The Lord is my strength and my shield; in Him my heart trusts and I am helped; my heart exults, and with my song I give thanks to Him. Psalm 28:7
Chatutulililiyi wumi windi, diku kutunelukili kukena. Yumanu Wamuchimu 3:16
thanks Rykauna for the excellent verse selection!
This is how we are learning love because Jesus Christ laid down His life for us. The lesson has already been taught, the example has already been given. We can see what love is because Jesus Christ showed us. All that remains to be seen is how this will be worked out in our own lives. The remainder of the verse says 'and we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers'. So how am I laying down my life for the people around me? I ought to be showing the love that I have learned 'at the feet of Jesus'
so, I had planned to work out the translation for the lunda verses, more for myself I guess.... but this verse is insane! All of the prefixes and suffixes!... I think what the translation for this would be:
chatutulililiyi ... the root of this word is possibly the verb tula which can mean 'to put down, as a load'
the 'liliyi' at the end makes the verb past tense... but its one of those fancy tenses that I haven't figured out in english yet ;) ... like the far past or... is there a continuous past? ... I don't know...
wumi is life, windi is his
diku ... I have no idea...
Kutunelukili ... I think the root of this word is 'iluka' which is the verb 'to know' ... but I'm not sure why there is an 'e' instead of an 'i'
kukena means 'to love'
so basically... 'laid down life his, we know love' ....
hmmm... well, at least of one the verses is easy enough to memorise.. that one is gonna need some serious remedial work in Zambia to figure out the correct pronounciation for those two big words
Monday 4 February 2013
Friday 1 February 2013
Its only a few months longer now before I finally leave. Part of me is so excited and part of me is dreading this departure. I guess I've mostly been thinking about the people I'll be leaving behind, my sweet little nephew, my brother and sisters and mother, the friendships I've been blessed with particularly these last few years, the fellow believers, the kiddos and teens, many of my colleagues.....
I've been reading through the book of the Exodus (which, by the way, is fascinating!) and I've really been enjoying how uncomplicated and available a relationship with God is and how present and accessible He is. I can only imagine what it must've been like for these Hebrew people as they 'met' God, really met Him, for the first time. They had seen and experienced alot of His goodness and greatness, but I'm sure this experience was graven into their minds and hearts for ever after...
look at this:
And the Lord said to Moses "I am coming to you in a thick cloud, that the people may hear when I speak with you... Go to the people and consecrate them [for two days] ... and let them wash their garments and be ready for the third day. On the 3rd day the Lord will come down in the sight of all the people. And you shall set limits for the people all around saying 'take care not to .. touch the edge of the mountain... he shall be stoned or shot."
On the morning of the third day there were thunders and lightnings and a thick cloud on the moutain and a very loud trumpet blast so that [everyone] trembled. Then Moses brought the people out of the camp to meet God. Now Mount Sinai was wrapped in smoke because the Lord had descended on it in fire ... and the whole mountain trembled greatly... Moses spoke and God answered him in thunder. And the Lord said to Moses "Go down and warn the people, [so they don't break through to try and look at the Lord] and many of them perish.
Now when all the people saw the thunder and the flashes of lightning and the sound of the trumpet and the mountain smoking they were afraid and trembled and said to Moses "You speak to us and we will listen; but do not let God speak to us or we die." The people stood far off, while Moses drew near to the thick darkness where God was.
Now the appearance of the glory of the Lord was like a devouring fire on the top of the mountain
compare...
Ephesians 2: 13, 18,19
But now in Christ Jesus you who were once far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ... For through Him we ... have access ... to the Father. You are no longer strangers ... but members of the household of God.
Hebrews 4:16
Let us come boldly before the throne of grace that we may find mercy and grace in the time of need
Hebrews 12: 18-24
You have not come to.. a blazing fire and darkness and gloom and a temptest and the sound of a trumpet and a voice whose words made the hearers beg that no further messages be spoken to them... Indeed, so terrifying was the sight that even Moses said "I tremble with fear"
But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God... and to the assembly of the first born who are enrolled in heaven, and to God, and to Jesus the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood.
What a difference! In the first picture the people were warned not to pass the limits that had been set up or they would die and when they heard God speak they begged not to hear anymore messages from God.
In the second picture, we who are in Christ have been brought near by His blood and we don't need to be afraid like they were but can come boldly before His throne and are now considered members of the household of God. I like that.
I can't hardly imagine what it must've been like for those ancient people who didn't know God to meet Him in clouds and darkness and thick smoke and fire, nor can I imagine what it will be like the moment that I finally see Him face to face... this awesome God. But what I do know is that all my life here I have been learning about Him. He hasn't shielded His glory any, He's still the terrible, terrifying, holy God; but since the cross, He has been able to perfectly demonstrate His love for us. He was always the God of love, the God that bond us with cords of love; but since the cross He is now the God that loved to the greatest sacrifice of all and with that sacrifice He created a way for us not just to know about Him and be His servants, but to be His children, members of His own household, enrolled in Heaven. He is the accessible God
I just think that's so amazing, this terrifying God has been able to show us His tender side. He is the lion and the lamb, the tremendous God of the universe and yet became a little tiny helpless baby. What I like is that I am not going out alone, I am not facing this journey solo. In the unsettled times, the times of leaving and of goodbye's, times of uncertainty, of mistakes and miscommunications, at all times God is present and available and waiting for me to draw near to Him and I don't have to be afraid. This is the God who said 'when your friends forsake you, I will not forsake you. When everyone leaves, I will not leave you. When you have been forgotten, I will not forget you. I have graven you into the palm of my hands. When you are all alone, I am with you. I will be with you to the end of the world. When you are afraid. I will hold your hand and remind you not to be afraid.'
