HAPPY WITH CHURCH TONIGHT

“David inquired of the LORD, saying, “If I pursue after this troop, shall I overtake them?” He answered him, “Pursue; for you shall surely overtake them, and shall without fail recover all.” (1Sam 30:8)

The prayer meeting was very good. Today is 12 weeks since I fell and broke my ankle. I missed ‘my sheep and my lambs’. They missed me too… By the grace of God we rejoiced seeing each other in the presence of God. Physically I was limping and shaking a little, but my spirit was ready and strong. I saw that many of our sheep ran away to hide in the ‘bushes’ of religion. I know that the intent of the devil was to ‘strike the shepherd so that the flock will be scattered’. But The Holy Spirit is so faithful… As we started praising God and praying, The Holy Spirit came down to embrace us in His everlasting arms. We all felt His presence, calling us back to Him, to where we belong. The anointing was that of a joyful family restoration.

“Then he said, “Don’t be afraid, Daniel. Since the first day you began to pray for understanding and to humble yourself before your God, your request has been heard in heaven. I have come in answer to your prayer” (Dan 10:12)

Intercession is a blessed work. The greatest favor and love you can show to someone is to pray for him or her. The devil hates it! But keep on praying! When you pray for someone, learn to keep your eyes on Jesus! Stay focused! Be patient, loving and faithful! The devil attacks with doubts and distractions. Do not get lost in details. Persevere in prayer and you shall be rewarded with God’s presence and a testimony.

“So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed” (Jn 8:36)

As a mature believer, you need to do spiritual warfare. The devil is a real enemy and he has some power. But the power of God is supreme. God limits his activity when he is attacking God’s children. These are some basic revelation facts: The devil is a thief who comes only ‘to steal, kill and destroy’ (Jn 10:10). He is a liar and a deceiver. The devil is a religious spirit saying that he ‘believes in God’. He attacks the believers mostly with sickness, poverty, discouragement, fear, confusion and depression. There are different ranks of evil spirits, just like a wicked army of terrorists. Some are attacking people and some are against nations. When God promotes you, the higher levels demon powers will attack you. You need to be spiritually ready! You need to resist the devil and he will flee from you! We do not fight ‘against flesh and blood’. We do not focus and fight against human beings. These are only the pitiable slaves of the devil. We fight against the demons who manipulate these men and women. So, you cannot afford to be ignorant or passive! Put on the whole armor of God and fight back! You shall have the victory! Believe it!

Please note this: the devil steals not just material prosperity but spiritual blessings too. For example, he can steal part of your joy. You wake up happy in the morning. Then you hear a word and suddenly you plunge down into an ocean of sadness. This is a spiritual thing. If you are not aware of this spiritual battle, you may blame the person who troubled you. You need to see these spiritual realities and fight a spiritual battle. Victory is very sweet!

Let’s talk about JOY. According to the Bible: The Joy of the Lord is strength; joy is medicine to the soul; joy is a sign of hope for the future; joy is a proof that you live in the presence of God; joy is a sign that your troubles are over; joy is a sign that you have faith in God; joy is a proof that you have swallowed and believed the Word of God (Neh 8:9-18; PV 17:22; 10:28;   Ps 16:11; 30:5; 33:21; Jer 15:16). From these scriptures you see that the devil wants to steal or damage your joy as a Christian. If he succeeds, you shall be spiritually and physically weak, you will feel hopeless; suddenly your future looks dark; you feel like a backslider, outside the presence of God, you feel like your troubles will never end, you start to doubt the Word of God; your faith goes down; your prayer life does down; you lose your testimony as a child of God and you become afraid of the future.

This is the good news: If you are a child of God, rejoice! And I say again: REJOICE!!! I command you to rejoice!!! There is nothing to fear! In Christ the victory is sure. We fight from a position of rest and victory achieved for us by the Lord Jesus Christ at the Cross of Calvary! Praise the Lord!

