Imagine you’re watching a movie where the good guy is clearly the hero and the bad guy is beyond redemption. You cheer for the good guy and condemn the bad one. But suddenly, the director flips the script. The “good” guy isn’t so good after all, and the “bad” guy turns out to be the real hero.
That’s a plot twist.
That’s also what comes to mind lately when I reflect on Luke 15:11–32, well known as the parable of the Prodigal Son. For years, we saw one son as lost— rebellious and reckless. The other son we saw faithful, hardworking, and loyal. But Jesus was making a much deeper point to the Pharisees of that time. He is making a point to us too in the church today.
Both sons were lost. One was lost in rebellion, the other in religion.
Here’s the twist: the older son wasn’t as “faithful” as we assumed. He obeyed outwardly, but his heart was disconnected. He expected blessing because of performance (Luke 15:29). He felt entitled because he “checked all the boxes.”
Today, perhaps the subtlest form of religion creeps into the lives of believers—a performance mindset. We begin to think God owes us something because we pray, serve, tithe, live righteously, or show up at church every week. But our motive isn’t intimacy, it’s transaction.
The problem isn’t the actions themselves. It’s doing them to earn God’s favor, rather than responding to the favor we already have in Christ Jesus. We must labor from grace, not for it.
God desires relationship, not rituals. He wants intimacy, not performance. He longs to be known and loved for who He is—our true worship, not just for what He can give.
Just like children receive love, care, and inheritance simply because they belong, so do we. The things we desire are simply added when we prioritize God and his kingdom in our lives (Matthew 6:33).
Back to the parable – Jesus wasn’t telling us to be either son. The younger one chased things over presence with the father. The older one stayed close in proximity, but far in heart.
What God celebrates is heart change characterized by our faith response, not religious duty.
So here’s your heart check: You may have stayed, but where is your heart?
What are you doing to win souls to Christ? Wow.
Not quite the intro you were expecting? Me neither. But just hold that thought.
Let’s rewind to a more logical beginning and something foundational. In Matthew 16:18, Jesus made a bold public declaration:
“I will build My church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.”
He didn’t say He was building a monument, a city, or a landmark. He said My church. That means you and I, His bride—the people He is redeeming from darkness into His marvelous light. That’s the only thing Jesus is building.
Think of it like this: if His life were a movie trailer, the plot about His mission would be clear—come to earth, suffer, die for humanity’s sin, be buried and rise on the third day. Why? To breach the gates of hell. For what purpose? That His church might advance.
To advance means to move forward with purpose. And when Jesus successfully completed His mission, He handed us ours:
“Go and make disciples of all nations…” (Matthew 28:19–20)
Yes, but how? Through us. If you’re born again, you’ve been saved by grace through faith in Jesus to become part of God’s rescue plan for others. He desires that all men will not perish but repent and come to Him. And He works through us to reach them.
That happens when we share our story, preach the gospel, or simply point people to Jesus. The blessing of being reconciled back to God doesn’t end with us but rather works through us that others too might be saved by faith.
Advancing means taking an offensive stance—not settling for good sermons and warm seats on Sundays, but actively reaching for lost souls. There’s no greater purpose than to be a part of what Jesus is building.
Here’s the good news: you’re not doing this alone. The Holy Spirit on the inside of us, empowers us every step of the way.
So let me ask again—What are you doing to win souls to Christ?
CELEBRATING FATHERHOOD
Fun fact: Did you know that International Father’s Day has been observed on the third Sunday of June every year ever since 1966? Well, now you know! This year at KIN Church, the fathers got double for all their trouble! But jokes aside, Exodus 20:12 instructs us to honor our fathers and mothers always.
Fatherhood is established and demonstrated by God. Beyond the basic duties to provide and protect, fathering comes with deeper responsibilities—being a priest, mentor, visionary, steward, builder, and mirror—reflecting the nature of God the Father to their children. That’s a tall order.
God has entrusted these roles to the men we look up to as fathers in our lives. Whether one is a natural or spiritual father, the burden is, in many ways, just as heavy. I was particularly captivated by the responsibility of fathers as stewards—assigned the task of properly training all the children in their care.
