From Satanist to Christian – The Power of the Loving Church

Hi Everybody,

I just had to share this testimony of John who was a Satanic Priest who practiced Santeria and the power of how the Loving Church helped him to Choose Jesus Christ as Lord.  The Power of the Loving Church can transform lives.

This Testimony is so moving and I feel that as Christians, we cannot underestimate the power of Love and the Prayers of the righteous that avail much. Love delivers hope where there was hoplessness. Love reveals the truth that sets people free. Jesus loves His Church and He loves ALL people. He loves you even if you do not believe in Him. Jesus believes in you. Watch this video and consider that if you are wavering in your faith, or if you don’t have a reason to believe in Jesus, know that Jesus came to Save you and me. He loves you so much that He does not want you to live without knowing the True love of God for His Children. You are loved by God and Jesus is the Good Shepherd. He will leave his flock in the pasture just to save that one that is lost or is not part of it, and bring that one back with the rest of the sheep. He will watch out for all of His people. Jesus loves you, believe that, receive that and accept Jesus into your life and watch Him move and do amazing things for you as you embark the journey of Faith in His Holy Name.

People of God, Christians, we haven’t got the time to judge others who don’t know Jesus. We are the light in the non-believers darkness, we are the Christ-like representatives that need to show them the heart of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ through our actions. Demonstrate the true heart of the Good shepherd today. Show other people the love of God with your Actions. It’s not enough to talk about the love of God, you have to be the personified demonstration of that Love. Love through Action speaks greater volumes to a non-believer than words, because Love in Action is what fuels faith. Let us be the Love that the world who does not know God can see so that when they see it in action, they will believe in God and receive Jesus into their Heart and become saved. Think about this today and live love out loud.

God Bless you everybody!

 

John 10:1-21

New King James Version (NKJV)

Jesus the True Shepherd

10 “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door, but climbs up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber. ² But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. ³ To him the doorkeeper opens, and the sheep hear his voice; and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. ⁴ And when he brings out his own sheep, he goes before them; and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice. ⁵ Yet they will by no means follow a stranger, but will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers.” ⁶ Jesus used this illustration, but they did not understand the things which He spoke to them.

Jesus the Good Shepherd

⁷ Then Jesus said to them again, “Most assuredly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. ⁸ All who ever came before Me^[a] are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not hear them. ⁹ I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture. ¹⁰ The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.

¹¹ “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep. ¹² But a hireling, he who is not the shepherd, one who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees; and the wolf catches the sheep and scatters them. ¹³ The hireling flees because he is a hireling and does not care about the sheep. ¹⁴ I am the good shepherd; and I know My sheep, and am known by My own. ¹⁵ As the Father knows Me, even so I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep. ¹⁶ And other sheep I have which are not of this fold; them also I must bring, and they will hear My voice; and there will be one flock and one shepherd.

¹⁷ “Therefore My Father loves Me, because I lay down My life that I may take it again. ¹⁸ No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down of Myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This command I have received from My Father.”

¹⁹ Therefore there was a division again among the Jews because of these sayings. ²⁰ And many of them said, “He has a demon and is mad. Why do you listen to Him?”

²¹ Others said, “These are not the words of one who has a demon. Can a demon open the eyes of the blind?”

Worship Sunday: If He Did it Once, He Can Do it Again!

Hi Everybody!

I feel like praising the Lord today. I only have two days until I’m done the 21 Day Daniel Fast and honestly, I feel like my discernment is getting sharper as I sit and meditate in God’s Word day after day and I just want to give God the praise for all the things I experienced through this Fast. I feel like I need to post a song to encourage some people out there who feel weary about whether God is going to answer their prayers or not this year. If you are seeking restoration, healing and deliverance for your family, God is more than able to grant what you ask in His Name according to His will and purpose for your life which is the Jeremiah 29:11 promise.

Jeremiah 29:11

For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

The message that’s in my spirit right now is that “If God did it once, He can do it again”. Do not forget the past miracles He has given you in your life. When you remember all that He has done for you, you will look forward to the greater things that are yet to come. Greater miracles than the former are yet to come. The greatest miracle in your life though, is when you decided to give your life back to the Lord. Salvation is the greatest miracle; however, your life of miracles don’t end there.There will be a path of miracles that will continue to occur in your life as you continue to follow God when you allow Him to direct your path towards HIM and the destiny that He has for you in this Life leading you to your promise and your destiny.

Draw near to God and He will Draw near to you and let your footsteps be ordered of the Lord as He takes you by the hand and leads you in the direction that you must follow in order to receive your miracles. Don’t give up on whatever you are praying and believing for and keep pressing through for your breakthroughs. A blessing delayed is not necessarily denied, it’s just waiting for you to reach its destination when you put your Trust in God and allow Him to lead you to your blessing.

