Thursday, December 5, 2024
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Jax Okiro

Sound Creates

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WARNING: The audio in this video clip is harmful for your hearing and can damage your ear drums!

I recently heard Jerome Rex speak on the topic ‘Sound Creates’. One of the cool things about the talk was the video clip that he showed beforehand which showed how different frequencies affected the surrounding area.  It is known as a Chladni Plate experiment and it’s really, really cool (see video clip below).

What they do is put a plate with sand granules on top of a speaker through which they play different high frequencies. As they increase or change the frequencies, different pictures start forming in the sand, hence Jerome’s topic – Sound Creates.

WARNING: The audio in this video clip is harmful for your hearing and can damage your ear drums!

While this may be fascinating, it’s not really anything new.  “And God said let there be light, and there was light” (Genesis 1:3).  And all throughout the account of creation, God spoke and it happened – Sound Creates.

Consider the music that you choose to listen to. Think about how it affects your mood or the vibe around you. Do yourself a favour the next time you get to go to a restaurant and pay attention to the type of music that subtly plays in the background. A friend of mine used to own a restaurant and said when business was slow and the restaurant was empty, they would put on nice soft music to help patrons relax and stay longer. If however they were busy, they would put on fast paced music to get patrons out and new ones in – Sound Creates.

So you may not be able to bring forth sound on the same level as God did, or evoke the same emotions that skilled musicians do… but what are the sounds that are coming from your mouth? The next time you wish to say something about anything to somebody, consider this:

SOUND CREATES FEATURE

 

What will you create today?

Trick or Treat

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So often we celebrate holidays in our countries without knowing where they originated from. We expose ourselves, our children, family and friends to the spiritual significance of such holidays.

We do not celebrate Halloween in South Africa but the effects of the American celebrations have been felt here. In almost every shop you can find candy that looks either like a spider or something weird, gooey and “bloody”. Obviously kids would want to try out these weird looking treats because they are only seen in the shops once a year.

I recently went on the internet to look at where the whole Halloween holiday originated from and needless to say I will not be celebrating Halloween anytime soon.

I found the following explanation of Halloween’s origin on http://kennethcopelandministries.org:

Halloween, which directly stems from Irish, Scottish and British folk customs, was celebrated as the Druids’ autumn festival. The Druids were an order of priests who worshiped nature. This holiday was originally celebrated to honor Samhain, lord of the dead, on October 31 (the end of the summer). The Druids believed that on this date, Samhain called all the wicked souls which had been condemned within the last year to live in animal bodies. He was believed to have released them in the form of spirits, ghosts, fairies, witches and elves. According to druidic tradition, these souls of the dead roamed the city on Halloween night and returned to haunt the homes where they once lived. The only way the current occupants of the house could free themselves from being haunted was to lay out food and give shelter to the spirit during the night. If they did not, the spirit would cast a spell on them. That is where the phrase “trick or treat!” comes from: They would be tricked if they did not lay out a treat.

HALLOWEEN TRICK OR TREAT

The jack-o’-lantern was also a part of this belief system. The carved pumpkin symbolized a damned soul named Jack. According to the tale, Jack was not allowed into heaven or hell. So he wandered around in the darkness with his lantern until Judgment Day. Fearful people hollowed out turnips (and later pumpkins in the United States), carved an evil face on them, and a lit candle inside to scare him and other evil spirits away. The Druids had other outlandish beliefs which have since turned into tradition. For example, they were afraid of black cats because they believed that when a person committed evil, he would be turned into a cat. Cats were thus considered to be evil. To scare them away, the Druids decorated their homes with witches, ghosts and the like. They also decorated with cornstalks, pumpkins and other goods in offering of thanks and praise to their false gods.

