Against You??? (Hardly)

“Their father Jacob said to them, “You have deprived me of my children. Joseph is no more and Simeon is no more, and now you want to take Benjamin. Everything is against me!”
Genesis 42:35-37

Have you ever looked at your circumstance and situation and thought every thing is surely working against me or at least going against what I planned and expected. You are probably right it is. However, if you are the redeemed of the Lord and you love, trust and obey him, then He is more than able and sure willing to flip things around and bring a smile to your face. The book of Romans says: “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to his purpose.”  Romans 8:27-29.

God is obligated to make sure things are tidied up for your good, simply because He has called you for his purposes. You were made to be a light to this generation and subsequently or simultaneously bring glory to His ever worthy name! Will the enemy cause havoc, heart ache and chaos? But of course, that is his job. But your job is to focus on the Faithful and True One and praise him as you go along.

Jacob (Israel) will eventually see that the temporary loss of his son was to fulfill thousands of years of prophecy. God had allowed Joseph to be a victim of his brothers envy and jealousy to make a way for the immigration of the Israelites to Egypt. This paved the way eventually for the ‘GREAT I AM’ to be introduced first to the Israelites through Moses and Aaron, their surrounding neighbours and enemies alike, and then the rest of the world. Then from the ‘plagues’ through to the Passover and the Exodus, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob was God indeed!

So, I ask you; do you still feel disadvantaged? Hold on in faith and expectation and watch the Almighty God flip things in your favour.

Not Fooled and Not Bowed

“Yet I reserve seven thousand in Israel—all whose knees have not bowed down to Baal and whose mouths have not kissed him.”
1 Kings 19:17-19

By the anointing and enablement of the Most High God (God of Israel), Elijah had just accomplished a great feat for the kingdom of God. Four hundred and fifty prophets of baal had been put to an open shame. When it came time for the idol that the false prophets worshipped to come through for them, he was a no-show. Maybe he was tending to his needs in the lavatory. Makes me want to shout alleluia for serving a God Who neither slumbers nor sleeps and Who is always present. No sooner had the prophet of God Elijah dismissed his victory party, than Jezebel the queen threatened his very life. Elijah became distraught, fearful and ran for his life.

When Elijah got to the wilderness, he cried out to the Lord that he had enough and wanted to die. The man of God was tired discouraged and felt alone. With all those myriads of churning emotions, the prophet subsequently fell asleep. An angel of God woke him up twice, fed and strengthened him for the journey ahead. As God assured him that He still had faithful people who had not bowed to falsehood and idols, and who knew about Jezebel, her evil tactics and threats.

Thank God, we know how the story ends and what becomes of Jezebel and her household. Child of God are you weary, tired and feeling all alone in the ‘righteousness movement’? Know for sure that the Lord our God, He is God and there is none besides Him. And with Him are thousands of other faithful saints and warriors, who have not bowed. You can only be VICTORIOUS!!!

The Real Picture of Humble (And The Typo in Pride)

“But the LORD said to Samuel, “Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The LORD does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.” 1 Samuel 16:6-8

When I was a tad bit younger than I am right now :), being ‘humble‘ was in the eyes and perception of the beholder and perceiver. It had absolutely nothing to do with the only ONE who would have the accurate definition. As the scripture verse above detects, the heart which is seen by God alone determines a person’s state of humility or the lack thereof.

So human beings chose to attribute humility to the person that least intimidated them. Or better still if you purposely chose tattered apparel over good existing ones and walked around with a mope, then you were humble. If you chose a state of misery with disregard to God’s offer of  ‘joy unspeakable and full of glory’ and perpetually embraced a disposition of failure then you were humble.

“Rend your heart and not your garments. Return to the LORD your God, for he is gracious and compassionate…” Joel 2:12-14

Based on the above scenario; picture what could be attributed to someone who was the opposite of that description. The blessings and the favor of God on their life would be a constant  force of contention with those who had not learnt who they were in Christ Jesus. Their obedience to “… take no thought of what…” becomes disdained by others. Their desire to be all that the Lord has ordained for their life is described as pride…

“So that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed. And a sword will pierce your own soul too.”
Luke 2:34-36

Let us find out once and for all from God’s own words how to detect and promote humility while dealing a death-blow to pride in all its forms, camouflage and deceits.

“For the eyes of the LORD range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him…”  2 Chronicles 16:8-10

“Has not my hand-made all these things, and so they came into being?” declares the LORD. “These are the ones I look on with favor: those who are humble and contrite in spirit, and who tremble at my word.”
Isaiah 66:1-3

“Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time.” 1 Peter 5:5-7

“But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord…” 1 Peter 3:14-16

“Acknowledge the God of your father, and serve him with wholehearted devotion and with a willing mind, for the LORD searches every heart and understands every desire and every thought. If you seek him, he will be found by you; but if you forsake him, he will reject you forever.” 1 Chronicles 28:8-10

Now is that not a great promise to hope for…

The INTOLERANCE of the TOLERATED

“If there be any one point in which the Christian church ought to keep its fervour at a white heat, it is concerning missions to the heathens.” (Charles Spurgeon)

“It is easier to preach ‘to the choir’, or in a soup kitchen as you dish out food to the hungry. They are both compelled to listen and respond howbeit, dishonestly at times. The human nature responds well to familiarity (as in the choir) or when down-trodden (as in a down, out and helpless disposition – in the soup kitchen). The real test is in the reality of the world today. That is why God usually allows trials to humble us and get our attention. However, you need a special dose of anointing and Holy Ghost infused power to convince a human being who lacks nothing materially, physically or economically to name a few, that they are in dare need of a Savior and a life change. Or better still to approach and advocate for ruthless and rough gang members who could have snapped your neck in a minute… (CHIDIWE)

“In fact, no one can enter a strong man’s house without first tying him up. Then he can plunder the strong man’s house.”  Mark 3:26-28

Imagine a world where every one spoke tongue-in-cheek, made all their comments and judgement behind closed doors and then cowered in fear when it came time to back their beliefs. My imagination would only run for two minutes before I throw up in disgust (please forgive the graphics). A former great nation is slip-sliding into a hopeless time of turmoil, travesty and torment, and those that have the resources, tip-toe around the real issue pointing fingers at the wrong people and topics. They know to exercise their powers at little defenseless people, but are nowhere to be found when the rubber-meets-the-road with the power brokers.

