Growing up in Kwa-Thema (Springs, South Africa), my mom told me that when I was about two years of age, my late father had a dream for me to be a professional soccer player. From to time to time he would play ball with me and would let me kick the ball whilst he would play as a goal keeper, and as I did well he would shower me with praises calling me with my nickname “Yankee”.  Although I continued to play soccer in my primary school years, I never pursued that dream because God had a different plan for my life.

It brings joy to any child to have their parents take an interest in what they do in their lives and this gets even better when they proclaim the words: “I am proud of you my child…” when the child is doing well in whatever they do. I remember another proud moment when my father complimented me after preaching my first sermon at age 12 in my local church, it brought tears to his eyes to see me do that and it made the proudest son. My father never lived to see the highlights of my achievements thus far in life and the fruits of the many years of depositing the seed of greatness in my life. However, it warms my heart to know that he affirmed me, young as I was, whilst he was still alive. I have since grown in confidence in whatever I do because my father contributed much in training me, supporting me all the way, correcting me when it was necessary and was never shy to compliment me and when compliments were due.

When John the Baptist baptised Jesus in Jordan before He started with His ministry, God His father affirmed Him in public with these words: “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” Matt. 3:17 WOW, what a moment!

When last did you take an interest in the affairs and growth of your child? When last did you affirm your child in private or in public? Or have you ever?

Sipho Kaleni - Influencing lives for God’s glory!

On Wednesday evening, 1^st of June 2011, whilst hosting a radio pulpit program called “WEDNESDAY LIVE” which is normally done by Lucky Mbiko, the above-mentioned subject was discussed by my panellists: Pastor T. Njentile and Pastor Freddie Nyama. I am sure you would agree with me that it is a subject that we hardly (if at all) give attention to, and why is that? I may not know.

As our world seeks to affirm women and redress the ills of the past on how women were ill-treated, there are many beautiful initiatives from the private sector and our South African government which are commendable. These include programs like “TAKE A GIRL CHILD TO WORK”; “EDUCATING A GIRL CHILD, IS EDUCATING A NATION” and “WOMEN AFFIRMATIVE ACTION” to mention but a few. In the process of empowering and giving attention to young girls and women we have lost our boys or young men, most of whom are without dreams and ambitions and are fast-filling the correctional facilities in our country. Before you become prejudice to the statement above, let me be quick to say we need to strike a balance in rearing and empowering the children of this nation (both boys and girls) and that needs to start in our homes most of whom are dysfunctional (unfortunately).

You may not know this: but there is a lot of hurt in the lives of many adults today because they grew up with “ABSENT FATHERS” most of whom are present physically in many homes. One could make a long list of genuine reasons why fathers are not actively involved in the lives of their own children, we could farther blame “harsh” mothers who protected their children from irresponsible and abusive fathers, or even better blame the past regime for causing a lot of fathers to leave their homes in search of employment in the mines and cities of our country, BUT no amount of reasons or excuses can ever close the gap of a father in the life of his child. Having listened to most of the callers during the above-mentioned program, one could pick up a lot of anger and frustration, people seeking for answers on why it had to be them growing up without their fathers, and one can only hope that these callers won’t do the same to their own children repeating this vicious circle.

The bible speaks extensively on the subject of fatherhood and its importance and it is my wish that all men in our generation and beyond will take time to study the word of God (bible) and discover how one can be a good father. If you are a man and are reading this, please ponder on the following scriptures:

Gen. 1:26-28; Ps. 8:5; Ps 139:15; Deut. 6:1-10; Deut. 11:19; Prov. 7:1-3; Eph. 6:1-4; Prov.23:13-14; Ps. 103:13. Search for more.

We need to correct the ills of the past by doing the right thing today. Let us lose the excuses as fathers and be the fathers we ought to be according to the word of God. Whether you were raised without fathers figure in your life or not, whether you are too busy climbing a cooperate ladder in your quest to provide a better life for your children, or even better serving the Lord yet neglecting your own family, that shouldn’t be an excuse for failing your children by not giving them love and attention. No child deserves to be without his/her father’s love. Find your child today and raise them up in the ways of the Lord.  Prov. 22:6. Selah.

Sipho Kaleni – Influencing lives for God’s glory!

Often when we speak about Joseph “the dreamer” the emphasis is mostly on his life from the pit to the palace. We even dwell more on the exemplary life he led in the palace of Pharaoh amongst many lessons. However I wish we can look at the circumstances which surrounded his life as a child within his family.

In the book of Genesis 30: 22-24 Joseph is born. When he was born the following were his realities:

1)     His father Jacob was a fugitive, running away from his brother Esau after stealing his birth right blessing. (Gen. 27:1-45)

2)     His father Jacob got married to his biological relatives (Leah and Rachel). (Gen.29:15)

3)     He was born from a womb of a woman (Rachel) that waited a very long time to conceive. (Gen.30:22)

4)     He was born as a last child amidst a family feud and unnecessary competition between the wives of his father, which spilled over to his siblings. (Gen.29:15 to 30:24)

5)      He was born in a strange land called Haran (strange because his father didn’t own that land, Laban did).

This is the background this young man whom God entrusted with a dream that will change the course of his family for good came from. What is also notable is that at the age of 17 he had this dream (Gen.37:2).