One sobering case study is that of Eli, the high priest. Under his care were Hophni and Phinehas, his biological sons, and also Samuel, whom his mother had dedicated to the Lord in fulfillment of a vow. Now, while Hophni and Phinehas—also priests—were corrupt, immoral, and did evil in the sight of God, Samuel, a spiritual son in Eli’s household, ministered before the Lord honorably (1 Samuel 2:17–18).
Long story short (which, by the way, you might enjoy reading in 1 Samuel), the priesthood was removed from Eli and his sons. However, Samuel’s ministry was established forever. There is one tough lesson that fathers can draw from this tragedy:
Intentionality. Fathers must be unwavering in instructing and correcting all the children under their care. It is possible to lose your own children to waywardness while others in your care flourish. Eli failed to restrain his sons from doing evil (1 Samuel 3:13).
God expected Eli, as a father, to set his rebellious sons on the right path. Training children in the way they should go takes time, relationship, and intentional effort. The good news is that our Heavenly Father is ready to help earthly fathers—if they invite Him into their journey of fatherhood.
As the preacher said:
“Don’t let children grow under your roof, but out of your reach.”
~ Pst. Jonan Kandwanaho
ALIGNING FOR
KINGDOM PROSPERITY- Part 1
Everything that we need to live abundantly has
already been provided for by Jesus’ finished work. We simply need to position
ourselves to receive those benefits by walking in the principles God has set
out for us. Let’s explore one such principle.
The principle of surrendering to God the “little“ something we have – something we often overlook and dismiss
as “nothing.” But in the hands of the Master, it becomes much more
than we could ever imagine.
I’m reminded of a powerful old song by Alvin
Slaughter. The chorus goes:
What’s that you have in your
hands?
I can use it, if you’re
willing to lose it
Take the little you have, and
make it grand
I am El-Shaddai and I’ll more
than supply your needs
The phrase “What
do you have in your hands?” may sound like a worn-out cliché. But if
you open up your heart, it is still just as powerful today as it was when God
asked Moses that same question in the desert thousands of years ago.
Similarly, in 2 Kings 4:2 the prophet Elisha asked the widow what she had in her
house. She thought nothing much of the little jar of oil she had, but she surrendered
it anyway. And boom, her miracle of overflow was instantly unlocked!
Likewise, in another account (1 Kings 17:12-14),
Elijah asked a widow to feed him with her last meal of bread in the middle of a
famine. Shocking? Unreasonable? Illogical? Yes! but the widow obeyed. As a
result, her flour and oil didn’t run out until the famine ended.
Amazing, isn’t it? Supernatural provision and
overflow was already available to both widows. All they needed to do was align
themselves with the principle of surrender—giving to God what seemed too small
to matter. Their obedience, even when the instructions seemed foolish, allowed
God to work the supernatural in the natural realm.
The same principle still applies today. God is
still asking us: What do you have? What
can you give to Him that He may multiply it and use it for His glory? As you reflect
on what you need to surrender, remember this: God will use what you have – not what you lack.
RECEIVING
FROM GOD – Part 2
Remember that fruitfulness is the
end goal for seed (God’s word) being planted in the ground of our hearts. The sower
is not the problem and neither is the seed, for it is incorruptible.
This next problem is rather a thorny
one. In Mark 4:7,19, Jesus talks
about certain intruders called thorns and weeds. They represent the following:
“the cares of this world, the deceitfulness of riches, and the desires for
other things entering in choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful.” (Mark 4:19)
These are the things that compete
with the word of God in our hearts so that we become unfruitful. Weeds and
thorns are unwanted in the garden. They strive for nutrients, space and
sunlight, depriving the actual desired crop from growing well and bearing
fruit. Those prickly invaders are so hostile and aggressive; they actually
choke the plant to death!
Well, that’s exactly how those three
things explained in the above scripture also attack and choke the life out of
God’s word in us. The cares of this world is the clutter of misplaced
priorities in our lives, for instance, social media addiction.
When life’s daily pressures consume
us, we often neglect to give God first place. When we are obsessed with chasing
after careers, things, money and fleshly pleasures more than pursuing
intimacy and relationship with God. Those things if unattended, contest for our
quality time, attention, energy, and undivided devotion to God.