A very famous political ‘Conservative Commentator’ died suddenly last week at a young age, his friends and foes alike had a remarkable amount of respect for him. Simply because he stood unflinchingly for what he believed. Most people did not agree with his conservative rhetoric. Even some so-called conservatives and christians whose boast is to bury their head in the sand and then pull it out to rant at random, thought he was boisterous. Really? Well I don’t know what his spiritual inclination was (saved or not). But for someone channeling the cause of conservative and moral issues in a nation bullied and dominated by liberalism and the ‘gospel of anything-goes’. I was grateful. You don’t see the people who you would expect to take a stand making any difference, they are all bunched and hurdled at the jury bench throwing darts.

While we the people of God are in the closet (praying), God forbid someone ventured into Hollywood to distribute Jesus, or stop by Washington to provoke a sense of accountability to truth and while they were at it, threw a ball of conviction into the basket ball court as they continued to score touch down for the name of Christ in the ‘American football field’. The closet crusaders will become all miffed and mangled in their hapless comments and powerless raves. As long as they are not comfortable with what is going on, or what is going on is beyond their sphere of influence then it is wrong. Those who claim to speak for God, should know about the heart of God and His revealed plan. And they sure should be able to raise some dust for what they want to represent. Doing this though, could crack many a picket fences.

“Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips (the Bible); meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful.” Joshua 1:8 

About four days ago another believer in Jesus Christ, Kirk Cameron, a talented and fine actor (see ‘FIREPROOF’), a brother and a true crusader of the cross I might add simply stated what the word of God the Creator said. He as a Christian upheld and honored the word of God (the Bible). The Bible being the very foundation of his belief, he is entitled to quote it “in the land of the free”. All hell has broken loose again (it seems the hemlines (of hell) was not tightened from previous outrages). He has been bashed in the media, critiqued unfairly and ridiculed for believing and expressing what the Bible says. And all these done, by those that cry out about ‘intolerance’. Same was the fate of the beauty contestant Miss California 2009. Regardless of what you think of her and her mission then, the principle remains the same. She was beloved by the judges and on the verge of winning until she took a moral and an anti-liberal stand. I do not know what her status is right now, but I pray she does not change course due to popular pressure.

Remember the conservative commentator I talked about in an earlier paragraph; Here is a clip from his book that ran on his web site: The statement on his sites quoted the concluding passage from his book, Righteous Indignation. 

“I love my job. I love fighting for what I believe in. I love having fun while doing it. I love reporting stories that the Complex refuses to report. I love fighting back, I love finding allies, and — famously — I enjoy making enemies. Three years ago, I was mostly a behind-the-scenes guy who linked to stuff on a very popular website. I always wondered what it would be like to enter the public realm to fight for what I believe in. I’ve lost friends, perhaps dozens. But I’ve gained hundreds, thousands — who knows? — of allies. At the end of the day, I can look at myself in the mirror, and I sleep very well at night,” Breitbart wrote. The statement ended: “Andrew is at rest, yet the happy warrior lives on, in each of us.”

I am in agreement, I could have made that statement myself. At the end of the day; it is peace and joy unspeakable in my heart. How refreshing to have had someone who even had the guts to propagate the fundamentals of a troubled and confused nation. He was and is not the Messiah, but the truth he believed, he fought for – simple! Yes there were controversies and accusations of inaccuracies, but what better side to err and falter on than that of conviction and righteousness. I like to know that some day the pursuit of liberalism and godlessness will not stifle my speech and worship in this country. We as Christians are mistaken, if at the end of the day we had no impact on the world at large as we cramp our ‘holy selves’ inside the church closet and play politics instead. If everyone else is free to promote their mission and agenda; we as lovers of Christ should be able to promote His plan on earth. “… Though none go with me, still I will follow”.

“Doin’ what I can with what I got.” (BG)

Today I take this course of action and rhetoric; because at one point or another, just like the Camerons, Prejeans and many more religious and political right-wingers.  I  too was ostracized and cut short in momentum for daring to bring conviction first to myself and later to the people and situation at hand. Occasionally, this still happens every now and later. I am received and beloved by skin and mind deep values and then dropped like ‘hot potato’ when I exalt the One who really rules and reigns in me. I am not the least bit intimidated to change course; CHRIST IS LORD and that settles it. Very soon and I mean sooner than we expect, every knee will bow to the soon coming King of all kings.

Make no mistake about it, the time is coming when your little secure arena of influence, religious or not, might become unlawful. When the very mention of truth and justice will instigate a riot. Are you ready? Or would you keep playing it safe, until ‘safe’ becomes endangered…

Let us pray.

