2 Chronicles 7:12-15
“Then the Lord appeared to Solomon by night, and said to him: “I have heard your prayer, and have chosen this place for Myself as a house of sacrifice. When I shut up heaven and there is no rain, or command the locusts to devour the land, or send pestilence among My people, if My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land. Now My eyes will be open and My ears attentive to prayer made in this place.”
INSIGHT
-We have done an exegesis of the theme power of integrity, and this week we will analyze its application in leadership. The above portion of scripture is often used and it is relevant to us today. King Solomon was tasked to build the temple in Jerusalem, which took seven years (1 Kings 6:38). Solomon followed the designs and instructions given to him during the construction. The Lord was pleased with the sacrifice he offered there during the dedication of the temple, and He promised Solomon an everlasting kingdom if he follows His statutes. God founded Solomon’s kingship in wisdom beyond anyone could fathom. Multitudes came from all over the world with their gifts, to testify of God’s goodness present in Jerusalem and graciously given to Solomon; including queen of Sheba. According to the main scripture, Solomon was viewed a humble leader and wisdom abound in his heart. He feared the Lord and wisdom governed his throne. King Solomon was instructed to sensitize the people to humble themselves and through sincere repentance, the Lord would heal their land. Good leadership filled with integrity is often associated with humility and the fear of the Lord, which leads to healing and prosperity of a nation. As we go into elections, the Lord is calling us to have humility of heart and repent, and He will heal our land. Political healing is relevant to us today and takes a considerable share of the integrity pie. If we elect leaders who are humble and are filled with integrity by the grace of God, the Lord will grant us peace and prosper our land. Like king Solomon, we need leaders with will build the church of Jesus Christ and allow His revival to take place in Kenya and other nations of the world. Let us ask the Lord to guide us in this elections for only God knows the best leaders that will steer Kenya in the direction that will please God.
PRAYER
Abba Father You are great and greatly to be praised. You are worthy and able Lord. There is none like You Jesus Christ. May You be exulted in all the heavens and earth, and among all the people. May You be magnified above all other gods. We humble ourselves before You dear Jesus asking for Your mercy and grace. We have sinned and fallen short of Your glory Holy Spirit, please forgive us. Our leaders have sinned against You Father, please forgive us. We have placed power, money, fame, pride, and other sinful ways before You Jesus, please forgive us and wash us with Your precious blood. May You choose for us leaders who hearts are after Your heart Abba Father. May You give us leaders filled with integrity who will propel Your agenda forward in Kenya, for the glory and honor of Your name. Lord You are our healer, may You heal our hearts, our wounds and our nation. May You bless each one of us and our nation, and prosper our land. Our Father who art in heaven; hallowed be Your name; Your Kingdom come; Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. Lead us not into temptations but deliver us from evil; for thine is the Kingdom the power and the glory; forever and ever. Amen
Further reading: 1 John 1:8-9
Genesis 32:24-28
“So Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him till daybreak. When the man saw that he could not overpower him, he touched the socket of Jacob’s hip so that his hip was wrenched as he wrestled with the man. Then the man said, “Let me go, for it is daybreak.” But Jacob replied, “I will not let you go unless you bless me.” The man asked him, “What is your name?” “Jacob,” he answered. Then the man said, “Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel, because you have struggled with God and with humans and have overcome.”
INSIGHT
-Chapter Six of the Constitution of Kenya on Integrity and leadership outline the governing principles of a leader and compliance is expected. If any elected leader contravenes the law, then the ethics and anti-corruption commission (EACC) which is an independent body, is mandated to ensure compliance and enforcement. According to this chapter, a leader should be accountable, disciplined, honest, respect the people and bring honor to the nation. Jacob is a model who suffered many things for the sake of integrity. He lies to his father, Isaac. He’s manipulated by his mother, Rebecca. He stole his brother Esau’s blessing. Jacob ran for his life, and then ended up under the thumb of Laban, his father in law, for a couple of decades. Jacob struggled with God and man until his identity was changed. Jacob gained material possessions but he lacked integrity and legitimacy, which came with his new name, Israel. As we elect our leaders, let us evaluate to see that these values are adhered to, so as to ensure that the dignity of our nation is maintained. Let us also remember to ask for the will of the Lord to prevail in the elections and after the elections. As much as we exercise our democratic rights to vote, let us not be blind to note that if God does not allow a leader to win, it will be hindered from him/her, for such decisions are from the Lord (Proverbs 16:33). Let us ask the Lord to elect for us leaders like king David whose heart is after His own heart.