Now let’s pray with faith and with a loud voice: “Dear Heavenly Father, I come to You in the name that is above every other name, Jesus Christ, the Son of God! I am sorry for being careless with my spiritual blessings. I pray for total restoration of my body, soul and spirit, of my marriage, my children, my job and my ministry. I take authority in the name of Jesus and I command every evil spirit from the pit of hell to leave me and mine and to go away right now! I completely destroy every sympathy or agreement I have done, knowingly or un-knowingly, with evil spirits or their human agents! Holy Spirit please come and fill me afresh! Use me for God’s work! I vow to give You God all the glory! In Jesus name I pray, amen!”

After praying this prayer you must feel better. You must feel happier! You must feel stronger! It is the work of the Holy Spirit! Give Him glory! Praise His Holy Name!  Come back with a great testimony of freedom and deliverance!

“Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her, that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word, that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish. So husbands ought to love their own wives as their own bodies; he who loves his wife loves himself” (Eph 5:25-28)

The answer to this question is found in the Word of God. I also confirm it from my experience as a wife of more than 42 years and also from my experience as a Pastor. One thing is clear: the devil hates successful godly and happy marriages! To have a successful marriage it takes a lot of effort. That is why the spiritually lazy are all unhappily married. Any woman, but especially if she is born again, has her own expectations concerning marriage. This is because she reads the Bible and she sees God’s standard concerning the men. She is not happy if her dreams do not come true.

What does a Christian woman desires from her husband?

*Love! The husband must love her in a particular way: ‘even as Christ loves the Church’. This is the greatest love of all. It is not just a seasonal emotion, but a forever sacrificial love.

*Prayer! The husband must pray with and for his wife. Before praying for children, for friends and the extended family, the husband must regularly pray for his wife.

*Cleansing! A godly husband must ‘wash’ his wife with the Word of God. He must study the Bible to have enough ‘water and soap’ to do it.

*Providing! A husband must provide for the wife. He must be an ambassador of Jehovah Jireh in the home.

*Trustworthy! A godly husband must keep his word. He should not lie or give false hopes. He should not promise things he cannot perform. Breaking a promise to the wife means breaking her heart. And that breaking takes a long time to repair. He must be sexually faithful to his wife.

*Communicate! The husband must speak the truth in love! He should be a lover and a leader using good words! They should talk ‘heart to heart’, about everything. Silence is not a good communicator. You may misinterpret the absence of words. My husband and I we talk about everything. We are friends, lovers and co-laborers in ministry.

*Spiritual covering! The husband must take responsibility for the mistakes of his wife. He should not blame her harshly. He must correct the wife in love. This correction is an art. Do not correct in anger, but always in love. Be patient and expect improvement. Rejoice when the good changes come.

*A good father! The husband must be a good father to their children.

*Co-laborer! The husband must help carry the wife’s burdens. He must pray to understand his wife. This is not an easy task but with the help of the Holy Spirit he will succeed.

*Rejoice with her! He must make her laugh for laughter is like medicine. He should discuss their finances with her. They should not be greedy or wasteful. They should pay their tithes and offerings in the church.

*An encourager! He must encourage her to be all that God wants her to be. He should not expect perfection for no one is perfect. But they should mature spiritually and rejoice in the journey of life. Each season of life is beautiful in the presence of God!

This is our testimony. My husband loves me and I know it because he has proved it to me numerous times.  He loves me with words and action. He prays for me. One of the sweetest times for me it is when my husband calls me and says: “My wife, let me pray for you…” To me this is the highest form of love in action. I so appreciate it! Recently, having some health issues, my husband’s prayers carried me on. My husband studies the Bible daily. I love it! We discuss the wonderful things we find in the Word of God. He provides for the financial needs of the home. He is not a lazy man at all! I trust him when he promises me things. He does not lie to me. He encourages me and he corrects me when I need both. He is happy when I improve in my character. We rejoice together. He is a good father to our children and a good grandfather. We share in the burden of the ministry. We laugh together, we work together. My marriage was not perfect from the beginning for we were both sinners when we fell in love. But after we became saved, the spiritual fruit started to appear and now our marriage is a garden of the Lord.