THE RIDICULED, REVILED AND REPROACHED RELIGION

A man is never more God conscious than when he is in touch with his humanity and relevant to his world. He is able to translate the in filling of the Holy Spirit to bread for those that hunger, light to those in darkness and salt for those on the verge of losing their thirst. Any other use of that revelation is ‘redundant religion’, confined to the four walls of the church and its only effect is the thumping behind the pulpit. Christ Himself inquired of the multitude, was accessible to them and then fed them… I have never been more aware (than at this time) of my inspiration which directives are from the ‘Holy of holies’. CHIDIWE 

 “He told the crowd to sit down on the ground. When he had taken the seven loaves and given thanks, he broke them and gave them to his disciples to distribute to the people, and they did so.” Mark 8:5-7

“He declared to you his covenant, the Ten Commandments, which he commanded you to follow and then wrote them on two stone tablets.”
Deuteronomy 4:12-14

Image via Wikipedia

God Bless America,
Land that I love. (And land of my birth- Chidiwe)
Stand beside her, and guide her
Thru the night with a light from above.
From the mountains, to the prairies,
To the oceans, white with foam
God bless America, My home sweet home  

Do these words sound familiar? Oh well, they are now fading sentiments, as America kicks and thumps her nose at the God on which she was founded and blessed. From the mockery of the Christian church and spiritual activities as was portrayed in an unnecessary and over-the-top performance in the GRAMMYS to the new show on T.V. that cast shame on being a Christian woman and even gone as far as rewriting the ‘Ten Commandments’.

Once when someone made a comment about Mohammed that was not in line with the Quran, all hell broke loose. A few burnt buildings, cars and flags later; the offender recanted. Right now we are in the throes of a riot and unrest because of the (unintentional) burning of the Quran in Afghanistan last month. Here are some of the headlines so far; (1) The recent burning of Qurans at a NATO base in Afghanistan involved five American servicemen and a local translator, according to a NATO official familiar with the investigations. The Qurans burned were among religious materials seized from a detainee facility at Bagram Airfield last week. Throngs of outraged Afghans took to the streets following the incident, prompting U.S. President Barack Obama to apologize to his Afghan counterpart, Hamid Karzai, calling the burning an inadvertent error. Furor over the burnings have fueled a string of protests and attacks that have left at least 39 people dead, including four American soldiers. Hundreds more have been wounded in the attacks. CNN (2) A suicide bomber blew himself up at an entrance to Afghanistan’s Bagram Airfield on Monday, an attack the Taliban called revenge for the burning of Qurans by U.S. troops there last month. CNN

Christians have their special guidelines from God re-written and mocked. The only person that even raised an eyebrow or moved a muscle as far as I know, was a councilman in Queens,  New York. He called for the show to be boycotted. While we have been subject to a certain sphere of influence and no further as some within and without the body might think, the bible is being ridiculed as Christians cower and shuffle in the closet for more prayer time. Which I must say serves as great convenience for the devil. That is as long as Christians remain in church comparing ‘holy notes’, then he (Satan) can saturate and do with the world whatever he wants sans interference.

Children are being taught ‘diversity ‘ in school alright, but it has nothing to do with accepting someone of a different race or economic disposition. Deafening silence. In California,  “where two or three are gathered…” is now against the law;  more silence and extra prayer time. I wonder what would have happened if when Jesus came into the temple as the people converted the house of God into a place of commerce, He had taken some more time to pray about the pigeons defiantly flying and flapping around the temple roof to avoid being sold. Or He had gone to the corner to find out what God would have Him do as the goats urinated on the altar, ate the ‘shew bread’ and bleated loudly in His (listening-to-God) ears.

“Jesus entered the temple courts and drove out all who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the benches of those selling doves.  It is written,” he said to them, “‘My house will be called a house of prayer,’ but you are making it ‘a den of robbers.” Matthew 21:12-14

I guess the religious leaders would have hung Phinehas for being overly zealous, even though that zeal of his, stayed a plague that had devoured almost 25,000 people. And in the end God had blessed him and made a ‘covenant of peace’ with him. The well-meaning conservative commentators that would attempt to make a difference regardless of their spiritual state are either shut down and criticized by the church itself or they are dead. Slowly but surely I as a lover of Jesus Christ have become a target and an endangered citizen. Anyone can take a swap at me, dishonor my beliefs, use my Saviours name in vain, mixed along with a string of profanities and go scott free…

“When Phinehas son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron, the priest, saw this, he left the assembly, took a spear in his hand and followed the Israelite into the tent. ‘… Then the plague against the Israelites was stopped;  but those who died in the plague numbered 24,000. The LORD said to Moses, Phinehas son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron, the priest, has turned my anger away from the Israelites. Since he was as zealous for my honor among them as I am, I did not put an end to them in my zeal.” Numbers 25:7-12

Yes I am called to pray for my enemies, but what will it take for those that call themselves Christians to be proactive as opposing to sitting back as children are subject to try anything and experiment with everything to find their identity. Below find out the creed patterned after this new tv show titled GCB: Good Christian B—–. I hate to pollute my page with such travesty, but you have to see this to believe it. And if it just makes you shrug and move on to the next thing, then I suggest you check  the temperature of your ‘assumed’ relationship to Christ.

‘The Ten ‘GCB’ Commandment as recited and published by the new tv show: Thou shalt add bling to everything, Thou shalt not covet thy neighbours husband… unless he’s really hot, Thou shalt love a C cup unless you fit into a D cup, Remember the spa and keep it holy, Thou shalt know it is wrong to expose your thong, Honor thy manis and pedis, Thou shalt not bear false designer labels, Thou shalt not wear it if it’s under a carat, Thou shalt match the volume of thy hair to the size of thy handbag, Thou shalt not mess with Texas.

That is what God’s Holy word has been reduced to. Since they did not want it in government buildings, classrooms and public places, they can re-write and irreverence it. This is exactly why the Lord is saying we have to permeate and saturate our society with Christ. If people are not beating down our doors to come and hear us in church, then we have to make sure our life and message is powerful and bears relevant light and salt to the world we live in (specifically).

Go ahead and chew on the messenger…

America! America!
May God thy gold refine
Till all success be nobleness
And every gain divine! 

