Beauty & The Gospel MADE PERFECT THROUGH JESUS CHRIST
JUNE 2021
| ISSUE 5 VOL 4|
THE GREAT WHITE THRONE
0UR VISION Romans 15:20(TPT) It is my honor and constant passion to be a pioneer who preaches where no one has ever even heard of the Anointed One, instead of building upon someone else’s foundation.
OUR MISSION 1 Corinthians 1:17 (MSG) God didn’t send me out to collect a following for myself, but to preach the Message of what He has done, collecting a following for Him. And He didn’t send me to do it with a lot of fancy rhetoric of my own, lest the powerful action at the center—Christ on the Cross—be trivialized into mere words.
declarations e u g n o t e h t f o Power V E R B S 1 8 : 2 1 PRO
My destiny helpers and midwives are locating me My hands shall produce results that shall build up the Church, family , community, & colleagues by the grace of God for His Glory Out of my belly shall flow rivers of LIVING WATER My life is an answer and solution to those in need I declare divine acceleration and edification upon my physical and spiritual life My life is a testimony that shall draw man unto GOD this month is filled with the manifestaion of the Kingdom of GOD O Lord , oppose those who oppose me. Fight those who fight against me.
Beauty & The Gospel
CONTENTS ACCOUNTABILITY AT THE GREAT WHITE THRONE
351 chambers of hell & 47,000 cities of Heaven Prophet Aston gives accounts of these real revelations PLUGGED IN Am I plugging in and unplugging myself from one distraction to the next THE SECRETS OF THE COVENANT THE LORDS WORK, IN THE LORDS WAY waiting on the Spirit of the Lord doesn't mean you're getting delayed The Blessed life series unlocking the secrets on how to activate the blessed life
"Let's put whoever and whatever we are aside and tell the truth. And what's the truth? The truth is that, God's standard of making heaven is very high and the way to heaven is very NARROW!" Apostle Ubani Kingsley
WHY MARTHA STARTED STRONG BUT FINISHED POORLY MASTERING SINGLENESS "it's not a curse but an appointed time to learn about self & GOD" TAKE NOTHING FOR GRANTED faith oracles ISSUE NO 5 VOL 4
our CONTRIBUTORS
MINISTER MONICA
ristian I am a Ch er who Influenc es, ag ur co en s and motivate hers equips ot of e th Word through God.
Tshego Molekoa of the Preacher s all form in el Gosp ys wa and Analyst Business Artist rd Wo Spoken ! thusiast Health en
Letters to Kallah bring Here to ent to em ag ur enco Christ of e the brid hand h ug ro th g. g/ writin letterin
Chanelle Pillay
ied A qualif woman d an attorney thor Au ! of faith! :‘A ed tl ti of books d an ’ KING SHEPHERD ERDAY ST YE OM AWAY FR lable on all avai az Am on.
Kendra Dublin c energeti I am an that it ir sp free fe. In my loves li me i love ti spare zzles. to do pu
Karabo Lekwape
Faith Woman of ace. I Gr Saved by ng, play si to love d izzes an Bible qu in be l, al most of God. ence of the pres my life! e ot wr Mercy re
JillbelBU GUessS & a CHAN EV .GoANodn Ntom of God, servants Jesus of r love rents , pa Christ , ts and en ar dp gran ters. es soul harv
KOa SAbel PA Ntom ess NT odnOR GoST
to one married . I yiselani wife, Ti g and in ok co enjoy f. new stuf learning ly st mo m I' te about passiona g God in rv se
Dr André & Jenny Roebert bels,a rent esss ,Ntpaom Gopaodn stor sus Je lovers of d His Christ an unders of Word. Fo Faith Tv
that gurl's
EDITOR'S NOTE ITY , ACCOUNTABILITY , ACCOUNTABIL ACCOUNTABILITY
For we [believers will be called to account and] must all appear before the [a]judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may be repaid for what has been done in the body, whether good or [b]bad [that is, each will be held responsible for his actions, purposes, goals, motives—the use or misuse of his time, opportunities and abilities]. 2 Corinthians 5:10
Grace & Peace unto you my beloved , once again it's an honour to work on this magazine. In last months editors note, I was trying to remind you that there is a day of Judgment set for all humanity. In this issue, I want to bring to awareness the Great Judge Who is Jesus Christ, Who will be seated on the Great White throne. I love how the above scripture lays out as to what exactly will we need to give account for . May we never allow the seriousness of eternity escape from our minds. I don't know who is reading this, but beloved , there is a day of Judgment and that's one appointment we can never escape! I ask humbly you check out PENIEL NGONDE ON YOUTUBE.
EDITOR
tsakani mhlongo @empress_teekay
REMINDER
SURRENDER ALL, NOT HALF! SHEPHERD HILL COMMUNITY
"And all I have is Yours , and all you have is mine...." St.John.17:10.
He wants to be Lord over everything about you or He is not Lord at all.
The Almighty God does not forcefully take from anybody, but if He has to, then there's a problem. A willing surrender to Him is what He desires from you, in response to His Lordship over your life.
The reason for this, is so that nobody blames Him for whatever goes wrong in that part of your life not surrendered to Him. I have heard people ignorantly say, they don't want God in certain aspects of their life.
REMINDER
Sometimes, in the choice of who they decide to marry, business, opportunities etc.. You can imagine their end before they start. Whatever success looks good without God in charge isn't INSURED by the grace of God. David was a great man and for 23 times in the Bible, he was referred to as God's servant. He talked to God freely on almost all matters, but rarely did he mention the area of his sexual flaws and that's the area David suffered the most. God is not only interested in your area of strength and neither can your weaknesses scare Him enough to hate or abandon you. Another truth you should bear in mind is that, whatever area of your life is not totally surrendered to God, will become the most vulnerable spot for the devil's constant attack. The beautiful thing is that the devil is not audacious enough to destroy whatever is totally in God's hand. Your true confession and surrenderedness gives God a free access to everything about you. Remember that whatever you hold back from God becomes accessible to the devil. This is a hard talk, but the truth.
Many call JESUS Lord, but they won't allow Him control their time, their money, their pleasures, choices and decisions; it's all theirs. JESUS praying to God said: "All mine are thine" and what a peace of mind JESUS always exuded even at the worst times of His life. Your access to all God has for you, is giving Him access to all you have or face. Take this truth with you; You can never have more with you than God has for you. If you're too shy to surrender your weakness or failure, God cannot be excited celebrating your strength or success. If the Lord identified with you so much as becoming a man in order to die for you according to Hebrew 2:14, why would He not identify with anyone's weakness? If God ever finds it tough to get something from you, just know that, it's an area you have not fully surrendered to JESUS, and it's a spot exposed to attack. Make it part of your daily confession, and saying it like you mean it: ''ALL THAT'S MINE IS YOURS''
Shepherd Hill
Community
THE 351 CHAMBERS OF HELL & THE 47,000 CITIES OF HEAVEN
HELL & HEAVEN TESTIMONY
SOURCE: HTTPS://SAVIOUR4EVER.WORDPRE SS.COM/|| REVEALED TO : PROPHET ASTON ADAM MBAYA
Transcribed and compiled by Joshua Chong Thanks to Peniel Ngonde who translated the French sermons of Prophet Aston Adam Mbaya to English and posting his videos on YouTube. CHAPTER 2 THE CHAMBERS OF SEXUAL SINS This is the testimony of Prophet Aston Adam Mbaya about the 351 chambers of Hell. The Lord visited me and showed me the reality of the afterlife. The Lord said, “I am showing you this because I want you to go to the world and tell the world the reality of the
THE LORD SAID, “ON THE EARTH, THE WICKED AND THE SAINT, LIVE TOGETHER. BUT AFTER DEATH, THE WICKED WILL BE LED TO THE ABODE OF THE DEAD AND THE SAINT WILL DWELL IN THE
afterlife and Hell that you will see here
PARADISE OF GOD.
so that they will know that there is life
THERE IS NO MIDDLE
after death.”
GROUND.”
HELL & HEAVEN TESTIMONY
The Lord said, “The attraction, entertainment, and pleasure of this world is blinding the world population about the reality of the afterlife. But humanity must understand that if the rapture is being delayed, death will come like a thief in their lives.” Beloved, I was taken to Hell for a period of 351 days in order to visit the 351 chambers of Hell. In John 3:16, the Bible says, “For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.” Brother, there are 12 gateways that lead to Hell. These gates lead to the 12 tunnels which lead to 351 chambers of Hell. THE CHAMBERS OF SEXUAL SINS When we arrive in this chamber of Hell, I saw many doors that were guarded by demons. In this first chamber, I saw that it was written, “The prison of those who have bought the condemnation of sexual sins.” There was a board with a list of condemnations of various sexual sins. When I read this list, I saw the kind of sexual sins that lead to condemnation. The first sexual sin was the sin of people who have sexual intercourse in their dream. The second sexual sin was the sin of people who had sexual intercourse before marriage. The third was the homosexual, the fornicator, and those who practice abortion. When we arrived in this chamber of sexual sins, I could not see people.
All I could see was great flames of fire and I heard people who were crying inside the fire. We could hear people but we could not see them. Then the Lord showed me a man who had a ring of a covenant on his finger. When he saw us coming, the man began to tell us his story. He said, “When I got married to my wife, I was faithful to her until death. I have never committed fornication. I have not lusted after women. I was faithful to my wife for we grew up together since childhood. And when we got older, we got married legally. However, when I got into my marriage, I began to have the constant dream of sexual intercourse with a woman. I could not identify the lady that was coming in my dream to have sexual intercourse with me. I have never been able to see her. Yet every night this woman came to have sex with me. As these sexual dreams became repetitive, I decided to talk to my pastor, and we set a program for deliverance prayer. On that day of deliverance, though the pastor prayed for me in order to stop and cancel these sexual dreams, however, right after the prayer session, I came to see that his prayer did not stop this phenomenon. And the sexual dreams continued. And when death came, I was condemned in the afterlife because of these sexual activities in the dream.”
HELL & HEAVEN TESTIMONY
Beloved, I saw that this brother who inside a pit of fire was surrounded by seven female devils. Actually, the woman who had constant sexual intercourse with this man in the dream was one of these seven female demons of Hell. The female devil was a siren who was coming in his dream to abuse and mate with him. This female demon was pouring stain and impurity on this man during sexual intercourse. This man was defiled and stained by sexual intercourse in the dream. Many people are stained and made impure by sex in dreams but they don’t see the dangers and the consequence in their spirit that is defiled. While this man was talking to us, I saw that this brother was in a pit and seven female demons were dancing around him. I asked the Lord about the pit in which this man was burning. The Lord said whenever people live in sin on the Earth, they are providing and delivering material such as brick and cement for the construction of their pit in Hell. Sinful life equal to delivery of material for the construction of the pit of fire, and thanks to a sinful life, people are helping and providing material for the building of their pits in Hell. In Proverbs, the Bible says a wicked man digs his own hole. People are digging their pits in Hell thanks to their sinful lives Pro 26:27 Whoso diggeth a pit shall fall therein: and he that rolleth a stone, it will return upon him.
