Words Shift Destinies!

Abracadabra! Open Sesame! ' ...the cave entrance opens!
'Abracadabra! Close Sesame!' ...the cave entrance closes!
"Wow! Those are magic words," we say  when we read the story of Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves.

Well, we do not realise that every word that escapes our lips is a magic word which can alter the events in our lives and shift our destinies.

I have written about the effects of spoken words on our lives in my previous blog four years ago and about why we must make positive confessions, two years ago. This article is somewhat similar but I will explore why every word which leaves our lips matter, in a scientific and biblical perspective.

First let me give you the scientific perspective. An article which I read in the following website
https://www.le.ac.uk
Says thus:- 'Quote...'
1. Sound travels in air approximately 332 metres per second.
2. Sound travels faster and more effectively in liquids than in air and travels more effectively in solids than in liquids.
3. Sound travels 6000 metres per second in some solids and a quarter of this speed in water, because the molecules in solids are more tightly packed together than in liquids and those in liquids are more tightly packed than in gases.
4. Vibrating effects are more easily passed on from one molecule to the next when they are in close proximity. 'Unquote...'

Now if sound travels this fast in solids, then how much impact would it have on us, human beings?

Well I read an interesting article in the following website:-

http://www.practicalspirituality.info/bodys-symphony-of-sound-and-vibration.html

It says:- 'Quote...'From "The Body's Symphony of Sound and Vibration"

"Beyond the intricate meanderings of physicists, why should we care about string theory or vibration? Does the idea of vibrating energy have anything to do with our everyday life? More and more researchers, health care practitioners and futurists are answering with a resounding yes.

If it’s true that all matter is composed of vibrating strands of energy, so are we. In this scenario, the body itself is literally a symphony of strings. Our cells, organs and tissues vibrate. Billions upon billions of frequencies interact with each other and resonate within us. Just as importantly, those vibrations constantly interact with what's happening in our environment.

In short, in a world where vibration reigns supreme, the sounds and vibrations that fill the world outside of us can influence and change the vibrations inside of us, affecting our health and well being for better or for worse. The converse would also be true—the vibrations emanating from inside of us affect and change what takes place in the environment outside of us.  "Unquote...'

Scientists are coming up with newer theories each day as to how the universe was formed and what holds it together and what affects the creation of events in our lives and they have discovered the string theory which is the theory of vibration. 

Now, hear this... Scientists have just theorized that the world, our universe and the galaxies are created through sound energy, that is vibration energy. But, hey! Don't we know this already?  Does not the Bible give us a clear perspective of this?

Let's look at Genesis chapter1  which says, God said let there be light and there was light.

Then in Psalm 33 vs 6 and vs 9 God's word says,
"6 By The Word of Lord Jehovah the Heavens were made, and all his hosts by The Breath of his mouth."

9 Because he spoke and they existed; he commanded and it was established. (Aramaic bible)

Again in Hebrews chapter 11 vs  3, God's word says:-
"For by faith we understand that the worlds were fashioned by the word of God, and these things that are seen came into being out of those things which are unseen."(Aramaic bible)

God literally spoke everything into existence. We, human beings, who are created in the image of God have the power to affect the destiny of ourselves and others through the words we speak. 

If ordinary man has that much power, can you imagine the atomic power we believers in Christ have? We who are regenerated (re- GENE-rated) when we were born again, have the same DNA of Christ Jesus Who IS God's Word, to speak and create someting into existence and recreate what we want to change. Wow!

Let me come back to the vibration theory. If the vibrations from our words affect the tightly packed molecules in solids, what about the negative words we hurl at our children and loved ones? Have we stopped to think how badly they will he affected? Even if the vibration theory or the string theory is not proven absolute, God's Word has a lot to say about the words which we speak. 

Let us see what the Word of God has to say about spoken words.

Proverbs 12:18 NIV
The words of the reckless pierce like swords, but the tongue of the wise brings healing.

Proverbs 18:21 NIV
The tongue has the power of life and death, and those who love it will eat its fruit.

Paul tells the Ephesians thus:-
Ephesians 4:29 NIV
Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.

James talks about the power of the tongue. How it does the most damage when used negatively. 
James 3:5-6, 8 NIV
Likewise, the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts. Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark. [6] The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole body, sets the whole course of one's life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell. [8] but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison.

Thus the old saying, "Sticks and stones may break my bones but words can never hurt me," is completely untrue.

James also reminds us about  the oaths we make.                                                               James 5:12 Aramaic Bible in Plain English

"But above all things, my brethren, do not be swearing vows, neither by Heaven, neither by The Earth, neither by any other oath; let your word be, 'Yes, yes' and 'No, no', lest you be condemned under the judgment."