“http://www.youtube.com/embed/hPKvKwIZUCM“

PEACE TREATY? (Not This Time…)

“Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword.”
Matthew 10:33-35

“Do you think I came to bring peace on earth? No, I tell you, but division.”
Luke 12:50-52

I remember when I first read this scripture many, many years ago (well not that many, so don’t get carried away please). I was like ‘say what!’ the Prince of Peace came without His ‘peace portfolio’, we might have to shut down the United Nations/General Assembly and call it an onset of a life of woes and turmoil. Well those were my rampant and ‘hungry for knowledge’ thoughts, until the Lord of all Peace gave me an incredible revelation which became painfully real and personal to me might I add.

Let me take a paragraph and address an issue that just popped into my mind right now. I heard a bunch of people snickering about an incident they felt they were better qualified to handle. Maybe because the person God used shared a race, country, gender, ministry or what have you with them. So they humphed, rolled their eyes until they severed an optic nerve and waited with hands on their waist and a dangerous pose for the next windfall. Let me explain something to someone out there, if you notice in the first paragraph, I said that after God gave me the revelation it became personal. Meaning you will not see all that ‘heavenly secret’, without being tested on it. So next time you wish it were you getting attention, go back to the last thing God asked you to do in ‘1668, or 1984’ or maybe 2003 I don’t know. Did you do it and did the upheaval that comes with it hit your very existence, if not please take a tranquilizer (though I don’t condone the misuse of drugs, but at least this will get you of my back) and a back seat and ‘put a winter sock in it’. Every revelation and promotion from God will always hit you on a personal level. That is why I get overly excited and sick to the stomach when people attempt to preach what they know nothing about how be it practice it. Any way so much for a little detour, I shall return to my story.

Further down in the book of Matthew Chapter 10, the Lord goes farther to make a shocking and seemingly out of character statement. “For I have come to turn “‘a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law” Matthew 10:34-36  At this point, I bet those who feel themselves more righteous than God will be in a tiff. How can God say that? Has He not called us to be peace makers? as in “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.” Matthew 5:8-10  Why then is he turning family members against each other. Surely we are to live peaceably and appeal to everything that moves and breathe. “There is no peace,” says the LORD, “for the wicked.” Isaiah 48:21-22

Here is my personal story: I come from very large and extended families on both my parents respective sides.  Both my grandmothers were dearly adored by their husbands (my grandfathers). I guess the day they (my grandfathers) stopped loving their wives or treating them with care, God killed them (just saying…). See Abigail and Nabal (the fool). I never knew both my grandfathers, yet my maternal grandmother lived to be about 98 years, and my paternal grandmother is 100 plus in years and still kicking her lovely self along praise God! I had posted on my Facebook wall the other day, about the longevity in my genes and told them I would be around a very long time to keep crushing the ‘serpent’s head’. The response was sweet and overwhelming; they wanted me around for as long as I could and the Lord permitted. So if you are reading this now and disappointed that I will be around for the long hurl…

Anyway back to my family tree. I have a lot of  uncles and aunts biologically. Even though most of them have me marvel at the connection we might have. Of the troupe, I have four favorite uncles. They are favorite, just because they treat me like a princess, just like my daddy did. They are not favorite because of their achievements (though that be many), they are simply special because they make me feel that way. I love them, just like I did my daddy because they first loved me – simple! “We love because he first loved us.” 1 John 4:18-20  Uncle H is fun-loving, a go getter, very family oriented and a hustler. He was my mother’s (self alloted)  body guard and brother (now he is mine). He studied Business and served as a Major in the US Army. When I am with him, it is grab it and I will pay for it baby! He still calls me his little girl. Uncle U is very gentle but effective non the less. He actually used to baby sit me when I was a very little girl. So more than most he knows what went down in my growing years. He is an incredible provider. A Chemical Engineer by profession he respects my daddy (his brother) a lot. Uncle E is like a daddy #2 to me, but he is mummy’s baby brother so that is not allowed traditionally. My father’s people are very sensitive about being overlooked when it comes to me. They feel that in the absence of daddy, the last name proves that they have to step up. Uncle E is a Medical Doctor, very well-known among  his peers. When I was in boarding school; he would turn our school ‘visiting days’ into a carnival. He would show up with the whole village lots of  food and a tent to see me and proudly proclaim, ‘anything for my lovely niece’. I was mortified at first, but learnt to appreciate his grand gesture of love. Last but not the least is Uncle S an Architectural PhD . Still thinks I am the little girl he used to log (carry on his shoulder) around many moons ago and always call me “mi nipote, amore mi’. He is very fluent in Italian and we like to talk about the rest of them when we are together!

About five (5) years ago, up until Thanksgiving week 2011, none of these Uncles were speaking with me. In fact they were so enraged that if you told them I was dying, they would probably be like ‘okay when?’ It was a very hard season to see these men whom I knew loved me dearly to be so incensed against me. What was the problem? The Gospel of Jesus Christ uncompromised and living for the glory of God. They were disgusted to say the least, and thought I was wasting my very talented and heavily awarded life. I was disgusted (then) too, but hey what could I do? Wrestle the God of the universe all night or for the rest of my life? Two of them were heavily invested in and part of a prestigious ‘Secret Society’, they were harder than every one else. One was in a cult and once told me he was more spiritual than I could ever dream to be as he almost burned down the house with his candles. Their absence in my life almost took a detrimental turn, but God held on to me. The devil being the opportunist and coward that he is moved in with such ferocity that I was convinced that God had given up on me. But God held on. I was so exhausted I became like a baby again. The Lord logged me around on His back changed my diapers and fed me oatmeal, since I was too tired to chew the bones I was already accustomed to chewing. I rested; and learned something new in that season.

