Intro to "Africa Arise!"

Introduction: My Story

Freshman year- Studying in my room in FT :-)

Hello UCSB Black Student Union (and everyone else) :-) I know most of you may know my face but you don't know me so allow me to introduce myself to you (you can skip this part and go to the next post for the main message if you don't care for introductions) ... So I'm about to but in the 4.75 years at UCSB I wasn't that much involved with the black community on campus and then in my last quarter I started going for all the BSU events all of a sudden. Why is that?... I remember during one of the ABC meetings Alexis Ariel mentioned that sometimes she runs into some black people on campus that she's never seen before and she wonders why they don't care to be a part of the black community; she wondered whether those people thought they were too good for them. Well I was one of those people so I can speak on behalf of some of them. So it's basically issues with Identity. Due to some past experiences in Kenya I became insecure in my identity so I became passive and I stopped initiating that much due to fear of rejection (posts: Self-Esteem  and Advocacy). And I remained that way for a long time and it was depressing... yeah I became depressed. I'm from Kenya and one thing I like about our culture is hospitality so coming to America while being insecure I was hard-hit by the individualistic culture. And because I was insecure I took the lack of hospitality as rejection. (This introduction is getting too long lol. I'll share more of my story in an upcoming post called: "Coming to America") So yeah, I lived in ft my freshmen year and so I was isolated from the black community coz I wasn't on the black floor. And later when I'd go to BSU everyone knew each other and no one was welcoming and because I was insecure I didn't initiate due to fear of rejection. So it was a dead end: I wanted to be part of the community but it was all up to me and since it was too costly for me (I was too broken to have the courage to face my insecurities) I just gave up after a while (early on in my junior year).

Sophomore year- Tabling at the African American Social :-)

A community I became involved with in my freshman year was InterVarsity Christian Fellowship. They were tabling at the African American social at Santa Rosa and I signed up. I joined in towards the end of Fall quarter... so once again I was joining in at a time when everyone else already had their friends and the reason I stayed was because of individuals who made me feel welcome- a girl called Jamie and my Bible study leaders Nathan and Ademir. I heard about BAM (Born Again Ministries) later but the reason  I didn't check it out was the same: my insecurities and later I couldn't coz of schedule conflict. Anyway, looking back, if I was welcomed by BSU or if BAM had reached out to me before InterVarsity I would have probably never joined InterVarsity because I'd feel at home. So it was God who allowed things to happen they way they did so that I could join InterVarsity, a multi-ethnic fellowship. There were things He wanted to teach me through it. So yeah, I became a faithful member. I went with them on a mission trip to Bosnia the summer of my Freshman year and in my sophomore year I was co-leading a Bible Study in Santa Rosa that's how I got to meet people on the black hall. I was also a leader of InterVarsity's African Diasporic CSAME (Cultural Solidarity Amidst Multi-ethnicity) group with Thaddeus and that year I organized an event called, "Culture Fest: The Black Church Experience" which some of you attended. So yeah, I really cared about the black community though my insecurities still prevented me from being a part of it.

So up to this point I was really involved with InterVarsity- I was even on leadership but I was just as insecure as before, if not more. You see issues with identity really run deep and ultimately it's a spiritual issue since God is the giver of our identity. So God started calling me out of the routine I had formed coz I was not doing well spiritually (my relationship with God and with myself) and my relationship with others was also shallow (posts: The Desert and Remember). And then in the post: Pre-Fall Leader's Retreat I shared how right before the Fall of my senior year God set me free from that depression that had held me back for so long and He gave me back My Voice - The freedom to speak my mind and to be myself. And that whole year I faced tons of opposition from the Staff leaders because of the things I had to say. So when God told me that I was free to use my voice He was telling me to call out the systems of oppression and injustice that I was seeing happen before my eyes and to speak on behalf those who are suffering. So I did and that resulted in many meetings with the Staff leaders who heard us (me, Thaddeus and Wisdom) but at the end of the day no changes were being implemented... Ok I'm tired of writing now haha. You can go back to the main post.

Africa ARISE! ☼

“Arise, shine, for your light has come, 

 and the glory of the Lord rises upon you. 

See, darkness covers the earth and

thick darkness is over the peoples,

but the Lord rises upon you 

and His glory appears over you.

Nations will come to your light,

and kings to the brightness of your dawn." 

(Isaiah 60:1-3)

REMEMBER WHO YOU ARE

Introduction: Hey BSU :) For my introduction story (who am I? and why did I wait this long to share this message with you guys?) go to the previous post. So last summer I did this post called REAL Identity  ... So basically... my story parallels that of The Lion King... due to some past experiences I became insecure in my identity and I "ran away from home" (I stopped being myself/expressing myself. I became depressed) and into a foreign land where I met "different animals, Timon and Pumba" (I came to America. And at UCSB I joined InterVarsity, a multi-ethnic Christian fellowship) and in the foreign land I learnt different things through my experiences with the different people I was interacting with and God was also trying to make me face my insecurities and to remember my identity. So I finally gave up running away from home; I gave up hiding my brokenness when I couldn't take it anymore. And when I gave up God stepped in and set me free (post: Pre-Fall Leaders Retreat). He revived me with His Spirit. He set me free to be myself again and to use my voice. It was 'Rise & Shine' Time coz my Light had arrived. Ok I'll pick it up from there but if you want the rest of the story (without the metaphors lol) go to the intro post... But the reason I am sharing this is because it's not just my story, it's our story. God wanted me to share this coz Simba's story parallels the story of people of African descent in the motherland and in the diaspora; not just in our history but in our present and near future. Our destiny. I already shared all this in the REAL Identity post and in detail so check that out. You can start from the section: "BEHOLD! A New Thing! God's "Affirmative Action" Plan for Racial Reconciliation, Unity, Christ Supremacy, His Glory". This post is more like a follow-up of that post- Filling you in on how the things God gave me to share have been unfolding over the months and what's coming next.

