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HOW CAN WE GAIN COMFORT IN ALL OUR TRIBULATIONS

Last Sunday, I listened to a bible talk on zoom whose theme was as above and it had a profound effect on me. Not only did I feel comforted but it helped me gain a better understanding of this subject as I have personally struggled with comforting others. It is one of the most uncomfortable things for me to do. 

The speaker of the talk, who happened to be my uncle was more or less grieving as he had lost his wife of 36 years less than 3 months ago. His bible talk helped me to see this subject in a different light and I felt compelled to share the lessons I learnt from his heartfelt talk.

The following are my key takeaways as given by the speaker:

What does comfort mean? 
It has a dual meaning:

1st definition: The Greek word translated comfort is else where in scripture translated as “Encourage”. Therefore the words “comfort” and “encourage” are interchangeable.
This means to comfort means to put courage in another person.

The second definition : The English word “Comfort” which is used to translate the said Greek word has “FORT” in it i.e.
COM  FORT , (which conveys strength etc.). FORT is derived from the Latin word “FORTIS” which has the basic meaning of strength (from which comes a family of words such as fortify, fortitude, etc.) 

So to Comfort means to encourage or better still to put courage into a person facing a difficult trial.
 
Important note
When comforting it doesn’t mean that the problem goes away. The comforter simply just gives you the courage to cope with the problem. In other circumstances, the problem may actually exasperate or become worse like in a case of someone who may be suffering from an illness which actually worsens despite being offered comfort.

Where can you find comfort?
2nd Corinthians 1:3-4: Here the bible describes Jehovah as a God of all comfort who comforts us in all trials so we may offer comfort to others.

Others might ask, why didn’t God remove the trial or difficulty in the 1st place?
“To use as an example, in our country we had the leader of an opposition political party who promised to solve a number of country’s problems for the past 20 years. But would it have been fair to expect him to solve the countries problems while he was in opposition? Certainly not and it is now that he is in power that he can be in a position to hopefully deliver on his promises.”

This is similar with God, from the time mankind sinned and turned away from him, he has allowed Satan to rule the world. So when his time comes he will remove all those things that make us suffer.

How can we comfort ourselves?

Study of the bible: The bible is the chief means God uses to comfort us. 
Romans 15:4: “For all things that were written beforehand were written for our instruction so that through our endurance and through the comfort from the scriptures we might have hope.”
 
Its not the whole bible which is directed towards comforting. We need to turn to scriptures which offer comfort. One of the books is Psalms. Why?

“Psalms are directed to the heart and they touch every kind of emotions, pain, love, depression, disappointment, dejection, elations, etc. All these and thousands of emotions are not only heard but felt by the heart.”

In order to benefit from the bible, you cant read it as if its a novel and expect to be comforted.
Psalms 1:1-3; in verse 2 says “happy is a man who reads Gods law in an undertone day and night.” What does ‘undertone mean’? he asked. It means “whisper to yourself or to read aloud and make use of your senses as you reading it.”

ii. Attending meetings: Hebrews 10:24-25 encourages the meeting of one another to incite each other to fine works. You get to receive encouragement from brothers and sisters at Christian meetings. 

iii. Prayer: It has been revealed that just discussing feelings to another person can relieve us of the stress (Problem shared is problem solved). If talking to a human can help comfort you, how about when you pour your problems to your Creator. Pour out your heart to him and express exactly how you feel to God. 

For example, Hannah, Samuel’s mother who was facing a big trial (bareness and being taunted by rival wife for not having any children) and it was only after she “took things personal” and deeply shared with God the anger, pain and frustration that she felt. Afterwards she felt at peace and later Jehovah answered her request (1st Samuel 1:1-20).

iv. Holy spirit: John 14:26: Jesus Christ indicated that he will send a helper the holy spirit which will among other things help us in recalling scriptures to comfort us in times of need. In addition, holy spirit also gives us extra ordinary power beyond what is normal (2nd Corinthians 4:7) helping us pass through the breaking point without breaking down.

How can we comfort others?

There is no magic formula. Key is to remember what the word comfort means; To offer words or action that will help the other person in need such as prayer or any practical help needed at that particular hour.