Just like apples reproduce apples,
so do weeds reproduce after themselves. You don’t simply ignore weeds and
thorns. You don’t prune them a little. You don’t pluck out a few here and there.
No! You uproot and utterly destroy all of them, period.
When it comes to preparing our
hearts to freely receive God’s word, we must intentionally and constantly
uproot distractions, destroy bad habits, reorder life priorities and remove all
things that hinder us from becoming fruitful in our lives.
The seed only grows and thrives in
fertile or good ground. Not on the wayside, not in the rocky ground and
certainly not amongst thorns and weeds.
My challenge to you is to honestly self-evaluate
your heart. What things need to go immediately? What needs to be destroyed
utterly? What needs to be done to always prepare your heart to receive from
God?
God wants us to be fruitful in our
lives up to 100 fold. The hoe is in your hands.
RECEIVING FROM GOD
Can imagine what it would be like if your teacher or professor taught you everything in the classroom using philosophical jargon and complicated analogies? And then they walked away without so much as an explanation!
That would be very frustrating especially if you are seeking to understand the lesson being taught so that it can be useful to you. That could be the same feeling Jesus’ disciples had after Jesus spoke to the multitudes in parables. (Key text: Mark 4: 1-20)
Thankfully, the good news is that Jesus didn’t intend to hide the meaning of these mysteries from them. In fact, Jesus said that understanding these mysteries of the kingdom of God has been given to us who are believers.
That said, we need to realize that God’s word in our lives is for a purpose. It is to bear fruit! It is for fruitfulness.
Only the word of God that we hear, and accept or receive is what will bear fruit in our lives.
That means it causes us to repent and turn from sin. It releases healing, breakthrough, and deliverance. It works in us kindness, patience, generosity, righteous living, and other Godly virtues bringing total transformation in our lives.
Essentially, Jesus was saying you need to hear, receive, and understand the word of God so that you can apply it! It is for application in our lives not just to hear and get excited momentarily then forget everything or to simply be puffed up with knowledge!
So here’s the heart of the matter.
Fruitfulness in our lives depends on how we receive God’s word. And how we receive God’s word depends on the state of our hearts.
The seed is God’s word which is a constant and without defect. The sower is not the problem. It is the ground of our hearts that is a variable. We therefore need to guard our hearts jealousy because many things want to rob us of God’s word from taking root in us and growing to bear fruit in our lives.
One way is to be planted and stay planted in the house of God where we are being fed on the full counsel of God’s word. When we are planted in God’s house, we flourish and fruitfulness is guaranteed. (Psalms 92:13-14)
If only we can tend the ground of our heart every time the seed of God’s word is sown in us, then we shall see it germinate, grow and bear fruit.
Some 30 times over, some 60 and even some 100 times over! What a life transformation that would be!
THE BLESSED LIFE SERIES – PART 2
In part 1, we established that God wants his children blessed as we navigated through the story of Abraham and the promise God made to bless him and all the families of the earth.
In case you missed it, feel free to catch it here.
Great! Now let’s zoom in on what it means to live the blessed life according to God’s plan.
“Barak.”
That’s the word God used in Genesis 1:28 when he was blessing Adam and Eve. Barak is the Hebrew word that is most commonly translated – to bless.
It means to be endowed with beneficial power from God.
Oh yes! God knew that for man to really thrive, we needed barak. A divine empowerment that leads to success, prosperity, and distinction, regardless of external circumstances.
Acknowledging that while we work diligently, it is the blessing of God that empowers us to truly prosper.
Receiving the blessing was so desirable that a story is told in the bible of two brothers that did all they could to get their father’s blessing. One even went so far as to deceive his father to get the blessing instead of his brother.
Even though gotten by false pretenses, it still worked. What a shock!
I’m so glad that today, we don’t have to obtain the blessing through deception or craftiness. It is now accessible to all through faith in Jesus Christ.
God’s blessing brings about generational increase. Consider Isaac, who experienced a much worse famine than his father Abraham. However, when he sowed into the ground, he reaped a whopping 100-fold harvest!
What is that if not the blessing at work?
The blessing also causes one to experience supernatural provision, protection and well-being all around. Not just materially, but also in health, strength and even in our soul (3John2).
