The Enough-Meter

Speedometer is that clock on the dashboard of cars that measures the speed of the vehicle; thermometer is that instrument the doctor uses to measure you temperature; ENOUH-METER is a tool God has put inside you to help you measure your level of anger against a given situation. What is the use of the enough-meter?

Let's look at how a certain man called Phinehas used his. Chapter 25 in the book of Numbers describes how the children of Israel fell into a trap set up by their enemies. God has forbidden mixed marriages between Israelites and other nations. The reason was so they would not be tempted by those people to follow other gods and abandon the Lord.

But Balak, king of Moab, astutely sent the prettiest Moabite women among the men of Israel to seduce them and turn them away from the Lord.

Balak's plan was to get Israel to sin against the Lord, so they would not be able to count on His help when going to war against Moab.

The plan worked. The men of Israel began to indulge in sexual immorality with the Moabite women, who invited them to sacrifice to other gods. So Israel joined in worshipping Baal with the Moabites.

A plague broke out in Israel immediately and people began to die. God called Moses and told him to gather the leaders of Israel and tell them to put to death the men who had done such thing. Moses called an assembly and explained the problem to the leaders. As Moses was still speaking and the leaders of Israel weeping in shame and repentance for their people's evil deed, an Israel brought into the camp a Midianite woman right before the eyes of Moses.

Phinehas, Aaron's grandson, was also there in the assembly. When he saw this, his enough-meter went to the red and he just burst in anger. He left the assembly, took a spear in his hand and followed the Israelite into the tent. Then he drove the spear into both of them – through the Israelite into the woman's body. And in that moment the plague stopped.

What is needed for that problem that is treatening to put your life at stake, or for your situation to change is just REVOLT. You cannot act if you are not revolted against a situation. You do have the enough-meter but maybe it is stagnant inside you. It is time for you to activated it and make it to help you go head  no with that situation in your life.

If you can continue reading the rest of the chapter, you will understand what God thought of Phenehas' attitude. It is Numbers 25.

Stay Blessed!

 

Follower or Visitor?

I once wrote something on my blog and people really loved it. I got many facebook messages telling me about that article I wrote there and how it helped them. I must say, I was happy when they told me that because I knew that it was God who spoke and now people are being blessed.

I then decided to view my blog and see if they have commented. '0 comments'. That's what I found. Why didn't they comment? It was because they did not follow me on my blog but are all the time reading my posts. Amazing! Then I asked why? “ I don't know how”, they said. Unbelievable! I have nothing against those people, really! I actually thank God for making them not to 'know how' because it leads us to today's topic:

We have many people who always claim to know God and as a matter of fact, they even understand well what the pastor was preaching about and the message was delivered to its exact meaning. Wow! They even share it among others and you can bet that they are in spirit. They appear to be good soil that the seed was planted in them and it gave ground to the plant and the plant grew.

Only to find out that they are considered as visitors in God's eyes. They are not followers. They did try to follow Him but it was not easy and they said ' I don't know how'. Who said following Jesus was easy, anyway? It isn't! They found it difficult to give up their old lives and be of God, to say no to their loved ones as they begin to say yes to God's will in their lives.

These people they have been in the church their whole lives believe me... but it is so hard for them to say, “ I will not give up till I get in”. We have to note that God has His own Blog as well where He writes everything for us and about us. This blog is the Book of Life! Even if we see that it is not easy for us to follow God because the circumstances limit us, maybe our level of education, lack of knowledge, or what ever, we must be I CAN driven.

Our strive must not to be visitors but to be followers of Christ in every way and in every hardship!

“The one who is victorious will, like them, be dressed in white. I will never blot out the name of that person from the book of life, but will acknowledge that name before my Father and his angels.” (Revelation 3:5)

God is not looking for your list of excuses but for your drive.

Stay Blessed!

Why Do I Have to Stay Down?