Pro 28:10 Whoso causeth the righteous to go astray in an evil way, he shall fall himself into his own pit: but the upright shall have good things in possession. I saw that this man who was in this pit of fire was also rotting. There were worms all over him because of sex in the dream. The soul that sins will die. The brother was faithful in marriage, but in the spirit, he was having sex. In this place, there were men who had committed fornication in their hearts through the eyes, and I saw a brother in the pit there was chained in his body. I mean, his body was hanged with hooks like animal meat in the butchery. There was a hook in his mouth, his penis, and anus. One day, he was trying to separate two women who were fighting, but as he was separating the two ladies, one of them torn apart the blouse of her opponent who became topless and her breasts were hanging out. This man saw the breast of that woman and the image of the breast of that one woman stayed in the mind of this brother. However, this man failed to erase this image from his mind. He kept seeing the topless image of the lady in his mind, and this image took him to Hell. In the end time, the devil is working hard with images to stumble many to Hell. I saw in Hell a Sister. I saw that cockroaches were coming out of her private parts, because of the short skirt she used to wear on the Earth.
HELL & HEAVEN TESTIMONY
One day she went to church wearing a mini skirt. And while the pastor was preaching the word tothe congregation, she opened her legs. And when the pastor saw her underwear, he was distracted and could not concentrate. One day, this lady came to attend deliverance prayer. She was dressed in a miniskirt. During the deliverance prayer in the church, she fell into demonic manifestation and unconsciousness. Since she was wearing a mini skirt, her body was exposed to the public. Many brothers who came to church on that day went back home with that image of her nakedness, which was seen by everybody in the church and she could not enter the kingdom when she died. Brother, I found out that they were huge numbers of people that were condemned in Hell for sins that they have forgotten and since that they were unaware of this, it is up to the believers to pray to the Lord to reveal to them forgotten sins and unknown sins that that may lead them to Hell for there are spirits of accusation in the afterlife. In this place of sexual condemnation, I saw a woman in a pit. I was told by the Lord that when she had her third child, she decided with her husband not to have any more children. Not long after that decision, she found out that she was pregnant. She went on to abort the pregnancy. Later she got pregnant again and she aborted again.
In total, she aborted five pregnancies. When she died, she fell in this place of torment in a pit of fire, where the image of the children that she aborted was shouting justice and vengeance against her. Then we left this chamber of sexual sins. THE CHAMBERS OF WITCHES AND OCCULTISM Then the Lord took me to another chamber of Hell. This was a place of torment for people who visited mystics, native doctors, and Juju priests. Beloved, in his life on Earth, the Lord had nothing that belonged to the devil and God’s children must not visit the mystics. In this place, I saw a lady that had an injury on her two legs, which were rotting. The lady also had chains on her legs. The Lord said, “One day this lady went out and left her clothes on the clothesline in the public area. While her clothes were on the clothesline, the rain began to fall. But when it was about to rain, her neighbor removed her clothes from the clothesline in order to save them from getting wet.”And when this lady came back, her neighbor gave her back her clothes. However, one cloth was missing. As a result, this lady began to suspect that it was stolen by her neighbor, and there was a row between her and her neighbor.
HELL & HEAVEN TESTIMONY
They said to her, “We preserved your clothes from the rainwater. Yet, this is the way you thank us. We did not steal your clothes.” But this lady went to consult a mystic to find out who stole her clothes. The mystic went on to strike her neighbor with mystical injury, though she was innocent. Her neighbor had really suffered from this mystical injury. One day, this neighbor went to church to seek prayer and solution from a local church. Thanks to the prayer of a local church, she recovered and was healed from this mystical injury because she was innocent. Many years later, this lady died. When she died, the mystical injury that the mystic inflicted on her innocent neighbor upon her request came onto her two legs, and she was in this place of torment. Beloved, this chamber of Hell was the size of a continent. Then I saw a man in a pit. He was asking repeatedly, “Why am I here? What have I done to be here?” When this man saw the Lord Jesus coming towards his pit, he was relieved and became hopeful. He said, “Lord, I knew that one day You will come to deliver me from this torment.” The Lord said to me, “This man is here because he was given money by a man who was using magical power in order to have money. Many people knew that the money of that magician was from satanic sources yet this man ignored that truth and got money from the magician. When this man died, he was condemned because of satanic money.
This lost soul accepted the money of the magician despite the fact it came from mystical means. Therefore, he became partakers of the action of that mystic by accepting his mystical money. This money was shouting justice because it came from the evil origin. When you know that someone resorted to mystic to get money, you should not touch his money for fear of partaking his evil.” Then we left this man. As we moved from this chamber of torment, I saw a mountain where it was written, “Valley of Sorcery.” In this valley, I saw a fire that was turning around like a whirlwind. This kind of fire is never seen on Earth. And inside the fire that was like a whirlwind, brother, I heard the cries of many people. When we descended into this valley of witches and wizards inside the fire, I saw animals and beasts of all kinds. These beasts had human faces. I mean I saw people that are the bodies of various animals and beasts of all kinds. However, the heads of these various beasts and animals was that of humans. I wonder how could animals have human heads. I was made aware that these were not animals. They were humans who had practiced witchcraft on the Earth although they had the bodies of animals. In the valley of sorcery, I saw a snake that had the face of a man.
HELL & HEAVEN TESTIMONY
The lower part of this snake was burning in a huge pan. I said to the Lord, “On the Earth, I never saw a snake with a human head.” The Lord said, “This man that you see with the body of a snake was a witch, and he used to transform himself into a snake and he was killing babies in the wombs of pregnant women in order to consume their flesh. In his life, he has killed a lot of babies in the wombs of pregnant women, and he ate their flesh. Whenever he killed a baby in the womb mystically, these pregnant women had miscarriages and gave birth to dead babies.” The Lord said, “This man was turning into a snake in the night and he was navigating the city in order to seek pregnant women who were not covered by God’s protection. He was entering their bodies through their genital organs in order to kill the babies in the wombs and consume their flesh. This witch was shapeshifting into a snake and entering women’s wombs to kill their babies.” “When this witch died,” the Lord said, “His soul took the shape of the snake. This is his punishment because he was adopting the shape of a snake in order to kill babies. The snake was his identity.” I saw that the head of this man was changing from man to woman, from a woman to a child. I asked the Lord, “Why is the face of this man changing to different faces.” The Lord said, “He was adopting different faces when he was practicing witchcraft.
He came to attack people in their dreams with different faces in order to hide his identity. That is why all the faces that he was wearing in dreams in order to attack his victims are manifesting.” Then we left this man and we moved to this place in the valley of wizards. I saw an elephant with the head of the woman. I asked the Lord about this. The Lord said, “This woman was a farmer. She used to live in a village where farming was a big source of revenue. She used to travel to the capital to sell banana that she was planting. However, in the night, she was turning to an elephant in order to destroy her neighbor’s plantation so that they would not be ready for selling.” I saw in this valley of wizards that all the people had the bodies of animals like rats and burden beasts. These were the shapes that they were adopting in order to operate. There was a lot of fire in this valley. There were also political leaders who have signed covenants with the devil. They consulted mystics for power. I saw an American President. I saw the French President Francois Mitterrand. I saw the Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat. I saw our former President Kabila, even the President Mobutu. They resorted to occultic power to sustain their political power. Then the Lord took me to another chamber of Hell.
TO BE CONTINUED........
devotions
Reality Check by Dr André and Jenny Roebert 2 Corinthians 5:17 (NLT): "This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!"
very now and again, it's good for us to have a "reality check" concerning who we are in Christ Jesus. The devil will do just about anything to hold us captive by our past so we don't have the confidence to move forward into a life of victory and blessing. His favorite tactic is to keep us thinking we aren't worthy to live full of the goodness and power of God. He doesn't want us stepping into the authority Jesus has given us. It's the authority to enforce the devil's defeat on this earth by setting people free from torment and disease. It's the authority to declare what is unlawful in heaven - unlawful on earth; and what is permitted in heaven - permitted on earth. The trouble is we become so preoccupied with self-centred thoughts of inadequacy and imperfection, we miss the truth. There comes a point where we must realize it's not about us, but about what Jesus has done for us and the benefits of being yielded to the Spirit of God - Who now lives in us! His power in us transforms us into people who are empowered to touch the needs of those around us. Determine in your heart to stop believing the lies of the enemy, and to start walking in your true Kingdom identity. It's time to enjoy the fullness of life and victory Jesus has given you, to change the world around you.
TRUE OUT-OF- BODY EXPERIENCE By: Sister Fanny
ACCOUNTABILTY AT THE LORD JESUS' GREAT WHITE THRONE
Are you a Church Worker or Believer and you want to make it to Heaven, then this is for you. "My name is Sister Fanny, a member of Deeper Life Bible Church. I became sick, at a time, my condition became worse. As a result of shortage of blood, the colour of my blood changed. I stopped breathing, which means I died. At that moment, I began the journey to eternity. Suddenly, I found myself standing between a broad and narrow way. At that place, I saw many people rushing through
OUT OF BODY
the broad way, while only three people passed through the narrow way.
In the next stage, I found myself standing
I answered “Yes.”
before the Judgement seat of God. I saw a crowd of angels worshipping God, they
He said, you were recorded absent; the
were saying…. “You are Worthy, You are
angel that takes record of attendance
Worthy, You are Worthy.”
took record by 8.00am when service commences while you came 3 minutes
Two angels from the crowd of angels
after 8am.
confronted me with two books in their hands, one of the angels opened the book
So you were late, lateness is equivalent to
with the inscription “The Book of Life.”
absence.
With speed, he turned the pages of the book to the end but my name was not
Then he asked me, did you attend Bible
found in “The Book of Life.”
study the last Monday before you became sick?
He opened the second book with the inscription:
I said yes. But you were late, he said, you
“The Book of Death.”
were marked absent, He asked me “did you attend the mid-week service on
He also turned the pages very fast: he
Thursday?” I answered “No”, he then said
paused almost at the end of the book and
that Sunday Service, Bible Study and mid-
looked at me and called me by my name:
week service score 10% each, He said that
“Fanny,” you were given 3 gifts:
my total score of attendance is 3/80%.
1. Evangelism.
He asked me again, “how often do you go
2. Singing and
for evangelism?”
3. Teaching. I said “very often” he then said “what …but you did not do well with these gifts.
about follow-up and visitation?” I told him
Instead, you devoted yourself to secular
that I do them very often.
teaching because of material things. He said “Evangelism, visitation, and God has placed a high value on Sunday
follow-up scores 100% each, The angel
Service, Weekly Activities, Evangelism,
said “you scored 30% in evangelism, 40%
Follow-Up and Visitation.
in follow-up and visitation 50%. Your score is 120/300%.”
The angel asked me: Did you attend Church service last Sunday
He asked me “if I do pay tithes , I said
before you became sick?
“Yes”
VISIONS
He said that we ought to pay tithes of all
I saw many people who were crying
things be it gift, gain, or salary. He went
bitterly in Hell, 10 strokes of the whip was
further that we ought to give more in
given to me as a warning for being an
offering unacceptable standard.
unfaithful servant the whip was so painful that I was shouting instead of crying.
He then asked me, “as a teacher, if your student scored these marks, would you
As I kept pleading for the second chance
pass him/her?”
while weeping, the angel said to me “go back to the world and amend your ways”
I said “No”, he paused for a while and said
at that moment, I woke up shouting “fire,
“what do you have to say about this?
fire, fire. The heat of hell fire was so terrible.
