Dress Modestly

Beauty is not a new concept. The Bible describes Rachel in Genesis 29:17 as someone who had a beautiful figure and a lovely face. In fact, Isaac thought Rachel, Laban's daughter was so beautiful that he eventually worked for Laban for fourteen years in order to marry her. Clearly, the argument that women are prettier today is inane.

One of the ways that women express their beauty is through their dress. The way that a person dresses is also usually a sign of their values. For Christians, it can be a sign to unbelivers of their aunthenticity.

1 Peter 3:3-4 says, "Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as braided hair and the wearing of gold jewelry and fine clothes. Instead, it should be that of your inner self, the unfailing beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God's sight.

Beauty should come from within a person. However, much too many Christians are succumbing to the latest fashion trends. Their rationale is that they want to "look good."

We often allow the pictures in magazines and the music aired on the radio to dictate what we wear. Few people consider their faith when shopping for clothing. In fact, some people have an entirely diffferent wardorbe for church.

However, those same women will not hesitate to refer to themselves as queens. The title "queen" denotes royalty. Movies such as "The Prince and Me" depict what queens wear and how they behave. A queen dresses elegantly, but modestly. She is very poised and speaks proper English.

Queens do not follow the trends, they set them. Furthermore, dressing modestly is not a sin. Seductive clothing attracts the wrong type of men. Most of whom only want to have sex with women who dress provocatively. We do not have to show some skin to attract our future husband.

Keys to Dressing Modest:

1. Renew your mind so that you do not conform to the standards of the world.
2. Jesus set you free, but do not exercise your freedom in a way that does not glorify God.
3. Crucify your flesh daily so you will not gratify the sinful nature.

RESOURCES:

What Guys See That Girls Don't by Sharon Daugherty

Secret Keeper 2005: The Delicate Power of Modesty by Dannah Gresh

The Lost Art of True Beauty: The Set-Apart Girl's Guide to Feminine Grace by Leslie Ludy

Why Wear Those Hoochie Mama Dresses? What's Your Style-Royalty or Risque-Martha Cahoon

Where Are You Going?

As I passed by Holy Cross Lutheran Church in North Miami, I could not help but notice the words on the bulletin board: Life: The Time God Gives You To Decide How You Will Spend Eternity."

Those words brought a passage of scripture to mind: Luke 16:19-31. Luke 16 is a biblical description of what it will feel like in hell. It tells the story of the rich man who ignored Lazarus, the beggar. Here is the account:

"There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and lived in luxury every day. At his gate was laid a beggar named Lazarus, covered with sores and longing to eat what fell from the rich man's table. Even the dogs came and licked his sores.

The time came when the beggar died and the angels carried him to Abraham's side.
The rich man also died and was buried. In hell, where he was in torment, he
looked up and saw Abraham far away, with Lazarus by his side. So he called to him, 'Father Abraham,
have pity on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool
my tongue, because I am in agony in this fire.

But Abraham replied,
'Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, while
Lazarus received bad things, but now he is comforted here and you are in agony.
And besides all this, between us and you, a great chasm has been fixed, so that
those who want to go from here to you cannot, nor can anyone cross over from
there to us.

He answered, 'Then I beg you, father, send Lazarus to my father's house, for I have five brothers. Let him warn them, so that they will not also come to this place of torment.'

Abraham replied, 'They have Moses and the Prophets; let them listen to them.'

'No, father Abraham,' he said, 'but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.'

He said to him, 'If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.'

Revelation 3:20 says that God waits for us to invite him into our hearts. Revelation 21:8 warns that those who do not believe in God will go to hell.

2 Corinthians 4:4 says that many people do not believe in God because Satan has blinded their eyes. Still many others believe in God, but do not have a personal relationship with him. Part of that reason is because they are repelled by the church and the behavior of people who claim to be Christians. The antidote: Develop a relationship with God that is independent of others.

Life itself is hard, but when you add Jesus to the equation, you can stress less because you can cast your cares on him. Stellar Kart sang a similar refrain in their song, "Life is Good:" "Life is good, but eternal life is better."

You decide: heaven or hell?