Finally let us see what our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ has to say about words in :-

Matthew 5:37 Aramaic Bible in Plain English
But your statement shall be, “Yes, yes” and, “No, no”; anything more than these is from The Evil One.

And again in...
Matthew 12:36-37 Aramaic Bible in Plain English
Jesus says,
36 "For I say to you that every idle word that people will speak, they will give an answer for it in the day of judgment. 37 For by your words you will be justified and by your words you will be condemned."

Is that not scary?  Being judged and condemned for every idle word we speak?

Now we see why God forbade the Israelites to speak while walking around the Jericho walls. In Joshua chapter 6 God simply told Joshua to have the people to march silently around Jericho for six days, and then, after seven circuits on the seventh day, to shout. Then the walls came crumbling down. It was through faith and obedience that the Israelites won. If they had not believed they would have doubted God's instruction and considered it foolish. If they had not obeyed but spoken instead of being silent, they would have complained, grumbled and spoken negatively about what they were doing that it was foolish to walk around like that. Then they would have never captured their promised land. Their divine destiny would have been negatively altered.

We also see why the angel which appeared to Zechariah, the father of John the Baptist in Luke chapter 1, mutes him until John is born. When the angel announced the birth of John, Zechariah doubts God's promise of a son in his old age. I believe he was muted so that he would not talk negatively and negate what God had destined in his life.

Let us not be careless to speak. Let us not negate the good things God has in store for us by speaking negatively. Even jokes must have its boundaries. Let us not put others down with our sarcastic jokes or create a filthy atmosphere with our vulgar jokes.  Let us be wary and think very carefully before we utter a word.

Nevermind the past. Let us repent and seek forgiveness and let us begin to shift back our destinies and the destinies of our loved ones and our world  to the way God intended it to be. Let us do it with wise, loving, caring and positive words, and with fear and trembling, lest we be condemned for our every idle word on judgement day.

Remember:- We alter every event and shift destinies, in our lives and the lives of our loved ones and the world around us with our WORDS!

The Bible says that the Word of the Lord is a double edged sword. Why don't we speak, decree and declare the promises of God over our situations, ourselves, our loved ones and our world? By doing just that we are in real fact prophesying into our future and recreating our destines according to God's Word.

Let us speak God's Word and live!

Mary Augustine
20th March 2016

Am I another 'Jack the Ripper'?

Give God the glory due to Him!

Psalm 29:1-2 NIV
Ascribe to the Lord, you heavenly beings, ascribe to the Lord glory and strength. [2] Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name; worship the Lord in the splendor of his holiness.

Here God's Word addresses us as heavenly beings and we are rightly so. God through the psalmist is speaking to our spirits...

These verses command us to give God all the glory due to Him. The glory of our every accomplishment does not belong to us. It belongs to God Almighty and Him alone.  It is when we take the credit for the accomplishments upon ourselves that we lose our right standing before God. We displease Him. We sadden Him. We take God's glory upon ourselves as if it is by our own strength we did it and we begin to puff up with pride and believe me, that will mark the beginning of our downfall.

That is what happened to Lucifer before he fell off from God's throne room in heaven. Whoa! This is so scary because every time someone congratulates me, or praises me I have to remain humble and ascribe all glory to  God.

What I do externally does not matter. What matters is the condition of my heart. God judges me by the motive of my heart. I can just tell them, "All glory to God! I am just His servant. Just doing what I have to do," But in my heart if I puff up, get so happy and prideful when I am praised and do further good things just to get attention or praise from others, then again I am secretly stealing God's glory. I must examine my heart and my motives every moment to be in right  standing before God.

Jesus said in Matthew 6:1-4 NIV
“Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of others to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven. [2] “So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. [3] But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, [4] so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.

Whether we give money to the needy or physically help someone in anyway or even support someone emotionally and even when we lead someone to Christ, we must constantly examine our motives. We must ask ourselves the following questions:-
1. Why am I doing this?( if for recognition, fame or material or worldly gain then I better stop)
2. What do I gain from doing this? ( if the answer is material or worldly gain, then again if I am doing it just for the material or worldly gain, I lose all my credits before God. I receive my reward in full on earth and none in heaven.)
3. How can I be of help to this person to get closer to God through Christ Jesus?
4. How can I share this testimony without being boastful and without ripping God of His glory?
5. What do I do after sharing  this testimony?( ask God to keep me from pride and keep thanking Him for using a useless me for His Glory)

We shall glorify God through our every thought, word and action. We shall not be another, 'Jack the Ripper!'

