'Sermons from the Couch' Series:- No 3- Jesus is our City of Refuge!

Today while doing my quiet time with the Lord He revealed to me that whatever He did in the Old Testament was a 'Type' for the New Testament living. The Old is a shadow of the New. The Old gives way to the New, but we need the Old to understand the New. We cannot have the New without the Old.

In Joshua chapter 20:1-6,
(Joshua 20:1-6 AMP)
THE LORD said also to Joshua, [2] Say to the Israelites, Appoint among you cities of refuge, of which I spoke to you through Moses, [3] That the slayer who kills anyone accidentally and unintentionally may flee there; and they shall be your refuge from the avenger of blood. [4] He who flees to one of those cities shall stand at the entrance of the gate of the city and explain his case to the elders of that city; they shall receive him to the protection of that city and give him a place to dwell among them. [5] If the avenger of blood pursues him, they shall not deliver the slayer into his hand, because he killed his neighbor unintentionally, having had no hatred for him previously. [6] And he shall dwell in that city until he has been tried before the congregation and until the death of him who is the high priest in those days. Then the slayer shall return to his own city from which he fled and to his own house.

Just as God told Joshua to set aside cities of refuge, God Himself set aside Christ Jesus as our City of Refuge.

God told Joshua that the cites of refuge will be places of refuge for those who unknowingly commit a murder, where they can run to, plead their case at the gate and be taken in and kept in safety from the avenger of blood.

Similarly we who give in to our natural tendencies and commit any sin (except the sin against the Holy Spirit) can run to Jesus and plead our case, that is repent of our sins and we will be let into the gate Who is Jesus Himself and we will be able to abide in Him and be protected from the blood avenger who is Satan who accuses us day and night before God's throne.

Job 1:6 AMP
Now there was a day when the sons (the angels) of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan (the adversary and accuser) also came among them.

Revelation 12:10-11 AMP
Then I heard a strong (loud) voice in heaven, saying, Now it has come--the salvation and the power and the kingdom (the dominion, the reign) of our God, and the power (the sovereignty, the authority) of His Christ (the Messiah); for the accuser of our brethren, he who keeps bringing before our God charges against them day and night, has been cast out! [11] And they have overcome (conquered) him by means of the blood of the Lamb and by the utterance of their testimony, for they did not love and cling to life even when faced with death holding their lives cheap till they had to die for their witnessing.

The Blood of Christ will protect us from the enemy of our body, soul and spirit. The Blood of Christ is our hedge of protection. Jesus is our City of Refuge.

Jesus Himself has proclaimed in the Gospel.of John,
John 14:5-6 (Aramaic Bible) 5Thoma(Thomas) said to him, "Our Lord, we do not know where you are going and how can we know the way?" 6Yeshua(Jesus) said to him, "I AM THE LIVING GOD, The Way and The Truth and The Life; no man comes to my Father but by me alone."

Jesus also told us that He is the Gate (Door) in the Gospel of John chapter 10,
John 10:9 AMP
I am the Door; anyone who enters in through Me will be saved (will live). He will come in and he will go out freely, and will find pasture.

Therefore let us always remember the following 4 points:-
1)that we have a refuge in Christ Jesus,
2)that His blood covers all our wrongs if we run to Him, repent and plead forgiveness,
3) that He, Jesus is the Only Way to the Father and the Only Gate where we can enter through and live,
4) finally that the accuser, the avenger of blood who is Satan has already been defeated by Christ on the cross and only in Christ we will be protected from him.

Thank You Holy Spirit for this revelation. 

Mary Augustine.

Excommunication of Catholics from the church is it justified?

Read the excerpt from the Catholic apologetics, then read my view on it.

The following para is an excerpt from a Catholic apologetics:-

Quote:- "There are many reasons the Roman Catholic Church is the true Church of Jesus Christ, however, some of those reasons are necessary for discussions with those outside the Catholic Church. Jesus prayed for unity of believers and unity begins with understanding. The understanding of the Church’s beliefs is essential in working toward that unity. Here are some key reasons to keep in mind when speaking to non-Catholics:

1.) Authority– Jesus gave specific instructions regarding dealing with members of the Church who were in sin. Matthew 18:15-18 says “If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have won over your brother. If he does not listen, take one or two others along with you, so that ‘every fact may be established on the testimony of two or three witnesses.’ If he refuses to listen to them, tell the church. If he refuses to listen even to the church, then treat him as you would a Gentile or a tax collector. Amen, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” What Evangelical/Protestant Church has the authority to remove someone completely from the church? None. If an individual is removed from a ‘congregation’ then he/she can go down the street and join another ‘congregation’ of the same denomination. The congregations are individualized and have no authority outside their own denomination. That is not true with the Catholic Church. If removed from the Catholic Church, one cannot go to another city and join another Catholic Parish." Unquote.

My answer to this is as follows:-

In Matthew Chapter 18 Jesus was talking to His apostles giving them the authority as a body of church. Not to Peter specifically. Now  every believer's duty is to correct a believer who is not walking in the ways  of Christ. By telling the apostles that they have to go through the 3 steps before treating him as a Gentile shows that we cannot keep silent when we see our brother sinning and next after the three steps he does not listen, we are to treat him as a Gentile or a tax collector, meaning that we are to leave him alone. Not chase him away from the very place where there is a chance that he may repent and change eventually. The priest or pastor in his sermons must keep expounding the gospels and the epistles and pray with a group of sincere believers for those hardened sinners that they may repent and change instead of chasing all who would not listen. It is as if they are helping Satan to populate hell. Then immediately after this Jesus says, Matthew 18:18-20 NIV
“Truly I tell you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. [19] “Again, truly I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything they ask for, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven. [20] For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them.”

Here Jesus wants two or more believers to pray for the one who would not listen, for the one who was treated like a Gentile and a tax collector. He wants us to do spiritual warfare, the binding of the strongman (evil spirit) and the loosing of God's virtues and the Holy Spirit into him.

Jesus is not saying, "I only give you Peter the authority to bind and loose!" And furthermore what is this binding and loosing about? Is it not the strongmen(the spirits of satan and it's cohorts) which we must bind and is it not the virtues of the Holy Spirit we must loose within the people we pray for? The Catholic church is taking this out of context.

In those days when the popes were ruling and had great powers, they kept excommunicating all those who went against their authority. It was merely for political reasons that they were excommunicated.  Thus it has been handed down as a tradition.

James in his letter says... James 5:16 King James Version (KJV)
16 Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.

Yes the effectual fervent prayer of the priest or pastor if he is righteous will avail much.

In verses 22-35 Jesus answers Peter who asks Him how many times he must forgive the one who sins against him, that he must forgive him 77times and ends with a parable. This again is connected with verse 15. This clearly proves that Jesus wants us to forgive that person and not cut him off from the community of believers.

Now to say that the Catholic who is removed from the church will not and cannot go to another church is pure rubbish. Because I personally have seen  many such Catholics go to another Catholic church in a different district and also they receive communion after going through divorce and re-marrying outside the church, receiving communion while still living in sin (in an adulterous relationship) cause they want to portray themselves as normal good Catholics in the eyes of those in church. All because they are not prayed for and corrected in love. They still want to follow traditions and think that if they leave they will go to hell. The Catholic church has taught them and frightened them thus. It has not  taught them  to follow Christ's commandments to love God ( never to hurt Him by sinning against Him - first 3 commandments) and to love their neighbour as themselves ( to follow the rest of the commandments in love).

Now I  disagree with the excommunication of Catholics from church. When the Catholic church chases them out where would they go?

There are wolves out there waiting for people to be excommunicated, to pounce on them in pretentious love and lure them to the seemingly loving and caring Hindhu, Buddhist and Muslim communities where they will be welcomed with arms of love.

Has the Catholic church thought about their souls? Where would they end up in?  Why did Jesus even mention praying in His name and about the binding and loosing immediately after telling them to treat them as Gentiles?

This is what we as Christians must do. We must tell the person if he is doing wrong, that he is doing something against God's laws. If he refuses to listen bring along another believer to talk to him. If he still refuses to change bring the matter to his priest or pastor. If he still is adamant in his ways, then leave him alone. But pray with another believer or more believers for him in Jesus' name and bind the strongman in him, cast it out and loose the gifts of God's Holy Spirit in him. Keep praying for him till he changes. Trust in the promises of Christ for the man's change.