When you consider the points listed above according to human standards, Joseph wouldn’t have been a worthy candidate to carry such divine treasures from the Lord. All odds were against him yet God chose to use him anyway. Although the bible doesn’t provide us with reasons for why God chose Joseph over his siblings, we need to note that God has a way of using people in spite of their backgrounds.

God used:

a)      Mary and Joseph to parent our King of Kings, Jesus Christ.

b)     The Lineage of David to produce the King of Kings, Jesus Christ.

c)      Moses in spite of his flaws and lack of ability to speak well.

The list is endless.

• Clearly GOD is no respecter of persons, age, race, nationality, gender, community status, etc.
• God does not look for the qualified but He qualifies the called.
• God uses ordinary people who are willing to do as He commands.
• God always makes a way out of NO WAY.

You may not have the necessary qualifications for the work that God has called you for or for the dream or vision that God has given you, but rest assured that He (God) will make a provision for you in order to accomplish His vision; all you have to do is to avail yourself and allow Him to use you for His glory.  Your past shouldn’t be a hindrance for what God wants to achieve with you so don’t allow the enemy to use your ugly background against you, but rather focus on the one who called you.

Sipho Kaleni

Genesis 37:5 “Now Joseph had a dream, and he told it to his brothers; and they hated him even more.”

According to Encarta ® World English Dictionary hatred is defined as “a feeling of intense hostility towards somebody or something”. Now this is an emotion that Joseph’s brothers had towards their very own. Under normal circumstances it will take a person to perform a horrendous act towards you to deserve this kind of feeling towards them. The bible mentions a couple of factors which could be reasons for Joseph’s brothers to have felt that way:

• He was most loved by His father. (Gen. 37:3-4) – ENVY
• He was considered a spy because he brought a bad report about them. (Gen. 37:2) – HONESTY
• He dreamt a dream which seemingly threatened their positions/status within their family. (Gen. 37:5) – POWER STRUGGLE
• He told them the dream. (Gen.37:5) – BRAVERY
• He was the youngest in the family. (Gen.37:2) – STATUS

Whether these emotions were justifiable or not is something that we can look into some other time. My primary focus on this article is Joseph’s reaction towards these negative emotions.

Please note that there’s nothing special that Joseph did to be a dream carrier or even to deserve the ill treatment from his brothers, but he got it anyway. Naturally most people will hate you even when you haven’t done anything wrong towards them. How we react to anything thrown at us by the enemy, will either make or break the DREAM. The bible doesn’t mention how Joseph responded to what his bothers threw at him in so many words but judging from Joseph’s action of telling the second dream to his family, we can clearly see that he was not moved by the ill treatment he was receiving from his brothers, thus he was even comfortable when sent to go check on his brothers by his father Israel in the fields of Shechem, otherwise he could have refused to go (fearing for his life).

You can’t stop people from hating you and from speaking ill of you or even worse, plotting something bad against you for what God has blessed you with. Too often we forget that we are mere carriers of divine treasures of our God, stewards entrusted with dreams and visions. The ONE WHO provides the vision always makes a provision and He will see to it that the messengers or the dream carriers are protected until the dream is realised. It is therefore important to always remember the following:

1)      The enemy is not after you but what you are carrying.

2)      Don’t be destructed by the enemy’s negative behaviour towards you, overcome evil with good.

3)      Don’t carry a big head because you are a dream carrier, after all it is the content that is important not the container.

4)      No amount of good that you do will stop the enemy from attacking you, but do good anyway.

5)      The more your enemies hate you, LOVE them even more and keep them close because they do not understand how the end of this story will also benefit them.

6)      Prepare to be sold out by the people you trust and always remember “Being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ.” (Phil. 1:6)

Matthew 5:11 – 12 “Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”

Sipho Kaleni

Naturally when we get a big idea we quickly want to share it with others out of the excitement that burns inside. Often we think everyone we share with will be very excited to embrace the vision and support us every step of the way. Well that is what Joseph thought. What he didn’t know or even suspect was that his own brothers were not happy with him being loved and given attention the way his father did (Gen. 37:3), even worse that he had a unique tunic of many colours which his father Israel made ONLY for him.

Genesis 37:5 “Now Joseph had a dream, and he told it to his brothers; and they hated him even more.” In sessions to come by God’s grace we will look at the reasons why they hated him even more.

Although this dream was not well received particularly by his brothers, I have a conviction in my spirit that God wanted Joseph’s family to know the truth about the bright future he had in store for THEM (not just Joseph) at that very time Joseph shared the dream, so the timing was perfect, the people where relevant to receive the dream but their attitudes needed re-alignment. What they failed to realise was that God can choose to use one person (irrespective of age, gender or status) to be a channel of blessing for many. At that time they didn’t see the big picture as they were caught up in their selfish insecurities and the ridiculous thought of being governed by a last born son in the family, thus so much hatred. They obviously didn’t know how this story will end thus they did what they did. (Please read Gen. 45:7)

James 3:16 “For where envy and self-seeking exist, confusion and every evil things are there.”

LISTEN, God works in mysterious ways, so STOP being a hindrance in the process of bringing your own blessings, allow God to use whoever/whatever He sees fit to use to bring you and yours a special blessing. The brother/sister you hate today because of his great vision or dream is the same brother you will need tomorrow when the famine hits your land. Once the dream you are planning to attack dies, you will also die. So before you hate or even perform evil acts against your brother, trust God for a revelation of a BIGGER picture.  You are part of the BIGGER picture.

Sipho Kaleni