The speaker decided to use his own experience as to how he was comforted: “For example in my case, this is how I was comforted?”

i. Prayer: “Just after losing my wife, I felt as though the whole world had come crushing down before my eyes. A friend and brother on hearing the news called and asked that we pray…” 
He mentions that he simply cried the whole time the friend was praying and doesn’t remember a single word from the prayer. It didn’t mean anything to him that time because he was in pain but now looking back he felt that it really comforted him a lot.

ii. A letter from a 11 year old girl: A 11 year old girl from his congregation wrote a letter which he received through a brother during burial. He was empathetic as he read the letter to the audience in same way it was written (childish way). It really touched him and felt comforted as the same 11 year old had lost the father the previous year and she expressed how deeply disappointed she felt towards God at the time. The girl in her letter quoted the book of Proverbs 3:5 which comforted her and asked him to trust in Jehovah God with all his heart and not to lean upon his own understanding. 

As he finished reading the letter visibly touched with emotion, he paused momentarily as if to compose himself and asked:

“Do you think this letter gave me comfort? Yes! Yes! It did!” As he asked and answered his question.

“When you pour your heart to the person who is bereaved and express your heartfelt condolences especially when you yourself has been comforted by scriptures, you will be able to give appropriate counsel or help.”

iii. Emotional and material support from others: Which can be through helping the grieved with some tasks at home such as cooking, sweeping and other errands which they may not be in a position to carry out.

iv. Checking up on the person after the burial processions are over: During the funeral, a lot of people are there surrounding the bereaved and it is easier for them to cope during this period. However, once the burial processions are done, the bereaved person is alone and it is in these times that they may grieve a lot and there is normally no one close to comfort them. 
It is important that we check up on them every once in a while and if possible do some activities together as this helps them during the grieving process.

After going through the key highlights from his talk, the speaker emphatically ended the talk with the below words:

“Until now, let us remain strong because Satan is still in control but very soon all the trials will be over and Jehovah will remove everything that brings problems and trials to human kind.”

KEY LESSONS FROM WORK CONFERENCE

I attended a company conference  which was held online over a 2 week period with over 200 presentations made by 100 speakers from both within and outside the company. It was truly a banquet as we were well fed with ideas, inspiration and encouragement.

There is so much that I learnt from this event that I do not even know were to start from in terms of the key ideas. I summarize the main lessons which have stuck to me up to this day:

1. Exposure! Exposure! Exposure!

If there is one thing which kept coming up more especially from the external speakers who were invited to speak, it was there level of exposure in life. This is in relation to the areas they were invited to make a presentation on be it on compliance, leadership, marketing, specialty in a field. They all had great experience gotten through the early years in their careers. They didn’t work for one company but had stints at various institutions which sort of galvanized their experience as they couldn’t just look at things from one perspective. They worked for institutions which made blunders and helped them bounce back from their fall of grace which enabled them to be in pole position to lead companies looking for individuals with the right profile. One speaker mentioned that he had worked at an early age as a lawyer for a number of companies which had major fraud issues and these experiences enabled him to serve at very senior level for the firm. It is really important to have practical experiences and challenges early on in career as these seem to shape your life in future career progression. If you don’t encounter enough interesting encounters then you are sterile and not growing in terms of exposure and mental preparations for more difficult challenges ahead of the journey. They had long years of experience working in a particular field of a company and helped build up a segment from the ground up (proven track record). They were essentially purple cows in those fields hence the reason they were invited to give presentations.

This made me ask myself the question. Am I getting the right exposure in my life and work? Is it relevant and something which will make me valuable in future in terms of what i have to share with others? Does my day to day work show that I am gaining the appropriate exposure or experience which will make me an invaluable member of any company? 

The 2nd set of questions were; What can I start doing starting today on a daily basis to expose myself to different scenarios which will help me become valuable? Is my current work giving me the necessary exposure to be in a position to offer or make valuable intellectual contribution?

One thing for sure is I need to make some drastic changes to my work starting with going out to meet with challenges/experiences and as well as deliberately put myself in a position which I would want to spend the rest of my life on being called on to give presentations and share my experiences with others. the sooner i work on this, the better it is going to be for me.

‘Practical’ experience is the best teacher.

2. Focus on your core competencies

During one of the speakers presentations, he had mentioned how has companies focused on only projects above a certain value.  When I heard him say this, I remember thinking to myself how our company could also learn from it and start engaging in bigger projects in order to make more money. After the presenter concluded his talk, the Chairman and owner when giving his comments on the presentation highlighted the difference in approach between the two companies which them focusing on bigger projects and us on those of lesser value. Then he went on to indicate that it is good to focus on your core competencies and ours is in distribution and smaller projects just like they have also done the same. 