PRAYER
Your name is a strong tower Jesus, the righteous run to it and are safe. We look to You dear Jesus the founder and finisher of our faith. We look to You Jesus for a peaceful and credible elections. We look to You for leaders of integrity. We look to You for a peaceful and prosperous nation. We have waited for this day Lord and You have brought it to pass, we bless Your name. You have made it possible for us to reach this far, we exult You Lord Jesus. We humbly ask You to give us the strength and wisdom to elect leaders filled with integrity. May You choose for us leaders whose hearts are after Your own heart Lord Jesus. May Your will be done in Kenya as it is in heaven. May You take over the entire process of elections. Oh God of all creation, bless this our land and nation, may justice be our shield and defender, may we dwell in unity, peace and liberty, and may plenty be found within our boarders. May You cover the entire nation of Kenya with Your precious blood so that there will be no death or bloodshed reported on our roads or because of the elections. We declare that surely goodness and mercy shall follow us all the days of our lives, and we shall dwell in Your house Lord forever. Amen
Further reading: Philippians 4:8, Hebrews 13:18
Acts 10:1-4
“At Caesarea there was a man named Cornelius, a centurion in what was known as the Italian Regiment. He and all his family were devout and God-fearing; he gave generously to those in need and prayed to God regularly. One day at about three in the afternoon he had a vision. He distinctly saw an angel of God, who came to him and said, “Cornelius!” Cornelius stared at him in fear. “What is it, Lord?” he asked. The angel answered, “Your prayers and gifts to the poor have come up as a memorial offering before God.”
INSIGHT
–Cornelius was an army commander, a centurion of the Italian Cohort who lived in the city of Caesarea. A centurion commanded a military unit which consisted of at-least one hundred (100) men. The Roman legion consisted about six thousand (6000) men which was divided into ten regiments, with had a designation, for instance; Italian, Imperial or Augustan. A centurion was a leader with soldiers under him whom he commanded (Matthew 8:9). Cornelius was a devout man together with his family. They believed in one God and respected the moral and ethical teachings of the Jews. Cornelius was a leader of integrity for he feared God, prayed regularly and gave alms to the poor. Some leaders fail to reconcile the connection between leadership and spirituality. They neither pray to God nor know Him. Some political leaders seek elective posts to gain material wealth for themselves not knowing that it is immaterial in the kingdom of heaven. Cornelius prayed regularly and sort the way of salvation; which was granted to him and his entire household. He was also generous to the poor and focused on storing up his treasures in heaven where neither moth nor rust can destroy, and thieves cannot break in and steal (Matthew 6:19-20). Like Cornelius, we are encouraged to be leaders of integrity in whatever capacities God has placed us. To lead by the example of Jesus as servant leaders by serving and loving each other including the needy in the society. To devote ourselves and families to God through fellowship, prayer and fasting, and the Lord will to respond to all our needs according to His will. Let us also remember to remain united as a country for our leaders live peacefully, and could use us to stir up violence. May the Lord bless our nation of Kenya, and scatter all the plans of the enemy against us; for the glory and honor of His name.
PRAYER
Abba Father we thank You for this day that You have made, we rejoice and are glad in it. You remain faithful even when we become faithless. You are a faithful God. You are the same Lord, yesterday, today and forever. You are so faithful to keep Your promises. May You remember the covenant of peace, that we may continually dwell in peace and unity as a nation. May You justice and righteousness prevail in our nation of Kenya. Lord Jesus through Your abundant grace You were rich, yet for our sake You became poor, so that by this poverty we might become rich. We thank You for considering worthy of Your salvation power. May Your revival come to our nation of Kenya and other nations of the world. May You forgive us our sins and grant us the gift of salvation together with our entire households. May You light the fire of prayer and devotion in our hearts so that we may draw closer to You as You draw near us. May You give us hearts of compassion so that we may give alms to the poor and needy in the society, as we care for the needs of the orphans and widows. May You bless all the children living in the streets and give them the desires of their hearts. Lord You have said in Your word that blessed are those who consider the poor, for in the day of trouble the Lord will deliver them. May You deliver us from all our trouble and bless us merciful Savior; for we put all our trust in You. May Your peace that surpasses all understanding dwell in our hearts, minds and nation of Kenya in Christ Jesus. Amen
Further reading: Proverbs 14:21, Mark 10:21
Job 1:8-9
“Then the Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered My servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, one who fears God and shuns evil?” So Satan answered the Lord and said, “Does Job fear God for nothing?”
