Tag: Luke

LEGALISTIC ME

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Over the course of my life I have met people who felt comfortable enough with me to share details about events in their life. I know a woman who chatted with me for hours and I’ll be honest it really felt like a one way conversation; mostly from her end. I listened quietly and sensed that all she needed in that moment was a listening ear.

Scripture tells us to take every thought captive so I had to reflect on my initial judgment of that woman because it was wrong. I’m reminded of the story of the two brothers in Luke 15:11-32 which is more commonly known as the parable of the prodigal son. We know the story by now. Son wants his share of wealth and wants to explore the world. Dad lets him leave. He squanders his wealth but returns feeling ashamed. However, dad forgives him and throws a big party. On the other hand there is the part about the older brother who was dutiful to dad during the younger brother’s hiatus into the unknown. Older brother wasn’t too pleased about dad’s quickness to forgive. He felt dad owed him a party for being the “good son” and dad was rewarding bad behavior.

My book “Grace in Adversity’ explores this dynamic in detail and the story is as relevant today as ever before. I was the older brother. The dutiful one. I used to be that person who would look at others and say, at least I am not like them, or God owes me because I have been nothing but good. How foolish I was. Thank God for where I am today, for how He has delivered me from that legalistic mindset. Let me invite you to check your heart and ask God to help free you from every form of legalism so that you can be more empathetic with individuals that He brings your way, both believers and non-believers.

Book readers, Check out my book on Amazon, and I would love to hear from you after you read it.

Blessings,

Rachel Ochieng(Sosasmama)

TRAVEL LIGHT

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“But now,” he said, “take your money and a traveler’s bag. And if you don’t have a sword, sell your cloak and buy one!

Luke 22:36 NLT

The sword here refers to the word of God. Jesus is telling His disciples to grab hold of the most important thing on the journey they were about to embark on.

-How do you then sharpen your sword(The word) once you have it?

Study to show yourself approved…(2Tim 2:15). The word you put in now will come handy for when it is needed.
Use this time as your study time. While memorizing is good, don’t beat yourself up when you are not able to. When you put it there, the Holy Spirit will bring it out of you when it is needed.

-Why do we need this sword(word)?

It’s an emblem of authority, power, triumph & protection.

In Summary,  Jesus is reminding us to travel light,
to set aside every weight that slows us down(Heb.12:1),  but most importantly, to have His word in our hearts.

Be safe under His wings.
Rachel

A FRIEND IN NEED…

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Unexpected friendships are the best.

I once had a friend called Brian. He joined my school in sixth grade and like any new student he did his best to adapt to his new surroundings. The only thing Brian struggled with most was reading aloud infront of the class. You see Brian would stutter. He’d pause silently for about 5 seconds before he spoke and in his mind that five seconds was probably an eternity. He was teased relentlessly for this and I did not find it funny at all. I’m not sure how our friendship exactly started but we became quite close. We would hang out often and I noticed something very interesting about Brian over the next few weeks. He would not stutter whenever he spoke to me. He would stutter in the company of other people but it would never happen when it was just the two of us. Around me he felt most comfortable. He cherished my advice and he knew I would not make fun of him either.

He is one person in my life I would definitely call a best friend because we shared a kinship that no one else could come between.

After Angel Gabriel spoke to Mary, she went to visit Elizabeth for three months and during that period their shared experience made their friendship stronger. They were both mothers to miracle babies and they had to advise each other, encourage each other and help each other emotionally.

LUKE 1:41 RSV

‘And when Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the babe leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit.’

Their bond was so strong, so deep that even Elizabeth’s unborn child leaped for joy. It is the spirit of God that connects and directs friendships. My wife and I have a supporting church family and our prayer is that as our marriage grows beyond that circle we will find friends we can connect with on a deeper spiritual level.

The term ‘best friend’ is said quite loosely today but who in your life would you consider a true best friend? Would you look out for them as much as they look out for you?

God bless you all and have a good night.

BE LIMITLESS

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Like most new bloggers I am still at that stage where all I have is a desire to write. Some days I’m inspired and some days I am not but I think that’s ok. I’ve already taken the first steps so I can’t quit now!

LUKE 1:37 RSV

“For with God, NOTHING will be impossible.”

There is a boldness and a simplicity to scripture sometimes that makes me ask more questions than being simply content with the answers. I say to myself, “Lord you don’t understand,” “Lord you see this is my situation right now, “Lord if I only had this.”

Instead of accepting it for what it is I start this great debate in my head then I realize all my words are pointless. I’m discouraging myself even before I accept God’s promise all because I want to be in control.

Gabriel told Mary that despite Elizabeth’s old age she will bear a son. Mary would also have a son despite being a virgin. (She had some explaining to do to Joseph). I love this exchange between the Angel and Mary because it shows me God chooses the most ORDINARY people to do EXTRAORDINARY things. My wife and I consider ourselves ordinary, but we also know that with the gifts that God has given us he has given us the responsibility to be able to do extraordinary things. We have a vision to be leaders, mentors, authors and we believe it will happen. What’s the point of having the love of Christ without sharing it with others?

God wants to use you exactly where you are. You don’t need anything fancy, you don’t need to feel like you are inadequate. NO. They’ll call you crazy but so be it because our God says “NOTHING WILL BE IMPOSSIBLE. “

WHAT ARE YOU THANKFUL FOR?

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First I’d like to thank the readers of my previous post and the feedback you gave. I don’t take it for granted that you took the time to respond positively to my post and I’ll do my best to keep encouraging you all.

The first chapter of Luke not only sets the stage for the coming of Jesus, but it also gives a detailed background of Elizabeth and Zechariah who were the parents of John the Baptist. They were both in their old age and had no children but the angel Gabriel appeared to Zechariah and told him he would have a son. As lovely as this story is, what stood out to me most was the burst of emotion from Elizabeth when she found out she was pregnant.

LUKE 1: 24-25 NKJV

Elizabeth conceived, and for five months she hid herself saying, “Thus the Lord has done to ME, to TAKE AWAY my reproach (disgrace, shame) among men.”

The bible doesn’t explicitly say how long the couple were married but because they were in their old age we can conclude that they’d been married a long time.  During this period in history a woman was valued by how many children she had so Elizabeth’s words to God were truly heartfelt. She had been barren for so long that once she realized she was pregnant she had to release all the pent up anguish and frustration that had built up in her spirit. I pictured Elizabeth sitting in her room quietly; tears of joy rolling down her cheeks as she quietly whispered to God. “Thank you. Thank you. Thank you for answering my prayer.”

She was grateful to God for lifting up that emotional burden off her shoulders. In fact she was so thankful that she isolated herself from the rest of the world for five months. Her miracle didn’t come from man but from God.

Zechariah on the other hand stuck by his wife during what was probably one of the most difficult moments of her life. He didn’t move on and find another wife to give him children because he knew Elizabeth was a woman of God and he CHOSE to SUPPORT her.

So what are some of the things you are thankful for today? Write them down and repeat them to yourself. It may be a difficult moment in your life but I believe there is still a lot to be thankful for because God listens to prayer no matter how impossible your situation may seem. My wife and I are hoping to move into our own home within the next year. We don’t know how it’s going to happen but one thing we know for sure is that God is with us during this process.