There was a dying world out there that needed to see authenticity and Christ with arms and legs. Not a bunch of Church revelers and defrauders who felt they were exclusive to the rest of the world. So exclusive that their dealings always had to be ‘an unexplained mystery’ and a ‘picture of befuddlement’ which is a breathing ground for wickedness and sin. If as a minister and representative of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, people cannot confidently say they know what you are about, then you are a fraud. The devil flourishes in darkness, confusion and religious exclusivity. Let the people see you practice and live out (for real not for stage) what you are professing. For example, the people around me, even strangers know what I am about. Yet I am a very private person. They are not likely to see me break out of the ‘fold of fellowship’ to sneak into a forbidden place. If I break out on my own, they will see where and what I am about even if I don’t indulge them in my minute by minute business.  

 In the book of Joshua, when all the enemies of Israel heard how God had fought for them; they joined forces with other enemies (“ites’) for a stronger army to be able to come against Israel. God still gave Israel the victory, whether they were plenty or few. But there was one way that tripped up the Israelites, and by that way they had moved away from God’s protective guidance. The Bible said when the Gibeonites heard how God had led Israel to defeat Jericho and Ai, they came by a ruse, disguise and craftiness to get Israel to fight their battles for the rest of their existence. “However, when the people of Gibeon heard what Joshua had done to Jericho and Ai,  they resorted to a ruse: They went as a delegation whose donkeys were loaded with worn-out sacks and old wineskins, cracked and mended.  They put worn and patched sandals on their feet and wore old clothes. All the bread of their food supply was dry and moldy.  Then they went to Joshua in the camp at Gilgal and said to him and the Israelites, “We have come from a distant country; make a treaty with us.” Joshua 9:3-13 It is much like a stranger getting you to agree to pay their debt for as long as both of you live and then it will be transfered to your descendants (the bondage never ends!). They said to Israel, we are one, by vocation, one by status, one by color, one by achievements, or one by alliance and goal. Make a pact with us, we are supposed to be together in this. We have the same title and curriculum, let us make a ‘peace treaty’. Beloved you know what happened, they did not ask the Lord and they ended up deceived and trapped for the rest of their lives. “The Israelites sampled their provisions but did not inquire of the LORD.  Then Joshua made a treaty of peace with them to let them live, and the leaders of the assembly ratified it by oath.” Joshua 9:14-26  It may have looked like they were helping out or being kind. No, they had been played, and there was now a big ‘L’ sign on their forehead.

Earlier last month, my ‘spiritual’ uncle got plugged into the Kingdom of God and he is now the first in every prayer meeting. The other two that were in the ‘Secret Society’, are now on fire for Jesus that I can hardly keep up! All of our conversations now end with to God be the glory!!! Once again I am their little girl and we share a greater, stronger and eternal bond in Jesus Christ. It was worth the anguish. That I did not compromise Christ to get a cheap and fake peace. Any alliance, bond or union that does not have Jesus as the foundation, source and future is bound to fail. And in failing might serve as a major setback and bondage for all concerned. Watch that union…

“Three days after they made the treaty with the Gibeonites, the Israelites heard that they were neighbors, living near them.” Joshua 9:16

“If only you had paid attention to my commands, your peace would have been like a river, your well-being like the waves of the sea.”  Isaiah 48:17-19

Rocks of Refreshment (A flow from an unlikely source)

Coool!

Between a rock and a hard place? We have all been there at some point or another, could still be there and/or getting ready to go there for a bout of hard knocks. We don’t have to wait or take an arduous journey from our hard places to be refreshed by God. He is so awesome, He can make the rock bleed water to refresh our battered and scorched souls. I was going through some old files and came across these. They are all mine , taken by me and copyrighted! Let the scenery refresh and ignite the hope in you that no matter what the daunting issue is, God is more than able to move, remove or liquefy your mountain. Hallelujah!!!

Rocky Refreshment

 “And gavest them bread from heaven for their hunger, and broughtest forth water for them out of the rock for their thirst, and promisedst them that they should go in to possess the land which thou hadst sworn to give them.”
Nehemiah 9:14-16

“And a man shall be as a hiding place from the wind, and a covert from the tempest; as rivers of water in a dry place, as the shadow of a great rock in a weary land.”
Isaiah 32:1-3

An oasis

“Will a man leave the snow of Lebanon which cometh from the rock of the field? or shall the cold flowing waters that come from another place be forsaken?”
Jeremiah 18:13-15

“Behold, I will stand before thee there upon the rock in Horeb; and thou shalt smite the rock, and there shall come water out of it, that the people may drink. And Moses did so in the sight of the elders of Israel.”
Exodus 17:5-7

“And Moses lifted up his hand, and with his rod he smote the rock twice: and the water came out abundantly, and the congregation drank, and their beasts also.”
Numbers 20:10-12

Cooling cave

Solid and safe

Cardiography… (Does Your Heart Need One?)

Cardiography /car·di·og·ra·phy/ is the graphic recording of a physical or functional aspect of the heart.  One main and common type of cardiographical procedure is Echocardiography.

Echocardiography is a diagnostic test that uses ultrasound waves to create an image of the heart muscle. Ultrasound waves that rebound or echo off the heart can show the size, shape, and movement of the heart’s valves and chambers as well as the flow of blood through the heart. Spiritually, all that cannot be seen on the outside God sees and will reveal to His servant when necessary, especially if there is no intent to repent or stop. Every thought, activity, plan and device is laid bare before the eyes of God. It can provide a wealth of helpful information, including the size and shape of the heart, its pumping strength, and the location and extent of any damage to its tissues. Everything that is wrong or right shows up on God’s spiritual Cardiogram. If there really is love, truth and acceptance as professed. It will all show up.  It is especially useful for assessing diseases of the heart valves. It not only allows doctors to evaluate the heart valves, but it can detect abnormalities in the pattern of blood flow, such as the backward flow of blood through partly closed heart valves, known as regurgitation. When a so called believer interprets the word of God in the flesh, it is life draining. like the backward flow of blood in the heart valve. By assessing the motion of the heart wall, echocardiography can help detect the presence and assess the severity of coronary artery disease, as well as help determine whether any chest pain is related to heart disease. Your lack of peace and joy, might just be due to the state of your heart. Echocardiography can also help detect hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, in which the walls of the heart thicken in an attempt to compensate for heart muscle weakness. This is when the heart is hardened and the person can no longer hear truth. It is also accompanied by a stiff neck. Echocardiography creates an image of the heart using ultra-high-frequency sound waves-sound waves that are too high in frequency to be heard by the human ear. Exactement!!! What God sees in his Spiritual State cannot be seen by the human eye, except He reveals it. The technique is very similar to ultrasound scanning commonly used to visualize the fetus during pregnancy.

