“For You created my inmost being;

You knit me together in my mother’s womb.

I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;

Your works are wonderful,

I know that full well.

My frame was not hidden from you

when I was made in the secret place,

when I was woven together in the depths of the earth.

Your eyes saw my unformed body…” (Ps 139:13-16)

This is my confidence, therefore I declare:

The God who knew me before I was created in my mother’s womb…

The God who created my inmost being (my organs, my mind, my emotions…)…

The God who protected me from fatal diseases…

The God who knit me together in my mother’s womb (who joined all the bones in their right places and all the organs to function well)…

The God who made me fearful (that sickness and enemies will run away from me)

The God who made me wonderful (unique, with a special destiny to be fulfilled)…

The God who decided that I am His own personal and wonderful work…

The God whose eyes are constantly on me (even when I was just a mass of flesh in my mother’s womb)…

The God who planed my salvation from the beginning of creation…

The God that does all these wonderful things without the help of any other…

The God who loves me like no other…

This God is able and more than able to take care of me even now, to heal my body from all diseases, to deliver me from all the attacks of the enemy, to strengthen me, comfort me and guide me in the way everlasting!

“I trust You Lord with all my heart, now and forever!

I shall praise You with all my heart!

In Jesus name,

Amen!”

This is a letter from a young man who is my son in Christ. He is 16 years old and has just being elected as the president of his school’s Christian fellowship. He is the youngest real pastor I know. I told him that if he needs prayer, help or counsel he should write me. This is one of his letters. Please pray for him as he learns to do ministry among the students there. Please also pray for Sister Ayo who is his convert. I rejoice with what God does with the next generation! Jesus is indeed ‘the everlasting pride and the joy to all generations’ (Is 60:15).

This is his letter:

Good evening Malia,

God has been doing great things here. I feel He has a plan for this school.  Today I talked with one of my classmates who told me her friend was a lesbian. She really wanted to help her friend, but didn’t know how to do so. As we talked I asked her a simple question, ‘are you born again’. Although she hesitated, she eventually said ‘no’…I then explained to her what it really means to be saved.

We talked about her life for a while and she admitted to having a whole in her life that couldn’t be filled. She told me that she didn’t want to become a Christian because she was scared she would have to stop all the ‘fun ‘ things she was doing. But the Lord opened a door, and although she was really scared of what would happen next, she gave her life to Jesus, there in our class room.

I was really blessed by what happened and I thank God for what He did. However, I know that this is not the end but the beginning for her. Please, I want you to pray for her. Her name is Ayo (not her real name) and she is 16years old, lost her father at 3 and is almost always alone at home. Her mom is always traveling. From what she told me she seems to be in a lot of trouble with sin. I thank God because I know he will complete the work in her life.

Your son in Christ

‘’’’’’’’’

“I am confident that He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus” (Phil 1:6)

“Like a gold ring in a pig’s snout is a beautiful woman who shows no discretion” (PV 11:22)

In Hebrew, the word ‘beautiful’ describes someone very attractive, bright, educated and well dressed. So what can be wrong with that? Nothing, if the woman is also ‘discreet’. In the absence of discretion, the beauty will be useless and even dangerous. The word ‘discretion’ means to be wise, to be spiritual, to discern between good and evil, to understand the spiritual root of life’s problems, to have good judgment and to avoid danger or deception. To be discreet it means to be reasonable, to be a good listener, attentive and sensitive to other people’s rights and feelings. It means to make responsible decisions when she is alone alone, but still submitting to the boundaries set by her husband. It means to be humble, modest in speech and appearance, with no desire to be the ‘center of attraction’. It means to be decent, not loud, rude of aggressive. It means to be wise and not foolish.