So yeah, welcome to my journal. This post includes the following sections:

• Looks like the Winds are changing- Season change. The dawn of a new era.
• Arise, shine for your light has come- Advocacy & Activism for equality & unity
• Update on African forerunners- Kenya, Ethiopia, other countries.
• We are the revolution- My personal experience & observations from the UCSB BSU & ABC Conference.
• Real Identity & Real Purpose- Dry Bones in our midst (tribe of Judah) & the Lion of the tribe of Judah's plans for the near future. 
• Application: PREPARE THE WAY! Sing a NEW Song =)
• (Ok so I'm tired of blogging so if none of this makes sense then just hit me up and we can talk about it :-)

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"LOOKS LIKE THE WINDS ARE CHANGING"- Simba

My friends in Africa, can you feel it? My friends in Kenya can you see the signs?? Maybe on TV shows like "Changing Times" ... But can you hear it?? Maybe in bands like "A DAWN AGE", Maybe in the songs like Esther Wahome's "Mambo Yanabadilika" (Things are changing). Maybe in the church Mavuno (Harvest) Mission: "Turning Ordinary People Into Fearless Influencers Of Society." America can you see the visions?... When the movie 42 came out Wisdom was like, "Why is that, all of a sudden, people are making movies of black people (and black History)?" Well they're just trying to pass a message; tryna give you the news... For real, we don't need to get too prophetic on this... let's open our eyes! :) I can see it all over your facebook pages. So what's the message that's being transmitted? Times are changing for us. It's about that time. Like in the story of Joseph things are turning around for us .....

Can you U C, SB? I saw many more signs last Winter quarter. I was taking 2 Black Studies classes: Africa in Film and The Sociology of the Black Experience. I chose my classes randomly but later I realized that it was God who directed me there. He was making me face the burden that's on my heart... It was sad hearing about and watching how black people were treated during slavery / colonialism days and even "After Freedom" (one of the books we read). Many times I would leave my film class in tears. The claimed goal of the colonialist was to make Africans "civilized." They wanted to bring light to the "dark continent" so they came to bring infrastructure, western education and medicine, and The Bible.... but also tons of degradation, exploitation and oppression and many problems sprouted out of that, problems we can still see today. (I'm just keeping it real)

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"Thick Darkness is Over The Peoples"

But then things are shifting... I highlighted The Bible... There's a quote by Desmond Tutu, "When the missionaries came to Africa they had the Bible and we had the land. They said, 'Let us pray.' We closed our eyes. When we opened them we had the Bible and they had the land.” If you look at the church in Europe this is crystal clear. Look up the stats. And then we have America... Oh America... Daniel prophesied about this nation in Daniel 2, "a fourth kingdom... a divided kingdom (disunity)... partly strong and partly brittle... so the people will be a mixture (multi-ethnicity) and will not remain united"
(Please read the Real Identity post for further explanation and also or just keep reading and things should make sense by the end if not refer to those posts or talk to me). So when God revived me at the Prefall leaders retreat, He also woke me up to the times we are living in. We are living in the 4th Kingdom and here's another description from 2 Timothy 3: 1-9. Read the whole thing but I'll highlight these:"Mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days: People will be... without love, unforgiving, slanderous, having a form of godliness but denying its power." That's how thick the darkness is. It has penetrated into the church. So I'm not saying that entire Western Church is faithless and doesn't read the Bible, that's not what Desmond Tutu is saying either, but I'm saying that the culture has influenced the church. "The Church has lost its view of the majesty of God. We must begin to magnify God instead of magnifying our problems. John Kilpatrick sounds the call for the Church to elevate its view of the powerful God we serve." -John Kilpatrick org.

The church  has lost it's view of God's Majesty: His Love, Justice, Righteousness and Holiness. And what's God to do during such terrible times? Yes He's going to act. He has to. He promises that He will not just shake the foundations of the earth but also the heavens (Hebrews 12:26) And He is raising up an army as well. Daniel saw something else..."In the time of those kings, the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed, nor will it be left to another people. It will crush all those kingdoms and bring them to an end, but it will itself endure forever. This is the meaning of the vision of the rock cut out of a mountain, but not by human hands—a rock that broke the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver and the gold to pieces. “The great God has shown the king what will take place in the future. The dream is true and its interpretation is trustworthy.” (Read on for explanation)

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"Arise! Shine! for your Light has come!"

So yeah "thick darkness is over the peoples" refers to the amount of evil in these last days (-> Check out the Kingdom Come Down post for more info about the times we're living in) but it also refers to ignorance-> ignorance of the problems in our world and their depth (up to spiritual roots) and ignorance of the solutions to lasting change (including the weapons of spiritual warfare) post: BEHOLD.  And I just realized that was one of the prophesies people received at the Pre- Fall Leaders retreat. I wrote about it in the post: Let there be Light! But yeah like I said times are changing... Many people got visions about revival happening at UCSB and the staff shared with us Kathryn Khulman's prophecy in the 70's that one day a great awakening would come out of Santa Barbara and would spread to the whole world.

Sons and daughters of Africa and in the diaspora. You are fearfully and wonderfully made. Rise up in all the gifts that God has blessed you with. For they are for a reason: For His Kingdom!! For a season: For such a time as this!!! What are these gifts?

