Saturday 5 December 2009
Ps. Cox speaks on "Jay z disses Jesus"
Where are all the Pastors with large congregations?
Watch the part two below.
Sunday 29 November 2009
DRIFTING
If you truly believe in Jesus, why is he not the top of your priorities? What caused him to come down on your scale of priorities?
When you got born again, you always wanted to do the will of God and to please him, what caused the shift?
Have we become too much interested in me, myself, and I so much that everything is about our interest and nothing else?
2 Corinthians 13:5 Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates?
The level of priority you give to God shows the genuineness of your relationship with him. What caused you to move from pursuing the will of God to become self conscious? Have you been drifting without knowing?
Christianity? Try hypocrisy. Many people profess to be Christians but they are seen as hypocrites because their lights do not shine. They are seen going to church everyday but they are not the salt of their world. When salt loses its taste, it is thrown out and men walk on it. We pretend to love God but genuinely, we don’t. We love ourselves more than we love God.
When we are in our circle of influence, do we glorify God or do we just blend with them and try to be politically correct?
We prefer to remain in our comfort zones rather than be relevant in our society.
Matthew 25:32-40 And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats: 33 And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left. 34 Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye 1 blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: 35 For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: 36 Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me. 37 Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink? 38 When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee? 39 Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee? 40 And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.
Whenever you are not relevant to your society, we deny him. Our actions speak louder than our words.
If we are willing to die to the flesh for him, then we can live for him. If we are willing to stand firm even in the face of death then we will be able to live for him and share the gospel to every one.
Matthew 24:45-46 Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his lord hath made ruler over his household, to give them meat in due season? 46 Blessed is that servant, whom his lord when he cometh shall find so doing.
God will come back looking for a remnant who would not have compromised or drifted from the truth. He will come back for those who have remained faithful to the call, who have not been carried away by the things happening around us. He will come back for a remnant who have not defiled themselves.
When you got born again, you always wanted to do the will of God and to please him, what caused the shift?
Have we become too much interested in me, myself, and I so much that everything is about our interest and nothing else?
2 Corinthians 13:5 Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates?
The level of priority you give to God shows the genuineness of your relationship with him. What caused you to move from pursuing the will of God to become self conscious? Have you been drifting without knowing?
Christianity? Try hypocrisy. Many people profess to be Christians but they are seen as hypocrites because their lights do not shine. They are seen going to church everyday but they are not the salt of their world. When salt loses its taste, it is thrown out and men walk on it. We pretend to love God but genuinely, we don’t. We love ourselves more than we love God.
When we are in our circle of influence, do we glorify God or do we just blend with them and try to be politically correct?
We prefer to remain in our comfort zones rather than be relevant in our society.
Matthew 25:32-40 And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats: 33 And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left. 34 Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye 1 blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: 35 For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: 36 Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me. 37 Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink? 38 When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee? 39 Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee? 40 And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.
Whenever you are not relevant to your society, we deny him. Our actions speak louder than our words.
If we are willing to die to the flesh for him, then we can live for him. If we are willing to stand firm even in the face of death then we will be able to live for him and share the gospel to every one.
Matthew 24:45-46 Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his lord hath made ruler over his household, to give them meat in due season? 46 Blessed is that servant, whom his lord when he cometh shall find so doing.
God will come back looking for a remnant who would not have compromised or drifted from the truth. He will come back for those who have remained faithful to the call, who have not been carried away by the things happening around us. He will come back for a remnant who have not defiled themselves.
Thursday 12 November 2009
Islamic Demographics
It's time for every beleiver who is a pew warmer and an armchair christian to wake up from your sleep and begin to evangelise.
Saturday 7 November 2009
Christians persecuted in England
I just can't beleive this. A christian country persecuting Christians in the name of political correctness. God save us.
All beleivers must rise up in prayer.
Friday 6 November 2009
CALL TO ACTION Rifqa's life is in great dangerFrom Jamal Jivanjee...
To all those who value life,
Please take a few minutes to consider the life of our sister in the faith Rifqa Bary, which is once again in grave jeopardy. On Tuesday October 27’th, Rifqa Bary was handed over to Ohio authorities for placement in foster care in Franklin County. Over the previous weekend, a very unfortunate deal was made by Rifqa’s former Florida Guardian Ad Litem, Krista Bartholomew, with Rifqa’s parent’s attorney David Colley that allowed Rifqa to be transferred back to Ohio. The gist of this (behind the scenes) deal was the following:
1. Because Rifqa’s parents are in the U.S. illegally, they refused and defied numerous court orders to produce documents detailing their immigration status. As a result, Rifqa’s parents were in danger of being arrested for contempt of court. The Florida judge who had emergency jurisdiction over the case said that even though the jurisdiction is transferred to Ohio, he was not going to release her until they produced the proper documentation that satisfied the court.
Well, in order to have the immigration issue go away for Rifqa’s parents, Mohammad Bary’s attorney, David Colley, cut a ‘behind the scenes’ deal in which the Florida court would drop the contempt of court issue regarding their immigration situation in exchange for an assurance that they would leave Rifqa alone and let her stay in foster care for the next 9 months until she is 18. This sounded like it was too good to be true, and it was! As soon as Rifqa was transferred into Ohio custody and the Florida court gave up their emergency jurisdiction over Rifqa and the immigration issue, Rifqa’s parents fired their own attorney that made the deal! Simply put, now that Rifqa was in ‘favorable’ hands in Ohio, all deals are off! They trusted Rifqa's parents hoping they would live up to their word, and because of this, Rifqa is in a dangerous situation and there is nothing the Florida court can do now because the (G.A.L.) gave the entire house away! Let this be a lesson about Mohammad Bary's real intentions.
In my opinion, this was all part of a premeditated plan on the part of Rifqa’s parents and the organization called C.A.I.R. who has been advising them according to the Florida department of law enforcement report released to the public. They have since hired a Muslim activist attorney named Omar Tarazi that is no doubt influenced by the mafia like C.A.I.R. organization whose sole agenda is to paint a positive picture of Islam in America at any cost. (The slander of the Lorenz family and the slander of 17 year old Rifqa’s own character by releasing her prayer journals to the media are perfect examples of how C.A.I.R. ruthlessly operates to accomplish their agenda.)
They completely went back on the agreement that they made to leave Rifqa alone, and I believe they now are planning to continue to pursue to get her back against Rifqa’s will. C.A.I.R. wants her silenced both now, and in the future, because they know that Rifqa’s story of abuse is common among many Muslim families. Apostasy in Islam is not something they want to shine a light on. They know that as her story gets out there, there will be a massive exodus of Muslims just like her. Indeed, it has already begun!
2. If that was not bad enough, Rifqa went back to a hostile environment in Ohio right away. In an article posted on Saturday October 24’th, three days before her return to Ohio, the Columbus Dispatch reported that Eric Fenner, the executive director of Franklin County Children Services, has said that he has stated that he “has no reason to believe that Rifqa wouldn’t be safe with her parents.” Remember this is coming from the very person who has charge over protecting her!
Rifqa then arrived back to Ohio on Tuesday October 27’th. Upon her arrival came a new set of restrictions that her parents and Muslim attorneys have been trying to impose on her from the beginning…solitary confinement! While Rifqa was being protected in Florida, they repeatedly tried to separate Rifqa from other Christians that she leaned on for strength and encouragement. Rifqa’s Muslim parents have been saying from the beginning that they don’t believe that Rifqa became a Christian on her own accord, rather they believe that her real problem is that she has been brain washed by other people through facebook and over the phone.
Immediately upon Rifqa’s arrival to Ohio, came new draconian measures to limit her freedom already! Franklin County Juvenile Magistrate Mary Goodrich put these restrictions on Rifqa at the request of the Franklin county children's services agency immediately upon her arrival back to the state of Ohio.
“Bary's use of Facebook was one issue that led to the situation, said Jim Zorn, a children's services attorney, who asked Goodrich to restrict Bary from using the Internet and her cell phone. "What we want to restrict is the other people, the other organizations, the other forces, that have interjected themselves into this case inappropriately, and has caused the additional problems that we've seen," Zorn said.
Zorn’s account of Rifqa’s situation is absolutely false! Where is he getting his information? It seems as if the Ohio director of children’s services in Franklin County is reading right out of the C.A.I.R. and radical Muslim playbook for this case. Facebook did not in any way lead to this situation. What led to this situation was the fact that a very bright and intelligent girl decided to leave Islam and become a Christian. According to numerous passages in the Qur’an and other Islamic scriptures, this is called apostasy and is punishable by death. Like many others all over the world, Rifqa faced this threat of death, or even deportation back to Sri-Lanka by her own family along with pressure from the Columbus Ohio mosque that her family was actively apart of.
What crime did Rifqa Bary commit that she would be held with such restrictions from communicating to the outside world? While it is legal for 17 year old girls in this country to have abortions without parental agreement, this 17 year old girl is forbidden to have unrestricted access to her phone or facebook friends of her choosing! Is she under house arrest because she is a Christian? This sounds like Sharia law in Ohio!
Immediate Call to Action:
Before I get into the specifics of how we can help, let me say this about a very common misunderstanding that many Christians have regarding God’s sovereignty and fighting for justice. Many of my well meaning brothers and sisters in the church have wondered what the balance is between sitting back, trusting God, and actively fighting for justice. Some have said that because I am fighting for justice in Rifqa’s situation, I am taking the situation in my hands and I am not trusting that God is sovereign over this situation. That is ridiculous to say the least. First of all there is a tremendous amount of support in scripture that commands the people of God to not remain silent in the face of injustice, and to speak and defend those who cannot defend themselves. For time’s sake, I will not list those passages here. If you need help finding these scriptures along with their proper context, let me know and I’d be glad to help direct you to the appropriate passages.
All actions of justice should come from a heart of prayer first and foremost. It is from this place of prayer and intimacy with the Lord that we will find the courage, specific direction, and strength to understand and actually do what He is calling us to do! While not everyone will be called to do the same thing, the Lord will burden our hearts for the things that burden His heart as well. His sovereign heart and actions are carried out through the church, which is simply people! We cannot separate ourselves from this. We are His body, His hands, His feet, His mouth, etc…
A lack of a proper understanding between God’s sovereignty and His heart for justice is what allowed the church to sit passively by in Nazi Germany as Jewish people were slaughtered by the millions while Christians were paralyzed by fear and did nothing. Corrie Ten Boom was an exception to the rule. She was not afraid, and she knew what God had called her to do. There should have been millions of Corrie Ten Booms in Germany at that time. This same cowardice and passivity is also what has allowed over 3000 children to be murdered by abortion each and every day in this nation with little or no outcry in prayer and public against this tragedy. We must get this right! Now with that said, here are some specific things we can do for Rifqa right now:
Since most of Rifqa’s Florida support base is cut off from her, and she is now under the care of authorities that do not take the threat to her life seriously, I would like to ask you to help them understand that Rifqa is not alone and that there are many people who will not sit idly by while Rifqa is sent back to her demise. This does make a difference. Rifqa’s story must continue to be told for her sake, and for the sake of many others! Feel free to repost this article and pass it along to anyone you would like for the sake of getting the word out.