RESOURCES:

One Minute After You Die

How You Can Be Sure That You Will Spend Eternity with God

Divine Revelation Of Hell

Divine Revelation Of Heaven

23 Minutes in Hell

90 Minutes in Heaven: A True Story of Death & Life

Fundamentals of the Faith: 13 Lessons to Grow in the Grace and Knowledge of Jesus Christ

25 Basic Bible Studies: Including Two Contents, Two Realities

Got Questions?: Bible Questions Answered - Answers to the Questions People Are Really Asking
Learn the Bible in 24 Hours

Can Man Live Without God by Ravi Zacharias

No Stealing, Killing or Destroying Allowed!

John 10:10 is a popular verse of scripture. It says that the devil comes to steal, kill and destroy, but Jesus came to give us an abundant life.

As Christians, we have an inheritance because we are in covenant with God. That covenant is explained in the Bible and includes salvation, protection and prosperity. The devil does not have an inheritance because he refuses to believe God. As a result, he steals, kills and destroys to get what he wants.

1 Kings 21 gives an account of how wicked King Ahab killed Naboth because he wanted his inheritance. This explains the quote, "The cemetery is the richest place in the world." Many people die with unfulfilled dreams.

Many people allow the devil to steal from them and destroy them because they think that this is normal. While God promises to restore the years that the devil steals in Joel 2:25, God does not want the devil to steal anything from us. We should be on the defensive and prevent the devil from stealing from us and destroying us. We are connected to God and no weapon formed against us prospers according to Isaiah 54:17.

In fact, we are supposed to be taking things from the devil. Proverbs 13:22 says that the wealth of the wicked is reserved for the righteous. That means that our wealth should not be devoured by the devil.

Matthew 12:29 says that we can tie up the devil and his evil spirits and carry off with his possessions through the power of the Holy Spirit. It's time to plunder the enemy's things.

I bind the thief from stealing, killing and destroying in my life.

RESOURCES:

Satan His Motives and Methods

The God of Justice

We don't need statistics to tell us that the world is full of wickedness. In fact, it seems as if there is an increase in wickedness as time progreses. There are many theories about the reason for wickedness, but one of the most overlooked reasons is that people do not seek justice. As a result, few people know God as deliverer and vindicator. The majority of people who want justice resort to guns and witchcraft. In addition, the wicked continue to prosper because they mistakenly believe that God is silent, but the Bible says that one breath from God's mouth can destroy the wicked.

I asked God to avenge me for the wrongdoing my persecutors have done to my family and I in June 2008. An African witchdoctor hired by my enemies is trying to block the answer to my prayer, but I know that God will eventually give me justice.

In the Old Testament, God fought many battles for those who had a covenant with him. He also used wicked rulers to show his glory, but we must always remember that justice comes from God.

In the New Testament, Luke 18 tells the story of a persistent widow who received justice after crying out to God day and night.

The only thing we have to do to receive justice is to ask God to avenge us.

There are other scriptures in the Bible which talk of God's justice.

Proverbs 21:15: Justice is a joy to the godly, but it terrifies evildoers."

Proverbs 29:26: "Many seek the ruler's favor, but justice comes from the Lord."

Isaiah 61:8: "For I, the Lord, love justice. I hate robbery and wrongdoing."

Amos 5:7: "You twist justice, making it a bitter pill for the oppressed. You treat the righteous like dirt."

Matthew 5:6: "God bless those who hunger and thirst for justice, for they shall be satisfied." (NLT)

2 Thessalonians 1:5-6: "God will use this persecution to show his justice and to mkae you worthy of his Kingdom, for which you are suffering. In his justice, he will pay back those who persecute you."


RESOURCES:

God: As He Longs for You to See Him

Jealousy and Your Future

Jealousy is heralded as a respectable sin. Don't we all have a little bit of jealousy people justify? No we do not.

God commanded us to not covet our neighbor's possessions in the 10 Commandments because he knew how destructive jealousy really is.

Jealous people tear others down with their words and try to kill people because of what they have. Harboring jealousy allows us to be used by Satan. James 3:14-15 says that it is demonic. I saw first-hand how an African witchdoctor recruited Christians and nonbelievers alike by telling them something about my future. He said, "Anyone of us can be used by the devil with a touch. It's something demonic in them that it attaches to."