So, this beautiful woman without discretion, how will she behave? How ca you identify her, so that you can wisely reject her as a marriage proposal? She may be beautiful outwardly. She may be skilled in fashion and hair does. She may be educated, gifted, singing, dancing and talking. But she has no fruit of the Holy Spirit in her! She is extravagant and wasteful. Any woman who cannot ‘manage small money’ cannot be a good wife and mother. She is selfish and does not care about the rights or feelings of others. She makes enemies easily. She is not attentive. She forgets the good lessons you teach her, making unnecessary mistakes. You never know what to expect from her. She has a great potential of disappointing your trust in her. She is hard working in things that do not matter, even to the point of becoming a busy body. But she is lazy and negligent with the eternal spiritual things and the serious things of life. A woman without discretion is foolish. No matter how much you love her and invest in her, she will disappoint your hopes at last.

Not all that glitter is gold, they say…Not all women are wives…Not all beautiful women are mothers…Not all religious women are saved…Marriage is too important to make a decision based on appearances. Do not marry a woman who cannot function successfully without your direct supervision. For she is not a daughter you train and you cannot be with her always. Please do not ever consider to marry a foolish woman! Do not marry a woman that you cannot trust with your secret heart and destiny. It is better to wait and pray. The right one shall come. You need to pray and seek to marry a woman approved by God, spiritually mature, your very rib and the friend of your soul. Do not compromise in the area of marriage! If in doubt, do not proceed. Pray until all hindrances are removed and God gives you total peace. Then, and only then, let the wedding bells ring…

“Houses and wealth are inherited from parents but a prudent wife is (surely) from the Lord” (PV 19:14)

“They stripped Jesus and put a scarlet robe on Him, and then twisted together a crown of thorns and set it on His head. They put a staff in His right hand. Then they knelt in front of Him and mocked Him. “Hail, king of the Jews!” they said. They spit on Him, and took the staff and struck Him on the head again and again. After they had mocked Him, they took off the robe and put His own clothes on Him. Then they led Him away to crucify Him” (Mt 27:28-31)

The above passage describes what happened to our Lord just hours before His crucifixion. The Roman soldiers mock Him. They naked Him and dress Him like a ‘puppet’ king. The word ‘to mock’ means to laugh at, to use someone as entertainment, to look at something as fake. In other words, the soldiers did not believe that Jesus was a real king. That is why they dressed Him like that and mocked Him. They bowed down before Him in fake worship. They even spit on His face. This is the highest level of insult. A man may endure slander or even a slap on his face. But to be spat upon is the highest insult. It means that you are less than an animal. The soldiers who did that were close enough to Jesus, so that they can ‘successfully’ spit on Him. Oh, what sin does to a man…They could not see any kindness, any grace, any glory on the face of my Lord…what a terrible blindness that is…

But with all their jokes and insults, they could not change the truth: Jesus is indeed the King of kings and the Lord of lords! Soon the truth was revealed! All men must give an account of what they did on this earth.

But there is another revelation in this passage. Jesus suffers and dies in our place. Imagine that you are the one standing there with others insulting, beating, spitting and mocking you. The devil that motivated the Roman soldiers to insult Jesus is the same devil today. Demons will come and attack you like hungry wolves. The devil is merciless. They will mock your standing with God, your calling to be a royal priesthood and your ministry to be a worshipper. You have to learn to stay close to the Cross, to be dead to lies and to reject all attacks coming from hell. You need to stand firm in the day of evil. You need to be jealous over your blessings and calling in Christ.

Eventually the truth will be revealed. The devil cannot hide it forever! And this is the truth! Since you became born again you are a child of God, a servant of God, a king and a priest unto God to declare the praises of Him who translated you from the kingdom of darkness to the marvelous light and glory of the kingdom of God!  Let all lies and inferiority complexes be rebuked to go away! Let God be glorified in your life! In Jesus name, Amen!

“Children are a gift from the LORD; they are a reward from Him” (Ps 127:3)
There is a couple in our church who could not have a baby. They went to many hospitals, did many tests, spent a lot of money. The doctors declared the wife hopelessly barren. Just like Hannah, she wept many times at the altar…
We told them to just trust God for a miracle! We also told them to serve God even more. That children are God’s reward for faithful service to Him.
After five years of marriage, without any treatment and against all odds, the wife got pregnant. This morning they just called to say that they have a baby boy. To God be all the glory!