“The LORD your God will circumcise your hearts and the hearts of your descendants, so that you may love him with all your heart and with all your soul, and live.”
Deuteronomy 30:5-7

“I will raise up for myself a faithful priest, who will do according to what is in my heart and mind. I will firmly establish his priestly house, and they will minister before my anointed one always.”
1 Samuel 2:34-36

I do not know that there is anything harder than dealing with flesh driven Christians (who have been in church forever) I will take a non-believer/voodoo priest any day. At least it is obvious what you have to work with. It must be a heavy burden for a ‘true man of God’ to look around and find that either his words fall on deaf ears or time and again there is no  improvement, advancement or growth in certain people year after year after year. I know that when someone is diligently and honestly serving the Lord, the enemy goes after what concerns them . I also know that God is faithful to the faithful one: (“… ‘Far be it from me! Those who honor me I will honor, but those who despise me will be disdained.”  1 Samuel 2:29-31 ) and will always come through with healing and deliverance in His wings. And By God’s grace I will purpose to pray for such a person.

I made a statement hidden in a statement about people and their warped political alignments using a medium of technology to subtly divert from what matters. And all the telephone lines were abuzz (yope I heard some/God has His ways “But there is a God in heaven who reveals secrets,” Daniel 2:27-29) as to me being against updates and pictures. Well the people whom I spoke to know in the deepest crevice of their heart what I was talking about, and that will be that.

As for the veteran rumor mongers whose alliance and heart have so hardened that the blood flow has coagulated and clogged the arteries of truth. I am not about my personal mission. If I were, you would never have anything in common with me, and our roads will never have to cross. But we are here at the cross and the ground is level praise God Almighty.  I will keep going about my Father’s business as He wants me to. To the ring leaders that like to garner people to support their fleshly and ‘high-school’ natured tirades, here is how God will remove the bottom from you: the people you feed nonsense now will eventually see truth and repent and completely change. You on the other hand will end up standing alone 300yrs later still unchanged and still clueless.

“In the day when God will judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ,…”
Romans 2:15-17

“Would not God search this out? For He knows the secrets of the heart.”
Psalm 44:20-22

“As for you, O king, thoughts came to your mind while on your bed, about what would come to pass after this; and He who reveals secrets has made known to you what will be.”
Daniel 2:28-30

“And thus the secrets of his heart are revealed; and so, falling down on his face, he will worship God and report that God is truly among you.”
1 Corinthians 14:24-26

God is the one who reveals secrets and the intent of the heart. It goes beyond outward actions. When we harbor hatred and division in our hearts it seeps through in all that we do as innocent as it seems. A wicked heart keeps meddling and stirring up division and separation. Nothing is ever simple , everything becomes a platform for an agenda… HELP US LORD!!! When God confronts us with what is in our hearts we need to go to him for forgiveness, cleansing and refreshing. Some people you can get away with devouring them over and over again, but some people you can’t. They have paid a great price to be in ‘the secret place of the Most High’ they will see right through you by the burning power of the Holy Spirit residing in them. The collection of mans input is futile. Hate who you must and stir up who you will but be sure the ultimate power of God supports your decision. The issue is not an update (no one ever gave more info than I did!). The person who needs to know what they did, know already what they need to know. They are just shocked that it was noticed .

To ‘Hallow’ or not to ‘Hallow’ (That is what we must pray about…)

“I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people,” Ephesians 1:18 NIV

Do not be misled: “Bad company corrupts good character.” 1 Corinthians 15:33 

So I was walking down the ‘sleepless streets’ last night (October 31) talking to my God. That night is usually the most demonically active night in the calendar. I bet someone just said demons? What demons? Anyway as I was saying; praying through the night especially on that night is what I hope to make my tradition: it does not have to be yours. I do it that the blood of Jesus Christ would remain on me and my family, and the ‘death angel’ will have to pass us by as he completes his rituals. “But if serving the LORD seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD.” Joshua 24:14-16  

But let us see (my praying through…) could that be why the most elaborate and evil plots, attacks and curses from the highest order of human hierarchy to the territorial principalities and powers in operation cannot and never will to the glory of God Almighty destroy me? This night is also the night that the largest amount of wickedness is perpetrated. You want proof and statistics? Well you will have to go find it for yourself; because this is not an article on Economics, but a tribute to the victory worn on Calvary and the name of my Christ. It is also for the purpose and intent of shedding some light on what should be a ‘no brainer’ for most people who profess to be Christians.  

 The information I am about to share, I really did not want to share because people are very much entitled to live the way they want to, incur curses as they very well please and furthermore become bed fellows with infirmities for as long as they can exercise their rights. I would have wanted to keep this to myself and family and protect what is mine. But lo and behold, I felt the Lord give me that look like: really, do you not care that my bride is not only dishevelled and brow-beaten, but that she invites the devil for tea-time and serves him, with her back as the snack stool. Well I am susceptible to not care for more reasons than I plan to state. But the main reason would be that this thing I have with the King of Glory is a relationship, not a religion.  And in a relationship, what breaks the other persons heart should break yours. A lesson in divine compatibility: if you constantly find yourself on a quest to destroy the other person, then you are a ‘square peg trying to fit into a round hole’. That is one of a billion reasons of course, but we will re-visit that point at the appointed time. Now how did I get on that… aah yes; the Lord said to drop that in. Let us continue with the topic at hand shall we? The blue comments will be mine.

