Totemsand

theWordof
God
Thei
dol
atr
ybehi
ndt
hepr
act
ice

1
I
ntr
oduct
ion

Chapt
er1:
Def
ini
ti
ons

Chapt
er2:
Prai
senamesandpoems

Chapt
er3:
TheNameofJesus

Chapt
er4:
Doct
ri
nesofdemons/dev
il
s

Chapt
er5:
ThegodsofEgy
pt

Chapt
er6:
Prov
oki
ngGod

Chapt
er7:
Noah’
sar
k-sav
ingt
heani
mal
s

Chapt
er8:
Under
standi
ngcov
enant
s

Chapt
er9:
Renounci
nganddenounci
ngt
hepr
act
ices

Chapt
er10:Besanct
if
iedandconsecr
atedunt
othe
Lor
d

Chapt
er11:
Bibl
eimager
y

Chapt
er12:
Typesoft
otemsandt
hei
rpr
aises

Concl
usi
on

Gl
ossar
y

2
I
ntr
oduct
ion

Ourr
ootsandi
denti
tyar
eonl
yfr
om Godt
hroughHi
s
SonJesusChr
ist
.

Therearetwocult ures:
ThecultureofGodandt hecul
tureofSat
an,the
cult
ureofthechildrenofobedienceandthecul
tur
eof
thechil
drenofdisobedience.

Cultur
eisdef inedasthear ts,
customs, li
festy
les,
background,andhabi tsthatcharacter
izeapar ti
cul
ar
societ
yornat ion
thebeli
efs,values,behaviourandmat erialobj
ects
thatconsti
tuteapeopl e'
swayofl i
fe
theconventionalconductsandi deologiesofa
communi ty;thesystem compr i
singoft heaccepted
normsandv aluesofasoci ety.

Totems( mitupo)theysaytheyareimpor
tantfor
someoft hef ol
lowingreasons:
1.kutit
isadyemhukadzesedzese,
2.kutit
ichengetedzamhuka,
3.kutit
izi
vekwat akabva,
4.kuchengetedzaukama,
5.kushandiswapakupar uremekedzonekutendaet
c.

Mwar
ivot
indakakupai
simba(
domi
nion)pamusor
o
3
pemhukadzese.( Genesi s1: 26AndGodsai d, Letus
makemani nouri mage, afterourl ikeness:andl et
them hav edomi nionov ert hef ishoft hesea, andov er
thefowl oft heai r,andov erthecat tl
e,andov eral l
the
earth, andov erev erycreepi ngt hingt hatcreepet h
upont heear th.)
Animal sarebr utebeast s.Theywer enotcr eatedi n
God'si mage.Theyar eal owercr eati
on.Human
beingsar etheepi tomeofev erythingGodcr eated.
God( JesusChr i
st)diedont hecr ossf orhuman
beingsnotani mal s.Becausei t
sonl yhumanbei ngs
whoar eamenabl et othemor al l
aw.
Thedomi niont hatGodgav eusov eranimal sisf orus
tocar eandpr otectHiscr eationandcr eatures.He
mademanki ndt obest ewar dsofHi screatures.As
goodst ewar dswewer enott oki l
lanimals.Pr overbs
12:10Ar i
ght eousmanr egar det hthel i
feofhi sbeast :
butt het endermer ci
esoft hewi ckedar ecruel.

Becauseofsi nmani snowf easti

ngonani mal s,on
eachot herandbei ngfeastedonbyt heanimal sand
theanimal sarefeasti
ngoneachot her.
Godal onei ssupposedt obewor shipped.ItisHi m
alonewhomustbegi venal lglory.
Isai
ah42: 8Iam t heLORD: thati
smyname: andmy
glorywillInotgivetoanot her,neit
hermypr aiset o
gravenimages.
Paul i
nRomans1: 18-32descr i
beshowev ili
tist o
changet het r
uthofGodi nt oal i
e,andwor shipand
servethecr eatur
emor et hant heCreat or
,whoi s

4
bl
essedf
orev
er.

Ifyoul i
stent ohowanani mal orthebodypar tofan
animal orani nami natecr eationl i
kear iv
eri spraised
i
nat otem, y
ouwi llseehowev ili
tist oascr ibegl ory
toanyobj ectcr eatedbyGode. ganani mal.When
totemsar ereci tedonlysel fisexal ted.Manki ndi s
wor shipped.Cr eati
oni sdei f
ied.
Justgot hrought hesesampl et otemsandt hei r
praisesandy ouwi llseet hatitisadi rectviolati
onof
thi
scommandment :
Exodus20: 3Thoushal thav enoot hergodsbef ore
me.20: 4Thoushal tnotmakeunt ot heeanygr av en
i
mage, oranyl ikenessofanyt hingt hatisinheav en
abov e,ort hati sintheear t
hbeneat h, orthati sint he
wat erundert heear th:20: 5Thoushal tnotbowdown
thyselftot hem, norserv ethem: forIt heLORDt hy
Godam aj ealousGod, v i
siti
ngt hei niquityoft he
fathersupont hechi l
drenunt ot het hirdandf ourth
gener ati
onoft hem t hathat eme;20: 6Andshewi ng
mer cyunt ot housandsoft hem t hatl oveme, andkeep
mycommandment s

Peopl ehaveallsortsoftotemsusual l
yanimals
rangingfrom elephants,l
ions,vari
oustypesofbir
ds,
antelope,kudu,bears,wolves,snakes,evenbody
parts,mice,water,monkey sandsoon.Thi shas
parall
elsinsatanism, wi
tchcraft,
occult
icmov ement
s
andt henewagemov emental lofwhicharenotof
God, butarepar tofcounterf
eitopti
onspeddledby

5
thedev i
l t
olurepeopletowor shiphim.Ther ei
sno
sensei ngreeti
ngort hankingsomeonebysay ingt o
them , “
Thanky ou.Lion”etcast odosoisnott o
honourt hem buttoexaltthet otemicspiri
twhich
obviouslyrepresentsapr i
ncipalit
yordomi nionhav i
ng
acov enantrelati
onshipwitht hepeopleoft hat
part
icularclan,tr
ibeorfami l
y.Wi thJesusChr i
sti nus
weneednoot hernamegi venamongmenwher eby
wemi ghtbesav ed.(Acts4v12) .Thebibl
e
acknowl edgesthatJesusChr isthasanameabov e
allt
hingsi nheavenandonear th(Phi
ll
ipi
ans2: 9-10).

Noticet heapost l
edoesnotj ustsayall peoplebut
usest hephr aseallthingstoensur ethatwe
under standChr i
st’
ssupr emacyandpr e-emi nence
overal lcreati
on,bothwi thi
nt hephysical andthe
spiri
tual r
ealms.Inf act,i
nsteadofpeopl eyearningf
or
thelikenessori mageofani malsandi nani mate
object s,i
tisactuall
yal l
ofcreationthat
yearnsandl ongsfort herevelat
ionoft het ruesonsof
God( Romans8v 22-23)!

Deny i
ng,denouncingandr evoki
ngone’ stot
em or
totemicembl em andcov enanti
snott odenyy our
rootsoridentit
ybutitispartofwhatChr i
st
encouragedust odowhenhesai d,
Whosoev erwi l
l
fol
lowme, l
ethim denyhi msel
f,andtakeuphi scross,
andf ol
lowmeMar k8v 34.It
’sal
sopar tofwhatt he
apostlePaulspokeaboutwhenhewr oteabout
becomi nganewcr eat
ureinChrist(2Corint
hians
6
5:
17) .I
nt hedaysofMosesthepeopl
eofEgypt
worshippedmanygods.Suchv i
ewsarewhat
Wikipediadefi
nesaspanthei
sm,thebel
i
efthatal
l
natureisonesubstancewit
handequaltoGod.

Wikipediaalsodefi
nestotemsas, “
At otem i
sany
enti
tywhi chwatchesoverorassistsagr oupof
people,suchasaf amily
,clanortri
be.”Theideaof
somet hi
ngel sewatchi
ngov erusotherthanGodi si
n
i
tsel
fabhor rentt
oanycommi tt
edchr i
sti
anasitgoes
againsttheconceptofhav i
ngnoot hergodbesides
Jehovahwhohasr eveal
edhi msel
ff ul
lytomankind
thr
oughhi sSonJesusChr ist.

Mypur poseinwr i
ti
ngthisbooki snott oprov i
dea
schol arlyexpose`oft hesubj ectbutr at
hertowr itei
n
asi mpl ewayf ortheordinaryguyint hest r
eetand
abov ealltocauseal lthatreadittoconsi dertheir
way swhet hert heybeaccept ableornotbef oret he
Lor d.Onewi l
lal waysreachtheirownconcl usi
onbut
i
fIsucceedi npr ovoki
ngmeani ngfuldebate,
medi tati
onandpr ayerf
ulconsiderationofthei ssues
raisedt hengl orybet oGod.I tcanpr ovi
deagood
star t
ingpoi ntfordiscussioninadul tandjunior
SundaySchool andchristi
aneducat ionprograms.

Hopefull
ythiswi
llleadmor epeoplet
oseekt olose
themselvesandimmer sethemselvesfull
yint
oChrist
Jesus,t
hattheymaynol ongerl
ivebutthatChri
st
mayliveinthem andthroughthem.Yeadoubt l
ess,
7
andIcountallt
hingsbutLOSSfortheexcel l
encyof
theknowledgeofChri
stJesusmyLor d:f
orwhom I
havesuffer
edtheLOSSofallthi
ngs, anddocount
them butdung,
thatImaywinChrist.(Phi
ll
ipi
ans3:8)
.

Abov eal
lmaythi
sbookleadthereadert
othatwhi
ch
theapostl
ePaulref
erst
oas“…thestatur
eofthe
ful
lnessofChr
ist
.”(
Ephesi
ans4:13).

Chapt
er1

Def init
ions
Tot emi sm i
s,“beli
efi nkinshipwi thoramy sti
cal
rel
at ionshipbetweenagr ouporani ndi
vidualanda
totem. ”TheWebst er’sDictionaryandThesaur us
definest hewor dmy sti
cas“ Havingbey ondnor mal
humanunder standingormagi cal.”Thesame
thesaur ussay sthewor dmy st
icalissynony mouswith
occul t,cabbali
sti
c,dar k.

Alltheseattr
ibut
esar enotgodl y .Theaforement i
oned
websi t
ealsodefinesat otem asanani mal orobject
thatservesasanembl em orr everedsymbol .Yet
Chr i
sti
ansaremeantonl ytorev ereGod.Ev ent he
defini
ti
onquot edabov eunder scoresthef actthat
totemism ismainlyaboutt hespi ri
tual
relati
onship
betweent heindi
vidualorgr oupofpeopl ewi ththe
animal orobj
ect.Godcl earlystatesinHiswor dthat
8
wearenottohaveanyothergodbesi
deshim.Neither
arewetotakeonoursel
vesthei
mageorlikenessof
anyt
hingi
nheavenoronearth.

Thisr
emai nstr
uewhet hertheimagei sphy sicalor
mental.I
dolat
ersstar
tedwi threalphysicalanimals
andtheninter
nali
zedori nt
ell
ectuali
zedt heconcepts
suchthattheimageisatt i
mesment al.Event heni
n
tot
emiccultur
esitisoftenforbiddentoeatt heactual
,
physi
calanimalaswell.

Thev eryfactthatt hemy sti

cal rel
ati
onshipbetween
peopl eandani malsi sthoughtt obemagi calmakesit
unthinkablef orChr isti
anst odabbl ewith.Thebibli
cal
trackr ecordhasshownt i
meandagai nthatmagical
power sareoft hedev i
landcont rar
ytoGod.
Exampl esincludet hemagi cians,astr
ologersandthe
sorcer ersofBaby l
onandMedi aandPer si
adur i
ngthe
day sofDani el,themagi ciansofEgy ptdur i
ngthe
day sofMoses, andSi mont hemagi ci
anwhoi nNew
Test amentt i
mest riedtobuyt heanointingthatwould
enabl ehimt ol ayhandsonpeopl esothattheycould
receivet heHol ySpi ri
t.

Simont hemagi ci
andidnoteventrytousehi smagic
tocompet ewi t
hthesignsandwonder sthatGod
wroughtthrought heapostl
esbutwasconv incedto
l
ayasidehi smagi candacceptJesusasSav iour
.
Howev eritseemshest i
llcr
avedtheself
ishpower
thathehadwi eldedovertheci
ty.Theapostleshadto
9
rebukehimfirmlythattheanointi
ngwasnotf orsale.
Thisshowsust hatmagi cisnomat chf ort
he
earthquat
icr
esurrectionpowerofJesusChr i
stwhich
Heoper at
esinust hroughtheHol ySpir
it.I
ffi
rst
centurymagici
answer eabandoni
ngt heirmagicfor
Jesuswhycan’ twet henabandont he‘magical’t
otem
cult
ureforJesus.

From theabov eitappear stheembl emat i

cuseof
totemsi nAfr
ica, NorthAmer i
caandi ndeedi nthe
adoptionoftotem pol esasaf orm ofartintheUK
andot herdevelopedcount rieswher eev ensome
townsquar esar enowador nedwi t
ht otem polesis
ri
tuali
sti
canddemoni c.I
tmayseem ani nnocent
kinsmanshipembl em oridentityprocedur ebutthe
practi
cei si
nherent l
yev i
landhasnobi blical
precedence.

Iti
snotf orChr
isti
anstot akefort
hemsel v
est he
nameort i
tl
eofthement alimageofanyani malor
objectastodosoi stodei f
ytheobject
,tomakei t
equal wit
hGod,towor shipitasoneseekst obecome
l
ikeitinsomewaywhi chisadesireourJealousyGod
hasr eser
vedtobeex pressedonlytowardshim.

Eventhepopularpracti
ceofhav i
nganani mal
emblem orshiel
df orcustomizedfamil
yst at
ionery
andfororgani
zationssuchasf ootbal
lclubs,nati
ons
ontheircoat
sofar ms, nobl
emen,royalhousesor
dynast
iesisit
selfli
nkedt ot
otemism.Itstemsf rom
10
peopleadmi
ringani
malstosuchanextentt
hatthey
i
doli
zethem andseekinawaytoenshri
nesomeof
thei
ratt
ri
but
esi nt
hetotem,
emblem orsymbol.

Ev enbigcompani esandcor porationsarenot

i
mmunet osuchexcesseswi t
hev encarmodel s
bei ngadornedwithv ari
ousanimal s.I
ncount r
iesli
ke
Chi naandJapan, peoplenamey earsafterani
mal sso
thaty ouhavethey earofthedr agon,theyearofthe
pig, t
heyearofther atandsof orth.Peopleattimes
thinkit’
sinnocentculturebuttheadher entsofsuch
processesusual l
yunder st
andt hespirit
ual
signifi
cance.Thatisoneoft her easonswhyt heLord
JesusChr istsai
dt hatwehav eey esbutwedonot
seeandwehav eearsbutwedonothear .

Thoushal thav enoot hergodsbef or eme.Thoushal t

notmakeunt ot heeanygr aveni mage,oranyl ikeness
[ofanyt hing]that[is]i
nheav enabov e,orthat[is]i
n
theear thbeneat h,orthat[is]inthewat erundert he
earth:Thoushal tnotbowdownt hy sel
ftot hem, nor
servet hem: forItheLor dthyGod[ am]aj ealousGod,
visi
tingthei niquit
yoft hefathersupont hechildren
untot hethirdandf our th[
gener ati
on]oft hem that
hateme. (
Exodus20: 3-5).

Thi
sscript
ureclearl
ystat
esthef actthatweshould
worshi
pnoot hergodbesidestheLor dGod, i
dent
if
ied
asYahwehinHebr ewwhichi str
anslatedinEngli
sh
asJehovahmeani ngtheself
-exi
stingone,theone
11
whocal
l
shi
msel
fIAM,
AmenandAl
phaandOmega.

Itseemspeopl ear eal

wayst r
ickedintowor shi
ppi
ng
creaturesmor ethantheCreator.Nowonderwhy
astrologerslookt othesun,moonandst arsfor
guidancei nsteadofseekinggui dancefr
om t heOne
whocr eatedthem andknowseachoneoft hem by
name.I tbel
iesthedesireforpeopletohav ea
predictableandobser vabl
eGod.Theyar enot
comf ortablewi t
hthetrueGodwhoi ssov er
eignandis
notanswer abletoanyoneexceptt oHisownwor d
thatHeHasdeci dednevertov i
olateorl
eav e
unfulfil
led.

Professingt hemselvest obewi se,theybecamef ool

s,
Andchangedt hegloryoftheuncor rupt i
bleGodi nto
animagemadel i
ket ocorruptibleman, andt obirds,
andf ourfootedbeast s,andcr eepingt hings.( Romans
1:
22- 23).Thistestif
iestothesupposedwi sdom and
greatlearningofhumanbei ngswhent heydi scover
andnot edownt hechar acteri
st i
csofdi f
ferent
animals, bi
rdsandev enplantsandseeka
communi onwi ththem theCr eat ornev erintended.
Whochangedt het r
ut hofGodi ntoalie, and
worshippedandser v edthecr eaturemor et hanthe
Creator,whoi sblessedf orev er.Amen.( Romans
1:
25) .

Manypeopl
ehavehadrest
ri
cti
onsofcer
tai
nfoods
andpr
acti
cesbecauset
hetot
em demandsitwhen
12
thesamepeopl
ewouldnev ersubmitthemselvesto
thewil
lofGodconcer
ningthei
rli
fe.Thust heyf
indi
t
easi
ertoobeyt
otemictradi
ti
onsratherthantoobey
God.

Havinganylawsorr ul
esorcust omsimposedby
tot
emsi scontr
arytoGod’ swil
l.Wehav el
ibert
yint
he
Spir
itt
oliv
east heSpiritleadsrathert
hanast he
customsoranyot hertotemi ccult
uredi
ctates.

Imagesori dolsmaybephy sicalintermsoft heidols

andimagesmadei nanci enttimesandev ent he
totem pol
esandt otemi cwal kingst i
cksstillmadei n
partsofNor thAmer i
caandpar t
sofAf ricatoday .
Evenforthosewhouset otemsi ntheabst ract,t
heyat
ti
mesusepi ctur
esorst oneandwoodenscul pt
uresof
theanimalst oremindt hemsel vesoft hem.Though
theymaynotseet hisasi dolatrythefactr emainst hat
theyascri
bepar ti
cularregardorr especttosuch
animalsthant oanyot heranimal s.

It
’snotf orustodecidewhetherornotsomet hingi s
spir
it
ual whenthepeopl ewhooriginal
lyi
nventedi t
meanti ttobespir
itual
.Oneisremi ndedofAchan
whobr oughtacurseupont heent i
renati
onofI srael
forpossessingthi
ngst hatwereuncleaninthesi ght
ofGod.Godwasnotamused.I fthisisnotspi
ritual
thenwhati sit
?

13
Chapt
er2

Pr
aisenamesandpoems

Mostt otemsar ehonour edwi thpraisenames

chidawoi nShona, aZi mbabweandi alectandmost
totemi cpeopl ehavepr ai
sepoemswhi charepsalm-
l
ikei nnat ureastheyext olthequalitiesandat t
ribut
es
oft het otemicembl em bei tanani mal ,aplantora
bir
d.Thi skindofwor shipshoul donlyber eservedfor
God.I tist houghtbymanyt heologianst hatpeople
becomet hatwhicht heywor shiptosomeext ent,wi
th
forex ampl e,peoplet hatidolizepopst arsattimes
adopt i
ngsubconsci ousl ysomeoft heirunruly
behav iour .

Thati sthepr emi seonwhi cht hewhol econceptof

role-
model l
ingi nsociety ,
ineducat i
onandi nspor t
rests.Weshoul dtakeJesusasourmodel ,
thebl ue
printforbor n-
agai nman.Heexempl i
fi
edal lthatman
hast obei nordert oli
v eaf ulll
if
ewhi l
epl easingGod
andman.Hi sexampl et omei st obesoughtmor e
thananychar act er
isti
cofanyani mal nomat t
erhow
beaut i
ful orstrongt heani mal i
s.Att heendoft heday
weshal lallbeanswer ablet oChr istont hedayof
j
udgementForwemustal l appearbef oret he
j
udgementseatofChr ist;andev eryonet hatev eryone
mayr ecei vethet hingsdonei nhisbody ;accor dingto
whathehasdone, whet heri tbegoodorbad( 2
Cor i
nthians5: 10).
14
EvenJohnt heRev elator,t
hedi scipl
ewhom t heLor d
l
ov ed,statest hatwhenHeshal lappearf orthe
secondcomi ngwedonotknowwhatweshal lbel i
ke,
butonet hingweknowandi ti
st hatweshal lbe; l
ike
Him( 1John3: 2).I
si tnotbettertobel i
keHi m who
wast empt edi nal lway sandy etwi t
houtsi n?Isitnot
bettertol i
kehi m ofwhom GodHi mselftestif
ied
sayingHei smySon?I sitnotbet tertotrustinHi m
whosebl oodspeaksofourr edempt i
on,del i
verance,
l
iberty,prosper it
yandhol i
ness?I sitnotbet t
ert obe
l
ikeHi m whol ovedHi senemiesandev eni nterceded
forthoset hatwer eint heactofki l
li
nghim ont he
crossev enashef elttheseari
ngpai noft hecrownof
thornsonhi sforeheadandt hepai ninfl
ictedbyt he
nailsinhishandsandf eet
?

Noticet hatt heapost leJohndoesnotsayt hatwewi ll

belikeanyot herofGod’ screatures.Wewon’ teven
belikeanyoft heangel sthoughwewi l
lsharetheir
spir
itual stateint hatwewi llnolongerhav emor tal
humanbodi esaswenowdo.Wewi l
lhavespi r
it
ual
bodiesasdescr ibedbyt heapost l
ePaul i
n1
Corinthians15: 50- 57.Soist heli
kenessofanani mal
preferablet ol i
kenesst oGodt hroughJesusChr i
st?
Onecannotbutmar velatsuchanat ti
tudeasPaul di
d
whenhewr otet ot heGalatians,wonder i
ngwhathad
comeov erthem t oacceptanot hergospelbecause
anyot hert raditionscombi nedwi t
ht hegospel form
anothergospel .Ev enwhenPaul wr otetothe
Galatiansi twasbecausepeopl ewant edt hephy si
cal
15
signofcircumcisi
ont obemadecompulsoryf
orall
Christi
ansthoughithadbeenashadowofwhatwas
fulf
ill
edinChri
standchr i
sti
ansrenowcir
cumcisedi
n
theirheart
s,r
atherthaninthei
rbodi
es.

TheWebst er
’sDi ctionar yandThesaur usdefines
wor shipast o‘ador e,esteem, honour ,
r ever
e,venerate,
deify,aspire,
pray , ador ation,homage. ’ TheVine’
s
Exposi toryDict
ionar yofOl dTest amentandNew
Test amentWor dsdef i
neswor shipas, “tomake
obei sance,dor ev erence. ”All t
hesear ewhatpeopl e
doast heyuset hepr ai
senamesandpr aisepoemsof
theirtotems.Ev enbet weeni n-lawsandwhenpeopl e
trytoshowut mostr espectt heyi nvoket hetotems.
Woul ditnotbebet terespeci al
lyamongbor nagain
believerstosayt hingsl ike, “
Thanky ouchi l
dofGod, ”
ratherthansay , “Thanky ouzebr a,monkeyorl i
on,”to
someone.

It
’sactuall
yi nsultingt oGodt odegradeour selvesby
l
ikeningour selvest ol owerbei ngs,i
.e.ani mals.If
animalswer et obeconsul t
edIam sur etheywoul d
giveanythingt obecomel i
kehumanswi tht he
capabil
ityofmanagi ngt her estofGod’ scr eati
onand
beingindomi nion.Thi sdomi ni
onmeanshumansar e
toresponsibl yandaccount ablymanaget hef l
or aand
faunaaswel last hei nanimat eresour cesoft he
planetinasust ainabl eway ,seri
ouslyt akingtheirrol
e
ast hestewar dst hatGodpl acedont hepl anetfor
suchanobl epur pose.I nsteadofpeopl ebei ng
16
stewardsandi ndeedcustodiansofanimal sandall
otheraspectsofnature,theyhav ebeensol dali
eby
thedevilandtheynowexpectani mals,i
nt heform of
totemstohav eov er
sightoftheiraff
air
s.Thi si
sli
kea
personexpectingacomput ert
ooper ateorcontrola
humanbei ngratherthant heotherwayr ound.

Peoplear ecl
osert oGodt hananyothercreatureas
thebiblesayst heyareali
ttlelowerthanangels.They
arehowev ersuper i
ortoangelsinthatangelsserveor
ministertomanandnott heot herwayround.Man
canbecomeachi l
dofGodenj oyi
ngaf armore
superiorposi
tionandr el
ationshipt
oGodt hanangel s
oranyot herspiri
tualbei
ngf al
lenornotfal
len.

Manwasmadewi t
ht hegl or yofGoduponhi m, t
he
l
ikenessofGod, thespi r
itual positionofbeingcloser
toGodt hananyot herphy si calbeingorspi r
it
ualbeing.
Theapost l
ePet erev ent alksofmanshar ingthe
divi
nenatureofGod( 2Pet er1:4).Godl ovesmanso
mucht hathesentHi sonl ybegot tenSont odiefor
him,somet hinghedi dnotev endof orthefal
len
angelswhor ebell
edagai nsthi mt oget herwit
hsatan
tobecomet heev i
lsspi r
itst hattryanddecei ve
humanitytodi stancet hemsel vesf rom God.See
Hebrews2: 16.

Butt
hef
earful,
andunbelieving,andtheabominable,
andmur
derers,andwhoremonger s,
andsorcer
ers,
andi
dol
ater
s,andalll
iar
s, shall
hav ethei
rpar
tinthe
17
l
akewhi chburnethwithfi
reandbrimstone:whichis
theseconddeath.(Revel
ati
on21:8).I
nt hegardenof
EdenitwasAdam whonamedt heanimalsandt he
nameshegav est ayedevenunti
lthi
sday .I
nthe
Hebrewcultur
e, namingcarr
iesalotofsigni
fi
cance
beyondjustgi
vingsomet hi
ngorsomeoneaname.

Nami ngal sosi gnif

iesdefiningit
spur pose,
acknowl edgingi tsv al
ueandpr edicti
ngitsf
ut ureat
ti
mesasseeni nthepr opheticnamesofmostoft he
biblechar acterswit hAbram beingrenamedAbr aham
whichmeans‘ fatherofnat i
ons’andJacobbei ng
renamedI sraelwhi chmeans‘ princeofnati
ons’ and
thedisci pl
esr enami ngJosesasBar nabaswhi ch
means‘ sonofconsol ati
on’or‘sonofencour agement’.
Inallcasest henameswer epr opheti
canddef i
nedthe
blessingsandchar acterthatwasbei ngbestowedby
Godoneachper son.

Whatt hist henmeansi sthatpeoplet hatcalland

i
dentifyt hemselvespr i
ncipall
ybyacer t
aintotem or
anembl emat i
canimal imagear edef iningtheirhopes,
aspir
ationsandexpr essingtheirwor shipinthat
parti
cularani malorobj ectofwor shi
p.I t’
spartofthe
processofsel f
-det
ermi nati
onandsel f-expl
anatory
phil
osophywhi chisther easonwhyi t’snotnecessar y
forChrist i
answhoshoul dinsteaddef inethemsel ves
andident ifywit
hChr istJesusmor ethanwi t
hany
otherent it
yinheavenoronear t
h.It’
soner easonwhy
Jesusemphasi zedthatHehasal lauthor i
tyi
nbot h
18
heavenandear th(Matthew28:18).Therearesome
thatt
hinkJesusonl yrulest
heheav ensbutthatthey
needothercustodiansandhelpershereonear th.
Thoughsat anasthepr i
nceofthisworld(eart
h)has
somepoweronear th,heissubjecttotheauthori
tyof
JesuswhoasKi ngofkingsandLor doflordshas
powerov eral
lthepoweroft heenemy .

Aki ngissuper iorinrankt oanypr i

nce.Jesusi st he
Creatorwhi l
esat anisbutacr eature.Al l
thingswer e
madebyhi m; andwi thouthi m wasnotanyt hi
ng
madet hatwasmade….Hewasi nthewor l
d,andt he
wor l
dwasmadebyhi m, andthewor l
dknewhi m not
(John1: 3,10).Thebi bl
ei denti
fiest heinnumer able
groupofpeopl ethatJohnsawi nhi svisi
onast hose
thathad“ …washedt heirrobes,andmadet hem cl ean
i
nt hebloodoft heLamb. ”(Rev7:14) .That’
sall the
i
dent i
tyweneedr at
hert hananyot herlabeltogetus
toheav en.Weneedt obei denti
f i
edwi ththeLamb
andbewr i
tteninHi sbookofl i
fe.