 
“Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise Him;
He has put Him to grief.
When You make His soul an offering for sin,
He shall see His seed, He shall prolong His days,
And the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in His hand.
He shall see the labor of His soul, and be satisfied.
By His knowledge My righteous Servant shall justify many,
For He shall bear their iniquities” (Is 53:10, 1)
“In bringing many sons and daughters to glory, it was fitting that God, for whom and through whom everything exists, should make the Pioneer of their salvation perfect through what He suffered” (Heb 2:10)

This is a young couple I counsel. Both of them are born again. They planned to marry end of November. They have already done the traditional marriage paying ‘the bride price’. Suddenly, the young man came shaking to tell me that something tragic beyond his control has happened: he has lost all his money. With fear in his eyes, he said that there is no money in his account for him to go ahead with the planned wedding; that there is no other option than to postpone the wedding until next year. It is not easy to see a man shaking and crying…

“It’s better to live alone in the desert than with a quarrelsome, complaining wife” (PV 21:19)

A hard hearted woman is not ‘a marriage material’ for she cannot submit to her husband or to anybody. She lusts after things and after other men. She is ready to fight, slander and kill to achieve her selfish desires. She worries and manipulates. She is loud, quarrelsome and complaining. She is never grateful. She provokes her husband to anger and blames him for being violent. She calls herself ‘a disciplinarian’; she is tough with her children, staff and others and she is proud of it. She has no desire to change. Just like iron cannot be welded to a rock, so this woman cannot cleave to her husband.in marriage. The marriage will remain divided and divorce will come at last. She will then look for new victims to deceive and oppress. Many have fallen prey to such women.

Many women are attracted by ‘tough guys’ who have money and power. Men want to marry women who are ‘iron ladies’, over-confident, rich and strong willed. All these people think that the toughness of their spouses will make their marriage easier. But this is a deception and a lie of the devil. It is only God that makes a marriage easy, peaceful, sweet, happy and successful! Only God!  Only God!

This is a couple who has been attending our church for more than 5 years. They are married for about 20 years. They have three teenage sons. Both husband and wife are professional people, educated and successful in their careers. When he was younger, the husband was a Christian fellowship leader in the university. For some time, the husband was not regular in coming to church. When confronted, he said that he is now busy and he works ‘off shore’.
Two days ago he broke the news to his wife that another woman is pregnant for him and he has already paid ‘the bride price’ for her (this is like a traditional marriage vow, acceptable among unbelievers, but not among Christians). The wife collapsed with shock. She is now in the hospital. She does not want to divorce him but it is very painful knowing he has a second wife.
Please pray for the recovery of the wife, the recovery of their marriage. Please pray spiritual warfare that the husband will come back to Christ, back to his senses and back to his family.The devil is a liar! Jesus is Lord! Pray the God will be glorified in this matter! in Jesus name, Amen!
May God bless all compassionate and faithful intercessors!

“Behold, I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land; for I will not leave you until I have done what I have spoken to you.” (Gen 28:15)

Just try to imagine Jacob’s state of mind as he left his childhood home. He left with anxiety, knowing that Esau is now his mortal enemy. He is going ‘abroad’ to live like ‘an illegal immigrant’. Anybody can kill him along the way. He has nothing except the clothes on his back. Tired, in the middle of the desert, he lays down to sleep for the night, a big stone for a pillow. Then he has a dream. He sees a ladder connecting heaven and earth. Angels were seen busy going up and down. Then he hears the voice of God Almighty coming down from the top of the ladder.

God assures him that he too is a partaker of the covenant given to Abraham and Isaac. It means that God will be his God. He will have direct access to the Person of God and the special blessings of heaven. The covenant also includes the assurance that he and his descendants are the owners of the land of Canaan. Secondly, God promises that he will be extremely fruitful and his descendants are blessed. Lastly, God tells him indirectly, that the Messiah will come to his people and so thru Him, they will be a blessing to all other families on earth. God assures him of His personal protection and guidance throughout the journey and promises that he will bring him back to this land!

