
4. This passage addresses the results of Acts Chapter 3.
(I feel like whooping right now, lol. I can also spot one of the buzzers from the bus yesterday seated a few seats on my right. The dude is dozing. SMH.)
5. God desires to live through us in an extraordinary way. And if we allow Him to, He'll separate us for extraordinary things. We are called for this.
6. Three things we need to understand about miracles or extraordinary things (while considering the beggar that was healed in Acts 3) are:
(a) They are extraordinary events that cause people to ask questions.
(b) Miracles can neither be contained nor covered up.
7. Extraordinary people are;
(a) Courageous
(He now shares his testimony on how he led 30 people to salvation at age 17)
(b) Vocal - be able to speak out
(c) Willing - willing to be sent forth to proclaim what He commands us to.
8. Only Christ will make me/us extraordinary. 

12.12pm
Again, from my observation, guys are plastic here - just like in most courtship stages of relationship. Looking too good, lifting hands without any significance... bla bla bla.

12.18pm
The General Superintendent (Rev/Dr Peter G W Njiri) is in the house. He's invited to great the assembly.
He says that it was part of his agenda for us to be here (at KAG EAST University) this year. He shares on how he's excited when he sees young people serving God, because he started serving Him at age 11.
He shares his vision for the university with us, and what God is doing amongst us.
We read Psalms 32:8 (I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you and watch over you.)
A few notes from his speech:-
1. We cannot go astray when we follow the instructions of the LORD and of our leaders.
2. Let's allow the Lord to be our teacher and He'll make a difference out of us.
3. If He guides us, we'll make it in life.
4. Have wisdom and understanding >> Psalms 32:9 "Do not be like the horse or the mule, which have no understanding but must be controlled by bit and bridle or they will not come to you."

1.00pm
Lunch break. 

1.40pm
My music is important. Can't do without it. Now playing The Dream (a 2014 album) - Sanctus Real. 

2.00pm
As I'm chilling here listening to this awesome Sanctus Real stuff, some kid out there is calling their parent: "Ile pesa ulinipatia ya pocket money imeisha". Lol, parents are really in their own kind of trouble. Pesa imeisha after 2 days? Hah! 

2.43pm
I don't feel like going back inside (to the hall). I mean, lunch should be two hours, yes? 

3.05pm
Sports time.
Lucky me.
Oooh, because I've become lazy after the food, lemme check out the hall for a little while...
Meaningless introductions is what I find: you know those ninjas who begin their introduction with "God is good, all the time... And all the time, God is good..."? Those ones? They are here making introductions.
Campus officials introductions. You can guess what they are saying (you've heard it all the time) so I don't have to tell you.
I've learned that the tagline of this campus is "A UNIVERSITY OF TRANSFORMATION" though.
There is a tiny marketing strategy in their speeches. A good one also.
Then there is a Magazine (Christian Times) published every month which we need to buy if interested. 

Administration block

3.24pm
Talk. Talk. And more talk.
What is "being digital"? We are asked.
Then one Mr. Muturi (I think I got the name right) is invited.
He starts by blabbering about his numerous successes and his magnificent profile so that we may know that he ain't a nahbody...
(Oooh well... You talk. We will listen.)

Here's what he says:
1. "Going digital" is all about bringing the Church to the market place.
2. The church is called to guide the world in the market place.
3. The best working and stable companies in the world are not owned by the government but by families. Adam failed in managing his family thus his failure was greater.
(I'm now feeling that this guy is talking about stuff only about 40% of the audience is interested in. Hecklers around me are already saying that he's lying. Lol.)
4. The Church in Kenya is going to have its own cyberspace which will become an owned platform by which it delivers its message in the current generation. It is called the Church Blaze (he, with a team of others created this platform.)

Characteristics of Church Blaze:
(a) It is a social platform
(b) It censors all obscene language
(c) It acts as a communication tool amongst brethren all over the world: pastor-member-pastor.
(d) Made to guide/lead the world in the cyberspace.
(e) Completely owned by the church.
(f) It has an e-commerce platform that is also global.
(Some weaves I'm seeing here tho... The one I've spotted makes the lady look like a gorilla - no pun intended, ladies)
Individuals and churches can join the network via:
Website: www.churchblaze.com or
www.blazebay.com
Phone: 0701-899-251
Or download the Android app: Church Blaze from the Play Store. 

4.15pm
Official sports time. I had wanted to watch this but the place is kilometers away. I ain't going nowhere. Probably tomorrow. 

5.00pm
Kids are buying newspapers, lol. What do they need newspapers for, really? Kids?
And in this free time I'm now thinking: "Hey, why do people always post on social media to tell us of their breakups na huwa hawatuambii wakikatiana?"
Okay, it's none of my business. 