Jealousy is listed as one of the signs of carnality in Galatians 5: 19-21. In essence, when we are jealous, we behave like demons and people who are living in darkness.

A Christian who exhibits jealousy is one that does not that they have a covenant with God and can claim their inheritance simply by asking God for what they want.

Jealousy also prevents us from fulfilling our destiny because we are so focused on the achievements and possessions of others that we neglect our own destiny. Joan Didion explains the root of all jealousy: "To cure jealousy is to see it for what it is, a dissatisfaction with self," she said.

There is a growing trend of jealousy among parents because they compare their children with those of other people's. They are not happy because their children did not meet the expectations that they had hoped. In their jealousy, they resort to doing witchcraft on other people's children to prevent them from succeeding.

Sometimes, they become so focused on destroying others that it consumes all of their time. But, the irony is that they usually end up destroying themselves because their plans backfire. As a result, many promising children have become vagabonds.

While standing in front of my parent's bedroom during the week of April 8, I heard Piman Bouk, a Haitian radio disc jockey in Miami, Fl share an interesting story on his radio station, AM 1320. He told it in Kreyol, but I translated it for my blog.

He said that he saw a junkie and asked the junkie:
"What made you a junkie? Were you a junkie when you left Haiti?"
The junkie replied, "no."
Piman Bouk asked again, "Then how did you become a junkie?"
The junkie confessed, "Hating people turned me into a vagabond."

This story also shows that jealousy is one of the faces of hate. Proverbs 27:4 says that it is more dangerous than anger.

Jealousy also affects our health. Proverbs 14:30 says that jealousy causes our bones to rot. The New Living Translation of the same verse says that it is like cancer in the bones.

Solutions:

See jealousy for what it really is: demonic and a dissatisfaction with yourself.
Acknowledge that you are jealous.
Stop comparing yourself to other people.
Be thankful for your achievements.
Celebrate the accomplishments of others.
Focus on your own destiny.

Resources:

Respectable Sins: Confronting the Sins We Tolerate

The Sin No One Talks About: Jealousy

A Revelation of Righteousness

Revelation 12:10 describes Satan as the accuser of the brethren who accuses us before God day and night. His job is to constantly accuse us of being unrighteous.

Since I learned that the devil is trying to ruin my reputation, God gave me a fresh revelation of righteousness and where it comes from.

To be righteous means to be made right with God. It is sometimes interchanged with the word holy.

How do we become righteous?

Romans 3:20 says that we cannot become righteous by keeping the law. Verse 22 of the same chapter says that we are made right with God by placing our faith in Christ Jesus.

Romans 4:5 confirms that our righteousness comes from God when it says that people are counted as righteous because of their faith in God.

Clearly, the Lord is our righteousness (see Jeremiah 23:6)

When we accept Jesus as savior, we get a clean slate and God declares us to be righteous. He exchanges our sins for his righteousness. Righteous character is therefore the fruit of salvation (see Philippians 1:11).

Zechariah 3 shows Satan accusing Jeshua, the high priest, before the Lord's angel. Jeshua was sinful, but the angel removed his sin and changed his dirty clothing into new clothes. This explains 2 Corinthians 5:17 which says that if any man be in Christ, he is a new creation because old things have passed away.

In short,

You+Jesus=Righteousness
You-Jesus=Righteousness

However, God's righteousness is not an excuse to sin. We have to maintain our righteousness. We are called to be living epistles to the world so that we can win others to Christ. Romans 2:24 says that when unbelievers see Christians living in sin, they blaspheme God's name.

Don't allow God's name to be blasphemed because of your sin!

Moreover, in Romans 8:33-34, God tells us that Satan's accusation and condemnation are useless. "No one can accuse those whom God has chosen because God has given us right standing with himself. No one can condemn us because Christ died for us and was raised to life for us."

RESOURCE:

Overcoming Sin and Temptation by John Owen

The Pursuit of Holiness

Don't Forget About God's Love!

I am so glad that Valentine's Day is on Sunday this year. sunday is the first day of the week and it is also the day that most people go to church. The Bible commands us to love God first and then our neighbors. Clearly, when we love God and understand his love for us, we are better able to love our neighbors.