I was then forced to ask myself; what are my key competencies in life? It is very important to know where you stand with regards to your own strengths. Otherwise, you will jump at every carrot which is dangled at you. You need to know what your strengths are and work hard to maximize on these strengths as well as understand your weaknesses and minimize exposure to them as much as possible.

No matter how exciting something might seem to be, factor in your strengths and whether a particular job or task will be something that you would be willing to put in your life on the line for. Are you willing to pay for the price in full and in advance? 

Not everything that glitters is gold.

3. Don’t treat staff as employees, treat them like people

When the HR presentation was done by the General Manager of the unit, the chairman emphasized one expression which the reader had made during his presentation; the importance of Managers or Supervisors to say thank you to the subordinates. He indicated these simple acts of kindness make the whole difference. Like the Apostle Paul said pursue love and let everything you do be done with love.

One of the external speakers re-emphasized this point when he said that the mistake which most companies make as they grow bigger in size is to start looking at the staff as employees and not people. It is important to recognize the role that each staff member plays and to take note of their names speak to them like people who matter. You will be amazed at what difference this makes as these staff tend to be excited and even share with their families or friends about how the CEO spoke to them and even knows them by their name. 

Be kind, always.

4. Ask for help

One of the executives of the company had asked one of the Directors earlier on in his life to be his mentor. He humbly approached, opened up and requested the Director to help him as he was seeking to create a path in his career earlier on. And this has proved to be one of the key differentiators not only in terms of his growth in the company but also in life. You can not succeed alone and usually in life it is important to seek the help of those whom we look up to to guide us as they have had to overcome most of the obstacles which will find on our way to succeed.

In addition, their was also a scenario sometime in the company which lead to owner to seek the help of a specialist in the industry to help with establishing a particular brand which has hugely contributed to the success of the company. The Mentor even indicated in his speech that the Chairman humbled himself and asked him to teach him all he knows about the products and through this they established a very strong bond leading to the overall success of the business.

Who has come before me in where I want to go whom I can confide in as a mentor? Who are the low hanging fruits; those close by who have done something in line with were I want to be? Be humble enough and tell them how much you admire them and want to learn from them. You might just be surprised with the feedback you receive earning you a guide to propel you towards mastery in a short space of time. Enter into the field as a learner so as to get as much as I can from that particular industry. 

If I have seen further, it is because of standing on the shoulders of giants.

5. Comfort is your worst enemy

As one of the speakers was being introduced, the chairman mentioned of a time when the company was solely based on being a Distributor of products but didn’t have its own product line. However that changed one day following a meeting with one of the major suppliers to the firm who frustrated him. He mentions he was so frustrated that day, he vowed never to ever be in such a vulnerable position again. After the encounter, he started looking for opportunity to be self reliant and creating own brand for the company. Around the same time, the industry specialist he was about to introduce contacted one of his colleagues if they might be interested in having them make products for them. And that is how a partnership was established and this proved to be a game charger for not only the company but the industry which the company operates in as well as this product has become a market leader even surpassing the very one which had frustrated him in the beginning.

Normally in life, nothing major ever happens until someone has been put in a tight corner and its either they have to fight with everything they have or die. This can either be an encounter with a bad boss leading to loss in employment or confrontation with an enemy whom you know if you don’t do anything you will be completely wiped off . I have a cousin who was forced to resign from his job because he had a bad boss forcing him to resign and take up entrepreneurship and now he has done 10X better than if he had continued to work. Also have a friend who in his university final year project, he failed his dissertation (wasn’t in good books with his lecturer). With no other means of survival, he set out to pursue his true passion in Technology setting up a business which has rewarded him more than any company which he could have worked for in his life. 

Something special happens when we are forced or we put ourselves on ‘death or desperation ground’ and the above testimonials are testament to that fact. In most cases, comfort is our biggest enemy as we do not challenge ourselves to grow but want to maintain the status go. Having a good job or nice boss might be the worst thing which has ever happened to you. But guess will never know until you find yourself in a similar situation. Like they say, you will never know how strong you are until being strong is the only option that you have. You don’t have to quit your job but you have to seriously challenge your environment and vow to extend yourself as much as you possibly can without the limits of your comfort zone. 