5.30pm
Now browsing through those offline articles from Engadget, news24Kenya and Drippler: a boy's gotta know what's going on in the world, man. 

7.00pm
I'm now what I call "a victim of placement": where you don't know what to do with the lots of time you now have when you are at a different place separate from the usual.
Also, there are incidences that have occurred here that concern food. I won't write about that. Man, food is such a delicate issue... No wonder it was the first and most consequential sin... 

8.44pm
There are relationship thirsty teens all over the place. And did I just smell ile mafuta inaitwa Dipak? Oh my! 

8.50pm
Presentations time, it is. Good ones. Fake ones. Blunt ones. Juicy ones. Tasteless ones. Funny ones.
(The Dipak girls just passed by.)
Some people give their presentation, and they leave you like; "so who told you that you can sing? Your small bruh?"
It seems my guy just got himself a chiq. *Switches on my wait-and-see mode*
This place is full of counterfeits and wannabes. SMH. I guess it is typical of young people, right? 

9.00pm
Bible challenge.
15 districts are competing today, then there will be another 15 for tomorrow. Then it gets boring because they are asking those obvious questions. Questions like: "And He went to Lake Galilee, and saw them fishing, and told them, 'Follow me, for I will make you _____________'". You don't ask me such questions! They aren't challenging me, and if they are not, I'm leaving. So I go to sleep. (Yeah, say whatever you want, but that's how I roll.) 

10.45pm
I'm out. 

Bonface Morris.

Live Blogs: K.A.G. Annual National Youth Conference 2015, Day 1

Tuesday, 21st April, 2015 (Day 1)

Let's just say that today is the D-day. We're moving to Kitengela (Kajiado County) for the Kenya Assemblies of God National Youth Conference. The conference will last until Friday this week.
From this day onwards, I'm writing down stuff happening to me and around me in real time...

5.00am - 8.00am
I'm up early. I mean, if I'm up by 5.00am, boy that's way too early. 2 hours early from the normal me.
I'm at the allocated place by 8.00am. Waiting for the bus. We wait till 12pm. These guys have been telling us that they're "around the corner" for way too long. 

12.00pm
It should be epic. Yes, it should be. (And yeah, I just used that word, haha.) Thanks to a few things:
We're in a bus with weird people. They are the kind of people who sing to every song on the bus stereo. Attention freaks. Dang. Weird attention freaks. But let's see what will culminate.
I love traveling except for traveling in a noisy bus. But I'll tolerate it. These two guys on my left side (yeah, bad thing is I didn't get to have a chair next to a window) keep on buzzing in my left ear. Question is can't some people just keep quiet?

The bus

12.30pm
The driver, forgetting that he's in the company of Bible thumbers, puts on Lady Jaydee's song on the bus stereo (I don't know which one but I'm sure it's her voice.) One of the two ninjas - I'll be calling them buzzers from now onwards - stands up to dance. My bad. He's told to sit down but begs to continue dancing saying, "Do not judge". Hah.

12.47pm
The driver is rude. He doesn't turn down the volume even after I've pleaded with him twice. The guy on my left joins the buzzers in their hysteria.

Inside the bus

1.00pm
I'm dozing. I think I'm hungry. The five slices of bread I had in the morning have vanished. Just like that. But lemme lenga it for a while.

1.30pm
I miss them days when I used to charge my phone once in a week. Remember them Nokia 1-somethings of mid-2000s? *Sigh* My phone charge is 78%. (I bet DU Battery Saver Pro is just some type of battery saving hoax... If you are an Android ninja/ninjerette, you know that we have a couple of those.)
The quiet ones in this bus are still as quiet as ever. The noisy ones are shutting up. (Yeah, I knew they will. Eventually.)
I've just spotted a guy with a wedding ring far bigger than his finger. It is hanging on his finger like a necklace. Lol, I'm done here.

2.00pm
Buzzers are asleep. And there's this guy trying to get the actual number of people in the bus - the guy with a white button on a black shirt. Then there's this shop called "Highway Saloon" outside. Saloon? Okay, I think it's the hunger speaking now.

2.13pm
 It seems we have ghost people on the bus. It has a capacity of 50 people but it seems we now have around 54 on board. 4 are unaccounted for. Kenyans!!
Of course it is a hired bus, but there are 4 ghost people. Hah... And they'll never be verified.

2.38pm
Just looking at that inverted writing on the windscreen "SCHOOL BUS" bores me.

3.00pm
Buzzers are back.

3.14pm
Suburbs are full of these churches where a big banner with the pastor, his wife and the name of the ministry are huddled somewhere at the front. I spot one of those on the way.

3.25pm
I've just remembered that a certain High Schooler had texted me an hour ago and I forgot to reply. The bad thing is that texting and an empty stomach don't go together. And considering the rate at which these kids text nowadays, I think I did myself some good by hanging up.
Some song by one of these Kenyan musician pastors is now playing on the stereo - a very common repetitive song.