• God has blessed us with voices. "He made my mouth like a sharpened sword, in the shadow of his hand he hid me; he made me into a polished arrow and concealed me in his quiver." (Isaiah 49: 2) “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.... Then the Lord reached out his hand and touched my mouth and said to me, “I have put my words in your mouth. See, today I appoint you over nations and kingdoms to uproot and tear down, to destroy and overthrow, to build and to plant.” (Jeremiah 1: 5,9,10) "Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute. Speak up and judge fairly; defend the rights of the poor and needy." (Proverbs 31: 8-9) 
• He has blessed us with musical and artistic gifts- More about that in the next sections. And also watch this video which I also posted in the Real Identity post : The prophetic destiny of the Black Community
• For such a time as this? We are living in the 4th Kingdom from Daniel's interpretation of the prophecy in Daniel 2. It's a time marked by multi-ethnicity and disunity. But God is doing a New Thing... He is making all things new. We are in a season of revival, reconciliation and restoration. So He first uses prophetic voices to make known the disunity and call out systems of injustice and also to break down spiritual strongholds to pave the way for equality and unity... to pave the way for the soon returning Messiah.  Yep :)

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Update on African Forerunners

In the posts Prepare The Way God was teaching me the importance of worship (singing, dancing, playing instruments) in a season of renewal and revival. In Real Identity, God told me "We are in a battle and God is preparing His people to be an army to fight and to stand firm and have victory. But "The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds." (2 Corinthians 10: 4) What are these weapons? Singing, dancing, praising, praying, fasting and proclaiming the Word of God and lifting His Name high."

And looking back this past year and before that, I can see how Kenya has been modeling that. The youth has risen up in their artistic gifts in proclaiming The King and His Kingdom unashamedly. Christian music (of different genres) is just as popular as secular music. Kenyan artists have been collaborating with other East African artists and in other parts of Africa as well (Check out: Cleaning The Airwaves) During the election season, the youth have been using their artistic gifts to promote peace and unity. And when God sent warning of judgements coming on the land due to lack of repentance I saw the country, including it's youth wage war against the darkness with weapons of spiritual warfare (prayer, fasting, "Keshas"= prayer & worship all-nighters). And it culminated in a day of National repentance which included the leaders of the country. 

Kevin Mirasi, a prophet in Kenya said, "How beautiful it is when the people of a nation gathers together and humble themselves before The LORD and embrace absolute Repentance!!!"..."The LORD showed me the very very extreme differences amongst different groups of Kenyan citizens. And The LORD showed me the very serious effort that needs to be done to bridge a reconciliation so that peace, love and unity prevails in Kenya, so that Kenya can move forward with unity of purpose.  The good news is that in that very mighty revelation of The LORD, I saw reconciliation actually happening amongst different groups of Kenyans Citizens." -(Kevin Mirasi's blog) Kevin Mirasi also noted that God has been using Kenyans to communicate His messages to the nations across the earth. I wondered why and I think it's because of the example that Kenya has set for the world when it comes to waging war using spiritual weapons- even the youth! So my brothers and sisters in Kenya keep it up! Yeah I know Kenya has a long way to go as a nation but it has also come along way. Anyway, moving on...

My friend, Esther Chengo, posted this on facebook the other day and it gave me more confirmation and encouragement. Can you hear how the winds are changing for the purpose of unity, Christ Supremacy and God's Glory? And what's the secret to change? Listening to our Creator (finding our identity in Him) and using our gifts to bring Him praise. Tis exciting!! =)

After I watched it I felt like God was encouraging me to finish this post; to send this message to you guys. Also it reminded me of a message my friend, Mekdime Belachew sent me last year after she read my REAL Identity post: "Wow that was quite an intense blog you wrote there... its funny that you talk about revival and revolution when that is precisely the message that we're receiving on this side too... we had our third annual summer camp "fusion" which interestingly enough was put together by its creator from a desire to see unity and oneness in Christ... fusion = unity...another one of the recurring themes in your blog... anyways on one of the nights during camp this leader/pastor prophesied over us declaring that there is an army rising up and that the youth of this generation...we are that army... this theme is running through eastern and western Canada and even in Ethiopia and other countries... there is definetely a revival about to happen and war is about to go down... we even talked about identity during camp and even during the services leading to camp... this is definitely a big thing..."
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WE ARE THE REVOLUTION!

"Endow the king with your justice, O God, the royal son with your righteousness. He will judge your people in righteousness, your afflicted ones with justice... He will defend the afflicted among the people and save the children of the needy; He will crush the oppressor... All kings will bow down to him and all nations will serve him. For he will deliver the needy who cry out, the afflicted who have no one to help. He will take pity on the weak and the needy and save the needy from death. He will rescue them from oppression and violence, for precious is their blood in his sight... All nations will be blessed through him, and they will call him blessed. Praise be to the LORD God, the God of Israel, who alone does marvelous deeds. Praise be to His glorious name for ever; may the whole earth be filled with His glory. Amen and Amen." (Psalm 72)

So in the Real Identity post I shared how God kept telling me, "Remember who you are" and "Be yourself." He was reminding me that He has created me with weapons of spiritual warfare so He wanted me to rise up and use them together with the fellowship as the solution to the many problems we were facing. But in trying to do so I faced so much opposition from those in authority ( InterVarsity Staff) yet all I was doing was telling people to come together and pray, worship and to care for each other, to be real friends; God's family. (At first I just told the Staff but they would be no application so God told me to pass on the message myself) But I kept facing opposition. This brought discouragement and it really troubled me and when I went to God about it He showed me what was going on through His Word. He showed me that He was using me like He would the prophets in the Bible, to send a message to the shepherds/teachers; to be an agent of change but the shepherds were resisting the change since they wanted to stick to the old routine. So yeah God was telling me not to take the opposition and rejection personally and He also kept telling me that I needed to call out the authority for not listening to Him as a rebuke to them and a warning to everyone else. I didn't at first coz I knew how they'd take it. I was waiting and hoping to see change but things just got worse so at the end of the year I finally called them out and when nothing changed still God told me to make it public. It was summer so I did that through these blog posts: Who Cares?, Colors of the Wind, Let My people Go!, Are you comfortable yet?, Advocacy, What is the church?