Necessity is the mother of invention.

6. Form strategic partnerships or alliances

A number of external speakers who made presentations indicated how their companies have continued to grow by entering into partnerships (acquisitions, mergers, etc.). You have to realize that you cant have all the strengths or resources. The key is to be deliberate about the partnerships you get into so that these complement you and make you stronger together.

This has made me think not only about myself but look out for others who may have somethings which I maybe lacking. You may have the intellectual capacity but lack the finance and therefore look out for someone with this strength. Or maybe inclined towards the technical aspect of something while another person might be good on the marketing side.

Two is better than one. 

The above are some of the main key highlights gained from this conference. 

MEDICINE IS AN ART TO PRACTICE

I recently had a conversation with my wife who is currently undergoing a specialist medical training at UTH. 

As we were talking she lamented about how stressful work was since the training began. As I was trying  to figure out how I could sympathize and encourage her through this she went on to say:

“Yes the training is stressful but has its benefits; I learn a lot as I get to see a lot of rare conditions. If one has never seen a condition, its hard to fully recognize it no matter how many times you read about it. So the more rare diseases I come across, the better is my practice.” 

She then ended by saying “Medicine is an art to practice.”

I was taken a aback by these statements: Wait a minute, you complain of too much stress while at the same time say that its good? What exactly are you saying? 

She then went on to elaborate: “It will be pointless for me to be here (UTH) if I encounter the same conditions I normally come across at my work station. I wouldn’t learn anything new and even during my exams it would be very difficult to pass let alone when I go back to my station and have to handle the cases by myself. In medicine, it is nearly impossible to remember what you read if you have never come across it. It’s difficult for the mind to know what the eye has not seen.”

Upon reflection, I thought about how they could be some truths in what she said in terms of life; more especially during your training or starting phase. 

Isn’t it far better to face the most difficult challenges in the beginning in order to prepare you for bigger the challenges ahead? I introspected. 

And immediately thought of some areas where it can be practical:

Relationships

Isn’t it better to handle the stressful questions or issues (e.g. finance handling, church, children, etc.) while you still dating and undergoing counselling than when you already married?

Work

Isn’t it better to come across the difficult part of your work during your internship (under supervision) before confirmation or before you become a Manager or Leader?

Business

Isn’t it better to encounter challenges or difficulties as you starting up a business than when the business has grown to such an extent that a mistake leads to huge financial costs?

No matter how well we prepare, we will most certainly come across difficulties in whichever path we are on. However, what is certain is the level of difficulty (stressful situations) you had to overcome to get to where you are will greatly determine your chances of overcoming the challenges which lie ahead.

The intensity of practice or “training” in the initial phases might even be the difference between success or failure.

No wonder they say experience is the best teacher.

Medicine is an art to practice. So is life.

LIFE LESSON FROM DSTV CHANNEL 100

Today, I came back home from work and when I switched on the TV, I found myself glued to some exciting content showing short clips of all kinds of movies, sports and series. This got my attention as I sat down to see what the rest of my night viewing had to offer. 

However, shortly afterwards, the clips started repeating and it is only then that I realized that my Dstv subscription was disconnected and I was on channel 100.

I thought, isn’t this interesting? how come I have never bothered to check what’s showing on this channel even if its part of the bouquet? 

The first thing which came to mind was “its not specific.” Channel 100 shows clips of all the exciting movies, series, sports, drama, news, etc. across different Dstv channels but has no particular structure. 

The rest of the channels on Dstv have a particular focus on a genre with over hundreds of channels covering sports, movies, series, reality tv, music, news, cartoons, local, etc. Each channel is unique and special in its own right. There are always people who are going to watch the “other channels” (as boring as they may seem to you). 

Even in life, they will always be people who will be interested in what you love or do as weird as it may seem to even yourself.

Being a “jack of all trades” (channel 100) might be interesting in the beginning but soon enough people will want something or someone with a deeper understanding or focus of a specific subject area. They will eventually go to the dedicated professional/expert (channel) who gives undivided attention or uninterrupted viewing in area of need/choice. 

Don’t be channel 100. Stick to one thing!