Here's a challenge: In between buying cards and chocolate, ask God into your heart (ie. say the prayer of salvation and accept him as your Savior). Then, meditate on his love for you: He gave you the breath of life, a healthy body, a sound mind, food to eat, and clothess to wear.

The most quoted and well-known Bible verse is John 3:16: "For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son that whoever believes in him should not perish but have everlasting life." However, the Bible is replete with God's love. You should read it, starting with the book of John!

Esther

I read the book of Esther yesterday. I have read it many times before and know about Esther becoming queen and I recall how she declared a fast before risking her life to save the Jews. I love to read the Bible because every time I read it, I learn something new.

As I was reading Esther, I learned that the Jews were delivered on the day that Haman has set aside for their annihilation: March 7 and March 8. they rested on March 9. Haman decided to annihilate the Jews after Mordecai refused to bow down to him.

In addition, Haman was impaled on the pole that he set up for Mordecai. The Jews killed their enemies on March 7 and March 8 and rested on March 9. Haman's evil plans backfired on him. This is just one of the many examples of divine justice throughout the Bible and I am waiting and trusting God for my day of divine justice. I have a feeling that it will end up just like this!

Haiti: Earthquake, Rebuilding, Voodoo

I spent New Year's Day eating pumpkin soup. Eating pumpkin soup is a yearly tradition that my mother started as a way to pass her Haitian heritage to her children. We eat pumpkin soup every year in celebration of Haiti's independence from France. My mother made sure that I ate pumpkin soup this year because I had missed out on this tradition for the past two years because I was in New York. However, it made no difference whether I ate pumpkin soup. while eating pumpkin soup was an act of celebrating Haitian independence, Haitians became oppressors themselves with the help of witchcraft. Hence, this took away the significance of the soup for Americans like me.

About two weeks after eating pumpkin soup, something surprisingly flashed on my TV screen. It was a news alert: Earthquake hits Haiti.

Many building collapsed including The National Palace, the seat of government. This is being called the deadliest earthquake in history.

I visited Haiti in 2003 with my mother and brother. While we did not stay in Port-au-Prince, I got a chance to see some of the country's beauty.

My curiosity with the country spurred my decision to write my master's project at Columbia University about successful Haitians. Stories about Haiti's poverty was highlighted throughout the news (ex. Haitians eating mud pies to fight hunger pangs). For my project, I profiled six Haitian-born residents of the U.S. who had left Haiti's oppression and succeeded in America. I believed that their stories were unknown.

But, Haiti has another untold story that no one wants to talk about: voodoo.

When I first logged into my Facebook account after seeing the news alert, some of the Haitian Americans in my network wrote, "God is good" and "God is great." For a moment, I was baffled. What was great about an earthquake?

Well, in their opinion, the earthquake symbolized God's wrath. God was basically purging Haiti of the evil load of witchcraft.

This is disappointing because Haiti overthrew two harsh systems of oppression: slavery and dictatorial rule. However, its citizens have themselves become oppressors with the help of voodoo.

Voodoo is the dark, evil cloak that has been causing centuries of death and suffering on the island. It helps to maintain Haiti's oppression and poverty.

As I write this post, my family and I have been battling voodoo and now Obeah for at least a decade. The latest withcraft attack began because I decided to go to New York to obtain a masters degree in journalism from Columbia University. Sadly, I never told any of my parents relatives about my decision.

The nature of the attack is two-fold: Envy and a family conflict. My parents' relatives do not want me to have money or a house. They claim to have come to America for a better economic future, but they use witchcraft to stop Americans like me from living the American dream. God created me to reflect his glory and to fulfill my inevitable destiny. I refuse to live below the level that God has ordained for me to live.

While almost 80 percent of Haiti is Roman Catholic, that number is meaningless because most churchgoers are also practitioners of voodoo. In fact, voodoo is recognized as a religion in Haiti's constitution.

Members of the diaspora say that God is using this earthquake as a wake up call to the Haitian people: stop doing evil. Too much blood has been shed in the country's 209 year history. Some Haitian-born add that Haitians kill you for what you have and those who have money pretend to be poor because they are afraid of people killing them.Voodoo is a tool that Haitians use to prevent you from achieving and prospering.

