Blessed.

Blessed.

Just before opening my bible I had a vision of a lamb, laying at the base of the cross.

We’ve so been taught wrong, in certain areas of the bible. I have a natural bias toward a poverty mentality. I’ve tried changing this bias. I’ve tried affirmations. I’ve read books on a prosperity mindset. I spend hardly anything at all, outside what’s absolutely necessary, in the hope of saving more. I recite biblical promises of prosperity, decreeing and declaring God’s promises over my finances almost every single day, two and three times a day, sometimes more. And I’m not doing too bad, as a self-funded retiree, 10 years early.

Still, I have a poverty bias; constantly thinking how expensive things are and I can’t afford this or that and I have wondered at times, if this doesn’t cancel out all my hard efforts. All my life I’ve been told, to him who has more, more will be given. To him who has not, even what he has will be taken away. It’s even been told to me your bed shall be taken from under you, if you continually think lack. This has been put to me my whole life. Lies satan has used, as he works his way into twisting the word (just as he surely did with Eve and the eating of the fruit), only slightly twisted, but working on it none-the-less. A lack of fully understanding, causing great delays in the promises of God.

Money is the least in God’s kingdom, according to what I’ve been told, as Jesus calls it unrighteous mammon. These parables; to him who has, more will be given and even your bed will be taken from you, have nothing to do with a poverty mentality. The bed taken away is in relation to shaking hands on a pledge of which one has no method of repayment. If I default and I can’t pay, even my bed will be taken away (Proverbs 22:27). Nothing to do with a poverty mentality, but to do with pledging money one doesn’t have, which I wouldn’t do.

Mark 4:25; to him who has more, more will be given… This is in relation to the word of God, planted deeply in the heart, not to the poverty mindset. All the while, prosperity thinking or lack of, has nothing to do with these particular verses. What it means is the word of God starts as a small seed and grows in time, as one continues to study that word. If you don’t continue to study, you forget and what little knowledge you’ve gained is taken from you.

All this time I’ve been thinking because of my poverty mindset; that’s the blockage, that’s the area satan enters, but isn’t God greater than that? Is not God more powerful than satan? And so I’ve continued to believe in prosperity, in spite of my poverty mindset - God will honour His promise; that the work of my hands will prosper.

All this time I’ve been told that which we give will be measured back to us – I diligently give a good portion of my dollars and I think to myself; perhaps I’m still not giving enough. Diligent means giving what I should, where and when I should. There’s no need to think I’ve not given enough.

All the while, in my diligent application of reading His word, my knowledge of God has grown. And more and more I spread His word, speaking God’s word to others and telling what God has done for me…that is the measure. It’s not dollars, but in the word of God! The giving of our testimony.

The guilt I’ve carried, due to wanting more free time than work time, has been a burden on my shoulders for many years. I don’t have the latest car or an elaborate house, but I am rich in every area. The guilt I’ve carried, because even if I don’t need money, I’ve been told I should hold down a job and give my money away. For me, this has been a heavy weight.

God has changed my life. Sure, I don’t go on fancy holidays, but I’m blessed with a little caravan and a lot of time to use it. I’m blessed to have money in the bank and a few little investments. I’m blessed to have retired early, even if that’s not someone else’s dream. I’m blessed to be doing what I love; writing and taking photographs as I travel around the countryside. I’m blessed with good relationships, caring, loving children and healthy, gregarious grandchildren. I’m blessed with increased knowledge and a sharp memory. I’m blessed in good health and fitness. And I’m blessed to have a strong faith.

Yes, there is the parable of the talents, but the meaning behind it is the same; the planting and the growth, along with the faith that you have. You can smother your faith by the words you speak, heaping dirt upon your faith until there isn’t a glimmer of light shining. Like the man who buried his talent, due to his fear of the hard task-master.

I wasn’t doing this. I kept my thoughts to myself as I continued to speak the Lord’s promises over my finances. I was doing all I knew to do as I stood and waited for the promises to come to pass. Part of standing is not to speak against God’s word. It’s to stay strong, even if you aren’t seeing results, staying strong until your need is met and your prayer answered.

I am an overcomer. I’ve come a long way from where I started. And I owe it all to my great and wonderful God. That very same God who gave me the vision this morning, of the little lamb and the cross.

A lamb; soft, innocent, pure and representing new starts and new growth. The cross; a powerful symbol of the connection between heaven and earth, of the dying to the old self and resurrection of the new.

To him that uses his gifts shall increase be granted. A calling of attention to the word of Christ, instructing others, lest the knowledge be taken away. Let not Christ have died for nothing, as we stand upon His Word and await His promised return. Let us stand in full faith, until we see our desires manifest before our eyes; whatsoever that desire may be.

The Winning Results

    

                   The Winning Results 

Winning results are often not formed due to one big outburst, but by minute actions taken every day. The results are not in the goals set, but in the systems followed. Results are due to the practice you put in and the feedback you receive. If you’ve done a good job, if the feedback is positive, you’re more likely to repeat the action.

The way to win is to get better every day. A winner might just have the same goal as a loser, the difference being the strategies used; the finely tuned improvements consistently made in every area of your life. If you start and don’t continue, you lose. It’s your commitment to the process that takes you to the winner’s circle.

When we use ‘I am’ statements, we accept them as facts. I am always late. I am too shy. I am not good at… We need to change our beliefs in who we are if we want to see results. Replace negative statements with positive ones (I am always on time. I am confident.) and we retrain our beliefs, then our actions follow.

Erase those areas which are holding you back. Form habits which embody the persona of who it is you want to see standing before you in the mirror. Your actions reflect who you are and if you change what you do every day, your actions will line up with who you want to be.

When you change one habit, you begin to believe more in yourself and your ability to change another habit. You don’t need to do that action perfectly every day, you just need to do it consistently.

Do the required action more than you don’t do it and results will begin to appear. If you act as a successful person in the field you wish to become successful, you will do what that successful person does and then you’ll be that successful person.

Who do you wish to become?

What do you need to do in order to become that person?

Form an action plan and do it to the best of your ability. You’ll have setbacks and failures along the way, but keep doing the required action until the new habit is formed. It won’t take as long as you think. Just keep at it, until the habit is automatic.

Building good habits allows you to become the person you dream of being. The mind is constantly looking for relief/reward. The reward isn’t always good for us; overeating, drinking, smoking, drugs, gambolling, self-harm. The list is endless.

If we wish to overcome, we have to change our reward system. We do that by creating a new belief in what we want our life to look like, and it needs to be established so habitually that it becomes automatic.

When we can see ourselves working towards a healthier lifestyle, when we can feel the satisfaction of a job well done, we’re more likely to repeat the action.

If we can make a habit attractive, it becomes conceivable that we’ll do it regularly. These habits need to be working in every area of our life; finances, health, relationships, the workplace. And our habits are a result of the systems we put in place. Good systems, good results. Bad systems, bad results.

Avoid the lolly isle at the store, if you want to eat healthy. Pack a nutritious snack, if you think you’ll stop at the fast food joint on the way home. Take another route and don’t drive past that bottle shop, if you’re tempted to pull in and buy alcohol. Find something constructive to do, if you’re hanging out with the wrong crowd, for this helps keep you better occupied. These are just a few simple systems we can put in place to minimise poor choices, weak moments, automatic habits.

Read that book, take the class, study your weak areas. Eliminate the storms in your life. Eradicate the waves which crash upon you, throwing you into turmoil. Consistently change one poor habit, until all bad habits are replaced with good ones. Create new habits and you create a new life.

The Blessing.

The Blessing.

Whenever you speak, edify, for these words are a self-fulfilling prophecy (what you give out you get back). We should always aim to speak the positive, not the negative.

God wants to bless His people and He does it through us. As a church, we’ve been neglectful in this area. We’ve also been lied to; told that blessings are old testament, only for priests, or that they’re uniquely given by God, bound by the symbolic, tending to a sole use in the material and not the spiritual.

It is for us now, to reclaim the biblical understanding of what a blessing is. We’re to bless everybody and everything. We’re to multiply and extend, bless everywhere. It’s to be a beginning and an anointing of a lifetime of blessings throughout all generations.

The source of the blessing is God. God blesses through us. Use the blessing mightily, frequently and liberally. Bless all you come in contact with. The shepherd blesses the flock. Parents speak blessings over the children. Grandparents bless your grandchildren. Brothers and sisters bless one another. Husbands and wives bless each other. Bless to give comfort.