LESSONS FROM MY 95-YEAR-OLD GRANDFATHER

 3 years ago, I had my grandfather visit me home for 3 days. Since then, his visit has had a profound effect on my life. This was the first time I had spent some quality time with him, and I learnt so much from a century worth of wisdom. The following are some of the lessons I’ve learnt from him during his stay with me:

Put God first and you will see his goodness

If there’s a point which grandpa emphasized more than anything else, it was to put Jehovah first in everything I do. He looked me straight in the eye and say “no matter how successful you become; it is all useless if you don’t have Jesus in your life. All the things you strive for be it money, fame you will  leave behind.”

“Make God the center of your life and you will be amazed at how things will progress in your life,” he added.

 Be ambitious

Even at his age, grandpa has ambitions of cultivating in his farm and taking his produce to the market. He even asked me to buy him a van so he can be taking his crops to the market citing transport as his number one challenge. He also asked me to be buying non-runner vehicles so he could work on them as he was a mechanic then we can sell them at a profit. He had so many things he wanted to do, and I was astounded by his level of enthusiasm as well as desire to see those through without even thinking about his age.

I thought to myself if my grandfather at the age of 95 can have such big dreams (vision) for his future I should really scale up and level up my vision for my future.

Keep trying, keep pushing and neverever give up!

My grandfather’s biggest challenge at least according to him was his eyesight as he could no longer see as clearly as before. For the past few years, he has gone far and wide covering the entire country in search of a cure to his eye problem. The family has tried talking to him about the need to accept the situation but to no avail. Each time he is on the go-Chirundu, Monze, Lusaka, Kasempa, wherever he hears there is an eye specialist. And even if he has been told that he can’t be operated on by most doctors because of his age, my old man still has hope that one day, somehow somewhere they will be a solution for his problem. And he is willing to try wherever it will be found.

Persist until you achieve your goals. Keep working hard until you achieve your dreams, no matter what other people say or do.

You are where you are because of your past choices

As we were having lunch at home on Saturday afternoon, grandpa said: “the reason why I’m even in this house in Kitwe having a nice meal with you is because you’re worked hard and were focused at school and now you have even taken care of me and helping out with others in the family. I thank you for what you have done.”

That statement made me realize that choices being made even today will count a few years from now. The past choices have taken you this far and current choices are also taking you somewhere in the future. The question is where?

Marriage is between two people with God at the center

At the time he visited, I was really conflicted about marriage. It is something which from most experiences I saw and what I was hearing, wasn’t encouraging for me. So, I decided to take advantage of grandpas visit and asked him what his take was as I clearly told him my position. He paused briefly as if to agree; then told me that marriage is between two people. It is about how the two of you feel about each other and it doesn’t matter what other people say in the end. Put God at the center of it and that’s it!

Get blessings from your parents

He urged me to listen to my parents advise especially regarding the person that I decide to settle down with. He said he has learnt quite a lot in life as most of the marriages where he saw potential pitfalls ended up being like what he had assessed them to be.

Don’t judge or assume things 

To be honest I thought looking after him was going to be difficult especially that we were just two guys with my nephew in the house. To our surprise it was so nice to have him, and I think it’s also because he has a positive and good spirit.

Ask for what you want

Grandpa seems to have mastered the art from the bible. And even if he may not get all that he would have asked for he has received more because he is upfront and sincere in his asking. From asking for the kind of meal he wanted to asking not to be kept home but rather go out for some fresh air and asking for a beer (castle) to take each night before he slept.

Ask and you shall be given-Matthew 7:7 

You’ll also be old one day, live right

As grandpa arrived home walking on a bended back with a walking stick, his great grandson jokingly asked him why he was not walking upright anymore and he responded with: Right now, you may be in your 20’s but just remember that time will come also to be that old. Then went on to say make sure you exercise and eat right so you can even be able to walk at my age.

Be patient you’ll get there one day

As we were watching TV, there was a scene which showed a fancy house with nice cars outside. My grandfather from the blues said don’t worry, you will get to those levels one day, it’s just a matter of time. Don’t just use shortcuts like being dishonest or “juju” to get there. Just put in the work every day and in time, you will get there.

3 days is certainly not enough to contain a century worth of wisdom. We can learn so much from those who came before us not only in terms of what they say but also by their actions and being in their presence.

I am so grateful for my grand fathers visit, and I pray and hope that Jehovah God will continue to bless him and add even more years to his life.

Mr Wilson Matambo Snr (now 101 years) is a true living family legend, and his legacy shall endure for many years to come.