The revelation of God is awesome. It is pure grace, for Jacob surely did not merit any of these blessings. God is extremely generous, pouring one blessing after another. This is a great lesson: God does not give ‘cheap, perishable’ gifts!

What is Jacob’s reaction to God’s self-revelation?

Jacob fears God. He worships God. He does not want to forget the dream, so he pours some oil on that rock calling it Bethel (in Hebrew it means the House of God). The remembrance of this dream will be his strength and wisdom in the future. He makes a commitment to serve God and to sacrifice financially (to pay his tithe). This is a man that has nothing. All he has is the clothes on his back. But the seed of faith was planted in his heart. God has spoken and God shall be His strength, His wisdom and life wherever he will go. I am sure you know the end of the story” God is faithful to His promises. Jacob went to Haran single and poor and afraid. He comes back married, with children, extremely wealthy and a respected man of God.  Indeed, God’s dreams do come true!

The ladder Jacob saw is our Lord Jesus Christ. He connects us with heaven. By His death, we have free access to God. The angels serve us as the heir of salvation. Like Jacob, make a vow to serve God with all your heart, all your strength and even sacrifice financially.

Today, give thanks to God, for revealing Himself thru Christ unto the saving your soul!

It is time to give thanks!

The prayer meeting went well. Many did not come to church for two main reasons: there was a torrential rain just before we started and there was no traffic in the town because of political elections. But the faithful still came. We give God all the glory for their commitment! Numbers do not matter to God. The unity of the Spirit and the attitude of worship and expectant faith were established. We shared good praise reports and we prayed for some more ‘hopeless cases’. We have nothing to lose! Nothing is impossible for God! Then the message came:

“Then Isaac called Jacob and blessed him, and charged him, and said to him: “You shall not take a wife from the daughters of Canaan. Arise, go to Padan Aram, to the house of Bethuel your mother’s father; and take yourself a wife from there of the daughters of Laban your mother’s brother” (Gen 28:1, 2)

Jacob has cheated his older brother taking his inheritance as the oldest son. His life is in danger. He has to run away from home. His parents direct him to go to Rebekah’s family in Haran and find a wife there. He should not feel just like a fugitive but there shall be a good testimony out of this. Marriage will be the purpose of his trip. Isaac prays and blesses him as the young man leaves his parents’ home to go ‘abroad’. Running away he stops at a ‘certain place’ to sleep. There he has a dream. God reveals Himself to him. He promises to bless him, to bring him back, to give him this particular land and to multiply him. Jacob vows to trust God for the going and the coming.

Jacob had to leave his home. He was a weak, easily deceived young man. He will go away and pass many trials and pains. God will use strangers to train, change and mature him. He will come back after 20 years a very different man: sure of his God, sure of his identity, married with children, spiritually mature, wealthy and blessed. This change can only be done by God and outside the childhood home.

Give thanks for all the seasons of your life! In particular, remember the time you left your childhood home to pursue your ‘dream’. You know that it has not been easy. You became born again outside your comfort zone. You had to pass thru much pain, disappointments, betrayals, anxiety and loneliness. You had to learn to cope with evil jealous people, with rejection and sickness.

But, this is the question: Can you testify that God has been with you in your life’s journey? Then blessed are you! Give thanks to God!

 
Do not be over impressed with somebody’s gifts. The person may be beautiful, handsome, intelligent, educated…can sing, preach or pray…can be famous or wealthy…all these are good but they can can be sources of deception for they do not represent the heart. Learn to ignore the attraction of the superficial flesh!
Study the character, the behavior! Look for the fruit of the Holy Spirit clearly manifesting in that person: “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control” (Gal 5:22, 23). By finding spiritual fruit in a person you shall eliminate all sources of danger, disappointment and deception! Why complicate your life? Stay simple! Stay safe! Stay happy!