Because of the blessing, Isaac began to prosper, he continued to prosper and he became very prosperous. So much that his neighbors envied him, but God protected him from his enemies.
If you’re like me, by now you may be saying, “What a blessing!” How can I experience it practically in my life?
God in his goodness has provided ways for us:
Wherever you are on your life’s journey, draw near to God and fully embrace the blessed life by faith.
The foremost foundational truth that we should establish and settle in our hearts is this, “God wants his children blessed.” The blessed life is God’s idea and initiative. It is his heart towards those that believe and trust in him.
So we could ask ourselves the question, what exactly does God say about it and what did he do about it? Let’s dive right into what scripture says about the blessing, shall we?
The first instance is recorded in 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.”
And so it was that God, when he created man, the first thing he did was to bless them, and he spoke specifically what that looked like. Fast forward, man falls through the sin of disobedience to God’s command and in Genesis 3:17-19, things became a little difficult for Adam and Eve. The ground was cursed for their sake and now man had to toil and sweat to eat bread, in other words he had to work way harder than before for his daily sustenance moving forward.
Now, fast forward again into the future, many generations later, God calls out a man named Abram in Genesis 12:1-3, and made these promises to Abram; ‘I will make you a great nation; I will bless you and make your name great; And you shall be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, And I will curse him who curses you; And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”’
Anhaa! Let’s pause right here for a moment. This event was very significant to humanity at this point. Why? Because God was expressing his original agenda to bless mankind. Through this lineage that God had promised Abram, was coming the one in whom all the families of the earth would be blessed- speaking of Jesus Christ!
There is a lot of history and eventful real happenings in between this promise to Abram and Jesus arriving on the scene that I am not able to breakdown for us in this reflection. If your interest or curiosity has been stirred up this far, consider reading through this story in its entirety from Genesis. It will be worth your while!
However, allow me to jump straight into the connection of why this moment in Genesis 12:1-3 matters to you and I today especially those who belong to Christ and have believed in him.
Speaking of believing, the most significant response to God made by Abram (renamed Abraham), when he received this too-good-to-be-true promise was that he believed God (Genesis 15:5-6).
The Apostle Paul quoted that same scripture in Galatians 3:6-9 and here is where the connection is made from Abraham to us the Gentiles (non-Jews) who by faith in Christ Jesus, have become the seed of Abraham and heirs to the promise.
Now, we too are partakers of the blessing of Abraham. It is by Jesus’ sacrifice that we have been brought into that covenant as we see again in Galatians 3:14,29. This covenant will stand for generations and generations.
So I put it to us again, does God want us to live the blessed life? Yes! In fact, he commanded the priests to bless his people saying, “The Lord bless you and keep you; The Lord make His face shine upon you, and be gracious to you; The Lord lift up His countenance upon you, and give you peace.”’ Numbers 6:24-26
May you settle it today that God wants you, his child, blessed!
“Hi, I heard that God called you, Can I do the same?”
“You must be a Bible verse because I can’t stop memorizing you”
“I might not be a prophet but I see a future with you”
“I know that God is in your heart, but is there still room for me?”
Excuse me but I just had to take up this chance to unleash these cheesy lines hehe! Okay, one more, you guys know this one: “Is your name Faith? Because you’re the substance of everything I have hoped for”. Okay, I am done now. But think about how turned off you get when these lines or any “vibe” come from someone you just don’t fancy! It’s almost like everything they say irritates you. You cannot wait for the conversation to end.
Indeed, we can say your heart has been hardened to this person. You are not really interested in what they have to say. You are considering not what they have to say. Unfortunately, often we may have such an attitude towards God and not even realize it. In the way we treat the things of God, in the way we prioritize Him, in the kind of attention we give Him when in His presence, etc. These are just some of the easy indicators to check whether our heart has hardened towards God
In Mark 6:45-52, we see that the disciples’ hearts were hardened because they had considered not the miracle of the loaves. This reveals a very profound reality. The simple act of ignoring God’s goodness; the simple act of failing to see God’s goodness in a situation; just allowing yourself to forget God’s goodness is enough to harden your heart towards Him.
It is just like in our opening example; you are more likely going to remember and even ponder on the sweet nothings (or somethings if he goes to KIN Church haha) that your crush says to you versus someone you have no interest in. This is why it is important to always reflect on God’s goodness in our lives, to consider.
