KARAMOJA HOUSE OF PRAYER: 4 QUESTIONS CHRISTIANS CAN ANSWER! I Greet You all in JESUS Name! The Kaabong Mission was marvelous as miracles and wonders did happen, and as usual people where left nodding their heads!! Having come back, I wanna share my thoughts concerning our land Karamoja! I hope this will enable us sharpen each other, as our minds get renewed! Am no theologian, neither have I been to theological school but one thing going on within me nowadays that many don’t have is.. - I am not afraid to question what I believe, or what am being preached to, or what am being taught! - Having the privilege not to have answers to all questions, it has given me a fresh opportunity to Live By Faith! #I wokeup this morning before 5:00am with questions that may help us! - I have drawn questions from statements made by some men and women of God (I hope its not wrong to disagree!! Since it enables us to be sharpened by each other, and get to know our blind spots! I am going to disagree with much of what has been taught or preached!) - Afew weeks from now, Karamoja House of Prayer will be having a massive conference of which am sure we are all aware of! - Rightnow I am certain ministers of the word are preparing messages for this great gathering! - Having spent several hours typing this, I really pray and hope this message blesses you! #Below are 4 serious questions and 5 more I want to share on! And every Christian should be able to answer them at a time like this! Ahead of the conference! 1- Is God judging Karamoja? 2- Is famine, drought etc.. An “ACT OF GOD”? 3- Doesn’t the bible say there wud b famines.. pestilences.. in the last days? 4- What message does God have 4 Karamoja at this time? 1- What’s happening in Karamoja, whose fault is it? 2- What did we Karamojongs do to deserve this? 3- Why then didn’t God stop this injustices from happening in Karamoja? 4- Has God left Karamoja? 5- How should we believers respond? #1. IS GOD JUDGING KARAMOJA? No, no, and a thousand times no! as karamojongs we have been thru a lot, and I have heard many Christians and evangelists say or teach that God is judging Karamoja for her sins. One thing I am convinced of is that this brethren are unacquainted with THE GOSPEL/ GOODNEWS! - The sins of Karamoja, along with the sins of every other region or nation, were judged at the cross! (Isa 53:5) - He took all our sins, not some! (John 1:29) unless you wanna think Karamoja is not part of the World. - If Christ’s death was a sufficient sacrifice for our sins – and it was (see Heb 10:12) – then God cannot judge Karamoja for her sins. - It would be unjust for God to judge the same sin twice! #(What of Judgment Day? That’s when we’ll reap the eternal consequences of our choice to trust or reject Christ and his perfect sacrifice) #The logic that God is judging Karamoja for her sins is SO DAMN! - Well, by that logic God could have wiped America off the face of the map! - Because the sins of a region like Karamoja are few in comparison to the sins of a superpower! #NOTE: I’ll say now what I wanna say; THE CROSS – not droughts, famines, underdevelopment, poverty or hunger – IS GOD’S REMEDY FOR SIN. - The sins of Karamoja were forgiven or done away with long before our ancestors set foot at Nakadanya!! (See Heb 9:26). - Sin certainly has destructive consequences, as we have seen in Karamoja, but divine judgment IS NOT one of them (See Isaiah 54:9-10). Jesus is the Prince of Peace (Isaiah 9:6) #I said somewhere above that the bretheren who say God is judging Karamoja are unacquainted with the gospel! …. How do I know? …. How can I be so sure of God’s purposes for Karamoja? - Because I’ve seen Jesus! - And because Isaiah 54:9 tells us that God is not angry with Karamoja or any other region or nation. - The three chapters of Isaiah 53-55 are a prophetic picture of the New covenant (GRACE) forged in the blood of Christ. - At the heart of that New covenant (Grace) is an oath made by God Himself, a promise never again to be angry with us. - If there’s one thing we can stand on in this brittle world, it is the steadfast assurances of our Father. Read it, then take look at the next verse; “Though the mountains be shaken and the hills be removed, yet my unfailing love for you will not be shaken nor my covenant of peace be removed.” (Isa 54:10) #Just look at the language God is using