In addition to being Halloween, October 31 was also the New Year’s Eve of the Celts and Anglo-Saxons. To celebrate, they built huge bonfires on hilltops to frighten away evil spirits, and often offered their crops and animals to the evil ones as a sacrifice—sometimes they even offered themselves. Some people believe the only significance of Halloween was as All Hallows’ Eve, the evening before All Saints’ Day. But All Saints’ Day was originally celebrated by the Catholic Church in May. Around A.D. 43 the Romans conquered the Celts and changed All Saints’ Day to November 1. The celebration remained the same with minor additions. The Roman Harvest Festival was then held in honor of Pamona, the goddess of fruit and trees (the practice of bobbing for apples is derived from this). And the Romans also wanted to honor the newly overpowered descendants of the Druids in Germany and Scandinavia, so All Saints’ Day and Halloween became unified with the same focus of reverencing the dead.

The combination of these customs has developed into the traditional celebration we call Halloween.

 

Work Like A Boss

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Is it a sign of the times, or is it peer pressure or is it just down right laziness? I’m not sure what the answer is, but I do know far too many people who are unhappy or dissatisfied in their respective workplaces. The reasons for their unhappiness are as varied as the number of the complainants.

I recently heard an employer comment on how sad this is, and he followed this up by saying that he encourages his employees to be free to leave should they ever get to that place. In fact, he went as far as to say, ‘do yourself a favour; quit’ because it’s in the person’s own best interest. This is a very interesting sentiment that had me asking the question: Why would anyone deprive themselves from doing what they really and truly want to do?

The fact is if you have bills, you have to pay them and to pay them, you need to work; whatever that work may be. But what if you could do what you’re truly passionate about (what you would really love to do)? Would you do it? So what’s stopping you? Have you ever considered becoming an entrepreneur? Well, maybe you should. You’ll spare yourself a whole lot of frustration and be a lot more fulfilled.

Not everyone is cut out to be an entrepreneur though, and maybe you have to stay where you are because you can’t find anything else. Does that mean you should be miserable for the rest of your working life with that employer? Well, if you choose to, you probably will but you don’t have to. Consider this question as posed by the employer I mentioned: If you could run the company you work for, how would you do it?

LIKE A BOSS

Now I’m asking you, how would you do it? Let me suggest that everything you just said or thought about, is the key to your success and happiness in your current place of work. This concept I learnt, that of “intrapeneurship”, where you manage your area of responsibility as if it was your very own business, and the rest of the company’s success firmly depends on your success.

This requires quite a paradigm shift for someone who’s been unhappy in their workplace. If however you can manage to adopt such a perspective, it’ll allow you to become more creative, pro-active and entrepreneurial (except it is internal hence I should really say intrapreneurial) in your area of responsibility. Will you get paid more? Probably not. Will the things that frustrated you change? Not likely. Will you view your job and the workplace the same as before? Absolutely not. It’s impossible for you to remain the same.

Who’s to blame for my and your happiness in the workplace becomes highly irrelevant when we consider that the Bible encourages do our work as unto God and seek His approval. In the end, your boss may never change his ‘whatever’ attitude, or you may never be responsible or possibly give an account for how your workplace should be run, but you are accountable for your own actions and will be held accountable for them.

Now leave your boss alone and go check yourself before you wreck yourself.

WORK FOR THE LORD

Fear? Stop Being a Wimp!

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There are too many men these days that are weak and not manly enough. They need to grow a pair and become real men! There are too many brothers who have sacrificed this God-given manly right and succumbed to the guise of a ‘fashion driven metro-sexual industry’. Dude! You need to sack up. And to all my manly macho brothers, well done! Forget pink! Keep it real!

Now having said all that, I don’t care how manly or macho you are or may think you are right now, I’m convinced there was a time when you were quite a wimp. Don’t act like you don’t know what I’m talking about. Remember that time when you woke up in the middle of the night and needed the toilet badly but didn’t want to get up because you were too scared of the dark and you wet your bed instead? Or that other time when you watched that scary movie and you were so freaked out that you didn’t want to close your eyes to fall asleep afterwards? Or how about that time when you got mugged and you were so scared that you couldn’t speak, think or even move? Remember that? No? Well then you’ve had some other experiences where you were so scared that you simply couldn’t move – literally or figuratively. Fear does that to a person.

Many times our fears are unfounded though and often just an illusion of our imagination that seem so real that they leave us paralysed. It’s important to remember though that the devil specializes in the area of illusion and will vigorously try to convince us that our fears are real. I therefore do not think it’s a coincidence that the Bible encourages us to put on the helmet of salvation (knowing who God is, what He did for us and who we are in Him) and on another occasion to be transformed by the renewing of our minds.

