“I tell you the truth, if you have faith and do not doubt, not only can you do what was done to the fig tree, but also you can say to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and it will be done. If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer” (Matt 21: 21, 22)

A mountain in the Bible stands as a symbol for many things. One of them is an evil stronghold, an obstruction along the way. It is positioned to block your vision of the finishing line. The aim of the enemy is to blind you to the reward, to the destiny, and crown promised by God. This mountain is demonic. It speaks discouragement to weaken your faith. For example, when Nehemiah came back from Babylon, to rebuild Jerusalem, the enemy attacked him with doubts, fears and discouragement. The devil represented by Tobias and Sanballat opposed him saying that he was not able to finish building the wall. In the natural, things were very difficult. Even among the people of God, few had faith but many had doubts. This resistance to the work of God, to spiritual progress, is a mountain that has to be ‘thrown into the sea.’ Nehemiah proved to be a true leader, defeated the opposition, and finished building the wall of Jerusalem!

This is another word of faith: “Then he said to me, ‘This is the word of the LORD to Zerubbabel saying, ‘Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,’ says the LORD of hosts.’ What are you, O Great Mountain? Before Zerubbabel you will become a plain; and he will bring forth the top stone with shouts of ‘Grace, grace to it!’” (Zech 4:6,7). The counsel God gave to Zerubbabel is this: in the fight against all opposition, the human power will fail, but the power of the Holy Spirit will never fail! This is the promise of Jehovah Sabaoth, the Lord of Hosts. God challenges Zerubbabel to finish building the temple by praising and giving Him the glory.

God’s grace, His unmerited favor rooted in the Cross of Calvary is revealed as a mighty overcoming power that nothing can quench! God’s grace means victory in the war against doubt and failure. Against all odds, the roof of the Temple shall be finished at the sound of fearful praise: ‘Grace… Grace!’ Jesus Christ, the Capstone shall overcome!

It is foolishness to start the Christian race by grace and then try to finish it by human strength. Both the foundation and the roof shall be done only by the grace of God! Our salvation and our sanctification are possible only by the grace of God! The grace of God is a mighty weapon! Use it! You cannot ignore a blockage in an artery and hope that things will improve! The patient will end up with a stroke!

Child of God! Do not deny the reality of spiritual attacks! Do not accept defeat! Do not remain spiritually stagnant! Do not be passive! Fast and Pray! Listen to the voice of Jesus and you shall hear encouragement and victory! He said that if you have faith in God you shall destroy the enemy’s stronghold! Faith is 100 percent! Doubt is 0 percent! The size of the opposition does not matter; it can be a mountain, a hill or the sea. Your faith in God and in His grace shall overcome all oppositions! Fear not! Declare war against the wickedness in high places! God will perfect all that concerns you! Move on in your destiny! You can do it! I believe the Word of God!

In Christ I declare:
I am saved! I am free! By faith I destroy all opposition in my path as I follow Christ! I fear not! I keep moving on! I believe! All glory to the Lamb who was slain from the foundation of the world!
In Jesus’ name,
Amen!

(From my Book The Doe of the Morning)

(In the picture: Me during a trip to Israel. I was seated on top of an ancient stone olive press. Jesus said: ‘If anyone causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to sin, it would be better for him to have a large millstone hung around his neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea’ (Mt 18:6). This millstone is very heavy!!! I could not move it!!! )

Memories light the corners of my mind
Misty water-colored memories of the way we were
Scattered pictures of the smiles we left behind
Smiles we gave to one another for the way we were…

“And the LORD visited Sarah as he had said, and the LORD did unto Sarah as he had spoken. For Sarah conceived, and bare Abraham a son in his old age, at the set time of which God had spoken to him. And Abraham called the name of his son that was born unto him, whom Sarah bare to him, Isaac. And Abraham circumcised his son Isaac being eight days old, as God had commanded him. And Abraham was a hundred years old when his son Isaac was born unto him. And Sarah said, ‘God hath made me laugh so that all that hear will laugh with me.’ And she said, ‘Who would have said unto Abraham, that Sarah should have given children suck? for I have born him a son in his old age.’” (Genesis 21:1-7)

A lack of faith caused Sarah to laugh at God in disbelief. But an abundance of faith enabled her to laugh with God in delight.
This Bible story teaches us many things. The most important is that faith in God kills disappointment!

Dear sister, please listen: one thing is clear! The medical science says that after a certain age, your dreams to be a mother should die. But according to God, your Creator, you are never too old to believe that one day you will be a joyful mother!!! Do not laugh at God or at His promises! LAUGH WITH GOD!!! In His presence there is fullness of joy! Nothing can change that! God bless you as you believe!

One of the most frequent sins I am called to pray for thru the internet is gambling. I just received this note on my blog. He is a man from Kenya. Let’s call him Jonas. Dear intercessors, please join me in prayer for his deliverance. God bless you!