While every ethnic group practices some form of witchcraft, Haitians, Jamaicans, and Africans are among the most notorious. They are very vocal about witchcraft and have access to it with just a phone call or money transfer. However, people are not all of one thing.

Ricot Dupuy of Radio Soleil was recorded as saying that Haiti is not built to withstand anything. He is right. I recently read the Book of Nehemiah about the rebuilding of the wall of Jerusalem and I hope that God will use this earthquake to both rebuild Haiti and to uproot voodoo from Haiti's national identity.

Unless God becomes the foundation of Haiti, the rebuilding will be in vain or as Psalm 127:1 puts it, "Unless the Lord builds a house, the work of the builders is wasted." Psalm 33:12 adds that "Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord." However, that does not mean that Haiti is under a curse.

Nevertheless, Haiti needs love, mercy and support. Here is a link with organizations that you can donate money to help Haiti.

For a history of Haiti, refer to this timeline.

On Courting and the Blueprint for Marriage!

I have been single for my adult life. Part of the reason for my singleness is because I am still learning what makes marriages work. The other part for my singleness is that a Haitian witch is doing witchcraft so people don't hire me and did witchcraft so I only get married to Haitians so they and their family can do witchcraft on me. 

I will never date or marry a Haitian man because Haitians do witchcraft. The Haitian witch did witchcraft to hook people up with people and has failed to do witchcraft to hook me up with Haitians. 

I believe that when we look for love, we rarely find it in its purest form. God is love and when we allow him to fill us with his unconditional love, we love ourselves completely and allow love to find us.

I highly recommend two books for women who are single and wish to eventually marry. The first book will help you determine whether you are prepared to marry. It is Settling for Less than God's Best: A Relationship Check for Single Women by Elsa Kok. The second book is Dating with Pure Passion by Rob Eager.

We need to love and be loved. 1 Corinthians 13:2 says that if we have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge and if we have faith that can move mountains, but have not loved, we are nothing. Verse 13 adds that love is the greater than faith and hope.

While I am trusting and waiting for God to match me with my husband, I have discovered some of the things that make a godly marriage.

First, I believe that God should always be at the core of a godly marriage.

Once a woman becomes Christian, there should be only one way to her heart: through Jesus. Some Haitians pretend to be Christian and do witchcraft on people and go to church. The Haitian witch who is doing witchcraft on me goes to church.

Some Christian women decide to date unbelievers because they believe they can convince them to become Christians. While 1 Peter 3:1 says that Christian women can achieve this goal by their behavior, this can lead to problems in relationships. The woman will find herself fighting with evil spirits that hate and undermine marriage such as lust, adultery, and pornography.

In addition, Christian men are best because it's unlikely that an unbeliever will pray with and for you in a crisis. Unbelievers often resort to other things like sex and chocolate as temporary solutions.

A husband's love for his wife should be patterned after Christ's love the church: unconditionally, redemptively, and sacrificially. He must know and obey the Bible. More importantly, he must walk in discernment. There are a lot of false teachings and evil spirits in the world right now and if he cannot discern these things, he cannot properly be the head of the household. A husband must protect his home from the world, the devil and wicked people.

A husband should be mature. By maturity, I mean that a man should not tell another man that he's playing with a woman who says that she does not like him. 

 A man should have a bed and should not sleep on the floor. It's sickening to know that there's a Haitian man who does not have a bed and is sleeping on the floor who is desperate for sex and for me, a woman who he knows does not like him.

A man must pay his debt. The Haitian man who does not have a bed doesn't pay his debt and was sued three times because he does not want to pay his debt.

A man must not be so concerned with short-term things that he ignores warnings or compromises the future because the decisions that we make today affect others and our future. Poor decisions are the cause of many generational curses. Many children, including myself, have been hindered because of something that their ancestors did. I believe that sincerity, not persistence is the evidence of a real pursuit. Just because someone expresses interest in you does not mean that they are genuine. Some men pursue women for money, sex, status, fame or to impress their friends. That is why it is best for women to be whole in their singleness and to let God be their matchmaker. This will eliminate any hint of desperation.