Now you may be a very macho dude, much more than I am or ever will be; well, good for you! The reality, though is that without putting on the armour of God, operating under the influence of His Holy Spirit and having the love of God firmly rooted in your heart, you will succumb to the devil’s Jedi mind tricks.

Fear? Stop being a wimp

 

Speak Life

No matter what we may be facing in life we have the ability to speak both negative or positive words into the atmosphere.

We may not realise the power in our words but let us take a moment to think about it. In the beginning God created the earth and everything on it by merely speaking the word Gen 1:3, so if we are created in God’s image and likeness Gen 1:27 shouldn’t we have the same ability? Speaking life into negative situations, allowing God’s kingdom to come through the words we speak?

So many times people ask the question,where is God? Yet God placed us on the earth with the instruction Gen1:28 “And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.”

So isn’t it about time that we step into our God-given role by taking authority and speak life into every dead situation?

Please listen to this encouraging song (link below)

.  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .    

Speak Life

I Hate Needles But Love Injections

Sometime ago, a friend of mine had to travel around the African continent with the result he had to get a whole bunch of different injections to combat diseases like malaria and yellow fever. It was pretty funny watching him being all delirious and loopy at times. Well, at least to me it was.

He, on the other hand, felt sick and appeared to be losing control of his faculties. I thought this to be most ironic, since he went for injections preventing him from getting sick and yet he came back worse than when he went to the doctor. It turns out that when you go for a vaccine injection, they actually pump your body full of the virus you’re trying to avoid so that your body can develop some kind of resistance against it.

By my friend’s account, this is not a very pleasant experience and I can’t say I’m looking forward to a similar injection should I ever get to travel the African continent. Like most people, I hate being sick and like the idea of loopiness even less.

If I were to travel to the same countries my friend did, whether or not I like the idea of vaccination or not is irrelevant. The fact is, there’s a very real chance that I may contract a life threatening disease like malaria and may very well die. Knowing this fact, I think I’ll take my chances with loopiness and feeling sick for a few days.

Sometimes our lives are like this. Most of us would probably opt to avoid conflict or dealing with a sensitive issue in our lives or our relationships because we’re scared of getting hurt or hurting someone else. We’d prefer not to deal with the ‘virus’ so to speak. The fact however is, if we don’t deal with it, it will eat us up from the inside. It can only manifest itself in anger, resentment, and bitterness.

The Bible talks about the little foxes spoiling the vine and this for me, is just a reminder that the little things (or even the big ones) that go unchecked, will become strongholds in my life but also in yours. Unless we wrestle with the foxes or allow our bodies to build up its immunity against the viruses seeking to steal, kill and destroy us, that is exactly how we will end up.

VERSE

The Ambassador Speaks

Some time ago I had the privilege to hang out with The Ambassador where I asked him about his views on Evangelism, Entertainment, Christian Hip Hop in the mainstream and Revival. He had some clear and very thought through views on these topics. Check out his comments in the video right here:

Here he is performing the song Pop Pop Pop that he spoke of in the interview:

Book of Remembrance

Our past laid the foundation for our future, who we are today and how we handle situations through learning out of past experiences. In all our learning it’s also important to remember and acknowledge the people who played an important role in our lives be it parents, teachers, friends or spiritual leaders.

One of our youth pastors always told us never to forget the “book of remembrance”, never forget where you come from, never forget the people that helped you along way and never forget to acknowledge that through it all God has been with you every step of the way.

We so easily remember all the bad things people have done to us, hurtful words spoken against us but we sometimes forget all the good things people have done for us, beautiful words spoken about us, good deeds done for us.

Even God has a book of remembrance:

VERSE

So if there is someone in your life that played an important role in making you who you are today, don’t forget that though contact might have been lost along the way, to thank that person. You never know, right at that moment, that specific person might need that upliftment without you knowing it.

