Tag Archives: Work

Are You A Joseph🤵🙋😇🙏?

July 27, 2018Hope and FaithAbraham, Angels, David, Elohim, Faith, God, History, Holy Spirit, Hope, Hope for You and Me, Jesus, Joseph, Life, Men, My Testimony, Prayer, Purpose, WorkEunice Machocho

Are You A Joseph?

Image by Walter Chavez via Unsplash

Hey there!

I trust that our God who never sleeps nor slumbers has been watching over you. Am glad you have taken the time to not only read but also hear from Him. May He truly meet you at your point of need! Amen

So am still stuck in the first few chapters of Matthew and today’s post is really on Joseph’s first actions. Am truly intrigued by the role he played in Mary’s life and by extension in Jesus’ life thereof. At first, my curiosity was where he disappeared to as I moved on in reading but my eyes opened to the great value he brought instead. So am back to chapter one, specifically verse 18 to 25.Did you know he was only mentioned in Matthew and Luke seven times each while twice in the book of John? Did you also know that an angel of the Lord appeared to him, and not just any angel, one of the three in the Bible mentioned by name. The three angels mentioned by name are:

(1) Michael, the Archangel in Jude 1:9

9 But even the archangel Michael, when he was disputing with the devil about the body of Moses,did not himself dare to condemn him for slander but said, “The Lord rebuke you!”

(2) Abaddon in Revelation 9:11

¹¹And they had a king over them, which is the angel of the bottomless pit, whose name in the Hebrew tongue is Abaddon, but in the Greek tongue hath his name Apollyon.

(3) Gabriel in Luke 1:19

¹⁹The angel said to him, “I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God, and I have been sent to speak to you and to tell you this good news.

He was actually recorded as the first man to see an angel in the first book of the New Testament. Of course the Old Testament had several others such as Abraham, Hagar,Lot,Joshua, Gideon, Balaam, Zechariah, Manoah and his wife who were parents to Samson.

Given that I do not believe in coincidence or luck I write with absolute awe of God’s perfect ways in Mary’s life. Imagine if Mary would have been betrothed to another man, would that man have taken the path that Joseph did? Or what if Joseph chose not to marry her even after an angel spoke to him? Why was Joseph chosen to assist Mary in fulfilling her purpose in giving birth and raising the Son of God? Well my personal response would be in Matthew 1:19..Because Joseph her husband was a righteous man and… I want to truly believe that Joseph’s way of living prepared him for the journey ahead of him. It allowed his heart and spirit to be in a position ready to discern what and when God is directing him in a certain path. I do not feel that the appearance of an angel changed who he was but rather confirmed the fear of God in him. His mind may have conceived to divorce Mary quietly but his heart and spirit made a complete turn around upon receipt of the direction he ought to take. And that was to marry Mary….ululation please🙌🙌😊😆😃🤗!! This was not only courageous but obedient too. The Bible states that when he woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and he took Mary home as his wife...verse 24.

Verse 20 of Matthew chapter one states that the angel called Joseph(Mary’s husband) the son of David while his father was actually called Jacob. I guess the culture of calling children after their forefathers was existent from long ago😉. I find the angel to be very intentional with his choice of words. What is the first thing that comes to mind when you hear or read of King David? Well for me, it is the fact that he was a man after God’s own heart. So out of all the names of Joseph’s ancestors that he was a “son of”, the angel chose to pick out David. I want to believe there was something inside of Joseph that was also in David that was significant enough to call for such relation and distinction in who he really was….as God saw him. A righteous man. A man faithful to the law!!

Joseph can be any of us in the present time. Righteous. Faithful. Obedient. Courageous. It must have made the angel’s work much easier to deliver that kind of overwhelming message to a person whose heart was ready to obey despite previous considerations. Joseph’s response to the message from the angel must have put a smile on our Heavenly Father 😊😇!!

This post today is a calling to you and me to possess more of Joseph’s attributes. Those that will position you to be ready to not only hear but act as God instructs. Despite our past failures, it is still possible to get back up again and continue running the race once more. This is a calling to desire more of what the Spirit says rather than our own understanding. This sometimes can be difficult given what the physical circumstances are presenting but Joseph’s actions and the results thereof are a proof that God’s wisdom is no match for any mortal. His plans are perfect. So won’t you be encouraged that there is hope and great fulfillment in obeying God?He is calling us with a desire to plant us in various parts of this world to display his splendour. May we be counted faithful!!