Inheav ent herewil

lnotbeanypeopl eoft histotem or
theot herbutr at
herthepeoplewhowoul dhav e
surrender edthei
rli
vesf ul
l
ytoChristsot hatthey
mightgett hei
rcrownofgl or
y.Areyougoi ngt obe
oneoft hem orareyougoi ngtobelikeoneani malor
theot her?ForwhenHecomesHewi l
leasilyi
dentif
y
thoset hatwi l
lbeli
keHI M.Hei st
heuni queper sonof
thewhol euniver
se.Hei sGodandHei salsot heSon
ofMan, thoughwenol ongerknowhi m aftert
hef l
esh
19
orinter
msofhi
shumani
ty,
rat
herweknowHi
m af
ter
thespir
it
.

Letusl earntosi ngsongsofpr aisetoGodwhen

someonehasdonewel l,whenani n-l
awv i
si
tsusor
whensomeonei mpressesus, insteadofsaying
‘
What ’syourt otem byt heway ?’Isanyamongy ou
aff
lict
ed?Lethi m pr ay.Isanymer r
y?Lethim si
ng
psalms( James5: 13).Youdi dnotneedsomeone’ s
tot
em t ointeractwitht hem initi
ally,
onlywheny ou
wantt oappr eciatethem doy out henaskforthe
tot
em.Doest hatnotmakei tcl earthattot
emsar e
usedf orpraise.Theear l
yapost l
esandt hechurchat
Jerusalem whenPaul hadgi vent hem anaccountof
thewor kthatGodwasdoi ngt hroughhim amongt he
gentil
es,thankedandgl ori
fi
edGodbecauseofhi m.

Inotherwor dstheyknewt hatallt

hegl oryandhonour
forwhatPaul wasdoing,wasduet oGod.Theydi d
notpraiseort hankPaul,orhistot
em, butGod.They
appreciatedthatPaul wasachannel throughwhi ch
theabundantgr aceofGodwasf l
owi ngandi ndeed
overfl
owingt othegent i
l
essot hattheyt oocoul dbe
reconcil
edt oGod.Sonextt imesomeonei mpr esses
youthankGodbecauseofhi m/herorgl ori
fyGodf or
makingt hatpersondosuchani mpr essivet hing.That
wayy ouwi l
lguar dyourheartfr
om idol atr
y.

Taketheexampl
eofMoseswhenhehadledt
he
chi
ldr
enofIsr
aelacr
osst
heRedSeabythedi
rect
ion
20
ofGod.Hel edthem i ntosingi ngasongofpr aise
unt otheLor d.Hecoul dhav et akencr edi tforhi msel f
orAar onandMi r
iam oranyoft heot herel der st hat
helpedhi m governthepeopl e, butheknewt hatt hey
wer eonl ycogsi nthemachi ner yt hatGodwasusi ng
todel iverHispromi set ohispeopl ethechi ldrenof
Israel.Sonomat terwhatwedo, ownorpossess, God
hasahandi nit.Hehasov ersightov eral ltheaf fai
rs
ofman.Thebi bletellsust hatal lgoodgi ftsandgood
thingscomef r
om theLor dandatt i
mesHeuses
humanhands.I tisimpor tantt oappr eci atet he
vessel sthatGodchoosest ousef ort hei robedi ence
toGodbutmostoft hecr editshoul dult i
mat elybe
givent oGod.That ’
swhyev ent hought hebi blewas
wr i
ttenbymor ethanf i
ftydifferentaut hor s,theywer e
allactingundert hei nspirati
onoft heHol ySpi r
itmuch
l
ikesecr etar
iestowhom amanagerorof f
icial may
dictatesomedocument s.

Theowner shi
poft hedocument swil
lalwaysbewi th
theonewhodi ctatedordeci dedwhatt owr i
te.Soi n
reali
tyt
heHolySpi ri
tistheaut horofthescriptures
throughthehumanhandswhower ehisscri
besori n
moder nti
mest heycoul dhav ebeenhist y
pists.Glory
bet oGodandnott oanyt otem foral
lthegoodt hat
peopledoast heyobeyhi swor dandHiscommandt o
l
ov eGodandt olov etheirneighbour.

21
Chapt
er3

TheNameofJesus

Themai nnamebywhi chChr isti

ansoughtt obe
i
dent i
fi
edwi thisthatofJesus.Wear ecall
ed
‘
christ
ians’,awor dderi
vedf rom Jesus’ t
it
leandrole
astheChr i
stwhichmeanst heanoi ntedoneofGod.
Thisinturnmeansi nhim wear et heanointedonesof
Godser vingunderhim andder i
vedouranoi nti
ngand
del
egat edaut hor
ityfr
om Him whenwear ef ul
l
y
submi t
tedt oHim andlivi
ngi nobedi encetoHim.
Obv i
ouslyHei sTheAnoi ntedOnei naspeci al
sense
i
nt hatalltheanointi
ngorspi rit
ual powerinbeli
ever
s
emanat esf r
om him andbyHi schoi ce.

Sobei ngcal led‘christians’meanswebearandar e

call
edbyt henameoft heSonofGodwhoi salsoGod
theSon, whoI saiahi nIsaiah9: 6-
7acknowl edgesas
beingamongot herthings, “
Mi ghtyGod.”Isn’ti
tbetter
thentov aluet hisident it
ywi thChr i
staboveany
i
dentitywi thani mals.Ev ent heOl dTestament
propheticallyacknowl edgest hatwear ecalledbyHi s
name.I fmypeopl e,whi char ecalledbyMYNAME,
shallhumbl et hemsel v es,andpr ay ,
andseekmyf ace,
andtur nfrom t heirwi ckedway s;thenwil
lIhearfrom
heaven, andwi l
l f
orgivet hei
rsi n,andwill
heal t
heir
l
and.( 2Chr onicles7: 14)

DoesChr
istnothav
eenoughat
tr
ibut
esf
orust
o
22
emul atet hatwewoul dresorttoemul atingand
seekingt obecomei neventhet iniestwayl i
ke
animal s?Godf orbid.I
fourforebear ersinsti
tuted
suchpr acti
cesi nignorancebecauset heyhadnoty et
receivedt hegospel ofJesusChr istthenweshoul d
repenti ndustandashesbef oreAl mi ghtyGodand
seekf or gi
venessf orsuchbl atantidol worship.It
shouldsuf fi
ceforust obei dentifi
edast hebond
servant sandi ndeedwi ll
ingslavesoft heLordJesus.

Ther ear esomewhowoul dpr oposet hatmi sf

ortune
andcur seswi l
l comeuponusi fwedi sregardour
totems.Thi sinitselfshowst hatthewhol epracticein
anchor edi npeopl e’sfearandt hei
rwayoft ryi
ngt o
i
nt erpr etandgi v emeani ngtot hewor ldaroundt hem.
Glor ybet oGodwhosentJesusChr istt oovercome
deat handsetf reet hosewhower eboundbyt hespiri
t
off earofdeat h.For asmucht henast hechildrenar e
par t
aker soffleshandbl ood,heal sohi mselfl
ikewise
tookpar tofthesame; t
hatthroughdeat hhemi ght
dest royhi mthathadt hepowerofdeat h,t
hatis,the
dev il
; Anddel iverthem whot hroughf earofdeat h
wer eal lthei
rli
fet i
mesubj ectt obondage.( Hebrews
2:14- 15) .

Manyoft hesupersti
ti
onsconcer ningtotemsi ncl
ude
thebeli
efthatdi
sregardingthetotem woul dbring
cursessuchaslosingone’st eet
h,my steri
ousdeat h
anddiseases.Thi
spr ovesthattherearespi r
it
s
behindthewholepracticethatcarryouttheset hr
eats
23
usuallytopeopl ewhobel i
eveinthem.I thasbeen
knownt ohappent hatpeoplewhot hroughsheer
stubbor nnessr ejectallsuchclaimsanddi sregard
them, nothingev erhappenst othem.Thi sshowst hat
fearisper vertedf ait
h,whichisfaithintheabi li
tyof
thedev ilorhisdemonst oharmy our athert hattr
ue
fait
h,whi chi sfaithorconf i
denceinGodt ot akecar e
ofandpr otecty ouaccor di
ngt oHiswi l
l,purposeand
promisesasst atedinscr i
ptur
e.Sopeopl ewho
possessandexpr esspositi
vefaithtowar dsGodget
thefruitswhi lethosewhopossessnegat i
v efait
h
(fear
)t owar dst hedev i
landhisdemonsal sogett heir
negativef r
uit.Whi chonedoy oupossessandexpr ess?

Thecont r
asti sal sooft heear thlymi ndedandt he
heav enlyordi vinelymi ndedman.Onef ocuseshi s
attention, energyandr ev er enceont hingsthatar e
mat erial whil
et heot herl ooksatt het hi
ngst hatar e
spiri
tual andi nt angi ble.Whi lewel ooknotatt he
thi
ngswhi char eseen, butatt het hi
ngswhi char enot
seen: fort het hingswhi char eseenar etempor al;but
thethingswhi char enotseenar eet ernal.(
2Cor4: 18)
.
Whyf ocusont hingst hatar edependentonust hat
manhast amedf oragespastwhent hereisaLi v i
ng
Godsoi mmense, sounsear chabl e,andsoper plexi
ng
thatnoonehasev erorwi l
l everf ull
ycompr ehend
Him.Ev enMet husel ahwhol i
vedupt other i
peageof
969wasst i
lll
ear ni ngnewt hingsaboutGodev eni n
t
h
his969 y earonear t h.I tiswel ldocument edt hat
event iger s,l
ions, cr ocodi les, venomoussnakes, huge
24
beastssuchasel ephant s,buffal
o, sharks,bearsand
soforthhav eallbeent amedbyr esearchers,cir
cus
people, animal enthusiastsandst untmenov erthe
ages.Manydocument ariesf il
msandbookshav e
beenpr oducedbyNat ional Geogr aphicandot her
organizationstodemonst ratethef act.Thisshows
theaut horit
yanddomi niont hatGodputi nhumans
eventocont rolanimalsmor edanger ousandbi gger
andpower fulthanwear e,y ettherear esti
llsome
peoplewi lli
ngtobef ooledbyt hedev ili
ntoleavingthe
worshipoft heCr eatorforthewor shipoft hecreature.

Oner easonwhypeopl eeasi lyswal l

owsuch
delusionsi sthatther
eisnoabsol uteaut hor i
tyin
animal i
sticphil
osophyandr eligi
on.Sopeopl et hen
easilycopeoutbyadopt ingsuchr eligionswhi chdo
notobl igethem tobehol y, r
ighteousorpur ebef orea
JustSav i
our.Thisall
owst hem tol i
veacar ef
ree,
sinfulli
fe.Itssatan’
swayofensnar ingpeopl eand
mostpeopl efoll
owt hepr acticewi t
houtev er
quest i
oningwhyi t
’st
hereandwhyi t’
sdone.Thef act
thatev eryoneelseisdoingi torIwasr aisedupt hat
wayi snoexcusebef oreGod.I fwehav equest i
oned
othertraditi
onssuchaswi febat t
ering, polygamyand
ancest ralworship,whi
cht hought heymayhav ebeen
commonl yaccept edinourgr andpar ents’,daysar e
sinful,
whynotext endourscr uti
nytot hisissueas
well.

ThenameofJesusshoul
dbemor
ethanadequat
efor
25
usast heapost lePaul assertsthathedi dnotseek
anythingamongt hepeopl eatCor i
nthexceptfor
ChristandHi m cruci
fied.Somi ghtyisHisnamet hat
demonshav ebeendr ivenaway ,thedeadr ai
sedto
l
ife,thel amehav ewalkedandpar al
ysedpeoplehave
hadf unct i
onsr estor
edt ot hei
rlimbst hr
ought he
powert hatisinHi sname.Har denedcr i
minalshave
beenr educedt ot earsoft hesor r
owt hatleadsto
repentance.

Therei snogr eaternamei nheav enoronear th.Iti

s
theonl ynamet hatt ranscendscul t
ural,socialand
ethnicbar r
iers,
orev enl anguagebar r
iers.WhatI
meani st hateveni fyout rav el
toanot hercont inent
andencount ersicknessest here,orevilspir
its,though
youmayspeakadi fferentlanguagey oucanst il
luse
thenameofJesust or ebukeal lmannerofsi ckness,
diseaseorev i
lspiri
ts.Ev eni fyousayJesus’ namei n
yourownl anguagei nanot hercount ry,thedemons
therewi llstil
lobeyy ou.Youdon’ thav etobe
under stoodbyt hepeopl et heretoexer cisey our
spiri
tual authorityinhisname.

Noot hernamei nt hehistoryofmanki ndhasev er

beenorwi lleverbesosi gni f
icant.Ev enfollowersof
otherreli
gionsacknowl edgeHi sgreat ness.Even
hist
oriansthewor ldoverr eckont imebyHi sbi r
thin
theuseofBCwhi chstandsf or‘bef oreChr i
st’andAD
annodomi nii
nLat i
nwhi chmeans‘ inthey earofour
Lord’
.Soi nactual f
actsay ingwear ei nthey ear2023
26
i
sr eall
yashor tenedf orm ofsay ingwear eint hey ear
ofourLor dJesusChr i
st2023.Sowhi cheverwayy ou
l
ookati t,whichev err el
igiony ouf ollowthemoment
youwr it
eandagr eewi t
ht hedat ey ouar einact ual
factacknowl edgingChr i
st.Gl oryt oGodpeopl eall
overthewor ldfrom school chil
dr en, tel
evi
sion
stati
ons, r
adiostations, scient i
stsandmet eriologists
acknowl edgehim ast heor deroft hedayi nt heiruse
oftheday ’sdate.Somet heologi anshav esuggest ed
thatthebibleschol arswhocal culat edthey earof
Jesus’birthwhichi stakenasAD1wer emistakenby
atleast3y earsmeani ngt hathewasact uallybor nin
3BCbutev enthoughweacknowl edgesuchaner rorit
sti
llshowst hesigni f
icanceofhi sbi rthtohumani ty.

Othergr eatphi
losopher s,i
nventors,pioneersand
statesmenhav ewal kedthefaceoft heear t
handl ef
t
greatlegaciesofdiscov eri
es,teachi
ngsand
exampl esthatwillbenef i
thumani t
ybutnonei nas
mucht hesenseasJesusChr i
stwhocanchange
hardenedcr imi
nalsi ntosobbing,penitentseekersof
God’ sgrace,whocant ransf
orm entireciti
es,nat
ions
andr egions.Heist heonet owhom al l mustgivean
accountoneday .

Manybookshav ebeenwr i
ttenovertheagesby
peoplebothordi
naryandgreat,butonebookis
uni
quet oallft
hem.Iti
sthebookaboutGodandHi s
SonJesusChr i
st,
theBibl
e.Itremainstheworl
d’s
bestsel
ler
.Ithasmoretranslat
ions,morever
sions
27
andmor ecopiesthananyot herbookonearth.Even
peoplethatdonotlikeitstil
lacknowledgeit
s
hi
stori
cityandaccuracyofi tspropheci
esaboutboth
pasteventsandthef uture.Archeol
ogical
evidence
emergesev eryf
ewy earstoauthenti
catethe
accountsgiveni
nt heBi bl
e.

Allotherofhi story’
sgr eatpeopl ehav ehadbui l
dings
namedaf terthem, trust sest ablishedi nt heirhonour
andatt imesev enday st ocommemor atet hem as
wellasst atuesandot hermemor ialsbutnoneof
them hashadt i
meander as,agesr eckoned
accordingt owhent heywer ebor n.Sot heNameof
Jesusr emai nsbyf armor epr eferabl eandsi gni
ficant
notonlyint hisdayandagebutal soi net ernitythan
thenameofanyper sonorani mal .Itisal sonot able
thathisnamei salsogr eatinheav en.Onl yhasal l
authorit
yi nheav enandear th.Onl yhehast hekey sof
l
ifeanddeat handt hepowerov eral l t
hepoweroft he
enemy .Onl yhecoul dcl aim andr ight l
ysot hathewho
hadseenhi m hadseent heFat her , t
hathewast he
onlywayt ohav ingar eal l
if
e-sav ingr elationshi pwi t
h
God.Al ltheot hergur us, founder sofr eligionandhol y
ment hathav elivedi nagespastf adei ntot he
shadowsoft hebr i
lli
anceofhi slight .Hei st helight
thatshinesi ndar knessanddar knesscannev er
compr ehendhi m orov ercomehi m.

I
nli
ghtofal
lthi
smychallengetoyouissi
mple:
Do
y
ouneedanyotherspi
ri
tualpowerorenti
tyi
nheav
en
28
oronear thbesi desJesus?Ev enangel saresubjectto
Hisauthor i
ty,theyworshiphim evenast heydi
dathis
bir
thinBet helhem twothousandy earsago.Soev en
thosewhowor shipandcallupont henamesofangel s,
orofanyot herhumanbei ngar ewast i
ngt hei
rti
mef or
Hedecl aredthatnoonehasev erseent heFather
excepthi m whocamef rom heaven: JesusChrist.
Whydon’ tyoucastawayal lothergodsandf ol
low
Christaloneinf ai
th.

29
Chapt
er4

Doct
ri
nesofdev
il
s

Chapter2oft hebookofAct sapplaudstheearly

churchf orcontinuinginthedoctri
neorteachingof
theapost l
es.Thi swasbecauset heywer eey e
witnessesoft her eal
ityofJesus’li
feandmi ni
str
yon
earthandt hemy ster
yofhisdeity.Howev eri
tseems
therearesomedoct r
ineswhichtheApost lePaul
refer
st oast hedoct ri
nesofdev i
l
s;

Nowt heSpi ri
tspeaket hexpr essly,thatint hel att
er
ti
messomeshal ldepar tf r
om t hef aith,givi
ngheedt o
seduci ngspi rits,anddoct r
inesofdev il
s;Speaki ngli
es
i
nhy pocrisy ;hav i
ngt heirconsci encesear edwi t
ha
hotiron; For biddingt omar ry, andcommandi ngt o
abstainf rom meat s,whi chGodhat hcr eatedt obe
receivedwi tht hanksgi vi
ngoft hem whi chbel ieveand
knowt het ruth.Forev erycr eat ureofGodi sgood, and
nothingt ober efused, i
fi tber ecei v
edwi th
thanksgi ving: Fori tissanct if
iedbyt hewor dofGod
andpr ay er.(1Ti mot hy4: 1-5).Theapost leclear l
y
statest hiscomesasar esul tofpeopl e’sconsci ence
beingsear edwi thani ronmeani ngt hatitwi l
l be
i
nact iveandunabl etoal ertthem t ot heiridolatry.One
oftheef f
ect soft hisseduct i
onbyt hedev il
sor
demonsi nvolv est hecommandt oabst ainf r
om
meat swhi chgodcr eat edt ober ecei vedwi th
thanksgi ving.Theapost lel i
kenst hemy thsand
30
super
sti
ti
onspromotedbysuchevil
spi
ri
tst
oprofane
andoldwivesf
ables(1Ti
mothy4:7)
,whi
charet
obe
rej
ect
edbyborn-agai
nbel
iev
ers.

Peopl eshoul deatornoteatf oodsont hebasi sof

whet herornott heyfindthem palatableorappetizi
ng
rathert hanont hebasi sofwhet herornott heyare
forbiddeni ntheirtotemicculture.Letnoman
theref orej udgey ouinmeat ,orindr i
nk,orinrespect
ofanhol y day,oroft henewmoon, orofthesabbat h
day s: Whi char eashadowoft hingst ocome; butthe
bodyi sofChr i
st.
(Col ossi ans2: 16-17).Doingsowoul dattach
undeser v edr everenceorsanct it
yonor dinaryanimals
whi char et heret oservetheinterestsofmanki ndand
nott heot herwayr ound.Thisi sev i
denceoft hefal
lof
manf r
om bei ngGod’ sconfi
dant eandpar t
nerin
managi ngandr egulatingtheuni ver
setoani dol
wor shi pper .

Chooset onol ongerpayhomaget ot heseev i

l spi
ri
ts
i
ndi sgui se.Chooset oonl ygiveal lgloryandhonour
toChr i
stJesus.I thasbeenknownt hatpeopleoft he
samet otem usuall
ypr esentwi thcer t
ainsimilar
charact eri
sti
csinthei rincli
nationst owardscer tai
n
usuallynegat i
vebehav ioursuchasani ncl
ination
towardsv iol
enceorst ealinget c.Thiswoul dlend
weightt ot hefactthatsuchat tri
buteswhi char e
usuallyment i
onedaspar toft hetotem’ spraisename
andpoem ar eimpar tedont hem aspeopl esayt hem.
31
Eveni nfant
sare‘blessed’atbi
rt
hbyusi ngthet ot
ems
andt het ot
emsar eusuallymenti
onedatmar r
iage
ceremoni esandot heroccasi
onsi nv
oki
ngthe
att
ributesofthetot em onthepersonorpeople.This
showst hepoweroft hetongueinhumanaf fair
s.

Ev enint heOl dTest amentAar ont hebr otherof

Moseswhohadwi tnessesf orhimsel fthepar ti
ngof
theRedSea, thepr ov i
sionofmannaf rom heav en,the
slayingoft hef irstbor nbyt heangel ofdeat hand
manyot hermi racleswasconv incedbyt heI sraeli
tes
tomakef ort hem ani mageofacal f
.Peopl ewer e
willi
ngt opaywi t
ht hei rgoldj eweller
yt opr ovidefor
thiswor k.( Exodus32: 1- 35).Event odaymanypeopl e
displayont hei rwal lspr ai
sepoems, pictures, i
cons
andr epresent at i
onsoft hei
rt otems.Theysayt o
themsel v est hatt hesear ejustinnocentr emi ndersof
theirtotem butt hatwhatbei ngdecei vedmeans.I t
meanst obeduped, hoodwi nked, misledordel uded
i
nt othinki ngoraccept ingsomet hingasr ightwhi chis
notr i
ghti nt heey esofGod.

DuringAar on’sti
mei twasthepeopl eledbyAar on
whoennobl edtheimageoft hecalfascr i
bingtoit
godliness.Andher eceivedthem attheirhand,and
fashioneditwi t
hagr avi
ngtool,aft
erhehadmadei ta
mol t
enCALF: andtheysaid,Thesebet hygods, O
Isr
ael ,
whichbr oughttheeupoutoft hel andofEgypt.
(Exodus32: 4).Thi
sennobl i
ngwasaki nt oworship
andi ndeedt heysacr
ifi
cedtoitastheywoul dhave
32
donetoGod.Thusitbecameasubst i
tut
eforGod.
Theyther
efor
eatt
empt edt omakethei
rowngod.
Lamentabl
eandfoolishasitismanywhoennoble
andrever
eandholdtheirtotemssacr
edareli
kewi
se
al
sotryi
ngtomaket heirownGod.

IfAaroncouldbesodecei vedbypeopl ewhot hought

ofthemselvesassomehowconnect edandr el
atedt o
acalfmor ethant heywerer el
atedtoGodwho
appearedtot hem i nphysicalform asaclouddur i
ng
thedayandasapi l
laroffi
reduringthenight,then
howeasyi sitf ormoder nmant obet r
ickedintodoi ng
thesame.Nowonderwhysomepeopl etodaypr efer
thecompanyofdogsandot herpetstothatofa
spouseorchi ldren.Manywi l
lsayIwi l
lneverget
marriedIhaveadogorcat .Someev ensayt heywi ll
neverhavechi ldrenast heythatpositi
onisreser ved
forabelovedpet .

Whileitisnotbadt ocar eforani

mal sweshoul d
neverennobl ethem andequat etheiri
mpor tancewit
h
manwhowascr eatedintheimageofGodandi saco
-l
aborerwi t
hGod.Theapost lePeterevensay sborn-
againmani sapar t
akerinthedivinenatureofGod
meani ngthatthegodl i
nessofGod, t
hepowerofGod
rubsof fonusaswedr awcl oserandclosert oHim.
NowonderwhySt ephen’sfaceshonel i
ket hatofan
angel wit
hthegl oryofGodashewasbei ng
i
nterrogatedbyt heSanhedr i
n(Act s6:
15).Thesame
thi
nghappenedt oJesusatt hemountof
33
transfigurati
on( Luke9:29)andt oMoseswhenhe
camedownf rom themount ainwherehehadbeen
communi ngandf ellowshi
ppingwithGodf oran
extendedper iodof40day sand40ni ghtsinit
ial
ly
whi chwasext endedt o80day sand80ni ghtswhen
hehadt or eturntothemount ainbecausehebr oke
thef i
rsttabletsoft helawinangerwhenher eal
ized
thatthepeopl ehadmadeani doli
nhisabsence.
(Exodus34: 33-36).

Godt ol
dMosest hatthepeopl ehadcor rupted
themselvesi not herwor dsdev aluedt hemsel v esin
thesightofGodbywor shi ppingt hisidol.I
nst eadof
aiminghighert owar dsGodt heywer eaimingl owand
tryi
ngtowor shipandennobl eacr eature.Theyknew
thereal,
tr ueGodwhohadpar t
edt heRedSea, fed
them dail
ywi t
hmannaf rom heav en’sbaker i
es, fed
them withquai l
sandcausedar ockt ospewwat ert
o
quencht heirthir
st .Thiswast hesameGodt heyhad
seenspar ingthei rfi
rstbor nsonsi nEgy ptdur i
ngf i
nal
plagueandwhenHehadt oldt hem t hat“WhenIsee
thebloodIwi l
lpassov ery ou.”(Ex odus12v 13)Yet
theyabandonedHi mf oraman- madegod, ani dol.
Suchapr acti
cewi l
lsepar ateusf rom God. I

fwehav esinnedoutofignorancel et
’sacknowledge
oursinandthatofourforefathersandbe
accountabl
etoGodf orbothcor porat
eandper sonal
si
nasDani eldidi
ntheninthchapt erofthebookof
DanielandNehemiahdidint heninthchapterofthe
34
bookofNehemi ah.Pl
easer eadthewholechapter
s
from t
hebibletounderstandt heimport
anceof
owningupt osinandconf essingitbef
oreGodand
thusbreaki
ngt hecurseandbar ri
ersbetweenusand
great
erspir
itualmaturi
ty.

ThefactthatAaronwasapr iestandyetwas
deceiv
edshowsust hatevenpastorsandchurch
l
eaderscanbemi sl
edintoadopti
ngandt ol
erati
ng
i
dols.Mayt heLordopenespeciall
ytheeyesofthe
l
eadersthattheymaynotbespi rit
uall
ybl
indpeople
tr
yingtoleadotherspir
it
uall
ybli
ndpeople.

35
Chapt
er5

ThegodsofEgy
pt

Anci entci v i
li
zat i
onsi ncludinganci entEgyptand
ancientGr eeceaboundedwi thidolatrywhichatt imes
tookt hef orm ofani mal godssuchasApi sthegod
thatAar oni st houghtt ohav emadef ortheIsraelit
es
i
nt hewi lder nessi nExodus32.Thi sgod’ssy mbol
wasal way st hecow/bul l/cal f
.Asi ti
swel lknown
thataf tert hedi spersionoft hepeopl eoftheear t
h
afterther ebel li
onont hetowerofBabel ,
itis
reasonabl et oassumel i
nksi nsomeoft hecr oss-
cultural bel i
ef sofhumans.Forexampl eacer tai
n
resear cherhasest ablishedt hatinal mostev erysingl
e
culturei nt hewor l
dt herei saf loodstoryder i
v edfrom
thest oryofNoah’ sflood, obv iousl
ywi thlocal
variati
onsher eandt here.

Thesamer esear cherfoundupt o80000oft hese

stori
esl endingcr edittothefactthatall humans
shareacommonancest ryifwegobackf arenough
andwer eonl yscat t
eredtov ar
iouscont inentsaft
er
thesepar ationoft hecont i
nents,anev entev en
eminentgeol ogistsagreeto.Wi t
ht hisinmi ndit
wouldt husber easonabl etoli
nkt otemiccul t
ures
todaytot heanci entEgy pti
angods.MostBant u
speakingpeopl ear ehist
orical
lyknownt ohav e
migratedt oSout hernAfri
caf r
om Cent ralandNor t
h
Afri
caandcoul dhav ecarri
edandadapt edsomeof
36
t
hebel
i
efsy
stemst
hatwer
epr
act
icedt
her
e.

