My Burdens are too Much!

“Casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.” 1 Pet 5:7

If you are like me you are probably struggling with some burdens. I don’t know what your burden is but I can register with yours because all humans do struggle with a lot of hurt in life. We are all in this maze of life looking for someone somewhere to come along us and make our life easier; someone we can cast our burdens upon.
In this article, I will point you to that someone upon whom you can cast that painful issue and all other cares you are struggling with.

From the dawn of sin man has never rested; for life has been so burdensome! It is full of troubles, trails and trivial that has left hundreds totally shipwrecked. Its wrecking include broken homes, enslaved souls, drug addicts, immoral societies, manner-less children, fears of the unknown, uncertainty of  future, poverty, disease, joblessness, Shelter-less, starvation, and countless more. As a result, man has become so blind to look to God, instead, he carries the unbearable burden alone.

Though man, throughout history, has sought and cried for someone to relieve him of his burden, none has come forth. However, God in His love for mankind has given to us Jesus Christ. He has provided a way of escape from the dreadful weight of the burden and has promised to bear all our burdens if only we choose to cast them on Him (1 Peter 5:7). He is the solution to all life’s problems.

Think of a child who has all that assures him of a good life and yet he complains over everything. He worries about his next meal, cloths, school fees etc. Even though today’s lunch was the best of meals, he still complains about yesterday’s breakfast and worries about tomorrow’s lunch. Surely, the parents would seek to have that child rebuked and delivered from his cares as soon as possible. Just as the that child, God’s children who are assured of the Father’s supply of all their needs according to His riches in glory, are so burdened and fully of worries for tomorrow. Jesus Christ once asked whether worry has ever moved one ounce of life’s burdens? In the sermon on the mount, He admonished His audience not to worry, about what they shall eat, drink or wear and the like, for their heavenly Father knows that they need all these things (Matthew 6:31–32). Even Paul said to the Christians in Philippi that they be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, they are to let their requests be made known to God (Phil 4:6). These Christians understood that Jesus Christ was their burden bearer and that's why they rejoiced always despite their burdens.
Friends, like those who heard the Lord and later Paul, you must look to Jesus Christ who knows the exact weight of your cares and solution. He understands all your life’s struggles and is ever ready to set you free. His desire for you is that you trust Him with everything; nothing will catch Him by surprise. If there is one surest thing you can ever do in life, is to run to Him and lay all your cares at his feet.

Furthermore, Jesus Christ has promised to relieve you of your burden. Though we know that Christ bears burdens, sometimes, we fail to trust Him with our cares. At other times we forget that God has promised to relieve His people from their cares. Maybe, burdens are so weighty that we easily loose sight of God and in the process end up in wrong hands. My friend, stop focusing on how the burden will consume you and start looking at Christ to bear your burdens.

Failure to trust God is always accompanied with a wrong methods of handling burdens. Common to burdened souls are complaints, self-piety and seeking other people’s sympathy. Coupled with an unrelenting attitude that focuses on the magnitude of the problem and the impossibility to solve it. As a result, with no uncertain terms, many people turn to worldly solutions, and when the world fails to solve it, they blame it on God. As for you, be different and settled that Jesus knows your situation to the minutest detail and that He will relieve you of your burden and give you rest.

First, He will sustain your life. Hear the confessions of the Psalmist “I have been young, and now am old; Yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken, Nor his descendants begging bread” (Psalm 37:25). Furthermore he says; “Cast your burden on the Lord, And He shall sustain you; He shall never permit the righteous to be moved” (Psalm 55:22). The Psalmist was convinced that the Lord’s eyes are on the righteous. All He expects of you is a righteous life.

Second, He will always directs your life. Solomon said: “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths” (Proverbs 3:5–6). God expects you to simply trust Him by withdrawing from all human perceptions of life, and giving Him first place in your life. He knows you from beginning to end.

Third, He will settle you inner conflicts and give you rest. Jesus said: “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls” (Matthew 11:28–29). God expects you to become His good students by learning rightful ways of life. With Him you shall carry a lighter burden.

Last, He will become your firm foundation upon whom your faith will be fixed. Affirming of Himself as our sure foundation Jesus said: “Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me” (John 14:1). There is no other place, object or pillar upon which your faith should anchor or be fixed. God expects you not to worry but simply have faith in Him.