If the Catholic church is the true church as they claim, then God's Word and His Commandments will take precedence and only Christ will be worshipped, not traditions, human (papal)authority, power and money.

Christianity had already spread to many parts of the world even before the Roman church was established. Here is the proof:- https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Early_centers_of_Christianity

Be blessed when you know the TRUTH!
Mary Augustine.

Spiritual Warfare Prayers

Special Prayers for Success, Health, Healing and Restoration for yourself, for your family, for your church and for this nation.

Pray this every 3 days. You can continue to say it daily. If possible you can include any type of fast that you are able to. Fasting need not be from food especially when you go through Chemo or when you are ill. It can be in the form of letting go of some worldly pleasure or increase in worship time.

Before starting on your Warfare Journey, please sow an amount you can afford into God's Kingdom to help some needy organisation or individual or church at least once or twice a year (or more when you are blessed by God).
(Part 1)
1. Start with praise and worship. Praise God and worship Him with songs of victory.

2. Kneel and ask God forgiveness for all the wrong you have done and the good you failed to do.
(Walk into every area of your life and examine it. Ask God to heal you of all generational curses and to transform your DNA to that similar to Christ Jesus'.

(For those undergoing chemo or taking oral cancer medicine)Especially before and after every chemo or medication, command in Jesus name your good white cells and red cells not to be affected by chemo. Command in Jesus name every cancer cell to die & be destroyed and disappear from your body. Command in Jesus name your good white cells to increase.

3. Confess out LOUD the following scriptures:

Deuteronomy 28:1-13 NIV
[1] If you fully obey the Lord your God and carefully follow all his commands I give you today, the Lord your God will set you high above all the nations on earth. [2] All these blessings will come on you and accompany you if you obey the Lord your God: [3] You will be blessed in the city and blessed in the country. [4] The fruit of your womb will be blessed, and the crops of your land and the young of your livestock---the calves of your herds and the lambs of your flocks. [5] Your basket and your kneading trough will be blessed. [6] You will be blessed when you come in and blessed when you go out. [7] The Lord will grant that the enemies who rise up against you will be defeated before you. They will come at you from one direction but flee from you in seven. [8] The Lord will send blessings on your barns and on everything you put your hand to. The Lord your God will bless you in the land he is giving you. [9] The Lord will establish you as his holy people, as he promised you on oath, if you keep the commands of the Lord your God and walk in obedience to him. [10] Then all the peoples on earth will see that you are called by the name of the Lord, and they will fear you. [11] The Lord will grant you abundant prosperity---in the fruit of your womb, the young of your livestock and the crops of your ground---in the land he swore to your ancestors to give you. [12] The Lord will open the heavens, the storehouse of his bounty, to send rain on your land in season and to bless all the work of your hands. You will lend to many nations but will borrow from none. [13] The Lord will make you the head, not the tail. If you pay attention to the commands of the Lord your God that I give you this day and carefully follow them, you will always be at the top, never at the bottom.

Psalm 2:1-12 NIV
[1] … Why do the nations conspire and the peoples plot in vain? [2] The kings of the earth rise up and the rulers band together against the Lord and against his anointed, saying, [3] “Let us break their chains and throw off their shackles.” [4] The One enthroned in heaven laughs; the Lord scoffs at them. [5] He rebukes them in his anger and terrifies them in his wrath, saying, [6] “I have installed my king on Zion, my holy mountain. ” [7] I will proclaim the Lord’s decree: He said to me, “You are my son; today I have become your father. [8] Ask me, and I will make the nations your inheritance, the ends of the earth your possession. [9] You will break them with a rod of iron ; you will dash them to pieces like pottery. ” [10] Therefore, you kings, be wise; be warned, you rulers of the earth. [11] Serve the Lord with fear and celebrate his rule with trembling. [12] Kiss his son, or he will be angry and your way will lead to your destruction, for his wrath can flare up in a moment. Blessed are all who take refuge in him.

3. Follow up with this warfare confession...

FATHER, I thank you for this prayer program. Thank you because the weapons of my warfare are not carnal but are mighty to the pulling down of satanic strongholds. As I go into prayer, I pray that you will manifest your presence in my life. I declare that JESUS is Lord over my life – spirit, soul and body. I am sanctified by the blood of Jesus. I am redeemed by the blood of Jesus. I am justified by the blood of Jesus. We are covered by the blood of Jesus. I have the life of God in me. Today, every word that I shall speak will please the Lord and glorify His name. These same words shall wreck destruction and havoc in the camp of the enemy in Jesus’ name.
I decree civil war among demons, spirits, personalities and powers set up to oppose these prayers and I break their backbone by the power in the blood of Jesus. Right now let the angel of truth begin to read scriptures and torment every lying demon in Jesus’ name. Let the bonfire of the Holy Ghost begin to burn even as I invite the Holy Spirit and hand over my battles to the LORD in Jesus’ name. Father, I pray that you will release 12 legions of warrior angels to assist me in this battle. Let your angelic host bind and restrain every demonic resistance. Let them intimidate and weaken every satanic opposition.
LORD, I pray that you will dispatch special angels of battle to evacuate stubborn spirits and their agents to the land of the wicked for mass destruction by divine earthquake, thunder and brimstone in Jesus’ mighty name.
I shall possess my possessions. Let 12 legions of angels of restoration go forth into the land of the living and of the dead to recover every blessing, every opportunity, every finance, every health, every Godly relationship, every breakthrough I have lost in the past and restore all back to me in Jesus’ name.
Today, let the angels of favor be released to favor me in Jesus’ name. Let the angels of prosperity, peace, joy, love and health be dispatched to bring health, prosperity, peace, joy, love and abundance to me in the mighty name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

