The writing of Sunny Caane

Oh Sunny, my heart, my heart, my heart! It aches and it stings. For her whom I love neglects me. She resides by the well and loves the sea. She swims through the breeze and underneath the stars. She shines with a leisurely glow and strolls through the day with a lively luxuriance. Oh, pity me, pity me for I will to put this feeling aside, to digress into a space where no awareness of her is felt. But lo - see how I sigh.

K.Oni

If there was no word of God

If there was no word of God to tell us anything how should we be comforted that when we die we shall be meeting a fair judge? How would we know if we were found guilty whether there was any way to have redeemed ourselves? Our senses would have told us that there is a God by reason. But how would we know what to expect if by being good we would dwell in his presence forevermore? Would it have been for our good or ill? How would we know what pleases him or what he loathes?

There was a travelling girl who came to the church after the service had finished. She joined us for lunch and I had the opportunity to engage her in a discussion. She described herself as an optimistic agnostic. I acknowledged her views and asked her whether she was actively seeking or wanted to know for definite if there was a God. She was content with her situation and at the same time curious.

I explained to her that we can only know who God is by revelation, that is God has to reveal himself to us for us to know anything about him for she had said there was a great many religion and in someways they are all correct and you only need pick one or all of it. I said yes indeed there are many religion but what matters is choosing the right one because all cannot be true as they contradict each other.

I explained to her that if God was a father, yea a loving father then it would be his natural disposition to want to reveal himself to his children. And also that if God is the creator and has made the man a relational being because he has made them in his image, then surely it would be natural for him to want to reveal himself to us and not leave us in the dark. God desires to be known. It is said that the whole world is full of his glory. Every atom of creation, every hue, every flower ought to bring us to reflect on the beauty of the one who created it all.

Anyways I pressed on on the truth of revelation which was revealed in Jesus and that Jesus was the supreme one and the Son of God. I said that he was not merely a prophet but God himself in the flesh and that through him we know God and his will. By the end of the conversation, she was encouraged to read the words of Jesus for herself as it is written in John's gospel and to see whether he is as he says he is, namely the Son of God whom we must all bow the knee.

I pray that the sovereign Lord who brought her into the church may open her eyes to see the beauty of Jesus and turn her heart to embrace the magnificent Son of God.

K.Oni

Should I get baptise?

Perhaps you are asking yourself this question right now? Or perhaps you know of someone who has been a Christian for a while but does not see the importance of being baptized? Or perhaps baptism is something you disagree with because you have been baptized before but when that happened, you never gave a believable profession of faith in Jesus. Before we get to the question should I get baptized, we must ask what is baptism?

The Greek word baptizo means to plunge something in water. We see this in Mark 1:5 were John was baptising people in the river Jordan. He was baptising them in the river and not by the river, which suggest that John was immersing people into the water and then they came up out of the water just as Jesus did when he was baptized by John in Mark 1:10. John’s baptism signifies a repentance from sin and pointing them to believe in the one who was to come, the messiah. John also confesses in Mark 1 that the messiah is mightier than he and he will baptise with the Holy Spirit. This was later fulfilled at Pentecost. But our focus in this article is the public display of baptism, namely when a person is plunged/immersed into water.

According to Smith’s Bible dictionary, Christian baptism signifies three things.

1.     It signifies a confession of faith in Christ

2.     A cleansing or washing of the soul from sin

3.     A death to sin and a new life in righteousness

If the three things above are true in regard to Christian baptism and you believe these things to be true, then the question of should I get baptise ought to be answered with an emphatic Yes.

In Matthew 28:19 we see that Jesus orders the apostles to baptise the disciples that they make. “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” So, we can see that one of the hallmarks of a disciple is that they are baptised. Jesus considers baptism to be a very important thing and so should all Christians because Jesus commands it.

Have you put your faith in Jesus? If so then you should be baptised. There is no reason to delay. You ought to be like the Ethiopian eunuch, for when he was with Philip and “they were going along the road they came to some water, and the eunuch said, “See, here is water! What prevents me from being baptized?”

What prevents you from being baptised today when you knew that you put your faith in Jesus? You have given a believable profession of faith. Do not delay and be a good disciple by obeying your master!

K.Oni

He went about doing good

It is said of Christ that he went about doing good! Oh, yes he did and I am to do the same. Yes, I am to go about doing good to all. Am I at work? I am to do good. Am I with my enemies? I am to do good. And that good can be summed up as loving my neighbor. That is to meet their need. The good samaritan saw the injured by the roadside and did not pass him by. He did what he could! If my enemy is hungry, I should feed him. Whatever I do, I am to do good! Jesus went about doing good, and so will I.

