Tag: history

All this Time by The King of Fools

Hello. Today we have a guest post from my good friend and brother, The King of Fools. I believe this call-to-arms in these times will be a blessing to you as it is to me as well.
Without further ado, I present to you, ‘All this Time’…


“All this time
Since the day that I was born
I’ve never known a time like this
And I don’t wanna let you down..”
– All This Time by Delirious?

There are times in our lives that we feel the weight of change. Sometimes it’s as simple as a change in the weather, clear blue skies become filled with dark grey clouds and we know it’s about to rain. Sometimes it’s major like a change in seasons; Chelsea FC beat Liverpool FC in the community shield and you’re sure a fantastic premier league season full of blue England skies is about to start. Wives and girlfriends know that they’ll only have their men for at most 5 days a week. Sometimes it’s very personal, like a man becoming a father and knowing he’s about to have many nights with too little sleep. Or a child leaving home and her parent’s allowance money behind. One thing is certain, the true proof of the flow of time is change.

History has proven that the world as we know it can go through major change in a very short time. Our change is usually brought about by the weight of an intense season. The pressure shapes us into the outcomes of our choices. World war II, The Black Death and such periods in history have been known to produce some of the most extraordinary choices made by man. Some people saw beyond the challenges of the time and made choices that truly shaped and affected the future. And among these “choosers” were everyday people.

This is another intense season in human history. We can feel the weight of what is happening and we know the world would not be the same after this. Most believe, and I hope you would agree, that many of the worst case scenarios painted to us are quite far fetched. There is no cause for panic. Yet, we have never known a time like this. And, while the pressure would tend to push forward the baser version of ourselves, we must awaken to a greater sense of purpose. This is the time to make those defining choices and take solid strides.

God has destined and empowered the church to thrive in all seasons, and it seems especially so in tough times. Darkness has always been and will always be an opportunity for light. The greater the darkness, the greater the opportunity for, and value of, light. One common factor in times like this is fear. It can cause people to panic, make selfish, irrational and often destructive choices. Fear can cripple possibility and blur the picture of hope as people shrink back into self-preservation. That’s exactly why this is the time for the righteous to be as bold as lions. We would not cower into a corner to save ourselves. If we do, we would be doing the world an injustice, be letting down our Father who is on our side for the win, and be putting ourselves in danger of a future full of regrets. We will not be passive about this and not stretch beyond the norm. This season is exactly why we are where we are, have what we have and can do what we can do.

Heroes are not made for war, they’re made from war. We must be the bravest we’ve ever been and use the wisdom and power God has given us to push back the darkness till there is no trace of it left.

Whatever it is that you do, whatever platforms you stand on, this is the time to give the
world what you have been given by God. Be brave for your family. Stand up boldly for the body of Christ, for your community, for the nations and, last of all, for yourself.
It is inevitable that many in the world will only respond in fear or folly or selfishness. In light of
this, here’s what the bible suggests:

“So be careful how you live. Don’t live like fools, but like those who are wise. Make the
most of every opportunity in these evil days. Don’t act thoughtlessly, but understand
what the Lord wants you to do.” – Ephesians 5:15-17

This is the time to ask God what is His will for you and your family and community. You can
stretch your faith for the whole world. It could be clandestine missions in the secret place of
prayer or it could be that you become a “shelter from the wind and a refuge from the storm”
(Isaiah 32:2) when everything falls apart. It could also be that your work in these times would
help shape what the unknown future would look like.



History has it that Isaac Newton came up with the Newtonian Laws during his self-isolation as
the Black Death ravaged Europe. The book Mere Christianity was a result of the radio broadcasts C. S. Lewis did during World War II. Now is your chance, because we’ve never seen a time like this.