This word consider means; to study, ponder, deliberate, examine, or think upon; to meditate. Later in Mark 8:17-19, we see how a hardened heart dulls your ability to perceive and understand the things of God. You fail to perceive, understand, see, hear and remember God’s faithfulness. In verse 19, Jesus tries to remind them of God’s faithfulness. In other words, when the miracle of the 5 loaves happened, the disciples should have paused, settled down, and considered.
You see, it was not sin that caused the disciples’ hearts to be hardened. Rather, it was their focus on other things other than what Jesus had just done. Our hearts grow dull to the things of God because we give the things of the world more time and barely give God any time. Comparisons, cares of this world, fears, etc.; all these are things that steal our attention away from God. We ought to learn to stop approaching everything from the natural realm. Jesus desires for us to open our spiritual eyes and perceive, understand and remember. A simple way to begin is to ponder on God’s past faithfulness. Give thanks. Let your heart be broken by Him. Lose the heart of stone and receive one of flesh. This will help position you to receive more from Him.
”Do you love me?”
“I love you”
“I love you too”
“I love you more than words can explain”
“I will stop loving you when Lake Victoria dries up!”
Chances are high that you have heard these words said to you at some point in your life – okay maybe not that last one. Chances are also high that a lot of what you know about love and relationships has been influenced by movies, series, friends, and family. What I am trying to imply, for most of us, is that our understanding, and therefore, expression of love and intimacy has had little root in God’s love and very much in what the world has taught us about it.
Think about statements such as “I match the energy I receive”, “I am not here to suffer”, “I refuse to be a simp”, “Catch flights not feelings”, “What do you bring to the table?”, “Men are the prize”, “Women are the real prize”, “I am strong and independent, I don’t need anyone”, “I cannot show feelings. That is for weak men”, “You do you and imma do me!” I promise you I could go all day listing these haha. But consider for a moment how these and many more could have influenced your perspective on love and relationships knowingly or unknowingly. Many are now scared of relationships/marriage and others only look for what they can get out of it.
For many, statements like these have a bigger share in your perspective on love and intimacy than God’s word does. Funnily, it only takes a quick check to realize how selfish many of these statements and perspectives are. Ready to hear it? Here it goes;
Go over some of those statements again but this time imagine it is God saying these things, would you still qualify to receive His love?
Matthew 22:37-39 shows us 2 commandments. In this context of love and relationships, the challenge is that many have rushed to do the second commandment using ways of the world. You are only ready to move to loving your neighbor when you have mastered commandment number one! When Agape (Love of God) is absent, Eros (physical / romantic / sexual love) will hurt you. You cannot go horizontal before you catch it vertically. You cannot give what you do not have!
It is important to go by God’s standard of love because He is love! As in, if you want to get the truest form of love, God is not just the source, He is it! And besides, you have probably found the worldly standard of love very unfulfilling and unsuccessful.
John 3:16 shows us God’s love! When God loved, He did something. Love can never be empty, it is always accompanied by action. There are 2 things you must encounter in the realm of love, that is, sacrifice and mercy. Beware of a love that has no sacrifice.
Before you pursue your neighbor (or before you don’t – if you are scared of love), soak in the first commandment. Receive God’s love first. Let it complete and fulfill you. If you’re going to be found, you must be found free. Learn to be intimate with God. Knowing the extent of God’s love for you will help you transfer that same love to your “neighbor”. Recognize the influences of the world and minimize them. Whether you are single or not, let God be the source of your love for your “neighbor” and other neighbors too.
REF: 1 Samuel 19:1-10, 1 Samuel 23:1-13, 1 Samuel 29:1-11, 1 Samuel 30:1-6
I got it! You know how the Bible says that David was a man after God’s own heart? Yes, I get it! There’s
no way you can convince me that someone could face everything David did, respond like he did, and
not have some kind of special insight.
