Vision 3011 is Complicated

‘This is all I have learnt: God created man plain and simple, but we have made ourselves very complicated’

Ecclesiastes 7:29 (Good News)

Though I studied Earth Science in college, I don’t regard myself a scientist. However, this has never stopped me from making reference to what I learned in reference to maters of life and faith. I enjoyed studying plate tectonics and earthquakes. They gave me a view of how God created the earth in such a way that it is balanced and the systems of the earth ideally should be in a state of equilibrium. 

After every major earthquake, there are smaller quakes called aftershocks that occur for the next few days. If you hold a board down a basin of water and let it float abruptly, that represents a quake.  Then the board will move for some time until it balances and floats on the water. This process is called isostacy, and it is what happens when we experience aftershocks; the disturbed systems are returning to a state of equilibrium.

In plate tectonics, we have trenches and subduction zones. This is a conveyor belt like system where new material comes from deep in the earth through the trenches, pushing the old ones further away. The old materials end up in a subduction zone where they are swallowed back into the earth. This happens unnoticed below our continents. There is a trench in the Atlantic Ocean and a Subduction Zone in the earthquake prone Indo-asia and Far East. 

The two examples exemplify the verse above that quotes the preacher saying that man is out on the wrong path. There are enough resources for everyone on earth if we use the resources sustainably. The problem is that man has gone out to overexploit what we have. The ground water reserves are almost depleted- and cities like Mexico City are sinking. We have cut down our forests and are emitting dangerous gasses into the atmosphere; now the rains have gone and the polar ice is melting. Food is scarce so we have come up with genetically modified foods as a remedy to our sins. With no regard to the natural systems to regenerate themselves, then in one hundred years, the earth may start being un-inhabitable.

Someone must save man from himself, thank God that Christ died on the cross for such a problem and time as this. 

© 22^nd February 2011

FOUR THINGS

Proverbs Chapter 30 has five lists of four things that Agur says are extra ordinary in different ways. I will look at the second list (in verse 18 and 19) of four things he says are too mysterious to understand. He must have watched them for a while for him to acknowledge their mystery. I am one of the people who prefer to believe in things that make sense to me. I have realized that in God, some things will never make sense, yet you just have to trust and obey.

An eagle flying in the sky: The eagle has a unique anatomy that God designed for greatness. It can fly higher than any bird and even fly against the wind and still spot a rat on the ground. Yes, this is one mysterious creation of God.

A snake moving on a rock: I fear snakes; I can’t trust them even when their eyes look harmless. I have watched a snake move on a rock and the speed is next to supersonic. How a snake does it, you will never tell.

A ship finding its way over the sea: This was before radars and other sophisticated navigation equipments were discovered. I have taken a ride in a boat on Lake Victoria, and I can assure you it requires great skill to navigate. The sea is vast and even more difficult for the sea men to find their way.

A man and woman falling in love: This must have been a mystery then and is still a mystery to date. You can take that to the bank. I cannot tell how one lady will catch my eye and move my heart while others merely exist around me. It is a mystery. Many books have been written about love but I still believe there is a God factor at the centre of a man and woman falling in love.

Deuteronomy 29:29 tells us that there are some things that the Lord has kept secret but he has revealed his Law which we are to obey for ever. You may not understand everything, but our responsibility is to obey. Obedience is better than sacrifice.

© 16^th February 2011

The Language of Christianity is Love

Deuteronomy 6:5
Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.

Leviticus 19:18
Do not take revenge on anyone or continue to hate him, but love your neighbour as you love yourself. I am the Lord.

Luke 10:27
‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’; and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’

Christianity is a religion of love. When Christ was asked the greatest commandment, he simply combined two laws that God had given Moses and gave it to us as a summary. Real and true love is a rare commodity in the world and the common version is adulterated. So what does the great commandment mean in Christianity and love?

Character:  Love the Lord with the whole of your HEART: The heart is the wellspring of who we are. Who we are is our character. Our character should be above reproach. The main pillars of character are faithfulness and integrity.

