NKELE

There is a word used in Mozambique that has been resting heavy on my heart lately.

Nkele.

It means to abide, to come within, to stay.

Not to pass through.

Not to visit.

Not to observe from the outside but to enter, and then remain.

And the more I sit with that word, the more I realize it captures what has been missing from modern Christianity.

We Have Learned How to Visit God, Not Abide With Him

Many believers know how to:

• Attend services

• Feel moments of inspiration

• Touch the presence of God briefly

But Nkele is not about moments...it’s about dwelling.

Scripture doesn’t call us to occasional encounters, it calls us to residence.

“Abide in me, and I in you.” — John 15:4 (ESV)

Jesus doesn’t invite us to come close...he invites us to come within.

...TO STAY!

Simply put, Nkele Is the Language of Relationship, Not Religion.

Do you think our brothers and sisters in Mozambique would suffer 8 years of persecution and then have a hurricane come wipe out EVERYTHING left that their persecuters hadn't stolen?, if it were religion? No, it is relationship.

They know Jesus so closely, they will come in groups of 100's to a destroyed building propped up with tarp to worshp the King of Kings. 

They don't care if their persecuters are right there waiting. They have made peace with The Father of Lights and nothing can stop their testimony...and they sing from the top of their lungs, "NKELE", it is a word used when they are leading someone to salvation, it is a word to encourage, it is a word to strengthen.

Our brothers and sisters overseas know how to strengthen themselves in the Lord as David did when everything seemed ruined, his family and all his warriors families had been stolen, and his closest friends wanted to stone him. EVERYTHING WAS ON FIRE AROUND HIM, BURNING TO THE GROUND, AND DAVID WAS THE GREAT EXAMPLE OF WHAT IT IS TO "NKELE". DAVID HAD FRUIT! (I wonder what would happen if we were in such a situation?)

Fruit doesn’t grow from visitation.

It grows from abiding.

To Abide Means to Come Within the Process

There is a cost to Nkele.

When you abide, you don’t just experience comfort, you experience pruning.

“Every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit.” — John 15:2 (ESV)

Abiding means staying close long enough for God to change you.

Most people don’t resist God because He is distant.

They resist Him because He is too near...and when the Father get's too near, we run.

We run to another comfort, another church, another relationship,

Nkele says:

“I will stay even when it confronts me...even when the pruning hurts”

You know, Scripture consistently ties life, strength, and renewal to dwelling.

“He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty.” — Psalm 91:1 (ESV)

Notice the language: "dwells," "abides".

This is not emergency Christianity. We don't just run in an out of the "room" when we are in need.

We must be INHABITANTS!

There is no need to run in and out of the shelter...you LIVE THERE!

Now, knowing that we live there, tells us revival flows from NKELE

True renewal does not come from:

• Emotional services

• Louder songs

• Short-term hunger

Revival comes when God’s people decide to Nkele.

To stay Jesus stands at the door and knocks, not to rush us, but to welcome us in to the feast! 

“If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him.” — Revelation 3:20 (ESV)

Eating takes time.

Presence requires staying.

JOIN ME IN PRAYING:

Lord, teach me Nkele.

Not to visit You in moments of need,

but to abide with You as a way of life.

I choose to come within.

I choose to stay.

Amen.

Nkele.

Not movement.

Not noise.

Not striving.

Just abiding.