THE VALUE OF ONE

A couple of weeks ago, I misplaced my phone. While it occurred at a very dry time financially for me, I saw some things that I’d like to share. Life, as they say, doesn’t stop for us to contemplate our navels, so I had to start the process of getting another.
The major factor here was getting a new SIM card.
I first had to get a sworn affidavit from the Ministry of Justice to attest that I had indeed misplaced my SIM card, a process that took quite a while. But oh little did I know that I was just getting started. I needed to take the affidavit along with my National ID card to the office of my service provider. And of all times, this was a period when MTN was hosting customers for a new batch of registration. Every time I went to their offices I met crowds so thick I couldn’t even get in the gates. Many had come as early as before 6am to beat these crowds. Over and over, I would get to the offices and not get in.
All of this for a card and microchip tinier than my smallest finger. No, really, I checked!
After days of trying, I was finally able to get it on a Friday morning (yes, I had to go there as early as 6am).
And while this was not the most convenient of times, it was the best time because, in completely unrelated events, that office was burnt by folks agitated by the reports of xenophobic attacks, just days after I finally got my SIM card.
I pursued that SIM because much of my work and friendships are based on contacts and communication, all dependent on the SIM card. Without that tiny card, I was unable to get a lot done. Not to mention the hundreds of valuable contacts that I lost with my old SIM. But with this new one, I’m rebuilding the contacts database and adding new ones, one number at a time.

Through it all, what was impressed on my mind was that I was like that SIM card to God.
Now God is Self-Existent, and He does not ‘need’ me for Him to Be or to do all He wants to. But I was lost and separated from Him. He found me and made me New. Now, not only is He working in and with me, He is working through me to reach out to many. Just like a SIM card.

We are, each and every one of us, valuable to God. His Salvation Plan was much sacrifice on His part. It wasn’t convenient in any way, but He came and died and rose for us. Even the timing of Jesus’ coming was not convenient. His parents were looking for a place to sleep as His mother was entering into labour, for one thing. But, like the Scriptures say, it was in the fullness of times. There were lost souls before He came, and there are lost souls after the time He came, but His one sacrifice is the one we all look to and, believing, are saved.
That was the one time in history where in the land of Israel the prevailing execution style (imposed by the Romans) was crucifixion, in fulilment of the prophecies that His hands and feet would be pierced (Psalm 22:16)
This was the one time that a civilisation, the Roman Empire, had such a reach through the then known world so that as the Gospel spread in it, seeds would be planted that would reach into every sector and would go to the ends of the world as travels, trade and exploration expanded.
This was the one time in history when the Jewish nation still existed as an entity in their land, where the Passover fulfilment of Christ’s sacrifice would be clearly understood by the nation He was brought into. Every type and shadow illustrated in the Law, such as the Temple, was still fresh and apparent in their eyes, and as the apostles interpreted them in parallels with Christ’s sacrifice, listeners and readers could attest to it. Even non-Biblical sources from that era have documented evidence of Jesus, His miracles, His death and the believers’ beliefs in His resurrection.
This one moment in history, the timing of the coming of God as Man, could not have been at a better time. His teachings and the changes He wrought in the lives of those that believe in Him have been instrumental in much of the world’s systems of morality, emancipation drives, social justice and educational advancement, through the ages.
The world still has problems. Humanity is still in the throes of mortality. But everyone who believes in Jesus and His redemptive sacrifice for our sakes has His Spirit in them, His very Life animating their thoughts and actions and helping them all He made them to be. Just like a SIM card in a phone.
And when He comes to call us to Himself, all who have His ‘SIM Card’ will answer His call. Mortality will be consumed by Immortality, and the ‘Becoming-like-Him’ process we’ve been gradually going through would come to its “full-fill-ment”, just as it’s always meant to be. And will be like Him and with Him forever as He makes all things new.

You are very valuable to God. He would go to the ends of the Earth, to Hell and back, for you.
And, guess what? That’s EXACTLY what He did.

“For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers,
neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
ROMANS 8:38-39

PS: I have since gotten a new phone too, so, happy ending!