Devotion

July 2008

But those who hope in the LORD
Will sit in a BMW M3,
They will feel the warmth of anthracite and black leather upholstery

They will mount up on 18 inch M double spoke, satin chrome finish light alloy wheels like eagles;

Blessed are those who mourn,
for they will see Xenon Adaptive high-beam headlights with auto-leveling and cornering lights function
Blessed are the meek,
for they will inherit 414 horsepower.

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
for they will feel the wind at 155 Mph.

If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not a BMW M3, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal.

Those cars are enchanting, raw, alluring; the BMW M3 is the exquisite point when the multiple flavors of your favourite burger combine on your tongue, the first spoon of tres leches cake, the poignant muscular union of machine and man at its finest.

Can I afford the ride? Ehh ... nope. But Milele can; imagine Milele zipping across the infamous 5, 10 and 405 freeways in Los Angeles, taking a living Jesus to a dying world in that exhilarating machine; it would be such a great testimony; people would embrace the God of miracles, the God who has seen it fit to reward His humble servants with the car of their dreams. However, I doubt Mr. Jones over at the Internal Revenue Service would be as enthused. Or as gregarious. Or forgiving.

How are Christians then to respond to wealth and the finer things in life? Are we to shun those Christians who are wealthy? What about pastors who are millionaires? Are we to eschew wealth in general? I am no theologian but I would point out that Job was wealthy. So was Abraham. Solomon was a trillionaire - maybe. Joseph of Arimathea, a member of the Sanhedrin, the man who donated his tomb to bury Jesus, had more than a little bundle of cash at his local bank. Jesus' teaching about wealth in Luke 18 alludes not to wealth as being the complication but rather, the young ruler's fixation to it. As with anything in life, moderation is the key - our earthly desires should not take precedence over our heavenly prerogatives. We are, as Abraham was, blessed to be a blessing. Consequently, personal wealth should be a tool to alleviate evil, suffering and poverty in this world. Notwithstanding, like the widow at the end of Mark 12, we do not have to be affluent to impact the world.

I Kaima Mwiti, therefore solemnly swear, that I will freely give up my beloved BMW M3 whenever and wherever it is in my possession as the Lord requires me to. On condition that there is a newer model for me to replace it with.

April, 2008.

Pasadena, California circa October 1999.

Halle Berry looked at me. She did. For at least ten minutes. I kid thee not. So I’m walking down Colorado Avenue for my date with chocolate malt shake from this “frou frou” over-priced, over-worked, over-hyped, over-massaged fast-food restaurant and a couple of hours with the latest Wilbur Smith Taita novel, when I just happen to look left. Right there and then, this elixir of beauty makes eye contact with me. At that point of course, in my youthful twenty-two years, I knew who she was – which virile good-looking young man like myself does not? – so you can imagine the perplexity coupled with irrational sanguineness that washed all over me.

To the foolish, hopelessly romantic, stalker-type idiot, this would be manna straight from heaven, but people know me as being urbane and I do know I’m cosmopolitan, so I opted not to walk up to this lovely creature and strike a conversation but to maintain the eye-contact, albeit not with the demented glazed stare but with a cocky, playful look that I’d read about somewhere – it really works wonders I hear, but I digress. So I walked past Berry, confidently knowing full well that if I would have wanted to, I would have ___________.

In reality however, that ___________ would have been impossible because the Halle Berry I saw on that balmy October afternoon was on a poster representing an obscure, irrelevant cosmetic product. But the good Lord knows that she looked good, and for a few seconds there, I would have sworn that I felt a connection with her! Some may say I was nitwitted but the fact of the matter is that we as humans imagine the impossible, see the incomprehensible, believe the illogical, and for whatever convoluted reason/s, untruths become axioms that govern our lives.

Christ calls us to use our minds even when it comes to our relationship with Him. Hebrews 11:1 gives us a definition of what faith is, the bottom line being we cannot have faith without evidence, the same way we cannot know we are loved unless someone shows us through words and action. A child may not understand a mother’s love but the child is unmistakably drawn to it. Christ demonstrated His love for us by taking on the sin of you and I by dying on the cross and living again on the third day. Consequently, His arguments for love, morality, heaven et cetera prior to and after His death and resurrection are not based on abstraction and sophistry; they are based on evidence of lives changed and fortified by the scars on His hands, feet and side.