If God did it before, Please believe He can Do it Again.

Hebrews 10:22

let us draw near to God with a sincere heart and with the full assurance that faith brings, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water.

Psalm 73:28

But it is good for me to draw near to God; I have put my trust in the Lord GOD, That I may declare all Your works.

Psalm 37:23

The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord, And He delights in his way.

Proverbs 3:5-6

⁵ Trust in the Lord with all your heart,
And lean not on your own understanding;
⁶ In all your ways acknowledge Him,
And He shall direct^[a] your paths.

I have a Song here by Deon Kipping called Heal Again. May this song bless your spirit Everybody! Be Encouraged and God Bless You!

Merry Christmas Eve Worship: It’s Not Over!

Merry Christmas Eve Everybody!

I realize that although this is a time of family and fellowship for many of us celebrating the season of Jesus Christ’s birth and life, there are people out there that are going through some hard times in this season of celebration. So this song that I’m posting by Israel & New Breed (feat. James Fortune  and Jason Nelson) called It’s Not Over is to encourage the lonely, the hurting and the ones who need a song to uplift their spirit. God is with you even when you think He isn’t in your present situation. God is in your situation. God we help you come through whatever trial you are going through because God loves you. He will send you the answers you are looking for even when you think you can’t find them. Many are going through “WHY????” seasons…but God can turn around that “Why?” into a “Because” and be the answer you need while you are asking questions. Though we see dimly the light shines through the darkness and that Light that you seek whether you realize it or not is through our Lord and Savior, JESUS CHRIST. God Bless you everybody and may this song minister to the broken-hearted during this season. God has not forgotten you.

Catch Me Lord for there’s Nobody Greater than You

Hi Everybody!

Hope you are having an amazing weekend! Today I have a song that’s by Mary Mary called Catch Me and another song called  Nobody Greater by VaShawn. They are such an inspirational songs. They talk about how we can sometimes fall and fail but God is always there to Catch us when we fall because our God is a great forgiving God. Just like the Prodigal son was restored in the hands of his father after spending his inheritance in a life filled with foolish pleasures, he came back with a repentant heart not expecting forgiveness for his foolishness and still his father loved him and welcomed him home with open arms loving him and forgiving him even if it was undeserving. God’s love for us is the same way as this father and it is that amazing. He loves us even when we make dumb mistakes or fail to walk in His will by choosing to do things “our way or the highway” in our arrogance. God’s ways are not our ways and despite that, He is still willing to forgive us when we come back realizing that we truly need our Father’s love and guidance as he teaches us how we truly need to walk in His will so that we fulfill the call in our lives.

So today think about restoring your relationship back to the heart of the Father and seek forgiveness in areas that you have failed to please Him. God is merciful because His love and mercy endures forever (Psalm 136:3; Psalm 136:2) and His mercies are new every morning (Lamentations 3:22-24). Allow God to catch you and embrace you back into His bosom as you seek God’s face to forgive you of your past mistakes and failures. We are all the works of God’s hands being perfected to do His will. Seek His will for your life today because there’s nobody Greater than our God, AMEN! Praise and worship Him today as you think about His Goodness in your life. Praise is your weapon and it is also your love song to sing to the Lord with thanksgiving so that blessings rain in your life, Amen. Worship Him today and everyday as you rejoice in God’s Forgiving Power in your life, AMEN! God bless you everybody and have a fantastic weekend!

Scriptures to Meditate

1 Chronicles 16:34
Oh, give thanks to the LORD, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever.

1 Chronicles 16:41
and with them Heman and Jeduthun and the rest who were chosen, who were designated by name, to give thanks to the LORD, because His mercy endures forever;

2 Chronicles 5:12-14

¹² and the Levites who were the singers, all those of Asaph and Heman and Jeduthun, with their sons and their brethren, stood at the east end of the altar, clothed in white linen, having cymbals, stringed instruments and harps, and with them one hundred and twenty priests sounding with trumpets— ¹³ indeed it came to pass, when the trumpeters and singers were as one, to make one sound to be heard in praising and thanking the Lord, and when they lifted up their voice with the trumpets and cymbals and instruments of music, and praised the Lord, saying:

“For He is good,
For His mercy endures forever,”^[a]

that the house, the house of the Lord, was filled with a cloud, ¹⁴ so that the priests could not continue ministering because of the cloud; for the glory of the Lord filled the house of God.

2 Chronicles 7:3
When all the children of Israel saw how the fire came down, and the glory of the LORD on the temple, they bowed their faces to the ground on the pavement, and worshiped and praised the LORD, saying: “For He is good, For His mercy endures forever.”