By then I was shivering because I knew that I was in trouble. I saw I fell below, the
If this is only thing you can do for your
acceptable standard Daniel 5:27: 27
own media evangelism. Please keep doing
TEKEL; Thou art weighed in the balances,
it and pass it on to as many as you can in
and art found wanting, Hebrew 12:28: 28
groups or contacts. We will miss hell but
"Wherefore we receiving a kingdom which
we won't miss Heaven in the name of
cannot be moved, let us have grace,
Jesus
whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear".
What are the gifts you were given that you don't work on for the glory of God? *Work
The other angel who had been silent said with a loud voice, "You are an unfaithful servant, take her to hell" When I heard that voice, I was terrified, I wish I could disappear or escape but there was no-where to hide or escape, I wept bitterly before the angels, pleading for mercy. Unfortunately, their faces remained motionless, they were not moved by my tears and weeping. As I continued crying and pleading for a second chance, the angel who was talking to me said "show her Hell."
OUT OF BODY
on them now*!!!
CONTRIBUTOR
WAITING written by:
ANGUS & JILL BUCHAN Jill and I found Jesus as our personal Lord and Saviour on the 18th of February 1979, just two years after settling in Greytown, Kwa-Zulu Natal Midlands, South Africa. Originally from Zambia, we bought a piece of land on which we planned to farm crops and livestock. We had very little to start with but even as brand new Christians, we were content with our farm, which we later called SHALOM. I remember like yesterday a dear friend of mine “BE STILL, AND KNOW THAT I AM GOD...”
and I, after I had come to know the Lord Jesus
— PSALMS 46:10 (NKJV)
Christ, were travelling to a stock sale. We were going to buy cattle together and I told him I had
Another word for still is maybe to wait.
given my life to the Lord Jesus and he said he
Sometimes we wonder, "Lord why are you
was so happy for me. I asked him if he would
waiting so long..." Remember the story of
like to do the same but he declined. However,
Lazarus, he had been dead in the tomb for four
about two years later, on a Saturday afternoon, I
days and as we know, in the Middle East, a body
was sitting in my farm office and the phone rang
has to be buried the same day it dies because it
- it was this friend of mine. He said "Angus,
starts to disintegrate. Well, Jesus was four days
please come. I need you. I cannot go on any
in coming. He wasn’t late and He wasn’t early -
longer." I had the privilege of going to his house
He was always spot on time.
and on the carpet in his living room, with his family around him, he bowed the knee and
Sometimes the Lord allows us to wait until we
accepted Christ as Lord and Saviour.
come to the end of our tether or the end of ourselves before He steps in. A good example of
FB Meyer the great preacher says: “God’s delays
waiting is a professional lifesaver, down at the
are not denials or neglectful, or unkind. He is
seaside: When a swimmer gets into trouble and
waiting for the correct moment to bless us.”
if the lifeguard is on his own, he’ll sometimes
Today, let us go out and bless someone else but
swim out and will allow the swimmer to quieten
remember - timing is always of the essence.
down or maybe even lose quite a bit of strength before he goes in to help. Otherwise, the swimmer might drown them both - We need to wait.
Jesus bless you, Angus and Jill Buchan
featured
The Secrets of the Covenant written by : Jentezen Franklin
When you hear the word covenant, what does it bring to mind? I think of marriage—that’s a covenant we’re all pretty familiar with. I imagine little kids spitting in their hand and shaking on it to call a truce or make a promise. But mostly, I think of the cross. Covenants existed in stories throughout the Bible. We know of God’s covenant with Abraham, His promise to Noah… but the most powerful type of covenant is a blood covenant.
The Hebrew word for covenant actually means to cut. The Old and New Testaments can be thought of as the old and new covenants. In the old covenant, people had to keep rules and laws to say under covenant and when they broke them, the blood of a sacrificial animal was shed for redemption or forgiveness. So what about the new covenant? Jesus said at the Last Supper, “This is my blood of the new covenant,
which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins (Matthew 26:28).” Jesus was the final sacrifice, the blood covenant that would wash away the need for rules and laws to earn a place with God, and introduce grace to humanity. In this new covenant, Jesus would be the sacrifice. His blood would be shed so that no other blood would be needed for redemption. It’s the final blood covenant that covers all of your sin. I am so grateful for the forgiveness of sins and the promise of eternity that we have through His covenant. But He offers promises for today through His covenant as well. Promises I think you’ll see through the story of Jonathan and David. Jonathan and David made a covenant. We read about it in 1 Samuel 18:3: And Jonathan made a covenant with David because he loved him as himself. Jonathan took off the robe he was wearing and gave it to David, along with his tunic, and even his sword, his bow and his belt. Jonathan’s Covenant with David is symbolic of the blood covenant we have in Christ. Jonathan was the rightful heir and son of King Saul. But he saw in David something even Saul did not see. He loved him as himself, and entered into a covenant with him. Not only did they enter the covenant, but Jonathan then gave David his robe, his tunic, and his armour. The Robe identified Jonathan as the King’s son. It spoke of his position and authority. When he handed that robe over to David, he passed down his position. Everywhere David went, the robe would signify royalty. The robe would speak of David’s authority under the King and identify him as an heir. Jonathan was the rightful heir, but he handed over his “Robe” to David. The tunic represents possessions. Whatever Jonathan had because of his father, he would freely give to David. He would be provided for and taking care of because Jonathan shared what was his to give. The sword, the bow and the belt were Jonathan’s power.
He handed over to David his battle gear to say, ‘Who fights you, fights me. Who attacks you, attacks me. When you battle, you are not alone. You battle in my power!’ This is what the Lord offers you and I through His blood covenant on the Cross. When His blood was shed, He traded positions with us. As son and rightful heir of God, Jesus handed over His robe saying YOU take My place as an heir to the Kingdom of God. Wherever you go, in My name, people will know you belong to the Most High. Not only did He give us position, but Jesus gave us provision of all that we would need. Through the Cross we have mercy and grace, we have healing and deliverance, we have peace and joy. Jesus possessed direct access to the Father and all that was His, and through His blood covenant, He gave us access to the throne and God shall provide all of our needs! Finally, through our covenant with Christ, He gave us power. Our earthly battles are not our own! He is by our side, and through His strength our victory is possible. He gave us authority over darkness and power over our enemies. The Son of the King of Kings loves you. He sees in you what no one else does. Your enemies may be planning your demise, just like Saul was trying to send David to his death. But God was with David. And he triumphed through the very thing his enemy thought would kill him. How much more meaningful is your covenant with Christ than the earthly covenant between Jonathan and David? What greater position Christ has given you to become a child of God (John 1:2)! What greater possessions He has for you from His Father who owns the cattle on a thousand hills (Psalm 50:10). What unfathomable power is yours through Jesus, because “the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world” (1 John 4:4)!
LAW & FAITH
Chanelle Fairlene Pillay Chanelle Fairlene Pillay is a South African born, qualified attorney with her Masters in Business Law, and woman of faith! She is connected to the ministry known as The SuperNatural Church of Jesus Christ where she encountered more of the Lord and His dynamic plans for her life! Author of books titled :‘A SHEPHERD KING’ and AWAY FROM YESTERDAY all available on Amazon. @chanelle.fairlene
THERE ARE CONDITIONS The word conditional means – subject to one or more conditions or requirements being met. In law, there are many contracts, regulations and policies that require both parties to perform and fulfil certain obligations and conditions in order for that contract or relationship to be complete and in order. If you wish to be employed in a certain field, example the medical, legal or educational field, there would be certain qualifications and skills you would need to possess first. These are the conditions that must be first met in order to be successful.
In your employment, there would be certain duties and responsibilities that an employee would have to fulfil in order to remain employed in that position and to receive the benefits and protection of that company. In the Kingdom of God, it is similar. God is always willing to do His part and perform His Word in our lives, but there are conditions. We have to be willing to do our part, too. Everyone knows that Solomon was a great King, filled with wisdom and knowledge from the LORD.
LAW & FAITH
Yet, we see such powerful advice handed down by his father, King David, to him in 1 Chronicles 28:7- 9 where it says, “…keep and seek for all the commandments of the LORD your God: that ye may possess this good land, and leave it for an inheritance for your children after you for ever. And thou, Solomon my son, know thou the God of thy father, and serve him with a perfect heart and with a willing mind: for the LORD searcheth all hearts, and understandeth all the imaginations of the thoughts: if thou seek him, he will be found of thee; but if thou forsake him, he will cast thee off for ever..” The conditions for Solomon to experience this fulfillment of the promise was to obey the LORD’s commandments, to serve him with a perfect heart and a willing mind, and to seek Him always. These were the conditions for a King that even apply to you and I as sons and daughters of the Most High King today. The one thing King David’s life and character teaches us is to constantly evaluate the CONDITION of our hearts– much of these lessons and principles are found in His Word, and which I have even touched on in my book “A Shepherd King”. We also see conditions and vows playing a role in the life of a man named Samson.
Judges 13:4 says, “Now therefore beware, I pray thee, and drink not wine nor strong drink, and eat not any unclean thing: for, lo, thou shalt conceive, and bear a son; and no razor shall come on his head, for the child shall be a Nazarite unto God from the womb: and he shall begin to deliver Israel out of the hand of the Philistines…” For Samson to walk in all that God had purposed for his life, there were conditions. And when these conditions were not followed, we see that the Spirit of the LORD was grieved, leaving Samson, and causing him to fall. He lost his strength and position for a time, until He repented before the LORD and was victorious one last time before his death.
ChanyoeulrsitFeanilralwe&nfPithilay
For us, as believers, to experience the fullness of His promises and Word, there are conditions we should be living out daily. This comes in the form of following His Word wholeheartedly. It is by serving no other gods but Him, getting rid of all habits and character traits that grieve His Spirit, obeying His commandments and walking in His ways and principles. Apostle Adrian Elijah Robert from The SuperNatural Church of Jesus Christ always says, “The God who you serve and the Kingdom that you belong to must be the God and Kingdom that take care of you…” This is so profound, because one cannot expect to walk in all the promises and blessings found in Jesus and His Word if you still have one foot in the world, and if you refuse to do as His Word commands. When you are in a relationship with Jesus, it is a covenant and bond between you and Him. If you are not willing to uphold your part, then how can you receive the fullness of His promises?
CHANELLE WISDOM
"GOD IS ALWAYS WILLING TO DO HIS PART AND PERFORM HIS WORD IN OUR LIVES, BUT THERE ARE CONDITIONS. WE HAVE TO BE WILLING TO DO OUR PART, TOO". Chanelle Fairlene Pillay
T A K E
N O T H I N G
F O R
G R A N T E D
'FAITH ORACLES' epistle by: Prophet Joseph Yamkela
T
Take nothing for granted, whatever you take for granted and don't appreciate you loose it... Many of us are loosing important people in our lives, great opportunities, our relationships, our families, our Faith and our freedom because we took them for granted. Satan is always looking for whatever you don't value so that he can steal it away, he knows you'll only realise it's importance when it's gone. That's how we are, we only realise valuable things when we loose them because we took them for granted. This year refuse familiarity with God, refuse to be casual with Him. Let Him feel appreciated and honoured; each day let it be like the first time you know Him, see Him or speak to Him.. let Him feel gratitude by looking into your eyes..
