Monthly Archives: June 2020

YOU RESCUED ME BECAUSE YOU DELIGHTED IN ME

by Silvia Lia Leigh, MD
‘He rescued me from my powerful enemy, from my foes, who were too strong for me. They confronted me in the day of my disaster, but the Lord was my support. He brought me out into a spacious place; He rescued me because He delighted in me’ (Ps 18:17-19)
 
As believers, one great temptation we all have is to think that money is always necessary to solve life’s problems. Each time we hear about something that needs repairs we have conditioned our mind to quickly calculate ‘how much money do I need to fix this problem?’ This thinking is automatic. It is sinful. We are not to think like this. Babies do not connect all problems with money. This mindset is something we have acquired later in life. Our parents or friends have told us that we need money to solve our problems. They told us that wealthy people’s lives are easier than ours because they can afford to buy anything they need or want any time. They told us that being ‘poor’ means death. These words are lies! But by now, we have tasted the poison of money and we are hooked on habitual lies! Thinking money is as addictive as taking cocaine!
 
What shall we do? We prayed… As we prayed we received peace. This is a reminder that God is always bigger than all our problems. Where money cannot go, the Holy Spirit can! When money cannot ‘talk’, the Holy Spirit can! Jehovah Jireh has supplied all that we need and so much more. I believe in God my Savior! My heart is established in the Lord Jesus Christ!
 
This letter is to encourage all believers but especially those who right now do not have enough money to pay their bills and fix all their financial problems. I am saying to you: God is alive! God is your Father! God cares and God sees! God is happy when we remember Him in our daily (big or small) challenges of life. God is happy when we focus on Him, when we pray and wait on Him alone, to move and to touch. He who created the universe by His word, has power to heal, supply and deliver! Faith 100%! Doubt 0%!
 
In Christ I declare:
I am not waiting on men. I am not waiting for my bank to give me money. I am not waiting for my circumstances to change by themselves. No! I am waiting on God alone!!!! I am waiting on the Person of God the Holy Spirit!!!! I am waiting on Jesus, my Lord! I am a product of grace! As I am waiting, I am trusting that our Father in heaven is our help in this very time of need! This is God’s word: ‘God rescued me because He delights in me’! God’s Word never fails! It always produces a testimony of success! It is my promise to give glory to God now and forever!
 
Dear Brethren, may your hearts be encouraged today by the power of the Holy Ghost! In Jesus’ name, amen!

MY GOD, ENLARGE MY TERRITORY!

by Silvia Lia Leigh, MD
“Jabez cried out to the God of Israel, Oh, that you would bless me and enlarge my territory! Let your hand be with me, and keep me from harm so that I will be free from pain. And God granted his request” (1 Chronicles 4:10)
 
Jabez prays: “Enlarge my territory!” This is a prayer for an opportunity, for restoration, in his case, of his lost inheritance; for a place to stand in the midst of the culture of his day in which he might gain some sense of status and respect.
For us it means to find a way to break out of whatever may be limiting us, hemming us in and enslaving us. You may feel that you are in a situation in which you have no opportunity to grow, to advance, to be fulfilled, happy and satisfied. If that is the case, this is the proper kind of prayer to pray: “Father God, please give me fresh opportunities to fulfill my destiny! For Your name’ sake, please open new doors of favor for me. Enlarge my territory of godly influence in my marriage, my ministry and my business! ‘I will not let You go unless You bless me’ (Gen 32:26)! In Jesus’ name! Amen!”
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THE OFFENCE OF THE CROSS