TheHut chinsonEncy clopediacomment sonanci ent

Egy pti
angods:
Intheci v i
lisationofanci entEgy pt,totemic
animal s,bel ievedt obet he
ancest orsoft hecl an,werewor shipped.Tot ems
l
aterdev elopedi ntogods,
represent edashav inganimalheads.( p.
348)
Iti
sunder st andabl efrom thisfactthatpeopl ef r
om
otherar easofAf ricawher ewriti
ng, dr
awi ngand
adv ancedpai nti
nghadnoty etfullydev elopedcould
hav eadopt edt hecul tureoftotemswi thoutactuall
y
usingphy sical idolsoft hegodst heyr epresented.
Theyi nsteadusedj ustthement alimage.Theyar ein
actual factsdemons.

Thebi bl
ecl ear l
ystatest hat,“Fortherei soneGod,
andonemedi atorbet weenGodandmen, t
heman
ChristJesus. ”(1Ti mothy2: 5).TheHut chinson
Ency clopediaquot eabov ealsoest abli
shesacl ear
l
inkbet weent hetotemi cspirit/demonandt he
ancest ralspi r
itsast hewhol esy st
em ofr eli
gionwas
basedont hebel iefthatpeopl ewer edescendedf r
om
animal s.Youcanseet hattheev ol
utionmy thwas
peddl edbyt hedev iltohumani tycenturiesbef ore
evolutionasacount erf
eittot heclearbi bl
ical
teachingt hatGodcr eatedmanashei sandmadea
womanf orhi m outofoneofhi sri
bs.Thebi bledoes
notsayheev olvedmanorcausedanani mal over
37
somet
imet
odev
elopi
ntoman.

Furtherpr oofthatsuchEgy ptiangodsandt heir

wor shipi snotr i
ghti ntheey esofGodcomesf rom
thef actt hatGodhadt ot akehi schildr
en, thenat i
on
ofIsr aeloutofEgy ptsot hatt heycoul dwor shiphi m
andonl yhi m.Ther easonwhyt heywer et oldint he
tencommandment st owor shipJehov ahonl y
stemmedf r
om t hef actthatot hergodssuchast he
totemi cgodsofEgy ptfrom whi cht heyhadf l
ed
existed.Suchgodswer ecl ear l
ydef eatedbyMoses
asheunl eashedt het enpl aguesupont helandof
Egy pt.Iwi llexami nej ustaf ewoft hem her et o
i
llustratemypoi nt .Thef irstpl aguewast het urningof
thewat eroft her iverNi lei ntobl ood.TheNi l
ewas
vener atedbyanci entEgy pt i
ansandev enhy mnst o
theNi l
ehav ebeenf oundi nsomeanci entEgy ptian
wr i
tings.Thesecondpl aguewast hatoft hefrogs
whi chwast odemonst ratet hatfrogswer enoti nany
waydi vi
neast heywer et houghtt obe.Agoddess,
Her qetr epresent edbyawomanwi t
haf r
og’shead
wast houghtt ober esponsi bleforgi vi
ngt hebr eat hof
l
ifet oall li
vingt hings.

Thegnat scausedt hemagi ci

answhoast hedevil
’s
agentsinthi
swhol esagahadper f
ormedt hei
rown
miraclestoreplicatethefir
sttwoplagues,todecl
are
that“Thisi
st hef ingerofGod.”(
Exodus8:19).The
fi
fthplagueoft heki l
li
ngofmanyl i
vestockagain
showedt hatthei ranimalandtotemicgodswer e
38
power l
essasgodssuchasApi s( bul
l),Hathor(cow)
andKhnum ( r
am)whi chwereal lworshippedatt he
ti
me.Theni nt
hpl agueofdar knessal sostruckdown
manygodssuchast hesun-god, Ra,whowast hought
topr ovidesunlight,war mt
handpr oduct i
vi
tyandt he
Phar aohhi mselfwasseent obeahuman
represent at
iveoft hi
sgodandt houghtal sot obe
divinehencet hepr acticeoferectingstatuesand
buildingtempl esinhonourofandf orthewor shipof
l
ivinganddeadphar aohs.Anot hergodassoci ated
witht hesunwasHor usandNutt hegoddessoft he
skywashumi li
atedopenl ybybei ngshownpower l
ess
i
nt hef aceofGod’ sclearaut
hor i
tyov erallthesei .
e.
theweat her,t
hesky ,andtheseasons.

Thepl agueswoul dhav eledpeopl ewi t

hdi scer nment
tocompl etelyrelegat ethetot emicgodsandt heir
wor shi pusual lymaskedascul tur
ebyt hedev i
l,tothe
rubbi shheap.Theypr ovedimpot entatt heonsl aught
ofGod’ sjudgmentandev ent odayt heywi l
lnothel p
anymangetcl oset oGod.Thoset hatv aluecul ture
shoul ddosowhi lesi f
ti
ngitt or emov ethechaf fof
i
dol atr yandkeept hemor alv aluesandet hicst hat
remai n.These( t
heuni ver
sal mor alvaluesf oundi n
almostev erycultur e)ofcour secanbet r
acedr ight
backt ot heTenCommandment sandGod’ sl awas
cont ainedi nt heMosai ccov enant .Youwi l
lstillbea
truesonofy ourf at herormemberofy ourcl an
wi t
houtat otem, buty ouwi l
l bemor epur eand
spirit
ual lycleanbef oreGod.
39
Youhav etomakeadeci sion, achoi cebet weenGod
andt hegodsofEgy ptwhi chIam usi nglit
erallyhere
notjustasaf i
gureofspeechasIhav eint hischapt er
exploredt heor igi
nsoft otemsandt hei
rlinktot he
godsofEgy pt.Joshuapr esent edt hesamechoi cet o
thechi l
drenofI sr
ael, thesecondgener ationaf terthe
fi
rstoneper ishedi nthewi lderness.Nowt herefore
feartheLORD, andser vehi mi nsincer i
tyandi ntruth:
andputawayt hegodswhi chy ourfathersser vedon
theot hersideoft hef lood, andi nEgy pt;andser vey e
theLORD.Andi fi
tseem ev i
luntoy outoser vethe
LORD, choosey outhisdaywhom y ewi l
lserv e;
whet herthegodswhi chy ourf athersser vedt hatwer e
ontheot hersideoft hef lood, orthegodsoft he
Amor i
tes,inwhosel andy edwel l
:butasf ormeand
myhouse, wewi l
lserv etheLORD.( Joshua24: 14-15)

EventheJews, whiletheywer eincapti

vi
ty,
worshippedtotemicgods!Godr ai
sedMosestobring
them outofthere.Theycouldn’thaveconcent
rat
ed
onGodi nthemi dstofallthatidol
atr
ytheyhadto
l
eaveEgy pt.I
ny ourcaseyoudonotneedt o
physi
callyl
eaveanyl ocati
on,butyouneedt ol
eave
thegodsofEgy pt.

40
Chapt
er6

Pr
ovoki
ngGod

Thef i
rstgener ationoft hepeopl et hatl eftEgy ptwi th
Mosesheadedf ort hePr omi sedLanddi dnotmakei t.
Themai nr easonwast hatt heypr ov okedGodatev ery
turnbyt urningt oi dolsandbymur mur ingand
compl ainingal lthet i
me.Butt heyr ebel led,and
gr i
evedhi sHol ySpi ri
t:theref orehewast urnedt obe
theirenemy ,[and]hehi msel ffoughtagai nstt hem.
(Isaiah63: 10) .
Atonet imeasear liernot ed,theyev en
madeani dol andpr oclaimedt hati twast heirgod
thathadbr oughtt hem outofEgy pt .Theyhadal l seen
Mosesext endi nghi sstaf fov ertheRedSeasot hati t
couldbepar tedaf terhehadpr ayedt oGod.Theyhad
allwi t
nessedt het enpl aguesofEgy pt.Theyhadal l
seent heirf i
rstbor nsonsspar edbyt heangel of
deat haf tert heyf ollowedGod’ sor der st ospr inklet he
bloodoft hel ambsupont hei rdoorf rames.Yett hey
couldn’ tbecont entwi thwor shippi ngaGodwhoi s
notv i
sibleandt angi blei nthephy si cal domai n.They
hadt omaket heirowngod, andl at ert heirowngods.

Evenduri
ngt het i
meoft hekingsofI sr
ael,t
he
chi
ldr
enofI sraelendedupmaki nghi ghplacesto
worshi
pfalse, l
if
elessandpower lessgods.Some
ki
ngswer ecommendedi nscri
ptureforteari
ngdown
suchhighplaceswhi leother
sarecondemnedf or
41
buil
dingt
hem andallowingthem toflour
ish.Onwhich
sidewoul
dyoubei nt er
msoft otemicgods?Ar eyou
readytot
earapartt
hepr acti
ceiny ourownhousehold,
yourownminist
ryandwi thi
ny oursphereofinf
luence
orareyougoi
ngtor emai nsi
lent.

Eli
jahwoul dn’tlett hef alsegodBaal tr
iumphov erGod
sohechal lengedt he450pr ophetsofBaal topr ove
theexi stenceoft hei rgodwhi lehewoul dpr ov
et he
existenceofJehov ah.( 1Ki ngs18: 22-40) .God
answer edwithf i
reont hatdayt ohumi li
atet he450
prophet sofBaal andt heirfalsegod.Todaywel ivein
ti
meswhent hedev i
l decei v
espeopl et of ocusat
l
eastsomeoft heat tent ion,givesomeoft hehonour
dueonl ytoGod, toot herani mat eorinani mat e
object sofwor ship, att i
meswi thoutev enr eal
izing
thatt heyarei ndeedwor shippingt hi
st hing.Thi si s
becauset hedecei tispr esentedi nav erysubt leway
andt hewor dwor shi pisnev erment i
onedbuti fy ou
knowwhatt owor shipmeanst heny oucanseet hat
therear einstancesi nwhi chpeopl eincludi ngy ou
hav ewor shippedot hert hingsot herthant heLor dGod
Almi ghty.

Thequest ionhast obeaskedthati

fsomet hi
ng
spir
itualisthoughttohavepower,suchast hepower
tocausemi sfort
uneonthosethatvi
olatet
otemic
customsi st hequestonofwher
i ethatpowercomes
oremanat esfrom,beari
nginmindthatinthespi
ri
tual
real
mt hereareonlytwosuper
power s,Godandsatan.
42
Allot
herpower sandbei
ngsaresubjecttooneort he
other
.Soifthepowerorinfl
uenceofsomespi r
itual
phenomenadoesnotemanat ef r
om God,thiscomi ng
from t
hefactthatsuchaphenomenai snotexpr essly
mentionedasrequiri
ngourobei
sanceinscr i
pture,
thenitmustbecomi ngfr
om thefat
heroflies,satan
whom Ichoosenott omenti
onwi t
hacapi t
al l
ett
erf or
heisnotwor t
hyofone.

Whent heI sraelitespr ovokedandgr i

ev edtheSpi rit
throughr ebel l
ion, het ur nedagai nstt hem andf ought
agai nstt hem t hr ought heseriesofj udgement st hat
Isr
ael hashadi ncludi ngBaby l
oni ancapt i
v i
tyunder
Nebucchadnezer ,Romanoccupat i
onet c.Weshoul d
bewar nednott opr ov okeorgr i
ev eGodbycont inuing
tof ollowandhonourot hergods.Hest atesinhi s
wor dt hathei saj ealousGodwhowi l
lnotshar ey our
dev otionwi t
hany oneorany t
hingel sebutseekst o
hav eal lofy ouf orHi msel f.JesusChr i
sttaughtust o
denyour selves, toloseour selv esthatwemaygai n
l
ifei nHi m.Forwhoev erdesi rest osav ehi sli
fewi ll
LOSEi t
,butwhoev erwi llLOSEhi sli
fef ormysake,
thesamewi llsav eit.(Luke9: 24) .Hemeantl osing
someoft het hingst hatmayseem t oust obe
essent i
al component sofourl i
festyl
esandcul tur ebut
whi chmayact ual l
ybebar r
ierst oourf ullcommi t ment
andt otal surrendert oChr i
standt othecont roloft he
Hol ySpi rit.HeHi msel fisthel i
feasHeaf fi
rms; Iam
theway ,thet ruthandt helif
e, noonecomest ot he
fatherexceptt hr oughme.( John14: 6).
43
Weneedt of ull
yappr eciatethef actt hati nChr istwe
havebecome…anewcr eat ure:oldt hingsar epassed
away ;behol d,allthingsarebecomenew.Andal l
thi
ngsar eofGod, whohat hr econciledust ohi msel f
byJesusChr ist,andhat hgivent oust hemi nistryof
reconci l
iat i
on.( 2Cor i
nthians5: 17-18) .Ther ear e
somet hatwi llquest i
onwhatt ypeofper sony ouwi l
l
bewi thoutat otem.Theansweri ssi mpl eanew
creatur einChr ist.Jesuswar nedoft ryingt oputnew
winei ntool dwi neskinsast hiswoul dr apturet hem.I n
thesamewaymanyChr i
stiansar ejustt ryingt ogr aft
ontot hei roldbel iefsystem thet ruthoft hegospel .
Thisisar ecipef orerror
.Thescr iptureabov ei nthis
paragr apht ell
susofbecomi nganewcr eat ureand
thatall the‘ newt hings’areofGod.Soanypr act i
ce
whichdoesnotst andupormeasur eupt ot he
scruti
nyofscr i
ptureshoul dbedi scar dedf orthepr ize
ofgaini ngChr ist.

Theapost l
ePaul alsogr ewupwi tharichreli
gious
andcultural heri
tage.Heev encalledhimselfa
Hebrewoft heHebr ews,aPhariseeofPhar i
sees,of
thetr
ibeofBenj ami n,azeal
ousJew, buthewr i
tesin
oneofhi sletters:Yeadoubt l
ess,andIcountal l
thi
ngsbutl ossf ort heexcel
lenceoftheknowl edgeof
Chri
stJesusmyLor d: f
orwhom Ihav esuffer
edt he
l
ossofal lthings, anddocountt hem butdung, thatI
maywi nChr i
st.(Phill
ipi
ans3:8).Thi
smeanst hathe
hadtolookatt hoseaspect sofhi st
radit
ionthatwere
44
notgodl
yandlaythem asi
desothatt
heywouldnot
beahindr
anceforhiminseeki
ngacloserr
elat
ionshi
p
wit
hGodt hr
oughChrist
.

Jesuswar nedusoft hef actthatthet r

aditi
onsoft he
elderscanbecomeast umbl ingblockf orusinour
relati
onshipwi thGod.Heev enstatedt hattheyare
takenf ordoct r
ine.Theyr educet heef f
ectsoft helife-
giving,saving,healingandi nspiri
ngwor dofGod.
Maki ngthewor dofGodofnoneef fectthroughy our
tradit
ion,whi chyehav edel i
v er
ed:andmanysuchl ike
thingsdoy e.(Mar k7:13Readpassagef rom vs1- 13).
Thi swasaf terthePhar i
seesandscr i
beschal l
enged
him, notconcer ningscr ipture,butratherthet r
aditi
ons
oft heelders.

Thingsdonotbecomer ightsimplybecausesome
ancest orortheot heroncedi dorinsti
tutedt hem, but
ratherbecauseofwhatt hewor dofGodsay sabout
them.SoChr i
sti
ansshoul dnotbl i
ndl
yf oll
owt he
totemi crel
igionbecausei twaspr acti
cedbyour
ancest orsbutshoul dexami nethepract i
cefullyto
determi newhet herornoti t’
sgodly.Whydopeopl e
notl i
veincav esbecauset hei
rancestorsoncel i
vedin
cav es,orkil
ldisabledchildrenli
ketheyusedt o,or
oppr esswomenl i
ketheyusedt o?Hav ingdiscarded
allthement ionedpr act
iceswhycan’ tChr i
stianstoday
discardt hespiri
tuall
ybankr upttot
emiccul ture?This
willhelpusnott oprovokeGod.

45
Chapt
er7:

Noah’
sar
k-sav
ingt
heani
mal
s

Thoset hatknowanyani mal swhi cht heythenf alsely

wor shipast otems, owei ttoGod’ splant hroughNoah
topr eserv etheani mal sdur i
ngt het i
meoft hef lood.
Hadi tnotbeenf orGod, andNoah, thent hese
animal swoul dnothav esur vivedtot hisday .Ev enour
ancest orswoul dnothav eencount eredthem and
beensoawest ruckbyt hem ast oenshr i
net hem i n
theirsmi ndsasgods.Ev identlytheani malsdepended
onNoahandnott heot herwayr ound.Thi sdef eats
thewhol epur poseofhav ingthem ast ot
ems.They
areut terl
yspi rit
ual l
ypower l
ess.Theydi dnotof
themsel vespredi ctt hedi sasterthatwoul dhav e
wipedt hem outcompl etelyfrom thef aceoft heear t
h.
HadGodnotmadepl ansf ortheirpreservation, they
woul dhav eper i
shedi nt hef l
ood.Conser vation
startedwi t
hGod.Thef loodwoul dhav eatthatt ime
madeev eryani mal speci esanendanger edspeci es
threatenedwi thtot al extincti
on.

Sohonouringanimal sastotemswoul dbet otryand

putthecartbefor
et hehorse.Thissetupwoul dnot
behelpfulandcannotbei nnocentorhar mlessasi t
vi
olatesoneofwhatJesusdescr ibesast hetwochi ef
commandment sthatinactualfactsummar i
set he
purposeofallt
heTenCommandment s.TheTen
Commandment sdeal pr
imar i
l
ywi ththerelati
onship
46
bet weenGodandman, andsecondl ywi tht he
relationshipbet weenmanandot herhumanbei ngson
ear t
hwhet hertheyar ebel iev ersornot .Not i
cethat
they( theTenCommandment s)donotpr escribethe
deificat i
onofani mal sbutr at herf or
bidt he
obser vati
onofanyot heri mageorl i
kenessof
any thingi nheav enoronear thot herthant heimage
ofGodi nwhi chmani smade.Thei mageofGodher e
meanst hechar acterofGodandsomeoft he
attri
but esofGodsuchasHi saut hori
tyov ercreati
on,
Hisspi ri
tual domi nionov ert hef orcesofdar knessetc
alsobei ngi nherenti nbor n- againbel i
ev ers.Chr i
sti
ans
shoul dai mf orChr i
stlikenessr athert hanl ikenessto
anyani mal orotherbei ng.

Sowhet heryourtot em ist helion,baboon, zebra,

elephantorsecr etarybi rd,thatpar t
icularani mal had
toobeyNoah’ sinstructionandt oy iel
dt ohi scont rol
sot hatitcouldsur viv
et ot hisday .It’
snotev enwor t
h
compar inganimal st oGod, ast heycan’ tevenmat ch
theinnov ati
venessandaut horityofmer eman.Ihav e
seenoxenwei ghingov ertwohundr edki l
oseach
beingdr iv
enbyal it
tleboyoff ourorf ivey earsofage.
Theyr ecognizehi sauthor itythought heymayhav e
mor ebr utestr
engt h.Ioncesawapost erinabar ber
shopt hatsaid, “
TosomeGodgav emuscl es, t
osome
hegav ebr ai
ns.”Whi l
et hatwoul dbev eryinsul t
ing
andi nsensit
ivetosayt of ell
owmen, itisappr opriate
toappl ytoanimal s.Ev enel ephant sareatt imeskept
behindawi r
ef encewhent heycoul deasi lybr eak
47
downanyman- madest ructurewit
hinmilesofwher e
theywi l
lbe.Ihavespokenbef oreofel
ephant sand
buffal
osbei ngtamedandev endomesti
cat ed.I
tall
showst hepoweranddomi ni
onthatGodputi nman.
Yetsomepeopl ewanttol owerthemsel
v estothe
positi
onwher etheylookupt oanimalsforguidance,
i
nspi r
ati
onandawe.

Evenhav ingani malsaspet sisonlypossi bl ebecause

weexer ciseaut horit
yov ert hem.Ther earehowev er
someNewAger eli
gioust eachingst hatpr omot ethe
useofpet sastot ems.Thi si deaispur elyev iland
stemsf rom beliefsinusi ngwi t
chcraft,sor ceryand
magicinal lt
heirformswhi char enotofGod.A
numberoft hem whohadbeenpr acticingmagi c
broughtt heiri
ncant ati
onbooksandbur nedt hem ata
publi
cbonf i
re.Thev al
ueoft hem wassev eralmill
i
on
doll
ars.(Act s19:19) .Noticet hefactthatt hepr acti
ce
ofmagi ci nvol
vedi ncantat i
onsmuchl i
ket heones
thattot
emi cpoemsandpr aisenamesi nv olve.

Thereareal soparall
elsintheancestralworship
whereincant ati
onsarecommonandi npagan
worshippr acti
cespracticedforexampleintheUKby
drui
dswhost i
l
luseStonehengef ortheirpaganrit
es.
Iti
swel lknownt hatSatanist
salsocongr egateatthe
samel ocationsonHal l
oweenDayet ctoof f
er
sacri
fi
cest odemons.sat ani
stsarealsoknownt o
havefami l
iarswhichar eanimalstheyturnintoto
carr
youtt heirevil
business.Self-
confessedformer
48
satanist
slikeEmmanuel Eni
andRebeccaBr ownhav e
writt
enaboutt hepr
acti
ce.Theyhaveal sowr i
ttenof
demonsappear i
nginani
mal f
orm.Allthisleadst o
thefactthatweoughttolookbeyondt heanimal
symbol soremblemsofdemonst ot heev i
lspirit
s
behindthem whichwhenwehav eunmaskedt hem,
weshoul dclearl
ydenounce,
renounceandabandon.

Wemaynothav eouri ncant ati

onswr itt
endowni n
bookf orm aswr it
ingwasnotaccessi bl
et oourf ore
fathersbutst ill t
hei ncantationshav ebeenpassedon
throughor altr aditi
onf rom onegener ationtoanot her
.
Whi l
ewecan’ tbur nt hebooksl ikethepeoplewehav e
j
ustr eadabout( inAct s19v 19) ,wecanst i
ll
di scard
thecust oms.Thesepeopl edi dnotwor ryaboutt he
monet aryv alueofl osingsuchv al
uablebooksast hey
wer eknownt obewor thmi l
lionsofdol l
ars.They
knewhav i
ngGod’ sf av ourwasbyf armor evaluabl e
thananyamountofmoney .Ot herthingsthat
happenedi nt hepasthav ebeenf or
got t
enandl i
e
buriedinthegr avesofanci entpeopl eyetthe
customsandt raditi
onsoft otemshav esurvivedt he
agest esti
fyingt othei rspir
itualsignif
icance.

Thiswi l
ltaketi
met osi
nkinf orsomeonewhowas
i
gnor antl
yfoll
owingoratleasttoler
atingthepracti
ce.
Prayerful
lyseekGod’swillf
ory ourli
fest
yleinthis
matter.Ifyouaresomeonewhoi salreadyfil
ledwith
theHol ySpir
it,
askHimt oteachy ouandt oguidey ou
i
ntoal ltr
uthinthi
smatterforthisispartofHi s
49
mandateiny ourl
if
e.Buryyourselfint
hescri
ptures
andconsultothergodl
ypeopl einyourl
ifei
nthelight
ofscr
ipt
uret oseektheirv
iew.Ultimat
elyyouwil
l
havet
odeci deonewayort heotherbutdonotrush
i
ntoadecision.ConsultGodf i
rst
.

50
Chapt
er8

Under
standi
ngcov
enant
s

Godi sGodofcov enant .Cov enantsimpl ymeans

promi se,pledge, agr eementorcont r
act.Thet wo
maincov enantsGodhasmadewi thhumani tyaret he
oldcov enant( t
est ament )basedont heMosai cLaw
andt henewcov enant( testament)basedont he
graceofGodwhi chweaccessbyf ai
thinJesusChr i
st.
Inthespi ri
tualreal m cov enant sareusual l
ymadeby
humansandaspi ri
tual beingandar ebindingtot he
personandhi sorherof fspr i
ng.Thisappl i
estot he
Abrahami ccov enantconcer ni
ngt hepromi sedland
whichwasonl yful f
ill
eddur i
ngt heday sofMosesand
Joshuaandt hecov enantt hatGodmadewi t
hDav i
d
thathewoul dhav esomeonef r
om hisl i
neagesitting
ont hethronef orev er ,
whi chwasf ulf
il
ledinChr i
st .

Cov enantsbynat urearet wo-wayagr eement swit

h
obligati
onsandbenef i
tsforeachpar t
ner.Inthe
Shonacul turetherearecov enantfri
ends( Sahwira)
whohav eacer emonyt omar kthebegi nningofsuch
acov enantwhi chwi l
lbindevent heiroff
springtothe
relati
onship.InGenesis15Godmadeacov enantwith
Abr aham.Int heceremonyt omar kthebeginningof
thecov enantGodHi mselfwalkedbet weent hetwo
piecesofeachoft heani malsthatwer ebeing
sacr i
fi
cedt oHim byAbr aham.Atanot herti
meGod
askedAbr aham t oofferhissonI saacand, asa
51
covenantfr
iendofGod,heagreed.Thiswasa
propheti
coccurr
encetotypif
ythefactthatGod
Himselfwouldonedayalsoofferhi
sonl ybegot
ten
Sontodieforusforoursins.

Thecov enantwi thAbr aham st i

pulatedtheactof
cir
cumci sionast hesi gnoft hecov enantforJews.I n
thesamewayIwoul dl i
ket othi
nkt hatourforbear er
s
musthav emadecov enant swi t
hev ilspi
ri
tsandt hen
start
edt owor shiptheset otemicspi ri
tswiththesi gns
ofcov enantincludingt heuseofpr aisenamesand
prai
sepoems.Theymi ghthavehadr i
tesorrituals
thattheycarriedouti nor dertostartthecov enant
rel
ati
onshi pwi t
ht heseev ilspi
ri
ts.What everritesor
ri
tualstheycar r
iedoutwhi chmayhav ei
ncluded
eati
ngorsacr i
fi
cingt hebl oodofthatpar t
icular
animal wasnotofGod.

Inret
ur nthet otemicspir
it
swer ethoughtt owat ch
overthet ribeorcl anormakei tstrongerorpower ful.
Thismayhav ebeenasar esultoflackofknowl edge
aboutt het rueGod.Theapost l
ePaul once
encount eredt hepeopl eofAthens, whosur pri
singl
y
enough, ev enwor ppedanunknowngodi
shi naddition
toalltheiridol sincasetheymayhav emi ssedone
othergod, muchl i
ketoday’
spracticebygov er
nment s
thewor ldov erofhavingamemor ialfortheunknown
soldi
eraf tert i
mesofwart ohonourt hosewhose
remainsmaynev erhavebeenr ecov ered.Paul noted
thatthepeopl eofAt henswere“ …too
52
supersti
ti
ous…”(Acts17: 22).Theyhadsomany
objectspfworshi
pasmanypeopl ehavesomany
dif
ferenttot
emst hattheyhonour .Wetheref
ore
shouldseparat
eour selvesfrom anysuperst
it
ionsand
practi
cesnotexpresslypr omotedinscri
ptur
e.

I
nChr i
stwehav ebeenmadei ntoaroyal priesthood( 1
Peter2:8-10) ,withJesusbei ngt hechiefhi ghpr iestof
thenewcov enant.Heest ablishedthisnewcov enant
notwi t
ht hebl oodofbul ls,ramsorgoat sbutwi thHis
ownpr eciousbl ood.Hi sbl oodisthebl oodoft heSon
ofGod, thebl oodofGodt heSon.NowonderwhyHi s
bloodissopower f
ulint heaf fai
rsofman: itisthe
bloodofGodt heSon, Emmanuel Godwi
, thuswhom
I
saiahcal lsinIsaiah9: 6-7, “MightyGod. ”Whatt his
meansi st hatall born-agai nChristi
anshav i
ngbeen
washedi nt hebl oodoft heLambnol ongerneeda
humanmi ddlemanbet weent hem andGod, apr i
est.
I
nst eadther eisnowt hepr i
esthoodofal l
bel i
ever s.