Please contact Franklin County Children Services, and the Ohio governor’s office at the following addresses and let them know that you want Rifqa to be able to have the basic freedoms to communicate to the outside world, and that she needs to be protected from her parents & the radical Islamic community:
Please take a few minutes to consider the life of our sister in the faith Rifqa Bary, which is once again in grave jeopardy. On Tuesday October 27’th, Rifqa Bary was handed over to Ohio authorities for placement in foster care in Franklin County. Over the previous weekend, a very unfortunate deal was made by Rifqa’s former Florida Guardian Ad Litem, Krista Bartholomew, with Rifqa’s parent’s attorney David Colley that allowed Rifqa to be transferred back to Ohio. The gist of this (behind the scenes) deal was the following:
1. Because Rifqa’s parents are in the U.S. illegally, they refused and defied numerous court orders to produce documents detailing their immigration status. As a result, Rifqa’s parents were in danger of being arrested for contempt of court. The Florida judge who had emergency jurisdiction over the case said that even though the jurisdiction is transferred to Ohio, he was not going to release her until they produced the proper documentation that satisfied the court.
Well, in order to have the immigration issue go away for Rifqa’s parents, Mohammad Bary’s attorney, David Colley, cut a ‘behind the scenes’ deal in which the Florida court would drop the contempt of court issue regarding their immigration situation in exchange for an assurance that they would leave Rifqa alone and let her stay in foster care for the next 9 months until she is 18. This sounded like it was too good to be true, and it was! As soon as Rifqa was transferred into Ohio custody and the Florida court gave up their emergency jurisdiction over Rifqa and the immigration issue, Rifqa’s parents fired their own attorney that made the deal! Simply put, now that Rifqa was in ‘favorable’ hands in Ohio, all deals are off! They trusted Rifqa's parents hoping they would live up to their word, and because of this, Rifqa is in a dangerous situation and there is nothing the Florida court can do now because the (G.A.L.) gave the entire house away! Let this be a lesson about Mohammad Bary's real intentions.
In my opinion, this was all part of a premeditated plan on the part of Rifqa’s parents and the organization called C.A.I.R. who has been advising them according to the Florida department of law enforcement report released to the public. They have since hired a Muslim activist attorney named Omar Tarazi that is no doubt influenced by the mafia like C.A.I.R. organization whose sole agenda is to paint a positive picture of Islam in America at any cost. (The slander of the Lorenz family and the slander of 17 year old Rifqa’s own character by releasing her prayer journals to the media are perfect examples of how C.A.I.R. ruthlessly operates to accomplish their agenda.)
They completely went back on the agreement that they made to leave Rifqa alone, and I believe they now are planning to continue to pursue to get her back against Rifqa’s will. C.A.I.R. wants her silenced both now, and in the future, because they know that Rifqa’s story of abuse is common among many Muslim families. Apostasy in Islam is not something they want to shine a light on. They know that as her story gets out there, there will be a massive exodus of Muslims just like her. Indeed, it has already begun!
2. If that was not bad enough, Rifqa went back to a hostile environment in Ohio right away. In an article posted on Saturday October 24’th, three days before her return to Ohio, the Columbus Dispatch reported that Eric Fenner, the executive director of Franklin County Children Services, has said that he has stated that he “has no reason to believe that Rifqa wouldn’t be safe with her parents.” Remember this is coming from the very person who has charge over protecting her!
Rifqa then arrived back to Ohio on Tuesday October 27’th. Upon her arrival came a new set of restrictions that her parents and Muslim attorneys have been trying to impose on her from the beginning…solitary confinement! While Rifqa was being protected in Florida, they repeatedly tried to separate Rifqa from other Christians that she leaned on for strength and encouragement. Rifqa’s Muslim parents have been saying from the beginning that they don’t believe that Rifqa became a Christian on her own accord, rather they believe that her real problem is that she has been brain washed by other people through facebook and over the phone.
Immediately upon Rifqa’s arrival to Ohio, came new draconian measures to limit her freedom already! Franklin County Juvenile Magistrate Mary Goodrich put these restrictions on Rifqa at the request of the Franklin county children's services agency immediately upon her arrival back to the state of Ohio.
“Bary's use of Facebook was one issue that led to the situation, said Jim Zorn, a children's services attorney, who asked Goodrich to restrict Bary from using the Internet and her cell phone. "What we want to restrict is the other people, the other organizations, the other forces, that have interjected themselves into this case inappropriately, and has caused the additional problems that we've seen," Zorn said.
Zorn’s account of Rifqa’s situation is absolutely false! Where is he getting his information? It seems as if the Ohio director of children’s services in Franklin County is reading right out of the C.A.I.R. and radical Muslim playbook for this case. Facebook did not in any way lead to this situation. What led to this situation was the fact that a very bright and intelligent girl decided to leave Islam and become a Christian. According to numerous passages in the Qur’an and other Islamic scriptures, this is called apostasy and is punishable by death. Like many others all over the world, Rifqa faced this threat of death, or even deportation back to Sri-Lanka by her own family along with pressure from the Columbus Ohio mosque that her family was actively apart of.
What crime did Rifqa Bary commit that she would be held with such restrictions from communicating to the outside world? While it is legal for 17 year old girls in this country to have abortions without parental agreement, this 17 year old girl is forbidden to have unrestricted access to her phone or facebook friends of her choosing! Is she under house arrest because she is a Christian? This sounds like Sharia law in Ohio!
Immediate Call to Action:
Before I get into the specifics of how we can help, let me say this about a very common misunderstanding that many Christians have regarding God’s sovereignty and fighting for justice. Many of my well meaning brothers and sisters in the church have wondered what the balance is between sitting back, trusting God, and actively fighting for justice. Some have said that because I am fighting for justice in Rifqa’s situation, I am taking the situation in my hands and I am not trusting that God is sovereign over this situation. That is ridiculous to say the least. First of all there is a tremendous amount of support in scripture that commands the people of God to not remain silent in the face of injustice, and to speak and defend those who cannot defend themselves. For time’s sake, I will not list those passages here. If you need help finding these scriptures along with their proper context, let me know and I’d be glad to help direct you to the appropriate passages.
All actions of justice should come from a heart of prayer first and foremost. It is from this place of prayer and intimacy with the Lord that we will find the courage, specific direction, and strength to understand and actually do what He is calling us to do! While not everyone will be called to do the same thing, the Lord will burden our hearts for the things that burden His heart as well. His sovereign heart and actions are carried out through the church, which is simply people! We cannot separate ourselves from this. We are His body, His hands, His feet, His mouth, etc…
A lack of a proper understanding between God’s sovereignty and His heart for justice is what allowed the church to sit passively by in Nazi Germany as Jewish people were slaughtered by the millions while Christians were paralyzed by fear and did nothing. Corrie Ten Boom was an exception to the rule. She was not afraid, and she knew what God had called her to do. There should have been millions of Corrie Ten Booms in Germany at that time. This same cowardice and passivity is also what has allowed over 3000 children to be murdered by abortion each and every day in this nation with little or no outcry in prayer and public against this tragedy. We must get this right! Now with that said, here are some specific things we can do for Rifqa right now:
Since most of Rifqa’s Florida support base is cut off from her, and she is now under the care of authorities that do not take the threat to her life seriously, I would like to ask you to help them understand that Rifqa is not alone and that there are many people who will not sit idly by while Rifqa is sent back to her demise. This does make a difference. Rifqa’s story must continue to be told for her sake, and for the sake of many others! Feel free to repost this article and pass it along to anyone you would like for the sake of getting the word out.
Please contact Franklin County Children Services, and the Ohio governor’s office at the following addresses and let them know that you want Rifqa to be able to have the basic freedoms to communicate to the outside world, and that she needs to be protected from her parents & the radical Islamic community:
Wednesday 28 October 2009
Halloween: A Celebration of Evil
Dear Friends,
As Halloween approaches, I think this piece provides a useful reflection.
Modern celebrations of Halloween may appear on the surface to be quite harmless, but the spiritual implications of dabbling with the spirit world are extremely serious.
What must an unfamiliar observer think of Halloween? Parents dress their children as monsters, vampires, devils, witches and ghosts and encourage them to approach total strangers to ask them for candy and other treats. Homeowners decorate their houses with images of black cats, ghosts, goblins and carved pumpkins and sometimes transform their yards into make-believe graveyards. Adults dress in similar strange and outlandish costumes and go to parties in rooms decorated like dungeons or crypts.
Why are such bizarre practices so popular? Why would anyone celebrate a holiday emphasizing the morbid and macabre? Where did such strange customs originate?
As with Christmas and Easter, we can trace the roots of Halloween far back into the pagan past. The Encyclopedia of Religion says, "Halloween, or Allhallows Eve, is a festival celebrated on 31 October, the evening prior to the Christian Feast of All Saints (All Saints' Day). Halloween is the name for the eve of Samhain [pronounced sow-en], a celebration marking the beginning of winter as well as the first day of the New Year within the ancient Celtic culture of the British Isles. The time of Samhain consisted of the eve of the feast and the day itself (31 October and 1 November)" (1987, p. 176, "Halloween").
Besides Halloween, the Celts observed many other holidays including the winter solstice (later transformed into Christmas), spring fertility rites (reborn later as Easter) and May Day as a harvest festival.
Concerning Halloween The Encyclopedia of Religion continues: "On this occasion, it was believed that a gathering of supernatural forces occurred as during no other period of the year. The eve and day of Samhain were characterized as a time when the barriers between the human and supernatural worlds were broken. Otherworldly entities, such as the souls of the dead, were able to visit earthly inhabitants, and humans could take the opportunity to penetrate the domains of the gods and supernatural creatures.
"Fiery tributes and sacrifices of animals, crops, and possibly human beings were made to appease supernatural powers who controlled the fertility of the land ... Samhain acknowledged the entire spectrum of nonhuman forces that roamed the earth during the period" (pp. 176-177).
On this holiday "huge bonfires were set on hilltops to frighten away evil spirits ... The souls of the dead were supposed to revisit their homes on this day, and the autumnal festival acquired sinister significance, with ghosts, witches, hobgoblins, black cats, fairies, and demons of all kinds said to be roaming about. It was the time to placate the supernatural powers controlling the processes of nature. In addition, Halloween was thought to be the most favourable time for divinations concerning marriage, luck, health, and death. It was the only day on which the help of the devil was invoked for such purposes" (Encyclopaedia Britannica, 15th edition, Micropaedia, Vol. 4, p. 862, "Halloween").
