On Top of the World !

Yup! That's how I feel...like I'm on top of the world! God has filled me with His peace, joy and happiness beyond measure.

Prov 10:22 - It is the blessing of the LORD that makes rich, And He adds no sorrow to it.

This is the scripture that the Pastor who counselled us, shared with us. And now, this Word of God has come to past in our lives. Our Father in Heaven has truly blessed us and has added no sorrow with it.

I am truly, madly, deeply in love with my Father and will never cease to be amazed by His unconditional love for me, His faithfulnees, His mercies which are new every morning, His grace and favour upon me.

And you know what else ? He has blessed us with our 4th child who is due next year! This child will always remind us of the Victory God has given us because we conceived this baby at the point of our Victory. We will always be reminded of God's faithfulness during the most difficult time in our lives. We would like to give this child a name that means "Victory" from the Bible.

Everytime I think of this experience and how God brought us through to victory, I am moved to tears. How can I not be ? After all that He has done for us. I am unable to express what I feel. I am simply overwhelmed by God's goodness.

He is faithful to His Word !

God never ceases to amaze me with His faithfulness, His goodness, mercy, grace and His never failing love. Why is God so good to me ? I know that countless are the times when I've let Him down, the times I've hurt Him. Despite all that, He has never let me down even once.

He has always loved me the same and has always looked out for me and has always....always done good to me. He has brought me out of the fire that I've been through for a little longer than a year now... He has brought me out without allowing it to burn me. He has shown me once again, that He will NEVER leave me nor forsake me... come what may.... NEVER will He take His eyes off me.

He has given me the VICTORY over all the battles I've had to fight during this time. The "war" with my enemy is over. He has restored my marriage and my finances and has given me back more than I lost.... much much more !

What an experience it has been. I will not trade it for anything, because I am so much stronger now and I KNOW my God. I've discovered the power of fasting and praying. I've discovered the power of simply proclaiming God's Word in faith and giving Him thanks in faith. I truly truly "KNOW" Him. Not sure how else to express that I "KNOW" Him and that I can simply take God at His written Word.... literally.

I know that just like my salvation experience, this is another experience that I will NEVER forget for as long as I live on this earth. This experience will always remind me of His faithfulness.

I love you my Lord, my God, my Father and I always will, with every waking moment, with every breath until I breathe my very last !

Victory !

Wow! It has been a long long time since my last post.

A lot has happened. Been through the deepest valley, through the most difficult times in our lives. But God has been with us all the way. Comforting us and carrying us through. What an amazingly wonderful God we have! Words aren't enough to describe His awesome love, mercy and grace.

I commenced a fast on Easter Sunday. I am someone who loves food and someone who cannot survive without meat. I realized the intensity of the battle I was in the midst of. A battle in the Spiritual Realm that can only be won by being radical. So I decided I would have only dinner each day. And only vegetarian dinner. So basically it was one vegetarian meal a day at dinner time. That was my fast. A cup of tea in the morning when I woke up and only water during the remaining part of the day. When I started fasting my intention was to fast indefinitely until I received the breakthrough I was seeking for in my marriage which was on the verge of breaking up. But in the end I decided that it would be a 40-day fast. I have no idea how I was able to do it. I've never fasted like this before... ever. The first few days were very hard. Then it was those last couple hours before it was time to break my fast each evening that was unbearable. I broke my fast at 6pm each evening.

It was only a week after I ended my fast that I received my breakthrough.... my victory through Christ who paid it ALL for ME on the cross. Our marriage has been restored ! Praise God !

I was then contemplating on a second fast to seek for a breakthrough in my finances. But God in His mercy, started unraveling His plans a few weeks ago. And now I can see what He has in store for me.. and we are so excited !!! I just need to be patient for a few more weeks. Our God is an abundant God ! He never ceases to amaze me with His never failing unconditional love.

Jesus You're All I Need

My marriage has reached a boiling point. Constant arguments as a result of high stress levels. I finally decided that we need counselling. We'd just listened to a sermon about fighting the hidden enemy. An awesome eye opener. It was a sermon by a Pastor of another church whom we learnt was also a marriage counsellor. So we made an appointment and met him. We talked for a little over 2 hours. He's probably around the same age as us so it was easy to talk to him and explain what we were going through. My wife and I both come from non-christian families so we felt the need to explain things in detail to try and get at the root cause of everything we were faced with. The key verse that the Pastor led us to was "The blessing of the LORD brings wealth, and he adds no trouble to it." - Prov 10:22. He also wanted to have a time of prayer and worship to cleanse and bless our home.