“Halloween is considered by most in the United States as a fun holiday, mostly for children, but it has roots in ancient religions and folklore, including paganism, ancient Roman religions, early Catholic Christianity, Irish folklore, and even British politics! Children and adults alike enjoy this holiday today, with funny costumes, candy, and parties, while some countries observe this time as a remembrance of departed loved ones and religious saints.”

2 Corinthians 6:16-18 (NIV)

“What agreement is there between the temple of God and idols? For we are the temple of the living God. As God has said:

   “I will live with them
   and walk among them,
and I will be their God,
   and they will be my people.”

 ¹⁷Therefore,

 “Come out from them
   and be separate,
            says the Lord.
Touch no unclean thing,
   and I will receive you.”

 ¹⁸And,

   “I will be a Father to you,
   and you will be my sons and daughters,
            says the Lord Almighty.”

“Halloween is a holiday with ancient roots that had a much greater meaning than the boisterous, costume-filled holiday that we know today. Around 2,000 years ago, the Celts, who lived in what is now the United Kingdom, Ireland, and northern France, had a festival commemorating the end of the year. Their New Year was November 1, and this festival was called Samhain, pronounced sow-en. The end of their year signaled the end of summer, the end of the harvest season, and the beginning of a long, hard winter that often caused many deaths of animals and people. Weaker livestock were often killed and eaten during this holiday, since most likely, they would not survive the winter anyway. (⁹ Be careful, however, that the exercise of your rights does not become a stumbling block to the weak. ¹⁰ For if someone with a weak conscience sees you, with all your knowledge, eating in an idol’s temple, won’t that person be emboldened to eat what is sacrificed to idols? ¹¹ So this weak brother or sister, for whom Christ died, is destroyed by your knowledge. ¹² When you sin against them in this way and wound their weak conscience, you sin against Christ. ¹³Therefore, if what I eat causes my brother or sister to fall into sin, I will never eat meat again, so that I will not cause them to fall.)  1 Corinthians 8:9-13  Because of this, and the cruel winter to come, this time of year signified death to the Pagan Celtics. They believed the night before the New Year, that the wall between the living and the dead was open, allowing spirits of the dead, both good and bad, to mingle among the living. Some of these spirits were thought to possess living people, cause trouble, ruin crops, or to search for passage to the afterlife. ” ( So in your commemoration, pay in mind that you are legally agreeing for all these signs and rituals to pay you a visit and maybe take root for generations to come.) 

“Samhain was considered a magical holiday, and there are many stories about what the Celtics practiced and believed during this festival. Some say the spirits that were unleashed were those that had died in that year, and offerings of food and drink were left to aid the spirits, or to ward them away. Other versions say the Celts dressed up in outlandish costumes and roamed the neighborhoods making noise to scare the spirits away. Many thought they could predict the future and communicate with spirits as well during this time. Some think the heavily structured life of the Pagan Celtics was abandoned during Samhain, and people did unusual things, such as moving horses to different fields, moving gates and fences, women dressing as men, and vice versa, and other trickeries now associated with Halloween. Another belief is that the Celtics honoured, celebrated, and feasted the dead during Samhain. A sacred, central bonfire was always lit to honor the Pagan gods, and some accounts say that individual home fires were extinguished during Samhain, either to make their homes unattractive to roving spirits, or for their home fires to be lit following the festival from the sacred bonfire. Fortunes were told, and marked stones thrown into the fire. If a person’s stone was not found after the bonfire went out, it was believed that person would die during the next year. Some Celts wore costumes of animal skulls and skins during Samhain. Faeries were believed to roam the land during Samhain, dressed as beggars asking for food door to door. (Note that when you emulate what people did out of necessity and tradition for fun, you may have to pay for it, by it being a reality in your life. Much like watching pornography and saying it is no big deal) Those that gave food to the faeries were rewarded, while those that did not were punished by the faeries.”

“Over the next several hundred years, Christianity had spread to include the lands inhabited by the Celtics and the Romans, but the festival of Samhain was still celebrated by the people. The Christian church reportedly did not like a festival with Pagan roots practiced by Christians, (understandably so!) so a replacement was needed. Pope Boniface IV designated May 13 as All Saints Day to honour dead church saints and martyrs. Samhain continued to be celebrated, so in 835 A.D., Pope Gregory IV moved the holiday to November 1, probably to take attention away from the Pagan Samhain festival and replace it. Since All Saints Day was sanctioned by the church, and related to the dead, the church was happy, but many Pagan traditions of Samhain continued to be practiced, including bonfires, parades, and dressing up in costume. All Saints Day was also known as All Hallows, or All Hallowmas (Hallowmas is Old English for All Saints Day). Since Samhain was celebrated the night before November 1, the celebration was known as All Hallows Eve, and later called Halloween. In the year 1000 A.D., the church designated November 2 as All Souls Day, to honour the dead who were not saints, and they eventually became combined and celebrated as Hallowmas.”