Ancient practices continued today
As with Christmas and Easter, church leaders adopted this ancient celebration to serve their own purposes. "Samhain remained a popular festival among the Celtic people throughout the christianization of Great Britain. The British church attempted to divert this interest in pagan customs by adding a Christian celebration to the calendar on the same date as Samhain. The Christian festival, the Feast of All Saints, commemorates the known and unknown saints of the Christian religion just as Samhain had acknowledged and paid tribute to the Celtic deities" (The Encyclopedia of Religion, p. 177, "Halloween").
Several ancient Halloween practices still exist in modern observances. Bobbing for apples was originally a form of divination (fortune telling) to learn of future marriages. The first person to bite an apple was predicted to be the first to marry in the coming year ... The jack-o-lantern ... represent[ed] a watchman on Halloween night or a man caught between earth and the supernatural world" (Jack Santino, All Around the Year: Holidays & Celebrations in American Life, 1994, p. 26).
The Bible condemns the occult
Although some may dismiss the demonic symbolism and divination associated with Halloween as harmless fun, the Bible reveals the existence of evil spirits, led by Satan the devil, whom God holds responsible for great suffering and sorrow inflicted on the human race. Revelation 12:9 speaks of "the great dragon ... that serpent of old, called the Devil and Satan ... [who] deceives the whole world ..."
The name given him in the Bible, Satan, means adversary or enemy. The apostle John tells us that "the whole world lies under the sway of the wicked one" (1 John 5:19). Satan and the other fallen angels (demons) constantly try to keep humanity spiritually blinded, turning them aside from their awesome destiny as part of the family of God.
As a loving Father, God commands us to avoid things that can harm us. Concerning the spirit world, notice what God says to His people: "Give no regard to mediums and familiar spirits; do not seek after them, to be defiled by them: I am the Lord your God" (Leviticus 19:31).
In addition to this command to avoid practices that pertain to evil spirits, God warned ancient Israel to avoid any kind of occult practices: "There shall not be found among you anyone who ... practices witchcraft, or a soothsayer, or one who interprets omens, or a sorcerer, or one who conjures spells, or a medium, or a spiritist, or one who calls up the dead. For all who do these things are an abomination to the Lord " (Deuteronomy 18:10-12).
God has called His people to a different standard. Instead of superstitions and myths, God tells us to look to Him for our blessings, direction and future.
Modern celebrations of Halloween may appear on the surface to be quite harmless, but the spiritual implications of dabbling with the spirit world are extremely serious. Fortune-telling, Ouija boards, astrology, voodoo, clairvoyance, black magic and the like can all be related to occult, satanic forces or the worship of natural phenomena and are forbidden in Scripture.
Jesus Christ tells us that "the first and greatest commandment" is to love our Creator "with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind" (Matthew 22:37-38). God alone is the giver of life and all good things. To give recognition to false gods, and to imitate practices that honored them, is unacceptable and idolatrous.
As Halloween approaches, I think this piece provides a useful reflection.
Modern celebrations of Halloween may appear on the surface to be quite harmless, but the spiritual implications of dabbling with the spirit world are extremely serious.
What must an unfamiliar observer think of Halloween? Parents dress their children as monsters, vampires, devils, witches and ghosts and encourage them to approach total strangers to ask them for candy and other treats. Homeowners decorate their houses with images of black cats, ghosts, goblins and carved pumpkins and sometimes transform their yards into make-believe graveyards. Adults dress in similar strange and outlandish costumes and go to parties in rooms decorated like dungeons or crypts.
Why are such bizarre practices so popular? Why would anyone celebrate a holiday emphasizing the morbid and macabre? Where did such strange customs originate?
As with Christmas and Easter, we can trace the roots of Halloween far back into the pagan past. The Encyclopedia of Religion says, "Halloween, or Allhallows Eve, is a festival celebrated on 31 October, the evening prior to the Christian Feast of All Saints (All Saints' Day). Halloween is the name for the eve of Samhain [pronounced sow-en], a celebration marking the beginning of winter as well as the first day of the New Year within the ancient Celtic culture of the British Isles. The time of Samhain consisted of the eve of the feast and the day itself (31 October and 1 November)" (1987, p. 176, "Halloween").
Besides Halloween, the Celts observed many other holidays including the winter solstice (later transformed into Christmas), spring fertility rites (reborn later as Easter) and May Day as a harvest festival.
Concerning Halloween The Encyclopedia of Religion continues: "On this occasion, it was believed that a gathering of supernatural forces occurred as during no other period of the year. The eve and day of Samhain were characterized as a time when the barriers between the human and supernatural worlds were broken. Otherworldly entities, such as the souls of the dead, were able to visit earthly inhabitants, and humans could take the opportunity to penetrate the domains of the gods and supernatural creatures.
"Fiery tributes and sacrifices of animals, crops, and possibly human beings were made to appease supernatural powers who controlled the fertility of the land ... Samhain acknowledged the entire spectrum of nonhuman forces that roamed the earth during the period" (pp. 176-177).
On this holiday "huge bonfires were set on hilltops to frighten away evil spirits ... The souls of the dead were supposed to revisit their homes on this day, and the autumnal festival acquired sinister significance, with ghosts, witches, hobgoblins, black cats, fairies, and demons of all kinds said to be roaming about. It was the time to placate the supernatural powers controlling the processes of nature. In addition, Halloween was thought to be the most favourable time for divinations concerning marriage, luck, health, and death. It was the only day on which the help of the devil was invoked for such purposes" (Encyclopaedia Britannica, 15th edition, Micropaedia, Vol. 4, p. 862, "Halloween").
Ancient practices continued today
As with Christmas and Easter, church leaders adopted this ancient celebration to serve their own purposes. "Samhain remained a popular festival among the Celtic people throughout the christianization of Great Britain. The British church attempted to divert this interest in pagan customs by adding a Christian celebration to the calendar on the same date as Samhain. The Christian festival, the Feast of All Saints, commemorates the known and unknown saints of the Christian religion just as Samhain had acknowledged and paid tribute to the Celtic deities" (The Encyclopedia of Religion, p. 177, "Halloween").
Several ancient Halloween practices still exist in modern observances. Bobbing for apples was originally a form of divination (fortune telling) to learn of future marriages. The first person to bite an apple was predicted to be the first to marry in the coming year ... The jack-o-lantern ... represent[ed] a watchman on Halloween night or a man caught between earth and the supernatural world" (Jack Santino, All Around the Year: Holidays & Celebrations in American Life, 1994, p. 26).
The Bible condemns the occult
Although some may dismiss the demonic symbolism and divination associated with Halloween as harmless fun, the Bible reveals the existence of evil spirits, led by Satan the devil, whom God holds responsible for great suffering and sorrow inflicted on the human race. Revelation 12:9 speaks of "the great dragon ... that serpent of old, called the Devil and Satan ... [who] deceives the whole world ..."
The name given him in the Bible, Satan, means adversary or enemy. The apostle John tells us that "the whole world lies under the sway of the wicked one" (1 John 5:19). Satan and the other fallen angels (demons) constantly try to keep humanity spiritually blinded, turning them aside from their awesome destiny as part of the family of God.
As a loving Father, God commands us to avoid things that can harm us. Concerning the spirit world, notice what God says to His people: "Give no regard to mediums and familiar spirits; do not seek after them, to be defiled by them: I am the Lord your God" (Leviticus 19:31).
In addition to this command to avoid practices that pertain to evil spirits, God warned ancient Israel to avoid any kind of occult practices: "There shall not be found among you anyone who ... practices witchcraft, or a soothsayer, or one who interprets omens, or a sorcerer, or one who conjures spells, or a medium, or a spiritist, or one who calls up the dead. For all who do these things are an abomination to the Lord " (Deuteronomy 18:10-12).
God has called His people to a different standard. Instead of superstitions and myths, God tells us to look to Him for our blessings, direction and future.
Modern celebrations of Halloween may appear on the surface to be quite harmless, but the spiritual implications of dabbling with the spirit world are extremely serious. Fortune-telling, Ouija boards, astrology, voodoo, clairvoyance, black magic and the like can all be related to occult, satanic forces or the worship of natural phenomena and are forbidden in Scripture.
Jesus Christ tells us that "the first and greatest commandment" is to love our Creator "with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind" (Matthew 22:37-38). God alone is the giver of life and all good things. To give recognition to false gods, and to imitate practices that honored them, is unacceptable and idolatrous.
Tuesday 27 October 2009
Off to Ohio foster CAIR...Update from rifqabary.com
Judge Daniel Dawson has relinquished Florida's emergency jurisdiction and ordered Rifqa to return to Ohio where she will be placed in Franklin County Children Services. It is unclear whether the parents complied with the judges thrice-repeated demand for immigration paperwork.
This order comes the day after the FDLE interview was released in which Rifqa adamently reiterated the horror she lived with in Ohio for years.
This also comes on the heels of a report from Arizona where an Iraqi man is on the run after driving over his daughter for becoming too Westernized. The daughter's name? Noor. Ironic? Or a foreshadow?
Paperwork was due in court at noonRifqa's parents had until noon on Friday, 10/23/09 to submit passports and immigration paperwork to Judge Dawson in Florida. Because juvenile court records are not public, it is currently unclear whether her parents complied with this request.
There are several possible scenarios with this issue.
1. The parents comply and turn over the documentation that proves they are in the U.S. legally. Rifqa would then be sent to a foster care facility in Ohio.
2. The parents can't comply because they are illegaly in the U.S. but submit whatever they have. Judge Dawson could send Rifqa back to Ohio even with incomplete documentation.
3. The parents can't comply because they are illegaly in the U.S. Judge Dawson could decide that Rifqa won't leave Florida until her immigration status is worked out.
4. The parents can't comply because they are illegaly in the U.S. The DHS or INS could decide to deport the entire family to Sri Lanka.
Rifqa should be allowed to apply for amnesty. Contact Governor Crist and plead with him to keep Rifqa in Florida. Contact information is on the 'How To Help' tab.
'He would beat me'
The transcript of Rifqa's interview with FDLE was released. She gives details of her life and the fear of her father. Notably, she asked for a lawyer and was denied; the interviewer validated this denial by saying that only susptects, not victims, get lawyers.
To listen to the interview, click here.
To download the full transcript, click here.
For more coverage of this interview, click here.
Rifqa will be returned to Ohio
Judge Daniel Dawson decided that Ohio holds the proper jurisdiction in this case and will send the girl to Ohio into a foster care facility. He retains Florida's emergency jurisdiction.
However, the judge has demanded that the family turn over the immigration paperwork that he has requested at the last 3 hearings that the family has refused to disseminate (thus placing the parents in contempt of court). He said Rifqa will not leave Florida until the immigration status of the entire family is resolved.
Pamela Geller was in the courtroom for the hearing. Click here for her report.