Mary Augustine
17th March 2016

Now you can Smile when you face your Giant.

We all face little adversities, small problems in life every now and then. Most of the time we know how to handle them through years of experience or by heeding the advice of someone and by tapping on the expertise of those surrounding us or by using the resources around us. But little do we realise that we use these as our crutches to stand strong in our moments of trouble.

I realised it only when my crutches were knocked down and I felt myself drowning, when an unexpected problem, which was not created by me, occurred. At that time I had no previous experience on how to solve it, nor did I know of anyone I could fall back on. That is when I realised how shallow my faith in God was. That is when I began to read God's Word faithfully, write down His promises and claim every promise of His by standing firm on God's Word.

As I poured my heart into God's Word, I realised one thing...every great man and woman of God in the bible did fail at a point or two, but because of their confidence and unshakable faith in the Living God, they were able to accomplish great things; Abraham, Jacob, Moses, David...to name a few. 

I was enamoured by the confidence a mere shepherd boy, David, had in the God of Israel, when I read 1Samuel 17:37-51.

The Israelites were facing the Philistine giant, Goliath, who threatened to wipe out Israel. It was David the shephard boy who appeared at the scene...

Saul dissuades David from going against Goliath saying that he was of small stature and was no match to the giant. But David recollects and narrates his past experiences when he killed a lion and a bear  which came to attack his sheep. What amazed me is what David said next in verse 37...

1 Samuel 17:37 NIV
The Lord who rescued me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear will rescue me from the hand of this Philistine.” Saul said to David, “Go, and the Lord be with you.”

Instead of boasting about his own strength, David ascribes the past victories to God and puts his confidence in Him. When Saul sees how much David relies on God, he gives his blessing to David and asks him to go, saying,  "and the Lord be with you.”

Next in verse 38 Saul clothes David in his own tunic. He put on David his armour and helmet, then David tried putting on the sword and walked around. But as David was not used to it and had not tested the items, he took them off. He went on to pick five smooth stones from the stream, put them in his pouch and went with his usual staff and sling to meet the giant.

This taught me to be always careful and walk on tested waters.

Next in verses 45-47, when David meets the giant, the giant ridicules him. But David proclaims his trust in God saying that the battle belongs to God.

1 Samuel 17:45-47 NIV
David said to the Philistine, “You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the Lord Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. [46] This day the Lord will deliver you into my hands, and I'll strike you down and cut off your head. This very day I will give the carcasses of the Philistine army to the birds and the wild animals, and the whole world will know that there is a God in Israel. [47] All those gathered here will know that it is not by sword or spear that the Lord saves; for the battle is the Lord's, and he will give all of you into our hands.”

Whoa! What a bold proclamation from one who did not carry a sword or spear but only a shepherd's staff, a sling and five smooth stones.

Yes, just as David proclaimed, all those who were gathered there saw with their own eyes, that when God is involved in a battle, He does not need what we need. They saw with their own eyes that God saves supernaturaly without sword or spear.

Thus David defeated the Philistines by killing Goliath with his sling and only one smooth stone and then he went on to cut the dead Goliath's head with Goliath's own sword. How amazing is  our God!

When David could put so much of confidence in a God whom he had not seen but only heard, why can't I put my trust in God Who sent His only Son Jesus to bleed and die on the cross for us, taking our sin and shame upon Himself and saving us from eternal hell fire?

I began to ask Father God to help me be faithful in standing on His promises and I began to exercise my faith in Him. I am not there in faith yet. I run back into His arms to receive my free gift of faith from Him whenever I find it depleting.

Thus when adversities strike unannounced, I am prepared to hand them over to my God and proclaim, "Lord it is all yours!" And I boldly and confidently say, " My God will win the battle for me!"

Now with confidence in my God, I am able to face any giant and smile at him. All I need is a mustard seed sized faith. All glory and praise to Him who made the gift of faith freely available to all who ask.

Mary Augustine
17th March 2016

A Youth's Conversation with God!

A youth speaks to God!

Dear God,

I am not an Aethist,
I believe in You,
I know You exist,
I know You do!

Now that I am a youth,
I have things to do.
I can't be talking,
The whole day to You!

I have projects, tests &
Classes to attend.
I need time to exercise &
My diet, I have to plan.

I have work to complete,
Matters to attend!
Friends to meet,
Personal needs to tend!

I can't be just sitting, waiting
& be staring into space,
And be talking to You God
I think it is a waste!

Do You know God,
That time is money!
The world is in a rush God,
Without $ I can't get a Honey!

