You + The Holy Spirit...

There's something I wish everyone on earth would have, the holy spirit. Knowing the benefits of the holy spirit, especially in today's world of gain, the holy spirit alone should entice everyone to salvation. In acts we see a man, a magician, who after seeing the excellent transformative works of the holy spirit wished he'd also get this power, but of cause he wanted it for the wrong reasons. 

Many people today are not afraid of the eternal destiny of each their soul, but mostly afraid of the terrible experience they might encounter if conditions change and success is no more in there favor, that's, for those that are already successful by world standards, and for those struggling to "make it" in life, never "making it" is there greatest fear. 

But why not tap into the great power of the holy spirit to summaries our search for greatness in life? Here are a few of the benefits of the holy spirit in anyone's life, I mean what he'd do to anyone at all if accepted and allowed to take control; he'd bring excellency in every field of your life, I mean physical, mental and spiritual. 

Daniel 6:3 (NKJV)
[3]Then this Daniel distinguished himself above the governors and satraps, because an excellent spirit was in him; and the king gave thought to setting him over the whole realm.

Yeah, that's the summary benefit of the Holy Spirit, because with all the spiritual gifts that he brings into anyone's life that gladly welcomes him into his life and gives him full control, as an act of obedience, excelling in life is inevitable.

Now, this lack of complete permission to control life that we're supposed to give the holy spirit is the exact reason why we are always failing in life, even when we claim (which might be true) to have the Holy Spirit! Because of our disobedience, we disgrace the Holy Spirit with incompetence and failure, which cause the anger/judgement of God to come upon us or make us vulnerable to the attacks of the enemy, the devil. 

Many Christians today want to live an on (when it's convenient) and off (when it's convenient) Christian life, thinking this way they can easily win in life by harnessing the advantages of a double standard, that is, a mix of a Christian and secular life, but they're so wrong and that's why they live a life loss and profit, happiness and misery, success and failure, health and sickness, etc. Their choice of a lifestyle of spiritual double standard comes with double standard results. 

David knew the excellent work the holy spirit did in his life and he didn't want him taken away as he prayed in Psalms 51:11(NKJV) saying, 

"[11]Do not cast me away from Your presence, And do not take Your Holy Spirit from me." 

Paul asks us give it bodies "as a living sacrifice" not as a burden, no, but for the advantages we'll have if given to total submission under total influence of the holy spirit.

We read in Romans 12:1-2 (NKJV) 
"[1]I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.
[2]And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. Serve God with Spiritual Gifts"

Remember, spiritual gifts are given by the Holy Spirit as Paul says in 1 Christians 12:1 (NKJV) that "Now concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I do not want you to be ignorant:"

He is a gentle spirit, and he'll bring gentleness into our character, which will make us more desirable and useable to both our God, and fellow men. 

May God be kind to you as you find your way back to acceptable Christian living, Amen!

Monkeys Are Not Lazy!

While passing through a village in Mpigi districts several weeks ago I found a hunter with hunting nets, bells and a pack of dogs. Out of curiosity I inquired why he dressed and looked so much like people in our old African story books; he looked ancient for this era. For a moment I felt as though I had time-travelled to the 1700s. 

He said he's a hunter by profession, and had been hired by some community members to hunt monkeys that are destroying people's crops. A professional hunter today, in 2018?! 

Asking him if he had succeeded, he told me it's a matter of time and villagers will only have to visit the zoo or far forests to see what an actual monkey looks like, and those who can't afford to visit search places will only have to see photos of monkeys in publications.

There's a mythical story about a farmer who tried to negotiate with monkeys to grow their own food and stop destroying his but the attempts failed, because monkeys are monkeys, and monkeys don't grow their own food!

He tried to make them understand that they were like him, but monkeys could not comprehend the concepts of production he was saying, but they understood clearly what pertains to multiplication of their race, a race of monkeys that are just monkeys.

It's sad when you find a human, a creature of superior race that thinks and lives like a monkey, that all he has to do is live, eat and breed. 

The first assignment God gave to man after creation which still stands today is a management job that requires you to be a custodian and multiplier of resources. 

Genesis 1:28: Then God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”

The blessing that was given to our ancient parents lives in every man and woman today, and this blessing is a call to duty. The blessing of God that is upon our lives, each person, gives us the ability to manage resources, including our life, the resources around us and time, and cause increase.

God gave each of us a double blessing at the beginning of time; a blessing to multiply (dominion; stewardship) and a blessing to be fruitful and multiply. Therefore, there is no excuse for being unproductive.

In the parable of the three savants (Matthew 25:15), a man, master, gave each one according to his ability, yet he expected each of them to multiply the gold coins according to their ability, but to MULTIPLY!

It's hard, maybe impossible to separate laziness from excuses, and Proverbs 26:16 (GNB) says it clearer, "A lazy person will think he is smarter than seven men who can give good reasons for their opinions." Why? Because he has mastered the art of giving excuses for everything he does or does not do. He will give lame excuses like what is said in Proverbs 22:13 (GNB) about lazy people that, "Lazy people stay at home; they say a lion might get them if they go outside."

How lazy people love to sleep! Different scriptures in the Bible talk about them, especially one that tells us how they love to toss and turn in bed like doors on hinges, without lifting a foot or finger to make sense out of their lives. Don't be like them because it's a miserable way to live.

Just as monkeys are destructive, so are lazy people; very destructive! And, Proverbs 18:9 (GNB) stresses it when it says, "A lazy person is as bad as someone who is destructive."

People confuse hard work with hard labour, we do not suffer working, no, we enjoy working because from working we derive purpose and meaning. Work; productivity defines us, it reveals us!

Working hard does not necessarily mean you have to do something that breaks your backbone and tears your muscle, no, but being productive, which can also be as a result of working smart to maximize resources and productivity.

People that work smart are those that invest their initial time in preparation for work like studying, researching and making plans.

Plan your work, break down tasks, prioritise, set targets or goals with specific time frames, and eat well, sleep in time, make some research on your work and then start your process of productivity.  This is smartness in making productive work a reality.

As we prepare to visit our up country homes and relatives in this festive season, think about doing something productive like buying a good specie of fruit seedlings from the city that require minimal care and take them home. Plant them and see how nice an up country visit will be in 3-5 years. Mangoes, oranges, lemons, avocados, pomegranates, Jack fruit, guavas, sour soup, even matooke suckers, sugarcane and cassava cuttings can do well, so that maybe next time when you go for your Christmas season you have something to bring back to the city.

In their nature, monkeys don't rest, they're active most of their life time yet they produce nothing. Some lazy people are like active monkeys, like infants and teens they're always up and down, but will not show you the results of their activity; they use a lot of effort to produce nothing, and I call this active laziness. 

I define active laziness in this case as a state where your body is very active but produces no actual results except tiredness and a busy reputation.

There are promises for hard workers and warnings for lazy people, but choose to be a productive person today!

Proverbs 10:4 (GNB) says, "Being lazy will make you poor, but hard work will make you rich."

And Proverbs 13:4 (GNB) says it even more clearer that, "No matter how much a lazy person may want something, he will never get it. A hard worker will get everything he wants."

Later I followed up on the hunted monkeys and I was told those that those captured in the nets were taken and dumped in Mpanga forest while some where killed and served to hunting dogs. 

Society has a way of eliminating lazy people, even through laws! In Kampala today, you can not come from anywhere and sit on the street where people are busy about their business - they'll see you as a security threat. You won't eat or find a place to lodge if you don't work, like a monkey, you'll have to find your food and home in a forest, which can mean any uncomfortable place or condition. I wish you a Merry Christmas season and happy New year!