INSIGHT
-Job suffered loss because he had great integrity. He remained blameless and feared the Lord even when he lost his children, possessions and was infected with boils on his body. Job never cursed God as his wife proposed. He remained steadfast in prayer even as the devil tested his character. Jesus was also tempted three times by the devil, and conquered through the word of God (Matthew 4:1-10). The Lord blessed the latter days of Job more than the beginning, and when he prayed for his friends, Eliphaz the Temanite and Bildad the Shuhite and Zophar the Naamathite, the Lord restored to him double all that he had (Job 42:9). As leaders of integrity, we are reminded to remain steadfast in prayer and maintain our character by God’s grace even as we are tempted by the devil.
PRAYER
We boldly come to Your throne of mercy and grace asking for Your grace to help us during our time of need. May You forgive us for the times we may have given into the schemes of the devil and wash us with Your precious blood. May You cover us with Your hedge of fire all around us, our families and our nation Holy Spirit, and deliver us from every destructive scheme of the enemy. May You increase our faith in You Jesus Christ and help us to remain committed to You always. May You help us and strengthen us in our daily walk of faith. Only You are Yahweh, You deserve to worshipped, honored and praised. May You train our hearts to accept the things we cannot change including the results of the elections, and to celebrate Your doing with thanksgiving. We know that You are still on the throne Jesus Christ, and You can use any leader to cause transformation in Kenya for the glory and honor of Your name. We know that all things work for good to those who love You dear Jesus and are called according to Your purpose. May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with us now and forever more. Amen
Further reading: James 1:13-18, Luke 22:40
Matthew 25:14-18
“For the kingdom of heaven is like a man traveling to a far country, who called his own servants and delivered his goods to them. And to one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one, to each according to his own ability; and immediately he went on a journey. Then he who had received the five talents went and traded with them, and made another five talents. And likewise he who had received two gained two more also. But he who had received one went and dug in the ground, and hid his Lord’s money.”
INSIGHT
–The parable of the talents outlines the preparedness and lack of it, that various categories of people experience in their journey of faith. One was entrusted with five talents and exercised them well, and yielded five more. Another was given two talents and brought two more. The last one dug up his talent and never bore fruit. The first two were wise and had spiritual integrity. The one who got one talent was unwise and lacked integrity, he wasted his abilities and was punished by eternal condemnation. We all have diverse callings, gifts and abilities. We are reminded to remain focused as leaders of integrity and we will bear fruit and receive an eternal reward, if we do not loose faith in Jesus Christ.
SUMMARY
The constitution of Kenya stipulates the rules and regulations that encompass the topic on integrity and leadership. This chapter defines the code of conduct that every public leader must adhere to, and the Ethics and Anti-corruption Commission (EACC) is mandated to cracks the whip against any misconduct. Jacob suffered integrity issues having lied to his father Isaac, and stole his brother Esau’s birthright. He ran away and stayed with his father-in-law; Lot for decades working for him. Jacob wrestled with man and God, and overcame. He got a new name, Israel and his integrity was resuscitated (Genesis 32:24-28). King Solomon followed after the integrity of his father David. He was humble at heart and gave sacrifices to the God having built the Jerusalem temple, and the Lord heard his prayers. The Lord instructed him to beseech the people to humble themselves and pray to God, and He would heal their land (2 Chronicles 7:12-15). Cornelius was also a leader of integrity. He was a devout army commander who feared God together with his household, and gave alms to the poor. The Lord heard his prayers and granted his household the gift of salvation. Job suffered for the sake of his integrity. Even though he lost his children, livestock and became sick, he did not curse God as advised by his wife. Job remained focused on God’s faithfulness having the fear of the Lord, and his faith never failed. When he prayed for his friends, the Lord restored double what he had (Job 42:10). The parable of the talents reveals mysteries of the kingdom of heaven. The people who was given five and two talents respectively focused in their purposes and doubled their profit. The one who received one talent lacked integrity and dug up his talent, thus wasting it. We are called to focus on our God given purposes without loosing faith, and we will receive our crowns.
PRAYER
Father You are good and Your mercies endures forever. Jesus You are good and Your love endures to all generations. Holy Spirit You are good and Your faithfulness is everlasting. Lord You change times and seasons, Your love endures forever. You depose kings and raises up others, You are faithful to keep Your promises. You give wisdom to the wise and knowledge to the discerning, Your righteousness is everlasting. God we know that You have good plans for us, plans to prosper us and not to harm us, plans to give us hope and a future. You are able to change any situation in our lives, families and nation, we wait on You dear Jesus that You may intervene in every situation. May You transform our lives, economy and political situation in our nation. May You bless us, our children and our land, and grant us peace and prosperity. May You bless us and keep us Lord. May You make Your face shine upon us and be gracious to us. May You lift up Your countenance upon us and give us peace. Amen
Further reading: Luke 21:36, Revelation 16:15