Jaus' Notebook

Saturday 29th September. Just had one of those days you never wish to end. I attended a Joint Sabbath at the Kitale Campus of Moi University. It was an opportunity to meet, mingle with and make friends. It has been said and sang that the Father "gives unto each day what He deems best, and that it's part of pain and pleasure." Well, am persueded to believe that it was one of those days that He only mingled peace and rest with pleasure. Day of sacred pleasure! There's this proverb that says that experience is a comb which nature gives us when we are bald. You may never live long enough to be bald, specially ladies. For this reason, I'd like to just jot here a few key lessons I learnt from the sermon. May God bless his servant Pr. Makhanu for this message. "Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needs not be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth" 2 Timothy 2:15 Theme: Are we standing for God in this generation? Definition

Being born again . . . by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever. 1 Peter 1:23 In the Bible the will of God is revealed. The truths of the Word of God are the utterances of the Most High. He who makes these truths a part of his life becomes in every sense a new creature. He is not given new mental powers, but the darkness that through ignorance and sin has clouded the understanding is removed. The words, “A new heart also will I give you,” mean, “A new mind will I give you.” A change of heart is always attended by a clear conviction of Christian duty, an understanding of truth. He who gives the Scriptures close, prayerful attention will gain clear comprehension and sound judgment, as if in turning to God he had reached a higher plane of intelligence. The Bible contains the principles that lie at the foundation of all true greatness, all true prosperity, whether for

Except the Lord Keep Watch Around the wall the sentinels pace with constant step; but yet the city is betrayed unless the alert Watcher is with them. We are not safe because of security guards if Jehovah refuses to watch over us. Even if the guards are wakeful, and do their duty, still the place may be surprised if God were not there. "I, the Lord, do keep it", is better than an army of sleepless guards. Psalms 127:1 “Except the LORD keep the city, the watchman waketh but in vain.” Note that the Psalmist does not bid the builder cease from labouring, nor suggest that watchmen should neglect their duty, nor that men should show their trust in God by doing nothing. Nay, he supposes that they will do all that they can do, and then he forbids their fixing their trust in what they have done, and assures them that all creature effort will be in vain unless the Creator puts forth his power, to render second causes effectual. Holy Scripture endorses the order of Cromwell -- &

Psalms 51:10~ "Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me." CREATE. What! has sin so destroyed us, that the Creator must be called in again? What ruin then doth evil work among mankind! Create in me. I, in my outward fabric, still exist; but I am empty, desert, void. Come, then, and let thy power be seen in a new creation within my old fallen self. Thou didst make a man in the world at first; Lord, make a new man in me! A clean heart. In the seventh verse he asked to be clean; now he seeks a heart suitable to that cleanliness; but he does not say, "Make my old heart clean;" he is too experienced in the hopelessness of the old nature. He would have the old man buried as a dead thing, and a new creation brought in to fill its place. None but God can create either a new heart or a new earth. Salvation is a marvellous display of supreme power; the work in us as much as that for us is wholly of Omnipotence. The affections must be rectifie

~On a hill far away stood an old rugged cross~ LESSON: Godliness acquired as a habit in youth, is recommended as the proper compensation for the natural cessation of youthful happiness which makes days of old age more or less evil; more evil in proportion since there is less of godliness in the heart, and less evil where there is more godliness. 'Young people can hardly imagine that they will ever get old, or that they will die. They feel immortal. And they are by nature sinners like everybody else, and feel like their life belongs to them. So they are naturally selfish, like all of us are. But they may be deliriously happy in their selfishness as long as things go their way. Thoughts of self-sacrifice, of giving their lives in God's service, are unwelcome. But there must come a time when that delirious exuberance is spent, and then the misery of feeble old age takes over. And if you haven't learned in your youth how to surrender your own will to God in the sam

Aesop wrote a fable that clearly depicts the idea of "a three-fold cord is not quickly broken." A farmer who had a quarrelsome family called his sons and told them to lay a bunch of sticks before him. Then, after laying the esticks parallel to one another and binding them, he challenged his sons, one after another to pick the bundle and break it. They all tried but in vain. Then untying the bundle, he gave them the sticks to break one by one. This they did with the greatest ease. Then said the father,"Thus,my sons,as long as you remain untied,you are a match for anything, but differ and separate,and you are done." A threefold cord is not easily broken (Eccl 4:12). We all acknowledge the value of having close friends. I once had someone say that "friendship is the cement that brings all the world together." It is true. But, I would like to add one significant point; that we must not forget how vital it is to incorporate Christ into those friendships. Y

~The Great Physician Heals the Sick~ I exceedingly loved the message one sister shared during todays vespers (evening prayers) : A Changed Heart. For once it did occur to me that God can perform the most perfect heart transplant that no surgeon can ever attempt. Before the message we sang the song 'LORD I want to be a Christian in my heart". In Acts 3:19 Peter advises, "repent ye therefore and be converted". Why does God recommend a change of heart? I've come to learn that our spiritual IQ, unlike the classroom one, resides in the heart. And God is interested in intelligent Christians. God gives those who pleases Him wisdom and knowledge (Eccl. 2:26). In the book ' When All You've Ever Wanted Isn't Enough', Kushner tells of a Jewish tradition of the "holy fool." The are simple, uneducated persons who serve God spontaneously and enthusiastically without stopping to think about what they are doing. Such service to God is espec