This is probably the most trying times we've faced in our almost 10yrs of marriage. I know with the grace of God we will come through. I am determined to fight the good fight and kick the enemy's behind so hard that he would think twice before coming anywhere near us ever again !

Somewhere down the line I guess I got too busy and momentarily lost the real focus of my walk with God - Jesus. Jesus Jesus Jesus.... Jesus is ALL I need. If I have my eyes firmly fixed on Jesus, everything else will fall into place automatically. So it's back to basics for me with Jesus in me and with me all the way. I just need to lay everything at His feet and rely on Him completely to show me 1 step at a time and allow Him to show me the way and lead me by the hand to the place He has in store for me and my family.

Jesus is ALL I need.

Trusting In God Through The Storm

My marriage is severely strained. I feel heavily burdened with financial pressure and stressed out to be in the situation that I am in as a man, a husband and a father. Nobody really knows how I feel except God and my wife to a certain extent. We go to church every Sunday with a smile on our faces but deep down we are hurting. We have not shared our trouble with any of our friends or anyone from church. Cultural pressure prevents us from doing so. I cry out to God. Every time anxiety or worrying thoughts try to stress me out I speak out God's word.

I say :

"It is written in the Word of God that He shall supply all our needs according to His riches in glory."
"It is written in the Word of God that He will bless the work of my hands"
"It is written in the Word of God that He will cause the work of my hands to prosper."
"It is written in the Word of God that He will teach me how to profit and lead me in the way I should go."
"It is written in the Word of God that He has plans to prosper us."
"It is written in the Word of God that He will not allow shame to come upon His children."
"It is written in the Word of God that I am above and not beneath, that I am the head and not the tail."
"It is written in the Word of God that I will lend to many and not borrow."
"It is written in the Word of God that I am blessed when I rise and blessed when I go to sleep, blessed when I go out and blessed when I come in."
"It is written in the Word of God that He loves me with an everlasting love."
"It is written in the Word of God that His riches are in our house."
"It is written in the Word of God that He has caused the blessings of Abraham to overtake us."
"It is written in the Word of God that He has brought us into a good land that flows abundantly with milk and honey."

I have been demonstrating my complete faith in God by continuing to tithe on whatever little money we get from our family for expenses and give the same amount of offerings as before when things were good. Each time I put in my tithes or offerings I tell God that I am demonstrating my complete faith in Him and His Word by sowing recession proof seed into His Kingdom that will bring forth a bountiful harvest and set us free completely from debt according to His written Word which says that "I will lend to many and not borrow".

The children have no idea of what's going on. They're too little to understand. It hurts me when my oldest son Josh asks me for something at the supermarket and I have to distract him to get out of buying it for him. Stuff that we used to buy before.

One thing I do know is just as much as good times don't last forever, difficult times don't last either. When I come out of this situation, I will be stronger and closer to God than ever before and will always know that no matter what, just as it is wriiten in His Word, "I will never trust in riches but in the Lord my God".

I will not give Satan the satisfaction of giving into the pressures I am faced with no matter what. What is written in God's Word HAS to come to past. He created everything by speaking His Word. Jesus overcame every obstacle and temptation He was faced with by speaking God's Word and I will overcome by speaking God's Word. I will publicly declare God's goodness and give Him all the glory when I come out of this.

I Look To You

I am still here.... I've only been posting to the "Daily Word" and "Heart of Worship" though.

I had to make this post after I listened to Whitney's song. It brought tears to my eyes because it's almost as if she's taken the words right out of my mouth and made a beautiful song out of it. I am sure I'm not the only one who can relate directly to her song.

Going through a storm, grown weary and tired with no strength left after trying so hard and I can only look to You, my Lord, my Friend and my Father. I cried out to the Lord earlier after I listened to this song. I am thankful that God is with me and that the only set of footprints I see on the sand are His because He is carrying me.

If you are going through difficult times as well, cling onto God and never let go because your break-through is near and it will come flooding through.