God is also sensitive, He has feelings too. Everyone appreciates a sign of care, tender love and gratitude when you show it to them, they will always enjoy blessing you. Even yourself, you know how it hurts when you take care and show love to people who don't value your efforts.. isn't it? That's exactly how God feels about us, when we take Him for granted. I just want to love Him more than I did yesterday, give myself to Him, be lost in Him and found in Him. I just want to knit my heart with His. This other day I looked at His face and I saw love in His eyes and I'm asking in my heart how can I just be lost Him and just see Him in me, until I'm invisible... I was thinking if He was Soil I would just dig deep and burry myself under Him like a seed;
if He was water I wouldn't mind to drown in Him, even at the deepest side of Him... Maybe as a Fire I would love Him to just consume me and all of me. He is the only place and residence I'm ready to reside and stay in Him eternally. Just imagine spending eternity looking into His eyes everyday.. Jesus Christ is amazing.. I can't get enough of Him. When I was a teenager I thought I would be satisfied by Him but each day becomes like I've never seen Him before.. I'm hungry for Him. He has asked me to challenge your Faith, yes together we will win and conquer Nations for Him; but will you first conquer and win yourself for Him..? Will you open up when He knocks at your door? What will you give to Him..?
Are you ready to see Him.. oh of course I wasn't only talking about Him, He is just my first love, the only Valuable Resource/Person/Thing I can ever have. But we also have some items, relationships and people. They are very important and we shouldn't take anyone for granted, you see if you can appreciate your position right now, show gratitude.. I can assure you nothing will stop you.. Show more gratitude than complaining, show more gratitude than murmuring, show more gratitude than asking.. can you? Ask the Lord Jesus to help your Faith to show more gratitude.. Remember it'll open room for more!
Prophet Yamkela
Joseph
FEATURED
BALANCING THE SCALES Regardless of what you think nations needs, or how you feel about the world in which we live, as a society we are simply hacking at the branches instead of striking at the root of the problems that are consuming us in rapid fashion. Nations in need of the truth. But, what is the truth? First is the knowledge of truth. Then...what do you do with the truth once you find it? Oftentimes, when we find out the truth, we feign ignorance. We don’t want the responsibility of living under the truth. We play dumb. The reality is, it doesn’t matter if you ignore the truth, debate the truth, refuse to apply the truth...
No matter what you choose to do with it, the truth does not change. Nations are in desperate need of the truth. There are all kinds of arguments raging around the world. We’re arguing about who should be in control, who doesn’t have any control, who’s next to take over control, who’s overreaching their legal control. We’re talking about who should be defunded, who needs to be refunded, and who’s overfunded. We argue about who’s essential and who’s nonessential. We argue about what needs to be done and the best way to do it. The reality is that the louder the arguments get, the more we forget how to solve the original problem.
BY: MATT HAGEE
It is in unity that we are blessed. Our blessings do not come from a political party or from a savvy economic scheme. Our blessings do not come from people who decide when and where we can receive them. Our blessings come from God alone. We must live a balanced life that is filled with the truth as found in God’s Word. Don’t build your life on politicallycorrect scales.
"You
devour His Word so that your soul is saturated with the truth".
You will quickly find yourself out of balance. Your life will be built on a foundation of lies. Build your life on social scales, and you will be out of balance in a heartbeat. These scales are also built on lies. The only scale that is filled with the truth, measuring your full potential, are the righteous scales found in God’s Word. These scales bring us hope for a bright and successful future in Christ, for an eternity in heaven. Proverbs 14:34 tells us, “Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a reproach to any people.” The scales found in God’s Word are filled with hope. They clear the clouds of confusion that the world around us continually thrusts in front of us for daily consumption. These scales are the life-saving foundation of every great life, every great society. If the foundations be destroyed, then what can the righteous do (Psalm 11:3)? If we as a people are going to return to being the righteous Church who is blessed by God...every man, woman, boy and girl must make the decision that we are going to build our life on God’s Word and nothing else. God’s Word is TRUTH! And there is absolutely no substitute for the Church triumphant! Jesus told His disciples that in the end times, deceptive days would come. Do you see the deception in our society today? Do you watch the news? Is it hard to tell the truth from a lie? We are surrounded on every side by deception.
In Matthew 24:4, Jesus tells His disciples...”take heed that no man deceive you.” How do you not allow a man to deceive you? You put God’s Word above everything else. You devour His Word so that your soul is saturated with the truth. You share this truth with your family so that they are armed against the enemy that comes to devour us with lies that are cleverly disguised. But, if you don’t know the Word, you will not recognize the lie when it is presented to you. The Bible is very clear cut on walking in truth and righteousness. If you want to succeed in this life, if you want to live eternally, if you want to feel peace in the middle of your storm...seek the truth of God’s Word. Rest in His promises. Walk down the path that He sets in front of you. God hates lies. The Devil is the father of lies. Do not fall into his trap. He comes to rob, to kill and to destroy. But God, through the shed Blood of Jesus Christ, offers us eternal life. Because of Calvary’s Cross, we have been completely redeemed, set free. Don’t waste this incredible gift by falling into a pit of lies and deception.
The Devil will try to lead you down a path of self-deception. This is a path of pride and arrogance. No good thing will come to you on a trail of misguided steps. The Lord says, “Here is the way...walk in it.” When your steps are ordered of the Lord, your life is filled with hope and peace. No matter what brand of chaos is filling the streets, place your life in His hands, for He does not change. What is true today will be true tomorrow, and it will be true 10,000 years from now.
Malachi 3:6 says, “For I am the LORD, I change not...” The Devil was cast out of heaven, and he prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. Do not fall into his trap. Balance the scales of your life. Saturate your soul with the truth found in God’s Word. Pray without ceasing. Find your peace in Him. For there is no other way to live, than in service to our King.
Matt Hagee
I Hear His Whisper . . Do not surrender your peace Remember who you are! Remember the lessons I’ve taught you. Don’t surrender your peace to the enemy. Don’t sit back and wonder at the way he’s bombarding you mentally. You have determined to give yourself fully to me. My name is the name that stands above every other name. Stand in the authority you have in my name and tell the heaviness to flee! It is by my Spirit, not by human might or power, that you will see the breakthrough you are searching for. You cannot force it by natural effort, nor do you have to behave perfectly to deserve my help. You cannot earn it. It is my gift to you, because your heart is toward me and because I am your Father and you are my child. Faith in my Word, my truth, my love, and my power is all you need. My love is so powerful, death could not defeat it. The grave could not bury my glory. This is the glory that is within you. This is the power that courses through your veins. This is the certainty that gives you peace.
Luke 8:24–25 The Passion Translation Alarmed, the disciples woke Jesus up and said, “Master, Master, we’re sinking! Don’t you care that we’re going to drown?” With great authority Jesus rebuked the howling wind and surging waves, and instantly they became calm. Then Jesus said to them, “Why are you fearful? Have you lost your faith in me?” Shocked, they said with amazement to one another, “Who is this man who has authority over winds and waves that they obey him?”
HEALTH & FITNESS change is possible
TODAY
WRITTEN BY: TSHEGO MOLEKOA
STEWARDING THE BODY! Often times the concept of stewardship is attached across Christian circles with matters of finances. We speak continuously about how God has made us stewards of our finances and we can easily understand the concept, thus being faithful in offering, tithing and general giving of alms or gifts. I considered the scripture in Psalms 24 lately and it has brought to light a few aspects I would like to share with you.
Psalms 24:1 The earth is the Lord's, and the fullness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein. If we carefully consider each word in this scripture it will shift our mindset and allow us to walk differently as we journey through life. 1. The earth is the Lord’s a. The Planet earth belongs to God
2. The Fullness therefof is the Lords a. All that which fills the earth, every inch and bit of the earth belongs to God 3. The World is the Lords a. The place which we live in (the countries, cities etc) belongs to God 4. They that dwell therein are the Lord’s a. Everything that lives in the earth (humans, plants, animals etc) belongs to God
Number four speaks about those that dwell in the world or in the earth belong to God. The beautiful thing about our God is how He is not only the CREATOR of all creation, and how all creation belongs to HIM but how He will never leave us without guidance on how to manage all that which He has entrusted to His creation. As people we are God’s and were created by Him (Genesis 1:26 Then God said, “Let Us (Father, Son, Holy Spirit) make man in Our image, according to Our likeness [not physical, but a spiritual personality and moral likeness]; and let them have complete authority over the fish of the sea, the birds of the air, the cattle, and over the entire earth, and over everything that creeps and crawls on the earth.”) It was God who formed us (Psalms 139:15 My frame was not hidden from You, When I was being formed in secret, and intricately and skilfully formed [as if embroidered with many colors] in the depths of the earth.), It is God who knows each part in our bodies (Imagine how creative our God is, the level of creativity that’s needed to create eye balls, hair in nostrils, finger nails, veins etc.). We should then definitely take heed to ensure we follow His instructions and ways on how we are to stewards that which belongs to Him.
THE HEALTH & FITNESS
I am saying this with all grace and love because the full restoration that came through our Lord Jesus Christ means and meant that we are new creatures. The old moral has been put away and we are to behold and walk in the new. With all the above being said I think we can “prove beyond reasonable doubt” that these bodies which carry us through are not owned by us. Consider a BMW that is bought on credit received from the bank. The car might be driven by the person that has applied for the loan, its parked at the person’s home but should they not meet the set requirements on the contract the real owners (the bank that actually provided money to the BMW dealership for the purchase) of the car can reposes the car. Our bodies are a temple given to us to steward. Its thus very important to always keep this in mind whenever we are walking in these bodies. If we would all go back to the Bible as Christians and stick to the principles that have been provided we would experience even greater health and freedom in Christ. The principle of Sabbath Genesis 2:2-3 And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made.3 And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made. The Word tells us that on the Sabbath day God did not do any work. I personally believe it was not because God was tired but He was giving us a picture of how we are to live our lives.
@beautyandthegospel
The word Sabbath means rest. Rest is needed for a reset and refocus on the entire body. The body has six days of work but on the seventh we must give the body an opportunity to rest. The mind also needs the very same opportunity for rest. Hebrews 4:9-11 So there remains a [full and complete] Sabbath rest for the people of God. For the one who has once entered His rest has also rested from [the weariness and pain of] his [human] labors, just as God rested from [those labors uniquely] His own. Let us therefore make every effort to enter that rest [of God, to know and experience it for ourselves], so that no one will fall by following the same example of disobedience [as those who died in the wilderness].
Health 3 John 1:2 Beloved, I pray that in every way you may succeed and prosper and be in good health [physically], just as [I know] your soul prospers [spiritually]. It is God’s wish that we live in healthy bodies so that we can enjoy life. One that is not healthy (physically) is limited in how they live their lives and that pointer determines the extend which they can enjoy life. Be intentional about exercising and working out, in order to ensure good health. Be intentional about kicking off laziness and a slothful spirit, because they can rob you off your life.
THE HEALTH & FITNESS
@beautyandthegospel
When it comes to health you also have to consider emotional/mental health. It is not Gods desire that we walk in stress, worry, anxiety and or depression. Philippians 4:8 Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy— think about such things. Be intentional in keeping your mind renewed and focused on the LORD, because anxiety, worry, depression can easily rob you of your life. Be intentional about what you feed your mind!
Food Deuteronomy 14:9 Of all the creatures living in the water, you may eat any that has fins and scales. But anything that does not have fins and scales you may not eat; for you it is unclean. I know that this scripture is an old testament scripture and can thus be disregarded and not applicable. One has to consider why it was written in the first place. If God Himself gave them this instruction, we cannot simply overlook this. There is thus a guidance for us as humans that we cannot simply eat everything and anything without it having certain effects on our bodies.