“Beware of false teachers who come disguised as harmless sheep, but are wolves and will tear you apart. You can detect them by the way they act, just as you can identify a tree by its fruit. You need never confuse grapevines with thorn bushes or figs with thistles. Different kinds of fruit trees can quickly be identified by examining their fruit. A variety that produces delicious fruit never produces an inedible kind. And a tree producing an inedible kind can’t produce what is good. So the trees having the inedible fruit are chopped down and thrown on the fire. Yes, the way to identify a tree or a person is by the kind of fruit produced” (Mt 7;15-20; TLB)

My spiritual daughter’s father was kidnapped last night from his house in the village. We pray that the enemy will show mercy on him and released unharmed! All things are possible with God! We vow to give God all the gory! Please pray in faith and with confidence of victory! In Jesus name, Amen!

3 DAYS LATER…

UPDATE- PRAISE REPORT!!!!!
Her dad has just been released unharmed! Praise the Lord!
This is her report: “Dear Malia, Praise The Lord! My dad just came out. I have spoken to him briefly his voice is very strong and he sounded very excited. I am so happy and thankful to God. I know there will be a testimony to God’s glory. That was our prayer. Thank you Malia. Please greet Tali for us. We are really grateful for your support. May God bless you and all the brethren who prayed for us! Thank you!
To God be all the glory!

“The Lord roars from Zion,
And utters His voice from Jerusalem…
Surely the Lord God does nothing,
Unless He reveals His secret to His servants the prophets
A lion has roared!
Who will not fear?
The Lord God has spoken!
Who can but prophesy?” (Am 1:2; 3:7, 8)

As a pastor and preacher of the Word, I am concerned when I observe spiritual passivity in the congregation. This weakness is a sign of divine judgment. Even as we continue to pray for revival, there are basic lessons we must learn from the Bible. I read somewhere that the owners of Christian bookshops made a strange observation. They said that next to buying a Bible the believers prefer to read Christian fiction. They avoid serious books about the doctrines and the study of the Word of God. This is very sad and also a dangerous path.

Amos was a farmer and a business man. God called him to be His prophet and speak of His behalf. Basically, the Book of Amos is a gathering of warnings from God against the nations. The pagans have erred. Even the people of God have taken their salvation and prosperity for granted. They want to be like the other nations. All they want is to enjoy their material prosperity on earth. They joined others to serve idols. They still go to the Temple, they still pray and they continue in their religious feasts but the heart is far from God. They rejected the prophets who warned them to repent. That is when God Himself decides to ‘roar’ like a Lion from Zion. Amos is echoing the roar of the Lion of the tribe of Judah. He warns the people of God that if they do not repent, God will send judgment on the land. One way this judgment will manifest is as losing spiritual strength and the gathered wealth (Am 3:11). The rich and famous religious men shall suddenly fall into trouble and become in need. This poverty is strange and cannot be reversed without deep and open repentance of heart.

Amos said that God roars like a lion. He too roars like a lion ‘in training’.
In the natural, why does a lion roar?
It’s all about establishing presence, territory and communication. Cubs do not roar. Only the mature lions do! It’s a sign that they are in their territory and a warning to other challenging males. Roaring is also one of their strategies for catching prey. They creep up on the prey and when they are close enough, they will let out a roar that confuses that animal. Because of fear, the victim cannot “think” or react correctly and is caught by the lion.

Spiritually speaking, the prophetic roar of the Lion of the Tribe of Judah is to bring back the fear of God on the people of the land. This is a preparation for revival. This is a good fear and it produces wisdom. For a long time God is patient when we take Him for granted….But from time to time His roar will be heard over the hills and valley and that roar cannot be ignored. Your enemies will be paralyzed with fear and they have to retreat! The roar will remind you that Jesus is Lord! The roar will warn you of impending judgment. The roar comes with power and also with mercy. The warning is to be heeded and repentance is to be fruitful.