2 Chronicles 7:6
And the priests attended to their services; the Levites also with instruments of the music of the LORD, which King David had made to praise the LORD, saying, “For His mercy endures forever,” whenever David offered praise by their ministry. The priests sounded trumpets opposite them, while all Israel stood.

2 Chronicles 20:21
And when he had consulted with the people, he appointed those who should sing to the LORD, and who should praise the beauty of holiness, as they went out before the army and were saying: “Praise the LORD, For His mercy endures forever.”

Ezra 3:11
And they sang responsively, praising and giving thanks to the LORD: “For He is good, For His mercy endures forever toward Israel.” Then all the people shouted with a great shout, when they praised the LORD, because the foundation of the house of the LORD was laid.

Psalm 100:5
For the LORD is good; His mercy is everlasting, And His truth endures to all generations.

Psalm 118:4
Let those who fear the LORD now say, “His mercy endures forever.”

Jeremiah 33:11
the voice of joy and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride, the voice of those who will say: “Praise the LORD of hosts, For the LORD is good, For His mercy endures forever”— and of those who will bring the sacrifice of praise into the house of the LORD. For I will cause the captives of the land to return as at the first,’ says the LORD.

 

The Seven Last Words

via http://www.gl3nnx.net/

Hi Everybody!

This is going to be rather short reflection today but what I do want to say is that we have to learn to pray for people that offend us. When we look at the times we have offended God with our own actions, you can know for sure that we all deserve God’s judgment in our lives. However, Jesus came in and INTERCEDED on our behalf on the cross as He prayed to the Father and said in His seven last words found in  the book of Luke:

Luke 23:34
Then Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” And they divided His garments and cast lots.

In the same way, that Jesus interceded for us…we must learn to do the same. Now, I feel like the Lord has been dealing with me on this issue because I am emotional at times when someone wrongs me in an offensive way, but I have to rise above that and overcome evil with God’s definition of good. To intercede effectively, we have to learn to forgive 70×7 times over (Matthew 18:21-23) and let me tell you that it is no easy task, but it can be done when we start to focus on changing how we feel, react and respond to those that offend us.

The battle here is operating with a Spirit of LOVE people.

Love covers a multitude of sin (Proverbs 10:12)  as demonstrated by our Lord Jesus Christ, so as Christians, we must learn to do the same and step our game up in the Love department. Let me tell you right now that writing about this was quite difficult since there are some people that still kind of rub me the wrong way so I raise my Hand in that I need a measure of God’s love to increase in me so that bitterness and anger don’t rob me of joy. I believe that God wants to set people free from being offended if we admit that we need His help in the whole process. Repent and be Healed, be delivered and then seek the same for your brothers and sisters who need that same display of mercy, that same display of God’s love in you in action over them so that they can change and be renewed because of your intercession, because of you standing in the gap for them as Christ our Redeemer did for us as well.

Sometimes when we are offended, we don’t necessarily “Feel” like praying for the person that offended us because of how they hurt us….but intercession isn’t based on feelings…it’s based on “LOVE”. God Loved us enough to send His Son Jesus to intercede on our behalf, and now we have to step up and do the same for our brothers and sisters who are in Christ and for those who aren’t in Christ. We all know that Perfect Love casts our Fear (1 John 4:18), and if it is able to do that, then perfect love can delivers us from evil when Love is put into ACTION.

So my Challenge to you today is sit back and reflect on the people who may have offended you in your past or even recently (no matter how grievous the offense) and put into practice, prayer that forgives them for what they did to you, because they probably don’t even know how they offended you to begin with and even if they do know, seek to pray for forgiveness and also that the Lord help them to change their ways and for the Lord to help change how we think about them so that we aren’t grounded by bitterness and anger.  I have found that over time when I have prayed over my enemies, and those that offended me in this way, I feel a release in the bitterness department as I re-shelf that room with jars of LOVE. The more Love you put into action in your own life, the easier it becomes to forgive others as Christ did for us when we didn’t know what we did to offend our Lord.

I have a song from Aaron Sledge called Closer. May this song bless you today everybody!

Scriptures to Meditate

1 John 4:18
There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love.

Matthew 18:21-22

The Parable of the Unforgiving Servant

²¹ Then Peter came to Him and said, “Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? Up to seven times?”

²² Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven.

Proverbs 10:12

Hatred stirs up strife, But love covers all sins.

James 5:16
Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.

The Importance of Repentance that Allows for Release of Blessings

Day 7 of 21 Day Daniel Fast –  So today’s meditation is concerning the need for repenting and fessing up our mistakes, failures, wrongdoings, offenses against other people, against ourselves and ultimately against GOD. If we really want God to hear from heaven regarding our need of His hand of Mercy and Grace on our lives, we need to put everything that doesn’t represent Him under the Blood of Jesus Christ. We need to confront our sinful natures and also the sins of generations past in order to cause God to hear our prayers and heal us, restore us, fight for us and turn us away from condemnation.When we refuse to repent because of our puffed up pride or simply because we’re in denial of our wrongdoings and willful behaviors that cause us to be in trouble or cause us to be left in pain, we leave no room for God to help us out of our situations.