THE HEALTH & FITNESS
The Bible is filled with many scriptures on guidance concerning food. Consider Proverbs 25:27 It is not good to eat too much honey, nor is it honorable to search out matters that are too deep.’ Be intentional about what food you consume because ignorance in this area can also rob you off your life. The CREATOR understands how CREATION is to function, hence if we considered the very same example of the BMW car, no one would take that vehicle to a Toyota dealership. The manufacturer BMW know how the car was done, all parts needed for the car to function at maximum efforts and what needs to be done should the car parts become weary (car service). The parable of the talents tells us that those faithful servants who invested and used their talents to produce more, were given even more. The body can be considered as a talent or resource that was given unto us by the Master. The next time you consider taking any decision concerning your body, do consider that you do not own the body and there is an expectation that you steward the body in the manner that the one who owns it has allowed. There is a reward for those that are good stewards of the body, and that reward is LIFE in abundance.
God bless you ,
tshego molekoa @beautyandthegospel
HEALTH TIP #9
''Be intentional about what food you consume because ignorance in this area can also rob you off your life''.
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THE NECESSITY OF THE HOLY SPIRIT by: Pual David Washer “And behold, I am sending forth the promise
The book of Acts is the missionary
of My Father upon you; but you are to stay
account of the early church. As has often
in the city until you are clothed with power
been recognized, it is not so much the
from on high.”
Acts of the Apostles as it is the Acts of the
– Luke 24:49
Holy Spirit through the Apostles. In fact, even the most cursory reading of the
“But you will receive power when the Holy
book demonstrates that the work of
Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be
missions is the work of the Spirit.1 Those
My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all
who would participate in the Great
Judea and Samaria, and even to the
Commission must be filled, empowered,
remotest part of the earth.”
and led of the Spirit.
– Acts 1:8
Beauty & The Gospel
JUNE
2021
featured
One of the greatest travesties of this
In this article, we will look at the Apostles
generation is the neglect and even fear of
from three different perspectives: Before
the Holy Spirit. This is the result of the
the Resurrection, after the Resurrection,
many heresies that have been taught
and after the Day of Pentecost.
regarding His person, work, and manifestations. Countless false teachings,
The Apostles before the Resurrection
which contradict the very Scriptures that the Spirit inspired, have been proclaimed in
Out of our abundant admiration for the
the Spirit’s name. Extravagant displays of
Apostles, we have a tendency to set them
the flesh, emotionalism, fanaticism, and
on a pedestal and see them as more than
behavior that is not fitting for the saints
mere men. This makes it difficult for us to
have been wrongly attributed to the Holy
identify with them or to see the true
Spirit, even though they contradict the fruit
source of their life and power. However,
that the Spirit promised in His Word to
when we consider their lives prior to the
bear. Finally, the most foolish and harmful
resurrection, it becomes clear that they
endeavors have been initiated, justified,
were men with a nature like ours and
and promoted by those who claim to have
subject to similar passions.
been led by the Spirit.
''we must once again recognize the absolute essentiality of the Holy Spirit in our lives and in the work of missions''
Prior to the resurrection, Jesus often rebuked the Apostles for their hardness of heart and unbelief. They were men of little faith, they argued about who among them was the greatest, and in their selfrighteousness and prejudice, they sought to call down fire from heaven upon their enemies. Once, Jesus even referred to them as a stumbling block because they had not set their mind on God’s interest, but on man’s. Finally, at the crucifixion
All these things and countless others have influenced many saints to be so cautious with regard to the Spirit that His person and power are rarely mentioned among them. However, if we are to take the gospel to the ends of the earth, we must regain what has been lost. Without falling prey to the heresies and false practices that abound, we must
they all abandoned the Lord, and Peter even denied Him before a little servant girl. All in all, prior to the resurrection, the Apostles were not great men of valor, virtue, or insight but in the very words of Jesus they were, ‘”Foolish men and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets had spoken.”
once again recognize the absolute essentiality of the Holy Spirit in our lives and
The Apostles after the Resurrection
in the work of missions. In this article and those that follow we will consider the work of
Although the reality of the resurrection
the Spirit in the Great Commission by
had an obvious impact on the disciples’
considering His work in the life of the
lives, they were still a mixture of
Apostles and the early church.
Beauty & The Gospel
obedience, reverence, and unbelief. JUNE 2021
featured
This is clearly seen in the verses
“But you will receive power when the Holy
immediately preceding Matthew’s account
Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be
of the Great Commission:
My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest
“But the eleven disciples proceeded to Galilee,
part of the earth.”
to the mountain which Jesus had designated. When they saw Him, they worshiped Him; but
The word “clothed” is translated from the
some were doubtful.”
Greek verb endúo. In the passive voice, it means to be endued with, clothed in, or
In this text, the Apostles’ obedience is seen
arrayed in. On the Day of Pentecost, the
in the fact that they proceeded to the place
Apostles were literally clothed with or
that Christ had designated for them. Their
arrayed in God’s power, which enabled
reverence is evidenced by the fact that
them to advance Christ’s cause through the
when they saw Christ they worshipped Him.
Great Commission. The resurrection was a
However, in the midst of their obedience
great vindication or demonstration of
and reverence, some of them were still
Christ’s claims. Yet, even this great event
“doubtful.” The word is translated from the
could not produce the needed results in
Greek word distázo [dís = double + stasis =
the hearts of the Apostles apart from a
a standing], which denotes a double
supernatural work of the Spirit. The
standing, a wavering, or an uncertainty. It
greatest knowledge and the highest degree
is the same word used of Peter when he
of certainty regarding the Christian faith is
began to doubt while walking upon the sea.
not enough to propel a universal
Thus, even after the resurrection, the
missionary endeavor. They needed the
Apostles were still not the men that we
empowering of the Holy Spirit. Do we not
know them to be from the Book of Acts.
need the same?
They were not the kind of men who could upset the world.
In the next article, we will consider the Day of Pentecost as a unique event in history
The Apostles after the Day of Pentecost
that has powerful implications for all believers throughout every generation of
The Day of Pentecost represented the great turning point in the lives and ministries of the Apostles. It was on that day that they were empowered and emboldened to take on the world and to carry the gospel of Jesus Christ to every corner of the earth. At Pentecost, we no longer see the doubt and timidity that had marked the Apostles from the very beginning, but we witness in them the very thing that Jesus had promised:
the church. However, before we move on, we would do well to ask ourselves the following important questions: First, would we describe our life and ministry as endued with power, clothed with power, or arrayed in power? Secondly, can we say with the Apostle Paul that we labor according to the power of God, which mightily works within us? Thirdly and lastly, is it evident that our message and preaching are not in persuasive words of wisdom, but in a demonstration of the Spirit and of power?
“And behold, I am sending forth the promise
If these questions reveal that we are
of My Father upon you; but you are to stay in
lacking or even bereft of the Spirit’s power,
the city until you are clothed with power from
then a greater understanding of the Day of
on high.”
Pentecost is absolutely crucial.
THE BLESSED LIFE TEACHINGS BY: PASTOR ROBERT MORRIS GOD MUST BE FIRST And when the LORD takes you into the land of the Canaanites, the land he promised to give you and your ancestors, you must give him every firstborn male. Also every firstborn male animal must be given to the LORD. EXODUS 13:11-12, NCV We’ve heard the old saying many times: First things first. There is a heap of biblical truth in that little cliché. So what are the “first things” where living the blessed life is concerned? Well, consider this: There are more than 500 verses in the Bible concerning prayer and nearly 500 verses concerning faith, but more than 2,000 verses on the subject of money and possessions.
Jesus talked about money in sixteen of His thirty-eight parables. Clearly, from the Bible’s standpoint, we need to understand money and how to handle it. Why? Because money is actually a test from God. How you handle money reveals volumes about your priorities, loyalties, and affections. In fact, it directly dictates many of the blessings you will (or won’t) experience in life. The very first principle you must grasp, if you are to understand giving, is the principle of first fruits. It can also be called the principle of the firstborn or the tithe. Frankly, far too many Christians are confused about tithing and the principle of firstfruits. (Please don’t tune me out, turn me off, or skip these pages, thinking, I’ve heard all that tithing stuff before. There is life-giving, liberating truth in what I am about to present to you. Don’t miss it!)
SACRIFICED OR REDEEMED We find an important financial precedent established in the thirteenth chapter of Exodus. In this passage, God says, “Consecrate to Me all the first born, whatever opens the womb among the children of Israel, both of man and beast; it is Mine” (v.2). Here, God plainly declares that the firstborn “is Mine.” It belongs to Him. In fact, you’ll find God declaring that the firstborn is His 16 times in Scripture! For example, Exodus 13:12-13 says, “That you shall set apart to the LORD all that open the womb, that is, every firstborn that comes from an animal which you have; the males shall be the LORD’s. But every firstborn of a donkey you shall redeem with a lamb; and if you will not redeem it, then you shall break its neck. And all the firstborn of man among your sons you shall redeem.” It is vital that you understand something about the principle of the firstborn. According to Old Testament law, the firstborn was to be either sacrificed or redeemed. There was no third option. Every time one of your livestock animals delivered its firstborn, you were to sacrifice it, or if it was designated unclean, you had to redeem it with a clean, spotless lamb. To summarize, the clean firstborn had to be sacrificed and the unclean firstborn had to be redeemed. With that in mind, think about the account in the New Testament in which John the Baptist meets Jesus on the banks of the Jordan River.
We were all born sinners with a fully active sin nature. Now think back to the principle of the firstborn in Exodus. Remember, the Law stated that if the firstborn animal was clean, it was to be sacrificed. But if the firstborn was unclean, it was to be redeemed with a clean animal. Do you see the symbolic parallel? Jesus Christ was God’s firstborn Son, and He was born clean. He was born a pure, spotless lamb. But every one of us was born unclean; therefore, Jesus was sacrificed to redeem us. When He redeemed us by His sacrifice, He bought us back for God. He was literally a firstfruits offering. In a very real sense, Jesus was God’s tithe. God gave His tithe (Jesus) in faith before we ever believed. Notice that God gave Him to us before we believed. Romans 5:8 says, “God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” We have to give our firstfruits offering – our tithes – in much the same way. Before we see the blessing of God, we give it in faith. God gave Jesus in faith “that He might be the firstborn among many brethren” (Romans 8:29). In this sense, Jesus is God’s tithe. God gave jesus first, in faith, even when we were sinners – even as we were mocking Him and spitting in His face while He was dying. God didn’t wait to see if we would first change or repent or make ourselves worthy. God knew the principle of first things first.
John was baptizing one day and looked up to see Jesus walking toward him. At that point, John cried out, “Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29).
Have you ever wondered how God could justify taking the lives of Egypt’s firstborn in the final plague described in Exodus? It is because the firstborn belongs to God. God had a legal right to take every firstborn because every one of them in Egypt and in Israel belonged to Him!
With that inspired declaration, John perfectly defined the role Jesus had come to fulfill. Jesus was God’s firstborn. Jesus was clean – perfect and unblemished in every way. On the other hand, every one of us was born unclean.
But the firstborn in Israel didn’t die that night, did they? Why not? Because a lamb was sacrificed to redeem them. A spotless, perfect Lamb took their place!