 

Go with the FLOW…

On Friday 21st September 2018 (exactly 3 years ago today), I had the privilege of receiving home my grandfather Mr. Wilson Matambo Snr who was at the time 95 years old.

Grandpa’s visit was so mpromptu. We had been chatting for some time about his intention to visit once
I was fully settled and married. But with no signs of me settling down anytime soon, he lost patience and called me one day to say he intends to visit me soon. We agreed that he would let me know on the day in good time. 

The following day, I receive a call from a strange number and when I pick up, a gentleman (Bus conductor) answers to tell me that my grandfather is at Power Tools bus station in Kitwe waiting for me. What? Must be a mistake, which grandfather is this? As I answered so sure it was a wrong number.

When reality dawned that it was him, the living legend himself, I didn’t know what to do. I was at work with a lot on my hands and my nephew whom I was staying with was not around.

With no alternative option, I went to pick him not knowing in which health state he was in as well as what to do once I met him; do I take him home? leave him at my aunties place? Take him to a restaurant, or work? These were some of the questions which crossed my mind in addition to how he can just show up without allowing me to properly prepare for his coming.

We met and exchanged pleasantries before assisting him to get in the car not knowing what to do or where to go to next. Seeing that it was lunch time and being a bachelor then, going home was not an option. As I was thinking of the “matebeto” kind of restaurant to take him to; as if reading my mind, he said in Kaonde: “Ami nakukeba biyachizungu”.

My old man clearly made his intentions known from the onset; he didn’t want to eat nshima or tradition food but was craving some English meaty cuisines.

With the terms of lunch clearly defined, I decided to take him to Spur at Mukuba mall, and I wondered what he was going to eat. As I was looking at the menu to help him order something he could handle like mashed potato, onion rings, etc, he was too quick and told the lovely smiling lady waiter to bring him steak with fries. I became uneasy as I worried for the struggle which would ensue once the meal is delivered to him.

In the end, I must say grandpa did an excellent job as he swept clean everything on his plate.

The following day, grandpa indicated that he wanted to go out to a nice place for some fresh air. 

“Where can we possibly go, which place would even be ideal for old folks like him?”  

In the end, we decided with my nephew and cousin to take him to Mindolo dam, but we really didn’t know how it was going to be like knowing the kind of atmosphere there.

Surprisingly, we found some amazing guys who welcomed him and by extension us to their table and were so delighted and kept calling him nkambo (kaonde for grandpa).

In that moment, Wilson Matambo Snr was an overnight celebrity!

A photographer at the scene even came through and offered to take pictures of grandpa for free as everyone took turns to take one with him in addition to group photos.

Grandpa had an inner glow as he sipped on his beer (castle) with the pleasant cool breeze from Mindolo dam blowing straight to his face. He was simply in tune with what was happening, savoring the moment without saying much but simply smiling and being present.

As I looked at him in his serene moment, I remember thinking to myself:

“I have never seen nkambo this happy before.”

Looking back at how his “unplanned” visit unfolded, I learnt one important lesson of life.

Sometimes, you experience your best moments by not preparing for them but just letting things be.

Just go with the FLOW!

LESSONS FROM A WEDDING

 I attended my young sister’s wedding
over the weekend which was very colorful and joyous
occasion. I always cherish such events because they bring family and friends
together which is so rare to have these days.

As I was already schooled from the last
wedding I attended; I was excited not only for the couple getting married but my own selfish interest-to be reminded of what I needed to do to keep my
marriage happy.

Perhaps the last speech of the day sums
up the circumstances leading up to the event. This was given from the
bride’s side of the family (my uncle) who said as he started his speech:

“As you may be aware, Kafwana and the
family have had a very difficult year. She lost her father, her 1st mother, and
her elder brother within a very short space of time (1 month). And in addition,
even I lost my wife of 36 years this year. It has indeed been a very dark year
for the family.” As he continued:

“But like they say every dark
cloud has a silver lining and today marks the silver lining in what has
been a dark year for us!”

Marriage Talk

3 bible readings were made and
interpreted by the priest as follows:

i.          Genesis
2:18-24: “… It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper
suitable for him.”

God realized that it wasn’t good for man
to be alone and created a woman. After God presented the woman to the man, the
man became poetic and said;

“…. bone of my bones, flesh of my
flesh”. The man was very happy, and this is where the couple are, they
are on cloud 9 today and this should continue (what we want to see).

ii.        
Romans 8:28-35- “If God is for us, who can be against us?…. “What
will separate us from the love of God?”

