Posts

Showing posts from January, 2019

SITTING ON THE FENCE

Image
'It happened in the spring of the year, at the time when kings go out to battle, that David sent Joab and his servants with him...but David remained at Jerusalem. Then it happened one evening that David arose from his bed and walked on the roof of the king’s house. And from the roof he saw a woman bathing, and the woman was very beautiful to behold. So David sent and inquired about the woman. And someone said, “Is this not Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam, the wife of Uriah the Hittite?” Then David sent messengers, and took her...and he lay with her...and the woman conceived...' (II Sam.11:1-5 NKJV).      The story of Humpty Dumpty is not just a nursery rhyme but could also be a proverb. It says, 'Humpty Dumpty sat on the wall,  Humpty Dumpty had a great fall; All the king's horses and all the king's men, Couldn't put Humpty Dumpty together again!' The proverbial aspect may be traced in these questions, What made Humpty Dumpty sit on the fence? What happene

'VISIONLESSNESS'

Image
'Where there is no vision, the people perish...' (Proverbs 29:18 KJV)    The great American inventor, Thomas Edison, was an unrepentant visionary. When his mother's life-saving surgery had to be postponed in a dark theater till there was daylight, he started thinking of how incandescent light could be provided indoors. It is reported that young Thomas made ninety-nine failed attempts in his laboratory to generate light but refused to give up. It was his hundredth effort that succeded in producing light and that was the beginning of incandescent light in our world.    I attended Sunday service in one of our churches and I listened to the message in which the young preacher emphasized what he called 'visionlessness'. While one could query the authenticity of this word in proper English usage,  the message delivered was quite motivating, but it left me thinking beyond motivation. 'Visionlessness' could be lack of vision, true, but it could also mean having v

BURN YOUR BRIDGE

Image
But Jesus said to him, “No one, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.” (Luke 9:62 NKJV)       History tells us that the great General George Washington in his battles at the birthing of America as a nation, employed a peculiar strategy. After the conquest of a battle, he moved on, crossed the river and sets ablaze the bridge on it behind them. First, his own soldiers no longer have the temptation to deflect to the enemy camp; secondly the enemy would not sneak to their camp behind them for a counter-attack!   Moses led the children of Israel successfully across the Red Sea and the Lord closed the sea upon the pursuing enemy Egypt to destroy them. No sooner the people crossed over to the other side after some difficulties than they started hollering to go back to Egypt. Had God not closed back the sea, many probably would have insisted on turning back! God does not expect us to look back with desires to go back to the old sinful

PRESSING ON

Image
'Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.' (Philippians 3:12-14 NKJV).         Jamaican star Usain Bolt was the fastest man on earth, at least till the 2016 Rio Olympic games when he ran the 100 meters sprint in 9.58 seconds. Some call him 'lightning bolt'. At 32 years of age he was already worth $24 billion according to the Forbes Index. Many know him as a sprint star alone, but he is also a footballer, dancer, coach etc. When asked the secret of his success he made these statements among others: "Those seven guys behind you in that track want it much as you want it. So you have to want it more. This is why you train harder." Another: "It doesn't matter where you start, as long as you finish strong. There are better starters than me but I am a

ADVANCE!

Image
'And the Lord went before them by day in a pillar of cloud to lead the way, and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, so as to go by day and night' (Exodus 13:21 NKJV). During the days of my medical laboratory practice, we went to render a service at the clinic of a military cantonment. We drove to the closed main gate and stopped. The sentry on duty bellowed to us from his cubicle: "Advance to be recognised!" We drove closer, presented our ID's and told him our mission. He looked us over, checked our car contents, then signalled to his mate to pass us in. We went in and accomplished our mission. Moses led the children of Israel to the bank of the Red Sea. When he saw no way forward he hesitated. Not knowing the magnitude of the power he was carrying with him, he lingered and started crying to God. But God told him back, "Why do you cry to Me? Tell the children of Israel to go forward...lift up your rod over the sea and divide it!..." (Ex.