3.50pm
Some guy comes to chat me up. (The one with a white button in the middle of his black shirt). No dude, I can't talk. I'm in some sort of nodding mode. And, as usual, smiling will make me friendly. I'll seem like I'm listening and that I'm interested.

4.04pm
One of the buzzers (the one who just ate guavas) is now sharing with the white buttoned guy (who I've now learned is called Boaz) on doctrinal controversies amongst Kenyan preachers. I'm still maintaining my stare-watch-nod-smile-and-see mode. My butt is hurting. I'm shifting kiujanja on my seat so that nobody notices my quest for comfort.

4.12pm
I'm now surviving on 2G internet. 59% battery. One of the buzzers is now preaching. Seriously preaching to US. Lol. He's stopped by being given some piece of chapati. Silence. Eating. Silence. Talk between eating. (Repeat.)

4.30pm
The preaching is back on. Everyone on the bus is now alert and listening to these guys. It is raining outside. And, oh, the buzzer is a pastor. (Or so it seems). You should listen to these guys now arguing about pastors' salaries!! They've even made me forget that I'm hungry.

Buzzer-preacher

4.51pm
Someone now requests that we give some offering because the "preaching" from the buzzer-preacher has been powerful and inspiring. Kenyans!!

5.05pm
The bus pulls to the side of the road. Yeah, we needed a break. I'm able to take a few photos of the bus (I had forgotten to do it before departure). And thanks to MAPS.ME Offline Maps (yeah, Android is this cool), I realize that we are still a number of kilometers shy of Nakuru. This is one of those places where a 3G signal is like gold and because my phone ain't rooted, I can't use a signal booster. Oh well...

5.20pm
There's a Chinese phone on board. I just heard that "excuse me darling, you have a text message" ringtone.

5.37pm
These are those moments you start questioning yourself: "Did I lock the door before I left!?" "Do I have enough money on my M-PESA account...!?" bla bla bla. Also, these are those moments you elevate mobile banking. You begin knowing that mobile banking is for travellers, and not ninjas like me who sleep under the same blanket every night for almost a whole year.
And here is someone stepping on my shoes every few minutes. Like seriously? Don't step on my shoes!!

5.37pm
This guy's Mama Kanisa just called him (the guy on my right) and they seem not to understand each other.

6.24pm
A raw avocado just dropped from the same guy's bag. Hah.

6.32pm
We're in Nakuru town. I'm also thinking about a lady and a guy I know right here in this bus. They both are "ripe" for marriage. I'm thinking can matchmake them or something, haha... I mean, this guy is a bit shy. The lady too is the introverted type. Mmmmh, maybe I can pray for both - that they may have the courage to talk... Let's wait and see...
Kuna kajam hapa hivi kwa hii town.
 

7.08pm
Tryna get a place to eat in Nakuru. Guys are heated up. Food is a dangerous thing when young people need it kinda NOW. Dangerously good. We all love blaming Esau for acting so cheap with his brother's soup, yet I know many occasions when we can beat him at his own game.
I end up eating a fake kebab (yeah, it is something close to mutura rolled in eggs then deep fried) and fries. They sale soft drinks here as if they are cocktailed in Jesus' wine at Cana. But I buy one. I have to.

8.08pm
Heading to Nairobi. 28% battery. I'm now thinking of watching one episode of The Blacklist, but with 28% battery? Naaah.

8.20pm
It is dark, and after eating, even the buzzers are asleep. With the way our driver is behaving, (driving at 40km/h), tutafika Kitengela kesho. 

22.37pm
I think I've been dozing upto now. But somewhere my slumber, people sang and someone preached. People are singing. I mean, there are two things people do when they don't know what to do: sing or sleep. But this preacher-buzzer is notorious... Who speaks for this long?

23.00pm
You appreciate your phone maps quite well when you're a traveler. Say measuring distance to your destination right in the bus. Mombasa Road is where we are. Our destination is close.

23.23pm
In Kitengela town.

23.48pm
We're here!!!
This place is super awesoooome!!
7% battery. That means no photos for now...

KAG University at night

1.00am
Bedtime.

Let's meet tomorrow, guys.

For #KAGNYC2015 #NYC2015

Bonface Morris.

Love Is A War

Prologue
Well, the words below are more of the sandals and the belt to Warren Barfield's "Love Is Not A Fight".

Love is a war

Love is a war.

It is that kind of war that you get into without wishing or thinking twice about.
Nobody wishes war for themselves actually, but the war of love is irrefutable.
It just happens. And you just happen to like it.