I mean, someone that ought to be a father to you – whose biggest problem (Goliath) you have taken
care of – turns around and makes it his life’s mission to end you. And this is not just a random
someone, this is a King! Imagine the resources he has for such a mission. At a point (1 Samuel 24:2),
Saul mobilizes 3,000 men to take on David and his 600 (they had increased). Let me put it in
perspective for you. If you were among David’s men, you’d each have to take on 5 able soldiers at
once. And then you get 2 opportunities to end this man and you spare him? Your own men are telling
you God has delivered him into your hands but you hold your peace? (1 Samuel 24, 1 Samuel 26)
You save a whole city from being destroyed and then they would go ahead and betray you not long
after, as though they all suddenly got struck by amnesia. Somewhere else you are rejected by a prince
not because of anything you have done but because of their own fears.
And then to seal the deal, your very own men start talking about stoning you to death when tragedy
befalls the whole team. Mind you, you have also suffered loss but they are more concerned about
themselves in that moment. These are the same men David took from being nothing to becoming
mighty. (1 Samuel 22:2) These are men who were distressed, in debt, discontent with life, tired,
weary and defeated. He took them from that state to mighty and now they want to kill him? In all
these stories, it’s like these people just forget what he has done for them
I am trying to paint the picture properly here and I hope that some of this is starting to become
relatable. Many of us would have finished King Saul at the first chance. Many would have destroyed
the city of Keilah on their way out. Many of us would have begun reminding the 600 men of our past
victories and how we took them from nothing to something!
And yet, none of this is David’s response. Surely, how? How could he resist responding like this? I
mean it seems like the natural and obvious response for some of us. “If they have chosen to betray me
and forget what I have done for them, then they deserve what’s coming”, some of us may think. There
are many things in life we do that seem so obvious and yet… (Proverbs 14:12)
No, I think I know the answer! When the Bible says David was a man after God’s own heart, among
many things, it means David totally and fully depended on God. You can clearly see this in the way
he always inquires of the LORD before making a move. Zero reliance on his own capabilities and
wisdom. Many people would mock such a man today saying he lacks sense and grit.
But such a man depends only on God and that is why David always responds the way he does. He
knows none of his achievements are because of his efforts. He is not self-made. He knows it is only
because of the hand of God is on his life. Here is a man that understands the grace of God. If your
successes come from God, then what reason is there to abandon Him for your own wisdom? Be like
David. Settle the matter today that your strength comes from the LORD alone.
Patience Kalanguka: It is very important to rely on the Lord before making any steps and be patient enough to wait for his reply, just like David always asked God whether he should go forward with many of the decisions he made.
Also a point which stood out for us in Our Lg was that vengeance is for the Lord , it’s not up to us to go hunting on ways to pay people back for what they have done to us .
Ps Nancy: Thank you Min.Kevin
This is a very clear illustration of David
How he goes past natural response to hear God is next level
‘My strength and direction comes from the Lord alone’
I’ll take this home.
Thanks again
Queen mankunku: Thank you so much minister Kevin for this wonderful sharing. One of the things that stood out for me while reading this devotion is that no matter the project, the plan, the vision ; first inquire the lord.
May the lord bless you
Question. Before last week, when was the last time you imagined/pictured/dreamt about the kind of
future you desire to have? No, I am not asking when you last worried about your future. I am asking
when you last pictured that ideal life. More importantly, when did you last picture the vision for your
personal ministry? When did you last picture the future of your Church? And what was in that vision?
Was it limited? Or was it glorious?!
I know, I know, I said one question, sue me. But seriously, when last did you? And if it was something
you think you can manage, why are you thinking that small? If you think you can manage your vision,
you are probably thinking small. Why? Because it means to an extent, you think you have what it
takes to achieve it. That can only mean you do not need to rely on God so much. So, again. Why
are you thinking small? Let me ask it another way; why are you settling for just enough, mediocre,
bare minimum yet, God has so much more for you?
Could it be that it is more comfortable to dream about what you think you can control? That you do
not want to have to rely on anyone else but yourself? If so, why are you rejecting God’s grace?
Or are you afraid? Perhaps you were disappointed when something you were believing/hoping for
in the past did not come to pass and now you are scared of having a repeat.
Yet maybe, all that you are seeing around you does not look promising. Newsflash! The promise is in
the word not in the difficult circumstances you are seeing around you. We are called to live by faith,
not by sight (2 Corinthians 5:7)
Or someone talked you out of that thing you were believing for. Perhaps they told you it was too
unrealistic and you were just doing wishful thinking and ever since you began “taming” your dreams.