Today, I emphasize the need for us to seriously look deep within ourselves and renounce the things that keep us from progressing in our lives. Seek Gods face for forgiveness of all sins known and unknown, for things we have done or have failed to do (Commission & Omission), for the things our relatives and generations past have done that are affecting your current generations/or future generations that we have not been put under the Blood of Jesus Christ. I am referring to Generational curses/tendencies such as i.e. alcoholism, abuse, divorces, rejection, anger and bitterness, slander, murder etc. Whatever it is, put it under the Blood during this time of Prayer and Fasting and seek God’s face to heal your afflictions and restore the years where you suffered because of Guilt and Shame and also Unforgiveness.

Essentially, repentance is a call for serious humility. It says in the Word that:

John 14:6
Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.

So, everything that we need to repent for during this Fast must first be put under the Blood so that we can come to the Father and He will hear from heaven when we humble ourselves and Pray and seek his face as we turn from our Wicked ways.

2 Chronicles 7:14
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.

The promise of Repentance is that He will heal Us and He will Heal the Land. When the Land is Healed, everything begins to prosper and therefore, we will prosper. So I implore you to think about repenting for your past mistakes and failures and for the past mistakes and failures and sins that have been past onto you from generation to generation through bloodline sins. Seek God’s forgiveness in these areas in humility and set aside your pride so that God will Hear from Heaven. Also, do not forget to forgive those that have wronged you. As hard as this may sound to believe, God will forgive you when you also learn to forgive others as well no matter how grievous their offense may be. 

James 4:6
But He gives more grace. Therefore He says: “ God resists the proud, But gives grace to the humble.”

Because we are engaged in a Spiritual battle, you have to be aware that the Devil would rather have you suffer in your PRIDE and NOT repent than see you go on your knees before God and repent because He (Jesus) is the one that can set you Free from the Devil’s schemes.

John 8:36
Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed.

Isn’t it better to walk in the freedom of the Word of God that says He’ll forgive if you repent than be enslaved to sin?

Remember to not participate in this 21 Day Daniel Fast (or any other Fast for that matter) in vain and Fast with a purpose to Change your Ways, your thoughts, and most importantly YOURSELF.  Think about all this during your meditations.

I have a song that I love yet again to share with you to meditate on How much God loves you enough to send His only Begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him should not Perish but have everlasting Life (John 3:16).

He Forgives All so seek to be Forgiven by repenting for all your mistakes and failures that you have committed, that your families have committed which include others who have done wrong against you. Seek God’s Hand of Forgiveness so that He may bless you with DIVINE Freedom from condemnation, guilt and shame. This song is from Dietrick Haddon and it’s called AMEN. Be Blessed by this Song.

Scriptures to Meditate

Joel 2:12
[ A Call to Repentance ] “ Now, therefore,” says the LORD, “ Turn to Me with all your heart, With fasting, with weeping, and with mourning.”

Matthew 9:13
But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy and not sacrifice.’ For I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance.”

Mark 2:17
When Jesus heard it, He said to them, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance.”

Mark 6:12
So they went out and preached that people should repent.

Luke 15:7
I say to you that likewise there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine just persons who need no repentance.

Luke 15:10
Likewise, I say to you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”

Luke 17:3
Take heed to yourselves. If your brother sins against you, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him.

Luke 24:47
and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.

Acts 3:19
Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord,

Acts 11:18
When they heard these things they became silent; and they glorified God, saying, “Then God has also granted to the Gentiles repentance to life.”

Acts 17:30
Truly, these times of ignorance God overlooked, but now commands all men everywhere to repent,

Revelation 3:19
As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten. Therefore be zealous and repent.

1 John 1:7
But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.

Revelation 1:4-6

⁴ John, to the seven churches which are in Asia:

Grace to you and peace from Him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven Spirits who are before His throne, ⁵ and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler over the kings of the earth. To Him who loved us and washed^[a] us from our sins in His own blood, ⁶ and has made us kings^[b] and priests to His God and Father, to Him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.

Romans 12:2
And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.