This is a prayer I often pray. It has worked for me. If you have faith, it will work for you! “Lord Jesus, please help me to see You in my husband’s eyes…help me to feel Your touch thru my husband’s hands. Bless our marriage. Bless our home with Your presence. Let the water be changed into wine in our marriage, In Jesus name, amen!”

“Simon, Simon, satan has asked to sift all of you as wheat. But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers.” (Lk 22:31, 32)

After 11 weeks of not being able to attend church services, today I came back to the fellowship of the saints. I told them that my accident was an evil attack. God permitted it for His glory and for my good. The devil could only break my leg but he could not break my spirit, our marriage or our ministry. Glory to God! I publicly declare the devil is a liar and a loser! I told the brethren: ‘I am back to strengthen you, children of God! Holy Spirit, help us!’

What happens to Peter is similar to what happened to Job. Satan requested from God for the permission to attack Job, a righteous man. Interestingly, his desire was granted. Satan attacked his family, his property and his health. But thru it all, Job held to the integrity of his faith in God. This faithfulness in times of trouble defined his character. What are the lessons? God permits His children to be attacked by the devil, for a season. Satan is real and he has some power. But his power is limited and controlled by God, who has the ultimate sovereign power! “God has spoken once, twice I have heard this: that power belongs to God” (Ps 62:11)

Many believers struggle with this question: Why does God allow satan to attack His children? The answer is this: for God’s glory and for their good! Something supernaturally wonderful happens when we enter the sufferings of Christ, when we share in His pain! When the Bride suffers together with her Bridegroom they shall both rise to a higher level of intimacy unknown in times of prosperity! Together they arrive to a greater unity of the Spirit! They suffer together and they shall rejoice together! They share together in their reward which is always greater than past their sufferings! “If we suffer (endure), we shall also reign with Him” (2Tim 2:12)

God is glorified by using the weakness of men to defeat satan. At the Cross of Calvary, satan was totally defeated. The Cross is God’s weakness which is stronger than the power of men (1Cor 1:24, 25). We preach that Cross! We carry that Cross! God allows us to be weak and ‘defeated’ for a season, so that satan will foolishly attack us. We are ‘bait’ for satan! Oh… the unsearchable wisdom of God! What is the good that comes out of these peculiar afflictions? Passing thru fire, our faith increases and becomes purified! This is great gain! Faith is more precious than silver and gold. Like in the case of Job, God will reward patient humble faithfulness with many blessings! If you want to be a man of God, a woman of God, your faith must be tested, for you to be approved for ministry!

In the scripture above Jesus describes satan as a farmer who uses a sifter to sift wheat. He violently shakes the grains up and down and right to left. The intent is to separate the grains from the chaff, which is the cover of the seeds. If he succeeds, the ‘naked’ grains are smaller in size, pass thru the holes of the sifter and they fall into his lap. But the grain covered with the chaff is too big to pass thru. Spiritually, we are the seeds. The chaff is a symbol of the shield of faith, our spiritual covering. The sifting of satan’s is intended to separate us from our faith.

This is the lesson: If we hold on to our faith, we are ‘too big’ for satan! We shall survive the fire! This tested faith is great victory! (1Jn 5:4). This is a great encouragement that even when our faith shakes, we are sur that it will not be destroyed. Peter’s faith failed him temporarily but not completely. What is the secret of this faithfulness? The prayers of Jesus! He is our Great High Priest who prays for us! God the Father and God the Son are not passive during your trials! They are actively interested in your condition, especially in the status of your faith! God allows you to pass thru trials so that at last, He can use you to strengthen others. Dear brethren! For better for worse, we are in it together! We shall rejoice together! Glory to God! Be encouraged today! Be strong in your faith today! In Jesus name, amen!

PRAISE REPORT

After 11 weeks of not being able to attend services, I was in the church today worshiping God and strengthening the brethren! To God alone be all the glory!