So yeah, through my experience God was just revealing more of my identity to me. I'm a revolutionary/reformer. He had called me to be a defender of the oppressed and lovers must be fighters (fighting for equality and freedom). God speaks to me randomly lol so that summer I heard Him speak to me more about my identity and giftings through this song, the theme song from the Shaka Zulu show we used to watch a long time ago in Kenya. Oh yeah, and the Psalm 72 scripture was a Word that Lissah had received for me at the Prefall Leaders retreat when we were doing listening prayer and looking back, it's pretty descriptive of what God was trying to do through me that year (read the above posts for more info).

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UCSB BSU and ABC CONFERENCE

So after I did what God told me to do (expose the disunity and inequalities in the fellowship) I knew it would lead to me being misunderstood and rejected, God had told me that would happen but He also said there would be unity in the end (post: Waging War). So it was all about timing. Yeah I didn't get that part... His timing. So during the "waiting period" He was actually re-directing me elsewhere and I finally got it at the end of Fall '12. He was trying to direct me to re-unite with the black community on campus because: "There can be no black-white unity until there is first some black unity.... We cannot think of uniting with others, until after we have first united among ourselves. We cannot think of being acceptable to others until we have first proven acceptable to ourselves. -Malcolm X (I saw that quote posted on the BSU wall during Kwanzaa.) So I finally got what God had been trying to tell me for a long time post: Hair Revival.

So yeah, in the Winter (since I finally got the memo) I became more involved with the Black community on campus and once I got there it was cool seeing the fire they had for the stuff that was on my heart; how open they were with exposing and confronting problems we face within our community and in this society and especially how passionate they were about taking steps to make changes. That was cool but there was a problem... with me. Yeah I felt like that's where God wanted me to be but I felt bad that I had waited until my last quarter (what I thought was my last quarter) to make more friends in the black community. There's a quote by Socrates, "The Secret of change is to focus all of your energy not on fighting the old but building the new." I felt like I had wasted so much time and energy fighting the old (trying to defend myself; trying to make people understand me and what God had told me to do) instead of just moving forward with the people who were passionate about moving forward. So yeah at that point I was just tired and full of emotion but I held back so I returned to my passive state.

Anyway, I ended up going to the Afrikan Black Coalition (ABC) Conference at UC San Diego. The theme was "Reclaiming Black Identity, Power & Politics." The Conference was Amazing and I was blown away by all the Confirmation I received.

• Redemption Song: On the second day of the conference, Salih Muhammad, a student from UC Berkeley gave a speech. Unfortunately, I don't have my notebook on me so I can't share the quotes I took down but it was a really lively speech that made me want to stand up and shout Amen! I wanted to record it- should have. Basically, what stirred me up was his fervent call for the black community to "Lift every voice and sing" their redemption song. He quoted Bob Marley's Redemption song,"Won't you help to sing This songs of freedom- 'Cause all I ever have: Redemption songs; Redemption songs; Redemption songs."
• Identity & Purpose: On the next day Dr. Stara Lewis gave an amazing speech that really stunned me coz most of the things she was sharing were things God had been teaching me during my time at UCSB. She begun with a spoken word piece about blackness. She said that we have been miseducated. We have let the society defines us but we need to reclaim our black identity. Who we really are. She called us out saying that we dislike the negative image that media (music and entertainment industry) portrays of our identity yet we are among the consumers of such. She also noted how we have conformed with the times and society we live in to our detriment at times. For example, we constantly surround ourselves with noise which reduces our ability to see each other and to hear the sounds of the universe... the voice of our Creator, our God. (Yes she said that).  She asked us what we were doing in college. To get a degree, get a good job, have lots of money, have a family then die? Is that the purpose of our life? She asked us the question: "Who you be?" (We need to define ourselves not by what we do but who we are) and "Are you majoring in your purpose?"She challenged us not to ignore the gifts and talents that God created us with. Here are some of her quotes that Jamil recorded: 

1. "If blacks are mis-educated then we all are because we are all receiving the same education."
2. " Education is you, discovering you."
3. "We can't make it if we all don't make it"- A call for unity within the black community.
4. "How does a divine original compare themselves to others? We shouldn't judge others."
5. "We are the universe. Every choice we make we are exercising power and power is freedom."
6. "We've been programmed to chase the things that are not in our best interest. Let's take back control."
7. "People who know who they are cannot be contained, controlled or destroyed."