It is like this:

One morning you are so cool - as cool as that frail mzungu on the beach with a pink pair of shorts sipping overdiluted yet overpriced juice.
You are carefree and stuff.
You are freelance, chewing popcorn cud, bubbling with freedom and chasing your thoughts along some imaginary sandy beach.
Boy, right then, life is food and you are definitely within reach.

Then love happens.

It happens in such a manner that you (outta-nowhere) just find your shriveled self with a sword in hand begging to fight.
You are there holding that blunt sword early next morning bila hata kunawa uso.
Just like that.
In a war of love, you don't ever care about what akina Morris will say...
You are all, "Hey, nigh and nay..."
Of course you are also with a bare chest that morning, and you're still rubbing your face with the back of your hand, trying to gain sight.
You are begging for a fight.
And funny enough, no begging, no pleading and no forcing of your petty self by anyone brought you out into such a readiness for war.
No. You just jumped out.
The moment you realized that the object of your emotion is within site, you just jumped out.
Just like that.

Plainly speaking, that is your moment of utmost stupidity - and yet you seem to be so proud of it.
You are proud of being shoved in all directions up to the front line on the battleground.
And all-of-a-sudden, you're commanded out of your numbness:
"Fight! Fight! Fight for me. Fight for me, your majesty!"
Then you are aroused to life (now scratching your tummy): "Your what?" You demand to know. Then you have to discard your slothfulness for your inner mojo to match the title you now command.
For if you won't fight - if you wouldn't fight - someone else is going to fight themselves into her/his arms.
And love does not play her game in that manner.
You will lose.

Love is a war, my friend.
Take up your sword. Buckle it up. Stand. Jog. Jump up. Train yourself.
It is war. It needs practice. And training. And fervency. And madness.
War requires you to seem to know where you are headed to and what you are doing even when you don't.
You need to learn to protect it (love), and guard it, and defend it, and keep it safely.
You need to learn to fight its battles.
For love abhors losers just as the earth abhors the sky.

You need to learn to fight its battles. For love abhors losers just as the earth abhors the sky.

The war of love is like the grass that withers in the field, then the sun burns and it still withers and threatens to dry away. 

Then you come rushing in with sprinkles of water and you cloth it in it.
And you do it again tomorrow. And the day after. Up until the grass is all-green and smiling in your face again.
You just don't give up. 

The moment you find yourself carelessly holding a sword in your right arm...
Breathing uncontrollably after jumping out of the house, saying every senseless word love is making you mime,
And swearing with your lips, while wiping away your sweat with your left and still clothed in a bare chest,
Is the moment you should decide not to give up.
It is the moment you decide to be the one fetching the water when the grass seems to be drying endlessly. It is the day you choose to fight till death do you apart.
It is that day that separates men from boys, war from toys and truth from coy.

You see, you think love is peace.
And that you only need words and gifts on a leash
To throw them here and there and you are done.
To speak them here and there, then you're gone...
And you probably think that with some certain kind of a fame, color and memoirs an eternity of sweet love will suffice.
No. Love requires the aggression of a pig.
It requires the patience of light within fog.
It requires a readiness of a legion,
And the boldness of a lion.

The war of love is when you lie, "I'm okay"
While deep inside you are ready to pounce on the victim any day.
In such a war, you'll always claim, "It'll be okay"
When deep within you are peculiarly uncertain of what price time will pay.
The war of love is where the heart plays but the body lies down sick.
Love is where the mind dances but the body is numb and weak.
In this war, thorns to your feet have to be considered as water to the duck...
In this war, you struggle to forgive because the agitations of the so-called "gut feeling" are telling you, "Morris, she doesn't deserve it. She doesn't deserve to be forgiven..."
Love is overcoming your lust and the unholy longings within and subduing them under.
Love is when you fight for nothing else but itself.
Love is when you hack your selfishness to pieces just so that you may redeem yourself.
Love is like the paradox of a bird that pants for free air but is also contented with the cage.
The bird whose lifespan is like that of a phage...
The war of love is as dangerous as it is harmless.
The war of love is as life-giving as it is lifeless.

The war of love is as dangerous as it is harmless. The war of love is as life-giving as it is lifeless.

How else will you tend it if you didn't fight enough to acquire and keep it? 

How else will you value it if you didn't go up the mountain and slide through valleys to have a taste of it?
Haven't you heard that the sweetest love is the one you fight for? The one you'd die for?
And that nothing pays, and that nothing is of worth which you haven't fought for?
Haven't you heard that love is a battlefield?
And that only the brave can share the warmth from which it is built?

They say that if you love enough, you have to learn freedom.
But they forget this: they forget to tell us that freedom is a kingdom.
And that to love freely is to conquer the odds of emotion, deception and depiction.
Yes, to love freely means conquering over yourself - taking reign over the kingdom of freedom.
And that requires war.
Yes, it does.

