As has been the trend, end of last year found me attending Bible camps and congresses. A close relation commented that I am very committed to these things. Even this blog's past posts will confirm the trend of end year narratives mentioning camps in which the Bible is studied.
We learnt a lot. We always learn alot; they mostly teach us the same lots of stuff with a little variation. Still I attend every year, because, left to his own devices, a guy forgets, a guy backslides. This year the light from the Scriptures was particularly bright. Yet it was not all paradise. As always the food and accommodation was scandalous. But that's not why we were going, so let's lay that aside quickly.
Also the Ambassadors (age 16 to 20 or thereabouts) I found to be utterly insufferable. Maybe I'm the one who's growing old and grumpy. But the young ones these days are radiating too much heat and very little light. I know I was once that age but...
Okay I'm off topic. The point here is I don't want to be that guy who's always going and listening to the word of GOD and not practicing it. Let's not be those people. GOD help us.
Monday, January 5, 2015
Monday, December 8, 2014
The four winds are held back
But not for much longer...
Four mighty angels hold back the powers of this earth till the servants of God are sealed in their foreheads. The nations of the world are eager for conflict, but they are held in check by the angels. When this restraining power is removed there will come a time of trouble and anguish. Deadly instruments of warfare will be invented. Vessels with their living cargo will be entombed in the great deep. All who have not the spirit of truth will unite under the leadership of Satanic agencies, but they are to be kept under control till the time shall come for the great battle of Armageddon.—The S.D.A. Bible Commentary 7:967 (1900).
Monday, November 24, 2014
Brick Wall
Anita. I thought, if there was any perfect girl, she was the one. The One. Before her it was The Ex I upheld as the embodiment of virtuous femininity.
The Ex had a finely honed sixth sense, that much touted Womanly Intuition, that made her “just know” that I liked Anita, even though I already had her. So she got jealous and nasty about it. Lastly we broke up (that was the first time). From then on all our fights became irresolvable the minute Anita was mentioned. I refused to cut ties with a friend whose friendship preceded my teenage years. The same jealousy and suspicion was leveled at my then long-distance best friend. Ultimately I maintained my friends and eventually I lost The Ex.
Anita and I remained just friends, despite the lengthy “we’re both single now so *nudge-nudge* whadja make of it” phase.
You know the type of just friend: someone you really admire, fiercely desire and consequently spend much time around, hoping that something will develop. But the passage of time yields only talk and laughter and naughty mutual friends. Lo and behold! you get a sister, whereas you secretly sought a very different type of love.
The fact she’s spiritual only reinforces your intent to “do it right,” to avoid the kinds of seduction scenarios depicted in romance novels targeted at the female adolescent demographic. No, rather, setting your eye on the long term prize, you put your best foot forward, and lose the battle, to win the war.
One of those naughty mutual friends, Oti, opines with arrogant confidence that your approach will cost a funeral – yours. This is the twenty-first century. “She’s a woman.” Winks.
You rebuke him: “She’s not like that! She’s different.”
“Different what? Different woman! Still a woman.”
“Oti shut up Oti and go away Oti.”
He sniggers, shrugs, and immediately goes to meddle with the heads of some comparatively less attractive albeit more easily impressed girls. Let him have the low-hanging fruit. Let him let us climb the tree for the biggest ripest fruit on the highest frailest branch.
Clinging steadfastly to your own tactics, you refuse to listen to detractors who would lump your One with the common herd. Slow but sure will do it for you. The race is not to the swift etc. More talk, more hanging out, more sharing, more! More! Something’s about to start happening!
No, nothing’s going on, and you know it. She’s, like, your sister now, remember?
But something happens, say some random thing you did, that unintentionally shatters the whole idea that such a person as The One exists. For an instant a breeze separates the curtains and you catch a glimpse of backstage...
The Ex had a finely honed sixth sense, that much touted Womanly Intuition, that made her “just know” that I liked Anita, even though I already had her. So she got jealous and nasty about it. Lastly we broke up (that was the first time). From then on all our fights became irresolvable the minute Anita was mentioned. I refused to cut ties with a friend whose friendship preceded my teenage years. The same jealousy and suspicion was leveled at my then long-distance best friend. Ultimately I maintained my friends and eventually I lost The Ex.
Anita and I remained just friends, despite the lengthy “we’re both single now so *nudge-nudge* whadja make of it” phase.