• Reformation: There were different workshops and they all had to do with reforming the various sectors of our society for example: education, healthcare, politics, etc. I went to the Education Workshop and it reminded me (along with Dr. Stara Lewis' talk) of the Reforming the American System, Reforming Education blog series I posted in 2011. The workshop exposed inequalities within the education system which leaves minority students at a disadvantage (unequal access to opportunities). The speakers also said something like, "You need to heal the soul in order to educate the whole person" -referring to the constant stress many black students are under due to their backgrounds (family problems and responsibilities, violent neighborhoods...) which then affects performance in school.
• Spirituality & Revival: I went to Destiny Iwouma's workshop which added the cherry on top of all the confirmation I was receiving. We watched the Why I Hate Religion but Love Jesus spoken word by Jefferson Bethke. Destiny posed the question, "What is black spirituality?" Then we proceeded into discussion. Through the discussion it was clear to see what had been going on within many of us... a spiritual revolution. People were dissatisfied with religion (following a bunch of rules and traditions out of routine) and hungry for the real deal (a relationship with Jesus which transforms and empowers us to live and to love like He did). Many people shared their struggles and testimonies. I shared my spiritual journey here at college (post: REMEMBER). Some of the answers I remember for the question that was raised (What is black spirituality?) include: Loving God and others, Creativity, Music (worship through song, dance and other artistic expressions). On Sunday morning I went to another workshop that was geared towards christian leaders. They posed the question, "What is revival?"since as black students we tend to take on to much since we like to lead, we like to serve. Then we discussed ways that we get revived. The main ones were: reading God's Word and listening to worship music. Do you see where this is going? Can you connect the dots? (You can watch this video -> The prophetic destiny of the Black Community that I posted in the Real Identity post)

***UCSB BSU ACTIVISM: The confirmation didn't stop after the ABC Conference. It kept increasing. Like I said in the Real Identiy post, God was calling the black community to lead a revolution- I could see that from my own experience with InterVarsity, from the ABC Conference and then with UCSB's Black Student Union- they formulated a petition demanding institutional changes. I had the privilege of joining the demands team in their meeting with the Chancellor and some professors. The meeting went really well and most of the demands were approved and are yet to be implemented." Check out these links for what's been going on at UCSB and other campuses: Black Student Organizing at UCSB "Black Students Demand Institutional Changes" The War on African American Culture Hits College Campuses, Black Unity Group Seeks to Educate about Race Relations

After our meeting with the Chancellor, Jazmin posted a picture of herself with this comment: "#letschangetheworld #BSU #UCSB as long as I got mah #suitandtie leaving my mark on this campus! Before I leave they gon know I was here. "I found it funny that she said that coz I had been working on the video below and that's one of the lyrics: "They'll remember we were here." So yeah, check out the video below for the summary of my observations from this section. And you might be in it! ;)

So yeah we've already strarted something but I was wondering are you ready for the next step? Do you even know who you are?... I don't know about you but I've been ready.... I WAS BORN FOR THIS!! Haha =)

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REAL IDENTITY. REAL PURPOSE. SING A NEW SONG!!

Jesus is alive and He's coming back sooner than you think!

“Judah, your brothers will praise you; your hand will be on the neck of your enemies; your father’s sons will bow down to you. You are a lion’s cub, Judah; you return from the prey, my son. Like a lion he crouches and lies down, like a lioness—who dares to rouse him? The scepter will not depart from Judah, nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet, until He to whom it belongs shall come and the obedience of the nations shall be His. He will tether his donkey to a vine, His colt to the choicest branch; He will wash his garments in wine, His robes in the blood of grapes. His eyes will be darker than wine, His teeth whiter than milk."(Genesis 49: 8-12)

Who is this King of Glory? His Name is Jesus =)

Who is this coming from Edom, from Bozrah, with his garments stained crimson? Who is this, robed in splendor, striding forward in the greatness of his strength?
“It is I, proclaiming victory, mighty to save.”
Why are your garments red,
like those of one treading the winepress?
“I have trodden the winepress alone;
from the nations no one was with me.
I trampled them in my anger
and trod them down in my wrath;
their blood spattered my garments,
and I stained all my clothing.
It was for me the day of vengeance;
the year for me to redeem had come.
I looked, but there was no one to help,
I was appalled that no one gave support;
so my own arm achieved salvation for me,
and my own wrath sustained me.
I trampled the nations in my anger;
in my wrath I made them drunk
and poured their blood on the ground.”
(Isaiah 60: 1-6)

So in the beginning I said that the black community shares the same story as that of Joseph but to be more accurate it is the story of Judah (his descendants) in the last days. Judah was one of Joseph's brothers who sold him into slavery. Though Joseph was despised by his brothers coz of their jealousy, God perserved his life and raised him up as a powerful leader in Egypt (second to Pharoah) and his brothers bowed down to him like Joseph saw in his dream. But in Genesis 49, their father Jacob blessed his sons and prophesied over their future (the future of their descendants) before he died. Jacob said that Judah would receive praise from his brothers, but like Joseph's story, trials come before honor and praise. {I'm not saying all black people have Hebrew blood. I'm sharing what God revealed to me... that it's in our midst... read more in the Real Identity post}

And what an honor it is to prepare the way for The Redeemer, Jesus, The Just One, who is coming back as a lion to bring justice. What an honor it is to roar at the systems of injustice, to speak up on behalf of the oppressed and to call for repentance (change) for the sake of unity (equality leading up to unity), Christ Supremacy and God's Glory.

Black community, do you see the bigger picture now? Do you see what you have been doing, or rather, what God has been doing through you? I'm telling you it is a great honor. But I was wondering... are you willing to go all the way with this revolution? Coz it aint over until it's over. Do you want to change the system, to change the world? Do you?? Then are you aware of the depth of the mess this world is in? Are you?? Really??? Coz I'm telling you the problems run deeper than systemic issues... Are you ready for this -> REVOLUTION! <- {I expose the depth of the mess: America's Real Identity, Upcoming Deception & Delusions, and I share the significance of this year: the day of God's vengeance (upcoming judgement)} I don't think you're ready for that so don't even read that post and you might as well skip this next section and go to the application coz READY OR NOT and BELIEVE IT OR NOT, IT'S TIME TO BE PREPARED. IT'S TIME TO PREPARE THE WAY!!! =D

If we want to see true and lasting change then we must yank out the roots. We must attack the spiritual strongholds. Do you get me?? Really?? The weapon of choice: A NEW SONG!! "Won't you help to sing This songs of freedom- 'Cause all I ever have: Redemption songs; Redemption songs; Redemption songs."