"In five years from now I want to have a car of my dreams, married, living in my own house and at least having one kid. By then I know I will be working and my finances will be stable." One said. "I want to go up there with my life but I don't know how! I don't have condition to make my dreams come true and I don't have anybody to help me go high! I am still working out a plan on what I should do for me to go high." The other said.

This what many of us keep saying but the question behind all of these words is: What are you willing to do for you to go high? Oops! I did not think we like the sound of that!

Wait up, Zacchaeus was on the top pf the tree because he wanted to see Jesus, isn't it? For sure! He was ordered by the Lord Jesus to come down, after he had come down form the tree, The Lord Jesus then blessed him. He did not find what he was looking for while on the tree but when he came down to the ground.

It is the same with our dreams of being there at the top. The hand of God is not on those who make their efforts to go high but it is for those who wants to go down. We have to acknowledge that up there is the hand of the devil and he wants to snatch us brings us down. He is not looking for losers because he has nothing to gain from them. God is looking for those who are down for His name to be praised because He will lift us up.

Let us look to God for our victories and never stay proud because He is a God of the humble.

Stay Blessed!

I Confess, I am Weak

Why do I have to tell someone about my weakness when they don't know about it? Why do I have to humiliate myself in front of everyone while they think that I am all perfect and am a good girl? Sure, I have a bunch of skeleton in my closet and I would die if someone finds out about them because I am not proud pf them. So, why should I blow the trumpet?

There is something that I am doing and I know that is wrong, I don't want to let anyone know about it and I would honestly die if people found out. It makes me unhappy, I want to quit but, who cares because no body knows? Obviously no one! (as if I knew)

This is how I used to be. I had issues but did not want to confess them and I would say that  what's the point for me to confess because no one knows that I am this bad person in the planet? I did not see the point! In the process, that shameful thing I was doing became a habit because it was comfortable and I did not show that I want to get rid of it. The stronger it stuck to me, the angrier and defencive I would be with it. And I tell you, it killed me. Big time!!

As it was comfortable, it started giving me reasons to be well with keeping it. I was falling but I was too proud to admit it ( Oh! My God, I can't believe how foolish I was). There was a voice at the back of my head that was telling me that I was falling but my silence was more dominant over the positive voice. In the sight of people I was that good girl whom everyone wished their daughters, sisters, friends, colleagues and girlfriends were like me. And all that was a lie! It was not me!

I came to realise that I don't have to speak to man (as in flesh) but there is Someone who will never comment back, judge or humiliate me, as those were things I was afraid of, but He will listen to me, comfort me and restore me again. Isn't it awesome? I decided to open my mouth and let Him know my situation. Oh! I cried and I became very ugly. Guess what? He did not say a thing to discourage me but He did the exact three things above. How relieved I was!!!

If you feel that your skeleton is not so pleasing, don't talk to man, he might comment and break you, judge you and destroy you. Go to God as I did, He does not act like man and He does not think like man....He is God.

Do it, you won't be sorry! That's the sweetest relief you can ever find.

Stay Blessed

Ah!!! What a Day!

There are no words to express what a day it was yesterday. As the members were entering the church, you would just, sence the difference of the spirit they embraced. It was so beautiful. They were in spirit and you would detect it from their greetings. There was no chit-chatting like they used to do, they waited for the Holy Spirit to begin His beautiful work in their lives.

Going to the Sunday School; the children were in spirit as if they understood what was the Holy Spirit. Ah!!! What a Day! They were so excited and were all in a very disciplined manner. The aromatic fragrance of the Holy Spirit was so perfect that it filled not only the hall of the church but also the small chambers of the children.

It was so beautiful when the Holy Spirit took over and did His wonderful work. Many were baptised and the church was made into a different church- the church of the Spirit. Many received the confirmation of their baptism and it was the happiest moment of their lives. Tears of joy were falling from the cheeks.

The glory of the Holy Spirit was shinning on each and every one's faces afterwards.