You’ll recall that God instructed Moses to apply the blood of the sacrificed lamb to the doorposts of each home. They were to apply the blood to the mantle (the top of the door frame) and on the posts (the sides of the door frame) (see Exodus 12:7). Imagine yourself standing outside one of those doors, dipping a hyssop branch in that lamb’s blood. See yourself applying the blood, first on the left side of the door frame, then going across and applying it on the right side and then reaching up and applying the blood in the middle of the mantle, on the top, so the blood would drip down. Did you notice that, in following those steps, you created the form of a cross in blood? The Israelites were saved by the blood of the lamb in the form of a cross? And that’s precisely how we’re saved. God redeemed us in the same way – by giving His firstborn Son as a sacrifice. The principle of the firstfruits is very, very powerful. I have heard it said that any first thing given is never lost, and any first thing not given is always lost. In other word, what we give to God we don’t lose, because God redeems it for us. But what we withhold from God, we will lose. Jesus echoed this principle when He said, “For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it” (Matthew 16:25, NIV). The first belongs to God. We find this principle all through God’s Word. We can give God the first of our time. We can give Him the first of our finances. That’s what tithing really is – giving our first to God. It’s saying, “God, I’m going to give to You first and trust You to redeem the rest.” Put another way, when a firstborn lamb is born in a flock, it is not possible to know how many more lambs that ewe might produce. Nevertheless, God didn’t say, “Let your ewe produce nine lambs first and then give Me the next one.” No, God says, “Give Me the first one.”
It always requires faith to give the first. That’s why so few Christians experience the blessings of tithing. It means giving to God before you see if you’re going to have enough. By tithing, it is as if we are saying to God, “I recognize You first. I am putting You first in my life, and I trust You to take care of the rest of the things in my life.” That’s why tithing is so important. It is the primary was we acknowledge that God is first. The first portion is the redemptive portion. In other words, when the first portion is given to God, the rest is redeemed. In the same way, coming to church at the first of the week is a way of giving the Lord the first of your time. Sadly, some people view Monday as the beginning of their week. They think, I have to get this week started right. I have to put some deals together and get some money in the bank. Thus, they give the first part of their week to money. Other people think their week begins on Friday. They say, “Man, this weekend I’m really going to party and have a good time.” These people give the firstfruits of their time to recreation. As God’s people, we need to give the first part of our week to Jesus. The reason the New Testament church met on Sunday was because they were celebrating the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. They gave the first of their time to God in worship.
FOOD FOR THOUGHT Tithing means giving to God before you see if you’re going to have enough – enough money and enough time. Do you agree that the firstfruits principle should be applied to both our money and time? Think of an example of how applying that principle would change how you prioritize and use both.
devotions
Refuse to Compromise Your Faith by Dr André and Jenny Roebert Jude 1:24 (NLT): "Now all glory to God, Who is able to keep you from falling away and will bring you with great joy into His glorious Presence without a single fault." Jude wrote this letter to a church, instructing them to work hard to keep the message of the Gospel pure. That's because certain men had crept into the church with teachings that allowed for moral compromise. They were distorting the truth, causing many believers to believe they could live how they pleased and still be blessed by God. The truth is, unless our hearts and consciences are pure before the Lord, and we follow after His way of doing and being right, we will never have faith strong enough to be victorious over the devil. Jude told the believers how to keep their faith pure. He said they should build up and be founded on their most holy faith, by praying in the Holy Spirit. They must devote themselves to the love of God, through obedience, and stay alert - expecting the justice and mercy of Jesus. But here is where the true power lies: GOD keeps us as we're faithful to do what His Word tells us to do. If we diligently seek the Lord and do what His Word says, one day at a time, He will keep us on solid ground. Our faith will remain strong and true, keeping us in the centre of His perfect will! So stay true to Him and His Word, and refuse to compromise your faith.
CONTRIBUTOR
SEEK ye first the KINGDOM of GOD
“But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.”
MANY PEOPLE PUT OTHER THINGS FIRST. SOME WILL PUT THEIR JOB OR PROFESSION FIRST. I think that it is important for a Christian to be a good worker. Regardless of where a believer works, their employer ought to be able to see a difference in them! If you are a business man,
then you ought to work hard to make your business a success! But never...ever...allow your job or your business to come first in your life! SOME WILL PUT THE ACCUMULATION OF WEALTH FIRST Many spend their time and energy gaining and getting. But they often lose their sense of God. The more we seek earthly things, the less of the things of God we can see. SOME PEOPLE PUT PLEASURE FIRST Many will say, "But Sunday is my only day off...I need that time to relax!" God isn't opposed to a person having a good time and enjoying life! But pleasure should not be our chief aim of life, and nothing should come before God! YESHUA is clear in this verse, "Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteous- ness". SOME PEOPLE PUT THEIR FAMILY FIRST
PROPHET GEZANI Overseer @ Ebenezer Fellowship Center, Soweto , South Africa, husband, father and entrepreneur.
Now don't get me wrong, family is important. They are not more important than God! There are people who moan and groan nearly every time about@beautyandthegospel
CONTRIBUTOR
children and the fact that they aren't in church today. And yet when they were still at home, they taught them by example that going to Grandma's and Aunt so-so's was more important than going to church, and serving God! WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO SEEK FIRST THE KINGDOM GOD ? Putting God first in our life means that we conform our lives to His principles. God's people must keep God central. Our relationship with God must be at the centre of all we do both individually & corporately . If God is not central, then we are off track . If our devotion with Him is lacking we're just playing church . We keep God central by continually coming to church to worship Him, tithing and offering.
YESHUA in our main scripture said seek first the Kingdom of God & His righteousness. meaning His ways of living not the world's. Romans 12:2 tells us to "be not conformed to this world:" In everything you do , put God first & He Will direct you crown your efforts with success- Prov 3:6 We must not put the things of the world valuable in ourselves , but the things of the Kingdom of God. How close we are to the Lord will impact how closely our lives will conform to His!
Prophet Geoffrey Gezani
@beautyandthegospel
The Lord’s Work, in the Lord’s Way Trusting God’s Methods Is it not amazing: though we know the power of the Holy Spirit can be ours, we still ape the world’s wisdom, trust its forms of publicity and its noise, and imitate its ways of manipulating men! If we try to influence the world by using its methods, we are doing the Lord’s work in the flesh.
If we put activity, even good activity, at the center rather than trusting God, then there may be the power of the world, but we will lack the power of the Holy Spirit. The key question is this: As we work for God in this fallen world, what are we trusting in?
To trust in particular methods is to copy the world and to remove ourselves from the tremendous promise that we have something different—the power of the Holy Spirit rather than the power of human technique. Under the leadership of Moses and Joshua, the Jews marched when the ark marched and they stood still when the ark stood still. They did not rush ahead if God did not order the ark (which represented Himself) to be moved. Sometimes they stayed in one place for long periods. We Christians, individually and corporately, must learn to wait like this. Tongues of fire are not for us if we are so busy doing the clever thing that we never wait quietly to find out whether the ark of the Lord has gone ahead or stayed. Once after I had given a message like this, a man told me, “You have opened a door for me. What you say is true. I am on many Christian boards, and I have large holdings in cotton mills. So I am in one kind of business meeting at one time and another kind of business meeting at another. And sometimes in the midst of a meeting I will suddenly look up and say, Which meeting am I in?” He could see no difference whatsoever; in both cases just the clever thing was being done. This is not the way to have spiritual power. The Lord’s work must be done in the Lord’s way.
The Battle in the Heavenlies The real battle is not fought by Christians just against forces in this world, whether theological, cultural, or moral.
The real battle is in the heavenlies. The Scripture, therefore, insists that we cannot win our portion of the engagement with earthly weapons. Paul’s letter to the Ephesians contains the classic expression: Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against the spiritual wickedness in high places. Wherefore take unto you the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; and your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God: praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints. (Ephesians 6:10– 18)
''As we work for God in this fallen world, what are we trusting in? ''
There is nothing in this list that the world accepts as a way of working, but there are no other ways to fight the spiritual battle. Imagine the Devil or a demon entering your room right now. You have a sword by your side; so when you see him you rush at him and stab him. But the sword passes straight through and doesn’t faze him! The most awesome modern weapon you could think of could not destroy him. Whenever we do the Lord’s work in the flesh, our strokes “pass right through” because we do not battle earthly forces; the battle is spiritual and requires spiritual weapons. Besides, if we fight the world with copies of its own weapons, we will fail, because the Devil will honor these with his own, but our Lord will not honor these with us, for that does not give Him the glory. They may bring some results—activism does have its results—but they will not be the ones the Lord wants. Our hands will be empty of honor from God because He will not be getting the glory. We must not try to serve the Lord with our own kind of humanism and egoism. In this war, if Christians win a battle by using worldly means, they have really lost. On the other hand, when we seem to lose a battle while waiting on God, in reality we have won. The world may mistakenly say, “They have lost.” But if God’s people seem to be beaten in a specific battle, not because of sin or lack of commitment or lack of prayer or lack of paying a price, but because they have waited on God and refused to resort to the flesh, then they have won.
Getting Things Done Let us not think that waiting on the Lord will mean getting less done. The truth is that by doing the Lord’s work in the Lord’s way we will accomplish more, not less. You need not fear that if you wait for God’s Spirit you will not get as much done as if you charge ahead in the flesh. After all, who can do the most, you or the God of heaven and earth? Nor should we think that our role will be passive. The moving of the Holy Spirit should not be contrasted with either proper self-fulfillment or tiredness. To the contrary, both the Scriptures and the history of the church teach that if the Holy Spirit is working, the whole man will be involved and there will be much cost to the Christian. The more the Holy Spirit works, the more Christians will be used in battle, and the more they are used, the more there will be personal cost and tiredness. It is quite the opposite of what we might first think. People often cry out for the work of the Holy Spirit and yet forget that when the Holy Spirit works, there is always tremendous cost to the people of God—weariness and tears and battles. The Lord brings the real contrast into focus in Galatians: “This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. . . . If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. Let us not be desirous of vainglory, provoking one another, envying one another” (Galatians 5:16, 25–26).
In these verses, walking in the Spirit (that is, doing the Lord’s work in the Lord’s way) is not contrasted with tiredness and cost but with vainglory. We cannot have God’s power and deliberately place the Me in the center of our lives. We cannot know much about walking in the Spirit until we realize and implement the washing of feet and the humility of the cross. As long as vainglory exists, it will have destructive results, such as “provoking one another, envying one another.”
If we do not want to waste our lives after we have become Christians, then we must understand the importance of having a humble, quiet heart and the power of the Holy Spirit.
Francis A. Schaeffer
M A S T E R I N G Y O U R S I N G L E N E S S PROPHET JOSEPH YAMKELA God’s anointed Servant, a Prophetic Voice, Charismatic & Transformational Leader, Visionary Leader, Market Leader, Author and Apostle @jesusreignstv
The Church has not adequately addressed the
The Apostle Paul says: "he that is not married
issue of sexuality and ‘DATING’ and no One
doesn’t have a lot of troubles in this life, but focuses
wants to come out open and speak out about it.
on pleasing the Lord".
We tend to pretend like everything is fine all is well whilst confusion is over Many Young men
Dear brother and sister being single is not a
and Women who Find themselves with this
problem but you are the one who is a problem.
question “HOW AM I GOING TO BE MARRIED?