The fundamental question we should then ask ourselves is; do we see what we believe or do we believe what we see?

Kaima.

February, 2008.

New Beginnings.

Those of you who have kept abreast of Milele's growth, transformation and/or metamorphosis, do understand the gumption it takes to embrace change. As they say, paradoxically of course, the only constant is change. And any wise person will tell you that those who don't adapt get left far behind (take Cuba for instance). Our desire as a ministry therefore is to embrace change and consequently maturity. As we begin a new year, surround us with your prayers, encouragement and love as we strive not only to represent Christ, but also to practice true religion - to look after orphans and widows in their distress. Join us.

Kaima.

August, 25, 2006.

New Ventures.

Have you ever tried to do something that you have never done before? There are many times we fear or refrain from undertaking new challenges for whatever reason. I am one person who vehemently abhors getting into something that i don't believe to be my forte. As a result when moments like those show up I tend to run rather than face the task. If you are there and have such a fear, please share and i will shed more light on what i am getting at. Have a blessed day, and if you can go out there and venture into something you have never tried go scuba diving, love on someone you don't like very much, try a new dish, try speaking in public, and see what happens.

Have an adventurous week.

ck.

July 22, 2006

Holy Discontent

We all have our pet peeves, those things that bug us about everyone else or that irritate us about life in general. Then there are those things that burn deeper within us, bigger things that we can't quite explain and we fear we can't change. These could be your holy discontents. If you aren't sure what yours are, here are a few questions that may help narrow it down.

What can't you stand?
What wrecks you most?
What makes your heart hurt?

My holy discontents are AIDS- and poverty-related injustice and mediocrity especially in Christian ministries.

The founder of World Vision International which is currently the largest Christian relief organization in the world wrote, "May my heart be moved by the things that move the heart of God."

When you find your holy discontents, feed them. Don't allow them to discourage you or give up. Paul says to Timothy in 2 Timothy 1:6 , "Fan into flame the gift of God which is in you..."

Let me know what your holy discontents are....

H.

Talking of discontents check out this story of DJ Awadi's song, Sunugaal (Our Canoe). Click Here to read the story and Click Here to watch the video and listen to the song.




June 30, 2006

Stuff...

Do you ever wonder why we go through so much stuff in this life? Sometimes it appears to me like we followers of Christ seem to have a lot of strange, weird, bad things happening in our lives.

I once heard an analogy about trials and temptations that likened them to ingredients. A few months ago, I volunteered to make coffee cake for my family-in-law and my amazing mother-in-law decided to teach me. So I'm standing there looking at the recipe thinking to myself, "How do all these ingredients end up tasting good...and who thought of it?" If you were to taste the flour by itself, it would be disgusting; same thing about the eggs or any of the other ingredients. And yet I remember the great aroma after the cake came out of the oven, and the quick devouring that followed.

In the first chapter of his New Testament book, James wrote:

"Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything."

Are you wondering why you are going through stuff? The reason lies in verse four...that we may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. I've had to remind myself that 20 times this week.

Now go and face your ingredients.

H.

Here are some comments on this devotion from some of our friends.

Wonderfully written, my friend. I like this piece very much.

It reminds me of my great uncle Kris, who was a POW (taken at the beginning of the Korean War) and was held captive for 35 months; marched from camp to camp so he could not be traced; was hardly fed or clothed; suffered more things that I could ever imagine and witnessed even more horrors than seems possible.  Yet, we recently discovered a letter written by him after he was home again and recovering from starvation, parasitic infections and heartbreak.  In this letter, dated June 1953, he wrote "Yes, God has indeed been good to me, and although I should not want to repeat the experience of these past thirty-five months for anything, yet, as I have said so often during these last months home, now that I have lived through it, I would not have missed it for a million dollars".

We all have our "stuff"... our ingredients...and instead of wasting so much energy being frustrated or complaining, I just so love this idea of using it instead to complete ourselves and to mature.  Our sufferings help us to be compassionate.  Without them, we cannot understand ourselves nor others around us. 

