WE ARE IN A DEFINING MOMENT

According to Matthew Henry's Commentary of the Bible King Jehoash, was the grand son of Jehu who was anointed by Elisha to be King over Israel. The kings statement; My Father, My Father the chariots of Israel and its Horsemen!! was his lamentation of the impending loss of Elisha the Prophet who was just about to die at a very critical  moment in the history of the nation of Israel (2 Kings 13:7). As someone has said, “those who consider how much good men contribute to the defence of a nation, and the keeping off of God’s judgments, will see cause to lament the removal of them.”

Elisha as a man of God was worthy more than ten thousand chariots. He held the standard, the banner of victory and safety for the nation. Israel would not be safe because they have a great army and sophisticated weaponry. Israel is safe and victorious because she depends upon God who operated through His prophet. King Jehoash understood this very well and thus came to seek counsel from the man of God.

Although in our time and age people seem to be wary of consulting, our victory and progress as a nation depends upon it, especially when we seek the counsel of godly people who are not after gain. Elisha was that kind of a man and he gave the king great assurances and also instructions on how to conquer the Syrians.

From this story we draw a very important lesson, that there are battles we lose that we were never meant to lose. Our Loss has nothing to do with God or the advice we have received. We lose because of failing to act or acting feebly, haphazardly, indecisively and inconsistently or relying on our own resources during the defining moment.

We certainly have good men in this country, men who are worthy more than ten thousand chariots, men whom God has anointed and released at such a time as this to positively influence the course of this nation. They are unselfishly willing to discard any form of bias and desire for gain in order to see the peace and prosperity of this nation achieved. Through their counsel and influence we determine the outcome of the battles we engage in long before they take place.

Elijah told the King,

“Open the east window,” he said, and he opened it. “Shoot!” Elisha said, and he shot. “The LORD'S arrow of victory, the arrow of victory over Aram!” Elisha declared. “You will completely destroy the Arameans at Aphek.” Then he said, “Take the arrows,” and the king took them. Elisha told him, “Strike the ground.” He struck it three times and stopped. The man of God was angry with him and said, “You should have struck the ground five or six times; then you would have defeated Aram and completely destroyed it. But now you will defeat it only three times.” ^{(2Ki 13:18-19)}

For total victory as a nation we have to believe the prophet and act on his counsel. Our action determines the magnitude or level of victory we achieve. It is in our action that we decide whether we want partial or complete victory.

We cannot afford to act aimlessly. The king was told to open the window facing east. Every form of engagement must be targeted. It is clarity of target that keeps people motivated. Every time we act we know that we are not punching the air. We are hitting a real target, a real enemy. We are hitting negative ethnicity, the cancer that is slowly consuming our nation. We are dealing immorality a deadly blow. The abscess of corruption we are willing to squeeze and squeeze hard no matter how much it hurts. We want to rid our society of these enemies. Every arrow that leaves the bow of every Kenyans targets poverty, disease and ignorance.

Our action is divinely inspired and strategic. We know God does not replicate yesterday’s strategy for today’s battle. We keep on changing, as our enemies devices new ways of operation. By our variety of strategies we confuse and catch the enemy.

       It's good to note that it’s not the Lords arrows that have failed to hit their target. It is us who have failed to shoot decisively, consistently, strongly and with a target in mind. It is not Gods word that has failed to come to pass. It’s us who have failed to use it. It is not God who does not hear and answer prayers, it is us who have failed to pray.

    This and next year presents a defining moment for this nation. It’ is our opportunity to respond to Gods prophetic word. The hand of the Lord is upon each Kenyan's shoulder and especially the Christian. He is sure to help us shoot His arrow of victory against every spiritual, political, economic, and social situation. God’s arrows like the laiser guided missile cannot miss their target. Shoot Kenya shoot!!!

Justice The Foundation of Peace

Amos was a simple man when God called him as a prophet to Israel. He was a shepherd and farmer born in Judah in the South but called to speak to his northern counter parts. His humility and understanding of his call is seen when Amaziah the priest questioned his credibility and motive of prophesying to Israel. He did not retreat in fear and abandon his call. He said, "
    "I was neither a prophet nor a prophet's son, but I was a shepherd, and I also took care of sycamore-fig trees. But the LORD took me from tending the flock and said to me, 'Go, prophesy to my people Israel.'
(Amos 7:14-15).
His message is to a people who are complacent in their relationship with God and  who oppress their brethren and look at their rich religious heritage and practices as an end in themselves and thus defy the principle of godliness, Gods call to a personal relationship with His people. 

When they attended church sin was present and when they visited their holy sites like Bethel and Gilgal sin was still present. God detested their solemn assemblies. His charge against them comes out very clearly and in no uncertain terms:
    
"For I know how many are your offenses and how great your sins. You oppress the righteous and take bribes and you deprive the poor of justice in the courts(Amos 5:12)."

 His requirement was equally plain:
 "Hate evil, love good; maintain justice in the courts...(Amos 5:15)"   ......." But let justice roll on like a river, righteousness like a never-failing stream! (Amos 5:24)"

As I considered this message from Amos, I realized that the foundation for peace and true prosperity in any country is justice and righteousness. Without justice we set ourselves up against God and against one another. We dream and plan for peace but it eludes us. Amos gives a very dramatic imagery. He says,
   "It will be as though a man fled from a lion only to meet a bear, as though he entered his house and rested his hand on the wall only to have a snake bite him (Amos 5:19)"

In other words we carry within us a false hope, a sense of safety and prosperity. We think we have slain the dragon of tribalism and corruption only to meet a bigger and more daring and hostile one ahead. Our lives are lived in the rut of frustration, a vicious cycle of unfulfilled dreams and underutilized potential. We stagger not because we are drunk with alcohol but because our hearts are emptied by frustration. We point fingers at our politicians, our shrinking job market, our education system and blame God for not sending the rains. We do not stop and evaluate our own actions. We do not take individual responsibility for what is happening to us and we do not want anybody to remind us of such responsibility. We become a society that lives by the motto, "everyone for himself and the sun for us all." Any thing is permissible so long as it benefits me. The welfare of others is relegated to our sub-conscious and we beat it back there every time it pops up convicting us of an irregular deal. I paraphrase the cry Paul the apostle: 

 O wretched men that we are! Who will deliver us from this rut?(Rom7:24)