Problems, hardships, hunger, etc? This
is where they will say nothing will separate us from the love of God.

iii.       Mathew
7:24-28- “Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice
is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the
streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not
fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. But everyone who hears these
words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who
built his house on sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds
blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.”

The priest went on to explain:

Similarly with marriage, don’t be
counselled but not apply the things you have been taught. This is where all the
preparations came from, and their godparent are celebrating 25 years today. If
they can stay this long, how about you who have started now, with all the
training and information readily available now than they had in their time.

God is calling them now that they will
be stuck with each other. Its time, they loosen up their ties with nuclear family
and create a new one. Time, they distance themselves from friends to be much
closer to each other. It’s no longer about your bestie but your partner where
you share everything with each other.

Build your marriage on the rock (God’s
word) so that even if the wind, rain or storm (problems, difficulties,
disagreements, etc) come your way, nothing will separate you from the love of
God.

What God has joined together let no man
put asunder!

In ending, there was one word which
was perhaps said more than any other at church as well as at the reception by
the family speakers (Father to the groom and uncle to the bride with more than 60 years in marriage between them).

Humility. The
couples were urged to show humility to each. Beauty, money, etc can come
and go but your attitude and respect for each other is what is important!

WE MUST NOT GIVE UP! (Key Lessons from Todays Bible talk)

 

In August 1914, Ernest Shackleton led a crew of 28 men on the
Trans-Antarctic Expedition. Disaster struck when his ship, the Endurance became
trapped in ice, ultimately forcing Shackleton and his men to vacate the ship
and set up camp on the floating ice. Seeing no chances of help coming through,
he set out with a crew of 5 men and sailed 1,300km on a small boat to seek help under
extremely dangerous ocean conditions. 

Shackleton returned to rescue the
remaining crew and astonishingly not a single member of  the 28 men team died
after being stranded for nearly 2 years. It has been described as one of the
greatest rescues of all time.

Similarly, we must not give up to the vicious enemy Satan the devil.
We are living at a time when he is making an all-out effort to break us.

How can we ensure that we do not give up?

By building Endurance: Ability to withstand hardship
without giving in.

Endure everything that you go through by keeping the
right mind/heart set as you respond to the hardships.

Endurance requires courage and patience, and it bears the
hardship not only with resignation but with blazing hope.

Beyond the pain, it sees the GOAL.

 

Difference between Ordinary Endurance and Christian Endurance:

Some endure hardship for personal glory, others simply
because they don’t have much of a choice like Shackleton and his colleagues.

Christian Endurance is primarily based on FAITH. Faith on
God’s love and wonderful promises for the future-Hebrews 10:36-39

Lessons from a plant

A plant in Europe called live forever (Sedum purpureum)
endures extreme conditions but year-in, year-out it produces beautiful freshly
green leaves in summer. It grows in the most unhospitable places i.e. not enough
soil, rocky, extreme temperature, little rainfall, etc.

What helps plant endure?

i. Coarsely toothed leaves carefully designed to hold water
as long as possible   ii. Grows in clusters enabling the plants
close by to support each other iii. Pushes roots in narrow openings as deep as
it can.

What circumstances (extreme conditions) may we be
encountering? unemployment, economic hardship, persecution, loss of loved ones,
illness, job loss, 

etc.

What will help us endure?

Hebrews 10:22-25 mentions 5 things:  i. Prayer ii. Study of God’s word iii. Public
declaration iv. Good (Christian) associations v. Attending meetings.

Like live forever plant dig roots in the rock, we will do
well to dig ourselves deeply in God’s word through personal bible study.

Attending meetings will help us hold on to the water (God’s
word). Like forever plants grow in clusters lets hold on to our brothers and
sisters. Our Endurance will grow.

Hebrews 10:39: Our Endurance will help us not to “shrink back”.

Shrink back (what it doesn’t mean): Momentarily losing our
way. Like when someone scares you as you are walking along a path. You jump,
step back temporarily but continue moving in the same direction.

Shrink back (What it means): Same scenario. Someone
screams, you jump and step back. Then turn back to move in the direction you came
from. Go backwards

Satan will use every means at his disposal to destruct us
and achieve his goal.