Beauty that overshadows the real War inside

I was thinking over the weekend how at times I find myself just crying over the suffering of mankind and I feel like there are moments where I can’t help but feel overly sensitive. This sometimes happens to me when I’m in my prayer closet talking to the Lord as I ask Him questions about the current world condition and how to proceed to be an effective intercessor. During this particular time, I  was reminded of when I once lived in Kenya for 3 years, how I saw the suffering of the people everyday as I was driven to and from school and I remember being a spiritually sensitive child that could sense evil and the presence of it in people and within my environment. Poverty is evil! It tears families apart, it breaks the human soul and it ravages the helpless. When I lived there as a kid, I remember feeling afraid  everyday because I used to have nightmares often about evil beings trying to get me. The place where we stayed was in Nairobi, the Capital City where violence was an everyday occurrence… Newspapers were always filled with bad news…no glimmer of hope

Slums in Nairobi

Let me state for a fact that Kenya is indeed  a beautiful country with a rift valley and skies that hover beautiful terrain but underneath this terrain, the beauty that one can witness is overshadowed by the reality of the suffering of the people that live in this beautiful land.

I remember reading a UN report on the current status of the country where I lived in the city of Nairobi and I remember seeing slums everywhere, and  from what I’ve read, the current situation is much worse than I remember it. Apparently, curfew is now recommended to be at 6pm in the slum areas because if you aren’t back in your homes before that time, the chances of a woman or child getting raped or killed is most likely 100%. Where I lived, we had guards at the gate with rifles…it was that dangerous. You cannot underestimate bandits, killers and soo on. My Grandma was robbed in broad daylight by men with machetes. Usually when you wear jewellery on your wrist, robbers would usually cut the hand off to obtain the item or even worse kill you to get the items.When I heard that my grandma was in that situation, I was at school at the time and cried because I thought she was dead. I prayed to God

via socialistworker.co.uk

praying that she was alive and safe. When I got home, she was fine. Her watch was stolen and her money taken but she was intact..nothing missing nothing broken…they just took the jewelry and ran off…they didn’t want to kill her or the driver. I PRAISE GOD for saving my grandma! God is indeed an awesome God.

However, in spite of this…I can’t help but feel emotional pain when I think of how my Indian friend’s father was murdered at his office in broad daylight. He was a well to do business man and yet…he was not immune to being attacked…he was murdered. Another family destroyed by evil. Evil knows no bounds…it doesn’t discriminate….

As a kid I began to learn that evil was everywhere and I was constantly living in fear….and yet my grandfather told me to be brave…I was 8 and yet I had to be brave….

I went to a boarding school in the outskirts in  the countryside (1hr drive from home) for Form 1 which is English standard for Grade 7 (I think), and I was a weekly boarder who came home on the weekend and let me tell you, I was terrified of living far from my grandparents. I used to suffer severe nightmares when I lived in Kenya…I saw things that were unexplainable and experienced the worst sicknesses when I was there. When I remember all those things, I feel convinced that at the time all I could sense was evil. During that time I wasn’t a strong Christian as I am now…I was born a Catholic but I didn’t really believe in praying to “saints” for help…I believed in praying directly to GOD for help. I think that belief was the only thing that would later anchor me to Christ in the future when I got saved at age 15 later on in China, which was yet another country that outlaws open worship and persecutes underground Chinese  Christians. However, that’s another story….

Hurricane Katrina

I remember that during my 3 years in Kenya, I prayed everyday for God to take us out of this country…My grandparents couldn’t leave until they were told to go to the next country and that is how long we had to stay there. I prayed like crazy crying to God to leave because I couldn’t handle the level of evil I felt in that place. I couldn’t handle seeing evil in my face. I remember seeing our neighbour punishing his worker with a wooden bat for stealing bread because his living conditions were so bad and he was poor. The master kept hitting him until I saw blood flow. I remember feeling traumatized after seeing that. I was upstairs peeking behind the curtain watching him hit the man over and over from across the road and for some reason….the man stopped hitting the man and for some reason….looked up at the window and saw me witnessing this atrocity. I remember feeling shaken with fear in that what I saw wasn’t a man…but something very very evil in that man. I don’t know how he sensed that I was watching him from across the street on the second floor with a small peeking crack from my bedroom curtain…but I believe…that something evil in him could sense me watching him hurt this weak but poor worker. I truly hoped I was not witnessing a murder. I didn’t return to watch the conclusion…but my spirit cannot forget the mans screaming… I told my Grandpa….but he told me that police would do much worse to him if we called them….It seems that money can silence the police and poverty increases victims to this perversity. As a kid hearing this reality, that literally disheartened me in so many ways more than one in that now I knew that not even police could be trusted in this land…Corruption cultivates and facilitate further evils.

I know that I should be writing an uplifting post but I can’t seem to shake these things that I have experienced.I feel like I have to let all these painful emotions out. So I apologize in advance to the reader reading this.