Singleness should be your joy, pride and never a
We keep on preaching about holiness, sexual
burden.
immorality, ungodly relationships which is good. But we have not Come to the elementary
In fact you should be enjoying it because when you
cause of these things in the Church. Because
get married you will never be single and have your
there are root causes why people fall especially
own will again. You can do what you like now, and
in sexual sin, but instead of digging deep as the
go where you want, but in marriage you will always
church we are pruning the tree whilst the roots
have to think for your Spouse.
are the problem. So, in this season of singleness, find out who you SINGLENESS is not a requirement for a
are, what you enjoy doing alone, your purpose and
relationship or marriage. That can’t be a valid
what pleases the Lord God.
reason for someone to embark on a relationship. Singleness is a gift to be enjoyed
God gives us singleness as a training and
as a blessing from God not just endured, that is
opportunity for us to see and improve our personal
why no one was born married.
management skills, (Self-Control, Self-Leadership) before we can manage another person’s life.
Nowhere in the BIBLE does it say that a single person is incomplete. More above that, God has
Singleness is where you see how disciplined you are
used people who were single to do mighty and
as a person. Is it a good time of self-development,
great things in God’s Kingdom.
purpose and vision discovery, goal setting, career development and boosting your independence which is very important when you married.
Building A Legacy
BY: JOHN HAGEE
When you become a parent there are so
THE INFLUENCE OF MAN brings a life filled
many decisions and choices to make. It can
with questions, instability, loneliness, pain,
seem overwhelming at times. But there is
and an eternity without hope.
one decision that is more important than all the rest. Will you choose to raise your
We have been watching the influence of man
children by the Word of God or the
unfold on the streets of America. The news
influences of man?
commentators call them “peaceful protests” but there is nothing peaceful about them.
There are really only two options. There is no exception. THE WORD OF GOD brings love,
This world must have a spiritual revival, and
joy, peace, unity, prosperity, unlimited
with this spiritual revival comes a cultural
happiness, and the gift of eternal life.
revolution. So, ask yourself this question,
| BEAUTY & THE GOSPEL
June 2021
“Am I raising my family in the ways of the
I know as parents you have made great
Lord, or under the influence of man?” I can
sacrifices for your children. And I want to
tell you, without hesitation, when it comes to
encourage you today to keep fighting for
the Hagee family, I declare, “As for me and
what is right. Continue to teach your children
my house, we will serve the LORD” (Joshua
what is right and wrong based on good
24:15).
Biblical principles. When you do, they will grow to be local and national leaders in the
Psalm 127:3-5 tells us, “Children are a
world of tomorrow. It is never too late to
heritage from the LORD, The fruit of the
build a firm and solid foundation on the
womb is a reward. Like arrows in the hand
principles found in God’s Word.
of a warrior; So are children of one’s youth. Happy is the man who has his quiver full of
DON’T EVER FORGET: When our children are
them: They shall not be ashamed, but they
confronted with questions that the world
shall speak with their enemies in the gate.”
puts in their pathway as a stumbling block, the instruction you have fed them every day
There is an invading army that is seizing
will determine their capacity to lead in their
control of our schools, our churches, and our
tomorrows.
homes. This army comes disguised as tolerance, open-mindedness, acceptance,
Perhaps you feel unable to give good Biblical
and inclusion. If we are not on constant alert,
instruction to your children. Well, I’d rather
this army will eventually take over our
see a sermon than hear one any day! Your
government and determine the moral fabric
children will learn more from watching you
and spiritual climate. Don’t be fooled, this
than anything you will ever say. How are you
invading army is not coming. It’s already
living? What are your priorities? How do you
here.
treat others or respond to difficult situations? You are the most influential
But when the enemy comes in like a flood,
person in their life. . Use this powerful tool of
the Lord will raise up a standard against it!
influence for their betterment. Use this
The standard that the Lord is raising up
powerful tool to show them how important it
against this army is our children and our
is to have a close walk with the Lord, and
grandchildren.
how to live it out in your daily life.
How are you preparing your children to be the future leaders? What are you doing to ensure they know God, love people, and have a heart for the world? When your life on this
God’s law is eternal. He is the same yesterday, today, and forever (Hebrews 13:8).
earth is over, it won’t matter if you’ve made a billion dollars. It is what you invest and pour
When you raise your children in the ways of
into your children and grandchildren that is
the Lord, they will understand that there is
the greatest investment you will ever make.
no reason to fear the future. They will know
When you succeed as a parent, you are
that we worship a God that will WORK ALL
building a strong, faith-filled foundation that
THINGS TOGETHER FOR GOOD, for those who
will impact and influence others for
love Him and are called according to His
generations.
purpose.
| BEAUTY & THE GOSPEL
June 2021
With your help, your children will know that
In Jesus’ earthly ministry, He often stopped
they are always protected. God sends His
to hug and kiss the children. He picked them
angels to go before them to prepare the way,
up and blessed them. Even when the
and behind them as their rear guard. They
disciples rebuked them, Jesus rebuked the
never leave His thoughts, and they are never
disciples…because it’s important for the
alone. In the worst of times, He is carrying
Father to bless the children.
them through the desert of their days to a brighter tomorrow.
Bless your children every day. Put your hands on their head and pray a blessing over
I love the promise of Jeremiah 29:11.
them. You have the power to release the
“For I know the thoughts that I think toward
purpose and power of God on their life.
you, says the LORD, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.”
My children are grown and out of the house, but I still pray for them daily. I start down the
Begin today to fill your child with hope for
list of names and pray for their needs that I
their future, because YOUR CHILDREN are
am aware of, and then petition our Father for
THE HOPE FOR THE FUTURE!
the things that only He knows. There is no distance in prayer. No matter what age your
Children are God’s reward. We cannot afford
children are, you should be praying for them
to fail the next generation. We must
every day. Tell them that you love them. Even
diligently work as the Body of Christ to equip
though they are grown, I still hug and kiss my
them. We must train them in the fear and
kids every time I see them. Each of our lives
admonition of the Lord because America’s
is shaped by those who love us. The
greatest generation is yet to come. Think
blessings of a parent or grandparent can
about this for a moment. Your child could
release the divine favor of God upon a child.
become the President of the United States
There is nothing a child with God’s favor on
one day. What would they do on day one
his life can’t achieve.
when they walked into the Oval Office? They would do whatever you taught them to do.
Let your life be a legacy. Leave something
And more importantly, they would do what
for your children that will last long past
the Lord directs them to do.
your homegoing.
| BEAUTY & THE GOSPEL
June 2021
contributor
WALK BY S I G H T
BY; KENDRA DUBLIN
I know you’re thinking, walk by sight? That’s the opposite of faith, right? Or is it? Take a walk with me into the journey of the disciples in Mark 4 and let’s see what the text yields . Jesus had been teaching on this day and once he was done, he told his disciples let’s go to the other side of the lake. When they did that, a storm came, and the disciples tried to wake Jesus up. And in verse 39 through 40, He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, Quiet! Be still! Then the wind died down and it was completely calm. He said to his disciples, Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith? Jesus rebuked the storm then he rebukes them. We have to also remember what was happening before this occurrence.
@iamkendradublin
I gave you the power, where is your faith?
fish that he needed other fishermen to
Why did you wake me up? Stop looking at
help him get all of the fish onto the boat.
me to do it all; I have SHOWN you what to
Jesus drove out the impure spirits in a
do and you have SEEN me heal hundreds
man, healed Peter’s mom of a fever, a
of people.
man of leprosy, a paralyzed man, and a man’s hand on the Sabbath. By this time
Fear will have us making decisions that
he had healed hundreds of people of
don’t align with our power. When we go
their sicknesses, diseases and demonic
off our emotional state versus being
Spirit. Again, all of these things they SAW.
objective in the struggle, we forget all that we have SEEN and what we have been
It makes me think about that transfer of
called to do. “Count your blessings” is one
power. By this time in Mark’s account, the
of those phrases that we use often, while
disciples had been given the authority to
never counting our blessings, which will
do the same miracles as Jesus. It’s like the
give us the faith needed because we have
transfer of skills in a job. We may have a
seen the glory of God. God always allows
certain skill set that we develop for a job
us to see before we fully walk in faith.
that is not working for us anymore. As we go into another job, we're able to transfer
It reminds me of the time I had food
those skills even in a different position, so
poisoning. My body shook for about 8
we can rise to the occasion in this new job
hours straight, I fell asleep for a short
or career.
period of time, and when I woke up I felt like I was going to pass out. Whatever was
It reminds me of this moment because,
in my body was trying to rid itself of the
who did they go to, to calm the storm?
toxins and it took a toll on my body for a
They were afraid but they called on Jesus
week. I've heard people say it's taken
which means they had faith in Jesus to do
them two weeks to recover from food
something. They had seen him perform
poisoning. And about a year and a half or
other miraculous signs. The disciples had
so later the same thing started to happen.
never seen him do this type of supernatural sign, but they believed that
I knew I had food poisoning again
he could transfer his power to the storm.
because my body started to shake badly. I was about 10 to 15 minutes into my body
When Jesus says to them you have no
shaking when I went into prayer. I said
faith, it wasn't that they didn't have faith
God help me to persevere tonight. Help
at all. Jesus said I transferred my power to
me to get through this moment, to
you. Jesus wanted them to calm the
get through the shakes and get through
storm. Go tell your turmoil to be quiet. He
the disorientation that I may have. During
wanted them to use the transfer of power
that prayer God said to me, why are you
that he had given them to heal the sick,
asking me for perseverance? Why aren't
the people with demonic possession and
you asking me to deliver you?
diseases.
contributor
Jesus filled up Peter’s boat with so much
God has transferred the power to you too.
asking you to endure, but now I'm asking
Act on it! You’ve SEEN God do multiple
you for deliverance. I believe that you can
things in your life. We have SEEN multiple
heal me in this moment. By the time I
occurrences of delivery, so don't be scared
finished that prayer and walked up to my
to speak to that storm the next time it
room my body stopped shaking
arises. Don't be afraid to speak to the
completely.
alcoholism; don't be fearful of speaking to food poisoning; don't be afraid to speak
God literally said to me, tell me to heal
anything that is keeping you in fear that
you. Why are you asking me for a little
stifles your power. God has given you
piece of the pie? Why don't you ask
authority, power and the Holy Spirit so
for the whole pie? I had enough Faith to
activate all of your faith because you have
ask God to help me, but he said you got
SEEN what He’s already done.
more. Activate all of your faith. God had previously delivered me from
Grow your faith into the size of a mustard
alcoholism, and I didn’t want to keep
seed and even beyond. And go ahead and
asking God for more but God said this
get started today because TOMORROW IS
is what I do. God didn’t leave me in that
TOO LATE TO BE GREAT.
state. He spoke to me to catapult my thinking. What I witnessed coming out of my addictions gave me the strength to see God in a different light. I had the faith at the drop of a rebuke and acted in confidence.
KENDRA DUBLIN
contributor
I responded with, I don't know why I am
A BUSY COUPLE’S GUIDE TO PRIORITIZING THEIR MARRIAGE BY:ASHLEY WILLIS |
SOURCE: HTTPS://WWW.XOMARRIAGE.COM
One of the greatest needs of married
Here are 5 life hacks that might help
couples in the thick of raising kids and
you make time with your spouse a top
building careers is time alone with each
priority:
other. Time can be so limited in this busy season of life due to school activities, job
1. Set specific hours each day for
obligations, keeping up a home, and the
when you both turn off ALL
list goes on and on. We have so many
electronics and have a conversation.
people, places, and things vying for our time and attention, and most of these are good things. However, we must resist the temptation to put our spouse and marriage on the back burner while we tend to everyone and everything else. We can’t assume that “one day…” we might have more time to invest in our marriage. The truth is our spouse and marriage need our focus now more than ever.