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SOON & VERY SOON!!

Jesus is coming back soon (2nd coming- As a Lion. To reign as The King of Kings) but His 1.5 coming (His appearance in the sky and rapture- The Coming of The Heavenly Bridegroom for His set-apart bride) is soon and very soon!!! Believe it or not it's this year!! Read on... I know may have lost most of you when I said the rapture is this year... I know it sounds crazy. I wouldn't have believed it either until God told me Himself and He gave me tons of confirmation from many different sources. No He didn't give me a date! That's just nuts coz the Bible says that no one knows the day or the hour but He did tell me that this is the season. This is the year. First thing He told me that this is "The year of the Lord's Favor and the Day of Vengeance of our God" (Isaiah 62:1) -This was during 2012 and He showed me that 12 signifies perfection of government. (And He later told me that the "2012" prophecies He gave me refer to the Hebrew year that started in September so it overlaps into 2013)

There are 2 kingdoms: The Kingdom of the world and the Kingdom of God. The government of the world (heavily influenced hence secretly ruled by the devil) will be perfected once the anti-christ comes forth and the whole world comes under his leadership- New World Order (His identity has already been revealed. Post: The Beast and The Big boys). And the government of the Kingdom of God is made perfect when the King appears and perfects His bride (His faithful followers)- We are in His government so He will empower us by filling us more of His glory. His Spirit of power and Love. And there's more... So the rapture is not what most people think it is. God has revealed this mystery to His servants through His Spirit and His Word. So yeah, God told me that the rapture is not just going to heaven and living there forever- yeah some people will like the ones that are already dead, kids and maybe others but the remnant of us will be transformed. Yes we will go to heaven for a wedding banquet but also our bodies will be made new and we will come back to earth during the Great Tribulation (A time of distress- God's judgements and the anti-christ's horrid reign) to preach the coming Kingdom of God in power. We will do miracles! It's gonna be exciting!! More details about the rapture:  To be human again. I have more posts in my drafts I haven't yet shared but since you may not like reading, I posted confirmation links you can watch in that post and here's another one that I ran into yesterday: Your Soon Depature.

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APPLICATION: PREPARE THE WAY!

TAKE YOUR POSITIONS! LEAD THE WORSHIP MOVEMENT!

SING A NEW SONG!

SING! RAP! Drop that beat!

MAKE MUSIC FOR THE KING!

PREACH! SPEAK THAT WORD!

SAY HIS NAME! SAY HIS NAME!

JUST DANCE! DANCE! DANCE!

PRAY! PRAY! PRAY!

PRAISE HIM! GIVE THANKS!

RESTORATION IS COMING!!! :D
REDEMPTION!! VICTORY!!! :D :D :D

(2 Chronicles 20)

14 Then the Spirit of the Lord came on Jahaziel son of Zechariah, the son of Benaiah, the son of Jeiel, the son of Mattaniah, a Levite and descendant of Asaph, as he stood in the assembly. 15 He said: “Listen, King Jehoshaphat and all who live in Judah and Jerusalem! This is what the Lord says to you: ‘Do not be afraid or discouraged because of this vast army. For the battle is not yours, but God’s. 16 Tomorrow march down against them. They will be climbing up by the Pass of Ziz, and you will find them at the end of the gorge in the Desert of Jeruel. 17 You will not have to fight this battle. Take up your positions; stand firm and see the deliverance the Lord will give you, Judah and Jerusalem. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged. Go out to face them tomorrow, and the Lord will be with you.’”

18 Jehoshaphat bowed down with his face to the ground, and all the people of Judah and Jerusalem fell down in worship before the Lord. 19 Then some Levites from the Kohathites and Korahites stood up and praised the Lord, the God of Israel, with a very loud voice. 20 Early in the morning they left for the Desert of Tekoa. As they set out, Jehoshaphat stood and said, “Listen to me, Judah and people of Jerusalem! Have faith in the Lord your God and you will be upheld; have faith in his prophets and you will be successful.” 21 After consulting the people, Jehoshaphat appointed men to sing to the Lord and to praise Him for the splendor of His holiness as they went out at the head of the army, saying: “Give thanks to the Lord, for His love endures forever.” 22 As they began to sing and praise, the Lord set ambushes against the men of Ammon and Moab and Mount Seir who were invading Judah, and they were defeated. 23 The Ammonites and Moabites rose up against the men from Mount Seir to destroy and annihilate them. After they finished slaughtering the men from Seir, they helped to destroy one another.

24 When the men of Judah came to the place that overlooks the desert and looked toward the vast army, they saw only dead bodies lying on the ground; no one had escaped. 25 So Jehoshaphat and his men went to carry off their plunder, and they found among them a great amount of equipment and clothing and also articles of value—more than they could take away. There was so much plunder that it took three days to collect it. 26 On the fourth day they assembled in the Valley of Berakah, where they praised the Lord. This is why it is called the Valley of Berakah ("praise") to this day. 27 Then, led by Jehoshaphat, all the men of Judah and Jerusalem returned joyfully to Jerusalem, for the Lord had given them cause to rejoice over their enemies. 28 They entered Jerusalem and went to the temple of the Lord with harps and lyres and trumpets. 29 The fear of God came on all the surrounding kingdoms when they heard how the Lord had fought against the enemies of Israel. 30 And the kingdom of Jehoshaphat was at peace, for his God had given him rest on every side.