Psalm 24:1-10 NIV
[1] … The earth is the Lord’ s, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it; [2] for he founded it on the seas and established it on the waters. [3] Who may ascend the mountain of the Lord? Who may stand in his holy place? [4] The one who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not trust in an idol or swear by a false god. [5] They will receive blessing from the Lord and vindication from God their Savior. [6] Such is the generation of those who seek him, who seek your face, God of Jacob. [7] Lift up your heads, you gates; be lifted up, you ancient doors, that the King of glory may come in. [8] Who is this King of glory? The Lord strong and mighty, the Lord mighty in battle. [9] Lift up your heads, you gates; lift them up, you ancient doors, that the King of glory may come in. [10] Who is he, this King of glory? The Lord Almighty— he is the King of glory. …
--------------------------------------------------------
Prayer Bullets...
Day 1
1. O Lord, release your anointing of excellence upon my life in the name of Jesus.
2. It is written: The Lord shall make me the head and not the tail; I shall be above only and not beneath in the name of Jesus.
3. You spirit of the tail, loose your hold upon my life in the name of Jesus.
4. I refuse to sink in the sea of life in Jesus’ name.
5. I paralyze every agent of shame, accusation and reproach in the name of Jesus.
6. Any voice calling me to the tail position be silenced by the blood of Jesus.
7. Every power occupying my seat of greatness, be unseated by fire in the name of Jesus.
8. As I stamp my feet on the ground so shall my territory be enlarged in Jesus’ name.
9. I paralyze every satanic competition for my position (seat)with Christ Jesus in glory, by fire in the name of Jesus.
10. Let my season of glory appear in the name of Jesus.
11. Every Goliath and Pharaoh bragging and boasting against my God, be bound and be cast into the lake of
fire in the name of Jesus.
12. Every satanic expectation against my destiny, be disappointed in the name of Jesus.
13. Let the hornets of the Lord be released against my full time enemies in the name of Jesus.
14. I recover all that the enemy has stolen from me in the dream in Jesus’ name.
15. Every satanic chain binding my hands from prospering, catch fire and burn to ashes in Jesus’ name.
16. Every satanic chain on my neck pulling me backwards, catch fire and burn to ashes in Jesus’ name.
17. Every satanic chain on my waist dragging me down, catch fire and burn to ashes in Jesus’ name.
18. Every satanic chain on my feet hindering me from moving forward, break and burn to ashes in Jesus’ name.
19. I jump out of every circle of defeat and failure by the power in the blood of Jesus.
20.Every seed of failure in my life, be consumed by the fire of God in Jesus’ name.
21. Every tree of non-achievement planted in my family line, be uprooted by fire in Jesus’ name. Every generational curse and sickness planted in our family line be uprooted by God's holy fire and be burnt to ashes in Jesus name.
22.Satanic anchor on my hands and feet, be roasted in Jesus’ name.
23. I move from where I am now to where God wants me to be by the power in the blood of Jesus.
24.I break and loose myself from every curse of non- achievement in Jesus’ name.
25. Every satanic initiation in the dream, be cancelled, be nullified by the blood of Jesus.
26.I reject every invitation to failure and backwardness in the name of Jesus.
27. I shall sing of the goodness and the mercy of the Lord forever in Jesus’ name.
------------------------------------------------------
Day 2
28. LORD I thank you for your promise to take away sickness and disease from me (please spend time and do this passionately). Thank You Father for making us whole and healthy so that we are able to glorify You and preach the Good News to the ends of the earth.
29. I reject sickness and disease; I come against them by the Word of the Lord in Jesus’ name.
30. Every root of infirmity in my life, be uprooted, be consumed by fire in the name of Jesus. I command every electrical and chemical imbalance in my body to be made right in Jesus name.
31. Any power or spirit that has transferred infirmity into my life, collect your property back now in the name of Jesus.
32. You the spirit of death and hell, carry your evil load from my life by fire in the name of Jesus.
33. Every owner of sickness in my life, carry it now in the name of Jesus.
34. I bind and paralyze every agent of infirmity in my life in the name of Jesus.
35. Every sickness transferred into my life in the dream, come out now and burn to ashes in Jesus’ name.
36. Every arrow of infirmity backfire now in the name of Jesus.
37. Every power projecting diseases into my body, fall down and perish in Jesus’ name.
38. Every generational sickness that afflicts members of my family line, I cut you off by the power in the blood of Jesus.
39. Let the stripes of Jesus heal my body from every infirmity of the body and soul and spirit in Jesus’ name.
40. I reject every arrow that flies by day in Jesus’ name. I stand against every pestilence that walks in darkness in Jesus’ name.
41. Every destruction that wastes at noon day shall not
locate my address in Jesus’ name.
42. Thou terror of the night, carry your affliction back to the sender in Jesus’ name.
43. Every serpent of infirmity circulating in my body, be evacuated by fire in the name of Jesus.
44. Every satanic animal hiding in my body, I command you to jump out and die by fire in the name of Jesus.
45. Every cauldron of infirmity in my father’s house, break into pieces and burn to ashes in Jesus’ name.
46. Every curse of infirmity in my foundation, (non-achievement/non-excellence/ non-spirituality in following Christ) break, break, break in Jesus’ name.
47. Every covenant of death and hell, break by the power in the blood of Jesus.
48. I break every yoke of sickness and disease by the anointing of the Holy Spirit in Jesus’ name.
49. I shall not die but live to declare the glorious works of the Lord in Jesus’ name.
50. My God shall arise and all my enemies shall scatter in Jesus’ name.
51. O Lord, release your spiritual vitamins and enzymes into my body & blood in Jesus’ name.
-------------------------------------------------------
Day 3
52. Every dragon of debt, vomit my money and swallow yourself in the name of Jesus.
53. I will arise and rise, even as my enemies continue to fall and fail in the name of Jesus.
54. Thou power that speaks success and favor, arise and speak on my behalf in the name of Jesus.
55. O Lord, let your handwriting of excellence be visible across my forehead in the name of Jesus.
56. I reject incomplete victory, I claim full term breakthroughs in Jesus’ name.
57. My enemies shall not be able to agree concerning my case in the name of Jesus.
58. I claim the Spirit of favor in my going out and coming in by the power in the blood of Jesus.
59. Every spirit of poverty, I bind you and cast you into hell in Jesus’ name.
60. Thou power that raised Lazarus from the dead, lift up my finances from every spiritual graveyard in Jesus’ name.
61. Thou power that raised Lazarus from the dead, lift up my marriage from the valley of destruction in the name of Jesus.
62. Thou power that raised Lazarus from the dead, resurrect all my buried potentials by fire in the name of Jesus.
63. Thou power that raised Lazarus from the dead, ignite my prayer life by fire in the name of Jesus.
64. Thou power that raised Lazarus from the dead, inflame my heart with the love of Jesus.
65. O Lord, help me to live and breathe the fire of holiness from now onwards in Jesus’ name.
66. Let the power of God catapult my spiritual life from the valley to the mountaintop in Jesus’ name.
67. The power that destroyed goliath shall disgrace all my goliaths, pharaohs and herods in the mighty name of Jesus.
68. Every spiritual age-group limiting my progress in life, receive the sulphur, brimstone, fire of God, crash and burn to ashes in Jesus’ name.
69.Anointing that breaks the yoke, break every satanic limitation placed upon my progress in life in Jesus’ name.
70. Every spirit of compromise, spiritual lethargy, spiritual blindness, spiritual slumber, complaining spirits, dissatisfied spirits, spirits of anger, jealousy, strife, hatred, bitterness, spirits that are not afraid of God, spirits that mock God, judgemental spirits, accusing spirits, criticising spirits, condemning spirits, insulting spirits, spirits of pride, spirits of immorality and lust, spirits of laziness and procrastination, spirits of fear of un-accomplishment/ spirits which make people take cover out of cowardice and spirits that lure people away from Jesus and spirits which call people out at night to waste time, rebellious spirits, disobedient spirits, manipulative spirits, spirits that rob us of our future in Christ, spirits of untimely death, locust spirits, spirits of remorse, spirits of oppression, depression, suppression, spirits of alienation from godly people, godly authority and godly friends, spirits which prevent us from worshiping God in spirit and in truth and which prevent us from uniting ourselves with Christ Jesus, I come against you in Jesus name, I render you powerless, and break your back bone and bind and cast you out in Jesus name.
71. I clear the pipeline of my breakthroughs with the blood of Jesus.
-------------------------------------------------------
Final:-
Covered by the blood of Christ and clothed with the righteousness of Christ, I shall sing of the goodness and the mercy of the Lord forever in Jesus’ name. I lose the fruits of the Spirit to operate and bloom fully in me now... Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness and self control.
I release Wisdom, Knowledge, Understanding, Piety, Fear of God, Fortitude and Counsel into my life now. I thank You Father for healing me and for making me whole and healthy in Christ Jesus. I declare that You Daddy , Jesus Christ and Your Spirit Lord, are in me and I am able to do what You want me to do and be the best for You, with Jesus and the help of the Holy Spirit. Holy Spirit, I allow You to possess me fully and work in me. Use me for the Father's glory. Drench me, marinate me in Your anointing and let Your rivers of living water flow through me to all around me. Ignite me with the liquid fire of Love from the Father's throne and let me continue to burn with passion for Christ and make Jesus and the Father known to all whom I come in contact with. Put Your Holy fire around me and let Your Presence always be with me. In Jesus name I pray. Amen.

(Pray in tongues for 15mins
Step 4:- Read the following Scripture :- Psalm 20

Psalm 20:1-9 NIV
[1] … May the Lord answer us when you are in distress; may the name of the God of Jacob protect us. [2] May He send us help from the sanctuary and grant us support from Zion. [3] May He remember all our sacrifices and accept our burnt offerings. (Selah) [4] May He give us the desire of our hearts and make all our plans succeed. [5] We will shout for joy when you are victorious and will lift up our banners in the name of our God. May the Lord grant all our requests. [6] Now I know that the Lord saves His anointed; he answers him from His holy heaven with the saving power of His right hand. [7] Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the Lord our God. [8] They are brought to their knees and fall, but we rise up and stand firm. [9] O Lord, save the king! Answer us when we call! …

Thank You Father for answering my prayer in Jesus Name. Amen.

--------------------------------------------------------
1st Day, Pray :- Part 1 + Day 1 + Final
2nd Day, Pray :- Part 1 + Day 2 + Final
3rd Day, Pray :- Part 1 + Day 3 + Final

You may choose to say all the 3 Days Prayers everyday too. It is entirely up to you.

Who really is this 'Comforter of the Afflicted' & 'Help of Christians'!

Whom do you turn to in the midst of a storm? Whom do you run to when you are in trouble and are afflicted? Jesus knew that you and I will need a lot of help in these areas. He knew that we, frail as we are, would always need someone who can comfort us, someone to whom we can run to when we are helpless, someone who will constantly remind us about what Jesus taught while He was walking among men in His flesh and someone who would alert us of the things to come.