Bless finances, health, harvests, people, relationships, lands, stores, churches, governments. The list is endless. The conditions required are simple; faith and obedience. We want to reap blessings. We reap what we sow and we’re to sow blessings, not curses. As you bless, give a meaningful touch, for we are God’s conduit. He travels from His people, through our touch, to those who need blessing. We all need blessing.

The spoken word is a powerful thing. The most powerful thing in the world is God’s word and when you give voice to it, it does something to the heart of man that nothing else will do. So go ahead, encourage people in who they are, in how God sees them. Focus on potential, not on what is. Centre towards what could be and on what should be and don’t leave a single, unclaimed blessing with God. Use them all. You can never run out.

Numbers 6:24-26; The Lord bless you and keep you, the Lord make His face to shine upon you and be gracious to you, the Lord turn His face toward you and give you peace.

Ezekiel 34:26; and I will make them and the places round about My hill a blessing, and I will cause the shower to come down in his season, there shall be showers of blessing.

The Slippery Slope Of Compromise.

All it takes is one little compromise, then another and then another and in the end, those little compromises don’t bother us any more. After that, those compromises become greater as we move further away from God in our sin. Each compromise leading to a little more pulling away from God, as our soul deadens itself to the prompts of the Spirit; a shadow now having been cast between us.

It tells us in Proverbs 12:22 “Lying lips are an abomination to the Lord.” We’re kidding ourselves if we think we can lie and get away with it. Our lies will be exposed. God knows when we lie and the next time we pray, the Holy Spirit gives us a nudge as if to say; you can’t pray for that, until you ask forgiveness for the other.

Compromise isn’t all about lying either. It might just be something that’s a tiny smidgen away from an upstanding moral, but we let it slide this one time. And if we’re living for God, perhaps we should consider counting the cost before we embark on a long and round-about journey. Honesty and integrity live side by side and once we let either of those slip, it’s a slippery slope into the oceans of doom.

It’s not always easy to do the right thing. Dilemmas pop up out of nowhere and we have to ask ourselves which is the right thing to do in this situation? Sometimes it’s downright difficult to make the right choice in those moments. At times such as this we need the wisdom of the Holy Spirit to help us.

If we do take a wrong step, remember God gives us a window of mercy and grace and we should use that window to ask forgiveness and accept the mercy and grace offered. Come quickly to the place of repentance. Do not tarry. Also, the size of our sin is no barrier to salvation.  

The Pearl of Great Price (the kingdom of heaven) is more valuable than anything else in existence; God, Jesus, the Holy Spirit, Salvation; this is what we work towards and we don’t want to jeopardise it in any way, so be sure to be honest in all your dealings, even if they seem insignificant.

The lure of satan is not nearly so impressive as the touch of God. God is our peace: Breathe Him in. Set your standard and don’t deviate from it. The Designer has a specific purpose for your life and you don’t want to get off track at any point in time.

Determine your direction. Work towards your destiny. Move in your gifts at all times and one day you will be promoted. All we have to do is stick with the program and don’t deviate, don’t compromise, not even a little.

Wide is the road to hell and narrow the path to heaven. It’s not easy to always live with integrity, however we must put forward our best efforts and stay in the presence of God. A life of no compromise sets a standard for successful living. People will know you by your fruit. Be sure they see the fruit of honesty.

 

 

 

 

Not Every Day is a Good Day.

            Not Every Day is a Good Day.

I took yesterday off. I was just over it. Not every day is a good day and sometimes pushing every day, while at times only seeing limited results; sometimes it gets to be difficult.

I’m reading a book and heard the Lord speaking to me through its pages. The book mentioned not every road is a straight road and delay is not defeat. Then I listened to a you tube which said we have to get to a place where the devil’s tactics don’t cause us to change, that we aren’t to get into negativity but to say; is that all you’ve got? and then get on with our day. Trusting in the Lord at all times is the goal, however that’s not where I’ve been the past couple of days.

Later today I read in my bible the passage of the leaven. Leaven being used for both good or evil. Tiny pieces of active energy, permeating through our life. I can’t help but wonder, as I study quantum physics, if leaven isn’t another word for particle.

Still, for the believer, a small glimpse of the Lord’s attitude towards His people, the leaven transforming people from a dead lump, into life, via a quickening influence. The piece went on to say; poor, ignorant men, with no resources, bar God Himself. Isn’t the all of us at times?

An inheritance hastily gotten at the beginning, but not blessed at the end, spoken of in the bible (Proverbs 20:21) and not something we wish to see. Sometimes it’s better to battle, as long as we remember we are mighty through God.

The leaven, dusted across fine flour, kneaded and pounded until our earthly life aligns with our Christian principles. The leaven working its way through the bread, until the outward appearance is transformed and visible to all.

And so I continue to plug away, even during those difficult days, for we can be bogged down at times.

I sold a number of books this month. In looking at my account yesterday, I felt a whole load lift. It was like – Yes, I am a writer! I felt a lightening, like a burden was removed and I actually felt successful in a small measure. All I have to do now is hold on to that successful feeling. Now that I know what it feels like, I may replicate that feeling and bring more of it into my life, for what we think about is what we bring about.

Yes, I sell books all the time, but some months I sell more than others. I’ve sold books before and had the same feeling then, but to sell so many was a bit of a surprise. I’d forgotten all about the earlier sales, remembering only this moment, as I write this and as I came to that same place, that now I’m sure to hang on to the feeling of success.

My bible reading today was about scribes. Once, a prophet at church called me a scribe. She was a visitor to the church and said (without knowing me at all), you’re a storyteller, a scribe. As a writer of biblical truths, yes, I can visualize that. A scribe, instructed in the ways of heaven, is like a householder bringing forth treasure, both the new and the old.

Matthew 13:52; He said to them, “Therefore every teacher of the law who has become a disciple in the kingdom of heaven is like the owner of a house who brings out of his storeroom new treasures as well as old.”

As I labour within the pages of the word (the old), bringing it forth into daily living (the new) and as I garner more on how the kingdom of heaven responds to the word of God, I teach it through my written work. The apostles were taught the word of God, though Jesus and once adept, they wrote the word of God, marrying the old testament with the new.

I know what we think about is what we bring about. My aim is to show this truth to others. While I’m not able to add anything to that precious word of God, I can enlighten through my own parables, just as Jesus did and hopefully, I’m doing it just as well as Jesus did it.

Dusk to Dawn.

                       Dusk to Dawn.

God counts the days, not from morning to evening, but evening to morning. That’s because during the evening you’re to start on what’s needed for tomorrow. Iron those clothes, make those lunches, call that person, sort the finances. Don’t leave it all for the morning rush, where you’re distracted and irritated. God specialises in bringing light out of darkness; evening to morning, moving seamlessly from one to the other. You should too.

Map out your day the night before and follow through. Keep first things first. Be focussed but flexible. Delegate where you can. Even if all you do is pick five things to do each night, it will give you a head start in the morning. These words will keep your life on track and bring you good success.

Leadership experts rarely get up in the morning, wondering what they’re going to do with their day. They have a plan and follow through with it. When you leave your life to chance, chances are you won’t go anywhere. Just as the dawn is all the more brilliant after a dark night, so too is your progress.

The greatest gain comes after pain and breakthrough comes when we hold fast and stay in the battle. Hold on tight. Don’t let go. Keep moving forward. God can be trusted to bring us through our dark and stormy nights and into the new dawn of victory. It will happen if we do our part and not quit.

The Chaldean and its Evil Rein.

The Chaldean and its Evil Rein.

My bible reading today was about the Chaldeans. I clicked onto a you tube message, which happened to be on the same thing. There was a warning in this; beware lest what the prophets say comes upon you. There is an enemy who’s trying to blind you to the truth and that enemy is a Chaldean. Don’t let the warnings of the prophets go unquestioned.

Chaldeans are a type of demonic. A bitter, nasty and hasty nation, who march over the earth to possess places that aren’t theirs, to gain mastery and control over places in which they don’t belong.

The Chaldean race had been destroyed and was never again referred to after 605 BC. So, if they’ve been destroyed, why are the spoken of and who are they today? Demons - demonic spirits. Sceptics today would say there are no demons. I say; “Yes, there are.” You’d better know it and beware, because they’re trying to possess dwelling places that don’t belong to them.

