THE VOICE

About five years ago, I got to learn of a reality TV singing competition called THE VOICE. Having watched the Show, I got to understand why they called it THE VOICE and not A VOICE, or VOICES. Looking at the English grammar, when you use "The" , it means a specific thing. A particular thing.. So, in this show, the judges don't just look for a good singing voice, but a voice that is distinct. Unique in its own way. Meaning, there are voices, but there is one kind of voice they are looking for.

So, having taken the long route to introduce my topic for today, let's now talk about The voice of God. Have you ever been in a situation where you needed God to speak? A state of frustration, confusion, but most of all, desperation? Desperate to hear what God says about a particular thing? Well, I have. And I can boldly say, it's not a good place to be at. I call it the make or break place.. Because depending on the voice you hear, you will end up making a very crucial decision that will change your life forever.

Walking this Christian journey, requires that you learn how to hear the voice of God.. Because this is what will guide you in all that you do..

"When the Voice of God Is Not Heard, Men Go Where God Did Not Send Them"
David Wilkerson, 1988

I have been in that place of wanting to hear God's voice.. Not once, not twice, not thrice. A couple of times. And every time I  have been in that situation, I have learned something new. It is very easy to confuse the voice of God with other voices.
The bible says in

John 10:27-28 KJV
My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: [28] And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.

This verse clearly shows us that, for one to hear God's voice, they must belong to Him.  Not looking for God when they have trouble and trying to hear His voice. But rather, a consistent walk with Him and belong to Him, that after a while, you now can clearly tell His voice when you hear it. I am sure there are people people in your life that you know their voices and you would not confuse it with someone else's voice. Why? You have been with them for while. You know them. Question is, Do we really know God?

But let's be real for a moment. How many times have we asked God to speak to us, and then when He does, we are not sure whether it was Him that spoke or we heard other voices? And this brings us back to our point up here. The only way to know if it's God's voice or not, is when we spend time with Him and get to know Him more as the days go by. Our friends, are voices. Our family is a voice. Our spiritual leaders are voices. The society is a voice...Our flesh is a voice, especially when we are under pressure or we want something badly.

Many times, we have listened to these voices and thought it was the voice of God. Maybe because majority said, that was the best thing to do. Sometimes, we believe it's the voice because, everyone is doing it and so on and so forth.
It is only after a while, that we get to realize we followed the wrong voice. When things have turned upside down.. When our world had come crumbling down right before our eyes. And by this time, it is usually too late to make any changes and we end up living with the consequences of our choices.

No one is going to live this life for you. No one else walks in your shoes to know where it hurts the most. Be real with yourself and above all, be real with God.

Forget about what people think is good for you. Somehow, people have become experts of knowing what others need more than what they need. Oh, this is the kind of Job you need to do. Oh, a person like you should be in a church like this one. Oh, a woman like you deserves such a man. Oh, this is the kind of school your children ought to go to, etcetera etcetera. But, what is God saying? Because if you're gonna listen to God's voice, you will need to shut your ears to other voices.  I have come to realize most times we already know what direction to take, and asking to hear His voice is merely asking Him to confirm it. Because most times  He will have given us signs. But human beings!! I don't know what we want sometimes!!! God will give us more than one sign, but no. It's like we want Him to come down and literally drag us to the direction He is pointing us at.

In conclusion, this is what I will say. When you asked God to speak to you, you were alone.. Why then do you want to hear an answer from everyone else? Stop asking people what they think about this situation. Ask God.

How do we get to hear His voice?

1. Seek God
Jeremiah 29:12-13 KJV
Then shall ye call upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken unto you. [13] And ye shall seek me, and find me , when ye shall search for me with all your heart.

2. Study the Bible
2 Timothy 3:16 KJV
All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:

Of course there are more ways of learning how to hear God's voice. But maybe I will get to share them another time..

I really do hope this writing was of help

Remain blessed and kindly drop something in the comments box

Love,
Luxo

THE MASK

We laugh, we cry
We make jokes and make people smile
We appear to be fine
But the real truth is on the inside

Sanguine? Choleric? No. She's definitely a melancholy. Or maybe phlegmatic...
Well, there are two sides to the coin. The side you see, and the one you can't see till you flip the coin

Our words are the exact opposite of what we crave for
Obviously, silently crave for
We scream out loud
"Leave me alone!"
But what we are really saying is
"Please stay"

We repeatedly say
"I'm fine"
But what we wish we would boldly say is
"I'm helpless"

"I am ok.. Nothing hurts me. I am used to it. I have built walls. If you wanna stay, stay. If you wanna leave, you know your way out.. I'm happy on my own. I like it here"

But silently, these are he words in our heart, that we wish lips would say

"I am not ok. I want to cry. My heart is fragile and all am doing is trying to be ok. I don't want to tell anyone about the pain, because I feel no one will understand me. I mean, I don't even  understand me sometimes.. I can't force you to stay. But if it were my wish, I'd wish that you can stay"

Learn how to speak. I have had to learn the hard way. But I have realised it helps to say what you're feeling. But you must be careful with who you are talking to..They may not offer help by saying do this or that. But to have someone listen is something.  Speaking frees you in way. Frees you from a bondage you didn't know held you bound.

