Why a Snake of all Things?

The movie “Snakes on a Plane” is one of those movies with a big title and not much content. The movie, starring the famous Samuel L. Jackson, gained a considerable amount of attention before its release, forming large fan bases online and becoming an Internet obsession, due to the film's title and presupposition. Despite the immense Internet buzz, the film's gross revenue did not live up to expectation.

This film reminds me of the so-called serpent in Genesis 3. If you are like me then you must really hate snakes. I don’t mean pet snakes. I mean stuff like Anacondas, Cobras, Western Browns, Death Adders, Taipans, and Black Tigers. Those are some deadly venom we are talking about right there. Don’t mess around with them. Whether the snake in Genesis 3 was as poisonous as the precarious tigers mentioned above, no body knows. One thing we know from the reading is that this thing in Genesis 3 was canny, smart, and outright dangerous. But this snake had something strange about it; something most snakes I know do not have. The thing in Genesis 3 actually speaks. Surprise!! Who can explain that?

Even God Gets Tired, Doesn't He?

So here is the real deal. In Genesis 2, God is tired. Hilarious, isn’t it? No. Not in a hurry my friend.

I am 5.8” and for a man, that is really short. And considering the fact that my father (God bless his cotton socks) was 6.2”, it makes me look like a disappointment standing beside him. And no man wants to be this short except me. I travel a lot so it helps to be portable. Sometimes I can just fold my legs on an airport chair, close my eyes, and go to the other side of slumber land. It pays great dividends to be short. Especially in a bad economy like this, short people can really save money on a lot of things. But this is irrelevant to our story. May be not. Yes, now I remember. I was talking about God getting tired. If you think I am lying, read Genesis 2:2. God rested from his six days of work. I know some people want to nickel and dime on this one saying that the fact that God rested does not mean he was tired. Okay if God was not tired, then the writer of Genesis, whom we don’t know yet, has a great deficit for vocabulary. I know that some people rest when they are not tired. But all rest has at least some form of tiredness built into it. If not the present tiredness, then it’s the anticipation of it.

If you are a Bible-reading atheist, you know that the last thing God created before he took a long nap was Adam and Eve. Yes Adam and Eve. And you wonder why it is so tiresome working with people? Ask God. He’s been-there-done-that-got-the-t-shirt. It must have been exhausting working on creating man. Or may be emotional I should say. Some times emotions make us more tired than work itself. So here is a guy who has spent the whole day recreating himself. You doubt that? Read Genesis 1:27. God created man in his own image. Other translations say that God created man in his own likeness. Ever wonder what part of us is actually God’s image? I do and I have never been able to answer that one. May be you can help.

Reading on from Genesis 2 we find something really interesting. Something that helps me put evolution to test and creationism to work. “God formed man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living thing”. Now if that doesn’t blow your mind I don’t know what does. And here is the issue I have with evolution: I want to believe that the fresh breathe of God is still alive and well in me. Oh I love that! The complexity of my brain, the intricacy of my emotions, the obscurity of my thoughts, are not only the work of art but also the power of higher being. Someone higher than life has given me a portion of himself. I am not only mortal with dusted skin (you don’t doubt my skin is dusted, do you?) but also a marvelous being with part of the divine coming in and out of me constantly. If you hold your nose and mouth and try to stop yourself from breathing you will understand what I mean. LIFE. God breathed his life into me and from that day on I became, not only alive, but also divinely alive. Now give me a creationist who can explain that and I will show you a man who does not value his own breath.

So did God really get tired after creating man? I don’t know. One thing I know is that the man deserved a rest especially after creating something as marvelous as me. Pinch my skin for me please!!!!!!!!

Did God Really Write the Bible?

Did God really write the Bible? Oh wait a second. I think several people did. Inspired by God himself. Can we call them ghostwriters then? Only difference is that they do give us their names. Except Genesis of course. No one really knows who wrote this book. Moses? Ah I hear he actually wrote the first five books of the Bible. Surprised? You should be. He actually wrote about his death in Deuteronomy 34, one of the books he supposedly wrote. Imagine the man writing about himself saying “So Moses the servant of the LORD died there in the land of Moab, according to the word of the LORD (Deut. 34:5)” When was the last time someone died and wrote about the process? Strange, isn’t it? I am not planning to write about myself after I am dead. Are you?