I am no more a child God,
Have responsibilities to see to!
I am now a youth God,
Have important things to do!

Do not get me wrong,
I know You're in every place!
I believe You are strong,
You cover me with Your Grace!

I know You care for me
Don't think I need to repent
No time to bend my knee
I know You'll receive me in the end!

Your loving son/ daughter.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

God's response to that youth ...

A poem well written dude! Great to know that you are all grown up. But sad to say, you have been blinded by the ruler of this world Satan himself, into thinking that since you are grown up, you don't need to spend time  with Me and that you can go about your work, do what you want to do and don't have to repent.  Well you really think you don't need Me now, do you? And why would you not tell Me sorry after hurting Me? Do you think My Grace covers all your unrepentant sins? You are terribly wrong My child. My Grace gives you the courage to repent, My Grace covers your shame and it helps you to walk in My Way again. Never does My Grace allow you to walk proudly with an unrepentant heart.

Can you remember the time when you were still a child in faith? You used to read My Word and delight in it!  You used to spend your waking hours with Me, consulting Me in every matter! You delighted in Me and I delighted in your childlike trust.

Now you are all grown and big and you don't have time for Me??? Do you think you can succeed on your own dude? Are your friends going to stand by you till the end?  Are they even leading you to Me? Are you leading them to Me?  You need Me more than I need you! Yes you do! Don't you get it? 

My Son kept reminding you in Matthew 18:3 NIV...
And He said: “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven."

Yes, become like a child again,  My child. Have a child like faith in Me. Run to Me with child like simplicity and humility. If not you will find it difficult  to enter into My heavenly abode! Simply knowing that I am there for you, does not mean that you have a child like faith in Me. Having a child like faith is in trusting Me with your first waking hour, trusting Me with your busyness, your work and all your projects, planning, management and finances, even with your life's choices of activities, friends and a life partner. Whatever you put into My hands, I will shake them and multiply them for you beyond measure. Trust Me like a child again.

Remember what My Son said in Luke 6:38 NIV
"Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.”
This has often been used only to refer to the giving of your finances. But try Me, My child, just try Me! Whatever you give Me, your time, your energy, your sleep, your finances, your rest, will be multiplied for you. It is My heavenly law and it is irreversible.

The rest of it, your heavy load at work, your heartaches, failures in life, your problems, etc will be greatly reduced and will be done with when you come to Me. Bring your sins to Me, ask Me to forgive you, with a repentant heart. I will wash them away with the blood of My Son Jesus. Didn't my Son tell you in Matthew 11:28 NIV “Come to me, all you who are weary and heavy burdened, and I will give you rest." Just trust Me and try Me, My child.

Spend time reading your life"s guidance manual, the Bible, instead of spending your time on useless movies, games and on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter etc . All you need to know on how to succeed in every area of your life is spelt explicitly in My Word .Take time to read it, meditate upon it and understand it with the help of My Spirit, the Holy Spirit. In times of need and trouble, He, My Spirit, will bring My Word to your mind and lead you gently out of trouble.

My Son Jesus kept telling you to remain in Him in  John 15:4 NIV
"Remain in Me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in Me." Yes my child you will never bear fruit and never ever succeed if you remain outside of Me. This IS THE TRUTH. There is no way around it. When My Words abide in you, My Words will transform you back into My own image and likeness. Then success will come automatically.

Dude listen carefully, you are My child irregardless of whatever age you are. You can never succeed without Me. You need Me in every fibre of your being. I Am the One, Who holds you together. I Am the breath, in your lungs. I Am your heartbeat. I Am your very energy. If you remove Me you will cease to exist.

Come to Me as soon as you awake. Put your entire day into My hands. Then talk to Me as you do your duties throughout the day. It is easy when you develop a habit of recognising My presence and cultivate a close walk and an intimate relationship with Me.
I long for that intimate relationship with you My child. The more time you spend in My presence, more will be given to you supernaturally. You will still have time to do what you have planned to do and you will have balance time to relax. Remember that time is in My hands. I can and will stretch it supernaturaly just for you when You abide in Me!

Come abide in Me and I will abide in you my child. As you spend quiet time with Me, you will begin to see what I see and feel what I feel towards mankind and you will know My heartbeat. You will cry for what I cry and rejoice for what I rejoice. It is then, when you will truly begin to save people from going to hell.

Become a child again my beloved and run into My arms, your Papa's waiting arms My baby! 

I Am waiting for you with My arms open wide!.

From your loving 

Dad in heaven (Who longs to abide in you)!

                                     (Mary Augustine)