One of the best ways to help God be your matchmaker is to cling to God as you pray for your godly husband. Nancy Leigh DeMoss has a wonderful resource on her website about praying for your husband. She offers 31 days of prayers for your husband. You can read or download it here:
https://www.reviveourhearts.com/topics/downloads/index.php?id=9473

I also recommend Sharon Jaynes' book, Becoming the Woman of His Dreams. In her book, she lists seven qualities men desire from women: prays for him, respects him, adores him, initiates intimate friendship with him, safeguards her marriage, encourages him and sexually fulfills him. Women also look for these qualities in men.

Read Ephesians 5:22-33. It's a blueprint for a healthy marriage. More importantly, you must know that "He who finds a wife finds a good thing and obtains favor from the Lord" (Proverbs 18:22)A husband should make sure that he treats his wife with respect. 1 Peter 3:7 says that when a man does not treat his wife with respect, his prayers are hindered.

Some people believe that there is something wrong with being single, but when we are single, we can focus on our relationship with God. There is a website that helps people combat the pressures of sex while they are single: http://www.porn-free.org/single.htm.

Other Helpful Resources:

Lies Young Women Believe: And the Truth that Sets Them Free

Loving People: How to Love and Be Loved

100 Things to Know When Dating-Rose Publishing

Love Talk Starters: 275 Questions to Get Your Conversations Going

Should I Get Married?

10 Great Dates Before You Say

NKJV FamilyLife Marriage Bible: Equipping Couples for Life

Devotions For Dating Couples: Building A Foundation For Spiritual Intimacy

The Love Dare Day by Day: A Year of Devotions for Couples

Couples Who Pray: The Most Intimate Act Between a Man and a Woman

Before You Say

His Needs Her Needs

Love, Dating, and Marriage

Love, Sex, and Lasting Relationships

Nine Critical Mistakes Most Couples Make: Identify the Pitfalls and Discover God's Help

Now You're Speaking My Language: Honest Communication and Deeper Intimacy for a Stronger Marriage

Everybody Wins: The Chapman Guide to Solving Conflicts without Arguing (Chapman Guides)

The Five Languages of Apology: How to Experience Healing in All Your Relationships

And the Bride Wore White: Seven Secrets to Sexual Purity

Every Man's Battle: Winning the War on Sexual Temptation One Victory at a Time (The Every Man Series)

The Language of Sex: Experiencing the Beauty of Sexual Intimacy

The Fig Leaf Conspiracy: Sexuality As It Was Meant to Be

What Did You Expect?: Redeeming the Realities of Marriage by Paul Tripp

5 Essentials for Lifelong Intimacy by Dr. James Dobson

Ten Lessons to Transform Your Marriage: America's Love Lab Experts Share Their Strategies for Strengthening Your Relationship by John M. Gottman

Why Can't You Read My Mind? Overcoming the 9 Toxic Thought Patterns that Get in the Way of a Loving Relationship by Jeffrey Bernstein

Emotional Fitness for Couples: 10 Minutes a Day to a Better Relationship by Barton Goldsmith

The Secrets Men Keep: How Men Make Life and Love Tougher Than It Has to Be by Stephen Arterburn

Start Your Family: Inspiration for Having Babies by Steve & Candice Watters

The Devil Wants to Ruin my Reputation!

I have not entered ministry yet, but the devil is already trying to ruin my reputation. He wants to kill my potential to walk in the spirit realm. Minister Nai of Royalhouse Chapel in Bronx, NY mentioned this in his sermon in June. I now realize that his tongue was anointed by witchcraft.

Before coming back home from New York, my enemies did much to keep me from coming home. I went to sleep at what I believed was the sister of my brother's friend, but I now realize that a familiar and succubus spirit might have been used to attack me while I slept.

I saw a piece of paper on the door that said, "God grant me the serenity to accept the things that I cannot change. Submit to God's will and all will be well."

They believe that it is God's will for me to practice witchcraft. They are doing everything that they can to try to make me miserable so I can stop serving God.

I also later learned that I had curses and evil spirits. It is obvious that they performed an initiation rite on me while I slept. My aunt also told me to tell God that I am a sinner. She is proud because her plan worked! I clear off anything unlawfully done to me while I slept.