This is the beginning of february now, the beginning of may, just 3 mos, will commence the year long adventure, but oh! its so reassuring to know that, even tho I can't pack up those dearest to me and bring them along in my suitcase, this God is still with me- even there!
And though I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there shall Thy hand lead me and thy right hand shall hold me. Psalm 139: 9,10
I've been reading through the book of the Exodus (which, by the way, is fascinating!) and I've really been enjoying how uncomplicated and available a relationship with God is and how present and accessible He is. I can only imagine what it must've been like for these Hebrew people as they 'met' God, really met Him, for the first time. They had seen and experienced alot of His goodness and greatness, but I'm sure this experience was graven into their minds and hearts for ever after...
look at this:
And the Lord said to Moses "I am coming to you in a thick cloud, that the people may hear when I speak with you... Go to the people and consecrate them [for two days] ... and let them wash their garments and be ready for the third day. On the 3rd day the Lord will come down in the sight of all the people. And you shall set limits for the people all around saying 'take care not to .. touch the edge of the mountain... he shall be stoned or shot."
On the morning of the third day there were thunders and lightnings and a thick cloud on the moutain and a very loud trumpet blast so that [everyone] trembled. Then Moses brought the people out of the camp to meet God. Now Mount Sinai was wrapped in smoke because the Lord had descended on it in fire ... and the whole mountain trembled greatly... Moses spoke and God answered him in thunder. And the Lord said to Moses "Go down and warn the people, [so they don't break through to try and look at the Lord] and many of them perish.
Now when all the people saw the thunder and the flashes of lightning and the sound of the trumpet and the mountain smoking they were afraid and trembled and said to Moses "You speak to us and we will listen; but do not let God speak to us or we die." The people stood far off, while Moses drew near to the thick darkness where God was.
Now the appearance of the glory of the Lord was like a devouring fire on the top of the mountain
compare...
Ephesians 2: 13, 18,19
But now in Christ Jesus you who were once far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ... For through Him we ... have access ... to the Father. You are no longer strangers ... but members of the household of God.
Hebrews 4:16
Let us come boldly before the throne of grace that we may find mercy and grace in the time of need
Hebrews 12: 18-24
You have not come to.. a blazing fire and darkness and gloom and a temptest and the sound of a trumpet and a voice whose words made the hearers beg that no further messages be spoken to them... Indeed, so terrifying was the sight that even Moses said "I tremble with fear"
But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God... and to the assembly of the first born who are enrolled in heaven, and to God, and to Jesus the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood.
What a difference! In the first picture the people were warned not to pass the limits that had been set up or they would die and when they heard God speak they begged not to hear anymore messages from God.
In the second picture, we who are in Christ have been brought near by His blood and we don't need to be afraid like they were but can come boldly before His throne and are now considered members of the household of God. I like that.
I can't hardly imagine what it must've been like for those ancient people who didn't know God to meet Him in clouds and darkness and thick smoke and fire, nor can I imagine what it will be like the moment that I finally see Him face to face... this awesome God. But what I do know is that all my life here I have been learning about Him. He hasn't shielded His glory any, He's still the terrible, terrifying, holy God; but since the cross, He has been able to perfectly demonstrate His love for us. He was always the God of love, the God that bond us with cords of love; but since the cross He is now the God that loved to the greatest sacrifice of all and with that sacrifice He created a way for us not just to know about Him and be His servants, but to be His children, members of His own household, enrolled in Heaven. He is the accessible God
I just think that's so amazing, this terrifying God has been able to show us His tender side. He is the lion and the lamb, the tremendous God of the universe and yet became a little tiny helpless baby. What I like is that I am not going out alone, I am not facing this journey solo. In the unsettled times, the times of leaving and of goodbye's, times of uncertainty, of mistakes and miscommunications, at all times God is present and available and waiting for me to draw near to Him and I don't have to be afraid. This is the God who said 'when your friends forsake you, I will not forsake you. When everyone leaves, I will not leave you. When you have been forgotten, I will not forget you. I have graven you into the palm of my hands. When you are all alone, I am with you. I will be with you to the end of the world. When you are afraid. I will hold your hand and remind you not to be afraid.'
This is the beginning of february now, the beginning of may, just 3 mos, will commence the year long adventure, but oh! its so reassuring to know that, even tho I can't pack up those dearest to me and bring them along in my suitcase, this God is still with me- even there!
And though I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there shall Thy hand lead me and thy right hand shall hold me. Psalm 139: 9,10
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