Therefore before Jesus was arrested, scourged and crucified, before he died and was resurrected He gathered His disciples and told them that He will ask the Father to send them a Comforter, a Helper and a Guide.

Jesus did not tell them to go to His mother, Mary and ask her to pray for them. He did not tell them that when anyone of them dies and goes to heaven, the others can ask that person who is in heaven to pray for them or ask him or her for favours. By this time His earthly father was already dead. Jesus knew that His dad, Joseph will be with Him in heaven after His resurrection, once heaven's doors were open. Jesus did not tell them to pray a nine day novena to his dad to obtain favours from God.

Before we go any further let us know God's nature. God is Omnipotent, Omnipresent and Omniscient.

Omnipotent means all-powerful. God has supreme power. This means God can do what He wants. It means He is not subject to physical limitations like man is. Being omnipotent, God has power over wind, water, fire, gravity, physics, etc. God's power is infinite. His power is limitless.

Omnipresence means all-present. This term means that God is capable of being everywhere at the same time. It means His divine presence encompasses the whole universe. Being omnipresent enables Him to hear the prayers of every individual throughout the world, at the same time and answer each prayer individually.

Omniscience means all-knowing. God is all-knowing in the sense that He is aware of the past, present and future. Nothing takes Him by surprise. His knowledge is total. He knows all that there is to know and all that can be known.

Only God is Omnipotent, Omnipresent and Omniscient. Human beings alive or dead are not. We are finite beings and are limited in our powers. Even angels do not pocess these attributes of God. The bible says that only God knows our secret thoughts. That means  that only God knows what we wish for and what we pray in the silence of our hearts.

When we pray to Mary or the saints who are in heaven, they will not be able to hear us because they are not near us. When we say that they can hear, then we are saying that they are Omnipresent and Omniscient. If ten people around the world pray to Mary or any one of the saints at the same time will they be able to hear and answer everyone's prayer at the same time? By saying that they can, are we not saying that they too have God's attributes?

Jesus knew our human weakness. He knew that we human beings, if left alone will turn to other beings or images to pray to, to seek favour from and to worship. That is why He told His disciples about the Helper Whom He will ask the Father to send and  reminded them time and again after His resurrection but before His ascension not to leave Jerusalem before receiving this Helper, The Holy Spirit.

The Holy Spirit is only given to those who believe in the life, death, resurrection and the saving power of Jesus Christ and who keep His commandments. He is the Helper of every Christian.

Let us read through the Words of Jesus.

John 14:15-17
English Standard Version (ESV)

Jesus Promises the Holy Spirit

15 “If you love me, you will keep my commandments. 16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper,[a] to be with you forever, 17 even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be[b] in you.

John 16:12-15
English Standard Version (ESV)

12 “I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. 13 When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. 14 He will glorify me, for he will take what is mine and declare it to you. 15 All that the Father has is mine; therefore I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you.

After His ressurection Jesus appeared to His disciples.

John 20:19-22 NIV
On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jewish leaders, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” [20] After he said this, he showed them his hands and side. The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord. [21] Again Jesus said, “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.” [22] And with that he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit.

Acts 1:3-5, 8 NIV

[3] After his suffering, he presented himself to them and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive. He appeared to them over a period of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God. [4] On one occasion, while he was eating with them, he gave them this command: “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. [5] For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.” [8] But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

Jesus knew that we would need a Helper to be with us and in us, at all times. The disciples in the early church did just what Jesus commissioned them to do and prayed the way Jesus taught them to pray and sought the Holy Spirit for every need of theirs. Now all the martyrs of the early church surely went to heaven. The early church members could have prayed to the martyrs right? We don't read about Paul praying to Steven whom he ordered to be stoned to death, after his own conversion. Nowhere in the bible do we read of anyone praying to the saints in heaven.

Blessed is the one who heeds the Words of Christ and allows the Spirit of God to abide in himself and makes the Holy Spirit his best Friend.

The Holy Spirit Who is God's Spirit is Omnipotent, Omnipresent and Omnicient because He is the third Person of God. He has limitless power and the Bible shows us, all that the Holy Spirit can do for us.

Here, listed are some 33 ways in which the Holy Spirit helps us. These are by no means exhaustive. Nevertheless these 33 in this list, would enlighten us about the ability of the Holy Spirit Who resides in every believer of the Lord Jesus, every believer who continually repents and renews His relationship with Christ Jesus.

33 Things The Holy Spirit Does.

(This list, '33 Things The Holy Spirit Does' was adapted from the Charisma magazine.)

1. He helps us.(Rom.8:26)
2. He guides us.(John 16:13)
3. He teaches us.(John 14:26)
4. He speaks.(Rev.2:7)
5. He reveals.(1 Cor.2:10)
6. He instructs.(Acts 8:29)
7. He testifies of Jesus.(John
     15:26)
8. He comforts us.(Acts 9:31)
9. He calls us.(Acts 13:2)
10. He fills us.(Acts 4:31)
11. He strengthens us.
      (Eph.3:16)
12. He prays for us.
      (Rom.8:26)
13. He prophesies through us.
      (2 Pet.1:21)
14. He bears witness to the
       truth.(Rom.9:1)
15. He brings joy.(1 Thess 1:6)
16. He brings freedom.
      (2 Cor.3:17)
17. He helps to obey.
      (1 Pet.1:22)
18. He calls for Jesus'
       return.(Rev.22.17)
19. He transforms us.
      (2 Cor.3:18)
20. He lives in us.(1 Cor.3:16)
21. He frees us.(Rom.8:2)
22. He renews us.(Titus 3:15)
23. He produces fruit in us.
      (Gal.5:22-23)
24. He gives gifts.
      (1  Cor.12:8-10)
25. He leads us.(Rom.8:14)
26. He convicts us of our
       sins.(John 16:8)
27. He sanctifies us.
      (2 Thess .2:13)
28. He empowers us.(Acts 1:8)
29. He unites us.(Eph.4:3-4)
30. He seals us.(Eph.1:13)
31. He gives us access to the
       Father. (Eph.2:18)
32. He enables us to
       wait.(Gal.5:5)
33. He casts out demons. 
      (Matt.12:28)

Why do we need the Holy Spirit? We need Him because without Him dwelling in us, we will not know the mind of Christ and will not be able to function in the way God wants us to function. Without Him we will not have the power to fulfill the 'Great Commission'!

The Holy Spirit is God's Unadultrated Essence given to us Christians as a Gift to transform our distorted images into God's Image and Likeness.

My greatest desire is for everyone to come to the knowledge of God and allow the Holy Spirit to operate from within us and learn to hear His still small voice speaking to and guiding us.

Hope you found this article useful. Feel free to share it. God bless.

Mary Augustine
12th June 2015

The Secret of Fulfillment!

Pleasing God, must be the  priority in our lives. Only that, will birth the New Life of Christ in us and make us feel loved.

Pleasing ourselves and others to gain fulfillment, can become idolatry. God longs to satisfy us beyond our dreams, but before that He must be placed first in our hearts.

A wonderful example is Leah, Jacob's first wife. She was unloved by Jacob. Leah thought that if she pleased him, he will love her more, but Jacob continued to ignore her and love Rachel instead. Jacob did not love Leah. God saw that she was unloved and He gave her a son.

God's nature is to be drawn towards those who are unloved and who are hurting within.

Man's nature is the opposite. Man will move away the more you pursue him to try to win his love, and this is what happened with Leah and Jacob.

Leah was seeking fulfillment by trying to attain Jacob's love, and now her problem was becoming worse. For not only was she not attractive to Jacob, but her jealous acts seemed to be building up on her unloveliness. Thus she now became even more unattractive to him.

We can learn a great lesson from Leah's life. The more we try to win someone's  love and affection,  the more they will move away from us. Trying to do anything in our flesh will reap unfruitfulness. We need to do everything in God's strength. But even before that we need to be filled by God's presence.

Leah continued in her efforts to please Jacob but her efforts were futile. When Leah conceived the fourth time, she slowly became aware that although she was not loved by her husband, God loved her and she realised that God's love is the only thing that matters. Therefore she began to grow closer to God and began praising and worshipping Him and proclaimed, " I will praise the Lord" Genesis Chp 29 vs 35.  She named her fourth son Judah, which meant 'Praise'. It was from the tribe of 'Praise' that is, the tribe of Judah that Christ was born.