“The sound of the King is in their midst…
For there is no sorcery against Jacob,
Nor any divination against Israel
It now must be said of Jacob
And of Israel, ‘Oh, what God has done!’
24 Look, a people rises like a lioness,
And lifts itself up like a lion;
It shall not lie down until it devours the prey,
And drinks the blood of the slain” (Nu 23:21, 23, 24)

I am a pastor to the flock of God. I teach, encourage, help and counsel them who are in need. But in times of spiritual crisis, the prophetic roar cannot be quenched. The anointing must do what the anointing must do! This is the work of God, for the sake of God! May you learn to combine the pastoral anointing with the prophetic gifting! You need both! May you become spiritually mature! The devil roars to intimidate and manipulate. He can deceive men but not forever. Once the Lion of the tribe of Judah has lifted up His voice, all opposition is defeated! One royal roar solves millions of problems!

“Dear Heavenly Father, for Your Word, for Your Spirit, for Your chastisement, for Your warnings, for Your mercy, love and grace, for the healing, for the deliverance, for the victory….may all the glory go to You alone!”

“Make a joyful shout to the Lord, all you lands!

Serve the Lord with gladness…

For the Lord is good;

His mercy is everlasting,

And His truth endures to all generations” (Ps 100)

This is a Psalm of great inspiration to the worshippers of Jehovah. We are commanded to ‘make a joyful sound’. It is not God that will ‘make’ this sound. It is our responsibility, as He has already given us breath and vocal cords to use. We are to obey the Word of God exactly as we read it. The true response here is not a little whisper prayer or a murmuring tune. It is a clear ‘trumpet like’ shout calling the names of God and praising Him with all our strength. We are to serve and worship God with gladness. It means to be happy and satisfied with our relationship with God.  The opposite of ‘gladness’ is sadness, depression or anger. All these sinful internal attitudes disqualify you from entering God’s presence to worship Him. You may ask: ‘Why should I be glad when there are many problems around me?’ The reason why I am glad is because Jesus died for me to save my soul. Salvation is the greatest gift of grace. All other blessings and gifts, marriage, children, wealth…are not in the same class with the salvation of your soul! So, be glad, be grateful…and actively loudly praise God!

Why I love to praise God is because He is the only living God. I do not worship ‘man-made gods’ or any other ‘part time idols’. My God happens to be Elohim, the Creator of the heavens and the earth. If this statement sounds like boasting, you are right. I am commanded to boast about knowing my God, so I am training to do just that. With time, I will boast even more about God’s love for me! If this offends you, there is nothing I can do. Come to the Cross, see what Jesus did for your soul, and you shall join me in singing praises, boasting and making a joyful noise unto God!

I belong to God! My body soul and spirit are His. I did not create myself and I am not my god. I am His sheep and He is my Shepherd. Jehovah Rohi takes responsibility for my life. So, I shall not want, fret or fear. Each time I hear any of God’s names, my spirit jumps up like baby John did in the womb of his mother, Elizabeth. God forbid that at the hearing of the name of Jesus, I continue my routine like nothing has happened! Jesus died for me! My soul is saved! So the proper response to the hearing of my Savior’s name is to praise Him!

My God is good. He is the only true good Person in the universe! If you see any good thing in me, it is His reflection and nothing else. His mercy and kindness to me is everlasting. The well of His grace is bottomless. His truth endures to all generations. Things come and go but truth remains standing, for truth is a Person. “I am the Truth…” said Jesus. The same wonderful truth revealed to me will come to my children and grandchildren. All generations will receive freedom from their bondages, on behalf of the workings of truth as revealed in Christ. I may not have money to give to my children, but the truth revealed to me is their portion and inheritance forever. What a God!  What a destiny! Now, it is time to leave you…for I want to shout in triumph: JESUSSSSSS!!!! Our God is worthy!

“Abstain from all appearance of evil” (1Thess 5:22)

Recently a young woman from our church came to my office. She has a little son. That morning, she had quarreled with her husband who drove her away from home. The reason, according to her, is that he is too jealous. I asked her if there was any reason why he should suspect her to be unfaithful. She laughed nervously (that is a sign of guilt…). She confessed that she talks on the phone with ex-boyfriends and other men who occasionally send her money or recharge cards (credit for her phone). She assured me that there is nothing more than that. But because her husband is jealous, immediately she finishes talking to them, she deletes their numbers from her phone.