Love is a war.
It demands that you fight yourself into someone's heart.
That's why love is not easy. It requires you to get hurt.
But it is a beautiful war.
A war where instead of getting bruised, you enjoy the stir.
You enjoy more when there is war than when it is no more.
It is a beautiful war.

Love is warring against wanting another.
It is a warfare against desire for another.
It is choosing to fight for one, while overlooking every other.
It is choosing to be contented with one and forsaking every other.
It is fighting against being lured into a trap by the haunty woman.
Or being seduced by the weak woman.
It is a war of desire, thought and want.
It is a battleground for what you need, not what you want...

Love is like this:

Love is like making promises with a sword in one hand and a glass of wine in the other.
While guarding yourself lest one overwhelms the other.
Love is trusting that you won't fall on your sword while drunk.
And that if you ever are tempted to fall on your sword, the scars will remind you of the place and moment you fell to the ground.
Love doesn't want to risk dying because you were a skunk.
No, love would kill you if you ever tried to make it die and face the stink.

Epilogue
Even while loving Christ, we war against our flesh.
We fight with all our might to win the prize - we fight through surrender.
We fight not like men beating the air but like warriors behind a faithful commander.
We war against every trash, against every teeth that threatens to gnash.
We love so much that we war.
Because He loved and loves so much that He warred in order to have us in His arms.
Love is a war.
And it's Him who came to us to teach us that LOVE IS A BEAUTIFUL WAR....

.........................
Written for my one and only love for whom I'll never stop fighting...
You now get it bae, when I say, "We are at war..."
*Winks and smiles*

Morris.

Hillsong Worship (O Praise the Name), Jeremy Camp (I Will Follow) & Bethel Music (We Will Not Be Shaken) Free Album mp3 Downloads

Guys, as I promised, here are the three downloads :-):

Hillsong Worship - O Praise the Name song art (the cross = love) 

1. Hillsong Worship 2015 Easter Song + Chord Chart free download (3.8MB + 157kb) (128kbps, Standard quality)

Jeremy Camp - I Will Follow 2015 album official album art

2. Jeremy Camp - I Will Follow 2015 full free mp3 album download (58MB) (128kbps, Standard quality)

Bethel Music "We Will Not Be Shaken" album art 

3. Bethel Music - We Will Not Be Shaken 2015 full free mp3 album download (65MB) (128kbps, Standard quality)

Relationships: Why The Fuss Over Yokes?

A few months ago, somewhere in 2014, we had a heated debate at our Youth Bible Study class. It was escalated by that famous verse in 2 Corinthians 6:14 (Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. For what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? And what communion has light with darkness? (NKJV)).

We zoomed in and zoomed out of the verse. (Quite typical of a Bible study actually.) And as expected, there were those who gladly agreed with it, those who said nothing about it (yeah, expect that in a Bible study) and yet still, there were those who demanded to know why it was such a big deal - this thing of getting unequally yoked with non-believers. 

Well, it came out to be a big deal. For various reasons. (But we'll eventually come to that later in this post.)

..........................

I'm not married. Not yet actually. But I guess that doesn't really matter. At least I know, at the back of my mind, that whatever I'll be talking about in this post applies to me more than to anybody else. So I stand to be judged by the very words I say. 

............................

The first time I heard about a Christian young person not getting unequally yoked with non-believers, I raised my eyebrows. I was young in salvation (okay, I was young at age too). I was young and naive and was still pleased with enjoying middle ground when it came to most matters of the Christian faith that demand complete abstinence or total obedience and surrender. 

I was sceptical on matters to do with sex before marriage, sexual purity, Christian dating, relationships, the boundaries, do's & don't's within and all the "petty laws" involved. And because no one offered to deliberately answer the "why" questions surrounding these matters, I floated for a while in my own tiny knowledge of things. (But not until the Lord compelled me to read Scripture and find answers for myself.)

And this leads me to say this: the greatest challenge affecting the adoption of Christian values from one generation to another today or at any other time in future history is this: our parents, mentors and teachers have an unequalled ability to command us on what good things to do (or not to do) but they fail at never telling us why it is right or wrong to do these things. Our parents and teachers are really good at pointing out what is wrong but they are very poor at explaining why it is wrong. 

If something is bad, it is simply bad. No reason. No elaboration. No deliberation. It's just bad. Period. Don't question nothing, don't ask nothing. It is the law, just follow it. You know. 

The attitude above is what nurtures our sceptism. We young people are then inclined to ask questions like: Why abstain from sex before marriage? Why follow and believe in the God of my parents? Why not marry a secular person or a Muslim, or a Hindu or just any other person I meet next and fall in love with? 

So unless someone stops and conclusively answers these questions, we won't stop doing wrong and going against the good values we've been taught. 

For this reason, this blog was born. (Yeah, this is for all those who wonder why I blog.) 