I love smartphones, laptops, televisions, social media, and well, most electronic things, but we can really spend too much time on them if we aren’t careful. Before we realize it, we can spend hours on social media and end up ignoring our spouse and family. It’s nearly impossible to have a coherent or productive conversation while we are staring at our phone, laptop, or TV.
Not to mention, it’s rude to our loved
4. Put the kids to bed a little earlier.
ones! So, it’s important that we give
This one is obviously for parents. An
ourselves boundaries. If this is a struggle
earlier bedtime for our children is a sure-
for you and your spouse, try agreeing to
fire way to give ourselves more alone time
turn off all devices during certain hours of
with our spouse. Our kids may not like it
the day when you both are home. For
at first, but it’s important that we explain
most of us, this will most likely be at night-
to them how we love giving them our time
time. Then, once you both have turned off
and attention all day. However, after they
devices, give your spouse your full and
go to bed, we need some special time with
best attention. Spend this time talking to
mommy/daddy. It’s healthy for our kids to
each other and investing in your
see us prioritizing our time with our
relationship. This special time will help
spouse, and once we put this routine in
your marriage to thrive!
place, our kids and spouse will come to expect it.
2. Meet for lunch at least once a month.
5. Don’t bring your work home with
Time with your spouse doesn’t have to be
you.
just at home or at night. Sometimes, it
This can be difficult at times, but we
takes thinking a little outside of the box to create space for more time together. Meeting for lunch may not be possible with some jobs and different shifts, but the timing of the meal doesn’t really matter. What matters is that you both choose to prioritize spending more time together, and a lunch or dinner break is a great opportunity.
can do it if we are more intentional about our time at work. When we leave our work at our workplace, we have more time and attention to offer our spouse and family at the end of the day. In order to keep our work at the workplace, we may also need to make it clear to our co-workers and clients that we rarely if ever take work calls at
3. Schedule and keep a regular date
night because we are spending time
night.
with our family. This may not be well-
Date nights aren’t just for those who are
received, but it is up to us to set the
dating. In fact, I believe married couples
boundaries.
need them even more! Date nights are a great way to experience a break from the daily grind and remember what brought the two of you together. For parents, childcare can be an issue, but there are so many options that make this easier today.
lis l i W ley Ash
If you work from home, this can be tricky. However, you can set boundaries for yourself by shutting down your laptop and cell phone and putting away your work at an appropriate time. This will greatly benefit your marriage and family!
CONTRIBUTOR
say NO to
LIMITATIONS I can't SCATCH THAT I can! I quickly corrected my thoughts as I thought about completing the task before me. It can be overwhelming now and then, but not impossible. How many times have we said these words to God “Can’t,” “I don’t,” “I don’t think, “Maybe I’m not,” and “But” when He wanted to take us higher? How many times have we cursed the very blessing we prayed and fasted for because of the limitations we placed on ourselves. There I said it. That word. Limitations. It has cost us our peace, joy, opportunities, and blessings. We have allowed man-made limitations to rob us of the endless possibilities God has created for us. It’s about time we put an end to it. Why? We serve a limitless God. Nothing is impossible for Him. Nothing is too hard or too much of a stretch. Therefore, we are not limited in our creativity, gifts, talents, and faith.
@monicatheophilus founder @amomentwithmonica, minister, prayer warrior , author, writer and contributor at beauty&thegospel magazine .
@beautyandthegospel
When He says to go up, we should not hesitate because of our circumstances. When He says we are called, chosen, and purposeful, we need to believe Him and walk in it.
CONTRIBUTOR Mary is a prime example of someone who believed in God’s limitless abilities. When the Angel told her she would bear a son named Jesus, she replied, “Let it be to me according to your word” (Luke 1:38 NKJV).
Let’s do that from now on!
She did not allow the limitations she may have placed on herself or the limitations of others to stop her from agreeing with God’s plan for her life. Mary chose obedience. As a result, she gave birth to our Savior.
Prayer
We will change our vocabulary and make room for our God to work miracles, signs, and wonders in, through, and around us.
God, I thank you for seeing me as capable. I trust and believe in you, and I make room for you to move however you please in my life. Have your way— in Jesus’ name amen.
Mary’s story makes me wonder, what miracle could we be blocking because of our limitations? I believe God wants to change all of our lives for the greater. He is saying right now, “I HAVE MORE FOR YOU.” However, to gain access to it, we have to allow Him to do whatever He desires with our lives.
Be Encouraged, Love Monica
@beautyandthegospel
Plugged In As I grew in stature, it became clear to me that anything or anyone that I leaned into for comfort would eventually fail me. This occurred with my first romantic heartbreak, and then again as I realized that my parents had insecurities and brokenness that had impacted my life. Recently, I awoke with a startling vision of my face that appeared as an “ugh” emoji face (type “Ugh” as a text, and you will see the desperate emoji face pop up!). And in my right hand was a plug with a cord that connected to my soul. I knew the LORD was speaking to me. When what our heart and soul depended upon for security, comfort and identity is removed we are left desperate for a source of life. We were created to “plug into” the faithful Spirit of our Creator. Throughout our day, we must ask ourselves, “what am I plugged into?” Am I plugging into others, or seeking comfort foods and drinks that would pacify the internal dull ache of my soul?
Am I plugging and unplugging myself from one distraction to the next – from one technology or social media distraction to another? In your mind’s eye, unplug from the faulty energy of this world. Humbly reach for and tap into the power of eternal life through our almighty, righteous Yeshua, Who sits at the right hand of our Father. Commune with Him Who lives within your soul, for He will keep you in perfect peace.
FEATURED
Cynthia's Letters
DEVOTIONS
CONTRIBUTOR
WHO DO YOU SAY HE IS? MINISTER KARABO
St. Mark 8:27 Jesus and his disciples went on to the villages around Caesarea Philippi. On the way he asked them, Who do people say I am? Beloved, the answer to this question is determined by your relationship with Lord Jesus Christ. It is determined by your intimacy with Him, the kind of relationship you have with him, your encounter with Him. Many at times, we know people’s opinion about Him and stick to it because we do not know who He is – we've never had an encounter with Him.
PRAYER: Father, I pray that may my relationship with You grow. May you open my spiritual eyes to see Who You Are and have an encounter with You. Help me to build intimacy with You so that I may know You and Your power in my life. Amen
Today is the day in which you must reflect, evaluate and assess your relationship with Him then you will find the answer to this question. For flesh and blood cannot reveal this.
Karabo Lekwape, is the daughter of the Most High. Who believes that without God you are nothing. She completed her Degree in BCom Accounting and is currently studying Post Grad in Financial Accounting. Throughout her journey of life, she saw Gods amazing works and would advise that people ensure that they are running their race with God.. Pure Grace.. karabo lekwape
WHY MIRRIAM STARTED STRONG BUT FINISHED
WRITTEN BY:
Poorly
GAIL BURTON PURATH
Miriam did a great many godly things in her
Exodus 2:4-8: His sister [Miriam] stood at a
lifetime, but her last recorded actions in
distance to see what would happen to him. 5
Scripture are petty, jealous criticisms of her
Then Pharaoh's daughter went down to the Nile
younger brother, Moses.
to bathe, and her attendants were walking along the river bank. She saw the basket among the
Let's see what truths we can learn from her
reeds and sent her slave girl to get it. 6 She
life.
opened it and saw the baby. He was crying, and she felt sorry for him. "This is one of the Hebrew
1. What insights does this passage give
babies," she said. 7 Then his sister [Miriam]
us about young Miriam who was
asked Pharaoh's daughter, "Shall I go and get
guarding her baby brother Moses as he
one of the Hebrew women to nurse the baby for
floated near the bank of the Nile?
you?" 8 "Yes, go," she answered. And the girl went and got the baby's mother.
In this passage we can see that God was already at work in young Miriam's life, preparing her for the faith adventures that
We don't know what her role involved because this act of celebration is the only specific act mentioned in Scripture. But we do know that her
lay ahead.
role and Aaron's role were never equal to the role
We don't know how old she was at this
directly to God. Even her act of celebration
time, but she was remarkably clever to ask Pharaoh's daughter if she wanted her to find someone to nurse the baby. Imagine how relieved and happy Moses' mother felt when she heard baby Moses was safe and
of Moses. He was the leader of leaders who spoke followed Moses' lead. See Exodus 12:8 below. 3. What does this passage tell us about Miriam near the end of her life?
she would be part of his young life.
READ - Numbers 12:1-15
Miriam had a choice--to let God use her as
and racial bigotry since the Cushites were non-
Moses's sister or to become jealous of her brother who now would be raised in the lap of luxury while she lived as a slave. Did the jealousy she exhibited in later life start here? We don't know. 2. What does this passage tell us about
This situation may have started because of ethnic Jews and probably dark skinned. It is comforting to know that God did not stand for this kind of bigotry. I once heard a pastor say that he imagined that God was saying, "So you only like white skin, Miriam. Then I'll give you very white skin!" (i.e. leprosy).
Miriam after the Red Sea miracle?
But the motivation behind Miriam and Aaron's
Exodus 15:20-21: Then Miriam the
they should be just as important as Moses and
prophetess, Aaron's sister, took a tambourine in her hand, and all the women followed her, with tambourines and dancing. 21 Miriam sang to them: "Sing to the LORD, for he is highly exalted. The horse and its rider he has
criticism of Moses was jealousy. They thought they weren't. God rebuked both Miriam and Aaron, but he punished Miriam. While Scripture doesn't explain, it seems likely that Miriam was the instigator of
hurled into the sea."
this event, influencing Aaron to join her. It is also
Find Moses' song in verses 1-19 of this
from Miriam is recorded in Scripture.
chapter. Micah 6:4 tells us that Miriam was called to be a leader working with Moses and Aaron and this passage refers to her as a prophetess meaning she had an important role in speaking truth to God's people.
significant that Aaron repented, but no apology
This passage is a good warning to us to be satisfied with whatever role God has assigned us without coveting the positions of others. I cannot help but wonder if the reason Miriam is not mentioned again in Scripture is because her attitude never changed and her ministry to God's people ended. I hope that is not the case, but the choice was hers.
devotions
Love is the Standard by Dr André and Jenny Roebert Luke 17:5 (NLT): "The apostles said to the Lord, "Show us how to increase our faith."" Isn't it interesting that in the preceding verses to the disciples asking for this "faith injection", Jesus was speaking to them about forgiveness? Not just addressing a one-time "per chance" forgiveness; but the intentional choice to forgive repeatedly, even when it feels like patience and the grace to forgive has been exhausted. We tend to mark our own standard of forgiveness by how much others deserve to be forgiven. But this is not the standard set by Jesus, is it. In Matthew 5:46 He said, "For if you love those who love you, what reward can you have? Do not even the tax collectors do that?" Think on that for a moment! One of the ways the sincerity and genuineness of our faith will be made evident is by our willingness to put God's way of treating others above our own, especially when it's not convenient for our feelings to do so. The standard by which we forgive others is directly proportional to the evidence of active faith in us. Both are measured by the presence of God's love operating within us. God's love in us is the standard by which we increase in every spiritual quality. Let it abound in your heart and nothing will stop you from being a spiritual giant in Him!
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