“Hi madam, the sin of gambling has haunted me for over 10 yrs, each time a coin or note gets into my hands is lost through betting. l has decided to trust in God for provision. I appreciate your encouragement. I am in Kenya…Thank you Mam”

“When they went from one nation to another, from one kingdom to another people, He permitted no one to do them wrong; Yes, He rebuked kings for their sakes, saying, “Do not touch My anointed ones, and do My prophets no harm.” (Ps 105: 13 – 15)

The people of God belong to Him. Like a mother, He teaches them and nurses them. Like an eagle, He trains them to spread their wings and fly, to fulfill their destiny. Like a father, He teaches them to be strong, to stand and fight the battles of righteousness. He anoints them to be kings and priests. He changes them to be holy, as He is holy. He alone chastises them, when need be. He may use others to do the work, but God is in charge of their lives, from the beginning to the end. No other nation, king, tyrant or devil can take the rod from God’s hand to inflict needless wounds on His people. This is the promise of God that in every pain, once I humble myself, I will find God in it! Seek and you shall find! Do not waste your pains! Find God in their midst!

‘If a man is newly married, he must not be sent to war or be pressed into any duty. For one year he is free to stay at home and bring joy to the wife he has married’ (Deut 24:5)

‘Why should your springs flow in the streets, your streams of water in the public squares? You should reserve it for yourselves. Never share it with strangers. Let your wife be a fountain of blessing for you. Rejoice in the wife of your youth. A loving doe, a graceful deer; may her breasts satisfy you always, may you ever be intoxicated with her love (may you always be captivated, exhilarated by her love… Let her surround you with her love… You should be attracted to her and stay deeply in love… Learn her ways always and think on her love… Be lost in her love forever) (PV 5:16-19)

‘The Lord is the Witness between you and the wife of your youth … God is the Witness when you made your marital vows to the wife of your youth’ (Mal 2:14)

My husband and I are married for 44 years. We have three adult children and seven grandchildren. We married as unbelievers. Later, we became saved and now we have a Bible based and blessed marriage. We are spiritual parents, pastors and mentors to many younger people. For the past two weeks we have been on a wonderful, needed and restful God’s gift to us vacation. We are now ready to come back home, to the holy work, demands and privileges of ministry.

I was thinking this morning about the lessons I have learned during this trip. One very important lesson is how much God loves us and our marriage. I am using my husband and I as point of contact but these blessings apply to all the children of God who are married or who desire to be married. From the scriptures quoted above you see that God is the ‘invisible’ but the Almighty Witness of your marriage vows. He is the Forever Faithful God. He expects faithfulness from you, the husband and the wife. When you are newly married, young and in love, you wonder why is God ‘worried’ about the danger of adultery or of our love becoming ‘lukewarm’? God is never worried but He knows the snares ahead, the wickedness of the devil and the weakness of our flesh. The truth is that Marital love is fragile. It needs nourishing, tender care and protection. Marriage is a temporary covenant. But God designed that marital love is a glorious fountain of eternal blessings, a forever treasure not measured by human words or ended by death. You must recognize the value of your love in marriage and be ready to fight to keep it hot and pure.

Read again the scriptures above. The dangers of marital love failing is ignoring it’s needs, it’s language, it’s destiny. In the Old Testament, the man who just got married was exempted for one year from going to war and having public duties placed on him. In today’s language, it means that trying to solve too many problems, even extended family’s troubles or answering old friends’ demands for entertainment upon the couple will weaken the marriage relationship. Remember that the outsiders (enemies and even friends) do not care about the level of passion of your love in the marriage. But you should care! Be careful and jealous to protect it!

God is especially interested in the marriage with ‘the wife of your youth’. My husband and I fall into this category of blessings. It is a subject I study a lot. The command to the couple is to enjoy one another! This is a practical advise: (if it is possible) marry when you are young! Then stay faithful in your marriage even when you grow old (it is possible)! It is your duty to cultivate passionate and pure love in your marriage! ‘The wife of your youth’ does not mean a young looking wife who has done cosmetic surgery to look young or one who dresses like a teenager. No! It means she is the wife that you married long ago, when both of you were younger. Time changes the size of your waist. Wrinkles appear on your face… But the love you had for each other during your youth must become stronger and brighter not faded and failing! This is God’s wish and command! The husband in particular is commanded to be attracted spiritually, emotionally, mentally and sexually by his wife, to the end of their life! He is to be attracted continuously by her internal beauty (that never grows old) and even by her external beauty (represented by her breasts, whatever size or shape these may be).

This passionate love is described as an intoxication with wine, as getting lost from the world in the safety of her embrace. Do not be afraid or ashamed to display passion among yourselves. This life long special marital love is a powerful antidote against adultery. It is an internal shield! The devil hates this love. But God loves this love and helps you keep it to the end!