While Leah was busy seeking self fulfillment by pleasing her husband with her own efforts, God could not fill her with His fulfillment because she did not open herself up to be filled by God. God is a Gentleman. He will never violate our will. He waits patiently for us to open up to Him.

When Leah realised that all she needed was God, she began to praise and worship Him. It was then that God was able to remove her insecurities, fear, anxiety, jealousies and heartaches. God filled her to the brim and gave her complete fulfillment. She no longer needed the security of Jacob's love. God's love was sufficient for her.

Now let us look at the other perspective. 'Making others happy'. Brothers and sisters, no matter what we do or try to make our husbands or wives or children or bosses or colleagues or friends, happy by our own efforts, we will surely fail because we are not seeking God first. Only God can make one happy and fulfilled.

Let us look at the following analogies:-

1) A torch has an expensive bulb fitted in it. But only when it is charged it can shine on the beautiful scenery around it to make all the people around enjoy the scenic beauty and be happy. But if the torch is not charged, no matter how expensive the bulb is, no matter how extraordinary its finish is, it cannot shine and all those around will surely be unhappy in the engulfing darkness.

In the same way we need to be filled, charged by God first so that those around us can experience God's love through us and be happy.

2) Imagine a durian rolling over to people and trying to hug them! Won't the people run away in fear because of its thorny exterior? But when the vendor who sells it cuts it open, the sweet aroma of its yellow juicy flesh fills the air and people are drawn towards it.

In the same way we need the power of the Holy Spirit to remove our thorny exterior, to remove our addictions, our self seeking characteristics, our fleshly desires, our uncultured habits and our egoistic attitudes and bring out the beauty from within us so that others may see God's beauty of character in us and be pleased and happy with us and in our presence.

These days husbands and wives, boyfriends and girlfriends are seeking to please each other by putting them on the pedestal instead of our Creator God and they are failing miserably in their efforts. Thus the reason for the rise in divorces.

Blessed is the person who knows the secret of happiness, and the secret is in seeking after God's heart, pleasing Him and resting in Him.

We need to soak in God's holy presence, read His Word and meditate on His Words daily without fail. Only then will we be changed and filled with the Holy Spirit in all His fullness. Only when we seek God will we be fully satisfied and know that we are truly loved by God in our filthy state. That will draw us to repent and seek pardon from Him and draw us closer to Him. Then our character will change from the inside out and God's presence in us will bring about a positive change in us first and in our loved ones next and bring us closer to one another in genuine unconditional love. We will then be bonded in love with Christ. Anything apart from Christ's love is not genuine.

God is waiting for us to surrender fully to Him. He is patiently waiting to fill us with His Spirit, to refresh us with a fresh anointing. What are we waiting for?

     Mary Augustine
Tuesday 9th June 2015

Father's Blessing.

This blessing was prayed over his children & spiritual children by John Paul Jackson. He just went home to be with our Lord in heaven on 19th Feb 2015. He is now communing with our Father face to face. Pls share this with all the Fathers and Fathers to be and all who are even intending to marry and become Fathers one day and also with all spiritual Fathers. So that they can can pray over their children/ unborn children / future children/ spiritual children, etc...

A Father's Blessing over his children is very important for their physical, mental and spiritual growth and well being.
~Shalom...MaryAugustine.

     THE FATHER'S BLESSING

May “The LORD bless you and keep you; The LORD make His face shine upon you, and be gracious to you; The LORD lift up His countenance upon you, and give you peace.”

May you reach the purpose for which you were created. May you have courage above your peers. May you have more passion for the things of God than others think is necessary. May you dream more than others think is practical, and may you expect more than others think is possible.May you choose wisely, without earthly bias. You have people to influence that you have not yet met. You have lives to change that are waiting for your arrival. You are strategically placed wherever God takes you by His grand design, just so you can become all He made you to be. That place is the place you can best grow, the place you can be most fruitful, the place where the future is changed because of your presence. May you see vistas that others do not even know exist. May you see God in every petal of every flower and in every blade of grass for each of them are designed by His hand. May you bless your children and may they become giants in the faith under the mighty hand of God. You will not fail, you were made by God to be here for such a time as this. I pray this and I decree and declare this in Jesus' mighty name. Amen!

Forgiveness, Pain & Healing.

Before I begin, here is a quote from Kris Vallotton.

"Forgiving somebody who harmed you will release you to recover from pain but forgiveness, in itself, will not take away the pain.

  The process of forgiveness and the process of becoming pain-free are two separate things. In other words, just because I forgive someone does not mean that I don’t feel pain when they’re around.

Example: if somebody ran me over with a car and broke both my legs and I forgive them, I will still have to go through the painful process of getting well. The fact that my legs still hurt does not mean that I haven’t forgiven them. It does mean that the process of healing is not complete. I now need to take the needed action for my legs to be healed." - unquote.

Although it is right not to react in anger, enduring the pain or living with the pain is not the solution. It is plain ignorance. Just as healing must take place for the human body to become whole and healthy, healing must take place in our spirits and souls to make our spirit man whole, or else it will affect our relationship with God and others.

In relationships, if the person who hurt us is sincerely sorry, we must accept their sincere apologies and love them with the unconditional love of Christ. Albeit it is wise to be on guard so that the same hurt does not occur again. Yet we need to do that without shunning or rejecting the one who was sincerely sorry and who apologised to us. 

It is true that the memory of what happened will return when we see them.  Yet when we ask Christ to pour His love and forgiveness in us and through us to love them and to heal our memories, just as Corrie Ten Boom did, we will be able to love as Christ loves.(Read the amazing biography of Corrie Ten Boom). We will be able to talk to them with unconditional love and compassion. Just as, the memory of the accident returns initially and  over time it disappears and at times although it appears it does not appear with the pain with which it appeared once upon a time, so shall the hurts of the soul disappear with time with the help of God's Spirit.

We live in a world of imperfect people. Everyone makes mistakes in their lives. Although the magnitude of their mistakes may vary, a mistake is a mistake. Every mistake tiny or huge is obnoxious in God's eyes.

The Word of God says in
Romans 3:23 (NIV)
'for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,'

It also says in Isaiah 64:6(NIV)
' All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags; we all shrivel up like a leaf, and like the wind our sins sweep us away.'

Before an all righteous God even our most perfect act will look like a piece of filthy rag.

We as human beings forget our own mistakes but we  carry the magnified mistakes of others in our hearts. This will eat into our souls and weigh us down eventually. We must allow the Spirit of God to pour His healing balm into our souls to heal us of all past hurtful memories. Then we must pray for those who hurt us. This will speed up our healing process and this is exactly what Jesus wants us to do.

In Luke 6:28(NLT) Jesus says,
"Bless those who curse you. Pray for those who hurt you."

Even when the Pharisees wanted to stone the adulterous woman, Jesus did not condemn her. He said, "He who has never sinned throw the first stone at her!" He forgave her, told her that He does not condemn her and told her not to sin anymore. When she came back with an alabaster jar of perfume to anoint His feet out of gratitude, Jesus did not shun her or reject her but He said in Luke 7:47 “I tell you, her sins—and they are many—have been forgiven, so she has shown me much love. But a person who is forgiven little shows only little love.” 48 Then Jesus said to the woman, “Your sins are forgiven.”

This my friend is what we as Christians must do after we forgive someone to heal our hurts. We must embrace them with love.

Who are we to withhold forgiveness? When Christ Himself forgave and loved unconditionally those who tortured Him and nailed Him to the cross, why can't we forgive and love? Are we greater than Christ? 

Now a word to those who are sincerely sorry for your mistakes but are shunned or rejected by the ones you offended...

You have done your part by repenting before God and the ones you offended. Now if those persons do not want to have anything to do with you, reject you or shun you, do not be dismayed but know that your Father in heaven has forgiven you, clothed you with the righteousness of Christ and accepted you as His own child. You on your part have done the right thing. You are  right before your Almighty Father. Now give your feelings of rejection to Him and begin to pray for those whom you have hurt that they will come to the full knowledge of Christ and be healed of their hurts. Pray unceasingly for them till they are filled with the Spirit of forgiveness and unconditional love.

May the Holy Spirit guide you in  your peace making efforts and in all you think say and do. I pray this in Jesus' most precious name. Amen!