God bless and see you next week Friday 🙏🙌🙋🤗😇!!

#Joseph #David #Jesus #God

#Hopeforyouandme

Why Was Cyrus, The King Of Persia (Iran) Important In The Bible🙄 🤔🕵😇?

July 6, 2018Hope and FaithA way out, Blessing, Cyrus, Faith, Freedom, God, Grace, History, Holy Spirit, Hope, Hope for You and Me, Jesus, Life, My Testimony, Persia(Iran), Prayer, Purpose, WorkEunice Machocho

Ever read names in the Bible but never paid much attention to who they really were and the implications thereof? Ever read the below verse before?

1“This is what the Lord says to his anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I take hold of,to subdue nations before him, and to strip kings of their armor,
to open doors before him, so that gates will not be shut: 2 I will go before you and will level the mountains. I will break down gates of bronze and cut through bars of iron. 3 I will give you hidden treasures, riches stored in secret places, so that you may know that I am the Lord, the God of Israel, who summons you by name. 4 For the sake of Jacob my servant, of Israel my chosen, I summon you by name and bestow on you a title of honor, though you do not acknowledge me. 5 I am the Lord, and there is no other; apart from me there is no God. I will strengthen you, though you have not acknowledged me,6 so that from the rising of the sun to the place of its setting people may know there is none besides me. I am the Lord, and there is no other. 7 I form the light and create darkness, I bring prosperity and create disaster; I, the Lord, do all these things...Isaiah 45:1-7

Yes, Cyrus, King of Persia (today known as Iran) or commonly known as Cyrus, the Great was the one being referred to in the paragraph above. His name struck me as I read through the last two paragraphs of the last chapter of 2nd Chronicles. The first mention of this prophecy is actually in Isaiah 44:28. I must confess my ears have not heard of preachings about this king neither paid attention to his name in the Bible before. Or perhaps I just never paid much attention🤔😨😱😉!!

In the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, in order to fulfill the word of the Lord spoken by Jeremiah, the Lord moved the heart of Cyrus king of Persia to make a proclamation throughout his realm and also to put it in writing: “This is what Cyrus king of Persia says: “‘The Lord, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth and he has appointed me to build a temple for him at Jerusalem in Judah. Any of his people among you may go up, and may the Lord their God be with them.’” 2Chronicles 36:22-23

Am not sure if by reading the two portions of the verses above, you see what I see or feel what I feel right now. The prophecy detail continues in Ezra 1:1-11.Weren’t there Israelite kings available to build the Lord’s temple, keeping in mind he was a “heathen”? Isaiah 45:4-5 clearly states twice that Cyrus did not acknowledge God. Did God have to put in the effort to send a prophecy about this man many years before his birth? What was so special about him? The two books of Chronicles have detailed out various kings with different histories as I pointed out in a previous post. So to have this king as the last one mentioned in the very last chapter must be of some significance, I believe.

The internet has various accounts of this king plus the prophecy interpretations but I choose to speak out on what I think based only on the Bible verses. Am not a theologian or anything, just a curious being and lately, having an inclination to history. Some accounts refer to him as the “messiah”.Well, the verses clearly call Cyrus the “anointed” and the only non-Jewish to be called so in the Bible, I must say. For God to call you by that name only means that definitely you are as He is the source. Messiah can be translated as a deliverer or saviour. But specifically in the Bible, Cyrus was to be the “messiah” of the Jewish people. Please note this was the era when the Israelites came out of captivity in Babylon under the rule of Nebuchadnezzar. So the remnant that were taken to exile stayed in captivity for 70 years as per God’s word through Jeremiah.

What stands out for me is God’s Omnipresent and Omnipowerful attributes. It did not matter how many years it took, but He ensured that His word does not go back to Him in vain. For the fact that He speaks, He then fulfills. So it was not about how special Cyrus was but it was how favoured the people he was helping were, the Israelites, the descendants of Abraham and Jacob. God had covenants with these two that needed fulfilling which truly did and presently is still being fulfilled.