Hurricane Katrina Floods New Orleans

After Hurricane Katrina, The Tsunami and the Typhoon that has just ravaged the Philippines just recently that is being covered by Joyce’s post called National State of Calamity: 2011’s last SCREAM, I keep thinking that God gave us the Earth as a gift and yet no matter how many pictures we see in our world atlas to see the beautiful globe in its majestic glow, underneath the surface, there are worldwide atrocities, worldwide evils that are continuing to afflict the innocent and remain hidden under the surface of things because we have cultivated an “Out of sight, out of mind” mentality. God, I believe has broken my heart many times to feel so sensitive to world issues. I know that my grandfather was a major influence on my life in that he used to tell me that you should be careful how you treat people, “You don’t who will help you or kill you if you treat them badly”. He said this to me in Kenya…and with good reason in that you don’t want people to conspire to murder your entire family knowing full well the dangers that exist behind some peoples smiles.

In Kenya…it isn’t a place where you just treat people anyhow…if anything…that place humbled me to the point of being terrified. I was about 8 years old having these thoughts and lived there until I was 10 or 11 years old. No kid should have to feel terrified the way I was, and yet each day I praise God for saving me. I suffered spiritual attacks there too but I won’t go into too much depth with that here all I want to say is that living there changed my perspective on life and living as usual in that when I see Westerners acting like

View of the Rift Valley via Trip Advisor

spoiled people who have the luxury of having a roof over their heads, and can live while grumbling about their 9 to 5’s that they have to get up in the morning, I think…if only people knew what life was really like in the world where fear is your everyday battle ground, where food is as precious as finding gold in the ground, where clean water is as rare as mining for a diamond, where safety and security isn’t marked by a curfew of 6pm…would we change the way we treat people? Would we change how we treat what we have differently? Would our hearts stop being hardened or will our senses that are numbed by commercialized violence be softened so that we are no longer desensitized to the realities of the ever present evil that exists in this life???? When my sister and I got a call to pack our bags at our boarding school because we were leaving the country…you have no idea how relieved and excited I was to hear this Good news. I felt like “At last…my God has heard my prayers!!!!!”…

I remember crying for a very very long time…I could not really feel true relief until I was on that plane officially. When I was on the plane heading back home to Zimbabwe, I was praising my God and still crying. My Grandma and Grandpa began to realize how truly terrified I was living there with my tears constantly flowing. I really was a terrified child. My twin was stronger than me but I suffered a lot in that place that I can’t even begin to tell you how much I still Thank God to this day for getting me out of there. Despite all that…my heart is permanently broken for the people that still live in that place constantly living in that fear that I have escaped. I believe that the Gospel needs to reach these parts of the world that need to see the light shine in all that darkness. Kenya isn’t the only ravaged country because there are many such as Rawanda, DRCongo, India, Vietnam, Cambodia, North Korea, parts of Russia, Mexico, Cuba, etc.

The Devil is real and he enjoys us ignoring this truth by distracting our attention and focus off of Him and making us focus on our daily troubles and affairs while blinding us to His works to bring pain in our lives. We can get overly absorbed in ourselves that we cannot see what is really happening underneath our noses.  All I’m saying is that we should seriously seek God’s face to make us more aware that the battle in this beautiful Earth that He gave us to live is truly not against Flesh and Blood….it’s against the evils that exist in this world.

Ephesians 6:12
For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.

via countercorruptionnetwork.com

Corruption, Greed, Blood lust, War, Poverty, Violence, Death, Famine, Destruction, Natural Disasters….we have soo much to pray for. I know that as we head into 2012…we must not forget to pray against these evils because God is Lord over all but we silence that truth by our apathy, our indifference, lack of concern to world news until it hits us right at home…. Must we wait until evil reaches our soil to start praying?????? Remember Hurricane Katrina….there was so much lawlessness that ensued after that un-natural disaster hit. Whereever you are in the world…pray and seek God’s face to heal your countries land so that the Devil has no room to continue petitioning to rob the people of peace and security. We have to remain secure in Christ because the days are evil but we can pray in unity and consecrate ourselves before God so that He will hear from heaven the cry of our hearts for DIVINE INTERVENTION. Evil rulers are being dethroned and it is time for us to fight in the Spirit through prayer to continue battling and seeing God to triumph over EVIL. We can only overcome Evil with GOOD and with GOD!!!!

Colossians 2:15
Having disarmed principalities and powers, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in it.

Right now this is the cry that is in my heart…tears flow as I write this. Many churches are heading into the 21 Day Daniel Fast and my Church is participating. I am going to seek God in these areas that have been overwhelming me and I hope that you will participate where ever you are in the world. Let us Seek Gods Face for the Year 2012 and seek Change in countries that need God’s grace and mercy to Heal the Land and Heal it’s inhabitants. Let us stand in the gap, people shouldn’t have to live in fear like I once did…everyone has the right to live secure in Christ and in His Peace. Let us Intercede for those that need it most and pray fervently to see a supernatural move of God in the lives that struggle to see His face in this Love-starved World.