PRAISE REPORT

Today it is 11 weeks since I fell I broke my ankle. This has been quite a journey! The devil intended it for evil, but the Holy Spirit turned it for my good, better said, for our good! So many blessings came on our children (natural and spiritual) at this same time. That is how I know that God is in control. This is just one testimony:
Our older daughter celebrates her birthday today! She is a woman of God, a wonderful daughter to us and a amazing mother to her three children. “I pray that God will bless you with the blessings of Christ! Your dad and I, we love you, dearest Alina! In Jesus name, amen!” To God alone be all the glory for the successful lives of our children!

“Oh, that men would give thanks to the LORD for His goodness, And for His wonderful works to the children of men! For He satisfies the longing soul, And fills the hungry soul with goodness” (Psalm 107:8-9)

PRAISE REPORT

Today it is 11 weeks since I fell I broke my ankle. This has been quite a journey! The devil intended it for evil, but the Holy Spirit turned it for my good, better said, for our good! So many blessings came on our children (natural and spiritual) at this same time. That is how I know that God is in control. This is just one testimony:

In just one month, our daughter Jemine Leigh Oakes and her husband Matthew Oakes have sold their little two bedrooms town house. With the money they were able to buy a much more beautiful and bigger house, a four bedroom bungalow, and still have money to spare. They moved in today. In the picture see their sweet son Oliver, ‘helping’ with moving the furniture… This is purely a financial miracle, a gift by the grace of God!

“I returned and saw under the sun that—

The race is not to the swift,

Nor the battle to the strong,

Nor bread to the wise,

Nor riches to men of understanding,

Nor favor to men of skill;

But time and chance happen to them all” (Ecc 9:11)

This expression is attributed to Charles Darwin who brought the idea of ‘Evolution of the species’. He believed that the animal species develop from one another, from the inferior to the superior. He also believed that the weaker species die and the strong ones survive. He said that the fittest survive because they can better adapt to the environment and because they have stronger ‘genes’ to multiply faster. It is Darwin that said that men came out of monkeys. This theory was later applied to the human behavior in general. Even today people believe that the leaders, the champions and the heroes are the strongest men. They are the ones who are physically fit; who eat well and daily train in a gym. It has affected many intellectuals all over the world. It is the basis of racism, discrimination of all kinds and the culture of abortion. The people who believe in this theory say that those who are eliminated in the struggle for existence are unfit to live anyway. They are not sorry for the weak, the handicap, the ugly, the poor and the humble.

This is a worldly theory. The world is the system of men that works without God. The devil is called ‘the god of this world’ (2Cor 4:4). The theory of evolution totally ignores Elohim- God, who is the Creator of all that is created. The survival of the fittest ignores God who is in charge of His creation, who decides who lives and who dies. God promotes and demotes any man He wants. In fact who the world calls ‘strength’ is nothing to God. “That is why Scripture says: “God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble” (Jam 4:6)

When Jesus Christ came to this world He did not seem ‘fit’ as the world describes its heroes. He died on the Cross in weakness. Men and devils thought that is the end of Him. But Jesus ‘survived’ over them all. His descendants are like the stars of the sky and the sea on the seashore. We are His children and we are like Him. We may look weak and foolish but we live forever! In Christ, we overcome the world! The wisdom of the world is foolishness to God.

This is my testimony: I grew up in Romania, a communist country at that time. We studied Darwin and his theory in school and we believed in it. I did not believe in God. I really thought that monkeys were my ancestors. Thank God for Jesus! After I got saved, I repented of all my foolish and dangerous worldly ideas! I now believe and know without any shadow of doubt that God has created me, saved me and sustains me. God loves me! I have no business with Darwin and his world. My business now is to serve and worship my Savior and Hero forever! He is the King of kings and the Lord of lords, Jesus Christ, the Son of the Living God! Halleluiah!