I was more touched by this story to see that all the events happened to fulfill this prophecy was because of one thing and one thing only. El Shaddai moved each person. For the sake of fulfilling His word and promises, the Great I AM moved the heart of a man who did not even worship Him. God also moved some of the Israelites to believe Cyrus proclamation that Yahweh had sent him and they obeyed the instructions to build the temple of Jerusalem. At this point there is need to acknowledge that Jesus, the Messiah of not only the Jewish but the whole world had to leave his heavenly glory to come to earth to accomplish the ultimate saving plan. Can this mean you cannot save yourself that someone else with a special anointing is the one who can help you out of a pit? Or even when the times you do have the strength and will, where will it come from if not from the Creator and Giver of all things? I mean how can you deliver yourself if you are the same person with the problem? Am reminded of directors in companies who believe consultants’ reports and recommendations other than their own managers in solving of crisis. What about local companies that hire expatriates to move them to the next level of growth or from a poor performance? Can we say that the verse “…no prophet is honored in his own hometown” applies here then?

After all is said and done, am left with hope for me. For my life and future even after this world comes to an end. That Jehovah never sleeps nor slumbers. We may have a strong enemy but God is way way greater. He creates and was never created. He is both merciful and faithful no matter how low I fail in life. He is the Alpha and Omega. My prayer then becomes that He moves in me. I pray that my heart is moved so strongly to empower me fulfill the purpose of my life. Undoubtedly my own flesh cannot get me to my destination. Am in need of more filling of the Helper to guide me through this journey. All am saying is that I need the move of God in my life. He is my deliverer and my portion. He is my salvation. What of you?

God bless and see you next week Friday 😊🙃🤗😇!!

#CyrustheGreat #UnchangeableGod #Hopeforyouandme

When The Power Of Your Mind Plays Its Part!!

June 15, 2018Hope and FaithAfrican, BigFourAgenda, Breaking2, Faith, God, Hope, Hope for You and Me, Jesus, Kenya, Life, Manhood, Marathon, Men, NationalGeographic, Nike, Prayer, Principle of trying again, Purpose, Resolution, WorkEunice Machocho

Around two weeks ago, I stumbled upon a 2017 documentary by Nike and National Geographic whose aim was to showcase an attempt to break the Marathon’s two-hour barrier. This project was actually began by Nike in 2014, named Breaking 2 and it involved Eliud Kipchoge, Zersenay Tadese and Lelisa Desisa after screening of various athletes. The 26.2 miles race took place at the Monza Formula 1 racetrack, near Milan, Italy which was notably not open to the public.

It was truly interesting to see the preparations of around two years that involved scientists who worked intensely on the various dynamics to get the three athletes to run below two hours. So there was the aspect of nutrition, weather, recovery and genetics. There was also an attempt before the main race that helped all involved parties to improve further on the details of the preparations.

Image by Nike

Just to make it clear, the aim of this post is not to promote any product. However, much appreciation is definitely from the insides of me for the much effort, time and finances put into the thought, preparation and actual deliberate attempt to overcome the barrier. I, for one, was not even aware of the great fear that people had concerning this subject matter. That it is extremely impossible to achieve🤔😱😩🙆🙉!!

Before watching this video, I had been in a season of my life that needed much confession and visualization of my heart’s desires to become a better person. To be more precise, I would literally take a few minutes every now and then or when my mind reminded me of this commitment (Oops😇!!) to just think through the day’s events which led to thinking of my life. This visualization topic was truly nailed in my brain when I listened to a certain preacher on TV who I also stumbled upon….cannot remember her name to be honest but the message stuck with me. I must point out that the little research on this topic on the internet led me to a lot of promotion of material prosperity gospel which is not really my aim 🤐😬🤗!!

My focus of late has been to tame my thoughts from overrunning, so, that has often forced me to literally lock myself in my room and stay silent after the end of an eventful day. The process of filtering my emotions and finding the root cause has been a deliberate process of loving me. This also allows me to be true to myself to firstly improve the relationship with the inner me through better understanding and evaluation.