by Silvia Lia Leigh, MD
“And I, brethren, if I still preach circumcision, why do I still suffer persecution? Then the offense of the cross has ceased” (Gal 5:11)
Why does the world hate the Cross? It is because the world is proud. The world wants to save itself. It rejects Jesus as the only Savior. The Cross has a simple solution: give your life to Christ who died for you! Then you shall live! But the proud intelligent man hates that solution. The Cross is foolishness to the unbeliever. But to us, it is the wisdom and power of God!
This is a strange story. In 1934 the Veterans in the US erected a seven feet iron cross in the Mojave Desert (near Las Vegas), as a monument to the fallen soldiers in the World War I. The Cross stood in that desert, for 70 years. In 2001, a man called Frank Buono, representing ACLU (The American Civil Liberties Union) took the American Government to court. He said that by allowing the Cross to stand on public land, the Government approves of Christianity. This means the Government is breaking the law of separation between church and state. For some years, because the case was in court, they boarded the Cross with plywood. Nobody could see the cross. Eventually, the supreme court said they should leave the Cross there. But after that, one night, the Cross was stolen. They did not see it for about two years. At last, they found the Church abandoned somewhere, many miles away, and they brought it back. They finally installed it back, on the same rock. This story is a proof that the world hates Jesus. Many people hate Christ, and His Cross. But the battle will always be won by Christ and Him Crucified! To God be all the glory! Say with me: Jesus is The Lord!
(The pictures are taken from Google. You see the Cross in Mojave Desert as it stands today and in the past when it was boarded with plywood)
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Cross Mojave Desert 2

ASK, SEEK, KNOCK

by Silvia Lia Leigh, MD
“Ask and keep on asking and it will be given to you; seek and keep on seeking and you will find; knock and keep on knocking and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who keeps on asking receives, and he who keeps on seeking finds, and to him who keeps on knocking, it will be opened” (Mt 7:7, 8; AMP)
Child of God, please give attention to these words. Read, meditate, and obey them! You will be surprised at the treasure that is stored within. These words are the commands of the Captain of our salvation, our Lord Jesus Christ. These three verbs are different levels of prayer. They have two things in common: 1-God will surely answer the prayers made to Him and 2-You must repeat these prayers until the answer comes. For example: it is ‘ask and keep on asking’… seek and keep on seeking’… knock and keep on knocking’…
*ASK – The simplest prayer is to ‘ask’ God. This prayer can be made anytime, anywhere. Make a request to God in the name of Jesus! Have faith that your Father in heaven hears you and shall answer you! Pray not only for material visible things. Pray for wisdom, for favor with God and man, for health, for courage to live the Christian life. If you ask amiss, God will re-direct your prayer. But fear not! Continue to pray! Be humble and bold enough to ask God!
*SEEK – The second level of prayer is to ‘seek’ the answer, to seek your miracle. The word ‘seek’ directs our attention to a journey. It involves time, energy, and resources. You pray in spot A and the answer to your request is in spot B. God will not carry your answer to spot A. A lazy man cannot seek anything good. Pray for strength and focus to find your miracle and not to abandon your seeking. Seeking is not a simple act, it is a process, a series of acts. Jesus says that there are areas of life that require more than asking; there must be seeking, searching. Something is lost, hidden from us, and prayer then becomes a search, a plea for insight, for understanding, for an unraveling of the mystery with which we are confronted. God will be with you during the seeking. This prayer will help you know God better. For example, Hannah did more than ask God for a son. She went on seeking for her miracle, for her son. This is how Samuel was conceived and born, to the glory of God! The devil will try to discourage you, to make you backslide from the way of seeking your healing, your fruitfulness. Do not make the devil happy! Seek and continue seeking God and the answer to your prayer. God promised that you shall not seek Me in vain! (Is 45:19).
*KNOCK- The third level of prayer is ‘knock’. This prayer describes a hindrance. There is a door in your front. You must knock and keep on knocking. Nobody knocks just once and goes to sleep. Knock until the Person from behind the door (God) opens the door for you. This is called a breakthrough. To experience it you need to do spiritual warfare. You need strength to continue to bang at that door that separates you from your dream come true. Have faith! The knocking is not forever! It is just a season! Once the door opens, you cross over into another realm. For example: a poor man passing thru this door becomes rich. Wealth is another realm! For a barren couple to have a baby, that is another realm! For a single man or woman to get married, that is another realm! A proud man complains! A humble man prays! May the Holy Spirit help you and build you up as you pray to God! The miracle is sure! I share in your joy! Glory of God! In Jesus’ name! Amen!
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ALL COLORS LOVE NEVER FAILS!