Click here for the CBN News report.
This order comes the day after the FDLE interview was released in which Rifqa adamently reiterated the horror she lived with in Ohio for years.
This also comes on the heels of a report from Arizona where an Iraqi man is on the run after driving over his daughter for becoming too Westernized. The daughter's name? Noor. Ironic? Or a foreshadow?
Paperwork was due in court at noonRifqa's parents had until noon on Friday, 10/23/09 to submit passports and immigration paperwork to Judge Dawson in Florida. Because juvenile court records are not public, it is currently unclear whether her parents complied with this request.
There are several possible scenarios with this issue.
1. The parents comply and turn over the documentation that proves they are in the U.S. legally. Rifqa would then be sent to a foster care facility in Ohio.
2. The parents can't comply because they are illegaly in the U.S. but submit whatever they have. Judge Dawson could send Rifqa back to Ohio even with incomplete documentation.
3. The parents can't comply because they are illegaly in the U.S. Judge Dawson could decide that Rifqa won't leave Florida until her immigration status is worked out.
4. The parents can't comply because they are illegaly in the U.S. The DHS or INS could decide to deport the entire family to Sri Lanka.
Rifqa should be allowed to apply for amnesty. Contact Governor Crist and plead with him to keep Rifqa in Florida. Contact information is on the 'How To Help' tab.
'He would beat me'
The transcript of Rifqa's interview with FDLE was released. She gives details of her life and the fear of her father. Notably, she asked for a lawyer and was denied; the interviewer validated this denial by saying that only susptects, not victims, get lawyers.
To listen to the interview, click here.
To download the full transcript, click here.
For more coverage of this interview, click here.
Rifqa will be returned to Ohio
Judge Daniel Dawson decided that Ohio holds the proper jurisdiction in this case and will send the girl to Ohio into a foster care facility. He retains Florida's emergency jurisdiction.
However, the judge has demanded that the family turn over the immigration paperwork that he has requested at the last 3 hearings that the family has refused to disseminate (thus placing the parents in contempt of court). He said Rifqa will not leave Florida until the immigration status of the entire family is resolved.
Pamela Geller was in the courtroom for the hearing. Click here for her report.
Click here for the CBN News report.
Saturday 24 October 2009
Thursday 15 October 2009
Saturday 10 October 2009
Is it worth loosing your family over your career? Pt2
This often unappreciated and underrated woman is the one who draws up the budget, does the shopping, decides what meals to prepare and sometimes even rushes the children to hospital when they fall sick. And it is she who helps them cope with the unsettling changes that take place during teenage.
It is no wonder, then, that some mothers don't even know when her daughters had their first period, and that would be shocked to learn that they have actually reached this milestone.
The result is that such children grow up to be comfortable with their house-helps and prefer to go to them for advice rather than to their own mothers, since they have not formed a close bond with her.
Under their noses
It is these same house-helps who wait on their husbands, take their bath water to the bathroom, make their tea just the way they like it and have since discovered what makes them tick, what makes them happy and what sets them off. Yet wives are surprised when they discover that their husbands are having an affair with the house help right under their noses.
One of the women Saturday magazine talked to, a lecturer and professional counsellor, confessed that two years ago, her marriage was almost broke up because of the amount of time she was spending at work.
"Between my clinic and lectures, I did not realise just how little time I spent at home because I was always rushing somewhere," she recalls.
It wasn't until she overheard her house girl of two years asking her husband whether she should prepare for him "the usual tangawizi and lemon" to treat his cold that the alarm bells went off.
"My husband had never asked me to make him anything for his cold and, worse still, I had not even noticed that he was unwell," she says, adding that this is what jolted her to take action.
The following week, she gave up three classes, which meant that she could get home early at least three evenings a week to prepare the evening meal and have some quality time with her husband.
"I don't think there is any married woman who believes her husband can have an affair with the house help, or worse, leave her for one, but what we forget is that she, too, is a woman and that human beings are naturally drawn to those who treat them well and show them that they matter," she says.
She says that since then, she has been doing more for her husband, including serving him food, preparing his meals once in a while and spending more time with him.
"Our relationship has improved, and although I am earning less than I used to, I am more relaxed and have more time for myself," she observes.
Which brings us to the question - is it really possible for women to have the best of both worlds? Is it possible for women to have outstanding careers as well as happy and contented families?
Kenyan women have been fighting for equality for quite some time now, and they are getting it. They are rising to positions once reserved for men and earning as much as, if not more, than them. But at what price?
According to an article published in the The Mail of UK recently, women may have won the fight for equality, but "It has left many of them imprisoned and exhausted". This is according to Erin Pizzey, a British women's rights activist and author. Pizzey adds that the idea of women happily combining career and a family has turned out to be a myth.
In the article by Paul Revoir, she observes that women's freedom of choice to have both has left them with less spare time than they had before, and as a result, lost something very important.
"Many women don't have a choice now, they have to work, they have to work hard, and I just see an exhausted generation of women trying to do it all."
Pizzey's views are supported by Helen Fielding, author of the popular Bridget Jones series of novels, who criticised women who aspire to "have it all".
In an article published in a recent issue of The Daily Mail of the UK, Fielding is quoted as saying that many young women today struggle to have successful careers and families in an idealistic society that expects them to balance these roles perfectly, a battle that leaves them "confused".
"They feel they should be getting up at six in the morning and going to the gym, then doing a full day's work, coming back late and feeding 12 people for dinner. It's a modern disease," she is quoted as saying.
Explaining why it is not possible for women to have it all, she argues that there are only so many hours in a day and as a result, you either spend most of them at work, or at home raising children and making a home.
It is no wonder, then, that some mothers don't even know when her daughters had their first period, and that would be shocked to learn that they have actually reached this milestone.
The result is that such children grow up to be comfortable with their house-helps and prefer to go to them for advice rather than to their own mothers, since they have not formed a close bond with her.
Under their noses
It is these same house-helps who wait on their husbands, take their bath water to the bathroom, make their tea just the way they like it and have since discovered what makes them tick, what makes them happy and what sets them off. Yet wives are surprised when they discover that their husbands are having an affair with the house help right under their noses.
One of the women Saturday magazine talked to, a lecturer and professional counsellor, confessed that two years ago, her marriage was almost broke up because of the amount of time she was spending at work.
"Between my clinic and lectures, I did not realise just how little time I spent at home because I was always rushing somewhere," she recalls.
It wasn't until she overheard her house girl of two years asking her husband whether she should prepare for him "the usual tangawizi and lemon" to treat his cold that the alarm bells went off.
"My husband had never asked me to make him anything for his cold and, worse still, I had not even noticed that he was unwell," she says, adding that this is what jolted her to take action.
The following week, she gave up three classes, which meant that she could get home early at least three evenings a week to prepare the evening meal and have some quality time with her husband.
"I don't think there is any married woman who believes her husband can have an affair with the house help, or worse, leave her for one, but what we forget is that she, too, is a woman and that human beings are naturally drawn to those who treat them well and show them that they matter," she says.
She says that since then, she has been doing more for her husband, including serving him food, preparing his meals once in a while and spending more time with him.
"Our relationship has improved, and although I am earning less than I used to, I am more relaxed and have more time for myself," she observes.
Which brings us to the question - is it really possible for women to have the best of both worlds? Is it possible for women to have outstanding careers as well as happy and contented families?
Kenyan women have been fighting for equality for quite some time now, and they are getting it. They are rising to positions once reserved for men and earning as much as, if not more, than them. But at what price?
According to an article published in the The Mail of UK recently, women may have won the fight for equality, but "It has left many of them imprisoned and exhausted". This is according to Erin Pizzey, a British women's rights activist and author. Pizzey adds that the idea of women happily combining career and a family has turned out to be a myth.
In the article by Paul Revoir, she observes that women's freedom of choice to have both has left them with less spare time than they had before, and as a result, lost something very important.
"Many women don't have a choice now, they have to work, they have to work hard, and I just see an exhausted generation of women trying to do it all."
Pizzey's views are supported by Helen Fielding, author of the popular Bridget Jones series of novels, who criticised women who aspire to "have it all".
In an article published in a recent issue of The Daily Mail of the UK, Fielding is quoted as saying that many young women today struggle to have successful careers and families in an idealistic society that expects them to balance these roles perfectly, a battle that leaves them "confused".
"They feel they should be getting up at six in the morning and going to the gym, then doing a full day's work, coming back late and feeding 12 people for dinner. It's a modern disease," she is quoted as saying.
Explaining why it is not possible for women to have it all, she argues that there are only so many hours in a day and as a result, you either spend most of them at work, or at home raising children and making a home.
Is it worth losing your family for a career?
Ladies,
Take heed!!!LLLLLLM
By CAROLINE NJUNG'E Posted Friday, June 5 2009 at 16:19
In Summary
Today's career woman seems to have it all; a good job, nice car and beautiful house. But behind this façade of success could be an unhappy husband and neglected children.
It is a controversial, even taboo subject among some, but the fact is that a number of career women are losing their families and homes to their house helps. In their quest for impressive academic credentials a successful career and enviable social network, they forget to nurture what is probably the most important part of their lives - their families.
The result is that they wake up several years later to find that they have lost their families. Their children have developed into secretive, broody and rebellious teenagers while their husbands, whom they long stopped giving serious thought to, have become emotionally withdrawn and carved out a new life for themselves.
Women who have found themselves in such a position will probably relate to Margaret Mwangi.
Two years ago, 41-year-old Margaret Mwangi (not her real name), a senior manager in one of the largest banks in the country, thought she had it all. Already a Masters degree holder, she was a year into studying for a PhD in financial management and had won several awards for her outstanding performance.
She was earning good money and had extensive contacts. But as she rode the wave of her success, she forgot to channel the same effort and energy she directed at her career towards her husband of 14 years and three children.
Margaret would be up by 4 a.m. to get ready for the day's numerous strategic meetings and for mandatory 30-minute jog around her upmarket neighbourhood.
She would leave the house at 6a.m., as her husband and children were waking up to prepare for the day. Thanks to Martha, the efficient and capable house-help she had had for eight years, Margaret knew that her family was in good hands.
Martha would prepare a healthy breakfast, ensure that everyone's clothes, including her husband's, were ironed and laid out and that their shoes were polished.
Given Margaret's busy schedule, including her daily evening classes which ended at 8p.m., she usually got home at around 9 p.m., tired to the bone. By then, the children were in bed, having had supper and completed their homework with Martha's help. In Margaret's mind, she was a good mother and dedicated wife since she ensured that her family was well taken care of.
But due to her constant absence from home, her once close and loving relationship with her husband faded, to be replaced by a cordial one, devoid of emotion and passion. Their conversations were perfunctory and usually, after asking about each other's day, she would take a shower, have a quick meal then collapse in bed, exhausted, with things that needed to be done at work the next day going in her mind.