Priestsaswear enowbef oreGod, areexpect edtobe

holyandr ighteoust oenabl ethem tomai ntain24/ 7
communi onwi thGod.Theywer eanoi ntedwi thoi l
signify
ingt heHol ySpi r
itanointi
ngwenowhav e.Old
testamentl evit
icalpr i
estshadt ohav ebl oodspr inkl
ed
upont heirear,theirthumbandt heirtoet osi gnify
sanct i
fi
cationint heirhearing,t
hewor koft heirhands
ort hei
rdeedsandt heirwalkorchar acter(Exodus
29:20-22).Honour i
ngt otemswoul dnothav eand
evennowi snoti nkeepi ngwi ththehol i
nessexpect ed
53
oft
heki
ngsandpr
iest
sbef
oret
heLor
d.(
Rev5:
10)

InChri
stwewer er edeemed.Tor edeem i
stobuy
back,torelease,t
ocompensat efor,t
odeli
ver.We
mighthav ebeeni ncludedinthetermsandconditi
ons
ofanyspokenorunspokencov enantbetweenour
ancestor
sandt ot
emi cspi
rit
s.I
nChr i
stwewer e
boughtbackf rom bei ngboundbyanysucht erms.We
arenowf reeinChr istandourobligat
ioni
ntermsof
rever
ence, honourandwor shi
pisonlytoGodand
JesusChr i
stHi sSon.

Jesushasal l
theaut hor
ityandwehav etheaut horit
y
throughHisNamet onull
ifyanyungodl ycov enantsor
pactswi t
ht hedev i
loranyofhi sdemonswhet her
theycomei ndisguiseornot .It’
stimet obr eakt he
ungodlycov enants,toovertur nthem t odesecr ate
them andt urntoGod.Bl otti
ngoutt hehandwr iti
ngof
theordinancest hatwasagai nstus, whichwas
contrar
yt ous, andtookitoutoft heway ,naili
ngitto
thecross.(Colossians2:14NKJV) .Thecov enantis
againstyou, i
tiscontrar
yt oy ousodi scarditnowi n
theNameofJesus.

Thisiswhatt heApostl
ePaul hast osayconcer ning
i
gnorance: Andt het
imesofthisi gnor anceGod
overl
ooked, butnowcommandsal lmenev er
ywher e
torepent:becauseHehasappoi ntedaday ,i
nwhi ch
Hewi l
ljudget heworl
d…(Acts17: 30-31NKJV) .IfGod
overl
ookedourancest or
s’i
gnor ancebecauset heydi d
54
nothavethewor dofGodr ev ealedtothem and
avail
ablet
ot hem aswedot oday ,
whatexcusedowe
havetocarryoni nt
hisidolatry
.From t hescr
ipt
ure
abovethetruthisGodnowcommandsal lmen,i
n
otherwordsallhumanbei ngs, t
or epentandworshi
p
onlyGodthroughHi ssonJesusChr i
stwho
purchaseduswi t
hHi sownbl oodt omakeushei rsof
thenewcov enant.

Hosea4: 6alsotellsust hatpeopl ecanbedest royed

throughl ackofknowl edge.Compar etheresultsof
cent uri
esofancest ralwor shipwhi chisactuall
y
i
dol atryandt ot
emi ccul t
ureandt heaccompany ing
pov ertyinprimit
ivesoci et
iest otheaf f
irmati
onofGod
i
nAmer i
caf orexampl ewher eev enthedoll
arbill
s
procl ai
m, ‘
InGodwet rust’,andt heaccompany ing
national bl
essings,whi char enowst ar
ti
ngtobe
erodedbywi despreadapost asyanddepar t
urefrom
godl i
ness.Ifourfor efatherslaidt hewrong
foundat i
onf orusspi r
ituall
yweneedt olayanother
foundat i
oni nChristforour selvesandourof fspri
ng.

Thepat hthatli
esopent ousi stherefor
et hatof
repentanceratherthant r
yingt oj
ustifyourselvesor
try
ingt otr
ivi
ali
zethepr acticeasbei ng
i
nconsequent i
al.I
t’
snotwhatwet hi
nkabouti tbut
ratherwhatGodsay sinHiswor dthatmat ter
s.We
shouldbel i
ketheBer eanswhowhenPaul t
aught
them somet hi
ng…r eceivedt hewor dofGodwi thal
l
readinessofmi nd,andsear chedthescripturesdai
ly,
55
whet hert hesethingswer eso.( Acts17:11).I
encour ageschol arl
yandl aymandebat eont heissues
raisedi nthisbookwhoseai misnott opr escri
be
any t
hingbutt osuggestt hatpeoplebegi ntosear ch
theirbiblesandseei fthesethingsareso.Ul ti
mat ely
i
t’snothumanappr ovaloracceptancet hatis
i
mpor tanttousbutr athertheapprov aland
accept anceofourMast er,t
heLor dJesusChr ist.It
’s
possi blethattoday’scust odi
ansoft otemi cbeliefs
willchallengeusaboutdi scardingthe‘tradit
ionsof
theel ders’astheydi dconcer ni
ngt hefirstcentury
disciples.Letitsufficetosayt hatwear enotwi ll
ing
topl easemenbutr athertopleaseGodi nthismat t
er.

Asy oubr eakandnul li

fyanyungodl ycov enant smade
byy ourf oref ather swi thev ilspiri
tsmasquer adingas
tot
ems, medi tateont hispr omi sef rom Godi nhi s
wor d:Asf orme, thisismycov enantwi t
ht hem, sait
h
theLORD; Myspi ritthatisupont hee, andmywor ds
whi chIhav eputi nt hymout h,shal lnotdepar toutof
thymout h, noroutoft hemout hoft hyseed, norout
ofthemout hoft hyseed' sseed, saiththeLORD, f
rom
hencef orthandf orev er(Isaiah59: 21).Thi sisthe
cov enantext r
aor dinairet hatGodwant sy outokeep
withHi mf ory ourselfandy ourspi rit
ual andphy sical
offspring.Iam usi ngspi ri
tual offspringher et omean
thepeopl et hatyouwi llbeenabl eddur i
ngy ourlifeon
eartht oleadt oChr i
stast heHol ySpi r
itusesy out o
witnessandt obeawi tnessoft her eali
tyofGod.

56
Chapt
er9

Renounci
nganddenounci
ngt
hepr
act
ices

Thet onguehasenor mouspoweri nt hespi ri

tual and
i
ndeedi nthephy sicalrealm aswel l.War shav ebeen
declaredv erball
y,lovedecl ared,mar r
iagespr oposed,
dealsseal edorbr okenal lthrought hewor dsof
someone’ smout h.Ev enfight shav est artedor
temper shav ecool eddownt hroughwor dsut teredby
someone.Gov ernment sall overthewor ldaskt heir
soldiers,poli
ceof f
icers,presi dents,primemi nisters
andj udgest otakeanoat hofof fi
cewhent heyst art
theircareeraspubl i
cser v
ant sandt heyal lhav eto
makei tv erbal
ly.Theydosobecauset heyknowt he
valueoft hespokenwor d,thepoweroft het ongue.

I
ndealingwit
hthet ot
emicspiri
tsweshoul ddeny
them t
hehonourgiventothem bythosewhocal lt
hei
r
prai
senamesorchantt hei
rincant
ati
onst hroughthei
r
prai
sepoetr
y.It
’snotharmlessassomewoul dt hi
nk.
AndbecauseitisnotinhonourofGodt heni t
’snot
forusastheheirsoftheki
ngdom ofGod.

Thebiblesay saboutthetongue:Deathandlif
earein
thepoweroft hetongue…(Proverbs18:21)
.Wecan
useourt onguestodeclareourli
bert
yf r
om demonic
oppressi
onandt odenouncethesetotemicspir
it
sand
thetotemst heyhideunder.Weshouldopenlydeclar
e
tothem thatwenol ongerbelongtothem regar
dless
57
ofwhatmi ghthavehappenedi
nt hepastandthatany
contr
oltheymayhav ehadoverusi snolonger
possi
blenowt hatwearetheLord’sandonlyHis.We
bel
ongtonooneel seandwewillservenooneelse.

Thatwaywecanr ev er
seanyev ilthatmayhav ecome
uponusort hatfollowst hebloodlinesuchas
avengingspiri
tsandsof orthwhichar edemonsand
havenopowerorr ightov ertheredeemedchi l
drenof
Godwhoar ebornnotoff leshandbl oodbutofthe
spir
it.Speakoutify ouhav ebeensi l
entall
alongand
havebeenhoodwi nkedbyt heenemy .Tel
lhimy ouar
e
notignorantofhisdev icesandt hathecannot
succeedagainsty ou.Lestsat anshouldgetan
advantageofus: forwear enotignorantofhis
devi
ces.( 2Cori
nthians2: 11).

Denyt hedev i
l anyallegiance.Denyhim anyroom
(Ephesians4: 27).Denouncehi mf orthedir
tytri
cking
l
iarthathei s.Youdon’ tneedanyotherspiri
tualbeing
i
ny ourlifeothert hanGod.Hei ssuff
ici
enttomeetal l
yourspirit
ual andmat eri
alneeds.SeekChristal
one
andexcl udeanyot hergodsori dol
sfrom yourli
fe.

Jesustaughtusthatweshallhav ewhatsoeverwe
SAYinprayer.Thi
siswhenhet aughtthepri
ncipl
eof
speaki
ngtoy ourmountainwhichcoul dbeyour
i
nsurmountablechal
lengeoranyobst aclebetween
youandadeeper ,morefulf
il
li
ngr el
ati
onshipwithGod
thr
oughChr i
st.Sobegintomakeapr ayerof
58
confessingy ourall
egiancetoGodal oneandal soa
verbalrenouncinganddenounci ngofi dol
sandot her
gods.Ver bal
lyTELLt heenemyt hatyoudenounce
him andal lhi
swi ckeddevices.DIVORCEhi minthe
wayt hechi l
drenofIsraeldiv
orcedthest r
ange
womendur i
ngthet i
meofNehemi ah.Thestrange
non-Jewi shwoment ypi
fyotherall
egiancesthatare
atconflictwithourrelat
ionshipwithGodAl mighty
,
theFatherofourLor dJesusChr i
st.

TheApost lePaul alsost at est hatnot hingshal l be

ablet osepar ateusf rom t hel ov eofGodwhi chi sin
Chr i
stJesus.Whathemeantwast hatnophy si calor
spiri
tual orabst r
actconceptwoul dev erdisl odge
Jesusf r
om hi sthroneast heLor dofal lourbei ngs.
Yetsomepeopl ehav eallowedsomeoft hecr eat ed
thingst ohav eanunwor thyhonouraheadoft heLor d
ofgl oryHimsel f.ForIam per suaded, thatnei ther
deat h,norli
fe, norangel s, norpr i
nci palit
ies, nor
power s,nort hingspr esent ,nort hingst ocome,
Norhei ght,nordept h, noranyot hercr eatur e,shal l
be
ablet osepar ateusf rom t hel ov eofGod, whi chi si n
Chr i
stJesusourLor d.(Romans8: 35-39) .Sodonot
all
owanyot hercreatur et haty oudei f
yasat ot em t o
separ ateyouf rom God.Decl aret ot het otem t hati t
cannotsepar atey ouf r
om Chr i
standt hati twi llnot
hindery ourpr ogressi ntheLor d.

Somewil
larguethattodenyordenouncet
hei
rtotem
i
stodenythei
rtr
ibe,cl
anorfamil
y.Thoughi
tisnot
59
goodtoalienateyoursel
ff r
om family,i
fthereisneed
tochoosebet weenGodandf ami l
y,t
henev ery
chri
sti
anoughtt ochooseChr istbeforefamily
.The
twel
veapost l
eshadt oleavetheirhomes, famil
ies
andbusinessestof ol
lowChr i
st.Theyhadt ogiveup
somet hi
ngst oful
lysurrendertoChr i
st.Soifneedbe
donothesitatetogiveupwhaty ouhav etogiveup
fort
hesakeofChr i
st.

Moseshadt ogiveuphi spositionasapr i

nceofEgy pt
andleavet her oyalpalacesoast oidenti
fywiththe
peopleofGod’ scov enant.Inall humant houghtthis
wouldhav eseemedl i
kemadness, butGodwas
workingoutagr eatpl anthroughhi mt hatwould
cul
mi nateint hereleaseofhi speopl efr
om four
hundredy earsofcapt ivi
ty.Manyhav ebeenin
capti
vit
yt hrought otemsf orcent ur
iesbutregardless
ofhowl ongt hishast aken, Godcanst il
lsetyoufr ee,
youandy ourhousehol d.I
ftheSonofmanset syou
fr
ee,youwi llbef reeindeed! !
!(John8v 36).

Het hatlov
ethf at
herormot hermor ethanmei snot
worthyofme: andhet hatlovethsonordaught er
mor ethanmei snotwor thyofme( Matthew10: 37).
Letthisscri
pturehelpy ouputy ourpriori
ti
esr i
ght.Let
Godcomef ir
stbef or
eanyot herconsiderat
ion.What
woul ditpr
ofi
ty outogai ntheappr ovalofyourf amil
y,
tri
be,clanorindeedsoci etyatlar
gei fyoulosty our
rel
ationshi
pwi ththeLor dintheprocessory ou
appear edt
oGodt obeadoubl e-mindedper sonwhom
60
Godpr omisedwill
notgetany
thi
ngfr
om Hi
m(James
1:
6-8).Donotwav eranddonotbet
ossedt
oandfr
o
bythet r
adit
ionsofmen.

Menhav efailedsi ncet heday soft het owerofBabel

tocomeupwi t
hsol uti
onst ohumanpr obl ems.They
mayer ectimposi ngedi ficesl i
kethet owerofBabel ,
butthei raspirati
onscomet onoughti ft heyar enot
Christ-centredandl eadt hem tobeChr ist-l
ike.Jesus
neverr everedorhonour edanyani mal asat otem,
neit
herdi danyoft heapost lesorev ent heear l
y
churchaf t
erChr ist’sascensi on.Becl earaboutwhi ch
sidey ouar eon, whi chsidey oustand.Ar ey ouwi t
h
Godoragai nstGod?Lett heHol ySpi r
itl eadandgui de
youi ntoget ti
ngt her ealtrueanswert ot hese
quest i
ons.Hei st heonewhot esti
f i
esi nourhear t
s
thatwear et hechi ldrenofGod.Whyi si tsodi ff
icul
t
foryout ogiveupy ourtot em?I sitnotbecause
thoughy oudenyi t,therei saspi ri
tual bondbet ween
thetwoofy ou?I si tnotbecausey ouf eel it’
ssomuch
apar tofy ou?

Paul speaksofnol ongerl i

vi
ngbutChr istl i
vingi nhim
(Galati
ans2:20).IsitChristli
vi
ngi nyouwhohonour s
totemsori sitself
?Selfhast obesuppr essed, self
hast odiesot hatwemaybequi ckened, renewedand
transfor
medi nChr i
st.Johnt heBaptistwhenJesus
wasr evealedtohim hadt histosayaboutsel f.Imust
decreaseandhemusti ncrease(John3: 30) .Ist hat
thecasei nyourlif
e?IsJesus’ infl
uence, hist houghts,
61
hi
sattit
udes,hisemoti
onshavi
ngpr omi
nenceover
andabov eyourown?Thesearetoughquest
ions,
but
questi
onswhi chatr
uechri
sti
anshouldnotl
eave
unanswered.

Ulti
mat elyitwil
ltakecour aget odepar tf rom ageol d
traditionsandi twillbediffi
cultjustasi twoul dhav e
appear edincompr ehensibletot heSamar it
anwoman
thatJesusmeantt hatt r
uewor shipcoul dt akepl ace
wi t
houtt hemount ainsofSamar iaort het empl eat
Jerusal em.I nthesamemanneri ttakesmor aland
spiritualcouraget ocont emplatel i
fewi thoutat otem.
Youwi l
lneedt ostandupandbecount edandev engo
agai nsty ourbret
hr enasi twasdur ingt het imewhen
Aar onmadet hegol dencalfi
nt hewi lder nessand
Moseshadt oaskt hemenofI srael whi chonesof
them wer eonGod’ ssi de.

TheLev iteschoseGod’ ssideandsl ew( ki

ll
ed)thei
r
i
dolatrousbr ethrent hatdayandsi ncethenaf f
ir
med
thei
rroleaspr i
estsundert heol dcovenant.When
GodhadmadeAar on,theLev i
teandhi sescendant
s
pri
ests, hehadmadeagoodchoi ce(Exodus4:14).
Youhav etochoosewhi chMast ertoserve.You
cannothav et womast ers.Youcannotbet hesame
spri
ngt hatspout sf orthbit
terandsweetwat er
satthe
samet ime.Takey ourpi cknowt haty ouhaveknown
thetr
ut h.Thet ruthwi l
lsetyouf ree.

62
Chapt
er10

Besanct
if
iedandconsecr
atedunt
otheLor
d

Sanct if
icationmeansbei ngsepar at edunt ot heLor d.
Ital
someanst hecour seoflifebef itt
ingt hoseso
separ atedasi nf ormedbyt hewor dofGodandt he
exampl eofJesusChr ist.I
npr acticaltermst his
i
mpl iest hatt her ear esomet hingst hatChr i
st ians
oughtt ogi v eupf ort hesakeofl ivingaccor di ngt o
God’swi l
l ast heyunder standitinscr i
ptur e.Thi s
meansmai nlyr epent i
ngf r
om si nandi niquityi nal l
thei
rf ormsandal lself-serv
ingbehav iour .Thi sent ai
ls
exami ningourcul turalandhumani sti
cnor mst oseeif
theyar eai medatgl orifyi
ngGodorj ustpander ingto
thefant asiesoft hehumanmi nd.Weal soneedt o
scrutinizesuchpr act i
cesandseei ftheyar ei nf act
‘
spiri
t ual’andi ft heyar espirit
ual andnotdi rect ed
towar dsGod, thent heyar edirectedt owar dsot her
spiri
tual beingswhi cht hebibleinfor msusar eev i
l
spiri
ts( Ephesi ans6: 10-14).

Vine’
sCompl eteExpositor
yDi ct
ionaryofOldand
NewTest amentWor dsdef i
nessanct i
fi
cati
onas,
“Sancti
ficati
onisthesepar ati
onoft hebeli
everf
rom
evilt
hingsandway s.”AndtheGodofpeacehi mself
sancti
fyy ouwhol l
y;andmayy ourspiri
tandsouland
bodybepr eserv
edent ir
e,wit
houtblameatt he
comingofourLor dJesusChr ist(1Thess5:23).
Accordingt othatscript
uretherearethreemainareas
63
i
nwhi chweneedt obesanct i
fi
ed: hespi
t ri
t,hesoul
t
andt hebody .Thepurposeist hatwemaybe
blamel essandunbl amableatt hecomi ngofourLord
JesusChr ist(1Thess3:13).Inlightofthi
sarewe
withoutbl ameconcer ni
ngouruseofandbel i
efi
n
totemsbef oreGod?Weshoul dbebl amelessnotin
theey esofmenbuti nthesi ghtofGod.Ev enthi
ngs
thatwet hinkareri
ghtcouldact uall
ybewr ongin
God’ssi ght .

Firstlyweshoul dbebl amel essi nourspi ri

t:thespi ri
t
par tofus.Thi siswhatt heApost lePaul r
ef erstoas
thei nnerman( Ephesi ans3: 16).Itisal sothepar tof
ust hatisi ntheimageorl i
kenessofGod, forGodi s
spiritandi swor shippedi nspi r
itandi ntruth( John
4:24) .
Thisi sthepar tofust hati sbor nagai nwhenwe
receiv eJesusatt hemomentofsal vat i
on.Thi sist he
par tofust hatdi scernsspiritualthingsandsenses
thet uggingandt hepr ompt ingoft heHol ySpi ri
t
throught hesmal lstil
lvoiceofGodt hr ough
conv icti
onbyt heHol ySpiritorbyt hewor dofGod.
Thi sinnerandspi ri
tualpartofy ouneedst obecl ean.
Yourspi ritcanonl ybecl eanwheny ouwor shipno
othergods, realorimagi ned.Wheny oudonotgi ve
thesamel evelofhonourt oanyani mat eori nani
mat e
objectasoneshoul dnormal lygivet oGod.

Whi l
eiti
sonlyGodwhocanul t
imatel
ysancti
fyus
throughtheHolySpir
it
,therei
salsoapartwehav et
o
playbybeingseparat
edf r
om anythi
ngthatcoul
d
64
poll
uteourspi r
it
.Wehav etoobeyGod’ swor dwhi
ch
i
st hetruththatcansanctif
yus( John17:17)
.Soour
sancti
ficati
oncannotonl ybeimput edbuthasal
soto
belearntandbui l
tuplit
tl
ebyl i
tt
leaswesubmi t
oursel
vesf ull
ytotheteachingofthewordofGodand
theexampl eofChr i
st.

Weneedt obesanct i
fiedinoursoul whichi smadeup
ofourmi nd, ouremot ions, ourconsci enceandour
wil
l.Ourmi ndi sthemanbat tlegr oundi nwhi chmost
ofourspi ri
tualwar f
arei sfought .Thebat t
leisfor
controlofourat ti
tudesandourmi ndsetwhi chwi ll
determineourbehav iour.Themor ewei nt er
nali
zeand
applyscriptureinourmi ndst hemor ewebegi nto
thi
nkandbehav einagodl yway .Thi sshoul daffect
thewaywet hi
nkaboutv arioust hingsandourment al
att
itudestowar dsspi ri
tualissues.Ourmi ndsshoul d
notregardany oneorany t
hingel seashol yunlessi tis
sodescr i
bedcl earlyinscr i
ptur e.Weshoul dsepar ate
ourmi ndsf rom beli
efint otemsandt heirsupposed
rel
ev anceandpot encyi nourl i
v es.

Ourconsci enceshouldbeactiveandsubmi t
tedto
Godsot hatHecanusei ttoconvictusofsi nandany
wrongdoi ng.Thisismai nl
yachievedbyget ti
ngt o
studyscr i
pt ur
eandt omedi t
ateuponi tasitisour
onlysour ceofabsol ut
ewr ongandabsol uteright
.
Moder nmanhast r
iedtodoawaywi ththeideaof
absoluter i
ghtandabsol ut
ewr ongorsi nandhas
i
nsteadpr opagatedtheideathattrut
hi srel
ative
65
whichmeanst hataccordi
ngt othi
svi
ewany t
hing
couldberightorwrongdependingonhowwel lyou
canjusti
fyit
.Thisi
sself-j
usti
fi
cati
onand
l
icenti
ousnessinthedisguiseofmodern,
progressi
ve
thought.

Ifonesubscr i
best othi spointofv iewt heny our
consciencewi ll
bedi sabl edasy ouwoul djustif
y
steali
ngorf orni
cationf orexampl eassat i
sfyingy our
needs.Howev erthebi bleclear l
yt ell
sust hatthere
arethingst hatar ewrongorsi nful si
mpl ybecause
Godsay stheyar e.Wemayj ustifyorexcuset hem in
onewayort heot her,butt hatisj ustadel usionaswe
willonedaybecal l
eduponbyGodandnothuman
j
udgest ogiv eaccountf orev erythingwehav eev er
doneorsai d.Soy ouhadbet tertakeGod’ swor d
ratherthanman’ sopini onont hemat ter.

Ouremot i
onsorhear tassomet heologi ansand
i
ndeedmostpeopl ecal liti
nevery
dayl anguager ef
ers
toouremot i
onal i
ntelli
genceourabilit
yt of eel
,
understandanddeal wi thourownandot herpeople’
s
emot i
onsbet heyposi t
iveornegative.Sanct if
yingour
emot i
onsasapar tofoursoul wouldt husmean
expressingourawe, reverence,
godlyf earand
adulati
ononl ytoGod.Weshoul dtherefor enotadore
ourtotem mor et
hanweador eGodorf eel i
nanyway
‘
attached’ t
oit.Attachmentt opeople, objectsand
experi
encescanatt i
mesbecomecount erproducti
ve
i
ftheat tachmentsuper sedesourattachmentt oand
66
oursubmi
ssi
ont
oGod.

Anot herpar toft hesoul isthewi llwhichmeansour

deci sionmaki ngcomponentwi t
hwhi chwecan
choosebet weenr i
ghtandwr ong.Manyhav e
wonder edwhyGodmademanaf reemor alagentat
l
iber tyt ochoosef orhi msel fwhi chpat hhemayt ake
i
nl i
fe, event ot heext entofal l
owi nghi mt ochoose
turnawayf r
om God.Thi sshowsust hegr eatl ov e
Godhasf orhumani ty.Hecoul deasi l
yhav emadeus
asaut omat onsonl yabl et oli
v erighteousandmay be
ev enr emot econt r
olled, buthehasgi venust he
freedom t ochooseev enbet weenl if
eanddeat h.Ev en
thoughHi shear tgrievesov erall t
hosewhodeny ,
denounceandev enmockHi m, Heal soenj oy st he
rev erenceandhonourgi vent oHi m byt hosewho
chooset owal kthenar rowpat hofal i
fesur render dt o
Chr ist.It’seasyt ogiv eupev erythingwheny oubegi n
toappr eciatehowmuchourMakerhasgi venupf or
oursake.Heputont hegar mentofhumani t
yt oadopt
usi nt ot hev eryf ami l
yofGod.Hecal lsusnol onger
stranger sorj ustf r
iendsbutact uallyHi sbrother sand
sister s.Isn’tthatwonder ful!Wehav eaBi gBr ot herin
heav en!Wewi llnol ongerbebul liedbyanyspi ritual
forces, wehav eJesust opr otectusandf i
ghtf orus.

Weshoul dal
sobesanctif
iedinourbodiesmeani
ng
thatourbodi
esshouldnotbetatt
ooedwi t
hsymbols
ofanyanimal.Tat
tooi
ngwi t
hanimal sy
mbolsi
s
associat
edwithoccul
ti
cpracti
ces,andatti
meswith
67
tot
emi ccult
ure.Ourbodiesneedt obesepar atedunt
o
theLordandt heyshouldremainascl eanandhol y
templesfortheHol ySpi
ri
ttodwel li
n.Jesuscleansed
theactualphysicalt
empleatJerusalem duringHis
l
astweekonear thandbecauseweknowf rom
Scri
pturethatGoddoesnotdwel lintempl esbuil
tby
man’shands, Henowwant sthet
empl esoftheHoly
Spir
it
,ourbodiest obeli
kewisecleanbef oreGod.

Ourbodi esshoul dt hereforenotat tendanyr it

es,
ri
tual s,chantingsorpr aisepoet rysessi onsf or
totemsbecausej ustourat t
endancewi llbebr inging
thet empl eoft heHol ySpi rittosuchoccasi ons.We
needt ounder standwhowear eandwhatwest and
for.Wear enol ongeror dinarypeopl easwear enow
ambassador soft hekingdom ofGod, indeed
ambassador sofChr i
st.Indi pl
omat icci rcles,an
env oyoremi ssarywi ll
nev erattendanyquest ionable
ordoubt fuleventsf orfearofappear ingasi fthe
gov ernmentt hather epresent sendor seswhat everis
beingdonet here.Inthesamemannerachi ldofGod
shoul dbecar efulofwhatheorhesay sandpor trays.
Asky ourselfthequest ion: Inwhi chpr acticalway s
hav eIbecomeanewcr eature?Ar ether eanyr eal
changesi nbehav i
our,thoughtandemot ionsthat
distinguishy ouf r
om anyot herpersonont hest reet?

Al
lgest
uresofobeisancet
oev i
lspi
ri
tssuchas
cl
appi
ng,ul
ulat
inganddancingastotemsarebeing
ut
ter
edorthepraisenamesarebeingutt
eredneedto
68
bebr oughtundert hespot li
ghtofGod’ swor d,the
bible, i
fthebodyi st obesanct i
fi
edbefor eGod.I sit
notpossi bletogr eetoneanot herbynamer at
hert han
byt otem?Woul dwel oseany thing?Event hoset hat
stickt othem mayormaynothav ether i
ghtor i
ginal
totem asi tisknownt hatatt i
mespeopl elosttheir
totem orhadi tchangedaf t
erlosinginbat tl
eto
anot herchi efdom orcl an.Iftotemswer ejustabout
i
dent i
tywhywoul danot herclanwantt osei zethe
totem oft hev anqui shed?Woul ditnothav ebeen
bet t
ert oimposet heirownt otem onthem t o
assimi latethem?Al ltheseissuesseem t or ei
nforce
theconceptoft otemsasbei ngmor ethanj ustan
i
dent i
tysy mbol .Ev enf atherl
essordi sownedchi l
dr en
anddumpedchi ldrenendupwi thwhatmaynothav e
beent heiroriginal totemsbutst il
ldonotl ose
any thing,soi sitwor thithav i
nganyt otem atall?