I am not a Bible skeptic. Neither am I a Bible stomping Christian. I am a believer. Full stop. And I love the Book. And by the book I mean the Bible with a capital B. And unlike new believers, which I am always, I love to start with Genesis, not John. In Genesis things are held together. In Genesis we are able to see how God creates the world, how sin comes into the world, and how God loves mankind in spite of his sin. The God of Genesis is a cloth of many colors. He loves, he rewards, he punishes, and he hates. What a split personality kind of God! Sounds like this God actually has emotions. Is he human? Hope not, because I really don’t want to passionately devote myself to a human being. Divine is my thing for worship.

Okay I really believe God is divine. Emotional but divine. What makes him divine can be debated but Genesis tells me why. Unless you believe in evolution, in which case you shouldn’t be reading this, you know that this emotional, split personality, and sissy-kind of guy actually has some action. And that’s why you and me should tiptoe as we speak about him. I mean think about this: This guy speaks a word and things come into existence. Can you imagine? Ever wonder why God created us in his image but never gave us this kind of power? Well you know why. How many people would be dead by now if you had this kind of power? I don’t even want to count. But this God actually has power over, not only words, but also everything that has ever lived and will ever live. Listen to this verse: “Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep… and God said, “Let there be Light” and there was light.” Wow! God said to the darkness, “Darkness, I have four words for you. Let there be light!” Now that’s the kind of God I want to follow. Powerful yet kind. Strong yet loving. The entire first chapter of Genesis is about this powerful, divine and Supreme Being speaking everything into existence. Have you ever stopped to imagine what that means? You mean there is a supreme being out there who actually speaks things into existence? You bet. You might be surprised to know that he still does speak things into existence. And some he speaks out of existence. I know you are wondering, “If God can speak things into and out of existence why doesn’t he speak to HIV/AIDS to disappear from the face of the earth?” Well, I don’t know but I for sure want some freedoms of my own too, and I am glad God has left me with some decisions to make and consequences to bear. I guess that’s what makes me a human being created in God’s image. Don’t you think so?

Rwanda 15

Commemorating 15 Years Since the Rwandan Genocide


April 6, 2009 marked the beginning of 100 days of mourning for the people of Rwanda. Beginning on this date, 15 years ago, nearly 1 million lives were taken in the Rwandan Genocide. On each one of these 100 days, from April through July, approximately 10,000 people were brutally murdered and many more were injured, maimed, raped or traumatized by the events that occurred.

This anniversary is a time of mourning and sorrow for past pain and suffering, but it is also a celebration of how far Rwanda has come in the last 15 years. It is an important time to acknowledge this milestone, and to recognize the importance of healing and reconciliation for this country. We must look at our own lives and ask ourselves; how are we contributing to the healing of Rwanda and her people?

One of Africa Mission Alliance’s staff members in Rwanda, William Ngabo asked himself this same question, and had it all put in perspective as he underwent surgery immediately prior to this anniversary. William says:

“In going through my surgery, I was reminded of 15 years ago in Rwanda, when thousands of individuals were not as fortunate as I was. My relatively painless operation contrasts so sharply to the pain and suffering that was endured during the 1994 genocide, where many had their arms, hands, and legs brutally chopped off by machete wielding militia. As I recovered during this time period, I was challenged to think about what my contribution has been to the healing of Rwanda. I am happy to be associated with Africa Mission Alliance, which continues to reach out to the people who were directly or indirectly affected by the genocide. Many of these people that they are reaching are children born during or after the killings, and widows, some of whom were raped and given HIV/AIDS as a result. Many of them still have psychological as well as physical wounds in their hearts and on their bodies.”

While Rwanda is commemorating this anniversary by raising money to help women and children who were affected by the genocide, Africa Mission Alliance is happy to be continuing the work that they have been doing in Rwanda for years. This includes promoting healing, unity and restoration among the people.

One of the ways that AMA is accomplishing this is through small business programs, such as goat rearing. Women from different tribes are being brought together, running the same type of business, and learning from one another. Although they didn’t want to meet together at first, now they are sharing about business, life, and becoming each others support. For just $50.00 you can contribute to this program by buying a goat to help a woman start her own business today.

Visit www.africamissionalliance.org for more information.

Scared of your own failures?

Too much editing? You are not alone. Every time I start writing a blog I get cold feet and so worried what the readers will think about it. In the process I lose my trend of thought and my motivation for sharing. I realize that this is not good if anyone is ever going to learn anything from anyone. I don't even want to mention the fear to spel wrods rwong. This fear to make mistakes keeps a lot of people away from their own success. We end up being our own slave masters. Biggest lesson? Every time you want to write just go ahead and write. Someone somewhere is waiting. Your words may mean a world to them. And don't worry about spelingis or grammmmmmmar.

Asante Children's Choir

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Originally uploaded by Africa Mission Alliance