Thursday, October 22, 2015

FOUR REASONS I AM PROUD TO BE ZAMBIAN


The stable evangelical church
Nominal Christianity is huge in Africa, the health wealth gospel is rampant and liberal churches are still going strong. However my country is blessed with strong healthy evangelical churches led by godly faithful pastors who preach Christ crucified and the need for lost sinners to believe in him for forgiveness of sins. There are towns that in my opinion have one too many evangelical churches and there are churches for that matter that have men as members who could easily be pastoring other churches else were. If there are places where the gospel has not been preached it is not for the lack of knowledge and ability but the lack of drive and desire. I am grateful that I can go to almost every town and still hear the true gospel preached. That cannot be said about a lot of countries on the continent.
The freedom to worship and preach the gospel
The freedom to worship and the favorable response and platform Christians receive should not be taken for granted. It is God’s grace on our lives. There are countries where someone has to risk his life to simply get a gospel tract to you let alone preach to you. I am proud that people generally recognize that there is a God in their lives. I am certain there are Christians world over who pray for such a favorable platform in their countries where they can knock on people’s doors and be welcomed in.  
The friendly people
You simply have to cross over one of our boarders into another country to appreciate how friendly Zambians are. There are countries were hostility is so visible you can literally hold it in your hands! People are divided by color, tribe, economic and social status and political affiliations. If you are a foreigner, you will know you are one the moment you start dealing with immigration offices up until you return home. In our country we meet with strangers in the barbershop, stadiums, super markets, banks, hospitals, buses etc. and we strike up conversations without regard to the person’s affiliation or status. We are so intermingled that if you wanted to start a trouble war you would have to wage war against your own family. It is a beautiful site. In fact at times we are so friendly it borders on naivety.
The abundant resources
My country is beautiful! We are blessed with an embarrassment of natural resources. We have so much minerals that we have basically run the economy on copper for over 50 years. We are also blessed with plenty of water bodies that a large percentage of water in the southern Africa region is found in Zambia. Wild life is plenty in national parks and game reserves; we have a number of water falls with the majestic Victoria Falls being the crown of them all. Time and space would fail me if I were to talk about the rich cultural heritage show cased in our traditional ceremonies. And as though that is not enough we have so much land that we can spare at the moment.
I am proud to be Zambian, I love the peace and freedom we enjoy. I am glad I was born in a country where I heard the gospel from childhood and I can now go on and freely share the gospel to others. I am proud I can visit the beautiful scenes and sites all over the country and praise God for his great wonders and works. Yet with pride comes concern. Concern at the slow rate of development, concern at the lack of integrity in public offices, concern at the level of politics, concern at the lack of proper education and most importantly concern at the lack of fear of God. So as Zambia turns 51 years this week, I thank God for the beautiful country he has blessed us with and I bow the knee to pray for mother Zambia and strive to do my best to make a difference. As for now I will stand and sing of Zambia PROUD and FREE!

Tuesday, October 20, 2015

Three Things that Should be true of every Christian


 
With each passing year it seems to me that the word Christian carries all kinds of connotations and evokes different emotions from different people. The need to define terms is ever more necessary if one wants to be clearly understood. What is more concerning however is the fact that it is becoming rather difficult to clearly identify a Christian from one who is not. Worse still we seem to be confused about the evidences or marks of a true Christian.
Paul in writing to the Colossians (a group of Christians he had never met), he tells them of the report (Colossians 1:3-8) he had about their Christianity and he was left with no doubt that they were truly a saved people. And in essence the things he heard about them should be true of every Christian. So what report did Paul receive about the Colossians?
1.         Their faith in Christ
They had a clear reliance, commitment to and trust in Christ. Their salvation was as a result of them believing is the only way to God. Their growth and everyday life is one of trust and reliance on Christ and his word. Saving Faith has three elements:
A.        Rational: the mind understands the truth/good news of Jesus Christ. You can’t trust what you don’t know. Faith comes to those who have heard. Faith comes after revelation
B.        Emotional: You embrace truth about Jesus with great sorrow over your sins and rejoice over God’s rich mercy and loving grace.
C.        Volitional: You totally surrender and trust in Christ alone for your salvation. You chose to obey your new master. 
2.         Their love for others
They had a deep, sincere affection and care for the believers that resulted in warm fellowship. This is Sacrificial and unconditional love for others because they counted no sacrifice too great for the sake of others even laying your life for them (1 John 3:13-19). This love carries the idea of faithfulness, commitment and act of the will, it looks out for the best interest of the other. It is described in 1 Corinthians 13.
Inscription on a tombstone in a small English village said of one man:
“here lies a miser who lived for himself, and cared for nothing but gathering wealth, now where he is or how he fares nobody knows and nobody cares” in contrast a tombstone at st Paul’s cathedral in London reads “Sacred to the memory of General Charles George Gordon, who at all times and everywhere gave his strength to the weak, his substance to the poor, his sympathy to the suffering, his heart to God”
3.         Their hope in life
The word hope in the bible carries the idea of joyful expectancy, a sense of certainty of the glorious reward and blessed future, it is securely stored and can’t be lost. This hope comes from hearing the gospel. It is this hope that fuels our faith and keeps up pressing forward towards the goal set before us, it is the same hope that gives us courage to endure hardship and rejoice in the midst of the numerous uncertainties of life. It is this same hope that our country and the whole world desperately need more than anything else. Hence the need for the gospel of faith, hope and love to be proclaimed to every soul in this world that is striving after the wind.
So how do you know one is a Christian in this confusing world? They will have faith in Jesus Christ, love for others and an unshakeable hope in life. This can only happen if one hears and believes the blessed gospel of hope.