Now back to Breaking 2, my highlight of the documentary was Eliud Kipchoge. Not because he won the race with a 2:00:25 eecord and neither is it because he is Kenyan and a great legend in world athletics. But simply because of the state of mind he portrayed throughout. The confessions of his mouth were truly inspiring to me. They were not filled with pride of his own abilities or experiences but more of humility. Even the scientists working alongside him could note the same trait. He oozed out confidence in how he handled himself!! You cannot truly understand what am saying until you watch this video.

To be honest, just thinking about it, reminds me of Jesus….you know the movies of him walking with a gentle spirit teaching, feeding, and encouraging all those around him. But despite that lowly appearance, within him lied great power💪💪😇😊!! And he did great miracles and wonders with the same personality. Oh how far am I from this perfection but I choose to be inspired and encouraged to press on this journey!!

Hope you get motivated and encouraged as I was when you read and watch the video. God bless and see you next week Friday😊😇😉!!

#Breaking2 #Hopeforyouandme #Lawofvisualization

Five Ways To The Success Of Your Resolutions 😇😊!!

June 8, 2018Hope and FaithBigFourAgenda, Faith, God, Grace, Happy New Year, Hope, Hope for You and Me, Life, Prayer, Purpose, Resolutions, Strengths, SWOT, WorkEunice Machocho

Once upon a time, there was a man who had a project to accomplish within seven days. He had clear strategy and vision in him. So he decided to clearly articulate the details to all those under him before the start of the actual implementation. The next morning, this man rose early and the work began.

There were daily and specific tasks for all his people to do. They respected and trusted their leader to follow all his instructions to the latter. This was contributed to the fact that they benefited a lot from previous successful projects led by him. And so they had faith in him and no one disputed the tasks assigned to them. And on this specific project, they had much success on the seventh day. They managed to win against their competitors who seemed really capable of defeating them at the job.

After a victory celebration, the man reviewed their success and remembered during step 2 in setting of resolutions, they received much assistance from a connection they encountered. He made sure that his appreciation was delivered. The end of this story leads to the beginning of the continuation of last week’s post, hoping you had time to honestly and critically evaluate yourself together with your goals.

Image via Unsplash

What do you need to ensure that you accomplish the right goals? Well, in my opinion, the following ways can assist.

Ensure You Have Fulfilled Steps 1 to 3. I mean, there is no way you can achieve any goals if you do not have any to achieve in the first place. Let them be resolutions. Feel free to read the previous post again. Have some vision of where you want to be and come up with ways you think can lead you to your destination. Get some research done about your objective if you do not have all the information. While you do all this, trust yourself to do the things you set out to do. Believe in yourself. I should nail this to my head every day 😉!!
Do Not Allow Pride To Stand In Your Way. Since you are not a jack of all trades, do not be afraid to seek help in the actual implementation. I would suggest pray for guidance for people who can be part of your goals. My prayer for a long time has been to ask God to connect me to people that I need to be connected to for the purpose of my life.
Communicate Well. This is not only for you to have it clearly in your head but also to those who are walking with you in your journey. Be willing to share and speak about your vision. Speaking with clarity brings out the confidence others will have of you. It helps raise trust and faith in them, meaning, they will eventually reciprocate by working hard on their part. When all is said and done, one thing am sure of is success that comes from God’s wisdom and guidance in all these steps.
Give It Time. Well this one is also for me. Patience is not my cup of tea and this is a daily struggle of working to improvement. This is a personal area that I pray for grace to be sufficient but also acknowledge that I need to follow deliberate measures to become better. So with regards to resolutions, I plead with you to be patient and allow for process (quoting a friend of mine who sings this to me) to bring out the desired fruits. The story above is of a man who not only had vision and strategy but knew very well, he could not finish the project within one or two days but seven days. For others, this can be weeks or months or even years. Ever heard of the 10,000 hour or 10 years rule. This is from Outliers:The Story Of Success by Malcolm Gladwell. The author noted that almost all musical masterpieces were written after 10 years of the composer’s career. Out of 500 pieces that he studied, there were only three exceptions, which were written in years eight and nine.
Celebrate. After reaching your destination, do not forget to celebrate yourself and all those that held your hand along the way. This is following the example of our creator who rested on the seventh day after fulfilling His own project. You can also celebrate your failures as lessons on future goals. I need to remember this also 😊😉!!