It is very easy to get lost in the routines of life. Wake up, work, eat, sleep, repeat. We have fallen into
the mindset of just getting by, and surviving. This sounds a lot like the Israelites in slavery. They did not
have time to dream. They were preoccupied with executing the dreams of someone else. The only
thing on their minds was survival. But God wants you to dream again! He wants to take you to a land
flowing with abundance.
Do not allow the hindrances we have discussed above to limit your imagination. Dare to dream and
dare to dream big! God has not asked us to figure everything out. He asks us to believe. He is asking
us to see our lives through His promises, not our limitations. Do not limit God. Do not amplify your fears,
anxieties, and inadequacies.
One of the best moments about being a born-again Christian is realizing just how blessed you are. Your
greatest advantage in this world is that you are a believer. Because when you come to know how
exceedingly great and precious the promises God has given us are (2 Peter 1:4), there remains no
reason to live a mediocre life.
It is through promises that God gives us hope; that He draws us into our promised land. Why do these
promises matter? Because we know that God is true to His word. He has exalted it even above His
name (Psalm 138:2). So He will do what He said He will do. Our work is to believe the promises; to agree
with Him (2 Corinthians 1:20).
In our lives, there has been a point where we all had dreams that seemed ridiculous at the time;
becoming president, a pilot, a great musician, a football star, CEO of a multibillion-dollar company,
living in that elegant mansion, you name it. But for whatever reason, these became distant memories.
You just accepted they were impossible, at least for you. But today we see the power of imagination;
of dreaming!
Genesis 11:4-6 [KJV] shows us that imagination is so powerful that even God recognizes its power. He
literally says that with their unity, they cannot fail to achieve what they imagine! How much are you
imagining? How big are you dreaming? God has given everyone the ability to imagine, are you limiting
yours? Why? It is free of charge! It also should not be based on your capacity. If you believe, God’s
grace is available to do things far beyond your abilities. He is more than able to do exceedingly,
abundantly, and above what you can ask, think or imagine (Ephesians 3:20).
Dare to dream again! If you cannot dream, you are probably relying on logic and your capabilities.
But God wants to do the unimaginable through you. Do not focus on what you see around you. Stand
on a promise of God and imagine it happen. Faith is to believe what you do not see. The reward of
this faith is receiving what you believe. The world says seeing is believing, but when it comes to faith,
believing is seeing. Faith comes by hearing the word, unbelief comes by hearing the world. What are
you hearing? – Min Dora
Food for thought: If it were guaranteed that you could not fail, what would you do with your life? What
business would you start? What house would you build? What career would you pursue? Who would
you pursue for a relationship? Now that you have imagined, stick with it and stand on the promises of
God for it!
Merakie: this has encouraged in me a profound trust in God’s promises and the limitless power of faith to achieve dreams aligned with His will. Thank You Kevin
Winnie M: Thank you Min. Kevin for challenging us to revive those dreams we buried a long time ago. It’s not about our capability but God’s ability.
Jozy: A beautiful reminder to dream again!!!
Aaah Min Dora – that was a nice one! Faith comes by hearing the word, unbelief comes by hearing the world
Emmasone: This continued to affirm to me that my imaginations are not based on what am seeing now, but on what am yet to achieve. I will surely keep dreaming big.
Thank you Kevin.
PROVERBS 18:14 [MSG]
A healthy spirit conquers adversity, but what can you do when the spirit is crushed?
Picture this with me for a moment; you are walking along Kampala Road to CJs and reach a section with
homeless people and beggars. One tiny kid with brown hair, brown eyelashes and skin drier than the Sahara
sees you and thinks to himself “this one looks like money”. He races to you and stretches out his hand for
some small-small soda. “Bambi God wants us to show compassion to the poor”, you reason as you take pity
and hand him the UGX 2k balance you had.
You resume on towards CJs but since you gave one of the beggars, they all think you have more for the rest
of them, and so they start pursuing you. “Chei, I was not prepared for this”, you think as you start trying to
escape. As they’re there trying to grab-grab you, you see that one of the hands is for a muzungu.