She could not even recall the last time she and her husband had been intimate, but this did not really bother her. According to her, all marriages lost the initial fire they had after a couple of years. After all, hadn't her friends confessed that they were going through similar experiences?
That's why Margaret was shell-shocked when her 45-year-old husband announced that he was marrying another woman last year. But nothing could have prepared her for the bombshell that he dropped shortly thereafter - the other woman was Martha!
How could he do this to her after she had worked so hard so that they could all have a good life and a secure future? It is not like he or the children had been neglected - they lived in a clean home, had healthy, wholesome food everyday and led organised lives, she argued, as she tried to come to terms with the shocking news.
But when her husband pointed out that it was their live-in house help who did all these for the family, the argument instantly fizzled out.
During the last five years of their marriage, Martha had practically usurped Margaret's roles of wife and mother. She cooked for and served the man of the house, washed, ironed and laid out his clothes and dutifully cleaned and polished his shoes everyday. She even made the couple's bed, as well washed and changed the linen because Margaret often left early in the morning and returned late at night.
But more important, Martha had raised the couple's three children almost single-handedly. When they were young, she would wake up in the middle of the night to lull them back to sleep or warm them a bottle of milk because their mother would be too exhausted to do it. And when they started going to school, she walked them to the bus stop, picked them up in the evening and helped them with their homework.
"How then can you claim that you are my wife and mother of my children if someone else has been doing what you should be doing?" her husband had retorted when she asked how he could embarrass her by having an affair with their house help right under her own roof.
Not ready to live in the same house or share her husband with Martha, Margaret walked out of the marriage with the children. Although she can offer them the comfortable life they were used to, re-learning how to be a mother to her children is proving very difficult.
The older two, a boy and a girl, are teenagers. Sulky, disobedient, and disrespectful, they are constantly getting into trouble at school. The other, now eight, is clingy, teary and has not stopped asking when they will move back home to "daddy and auntie".
Margaret recently learnt that her former house help, a single mother of two, had given birth to a baby girl, who had been named after her husband's mother.
Margaret's case clearly demonstrates the situation in which many women find themselves after entrusting their family's welfare and the running of their households to their house- helps.
Take heed!!!LLLLLLM
By CAROLINE NJUNG'E Posted Friday, June 5 2009 at 16:19
In Summary
Today's career woman seems to have it all; a good job, nice car and beautiful house. But behind this façade of success could be an unhappy husband and neglected children.
It is a controversial, even taboo subject among some, but the fact is that a number of career women are losing their families and homes to their house helps. In their quest for impressive academic credentials a successful career and enviable social network, they forget to nurture what is probably the most important part of their lives - their families.
The result is that they wake up several years later to find that they have lost their families. Their children have developed into secretive, broody and rebellious teenagers while their husbands, whom they long stopped giving serious thought to, have become emotionally withdrawn and carved out a new life for themselves.
Women who have found themselves in such a position will probably relate to Margaret Mwangi.
Two years ago, 41-year-old Margaret Mwangi (not her real name), a senior manager in one of the largest banks in the country, thought she had it all. Already a Masters degree holder, she was a year into studying for a PhD in financial management and had won several awards for her outstanding performance.
She was earning good money and had extensive contacts. But as she rode the wave of her success, she forgot to channel the same effort and energy she directed at her career towards her husband of 14 years and three children.
Margaret would be up by 4 a.m. to get ready for the day's numerous strategic meetings and for mandatory 30-minute jog around her upmarket neighbourhood.
She would leave the house at 6a.m., as her husband and children were waking up to prepare for the day. Thanks to Martha, the efficient and capable house-help she had had for eight years, Margaret knew that her family was in good hands.
Martha would prepare a healthy breakfast, ensure that everyone's clothes, including her husband's, were ironed and laid out and that their shoes were polished.
Given Margaret's busy schedule, including her daily evening classes which ended at 8p.m., she usually got home at around 9 p.m., tired to the bone. By then, the children were in bed, having had supper and completed their homework with Martha's help. In Margaret's mind, she was a good mother and dedicated wife since she ensured that her family was well taken care of.
But due to her constant absence from home, her once close and loving relationship with her husband faded, to be replaced by a cordial one, devoid of emotion and passion. Their conversations were perfunctory and usually, after asking about each other's day, she would take a shower, have a quick meal then collapse in bed, exhausted, with things that needed to be done at work the next day going in her mind.
She could not even recall the last time she and her husband had been intimate, but this did not really bother her. According to her, all marriages lost the initial fire they had after a couple of years. After all, hadn't her friends confessed that they were going through similar experiences?
That's why Margaret was shell-shocked when her 45-year-old husband announced that he was marrying another woman last year. But nothing could have prepared her for the bombshell that he dropped shortly thereafter - the other woman was Martha!
How could he do this to her after she had worked so hard so that they could all have a good life and a secure future? It is not like he or the children had been neglected - they lived in a clean home, had healthy, wholesome food everyday and led organised lives, she argued, as she tried to come to terms with the shocking news.
But when her husband pointed out that it was their live-in house help who did all these for the family, the argument instantly fizzled out.
During the last five years of their marriage, Martha had practically usurped Margaret's roles of wife and mother. She cooked for and served the man of the house, washed, ironed and laid out his clothes and dutifully cleaned and polished his shoes everyday. She even made the couple's bed, as well washed and changed the linen because Margaret often left early in the morning and returned late at night.
But more important, Martha had raised the couple's three children almost single-handedly. When they were young, she would wake up in the middle of the night to lull them back to sleep or warm them a bottle of milk because their mother would be too exhausted to do it. And when they started going to school, she walked them to the bus stop, picked them up in the evening and helped them with their homework.
"How then can you claim that you are my wife and mother of my children if someone else has been doing what you should be doing?" her husband had retorted when she asked how he could embarrass her by having an affair with their house help right under her own roof.
Not ready to live in the same house or share her husband with Martha, Margaret walked out of the marriage with the children. Although she can offer them the comfortable life they were used to, re-learning how to be a mother to her children is proving very difficult.
The older two, a boy and a girl, are teenagers. Sulky, disobedient, and disrespectful, they are constantly getting into trouble at school. The other, now eight, is clingy, teary and has not stopped asking when they will move back home to "daddy and auntie".
Margaret recently learnt that her former house help, a single mother of two, had given birth to a baby girl, who had been named after her husband's mother.
Margaret's case clearly demonstrates the situation in which many women find themselves after entrusting their family's welfare and the running of their households to their house- helps.
Tuesday 29 September 2009
Sunday 27 September 2009
Rafiq Barry Gives Her Testimony
We take our freedom of worship for granted. Let us learn from this girl and worship God in spirit and in truth. Her love for God is so real. There is no pretence in her at all.
The Church must wake up now.
CBN NEWS REPORT ON RIFQA
Monday 21 September 2009
Friday 18 September 2009
Test Of Discipleship Pt.2
Mark.8:34 gives two conditions i.e. “deny himself and take up his cross”.
Denying yourself means; renouncing all self reliance, self-dependence, self-interests and self-pursuits that are contrary to God. It means separating yourself from everything that is as a result of the desires of the flesh and allowing God to take control. It means dying to the flesh and its desires and being alive to the directions of the spirit of God. It means that in a particular situation if you had your own way, you would…. But you will take God’s way.
It means I have to surrender myself to Jesus, I must give up my right to myself then the remainder of my life is nothing but a manifestation of this surrender.
Read all - Rom.6:16, Rom.8:1,6-14, Col.3:1-10
Take up his cross: The cross is a symbol of self denial, you are no longer an instrument of unrighteousness for the devil to use, but you are an instrument unto righteousness. Romans 6:13 “Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God”.
It is a symbol of the shame and sufferings of Christ borne by Christians. When you get born-again, it is not going to always be that rosy, there are going to be sacrifices involved. Persecutions will come your way. At times there is going to be some suffering and shame for the Lord. There are going to difficult times which you would like your own way out but the Lord will require you to go through. There will be a price to pay. You must be willing to pay that price daily.
You must if you want to be a believer, follow Christ and go through all this. We must continually be willing to walk in obedience.
In 1Sam.15:16-23, God told King Saul to kill all the sinners and totally destroy everything but he spared King Agag and the fatlings of their animals for sacrifice. He disobeyed God and bowed to the pressure of the people.
Many believers today have killed some of the things that caused them to sin but have not killed them all, they have left certain things in their lives they think are untouchable. Certain things that they think are always going to be part and parcel of them. Certain things associated with their families, tribes and nationalities. But we have to kill them all.
God has called us to destroy all the things that cause us to sin against him. If we do not die to these things, they will come back to hunt us in future. They will come back at a time when you are most vulnerable to attack you.
In 1Sam.14: 14, Samuel asks Saul, What meaneth then this bleating of the sheep in my ears?
Why do we hear of people in church still living in the flesh, Why do we hear of fornication and adultery in the lives of believers today? Why do we hear of the things that are abominable unto God being done in the church today? Why are believers still divorcing in the church? Why do we hear of infighting among women in the church? Why are people still gossiping and eyeing people and refusing to talk to one another in the church. Why are believers still living in sin though they are in the house of God every day.
If you leave some to satisfy your own conscience, that disobedience can cost you your crown or even your salvation. You need to deny yourself daily and take up your cross.
1 Samuel 16:1 “And the LORD said unto Samuel, How long wilt thou mourn for Saul,, seeing I have rejected him from reigning over Israel?”
God requires us to die to them all. Otherwise we will still be in the house of the Lord yet we would have been rejected by God.
God says that obedience is better than sacrifice.
Mark 8:36 “For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?”
2 Chronicles 7:14 “If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land”.
Denying yourself means; renouncing all self reliance, self-dependence, self-interests and self-pursuits that are contrary to God. It means separating yourself from everything that is as a result of the desires of the flesh and allowing God to take control. It means dying to the flesh and its desires and being alive to the directions of the spirit of God. It means that in a particular situation if you had your own way, you would…. But you will take God’s way.
It means I have to surrender myself to Jesus, I must give up my right to myself then the remainder of my life is nothing but a manifestation of this surrender.
Read all - Rom.6:16, Rom.8:1,6-14, Col.3:1-10
Take up his cross: The cross is a symbol of self denial, you are no longer an instrument of unrighteousness for the devil to use, but you are an instrument unto righteousness. Romans 6:13 “Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God”.
It is a symbol of the shame and sufferings of Christ borne by Christians. When you get born-again, it is not going to always be that rosy, there are going to be sacrifices involved. Persecutions will come your way. At times there is going to be some suffering and shame for the Lord. There are going to difficult times which you would like your own way out but the Lord will require you to go through. There will be a price to pay. You must be willing to pay that price daily.
You must if you want to be a believer, follow Christ and go through all this. We must continually be willing to walk in obedience.