Demons can be singular or multitude. The spirits within the two men with the ‘legion of demons’ (legion meaning many) pleaded with Jesus not to send them away and Jesus allowed them to enter into the pigs. The pigs ran over the edge of the cliff and were drowned. (See Matthew 8.) Those ‘legion’ spirits are still hanging around today, looking for a body (home) to possess.

They’re thieves, with satan as their head. Satan too is a thief, coming to kill, steal and destroy, but he’s not omnipresent and uses demons to do his work. Satan has an army of demons. Satan can have you bound by a demon spirit and so tightly bound that you aren’t even aware of it.

Addictions are satanic spirits which have bound you. Also, poverty, suicidal thoughts, schizophrenia, perversion, confusion, just to name a few. There are many more.

The Chaldeans want for themselves the houses of God as their possession. They’re not after the unbeliever, they’re after the believer. And they're gleeful about it too.

The definition of Chaldean is demon. Wanderers. Unclean spirits who come out and wander the earth to possess dwelling places. You have to fill your house (heart and mind) with the word of God, or you will have a house swept clean and the Chaldean will come with 7 of his friends.

You can remove the evil entities, but unless you replace the space with God, they’ll come back 7 times greater than before. We are in a war. The Chaldeans, as a people, were never conquered, until they were fully destroyed. God used them through the old testament, until the people called out to Him. Once a nation of people, now a world-wide demonic entity.

The Chaldeans took over Babylon. Nebuchadnezzar was a Chaldean. Nebuchadnezzar took two things – articles from the house of God and the young men; good looking, with no blemish. Men gifted in wisdom and understanding with ability to serve – future leaders. Nebuchadnezzar wanted to teach them about the Chaldeans, warping their minds with dazzling lies.

The articles from the house of God were the tithe, and the young men - the next generation. They took the gold and the silver and the future leaders. They took what goes into the mind (how you view the world), into the body (ensuring the lusts of the flesh) and stole what belongs to God from the storehouses, the best and most precious to God. Replacing the wholesome with the pride of life, lust of the eye and lust of the body.

Demons are squatters, starting in the attic (mind) and moving into the main living areas (heart) of the house, as time progresses. And just like any demon, Chaldeans are vicious. They don’t have one moment of empathy, or sympathy. They gather captives like sand in a bucket, easily and effortlessly. They’re like wolves tearing prey, leaving not a bone until morning. They work at night. (Read your bible or pray if you wake at night, particularly if you wake up and feel any negativity.)

Wolves and sheep cannot coexist. A wolf will study their prey to look for their weak spots. They go for the sheep that’s off by itself. Stay close to the shepherd. A wolf will attack in a pack. When they howl, they’re calling the rest of the pack and will divide the flock.

Satan never has a merciful moment. He will attack at your worst possible time. Young and old, satan and his Chaldean followers will attack. Chaldeans will hide and they’re excellent marksmen. When your trudging through life, that’s when they’ll shoot. When you’re feeling at your lowest, that’s when they come. They’re cunning. They move in, become your friend and take over.

They use magicians and sorcerers to distract and deceive you. These magicians and sorcerers deceive by familiar spirits; spirits who know your past and show you things that no one else knows but you. And because of that, you believe them, listen intently and take on board what they say.

They also use astrologers, who tell you your future. They’ve come to distract, deceive and determine your future. This is why God forbids you, as one of His chosen, to entertain magicians, sorcerers and astrologers. Don’t go there. Those familiar spirits will always inform you of something bad that will happen in the future, planting a seed which grows over time.

What you think about you bring about and that’s the whole point. The planted seed festers and poisons and down the track causes a fear so real you start to believe it. In life we get not what we deserve, but what we believe and these little seeds imbedded in our mind begin grow, until we believe the corrupt report will happen.

Don’t read your horoscope, don’t allow the reading of tea leaves, tarot cards, or go to mediums or clairvoyants. It’s not harmless fun, as we’re led to believe. It has repercussions, throwing dark shadows well into your future.

And if you have been to a clairvoyant or medium; if you have had that festering seed planted, undo the damage by bringing it to God. Ask His forgiveness for your part in this and His protection that you will live and not die.

In our early days, we may not have known the danger and damage astrologers and sorcerers’ can impart, but we have a merciful and gracious God who is slow to anger and quick to forgive, so turn to Him now and get right with the Lord. Rebuke the enemy and stand on God’s promises of a long and satisfying life.

God is more powerful than satan or any demon, so bring yourself before the Almighty and live a life devoted to Him.

Eagles and God’s Plan for Your Life.

        Eagles and God’s Plan for Your Life.

Vision is increasing. Time is being restored. The fresh fire of the Lord is being released. The key is the upper room. What that means is; you have to spend time with God if you wish to see the releasing of the fire, or fresh encounters - if you want to be moving in to where He's going.

Revolutionary new ideas and understanding of His ways are coming, so you can build with God. To see it though, you need to spend time with Him and you do that by closing yourself in with Him.

God's fire is going to come and hit His people and they will show the rest of the world that the power of God is moving greatly.

Encounters with God, the revelation of Jesus and the light of God's glory will begin to shine brightly, transforming His people. The mark of love will be on you, as you walk in God's wisdom and His ways. A new era is about to begin; supernatural manifestations will be shown to those who are drawn into the Light. It will be physical, as people look at Jesus and read His word. New pathways and blueprints are coming to light.

Stop, seek, pray, set aside distraction and wait to hear from Him. You will be as eagles, set high above the earth, with eyes afire for God. The eagles will reveal the truth of God and you've been saved and closeted for such a time as this.

Truth will come into alignment with God's word and the watchman will declare that truth, interceding for Israel (the righteous of God), bringing a power that hasn't been seen before. And it all happens in the upper room, in the prayer closet of His people, in those who linger and spend time with God.

The above was written and deskbound within my computer notes. I don’t know where I heard it. I don’t know if I read it, watched a you tube, or if it was from someone I met, or even a dream. This particular morning I’d been for a bike ride and had breakfast under two stone eagles positioned atop two stone pillars. On returning home and opening my laptop, here it was, sitting, waiting for me to do something with it and yet I didn’t remember writing it.

I pray this isn’t someone else’s work, or if it is, I’d like to give them credit for it, for I surely don’t remember typing the above although I must have, to see it embedded within my notes. The fact that I had breakfast with eagles and this piece speaks of eagles tells me; it’s no coincidence. With this in mind, I put forward this piece for others to read and take heart.

I pray this little snippet encourages you to perch awhile with God, that it gives you the bravery to step out after hearing His word, with the faith to succeed in any endeavour you’re contending for.

The Best Tip I Ever Received

             The Best Tip I Ever Received.

How many times have you heard it said; I’m going to write a book about it one day. How many people do you know, have actually followed through and written that book? If writing were easy, everyone would do it, but it’s not. It takes dedication and commitment to start at the beginning, work it through to the end and not quit during the half-way hump in the middle.

It may take years of practice, before you even feel comfortable enough to send out your written work. Nerves come to the fore as you hesitatingly hit that send button. Anxiety arises, as you put your first work out into the ether, for all to see. It takes guts to send your work off, when you don’t initially know if you’re any good as a writer. You only find out how good you are, once you’ve done it, once you’ve pushed aside the nerves and sent that work to an editor, or publisher.

I’ve been a writer for over 20 years. For quite a while, not much happened. I’d post my work off, expectantly awaiting the magical words: “Congratulations on becoming an author.” After a time, I began do doubt my abilities; abilities which had taken years to perfect, as I considered on numerous occasions; it was all too hard. Perhaps I should let it go. Just quit.

The best writing tip I ever received was; “It’s not always the finest writer that rises to the top, but the one who perseveres.” I don’t remember where I read it, or who said it, but those few words gave me the courage and inspiration to continue, in spite of my early misgivings toward my perceived skill-set and talent.

You see, in perseverance we become superior at our craft. As our craft improves, we gain recognition in our field. When you have a message that needs to be heard, sometimes it doesn’t matter whether or not you’re a great writer. A great message can go a long way.

We all start somewhere and not all of us have a university education. Some of us take longer to reach our destination than others, but if we don’t quit, if we keep going, one day our dream will be realised and that’s in any endeavour, not just writing.

Aim to be the best in your field. Study every day and don’t quit. Keep going, even if you don’t see the desired results at first. Keep going, even when others around you quit.