You know the type of just friend: someone you really admire, fiercely desire and consequently spend much time around, hoping that something will develop. But the passage of time yields only talk and laughter and naughty mutual friends. Lo and behold! you get a sister, whereas you secretly sought a very different type of love.
The fact she’s spiritual only reinforces your intent to “do it right,” to avoid the kinds of seduction scenarios depicted in romance novels targeted at the female adolescent demographic. No, rather, setting your eye on the long term prize, you put your best foot forward, and lose the battle, to win the war.
One of those naughty mutual friends, Oti, opines with arrogant confidence that your approach will cost a funeral – yours. This is the twenty-first century. “She’s a woman.” Winks.
You rebuke him: “She’s not like that! She’s different.”
“Different what? Different woman! Still a woman.”
“Oti shut up Oti and go away Oti.”
He sniggers, shrugs, and immediately goes to meddle with the heads of some comparatively less attractive albeit more easily impressed girls. Let him have the low-hanging fruit. Let him let us climb the tree for the biggest ripest fruit on the highest frailest branch.
Clinging steadfastly to your own tactics, you refuse to listen to detractors who would lump your One with the common herd. Slow but sure will do it for you. The race is not to the swift etc. More talk, more hanging out, more sharing, more! More! Something’s about to start happening!
No, nothing’s going on, and you know it. She’s, like, your sister now, remember?
But something happens, say some random thing you did, that unintentionally shatters the whole idea that such a person as The One exists. For an instant a breeze separates the curtains and you catch a glimpse of backstage...
Thursday, October 16, 2014
Patience
Our heavenly Father owns everything and everyone. But He loves us so much, He gives us everything. From breath of life to daily bread, from family to friends, talents, achievements, health, strength, wealth, wisdom, everything. He did not even hold back His only begotten Son.
And even then, GOD does not compel us to love Him, He leaves us free to see, to choose for ourselves.
But man sought after many devices. Not content with the provision of the Omnipotent, man lies to himself in many ways that he can supply his own needs better then the LORD can. Man, individually and collectively, aspires to the glorify himself. The pride and conceit that accompanies such unsanctified ambition is only the more tragic for the shortsightedness of it. Man behaves as if the grave has not already put paid to the vain ambitions of countless generations preceding, as if judgment does not await ahead. Much foolishness derives from a limited, dim conception of the truth, a failure to think things through to their latter end, a "live-in-the-moment" philosophy that refuses to look further down the road.
Satan (father of lies) wants man to view sin versus righteousness as a numbers game, a kind of democratic poll whose outcome GOD must be subject to. But the truth is that wickedness will be completely eradicated from the universe.
Our GOD owns everything and everyone, even though evil appears to reign on earth. But the kingdom rightly belongs to GOD, who will give it to the saints, as it was meant to be right from the beginning, right from creation.
Patience! It is only a matter of time before Justice restores what rebellion misused.
Patience! We shall understand it all someday.
And even then, GOD does not compel us to love Him, He leaves us free to see, to choose for ourselves.
But man sought after many devices. Not content with the provision of the Omnipotent, man lies to himself in many ways that he can supply his own needs better then the LORD can. Man, individually and collectively, aspires to the glorify himself. The pride and conceit that accompanies such unsanctified ambition is only the more tragic for the shortsightedness of it. Man behaves as if the grave has not already put paid to the vain ambitions of countless generations preceding, as if judgment does not await ahead. Much foolishness derives from a limited, dim conception of the truth, a failure to think things through to their latter end, a "live-in-the-moment" philosophy that refuses to look further down the road.
Satan (father of lies) wants man to view sin versus righteousness as a numbers game, a kind of democratic poll whose outcome GOD must be subject to. But the truth is that wickedness will be completely eradicated from the universe.
Our GOD owns everything and everyone, even though evil appears to reign on earth. But the kingdom rightly belongs to GOD, who will give it to the saints, as it was meant to be right from the beginning, right from creation.
Patience! It is only a matter of time before Justice restores what rebellion misused.
Patience! We shall understand it all someday.
Sunday, October 5, 2014
The Perfect Sacrifice
LORD, we are vile, and full of sin,
We’re born unholy and unclean;
Sprung from the man whose guilty fall
Corrupts his race, and taints us all.
Behold, we fall before Thy face;
Our only refuge is Thy grace:
No outward forms can make us clean;
The leprosy lies deep within.