It's funny that during last quarter's  Gospel Choir concert, Pastor Victor Bell read this passage right before we sung the song. "Break every chain! There's an army rising up to break every chain!" Coz that's the vision God's been giving me over and over again. DO YOU WANT TO SEE PRISONS BREAK OPEN??? I DARE YOU TO SING A NEW SONG! LET'S DO THIS!! :D Posts: Sow in tears -> Reap in Joy!, PRIDE ROCK, PRISON BREAK!, Hair Revival

 Let God Arise! Let the darkness flee before Him! We're gonna shake heaven as we exalt God with our music! I'm serious!! If you think I'm nuts you don't have to believe me until we do this (come together and worship) and you'll see for yourself. I like what Paul said in 1 Corinthians 2:4-5, "My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power, so that your faith might not rest on human wisdom, but on God’s power."I'm telling you God will show us His glory I'm sure of it and don't tell me otherwise until we do our end of the deal, come together and worship! WE'RE GONNA SHAKE HEAVEN! Let's RECLAIM THE MUSIC FOR THE KINGDOM!  And watch strongholds fall down! :D

Do the heaven shake! "The least of you will become a thousand, the smallest a mighty nation. I am the LORD; in its time I will do this swiftly."(Isaiah 60:22)

So let's prepare the way using our voices and all the gifts that God has blessed with!... But first let us prepare our hearts. Let us let The King of Glory in! Let us seek Him with all of our heart, all of our hurt. He wants it all! Let's just approach Him as we are. With all of our burdens and all of the Praise. It may be hard to let go. So much stuff may be holding us back. For me it was a sense of shame, unworthiness, hopelessness and even unbelief. But God told me it's not about me and my power (or lack of it); freedom doesn't hinge upon my strength (or lack thereof) or what I've done. It's all about who He is and How powerful He is over all the chains that are holding us down. (post: Quick Testimony: Freedom!) So He just wants us to praise Him haha! Just thank Him for you are His child. Thank Him for His unfailing Love for You. Just praise Him for His Power, His Faithfulness, Mercy and Grace. Hahaha! Let's just worship Him! :D

This is a video I made last summer as part of the Real Identity post. You might be in it ;) You may not know me. And I don't know most of you that well but believe it or not, I really care. And most importantly GOD CARES about us!! I'm just a messenger. Be blessed! Love, Charlene :-)

"During the night the mystery was revealed to Daniel in a vision. Then Daniel praised the God of heaven and said: “Praise be to the name of God for ever and ever; wisdom and power are His. He changes times and seasons; he deposes kings and raises up others. He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to the discerning. He reveals deep and hidden things; he knows what lies in darkness, and light dwells with him. I thank and praise you, God of my ancestors: You have given me wisdom and power, you have made known to me what we asked of you, you have made known to us the dream of the king. ” (Daniel 2: 20-23)

*Feel free to hit me up if you wanna talk about this.

*More practicals coming soon! :-)

KINGDOM COME DOWN! =)

Hey all :-) I'd like to awaken you to the times we are living in and quickly going into: The End of the age. The Dawn of a New Era.  This post includes: Prophecy from Daniel 2,  an extract from the REAL Identity post, an extract from THE KINGDOMS post and a short update containing confirmation links. Blessings! =)

(Daniel 2)

36 “This was the dream, and now we will interpret it to the king. 37 Your Majesty, you are the king of kings. The God of heaven has given you dominion and power and might and glory; 38 in your hands he has placed all mankind and the beasts of the field and the birds in the sky. Wherever they live, he has made you ruler over them all. You are that head of gold. 39 “After you, another kingdom will arise, inferior to yours. Next, a third kingdom, one of bronze, will rule over the whole earth. 40 Finally, there will be a fourth kingdom, strong as iron—for iron breaks and smashes everything—and as iron breaks things to pieces, so it will crush and break all the others. 41 Just as you saw that the feet and toes were partly of baked clay and partly of iron, so this will be a divided kingdom; yet it will have some of the strength of iron in it, even as you saw iron mixed with clay. 42 As the toes were partly iron and partly clay, so this kingdom will be partly strong and partly brittle. 43 And just as you saw the iron mixed with baked clay, so the people will be a mixture and will not remain united, any more than iron mixes with clay. 44 “In the time of those kings, the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed, nor will it be left to another people. It will crush all those kingdoms and bring them to an end, but it will itself endure forever. 45 This is the meaning of the vision of the rock cut out of a mountain, but not by human hands—a rock that broke the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver and the gold to pieces. “The great God has shown the king what will take place in the future. The dream is true and its interpretation is trustworthy.” 46 Then King Nebuchadnezzar fell prostrate before Daniel and paid him honor and ordered that an offering and incense be presented to him. 47 The king said to Daniel, “Surely your God is the God of gods and the Lord of kings and a revealer of mysteries, for you were able to reveal this mystery.” 