To be the best in your field takes consistent action, study and improvement. To be the best writer is to practice, practice, practice. Read, study and write. Write every day. Write to a word count. Write when you’re sad, when you’re happy, when you don’t feel like it, when you’re too busy. Write, just because you love it. Do this and you shall rise above your colleagues.

Keep going and never quit. Become the best you can be and success will follow. As a writer of numerous articles, books and blogs, I know the value of perseverance. Don’t think you don’t have what it takes, instead, learn to do what it takes. Your time will come, for as it says in the bible; the soul of a lazy man desires, and has nothing; but the soul of the diligent shall be made rich. (Proverbs 13:4).

Doggedness, dedication and diligence. A no quit attitude. Persevere and practice. And don’t stop until you receive the prize. Follow the tips and guidance of those who’ve gone before you and remember, it’s not always the finest writer that rises to the top, but the one who perseveres.

The Absolute Word of God.

              The Absolute Word of God.

I was listening to a you tube clip with Mike Parsons (dated a year ago and titled Unconditional Love 6), who said the bible isn’t the infallible word of God, that it’s written by men with their own values and perceptions.

That’s not what I’ve been taught and so I respectfully disagree. Yes, a man's perceptions and values are coloured by where they were raised and what they've been through but the bible is the infallible word of God, who is clever enough to work within the bounds of man's upbringing. 

John 17:17 reads; “Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth.” That means if you want to know the truth you go to the word of God. You certainly don’t direct people into thinking not every word is God inspired. You certainly don’t direct people to head elsewhere for their information.

If we move out of step with the bible, we walk away from the moral compass of this world and once you begin to change ithe word and move away from it, what else is there? This book must be kept pure, for it is the amplitude which keeps the truth of the word alive and unchanged. You can’t change it to suit yourself.

Yes, I will agree with Parsons on the issue that other peoples work can be God inspired, but we must never budge from the True and Living Word of the Bible. This is God’s word and we must never change it to suit our own experiences.

I listened to part of this clip yesterday and turned it off at this point. Mike Parsons has some good teaching and even as Christians, we can't agree on every aspect, so I won't throw the baby out with the bathwater. 

My bible reading this morning, just happened to be on John 17:17 - the truth of His word. The bible also tells us, we will know them by their fruit. As this man is pushing something unbiblical, I will no longer listen to him – his fruit has an element of rot in it.

2 Timothy 3:16-17 reads; All scripture is given by inspiration of God and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correctness, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.

Timothy's writing implies infallibility. Timothy states man will be thoroughly equipped, revealing the guidance of God’s truth. God’s word cannot be in error, for God Himself never errs. One could say an implication is not an absolute. I beg to differ on the matter and that’s because God never errs.

Parson’s states that the bible is not ‘all scripture,’ only elements of it are.

The Greek meaning of the word scripture is; a writing, something that is written.

The Hebrew meaning of the word scripture is a little more complex, but breaking it down it means that which is read. In early biblical days, only the wealthy were taught to read and because not everyone could read biblical texts were often read to the people.

The Latin form of the word scripture means a sacred writing, or a holy book.

So you see, you  can't pull out elements. You cannot take matters into your own hands for everything is related; wind makes waves, waves cause motion in water, air too, causes a motion of sand. You cannot add your own connotations or definitions, for then you change the undertones. 

The bible is either the word of God or it isn’t. I for one, believe it’s the former of the two. I hope you do as well.

Light's Virtual Particle.

 

Light’s Virtual Particle.

In case you all don’t know; I’m not a doctor. While employed, I was a disability support worker. My role was to stabilize the charges in my care. Sometimes that required phoning for an ambulance.

We were trained in the management schizophrenia and epilepsy, not in the cause or the treatment.

Recently I gave a talk at church on ‘the God particle.’ I wasn’t particularly searching for the God particle, but I was interested to know if there was a God particle, how prayer could be affected by it.

More recently still, I found there’s what’s called a ‘virtual particle.’ It’s a light particle and it’s random. It comes and goes as it chooses. It can come from as far away as the outer reaches of the cosmos, or as close as your hand before your face and it’s instant. No matter how far, or how near, there is zero-time delay in it showing up on the scene.

It also appears particles communicate with other particles. Instantly one moves up, the other moves down. Due to the random nature of the virtual particle, scientists have been unable to measure it, or find the cause of how and why it arrives. What they have found is that sometimes the particle will split into two virtual particles, sometimes it won’t split. Sometimes those two particles will join together to form a single particle once again and sometimes it won’t. Sometimes the particle gets absorbed by other particles and sometimes it doesn’t.

I spoke recently of a thing called non-locality, where Jesus could pray here and affect something over there. Jesus doesn’t need a channel, such as a wire from the light switch to the light bulb. He gives the word and instantly something happens to bring that word to pass. Is this the mechanism of a virtual particle?

While working in disabilities, I also wrote books. Now I no longer work in disabilities. Today, I’m an investigative photo journalist and author. At this moment I have four projects on the go. I’m writing a how-to book, as well as a blog piece. Also, two novels; a cold case murder investigation (based upon a true crime) and one on time-travel. 

These two novels led me to look at light and this is how I stumbled across the virtual particle. As my mind mulled over my findings, I finally fell asleep, only to dream upon what I was studying. What a strange dream it was. On waking I jotted my dream down straight away.

What was floating around in my head as I woke, was that an over production of yeast, called candida, may cause either schizophrenia or epilepsy. I had no knowledge of the truth of this and so in the morning I looked it up and was surprised to find; yes, it appears this is true. And floating it was, as I dreamed of a river thick with virtual particles, flowing along, mixing well in the water of the stream.

The Bible tells me I have the mind of Christ and the knowledge of God. I’m told when I look in the mirror, I should see Christ staring back at me; that when I see Christ, I see the Father.

Before falling asleep at night, I pray for spiritual epiphanies. I pray that the Lord show me what He wants me to see, teach me what He wants me to know and that He lead me in His perfect will. More and more, I’m finding I have dreams.

Recording my dream as soon as I wake, ensures the dream isn’t snatched away by the devil and soon forgotten. Dreaming of candida and how the understanding of this could lead to mental and physical issues, wasn’t something I’d ever thought about, or even knew about, before this night.

The question now is; why? Why did I need to know this? The fact that my dream proved to be a truth, also shows me there’s a link. A link to what? The God particle? Could this virtual particle, which appears instantaneously, bring a greater force into our prayer life?

Remembering now, a virtual particle is just that; virtual. It seems there's no way to actually prove its existence, except to say it makes all models of the theory of relativity, quantum physics and the superstring theory work more effectively. It’s like having the answer to a math question and then making the question up to suit the answer. However, we do march forward and so …

If Jesus is the light and the virtual particle is a light particle, could they be one and the same thing? In our darkest moments we wish for light. Jesus is that light. And just suppose with me for a moment; What if the complexities of life were as easily solved as a dream, where Jesus brings forth the answer to your deepest and greatest questions? It is possible, for anything is possible with Christ.

Although unable to prove a virtual particle, the fact that the dream showed me a truth re – yeast and the causation of schizophrenia and epilepsy – it also brought an awareness of the power of God to work in my life through my dreams. Kind of exciting, don’t you think? Sometimes our prayer life can feel rote and mundane, but stick with it, because the longer you pursue God, the more He shows you.

 

 

 

This Is Not Even A Goat Thing, But A Sheep Thing.

This Is Not Even A Goat Thing, But A Sheep Thing And We Need To Be Scrupulous.

Ezekiel 34:17 & 22 speaks of God judging between the sheep and the sheep, between the fat and the lean sheep (vs 20). Here God’s saying He’s going to protect and save the vulnerable. He’s going to uphold the true believer. Those pastors who’ve been feathering their own nests. Those in the congregation who sit beside you, but go home to foul music and foul movies, illegalities and underhandedness – God is going to arise and bring forth His hand against them.

God is going to bind up the injured and strengthen the weak. God is searching the hearts of man, looking for those who are doing His will. This is not a final judgment, this is a word for now and it starts with His people, from His church; a sifting force separating the true believer from the fake.

This is not a wolves’ in sheep’s clothing matter. This is not a separation of goats and sheep. This is for those closest to God; those who call themselves Christian but don’t always act as such. God places an extremely high value on virtue and we need to be virtuous in all areas, showing ourselves to be worthy of God’s calling. Those falling short will see the hand of God move against them.