Wish you well.
Love,
Luxo

LET LOVE LEAD THE WAY

I don't know any other way of loving other than totally giving your heart to someone knowing very well that by loving them that much, you're also giving them the power to break you completely. But to me, that seems like the only genuine and sensible way of loving.

They tell me, I need to learn how to love with my mind and not heart. That I need to love half way. So that in case it doesn't work out, then I won't get hurt as much.. But to me,  that's not true love. I mean. Is it even possible?

I guess love in itself is a risk. Loving someone with all your heart, even though at the back of your mind, you know that things won't always be great. And that one day, the very person who promised to fight the world to keep you, may just decide to walk away. And... Yeah!

So my dear. If life gives you a chance to love, go ahead and love. Love deeply and honestly. No rules. No restrictions. Just let love lead the way.  If it works out, Praise the Lord! If it doesn't work out, Praise the Lord! Because I believe that whatever is meant to happen, will eventually happen.

#LiveLoveLaugh  #LoveChronicles

JUST WAIT ON HIM

I started singing when I was about 8 years old. The only language I understood was Luhya, my mother tongue, and I was  learning both Swahili and English at the same time. But who is my father? (Babangu ni nani?) 😂😂
He taught me English songs! Mercy!!
How the original songs sound when I listen to them now and how they sounded when I sang them back then, is a story for another day😂😂 Selah
(Pause, and think of that)

Anyway, for a long time I used to just sing gospel music until the day I got saved and became a worship leader. I moved from song leading to worship leading. The latter involves, doing it in spirit and in truth.
John 4:24 KJV
God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth. The former, only requires a good voice and skill.

But for the time, I have been a worship leader, I'll be honest and say, that there are times, you are almost tempted to just go through the motions. I mean, you're present in the body but not spirit. All you want is to go through the worship set.

It is self doing it and not the Spirit of God through you. So what do you do when you are in this place? What do you do when you don't feel like worshiping?  Because you don't want to just say words and not mean them.
I like the New International Version of

Isaiah 29:13
The Lord says: "These people come near to me with their mouth and honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. Their worship of me is based on merely human rules they have been taught.

Mercy Lord!!

The secret is to wait on the Lord. We all know David as a great worshiper. But Psalms 40:1 shows us that David wasn't in the mood of worship all the time. And those times when he didn't feel like it, he waited on God.

Psalm 40:1-3 KJV
I waited patiently for the Lord ; and he inclined unto me, and heard my cry. [2] He brought me up also out of an horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my goings. [3] And he hath put a new song in my mouth, even praise unto our God: many shall see it , and fear, and shall trust in the Lord .
May God teach us how to wait on Him

Blessed day to you even as you learn how to wait on God☺

GOD, WHERE ARE YOU?

Hey there.. I will start by apologizing for being away for too long. Please, please accept my apologies. But now am back, and am gonna be around for a long time.

My pastor once told me, consistency is key. I have decided to be consistent, as the Lord helps me and leads me.

So, today, let's talk about that million dollar question. God, where are you?

Most times when we ask this question, it's usually because we are going through a rough time in our lives. We wonder why God would allow some things to happen, yet we serve Him. Why He would allow certain things to happen to us yet He said He will never leave us nor forsake us.

Hebrews 13:5 KJV
Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.

But this morning as I was I was worshiping, I found myself asking this very question. God, where are you? Not that I was wondering why He has forsaken me. But at that moment, I wanted to see Him and worship Him. Not just by the imagination of who He is. I wanted to see His face. Touch Him. Fall down at His feet and worship Him. I wanted to touch Him and adore Him.  Can you imagine for a second how that will be? Well, a second is just too short a time to think of such an amazing experience.. So let's make that two minutes. 😊

Like you'd be telling God how much you love Him, while you look at His face. I don't think "look" is even the right word to use. Gaze would be though. I mean, imagine all that beauty. Splendour. Think of the most beautiful person or thing you've ever laid your eyes on. Even that, ain't close to what God is. 

The Hebrew term for presence is "Panim". Meaning " face" . I like what the bible says in

Revelation 22:3-4 KJV
And there shall be no more curse: but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it; and his servants shall serve him: [4] And they shall see his face; and his name shall be in their foreheads.