I have got nothing to say further but: "Ah!!! What a Day!"

Stay blessed!

The Work Of God On The Alter!!

When I read this, I was touched and I would like you to read it too and put yourself in her shoes!! 

I received this e-mail from a friend who managed to exchange e-mails with one of our colleagues in Ivory Coast. This is so strong and will bring tears to your eyes, especially if you do or aim to do the Work of God one day:

Hello Mrs Paula, I found an internet café here so I could quickly write to you. The situation here is really bad. To save time, because the internet here is limited, I wrote down what I’ve been living in the past two weeks and here it is:

Thursday, 31 March 2011

It’s now 13:00 and the pastor responsible and the other pastors have not been able to get out of the house. There was a lot of conflict, thousands of armed men shooting everywhere, each with his own reason, but all with one objective – to kill!

André, some other pastors and I were able to get to the headquarters of our church, in the middle of gunshots. I try concentrating on my work in the office, believing that the gunshots will stop, even though I’ve seen various dead bodies on the street...

All of a sudden there is an explosion. We all throw ourselves on the ground and stay there for half an hour, until the noise dies down. The Bishop calls and tells us to go home. We close everything and leave in a hurry…

We have to raise our arms to show that we aren’t armed, the streets are deserted and there are more dead bodies on the way, but we manage to get home...

At night no one sleeps, because the explosions are disturbing...

Friday, 01 April 2011

It’s daybreak and the gunshots continue. We are 12 couples (in the Work of God) here in the building. We are all well, but we are worried about the other pastors, auxiliary pastors, about the Bishop, the assistants and the people. What’s happening? Are they well? We try calling each other, but the telephone lines have been cut.

We start praying together, in the morning, at midday and at 17:00. Not mentioning that we are already in the purpose of praying every six hours and in Daniel’s fast.

Night falls and the gunshots don’t stop. Bombs are exploding insistently.

Saturday, 02 April 2011

Because sleeping is so hard, we get up as soon as day breaks. We have little food left at home. We decide to go to town to buy food. We can’t go by car, because whoever goes out with a car is threatened with an arm, forced to come out of the car and watch them leaving with the car.

So, we go walking. The roundtrip is 8 kilometres. Bomb explosions continue. Though distant, they continue. To our surprise, we meet a crowd when we get to the main street, all seeking what we are also seeking – food.

There is confusion. Few shops are open and thousands of people want to buy things. Queues aren’t respected. At the bakery, people are fighting over bread. At the market, the few venders who are there have only a few items to sell and are selling them at an absurd price. But, we have no choice. We buy what we can. The fear and desperation of the people are great, which makes them fight and attack others, just for a bag of rice. On top of it all, we have to get back home quickly, because our curfew is at midday.

The day is ending and pastors agree to go to the church in the morning.

Sunday, 03 April 2011

The Bishop calls us very early to tell us to stay home, because he tried going out and was forced to lie down on the floor for 20 minutes, with a gun pointed at his head. By the Hand of God, they let him return home and threatened him not to go to the church.

Revolted, we began praying, because it is unacceptable to stay home on Sunday. In some churches there are services with 10, 17, 30 courageous people who live near and who put themselves at risk...

In the afternoon we gather together and seek the Presence of God and HE is present. I can hear the sweet voice of the Holy Spirit, which is consoling us and giving us strength. I feel an inner peace, a tranquillity that only He can give. Even though we hear the explosions, we have the assurance.

Night falls and we’re going to try to sleep...

Monday, 04 April 2011

We wake up with news that one church was destroyed. They stole everything, only leaving behind the chairs. The people and assistants call, worried about us, but the power is cut and the batteries of our mobile phones are dying. Water is also scarce. We have to save gas and food, because we don’t know when we’ll be able to go out next...

It’s 16:00 and we notice many helicopters flying very low above us... The Brazilian Embassy calls us, wanting to know our exact location and tells us to gather our documents and to keep them safely, so that we would be ready, should an emergency evacuation be necessary... Of course, in our hearts we tie this up saying: no way!