“Yiiiiiii-“, you look back. Lo and behold, you can’t hide the shock. It’s Prince William. As in, the one of the UK
Monarch. He is also here among the kids begging you for 2k.
I am sure many of you are struggling to reconcile what kind of plot twist this is. As in how did this guy enter
the story? Good question. The same shock you have at how Prince William would be on the streets of Kampala
begging should be the same shock you have when you find a believer who is begging God for just enough
to barely get by. Why? Because you are a child of God! (1 JOHN 3:1) Now if you are shocked about a mortal
king’s child begging, how much more should you be shocked about God’s child?
Not only a child of God, you are also a partaker of God’s divine nature! Wow! There are so many attributes
of God we could delve into but the focus of today is the God of abundance. A God of more than enough,
an all-sufficient God. This is the nature we are partakers of. Basically, the same way you will never catch Prince
William wailing because his phone was snatched (I mean with all that wealth, why would he?) should be the
same way (if not better) you would behave. Now, before you start thinking I am a Prince William fan, consider
how much greater you are as a partaker of God’s divine nature! I understand some may even fail to fathom
that and let us address why.
Our opening verse addresses your perspective. Is your spirit healthy or broken? Is it strong or crushed? Let us
put it this way, do you naturally think positive or negative? Do you expect the best or the worst? Do you have
an abundance mindset or do you think from scarcity? (No really, go ahead and ponder).
You see, it all begins in your head. Slavery did something to the Israelites and as a result they struggled to
have an abundance mindset. I mean how could they when all they’ve known all their lives is whips and barked
orders? Now for us today, slavery may not necessarily be physical whips but chances are, if you do not think
in abundance, there is an area of your life where all you know is whips. It could be through words you’ve
heard all your life, statements, curses, experiences, circumstances, beliefs etc. Whatever it is, it has diminished
your ability to think much of yourself, or believe there’s more to you.
But God has redeemed you out of that. Through a promise and His presence,
He led the Israelites out of slavery into the Promised Land. Through the same, He will lead you from that place
of scarcity and slavery to a glorious destiny! (2 PETER 1:3-4). Do not take the promises of God lightly!
Meditate on His word. Just think about it: He has made you a partaker! Of His divine nature! El Shaddai!
Scarcity will have you thinking “just enough” instead of “more than enough”. Refuse scarcity!
LUKE 12:13-21
In this story, we read about a wealthy man who puts his trust in all that he has. It is so much that it could last him many years and no wonder, he says to himself to eat, drink, and be merry. God is so unamused.
A big lesson here is to be careful when you have more than enough. There is a test of your integrity to see whether you will acknowledge God as your source or whether your heart will migrate from God to the material things. You need to know how to respond because you are not going to take those riches with you when you die.
Indeed, we see a big reason why God is not happy is this man takes no thought of Him. He stores things up for himself and is not rich towards God (v.21). The big idea of God making you wealthy cannot be to hoard it all for yourself.
Interestingly, Jesus tells this story after we see one man fighting over an inheritance with his brother. One brother wants ownership/entitlement to some of the inheritance. Jesus responds with this parable saying, “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed”. You see, one of the dangers of thinking “you own it” is greed will creep into your house. The rich man in the story keeps everything for himself and himself only, because the underlying mentality is that he owns it. It is his and he can do what he wants with it.
In 1 CHRONICLES 29:10-14, we see the opposite. We see a man who knows he does not own it and the resulting fruit is an overwhelming display of being rich toward God (2 SAMUEL 7:1-2). David pledges mightily to build the House of God and even goes above and beyond that pledge (1 CHRONICLES 29:2-5). Now that is a man after God’s own heart! What can we learn from this? Everything in Heaven and on earth is God’s. Everything. Not only the tithe! It belongs to God and it comes from Him. We can only give of all that He has given us!
If you think about it, it is hard to fight over something when you know it is not yours. Just imagine claiming a brand-new Benz you found parked at the mall. Yikes! That would be a scene. So, know this; God is the owner. Not you. When you think like this, it will be hard to be greedy. The result is you will not be tied to your wealth. Your trust will joyfully remain in the source a.k.a., the owner, God! And your treasure will follow your heart. This is how to be rich towards God: When you have more than enough, honor HIM!