The coincidence of Gideon
That year my father George Mudenyo, a quiet very inquisitive man was filled with the joy of having found a new and reliable friend Jesus Christ. He was thanking God because he was filled with the hope of the new journey in Christ and he was determined to read the Bible from page to page when he stuck with Gideon the judge of Israel. He was puzzled by the work of God through this young man namely Gideon and that night he realized my mother was carrying a child. He shouted we now have Gideon, the savior of his brothers and the servant of God.
Soon it was time, and they celebrated the birth of their 7th son in the family which they only wanted four kids. That son was me and they had no problem with the name because Gideon will save his brothers, a dream of my father that was going to become my destiny.
The inspiration of my father to preaching
My father, a preacher in his time, jealously protected me to guard his dream of having a preacher in me. At an early age he bought me the Bible, took me for missions, and taught me what sacrifice for God really means. He admonished me to share everything well with people and not to withhold any word that would save a soul of anyone.
Not so long there was a passion to share the mysteries of God with others. I mimicked all the preachers I could remember, I was always looking for an opportunity to minister to others just at a young age, both in school, playgrounds, and church Sunday school. Remembering our risen Lord Jesus as a man who was filled with compassion always desired my wish to help people. I wanted to reach everyone, and the passion was within me. I discovered that the work of the Lord requires people with zealous hearts, a person who will be willing to go and do the work regardless of the obstacles. The word of God in Isaiah hit me so hard “Whom Shall I send?” I quickly got up and went to serve God. It is the moment I felt God was giving so much, the audience was localized and I had to minister beyond where I could physically reach. D.G. Barnhouse wrote, “And sometimes, when we open the pages of the books of our libraries, we will find a living sentence spoken by someone whose body has been mouldering in the grave for centuries, and we are warmed by the words and feel our oneness with him over the years.” That is when the passion for writing stroked in. I wanted to speak even if I am called home by my God, I wanted people to get the word I am sharing all my years even if I will not be present at the time.
My mentor’s advise not to publish
Like I have always told people, passion for doing is like the fire in the bones. When there is a fire in the bones, then there is legacy. When there is a fire in the bones, a man, though dead, “still speaks” as recorded in Heb. 11:4. At the age of 22, I felt it was time to do it considering I had some manuscripts on prayer. I reached out to my ministry mentor and wanted him to go through and advise me, and I felt the setback when he exhorted me not to publish. That was hard, I sought out the reasons why I should not publish and his answer was not pleasing “You are young”. I thought within me ‘writing is not easy, I have struggled to compile this, why tell me I am young?’ Studying my non verbal cues he slowly and in love explained to me his advise that I use my youthful energy for research instead.
The man was like, you are growing up and God is giving you more. He went on “You are stabilizing on matters of doctrine at and one point you may need to change your views on some matters” He reminded me that the matters of faith is not a science that will strictly follow on the formulas, it will be convictions based on logic and reason. He insisted that I carefully research, closely follow ministers and read more books.
It was my turn to write
Sixteen years later it was my time to write, I appreciated that I did not write but carefully researched. This deeply led me into researching issues that choke the church and I needed to help them. As an author, I have made a choice not to serve God out of duty but serve out of delight, helping the ministers make the proper choice in their service and help them establish worthy life-giving ministries.
David said, “My heart was hot within me; while I was musing (meditating), the fire burned. Then I spoke with my tongue” (Psalms 39:3). While David was ‘musing’ – meditating, turning the words of God over in his mouth, causing his lips to speak – it set his heart burning and that is exactly what happened to me. The things God gives me, the things I meditate upon should be preserved in books and help the coming generation, and so should you do the same and let us influence our generation and the coming generations with our writings. Pulpits may not accommodate all of us, but the books will.
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