The Cedars of Lebanon

The dead wood of faith being replaced by cedars.

They can grow up to a hundred meters tall.

They can live up to a thousand years.

They were used by King Solomon to construct the temple.

Their resin was used by ancient Egyptians to mummify the dead.

They are the symbols in the flag and currency of the Lebanese people.

American Indians use it for medicine.

Many cultures refer to the cedar as the “tree of life”.

I always wondered why the bible mentions the cedar with so much pomp.

Today as I set up the woodwork for an orchard with my father.

We replaced the old, dead, ant-eaten poles with cedar poles.

He laughed at how quick the other types of wood would rot away.

Not even oil could stop the appetite of these hardworking insects.

“Cedar is ant resistant”, my father emphasized.

He marveled at how the other types of wood were hopeless.

And as we finished the replacing of dead wood with cedar wood,

In anticipation for a heavy passion fruit vine once it propagated,

I could not help but wonder at the symbolism of this activity.

When Balaam blessed Israel, he described the people to be like tall trees planted by the lord,

like cedars beside the waters (Numbers 24:6).

When the psalmist talks of the godly,

he says they will grow strong like the cedars of Lebanon (Psalms 92:12)

Psalms 104: 16 even calls the cedars the trees of the lord,

and that they are well cared for.

The revival that has started this year is like the replacing of dead wood.

Dead spirits and dead, unwavering faith will be replaced by solid faith.

The old wood that wavers will be no more.

The old faith that threatens to make the fruit fall will be no more.

The people of the lord will be well cared for.

They will be as strong as cedars.

 A message on false gods and traditionalism

The main message God has given me today.

And that he has confirmed through another person.

Is about false gods.

I have been studying ancient gods like Cronus the Titan.

And Zeus, Hera, Prometheus, and other Olympian gods.

I can tell you about Athena, Poseidon,and Artemis.

And how these gods traversed different cultures.

Did you know, for instance, that Inanna, a Mesopotamian goddess

Of sex, war, justice and political power,

Had a Greek equivalent in Athena or Aphrodite?

And that the Babylonians called her Ishtar?

These myths are also called legends because they are legendary lies.

For instance, the people of Mesopotamia have their own account of the flood.

They say one of the good gods, Enki, approached their own version of Noah called Atra-Hassis.

And told him to build the ark so as to survive high water from the higher gods.

And thus, humanity survived the flood.

These myths have alternative facts for everything in the bible.

Even creation and the great flood.

But they have one more thing the bible does not have.

A deity who is sinful, sexually perverse and murderous.

These myths were more appealing to godless nations because…

They allowed man to explore the extreme sinful ends of free will.

And no, these gods are not portrayed as pure evil.

Ironically, they seem to protect morality and encourage kindness.

All the while being sexually promiscuous among themselves and among humans.

Essentially, they reason like humans.

They get jealous, they keep grudges, and they even steal.

The bible calls these false gods creations of men.

I am not surprised that a pervert would create a god of sex or fertility.

Or that a violent man will create a god of war,

as seen in the likes of Inanna, Ares and Athena.

To justify the evil deeds they commit as righteous.

A shocking twist to the story.

The bible also calls these gods demons (Psalms 106:37).

Deuteronomy 32:17. “They offered sacrifices to demons, which are not God, to gods they had not known before, to new gods only recently arrived, to gods their ancestors never feared”.

So the real story is that man, who is in the image of God.

Was given dominion over the earth.

And even Halel, that ancient cherub over Eden.

Who we now know as an ancient serpent.

Was their servant- the bible does say angels serve those who will receive the gospel.

Yes, Satan was way below Adam and Eve in hierarchy.

God would come and walk with man and woman every evening (Genesis 3).

And the man looked like his creator (Genesis 1).

So how did Satan become the god of this world?

How does a devil become a god?

Not because he was greater than man.

But because he was cunning and appealing to the desires of the flesh.

That is why many people have given him dominion in their lives.

And join him in his destiny in hell.

But he owns not the earth. Jehovah does.

And like he robbed Adam of Eden through lies.

The devil is lying to many more Adams and Eves so they miss out

On Jesus the redeemer.

So this country Kenya, and the rest of the world,

Must rise up against traditionalism.

Africa has many false gods too.

Like Akan, Ashanti, Bambara, Dahomey, Efik, Gikuyu ,Sawar ,Lunda and Tumbukta.

Every tribe has a god, a creator, and a false creation story.

And no, you are not obligated by God to recognize human tradition

In fact, God strictly warns against human tradition.

If we sin because of our ancestors, will these same ancestors defend us on judgement day.

These same ancestors who denied Jesus.

And have no power whatsoever.

Demonic spirits have often disguised themselves as ancestors.

No wonder some traditionalists will speak of lightning from an ancestor.

So who is the false god in your life?

Creating false explanations?

Have you created a god over yourself?

Whom do you serve?

Sex, drugs, money?

Or something even more sinister like Mormon.

Or Molech. The eater of babies.

Matthew 15:3 Jesus replied,” And why do you, by your traditions, violate the direct commandments of God?”

Mark 7:8 “For you ignore God’s law and substitute your own tradition”.

For more verses on traditionalism:

Mark 7:4

Mark 7:3

Galatians 1:14

Galatians 2:14