SCOM Associates Fellowship - Scomaf

21/04/2020

Legends

09/12/2019

Tune in

17/11/2019

14/11/2019

WHEN PEOPLE ARE WITHOUT EXCUSE.... !
The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of people, who suppress the truth by their wickedness, since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse. Romans 1:18‭-‬20 NIV

God does not play hide and seek! He is not hard to reach even though many of us don't know Him that much! Ever since creation of the world, God has desired to be known, to be sought and to be found by His people! But due to sin, humanity has made every efforts to shun Him, to keep away from His Holy presence! The effects of sin have been very detrimental to our privilege of knowing and becoming intimate with Him! And while He has, since our fall, continued to seek us even by entering into our world in the form of man, sin has tended to keep us away from Him. Sadly, in our alienated state, we have wandered into deep forms of wickedness that continue to provoke His wrath! The ever- escalating nature of godlessness in society is surely and slowly leading us to an eternal and fatal confrontation with God. His wrath will finally be revealed to humanity when He steps into the world of men to once and for all judge both the living and dead for their godlessness! That time is coming and it will be here soon! This is where the preaching of the gospel becomes of paramount importance! For it is in the gospel that God's gracious plan of salvation of humanity is revealed to the world!

As Apostle Paul continues to introduce his letter to the Romans, he wastes no time but goes straight to the point of reminding them of what is to come. God's wrath is already revealed from heaven against all forms for wickedness of men! Yes, there are various forms of wickedness that are escalating in our world that should not go without punishment. Men have emerged in society that do not only resist the truth of God; they even go to the extent of rejecting the very existence of God. And they don't just reject His existence, they also go ahead and teach others of this madness! They have gone further to put in place some machineries that back their claims! And so, claiming to be wise, they have made themselves fools; for only fools can claim that there is no God! Scripture is full of examples of how in the past God's wrath was poured on societies that provoked His anger by their wickedness. These include the flood during the time of Noah, the destruction of S***m and Gomorrah during the time of Abraham, the handing over of the Chosen People to their enemies in the book of Judges and many more incidences as recorded in the Bible. We must know that God does not make empty threats! When He says He will punish all those who practice wickedness, He means it and will carry it out at the appointed time!

God's invisible qualities have been visible for all of us to see! Ever since creation of the world, His eternal power and divine nature have been clearly visible to us. In fact Science has been making efforts to study and understand this created world; how it functions as God created it! Science was therefore supposed to open our eyes to see that behind this physical world we study is an Intelligent Creator whose name is the LORD God Almighty! Sadly, the enemy has blinded our eyes and that which was supposed to bring us closer to the Lord of the universe, has alienated us from Him. Consequently, His wrath remains directed on us unless we embrace the gospel, believe it, obey it and live it as the final authority in matters of faith! And so as it is, people have no excuse regarding their knowledge of God for He has made Himself visibly known to all! To what extent are you conscious of the presence of God in your life and environment? How often do you help others become conscious of this?

Good morning
Reflections by Patrick Kaudzu
[Proudly SCOM]

WHEN PEOPLE ARE WITHOUT EXCUSE.... ! The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the

11/11/2019

Today, Inside SCOM Radio program features a preaching on Knowing Christ by Pastor Simion Fabumni and a testimony of Olipa Mlelemba.
Tune in to TWR Malawi today at 5:30pm for this and many more.

04/11/2019

LOVE IS NOT MANIPULATIVE: PURSUING TRUE LOVE!
Then she said to him, “How can you say, ‘I love you,’ when you won’t confide in me? This is the third time you have made a fool of me and haven’t told me the secret of your great strength.” With such nagging she prodded him day after day until he was sick to death of it. When Delilah saw that he had told her everything, she sent word to the rulers of the Philistines, “Come back once more; he has told me everything.” So the rulers of the Philistines returned with the silver in their hands. After putting him to sleep on her lap, she called for someone to shave off the seven braids of his hair, and so began to subdue him. And his strength left him. Judges 16:15‭-‬16‭, ‬18‭-‬19 NIV

It is said that men demand s*x as a proof of love and women give in to s*xual demands to safeguard their love relationship! This is very common among the youth. Love is used as a bait to get what we selfishly desire in life! But we know that love does not take advantage of the other, love is not manipulative! Love does not make unnecessary and unreasonable demands. Love is considerate, other-centered and caring! But this is not what we are seeing in the case of Samson and Delilah. While Samson, in his carelessness is genuinely looking for love, true love perhaps, Delilah and her people are looking for a weak spot, an opportunity to settle scores with Samson. As such, Samson would pay a high price for love! Under the promise of financial benefits, Delilah would do everything within her power as a woman to weaken and destroy Samson. And since he was blinded in his pursuit of love, he could not even hear the warning shots fired to alert him; he could not see the early danger warning signs. For how could he continue trusting Delilah when it was clear she was up to something sinister? Every time he confided in her she informed her people! This was a clear sign she was bent to betraying him! Was this a one-sided love affair?