Connected to God: Love the Lord with the whole of your SOUL: The soul is our spiritual being. It is the part of us that seeks to connect with the supernatural and it is prudent that it is always calibrated to C.H.R.I.S.T. This is what will seek first the kingdom of God, if we want everything else. God is the source of love.

Competent: Love the Lord with all your STRENGTH: Everything you do, do it so well as an act of worship- as unto the Lord. There is no space for mediocrity in Christianity, simply do a good job as an offering to the Lord.

Contemplate: Love the Lord with all your MIND: A man is what he thinketh. Think whatever is pure, lovely, true and noble. Our actions are the products of our thoughts.

Compassion: Love others as you love YOURSELF: Simply share the love of God by putting it into action. Because true and real love is rare yet it is the most powerful force than any weapon on earth.Christians should be at the forefront in showing the world the true and pure love. Love among brethren, in courtship and in marriage.

The most important love is the vertical agape love between God and us. If that is taken care of then the horizontal filial and romantic love will fall into place.

WE ARE ALL BORN LOVING AND PURE OF HEART; we just learn how to hate. 

© 8^th February 2011

Nail in the Fruit Tree Vine

I am the true vine, and my father is the gardener. He breaks off every branch in me that does not bear fruit, and he prunes every branch in me that does bear fruit, so that it would be clean and bear more fruit.                                                                                                                                                                                                         John 15: 1-2

I grew up in a compound which had two avocado trees of different species or so I think. One was tall with few branches which were infected by a fungus plant. It produced big tasteless fruits and we cared less about it only eating its fruits if we had no option. The other tree was shorter with many branches and produced tasty fruits. I took my time to cut off the fungus plants from it regularly.

I love avocados because it serves me more than any other fruits. It is a vegetable that makes good salad and ‘margarine’ to spread on bread. So when my good tree started to drop its fruits when they have not matured I became concerned. We had to do with fruits from the other tree for a full season until a good friend in school gave me a gold bar of an idea. I could not wait to implement it if it will re-unite me with the tasty avocados again.

I went home and climbed the tree and cut off all the fungus crippling plants. Then I nailed a six inch nail into the stem of the tree. The nail worked miracles and soon I was enjoying my bread and githeri (mixture of maize and beans) tasted better with avocado. My afternoons were great with a tantalizing half green avocado after a good meal. I came to understand this magic during Biology classes in secondary school. When the tree lacks in mineral iron, its fruits cannot mature and so the nail is an iron supplement.

Christ says that he is the true vine and if you are in him he will take care of you so that you bear much fruit. If you are dropping fruits and you feel like your fruits of the spirit are not maturing, then go to Christ for a supplement. He took the six inch nails for us hence the only thing we need to do is to connect to him. Abide in him and bear much fruits! May you be known for the good fruits you produce. God bless you and thanks for reading my stories.

© February 1, 2011. 

The Power of the tongue

Do not let your mouth lead you into sin. And do not protest to the temple messenger, “My vow was a mistake.” Why should God be angry at what you say and destroy the work of your hands?
Ecclesiastes 5:5-7

There is power in words. My good Pastor Ambrose Nyangao at Parklands Baptist Church puts it very clearly- that if you keep calling your child a goat he will bleat at you one day. I do not always acknowledge the born again cliché of speaking into each other’s life either just for the sake of it.

Years ago when I was in secondary school, I did History, Social Ethics, Christian Education, and Geography. I was good in History and always earned the least in Geography despite being the best in my class.  In Form Two we were supposed to choose one of the four. In the final term, we sat for the hardest of the Geography papers- on rocks. I came out top of my class though I still scored the least compared to all the Humanities. What mattered is what the teacher a Mr. Adembesa wrote on my answer sheet- a promising Geographer. I still remember it because this is what made me choose Geography instead of History.