Question: Dear husband, how do you keep enjoying the wife of your youth? Advice: Listen to her words! Feel her pains! Try your best to solve her problems and to encourage her! Pray for one another! Listen to the sound of your laughters! Buy gifts for one another! Like us, take some time alone, vacation time, far from the routine work at home and even far from the kids. Have time alone with each other. Talk to each other. Do not stay on the Internet for hours! Discuss new topics, interesting just for the two of you. Pay the price to learn who your spouse is, like us, even after 44 years… You will be surprised that you will discover new good things, new challenges to pray for and new gifts to share…

My husband and I have passed thru many trials in trying to keep the passion in our marital love. We had to fight many battles defending our romantic love. This warfare is not strange. It is to be expected. But we are witnesses that it is possible to marry in love and stay married in love!!! We recognize and honor the presence of God, the Holy Spirit, as the third Person not only of the Trinity but of our marriage. We have proved that ‘a three strands cord cannot easily be broken’. To God be all the glory!

Thanking God for this vacation I pray God’s blessings on all of you dear brethren who read my notes… May your marriage be better and may the wine of joy over flow in your home! In Jesus’ name!

(In the picture, my husband, Past. Richmond Leigh and I)

“I will give you the treasures of darkness; riches stored in secret places; so that you may know that I am the Lord, the God of Israel, who summons you by name!” (Is 45:3)

Do you want to be embarrassed and overwhelmed by an Account with ‘no withdrawal limit’? Then come to the Cross! Look long on the Crucified! Touch His Blood! Hear His Voice! Feel the death of the past! Sing a New Song! All is for you!
Whatever treasure you find there is yours! And it is free! The price has been paid! The Lamb has overcome!

“Please show me Your glory.” (Ex 33:18)

This evening, the prayer meeting was wonderful. This ‘wonderfulness’ was not because we were smart, spiritual or strong. It was purely because the Wonderful Counselor was in our midst. Initially, we tried to pray some little prayers but ‘the engine oil’ of the anointing was not enough for such a time as this… Wobbling between petty requests, we finally got to the mind of the Spirit. He said: ‘Glory!’ This became was our congregational and individual prayer: “Oh, Lord, Please show me Your glory.” (Ex 33:18). We also prayed: ‘Lord, give me You!’

The religious spirits tried to hinder the flow. They tried to distract us, reminding us about our natural needs. Suddenly, angry voices remembered us that we need to cook for tomorrow; that we need to pay the house rent at the end of the moth and school fees for children… But the Holy Spirit, the Lifter of our heads was pointing to much higher. ‘Where Lord?’…It was a good choice to disengage from looking around, from looking at our circumstances… Nothing new in Nigeria… same old stuff, not worthy to be brought before the throne of grace… but what else should we pray for?…

With the strength that moves the mountains, we looked up on the beautiful face of Jesus… the Author and Finisher of our faith… Without faith no one can pleases the Lord… Faith makes us pleasing to God… it was so refreshing to feel pleasing to our Savior… Then Grace sang a solo song… the song of the unmerited favor money cannot buy… ‘Amazing grace how sweet the sound, that saved a wretch like me… I once was lost… But now… But now!!! I am found!!! Was blind but now I see! Grace is greater than all our sins… We rejoiced in the grace released at Calvary… Old things passed away before our very eyes… all things changed and became new… It is a newness that lasts forever, the unfading newness of life… Then the heavenlies opened and we were invited in… We steeped in like Moses…Like David… No fear…  we are walking on the clouds of glory… I’m not afraid! ‘Show me Your glory!’

For a second I panicked… I looked around… simple men and women… from Effutun, Nigeria… None was properly dressed… No designer clothes… just some Tee-shirts and jeans… We did not look like much… It flashed thru my mind that if the big men of God knew the release of glory here, they could have come to fill their buckets with it… But none came… It was the glory love of the Father for us… for us… for us… We looked like the servants who filled the jars of water at the wedding in Cana… we were entrusted with the secret of the party when the sadness melted in jars of clay…We kept pouring wine to others…The Bride must be happy tonight… the special wine kept for the last hour… We got drunk in His presence… We ‘managed’ to say ‘Thank You’ to the King of Glory… Shaking, we gratefully piled one crown on top of another, we crowned Him as the King of kings… Fear free and glory gazing we bowed down to worship Him alone…

“There shall be showers of blessing;
This is the promise of love;
There shall be seasons refreshing,
Sent from the Savior above.

“A righteous person may fall seven times, but he gets up again. However, one disaster is enough to overthrow the wicked.” (PV 24:16)

“There is no single definition of holiness. There are dozens, hundreds. This is the basic definition: Holiness is being like God, who is holy. It means being spiritually and morally pure, hating sin! There is another definition that I am particularly fond of: being holy means getting up immediately every time you fall!!! Each time you fall into sin, or you make a mistake, look at your wrist watch and see how long does it take you to get up from your fall! The faster, the better! The more you hate sin, the holier you are! You should quickly acknowledge and confess your sin, repent of it, with humility and joy.