They are slandering me because I follow the course that is right. (see Psalm 38:20) They find my purity and spiritual maturity threatening because it will expose their darkness. (see John 3:20)

When you are blameless and the devil cannot find any accusation to bring against you, he gets desperate. They are afraid that my light will expose their darkness so they are trying to convince others that I am like them.

I have been praying using Dr. D. K. Olukoya's CD, 120 Prayers to Crush Witchcraft. One of the prayers mentioned is to counteract the burial and exchange of someone's virtue.

In addition, the devil knows that no one in their right mind would practice witchcraft and that is why witches believe in reincarnation and altered states of consciousness. These two things help them control and manipulate people.

God sees and knows that I am godly. He will clear me of all false accusations and the tongues of my slanderers are already condemned!

The Lost of Praise

I have visited many churches this past year. I have also earnestly sought the baptism of the Holy Spirit with the evidence of speaking in tongues. I have also seen the different approaches of churches in imparting spirit baptism. Some people tell you to say Hallelujah really fast until your tongue gets tied, others lay hands on you and some pray for you, but I was surprised that no church mentioned anything about using an atmosphere of praise and worship to receive spirit baptism.

I only learned of this method after my tongue got tied while I was singing during praise and worship. I was amazed because I have not experienced this before.

David knew the importance of praise and that is why he hired full-time musicians. More churches need to learn to praise like David!

RESOURCES:

Breakthrough: How to Experience God's Presence When You Need It Most (The Worship Series)

The Anointing of the sons of Issachar

I learned about the sons of Issachar last year from a prayer that I received. The sons of Issacha are mentioned in 1 Chronicles 12:32. They are described as people who understood the times and know what Israel should do. Bill Lewis has written a book about the sons of Issachar called "Sons of Issachar for the 21st Century."

In his book, he writes that they intercede for our nation. One of their purpose is to affect every part of society. Sons and daughters of Issachar are reference points for their generation.

Witchcraft Masquerading as a Test from God

After leaving the false church in 2009, my enemies have being trying to masquerade their witchcraft as a test from God. I left that church, but the false prophet is still opposing me. They seem to think that I have not been tried enough by God so I must go to jail and get sick. He recruited the church in his quest to make sure that his false prophecies come to pass! One of which includes spiritual death.

The devil is trying to wear me out because he believes that if they can wear me out, I will decide to stop serving God and stop believing in his unconditional love for me. However, I will nevergiveup or have anything to do with anyone who practices witchcraft. I would rather die than practice the shameful things that they do: sexual perversion, idolatry, manipulating and killing innocent people. But, I guess that is why they are trying to kill me. The devil knows that I am nothing like my enemies. What they do not know is that God will not allow them to kill me and they will never have my soul.
Besides, I am not convinced that witchcraft is better than Christianity. The same people who are doing witchcraft so I don't get a job cannot even get a job themselves. They had to resort to begging people to help them. Why would I want any part of that?

But, the Bible says that God knows how to rescue me from my trials. 2 Peter 2:9: "The Lord knows how to rescue godly men from trials and to hold the unrighteous for the day of judgment, while continuing their punishment."

I trust God's sovereignty and I know that he will never leave me or forsake me.

There's No Difference!

Malachi 3:18 says there should be a difference between the righteous and the wicked, those who serve God and those who do not. But, last year, I saw first hand that there really is no difference. The things that people who claim to be Christians have done are so disgusting that if my salvation depended on their righteousness, I would probably never decide to love God.

But, I am grateful that I love God and my love for him does not depend on what other people do. However, I know that many unbelievers already have a preconceived notion of what it means to be Christian and think that they are better off not going to church. I once was a part of that group. As a result, I will continue being a living epistle because I know that I may be the only picture of Christianity that someone ever sees.

Also, the Bible says in 2 Peter that a person who receives the truth about God and reverts back to their old shameful ways is like a dog who returns to its vomit. That's an ugly picture. That's why the Bible says that we have to work out our salvation with fear and trembling (see Philippians 2:12).

When Jesus died on the cros for us, he died to redeem us from sin and death. A person who confesses Jesus as Savior, but does not live a transformed life, does not understand what Jesus did on the cross. Jesus does not change his mind about us so we should not change our minds about him.