What astonished me is that when I joined University and I had a choice to pick three more units, I took Geology. I studied the earth and the science part of Geography and I loved it. Then it hit me- STOP, a teacher had said a few years earlier that I was a promising Geographer. Here I am a trained Geologist serving the Lord in earnest.

Watch the words you tell the younger people in your life, it may just come to pass. When someone is good in something affirm them and pray for them, you might just lead them towards their destiny.

©  23^rd January 23, 2011                                                                                             kenyatta otieno

The stones will shout in worship of the Lord

Jesus answered, “I tell you that if they keep quiet, the stones will start shouting” 

- Luke 19:40

I thank God for the opportunity to share with you in this blog. I trust Him for content to share so that I can be more frequent in my blogging. I did my undergraduate degree in Geology and it was an exciting experience despite doing it by default. The fact that we were able to call rocks by name when everyone else called them stones was a source of pride. The university was known for student unrest where students stoned everything in sight at the slightest provocation. To exonerate ourselves we made T-shirts printed, ‘we don’t throw stones we study them.’ 

I thank God for giving me a job with a Christian Non Governmental Organization as a Hydrogeologist soon after i completed mys studies. We drilled rocks to make boreholes to give people physical water as a means of sharing the Living Water that is the gospel of Jesus Christ. I loved the travelling and the opportunity to share with people in remote areas of Kenya about the love of Christ. I was killing two birds with one stone and that was an opportunity I thanked God for. I still serve the Rock of Ages by dispensing the Living Water at Mavuno Church.

Borehole drilling being a physically and logistically demanding job, we sometimes forgot about the gospel and just concentrated on the technical aspect of the job. This became apparent when we experienced  mechanical breakdown. We got the opportunity to drill a well at Gilgil Sub-District hospital- which has the second largest mental health facility in Kenya after Mathari Hospital. The mental health patients who were on their way to recovery were given a few hours to come and watch us work.

I remember one of them who kept telling us that he is a pastor and went ahead to proclaim to us how God is doing great things in his life. In such circumstances we took his words as effects of extreme sedation and a futile attempt to prove that he did not belong in the facility. When we were almost finalizing the work, he came to us dressed in home clothes and told us he will be getting discharged soon. The next sentence he said was a blast that left all of us in shock. But then he just reminded us of our first calling, “If you do not preach the gospel, these drilling rods will preach it for you.” He then walked away as if to prove that that was neither a moment of spiritual fluke nor fake proof of his mental fitness.

We left that drilling site with a slap on the face and a pat on the back, God was definitely at work and we had to do our part. Praise the Lord or less your computers will shout in praise!

© January 16, 2011                                                                                                                        

DO YOU KNOW HOW TO SWIM?

There is a season of one thousand days of my life that I will have to write a story about one day. One day in this season I happened to be at a distant relatives home. She is a widow who had just buried her husband and was in the process of completing her house so we went to assist her build. We worked as we listened to a sermon that has never gone off my mind- yet I was not born again then. This preacher who I can not even remember his name preached a sermon entitled 'Do you know how to swim?' in flawless dholuo that kept my ears glued to the cassette player.

He told a story of an Economics Professor from the U.S.A who went for a conference in India. He had to cross the Ganges River at some point so he hired a boat to take him across. He harassed the man with questions about globalization, world economic trends and big talk about the economics he knew. This Indian man kept telling him that all he knew was the river and his boat. Then all of a sudden the boat capsized and every man was left to his own means of survival. The Indian man swam across to the other side then saw his client pop out of the water then slip back in quick successions. He jumped into the river, rescued him then gave him first aid.

When the Professor came to, he reminded him of all the big talk he had told him earlier. Then he asked him the big question- Do you know how to swim?

The preacher went ahead to explain how we are becoming an information minded people, who do not know the simple things in life. One of the simple things he said is knowing Christ, who will help you know how to swim through the tough times of life. He said how our society is decaying yet more and more people are getting an education which does not teach about values.

You are an IT, Law, Sports, Environmental or Finance expert, but do you know how to swim?


copyright: kenyatta otieno