in the above verse! - It’s as if He was anticipating that in times of shaking (famine, poverty, underdevelopment, hunger etc!) we would naturally think He had abandoned us. But He is saying, I have not! #IT’S TRUE, Karamoja did have a sin problem. - But God dealt with it 2000 years ago at the cross. - I repeat myself again; THE CROSS – not droughts, famines, underdevelopment, poverty or hunger – IS GOD’S REMEDY FOR SIN. - The sins of Karamoja were forgiven, done away with, and abolished long before our ancestors set foot at Nakadanya! (Heb 9:26). #If God were judging Karamoja for its sins, then heaven help us all, for it means the cross was not the one-time solution that the Bible says it was (Heb 10:12). #2. IS FAMINE, DROUGHT etc.. AN “ACT OF GOD”? - You might think so if you work for the Ministry of disaster preparedness. - In such organs or even in insurance companies, the phrase “act of God” is used in a legal sense to describe events that are outside of human control. In other words, you can’t sue anyone for drought or famine or earthquake etc. - But despite the phrase, it doesn’t follow that you can sue God. He’s no more responsible than you or I. - If you were to take Him to court claiming He was at fault, your case would be thrown out for lack of evidence. #You might say, “But God made the planet and the trees and clouds. Surely He is the first cause of all things and therefore personally responsible for the famine, drought, poverty.. etc.. in Karamoja?” - I DISAGREE. God is on the throne and nothing will ever change that. But He is not in control of everything that happens here on Planet Earth. #Think about it!!! - God is not willing that any should perish, yet people perish. - The fact that Jesus raised people from the dead tells us that some people die prematurely. - In the Old Testament when bad things happened, people like JOB blamed God (.. God takes away!). But this was not the message Jesus preached (See Jn 10:10), neither did Apostle Paul (See Rom 11:29) - Sickness is not from God. Death and destruction are not from God. We live in a world where God Himself occasionally has to rebuke storms (Luke 8:24). - Sadly, stuff happens and people die. It’s a tragedy that is not helped by playing the BLAME GAME!!! #We live after the cross, so we have no excuse for being confused about these things. - GOD IS GOOD and everything He does is good. - He never gives us bad gifts and He is not the author of evil (Deut 32:4). - If the poverty, famines, droughts, hunger were an Act of God, then you’d be sinning by helping the hurting, the hungry and the poor. But it wasn’t and you’re not. #3. DOESN’T THE BIBLE SAY THERE WUD B FAMINES.. PESTILENCES.. IN THE LAST DAYS? *In Matthew 24 Jesus prophesied that “famines.. pestilences.. earthquakes” would be associated with “the beginning of birth pains.” SIDE-NOTE; Earthquakes often followed major events in the Bible. - When Jesus died there was an earthquake (Mtt 27:54) - And when He rose there was another one (Mtt 28:2). - About half a dozen earthquakes feature in the book of Revelations. - You don’t have to be a theologian to see a connection between significant spiritual events and natural phenomena. #But whatever your belief is, these scriptures should not be used, as they often are, to scare people into making decisions to Accept Christ. #Why not? - Because fear is a poor basis for any relationship. - God is reaching out to Karamoja with love. - God is not a fear-monger. God is love (1 Jn 4:8). - If we use fear to motivate people to turn to God, we are misrepresenting His true nature. - There is a temptation to manipulate hurting people into making an emotion-charged decision for Christ. Don’t do it. - Romans 2:4 tells us that the most effective means for leading people to repentance is a revelation of His goodness. #How do we reveal that? - By preaching the good news! (2 Cor 5:19) Karamoja- “God is not counting your sins against you!” - Healing the sick and comforting the broken-hearted. Dark times provide us with an opportunity for letting Christ shine thru us. #4. WHAT MESSAGE DOES GOD HAVE 4 KARAMOJA AT THIS TIME? *There’s nothing like famines.. pestilences to get people’s attention. - Do you know that God has entrusted us with a special message for the people of Karamoja? …. It’s called His message of reconciliation. And I was led to go to (2 Cor 19-21), as the theme of K.M.F Kaabong Mission. #This is how He might say to Karamoja at a time like this; “Karamoja, I love you, I love you, I love you! “I love you so much that I sent my Son to die on the cross to do away with sin. Through Him I have reconciled you to myself. I am not counting your sins against you and I am not judging you.” (2 Cor 19-20) “You are weary but I am your rest. Take comfort in the arms of my everlasting love for you. I am your Rock, your Fortress and Deliverer. I am your eternally secure Stronghold.” (Psa 18:2) “Cities will come and cities will go, but my love for you is everlasting. The mountains and the hills will be shaken and removed, but my unfailing love for you will never be shaken. Be comforted and rejoice! The covenant of my peace that I have made with my Son on your behalf will never be removed.” (Isa 54:10) #BELIEVER, - Redeem the time. - As you minister to people, don’t condemn them with a false “gospel” of judgment. - Love on them. - Reveal the Father to them. - I know you may have grown up hearing bad news the way i did! (Sin.. sin.. divine judgement.. ) Lol! - Focusing on sin than Christ, has left many believers in Karamoja far more preoccupied with their sins than God is… I guarantee it! - Repent (Greek word is ‘Metanoia’ which means- Change your mind!). So let people hear the good news and you have some to preach. - Tell them about God’s unshakable covenant of peace. - Let them know that some of their questions have wonderful answers. *Jesus became man, hung & died on a cross to deal with sin. By obsessing over sin 24/7 most of Jesus’ followers communicate to Him that they don’t believe He did a good enough job! SOME MORE QUESTIONS!!! SOME MORE QUESTIONS!!! #1. WHAT’S HAPPENING IN KARAMOJA, WHOSE FAULT IS IT? *NOT GOD’s. - The highest heavens belong to the Lord, but the earth he has given to man. (Psa 115:16) - God gave us this planet and we are responsible for much of what happens. *Who first sinned and opened the door to death? It wasn’t God and it wasn’t Satan. - It was one of us (Rom 5:12). #Some Christians say that we are not praying much and so we have let Satan into our land. - Actually, Satan’s been messing with us a lot longer than that. - His evil influence goes all the way back to the Garden. - But Satan could not have influenced us if we had not listened to his lies like.. … If you eat of the tree of “knowledge of good and bad”/Law, YOU WILL BE like God! Yet we are already like God! Created in His image! … He also sold to us the idea that- What you do is who you are! That your identity is in what you do! “If you eat/DO..”, “You will be/IDENTITY” #So the blame game isn’t helpful, - But if you must point the finger, don’t point at our brothers, sisters, uncles, aunties, grandys or our ancestors! - Blame Adam, whose decision to reject God brought death to us all, or blame his offspring, who built a civilization on violence (Gen 6:13). #2. WHAT DID WE KARAMOJONGS DO TO DESERVE THIS? *NOTHING. #When bad things happen we tend to wonder, - What did I do to deserve this? Understand that this is the flesh talking. #It’s Job sitting in the ashes examining his navel for unconfessed sin. - I’m pretty sure I’ve been good, yet I’ve lost everything so maybe I wasn’t. But I’m sure I was. I don’t know what to think! #The flesh is a score-keeper. - When good things happen, it’s because we’ve been good. So when bad things happen, we must’ve been bad. - Some call this belief “KARMA”, but like all manmade religion it is a fruit from the tree of knowledge of good and evil/Law. - Under the old covenant/ Law.. Aaronic priesthood ministered.. “You obey you are blessed, you disobey you are cursed!” Good enough Jesus bore all the curses Karamoja deserved! (Gal 3:13). … But note that we are not under law, we are under the new covenant/ Grace.. the priesthood that ministers only blessing.. whether you obey or disobey! Jesus is our high priest, not Aaron. #Two-thousand years ago a tower collapsed killing eighteen people. This tragedy led Jesus to pose a question to the religious-minded folk of his day, “Do you think those who died were more guilty than all the others living in Jerusalem? I tell you, no!” (Luke 13:4-5). #Sometimes people die because they are in the wrong place at the wrong time! #Is there any sin Karamoja has done that Jesus didn’t atone