69
Chapt
er11

Bi
blei
mager
y

Thereisalotofi mager yinthebi bl

ewi thdeeper
symbolicmeani ngf orusespeci all
yinthepr ophet i
c
andapocal y
pticbooksi ncludingDani el
,Isaiah,
Revel
ation,Ezekielandot hers.Suchi mager yisalso
commoni nthepar ablesthatJesust ol
d.Whi l
esome
mayequat ethiswi thuseoft otems, Ibegt odiffer.
Thereasoni sthatwhensuchi mager yi
susedi tisnot
usedinthecont extofpeopl eemul atingoridolising
ani
mal sbutratherasshadowsoft hatwhichwast o
befulf
il
ledinChr ist
.Forexampl eJesusi sli
kenedt oa
Lambi nthatHewassi l
entbef oreHistorment orsjust
asalambi ssilentbef or
ei t
sshear ers.

Thel ambt ypologyal soext endst ot hefactt hatlambs

wer eusedasasacr i
ficesi ncet heday sofAbel ,
the
sonofAdam andEv eandJesuswasr eveal edto
becomet heoncef oralltimesacr i
ficetor eplace
foreveranyneedf orani mal sacr i
fi
ce.Ev ent hefact
thatanimalswer efir
stki l
ledbyGodhi msel finorder
tomakeaphy sicalcov eri
ngf orAdam andEv eto
cov ert
heirshameaf tertheyhadsi nnedshowsus
thathumansar emor epr ecioust hananimal sinthe
sightofGodasani mal swer esacr ifi
cedf orman’ s
sakeandnott heot herwayr ound.Itisthoughtt hat
thisbecamet hebasi sforal lfutureanimal sacri
fice
aspeopl eknewwhatGodhaddonet ocov erman’ s
70
shameandhi ssin,
thought hi
smethoddidnot
actual
l
ytr
ansformt hesinner’
schar
acterandl
i
fest
yle
i
nt hewaythatthebloodofJesuswill
do.

Eventheuseofact ual l
ambsatt hefir
stPassov er
thatGodinst i
tutedthroughMoseswasj ustat ypeof
Jesusast heul t
imatePassov erLambwhodi edt obe
theonlyaccept ablesacri
ficetopaythepr i
ceofal l
the
sininthewor l
d, pastpresentandfuture.Thebl oodof
thePassov erlambwassmear edondoorpost sbuti n
ourcasethebl oodofJesusi sspri
nkledov erall
aspectsofourbei ngt ocleanseusandsanct i
fyus
untotheLor d.

Someoft heimager ysuchasthehor sesandrider sof

RevelationandthebookofDani elar
eangel sr
iding
actualhorseswhi chwedonotknowwhet hertheywi l
l
bephy sicalorspi
r i
tual
justl
i
kewedonotknow
whet herthehorsesandchar i
otsoffirethatEl
isha’s
servantsawwhenGodopenedhi seyeswer ephy sical
orspi r
it
ualthoughweknowt hattheywer epartoft he
armyofheav enwhi chGodast heLordofhosts
(ar
mi es)leads.

Thedev i
lisalsolikenedt
oadr agonorsnakein
scri
ptureduet ohiscunni
ngandt hefactt
hatheused
anactual snaketodeceiv
eEv ebypossessingi
tand
speakingt oherthroughi
t.I
tcouldnothavebeena
vir
tualsnakeasGodwoul dthennothavepronounced
thecurseorj udgmentuponactualsnakesmaking
71
them sl
it
heronthegrounduptothi
sday .Demonsar
e
l
ikewiseli
kenedtoscorpi
onsbyJesusinLuke10:
19
duetotheirst
ingori
rri
tat
ingpot
enti
al.

From allt
heexamplesabov ewhi l
esomepeopl ewill
seebibleimageryasbeingproblematicinr
elati
onto
thejusti
fi
cati
onfortotemsbyt hosewhobelievein
them, i
tshoul
dbenot edthatimageryinthebibl
eis
notusedt odenoteanyparti
culartr
ibeorcl
anas
havi
ngat otem t
houghatt i
mest heattri
but
esof
cert
aintri
beswer el
ikenedtooneani malortheother
oronephenomenaort heother.

Att het imet hatJacobwasbl essingt hechi ldrenof

Israel beforehedi edi nEgy pti nGenesi s49, he
l
ikenedJudaht oal i
onduet ohi sst rength, Ashert oa
donkeyduet ohisi ndust r
iousness, andI ssachart oa
serpentduet ohiscunni ng.Josephi slikenedt oa
fruit
ful branchduet ohi sGod- givenpr osper ityand
Benj ami ntoawol fduet ohi sdoggednessi npur suing
hisgoal s.ThoughJacobusedt hisimager yi twas
nev ert akenasabannerort otem byt hechi ldrenof
Israel andt heli
keni ngofhi schi ldrent onat ural
phenomenawasmor eofaf igur eofspeechand
poet ict hananythingel seast heconceptdi dnot
extendt oeachoneoft hem, butonl ytosomeof
whom heusedmet aphor stobet terdescr ibet hem as
allseni orciti
zensar ewontt odot hewor ldov er.

WhenMosesbl
essedt
hechi
l
drenofI
srael
bef
orehe
72
diedhenev erlikenedanyoft hem toanynat ural
phenomenonatal l(
Deutoronomy33) .Heonl y
blessedt hem accor dingtothewayGodr ev ealedt o
him.Sowhenwewantt obless,
appreciat
eandl aud
theef fortsofourf ell
owmanweshoul dblesst hem
accor dingtot heblessingsment i
onedinthewor dof
Godr atherthant oinvoketheirt
otem asthiswi llbe
activatingotherspi r
it
ual f
orcesthatarecont raryt o
Godandt othebestt hatGodhasi nstoref oreach
oneofus.

InRevel ati
onweal sof indt heuseoft hebeast( An
anti
chr i
stman)anddr agon( satan).Intheset wo
casesi tisthesymbol icuseoft hesewor dsi nt he
samewayt hatJuder eferst oapost atepeoplei nt he
l
astday sasbrutesorbeast sinthatpeopl ewill be
animalisti
candmor econt r oll
edbyt heiremot i
onsand
l
ustst hanbyt heirspiri
tthr oughthei ndwelli
ngoft he
HolySpi ri
twhosef rui
ti ncludesamongot herthi ngs
sel
f-cont r
ol,f
ait
hfulnessandgoodness.Not et hat
Judet hey oungerbrotherofJesust hinksit’
s
degradingt obelikenedt oani mal sratherthan
upli
fti
ngorennobl i
ngast hoset hatbel i
eveint ot ems
wouldpor t
ray.

EvenJohntheRev alat
ori nt
hebookofRev eal
ations
equatessomeunr epentantandapostatepeopl eto
dogs:Forwit
houtar edogs,andsorcerers,and
whoremongers,andmur der
ers,
andidolaters,and
whosoeverl
ovesandmakesal i
e(Revealation22:15).
73
Ifbeinglikenedt oadogwasennobl ingt henthese
peopl ewoul dsurelynotbeout sidet hegat esof
heav enatt heendoft heages.Ev ent heapostlePaul
l
ikenedsomedanger ousdoubl e-mindedand
i
nsi ncereChr i
sti
anst odogs: Bewar eofdogs, beware
ofev ilworkers,bewar eoftheconci sion( Phi
ll
i
pians
3:2).Seeal soIsaiah55:10,Isaiah56: 11.Peterli
kens
backsl i
dingChr i
stiansthatreturnagai ntosintodogs
thatreturnt oeattheirownv omi tandpi gs/sowst hat
returntot hemudev enaf t
erbei ngcl eansedbyt heir
keeper s(2Pet er2:22).

Thef ollowi ngquot at ionf r om Deut or onomyshoul d

putthemat tertor est : Andt heLORDcommandedme
atthatt imet oteachy oust atutesandj udgment s, t
hat
allofy oumi ghtdot hem i nt hel andwher eall ofy ou
goov ertopossessi t .Takeal lofy out herefor egood
heedunt oy oursel ves; forall ofy ousawnomannerof
embodi mentont hedayt hatt heLORDspokeunt o
youinHor eboutoft hemi dstoft hef ire:Lestal l of
youcor rupty ourselv es, andmakey ouagr av enimage,
theembodi mentofanyf igur e,thel ikenessofmal eor
femal e,Thel i
kenessofanybeastt hati sont heear t
h,
thelikenessofanywi ngedf owl thatf l
iesi ntheai r,
Andl esty oulif
tupy our sey esunt oheav en, andwhen
youseet hesun, andt hemoon, andt hest ars, evenal l
thehostofheav en, shoul dbedr i
vent owor shipt hem,
andser vet hem, whi cht heLORDy ourGodhasdi vided
untoal lnat ionsundert hewhol eheav en
(Deut oronomy4: 14- 19) .
74
Moseswentf urt
hertor estatethefoll
owing:Take
heedunt oyoursel
ves,lestallofyouf orgett
he
covenantoftheLORDy ourGod, whichhemadewi th
you,andmakey ouagr av enimage, ort
hel i
kenessof
anything,whichtheLORDy ourGodhasf or
bidden
you(Deutoronomy4: 23) .

Sobi bleimagerydoesnotcont radicttheprohibiti

on
nott oserv eorwor shipthei mageofanyani mal,
personort hest
ar s,sun, moonandot hernat ural
thi
ngsi nouruni verse.Thesear ethegodst hatcan
notseeorhearusandar epower l
esst ohel pus.They
havenoanswerorsol uti
ont othepr oblem ofour
estrangementf rom Godorsi n.Thel astf ew
scriptureshadanadmoni tiont otakeheed, which
simpl ymeanst oser iouslyt hinkabout ,tobecar ef
ul
ofandt obewar nedoft hedangeri nherentinwhati s
beingwar nedagainsti .
e.idolatry.

75
Chapt
er12

Ty
pesoft
otemsandt
hei
rpr
aises

Asyouseef rom kudeketerakwesekwemi tupoiyo,

hapanakupihwambi r
ikwaMwar iasikur
umbi dzwa
kwemunhunezv i
sikwa.
Wewer eal
iens.Unci r
cumcisedPhili
sti
nes.Separat
ed
fr
om thei
nher i
tanceofIsrael
.Godf ounduswhenwe
l
ostandenemi estoHi swill
.

Ephesi
ans5:8Foryeweresometi
mesdarkness,but
nowareyel
ighti
ntheLor
d:walkaschi
l
drenoflight
.

SeeifChr
isti
sglorif
iedi
nanyoft
heseexampl
esof
tot
emsbeingpraised:

Bet
aWabat
aDhl
i
way
o

Wabata,
Dhl
iway o,
Rufur
a,
Mamber ere,
Mauruka,
VaChimapwer e,
VaMut i
wakopa,
Mutukutiwedanda,
Majeketer
a,
Manjuru,
Mazivanguva,

76
Mait
aMat si
ndira,
Di
uti
ur angur i
ri
,
Madzivire,
Musikanaanengei shwa,
I
nodyiwanemanhengaose.
Mait
aBet a,
Mait
ai shway anguy i
yi
,
Dzi
karindahadzi dy
iwi,
Ai
wazv aonekwaWabat a.

Bhebhev
okwaTumbar
e

Bhebhe,
Enzi
nda,
Tumbar ewejiraj
ena,
VaChuluchaNhav e,
Vachi
sav ase,
VaChigalanakabhanga,
VaChichengetamunongol o,
VaChil
ay i
lochakanyeishomwe,
VaChifuki
javakaj
idhema,
VaChil
imamaf undemanj i
,
Asai
vaTumbar e,
BwanabwomuRozv ibwait
svamuchot
o.

BongaChi
hwa

Mait
aBONGACHIHWA
Mait
aSigauke
BongaChihwa
77
MwaitaMutambar a
MwaitaWaGarwe
Mutupowetakagur i
ranaMati
kahangekuonet
simba
Kuonamumhut inodedera
MwaitaBumhi Muer aImbwa
Wanodyaichi
famba
Chadonhapasi hawadyi
Dehwerehositusav anthu
Kari
meramutet e
Zvai
twaNgony amu

GumboMady
irapanze

Mazv ii
taGumbo,
Maitazv eny uMady i
rapanze,
Vaidyirapanzenokut yaVaeraShi r
i,
Hekanhi Chi donhamut o,
Chidonhamukakamhur uinobvamuGona,
Chifukamakonohadz i
dzakatseketer
a,
Shav ahur uy akapambaGona,
Garar amasango, chipaurochamaf ut
a,
Godzamut omhur uinobvaGona,
VoRuf ura,
Venzev et svuku,
Mushukur oweGona,
Vanechi tangachi si
zarin'
ombe,
Chinotozar amusi wezvit
a,
Maitav ari Masakadza,
Maitav ari Nj
aidza,
Nav ariMhi ri
kwaNy azvi
dzi,
78
Maitav ari Hwi r
u,
Tatendav ari Chi kwi dzirechamabwemachena,
Chakadamut emamuzv areMat aruse,
Hekanhi vari Raubwi ,
Vari muhar ihur u,
Vari chikomochaMabwazhe,
Mhar ey okur way aiganzakungehandi r
a,
ZvaitwaChi sema, Sambi ri
,
Chikar awapanze,
Chifambanamana,
Chifur amakur u,mazondot i
nody a,
Maitav ari Sviki r
e,
Vari Mat ur i
,v ar ichiv ende,
Vari Hubv umwe, Chiput samakur u;Godzamut o,
Vari Hwi ruy aMazondev okudany ama,
Vanoer agumbor emombeasi mut umbi wayo
vachi dya,
Shav ay anguy i
yi,Chi tanga, Chi
kany amatope,
Maitav ari Mapf ukudzakunody i
waboor anechiri
mo,
Nakamuchady amakunguwohukudzar ova,
Hekanhi Mady i
rapanze, Ganyamat ope,
Kutiv anenzar av aponewo,
Hekanhi Musi pa,
Mar er aNher er a,Mat sikapasikuzororahuvata,
Hekanhi Gut u, Hekanhi weGona, ndisengei,
Senganhundwa, sengamusor opaner omonezi so,
Hekanhi Mhandamakan' a,Matakuradumbu,
Mat angakunwamuv i
r i
uneny ota,
Vatambi vemuGany i
r o,
Mat sikapachenanapaner ima,
79
Hekanhi Masangedzwa,
Bvumazv ir
ema,
Tever at
simbamut svai
rowenzir
a,
Hekanhi Mur endo,Mushay achi
rashwa,
Maf utatinozor a,
Runy angai gonamombe,
Gumbomubhadha, dovoti
nowadza,
Nyamat i
nody a,mukakat i
nomwa,
Muswei nhawo, ndoveindozur
amumba,
ZvaitwaChi t
ov a,mushukurowegonamombe,
Aiwazv aitwaGumbo,
Chinemukut u,maKor ekore

GumboMady
irapazhe

Mazv i
taGumbo
Maitazv eny uMadyi
rapazhe
Shavahur uy akapambaGonaGar aramasango
Chipaurochamaf utaChikodzamhandar
a
Godzamut omhuruinobvaGona
Vezhev etsuku
VeRufur aMushukuruweGona
Vanechi tangachisi
sazaringombe
Chinotozar amusiwezvit
a
Maitav ariMasakadya
Maitav ariNjai
dza
Varimhi rikwaNyazvi
dzi
VariHwi ri
VariZvomut umbwe
VariRaubwi
80
Vari Muhar uhur u
Vari chikomochaMabwazhe, Chisema,Sambi
ri
Chikar achapazhemwongo
Chifambanamana
Chifuramakur uMazondot inodya
Maitav ari Svikire
Maitav ari Mat ur i
Vari Chiv ende
Vari Hubv umwe
Chipat samakur uGodzamut o
Shav ay angui yi
ChitangaChi kany amat ope
Maitav ari mupf ukudzakunody i
waboora
nemuchi rimo
Vari Chikakat anwa
Vari Bor omoka
Vari Mandi ra
Gany amat ope, hekani Mady i
rapazhe
Kutiv anezhar av aponewo
Hekani Musi pamar eranherera
Mat sikapasi kuzor orakuv ata
Hekani Gut u
Hekani weGonaNdi sengei ,
senganhundwa
Sengamusor opaner omonezi so
Hekani MhandamakangaMat akuradumbu
Mat angakumwamuv iriuneny ota
Mat sikapachenanepaner ima
Vatambi vomugany i
ro
Bumazv i
rema, hekanhi Masengedzwa
Tever atsimbamust vair
owezhi r
a
81
HekaniMur endoMushay achir
ashwa
Mafutat inozora
Runyangai gonangombe
Gumbomubhadha
Dovotinowadza
Nyamat i
nody a,mukakat i
nomwa
Muswei nhawo, ndoveinodzur
amumba
Zvai
twaChi t
ova,mushukuruweGonangombe
Ai
wazv aitwaGumbo, Chinemukukut
umaKor
ekor
e

Gwai
Gumbi

MaitaGwai ,
Maitamukur uvambwa,
Zvai
twaMoy ondizv o,
Vanechumachi singav er
engwi
VakatorerwaumambonaMabv akur
e,
Maitahwai yangui yi
,
I
kachemakunof adangwe,
Ukai
dy aunoper amazi no,
Maitavanav aMbar ure,
Maitavanav aChigondo,
Zvai
twamhur iyaNy amhunga,
Zvai
twamhur iyaGor a,
Maitazv enyuv ariGor omonzi
,
VariMhar amasi mbe,
Kuzi
v azv enyuv ariMany ewe,
VariBaramhany a,
82
Tatendav ar
iMburwi ,
Zvait
waChuma,
Zvait
waGono,
Zvait
waGumbi ,
Zvait
waGwai ,
Maitav ar
iMhondor o,
MaitaSembe,
Chuma- Chit
unge,
Ti
not endavarikwaMashay amombe,
Ti
not endaChinhovechanguchichi
,
Zvaonekwav ariDowor o,
MaitamwanawaGor a,
ZvaonekwaGwai ranguiri
,
ZvaonekwaMukur uvambwa.

HWESA

MaitaChiwambuHwesaMasango
MaitaMhokor e
VaridziVeHwesa
MaitaMhoni Vemut setsePamusana
Makar ambaKuf ambausi ku
MaitaVani Sena,VariPutukezi
VariMasumbur ero,MaitaNy amhut
e
Chipahumba
Mudy aSikat
UsikuUchikwev er
aVar anda
TsotsoMusangoTsot soMudzi r
a
ZvaitwaKaterere

83
Hl
aty
way
oNungu

Ti
yashi r
eNungu,
Mat i
kit
i,
Chikandamusey e,
MwashumaDeket e,
Ti
nobongaMaf uyatey a,
Ndizvozv i
noitakutitifirepano,
Takauy akuzokonzababay o,
Mwai taGondemukande,
Mwaonakut ivantuv akat etepa,
MwashumaMaposa,
Mut upousikaambi r
wi ,
Mwai tavariSerereBur auta,
MwashumaGandi rwana,
Mwashumav ariDimi re,
Musat i
furababawoy e,
Rambai muchiti
pazv e,
Ti
kaf i
rapanongeny i.

HumbaNy
angur
u

MaitaChi
unga,
MaitaHumba,
MwanawaMakombe, Chomer a,
MaitaNguruve,Mutakurwa.
Zvai
twatateguruwanguMakombe,
MaitawaDukudza,ariJekacheka.
MaitaChi
rema,
Chir
imanemur omo,
84
Mapadzaar ipo,
Asimuchi apav aranda.
Maitav ariBar we, Gwindi
ngwiguru,
Vanodzi r
ai mbanemat ope,
Munomur omounengegomber ekucher
esamv
ura.
Zvait
waNy angur u,
Makapedzar udzi rwavamweneny uchi
,
Maitav akar ota,
ZvaonekwaRi ma,
Tatendav aChev akaranganaChibonoyo.
Zvait
wawaGosa,
MwanawaZunzangar a.
Maitav ari
Kar omokapuwe.
Ti
not endav ariMat iti
ma.
KunaNy adekese, kunaZambezi.
Aiwazv aitwamwanawaMat ope.
ZvaonekwaNy angur u.
ZvaonekwaHumba.
Nguruv e,Chi tambanamat ope.

MbanoMat
emav
i

EvoNzou, Makunda,
MaitaMbano, ev oMusiy
iwa,
Mwoy owev hu,zvai
twaMadzor er
a.
Maitazveny uvomuGoromonzi, v
okwaChi
kwaka.
Zvait
wav emv utochena,vomuDzimwe.
MaitaMat emav i
,Mbanoy anguyiyi
,
Chiuyachinengemukaka,
Chinodyi
wanav asi
nameno,
85
Mhukai sinamut umbi,
Chiuyachav achafema.
Maitavari pamhi ripaNhor a,
VariDzi
mwemuGor omonzi ,
VokwaChi kwaka, Vachivakanamabwe,
Kuvakanomut iunosakar a
Kanakudy i
wanomuchenj e.
Maitazveny uvariMut i
waor a.
WaitawaChezanaBenhur a,
Zvait
wamaKor ekore,
VaChi pahomwoy
o.
Ai
wat atendaMusenda,
Zvait
wa, zv aonekwav ari Dzi
mwe.

Mbuy
aChi
konamombe

MaitaMbuy a,
Maitav ariGombwe,
Kuzivazv enyuvariRare.
Hekani vaDzetev akabudamuRenje,
Vachiuyawokuzot i
tsvagawoVaMaromo.
Zvait
wav ariZvi
hota,
Vanav aMar omo,
Gushor angur i
ri
.
Maitazv enyuMhar a,
Chikonamombe,
Mashay amombe,
Many ukaanguy aya,
Makany ay achurunamat echi
kavemurov
e.
Maitav ariGangarahweMukonde,
KuneMhar ainobhur ur
uka,
86
Yakaerakut sikapasi kanay omhany a.
Kuzivazv enyuMhar ay anguy i
yi
,
Makangamusor war amhezi
Makat ozozadzwamhezi navar
anda,
Mazv i
itazveny uvokwaSadzadet e,
Gobv urinokonzachi t
sa,
Dzangar e,
Vauyauy av akabvaRenj e.
Maitav aMar omo, Chi gumbuchi nounye.
Chinotodenhwahur iusiku
Kuchidenhamasi kat ichinovava.
Maitav ari
Zv i
hota,chi komochakaumbwanev hu,
Chisi
nakananakat ombozv akopamusoro,
Chinowakwapochi sipitichetekungenhova
yomucheche
AiwaZv aonekwaGusho,
Zvait
waMbuy a,Chi konamombe.

Mhl
angaDhuv
e

AyaDhuv e,
Ti
notendaMapanda,
Ti
ashireMur i
wo,
Ti
nogarir
ai mwi babay o,
Mwanawanguwokuber eka,
ABhasera,Amapf upfu, Chivar
a,
Ndichj
ochamwakaf i
ra,
Dhuverangur i
ri
,
I
rozuvar akangotijene'ene,
Takangogarir
anj i
ra,
87
Miromoy aomanenj ar
a,
I
yomhambanechi karibabayo.
Zvakangoomazv iri
pachit
aya.
Ai
wazv ai
twav ariMupambaneZomba.
Ti
notendadhuv e.
Mwai t
av ar
i Chiri
nda,
Dhuverinotsikamapuweei pfut
amwot
o,
Ai
wazv ai
twababay o.

Moy
oAkat
akwa

MaitaMoy o,
Akatakwa,
Chiranduchamambo,
MwanawaKur edzamuswe,
Mawi re,
Dunzv ir
enhika,
Chirimugore,
Chikwariwachakabet amwanzv
aweny
oka.
MaitaSahay i,
Mhumbay anguy iyi
Nhandar
e,
Door emhuka,
Dunzv ir
enhika,
Ai
wazv ai
twaMugov erwa

Moy
oChi
randu

Mazvi
itaMoyo,
Mait
aChirandu,
Gonoren'
ombe,
88
Mushay achi rashwa,
Mukakat inomwa,
Maf utat ichi zora,
Nyamat inody a,
Gandat ichi kakisengoma,
Ndov et inodzur isamudzi mba,
Muswet inopumhi sa,
Nyangat i
chi itagonan' ombe.
MaitaChi randu,
MaitaMoy o,
MaitaSahi ,
Maitadhewar angu.
MaitaBv umav aranda,
Gonor aMut indi naGochedza,
Vari Mar onga.
Maitav anav aPfupajena,
Vari muDumaneChi dumana.
Maitav ari Dikiti
ki,
Vari Ushav a,
Mushenj er ewav aDumausi napakaminama,
Pakami namat i
noorora.
Mhur iinobv aMandar a,
VaMar eranher erav anorer
anedzavamwe,
Ndikafirapanowani ,
Kudai kuendandi chidzokazvi
noi
tahuyo,
Chinondi onasechi nameso,
Nav ari
powonamangwanamusany ar
a.

Moy
oMugonder
wa

89
Mait
aMoy oMugonder wa,
Zvai
twaVar asa,
Mutevewanguy uyu,
Mait
aMoy o,
Chagonda, Nyamay avo,
Mauyangei Mushayachirashwa?
Mukakatinomwa,
Mafutati
chizora.
Mait
aMugondi ,N'
ombehur u,
Kuzi
vazveny uGonor en'ombe,
Ai
wazv aonekwaMoy o,
Nyamayav o.

Moy
oMushor
iwa

Ewoi Moy o,
Mushor iwa,
Gonor emombe,
ChieraMoy o,
Nyamay oset ichi
dya,
MaitaVaRi si ngagohwe,
War i
dandi y ewar ibi
ka,
Zvait
waMushor i
wa,
Mhumbay omwoy o,
I
sinaasi nay o,
Maitav arichi komochemabwemachena,
Chidonhamukaka,
VariNjaira,
Kumut iunokopechi rimo,
Kukopezhi zhaunokonzendove,
90
HekaniChidonhamuto,
Vanonwamv urayemugonera,
I
nonay achiri
mo,
I
singati
nhire,
KuzivazvenyuvariMabvazuva,
MaitavariUrambeGuv i
ra,
Chikomochi si
ngamereuswanemit
i,
Ai
wazv ai
twaMoy o,
Mushor i
wa.

Moy
oMut
uri
kwa

MaitaMoy o,
Mut uri
kwa.
MaitaNhumba,
Chiranduchanguchi chi.
Zvaitwav ari
Nhandar e,
Maitav aReve,
Tatendav amazhumu,
MuGut sawanguy uyu,
Vamabwemachena,
Vachipwany amateteni.
Maitav arimunaShav anhohwe,
Moy oy anguy i
yi
.
Aiwazv aitwaMuturikwa.

Moy
oNemat
ombo

Mai
taMoyo,
Mai
taNematombo,
91
Bvumav ar
andav akadzi vachizav oga,
Kuzivazv eny uv ari Uzozv iNhandar e,
Vomut iunokopechi ri
mo,
Kukopezhi zhaunoshur andov e,
Zvait
wamwanawaMugumu,
MaitaDzi mbabwe,
VaMar umbi dza,
Vakar umbi dzamhur inedzisidzav o,
Vanomut iunobv aNj air
a,
Ukarinzemat ehweachaona.
TatendaMaseka,
Moy oy anguy i
yi.
Maitav emhaswa,
Vanamesoar ipat iku,
Vany okahai sv osv i
,
Ukaisv osv ay akur uma,
Vorupazhor utetet ete
Rukobv urunopar ur anguo,
MaitamwanawaGumbor emv ur
a,
Mambousi t
andav ar e,
Kutandav arakunov anomubv umbi .
MaitaShai ,mai taChi randu.
TatendamuGomowanguy uy
u,
Aiwazv aonekwaMoy o,
Nemat ombo.

Moy
oShay
amombe

Evoi
Moy o,
Shayamombe,
92
MaitavariManhi ze,
Kuzivazvenyuv okwaMudimuranwa,
MaitaveChigara.
MaitavariChikapakapa.
MaitavariChikomba.
Zvai
twav ariMan' ozhwe
Vakaumbachur unemat e.
MaitaMoy oyanguy iy
i,
ZvaonekaShay amombe,
Ai
wazv aitwamwanawaMur ambwa.