Mary Augustine

Blessings spoken over our children / spouse / loved ones

Blessings to be spoken over our children / spouse / loved ones daily.   
The Word of God is a double edged sword and if we speak these blessings taken from God's Word over our children / spouse / loved ones daily God will set them apart from the others and bless them mightily and they will be protected 24/7.

My child/spouse/loved one (name of the person),
You are victorious in Christ, because the moment you hurt God, you repent and run back to Him seeking forgiveness. You also forgive freely and unconditionally in Christ, all who hurt you without harboring negative thoughts about them and without judging them. You are able to love unconditionally as Christ loves and see everyone through the eyes of Christ. You therefore now are a saint, set apart for God. You have received forgiveness for all your sins, past, present and future, and therefore, there is no condemnation for you from God- and can never be!
(Luke 11:4; Hebrews 10:10,14-18; Romans 8:1)

My child/spouse/loved one (name of the person),
You are now a brand new creature in Christ Jesus. You have died to your old self & you have been made brand new. Therefore you are now able to walk in the newness of life in Christ Jesus.
(Galatians 2:20; 2 Corinthians 5:17; Romans 6:4-7)

My child/spouse/loved one (name of the person),
You are now a part of God's Kingdom of Light. You are seated in heavenly places with Christ Jesus, above all the power of the evil one and his demonic forces.
(Colossians 1:13; Ephesians 1:19-23; 2:4-6)

My child/spouse/loved one (name of the person),
You are accepted in Jesus the Beloved, just as you are - because God chose you for Himself before the foundation of the world. You have been washed clean by the blood of Christ the Lamb and are clothed with the righteousness of Christ Jesus. You have been adopted as God's dear child through Christ and are sealed by, filled with and anointed by His Holy Spirit, Who guarantees that you will live with God forever.
(Revelation 22:24; 2 Corinthians 5:21; Ephesians 1:3-14)

My child/spouse/loved one (name of the person),
Your past and its consequences have been erased by the blood of Christ, for you have accepted Christ Jesus as your Lord and Saviour and you repent everytime you hurt God and run back into His arms. Your sovereign God promises that He will cause everything in your life for good. You have been transformed into Christlikeness, into His image by the renewing of your mind and by contemplating the Lord's glory daily.
(Romans 8:28-30; Romans 12:2;
2 Corinthians 3:18)

My child/spouse/loved one (name of the person),
Jesus has won victory over, sin, Satan, sickness and death for you, therefore you are healed by His stripes, you cannot and will not die before God's appointed time for your home going. Jesus holds the keys to hell and death. You will fight the good fight, keep the faith, run the race, set before you, with Christ and will complete your earthly race victoriously and when you die, you will be peaceful and found in favour with God, and you will be immediately absent from this body and be present with the Lord Jesus, Who will award you with the crown of righteousness on that day.
(Revelation 1:18; 2 Corinthians 5:8-9; 2 Timothy 4:7-8)

My child/spouse/loved one (name of the person),
You have been made whole, healthy and prosperous in Christ.You can come boldly into His presence, to His throne and find His mercy, unearned favor and help in the time of your need. I see you doing this now. God has supplied all your needs in abundance according to His riches through Christ Jesus your Lord. His storehouses have plenty and you are receiving from Him all you need and more right now because you have no other gods (idols) before you, you love and honour God and walk in His ways obeying all His commands. You honour your parents and respect and obey your authorities. No eye has seen, no ear has heard & no one's heart has ever imagined all the things that God has prepared for you who love Him.
(Hebrews 4:16; 1 Corinthians 3:21-23; Matthew 6:33; Philippians 4:19; Exodus 20:1-17; 1 Corinthians 2:9;)

My child/spouse/loved one (name of the person),
I speak all the above promises & I decree & declare all the following promises and blessings over your life...God has put His fire (hedge) of protection around you; You are covered by the blood of Christ; All accusations made against you, all negative thoughts thought about you, all negative words and reports spoken against you, all judgemental, demotivating, derrogative, demoralising words spoken to you, all gossips gossiped about you, all curses spoken over you by anyone, especially by your parents, spouse, siblings, spouse's parents, in laws, teachers, leaders, pastors, medical doctor, bosses, employers, colleagues, friends and all authority figures, be bound and be made null and void and destroyed in Jesus' name and I cast them and all fear, anger, bitterness, worthlessness, self loathing, self blaming, depression and worries caused by these negative words, out to be burnt into ashes in Jesus' mighty name. I decree & declare that you have found favour with God and man, that you are walking under God's umbrella of protection and in complete health of mind, emotions, body & spirit in Christ Jesus; You are resisting the devil and every temptation set before you and therefore the devil is fleeing away from you; You are infilled by the Holy Spirit and His anointing overflows from you and touches and blesses all those you come in contact with; No weapon formed against you will ever prosper; God's 12 legions of warrior Angels stand guard around you always and fight all your battles for you; All your bondages are broken and all the blessings, finances, honour, health and every good that you lost and every lost second of your life are all restored back to you by God's 12 legions of restoration Angels;  You are receiving your breakthroughs swiftly by God's 12 legions of breakthrough Angels in Christ Jesus. I decree and declare that there are open doors of opportunities for your future before you and you are walking through the right door with the guidance of the Holy Spirit for the right job,  for you our unmarried children  to be joined with the right godly Christian life partner, for close godly Christian friends and abundant blessings and for our every breakthrough ; God has put his cherubims with flaming swords before every door through which you must not enter and shut tightly those doors forever; You will obey the Lord and will not force through the shut doors. I decree and declare that the Lord has removed all bewitching friendships, bewitching relationships, bewitching acquaintances and all of your friends and acquaintances who lead you away from Christ Jesus and His ways and He has removed those who bring destruction into your life and your future and those who give you wrong advice; Your  spiritual eyes and ears have been opened to God's vision for your future & to hear God's still small voice speaking to you; You are transformed into God's child of faith and a person of total dependency on Him alone; You have loved righteousness and hated lawlessness and therefore God has anointed you with the oil of gladness above your companions; God's Holy Spirit hovers over you 24/7 and breathes His life into you and births the new life of Christ in you, bringing you to higher order, keeping your spirit alive in Him and in tune with Him; The Lord has prepared a table before you in the presence  of your enemies and He anoints your head with oil and your cup overflows with heavenly blessings and you are a blessing to all around you. Therefore no weapon forged against us will ever prosper in Jesus' mighty name. God is raising you up to be His watchman, a compassionate intercessor who will stand in the gap for God's people, a mighty warrior of God, a passionate worshipper who seeks after God's heart, a prophet of God, an evangelist bringing people into God's kingdom through the knowledge of Christ Jesus. This is your heritage in our Lord Jesus. I pray this in Jesus' mighty name, receive it for you on your behalf and seal it with the precious blood of Jesus. Amen.
Be blessed as you bless your children/spouse/loved ones.

Mary Augustine

Finding favour with God and with men in our places of work.

Genesis 39:2-5 NIV
The Lord was with Joseph so that he prospered, and he lived in the house of his Egyptian master. [3] When his master saw that the Lord was with him and that the Lord gave him success in everything he did, [4] Joseph found favor in his eyes and became his attendant. Potiphar put him in charge of his household, and he entrusted to his care everything he owned. [5] From the time he put Joseph in charge of his household and of all that he owned, the Lord blessed the household of the Egyptian because of Joseph. The blessing of the Lord was on everything Potiphar had, both in the house and in the field.

3 vital lessons to be learnt from the life of Joseph:-

1. When God is with us, that is, on our side, we will be successful in all that we do and we will prosper.

2. When our employers see that we are successful and that we are prospering in all we do, we will find favour in their eyes. They will trust us and entrust greater things in our hands.

3. When God is with us, our employers, our company and all those around us will thrive and be greatly blessed.

The secret of controlling our thoughts!

Thoughts, thoughts, thoughts! Can a human being sit still without any thought running through his mind? Some say meditation helps. Even then, when he is still and trying to empty his mind of thoughts, he is thinking of emptying his mind. That again is a thought.

Experts estimate that the mind thinks between 60,000 to 80,000 thoughts a day. That’s an average of 2500 to 3,300 thoughts per hour. Some other experts estimate a smaller number, of 50,000 thoughts per day, which is  about 2100 thoughts per hour.

Have we ever wondered that, if we think so many thoughts, what exactly are we thinking? 