It’s 16:45 and we are ready for the 17:00 prayer, but we notice that the helicopter dropped something strange a few kilometres from our house. All of a sudden it explodes, shaking everything, and other helicopters continue doing the same thing. We all go to the kitchen, lie down on the floor and pray. I am afraid, as I have never been in my life. I close my eyes and all I can do is trust in God... France was bombing 4 targets – the President’s house, the presidency and two military camps, one of which was 5 kilometres of our home. Our thoughts go out to our people, the assistants, the other pastors and auxiliary pastors who are in the churches.

What if one of these bombs falls on one of the churches? How is the Bishop?

The lights are out, the telephone line is cut. Night falls and the explosions continue. One helicopter was overthrown. Where did it fall?

We spent the night on the kitchen floor, we can’t sleep with all the noise, not knowing whether we are going to be hit or not, in this hideous darkness...

Tuesday, 05 April 2011

I fell asleep, the tiredness overcame me... I can still hear bombs!

We are all happy to be alive! We glorify God and plead tirelessly for the others!

We spend the day in prayer, which isn’t every six hours anymore, neither three times a day. We now pray every hour. The women try to spend the day cleaning the house. We read the Bible and church books... The day goes by... We always hope that the next day will be the day we can go back to our normal lives, but…

Wednesday, 06 April 2011

Tonight I slept, praise God! We decided to go out to buy coal, because the gas will finish any moment. Arriving in town, the situation is worse. There are even fewer things on sale and what’s left is even more expensive. The few supermarkets we have have been plundered and are now empty and destroyed…

We didn’t buy a lot of things, because they had nothing and because the amount we normally spend on a month’s groceries can now only get us a week’s groceries… We get back tired from walking and struggling to find things. We are revolted about the situation of the population.

After three days, the lights come back, praise God. We were afraid that the little we had would spoil. We didn’t even have cold water!

Even if we weren’t in this 21 days fast, we would not be able to follow the news, because the only TV station we have has been bombed. But, a ceasefire has been declared.

It’s midday and we are gathered to pray. Bishop calls, telling us that armed men entered his house and robbed the car and things from the house. We thank God, because a few minutes before this happened, he had gone out to try and buy something. At that point the men came in, but didn’t harm his wife and daughter at all!

Our revolt increases!

In the afternoon we receive news that two mortars were fired at our headquarters, destroying a part of the wall of the church and a car that was parked outside... Once again, God delivered more than 30 people, among which were pastors, auxiliary pastors, wives and some assistants, who were sleeping there. They did not have even a single scratch. God has been listening to our prayers!

It’s 17:00 and we are going to seek the Presence of God and participate in the Holy Communion there at home. It is a blessing, something very strong. Like in the primitive church, the Holy Spirit is here, strengthening us and giving us peace... Always remembering our people and assistants, we ask the Holy Spirit to give them the same peace and assurance wherever they are!

Thursday, 07 April 2011

The day is apparently calm and since the curfew is midday, people are running to find something to eat. Today pharmacies are open; there are hundreds of people, a lot of confusion. We can only imagine how many people are hurt, with no medical attention, no money. I think about the hospitals. I imagine what could happen to someone with heart problems when bombs explode...

Until now, the number of dead people has been estimated to be 1500 for this week, not including the number of casualties!

One week at home is revolting! We thank God to be alive, to have something to eat and to have water and lights, because we know that many do not even have that!

Always praying that our people and assistants should lack nothing, the day ends and we are going to try and sleep... Now, house invasions have become routine. Rape and violations are constant, but we are going to believe, because if the Lord does not build a house...

Friday, 08 April 2011

It’s morning and we don’t hear any gunshots, although some pastors who had gone to town and come back say that there are many armed men near our house.