Nor bleeding bird, nor bleeding beast,
Nor hyssop branch, nor earthly priest,
Nor running brook, nor flood, nor sea,
Can wash the dismal stain away.
Jesus, Thy blood, Thy blood alone,
Hath power sufficient to atone;
Thy blood can make us white as snow;
No other tide can cleanse us so.
We’re born unholy and unclean;
Sprung from the man whose guilty fall
Corrupts his race, and taints us all.
Behold, we fall before Thy face;
Our only refuge is Thy grace:
No outward forms can make us clean;
The leprosy lies deep within.
Nor bleeding bird, nor bleeding beast,
Nor hyssop branch, nor earthly priest,
Nor running brook, nor flood, nor sea,
Can wash the dismal stain away.
Jesus, Thy blood, Thy blood alone,
Hath power sufficient to atone;
Thy blood can make us white as snow;
No other tide can cleanse us so.
- Isaac Watts
Tuesday, September 30, 2014
Desensitization
Danger inches ever closer
until the endangered species
risking fate
learns to live with it.
The risk of harm
remains as high
as when first
it appeared.
Thrill replaces fear
while life on the edge
dices with death
until safety bores.
Quite naturally
sleeping with the enemy
ultimately culminates in
dying in his arms.
until the endangered species
risking fate
learns to live with it.
The risk of harm
remains as high
as when first
it appeared.
Thrill replaces fear
while life on the edge
dices with death
until safety bores.
Quite naturally
sleeping with the enemy
ultimately culminates in
dying in his arms.
Wednesday, September 24, 2014
Strange but Overheard
My brother bought a he-goat at an auction during last year's camp meeting, most likely for the fun of it, to win a bidding war. His winning bid eventually turned out to be good value for money, far beneath goat market price. The goat lived in Grandma's compound for a year, grazing and being a frisky randy generally undiscriminating he-goat, like the rest of its kind. But its life was brutally cut short one night when unknown people slaughtered it and stole its meat. So clean was the job that only its bones were found, but "a zasbec was abbri-ended."*
The case is still current, despite the owner of the goat (my not-so-little lil bro (he's actually taller than me by now)) seeming more amused than annoyed by the whole scandal, even though that theft effectively ended his short humble stint in the league of livestock owners.
Anyway, fast forward to our chance meeting with two local stalwarts of the drinking den, who were either eyewitness to the drama following the slaughter, or had gleaned enough from the grapevine and embellished it with an active enough imagination to paint a vivid picture.
Upon setting sight on my brother and I, these two offered their unique idea of commiseration in a lengthy rambling dialogue.
"It's not the first time such a thing has happened. The thief should not have been caught."
The case is still current, despite the owner of the goat (my not-so-little lil bro (he's actually taller than me by now)) seeming more amused than annoyed by the whole scandal, even though that theft effectively ended his short humble stint in the league of livestock owners.
Anyway, fast forward to our chance meeting with two local stalwarts of the drinking den, who were either eyewitness to the drama following the slaughter, or had gleaned enough from the grapevine and embellished it with an active enough imagination to paint a vivid picture.
Upon setting sight on my brother and I, these two offered their unique idea of commiseration in a lengthy rambling dialogue.
"It's not the first time such a thing has happened. The thief should not have been caught."
"Catching the thief was the most foolish thing those people did."
"That one, they beat him a little, but it would have been good if he died."
"If it was another village that thief's carcass would be collected on the highway by police."
"He was lucky! I'm telling you, if you had been the one who got caught slaughtering other people's livestock, not even far, in just the next village…"
"You are talking about slaughtering livestock! You don't want to know what they did to me in Kano when I was on my way to the market and I saw a ram entangled in the bushes and I just had pity on it."
"Bad idea."
"I was beaten so badly that I forgot about going to the market and went back home. The lucky thing is I had my own cow with me so they reasoned I couldn't steal their sheep while I had a whole cow. That's what saved me. Anyway they still beat me properly."
"Nobody will believe you were helping their ram even if it was near death."
"Nowadays when I see domestic animals entangled in the pastures I never try to release them! Instead I remember the beating with which I was beaten."
"Elsewhere they kill thieves."
"The other day one man woke up in the morning and killed his wife. Now what manner of killing is that? That kind of killing is not good."
"That one woke up craving to kill, just bad luck that he found his wife nearby..."
As they went on and on, meandering between deathly subjects, I wondered how they distinguished good killings from bad ones.