In 1Sam.15:16-23, God told King Saul to kill all the sinners and totally destroy everything but he spared King Agag and the fatlings of their animals for sacrifice. He disobeyed God and bowed to the pressure of the people.
Many believers today have killed some of the things that caused them to sin but have not killed them all, they have left certain things in their lives they think are untouchable. Certain things that they think are always going to be part and parcel of them. Certain things associated with their families, tribes and nationalities. But we have to kill them all.
God has called us to destroy all the things that cause us to sin against him. If we do not die to these things, they will come back to hunt us in future. They will come back at a time when you are most vulnerable to attack you.
In 1Sam.14: 14, Samuel asks Saul, What meaneth then this bleating of the sheep in my ears?
Why do we hear of people in church still living in the flesh, Why do we hear of fornication and adultery in the lives of believers today? Why do we hear of the things that are abominable unto God being done in the church today? Why are believers still divorcing in the church? Why do we hear of infighting among women in the church? Why are people still gossiping and eyeing people and refusing to talk to one another in the church. Why are believers still living in sin though they are in the house of God every day.
If you leave some to satisfy your own conscience, that disobedience can cost you your crown or even your salvation. You need to deny yourself daily and take up your cross.
1 Samuel 16:1 “And the LORD said unto Samuel, How long wilt thou mourn for Saul,, seeing I have rejected him from reigning over Israel?”
God requires us to die to them all. Otherwise we will still be in the house of the Lord yet we would have been rejected by God.
God says that obedience is better than sacrifice.
Mark 8:36 “For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?”
2 Chronicles 7:14 “If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land”.
Tuesday 15 September 2009
THE DISCIPLESHIP TEST
Mark.8:34-38
“Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, take his cross and follow me”
You must habitually follow regardless of the price. You cannot follow God only when it is convenient, easy and popular, you will have to follow him when it is very difficult and challenging. You will have to follow with your body, soul and your spirit.
Luke 9:62 “And Jesus said unto him, No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God”.
Hebrews 10:38-39 “Now the just shall live by faith: but if any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him. 39 But we are not of them who draw back unto perdition; but of them that believe to the saving of the soul”.
We were once lost and have now been found, so we do not go back to our lost state. We were once in Egypt, we don’t turn back on our way to our promised land and go to Egypt. Many have left Egypt but Egypt is still in them. It is time the love and desires of Egypt are taken from our lives.
We are not to were him on our sleeves on Sundays and then remove him the rest of the week but we are to honor him every day and in every situation and circumstance. 1 Samuel 2:30 “…for them that honour me I will honour, and they that despise me shall be lightly esteemed”. We are supposed to radiate his glory. When people see us, they should see the glory of our Lord and even desire to know him.
If we do not do this, we make a mockery of the sacrifices that Jesus came to make for us. The suffering that he went through for us becomes vain. We make his death on the cross worthless.
When we were supposed to be the light of the world, the darkness in the world is overshadowing us. The love of many is growing cold because we have refused to stand out and be sold out for Jesus. There number of sold out believers is now so small. No more lukewarm Christian life. You are either on fire for Jesus or you are not.
The gospel of convenience and conformity has been preached for too long a time and we have to rise from our mediocrity and stand out for Jesus.
Where is our passion for God? Where is our love for God? Jesus was the radiance of God’s glory, where is our radiance of God’s glory?
You don’t need to be told to go for evangelism, the fire in you will cause you to do it without any prompting. It should be part and parcel of you. Because you don’t radiate God’s glory, you are even shy to witness to some one.
We are in a time when one day without witnessing will make you week.
Meet me on twitter at http://twitter.com/PsNick
“Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, take his cross and follow me”
You must habitually follow regardless of the price. You cannot follow God only when it is convenient, easy and popular, you will have to follow him when it is very difficult and challenging. You will have to follow with your body, soul and your spirit.
Luke 9:62 “And Jesus said unto him, No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God”.
Hebrews 10:38-39 “Now the just shall live by faith: but if any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him. 39 But we are not of them who draw back unto perdition; but of them that believe to the saving of the soul”.
We were once lost and have now been found, so we do not go back to our lost state. We were once in Egypt, we don’t turn back on our way to our promised land and go to Egypt. Many have left Egypt but Egypt is still in them. It is time the love and desires of Egypt are taken from our lives.
We are not to were him on our sleeves on Sundays and then remove him the rest of the week but we are to honor him every day and in every situation and circumstance. 1 Samuel 2:30 “…for them that honour me I will honour, and they that despise me shall be lightly esteemed”. We are supposed to radiate his glory. When people see us, they should see the glory of our Lord and even desire to know him.
If we do not do this, we make a mockery of the sacrifices that Jesus came to make for us. The suffering that he went through for us becomes vain. We make his death on the cross worthless.
When we were supposed to be the light of the world, the darkness in the world is overshadowing us. The love of many is growing cold because we have refused to stand out and be sold out for Jesus. There number of sold out believers is now so small. No more lukewarm Christian life. You are either on fire for Jesus or you are not.
The gospel of convenience and conformity has been preached for too long a time and we have to rise from our mediocrity and stand out for Jesus.
Where is our passion for God? Where is our love for God? Jesus was the radiance of God’s glory, where is our radiance of God’s glory?
You don’t need to be told to go for evangelism, the fire in you will cause you to do it without any prompting. It should be part and parcel of you. Because you don’t radiate God’s glory, you are even shy to witness to some one.
We are in a time when one day without witnessing will make you week.
Meet me on twitter at http://twitter.com/PsNick
Saturday 12 September 2009
Wednesday 9 September 2009
Tuesday 8 September 2009
Time
Everything requires time. Whatever you do, whatever plans you have requires time. Time dominates everything. There is nothing that you can do that does not require time. You need to use it efficiently because time is expensive and precious. Do not treat it as if it is free. Make hay whilst the sun shines.Ecclesistes chapter 3 says that "to everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:"
Time management is important to us as individuals and to our God. If God gives you an assignmet and you dilly dally with it, you may miss your timming. Please don't mess up with time, use time effectively.
Let the Lord lead you in all your ways and he will direct your paths.
Time management is important to us as individuals and to our God. If God gives you an assignmet and you dilly dally with it, you may miss your timming. Please don't mess up with time, use time effectively.
Let the Lord lead you in all your ways and he will direct your paths.
Sunday 6 September 2009
Time
Time is inelastic, it cannot be expanded or contracted. How are you using your time. We all have 24 hours in a day. Some spend more than 60% of this time watching television and others sleep it off. Some use this same amount constructively by either reading, researching,creating businesses, making things work for others etc. Some people within the same time create wealth i.e. within the same 24 hours.
How are you using your time for.
Time is inelastic, so make good use of it. God bless you.
How are you using your time for.
Time is inelastic, so make good use of it. God bless you.
Saturday 5 September 2009
Good Mentoring
Mentoring is very important in every everybody's life. Successful people do not stand alone. If you speak to them, you would realise that all of them had someone who mentored them or someone they had to learn from or looked up to. These people inspired them, encouraged them, corrected their shortcommings and helped shaped them to be who they are today.
Your being mentored goes a long way to affect where you get to. People who are mentored grow up most of the time to be like their mentors or even better than their mentors.
Mentors who are older than you, are there to train you, to teach you, to share their personal successes and failures with you so that you can also learn from them.
There are also peer mentors who form something like a group of accountability. These people are normally a group of friends who mentor each other, make sure everyone in the group is supported through their challenges and successes, they make sure every member of the group is standing every time and in short they are accountable to the group. I had such a group when I was a student at the University Of Ghana. This group is still in existence today.
The group comprised of myself Ps. Nick, Ps. Rolland, Ps. George, Ps. Harvey, Ps. Charles(late), and a few others. We are still accountable to each other up till now.
There is a Church on the internet that practices this very well. They are actually in the USA but I know them through the internet. They are called Passion for Christ movement. Members of the church call each other through out the week to encourage one another and make sure that they are standing firm in the Lord. They are always there for each other and you can see the love flow in their interactions.
To be continued...
Your being mentored goes a long way to affect where you get to. People who are mentored grow up most of the time to be like their mentors or even better than their mentors.
Mentors who are older than you, are there to train you, to teach you, to share their personal successes and failures with you so that you can also learn from them.
There are also peer mentors who form something like a group of accountability. These people are normally a group of friends who mentor each other, make sure everyone in the group is supported through their challenges and successes, they make sure every member of the group is standing every time and in short they are accountable to the group. I had such a group when I was a student at the University Of Ghana. This group is still in existence today.
The group comprised of myself Ps. Nick, Ps. Rolland, Ps. George, Ps. Harvey, Ps. Charles(late), and a few others. We are still accountable to each other up till now.
There is a Church on the internet that practices this very well. They are actually in the USA but I know them through the internet. They are called Passion for Christ movement. Members of the church call each other through out the week to encourage one another and make sure that they are standing firm in the Lord. They are always there for each other and you can see the love flow in their interactions.
To be continued...
Saturday 29 August 2009
Mentorship
What is happening to christian mentoring today? In employment, you see a lot of people being trained or going through apprenticeships before graduating to become professionals. People are coached and motivated to excell in their fields and to offer best practice.
However I have time and time again seen a lot of christians who do not know their left from their right. They come up with all kinds of beleifs and statements that have no basis in scriptures. There aren't that many mentors in Christendom today to bring up and train people who are young in the faith. Eli trained Samuel, Elijah mentored Elisha, Barnabas mentored John Mark, Paul mentored Timothy, whom are you mentoring? Or who is mentoring you?
Watch this space.
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However I have time and time again seen a lot of christians who do not know their left from their right. They come up with all kinds of beleifs and statements that have no basis in scriptures. There aren't that many mentors in Christendom today to bring up and train people who are young in the faith. Eli trained Samuel, Elijah mentored Elisha, Barnabas mentored John Mark, Paul mentored Timothy, whom are you mentoring? Or who is mentoring you?
Watch this space.
Bookmark & Share
Monday 3 August 2009
Sunday 12 July 2009
Saturday 11 July 2009
Saturday 27 June 2009
Sunday 21 June 2009
WAR ZONE (PT TWO)
1 Chronicles 12:32 And of the children of Issachar, which were men that had understanding of the times, to know what Israel ought to do; the heads of them were two hundred; and all their brethren were at their commandment.
Issachar – The meaning of this name is “he will bring a reward. God expects every father, every leader and potential leader to bring a reward to him that will glorify him. He has not called us to be failures or losers. The bible says he has given us everything that pertains to life and Godliness 2Pet.1:3. That is why Moses could sing to the Lord that he has caused us to triumph gloriously. Exodus 15:1.
• Understanding – to separate mentally, to distinguish, be cunning, diligently, deal wisely, be prudent (Strong’s Heb998). They had the ability to discern and to strategise.
• Times – seasons, what’s going on these days and times.