I'll try to help us understand the why of not getting unequally yoked with a non-believer if (and when) you are a saved young person. 

.......................

To get to the point, we'll first seek to answer two questions: 

1. Why is it a big deal to God as to whom we get married to as His children? 

2. Why do we take it for granted then? 

Answering the two questions above will give us a closer look at both sides of this coin of intermarriage between believers and non-believers. 

Then at the end, I'll share with us a few Scriptures that support my point. 

..................................

1. Why is it a big deal to God as to whom we get married to as His children? 

(a) When we get unequally yoked to non-believers, we compromise our belief systems. 

It may not be true that I'm "compatible" with every other Christian lady, but at least we will have the same value and belief system if we are to enter into marriage. If I get married to a Muslim or someone who doesn't believe the same things about Christ as I do, it will later influence our family's belief system causing our children to believe different things about God and life. It therefore will affect the unity and agreeableness of we as husband and wife and also of the children that are a fruit of our marriage. The children may decide to follow dad's or mom's value system causing them to grow apart. Also, our unity will be compromised as far as decision making and conflict resolution is concerned. We will always be reading from different scripts. 

And because God sees all these things before we do, He discourages to get into longtime commitments with non-believers (marriage being one of them.) 

(b) Because God sees marriage and most alliances we make in life as a union that makes two people ONE, He desires that the people who get in such commitments will mutually agree to make Him the first priority in their lives, and that they'll agree to allow Him to lead them and take the center place in it. 

(c) God also predicts danger on the part of the believer when we get entangled in such relationships, agreements or contracts. Just as Isaac refused Jacob to take a Canaanite woman in Genesis 28:1 for the reason of being misled by them into pagan worship and also falling a victim of inheriting Canaan's curse through marriage (one proclaimed by Noah in Genesis 9:25), so God also doesn't want us to inherit together with the non-believer the curses and punishment that befalls them when they disobey Him. 

2. Why do we take it for granted? 

(a) We think that it has no moral or spiritual connections with who we should be or who we are in Christ. In some verses I'll quote below, you'll realize that there are so many times Israel becomes a victim of punishment due to the sin of marrying foreign wives and making treaties with pagan kings. It made God angry and separated them from Him. It does the same to us no matter how for granted we take the spirituality of the person we commit ourselves to. It will eventually become our thorn in the flesh. 

(b) We cannot see the future as God sees it. 

I've mentioned above a few examples of what the Lord sees in every illicit relationship. We are mostly blind to such truths.

(c) We look at things with immature eyes - considering only what we say about the person in picture but not what God says. We are overwhelmed by emotion and the other person's acts of love and affection which make us forget the things God says concerning such alliances. We only look at the face value of things: looks, words, false perceptions etc. 

(d) We think we are wiser and that we can change this other person and convince them to love and serve God. This is impossible but we, in our ignorance, decide that we are gods that can bring transformation into another person's life. We forget that only God can wholly change a person. 

......................

But some would say, "But Morris, Hosea the prophet was unequally yoked to Gomer... and... and... that lady Ruth was a foreigner, right? And what about Queen Esther? Didn't she get married to a pagan king?"

Oh well, each of the above cases are Biblical evidences of unique examples when God allows something to happen for one or two divine purposes. That is not to mean that He exclusively stamped this as the way He Himself would want His children to relate with pagans or non-believers; but that for one reason or another, a lesson was being taught to the nation of Israel. 

Here is their uniqueness:-

Hosea got married to Gomer (a prostitute) as a way of obeying God's command and to use it as a metaphor to reveal to the people of Israel how they were treating Him (their God). (Hosea 1:2 (NKJV): When the Lord began to speak by Hosea, the Lord said to Hosea: "Go, take yourself a wife of harlotry and children of harlotry, for the land has committed great harlotry by departing from the Lord.")

The main thing to note about Ruth from the Book of Ruth is that by the time she marries Boaz, she has already accepted to follow the God of Naomi and Boaz (the God of Israel) thus is converted. (Ruth 1:16 "But Ruth said: 'Entreat me not to leave you, or to turn back from following after you; for wherever you go, I will go; and wherever you lodge, I will lodge; your people shall be my people, and your God, my God.'") There is therefore no debating on which side she is when she gets married. 

Queen Esther on the other hand was raised in the land of Persia at an appointed time in order to save the Jews from annihilation. We therefore see that it's part of God's plan to have her get married to a pagan king. Esther 4:14 (NKJV): "For if you remain completely silent at this time, relief and deliverance will arise for the Jews from another place, but you and your father's house will perish. Yet who knows whether you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this?"

Unless you are Hosea, Queen Esther or Ruth, why tempt God by marrying a pagan? 