Nowadays there’s increasing anti-Christian works abounding; through governments, media, schools and with the giants of the land (big screen, big pharma, big corporation) and there will be a shift. The big players will fall away, but it doesn’t stop there. It will come right into the centre of your church. Those of you who aren’t living a Godly life, outside of Sunday morning, will be a target. Now is the time to set your house in order.

The bible states in Ezekiel 33:8-9; “When I say to the wicked ‘Oh wicked man, you shall surely die!’ and you do not speak to warn the wicked from his way, that wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood I will require at your hand. Nevertheless if you warn the wicked to turn from his way, and he does not turn from his way, he shall die in his iniquity; but you have delivered your soul.”

So, it’s up to me to warn the people; do not die in your iniquity. If you’re doing something immoral, illegal, or ill advised – STOP! Repent and ask forgiveness. Get back on track and start living a holy life.

Remembering Jesus died for our forgiveness of sins and left us the Holy Spirit, so as to enable us to live a holy life. We don’t need to do this on our own. It’s much easier to get fit while at the gym with all its resources, than to try to get fit before you join. So, join a church or a home study group, read your bible, allow the Holy Spirit to work in your life and become the men and women of God, that the Good Lord destined you to be.

The Battle of our Lives; Virtue.

In 25 years of following God and His teachings, I don’t think I’ve ever heard a sermon teaching on the value of virtue.

The Oxford dictionary defines virtue as; behaviour showing high moral standards.

Dictionary.com states virtue as being of moral excellence, goodness; righteousness, conformity of one’s life and conduct to moral and ethical principles; uprightness; rectitude.

The old testament speaks of virtue as strength and power. The new testament speaks of virtue as excellence or valour. The summation of the old and the new could be said; as a mighty force and an admirable character. I like the sound of that.

When the woman with the issue of blood touched the hem of Jesus’ garment, He said He perceived virtue leave His body. Can you feel virtue? Jesus obviously could.

2 Peter 12:11 writes that virtue should be the first thing a Christian strives to attain; with diligence - a necessary ingredient if you will. If this is so important, why aren’t we hearing about it from the pulpit? Are ministers failing to deliver, or do they think it’s just too hard a topic to cover?

What is virtue, if it isn’t good character and lofty thoughts, a high standard of excellence, as well as high morals and ethics as we strive towards good works, purity and innocence – not an easy task in today’s society.

Peter states if we strive to be diligent in our calling, we will never stumble, producing fruit, showing our calling as sure. Transformation of our character, intellect, emotions, actions and words, putting us on a straight trajectory towards the likeness of God, as we’re transformed into His image.

Words; the power of the tongue. The tongue, just a little instrument, but one which can invoke great damage when used incorrectly. Part of holding virtue is to use the tongue wisely. To be mature is to control our speech; to think first and talk less.

James 3 has a full chapter in the bible devoted to speech. James 3:10 reads; “Out of the same mouth proceed blessing and cursing.” Slander, bitterness, envy, gossip and swearing should all be removed from our thoughts and our tongue.

As we aim to live virtuously, embracing an excellent life of purity and kindness, we realise just how important God’s grace is. We cannot live 100% virtuous, without an infusion of grace.

Remembering virtue isn’t perfection, but consistent excellence in all areas of life. When we intentionally choose to align with God’s principles, when we add temperance, prudence and fortitude, as we seek to honour the Lord, we find ourselves displaying the fruit of love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.

If we aren’t showing the fruit, perhaps it’s time to lift our game. I for one, would love to go through life without any more stumbling, as Peter indicates. I for one, need to be virtuous. To some of us, being virtuous comes easy, for others, they may have to work a little harder to attain it, but with God at the helm we can’t lose. It’s worth fighting for.

I read once, that when we lose virtue, we can fall into depression, confusion, doubt, stagnation and trauma. Perhaps one should consider this, if they feel they’ve failed morally. It might be time for some to repent and ask God’s forgiveness. 

And when we have won the battle, when virtue is held at our forefront, then we are the Light of the World, able to point the way as we shine; a bright beacon for all to see.

 

We're Not Meant To Hope And Pray.

Do you know; we’re not meant to hope and pray?

At the moment I’m studying superstring theory – the relativity of everything – a form of quantum physics. That takes you right into protons, electrons, neutrons, quarks and Plancks. Planck; spelt with a ck. Super, super, super microorganisms, so small they’re beyond micro, so small, they cannot be broken down any further.

A quark; the atomic nuclei of protons and neutrons, is the building block of visible matter. A Planck is deemed the smallest particle in existence.

CERN - The European Organisation for Nuclear Research – houses the Hadron Collider, the most powerful particle accelerator in the world. CERN has been searching the building blocks of life, searching for the God particle, using the Higgs Boson, which they’ve nicknamed The God Particle.

My question; is there such a thing as a God particle?

A quantum perspective is to look for the unseen, in the hope of finding the seen; it’s looking at the nature of reality, how nature works and for me, how that affects prayer.

Coming back to my earlier sentence; we’re not meant to hope and pray; Christ says all things are possible to those who believe. We’re not meant to hope and pray; we’re meant to pray and believe. We can hope for things not seen, but to get there from here we need to pray and believe, for that is faith.  We have the knowledge of God in every situation and we should expect Him to manifest the wisdom to apply that knowledge into all things, big or small.

We need an expectancy that what we hope for we will experience. An expectancy that what we believe, when we pray, will come to pass.

Nowhere does it say Paul prayed over his handkerchiefs and yet these pieces of cloth healed, when given to the sick. Could that be quantum physics at work? Did these cloths of Paul’s emanate the same power Paul had, because he radiated the Glory of God?

If you look at a mirror, you’ll see a reflection of yourself. What God’s word says is to look at Him and you’ll be a reflection of Him, just as Jesus said; when you see Me, you see the Father.

When you see the beauty in all things, a sunrise, a flower, the wonderful diversity of birds and animals, you’re seeing the glory of God manifested and when you see that, you’re at your closest to manifesting His glory to others. You can’t see The Glory of course, just as you can’t see quarks or Plancks, but it’s still there.

I’ve heard of Spina bifida being healed, autism, even a new adult tooth growing, after its loss due to accident. I even heard a story of a woman who had metal plates and pins in her back, waking one morning and finding those very plates and pins in her bed. She was completely healed.

This is all well and good, these stories of the miraculous. But do you have your own? We cannot walk with Jesus and not see miracles. The creative realm will match what we desire, when we place our trust in Jesus. The God particle, if I can call it that, will jump from one station to another.

God’s word tells us to speak our testimony and we shall overcome. Revelation 12:11 And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony… When others hear of our testimonies they grow in their faith, and they want what we have. It’s those first hand reports, not the story that happened to a friend of a friend of mine, which cause people’s amazement, in turn bringing their imagination into alignment with our own.

I have my own testimonies, of illnesses healed; including cancers, of broken areas fully recovered, relationships mended, poverty overcome, of walking out of the darkness and into the light. And when I tell my stories, it draws others to Jesus and they too, begin their own journey, finding their own stories to tell.

In quantum physics there’s such a thing as non-locality. Jesus has a non-locality and when He speaks, unlike the hankies of Paul which needed to be handed to someone, in the moment that Jesus speaks the non-local aspect becomes a reality somewhere else.

Cause and effect need a channel. If you turn on a light, the light doesn’t come on at the switch, but comes on at the light bulb, across the room. It follows a channel. Jesus doesn’t do that. That’s why He could heal without being on the spot, without being there.

He can speak the word here and it will affect the person over there. It doesn’t need a channel. Something transfers and that changes things. The Roman Centurion knew that, for he told Jesus; only speak the word and my servant will be healed, as written in Matthew 8:8. The Centurion knew that the word of Jesus was enough. He knew Jesus didn’t need to pass on a prayer cloth, or be in close physical proximity for healing to take place.

Everything is connected somehow in some way. Not that we can manipulate matter, but we’re part of a spiritual reality through which everything is connected. Distance, time and frequency can affect how bad the illness is and the spirit of the living God manifests change in the situation.

In our darkest moments we want a hope that things will get better; that what we hope for will come to pass. But we need faith to pull it off. We don’t want niceties, we want results. We want to be connected, taking what we say from over here and bringing the results to over there.

We are quantum entangled with God. Him in us and us in Him. As He is, so are we. Jesus could do miracles. He died so as to give us the power to work miracles and once we believe, over hope, we shall see miraculous results. And we need to be bold, we need to tell of our testimonies.