• Know - to know or ascertain by seeing. The Hebrew word know in this verse is yada, which is a word that means God gives the personal understanding and revelation, and is not a knowing that comes from reading a book for example. This comes by having an intimate relationship with God.
These are people of leadership potential who have a cunning mind, able to mentally distinguish between that which is wise and unwise. They diligently pursue the understanding needed to live well before the Lord. Issachar men and women receive understanding from the Lord Himself, because they know God in an intimate manner. Because they are wise and prudent, Issachar’s are able to perceive and seize opportune times of success and wealth. They are able to lead their families through all the trials and fiery darts of the enemy and take them to a successful end.
These are men that will lead their troops through thick and thin. They will face every giant that comes their way. These are men who will walk by faith and not by sight. They are ready, with the help of God, to conquer anything the devil will use as a stumbling block against them.
2 Corinthians 4:18 While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.
Do not let the failures of today cause you to take the wrong decisions because these are temporal, God’s successes are ahead of you. If you fail today, try again you will succeed.
When Moses sent the twelve spies into the Promised Land, 10 came to report of what they saw, but Joshua and Caleb gave their report by what was discerned. Even though they saw these men as giants, they refused to let what they were seeing affect their faith. They held on to what the Lord hard said unto them. They were more than able to overcome these giants. God could use situations and circumstances to overcome these giants.
These are men who will look beyond the giants facing them and the challenges of today to see what God has planned for them and fight for them. We need to gather enough faith to face the giants of today. We need to stand strong and overcome every fiery dart of the enemy.
These are not men who will sit at the same place and go through the same problem year in year out but they are willing to take risks and steps of faith. The four crazy lepers said, why sit we here till we die?
One major thing a lot of believers do not realize is the fact that we cannot do it with our strength. But with God on our side all things are possible.
How does one become a son of Issachar?
1. Issachar: Being someone who brings a reward to God i.e. everything you do must be to his glory. It means fathers must lead their families the way God has ordained it to be and not the way this world culture demands. Fathers must do everything to protect their families from becoming one of the casualties. Leaders must lead in the way God expects them to lead so that it will be to his glory. It is not by their strength but they allow God to show how mighty he is through them.
2. Understanding of the times: We need discernment more than ever. We should be able to discern between good and evil and be able to discern the plans and traps of the enemy so that we can avoid being ambushed by the devil. We must see what his plans are even before he makes his first move. We must also be able to discern what is happening spiritually in this season and be able to deal with it in the way God wants us to do.
3. To know: We must have a personal understanding of what we have to do in any situation and circumstance. This comes by virtue of our experience in walking with God in obedience and an intimate relationship with God. It does not come by reading a book but by our waiting on God and on studying his word. It comes from a personal relationship with God.
4. Their brethren were at their commandment: Out of that intimate relationship with God, their words carried a lot of authority and power which provided them with the ability to lead. Their followers had the confidence that these will lead them in the right direction. Their families could trust them that they will not fail them. They carry everyone along with them, play as a team and therefore are winners.
There is a story of two farmers who desperately needed rain and both of them prayed for rain but only one of them went out and prepared his field to receive it. Which one do you think trusted God to send the rain?
As you have learnt today and you pray about this, go prepare your family and your team you are leading for the rain is coming.
Issachar – The meaning of this name is “he will bring a reward. God expects every father, every leader and potential leader to bring a reward to him that will glorify him. He has not called us to be failures or losers. The bible says he has given us everything that pertains to life and Godliness 2Pet.1:3. That is why Moses could sing to the Lord that he has caused us to triumph gloriously. Exodus 15:1.
• Understanding – to separate mentally, to distinguish, be cunning, diligently, deal wisely, be prudent (Strong’s Heb998). They had the ability to discern and to strategise.
• Times – seasons, what’s going on these days and times.
• Know - to know or ascertain by seeing. The Hebrew word know in this verse is yada, which is a word that means God gives the personal understanding and revelation, and is not a knowing that comes from reading a book for example. This comes by having an intimate relationship with God.
These are people of leadership potential who have a cunning mind, able to mentally distinguish between that which is wise and unwise. They diligently pursue the understanding needed to live well before the Lord. Issachar men and women receive understanding from the Lord Himself, because they know God in an intimate manner. Because they are wise and prudent, Issachar’s are able to perceive and seize opportune times of success and wealth. They are able to lead their families through all the trials and fiery darts of the enemy and take them to a successful end.
These are men that will lead their troops through thick and thin. They will face every giant that comes their way. These are men who will walk by faith and not by sight. They are ready, with the help of God, to conquer anything the devil will use as a stumbling block against them.
2 Corinthians 4:18 While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.
Do not let the failures of today cause you to take the wrong decisions because these are temporal, God’s successes are ahead of you. If you fail today, try again you will succeed.
When Moses sent the twelve spies into the Promised Land, 10 came to report of what they saw, but Joshua and Caleb gave their report by what was discerned. Even though they saw these men as giants, they refused to let what they were seeing affect their faith. They held on to what the Lord hard said unto them. They were more than able to overcome these giants. God could use situations and circumstances to overcome these giants.
These are men who will look beyond the giants facing them and the challenges of today to see what God has planned for them and fight for them. We need to gather enough faith to face the giants of today. We need to stand strong and overcome every fiery dart of the enemy.
These are not men who will sit at the same place and go through the same problem year in year out but they are willing to take risks and steps of faith. The four crazy lepers said, why sit we here till we die?
One major thing a lot of believers do not realize is the fact that we cannot do it with our strength. But with God on our side all things are possible.
How does one become a son of Issachar?
1. Issachar: Being someone who brings a reward to God i.e. everything you do must be to his glory. It means fathers must lead their families the way God has ordained it to be and not the way this world culture demands. Fathers must do everything to protect their families from becoming one of the casualties. Leaders must lead in the way God expects them to lead so that it will be to his glory. It is not by their strength but they allow God to show how mighty he is through them.
2. Understanding of the times: We need discernment more than ever. We should be able to discern between good and evil and be able to discern the plans and traps of the enemy so that we can avoid being ambushed by the devil. We must see what his plans are even before he makes his first move. We must also be able to discern what is happening spiritually in this season and be able to deal with it in the way God wants us to do.
3. To know: We must have a personal understanding of what we have to do in any situation and circumstance. This comes by virtue of our experience in walking with God in obedience and an intimate relationship with God. It does not come by reading a book but by our waiting on God and on studying his word. It comes from a personal relationship with God.
4. Their brethren were at their commandment: Out of that intimate relationship with God, their words carried a lot of authority and power which provided them with the ability to lead. Their followers had the confidence that these will lead them in the right direction. Their families could trust them that they will not fail them. They carry everyone along with them, play as a team and therefore are winners.
There is a story of two farmers who desperately needed rain and both of them prayed for rain but only one of them went out and prepared his field to receive it. Which one do you think trusted God to send the rain?
As you have learnt today and you pray about this, go prepare your family and your team you are leading for the rain is coming.
WAR ZONE (PT ONE)
In a war zone, being a leader comes with a lot of responsibility. The lives of all the members of your troop are in your hands. As you go through the unchartered territory occupied by the enemy, a leader of the troop has to look out for snipers on roof tops and trees, you have to look out for booby traps, you have make sure that you are not taking your troop into an ambushment.
Whole battalions have been wiped out because the leader failed in his duty. Your duty is to go through that territory, smash the enemy and come out with all members of your troop unscathed. What you command, say or do will get your troop out alive or wipe them out. Your leadership will make a difference in the lives of your troop and their family.
Now there is a new war going on in the world, you are still the leader of your troop but this time, the troop is made up of members of your family. Your wife and your children are following you in this war zone. The decisions you take will either let your family come out unscathed or will wipe out your family. The devil has declared war on all families in the world. You are leading your family and the future of your family depends on the decisions taken by the father today.
The devil has declared war on leaders in ministry and how you lead your team will determine the outcome. There are many potential leaders and fathers who have been crashed even before they started. There are many who have been destroyed midway as they were climbing up. Whether you like it or not there is war in the atmosphere and you will have to win the war in order to lead your people to where God has planned for them.
The culture of the world today is being used as a weapon of the enemy to fight the family and leaders of this generation.
Ephesians 6:12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.
The plan is threefold. To separate the husband from the wife either physically or emotionally, to separate the father from the children either emotionally or physically and to neutralize the leader or make him ineffective. Look at this statistics;
1. A young man is murdered every week. This has turned the young women into widowed virgins. Every person killed is someone’s future husband.
2. One out of two marriages is ending in divorce.
3. The median age for divorce is 34 for men and 30 for women
4. One out of every five households is maintained by a woman with no husband present.
5. Thousands of teenage girls will get pregnant out of wedlock because they seek to fill the emotional gap left by their fathers from men who show them affection and end up impregnating them.
6. Several of these girls will abort the baby
7. Many young people are into drugs, and crime today because there is no father figure at home.
Lamentations 5:7 Our fathers have sinned, and are not; and we have borne their iniquities.
What will you do to save your family from this casualty list? What are you doing to keep your children from the casualty list? God is looking out for men who will stand up to their responsibility and not allow the enemy to have his own way. God is looking for men who will stand up and lead. He is looking for people who will stand up and not allow their families to go through this.
In the church the devil tries to neutralize the influence of the leader, i.e. the pastor or leader of a department by financial impropriety, sexual immorality, by unproven rumors or by members undermining his authority. He uses the fear of failure to neutralize a lot of potential leaders. If you do it and you fail, try again.
God is looking for people who have an understanding of the times and seasons to go through this war zone.
Whole battalions have been wiped out because the leader failed in his duty. Your duty is to go through that territory, smash the enemy and come out with all members of your troop unscathed. What you command, say or do will get your troop out alive or wipe them out. Your leadership will make a difference in the lives of your troop and their family.
Now there is a new war going on in the world, you are still the leader of your troop but this time, the troop is made up of members of your family. Your wife and your children are following you in this war zone. The decisions you take will either let your family come out unscathed or will wipe out your family. The devil has declared war on all families in the world. You are leading your family and the future of your family depends on the decisions taken by the father today.
The devil has declared war on leaders in ministry and how you lead your team will determine the outcome. There are many potential leaders and fathers who have been crashed even before they started. There are many who have been destroyed midway as they were climbing up. Whether you like it or not there is war in the atmosphere and you will have to win the war in order to lead your people to where God has planned for them.
The culture of the world today is being used as a weapon of the enemy to fight the family and leaders of this generation.
Ephesians 6:12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.
The plan is threefold. To separate the husband from the wife either physically or emotionally, to separate the father from the children either emotionally or physically and to neutralize the leader or make him ineffective. Look at this statistics;
1. A young man is murdered every week. This has turned the young women into widowed virgins. Every person killed is someone’s future husband.