We finish having lunch and when I’m about to start washing dishes, shooting begins in our street. We remain lying down on the kitchen floor, praying until 15:00. The bombing and shooting stop. Praise God we are all well!

Saturday, 09 April 2011

In the morning the pastors went to town and came back saying there were six dead bodies in our street corner, because of yesterday’s conflict. In 4 kilometres, there were more than 5 barricades, where people and cars (the few who risked going out in their cars) were searched...

We gather to listen to a message from Bishop Macedo, which strengthens us even more. We have difficulty listening to the message (because André is translating simultaneously for the pastors who don’t speak Portuguese), in the middle of gunshots and bombings which started at exactly 16:00.

We receive news that 3 couples in the Work of God who live in another neighbourhood had to leave home and run to the church, so our prayers are exclusively on their behalf...

It’s night already and the gunshots continue. We are all locked at home, praying that we will be able to sleep in peace, despite the revolt in our hearts for not being able to go to church yet another Sunday, because we have to stay at home tomorrow.

The members call us, telling us that they are not able to go to church tomorrow... In the end, the pastors decide to take a risk and all go to the church nearest to our neighbourhood, which is about 9 kilometres from home. They will go walking. Only the wives and two pastors will stay home. That’s the plan, let’s see tomorrow.

Sunday, 10 April 2011

The pastors went to church and came back in peace. They had to stop at a few barricades. The problem is, whey they see that they are missionaries, they become angry, because they say that Christians pray against them. The pastors tried explaining that they pray for peace and nothing more. They don’t like it very much... So, we made letters saying that they are volunteers of ABC [the help centre of the church] and that’s the document we’ll be showing now.

We had services in some churches. I was very happy when one assistant called me, saying that some assistants and members prayed in the church that was destroyed. I told her that’s what God expects from us, our own independent faith... Another girl from PA also called me, saying that she was okay, but unfortunately, another assistant working with us in the KidsZone has disappeared. I believe he is well, God is faithful!

The explosions continue. It’s strange, but we have become used to the them. They don’t scare us as much any more. We pray at 17:00 and seek the strength of God, which has not been lacking. I’m sure that all this will end. This assurance comes from the Holy Spirit!

It’s raining a lot. It is as if the weather were manifesting its revolt! We had no lights during the day, but the lights have already come back on.

I pray that tomorrow we will be able to go out of the house... At this moment, helicopters and planes are flying above, very near. Only God can protect us. We never know when and where they are going to bomb or fire. We only depend on God’s protection!

The Lord has been helping us up to this point!

We have food, water, lights. We don’t hear bomb explosions any more. What’s been prevailing now has been the house invasions. For that we depend on God’s protection and nothing else. Only HE can protect us...

Kisses, continue praying for us, please!

Stay Blessed!

Doing What Makes You Better Than Me!

I was speaking to some of my friends and we were really in 'spirit' as we are now in this beautiful campaign of the Holy Spirit. We hardly speak about other things other than the things of God. Our conversation was so beautiful and all of a sudden we spoke of how servants have turned their backs against God, criticising everything and blaming everyone for their wrong choices.

A thought came to my mind as we were speaking and counting all of those who have left us, " What am i doing to make myself better than them?" This might sound like a very simple question and boring, and probably not making any sense. But, there is a context in it.

We are not meant to be better but instead of talking and saying a lot of thing quoting their mistakes and what they did for them to give up, what are we doing to make ourselves better than them? Maybe they are even better than us because they came clean and never hid their shame, while on the contrary, we hide and pretend as if all is well and God is pleased with us.

This is obvious, if we are in that position, we are worse than them because we are living in the law but we are not obedient to the law. If it is the uniform of the church, the title you hold or your fame and number of 'fans'  you have, you better reconsider and start acting upon that because that makes you the worst person than the one who is no longer.

If we belong to God, we will long to do all in our power to glorify Him and make the world to know that He lives in us.

They acted to turn their backs on God, Do also to be above the world.

Stay blessed!