Jesus died for us, even though we were sinners. He gave up His life and in taking of the elements, we give acknowledgement and thanks for His great and wonderful sacrifice.

John 6:56-57 says; He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me and I in him. As the living Father sent Me, and I live because of the Father, so he who feeds on Me will live because of Me. 

And so I ask you today, to take of the bread and the wine and give Him our greatest thanks.

For I Am A Jealous God

The Lord our God is a jealous God. He will not share His throne. It’s expected He and He alone is to be worshiped. Exodus 20:3 says “You shall have no other gods before me.” It’s the one of the 10 commandments, written in stone by Moses. That’s how highly God values the worship of Himself.

 

Exodus 34:14 says ‘for you shall worship no other god, for the Lord whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God.

 

In the book of Ezekiel, there is a mesmerizing reference to the image of jealousy. Ezekiel 8:3 …the door of the north gate of the inner court, where the seat of the image of Jealousy was, which provokes to jealousy.

 

Ezekiel 8:3-5 recounts a spiritual vision where the prophet Ezekiel is lifted up by the Spirit and brought to Jerusalem. Specifically, he is taken to the entrance of the north gate of the inner court. At this location, he observes the image of jealousy.

 

The phrase “image of jealousy” signifies something that provokes jealousy. In this context, it refers to an idol - an object of worship that stirs God's righteous jealousy. Throughout the Old Testament, idols were considered abominations, and their presence incited God's displeasure.

 

While the exact nature of this idol is not explicitly described in this passage by Ezekiel, some commentaries suggest that it may have been associated with the goddess Asherah, or golden images, but that’s not important. What’s important is the act of idol worship which brings God to jealousy. 

 

It's essential to note that the term “image of jealousy” doesn't necessarily imply that God was envious of the idol itself. Instead, it highlights the seriousness of idolatry and the Israelites' unfaithfulness to the Lord their God.

 

The image's location near the north gate, within the temple precincts, underscores its significance, for it resides within the inner court, within the sanctuary of the Most-High God. It was positioned in a place dedicated to the worship of God, making its presence all the more provocative.

 

The image of jealousy in Ezekiel, represents an idol that evoked God's righteous indignation due to the Israelites' departure from true worship. Its existence within that sacred space symbolized their unfaithfulness and disregard towards God's commandments. This in turn, unveils the lost intimacy of the relationship between the Israelites and God. The passage serves as a powerful reminder of the dangers of idolatry and the need for genuine devotion.

 

As Christians, we need to be mindful of where we place our trust. Is it in a special one who walks with us through life? Is it in our children, our home, or is it in our finances? It may even be approval of others, or addictions. It shouldn’t be. Our trust should always be, first and foremost, in God and God alone.

 

When we put something else in the place of God, we dissipate the capacity to hear from Him or to sense His presence. Our soul shrinks and we get “off track,” losing our ability to walk in His ways, as we head down pathways not meant for us. As we continue down this wrong path, life becomes more and more difficult. And that’s not what we want.

 

Once we’ve found ourselves in idol worship, the best thing we can do at this point is repent and the sooner the better. Repent immediately. Get back on track and draw close into His bosom once more. The Lord our God might well be a jealous God, but He is also a forgiving and loving God. He will apply His grace to your situation and show you mercy.

 

Turn to Him today, turn back to Him if you’ve strayed, for there is no time like the present. And a great place to start, is with communion. Search yourself, search your heart and ask God to forgive you, then take of the elements, with faithfulness and praise, giving all honour to the One True God, through the sacrifice of His one and only Son. Take a moment to do this right now and live in Holiness and Peace.

Christianity and the Church

Christianity is a rich and diverse faith which encompasses various practices, beliefs, and traditions. There are three essential aspects of Christianity: the Christian sacraments, Christian art, and the Christian Church.

The Christian sacraments are sacred rituals that hold deep spiritual significance for believers. They are considered outward signs of inward grace and are essential for the Christian journey. Key Christian sacraments are as follows:

1. Baptism: Baptism is the initiation into the Christian faith. It symbolizes purification, rebirth, and the forgiveness of sins. Through water immersion or sprinkling, Christians are united with Christ and become part of the Church.

2. Eucharist (Holy Communion): The Eucharist, also known as the Lord's Supper or Holy Communion, commemorates Jesus' Last Supper with His disciples. It involves the sharing of bread and wine, representing Christ's body and blood. It signifies spiritual nourishment and communion with God, as well as the healing offered by Jesus Christ.

3. Confirmation: Confirmation too, is a sacrament, in which baptized individuals receive the Holy Spirit. It is often associated with a public declaration of faith and commitment to Christ and is a vitally important aspect of the Christian faith.

Christian Art

Christian art has played a significant role in expressing and communicating the Christian message throughout history, starting as far back in history as 30 A.D., which is the same time as Jesus’ death and resurrection.

Some notable forms of Christian art are seen within the walls of the Roman catacombs. These are well documented and evidence of the life and death of Jesus.

Others include:

1. Iconography: Icons are religious images that serve as windows to the divine. They are used in Eastern Orthodox Christianity to aid in prayer and meditation. Icons depict Christ, the Virgin Mary, saints, and biblical scenes.

2. Frescoes and Mosaics: Churches and cathedrals are adorned with frescoes and mosaics that depict biblical stories, saints, and angels. These artworks serve as visual catechisms, teaching the faithful about their faith.

3. Stained Glass Windows: Stained glass windows in Gothic cathedrals tell stories from the Bible. The interplay of light and colour creates a transcendent experience for worshippers. The beauty of what was done, through Christ, lights up these windows in a way which can be breathtaking for some.

The Christian Church

The Christian Church is the community of believers who gather for worship, fellowship, and service. Here are some aspects of the Church:

1. Denominations: Christianity is divided into various denominations, each with its distinct beliefs and practices. Examples include Roman Catholicism, Protestantism, and Eastern Orthodoxy.

2. Worship Services: Christians gather in churches for worship services, which include prayers, hymns, Scripture readings, and sermons. The Church provides spiritual nourishment and a sense of belonging.

3. Leadership: The Church is led by clergy, including priests, pastors, and bishops. They teach and guide the faithful, administer the sacraments, and provide pastoral care.

In conclusion, Christian sacraments, art, and the Church are interconnected elements that shape the Christian experience. They remind believers of their faith's depth, beauty, and communal nature.

With one more thing to add; the bible is the living word and the church is strong on promoting the reading and following of that word. If one wishes to move in the supernatural, as Jesus did, one needs to be reading the word, believing in the word and acting on what the word tells them to do. It’s not a book to be trifled with, nor taken lightly.

The Light of the World.

Three times in a row, I received a message on the Light of the world and so I thought I’d write about that here today.

Isaiah 7:15 Curds and honey He shall eat, that He may know to refuse the evil and choose good.

Born to a land flowing with milk and honey, during a period of peace, Jesus was raised on a diet exactly as other children in the region (curds (milk) and honey), until He knew right from wrong at about three years of age, thus denoting His humanity in the world.

At around three years old, a child knows right from wrong. Nourished with proper food and assumed a proper soul, Jesus increased in wisdom and knowledge, as do all children raised in a proper manner.

It could be said that at this age, exercising between the pleasant and painful is the point of moral consciousness, which takes 10 to 12 years to fully mature. Jesus grew in wisdom, stature and favour with God and man (Luke 2:52). His light was now just beginning to shine.

Those with no light in them shall pass through the land, hard-pressed and hungry, filled with gloom and downcast. Just as the light began to shine in Jesus, the light will shine upon the Gentiles too, as they draw close to the Light Bearer, imitating Him in all His ways. The Gentiles will increase in joy, for the Lord has broken the yoke of their burden and loosed the chains of their past.

Church is the place of the broken, all at various stages of healing. We start as empty vessels, full of fear, ill and fragmented. As a cracked pot, with seemingly no use, we are less than God intends for us to be. But add the light of God and watch your life change. Continue to put Christ first and you will see the miraculous work in your life.

The broken pot, that’s you and I, are to be filled with the light of God. A clay pot given a new use, as in Judges 7:16-21 where the clay pots of the army of Gideon, were used to carry the light of God; a light not meant to be hidden, but released to the world. Where the enemy fled in terror, when it saw the light of the army shine brightly.