Only husbands or wives who became saved AFTER MARRIAGE are allowed to continue in such relationships for the sake of unity and fulfilling the will of God in those marriages. (1 Peter 3:1-2 and 1 Corinthians 7:12-16). Thus divorce is denied in instances where a husband or wife who previously didn't know Christ gets saved while their partner remains a non-believer. It is encouraged that they conduct themselves in a manner worthy their calling in order to (somehow) convict their partner into repentance. (Although it is also never a guarantee that this will happen.) 

..........................

Finally, here are contextual Bible verses supporting “Do not be unequally yoked with non-believers" All Scripture quotations are from the English Standard Version (ESV) Bible.

1. 2 Corinthians 6:14-16 

Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership has righteousness with lawlessness? Or what fellowship has light with darkness? What accord has Christ with Belial? Or what portion does a believer share with an unbeliever? What agreement has the temple of God with idols? For we are the temple of the living God; as God said, “I will make my dwelling among them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.

2. Abraham and Hagar (a foreign woman who ends up becoming the mother to "the other child" - a child who later becomes a great opposition to the promised child's inheritance) Genesis 16:1 and Genesis 21:8-10

3. Esau and his foreign women that displeased his father. (Genesis 26:34-35)

4. Ahab and Jezebel (daughter of a pagan king) who led to his fall and the enmity between his house and God (1 Kings 16:30-33)

5. The prophet Balaam led the people of Israel to sin and intermarry with Moabites (descendants from a cursed seed (Lot)) in Numbers 25:1-3. 

6. It was mandatory that Christians of the early church had a believing wife; 1 Corithians 9:5 "Do we not have the right to take along a believing wife, as do the other apostles and the brothers of the Lord and Cephas?" 

7. Amos 3:3 

"Do two walk together, unless they have agreed to meet?”

8. Samson had a habit of falling in love with foreign women who later led to his fall (Judges 14:3)

9. Abraham made his servant swear to him that he will not allow Isaac to marry a foreign woman (Genesis 24:37)

10. Jehoshaphat, a righetous king, made a treaty with evil kings who led to his failure in war; 2 Chronicles 18:1 and 2 Chronicles 19:2.

11. Marrying many foreign women led to the fall of that wise king called Solomon; 1 Kings 11:1-2.

12. The LORD, through Moses, commanded his people not to intermarry with foreign nations; Deuteronomy 7:3 "You shall not intermarry with them, giving your daughters to their sons or taking their daughters for your sons"

13. After their return to Jerusalem, the people realize the cause of their eviction into slavery in Babylon and the LORD’s incessant anger towards them was due to intermarriage with foreign/pagan women (Ezra 9:1-2)

14. After returning to Jerusalem from Babylon, the people swore not to intemarry with foreign nations because they had been told the consequences (Nehemiah 10:28-30 and Nehemiah 13:23-27);

15. Rebecca to her son Jacob (Genesis 27:46) and Isaac to Jacob too (Genesis 28:1).

16. Joshua warns Israel of intermarrying with foreign/pagan nations (Joshua 23:12-13)

We can go on and on quoting relevant Scripture, but you now get the point: it is a big deal breaker before God when we get entangled in contracts with and get married to non-believers. 

Note: The phrase “foreign woman” or “Canaanite woman” or “foreign nations” in the passages above is used to mean a people who are not born again and do not therefore belong to the family of God, and not necessarily a tribe or country (this is with relevance to Christianity) today. Also, the above Scriptures apply to every lady in the family of God. 

Til next time, 

Bonface Morris. 

In Honor of A Woman

Quote: It is a woman that opens the eyes of the world to infinite possibilities. It is the woman. - Bonface Morris.

Dedicated to my mother, Mrs. Tabitha Olumi.

I love you mom.

And in celebration to International Women's Day, 2015 (March 8, 2015). #MakeItHappen

Long before there was civilization, they (women) were thought only to be servants: servants of men.

The only time it felt right for a woman to say a thing to a man was when giving birth.

Only then was she allowed to yell things at him - to justifiably vent her inner sorrows. But even then, she was careful. She was careful lest her pain would cause her family to part with goats and bullocks; and herself, the stigma of being called a witch.

It was so common then. And real. It was common and real how women suffered silently under the dictatorship of men. Men knew exactly how to manipulate situations to favor them. So the woman always suffered in silence.

She was thought to be an object.

Of pleasure. Of ridicule. Of lessness. 

A conduit for pain.

She was known to be strong but useless. Present but voiceless. Needed but irrelevant.

The girl child existed only as an animal would exist today.

None of her words mattered. None of her feelings and emotions and lamentations and visions and dreams mattered.

She was the uncelebrated martyr. A useful ghost.

That was back then.

That was until civilization slightly came to her rescue.

That was then. That was before civilization held us in its arms.

So when the world turned around and in came a people dressed in wool and speaking not her language; but who oppressed man and vaguely favored the girl child, we smiled.