2 Chronicles 7:14-15

¹⁴ 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. ¹⁵ Now My eyes will be open and My ears attentive to prayer made in this place.

I have a song that has been ministering to me and it’s from Deitrick Haddon’s new CD CHURCH ON THE MOON. The song is called “Gravity”. I hope you like it.

Welcome to Pity Party – Please do not RSVP me!

So I just want to address this really quickly with an analogy. This analogy is something I came up with after contemplating about a few individuals that I have come across in my walk that have had this Pity Party attitude games that they play.

Pity Party INVITATION

Location:  In a dark hole called “the PIT”.

Directions: Look down…no I mean way down…like 6ft under down.

Who’s Invited?: Hey, 1 is lonely, 2 is a party, 3 is a crowd but Hey…the more the merrier.It’s a kicking party down in here!

What to Bring: Your “poor-me” attitude, glasses of bitterness,  Haterade beverages, cupcakes of depression, a bag of negativity or oodles of sadness napkins and jars of tears, bottles of emotionalism, Gifts of stubbornness and complaining party hats for a game of insanity twister, pretentious charades, unforgiveness chess, hatred dominoes, etc, etc…

Please RSVP by the Deadline: Anytime soon, like NOW.

I know what you must be thinking…“this party sure feels like one I will most likely NOT attend!”

I know that I’ve put it in a comical kind of way but seriously, Pity Partying is a serious issue. I have engaged with people that try to swing me into their pits of depression and I’ve tried to curb their negative complaining attitude with positive confessions for their soul, but if a person is stubborn about not changing the way they think, you can only do so much with that. Leave them in God’s hands because you will feel drained trying to change them. They have to be willing to get out of that negative downward spiral of emotions.

Pity Partying is like a Person in a pit.

From my experience it’s like looking down that hole where the person is and throwing them a rope to get them out and they refuse it. I then throw a ladder to make it easier for them to climb out and they won’t climb it. I then build an escalator and they won’t ride it, I make an elevator and they won’t jump into it, I even ask for the angels to come down from Heaven and go in there and pick them up and they reject them….*sigh*……. It becomes clear to me at such points that their stubborness is what holds them in that serious level of BONDAGE. You can work with all might and power but if they are NOT WILLING to be SET FREE from that ongoing cycle, you have to let go of them and let the Lord deal with their cantankerous spirits. My Pastor, Dr. Pat Francis always says in some of her preaching that “When the student (Us) is ready, the Master (God) will appear”. I say Yea and Amen to that! It’s soo true…because you have to have a teachable spirit in order to walk in divine healing, receive deliverance and be set free from the bonds that hold you from pursuing greatness, purpose and destiny.

Understand that I’m not suggesting that you ignore these people who exhibit these traits completely, all I’m saying is know when what you’ve done isn’t enough and just allow God to take over that situation when you encounter someone in the pity-party zone and refuses to get out of it.  It hurts to see people trapped in this crazy cycle but you also have to guard yourself in that you don’t get caught up in the other individuals waves of depression. Depression is contagious so be aware of that when you are ministering to people.

Pray to God and God will reveal strategic methods in dealing with such a negative spirit.

Zechariah 4:6
So he answered and said to me: “ This is the word of the LORD to Zerubbabel: ‘ Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,’ Says the LORD of hosts.

Remember that when you encounter such people in your life,  seek wisdom, pray for guidance and recognize that it is only when they co-operate with God in Faith, that they will be set free from such negative emotions and experience fullness of JOY.

Psalm 16:11
You will show me the path of life; In Your presence is fullness of joy; At Your right hand are pleasures forevermore.

“I am Offended!” – Deal with It!