___
"That one, they beat him a little, but it would have been good if he died."
"If it was another village that thief's carcass would be collected on the highway by police."
"He was lucky! I'm telling you, if you had been the one who got caught slaughtering other people's livestock, not even far, in just the next village…"
"You are talking about slaughtering livestock! You don't want to know what they did to me in Kano when I was on my way to the market and I saw a ram entangled in the bushes and I just had pity on it."
"Bad idea."
"I was beaten so badly that I forgot about going to the market and went back home. The lucky thing is I had my own cow with me so they reasoned I couldn't steal their sheep while I had a whole cow. That's what saved me. Anyway they still beat me properly."
"Nobody will believe you were helping their ram even if it was near death."
"Nowadays when I see domestic animals entangled in the pastures I never try to release them! Instead I remember the beating with which I was beaten."
"Elsewhere they kill thieves."
"The other day one man woke up in the morning and killed his wife. Now what manner of killing is that? That kind of killing is not good."
"That one woke up craving to kill, just bad luck that he found his wife nearby..."
As they went on and on, meandering between deathly subjects, I wondered how they distinguished good killings from bad ones.
___
* - "zasbec was abbri-ended" is police talk for "suspect was apprehended."
Thursday, September 18, 2014
Rap Battle
Sundry rappers stepped forth
purporting to run this city.
Each maintained an entourage
Their shiny trinkets swung like pendulums.
Their egos swelled like hot air balloons.
One feared their dancers were boneless.
All in quick succession spat venom.
First came a quick talker with a mic
who claimed the love of all the fans
except of course the haters.
His successor took to the stage
opening with a salvo of insults,
blended curses and abominations
wrathfully declared.
A third loquacious character joined in
citing gangs, drugs, guns and bullets.
His drummers paused briefly for gunshots
before he mentioned his army of women .
A fourth jumped up barking orders
for hands to be thrown up and screams to resound;
Her sick flow massacred the audience,
and she was proud of the death toll.
Diss track pursued diss track,
And though they strove for supremacy
they certainly didn't run this city,
no, not at all.
purporting to run this city.
Each maintained an entourage
Their shiny trinkets swung like pendulums.
Their egos swelled like hot air balloons.
One feared their dancers were boneless.
All in quick succession spat venom.
First came a quick talker with a mic
who claimed the love of all the fans
except of course the haters.
His successor took to the stage
opening with a salvo of insults,
blended curses and abominations
wrathfully declared.
A third loquacious character joined in
citing gangs, drugs, guns and bullets.
His drummers paused briefly for gunshots
before he mentioned his army of women .
A fourth jumped up barking orders
for hands to be thrown up and screams to resound;
Her sick flow massacred the audience,
and she was proud of the death toll.
Diss track pursued diss track,
And though they strove for supremacy
they certainly didn't run this city,
no, not at all.
Tuesday, September 9, 2014
You-nique
Somewhere out there
There is no other you
except, of course, you
Just like everybody else
:)
There is no other you
except, of course, you
Just like everybody else
:)
Wednesday, September 3, 2014
Pearl goes to the park
We had too much time on our hands, after lunch and light shopping. Every languid step we took declared "No hurry in Africa at all, none whatsoever!" We talked as we walked, too close for far too many passers-by who stared at us. "This town," I joked, "is so conservative that our chemistry is setting off alarm bells." She was surprised we had chemistry.
By this time we were inching our way back to her place. At least that was the general idea. But as we passed by a public park, its open entrance seemed to invite us. Shady trees swayed in the afternoon breeze as if they were beckoning "Come!". We took a detour, walking off the pavement and onto the grass. Indecision briefly reigned as we were faced with a range of trees under which to sit. Finally we settled under one where we could talk privately, just the two of us.
Not that I expected much heavy talk at first. My mind was loitering back and forth between a football tournament I would be missing, and a project I was to begin working on. But, once seated, the quaintness of the scene awed me. There we were, passing time in a park, enjoying the breeze, the grass, the sunset, one another's company, the sounds of our voices, while all around us the world was hastening on to urgent work. Might as well enjoy it, after all, it couldn't last.
We talked about ourselves, our people, our fragments of shared past. Hours went by in this easy way. But all too soon it was time to leave, work called her away.
(It seems like parks agreed with Pearl and I. The only other time we disclosed ourselves to each other so liberally was at a park. I don't know too many people who could sit at a park and actually enjoy it.)
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