No, the woman smiled. Wryly.

Wryly, because, as she came to realize, not all of us wanted her free.

Some still wanted - and still demand even today - the services of the slave woman. They demanded to have their slaves back...

Some still wanted to misuse her freedom. Not to fight and bleed for it but to eat it.

Some still wanted to continue enjoying her pain. To bathe, busk and oil themselves in it.

Some still thought (and think even today), "She is lesser than us. Let her kneel as we walk..." They wanted her as an elephant would want the ground. They wanted her as the hen would want her dough.

Some still made merry at the oppression of the girl child and the woman.

Even now, even today, some hide in religion - that good thing that civilization fetched us - to justify their wickedness against the girl child.

Some hide in traditions. Some in intellectualism. Some in capitalism. Some in sexism. Some in uncontrolled narcissism. Some in aberrated philosophies.

All to the sounding of the drums of her oppression.

But the woman - that voice that speaks so firmly yet regarded so lowly - has not turned to dust yet.

Not yet. Not just yet.

She still fights. She still resiliently stages her defense against these devils.

Even when her fighting is silenced, she still fights on.

She fights on because she knows that it is a woman that opens the eyes of the world to infinite possibilities. It is the woman.

....................................

See, when I look at my mom, a woman, the woman - all she is in her countenance - I tend to think that this is the reason she has fought so many wars to get us to where we are.

Wait, you have to get it right.

My mom (and probably yours) got married in a generation when the so-called affirmative action had not even opened its eyes. When people still thought rights and equality are the same thing. Days when the so-called human rights or women rights were still toddlers - still begging for a feeding here and a feeding there, and of course, from time to time, naturally oversleeping.

She was still a girl then. (I saw her photo somewhere, and daaaaamn, she was beautiful.)

Then she picked up on a task she had only been hearing about. Gave birth to five of us. And we've given her hell for a while. But we are who we are today because through her hands, God molded us.

Nothing can compare to who she is to me. To us.

She is irreplaceable.

Listen. 

No one tolerates and yet loves a child so deeply like the mother does.

No one assures the child that it's all gonna be okay like the mother does. No one spanks a child like a mother - hard but soothingly. 

There may be bad mothers out there - bad women - but their tenderness towards their children is unequaled...

And for all this plus more, I choose to celebrate her. To celebrate women.

I choose to celebrate my mom and every other woman in my life.

Every girl, every lady, every mother, every wife. Every woman.

I celebrate you all.

....................................

Woman, you are special.

You're petty, but you are special. Petty but unique. You have a pettiness that makes you special.

We may shun at your fastidious obsession with detail, but you're special.

I celebrate your love for color; just how you are obsessed with seeing every tiny color in its rightful place amazes me. (Like you all decided to "paint it purple" this year during the #MakeItHappen celebrations.)

I celebrate your vigilance. You fight for what is right and good for the children you've born and the people you love without looking back.

I celebrate your tolerance. Yes you can forgive the many sins we men commit so endlessly so many times, but when venting, your wrath knows no end.

I celebrate your resilience and grace. You always bounce back. Always. You smile in the midst of storms, and waves make you stand stronger.

I celebrate your kindness and gentleness. Your hands have forged the paths of many. Without your tenderness, the world would be a sea of wars.

I celebrate your ability to enjoy pain, the pain of giving birth.

I celebrate your selflessness. Just how you'd rather go hungry than suffer your children lack education is a sacrifice we all cannot explain.

I celebrate your strength. That you're called weak yet you're the helper - the support we lean on.

I celebrate your fervency in prayer and service to God; there ain't nobody as dedicated to the Lord as a woman!!

I celebrate your intuition and wisdom. Our homes would be doomed if it were not for your ability to clearly see the future ad to plan it.

I celebrate your weaknesses; because they never hold you back from being all you can be.

I celebrate your sacrifice; it has opened the doors of our eyes to endless possibilities.

I celebrate your love; there ain't nothing like the love of a woman.

Even the good Lord said it: he who finds a wife (a woman) finds a good thing.

I celebrate your madness; it brings the world to sanity.

You keep on fighting even when all is lost.

You die pursuing the best for those around you.

You live longer because you give too much.

You die all the time that others may live.

Although you are not perfect, you're imperfectly awesome.

You can't stop talking and asking and worrying and thinking and planning and tossing forth, bringing hither and taking thither.

You won't stop loving...

You won't stop opening the eyes of the world to infinite possibilities.

I don't know how you do it.

I really don't know how you do it.

Maybe the angels are sent to help you.

Maybe the Lord Himself comes down from the heavens to make your weak selves much stronger than ours.

But I celebrate you anyway.

Yes, when all has been folded, we still need you to unfold it... 

The world still needs you woman. It will always need you.

And I celebrate you.

I salute you.

Bonface Morris.