Lisa, Michigan.


I actually giggled a little when I read the part you wrote saying "I've had to remind myself that 20 times this week." -

The observation you have made is simple and therefore profound. I laugh at myself when I catch myself reminding, reinforcing and calming down from the unnecessary angst I put myself through. Its easy to take for granted that we are works in progress...
At the end of all these ingredients I hope I'm a yummy sponge cake with custard and strawberries...

Arin, California


This is a good thought that raises as many questions as it answers, and to me there is no better question.  I've thought often about this idea "that we may be mature and complete, not lacking anything" and I find so much in those little words. 

My first thought is that we are in fact complete.  Maybe even perfect (the Bible tells about mankind being made in the image of God and that would be a perfect image, right?). I am not sure that our awareness has yet equalled our true nature.  That IS maturity.  So often we allow expectation to shade our experiences, and in it we see more of what we are not that what we are.  And this is our immaturity. 

James hits at a tough thought:  do not dwell on your trials.  We are made to be tested.  I think its the only way we really ever learn. 

Thanks for sharing this. 

May 12, 2006

"Surprises of the day"

A few years ago, I was going through a really hard time, some of which was the result of  poor choices I'd made and some was just simply life. I lost 50 lbs, was very restless, slept only three hours a night and had a heart rate of 120 at rest. After seeing a medical doctor, I was diagnosed with Graves Disease, a hyperthyroid disease caused by excessive stress and anxiety. 1 in every 5000 American men have this disease so it is quite rare.

When people get sick, they often get very irritable and are not fun to hang around. As a result, most of my friends just disappeared and I hit rock bottom. Everything around me seemed to fail and most of all, I felt so alone.

I remember one day sitting at my desk in my bedroom looking out the window asking God to give me a sign that everything would work out. Almost every morning since I had moved into this apartment a small bird came to my balcony. The bird would just sit there looking at me and after a few minutes would fly away. On this particular day it was different. I remember hearing God say to me, "Look at this bird. I take care of this bird, I provide for all the needs of this bird...." This reminded me of the verse in Matthew 6:26, when Jesus says, "Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?"

If God cares so much about the birds, he must be nuts about us. From that morning on I started looking for what I call "surprises in my day." I believe that God wants to speak to us through so many surprises but we have to be willing to listen and to look for these surprises. I have found these surprises in talking to a complete stranger on the plane, talking to an old man in the store, finally reading those annoying forwards that we receive and most of all listening to God speak through His Word, the Bible.

Go out and look for your "surprises of the day" and write to me, info@milele.com and tell me what they are.

H.

March 14, 2006

I had the most interesting trip back to Wisconsin from San Jose, CA on Monday. It started like most of my return flights nowadays with an announcement by one of the airline officials saying that there would be an hour or so delay because of bad weather in the Midwest. I was thankful that the delay wasn't more than an hour, unlike my previous flight from Los Angeles that was delayed for three hours. After a four-hour flight, I get to Chicago and the nightmare began.

First, my flight to Madison was cancelled with no explanation and the only other available flight would be leaving about five hours from then. I decided to go on standby on three different flights to Milwaukee (about 70 miles from Madison) and hoped that one of them would work out. As I sat there waiting I enjoyed my favorite airport pasttime: people watching. If you haven't done that you need to try it out sometimes. It can be quite interesting.

I remember seeing this woman who was maybe in her sixties or seventies and you could tell that she didn't do much flying. Her flight was delayed for four hours and she was trembling and crying, not knowing what to do. On another side of the room a man was yelling at the airline official who was trying to explain something to the customer and all around me were people making phone calls to their loved ones telling them that either their flight had been
cancelled or delayed. Then I noticed something to the extreme left of the terminal: a group of about six young women holding hands and praying.

In the midst of all the chaos these young women got it. They realized that this thing was out of their control....yelling at someone or being so frightened didn't quite solve anything but giving it to God did.

Philippians 4:6-7 says, "Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."

I know this is one of those things that is easier said than done and that is why I am challenging you today and for the rest of the week to practice this on a daily basis in the midst of your crazy, chaotic life at work, school, home or on the road.

Pursuing HIM,
H.