Never saturate your mind with the cares of this world. When all else fails and you have no where to turn, though the burden be heavy, fall on your knees and cry to God. For Jesus Christ, who is greater than all, invites you to cast all your cares upon Him. He knows all about you and has the right solution to your situation. You can be rest assured of His ability and willingness to bear all your burdens!

Great Britain has just been SODOMIZED!

Following the recent NEWS around the British Parliament and the SAME-SEX MARRIAGE BILL, one wonders what has really happened to Great Britain.  It is unbelievable that an overwhelming 400 voted in favor while only 175 voted against. A Great Nation who’s known for mothering some of the greatest preachers in the history of the Church is in these last days mothering Sodomites. 100 years ago this a despicable and unthinkable horror of a sin which has become the glory of her Parliament in the 21^st Century. Believed it or not Great Britain has just cried out to God for God's Judgment upon her and her children. it is just a matter of time.

I am so disappointed and outraged at what has befallen the United Kingdom. A country I have admired since childhood has become my worst nightmare in my adult age. Repent and be saved O' Great Britain before God strikes you and your children like he did to Sodom & Gomorrah and Ninevah!

While contemplating on this NEWS, I stumbled upon an article published in the Sunday Mail on 10^th February 2013. The writer, Pastor Chanda, has done a commendable job in articulating on how and why once upon Great Britain has sunk so low. His focus was on what the home can breed.  I have taken pastor Chanda’s article and made it available for you to read and learn. Enjoy.

“... In a country that claims to be Christian, this vote is staggering. The Bible categorizes homosexuality as a sin. It uses the strongest possible terms to dissuade people from yielding to its allurements. It condemns homosexuality as a vice that brings God’s judgment. The Bible says in the Old Testament, “You shall not lie with a male as with a woman; it is an abomination” (Leviticus 18:22). Nothing can be clearer than that!

The Bible also says in the New Testament, “For this reason God gave them up to dishonorable passions. For their women exchanged natural relations for those that are contrary to nature; and the men likewise gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another, men committing shameless acts with men and receiving in themselves the due penalty for their error” (Romans 1:26-27).

The Bible teaches in Genesis 19 that two entire cities were destroyed by God—Sodom and Gomorrah—because of homosexual practices. In fact, the other name for homosexuality is sodomy. It derives its name from the city that was totally destroyed by God.

Those of us who point to the teaching of the Bible in this way are often accused of hate speech. But surely, is it hate speech to warn people that to live like this is to bring yourself under the judgment of God? I would have thought that this is love and not hate. It is a known fact that even in the Anglican Church; it is the African bishops who are fighting against this. Their British counterparts are not. They want to allow gay priests. The result is that the Anglican Church is on the verge of a major split. Where have things gone wrong? How could the very people who sent missionaries to us in Africa and also taught us the Bible now abandon its teachings in this way?

I have no doubt that the first loss took place in the family and not in the church. A church is only as strong as the families that make up that church. Once what is taught in the church is not being taught in the homes, you will soon lose both the church and the family. If we allow our children to be taught that we evolved over millions and millions of years, that the universe with all its beauty and balance was produced by a bang, that when we die it is the end of our existence, then let us not be surprised if they vote like this. If we do not teach our children that God created us, and that at the dawn of creation our first parents fell from their perfect state and developed warped affections and passions, let us not be surprised if they see homosexual practice as an alternative lifestyle. If we do not educate our children in our homes that God’s plan for the human race is that sex is to be reserved for the marriage relationship of a man and woman as an apex of their commitment, let us not be surprised if they become sexually active outside that context.

We say that if God had meant us as human beings to be smokers, he would have created us with chimneys on top of our heads. Well, if God had meant us as human beings to be homosexuals, our sexual organs would have been engineered for it. But they are not! We need to teach these things to our children in our homes. We need to say to them that if we had been married in a homosexual relationship, they would not have been born. We need to tell them that to give birth to children you have to follow God’s created order.

Coach Herve Renard [Zambia Football National Team Coach] has been telling us, “Ze battle is won in the gym, long before ze first whistle is blown.” In the same way, the battle for heterosexual marriage in Britain was not lost a few days ago. It was lost when those British MPs were growing up in their homes.”