2 ways a Christian may shrink back:

i.                
Hebrews 2:1: Scripture uses the word “drifting
away” which implies subtle change. We become so preoccupied with daily
activities and forget about worshiping God. Example is like a boat which slowly
drifts away from the shore to the point losses site of it and reaches a point
of no return.

 

ii.              
Hebrews 3:12: Scripture uses the word “drawing
away” implying when we simply ignore God’s word and act on the wrong anyway.

“So let us not give up in doing what is
fine for in due time, we will reap if we do not tire out”-Galatians 6:9

WHAT KIND OF SEASON ARE YOU GOING TO HAVE?

 

As a long-time fan of Manchester United, I was very excited to hear the news of Cristiano Ronaldo coming back “home”.

There has been a lot of hype with my colleagues about how well our team has done during the pre-season and transfer market and the signing of CR7 is the cherry on top of the cake.

“This is our season!”-as my fellow man utd fans cheerfully made these remarks across various platforms on social media, I paused and wondered what would happen if I looked forward to this season of my life with the same enthusiasm as I did for my club.

What kind of pre-season (preparations/practices) must I undertake to put myself in good position to win? What players (books, courses, training, activities, habits, etc) do I have to buy (gain) to experience this same kind of zeal?

And now that the football season has started, we have 38 games (9 months) to look forward to watching our teams in action.
Each game played is like a day in our life which we are winning (3 points), drawing (1 point) or losing (no point). The feeling that you experience at the end of each day i.e. good, not bothered or bad maybe a good indicator of how you faired in that day.

At the end of the 38 games, the team which is crowned as champion doesn’t necessarily win all the games, but it is one which remains the most consistent over the course of the season. Similarly, it is not that you won’t have bad days (loses) along the season but what matters most is your determination to rise from setbacks for that’s what championship teams are made up off.

9 months from now as you proudly celebrate your team’s championship win, you will also be in your own “league” position having either moved upwards towards your goals (champion) or downwards (relegation) relative to your current position.

It’s always your choice on which side of the table you will be (top or bottom).

What kind of season are you going to have?

3 TAKE AWAYS FROM MEETING WITH OUR CHAIRMAN/OWNER

Yesterday, I attended an online company meeting in which the Chairman of the company addressed us. After the formalities of presentations were done and dusted, the floor was opened to make comments or ask questions.
During this time, the Chairman made some off the cuff remarks as he responded to comments/questions which got my attention and made me ponder. This time I had my notebook open and scribbled down my key highlights.

The following are my top 3 statements and some possible lessons from them:

i. “….. 5-10 years from now the whole world will be driving electric cars…..”.

And here I am thinking about the big diesel propelled car which I can’t wait to buy in that time frame once my fortunes greatly improve. It didn’t bother me to factor in the general trend in that industry and how the world is more likely to change by then.
It made me ask what other things in the world maybe changing:

What careers or businesses will become obsolete?
What changes can you make starting today to put yourself in a great position for the future?

With so much technological advancements today including AI and explosion of the internet it is not a bad idea to pay attention to what’s happening just beyond the curve of your industry or career.

ii. “……the pump has evolved from being the oldest machine used even before Jesus’s time to be one of the most popular machines in the world today”.
There is no way I could have known that. I thought to myself, what does it take to read beyond what am required to know. And the 1st word which came to mind is passion. It takes great passion to go further and deeper on your craft.

For most people, if something is not part of their job description then its good luck knowing what the other tasks surrounding their roles are.
The following questions are worth considering;
In which activities do you find yourself doing more than what is required of you?

In-depth knowledge is what makes the difference between an amateur and a professional, owner and employee, a trend setter and a follower.

iii. “…….honor your commitment, stand by your word”: We spent half of the meeting with him asking for problems or challenges we faced. He was relentless in asking about the issues on the ground.
How come he is focusing so much on the problems, I introspect. In my case, challenges are to be avoided most of the time. After all dwelling on problems negatively affects your mood, hakuna matata approach sounds better to me.
Are you avoiding your most difficult challenges in your business, marriage, relationships or life in general?
How often do you sit down to get to the bottom of your problems that may be negatively affecting you?

Rather than keeping the problems we encounter at arm’s length, we can learn to face them head on and try and resolve them and seek help whenever necessary.

In summary, innovation, passion and turning obstacles into opportunities are vital to the long term success of any individual or organization.