2. One out of two marriages is ending in divorce.
3. The median age for divorce is 34 for men and 30 for women
4. One out of every five households is maintained by a woman with no husband present.
5. Thousands of teenage girls will get pregnant out of wedlock because they seek to fill the emotional gap left by their fathers from men who show them affection and end up impregnating them.
6. Several of these girls will abort the baby
7. Many young people are into drugs, and crime today because there is no father figure at home.
Lamentations 5:7 Our fathers have sinned, and are not; and we have borne their iniquities.
What will you do to save your family from this casualty list? What are you doing to keep your children from the casualty list? God is looking out for men who will stand up to their responsibility and not allow the enemy to have his own way. God is looking for men who will stand up and lead. He is looking for people who will stand up and not allow their families to go through this.
In the church the devil tries to neutralize the influence of the leader, i.e. the pastor or leader of a department by financial impropriety, sexual immorality, by unproven rumors or by members undermining his authority. He uses the fear of failure to neutralize a lot of potential leaders. If you do it and you fail, try again.
God is looking for people who have an understanding of the times and seasons to go through this war zone.
Tuesday 24 March 2009
MAINTAINING YOUR DELIVERANCE
Many come for deliverances and for some reason, the demons come back because of lack of knowledge. God has promised us that if I by the finger of God set you free, then you shall be free indeed. So today I will share a few thoughts on how to maintain your deliverance. One thing we have to understand is that deliverance is a process. The one that takes place here is only the foundation which Pastor does it for you. The rest is the one which you will have to do on your own and no one can do that for you.
A. Don’t break the hedge
Ecclesiastes 10:8 “He that diggeth a pit shall fall into it; and whoso breaketh an hedge, a serpent shall bite him”. The protection of God is around us and that when we break the hedge, then we allow the enemy to come in and hurt us.
We do this by;
1. Luke 11:24-26 When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, he walketh through dry places, seeking rest; and finding none, he saith, I will return unto my house whence I came out. 25 And when he cometh, he findeth it swept and garnished. 26 Then goeth he, and taketh to him seven other spirits more wicked than himself; and they enter in, and dwell there: and the last state of that man is worse than the first.
That is to say do not return to your old life style.
Submit yourself to God. James 4:7 “Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you”.
This happens by starting a diligent Bible sturdy 2Tim.2:15 and prayer life, let Biblical principles be your principles and abide by them and lastly seek the will of God in everything you do.
2. Put on the whole armour of God. Ephesians 6:11-18 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. 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. 13 Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. 14 Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, 15 and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; 16 above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. 17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; 18 praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints –
This scripture must be an active part of your life.
3. Flee from temptations: 1 Corinthians 10:13 There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to 1 man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also 2 make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.
This tells us that temptation is common to mankind and we are able to resist. Our problem - we don't take the escape route! 1Cor.10:14, 1Peter 5:8.
B. Guard the gates of your heart and mind.
1. Discipline your mind and life according to God's directions. You are responsible for the use of your mind and the actions of your life (II Cor. 10:5). You are responsible for what comes into your heart.
Our mind is the best entry way that satan has and therefore we always have to guard the gates to our mind. We have to cast down every negative imaginations and anything that tries to compete with God in our minds and bring every thought to the obedience of Christ.
Fight against fleshly appetites daily (Gal. 5:19-21, 24). Don't return to old sinful friends or places or old thought life (I Cor. 5:7).
2 Corinthians 10:3-5 For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh: 4 (For the weapons of our warfare are not 1 carnal, but mighty through 2 God to the pulling down of strong holds;) 5 Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, 1, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;
2. Controlling your mind is your responsibility Philippians 4:8 Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things 2 are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.
3. Use the Word of God against evil thoughts and demonic attack . Jesus did this at His temptation. When demons come back to attack or tempt you, take authority over them in the name of Jesus Christ. Immediately begin to tell them about Jesus' death and resurrection which were done for you (Matt. 4:4,7 & 10).
DRIFTING - One other very successful wile of Satan is drifting. Christians gradually drift from neing in line with God. We in London are loosing our God given freedom gradually. Satanism is moving in on us gradually.
We get into trouble gradually: too much T.V., too much food, too much self indulgence. Soon we are addicted and have become something we never thought we'd become.
I Cor. 10:21-22 You cannot drink the Lord's cup and demon's cup. You cannot partake of the Lord's table and demon's table.
Many times we try to partake of both and find that we indeed cannot serve two masters. A Christian cannot serve two masters and we will find ourselves gradually drifting away from God and maybe wilfully giving up our salvation in the end.
Most of our entertainment today goes back to the ancient pagan worship of gods and goddess': all acts of perverted sex, sports from Olympia, demonic music from old music used in old pagan temple worship, the use of drugs for temple worship also. .
Let the scripture mould you, correct you, and refine you. 2 Timothy 3:16-17 All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: 17 That the 1 man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.
C. When you fail get up and start over, remember you may be knocked down but not knocked out (Rom. 6:16, 12:21; II Cor. 4:8).
D. Don't fear demons; be consistent and fearless against them. Remember no demon gets into anyone who has not given ample ground for its entry (Phil. 1:28).
E. Clean out the home you live in. There should not be anything in your house that calls demons. Ask the Lord to guide you to things in your home that displease Him. Be sure and check out all your jewelry. Deuteronomy 7:26 - 8:1 Neither shalt thou bring an abomination into thine house, lest thou be a cursed thing like it: but thou shalt utterly detest it, and thou shalt utterly abhor it; for it is a cursed thing.
Acts 19:19 Many of them also which used curious arts brought their books together, and burned them before all men: and they counted the price of them, and found it 1 fifty thousand pieces of silver.
F. Fellowship with other Christians (Heb. 10:25).
G. Maintain an attitude of gratitude and praise to God for all His blessings (Deut. 28:47-48).
H. Maintain a loving attitude even to your human enemies (Matt. 5:44-46).
This is the most important part of deliverance. We can spend all the time casting out demons but maintaining your deliverance is your part and no one can do this part for you. You have to maintain your own deliverance; it is the hardest part of deliverance. You will have to change your mindset, the way you think, and you and you alone will have to change the way you act. You will have to study and obey the Word of God. It's not a matter of how much you read the Bible but how much you obey it's precepts.
A. Don’t break the hedge
Ecclesiastes 10:8 “He that diggeth a pit shall fall into it; and whoso breaketh an hedge, a serpent shall bite him”. The protection of God is around us and that when we break the hedge, then we allow the enemy to come in and hurt us.
We do this by;
1. Luke 11:24-26 When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, he walketh through dry places, seeking rest; and finding none, he saith, I will return unto my house whence I came out. 25 And when he cometh, he findeth it swept and garnished. 26 Then goeth he, and taketh to him seven other spirits more wicked than himself; and they enter in, and dwell there: and the last state of that man is worse than the first.
That is to say do not return to your old life style.
Submit yourself to God. James 4:7 “Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you”.
This happens by starting a diligent Bible sturdy 2Tim.2:15 and prayer life, let Biblical principles be your principles and abide by them and lastly seek the will of God in everything you do.
2. Put on the whole armour of God. Ephesians 6:11-18 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. 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. 13 Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. 14 Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, 15 and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; 16 above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. 17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; 18 praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints –
This scripture must be an active part of your life.
3. Flee from temptations: 1 Corinthians 10:13 There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to 1 man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also 2 make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.
This tells us that temptation is common to mankind and we are able to resist. Our problem - we don't take the escape route! 1Cor.10:14, 1Peter 5:8.
B. Guard the gates of your heart and mind.
1. Discipline your mind and life according to God's directions. You are responsible for the use of your mind and the actions of your life (II Cor. 10:5). You are responsible for what comes into your heart.
Our mind is the best entry way that satan has and therefore we always have to guard the gates to our mind. We have to cast down every negative imaginations and anything that tries to compete with God in our minds and bring every thought to the obedience of Christ.
Fight against fleshly appetites daily (Gal. 5:19-21, 24). Don't return to old sinful friends or places or old thought life (I Cor. 5:7).
2 Corinthians 10:3-5 For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh: 4 (For the weapons of our warfare are not 1 carnal, but mighty through 2 God to the pulling down of strong holds;) 5 Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, 1, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;
2. Controlling your mind is your responsibility Philippians 4:8 Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things 2 are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.
3. Use the Word of God against evil thoughts and demonic attack . Jesus did this at His temptation. When demons come back to attack or tempt you, take authority over them in the name of Jesus Christ. Immediately begin to tell them about Jesus' death and resurrection which were done for you (Matt. 4:4,7 & 10).
DRIFTING - One other very successful wile of Satan is drifting. Christians gradually drift from neing in line with God. We in London are loosing our God given freedom gradually. Satanism is moving in on us gradually.
We get into trouble gradually: too much T.V., too much food, too much self indulgence. Soon we are addicted and have become something we never thought we'd become.
I Cor. 10:21-22 You cannot drink the Lord's cup and demon's cup. You cannot partake of the Lord's table and demon's table.
Many times we try to partake of both and find that we indeed cannot serve two masters. A Christian cannot serve two masters and we will find ourselves gradually drifting away from God and maybe wilfully giving up our salvation in the end.
Most of our entertainment today goes back to the ancient pagan worship of gods and goddess': all acts of perverted sex, sports from Olympia, demonic music from old music used in old pagan temple worship, the use of drugs for temple worship also. .
Let the scripture mould you, correct you, and refine you. 2 Timothy 3:16-17 All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: 17 That the 1 man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.
C. When you fail get up and start over, remember you may be knocked down but not knocked out (Rom. 6:16, 12:21; II Cor. 4:8).
D. Don't fear demons; be consistent and fearless against them. Remember no demon gets into anyone who has not given ample ground for its entry (Phil. 1:28).
E. Clean out the home you live in. There should not be anything in your house that calls demons. Ask the Lord to guide you to things in your home that displease Him. Be sure and check out all your jewelry. Deuteronomy 7:26 - 8:1 Neither shalt thou bring an abomination into thine house, lest thou be a cursed thing like it: but thou shalt utterly detest it, and thou shalt utterly abhor it; for it is a cursed thing.
Acts 19:19 Many of them also which used curious arts brought their books together, and burned them before all men: and they counted the price of them, and found it 1 fifty thousand pieces of silver.
F. Fellowship with other Christians (Heb. 10:25).
G. Maintain an attitude of gratitude and praise to God for all His blessings (Deut. 28:47-48).
H. Maintain a loving attitude even to your human enemies (Matt. 5:44-46).
This is the most important part of deliverance. We can spend all the time casting out demons but maintaining your deliverance is your part and no one can do this part for you. You have to maintain your own deliverance; it is the hardest part of deliverance. You will have to change your mindset, the way you think, and you and you alone will have to change the way you act. You will have to study and obey the Word of God. It's not a matter of how much you read the Bible but how much you obey it's precepts.
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