“I returned and saw under the sun that—

The race is not to the swift,

Nor the battle to the strong,

Nor bread to the wise,

Nor riches to men of understanding,

Nor favor to men of skill;

But time and chance happen to them all” (Ecc 9:11)

This expression is attributed to Charles Darwin who brought the idea of ‘Evolution of the species’. He believed that the animal species develop from one another, from the inferior to the superior. He also believed that the weaker species die and the strong ones survive. He said that the fittest survive because they can better adapt to the environment and because they have stronger ‘genes’ to multiply faster. It is Darwin that said that men came out of monkeys. This theory was later applied to the human behavior in general. Even today people believe that the leaders, the champions and the heroes are the strongest men. They are the ones who are physically fit; who eat well and daily train in a gym. It has affected many intellectuals all over the world. It is the basis of racism, discrimination of all kinds and the culture of abortion. The people who believe in this theory say that those who are eliminated in the struggle for existence are unfit to live anyway. They are not sorry for the weak, the handicap, the ugly, the poor and the humble.

This is a worldly theory. The world is the system of men that works without God. The devil is called ‘the god of this world’ (2Cor 4:4). The theory of evolution totally ignores Elohim- God, who is the Creator of all that is created. The survival of the fittest ignores God who is in charge of His creation, who decides who lives and who dies. God promotes and demotes any man He wants. In fact who the world calls ‘strength’ is nothing to God. “That is why Scripture says: “God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble” (Jam 4:6)

When Jesus Christ came to this world He did not seem ‘fit’ as the world describes its heroes. He died on the Cross in weakness. Men and devils thought that is the end of Him. But Jesus ‘survived’ over them all. His descendants are like the stars of the sky and the sea on the seashore. We are His children and we are like Him. We may look weak and foolish but we live forever! In Christ, we overcome the world! The wisdom of the world is foolishness to God.

This is my testimony: I grew up in Romania, a communist country at that time. We studied Darwin and his theory in school and we believed in it. I did not believe in God. I really thought that monkeys were my ancestors. Thank God for Jesus! After I got saved, I repented of all my foolish and dangerous worldly ideas! I now believe and know without any shadow of doubt that God has created me, saved me and sustains me. God loves me! I have no business with Darwin and his world. My business now is to serve and worship my Savior and Hero forever! He is the King of kings and the Lord of lords, Jesus Christ, the Son of the Living God! Halleluiah!

“Seek the Lord while He may be found,

Call upon Him while He is near.

Let the wicked forsake his way,

And the unrighteous man his thoughts;

Let him return to the Lord,

And He will have mercy on him;

And to our God,

For He will abundantly pardon” (Is 55:6, 7)

There are many believers who ask me for counsel, how to have a financial breakthrough. This is my basic answer: Seek God first and prosperity shall be added to the seeker! (Mt 6:33). The devil deceives and confuses people. He tells them to seek wealth first giving them false hopes that God shall later follow. This will never happen, for God wants to be first in your life. Others ask: ‘how do I seek God’? In the scripture above you see how to do it.

*Seeking God is a command. It is not just a suggestion. Jesus is the Captain of our Salvation and He commands you to seek Him. Your answer should be ‘Yes, Sir!’ Start seeking God thru the Word of God, fasting and prayer! Seek God until you find Him!

*Seek God ‘while He may be found’. The Holy Spirit moves as He pleases. There are seasons when He does not move and He keeps silent. If you sense a drawing at your heart, it means He is calling you to seek Him. Do not waste that precious opportunity! You never know if or when another comes.

*Call upon the name of the Lord! Shout Jesussssssssssss!!!!!!! Be active spiritually and desperate to find God!

*Forsake your sinful way of life and your selfish thoughts! Separate from any friend who is not interested in God.

*Once you find God you shall receive mercy for He shall ‘abundantly pardon’ all of your sins! There is ‘abundant’ pardon, beyond your imagination pardon for you when you find God!