Moy
oSi
nyor
o

MaitaSi nyor o,
Zvait
waMur oro,
Vagariv amachi ra,
VaZunguv amachi ramachena,
Vakauy anomumv ura
Kuzoshambadzandor onendari
ra.
Kuzivazv eny uv ashambadzi ,
Maitav ezv iuyazv i
nengemukaka,
Unody i
wanav asi nameno,
Tatendav ady ivamazai ,
Vamupf uramagi di,
Nguot akasukakar e,
Vaeniv akauy av akatakuraumambo,
Vanody amar orov akatambarar
a,
Vadyivendat sv anamashongadede,
Vabvakur e,
VaChitsv achi r
imur utsoka,
93
VaUsuunjenjema,
VagereZv i
njanj
a,
Venev epasi,
Vanofambav ar
ipadar a,
Vazukuruv eshi
ri
,
Zi
endanomudenga,
Vanehamadzakaper eraChirozva.
Mazvii
tav aSena,mai taMoy o,
Mutupomukur uwai erwaDzi mbahwe,
Nyamai nyoromut upousi namupat sa,
VaChumachi tet
e,chi kobv
uchi nobanduka,
Ai
wazv ai
twamuNj anjawakar oka.

Moy
oSi
thol
e

EwoniSi
thole,
Moyo,
Mombe,
Wasanga,
Ganyamatope,
Mutupowatakaeratese,
MwaitaMombe,
Mushayachir
aswa,
Mutupourimudanga,
Ti
nobongaChi r
andu,
Dzemudzawangu.
MwaitawarikunaHamudi y
amwe,
Ngaone,
TabongavariMadzadza.
Zvi
garezvakadaro,
94
Mheranari
ni,
Ngavat
ungamirwe
Kut
indaramoy av
oir
ebe,
Ndabonganyamho.

Moy
oWady
egor
a

MaitaWady egora,
Evo,Moy o, mwanawaRusi ke,
Maitav ariDombot ombo.
Kuzibvazv enyuv ariMazav e,
Maitazv eny uvari Mandoga,
KurereN' andunaNher era.
Maitav arer eMahwemachena,
VokwaMuzar abani, variShangura,
VariChikombor e, variDudzu,
Wady egor awady emangav a,
Hwedzar inokudy awo,
MaitaChi randu,
Mukondewanguy uyu,
Zvait
wav aHombar umev ar
iNhumbe.
Ai
wazv aonekwaMoy o,Wady egor
a,
VokwaRusi ke,
VarerekuMat umbaar iraneBinda,
Ai
wat atendav anav aMuzar abani.

Moy
oWakapi
wa

Mai
taWakapiwa,
Mai
taveGur
uuswa,Chi
randu,
95
Hekani Moy oy anguy i
yi,
Kuzivazv eny uv ar i
kuMat svit
si ,
VariTangany ika, Mut akur wa,
Bvumav aranda, v auy av eMhani ,
Hekani Moy o,wakapi wa,
MwanawaMukwengapasi naMuny epi,
VaeraMoy o,vanoswer ot everwanav akadzi
,
Moy oWakapi wapasi rose.
Maitav ariZangaome, v ar iMahumwi ,
Hekani Mbuy a,Zi ri
wosehwa.
Maitav ariGar ara, Mat andar e.
Tatendav ariDar anj ivav anav aMupfumbwa.
Hekani Moy o,var iMahusekwa.
Maitav ariChi kwi zuneChi kura,
Zvaonekwav ari Jer anondo,
Chipfuwami ti
, vakadz ivachi uy avega,
Gwezv av anhuv ari kunaMucher anegombe.
Maitav ariWona, tot endav ariDiki
ti
ra,
MwanawaZi ri
wosehwa, hekani Nhandar e.
Maitav ariuRozv i,v akabv aGur uuswa,
VaMunay isivemv ura,
Vanot ocher wapasi kuti uv awane.
Maitav ariDar anj i
va,
Kunababav aDhi mwanaChi munda,
MuZungu, Mugar andakat akur wa,
Moy oMudi wadi wa, Chi sakar ambwa.
Pachapf uur anapov anor idzamhur uru,
Vanav aZi ri
wosehwav akany n'ayachur unamat
e,
Churuchi kat iny '
akat a.
Maitav aMoy onav aMunombi rei.
96
Mait
avariMatsvit
sineChi kur
a.
Mait
avarikunaMut any'a,
Mukonowakar wapasi .
Mait
avarimakaha, vanav amuzarabani
,
Zv
aitwavariMahanwa; hekani v
aMwenda,
Ai
wazv aonekwaWakapi wa,
Mait
avaMhani ,Moyo.

Moy
ondi
zvo

Hekani Sahay i
Dhewa
Moy ondi zv o
Vakami v omukaka
Bvumav ar anda
vakadzi v aChi zavomene
Dzimbahwer erupwet epwet
e
Variurozv iNhandar e
Sahay imhondor o
Jengetany ika
Mwenewav anhu
VaChur uchamapf undemanji
VaChi r
isamhur u
Muzindawen’ ombe
Gorokot er a
chir
imudanga
ndambachi rashwa
VokwaChumachamambo
chamachi rachi nosakar a
Mupf udzewaNy an’ombe
97
Chiwanzamukaka
Chipur irochamaf uta
Vachi si y
andany ara
Var iMany anga
Vanemudzi unobv amabv azuva, uchi
nobay
aRupango
Vakaper anhendamuDzi mbahwe
Vachaonamudongo
vagadzi voushe
Mut iunokopechi ri
mo
zhizhauchi kozhendov e
Mur ur amanhanga
Vesv iromosv it
okot oko
svinenzungui nosv i
tsadakat aka
Dzimbahwe
Vor upazhor upwet epwet e
runonamai mba
Vamat akari
ngahwi rika
zvirumezv i
chiri
ngapasi
Dyembeu, kurimakwakona
Mut engeni wazv ozv ovenga
Mambousi tandav are
Kut andav ara,mv ur ainovamubv umbi
Vazv ikwechekweche
zvinonongwanev avindukir
a
Asinakuv i
ndukiraanowanazv apera
zvaendanemwando
Hekani ,Nhandar e
Mupf udzeur i
mudanga
VokwaBhasv i
VaNy okahai svosv wi
98
Kuisvosv a,inorumamunhu
Vedombor akakonachi
mwangonemar
angady
a
Vamat urur amv ura
Ziendavachi siya
Ny amutor azv ose
Ny amat inody a
Maf utatinozor a
Mukakat inonwa
nokusev esasadza
Debwet inowar ira
Ny angaigonamombe
Ndov etinodzur ur
amumba
Musweudenhawo
Hai wa,t
at enda
Var i
dziveny ika
Zvaitwa,Sahay i
Muzi ndawapasi
Changami re

Musoni
Shi
nda

Mait
ambev a,
Musoni,
Warukore,
Munhuwakur e,
Zungunde,
Mutswandiani,
Akagarangozi,
VaRemba,
Vauyi
,
99
Nyamunaka,
VaMweny e,
Vasi
ngasoneneshi
ndanhema,
Vaerambeva,
Vakashoshonor
ashonomumwena,
Ai
wazv ait
waMusoni.

Mut
ongaMupamombe

MaitaMut onga,
Mukoka,
Ngezi ,
Maitav ariChi v
ar e,
VokwaDumbur a,
Vakat umbur amombenechar a,
Chipangachi chisvi
naura,
Chat adzakut umbur amombe,
ZvaitwaMut onga,
Maitav ari
Chi ngondo,
VapaChi zari
r a,
Si
yakav hezha,
Varidzivamasango,
ZvaitwaNgezi ,
Vasireveteki,
Vanot orevetekakanav asorwa,
ZvaitwaMupamombe,
Ai
waMupawose.

Ngar
aWaMambo

100
Wamambo,
MaitaNunguy anguy iyi,
MaitaChi pirimukuwashawaMambo.
Hekani Maposa,
Chirashami hwa,
Masv ingoaGov er e.
MaitaChi kandami na,
Weshanuur ipaut a.
Maitav ar iChi r
ungur i
ra,
Manj ekecher a, var iGokomer e,
Chizuzachanguchi chi.
MaitaNungu, Hananda, Zimbov or
a.
Mazv iit
av aRusv ingonaMazambar a,
Vakaf uradombonomusev er
ikabudaropa,
VaMupumbuv okopachi ri
mo,
Ravezhi zhav of urashangwa,
Vakadzi dz isav anhukut ungetimbwa.
Vokut oramapadzaav anhu,
Vachi ndoisemugomo,
Vachi batawani key angov amihway oga,
Nunguy anguy i
y i
,
Mushay achi r
ashwa,
Minungundey engar a,
Nyamausav ihwav amwe,
dehwer ichisev eswaz ve.
Maitav ar iGov ere, Masv ingoangu,
Zimway a, Zimut owanguy uyu.

Nhar
iUnendor
o

101
Mazv i
it
aNhar i,
Unendor o,
Zvait
waMaokomav i
,
VaZunguv eDande
Varimumat anga,
Vakabv aMaz umba
Mbiradzi chir
iramudz iva.
MaitaNhuka,
Mombei sinamuusi ,
Muusi ndini.
Kuzivazv enyuv aNy amombe,
NhukaMusi kiti,
VokwaMugar ahukombwa,
Vanemhukai singaoneki,
VokwaChot akurwa,
Vanamesoanengeembi ti
,
VokwaMuchemwanoshi r
i,
Vanokuf ambakunengekukav ir
any i
mo,
VokwaJekamv ura.
MaitaNy amasv isva,
Vanofambanamagopany anga,
VokwaMhepoi nori
gazvuru,
I
chisi
y ahundedzemi t
imuTsunga.
Maitav aChihor oMakor ekore,
MwanawaBi rinaGany i
re,
Anokuraasi ngazi v
i murimo.
Ai
wazv aonekwaNhar i
y anguyiyi
,
Zvait
waunendor o,
MaitamuTsungaweDande.

102
NhewaSi
mbot
i

Mwai taNhewa,
I
ngwei namav ar
a,
Mwaz v i
it
aSimbot i,
Chiruka, Nyakuzvibatir
a,
Chikat sa,VaMutey i,
Mwai tawar i
Kutsoka.
Chirukamachi ra,war iMhember e.
Mwaz v i
it
awar iMundi mu,
Wanoi ri
maNhewa,
Mhondi i
noponderapachena
Pasinakananegwenzi .
Mwai tawar i
kuChai ,
Sany anga, Bukaiwe.
WaitamwanawaNy amar uodzo,
Akapi ndamubuwenembwadzake,
Mwai taheny uwar i kuUkuhu,
Mucher a,
Chirebv u.
Mwai tawar i
Tezi,
Mwaz v i
it
aNy amut eyi,
TatendamuTawangena, MuSena,
Aiwazv aonekwaNhewa; Simboti
.

Nz
ouSamany
anga

EwoNzou,
Mai
taSamnyanga,
Mai
taBondor
ouswa,
103
Maitav ariMapanda,
Zvaonekwav aridzivamasango,
TatendaNzou, Mar i
gazvuru,
Hekani Mat yoramiti
,
Ewoganda, ewoMuv i
,
Maitamur ar
andi mire,
Mur ewowakapai kwapamhangway omut
i,
Zvaitwachi r
andu,
Vanenzev edzinengemahapa,
Mukat itsimbar i
nengechi sero,
MaitaJer anyama, Mut si
kapanembiri,
TatendaChi randuchamat ondo,
Maitav ariChibarachaMany i
ka,
Munet sokadzi notyakair
apakuf amba,
Vatarir
iv emasango,
Munof ambamuchi y evamat unhu,
Aiwazv aitwaNzou, Samany anga,
ZvaonekwaNy amat si
mba.
Mhukahur u.

Shav
aMazar
ura

Mait
aShav a,
Mazarur
a,
MwanawaRwi zimukonde,
VeMadzure,
MutimutemaChi tungwi
za,
Mait
aMaz arur
a,
Mukombewendy e,
Vokwanyangenyange,
104
Vakanyangachur
unamat e,
VokwaMuchenjewachuru,
VariMadzuremukonde,
Ai
wazv ait
waMazarura,
MwanawaRwi zi

Shav
aMhi
zha

MaitaMhizha,
Zvai
twaNhuka.
MaitaMukondewanguy uyu,
Vamangur i
rambezhuvava,
Vasi
ngabat imbezhuneshangwa.
MaitaMhizhay anguyi
yi
,
Mupaya,waMabweadzi va,
Vakadziv
iraDzimbabwekwaMwar i.
MaitavariBvumbura,
Ai
wazv aonekwaShav ayanguyiy
i.

Shav
aMuf
akose

MaitaShav a,
MaitaMuf akose,vokwaNy amhangambir
i.
MaitaChidavarume,
Vanotokundwapakusakur a,
Pavakadzipasinaanov akunda.
MaitamwanawaHwat a,
Mukondewanguy uyu.
MaitaveGombav akabvakwaNy ashanu,
MwanawaShi ri
chiri
ma,
105
Anomut sanengoni ,
Akaitir
angoni vakangav atandwa,
Akav adzor er
amuShav arunzwe,
Maitav okwaSadzadet e,
Gobv urinokonzachi tsi.
MaitaGur udzav okwatsangadzi
I
sakacher waikapera,
MaitaNhukay anguy i
yi,
Mat uka,mhof uy omukono.
Kudy amhof ukudy amuny epfu,
Kudy abv upamenoomokot oka.
Aiwazv aonekwaShav ayanguy i
yi,
TatendamwanawaHwat a.

Shav
aMusey
amwa

MaitaShav a,
Mhof uy omukono, Zi
wewer a,
VokwaMut ekedza, vakatekedzanapaJanga,
Vakapihwav akadzi muny ikayavaNjanj
a.
Maitanhuka, Shavay anguy iy
i,
Hekani Mut ekedza, variuHeraMukonde,
Zvait
waMhukahur u,vemiswei nochengamivi
ri,
Zi
endanet yaka, mutunhuunemago,
Vanov angirav ashurav hu,kutsi
vir
amut umbi,
Chidavar ume, vanovhimwanav anonyanga,
Vakakamoner av akadzi dzenhema,
Vanomoner av akadzi dzamangondi ,
Vanochemer awav at
anga,
Vanemi sodzi isodonhapasi ,
106
Kutiyadonhayodanhev edzoy aroromunhur opa.
Ti
notendav ari
Mat enhere,
Varipazvi
komozv eMbweny a.
MaitaveTsambochena, Mhof uy omukono,
Kuyambukar wizi
mv ur
ay akwi ramakomo.
TotendavoMuchimbar e,veGur uuswa,
Vanenzangachenakungemwedzi wejenachena,
MaitaMusey amwa, Nhukay anguy iyi
,
KuzivazvenyuvaShav aMukonde, v
ariGombe.
Zvaonekwav ahombar ume, zvaitwaMbi ru,
Aiwa,zvaonekwaSar ir
ambi ,zvaitwaNy ashanu.

Shav
aMut
enhesanwa

MaitaMut enhesanwa,
Shavay anguy i
yi,
Zvai
twamwanawaChi weshe,
Mugov awakar asika,
Mutsikapanembi ri
,
Mhandamakan' a,
Marambakukundwa,
VokwaMut ovamombe,
Makat ovamombeneshamhui kamuka.
Hekani Masvinga,
Dzvangaranga,
Venzangachena,
VaChimbar e,Chidavar
ume.
MaitaNhuka, Mhukahur u,
MaitaVaShav a,
VeGumbakumba,
107
Vepf
upagobvu.
Mait
aShava,Mukondewanguyuy
u,
MwanawaMbi r
uwakabvaRwir
a,
Mait
avokwaSadzadet
e,
Gobvur
inodzi
pamwana.
Ai
wazvaonekwaNechombo
Mwanawachiweshe.

Shav
aMwendamber
i

Mait
aShav a, Mwendamber i.
Mait
av okwaGwenzi rakavitamambo,
VeChitember ere.
Mait
aMv urayadzongwa
MatangakunwaShav ayanguy iy
i,
Varishurev anomwamabv ongwe,
Vari
mber i vachinwat svene,
Nyahunzv i,Shav ayanguy iyi
,
Zvai
twav ariTsonzo,
Vanav aChikonochengwe
VokwaZongor or okunava,
Ari
onaat i r
akaf a,
Zvai
twav eChitember er
e,
Vaeramhof u,
VokwaMazur ukuwanda, kuri
mugukwa,
Mait
aVaKar i
mudunhuuchi zvinwzi
ra.
Zvai
twaVaShav avanav aChiver
o,
Ai
wazv aonekwaMendamber i.

Shav
aNy
akudi
rwa
108
MaitaMasv i
nga,
HekaniMuchamay a,
Zvait
wamwanawaKache
Ti
noendaMhukahur u,
Maitavar
i Shangur e,
Kuzivazveny uvariChikwidi
bir
e.
Maitamat ateguru,
VariChamukwenj era.
Zvait
wav ariMawar e,
HekaniGur udza,
VokwaTungebwe, vokwaMuchenj e.
HekaniBonda, Mhof uyanguyiyi
,
ZvaonekwamwanawaMusany ange.
MaitaMakangany a, Maguhwu.
Ti
notendamwanawaMukuny adzinaNy
anzi
ra,
Varandut
si r
av amwepf umorauy a
Ri
chibvakunei mweny i
ka,
Ai
wazv aitwaNhuka.

Shav
aVhur
amav
i

Zuruvi
,Vhur
amav i
,
VaSekeMukonde,
VaVhanganyama,
Vakavhanganyamanohwahwa.
MaitaVaSeke,
Chikove,
Chidzi
vachinamasahwa,
MaitawaZengeza,
109
VokwaSadzadet e,
Gobvurinokonzachi t
si.
Zvai
twaChi nerembe,
EvoMasv inga,Ziwewer a,
VokwaMuchenj e, vokwaMunaki
rapasi
,
Mait
azv enyuZur uv i
.
Kuzi
vazv enyuv ariNharir
a,
Ti
notendav ari
Zv ipindu,
VaHarav okwaSeke,
Vari
Rare,
Ai
wazv aitwaVhur amav i.

Shay
amombeDzi
va

Shayamombe,
Mandinginda, hovei ri
mudzi va,
MaitaDziv a,Save
Musaigwamuchekauzer emav i
,
Nyakuzvidzwa, Nhemahur u,
Zi
ndingindahor eiri mudenga,
Masv i
nyairerisi
namasa,
MaitavariMaj enya,
Zvaonekwav ariNy aur ungu.
MaitamuNhobv uwanguy uy
u,
AkabvaDzokot a,achi eraDziv a,
Dzivair
ihov e;hov eiri nyamasase.
Tatendav ari
mumv ur a,
Dambi r
or avasikana.
HekaniMuzi v i
kani,Chi shongochanguchi
chi
.
HekaniMi ronga,Hunga, Dedza,
110
Kuzi
v azv enyvaMudzi v
a,vaMurambat
svi
na.
Maitav ariGoto,var
iUrambi,
Hekanhi Save,Sambi r
i,
Pakurumuer anamasa.
maitazv enyuv ar
ikunaSav er
wizir
wukur
u,
Mukot a,Madzi mbabwemakur u,
Ai
wazv aonekwaMar asamasa.

Shat
oMhet
a

Shato,
Mhet a,
MaitaSauny ama
MaitaMhet a,
Svovanepasi ,
Svongongor ongo,
Maitamaf ambanedumbu,
Chikata.

Shi
riMaokomav
i

Mazvii
taShiri
,
Hungwe,
Matapir
a,
Zi
endanomudenga,
Pasiyakatyandove,
Mudyanavana,
Kunyi
mav anazvi
noshur
a,
Vakadzikuvarumevavo,
Vai
rashirinebangahazv
ionani
,
111
Zvombozv eshumba,
Murandawav anhukadzi.
Zvai
twaHungwey anguy i
yi
,
Shir
iisinashur anomunhu,
Haiwa, maitaShi r
i,
MwanawaChasur a.
Maitazv enyuv aChifambanokudenga,
Zvai
twav ai
raShi ri
,
Shir
ichena, tarir
aikwadzinobva,
Gonerakuder a,vaMur ef
u,
Mapat apasi,
VokwaChi nobhur uruka,
Muirashi r
iwanguy uyu,
Shir
iiriHungwe.
Aiwazv aonekwamaokomav i.

ShongaNy
ati

MaitaNy ati
,
MaitaZvigarambabvu,
HekaniNy atiy
anguy i
y i
,
Zvait
washi nga,MwanawaMuswer e.
Tatendav ar
iMusesonav ar
iMinanga,
VagariveMhinha,Shongay anguyiyi
,
Vanorambakudy anyamay omusana,
Muchiday echit
yu.
MaitaNy ati
,maitaShonga,
HekaniMakoni wangumazamueNy ati
,
Vanotukwanedengur omupunga,
Rorukwezar i
rimunyasi.
112
Kuzivazv enyuNy atiyanguy i
yi
,
Vachibayamombe,
Kudyambudz iurombo.
Zvait
wav ariMasendeke,
Vasingaiswi vhumunzev e,
VokwaChi r
eranherera,
VarimuHomwe,
MuUngwewaDer ereasingadyider
ere,
Kuteketerakut eketer
wanedengur omupunga,
Rorukwezanger emhamba,
Vanhuv asingai t
imhezi,
Maitavar ereMhi nhanev ar
iMasendeke,
Zvait
wamuUngwe.

ShumbaGur
undor
o

EvoiShumba, Gur undoro,

Zvai
twav aMbar i,maitavaDupwa,
VaSamar i
nga,Mhonder apachena
Yakaponderapasi nagwenzi .
Zvai
twaShumbay anguy i
yi
.
MaitaMhonda, mai t
av ar
iDzivaraSekwa.
Kuzivazvenyuv echikomocheHar are.
WaitamwanawaMbar i,Mukondewanguy uy
u.
Maitazvenyuv aer ashumbanembada,
Mbadai namav aramav ara,
I
sakananv zai
chi siyari
mwev ararayo,
Hait
iiri
idemai riidzvuku.
Maitavomudzi var avaSekwa, maitavaDombwe.
Aiwamai tazveny umhur uy oMutoko.
113
Zvai
twa,
zvaonekwamwanawaMbar
i,
Shumbayanguyiyi
,Gur
undor
o.

ShumbaJi
chi
dza

MaitaShumba,
Hekani Musher eketi
,
MaitaJichi dza,
Hekani Chibwa,
Hekani Bumhi ,
Zvait
waShumba,
Vapungai dzi venyunyu,
Vofambakur avir
a.
MaitaVaNy andai ri
,
Matikaha,
Kuonachi so,
Ndokuv hunduka.
HekanoVaChi bari.
Zvait
waGongoma.
Maitamashav iokuvhima,
VaMudzv ov andiri
pamhene,
Vari
dzi vamat ondo,
VaMuv himazhi zhanechi
ri
mo,
Zvokuvat amasanga.
Ai
wazv aonekwaMudzv ovakamwe,
Zvait
waJi chidza.

ShumbaMhazi

Mai
taShumba,
114
ZvaitwaMhazi ,
Mhondi i
noponder apasinagwenzi .
Hekani Mukany ai
ri,
Mai t
av akur uv amasango,
Vanov hundut sav amwenomukany aur i
muzenze,
Vamadzv ov era,
Vabandur ivamapf upa,
Vanamesoanozezesakur inga,
Mukakat irakwasv i
ba,
Vapondi v ezv ipeny uz vi
nozv i
fambira.
Hekanhi Mupwany anzombe,
Mudy andi chiomba,
Mudzv ov akamwe,
Muf andichi omba,
Vezv i
terez vikwat akwata,
Zvinengezv izingazv ouchi,
Kuridzamut si ndopasi pasakara,
ZvaitwaChi uray i,
Jenamur omodehwer ehosi.
Tatendav aChamakanda, vaRumi nu,vaZver
ungu,
Veny i
kaizer emashi shanamadu,
I
nomer anhemay akanda,
Vamahony era, Mhukahur u,
Vatangi vemhur ii
nemukur umbira,
Ji
ndaMut asa,
ZvaitwaTemboy anguy i
yi,
Aiwazv aonekwaweMhazi .

ShumbaMur
ambwi

115
MaitaMur ambwi ,
MaitaShumba,
Matikaha,
Kuonachi so.
Hekanhi chibwa, Musher eket
i,
Vadzimbav edu, vari
rit
iri
,
Mutsikapany oro, vanav aChivi
,
Vakany ai
ri,vady i vemhuka.
MaitaShumbay anguy i
y i
,
Hekanhi bumhi rangur i
ri,
Maitav aMhar i,Chi pamut oro,
VariNyani ngwe,
VariChamahot a,
MaitaVaMhungudza,
VariBaradzanawa.
Zvaonekwav aMhar i
, v
ariChit
onje,
Vanomukangwenamasi kati
,
Zvai
twaMat i
kahanokuonegumbo,
Kuonemunhuv anov hunduka.
Maitav arereBar adzanwa,
Kwakapar adzanwababaaf a,
Hekanhi Mhungubwey anguy i
yi.
Zvai
twamwanawaChi vi
,
Ai
wazv aonekwaMhungubwe, vaNyamukanga,
Makov ere.
Zvai
twamuNy ani ngwe, Chibwa.

ShumbaNy
amuzi
hwa

Mai
taNy
amuzi
hwa,
116
Shumba, Har a,maitaMuchor i
.
MaitawaNangawasi namhezi ,
Wakabv aBuj anembondwe.
MaitaNechi nanga, muzukur uwaChakor eka.
EwoBonga, waChi ngat e,
Muzukur uwaMapahwe, war iChoma,
Ewy iShumba, mai t
aHar a.
MaitaNongar angur i
ri,
MaitaNy amuzi hwa, mai t
awar iMangadza.
Maitawar i Domboj awar i
namawar amachena,
Dombor akar ambakumer auswanemi ti
,
Rinotikukwi ramunokwi r
anamabv i,
Rinamakwapamakwapaanengenzi ra.
Maitazv eny uShumba,
Chikandachanguchi chi ,
MaitawaTsur iwamasawar a.
Kanamusi pohapanachi nochekwa.
MaitaChi uray i
,hekani Chikanda,
MwanawaMukombwenaNehor eka,
Chipfuyawar ombo, heakni waNj apa,
MaitaMut umbe, Donga, war iMan'anja,
Samany ara,
Zvait
waKondov haasi ngachar i
kimv ura,
MwanawaChi nyanga, asingajeimwembeu,
Kusiyakwezv iyochet e.
Maitawar i TsatsaMukonde,
Aiwazv aonekwaNy amuzi hwa,
Ti
kaf i
rapanowani .

ShumbaSi
pambi
117
Mazv ii
taShumba,
MaitaSi pambi ,
Yakapambanedzev amwe,
Vady ivefazhakamwe
I
nody arwai kamer a.
Maitamat ikahanokuonat simba,
Kuonamunhuv anav anotya,
Mukakat irakwasv iba,
Kumukandodzv ov a,kutsi
kazv ov av
a,
Mut akuranhawokunomunhuhwi ,
Sipambi ,mwanawechi kara,
Chokany airachobv aMagar e,
ChoindaI mbwar umechi sinaut a.
Zvaitwav ar i
dinhir
eChi garachibwe,
VariMagar eVaMupf urawatya.
Mazv ii
taMugonder wa,vokwaMusakadongo,
veShanj e
VariMadzi mudzangar a,variSikanadema,
Zvaitwav aTakai ndi sanaMuzuv a,
VariChaendav ariRuv hure.
Wai t
aChar umbi raZv igonyatizv anguzv i
zvi
,
Haiwazv aitwav aNhi nhi,variNhi nhi
huru
Maitasami nzwa, zv aonekwav ar iNyanda

SokoChuma

EvoiChuma,
Sokoyanguyiy
iyaSamambi
ta.
Mait
aGot ot
saMukanya,
118
ChumachaMukar adzichi
namahapa,
Chinoti
kapakapa.
MaitavarikunaMhomhozi.
MaitavarikunaMukar
adzinaGwetera.
KuzivazvenyuVaChi
gumbate,
MaitaVaSamambi t
anaMuny eche,
Zvait
wamwanawachi kudzunganaDerere,
Ai
wazv aonekav
anavaMadziva,
ZvaonekwawaDzekanaKabija.

SokoKumene

MaitaSoko,
SokoMakwi rami t
i.
Zvait
waKumene,
YokwaMasawi naNy amhuno,
VokwaMv urachena,
VokwaNhengoy epwa
I
nogodor anwav anav akady a.
MaitavokwaMadooehanga,
VokwaMut i
wawanaChi kanga.
MaitavokwaChi namav i,
Mahomuhomu, mufambandi chi
tapudza,
Kutinhumbui peveve,
Vakasvuukamagar onokudazv i
tur
u,
VaDeredzo, varimuMhedza,
Vanemhezi pamwoy o,
Kwamunodani wamuchi enda,
Nyikandey enyuChi were.
Aiwazv ai
twaKumene,
119
Pasingapav
ateMat ar
ira,
MwanawaMut inhi
ma,
ZvaonekwaDzivar
emv ura.