“Jack o’lanterns are a Halloween staple today, with at least two historical roots. The early Pagan Celtic people used hollowed out turnips, gourds, or rutabagas to hold an ember from the sacred bonfire, so they could light their home fires from the sacred bonfire. Another tale from folklore gives jack o’lanterns their name. In Irish myth, a man known as “Stingy Jack”, who was a swindler and a drunk, who asked the devil to have drink with him… When Jack died, he was not allowed into heaven, because of his drunken and swindling ways, but he was not allowed into hell either, because the devil kept his word. Taking pity on Jack, the devil gave him an ember to light his way in the dark, putting it into a hollowed out turnip for Jack to carry on his lonely, everlasting roamings around the Earth. (Imagine having the devil as your guide and light bearer, when all he ever desired was to quench any ember you might have.) Meanwhile Christ said: “You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden.” Matthew 5:13-15  People from Ireland and Scotland would make “Jack o’lanterns” during this season to scare away Stingy Jack and other evil spirits wandering about.”

“Halloween was not a popular observance in early United States history, as most of the early settlers were Protestant. (Remember our Bible believing ‘Founding-Fathers’ or forgive me for mentioning that, you might be of the ‘anti-fundamentalist argument.) At the time, Halloween was considered mostly a Catholic, Episcopalian, and Pagan holiday, and therefore largely ignored. In the southern colonies, such as Virginia and Maryland, there were some Halloween customs observed. The first common events were called “play parties”. These parties got neighborhoods together to celebrate the harvest, dance, sing, tell stories of the dead, tell fortunes, and have pageants for children in costume. By the mid 1800’s, immigration increased, and many Irish immigrants, mostly Catholics fleeing the potato famine, brought many Halloween traditions with them. Jack o’lanterns found a new face, the pumpkin, which was very plentiful in the New World. Catholics and Episcopalians sought to preserve their traditions, so started an effort in the late 1800’s to popularize and make their holidays known to the general population. By campaigning to put these holidays (Halloween and All Saints Day) on public calendars, magazines and newspapers started to publicize these holidays, and soon became popular in the United States more as a community and family holiday, rather than one of great religious and supernatural importance.

By the mid twentieth century, Halloween turned into a secular holiday, community centered with parties city-wide, parades, and great costumes. Halloween is mostly aimed to children, but young and old enjoy this holiday, with events and parties for both children and adults.  Halloween is the United States’ second largest commercial holiday, spending approximately $6.9 billion a year.” (Thanks to all the faithful observers I guess!)

Most of us do not remember the last time we had quality time with the Lord; probably we were busy gossiping and gripping about the ‘new girl’ in town or better still nursing our paganistic paraphernalia. Whatever the reason, if we as much as dedicated the same time, money and passion to observing Jesus and all that He stands for e.g. holiness; I dare say there would be breath in us to pick out a costume and add to our already hidden  personas. You know like claiming you love every body, when there are certain people you don’t care for, simply because they don’t fall into you very un-christlike click. Even though they reached out to you in the love of Christ… Phew!

Go ahead, eat candy and have fun and celebrate. Ignore all those uptight, fun-hating, kill-joy, holy roller Christians like this writer. But know that the day the devil decides he can climb all over you as he sees fit (because some time ago you gave him your time of day and access), do not ask those ‘holier-than-thou’ people to pray for your deliverance or healing… Know that after you have traipsed between the kingdom of light and of darkness, there comes a moment of truth when you need to have invested in the only thing that works after the play time is over. I have so much fun in living for Jesus that the people of the world stop to listen to my stories and are actually entertained by me!!! I don’t have to lower myself to grime, the world is so enthralled with the wisdom and joy of Jesus that it is willing to come up to hang with His vessel. We do have need for discipline in our walk with Christ these days. 

” Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. ²⁵ Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last, but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. ²⁶ Therefore I do not run like someone running aimlessly; I do not fight like a boxer beating the air. ²⁷No, I strike a blow to my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.” 1 Corinthians 9:24-27

Of Hints, Winks and Deep Points ( Just Saying…)

Hello dear readers, this is a new category in my blog series. When I was a little girl, ‘some called me a youth with an old soul’. Coming from generational backgrounds of belief in human re-incarnation, I balked at the idea of embracing that description. As a few years (emphasis on few) rolled by, and some more articulation and clarification later, I was made to understand that my sayings and observation, were wiser than my actual age would allow. Now that was more palatable and I intend to pull those saying from under the bed and share it with you. There will be hints (you know how sassy I can be), winks (prodding you on) and deep points that have spiritual impact. May God guide us and be glorified in us.

“He answered her, “Because I said to Naboth the Jezreelite, ‘Sell me your vineyard; or if you prefer, I will give you another vineyard in its place.’ But he said, ‘I will not give you my vineyard.’”
1 Kings 21:5-7

Ahab was King, and had access to the kingdom and a few other freebies. But He set his eyes on the little portion owned by Naboth. He wanted it by all means. Naboth rightfully declined to give away his God-given inheritance. So Ahab slithered away like a snake to go and mourn as he pined for the other man’s only inheritance. Along came Jezebel… she huffed and puffed and you know the rest of the story.

See: 2 Samuel Chapters 11 and 12

“David burned with anger against the man and said to Nathan, “As surely as the LORD lives, the man who did this must die!”
2 Samuel 12:4-6

Our dear David stumbled at some point,a harem filled to the brim with wives and concubines did not suffice; he had to have Uriah’s very beautiful wife Bathsheba. Then came Nathan the prophet with the parable of the ‘Rich and Poor men,’ their cattle and one little lamb. The same principle applied; the king with all that he had access to and possessed, was still obsessed with the little that one of his subjects had. So he secretly had him eliminated. Or he could have just as well taken her to a remote location known only to him (that way he won’t have her either). Either way what Uriah had, looked way better than his. So as king he would use his authority to make sure Uriah did not keep having what he longed for and desired for himself. 

See: 1 Kings 21

If some power or person wants your inheritance; or might just as well separate you from it. There are two things at play here: they are jealous of your better tidings and want it for themselves. If they will not succeed in eliminating you (God forbid!), then they cannot live with seeing you so blessed and happy while they themselves are… well you know. Think on these things.

I am just saying…