By paying attention to the thoughts in our minds, we would discover that most of our thoughts are useless and unimportant. They are thoughts that pass through the mind with a huge velocity. These are words we repeat in our mind, comments our mind makes, repeating what we heard said, questions, answers and a lot of senseless wandering thoughts that we might not even be aware of. Yet, if we probe deeper, we will discover that our thoughts have three distinct origins. We will discuss about that in awhile.

Thoughts shape our attitude which in turn shapes our character. We become what we constantly think of. Due to the ill effects of our thoughts, we constantly face spiritual attacks in our lives. The only way to win this battle is to control our thought life. We cannot do it by ourselves. It is impossible. Who, better than the Holy Spirit can help us to sieve the thoughts that go through our mind. It is the Holy Spirit Who empowers, prepares and equips us for spiritual warfare.

The more we people alienate ourselves from God, the more we open ourselves to demonic activities. The more tumultuous will our thought life be.

As I mentioned above, our thoughts have three distinct origins; self, God and the devil. Some are placed there by God to remind us to walk in His ways, some generated by ourselves and some planted stealthily by the devil, to steal, kill and destroy our souls.

Thoughts of love, peace and correction are from God. Thoughts from ourselves would be thoughts pertaining to our daily duties. Thoughts from the evil one will be thoughts of manipulation, fear, anxiety, guilt, anger, bitterness, rage, judgemental thoughts, self centered thoughts, lustful thoughts, greedy thoughts...in short they will be negative and poisonous thus poisoning our entire being. Therefore we become people after our own thoughts, shaped and moulded by our thoughts.

We have a choice, to entertain or not to entertain the thoughts that speed through our mind. 

When we are obedient to God, we get in place to have victory over the wicked and the wicked thoughts. The devil can counterfeit everything except obedience to God. God's Word tells us to surrender our every thought, making it obedient  to Christ.

2 Corinthians 10:5 (NIV)

"We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ."

Recently, I was tormented by thoughts of confusion, guilt, anger, bitterness, fear, sadness and judgment. I was facing a huge spiritual attack. I was  not able to pray nor read God's Word. I felt as if I was sinking deep into an abyss unable to help myself. I knew that I must take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ, but I did not know how to do it. Everything was so abstract. I was sinking fast.

It was then that I pleaded with the Holy Spirit, asking HIm to be the filter of my mind. I knelt and asked Him to filter each and every thought which goes into my mind. I forbade negative and evil thoughts from entering my mind.

Pleasantly and miraculously it helped me so much that the next morning I woke up fresh and was filled with unexplainable peace. I was able to go about my duties without confusion but with clarity of mind. Now I am able to control my thoughts with the help of the Holy Spirit.

It surely pays to obey God's Word, and when we do not know how, our Comforter and Guide, the Holy Spirit is always there to help us.

Thank you Holy Spirit.

Mary Augustine

The Sin of Ham/Caanan

The Sin of Ham/Caanan

I was pondering on how I conduct my life. It was then the Holy Spirit brought to mind, the little instances when I casually converse with my colleagues and we happen to come across someone we find irritating, or mindless and begin to exchange 'justified' views about him/her. It seems all too casual, all too justified and all too natural. Then one of us will chip in a juicy bit of news the other person is not aware of, such as, " The other day when I opened the door for her she just walked past as if I am transparent and did not even thank me, let alone greet me. These young ones have no manners!" Or, "Do you know that so &so was not even in his class when I went in and the pupils were walking all around the class & they are promoting him. There is the other person who's so hardworking and he is not even noticed. So unfair!" At times we exchange negative news about others with the excuse of pitying them.

We get pulled into workplace politics and we end up pouring our frustrations to one another without realising that we are falling into satan's traps of the sin of gossip, the sin of judging others, the sin of spreading negative vibes and the sin of exposing the sins of others and shaming them.  This is exactly what Ham /Canaan  his son/grandson  did according to Genesis 9:20-22. He exposed his father's sins and thus was cursed.

Sometimes we wonder why we are not blessed, why we are facing problems after problems but we fail to realise that our sins cut away our blessings. Not only are we affected but our children and our children's children down to seven generations.

Upon receiving that revelation, I thanked the Holy Spirit for bringing this to mind today and asked Him to help me keep myself in check always. How glad I am that now, we have the blood covering of Christ Jesus to wash away our sins when we repent and run back into His arms. Thus our curses are broken and turned into blessings for us and our descendants through the redemptive blood of Christ.

Prayer
Lord, help me to present myself well and to abstain from speaking negative things about others. Just as the north wind drives the rain away, so does a backbiting tongue and an angry countenance. (Proverbs 25:23)

New Living Translation
          James 4:11
Don't speak evil against each other, dear brothers and sisters. If you criticize and judge each other, then you are criticizing and judging God's law. But your job is to obey the law, not to judge whether it applies to you.

Reference:-
Genesis 9:20-22 NIV
Noah, a man of the soil, proceeded to plant a vineyard. [21] When he drank some of its wine, he became drunk and lay uncovered inside his tent. [22] Ham, the father of Canaan, saw his father naked and told his two brothers outside.

Genesis 9:24-25 NIV
When Noah awoke from his wine and found out what his youngest son had done to him, [25] he said, “Cursed be Canaan! The lowest of slaves will he be to his brothers. ”

Notes:-
Ham was Noah's second son and Canaan was the youngest son of Ham. 'Canaan' in Hebrew language means, "to be humiliated!"

Mary Augustine

Oh the Awesome Power of the Super Mantle!

Today we are going to find out about Elijah's Mantle and the Super Mantle and the link between the Mantles and Bethel, Jericho and Jordan. We have to know this before we know how to use the Mantle which we have received and if we are even using it.

We who have read the Old Testament know that Elijah was a great prophet of God who did many exploits for God's kingdom through the power of God's Spirit. He was the prophet of all prophets and he was the only other human being who was taken up into heaven with his body, soul and spirit in a fiery chariot, other than Enoch.

We know that when he was taken up to heaven, he gave his mantle to Elisha who received a double portion of Elijah's annointing with that mantle and Elisha began doing greater exploits, than Elijah did, for God .

Here, we might envy Elisha, but let me tell you that we do not have to, cause we have received a super mantle which is greater than Elijah's.

I will first explain how Elisha received Elijah's mantle and then lead you into the secret of our super mantle. Tarry with me awhile longer and you will know what I mean.

Elisha knew that Elijah was going to be taken up, therefore he did not want to let him out of his sight. (Read 2 Kings chapter 2). He followed Elijah wherever the Lord sent him. Elijah was sent to three places by the Lord just before his homegoing and before going to each place he asked Elisha to stay behind but Elisha, not wanting to let him out of his sight, tagged along.

The first place, God led him to, was Bethel, next Jericho and the last was Jordan. After which, Elijah asked Elisha what he wanted from him before he departed to heaven. Elisha wanted a double portion of Elijah's anointing. Note that he did not ask for the mantle of Elijah. He knew that Elijah operated in God's power. Therefore he asked for the double portion of the anointing which was on Elijah, but what he received was Elijah's mantle which carried the double portion of his anointing.

How do we know that Elisha trusted in God's power and not in the power of the mantle? When we read further into 2 Kings 2:13-14 NIV
'Elisha then picked up Elijah's cloak that had fallen from him and went back and stood on the bank of the Jordan. [14] He took the cloak that had fallen from Elijah and struck the water with it. “Where now is the Lord, the God of Elijah?” he asked. When he struck the water, it divided to the right and to the left, and he crossed over.' Yes the water divided into two, just as it did when Elijah struck it earlier. Elisha asked to see the power of the God of Elijah and not the power of the mantle. Thus we know that Elisha depended on God's power.

Now before we go on, let us explore the significance of the three places where God led Elijah, where Elisha tagged along. We need to have a proper understanding of the Old Testament before we go on to the New Testament. We need to read and explore both, hand in hand.

Bethel : - Bethel is where Jacob received supernatural knowledge of God's power, where he wrestled with God and where his eyes were opened to see supernatural celestial visions when he saw the angels of God ascending and descending.

Jericho :- Jericho was a city fortified with extremely humongous strong walls which could only be destroyed by obedience and faith in God. It is the very place where Joshua and the Israelites learnt to patiently obey and trust wholly on God.