SokoMoy
ondi
zvo

MaitaSoko,
Mujenawanguy uy u,
Maitav aMoy o,Vhudzi j
ena,
VarimuMhakwe, Mukondewanguy uyu,
Tatendav agany amar opa,
Mwanawebv eni,Mber ekamacheche.
Maitav ariMut emwa, vokuMakomo,
Zvait
wav eMadzi mudzangar a,
Maitazv eny uvar ikuMay egoti,
VaMbi rev aMuchi nei,
Maitav aChi mbuy a,
Vanav aDendeny ore,
Vakabv akwaNembi re
Ti
not endaSi karudzi weGor ekore.
Maitav arikuMat svitsi,
Vagar ivomuDendeny ore,
Kuzivazv eny uvar ikuMachi r
i,
Madev aner uwer e, vazereHwedza,
Mahomuhomuv enhombat sva,
Mushonganemat av i
,
Utezutezumumi ti,uwakawakamumi nda,
Vakat y
akur i
ma, v anody azv okuba,
Vachiponanezv ekut svara.
MaitaVaChi batebat e, Matarir
a,
120
SokoMukany a,varimuHwedza,
NyahuyeMukonde, Chirngochanguchi
chi
,
Vamapunakumagar o,
Vanofambanot upunonot ufut
a
Twokupfonderesazv i
notorwamumakuraavar
idzi
,
Aiwazvaonekwa,
VaMuombandagut a,
Vadyivemhani.

SokoMur
ehwa

MaitaSoko,
MaitaMur ehwa,
Zvai
twaMat arira, Sokoy anguy i
yi
.
MaitaMar ovahombe, mwanawebv eni
,
Chir
ongochanguchi chichi .
Zvai
twaMukany a, zv ait
wat at
eguru,
Zvai
twaWagut ahuzamur a.
Maitazv enyuv ari Kakor omokwa,
VaGurusv usv u, vanav aGur umwandi r
a.
MaitaVar isi
namhapa,
VaChitambaner uwer e,
Vamahobi anenger ihwa.
Zvai
twaMukur uv ara,
Mushonganamawer e.
Kuzi
v azv enyuMv urume.
MaitamwanawaPf umoj ena,
Muranganepf umo.
Maitav aJena, Chi rongochanguchi chi
chi
,
Vanokuf ambakunengekukav i
ranyimo,
121
Kutizir
akuchi ngekudy aranzungu,
Makudzagwar a,vanor aramanezv okuba.
Maitav ar iMandi ya,
Vari Kapor omondo.
Zvaitwamwanawebv eni ,Makumbe,
Vakakumbazv esenet sombor i,
Mukat i pahweny anapahwohwanamat unduru,
Mat ambanehut ezvose,
Vanav aNzv erenaKanor i
mona, mhanzai chi
penyn'
a
Semheni yemv uray emunhur ukwa.
Maitazv enyuv aChibatebat e,
Pambambar izemai timobv iswamai ti
ndof i
rapano.
Pamasv osvemai t
akur achar anegumbov aHuye
Mukonde.
Mav apashongwemokar aramukonowaTi ngini
Wakabv aMahumwi kwakar er amukanwanomuny u.
MaitamwanawaChi namhor a,
Vanebv udzirisingapumhwi ,
Vanav aMushambanezhi zha.
ZvaitwamwanawaTi ngini,ariMahumwi ,
Anokwi rarupar anemeno,
TatendaChi rngochanguchi chi,
Aiwazv aonekwaMugagami .

SokoNehumba

EvoiSoko,
Nehumba,
MwanawaChigut
ir
o,
Mukondewanguyuyu,
122
Mushonganamawer e,
Mady amhani anguy aya,
Vanay i
si v
emv ura,
Varikumakor e,
Mugar adzakasungwa,
Matakur ambuv a,
Tupunopar utivi
,
Tufutatwangumuny asi,
Tumhi ri
piripakarepo,
Kamugot ikangupakat ir
e,
Pamushandopandar i
nda,
MaitaVaChi r
ongo,
Mufambandi chigomer a,
Aiwazv aonekwa,
Sokoy anguy i
yi,
Vanorarapar efu.

SokoVhudzi
j
enaWachenuka

EvoiSoko,
Wachenuka,Vhudzi j
ena.
Mait
aMukany a,venevoushe,
HekaniMbereka,hekani Makwi ramit
i,
Magaramugomo,
Makumbomanamusweweshanu,
VaMurovapasi pachiti
nhira,
HekaniMukumbudzi ,Madev anor uwer
e,
Vari
Zv i
hotaMukondewanguy uyu.
Kuzi
vazv eny
uv ariMapf ukudza,
Vari
Chikwindingwi,vagarivenhaka,
123
VaMudy azv ar i
mwa, veganapaur a,
VaMazv ikongony adzakuf ambahukany n'ai
ra,
Gudzamudungwe, VaZhwendende, vari
kumat anga.
Mai t
aGandur i,VaChazezesa, var ikumakor e,
Vagar ivamabwepasi nachi notunhwa,
Makudzagwar a, vamesoar i
mubako, vamahobi ,
Gamaumi remabweaMwar i,Mwenewazv o,
Vanhuv akaer amut upomumwenashe,
VaMushambanegor e, vanody azv okupar a,
Vanor arapar efu, pasi naunosv i
ka,
SokoMukany ay anguy i
y i
,VaHuy eMukonde.
ZvaitwaMat arira, var imumabwe.
Mhani mani tinody a, svosv et i
nobov era,
Mai t
azv enyur ukur u,
Vakawanaushenouchenj eri,
Vakuf ambahuj euki dzakwandabv a,
Vagar ivapakat unhumar a,rudzi rwenhundu,
Pager wer inongov aj emedzanwa.
Hekani VaMut waMukonde,
ZvaitwaChi okochi si ngat unhwi ,kugar a
hukweny akweny a,
VaMushonganamat av i
,v anoraramanezv okuba,
Maf eret i
nogar a, manhangat ichidy awo.
chibahwet inonwaur awo,
Magakaeduwopamur omo,
Ipwat ichimeny awo,
Chiverer echanguchi chi,
Chirongochanguchi chichi ,
Vanengesv ar iv amabwe, venhombat sva.
Zvokudy andezv enhambur i
rwav arikapiri
124
kaVaManhenga,
Wawanadambander ake,asimhanindeyashe,
VarikuMaweremarambakuri
ma, Zi
bwezvitedza,
Zvi
notedzer
av ar
ikur
e,var
ipadyovachit
ambanazv o

TemboMazv
imbakupa

MaitaMaz v i
mbakupa,
MaitaMbi zi ,
mai taZv imbakugov a,
MaitaTemboy anguy iyi
,
Hekani Mat ender a,Ngwer e, Njumai sinany
anga,
ZvaitwaMbi zi,zvaitwaChi vara,
Njumay eRenj e,
Hekani v aTembo, Mashonger a,
Manj enjenj egandar avasikana,
Paswe- ziso- mombe- somuchena,
Chinakiramat ondo, Mar uki,Musi mi r
a,
Mapf arav araMat ungachuma,
Many ereny eteny oradzenhur ur a,
MazambachekaMangar i
vari Mat oyameso,
Mbizi yakashongami kondesav akadzi,
Mhukai sinaukashakanahundwa,
ZvaitwaRomo, zv ait
waZenze,
Chigadhugadhumagundeav asikana,
Chitender achamambochanguchi chi,
Chishongochav akadzi i
chochi ri
mudondo,
Vachasi yesi yeMut sikapat i
nhira,
Vemi swemi chenai nepfumv udza,
Maitav oKwachi pfuv achadzi vi
remut o,
Magomat emaakasv i
panamagar oose,
125
Vady i vamachi ndamazanaanor asi
rwei ,
Kusv ipadz angar ebabawakoanomat ur amangani ?
ZvaitwamaDhuv e,zv ai
twamwanawaChi hot a,
Mai t
av aZungu, vakauy av aripamachi ra,
Kuringambi zihur i
ngamakumbo,
Kuringamut umbi nor uvaraunoy everwa,
Mhukai not ikanay omhany amumat ombo,
Kuat sikai noonamot okut icherucher ucher u,
Chisikwachi nomur irimirausinamhot swanechi mwe,
Kumi rakungot ichar avanda,
Ungat i mhenoanodzi udza,
KuwakweBi ngazuv ar i
noor a.
Hekani v aNy emba, mubv anawaChi v
azv e,
Mur orowanguy uy u,mubv anawaChar i
ndapanze,
Zvaitwav arikut soka, Mahwemany oro, kudzi v a
ravaSenwa,
Zvaitwav aHot a, mai tavaZomba,
Mai t
av ar ikuGwar a,
Zvaitwav arikuMany ochwa, kwakaf i
raBi ndu
naChi gudza.
Totendav ar iuZomba, variDzimbahwe, nev ari
Mabweadzi bv a.
Mai t
av ar iGuv iramuchekawakasungeny ika.
Mazv i
itazv eny uv ariMany ika,Bingagur u,
Vanemut upousi ngagar wi nenhunzi,
Vakat ichi dawochi sinamasv isv
inwa,
Mai t
av ar iChi r
ov arov a,varikuChai,
Mahwemany oro,
Kuziv azv eny uv ariZomba, kumashapakunody i
wa
ndurwenechi rimo.
126
Zv
aitwamuHot a,
zvai
twatat
eguru,hekanisi
kar
udzi
.
Mait
azv eny
udehwerembizi
,gakangoma,
Munokunakakunokungur
wanav agerazvavo.
Ai
wazv aonekwaZvi
mbakupa-Samai ta.

TemboShumbaSamai
ta

MaitaMbi zi
,
Mwai taChi war a,
Njumay erenje, Mashonger a.
Hekani venev eChi rovarova,
Vakabv aMar enj e.
Mwai taTemboShumba,
ZvaitwaMur or o, Musi mir
a,Maruki
.
Mwaz vi
itaMupi y aniswa,
Magundeav asi kana,
Wazv ii
taMbi zi y okwaChi kanga.
Totendav aChif ambausi ku,TendaiwaMut
asa,
Muzungu, Mut akur wa,
Mushambadz iwamachi ra,
Chitender achamambochanguchi chi,
Mbizi yakashongami kondesavakadzi
.
MaitaShumbaTembo,
WaSenwaav et eGor ongozi,
Mwai tav ariMakar at i
,
VariMar enje, Gur uuswa
TatendaVaMoy o,
ZvaitwaDhuv er angur ir
i,
Ri
namakwapamakwapa,
Hekani vaChi kanga,
127
MbiziChi vereket e.
Mwai t
aShumbay apasi.
Mwai t
aZenze, Romo,
KuwakweBi ngazuv arinoora.
Mwai t
av ar ikuGwar a,Mahwemachena,
Zvai
twav arikuTsoka,
VariChirovar ovaneMahwemasi mike.
MaitaChi hwa, Shumbay evese,
Maitaheny uv arikuChai ,Mahwemany or
o,
Ai
wazv aitwaDehwer embi dzi
,Gakangoma,
Zvai
twaSamai ta.

TemboWakapi
wa

HekaniTembo,
VokwaChivara,
VokwaMudzi ngani
sagumbo,
VariMachecheche,
Machera,
RukonorwaBenhur a,
VokwaNemhapa,
VariZi
mbabwe,
VokwaTachiona,
NyewedzaZv ezve,
Maitavar
iMandedza,
VokwaKur i
ngambizihur
ingamakumbo,
Kumusorokunehwar a,
Zvai
twav ari
Mandedza,
MwanawaWachekwemwoy o,
Ai
wazv aonekwav okwaZiki
,
128
Vamambwamat
ema.

Tsi
woGushungo

MaitaGushungo,
VokwaNzungunhokot oko,
Mucher owaNegondo,
MaitaTsi wo,
Usav ihwav amwev arume,
Vambwer ambwet ete,
Kugar apasi kusimukazv inohwir
avhu,
Musat i hutukwa,
Mut upondoweny u,
Tatendav ari
dzi veny ika,
Vakabv aGur uuswa,
Varidzi vamazhanj e.
Maitav okwaZv i
mba,
VazeremuChakona,
Venev amachi rinamakut e,
Vanokut izi
rakunengekudy ar
anzungu,
Vakapangur any ikai no
I
chakat si
tswanezamu,
Vomut upoweGushungo,
Varichi patanaMar ingohwe,
AiwamwanawaZv imba,
Zvaitwav aNgony a.

ZendaSi
mbi
ror
i

Mai
taZenda,
129
MaitaSi mbiror i
,
Hungwe,
Mucher erakur e.
ZvaonekwaKakomar ar
a.
MaitamwanawaBur u,
MaitabasaMambur uka.
Hororoy anguy iyi,
Mushay ahany n'
a,
Matapat i
ra,
Vatsoriveny ika,
VanaMur ambat svi
na,
VaSupai ,vanof ambanomudenga.
Kuzivazv eny uv okwaChipadze,
VarereChi pindur amhuka,
Gomor avo,
Ai
wazv aitwaZenda,
Si
mbi rori
.

Vanhuv azhi
njivanot endazv emidzi
mui .
ezv emi tupo.
Nowonderuchi nzwav achisimbisanakut iSiny oro,
Gono, Mhofuy emukonoet c.Ukazvit
arisasi nyoro
si
mpl ymeansasexual pervertwhodoesunpr ot ected
sex, gononey emikonomeanst hebullswhodosexas
i
ft heirbloodwaswashedwi thvi
agra.Yesmanymay
arguet hatsinyoroi saPor t
ugueset r
ansl i
terationof
senhor .ButinShonasi ny oromeansmukur uweny oro.
Kunzi Sinyoroisv eryvul gar.Ourownet y
mol ogyand
socio-lungui
sticst esti
fyt othetruemeani ngoft he
moder nusageoft hewor dssinyoroandny oroj ust
130
l
i
kemany
amaandkudy
abot
a.

Unf or
tunatel
yinitstruedi
alectthewor dsi ny or
ois
obscene.Thewor drekuti
nyorowasi nvent edrecentl
y
byt hetheama2000whonowhadanopt ionof
condomsbuti twasagoodwor dandt hat'swer e
sinyorosoundsof f.Eventi
katizvakazochi njwanema
2Ki sitsaf
enowkusheedzamunhukut iSinyoroizvo
zvichisuggestermi f
ungoyakarerekeraikokokuv anhu
vakaitwacorruptednechit
emazv akadaro!

Thesamewayv anhuvanoyerashiri
.Theirdet emboi s
obsceneev eninthemoder namalgamat edShona.I f
thereareany“ VanaChatibwete"whoar ewel lv ersed
withtheirtotem prai
sestheycant est
ify
.Mav ar aekuti
sinyor
onekut i
musey amwaanogonakut i r
emei
kubudamumur omo.Anemasexual conotations.
Ourpeopl ewer ev er
ynudeandobsceneandaf r
ee
kind,theywal kedsemi nakedandsexwasaf ree
topi
c.I tmusthav ebeenv eryacceptabl
ebackt hen
andwear eseeingar evi
valofitnowaday s.It’
snot
thatsomeonechoosest oseesexev erywher e,
dzimwenguv andozv i
nengezv i
ri
po.

Andmi mwey achodon’thaveseximagerybutjust

otherformsofObsceni t
y,li
keYeShiri
thatI
ment i
onedabov eit
’saboutpassi
nggas.Thef actthat
yourelderstoldyouthecleanver
sionoryouhav en'
t
l
earnttheot herver
siondoesn'
tmeanhay ina
kunyadzisi
ra.

131
Ihav
eaf
ewquest
ionst
owhoev
eri
swi
l
li
ngt
oanswer
:

1.Totemsarerev
eredandt heobjectofnoteishelp
sacredbyt
hespecifi
cgroup..hakunaanodyamut upo
astherear
esupersti
ti
onsofbadt hingshappeningt o
youwheny oudo.
.isn’
tthatsomef orm ofworship?

2.Everyt
otem hasanhetemboforit
..andthi
swas
usuall
ychantedbypeoplet
ocal
l t
hespiri
tmedium of
thatcl
an.
.thatsoundsl
ikewor
ship?Doesn’ti
t?

3.Whenyouthenchoosetocal
lyour
sel
fwit
hatotem,
wheredoyouend?Doy oupi
ckandchoosewhatt
o
onthetot
em packageorwhat
?

4.I’
veseenpeopl echeri
shingbadhabitsbecauseof
tot
ems..“heev anachiher
ahav anzwaro”et
c..and
peopledon’tchangetheattri
butesofthei
rbad
charact
ersalli
nt henameoft otems..whatdoy oual
l
havetosayaboutt hi
s?

5.Theysayyoucan’
tbebewit
chedift
hewi t
ch
doesn’
tknowyourtot
em,coul
dthisbereasont
o
bel
ievet
hattot
emshav eal
inktospi
ri
tual
ism
somehow?

6.On“ Spiri
tualHi
ghway ”aZBCpr ogram Icame
acrossatsomepoi nt
,theATRl eadersseemedt obe
confidentabouttheli
nksbetweenspi ri
tualmatter
s
andpeopl e’
st ot
ems.Istheresomet hi
ngt hatt
hey
knowt hatwedon’ t
..onthistot
em subjectthatwe
132
mighti
gnorant
lybedi
smi
ssi
veofwi
thoutdue
di
l
igence?

Somet i
mesmut upounengeusirinyama...
li
kekuyera
gumbo.Onecanchooset osayanoer agumbo
reCheyathantofor
egozondo?
Zvemitupokwazvakat
angir
azv angazv i
ril
inkedne
fal
sereli
gion.Kunevanenharonezv emitupokuti
wakanakai vov
arimaKri
stuchamungat oite
kutozvi
bhabhati
dzazvi
it
ekungezv echurch
sezvakai
twaSundayobservance.

Someoneoncesawachur chel
derachichema
asekerwakuy er
ambev anevamweel dervaiyera
shumba.
Vamwev anonzimai t
atsokomakwi r
ami tivanodya
zvekubawhatwhat .Hakusiher
ekudakudzi kisi
ra
munhukumuf ananidzanemhuka?Vamweev engot o
dari
nghei ght
sev ensayingourhymni nShonacal led
'
Sokor akanakakunesuv afambi'meansv aeratsoko
ndivovamunengemuchi imbamuchivakuz a.

Byt hewaykar ekwangakusi naindust r

ial
i
zati
onthe
mai nactiv
ityyaivay ekunamat apeopl eused
kunamat acher omat anda.
InNdebel eat otem isalsoonessur name
unfortunatel
y .
Idolat
ryhasmanyf ormsi ncl
udingt otems.Doy ou
understandt hatShonas, Ndebeles,Hindus,Bri
ti
sh,
Iri
shet careheat hens.Forsal v
ationisoft heJews.
Wear et r
eesgr aftedt othetruetree.Wemustal lbe
133
Jews.Notphy sical Jewsbutspi ri
tual Jews.
Macul turesedut akamaadopt erf rom t heTowerof
Babel ndokwat akabv a.Tot emism hasl esst odowi th
i
dent i
tyandmor et odowi thtaki nganani mal tobe
thefami lyidol.Vaer agudohav abv umi dzwi kubisa
gudomumunda
Mazi t
asekut iTafadzwa, Fungai etcikoko
zvi
fanani dzoi zvozv onekut isemuenzani so
ti
ngaf adzwenemunhusei i
kokunaMwar i?Uku
kurasikakwedumaShonakupamazi taanot ikudza
kwet eMwar i.Ndosakat aivet i
risepar at edf rom
Christ'
si nherit
anceduet oouri dol atry.Mazi t
aeduar i
i
dolatrous.Takaapi hwanemaancest or sai sanamata
Mwar i.Ndosakat i
chitumi dzav anav edumazi ta
echechi .Uy endosakat i
chazopi hwamazi tamat sv
a
kudenga.
Mazi t
aay aeduat i
inawopanot ichav anav of orusein
worldlyaf fai
rsbuthazv ij
ast i
fayekut iakanaka.

Marootsazv ozv emitupokutizvi

nezv iy
erway erwa
zvakawanda.Unf ort
unatelyti
ri
kushandisachi rungu
butShonay eduunoer ei?Inot
osuggest erkuti
zvofani
rwakuv anemwey amukat i
.
TheEuropeancul tureyavakutobvisazviyeray er
abut
i
ftherewasnoChr i
sti
anit
yandEur opeancul ture
mutupounof anirwakuerakumaShona
Mumweanobv unzakutikanazv i
singaerekwandi ri
zvi
neeffecther e?Sekutichi
sikunev amwei Sunday ,
tor
egakuendakumundasezv inodiwanamamboasi
ndoswerahangundi chi
wachanekugadzi rir
aSabat a.

134
Nday er
esaher eorndr ikungoit
azv ekutindi
samhur e
vakuruv ari
muut hority
?
Iyi
yekut iSundayi zuvar angurekunamat aMwar i
wanguwekudengay av aimweny ay achatozivaisu
rai
vazuv ar ekunamat azuv a
Ourforef at
her swer eidolworshippersmukusazi v
a.
ThereforeMur ambiwai smyear t
hyi denti
ty.Wemust
appreciatekut iwewer eheathens.Nhasi hatisi
kuti
vanamhof uv anonamat aSatanasi ti
ri
kuti*kuera*
mhof uitsidolatry
.Imi mi var
imuno* hamuer i
*mhof u
asimunodakunzi vanaMhof u.

Unoer amhof uhere?Ngat i

dzidzei Shonazv orev
akuti
doy ouconsideritsacred.
Totem nesurnamezv akasi
yanai nShona.Thef ormer
i
spagani sm thelatteri
sbiblical.
AslongasMhof ui saf or
m ofi denti
tythereisa
problem becauset heidenti
tyandpar tici
pationi
n
ri
tualsareinseparableandt hat'
sidol worship.

Paul
war
nsuspat
sikadzav
aHedheni
:

A.Bi
ra

B.Husahwi
rahwedzi
nza

C.Mi
tupo

D.Chi
ramu

et
c
135
InShonasur nameai nabasapakupi ra.Ev env aroyi
vanot svakami tupokwet esur name.I nshonacul ture
thosear et wodi f
fer entthingsi.etotem andsur name.
Tinev anhuv akawandav anemasur nameakasi yana
asivachi eramhukai mwe.I nShonacul tur
esur name
hasmor et odowi thy ourrootsorkwaunobv a.Totem
hasmor et odoaboutwhatdohel dsacr edsemhur i
kanasedzi nza.I t
sikay avosemaShonakushandi sa
mazi takut ivasv i
kekunamusi kav anhubuthazv i
revi
kutizitarasekur urashat a.Butkanaur imut upo
unotoy erapachezv awounof anirwakut oyera
pachiv anhuchedu.Tot emsandi dolatryare
synony mous.Unogonakupi hwaz i
tar i
nony adsisira
woti handi neinekuny adzisir
akwar oitsjustani dentity
.
Ndologi cinosimbi swanebazhi njipazv emitupo.Kut i
zit
ar inony adzisiraisj ustani denti
tyhazv i
bi se
kunyadzi sirakwazv o.
Vazhi njivanozv it
i t
irivanaMhof uasi *hati
er i
*mhof u
semakr i
stu.Jesuhaanamut upo.Haaer ishumba,
gwai, etc.

I
tsshamef ultomakeanani mal"holy"
.Togiv eit
respect.Webel i
ttl
etheimageofGodandsubdue
ourselvesunderwhatwear egiv
enpowerov er.That'
s
agr eatshame.
Ndebel ecultur
ei sdif
fer
entfr
om shonaculture.
Mandebel esur namenet ot
em chinhuchimwechet e
whichi sdi
f f
erentfrom t
heshonaculture.

136
Mubv unzo:Rudzi r
waBenj aminrai
identi
fay i
wa
nemur ezaunemucher echedzowewol f.I sn’
tkut
i
muBiblemi cherechedzoiyiyai
taurasomet hi
ngabout
thei
rcharacter?
Whatspi r
it
ual l
essoncanwel earnfrom that?
Micherechodzonemazi t
aema12t ri
beshav emoreto
dooft hei
rcharactersand12t emper ament s.

unaRev19t ozoonakut ivosev akaponeswa

vachapi ndat hroughma12gat es
Genesi s49: 1- 15KJV
[1]…AndJacobcal ledunt ohi ssons, andsai d,Gat her
your selv est oget her ,t
hatImayt ellyout hatwhi ch
shal lbef allyoui nt hel astday s.[2]Gat hery our selves
toget her ,andhear ,yesonsofJacob; andhear ken
unt oIsr ael yourf at her.[3]Reuben, *thouar tmy
fir
stbor n, mymi ght ,andt hebegi nni ngofmyst rength,
theexcel l
encyofdi gnity,andt heexcel l
encyof
power :*[4]* Unst abl easwat er,thoushal tnotexcel ;
becauset houwent estupt othyf ather 'sbed; then
def i
ledstt houi t: hewentupt omycouch* .[5]Si meon
andLev iar ebr ethren; instrument sofcr ueltyar ein
theirhabi tati
ons.[ 6]Omysoul ,comenott houi nto
theirsecr et;unt ot heirassembl y,mi nehonour ,benot
thouuni ted: fori nt heirangert heysl ewaman, andi n
theirsel fwi l
ltheydi ggeddownawal l.[7]Cur sedbe
theiranger ,f
ori twasf ierce;andt heirwr ath,fori twas
cruel: Iwi lldividet hem i nJacob, andscat tert hem in
Israel.[8]Judah, thouar thewhom t hybr ethr enshal l
praise: thyhandshal l
bei nt heneckoft hineenemi es;
137
thyfather '
schi ldr enshal lbowdownbef orethee.[ 9]
Judahi sal i
on'swhel p:from t hepr ey,myson, t
hou
artgoneup: hest oopeddown, hecouchedasal i
on,
andasanol dl ion; whoshal lrousehi m up?[ 10]The
sceptreshal l notdepar tf r
om Judah, noral awgi ver
from bet weenhi sf eet ,
unt i
l Shilohcome; andunt o
him shall t
hegat heringoft hepeopl ebe.[ 11]Bi nding
hisfoal untot hev i
ne,andhi sass' scol tuntot he
choicev ine;hewashedhi sgar ment sinwi ne, andhi s
clot
hesi nt hebl oodofgr apes: [12]Hi seyesshal lbe
redwi t
hwi ne, andhi steet hwhi t
ewi thmi lk.[13]
Zebulunshal ldwel latthehav enoft hesea; andhe
shallbef oranhav enofshi ps; andhisbor dershal lbe
untoZidon.[ 14]I ssachari sast rongasscouchi ng
downbet weent wobur dens: [
15]Andhesawt hatr est
wasgood, andt hel andt hati twaspl easant; and
bowedhi sshoul dert obear ,pandbecameaser vantq
untotribute.…

Judhaaisaer
aShumbaasi ti
sinourcul
tur
e.In
Chri
sti
anit
yweal lf
iti
nthose12tri
besor
temperaments.
.Hakunaghedheranamhofela
kudengamuNewJesur alema.

Afri
endoncesai d"Idon’
tknowkwamunobv abut
kwandobvai twasav er
ypopularwi
tchcraf
tinf
ested
communi t
y..anditi
scommonknowl edgekutiy
ou
don’
tsharey ourt
otem wit
hrandom peoplebecause
thewit
chesusedt hesetodetembathem togetinto
yourhouse.
.andonedi dn’
thavetobeawi tchto
knowthis.I
tdoesn’tmeanit’
stheonlywaypeopl egot
138
bewitchedt hough.
Whenwef ir
stgottoourfarmi nMhangur a(Mhangur a
wasacoppermi ni
ngtownf ullofdifferentet
hnicit
ies
fr
om allov erSADC,)anddi f
ferenttypesofwi tchcraft
andsor cerywaspr act
icedopenl y.
.I’
v eseen..wit
hmy
owney es, peoplet
esti
ngt hei
rlightni
ngi nbroad
dayli
ght..someoft hepeoplear ealiveandknownt o
datekut inhingi
haanzwaro, nhingianodai andthey ’
re
proudofi t..

Anyway, whenwef ir
stgott hereint hebegi nni
ngof
thi
smi l
lennium, duri
ngt helandr eform peri
od..our
dadexplicit
lytaughtkut it
inoerambi zi,sowewer e
anaTembot hewhol eti
me(pr imar i
lybecausewe
werejustt r
yingtofitinandbe“ normal”,andsecondly
becausei fyouractual t
otem isn’tknowni tbecame
hardert
obei nfi
ltr
atedmanher uwhenwi tchesfl
yby).
"

Let
’snotbedismissi
veofsomeoft
heset
hingst
o
makeourpoints.