by Silvia Lia Leigh, MD
Our daughter, Jemine Leigh Oakes informed me that today is “Loving Day. I did not know that. I discovered that it is an annual celebration held on June 12, the anniversary of the 1967 United States Supreme Court decision Loving v. Virginia which struck down all anti-miscegenation laws remaining in sixteen U.S. states. In the United States, anti-miscegenation laws were U.S. state laws banning interracial marriage, mainly forbidding marriage between non-whites and whites, until the Warren Court ruled unanimously in 1967 that these state laws were unconstitutional. Chief Justice Earl Warren wrote in the court majority opinion that “the freedom to marry, or not marry, a person of another race resides with the individual, and cannot be infringed by the State.” Loving Day is not an officially recognized holiday by the U.S. government, despite attempts to make it so. Loving Day is the biggest multiracial celebration in the United States.
 
Our daughter, Jemine Leigh Oakes, remembered how her dad and I had to fight to marry. That was in Romania 46 years ago. It is such a long time that I almost forgot about that story. At that time I was not a Christian. But clearly, God’s hand was upon me and my Husband, Pastor Richmond Leigh. What is the lessons? True love never fails! God can never lose! Praise the Lord somebody! Bellow see what Jemine wrote on her Facebook account today:
 
“Did you know my parents were not allowed to marry? At the time, my dad was studying medicine in Romania (which was communist at the time). The government wouldn’t acknowledge their marriage. They went and camped with friends that stood by them at the steps of the judiciary building doing a hunger strike for days in protest. They fought for their love. And they won!
 
When I reflect on my own parents’ story, and people like the Lovings that decided to fight for change, I’m encouraged. My parents raised us to love all humankind. So here we are at a pivotal moment in 2020… what will you tell your grandkids about your role in history? I read Proverbs 31:8 again this morning… it says “speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute. Speak out for justice.”
 
I am a child of promise. A product of love that claimed the victory. I celebrate #lovingday today with great pride. My parents have been married for 46 years!!! Honoring them and the Lovings today!”
 
(In the picture, Tali and I, in Venice, Italy, about 1975)
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LOCKDOWN ONLINE SMILE

by Silvia Lia Leigh, MD

God has used this lockdown to teach me the value of a simpler life. It has forced me to become more humble (with the facemask on, why do I need to put on lipstick?). For a proud woman like me, to become humble in just few months, it is a miracle! Also, knowing that I am not alone in this ‘prison’ of circumstances, has helped me a lot. Other people suffer. So, for me, to complain about my so called ‘difficult life’, it will be a sin! I live in Nigeria. I look around and I see wonderful ways people cope with hardship! I admire the people who have found a way, not only to survive, but to become successful even in limitations! Once I tasted the beauty and the freedom of a simpler life, I became happy, with God and with myself. Something good came out of something bad. Thank God for everything! Let’s smile ‘online’!

SPIRITUAL HARMONY IN NIGERIA

by Silvia Lia Leigh, MD

This picture was taken in 2012. We were building the sanctuary (Father’s House Bible Church, Effurun, Warri, Nigeria). That day, my husband and I just came back from a short vacation. The brethren were so happy to see us back to town. Let me tell you another secret: One thing why I love Nigeria is the way people greet one another, especially after a ‘long time no see’. Nowhere in this world there is so much noisy singing joy when friends or family members meet, as I see it displayed here in Nigeria.

Because of centuries of racism, I see so much pain in the faces of the African Americans in the US. Only God can help them overcome the deep fears, mistrust and hatred. Our children and grandchildren live in the US. I pray for the people over there. But this is the truth: Blacks, whites, yellows and browns, they all need Jesus in their hearts, first of all. “Dear Lord, Jesus Christ, You are the Hope of all Nations; have mercy on them and on all of us!”

Many people look down on Nigeria. But God made this country my home. Nigeria is not perfect but I love it! From my heart to yours, from Effurun/ Warri, Nigeria, to the world at large, I send greetings of peace and joy, in Christ Jesus!

This is God’s word: “Behold, how good and how pleasant it is when brothers live in harmony! It is like fine oil on the head, running down on the beard, running down Aaron’s beard over the collar of his robes…” (Ps 133:1)

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