A Full Moon Picnic By Sunlight

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Brothers, if you want to impress that special lady in your life, you’ve got to make sure that you get creative, pull out all the stops and go that extra mile. You can’t just settle for that run of the mill kind of date if you want to make a lasting impression. So ask yourself this question: What will set me apart from any other brother who tries to catch her eye? And the answer to that question and then some, is probably what you’re going to have to do to be like Neo in the Matrix – the One.

One of the most memorable dates (at least as far as I’m concerned) that will boost your ranking in the esteem of any lady you’re trying to impress, has to be a full moon picnic. With the moon shining brightly and adding just the right amount of romantic ambiance, a fantastic view and some of her favourite eats will surely add to to the ‘impressionability factor’.

LIGHT OF MENDid you know the moon doesn’t actually shine? Oh, I’m sorry… this blog isn’t actually about dating but actually about moonlight. Truth is, there is no such thing as moonlight. The light we see from the moon is really a reflection of sunlight. This reminds me that like the moon, we have no light in and of ourselves and in fact, we can only really reflect Son light. In John chapter 1 verse 4, the Bible talks about Jesus like this: “In Him was life, and the life was the light of men” and it goes further in verse 9 by saying “The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world.”

Trying to shine and reflect the light of God’s Son is a futile exercise if you aren’t in Him and He in you. The sooner we realize this, the sooner we can totally submit ourselves to Him for a makeover that will be a true reflection of His image.

Street Compliments?

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If I can be so bold I would hazard to guess that in every one of our lives we have at some point or another, whether intentionally or not, heard or overheard, read and/or experienced firsthand the age-old idiom of “it’s better to give than to receive”.

Well, usually related to the physical act of the giving some kind of gift, item, trinket, thing…I wonder, what does this mean when we don’t necessarily always have the means to give in this way? I mean, if the best things in life are ‘supposedly’ free, how can this ever truly apply anyway?

Well, this week I stumbled on the following video.. (if I was a little too subtle, that is your cue to ‘click’ play)

So, putting the proverbial lump that quickly developed in my throat aside, the thing that struck me the most in this little video was how often I heard a statement that went along the lines of “I don’t think I’ve ever said this to you before, but…”.  So, it got me thinking.  Imagine if this wasn’t the case.  Imagine if we daily made a conscious decision to tell those around us, whether it be a family member, a friend, a colleague or perhaps even just an acquaintance, things we notice during the course of our living in their ‘space’.  The things that we witness about them, things that maybe have made us smile, have made us proud, have spurred us forward.  Maybe there are things that we simply just admire about who they are, things that make them great and perhaps bring us and others joy.  Surely, in a world where so many of us often question our value and worth, this could be the cure?  Better still, the prevention?

HEARTS

Now, in the context of the age-old idiom mentioned at the beginning, you may be thinking that when it comes to this, surely it is by far more satisfying to be the recipient of this kind of encouragement than it is to be the one who makes the effort to give it?  Well, yes, for the most part I would totally agree!  Quite frankly, who doesn’t like to be on the receiving end of a compliment or statement of praise? Hello, we all know we do.  To be recognized for your qualities by a peer, by those we love, or those we equally admire has the capacity to affirm like very little else can.  This all being said, as I watched this clip, I noticed something quite wonderful about the compliment givers.  Not one person begrudgingly complimented the other or even found it difficult to do so.  Full smiles on their faces, the odd quiver of emotion in each voice, selfless words of gratitude were freely spoken to the person they were complimenting and the result?  This action seemed to make the compliment giver equally, if not more happy than the recipient.

Author Og Mandino once quoted, “Remember that there is no happiness in having or in getting, but only in giving. Reach out. Share. Smile. Hug. Happiness is a perfume you cannot pour on others without getting a few drops on yourself”.  Albert Einstein, who I’m sure we all have heard of, also said “the value of a man resides in what he gives, and not what he is capable of receiving”.

So, my resolve?  I believe this can be found in the following statement..

QUOTE

The changed life of which this speaks, very possibly may be a recipient, but let me also hasten to suggest that it could also be the ‘giver’…

So, why not put this to the test?  Perhaps the value we seek for ourselves actually can begin with that which we recognize in others…perhaps?

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