NeShonamutupoi
ssomethingthati
ssupposedt
obe
hel
dsacredbyacer
tai
ntr
ibe.egmv ur
a,motoor
mhofu.

Mut
upo(
accor
dingt
omaShona)*
unoer
a*.

Peopl
eask*unoereyi
*?Meaning:whatdoy
ouhold
sacr
ed.Zv
ekuzoti
iweweunodeedzwanawomut upo
chet
ebutmhukay achounody
ay at
ooimwenyay
a..
139
OtherChr
ist
iandenominati
onsli
keMasowet he
momenty ouconverti
ntothei
rchur
ch,hauchat
oer
i
mutupowakowekumba, wakutoer
aJohanne..
wakueraChishanuchenguwochena..

Nowift
hesesect
scanseer ightt
hroughi
t.
.whoar
e
wetosani
ti
sewhatat ot
em is?
Mut
upointheori
ginal
contextunoera?

I
t ’
spossibletodiscussaboutkuer akwechi kuva
withouttalki
ngaboutkuer akwehady ana.Whenwe
haveabi gproblem wecanbr eakitdowni nto
granulesandsol vethem indiv
idual
lythenbui l
dfrom
there.Afr
icancultur
e, r
eli
giouspracti
cesandhi stor
y
tendedtobepasseddownt hr
oughor altr
aditi
on.

Ifyougokunasekur uMur ambi waheknowsexact l

y
whatat otem wastohi sgener ati
onandwhatat otem
meant .Heknowst hedist i
ncti
onbet weent hetotem ,
thesur name, t
hepract i
cesandt heomens.
It’
snoti mpossibletoknowt hesethingshonest l
y .I
agreewi t
htheideathatt hey’
recompl ex, Iagreet hat
Christi
ansdon’ thavetodi scardev er
ythi
ngaboutt he
Afri
cancul t
ureespecial
lyifit’
snotcont rarytoGod’ s
wor d.Butont hesubjectoft otemst herear ethree
i
ssuest hatwecansee:

1.Whatatotem i
nit
sorigi
nalcontext
.Thi
sdoesn’t
evenneedanyonetobeChrist
iantoknowthi
s.
Despi
teourdiver
seAfr
icancultur
esandusesofthe
140
t
otem andthisisamongothers,seemedtobethe
mainpointofdepartur
etosayitwassacredi
nATR,
i
dolat
roussot her
eforeweshoulddiscar
ditt
otal
l
y.

2.Tot
emsusedassur
names

3.Tot
emsandsur
namesbei
ngal
lev
il

4.Whataspect softhetotem canbeadoptedby

Christi
ansandwhatwecanpi ckandchoose.
Somet imesthey’
renecessaryandcanleadtobi
gger
problemsaswel l
.

Rememberthemeatsacri
ficedt
oidol
sscenari
o..
mayseem minornowbutitwasanissuef
orthe
peopl
ethen,t
houghitmaynothavebeenthebi
ggest
i
ssuetheyhadtodealwi
th.

Someaccuset hatdi scussingzv emitupoismaj ori

ng
onmi nor sandi tsnotsav ingt r
uth.Theymaynotbe
“savingt ruths”butt hey ’
rethingswemeetand
i
nteractwi thever ydayandi tsequallyusef ul toknow
aboutt hem.
Forwhatr easondoesoneneedt obecal ledMhof el
a,
Sokost ina, Mamoy o, Museyamwaet c.Mangof anana
naChar lesDar wi n.Dy oureall
ytobei dentifiedwi than
animal asaChr i
stian!
Whati st hemot ivebehi ndkudakunzi Mukany ai sit
Christcent r
icorhasmor etodowi t
hself.
Wedon’ tneedama2Kkut ivati
udzekut i
mi niskirt
yakanaki rakutiunof urwanemhepo, thedesi gner
141
knowsi
tspurpose.
Wewereheathensmaactivi
ti
esakawandaat
aii
ta
angaar
iat
tachedtospi
ri
tual
ism.

Nyayaingori
pondei yi
,assumingyouareanSDA.The
majorissuestodiscusspanogonapasina
ar
ikunyanyonetsekananawobecausemanypeopl e
dolessonsonpr esenttr
uthkumachechi.Zv
irukunzi
mami norizvozvozvit
ori
zvomast umbli
ngblock
bl
ock.

Romans14, peopl
ehadal lacceptedthegospelof
JesusChri
stbutthedy nami csofdayt odayli
fewer e
theonescausingstumbl i
ngbl ockstoeachother.So
l
etthosewhof eell
ikediscussingmi norsdoso.Ifit
’s
notyourpr
oblem theny oucanbr ingupmamaj or
i
ssueachofuti,wearehappyt oengagey oui
fwe
haveasay.

Paulzvi
yaakazotingai
rambei
chi
dyi
waher
eny
ama
yakapi
ri
swazvidhori
?

I
denti
tyhai
mboi
twepr
eser
vednekusheedzwa
nemazit
aemhuka.

I
weweunozv i
tiur
iMhof uasihauz
ivi
vanasekur
u
vako3vakaf
a.Youdon’ tev
enknowmwana
wabamudiki
vakov apenyu.

Chokwadit
ozvi
zi
vi
ravakawandavedut
odakunzi
vanat
sokonott
hatwewantident
it
ybuttodakukuzwa
142
nemazi
taemhuka.

143
Concl
usi
on

Hav ingl aidoutmyv i

ewsandt het r
ut hoft hewor dof
God, Irestmycaseandar gument .Il eavei ttot he
readert omaket heirowndeci sion,whi chIhopewi ll
beani nformeddeci sion,notjustinf ormedbyhuman
traditionandcust omsbutbyt hewor dofGodandt he
reveal edwi l
lofGod.I t
’ssoeasyt osaywel oveGodi n
theabst r
actbutwhenhechal l
engesusl i
keHedi dto
Abr am t ol eavehi sfami l
y,hispeopl eandhi scount ry,
ort hey oungr ichmant ogoandsel lhispossessi ons
andf ollowHi m,whenwef acei ssuest hatr equireus
towei ght heodds, tocountt hecostoff ol l
owi ng
Chr ist,onlyt hendomanybegi nt of alterandt o
hesi tate.Thi sleadst oliv
esl i
vedont hef ence
betweenGod’ ssi deandt hedev i
l’
ssi de: thev all
eyof
deci sion.Youcannotcont i
nuet osi tont hef ence.

Youneedt odecideonewayort heot her.Youneedt o

choose.Ev enJoshuaafterhav i
ngbr oughtt he
chil
drenofI sr
aelt
othePr omi sedLand, finishi
ngof f
thejourneyMoseshadst ar
tedwi ththem, confronted
them withachoice.Atonet imet hepr ophetEl i
j
ah
whenhehadper cei
vedtheper vasi
venessofi dolatry
i
nt helandhadt oconfr
ontt hechi l
drenofI srael t
o
choosebet weenGodandBaal ,
ani dol.

Abram’schoi
celedhimtohavi
nghiswhol
elif
eand
evenhisver
ynamechanged.Nolongerwashethe
i
dolat
rousChaldean,
hebecameAbraham t
hefather
144
ofnations,thefr
iendofGod.Somuchwashi sli
fe
changedt hatheev enr
efusedtot akethespoil
sof
batt
lewhenhef oughtwit
ht hefourkings(Genesi
s14)
butreli
edonGodt oprosperhim.Hebecameso
wealthythatatonepointonev all
eywasnotbi g
enought oaccommodat ebot hhisandhisnephew
Lot’
slivestock.

Inther i
chy oungr uler’
scasehechoset odi sobeyGod
aftercount i
ngthecost .Hechi ckenedout .Hechose
theseemi ngl
yeasyopt ionofdef err
ingthemat terti
ll
anot hertime.Doingsomeanst heoppor tunetime
nev ercomes.I t
’smuchl i
kesomepeopl ei nthe
diaspor awhoal way stalkofgoi ngbackhomet ot hei
r
homecount r
y‘somet i
mei nthef ut
ure’butnev er
actuallydoso.I tmaybeappeal ingforyouj ustto
post poneadeci si
onnowbutl etmeencour agey outo
actnowi fyouhav et akeny ourtimet othink,medi t
ate
andsear chthescripturesaboutt hi
sissue.

EvenMoseshadt ochoosehi strueident i

tyasa
Hebr ewmanabov ehi sposi t
ionasapr i
nceofEgy pt,
whichwast hel eadingci v
il
izati
onofi tstime.He
chosepov er t
yint hepl aceofr i
ches,har dlabourint he
placeofbei ngwai teduponi ntheroyal household; he
choseensl avementi nsteadofnobi l
i
t yandbei ngin
l
inet othethrone.Hewasl ookingatt hebi gger
pictureofeternityandGod’ swilli
nsteadofj ustthe
hereandnowofcomf ortandconv eniencet oday:he
choser agsint hepl aceofhi sroyalwar drobe;he
145
choseobscuri
tyi
nthepl
aceoff ameandpopular
ity
.
Hehadtomakeahar dchoice.Hehadt oal
ign
hi
mselfwithhi
sGod-gi
vendest i
ny.Heknewther
e
wasmor etoli
fet
hanconvenienceandhidi
nginthe
crowd.

Mosesmadeadi fficultchoiceandhadt opayt he

priceofapr emature, unwisei nter
venti
onbyf leeingto
thedeser twhereGodt rai
nedhi mi ntheuniversityof
l
ife,attheschool ofhar dknockst obecomet hegr eat
vessel oftheLordthathewas40y earslat
erwhenhe
camebackt oEgy ptt opryGod’ speopleloosef rom
thegr i
pofadespot icPharaoh.Hel ear
nttofindhi s
i
dent it
yinGodr athert hanthatconf err
edtohi m by
hisfostermot her
, apr i
ncess, andtheroyalhousehol d
andi ndeedthepeopl eofEgy pt.

Attimesdi scar
dingthatwhichpeopl eidenti
fyyou
withneedsal otofpersonalsacrif
ice,butifi
tisthe
willofGodweshoul dber eadytogi veupany thi
ng
andi ndeedbecomepoort hatwemaygai ntheriches
thatar ei
nChr i
st.Whereourtreasuresare,ourhearts
areal so.

Ifwev al
ueearthl
ylabel
sandsealsabov et heinvi
sibl
e
sealoftheHolySpiri
tandtheinnerwitnessoft he
Spiri
tthatweareindeedthechil
drenofGod, t
henwe
wil
l t
ryandholdont oeart
hlyt
hings.It
’simpor t
antto
notethatwhil
ewesoj ournonearth,ourreal
cit
izenshi
pisthatofheaven.Wedonotbecome
146
ci
ti
zensofheav enbydyi
ng; wearealr
eadycit
izensof
heavennow.“Forourcit
izenshi
pisinheaven,
f r
om
whichwealsoeager l
ywaitfort
heSav i
or,
theLord
JesusChri
st”(Phil
l
ipi
ans3v 20)
.

Forsomei t
’seasyt ochooset hepat hoft hechi l
dren
ofI srael.Theyswor etotal al
legiancet oGodal one
andev ener ectedapi ll
arofst oner epresent i
ngeach
oft het wel vet r
ibesofI sraelasamemor ial t
ot hem
andt oremi ndt heirchildrenoft heircommi tmentt o
God.Theywer ej ustpay i
ngl ip-ser v
icetoGod.They
didnothonourt heirwor d.Theyl atersuccumbedt o
theal luri
ngi dol wor shi
poft henat i
onsar oundt hem
l
eadi ngt ot het imesr ecor dedi nt hebooksofJudges,
1&2Ki ngs, 1&2Chr onicleswhent herewasa
repeat edcy cleofi dolatryandot herformsofsi nand
i
ni quity,followedbyj udgementt hatwoul dcause
them t or ememberGodandt or epentwhi chwoul d
bringGod’ sf avourwhi chwoul dl eadt hem t orelax
andst artwor shippi ngidols,disobey i
ngGodi nmany
way sandr ebellingagai nstHi m, thusstartingthe
viciouscy cleal lov eragain.

Thispathisful
lofpot hol
esandhi ddenravinesand
crevi
ces.Weshouldnotpayl ip-
servi
cetoGod.He
knowsev ery
thi
ngev enbef orewet hi
nkofitorspeak
aboutit
.Thereisnothinghi ddenfrom Hi
ssi ght
.That
makesi ti
mpossibl
et ol i
etoHi m ortodeceiveHimin
anyway .I
nfactiti
sf uti
letot r
yanddosoasi nactual
factwewi l
lonl
ybedecei vingourselvesandwast i
ng
147
ourt
ime.

Somybr otherorsisterasky ourselfthequest ionthat

thecrowdaskedt heApost l
ePet erwhenhepr eached
atthedayofPent ecostandt heysai dtohim‘ What
shall
wedo? ’Hisanswert hatdayechoest hr oughout
theages, ‘
Repent!..
.’Somybr other,mysister,‘What
shall
y oudo? ’I
t’
sabouty ou.Ifyouar ereadingt hi
s
bookasanunbel ieverpleaser eadAppendi xOne
whichy oumayf indhel pful.

148
Gl
ossar
y

covenantcomesfrom theHebr
ewwor dbri
twhi
ch
meansagr eementthr
oughmutualt
rustand
commi t
mentmadebet weeneit
hermanandGodor
bet
weenpeopl easinthecaseofDavi
dandJonathan.

demonsev ilspiri
tst houghtbyt heologianstobe
someoft hef al
lenangel st hatrebelledagainstGod
togetherwi t
ht hedev i
li
nev entsrecordedin
Rev elat
ionChapt er12.I tisimpor tanttonotethat
theyar ecr eatedbei ngst hushav ingnopowerov er
thosewhoenj oyt hepr otectionofGodt heCreator
.
Theyusedt owor shiphim bef oretheyrebel
led
againstHi m.Thati swhyi twasev i
lspiri
tst
hatwer e
quickt ocr youtwhenJesusappr oachedast hey
knewHi m notf r
om t heirencount erwithHim onearth
buti ntheet ernitypasti nheav enbef oreHeputont he
cloakofhumani tyt oshowushowt olivegodlyli
ves
andt or edeem usbackt oGod.

i
dol
fal
segodei
therphy
sical
ori
nman’
smi
nd

i
dolatryworshi
pofanythi
ngoranyoneotherthanGod
Almighty,
thismayi
ncludeworshi
pofselfcall
ed
Narcissi
sm int
hebibl
e,worshi
pofanimals,st
ars,
the
sun,moonandev enhumani dol
s.

i
dol
i
ser
egar
dsomet
hingasbei
ngdi
vi
neorv
ener
ate
149
orworshipsomeotherobj
ectorbei
ngothert
hanGod.
Thi
sincludesvi
ewingsomethi
ngothert
hanGodas
havi
nganysupernatur
alpower(
s).

repent ancemaki ngadecisiontoconsciouslyturn

awayf rom sinandbegi nningtoleadagodl yli
fe
whi chwear eenabl edtodobyt heHol ySpir
it
.
Ultimat elytheconceptinv ol
veschangei naction,
emot i
onsandt houghtsasoneseeksal i
gntheset o
thewor dofGod.I twasthemai nthrustofbothJesus’,
Pet er’
s, Paul’
sandJohnt heBaptist
’smessagesand
mi nist
ries.Itstheonlystarti
ngpointforthechrist
ian
l
ife.It’
st her esponseGodexpect sfrom thosethat
wantt oacceptHi soff
erofsalvati
oninChr i
st.

r
ever
egi
vegr
eathonourandr
espect

Salvat i
onawor dwhi chcomesf r
om t heGr eekwor d
sozowhi chmeanscompl etetransformat i
onand
deli
v eranceoft hespi r
it,soulandbodyoft hebel i
ever
asar esul tofaccepti
ngJesusChr i
stasSav iour.I
tis
Awor kofGod, thoughi tdependsonhumanr esponse
toHi sof feroffreesalvat i
on.Itisthoughtt obebot h
anev entasi ntheactofr epentanceandapr ocessin
termsoft hefactthatthoughourspi riti
s
i
nst ant aneouslysavedatt hemomentofsal v at
ion,
thebodyandsoul wil
lonl ybecompl etelysav ed
gradual l
yasweal l
owGodt otakemor econt rolofour
facultiesandaswegr owspi r
it
ually.Itisforthis
reasont hatPaul writ
esofdy i
ngdai lyandal sooft he
150
rapt
uresi gni
fyi
ngthesalvati
onofourbodi esand
completionofthesalvat
ionoft hesoulasweshal lal
l
befull
ylikeChristi
nacti
on, thoughtandemot ions.In
Engli
shthewor dobv i
ouslycomesf rom therootsav e
andthismeanswear esav edfrom vari
ousthings
i
ncludingsin,ourownselfishandselfdestructiv
e
desir
esandl usts.

sinany thi
ngthatiswrongint hesi ghtofGodas
i
dent i
fiedinthebibl
eregardlessofhowwef eel or
thi
nkabouti t.Godremainst hef inalauthori
tyonwhat
i
sandi snotacceptabl
ebef orehi m.Nosi ni
st oo
tri
vi
alf orGodtoignoreortoogr eatforhimt of orgive
i
fwer epentofit
.Thebibletel l
sust hatsinsepar ates
usf r
om Godi ntimeandi net ernityunlesswef or sake
i
t.

typeanobjectorpersonthati
sli
kenedtoanot
her
suchast hepassoverlambinExodusbei
ngatypeof
Christwhoisthereal
,ult
imateLambofGod.

t
ypi
fybeat
ypeofsomet
hingorsomeone.

t
ypol
ogyst
udyoft
heol
ogi
cal
types.

worshi
p( 1)comesf r
om Hebr ewwor dsahah,which
meanst obowdown, t
ost ooplow,toprostr
ate
onesel
fphy si
call
yorfigurat
ivel
ybeforeanobjectof
worshi
p.(2)Webst er
’sThesaurusdefinesasto
vener
ate,esteem,dei
fy ,
honour,rev
ere,idol
i
ze,aspi
re.
151
Accept
ingandr
ecei
vi
ngJesusasLor
dandSav
iour

May beyouhav ereadt hisbookandy ouarenotyeta

believerinJesusChr ist.Youar enotborn-
again.I
n
thatcaseev er
ythi
ngi nt hi
sbookwi llnotmakesense.
Youneedt oser i
ouslyconsi deraccepti
ngJesus.That
shoul dbet hestart
ingpoi ntofanyj our
neytowards
reconcili
ationwithGodandgodl i
ness.Letmeout l
i
ne
af ewf actsthatyoumayf indhelpful.

Wear
eal
lsi
nner
s

Sincet hedayAdam choset odisobeyGod, all

humani t
yisv i
ewedasdi sobedienttoGodandbor n
withani nclinat i
ont owardssin.Ther ei
sasi nful
naturei nus.Ov erandabov ethatwehav ealso
i
ndi v
iduallyandcor por at
elycommi t
tedper sonal acts
ofdisobedi encet oGodwhet herknowingl yor
unknowi ngly .IgnoranceofGod’ slawi snoexcusef or
wrongdoi ng.I t’
sthesamewi ththelawsofanynat ion
i
fy ougetar restedf oranyof f
ensey oucannotpl ead
i
nnocentsi mpl ebecausey ouwer eunawar eofthe
existenceoft helaw.I tisi
mpor tanthowev ert onot e
thatGodhat essi nebutHel ovest hesinner( al
lofus) .

Ifwesayt hatwehavenotsinned,wemakehi m ali

ar,
andhiswor disnotinus(1John1: 10)
.Behol
d,Iwas
broughtfort
hinini
quit
y;Andinsindidmymot her
conceiv
eme( Psal
m 51:5)
.Forallhavesi
nned,and
152
comeshor
toft
heGl
oryofGod(
Romans3:
23)
.

Si
nsepar
atesusf
rom God

AholyGodcannotfel
lowshiporcommunewi thusi
f
wecont i
nuetol
i
veinsinanddisobediencetoHim.
Wecannotonourownsol vetheproblem ofsi
n.We
cannotwinGod’
sfavourofoursel
ves.Allour
methodsandmeansoft ry
ingtoreachGodar enot
eff
ectiv
e.WeneedtofindGod’swayofr econcil
i
ng
poursel
vestoHi
m.

Butyouri
niqui
ti
eshavesepar
atedbet
weenyouand
yourGod,andyoursi
nshavehidhi
sfacef
rom y
ou,
thathewi
llnothear(
Isai
ah59:
2).

Jesusi
stheway

Godhaspr ovidedawayf orhumani t

ytocomebackt o
Him, t
hroughHi sSonJesusChr i
st,whocamef r
om
heavent oshowust hewayl i
vealif
epleasi ngtoGod.
Jesushasal readypaidthepr i
ceorpenal t
yf orallsi
n
past,presentandf uture.I
nHi m wecanber el
eased
from bondaget osinandungodl yhabit
s.Wecanbe
cleansedandgi venachancet ostartal
l overagai n.
Hecancl eanupt hemesi ny ourli
feri
ghtnow.When
wer eceiveJesus, wear erecei
vingtheFat herwho
sentHim, whenwehonourJesuswear ehonour ing
theFathert hatsentHi m.

153
ForIcamedownf rom heaven,nottodomyownwi l
l,
butthewi l
lofhimt hatsentme( John6: 38)
.Jesus
saysuntohi m,Iam t heway,thet r
uth,
andt heli
fe:
no
mancomesunt otheFat her
,butbyme.I fallofyou
hadknownme, al
lofy oushouldhav eknownmy
Fatheralso:andfrom henceforthallofyouknowhi m,
andhav eseenhi m( John14:6-7).Neit
heristher
e
salvat
ion
i
nanyot her:forthereisnoot hernameunderheav en
givenamongmen, wherebywemustbesav ed(Acts
4:12).

Recei
veJesusasy
ourper
sonal
Sav
iour
,Fr
iendand
Companion

Inthel i
ghtoft heabov eInowi nvi
tey outot akethe
nex tstep: AccceptJesusChr i
stasy ourLordand
Sav i
our .Hel ov esyou.Ev ennowHei sknocki ngon
thedoorofy ourheart
.Wi llyouall
owHi mtoent er?
Willyoul etHi min?Hewi ll
fil
lyouwi thHisabundant
l
ov e,Hisabundantl i
feandHi sjoyandpeace.Your
l
ifewi llnev erbet hesameagai n.Nomat t
erwhoy ou
are,nomat terwhaty ouhav edoneornotdonei nthe
pastHel ovesy ouandwi l
laccepty ou.Hedi edont he
crossf ory ou.Hecanwi peoutal lt
her ecordsofall
thaty ouhav edonewr ongi nthepast .I
nHimy oucan
repentwhi chmeanst ot urnawayf rom allpastsin
andst ar tli
v i
ngacl eanfreeandpeacef ulli
fewher e
youwi l
lbeatpeacewi thGodandman.

154
Butasmanyasr ecei
v edhim, t
othem gavehepower
tobecomet hesonsofGod, eventot hem t
hatbeli
eve
onhisname( John1: 12).Repentallofyoutheref
ore,
andbeconv ert
ed,thaty oursi
nsmaybebl ott
edout,
whent heti
mesofr efreshingshallcomefrom the
presenceoftheLord( Acts3:19).

IfyoubelieveJesusdiedfory
ouandt hatHerose
from t
hedeadont hethi
rddayandisrightnow
seatedatt heri
ghthandoftheFather
,pleasesayt
his
prayeraloud.Thebiblespeci
fi
esthatyouhaveto
confesswi thyourmouththeLordJesusRomans
10:13-18).

Seethenextnextst
epf
orwhatt
odonextnowt
hat
youhavebecomeachil
dofGod.

NextSt
eps

(1John5: 11-12,Romans10: 15-17)

.Younowhave
eter
nalli
fe.That’salli
ttakestobeachi l
dofGod,
but
rememberi t’notadestinati
onbutrathert
he
beginni
ngofdi ff
icul
tjourneyalongthenarr
owpat
hof
God’swillforyourli
fe.

Joi
naBi bl
e-beli
evi
ngchurchl
i
ketheSevent
h-day
Adventi
stchurchandbebapti
sedbycomplet
e
mmer si
oninwat eronce.

Thi
sisi
mpor
tantsot
haty
ouwi
l
lfel
l
owshi
pwi
th,
155
i
nt er
actwi thandl earnfr
om ot herChr i
sti
ans.You
needt obebapt i
sedt oobeyJesus’ commandi n
Mat thew28: 18-20.Iti
sasy mbol oft heinner
cleansingofy ourspi r
itt
hattakespl aceiny ourhear
t
throught hepoweroft heHolySpi r
it.Youcanal sofi
nd
encour agement ,counseli
ng,teaching,heali
ngand
comf ort.(Hebrews10: 25)

Prayr egul
arlyatl
eastonceadayj ustto
communi catewit
hGod, t
opr ai
sehim, t
ohonourhim,
toprayf ortheneedsofothersandy oursel
f,t
oask
himf orHispowerandgui dancetohelpy ouover
come
evil
wi thgood.

Ready ourBibl
eregul ar
ly;
atleastonceadayorso.
Thiswilli
nformyouaboutt heperf
ectwi l
lofGod
foryourli
fe.TheBibleisourgreatestsourceof
i
nformat i
ononany thinginourpast,presentand
futurei
nrelati
ontot hewillofGod(Psalm 119:11,
13;
2Ti mothy3:15-
17).

Ifyouhav emadeadeci sionf orChr i

st,welcomet o
thebodyofChr ist.Godl ov esy ousomucht hatHe
hastimef oryoui ndi
vidual ly
.Heknowsal lyourneeds
evenbef oreyouask.Hel ongst oheary ourv oi
ceas
youprayt oHim Hehasev enpr ovidedtheHol ySpir
it
todwelliny oufrom themomentofsal vat
ionandt o
teachandhel pyout opr ay( Romans8: 26).Bel i
kethe
Samar i
tanWoman.Goandt ell
ot hersofthisgreat
mant haty ouhav emet .Inv i
tey ourfri
endsandf amil
y
156
tofoll
owJesus.Theywi l
lneverregr
etit
.Andt he
greatthingi
sy oudon’thavetopayany t
hing.It
’s
absolutelyf
ree.Withdrugs,al
coholandotherwor l
dy
pleasuresyoupayt hepri
ceatt i
mesy oupaywi t
h
yourli
febuti nJesusyoursalvat
ionandet er
nalli
fe
areallpaidforandreadytobeenj oyed.

Beliket hef ourl eper si ntheBi blewhowhenSamar i

a
wasbesi egedandhadr unoutf ood, appr oachedt he
enemycampoutofdesper ationt hinkingt hatei t
her
wayt heywer egoi ngt odi e.WhenGoddel i
v eredt he
bount yoft heSy rianar myi ntot heirhandsbycausi ng
theSy rianst oheart hesoundofmanyhor sesand
chariotsappr oachi ng, theyf ir
stwentandhoar dedal l
theycoul dl ayt heirhandson, unt il
oneoft hem
remindedt heot herst hatt heywer enotdoi ngt her ight
thi
ng, theyneededt ogoandt ellthepeopl ei nt heci t
y
wher ef oodandt reasur escoul dbef oundf orf ree.
Theyowedi tt ot her estoft hepeopl et otell.Nowt hat
youhav ef oundwher espi r
itual food, spir
itual treasur e
andspi ritualwat ercanbef ound, inJesus, goandt ell
othersabouti t.At estimonyneednotbef l
ower y.The
peopl ethatknowy ouwel lcant ellwhet herornoty ou
havechangedorr atherbeenchangedort ransf ormed
bytheundeser v edf av our(gr ace)ofGod.I ti stot hese
peopl ethaty oucanbemostef f
ect i
v eintel l
ingy our
storyofhowJesusi st r
ansf ormi ngy ourlif
e.Youar e
noty etper fect,inf actnoneofusev erwi l
lbei nt his
presentdayandage, buty ouar eandweal larea
worki npr ogress( Ephesi ans2: 8- 10)Thi smeansGod
157
i
swor kingonyouandmet omakeusdai lymor
eand
morelikeJesus,whi
chmeansul ti
matelymoreand
morelikeGodHi mself
.That’
sbecauseJesus
possessesinHimselftheful
lnessoftheGodhead
bodil
y(Colossi
ans1:15-20,I
saiah9:6-
7,Isai
ah7:
14).

Mur
andawasheMi
nist
ri
es

158