Here's Whitney Houston's song :

The lyrics :

As I lay me down
Heaven hear me now
I’m lost without a cause
After giving it my all

Winter’s storms have come
And darkened my sun
After all that I’ve been through
Who on earth can I turn to

I look to you
I look to you

After all my strength is gone
In you I can be strong

I look to you
I look to you

And when melodies are gone
In you I hear a song
I look to you

About to lose my breath
There’s no more fighting left
Sinking to rise no more
Searching for that open door
And every road that I’ve taken
Led to my regret
And I don’t know if I’m going to make it
Nothing to do but lift my head

I look to you
I look to you

And when all my strength is gone
In you I can be strong

I look to you
I look to you

And when melodies are gone
In you I hear a song
I look to you

My levees are broken
My walls have come
Tumbling down on me
The rain is falling
Defeat is calling
I need you to set me free
Take me far away from the battle
I need you
Shine on me

I look to you
I look to you

After all my strength is gone
In you I can be strong

I look to you
I look to you

And when melodies are gone
In you I hear a song
I look to you
I look to you
I look to you

He will answer you even before you call on Him

Isaiah 65:24
"And it shall come to pass, that before they call, I will answer; and while they are yet speaking, I will hear."

This beautiful story was written by a doctor who worked in South Africa:

One night I had worked hard to help a mother in the labor ward; but in spite of all we could do, she died, leaving us with a tiny, premature baby and a crying two-year-old daughter. We would have difficulty keeping the baby alive, as we had no incubator (we had no electricity to run an incubator) We also had no special feeding facilities.

Although we lived on the equator, nights were often chilly with treacherous drafts. One student midwife went for the box we had for such babies and the cotton wool that the baby would be wrapped in. Another went to stoke up the fire and fill a hot water bottle. She came back shortly in distress to tell me that in filling the bottle, it had burst (rubber perishes easily in tropical climates) "And it is our last hot water bottle!" she exclaimed. As in the West, it is no good crying over spilled milk, so in Central Africa it might be considered no good crying over burst water bottles. They do not grow on trees, and there are no drugstores down forest pathways.

"All right," I said, "put the baby as near the fire as you safely can, and sleep between the baby and the door to keep it free from drafts Your job is to keep the baby warm." The following noon , as I did most days, I went to have prayers with any of the orphanage children who chose to gather with me. I gave the youngsters various suggestions of things to pray about and told them about the tiny baby. I explained our problem about keeping the baby warm enough, mentioning the hot water bottle, and that the baby could so easily die if it got chills. I also told them of the two-year-old sister, crying because her mother had died.

During prayer time, one ten -year-old girl, Ruth, prayed with the usual blunt conciseness of our children. "Please, God" she prayed, "Send us a hot water bottle today. It'll be no good tomorrow, God, as the baby will be dead, so please send it this afternoon." While I gasped inwardly at the audacity of the prayer, she added, "And while You are about it, would You please send a dolly for the little girl so she'll know You really love her?" As often with children's prayers, I was put on the spot. Could I honestly say "Amen"? I just did not believe that God could do this. Oh, yes, I know that He can do everything; the Bible says so. But there are limits, aren't there? The only way God could answer this particular prayer would be by sending me a parcel from the homeland.

I had been in Africa for almost four years at that time, and I had never, ever, received a parcel from home. Anyway, if anyone did send me a parcel, who would put in a hot water bottle? I lived on the equator!

Halfway through the afternoon, while I was teaching in the nurses' training school, a message was sent that there was a car at my front door. By the time I reached home, the car had gone, but there on the verandah was a large 22-pound parcel. I felt tears pricking my eyes. I could not open the parcel alone, so I sent for the orphanage children. Together we pulled off the string, carefully undoing each knot. We folded the paper, taking care not to tear it unduly. Excitement was mounting. Some thirty or forty pairs of eyes were focused on the large cardboard box.

From the top, I lifted out brightly-colored, knitted jerseys. Eyes sparkled as I gave them out. Then there were the knitted bandages for the leprosy patients, and the children looked a little bored. Then came a box of mixed raisins and sultanas - that would make a batch of buns for the weekend. Then, as I put my hand in again, I felt the.....could it really be? I grasped it and pulled it out. Yes, a brand new, rubber hot water bottle. I cried. I had not asked God to send it; I had not truly believed that He could. Ruth was in the front row of the children. She rushed forward, crying out, "If God has sent the bottle, He must have sent the dolly, too!" Rummaging down to the bottom of the box, she pulled out the small, beautifully-dressed dolly. Her eyes shone! She had never doubted! Looking up at me, she asked: "Can I go over with you and give this dolly to that little girl, so she'll know that Jesus really loves her?" Of course, I replied!

That parcel had been on the way for five whole months, packed up by my former Sunday school class, whose leader had heard and obeyed God's prompting to send a hot water bottle, even to the equator. And one of the girls had put in a dolly for an African child - five months before, in answer to the believing prayer of a ten-year-old to bring it "that afternoon." "Before they call, I will answer." (Isaiah 65:24)