"How can you say you love me if you .....; if you really love me then..." these are some of the statements produced in a manipulative love relationships! Finding and retaining true love in relationships in a world of false hopes has been a matter of concern for many. And for many, like Samson, their journey to finding true love has led them into painful life experiences. The story of Samson revolves around falling in love with the Timnite woman, with the Gazite woman and finally with Delilah; it's a story revolving around betrayal and vengeance. In his pursuit love what he actually found are heartbreaks and violent revenge for the lost love! The fact that Samson was the chosen of God did not cushion him from these heartbreak nor did it help him contain his anger and disappointments! And his inability to draw lessons from first and second experiences created room for more disappointments in his life! His search for love exposed him to series of disappointments and finally destroy him. Samson lacked skills in managing his unique God given abilities.

Our society is flooded with people of all works of life: s*xes, ages and social status who are broken and wounded by love. They have been manipulated by those they trusted and risked to love! Loving the other person has become a risky venture and many enter into such relationships with little or no commitment at all; they are one leg in and one leg out, ready to bolt out at sign of trouble! And some, are very hesitant to love; they are suspicious and wonder if true love does exist in the first place! What lessons have you drawn from the life of Samson as far as his love life is concerned? Have you ever experienced manipulative love in your life? How can you safeguard yourself from manipulative love? How can you help the Samsons of our time to avoid falling in love with the Delilahs of the day?

Good morning
Reflections by Patrick Kaudzu
( Proudly SCOM)

LOVE IS NOT MANIPULATIVE: PURSUING TRUE LOVE! Then she said to him, “How can you say, ‘I love you,’

30/10/2019

Some highlights of ASCO 2019

26/10/2019

2019
Morning session the students and associates outreach division (SAOD) Takes it's time to present an annual update.
As ASCO Kids have fun by the lake.
With Susan Silika Warmsman Jeremiah Boston Khonje Dygress Kapila

25/10/2019

ASCO first night in Pictures

25/10/2019

IS GOD RECKLESS WITH HIS LOVE?
“Let me tell you a riddle,” Samson said to them. “If you can give me the answer within the seven days of the feast, I will give you thirty linen garments and thirty sets of clothes. If you can’t tell me the answer, you must give me thirty linen garments and thirty sets of clothes.” “Tell us your riddle,” they said. “Let’s hear it.” He replied, “Out of the eater, something to eat; out of the strong, something sweet.” For three days they could not give the answer. On the fourth day, they said to Samson’s wife, “Coax your husband into explaining the riddle for us, or we will burn you and your father’s household to death. Did you invite us here to steal our property?” Judges 14:12‭-‬15 NIV

Samson and his father had finally gone to prepare for his marriage to the "nameless" Philistine woman. But as tradition demanded, there was a feast during which Samson gave a riddle to the youngmen of Timnah, his companions. If they got it right within the seven days, he would give then 30 linen garments and 30 sets of clothes and if they failed, they would give him the same. This was a new riddle, one that Samson came up with himself. It concerned the lion he had killed and the honey that was in it. Who could have answered this riddle correctly unless they had inside information from Samson himself? As expected, his companions laboured to find the answer but failed. And as days were passing, the Philistines devised a plan to use one of their own who was favorably disposed to get the answer from Samson, his own prospective wife! Would Samson keep this riddle a secret to her? Would he resist her? As it turned out, he told her the riddle after she pressurised him and the rest is history! She informed her people the meaning of the riddle and Samson had to give them what he promised them after killing some people in Ashkelon and plundering their possessions!

The life of Samson was probably the most difficult "riddle" to explain. Would his parents come to understand that God was the One leading him to do what he was doing? Who would explain this riddle to them? It appears that God's messenger who came had since gone for good and would not explain further what was happening at this point. Would it not have made sense to them God had warned them about the nature of child their son would be? They just had to assume that their son knew what he was doing! And that's perhaps the question, part of the riddle we have today; did Samson really know what he was doing at that time? Or was he being driven involuntarily by the Spirit of God? Was he acting on impulse? He had just killed thirty innocent people because of a riddle; would they not hold him responsible for murder? Would Samson have survived these actions if God was not with him? And would he go ahead and marry this woman who has betrayed him by revealing the meaning of the riddle to her people? As it turned out, his wife was later given to a friend! Was it worthy all the trouble then? What a life!