I told her I will intervene to settle them so that she can go back home with her child. But that she should come again for more counselling. I told her that she is playing games with her marriage, with her husband’s emotions. Provoking your spouse is terribly wicked. I told her that this flirting game will give the devil a foothold in her marriage and the end is only pain, sorrow and regret. If you give the devil a finger, he will take the hand. Because she is newly married, the foundation of the marriage is very important. There is much to talk about and pray with her in the future. She promised to come back.

As believers, we are commanded to avoid, not only open sin, but every hint or appearance of evil. Any action, attitude or word that brings pain or hurt on another is considered evil. Any carless attitude is evil. Any unnecessary provocation is evil. Any unrestrained sexual attitude, lacking self-control and prudence is evil. You have to be jealous with your testimony as a married man or woman, as a believer!

This is God’s command: You are to abstain from all evil! Not just from some, but from all sinful acts. The word ‘abstain’ means to draw back, to create and keep a distance from anything you consider sin. By staying passive in the midst of wicked men, you tell others that you are one with them. Please note, you cannot hate sin by your own power. You need the power of the Holy Spirit to abstain from sin. Pray to be filled with the Holy Spirit!

Please remember, the future of your marriage is very important! But your testimony as a child of God is even more so! What people see in you will direct them to life or death. You may be the only Bible they will ever read! Keep your ‘pages’ clean and pure! Sin is a disgrace, but godliness is profitable for all things! Think about these words…if there is need for correction, repent immediately…let the devil be disappointed! Let God be glorified!

Our beautiful grand daughter Josslyn Leigh is two today!

God bless you!

God bless your parents and brother!

May you grow to be a blessing to many!

“And the king said, “Divide the living child in two, and give half to one, and half to the other.”

Then the woman whose son was living spoke to the king, for she yearned with compassion for her son; and she said, “O my lord, give her the living child, and by no means kill him!” But the other said, “Let him be neither mine nor yours, but divide him.” (1Kg 3:25, 26)

This is the story: there are two harlots who became mothers. Each had a son. Whatever the past, one woman was a good mother to her child. The other one just brought a child into the world. She was selfish, careless and heartless. By mistake she suffocated her son in the night. She then exchanged the boys taking the living one. In the morning there was great confusion. The good mother saw that the dead child in her arms was not her child. The quarrel ended in the royal palace. Solomon, displaying the supernatural wisdom he prayed for, suggested dividing the only living child into two. The wicked mother agrees, for she has nothing to lose. But the true mother cannot see her child killed and is ready to give up her rights as a mother. All she wants is that her baby will live. This is how the king proves the true mother and gives her back her child.

What do you think is the lesson the good mother has learned out of this near tragedy? She made friends with a wicked woman who almost killed her son.

The wicked mother is an extremely selfish person. She has no compassion like the good mother. There are many people in this world who only care about themselves. Their attitude is this: “if I am not happy, you too should not be happy’.  A selfish person is one who cares only for their own pleasures, even if it causes pain to someone else. They are skilful manipulators. They have no consideration for anyone else, and worry only about their own comfort. A selfish partner or a friend will always extract more from you, and yet, they never give anything back to you in equal measures. Even after many years of friendship, you still feel empty, guilty and tired in their company.

This is a warning to be careful with your relationships. Do not get close to selfish heartless manipulators. And of course, do not marry them. For they will exploit you, misuse you and leave you in pain without blinking an eye! Your tears mean nothing to them. If you are defeated, they just move on to their next victim. Selfish needy people reject all who cannot benefit them personally. Do not get infatuated with them! They are dangerous and wicked. They will lead you into trouble and abandon you there.

As I write these words, I am thinking of the millions of men and women who have suffered in this world. You do not have to suffer forever! Please pray for wisdom before you give your heart to another. If you have made mistakes, pray and ask God for the wisdom and strength to correct them. This is God’s encouragement: It is really possible to have a new better beginning in life! God will do it!