Do you have any memories of the day you were born? As for me I can't, leave alone the taste of Mom's milk. Can you imagine there's someone who can narrate to you the whole story, way back to a time even Mom wasn't aware you were being formed? The Lord Jesus says to each one of us personally, "I have loved you with an everlasting love: therefore with loving kindness I have drawn you" (Jer. 31:3). That is personal, individual, intimate love; not a cold electronic thing. It's the love of a Father--our heavenly Father. As intimate, close, personal as any earthly father's love can be. Only far more so. Some dear people feel that they have never known an earthly father's love; what can the dear Lord do for them? But truthfully, none of us have ever had a human father who could perfectly portray the love of our heavenly Father, for us. So, let no one be the least discouraged if you have never known an earthly father's love: kneel o

Adam was a great man but he plunged the world into rebellion against God through sin. Sin brought death, not only the death that we call "sleep," but the real thing--the total eternal end of life, what the Bible describes as "the second death." The Good News of the gospel declares that a "last Adam" or second Adam has entered our dark, doomed world, and has taken over the headship of the human race (1 Cor. 15:45). As we are all by nature "in Adam" with a verdict of condemnation hanging over our heads, so now "in Christ" we have a verdict of acquittal pronounced over us. Instead of a sentence of death, we have a sentence of life! But all through the ages during these two millennia there have been some dear souls who thought that this Good News means that everybody will be saved eternally at last; this is known as "Universalism." But the Bible does not teach Universalism. God would like for "all men&qu

Once, a very long time ago, so long ago that it must have been close to the time when the First Man and the First Woman walked upon the earth, there lived a woman named Manzandaba (mah-nzah-ndah'-bah) and her husband Zenzele (zay-nzay'-lay). They lived in a traditional home in a small traditional village. They had many children, and for the most part, they were very happy. They would spend the day working, weaving baskets, tanning hides, hunting and tilling the earth near their home. On occasion they would go down to the great ocean and play under the sun in the sand, laughing at the funny crabs they would see scuttling along there and rejoicing at the way in which the birds would dip and dive in the sea breezes.Zenzele had the heart of an artist and loved to carve. He would fashion beautiful birds out of old tree stumps. With his axe he could make the most wonderful impala and kudu bucks from stone. Their homestead was filled with decorative works by Zenzele the carver. But

Those who watched the Olympics will agree with me in this. That Bolt ran for 9 seconds and won a gold medal. Kiprotich Stephen of Uganda ran for over 2 hours and won a gold medal. Where is the disparity. After all, both won a race. "Know ye not that they which run in a race run all, but one receiveth the prize? So sun, that ye may obtain."~ 1 Cor. 9:24 Most folks fear competitive races, particularly when the prize is not worth much. Here, a race is set, and on; one in which the prize is sure since the sponsor is the creator and owner of all things. Heaven's resources are limitless, and they are all at our command. The whistle is blown. Why then can't we get onto the tracks and go! This is not a physical race. Even the lame compete fairly. All one needs to ask themselves is, "Am I a soldier of the cross?" God calls upon us all to enter a race in which everyone may win. He calls upon us to enlist in a warfare in which everyone may be a conc

"He shall be like a tree Planted by the rivers of water, That brings forth its fruit in its season, Whose leaf also shall not wither; And whatever he does shall prosper."~ Psalms 1:3 The Psalmist says that the Lord's trees are all evergreens. But what makes an evergreen Christian? In botany, an evergreen plant is a one that has leaves in all seasons. Deciduous plants, on the other hand, completely lose their foliage during the cold or dry season. Actually, the latin binomial term ascribed to evergreen trees, sempervirens (literally, "living forever") refers to the evergreen nature of the plant, e.g. Cupressus sempervirens (a cypress). Owing to the botanical meaning, the term "evergreen" can refer metaphorically to something that is continuously renewed or is self-renewing. Note that the the Lord's tree is not a wild one, but 'a tree planted', chosen, considered as property, and secured from uprooting (Matthew 15:13) One man onc

Sadness enhances the experience of pain, scientists have proved(Yang et al, 2002) in a neuroreport. It is well known that emotion can modify the experience of pain. However, it is unclear how an emotional state and its concomitant neural activity affects activity in brain regions responsive to pain, thus altering the experience of pain itself. In their study, they examined the effect of sad mood on perception of painful stimuli and used functional MRI (fMRI) to identify neural activity changes in 15 participants who, in separate trials, (a) received painful electric shocks; (b) experienced a sad mood; and (c) received electric shocks as they were experiencing a sad mood. Sad mood was induced using a previously validated paradigm using sad pictures. Participants rated pain as more intense when they were experiencing a sad mood (viewing sad pictures) than when they were viewing neutral pictures, even though the intensity of the painful stimulation was identical under both conditions.

"You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe -- and tremble !" (James 2:19) You read this and realise that knowing that there is a God is not enough. So much the same, conviction of sin minus a conversion in the heart is not sufficient. All that deal with God must deal upon trust, and he will give comfort to those only that give credit to him, and make it appear they do so by quitting other confidences, and venturing to the utmost for God. The closer our expectations are confined to God, the higher our expectations may be raised. Trust, therefore, in the Lord, always, altogether, and for all things. The psalmist says that those that deal upon this species of trust shall be as mount Zion. Page of Chelsea in 1833 affirmed this when he said that 'some persons are like the sand -- ever shifting and treacherous. (Matthew 7:26) . Some are like the sea -- restless and unsettled. (Isaiah 57:20 James 1:6) . Some are like the wind -- uncertain and in