2 Kings 4:1-7 tells us of a woman who was about to lose her sons as slaves, to the creditors. The Prophet Elisha told the woman to fill empty pots with the remaining oil in her house and sell the oil. You see, this woman was drained and depleted; scared, broke, in heartache. She had nothing and was ripe for the filling. At the end of this, she had more than enough to pay her creditors, see her sons safe and was able to “live on the rest.” More than enough, not scraping by.

The woman came to Elisha (a type of forerunner of Jesus), He blessed her and her yoke (burden) was lifted. Our answer is in our emptiness. In our brokenness. In our willingness to go to the Father and do what He tells us to do.

Gideon’s army of 300, were not given swords, spears, or arrows. They were each given a clay pot, a candle and a trumpet. An army without weapons, but an army who won the war. It is in those moments, the moments of supernatural movement, which draws others to the Light of God.

It’s in the telling of our testimony and by the blood of the Lamb that we overcome. Revelation 12:10-11 ...for the accuser …has been cast down. And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and the word of their testimony...

The Light of Jesus Christ still shines brightly today. Choose what is good and right. Be that light which shines in the dark places. Be sure to fill yourself with Him and be a light for others, a light which draws others into the kingdom of God, for no matter where we are, that is what we’re called to do; heal the sick, make the lame walk, open blind eyes, cast out demons and raise the dead.

Let praise go ahead of you and thankfulness follow behind, for Jesus pointed the way, teaching us the password if you will, to walking in this light of His. First, He blessed the bread, second, He gave thanks, then the bread fed thousands.

Judah means praise. Judah always broke camp first, as the tribes headed to the Promised Land. Praise always goes first and we must remember to give thanks. Just as only one leper came back out of ten and gave thanks and he was the only leper made whole, so too, will we be made whole in thanksgiving.

Praise the Lord and give Him thanks. Tell others of your testimony, shine brightly and overcome the evils of this world.

Demons: A Contemporary Reality

In a world where scepticism often overshadows the supernatural, the existence of demons remains a topic both intriguing and unsettling. These malevolent entities, shrouded in mystery, continue to exert their influence in ways that defy reason. Let us delve into the shadowy realm of demons and explore their modern-day manifestations.

1. The Unseen Forces: Demons, though invisible, are not mere figments of imagination. Their history is etched across ancient texts and religious narratives. The Bible, for instance, speaks of their rebellion against God and their subsequent fall from grace. Their powers, though limited, persist — a reminder that evil is a real and present danger. We must not dismiss what we cannot fully comprehend.

2. Occult Practices: Blatant occult practices serve as conduits for demonic activity. Divination, ghost hunting, and witchcraft—condemned by God—are avenues through which these malevolent forces operate. Their influence lingers, tempting and ensnaring those who dabble in forbidden realms. The veil between the physical and spiritual worlds thins during the midnight hours, a time often referred to as the “witching hour,” allowing demons to cross over.

3. Socio-Political and Cultural Influence: Demons extend their reach into our socio-political landscape. The meta-political currents, cultural shifts, and ideological battles bear their imprint. As John 15:18-27 reminds us, the world’s hostility toward believers reflects a deeper spiritual struggle. The personal sphere, too, is not immune. Families grapple with unseen forces that seek to sow discord and destruction.

4. The Battle for Souls: Demons harbor an insatiable obsession: the destruction of human beings and scorn for Jesus Christ. Missionaries working in animist, Hindu, and Buddhist cultures witness firsthand the remnants of ancient practices intertwined with demonic influence. Voodoo, witchcraft, and spiritual warfare persist, revealing the ongoing battle for souls.

5. Our Response: Believers need not fear demons, for their power is limited in the presence of Christ. However, respect is warranted. Those without Jesus remain vulnerable. The counsel remains clear: flee to Jesus swiftly. Amidst the unseen, supernatural beings persist, urging us toward life or death, salvation or damnation.

In Conclusion: The devil’s flies—demons—buzz around us, seeking footholds. Their existence defies empirical evidence, yet their impact reverberates through history. As we navigate this complex world, let us remain vigilant, discerning, and anchored in faith. For in the unseen battles, our hope lies in the One who conquered darkness and offers redemption to all who seek it.

Here, we’ve merely scratched the surface of this enigmatic topic. The shadows deepen, and the struggle continues. But take heart—the Light of Jesus Christ shines brighter still. 

The Last Prophecies.

The Last Prophecies.

In the last prophecy of the Old Testament Christ is known as the rising sun, the Sun of Righteousness, coming with healing in His wings. This a promise, that those who keep His commandments would be both healed and blessed.

What’s more relaxing than to bask in the warmth of the noonday sun? Without the sun, nothing would exist upon the earth. The sun emits a huge amount of power, or energy. It brings joy, healing and vitality. It can also do the opposite and burn as a furnace, when not used correctly.

Jesus, who presides over the people in the final judgment, decides as to whether we shall burn in the heat of hell, or arise to a joyous and final resting place.

The ancient people of the bible often depicted solar imagery as deity symbols. Ancient civilisations used a winged sun disk as a symbol for divine beings. Hezekiah’s royal seal was that of a winged sun disk. So, it’s not a great stretch of the imagination for imagery such as this to be used in biblical writings.

There are a number of biblical passages comparing the Lord to the sun, to fertility, righteousness or justice, drawing a connection between them. As the moon shall be a light and the sun sevenfold, the Lord crosses the chasm between heaven and earth, bringing health and vigour to His people.

The last prophecy of the New Testament, Christ is the bright and morning star, the light of the morning, who comes with healing in His wings. His resurrection, our promise of life eternal and of life abundant.

Both Jesus and satan are called the morning star. How can that be? They’re so opposite in relation to each other. Though Jesus and satan have similarities, one is by far the greater. Jesus is the ‘bright morning star.’ Satan, just the morning star. Satan as always, the counterfeit - the lesser being, for that is all satan can do – copy and an inferior copy at that.

Just as Jesus is the Lion of Judah, bringing love and life and saving the nations, Satan too is depicted as a lion. Satan, the roaring lion seeking whom he can devour, bringing disillusionment as he comes to kill, steal and destroy. Satan, once again the inferior copy. A copy of hatred, as he tries without success to emulate the One and Only True God of the heavens.

The Great Flood

I’d like to clear something up for you. I feel it would be remiss of me, to allow a biblical rendering left out of context. I do bring my message forth with much love and no condemnation. This snippet was in relation to a post put up on Facebook, showing where the confusion lies, in the Word of the Lord.

I asked God - How can I correct a summation of kangaroo’s coming from the ark, picking up their bones after the flood and making it all the way to Australia without leaving a trace of themselves behind?

It takes a brave person (and I might add – a foolish one), to mock the Word of the Bible, but a misunderstanding is easily done.

God showed me to look up Aboriginal dream-time stories on the great flood. Then He pointed me to Elijah who, when hiding from Jezebel in a cave, said to God, he alone was the only prophet left in the world. God told Elijah He had reserved 7,000 still in Israel. 

My point being, it's not too far fetched to think Noah wasn't the only person to build an ark and save himself, his family and the animals. Just as Elijah was one of 7,000 others, it's not inconceivable to think God had other people lined up for this job, around the globe. 

Biblical stories come out of Egypt. There are oodles of other stories which come from different regions of the world, stating uncannily similar facts as this one on the great flood of the desert.

According to the dream-time story, there was an aboriginal who tried to warn others; the rivers were going to flood and to get to higher ground. He made himself a raft and he and the animals made their way to safety, over 30 days later.

These myths of a great flood pervade a myriad of countries and cultures, many of which are based on actual events. Word has it that the Grand Canyon came about through a one-time flood (an extra-ordinarily large flood) and not by millions of years of erosion.

A man name Strickling studied the myths of the floods on the earth, finding in each story; survival was due to a boat, a forewarning, a one flood only event and preservation of not only man, but animals taken aboard the boat also.

Science is readily available today, proving the flood occurred. Core samples have been taken from around the world. They too, depict a great flood within a similar time frame, roughly 6,000 to 7,000 years ago, with the first stories for 3,000 years being given orally, before the written word arrived. Hindus, Buddhists, Christianity, Islam, Judaism, Native Americans, Mesopotamians, Thai mythology and many more, believe in a flood.

Stories of a great flood are said to have occurred in Babel, Syria, Samaria, Greece, Babylon, China, Persia, Estonia, Ireland, America and Australian. Even Africa has a tale from their history on a great flood event, although it differs slightly to other world stories, as it would. Africa has an enormous culture who believe in witchcraft.

