WHAT WOULD JESUS SAY ?

HERE IS MY LITTLE FRIEND 'PIGLET' AGAIN. He is the 'baby' of all the 'POOH' characters. An innocent little character, friend of all, helper of all. He seems a bit simple, but in fact he is the one that always seems to make sense out of Pooh's muddles, and misguided notions. A Friend Indeed, with no side to him, no axe to grind, quite unselfish. Quite outwardly vulnerable.

KENYA is soon to Vote on a Referendum to say YES or NO to Accepting the Draft of it's New Constitution. A Constitution that will REPLACE the one we have had since Independence, drawn up at Lancaster House by the then Colonial Government. For the most part, through weeks of political wrangling and manoeuvres the draft has been seen as generally acceptable - apart from two issues. Abortion being one and the continuance of Kadhi Courts to deal with various Islamic legal matters, as the other.

I do not personally wish to spend time here in discussing the 'Ins and Outs' of these matters in depth. In fact I will only be touching on the second issue in passing. It is possible that due to the feeling of the Catholic and Protestant Communions in the Country, the Proposed Draft might be overturned and prevented from going through. Feelings run high on both issues, and a great deal of bitterness, even hatred is being fuelled on both sides of the arguments. The Churches have serious influence on politics here with a population that is more than 83% of a 'Christian' persuasion. Perhaps the biggest and most serious aspect of the Church's attitude is that referring to the Islamic Courts. It threatens to be a seen as racial, if not merely minority religious intolerance. There has been a great deal of Christian comment from various denominations voicing the fear that Islam wants to take over the world, and that Kenya as a 'Christian' Country should beware of increasing its influence and power in the land. There are obviously two sides to this..........

In Eldoret, a city of well over 600,000 including women and children, there is an Islamic Community with at least three Mosques. I cannot say exactly how many Muslims there might be or even of what sect. They are a minority. They ARE slowly increasing in number but not in any remarkable way. I have lived in this town since 1972. I have mixed with and had fellowship with a fairly representative number of those adhering to the Muslim Faith. I have found them peaceful, having a real knowledge of the spiritual reality of God Almighty, and have seen NO violent or militant attitude in any. Many times we have sat together and talked of God, sharing our positions and understanding with mutual love. I think that this is worth reporting. In no way has it diminished my witness for Christ, and yet at no time has it been met with anger, or even annoyance. I do have many Muslim acquaintances.

Recently I read a letter printed in the DAILY NATION NEWSPAPER dated Friday, 16th April 2010. It was written by a Kenyan lawyer - Njonjo Mue, a Christian. It caught my attention, and I thought I would quote from it today. You may not agree with the drift - but it IS interesting. NJONJO writes -

'For the avoidance of doubt, I am a born again Christian. Baptised as an infant, confirmed as a teen, I received Christ as my Saviour in my early 20s. My wife and I worship at the Nairobi Chapel where I serve on the Usher Board.

I have watched with increasing dismay as respected Christian leaders express strong views against the inclusion of Kadhi's Courts in the Draft Constitution. The are saying-

'Entrench Islamic Sharia Law in the Constitution at your own risk.'

They demanded that Kadhi Courts be removed, failing which "the Christian Church in Kenya shall have no option but to reject the Draft, and vote NO!"

KADHI COURTS did not accidentally end up in the current Constitution, but were part of negotiations between Jomo Kenyatta and the then Sultan of Zanzibar which led to the 10 mile coastal strip being Incorporated into Kenya. The TREATY is binding. We cannot simply abrogate the Treaty because some among us claim that the Courts are part of a Muslim plot to over the world. (NB- Kadhis Courts are not religious Courts. They are judicial Courts that address the issues of marriage, divorce and inheritance to those who profess Islam as a Religion. They do not infringe on the rights of those who do not profess Islam.)

WWJD was an ubiquitous acronym. We penned it in our books and scratched it on our walls. Whenever we faced a dilemma in our spiritual walk, the answer was in the question -

'WHAT WOULD JESUS DO?'

I am reminded of these four simple letters as I listen to the increasingly menacing voices of some church leaders. The language in certain Christian radio stations, and sermons in churches border on hate speech. Conspiracy theories about Muslims planning to take over the country have spun out of control and way many church leaders engage is totally lacking in grace. What WOULD Jesus DO?'

This is less than half of the complete text. What WOULD JESUS do? What DID He do with the various Religious and Political sects and minorities of His day? How did he come up against the Roman Authority, the Jewish Priesthood? He Himself witnessed about Himself that He had come NOT TO JUDGE but to SAVE. (John 12v47) Not to DESTROY, but to SAVE. (Luke 9v56). There is no doubt that many of us spend a lot of time trying to keep ourselves and even the world safe, and in doing so judge all manner of things AND people, rather than actually witnessing to the Saving Love of God in Christ. So much self righteousness in our world and even in the Church, so much self conceit and wisdom that does not come from above. YET Christ Himself was led as a lamb to the slaughter without a struggle, without self justification against unrighteous men. He STOOD for God, but He did not try to save Himself when His testimony was rejected. SO difficult for our world to see and understand that EVIL when it is revealed MUST be condemned, but this does not automatically mean that we condemn the sinner, the one caught up in the evil. We have the Ministry of Reconciliation and Salvation given to us in Christ. We are to reach DOWN in to the pit of destruction, we are to put our hand in the FIRE, to rescue those that perish there. Thus thou shalt not kill, shall not destroy, shall not humiliate, take revenge upon, or repudiate any. HE demonstrated this way to us. This is what Jesus did. Can WE do it - if we are IN Christ then it is not impossible, and there is hope.

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THIS WEEK my darling wife has not been well. Actually she has not felt well for a month or so, and has silently taken it to prayer saying nothing even to me until this week. She was full of fears for herself, and then on Thursday night this week awoke with pain and distress. Even then she did not wake me, but betook herself again to prayer and found peace and sleep come upon her.

The next morning she shared her fears, and we agreed to arrange for her to visit the Doctor that morning (Friday) . She went and was put through a thorough and rigorous Medical. All her fears were taken away in the few words - 'You are fine, Mrs. Green, no cancer, no heart problem, nothing at all wrong with you.' Our doctor loves the Lord, and I think he got as much Joy and Gladness as Esther. However, he did think that she might have been over doing things, and that together with worry about my own problems caused in early March and through April, plus the death of her Mum, added to the load, and that she is a bit stressed out. We have laid it all before the Lord and she is much relieved. Thank you Jesus.

On Friday LAST WEEK we had just a few shillings left in the Bank, and still had not paid outgoings for the month. That night Esther and I had just laid on our bed and Praised and Thanked the Lord for providing, just as if funds were already to hand. We felt great peace, and had a blessed Week-end. On Monday when I opened my E-mail post I found that AENON had deposited EXACTLY what we needed! So you see the LORD - before we even call - has answered all our need. Why do we fret? Why are we anxious? Why do we falter in our faith? BE ANXIOUS FOR NOTHING - only BELIEVE with Thanksgiving.

We love you all

John and Esther