So, I had promised to reveal the book in today’s post as the source of the ways to set and achieve resolutions. And yes I will do. So here it is:The story at the beginning of this post including all the information I have shared since last week Friday is from the Book of Joshua 😇! Today’s post is specifically from Joshua chapter one, verse one to twenty seven. I picked out sections of chapter one to six for last week’s post. How this came about is when I watched a movie about Joshua’s story on television (Hope TV which is affiliated to my church) on a children’s christian movie, Super Book. Over time, I have come to acknowledge and appreciate that God’s word has all the answers to all life’s questions!!

Am glad I wrote this as everything I have written speaks to me and I very much identify with it all. Thank you so much for making time to read and please free to comment or reach out to in any of my social media handles below. God bless and see you next week 😇!!

#Resolution #June #HappyNewYear #Hopeforyouandme

I Will Not Work Anymore…🙅😉!!!

May 4, 2018Hope and FaithDisappointment, Faith, God, Holy Spirit, Hope, Hope for You and Me, Jesus, Life, Mercy, Parable of the Prodigal Son, Purpose, Sin, WorkEunice Machocho

What would you say to living and never having to work? To be in that position where you own everything you desire but never having to sweat for it. Can you picture that? Would you want such a life?

Started with lots of questions to help me know where you lie with reference to this topic? Feel free to start the read again and honestly examine yourself on the basis of the questions I posed….the key word here is honestly!!😊. I mean it is just you thinking and answering so you could as well be honest with yourself 😇.

Okay, now that we are done with that, how about a life of extreme labour? I mean you work day and night, in cold and hot weather, everywhere and every time. Just to console you, you do get everything you desire as above, the only difference is that you have to work really hard….extremely hard. Who would want this???I, for one already have a bias for the first paragraph set of questions.

Do you remember the parable of the prodigal son? His elder brother got so angry because of the party held for his sibling, his lost and found brother who squandered off all his inheritance. He just couldn’t understand how he could be the one working so hard and someone else just comes and receives so much appreciation….which was never done for him.

The focus of this post is more on the older son. In his own words, he expressed that he was slaving for his father. His attitude and mentality towards all the work he did was similar to that of a slave. Despite being a legitimate son of his father, his identity was really misplaced. A slave as we all know has no right of ownership to his master’s property. The job description would be one and one only…obey all the instructions. And this is what the older son confesses to doing fully.

What would make the eldest son of a rich man feel like a slave? It is obvious he did not know his rightful position in the family tree. Even after the youngest son left with his inheritance, he still continued working with the mentality that he was a slave to his father.

Many a times I have felt the emotions of the older son. I focused on deeds to gain my Heavenly Father’s approval. A path similar to that of a perfectionist in an aim to obey all the ‘orders’. This led to a personal struggle with self condemnation and guilt every time I fall short yet there is really no one perfect…NO ONE!!

I focused on a path that would only lead to disappointment. Disappointment in no one else but myself. Why would I do that? Why would I beat myself up yet there is nothing that can ever separate me from the love of my Creator.

What if this parable was about the eldest son squandering his inheritance and the youngest son worked really hard? Then this parable wouldn’t pass the message it was meant to. It was deliberately set that the youngest son misuses all the wealth given to him while his brother remains home with his father.

The eldest son in most societies stands as the likely successor of his father’s title and heir to the family’s wealth, property and riches. By never leaving his father, the eldest son represents the believers who are already called to be heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ.

Image by Liv Bruce via Unsplash

Both the older son and I had one problem. We did not know who we really are to our fathers. How are we to know our rightful place? Well we just needed to have a small chat with our father. From the parable, to me it feels like the older son never had such a discussion with the father. His father seemed to feel it was really automatic/obvious that his eldest son knew of his position in the family.

Do you think that would have made a difference if this conversation happened much earlier? Maybe! I will not talk on behalf of the older son or anyone else because in my personal experience, I have had to have this chat severally. Yes, I have heard it before but somehow life together with the devil have fervently tried to shake this foundation. And it is in such moments that God sends people my way to remind me of what His word says.

God’s word through the Bible is the only sure way of anyone knowing who we really are. It is that conversation between a child and his father. So who are we as believers?

Absolute great reminder to myself in this journey. God bless and see you next week Friday 😊😇🙂

#Iwillnotwork

#LabourDay

#Hopeforyouandme