You have heard it often. I mean the statement “Touch not the Lord’s anointed,” which stands ready and steady to silence the biblical call for necessary discernment. Many followers will rebuff calls to examine the teaching or lifestyle of their modern ‘apostles,’ ‘prophets,’ or pastors by warning one not to touch the anointed. Such an examination, they say, would be opposition to God and a secure judgment for oneself. But who are the Lord’s anointed in the Bible? Could we have miss-anointed our leaders by misapplying the title ‘anointed one’?
… You May Touch the (Miss) AnointedOur Meaningful Sorrow
Dark clouds hang over our souls like vultures vying for flesh in this broken world. The Adamic curse brought toil and torture, darkness, and death with it. Some souls see this more, others less. But let not sickness and sadness send you to dispair. Let them bring you to the cross of Christ. There, on the cross, died the life of humanity, and there, in the dark, hung the light of the world. Christ knows your sorrow more than you can imagine, yet he redefines and repurposes it too.
… Our Meaningful SorrowDoes Proverbs 23:7 Teach Creative Imagination?
As he thinketh in his heart, so is he. That’s how the KJV renders Proverbs 23:7, a go-to-text for many prosperity preachers. Many teachers argue that our imagination creates our prosperity. They say that we can think our way into health and wealth. Then they furnish Proverbs 23:7 as proof of this ‘truth.’ Do they interpret this text rightly?
… Does Proverbs 23:7 Teach Creative Imagination?Be Merry, But Belong
Holydays tend to mask our emptiness and longing to be filled. The red wine you drank away at dusk wanes with dawn as morning sobers you up. Pork steaks satisfy no heart, and night-long banter wearies your head to bed. The long-awaited celebration time vanishes as vapor in cold winter—as though it never was. You sure are merry, but do you belong? You are lost, and who can find you?
… Be Merry, But BelongDoes 2 Cor 8:9 Promise Material Wealth?
Second Corinthians 8:9 is a text that many use to teach what is known as divine wealth. This view holds that the Lord Jesus became materially poor so that believers may become materially wealthy.
… Does 2 Cor 8:9 Promise Material Wealth?Witchcraft: Choose Faith Over Fear
In 2016, the former Ugandan Parliament House Speaker Rebecca Kadaga raised eyebrows and caused controversy for her re-election thanksgiving to the ancestors in a shrine. Before her, the then Vice President, Professor Gilbert Bukenya, had done the same. Indeed, in Africa, many politically powerful people believe in the power of witchcraft. But what is witchcraft, why does it persist in Africa, and how do we biblically respond to it?
… Witchcraft: Choose Faith Over FearPablo on Keeping Clean in a Dirty Comedy World
Comedy is what most of us appreciate—especially when it is clean. But finding clean comedy can sometimes seem like the proverbial needle in a haystack. We wonder, why do many comedians like it dirty? And how do others manage to keep humor above the belt? I posed these questions to Kenneth Kimuli, a.k.a Pablo, a famed Ugandan stand-up comedian. In this article, Pablo narrates how he manages to keep his comedy clean in a dirty comedy world.
… Pablo on Keeping Clean in a Dirty Comedy WorldThe Stench of Death and the Scent of Life
The stench of death is pervasive on Ugandan social media platforms these days. If we ever lived under the illusion of distanced death, COVID-19 slapped and sobered us from slumber, reminding us of our mortality. Death dwells nearer than we deign to discuss or admit. It knows your address—and mine.
… The Stench of Death and the Scent of LifeGod’s Glory in the Pleasurable Pains of Motherhood
Motherhood is a journey many ladies may want to walk. Motherhood is itself birthed in pains, though the sight of the baby is pleasurable. It may be that, perhaps, you are pondering the motherhood path yourself with its pleasures and pains. Or you are a mother seeking encouragement and insights from another’s experience.
… God’s Glory in the Pleasurable Pains of MotherhoodCruciformed Disciples and the Prosperity Gospel
Cruciformed disciples reject the Prosperity Gospel. By “cruciformed” I refer to a life shaped by the cross. And what I am saying is that we cannot be shaped by the cross and adhere to the Prosperity Gospel. At least that is what Mark’s Gospel teaches us. Now, if this makes you a bit uneasy, please bear with me. You will soon see why I say these things.
… Cruciformed Disciples and the Prosperity Gospel