Hopefully that clarifies how kangaroos are found in Australia after the flood, how aye-ayes from Madagascar and even Panda bears continue in China. Animals saved by boat, all over the world.

The Covenant Prayer.

Satan controls you through pain. It’s a trap of the enemy. Bitterness too, is an access point for control from the enemy. The enemy will keep different parts of you in pain and reside in those areas of pain. The enemy delights to inform you that humans are bad. As this is done, we pull away and cut ourselves off from emotional attachments.

God is love. If you cut love off, if you don’t have love, you’ll become emotionally trapped. You won’t feel pain. You also won’t feel joy.

Deliverance and healing will restore your soul, as you accept the love of God.

Pornography exposure and molestation in childhood between 1 and 6, is a wound in them which festers the longer it’s left. This is a gate the enemy uses to trap the soul.

Believe it or not, there are pastors who go to a witch to attain a greater measure of power. The bible clearly speaks about witchcraft, stating to steer clear of it and leave it well alone.

Witchcraft and the occult are two different entities. The occult subscribes specifically to satan, while witchcraft is about attaining spirit and power. Satan cannot destroy himself. He can however destroy witches, as they are a lower form of evil. In other words, the occult has a higher ranking in the realms of evil.

Repentance will help. In all things, repent and repent quickly. The sooner you repent, the sooner you get your life back on track.

Your authority is about the hedge surrounding you. As an intercessor, you’ll have the authority to be a territorial intercessor once you’ve built walls around you that the enemy can’t break, can’t penetrate. Satan knows your weaknesses, but if your walls are strong and secure, he can’t infiltrate them.

If you let the enemy in, you can lose the level of weight that you carry and you have to be extremely mindful, not to lose that level of power and strength. If you lose the power you walk in today, you can speak the same words you spoke yesterday, but they don’t carry the same weight. The same words spoken from a different place can produce different results. Be mindful not to give the enemy an open door, not even a little inch.

Our assignment is to guard people in all walks of life. We’re to pray for all circumstances. We’re to be intercessors for others and watchmen on the walls.

Men of God are falling short of fulfilling their destiny, because other men and women have left their station. So many people start this walk, but fall by the wayside. Because they’ve let the enemy infiltrate and they don’t see the results they desire, they leave their station. They walk away from God, wounded. We are to pray for those people.

The power of prayer is so much more than you ever thought. An example could be; 20 elderly women, strong in the Lord and one strong Pastor leading them, can stop even the demonic spiritual elite, causing fear in the realm of the satanic.

A spirit can speak through you, both good and bad, so be vigilant. It’s not a nice thing to be connected to the wrong spirit. Even if you are admonishing someone, it needs to be done in love not anger, for the power you allow in, will flow. One spreads love, the other, hate.

In some places, even the mention the name of certain pastors can cause the demonic power to leave, because those pastors are covered in the blood of Jesus. The pastors who constantly pray the blood of Jesus over their lives, are powerful and mighty under God.

If you decide to participate in a covenant prayer - praying for 90 days, every day for 6 hours, where if one person misses even just one minute, they have to start again. Even if you miss one minute on the 89th day, you’ll have to start again. Don’t enter into a covenant prayer, unless you know without a doubt, that you can see it through.

That means; prayers, repentance, worship and warfare…6 hours a day. And there will be pressure from the satanic. Make sure your whole family is covered by prayer, as you enter a covenant prayer, even if those family members aren’t in the prayer covenant.

Some time ago, a company of women had, when the covenant prayer was done correctly, returned 7000 backslidden pastors into service, from all over the world. Those pastors repented, following the covenant prayer of this group. It is a powerful form of prayer, if you can see it through.

A small group such as this, is like a power house. The church who performed this prayer through covenant, didn’t even know how powerful they were.

You never know what goes on in the spirit realm when you pray consistently. When you get to heaven, you’ll meet people you never knew, who will thank you for your prayers that saved them.

If you do 90 days, the satanic can’t operate for 70 years, according to former high-ranking warlock (now Christian), James Kawalya. But you will face great opposition and interference. Be ready for it. Expect it. Know what it is when it arrives and pray against it.

There is a greater power in the spirit realm, when operating within the bounds of a covenant and not just anyone can do it. Be sure you’ve heard from the Lord, before undertaking such a task.

If you’re not in covenant, even if only a company of two (the bible says; where two or more are gathered together, I (Jesus) shall be in the midst of you), you’ll have a more limited power if you’re not connected to others. All prayer is effective; however, you’ll have greater results when under a church banner, in fellowship with like-minded Christians, or if you’re in a bible study group. Operating outside of these, you will have some success, but for the greater measure of success, be sure your prayer group, life group, or connect group is behind you, backing you, praying for you, with elders watching over you.

For those who get their sustenance from an online church, your pastor can’t see what’s going on, can’t see when you’re struggling, or doing it tough and therefore you won’t have that greater covering.

You need to walk a covenant life. There’s no valued covenant, if you’re not physically attached to a regular group. If you don’t have a strong covenant, the enemy will try to attack and will most likely succeed.

The enemy tries to break any covenant, from friends, to marriage covenants and you will lose power. Relationships of all kinds, as well as brothers and sisters in faith. The enemy comes against them and you lose power. The enemy knows how to break relationship covenants. As a lone ranger, if you don’t have a covenant relationship, you become an easy target.

Spirits never walk in isolation. Once you isolate yourself, problems will follow. Even God walks with Jesus and the Holy Spirit and is surrounded by His angels, seraphim, cherubim. You must be connected to others, to be an effective prayer warrior.

For those who wish to break a church covenant, you will be converted if you try to break the covenant of the prayer warriors. And there are those who are operating from the evil realm, who do want to see covenants broken.

Satan knows your “book of life.” In fact he holds your “book of death” in his hands. He knows your patterns and weaknesses and your ancestry line and their curses and their enemies’ legal rights. He knows which one’s he can use to best effect, for the purpose of destroying you.

Open doors to the satanic come through unforgiveness, woundedness and bitterness, more so if it’s generational. These are easy access ways. Satan can use a relative, or a loved one and they push hard against you and seldom fail.

Satanists will use chants under an open sky, cursing the group they’re after, as their curses float over your head. If you respond in the flesh (anger, or take offense), that’s an open door through which the evil spirit can enter.

Anger, unresolved issues, insults, offence, love of money, fear of money, disagreements, slander, isolation, depression, addiction, pornography, gossip, idols are all open doors for the devil.

This is a large number of entryways. Don’t let this disappoint you. You can overcome the wrongs you are doing. Repent. Make sure you don’t miss your morning devotion, for that’s an area which strengthens you. Don’t allow yourself become distracted, or isolated.

Don’t allow yourself to be separated from the core team, so as to break the covenant group. Tiredness will reduce your discernment. Study yourself to see if there is any wicked way which might have wormed into your life.

The phrase once born again, forever born again, is not necessarily true. You have to stay committed. Usually it’s the minor things you think don’t count, which bring you undone and pull you away.

To have your children in the covenant, you need to commit and dedicate your children. The enemy will use your spouse or children, so remember they need covering in prayer. But doing it, while not under a spiritual authority, makes it not as strong a protection, as if you are covered by an apostolic covering.

You need an authority to cover you. You need authority over you. If you have other people around you, they can discern what you’re not seeing. This is often the role of a spiritual father/mother.

As it is such an important issue, I’m going to repeat it; Don’t allow isolation from the team. The enemy will isolate you if you allow it.

Wounded people complain and grumble, then it’s easy for you become fragmented from the team. Try to remain outside of offence. Plus, cursing is a final blow; cursing the covenant – for then you’re in pride. One of the biggest no no’s with God, is to be in pride. We’re always to be humble. Cursing a wounded soul will cause retaliation and we certainly don’t want that.

Once the group has become divided, the covenant is now broken. Repentance can make all the difference, even as late as at the finish line, even in the 90th day of the covenant. Repent at this time and see the covenant prayer to the last moment – success is guaranteed, if you can see it through to the end.

Note: This information was sourced from a 3-hour YouTube clip; an interview with ex-satanist James Kawalya. If you’d like to hear the full and original version, please click the link below. The clip does contain subjects which may be difficult for some viewers. Viewer discretion is advised.

https://youtu.be/dvQvEtw2Izg?si=2F2OixGY0CkOQaS7