Dear friends, in case you didn’t know what has just happened I have sad news for you: "GREAT BRITAIN HAS JUST BEEN SODOMIZED!”

The Power of Culture

One hot Saturday mid-morning, my wife and I, drove with our girls to Whimpy (a fast food restaurant) for some ice-cream. That loud monkey, he had told everybody in Kitwe to go there; the place was packed. The music was loud, everybody was talking, the waiters were busybodies, phones were sounding all kinds of ringtones, and the children’s play pan was totally animated. Though everybody seemed neither uncomfortable nor bothered with the semi-commotion, I noticed a teenager struggling as though he had done something wrong or there was something wrong around him. I got interested in him and quickly turned my FBI/CIA/KGB/CID antennas on just in case he pulled a surprise or a stunt.
 

We entered, greeted a few acquaintances, and quickly found a good spot for us to sit. In a moment a waiter sashes by and hands us the menu. In no time our orders were done. While waiting for the ice-cream, we quickly got engaged in a family chat, and from time to time we read a few facebook posts and made some comments. However, in the midst of all this my mind was preoccupied with the uncomfortable teenager. I them noticed that the fair colored elderly man seated opposite the teenager had an open Bible besides him. After a second and third look at him, I remembered who he was; a missionary pastor I got to meet some years back.

As usual, the girls became impatient as the ice-cream was taking a little longer. To keep them busy my wife allowed them to go to the play pan. You should have seen their smiles stretch from end to end in appreciation: “thanks mum!” they shouted in unison like a choir as they scampered. Like a curious cat, I quickly recollected mind to my preoccupation and zoomed in to try and catch the conversation. My wife wondered where my concentration had been channeled, but she said no word. As I persisted, I learnt that they were having a “one on one discipleship ministry.” Instantly, my antennas went down in encouragement.

The ice-cream was served and my wife called the girls. They came running, panting, sweating and salivating to do injustice to the poor ice-cream; the liking was fired. Across the tables, the two already had their meal and where focused on the Bible. With enthusiastic dedication the pastor had taken part of his time and money to spend on the teenager. This was exceptionally exemplary; creating time for young people to point them to Christ.

As the girls raced each other to the bottom of the Kilimanjaro of ice-creams, a cultural thought hit my mind. As much as I admired this dear brother and his effort in his discipleship ministry, I realized he had overlooked something very cardinal which was a great hindrance to his efforts. I guess the lesson was good, no question about that. Their relationship seemed great as well. It was a cultural obstacle that the missionary pastor had no idea of. Several times the teenager would shake in discomfort, go out of focus a couple of times, and would appear too conscious of the people at Whimpy. The missionary pastor tried several times to redirect his attention but to no avail.

Whimpy is a great place, my kids love it and majority of Kitwe residents. The food is wonderful and ever delicious. Am sure the teenager must have enjoyed his meal. However, the Zambian culture around eating places is very different from what is in the West. In the West, people mind their own business; nobody seems to care about people on the other table. Making it very easy for a discipleship session to take place at eating places. But not so with Zambians, everybody takes notice of everybody and somehow expresses interest in who is in the place and many other details. As a result, two things worked against the teenager: The place was socially ahead of him, and he was captivated with the thought that everybody was watching him.

In a moment or so, my girls were done, our time was out, the bill was paid and we were out of the semi-commotion. I drove away happy and challenged with the efforts of this missionary pastor. His courage and manner to disciple the young man was admirable. But I also drove away sorry for the teenager as the place really worked against him. I know God is able and even in that situation He surely did get to his heart. On the contrary, there was also a great cultural lesson.

A pastor who knew the culture would have easily understood the cultural challenges that a socially challenged Zambian teenager would face in a place like Whimpy for discipleship. Am sure a place of a little lower stand would have been more accommodating for the teenager. Better still, after the meal, departure to a secluded place for the Bible Study time would have been ideal.

Food for thought. Never overlook the role culture plays in an individual’s life, ministry or church. You can take me out of my village to another environment for discipleship, but you can never take the village culture that has nurtured me out of me. Especially if am an African; culture has power.