Wow! This is an encouragement, to give us hope that indeed one day, we shall see His face. As I worshiped, God gave me a song and I got myself singing to these words, (I didn't record the melody though...😢😢)

Where are you
That I may come and bow down
Where are you
That I may come and worship you
Worship you in your presence
Show me your face, show me your glory
I want to worship you in your presence

And at that very last line. I asked myself if I was really ready to see His face. Would I be able to contain the awesomeness of His face? The ruler of everything. How mighty can He honestly be? Just the entrance of a president in a room changes the atmosphere. How much more God? The master of the universe?
Adam and Eve trembled at His presence.

Genesis 3:8 KJV
And they heard the voice of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God amongst the trees of the garden.

I then realized how unworthy I was before God.
He is too righteous and holy. The self existent God.. He is God by Himself.. Not created by human hands. He is God and God alone. Powerful and wonderful! He is glorious. All we can do, is honor Him. Worship Him. Revere Him.

As we invite His presence, let's understand how great it is and what it can do. Being the Omnipotent God that He is we can be assured, that where His presence is, things must change. Your life, your situation can never remain the same when God's presence is in it.

So back to our question. Where are you God? In other words, how do we experience your presence?  This is how...

1. When we long for Him
Psalm 42:1-2 KJV
As the hart panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after thee, O God. [2] My soul thirsteth for God, for the living God: when shall I come and appear before God?

2. When we have pure hearts
James 4:8 KJV
Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded.

3. When we worship and Praise Him
Psalm 22:3 KJV
But thou art holy, O thou that inhabitest the praises of Israel.

My dear reader, I pray that you are inspired but above all, encouraged that if we keep our eyes on the prize, one day we shall see God face to face and gaze upon His beauty forever more.

Revelation 21:3-4 KJV
And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God. [4] And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.

In His presence there is fullness of joy and at His right hand, pleasures forever more.. In His presence, there is no more pain, curse, tears, mourning. Just joy! Ask your neighbor, "Do you have Joy?"

Love,
Luxo

THE ULTIMATE GOAL

Hey there. It's been a minute. But am back. Hoping you've been keeping well. So,today I wanna share a little bit of my story with you with the intentions of inspiring. I do pray that by the end of this read, you'll be inspired

I have so much to say I don't even know how to begin. But maybe I shall start by asking a question. What is the ultimate goal in life?

Is it to have lots of money? Drive big cars and live in big houses? Or maybe have the most handsome husband or the most beautiful wife and adorable kids?

Could it be having your kids go to the best schools in town? Maybe being a celebrity? What is it really?

Why do we work so hard everyday? We work so hard for a life we want to have in the future forgetting that the future is now. I mean, we are not promised tomorrow. Ten years ago, the future was ten years to come. It seemed so far. But now that it is here,ten years ago seems like yesterday.

What am I saying? I am trying to say, that in as much as it is important to work hard for tomorrow, let's not forget to enjoy the now. Because the now is what you have. The now is what it is.

At some point in my life I was so hard pressed with life's issues. Had no money. I was still a student then. Was living on my own but it seemed like life was just not happening for me. You know?

I didn't have money. I used to walk to school just to be able to save the 20 shillings that would help me get dinner  in the evening when I returned home from school. I thought all I needed was money. How life would change if only I had good money. To have bus fare. And a decent meal. Maybe a beautiful decent house. I was almost convinced that having these things would make me happy.

A time came in my life and I had money. A good amount of money. Millions. I ate whatever I wanted. Bought whatever I needed. Lived in a good house. Was I happy? Yes. But not content.

The same year, I broke up with my then boyfriend. The pain was unbearable. I cried myself to sleep every night. Did I have the money? Yes. The good house? Yes. Decent meals? Yes. Was I a celebrity? Yes. Good car? Yes. But all these things couldn't take away the pain I felt. If I was asked to have peace of mind and  joy in place of all these things, I'd have chosen peace and joy.

Life is not about what we have on the outside. It's about what we have on the inside. We can have all these things but still be miserable. We hear of famous rich people committing suicide. It's not about what we have in terms of material things. Don't get me wrong. Am not saying, we don't need them. We do. But our joy and happiness should not depend on them.

Growing up, I always dreamt of having a grand wedding. I looked forward to the day I would get married. My goodness! I really wanted twins (I still do).Had even gotten their names on paper. I wanted to get married at 25. I soon was 25 but not married. So I pushed to 28. I soon was 28 and again pushed to 30.

Lol. I just turned 30 two months ago and am still not married. But guess what? Am not worried. I am happy. I decided to enjoy life while I wait. Pursue my dreams and inspire a couple of lives.