Let me use a picture to describe this seeking. A man has abandoned his loving wife for another woman. He now lives with his lover. From time to time he remembers his wife with some regret. That is not seeking! For as long as he only thinks about his wife, with love or with regret, that is not seeking his wife. One day, when the lover is gone shopping, he feels guilty and makes a phone call to his wife. He tells her that he misses her and still loves her. The wife has the right to ask: ‘Did you forsake your lover’ He says: ‘No”. That is not seeking! But if one day he tells the lover: ‘I am tired of this relationship! I love my wife! I go back to my wife!’ Then he phones his wife that he is on his way home. Then he shall find mercy and forgiveness from his wife. It is love, reconciliation and the grace of a new beginning! That means true seeking!

If you have read this note to the end, it means that God is calling you! Come like the prodigal son! Your Father has never stopped loving you! Come to Jesus! Come home!

“For it is God’s will that by doing good you should silence the ignorant talk of foolish people” (1Pet 2:15)

Few days ago I remembered something that happened to me when I was in the kindergarten in Romania, the country of my birth. This true story is almost 60 years old. I completely forgot about it but suddenly, the Holy Spirit brought it to my memory. “Thank You dear Holy Spirit…”

I was 5 or 6 years old. I was attending a nice kindergarten close to our house. I remember that from the very beginning, I always loved going to school. I loved the challenges of meeting other children. Anyway, in this kindergarten food was not supplied to the children. Each one of us we needed to bring our own food from home. Each morning, mother will lovingly prepare our sandwiches, for me and my younger sister, Adica.

One particular year, we had a new teacher. She came to the class with a new ‘law’. She said that each one of us should give her part of our food so that she will give it to the poor children who had none. I was impressed. During break time, just before we eat, we make a long line so that one by one we come to the front of the class and place on the table part of our food. Then we can eat what was left. Each day the pile of ‘donated’ food was getting bigger. My mother was also a teacher. When I told her about the new ‘auntie’ in school, mother said that she has no right to do so. I was a little confused about all this, but we all continue to obey her law.

With time I discovered that the poor children still had nothing to eat. Then rumors came that this new teacher has a pig at home and she feeds it with our food. I also heard that if any child refused to co-operate with her law, she will punish that child. She could not do it openly but indirectly. That is why the children feared her.  My confusion increased the more… I became upset with the whole thing… I was not a Christian. I did not know of anybody around me who was religious. But looking back, the grace of God was upon my life, for even then, I never accepted things passively. As a child, I asked questions and I expected answers. I loved reading books. This is how our parents trained us. Foolishness was never seen as a virtue.

Let’s go back to the story… One day, in my little mind, I made a plan. I said to myself: ‘This auntie says that the food is for the poor children. I personally know that some children come to school and go back home hungry. I will not give the teacher part of my sandwich anymore. I will personally give part of my lunch to any hungry child I see. If she asked me why I am not joining the line to place my food on the table, I will explain why.  I decided not to be afraid of her. This was a big decision for a six year old. One day the teacher asked me why I am disobedient to her law. I explained that I do what she said is a good thing; that I gave part of my food to children who have none. I also said that by doing this, I make her work easier. She was angry but she said nothing. Even as a child I knew the taste of victory. I continued to share my food even after this teacher was fired from her job.  I never saw her again.

This incident thought me many lessons:

*You can learn something good even from a wicked person.

*Doing good is a good thing! Goodness may sometimes be misinterpreted. But if your conscience is clear, and if you continue to do good, the wicked people will be silenced. They will be unable to attack you with their tongues, at least not openly.

*The power of goodness is a weapon against evil.

*I can confront wickedness and win.

These lessons remained with me all my life.

Many years have passed since then. I am now a born again believer in the Lord Jesus Christ.  As a Christian, I now have the backing of the Word of God. I expect much more from myself. I continue to use goodness as a blessing, investing seeds in the lives of my family and friends. I also use good deeds as a weapon in spiritual warfare. It never fails. Practical goodness is very powerful. Pray to be filled with the Holy Spirit and then you will be able to do the same. This life style is a very interesting and joyful way of being a champion. I love it! You too, try goodness and see what happens! All glory to God!

.