Be the difference!

The Word

Hebrews 4:12 describes God's Word as alive, powerful, and sharper than a two-edged sword.

When you read the Word, God speaks to you. Since August, God has been giving me instructions and telling me about my future using scripture. For example, one day I woke up and the Holy Spirit dropped the words, "pray without ceasing" into my spirit.

I have a prophetic mantle and Ezekiel 3 shows how the Word is the foundational structure for the prophetic.

"And he said to me, "Son of Man, eat what is before you, eat this scroll; then go and speak to the house of Israel. So I opened my mouth, and he gave me the scroll to eat. Then he said to me, "Son of Man, eat this scroll I am giving you and fill your stomach with it. So I ate it and it tasted as sweet as honey in my mouth." (Ezekiel 3: 1-4)

Another benefit of reading God's Word (Bible) is that you prevent yourself from being deceived by false teachers and prophets. The Bereans referred to in Acts are a great example of this.

Acts 17:10-11:

"As soon as it was night the brothers sent Paul and Silas away to Berea. On arriving there, they went to the Jewish synagogue. Now the Bereans were of more noble character than the Thessalonians, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true."

The more of the Bible that you know, the greater your level of spiritual discernment will be. When you know little or no Word, the devil can manipulate you and brain wash you.

I love the scene in the Book of Eli where Carnegie is searching for the Bible because he wants to build more towns. He says that the Bible will allow him to control the feeble.

Psalm 119 is the longest psalm in the Bible. Verse 9 says that when we obey God's Word, we will stay pure. Verse 98 also says that it will make you wiser than your enemies. Verse 105 says that God's Word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.

One of the difficulties of reading the Bible is not knowing what to read. Well, now you do not have to worry because you can read the Bible online at BibleStudyTools.com. They have a yearly Bible reading plan. You can choose to read the Bible chronologically or classically (three passages a day, one from Genesis, Psalm and Luke). They also have a concordance and a dictionary. After creating an account, you can track your bible reading by clicking completed after each daily reading.

Mercy Me has a beautiful song about God's Word. It's called Word of God Speak. Listen to it here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WsoiI8XhpmY

RESOURCES:

Living By the Book: The Art and Science of Reading the Bible

Psalm 91: I am Hiding Under God's Shadow!

I have read Psalm 91 a lot before I go to sleep to thwart witchcraft attacks, but I just read it in the Message translation of the Bible and it is makes me tingle inside!

You who sit down in the High God's presence,
spend the night in Shaddai's shadow,
say this: "God, you'r emy refuge.
I trust in you and I'm safe!"
That's right-he rescues you from hidden traps,
shields you from deadly hazards.
His huge outstretched arms protect you-
under them you're perfectly safe;
his arms fend off all harm.
Fear nothing-not wild wolves in the night,
not flying arrows in the day,
not disease that prowls thru the darkness,
not disaster that erupts at high noon.
Even though others succumb all around,
drop like flies right and left,
no harm will even graze you.
You'll stand untouched, watch it all from a distance,
watch the wicked turn into corpses.
Yes, because God's your refuge.
the High God your very own home,
Evil can't get close to you,
harm can't get through the door.
He ordered his angels to guard you wherever you go.
If you stumble, they'll catch you;
their job is to keep you from falling.
You'll walk unharmed among lions and snakes,
and kick young lions and serpents from the path.

v.14-16:
"If you'll hold on to me for dear life," says God,
"I'll get you out of any trouble.
I'll give you the best of care
if you'll only get to know and trust me.
Call me and I'll answer,
be at your side in bad times;
I'll rescue you, then throw you a party.
I'll give you a long life,
give you a long drink of salvation!

God can throw me a party anytime!

2010

Today is the first day of 2010. I am excited because I know that this year is going to be different. Numbers are very important to God. E. W. Bullinger's book, Number in Scripture is perhaps the most known book on Biblical numerology.

In his book, he uses scripture and biblical events to show the meaning of numbers. He says that 10 signifies the perfection of divine order. He writes, "it implies that nothing is wanting; that the number and order are perfect; that the whole cycle is complete."

What does this mean for this year? It means that God will perfect and complete the good work that he has begun in our lives.