for? Of course not! - There is no lesson needed here. - No intellectuals needed here. -No theology needed here. *Jesus said “It is finished”, but some people have the guts to call God a LIAR when they say its not finished! I choose to believe Him-Jesus, than man. His work was perfectly perfect and completely complete. And so you can not add or subtract anything to His Word! *All we can take from this, said Jesus, is that death comes to us all. So repent, and come to him for new life! *Read your bible and you will always find the words “.. ALL our sins”, you won’t find words like “Some of our sins”! ALL means ALL! Checkout what your dictionary says! #3. WHY THEN DIDN’T GOD STOP THIS INJUSTICES FROM HAPPENING IN KARAMOJA? *He couldn’t – not without violating us. - I know this will come as something of a shock, but God doesn’t always get what he wants. - He is not willing that any perish, yet people perish. - God COULD intervene but he restrains himself on account of love. #CONSIDER; - The greatest massacre in human history happened when Adam ate from the forbidden tree. - Adam’s act condemned the human race to death and God did nothing to stop it. - Was it God’s will for Adam to eat? No. Yet Adam ate. - Was it God’s will for our ancestors to do what they did? No. Yet they did. *SIDE-NOTE; -I said somewhere up that lets not play the blame game! - If there be anyone you can blame, not our ancestors but Adam! - If there be any generational curses you gotta break, then u gotta break upto Adam our great great.. grandy! LOL! #Let me continue! Free will is a powerful thing that God gave us! - With it we can choose life or death and Almighty God won’t stop us. - In giving us the freedom to choose knowing that he would have to come and die to remedy our choices, God was saying that he would rather die than live without us. #4. HAS GOD LEFT KARAMOJA? *NO. #The question, “Where is God?” Implies… - That God is not here. - That God skipped Karamoja for her idolatry and went on to develop other regions leaving karamoja under-developed! If you are a believer who is knowledgeable and has travelled places, then am pretty sure you know there are places with too much idolatry than karamoja’s but they are developed! #The thinking “We’re sinners and God doesn’t want anything to do with us.” - Such thinking usually leads to a long list of THINGS WE MUST DO to fix the problem. #What a deception! God did not leave us; we left him. - “Adam, where are you?” (Gen 3:9). - God didn’t reject Adam; Adam rejected God. - Even after Adam and Eve were evicted from the Garden God went with them – he didn’t abandon them. I know this because their kids were familiar with God’s voice. *The story of our species is one of unrequited love. - God made us for love but we spurned him. - Since then he has waited for the prodigal to come to his senses and return home. #5. HOW SHOULD WE BELIEVERS RESPOND? *With love and grace. - The injustices and tragedies in Karamoja did not happen or are not happening because God as stopped loving us or caring for us. - Neither did it happen because our religious performance is not what it could be. - It happened or is happening because certain individuals made or are making awful choices. #What should we do in response? - We should weep with those who weep and mourn with those who mourn! - We should ache and hurt and cry because the world is a place where people die from hunger and poverty. - We should pray for families going thru tough times. - We should pray that in these tough times people might somehow know the comfort of God. #And when the tough time passes, - We should get up and carry on with the one and only task Jesus has given us – that of proclaiming the good news of his kingdom. - We should provide a broken world with a prophetic picture of the age to come – the age where justice reigns and heaven and earth are one. #Darkness only persists because the light does not shine, so SHINE. #What this sick and dying world needs most is a revelation of GOD WITH US Immanuel. - God is not opposed to us. - He loves us all. - While we were sinners he died for us and he now lives for us. *What Karamoja and every region or nation needs is a revelation of God’s limitless love. *They need to see Jesus. #CHURCHBOY
Posted on: Wed, 13 Aug 2014 05:17:30 +0000
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