Jesus said: ‘You should not be surprised at My saying, ‘You must be born again.’ The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.” (Jn 3:7, 8)

Dr. Toju Eresanara came to visit us today. Our relationship is quite interesting. He and his wife Trish Eresanara are long time family friends who attend our church. He is my doctor. I am his pastor. He came to see me, for a medical checkup; to see how I am walking now. He was pleased with the improvement. As usual, we discussed spiritual things too. He told me that he lost four of his patients. They all died last week, one after the other. I know how he feels for I practiced medicine for 20 years. When you try your best but your patient dies, it is always painful. Our professors in medicine told us to remain emotionally detached from our patients, but in practice, that is not easy. This is so hard; not only for the families but also for the nurses and for the doctors. Dr. Toju and I, we reminded ourselves of the privilege of being a child of God, of the comfort of the Holy Spirit and that of prayer, especially when life is hard. We prayed for each other before he left.

“The seventy-two returned with joy and said, “Lord, even the demons submit to us in your name.” He replied, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy; nothing will harm you. However, do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.” (Lk 10:17-20)

More than ten weeks ago I fell and broke my ankle. For all this time I could not attend the services in the church. I had to stay indoors and wait for my healing. I thank God that the Holy Spirit stayed with me day and night. He did not allow me to become bitter during this trial of faith. The Holy Spirit healed not only my body, but also, my soul and my spirit. One of the greatest lessons for me to learn is this: I can live without church but I cannot live without Jesus, my Savior and my Lord. This difficult lesson was needed because, by the grace of God, as a pastor, I had achieved a level of success in ministry. But there was a danger in this success. The flesh can become proud and take interest in the visible success of ministry, more than taking delight in the simple holy love for the Lord. What I am saying is this: you must love the Lord Jesus, His Person, more than you love serving Him in the ministry! Selah!

The Lord Jesus Christ sent seventy two of His disciples to do ministry in His name. They preached the Gospel, healed the sick and delivered the oppressed. They came back very excited with their success in ministry. It was the submission of the demons at the hearing of the name of Jesus that excited them the most. But the Lord did not join them in their joy. Why? Is happiness for successful ministry wrong? No! But the Lord desires that we should not miss our priorities. We should always remember the joy of our salvation; that our names are written in the Lamb’s book of life. Our joy should always be linked with our salvation and a promise of living eternally in heaven with Jesus! To be eternally one with Christ, the Hope of Glory, should be the root of all joy! This joy should not be replaced with another joy that comes from successful ministry, which is secondary!

Just like in marriage: the husband wants his wife to be happy just because they were once in love and they got married. This joy should be the foundation of their marriage. Other joys will follow later: having children, working together or buying a house. All these achievements should not replace the primary joy of just being happy one with another. The Lord told them that he saw the devil fall down from heaven. The devil became infatuated with his power and stopped loving God. He tempts us with doing the same. This is a warning to always examine the source of our joy as believers.

Please search your heart! If like Job, you lose all blessings and gifts, you lose your health, your money, your marriage, your privilege of going to church and doing ministry… if you lose all these… will you still be happy, just because of Jesus? Is Jesus truly enough for you? When you remember that Jesus died to save your soul is that enough to worship Him? These are very serious questions that most people do not ask on Facebook. But Facebook or not, you still need to examine your faith and the source of your joys.

This is my testimony, my treasure that I have re-discovered during this painful trial of faith: My Lord and my Savior Jesus Christ is enough for me! He is my true joy, my heavenly Bridegroom and my exceedingly high reward! In His presence nothing else matters! Singing: ‘Take the world but give me Jesus! I am satisfied! I am satisfied!’

PRAISE REPORT

“I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth” (3 Jn 1:4)

I recently received a note from a dear daughter in Christ. It is such a pleasure to see our spiritual children growing in the faith and in the knowledge of Jesus Christ. This is so encouraging for me in particular, to see that God leads and blesses my children even now, in this particular season, when I cannot attend the church services. It encourages me to continue to invest in them, for deeds, good or bad, are like seeds that one day become a harvest. May you tap from this prophetic anointing of spiritual and material prosperity! In Jesus name, amen!