I decided to focus on my dreams and aspirations.
By the grace of God, I now have my music school. (Ruth Matete Music Academy located on Development house  12th floor along Moi avenue, Nairobi, Kenya)

Am I happy? Yes. Do I still wanna get married? Yes. Do I get lonely at times? Yes. But I have  learnt to live a happy life regardless.

Happiness comes from within. It is a choice that one has to make everyday when they wake up.

The ultimate goal in life should be to be happy. What makes another happy is not necessarily what will make you happy.
You must find out what makes you happy. Music makes me happy. I decided to stop looking for other ways of making me happy and decided to focus on one.

I can tell you, it's been worthwhile. I am a worship leader at my church. I record music as well as perform in events. I teach vocals at my school. I train worship teams on the meaning of worship and the art of leading worship.

Everything about me is music. This is what makes me happy.

To conclude on this long post, let me say this. Stop comparing yourself to others. You are uniquely you and special as you are. Find out what makes you happy and nurture it. Pray to God. He surely will help you in identifying it. Allow me to also say this especially to the single ladies. Getting married and having a beautiful family is great and indeed a blessing..But let not that be your ultimate goal. Find something to do. Find something you can be passionate about. Something you can still work on even after you're married. You'll get married then what? A woman with passion is more attractive than one without. One of my male friends once told me that. And now I understand.

The ultimate goal in life is to be happy. Be bold enough to walk away from people and things that threaten your happiness and peace of mind. You are in charge of your happiness.

Happiness is within, not without.

Love,
Luxo

TRUST

Hey there! How have you been? I pray you've been great.

So today, allow me to  say two or three things about that word you've  seen up there. Trust.

Most times,when we see this word, we think of pain or a bad situation that happened to us because we trusted someone who later broke that trust. Someone once said, to be trusted is more honorable than to be loved. I read somewhere else and it said, "If I love you, we may make it, but if I trust you, the sky is the limit"
From these two quotes, you can clearly see the importance of trust in our day to day relationships. With our spouses,friends,colleagues,or any other relationship for that matter.

Having said that, I recently learned another side of trust. Or should I say, another meaning of trust. And this is the kind of trust God expects us to have.

In cases where we feel like we are not good enough,it becomes even  harder to trust. So because we are scared of the outcome, we choose to not trust. Which seems safer. But the truth is,it only limits us,and we will never know what potential we have if we don't try.

Living life this way, makes us cynical, suspicious, and unable to follow our hearts because we are afraid of what might happen.We don’t bother talking to that person because we’re certain they won’t be interested in a date. We don’t show how much we care about a person because we’re afraid they won’t love us back. We don’t go for that job or that course because we’re scared we won’t get an interview.

Look at this conversation between God and some human being somewhere. We shall Call this human being HB

God :Trust me
HB : But am not perfect
God: Don't you think I know that already? I formed you
HB: But am such a mess
God: I know that too. But trust me anyway
HB: Are you sure you don't mind?
God: You may be messed up, but it's you I love. Not the mess. The mess is not a part of you. And moreover, I can clean that mess and make you whiter than the snow. Not matter how red it may be. But I can't do that if you don't allow me. That you're messed up, doesn't change my love for you. Because I see your heart. And I know what kind of person you are. So, please just trust me.
HB : Ok. I trust you

Sometimes,we find ourselves in HB's situation..we are scared to trust God with our fears and anxieties and those things we feel are embarrassing.

This is my challenge to you. Trust him. We learn to trust when we allow ourselves to be vulnerable.
The only way to know if you can trust someone is by trusting them.

When Moses was being sent by God to deliver the Israelites,Moses was hesitant and  said he was slow of speech and even begged God to send someone else. But God had a plan. All Moses needed to do was to agree. In Exodus 4:14 we see God getting angry at Moses for his unbelief.

Exodus 4:14New King James Version (NKJV)

14 So the anger of the Lord was kindled against Moses, and He said: “Is not Aaron the Levite your brother? I know that he can speak well. And look, he is also coming out to meet you. When he sees you, he will be glad in his heart.

From this scripture,we also get to learn that we don't please God when we don't trust Him

I could go on and on and on. But let me finish by saying this. Learn to trust God even when you can not trace Him. Believe that He has great plans for you and He won't harm you. He has said it in His word

Psalm 121:4-7New King James Version (NKJV)

4 Behold, He who keeps Israel
Shall neither slumber nor sleep.

5 The Lord is your keeper;
The Lord is your shade at your right hand.
6 The sun shall not strike you by day,
Nor the moon by night.

7 The Lord shall preserve you from all evil;
He shall preserve your soul.

He loves you. With your broken heart.  Your anxiety. Your fear. Just trust Him. He is willing to help you, but you must allow Him to..

Will you trust Him today?