What a life! Samson’s life was like a riddle that only God could solve. No one could surely understand why he was doing what he was fond of doing. Even today we struggle to understand how God could work in such ways like these! Picking on a Samson as His instrument makes one wonder if God is sometimes "reckless" with His choices and love? How could He pick such characters like Samson and associate Himself with them? By the way, how would a present day Samson look like? Would we welcome him in our church or fellowship groups? And maybe some of us are the Samsons of the day; we live fast, caring about nothing and then die young! But even if God has called you to fulfill a particular mission for the kingdom, would it not be proper to live a godly and responsible lifestyle?

Good morning
Reflections by Patrick Kaudzu
( Proudly SCOM)

IS GOD RECKLESS WITH HIS LOVE? “Let me tell you a riddle,” Samson said to them. “If you can give me

24/10/2019

RAISING A GENERATION OF GODLY CHILDREN!
Samson went down to Timnah together with his father and mother. As they approached the vineyards of Timnah, suddenly a young lion came roaring toward him. The Spirit of the Lord came powerfully upon him so that he tore the lion apart with his bare hands as he might have torn a young goat. But he told neither his father nor his mother what he had done. Then he went down and talked with the woman, and he liked her. Some time later, when he went back to marry her, he turned aside to look at the lion’s carcass, and in it he saw a swarm of bees and some honey. He scooped out the honey with his hands and ate as he went along. When he rejoined his parents, he gave them some, and they too ate it. But he did not tell them that he had taken the honey from the lion’s carcass.
Judges 14:5‭-‬9 NIV

Samson did not take heed of his parents' advice to find a Jewish woman for a spouse. He was head over heels in love with a pagan woman. And so his parents escorted him to Timnah to see this woman their son had seen and who had captured his heart in this manner. Surely until this time, they were not aware that the Lord was behind this whole episode. God was working behind the scenes. But until now, we have not yet seen any physical manifestations of God's power in the life of Samson. But it would not take long before God starts stirring him to do extraordinary things. For example, he would tear a lion apart when the Holy Spirit came powerfully on him. He was uniquely empowered to do exploits and his special abilities were not only limited to dealing with people. Even lions had to keep their distance from him! There was no limit to how the Spirit of God would empower him. He would perform extraordinary fetes as the Lord enabled him! Surprisingly, Samson did not tell his parents that he had just killed a lion! This could have been a testimony worth sharing to his parents! But he kept it to himself! Indeed not every encounter is worth sharing. Some things are best kept to ourselves!

Samson had to go back to Timnah at a later point to "marry" the Philistine woman. He turned aside to look at the carcass of the lion and found there were bees and honey in it. And Samson scooped some of the honey and ate it. He even gave some to his parents! Honey found in a carcass and he ate it without any problems! Again, he did not inform his parents where he got the honey from! Was he in a habit of keeping secrets from his parents? We see a free spirited young man emerging in Samson; a youngman who did things his own way! If not for the knowledge that we are privileged to know that God was causing Samson to act this way inorder to pick some fights with the Philistines, we would surely be justified to recommend this youngman for counselling! He needed some manners instilled in him as a servant of the Lord! But God is levelling the playfield for a showdown between Samson and the Philistines! The conflict that would result from this would give Samson reason to attack and defeat the enemy!

If you were the Manoahs, what concerns would you have about your son? Our society is full of variants of "Samsons" of the day save for the special divine abilities. Many of our youth behave in ways that are not in line with their parents wishes for them. Some would like to be left alone as far as making life decisions is concerned. And a growing number of them display serious lack of moral and spiritual values! Like Samson, many of our children are ardent believers of the popular notion, "live fast and die young!" They sacrifice their lives on the altar of shortlived pleasures of life! The long term effects of such lifestyles are detrimental on them. How can we raise a godly generation of our children? And for the youthful, how can we celebrate our freedom without necessarily going beyond the acceptable norms in society? We reap what we sow!

Good morning
Reflections by Patrick Kaudzu
(Proudly SCOM)

RAISING A GENERATION OF GODLY CHILDREN! Samson went down to Timnah together with his father and moth