Jordan :- Jordan was the river which Joshua crossed, leading the Israelites, before the destruction of the walls of Jericho. It is a place which signifies the transition from the old life to the new life; from spiritual death to life in God. In fact it is a type of baptism. (Later in the New Testament we see John the Baptist baptizing people in the very river of Jordan.)

Now Elisha who went with Elijah to all these three places, first at Bethel, would have received supernatural knowledge of the precepts  of God and anointing where his eyes were to be opened to see Elijah going up to heaven in the fiery chariot. Next at Jericho, he would have received supernatural anointing to have faith in God's power to destroy the supernatural evil fortresses of the evil one. Finally at Jordan when he crossed it with Elijah, he would have supernaturally died to himself and became alive in God, ready to receive his double anointing. I would say that Elisha was being trained in the school of the Holy Spirit with Elijah as his guide.

When Elisha asked for the double portion of anointing this is what Elijah said, “What you are asking me for, is very difficult, yet if you see me when I am taken from you, it will be yours—otherwise, it will not.”

Only after the supernatural encounters at the three places could Elisha see Elijah being taken to heaven and receive the double portion of anointing. He had to have his spiritual eyes opened, he had to develop obedience, patience and faith in God's power and he had to die to his own desires before he could receive his double anointing.

We too, the baptized Christians, have received a mantle which is far more superior than Elijah's. Why do I say that? It is because Elijah's mantle was visible but the one we have received is invisible. Elijah's mantle carried a double portion of his  annointing but this other mantle carries immeasurable and inexhaustible annointing and power of the victorious, resurrected Christ. It is the 'Cloak of the Righteousness' of Christ Jesus. We cannot see it but we put it on, in faith.

In John 14:12 AMP, Jesus told his apostles, "I assure you, most solemnly I tell you, if anyone steadfastly believes in Me, he will himself be able to do the things that I do; and he will do even greater things than these, because I go to the Father."

Yes, Jesus gave us not only a double portion but an immesurable and unending portion of His anointing. We will be able to do greater things than Jesus did, whenever we put on this super mantle and by having an unshakable, steadfast faith in Him.

Unlike Elisha, the apostles and we believers must go through the Jordan experience first before we receive Christ's mantle of Righteousness. Then we need to go through the Bethel and Jericho experiences to have our faith strengthened and to have an intimate relationship with Jesus.

First the apostles were baptised in the river Jordan by John the Baptist. They died to their sins and received the supernatural grace of God. Then Jesus called them to Himself to show them the Way. That was their Jordan experience. Although Jesus empowered them to heal the sick while He was still with them, they received their mantle from Christ only much later, after Christ resurrected and ascended into heaven, but they could only use it after their Bethel and Jericho experiences.

We believers, met Christ at Jordan when we accepted Him as our Saviour during our baptism. That was when we died to ourselves and received new life in Christ Jesus. That was our Jordan experience. We received Christ's mantle of Righteousness immediately at our acceptance of Christ. But we  will only be able to operate effectively under the mantle of the Righteousness of Christ after our Bethel and Jericho experiences.

Next, Jesus kept His apostles with Him all the time, teaching them about the things of God and opening up their eyes of understanding to understand God's ways and precepts. They had the closest encounter with Christ. That was their Bethel experience.

We believers likewise must read God's Word daily, praise and worship Him and walk very closely with Jesus to have our eyes of understanding opened so that we can see the visions of God, feel His heartbeat, hear His still small voice and understand what exploits He would have us do for the advancement of His Kingdom here on earth. In short, it is our quiet time with Him.This would be our Bethel experience.

Finally, Jesus built up the faith of the apostles by assuring them that He will send a Counsellor who will counsel, comfort and teach them and us, who will believe in Him through them. He gave them strict orders to wait patiently for the Counsellor and sent Him as promised. The apostles were obedient and waited patiently upon the Lord in faith and thus received the Holy Spirit and His power to destroy the supernatural enemy's strong towers. That was their Jericho experience. Immediately after this experience, they went out boldly, clothed in the mantle of the Righteousness of Christ, winning numerous souls.

Likewise we too must be open to receive God's Spirit and obediently and patiently wait upon Him in faith, before we can put on the Righteousness of Christ to boldly stand before the Father and to courageously do spiritual warfare and win souls for Christ. This would be our Jericho experience.

Why did Elisha want the double anointing? To do greater works than Elijah for God. To stand in the gap for the people.

In the Old Testament times not all were worthy to stand before God to represent the people. Only the High priest and selected prophets who had the Spirit of God upon them, could stand in the gap for the people. If anyone other than the high priest were to enter the holy of holies, he would be struck dead immediately. Even the prophets could not enter the holy of holies but they could stand before God in their spirits and intercede for the people, because the Spirit of God was upon them.

Why do we need the Mantle of the Righteousness of Christ? We too need the mantle of the Righteousness of Christ to enter the holy of holies, to stand in the gap for the people.

The bible says, "We all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God," and that we are not worthy to stand before Him. But again the bible says in 2 Corinthians 5:21 NIV, that 'God made Him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God.'

Therefore in the New Covenant times all baptised Christians have the right to stand before the all powerful, Almighty God, only when we are clothed in the mantle of the Righteousness of Christ. Thus every believer can come freely into the holy of holies countless number of times every single day without having the fear of being struck dead.

But sadly today, even when given that special privilege to enter the holy of holies, not many believers are grabbing the opportunity to do so. They do not recognise the power of that mantle. If only every believer used it, most people would have been saved by now.

Elisha knew the power of God which was represented through the mantle of Elijah. Because he knew it, he was able to operate in the double portion of Elijah's anointing with confidence and steadfsst faith in Yahweh, 

Likewise, do we know what power the mantle of the Righteousness of Christ holds for us? If only we know and believe that there is no power greater than the power in the blood of Christ, and know and believe that we have been clothed with the Righteousness of Christ, we would daily enter boldly into the holy of holies to stand in the gap for our families, the people of our nation and the nations of the world and do mighty supernatural exploits for God's Kingdom on earth.

Shalom
Mary Augustine

I vs God!

We know that the Fruit of the Spirit is Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Gentleness, Faithfulness &  Self Control.

We also know that as Christians, the Fruit of the Spirit has to be outwardly manifested in us so that Christ can be glorified in us.

Therefore we try our best to manifest, love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness &  self control in our lives and we end up getting frustrated. The more we try the more we mess up and we fail miserably.

Some of us might succeed in manifesting some of the fruits in our lives but again we end up wondering why people are not attracted to Christ through us.

Then again we notice people of other faiths manifesting love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness &  self control in their lives and we wonder, what is the difference between us and them and  how Christianity differs from other religions!

Now if you have a strawberry and I have a strawberry it doesn't matter which strawberry is accepted by the seeker because both are strawberries and they are the same. That is the same principle explained by the people of the world today. "There are many paths to the One God," they claim.

But this morning during my personal devotion, God showed me a brightly shining sparkling, golden fruit and told me that when the Fruit of the Spirit is manifested in me, it would sparkle and shine like gold and Christ will be glorified in me. For that to happen I must stop trying and let God take over completely.

That made sense to me. That is how we will be different from someone of a different faith. That is how souls with be attracted to Christ instead of us. When you have a strawberry and I have a sparkling golden strawberry, it would make more sense for the seeker to accept the golden strawberry, for with it he can become rich.This is how more and more seekers will be attracted to the golden strawberries which we hold. 

Christ taught us by example to forgive countless number of times. He taught us to love our enemies and do good to those who hate us. He taught us to show the other cheek when someone slaps us. He taught us to go the extra mile while helping others.

Only when we truly accept Christ as our Saviour and let Him be the Lord and Master of our lives, can the Fruit of the Spirit be manifested in us and Christ can be glorified through us. Only when we surrender completely to the Will of the Father as Christ did and only when we crucify our ego on the cross and only when we ask the Father to burn all that is not of Christ within us, can we glorify Christ in our thoughts, speech and behaviour.

We must stop trying and let God take over completely. Christ will then be glorified in all His splendour and Glory before all men. That is when we believers will be able to win souls for God's Kingdom.

(Below, I humbly tried to replicate the fruit God showed me, but I  know I did not do any justice to what He showed me because the fruit in my vision was so bright and shining and so golden,  like a million cut mirrors and diamonds embedded on the fruit and it was pouring out God's glory in it's fullest essence.)

~Mary Augustine~