Before I even thought about doing this post I started to think that “Man….I am one to talk! I seriously am one to Talk!”. I have noticed that a lot of hits have been towards a past post I had written called “So You Lied to Me – Trust is Earned My Friend”. I wondered why people seem to be gravitating to that post since I have others that are about character building but when I think about it…it’s not really something I should be surprised about because we all go through that phase of broken trust…broken promises, hurt emotions, anger and resentment. I thank all that have been reading and I still hope that my blog is helping someone out there. I just want to state that I’m merely writing out of experience and for me…my initial intention was to write for self-therapy…more like I use it to write about how I’m feeling at the time and I talk myself through  it all with what emotions or situations I am dealing with. So for this post, I’m walking myself through being Offended and dealing with it. I think that we should be really REAL with ourselves when it comes to our emotions. If we want to be healed or delivered from certain issues and situations that we have had to tackle in our lives, we must come to terms and be completely HONEST with ourselves. Deliverance and Healing is the children’s bread and we need to walk in it daily so that we learn from our weaknesses in order to become stronger for the next time we face an offence. You must be  wondering, how do we walk in our Deliverance/Healing daily? How exactly do we do that? By practicing self-reflection and constant soul-searching on a DAILY basis with the help of Prayer. Monitor how your REACT versus how you RESPOND to situations. We are emotional beings but if we want to nurture a spirit of SELF-CONTROL then we have to learn to be honest with ourselves and learn from our mistakes in order to operate differently. You will find that you will be re-tested on the same issue if you don’t learn to change your ways. If you find yourself being offended over and over on the same issue then that is a cycle of insanity. If you react to something the same way expecting a different result, that is a cycle of insanity. You don’t want to go there do you? If you don’t, you have to recognise yourself for going around in circles. YOU have to break the cycle of insanity by permitting CHANGE.  Change your Attitude, Change your Choices and you will Change your Direction and head towards your breakthroughs in your life. I find that when I’m emotional, reason has no room to make sense of a situation when I’m angry. I don’t hear any sound advice at that time because I’m just too upset to listen. There is that Proverb in the bible that always hits me in the face when I’m angry and it’s in respect to the fact that you cannot reason with a fool (Proverbs 26:4). When you are angry, you cannot think rationally if your emotions are in upheaval. I remember someone once told me that if one person offends another because they are angry and the other reacts in return with that same anger, it is difficult to distinguish who the fool is between the two parties if they both are reacting in the same way. Doesn’t that speak volumes to you?  Well it did to me. I thought about it and considered I don’t want to look like a fool so I must seriously learn to bridle my tongue and monitor my reactions. I sometimes slip up on various occassions and beat myself over it because I knew I should have responded appropriately and didn’t…however, sometimes my emotions get the best of me and I end up reacting instead of maintaining my composure. I’m sure we’ve all been there and done that. I’m here to put my hand up first to fess up to my messes. It’s a humbling journey and I wince at the times I failed the test and God puts me in another test to take a make-up exam on the same issue until I’ve learned my lesson. When we are angry our emotions become unsettled and also become very unstable. Anger is not a bad emotion but if we sin in anger, that is the time when we must admit that we have crossed the line with our emotions. You can sin in anger (Ephesians 4:26) and that is why we have to nurture a spirit of self-control to keep it together (Galatians 5:23). This is why we need to grow in FAITH because we can rely on the help of the Holy Spirit to give us self-control when we are about to sin.  The need to have self-control is to avoid having a seed of bitterness implanted into our hearts that grows into a bitter root called hatred. You don’t want to add fuel to the fire so snuff out the things that cause you to stumble over and over when offended. I have read a book that helped me deal with the issue of anger and bitterness and it’s by John Bevere called The Bait of Satan.  When I read that book, I realized that I had soo many things I needed to change in order to not cultivate a diseased heart of bitterness, anger and resentment. I didn’t want to live pained by hatred anymore and needed some serious deliverance from the anguish I had felt over some serious offences that I suffered from people that had done me wrong in the past. Remember that Forgiveness is about you and not the other person. Forgiveness helps you to heal from the offence. I had to pray to let go of past hurts but that doesn’t mean that you won’t encounter moments when the same hurt resurfaceses to wound you again or that you won’t be reminded of the bitterness you felt after the fact. I find that even when I pray to forgive there are times when I don’t “feel” like I’ve actually forgiven because I still feel pained by the offence, but forgiveness isn’t a “feeling” thing, it is a “faith” thing. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2 Peter 1:5-7 New King James Version (NKJV)

Fruitful Growth in the Faith   ⁵ But also for this very reason, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, ⁶ to knowledge self-control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance godliness, ⁷ to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love.        

Understand that hurting people hurt people.Some people do things that are hurtful to others because they lack that practice of introspection. When they see someone who is strong in their attitude, they feel the need to pull such people down and that’s where we have to come to terms that we will always face people that will offend us one way or another. Don’t fall into the same pit of negativity as they are in because misery wants company.  I learned all of that in the book by John Bevere called The Bait of Satan . I totally recommend it if you need to find closure on certain issues. This book will help you heal and help you get delievered out of that cycle of rage, hatred, depression and all those other negative emotions that keep you bound from moving on in your life. Pray to God, Seek counselling if you need it, and learn to build self-control. You will need accountability partners to help you heal as well. They are needed in your life to keep your behavior in check. If you don’t have any, seek out positive mentors and connect with strong people that aren’t afraid to tell you like it is. You need those that have the maturity to deal with such issues and are able to assist you and walk you through that path of healing, but you have to seek that out for yourself if you want to walk in your healing and deliverance. As a last note, learn to bridle your tongue because out of it flows the issues of life (Proverbs 4:23; Matthew 12:34; Luke 6:45).