 
“Do not envy the wicked,
do not desire their company;
for their hearts plot violence,
and their lips talk about making trouble
Whoever plots evil
will be known as a schemer.
The schemes of folly are sin…” (PV 24;1, 2, 8, 9)

A schemer is a man who makes secret (evil) plans; he is interested in ‘dirty’ politics and secret intrigues. He is a manipulator, using unfair means to get personal advantage. He has secret and selfish ambitions. He does not want to pay the real price for promotion so he tries to cheat others to gain advantage. A schemer tends to cause annoyance, trouble or injury to others. A schemer is a fool and a coward. He fears the opinions of men but he does not fear God. The Bible calls these men ‘evil and wicked’.

‘Their hearts plot violence’. In Hebrew the word ‘plot’ means to murmur (in pleasure or anger); to imagine, to study, to meditate or to speak. The word ‘violence’ means desolation, destruction, oppression, robbery or wasting. In other words, a schemer is a very deep person, deep in an evil way. On the surface he looks like any other man, but his heart is not simple. Day and night he studies the art of hurting someone. It takes a lot of time and energy to be a successful schemer. Many are just beginners. Some are true professionals, dangerous foxes sent by the devil to wound the unsuspected in the Body of Christ.

These schemers are found in many places, in offices, in the government and even in the churches. They seem quiet but these men are silent factories of evil, hurting and oppressing others without any guilt at all. We are commanded not to envy and not to desire them. The schemer looks confident and successful in his evil way. He may also be quite entertaining, again in his own selfish evil way. Gossip and slander can make a good story. The Christians seem foolish in comparison. Evil living is quite attractive to a foolish person. But we are commanded to reject their friendship! As a child of God, stay far from them. Men like these have nothing good to offer you. Do not sympathize with them. Do not sponsor them. Run the way you run from a snake. God will deal with them soon and you will not like to be around when God will judge them.

Jacob is known as a redeemed schemer. He deceived his old father. Together with his mother, he cheated his brother Esau to gain the inheritance and the blessings of a first son. But God dealt with him, for he was called to be among the fathers of Israel. Later God changed his name to Israel, meaning ‘a prince with God’, signifying total repentance and a new identity. Haman is another example. He was a total evil schemer. He was a selfish and very ambitious man. But God overturned his evil plans and the promotion he so much desired went to his worst enemy. Eventually he died on the gallows he built for Mordecai. Another ‘classical’ example is the wicked queen Jezebel. She always had an evil approach to all things. She organized the killing of an innocent man, their neighbor Naboth. She made it seem as a natural event, but God knew that she hired wicked men to lie and kill. For the shedding of his innocent blood, Jezebel died a terrible death.

This is a great warning here. A schemer may be quite successful in hiding his wicked plans from other people. But no one can hide from God. Eventually the evil man shall be destroyed by the very plot he planned for others.
“If a man digs a pit, he will fall into it; if a man rolls a stone, it will roll back on him…whoever breaks a wall, will be bitten by a snake… He who is pregnant with evil will give birth to disillusionment” (PV 26:27; Ecc 10:8; Ps 7:14)

Please listen! It just does not pay to live as an evil person. The end is pain, sorrow, shame, bitterness, dead dreams and a life time of regret. Please remember, the Almighty God hates and judges evil. That is why Jesus died. There is no other reason why the Son of God died on the Cross. He died because of our sins, evil and wickedness. No other Blood could appease the wrath of God. Look at the Cross and repent. No wicked man shall escape the judgment of God! You cannot repent after death. Repent now! Today is the day of salvation! These words may seem childish to you, but these words are true. They are not mine… Go to the Bible and you shall find them there… I pray for you… that you search your hearts and come to Jesus! There is room at the Cross of for you…there is no other hope anywhere in the universe…Come to Jesus! Oh, Sinner, come home!

 
Pastor P is a young man of God who needs urgent prayer. He comes to visit us sometimes. His wife phoned that he is in Ogharra teaching hospital, in coma (unconscious) since last Tuesday. The doctors say that he has hepatic (liver) failure and they do not give him any hope at all. But with God nothing is impossible. Please pray for a miracle! God bless and reward all intercessors! In Jesus name, Amen!