K.Oni

Encouragements

Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Phil 4:6-7

No weapon forged against you will prevail, and you will refute every tongue that accuses you. This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD, and this is their vindication from me, declares the LORD. Isa 54:17

And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus. Phil 4:19

Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke? Isa 58:6

Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. Psalm 23

Love the Lord your God with all of your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. Mark 12:30

LORD, be gracious to us; we long for you. Be our strength every morning, our salvation in time of distress. Isa 33:2

Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise: be thankful unto Him, and bless His name. Psalm 100:4

But those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like the eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint. Isa 40:31

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails." 1 cor 13:4-8

And call on me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you will honor me. Psalm 50:15

  

Every word of God is pure: he is a shield unto them that put their trust in him. Proverbs 30:5

Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.” So we say with confidence, “The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can mere mortals do to me?” Heb 13:5-6

K.Oni

I never did what I did because of you

I never did what I did because of you
I loved the Lord because He was the song in my heart.

And when you are gone my devotion will remain
Because it is Jesus I seek, His love and His joy.

Although I fear the waves of emotions that will zap me
Yet I have anchored myself in His promises.

K.Oni

Which is the fourth commandment?

The fourth commandment is, Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labor, and do all thy work: but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates: for in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day, and hallowed it.

From The Westminster Shorter Catechism https://bpc.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/d-scatechism.pdf

A prayer for my soul

Oh my Lord, how awful I feel when I eschew your company. O too many times I find myself fellowshiping with the world, and I feel so out of place because my fellowship is with you O Lord. Help me in my weakness and draw me to thyself. Teach me to love all above myself, yea even my enemies, teach me to love those who have no benefit towards me. Let me be your servant and in being your servant, I will be a good servant for humanity. 

K.Oni

Miscellanies 114

I have faults that if they were displayed would reach the stars. And in all of my troubles, none bring me so much sorrow than sin, yea sin is the cause of all of my deep miseries. Am I melancholy? I can tell you it is because of sin and I have no inward sunshine.

K.Oni

There is no sin that cannot be overcome

There is no sin that cannot be overcome. Do not diminish the work of Christ on the cross by claiming so. In this life, there is power in the name of Christ to overcome all obstacles. My experience does not dictate my theology.

K.Oni

Faith is what I am to act

Oh, faith is what I am to act! For too long I have stayed in apathy. Perhaps not in apathy but I have stood still. I have prayed little and in those little prayers, I have not acted thus. I prayed that there should be water to drink but I did not go to the well. I prayed for bread to eat but did not plow the field. I prayed that she would love me but did not seek. I prayed for faith but did not ask that He should help my unbelief! Faith is in the doing and not in the wishing. For the poor man folds his hands and thus has nothing. 

K.Oni

The Joy of confession

Sinner: Oh the hurt in my heart because I forsake not my sins, yea those sins which easily entangles me. I have been a fool, yea a mighty fool who descends back to his own vomit like a dog. Oh, when will I cease from my folly! The house of the lord which ought to bring me gladness fills me with dread because I have been unfaithful in my heart to God and have committed wicked adultery. Oh, I look around and I see the bright ones and then there is poor me with his little light and no external event were strong enough to blow it out but my own vile sins - yea the water of my own sins I poured on my joy! But lo I do not completely lose heart for I have heard and know that a smouldering wick he will not snuff out and a bruised reed he will not break. Oh in that I take comfort this day that my good lord whom I have shamefully disobeyed 10x 10 million times that yet, he comes gently and with a stern rod so that the waves throws me upon him who is the rock of ages!

K.Oni

No other fount I know

There is no other fount I know, yea no psychological or scientific or philosophical fount I know that can cure me of my sins and restore my joy. Yea no fount but the fount of the blood of Jesus. That fount alone I know that cures me!

K.Oni

Do not pass me by

Do not pass me by
Unsullied eyes
Even though Your beauty
By far
Exceeds mine.

Fear none, no one but God
Love all, but none above God!

What is life but a breath,
Ten thousand years
Those ten thousand years dead
I will be remembered no more!

But the peace of my Lord remains
It reigns in me.
Farewell to my doubts and raging sea
It is well, whatever it may be.
Jesus loves me
Forever so.

K.Oni

Blessed Bee

Blessed bee
Sting me not!
See the flower
Awaiting thee.
My flesh is foul
Like a rotten sea
Blessed bee
Sting me not!

K.Oni

In His heart he wore her name

In His heart, he wore her name
The fairest maiden there ever was.
Not a moment of time
Or an event of life
That she did not reign in his heart.
But somber their tale unraveled,
Last week when a vicious witch
Her did seek, to cast
A spell on her maidenhead.
All flowers sigh and whined,
And daylight ceased because
Of her whose beauty always gleam,
The scattered lights ito one moonlit beam,
Sedating waves on troubled seas.
Her, whose tender hair does run
Past her alpine neck, a rosy shine.
Safe blueish eyes, with a favorable smile,
Now sits beneath a dangling rock!
If the hourglass loses its sand,
Then our poor maiden will die!
Adumbral darkness permeated the night
For the last minute was soon to pass;
When swiftly a hardy swing
Swayed the rock aside from her.
My princess, the jubilant boy cried
Save thou art until time ends our span.

K.Oni