A Better Voice

By Pastor Lulamile Sifuba

Life can get busy: we have commitments and we have deadlines. In all this, we have to prioritize and sacrifice; if we don’t, it’s inevitable – we will break down. But  how do we maintain composure and keep sane in the midst of this busy life?

Life has many voices – the voice of our emotions; the voice of our past failures; and the voice of bad news from our casual observers. There’s a voice I know: it always carries the good news. Every time it speaks, it shoots adrenalin to our souls. Everyone who has allowed this voice to fall in their ears, whether a regal or a commoner, has found joy and peace – they won’t trade this voice for anything in this world or the world to come.

This voice was a better voice in Jarius’ life. “And one of the synagogue officials named Jaruis came up , and upon seeing Him, fell at His feet, and entreated Him earnestly, saying, please come and lay your hands on her, that she may get well and live.”

We all know the story in Mark 5: Jesus went off with Jarius to pray for his daughter, and in between their departure and destiny, there was a woman with an issue of blood that had tormented her for twelve years who touched the helm of Jesus’ garment and was immediately healed.

In verse 34, Jesus praised her faith saying, “Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace, and be healed of your affliction.” And it further says, “While He was still speaking, they came from the House of the synagogue official, saying, ‘Your daughter has died; why trouble the teacher anymore?;’ But Jesus overhearing what was being spoken, said to the synagogue official, ‘Do not be afraid any longer, only believe.'”

Jarius’ employees were a negative voice wanting Jarius to give up on his dream. How many people said to you are not fit for a certain position? How many people said your business won’t prosper? How many people said you’re not good for anything? But Jesus being a better voice assures us not to be afraid but to believe. Maybe Jesus knows that fear is more crippling than failure itself.

“And they came to the house of synagogue official; and He beheld a commotion, and people loudly weeping and wailing. And entering in, He said to them, “Why make a commotion and weep? The child has not died, but is asleep.” And they began laughing at Him. But putting them all out, He took along the child’s father and mother and His own companions, and entered the room where the child was. And taking the child by hand, He said to her, “Talitha Kumi!” (Which translated means, “Little girl, I say to you arise!) And immediately the girl rose and began to walk.”

Jesus told the mourners that the daughter is not dead. If they were really mourning, why did they not rebuke Him? Instead, they chose to laugh. Why a sudden change of emotions? In the first place, I gather that they were not there to comfort Jarius, but for gossip. They are people who will pretend to support you but in essence they are looking for something to make a scorn of.

Jesus is teaching us to let go of people who are not hearing the same voice as us and embrace a companion that always support the voice of God in our life. No matter how intimidating the situation can be, the voice of Jesus will come out triumphantly. He is the voice of hope, courage, joy, love and peace.

 Pastor Lulamile Sifuba

@LulamileSifuba

Change Bible Church, Daveyton

God Is With Us

By Pastor Lulamile Sifuba

The incarnation of Jesus is one thing we have taken lightly in both the charismatic and Pentecostal movements.

We teach more about the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ. We hardly teach about the birth and life of Jesus Christ except when it’s Christmas time. There’s a lot we can learn from the birth and life our Lord Jesus Christ. He’s birth is more than just a Christmas story, but it’s an unveiling of God’s steadfast love.

Mathew 1:23, “Behold, a virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and he shall be called Emmanuel” (Which means, God with us). That’s a bold statement by God through the Angel of the Lord. Why is it a bold statement?

Gods are known to be exclusive, unapproachable and somehow distant from common man, but our God has a different agenda. His is to be amongst man and share in their suffering. No wonder John said, “The word became flesh dwelt among us”.

When you’re sick, know that He is with you. When no one believes in your dream, know that He is with you. When there’s nothing on your table, know that He is with you. When you suffer rejection, know that He is with you.

Was it not King David who said, “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil; for thou art with me”?

Evil shall not conquer for God is with us. He is Emmanuel.

*Scriptures quoted from Revised Standard Version of the Bible.



Pastor Lulamile Sifuba

Change Bible Church, Daveyton

@LulamileSifuba

"Easter Savings!” "Easter Specials!"

This is what we normally see on TV commercials and advertising catalogues. This clearly says before the church begins to enjoy and announce the coming of Easter weekend, retailers are always ahead making sure that people are geared up for Easter.



In as much as the retails are the first ones to announce Easter, their announcement is totally different from the announcement of the church – their announcement is to make people consume more without saving, and their symbol for Easter is a bunny, while the announcement of the church is the crucifixion, death and resurrection of Jesus, and the symbol for it is the cross (and Holy Communion).



On the other hand, we have people who argue about the exact date of Easter. Honestly, I do not know what astronomers consider when they compile a calendar for a specific year which always affects the Easter Weekend,  but I what I do know is that in the New Testament, Passover is not a day, but a Person, for we find Paul saying “Christ our Passover” (1 Corrinthians 5:7). During Passover, or Easter, as it is known to many, we are not necessarily celebrating a weekend, but we are celebrating a Person – a Person who is a crescendo of God’s thoughts.



A day before His crucifixion, Jesus had a meal with his disciples and He declared that meal as a symbol to His blood and flesh. This shows that Jesus doesn’t only want to prepare a table for us, but He also wants to share a meal with us. Generally, we don’t eat our meals with strangers but we always want to have our meals with people who are dear to us. Therefore, it is during Easter weekend that Jesus announces that He is not a stranger to mankind, but He is a friend of mankind and wants to be remembered not as a lofty God, but a God who is in friendship with humanity.



Mankind has always imagined God as a God of revenge, but in the Person of Jesus, we see a God who dies for His enemies. Above all, Easter teaches that God forgives no matter how big your sin is, and it also teaches us that we should forgive one another without any reason at all.



Romans 5:8 remarks thus, “While we were His enemies, Christ died for us”. Jesus’ death reminds us that God doesn’t prepare a table for us to spite our enemies, but He prepares it to reconcile us with our enemies.



This Easter, express the Christ in you and find it in your heart to forgive someone you have a grudge against. It may be hard but you need this reconciliation for you to enjoy the real Passover (Jesus).



Jesus did not only die for us, but He resurrected. In fact, the death of Jesus means nothing without His resurrection. The Bible is explicitly clear in 1 Corinthians 15:17, “If Christ has not been raised, your faith is still futile and you are still sinners”. The crucifixion reveals that were blinded by sin and we didn’t recognise our Saviour, but the resurrection of Jesus proves that no matter how lost we were in sin, God didn’t and is not willing to give up on mankind



“He who was delivered over because of transgressions, and was raised because of justification”.  Jesus was not raised from the dead because He is the Son of God, that He forever was, neither was He raised because of His omnipotence, but He was raised for our justification. Jesus’ resurrection is not His resuscitation or an event that happened after His death, but it is the evidence of our righteousness, innocence and ultimately the victory we gained because of Him.



Easter is the declaration of God siding with mankind.



Pastor Lulamile Sifuba

Change Bible Church, Daveyton

@lulamilesifuba