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*PROPHECY in the Book of Daniel*

UCSB InterVarsity, Body of Christ at UCSB, American church, God has a special plan for you. He's about to do something New! InterVarsity, like America, is very multiethnic. Diversity is great and God loves that (people from different ethnicities coming together). But when people from different ethnicities come together there is usually a clash of cultures so people can choose to: {definitions from "Cultural Psych" by Heines)

• Assimilate to host culture- Attempt to fit in and fully participate in the host culture while making little or no effort to maintain the traditions of one's heritage culture. Involves having + attitude to host culture and - to heritage culture.
• Integrate- Attempt to fit in and fully participate in the host culture while at the same time striving to maintain the traditions of one's heritage culture. Seeking the best of both worlds (+, +)
• Separate- Make effort to maintain the traditions of one's heritage culture while making little or no efforts to participate in host culture. (-,+)
• Be marginalized- Make little or no effort to participate in host culture or to maintain heritage culture.  (-,-)

We are in the Fourth Kingdom prophesied in *Daniel 2: 24-47*.  

 A divided kingdom (disunity) and a mixed kingdom (multi-ethnicity). Like I said in the Colors of the Wind post uniformity can be very dangerous if everyone develops the same culture that is against God's culture (Love and justice. Loving God with our all and others like Jesus did). That's the direction this kingdom is taking- uniformity- everyone trying to forget all our differences in order to look united (New World Order coming right up!). God allowed multi-ethnicity to happen not just for it's beauty but also for Himself and as a safeguard for us- so that we can see each other's blindspots and correct them. But if everyone (people from different ethnic groups) assimilated into a culture that's against God's that would defeat the purpose of multiethnicity. And what is even more common is integrating (being multi-cultural) a characteristic of this fourth kingdom- tolerating everything to try and please everyone to maintain fake peace. Integrating  can be very dangerous- because it's compromise (trying to mix God's culture with cultures that are against His aka the culture of the world) and this also beats the purpose of multiethnicity- spotting out blindspots to correct them to save them. So yeah, both assimilation and integration can not only prevent others from being saved (keep them from falling for the traps in their blindspots) but it also endangers you because you have placed yourself in the same category. So God was showing me how much I had assimilated to the culture of this world, how much I wasn't myself anymore and He called me to separate myself from the system. God wants to bring racial reconciliation, actual unity, real peace and He does that by calling us to separate ourselves from the world system and to cling to His Word. Following His Spirit and His Word brings separation from the world system and prepares the way for the real deal, His Kingdom. The fourth kingdom is coming to an end and God's Kingdom is coming soon!!! They are going to go head to head! Let's get ready and be on the winning side! =)

vs. 44. And in the days of those kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that shall never be destroyed, nor shall the kingdom be left to another people. It shall break in pieces all these kingdoms and bring them to an end, and it shall stand forever, 45 just as you saw that a stone was cut from a mountain by no human hand, and that it broke in pieces the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver, and the gold. A great God has made known to the king what shall be after this. The dream is certain, and its interpretation sure.”

♫ Can you stand it? Feel that reign coming. It's GIGANTIC. Hear that thing rambling. It's so MONSTROUS. Bigger than King Kong. You CAN'T STOP THIS Everlasting Kingdom! Reign coming! Tell me can you see it? Open your eyes and I'll show you where The King is. You need refreshment? I'll show you where the spring is. You in the presence of the Reign of JESUS! ♫

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 THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN. THE NEW JERUSALEM

Extract from the post: THE KINGDOMS

I have GOOD NEWS to share!!!The Kingdom of heaven is at hand!!! :D :D :D

If you still don't believe me about the Kingdom of the world being under the devil's influence then you shall see for yourself... the darkness is pretty thick. But "the darkness is passing and the true light is already shining" (1 John 2:8) =)

Numbers are significant in the Bible and 12 signifies perfection of government. When Jesus first came He came to reconcile our hearts to Himself (restore our relationship with Him). He also has a plan to restore the whole world to how it should be. Everyone is crying out for justice and waiting for a hero to step in. Jesus is the hero. He will continue His redemptive work through all who put their trust in Him (He shall fill them with His glory = perfection of government) then He shall come back again (soon!) to finish off the renewal and take His seat as the Ruler of the earth :D :D :D (Update: God told me "2012" isn't over yet. We are going by the Hebrew calendar that started in September. More details in the Human Again post. There's a difference between the rapture (Jesus' appearing in the sky to perfect His bride) and Jesus' 2nd coming (when He actually lands on earth to rule and reign).

"Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God.He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.” And he who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” Also he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.” And he said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give from the spring of the water of life without payment. The one who conquers will have this heritage, and I will be his God and they will be my children =) But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liars—they will be consigned to the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death.” Yikes! =( Deliver us! (Revelation 21:1-8) Friends, the afterlife (eternity in heaven or hell) is real. Let's choose to drink from the spring of the Living Water, Jesus. He will deliver us from all the devil's schemes :)

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The Kingdom of Heaven is at hand so let us turn our hearts back to Our Father :-)

“This, then, is how you should pray {says Jesus} :“‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.’For yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen."(Matthew 6: 9-13) =)

"Baba Yetu" = "Our Father"- The Lord's Prayer in Swahili :-)

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Update: Last year God told me that this year is special. It's the "year of the Lord's favor and the day of vengeance of our God"( Isaiah 61:2a) He told me it refers to the Hebrew year that started last September 2012 and overlaps into 2013. I got lots of confirmation. Here's the most recent one: AYIN GIMEL Our 2013 The Jewish year 5773, What Is Ahead. And just today I saw this post: THE GLORIOUS AND THE MAGNIFICENT MILLENIUM REIGN AND THE NEW JERUSALEM

 I made the video below. It's my prayer. Lord Jesus prepare us to be a sanctuary for You! That we may soar with You even as things are changing.

Make us Ready for THE REVOLUTION! (We are The Revolution!More info to come!) Let me know if you have questions. Peace! :)