Discerning the day of your visitation

One day Abraham was sitting in the heat of the day at the entrance of his tent when he looked up and saw three men standing in the shade under a tree. He hurried to them, fell on the ground (worship) and said:

"If I have found favor in your eyes, my lord, do not pass your servant by. Let a little water be brought, and then you may all wash your feet and rest under this tree. Let me get you something to eat, so you can be refreshed and then go on your way—now that you have come to your servant." Gen 18:3-5

But how did he know it was the Lord? They were just like men. How did he know it was God? He discerned it. Would you be able to discern the day of your visitation? Paul said that some have entertained angels without knowing, since they appeared in human form. "Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some people have entertained angels without knowing it."Hebrews 13:2

The conversation Abe has with the Lord is so interesting. I mean Abraham is actually feeding the Lord human food to eat and having a conversation where God says, I will come back and visit you again and your wife will have a son. It is mind boggling to me how God, on his way to a destroy Sodom and Gomorrah decides to drop by Abe's house. The Lord says vs 14 "Is anything too hard for the LORD ? I will return to you at the appointed time next year and Sarah will have a son."

There is an appointed time for you, a time for your visitation, but it must be discerned. You have to know the hour of your visitation and not miss it. God himself never misses an appointed time. He does not forget, he is never late, but at the appointed time he shows up and shows out to the glory of his name. You may have been waiting on the Lord for a particular thing. Take heart. It will be done at the appointed time. Favor will be shown to you at the appointed time.

It struck me how God thought it was normal for Sarah to have a baby at ninety. He is like "Why did Sarah laugh when I said she would have a baby next year?" I would have been like "Duh... she is ninety, hallo..." But to God the supernatural is natural!! Say that with me "To God the supernatural is natural" so it doesn't shock him when Kidneys are replaced, or the dead are raised, or cripples walk, or you get married at 50 and have your first child (in perfect health) at 52. Your times are in his hands and when the appointed time comes, God will arise and have favour on you!!!

Discern the time of your visitation! Stay alert in the spirit, do not fall asleep spiritually. Have your spiritual antenna pulled all the way up ready to pick up his frequency and align yourself with him.

I decree in the name of Jesus that you will not miss the day of your visitation, when the impossible becomes possible, the supernatural becomes natural. When divine favor comes your way and God greatly multiplies you. I decree spiritual alertness, and watchfulness over your life. Your time of visitation has come. God bless you!

Waiting For God's Best

Everyone longs to give themselves completely to someone, to have a deep relationship with another, to be loved thoroughly and exclusively.

But to His child, the Lord says: "No, not until you are satisfied, fulfilled, and content with being loved by Me; with giving yourself totally and unreservedly to Me to have an intensely personal relationship with Me alone, discovering that only in Me is your satisfaction to be found.

Only then will you be capable of the most perfect relationship that I have planned for you. "I want you to stop planning, stop wishing, and allow Me to give you the most thrilling plan existing… one that you cannot imagine (Proverbs 3:5-6).

I want you to have the best. Please allow Me to bring it to you. "You just keep watching Me. Keep experiencing the satisfaction that I am. Keep listening and learning the things that I tell you. Just waiting-that's all.

"Don't be anxious. Don't worry. Don't look around at all the things others have gotten or that I have given them. Don't look at all the things you think you want. Just keep looking up to Me.

"And then, when I know you are ready, I'll surprise you with a love far wonderful than any you would dream of. You see, I'm working at this moment to have you both ready at the same time. Until you are satisfied exclusively with Me, and the life I've given you, you won't be able to experience the love that exemplifies your relationship with Me.

"Dear one, I want you to have this most wonderful love, I want you to see in the flesh a picture of your relationship with Me, and to enjoy materially and concretely the everlasting union of beauty, perfection, and love that I offer you with myself. "Know that I love you utterly. Be satisfied in Me."


Author Unknown

Lily among thorns

"Like a lily among thorns is my darling among the maidens".
Song of Solomon 2:2

Out of the Plateau

"I will sing of the Lord's great love forever; with my mouth I will make your faithfulness known through all generations" Ps 89:1

Hallelujah! I'm out of the Plateau!!! Ok, if you have been following my journey towards my perfect weight, you know I have been in a plateau for the last 3 weeks. Had the Lord not encouraged me, I would have given up. I am so blessed that he chooses to help us even with weight issues.

I went home feeling really hungry on monday. I had realised my metabolism seemed to be in high gear, I just seemed to get hungry real quick and was eating something every two hours. When I got home I got the unction to check my weight (remember I had thrown away the scale) and when I did, I had lost 1 kg (2.2lbs). I was so excited. I am still not over the excitement (clearly!)

Lesson learnt: Keep at it. Even when you don't want to and you are not seeing any results. Better yet, enjoy the work outs and let the weight come off. God is so good!

F WORD

The Christian four letter F word in our society today is the word Fast. However the Lord commanded it so...

1. Fast when sorely tempted (Mat. 4:2).
2. Fast when wisdom is earnestly desired (Dan. 9:3).
3. Fast when help and protection are needed (Ezra 8:21-23; 2 Chron. 20:3; Jer. 36:9).
4. Fast when victory is desired over strong demonic powers (Mat. 17:21; Mk. 9:29).
5. Fast when victory is desired in seemingly impossible situations (Est. 4:10-17; 9:31; Neh. 1:4).
6. Fast when something is earnestly desired from God and the answer has not come through prayer alone (1 Sam. 1:6-7).
7. Fast when in mourning for loved ones or the defeat of God's people (2 Sam. 1:12).
8. Fast when new ministries are launched and when men go forth to proclaim God's Word and battle spiritual enemies (Acts 13:2-3; 14:23).
9. Fast when involved in spiritual ministry (2 Cor. 6:5; 11:27)
10. Fast during times of special repentance, confession, and revival (Joel 1:14; 2:12; 2:15; Neh. 9:1-2).

There are over 30 positive examples, commands, and instructions in Scripture about fasting.

Judges 20:26--Israel fasted for victory in war.
1 Sam. 1:6-7--Hannah fasted for a son
1 Sam. 7:6--Israel fasted in repentance
1 Sam. 31:13--Men of Jabeshgilead fasted in mourning for Saul
2 Sam. 1:12--David and his men fasted in mourning for Saul, Jonathan, and the fallen of Israel
2 Sam. 12--David fasted for mercy upon his child
1 Kings 21:27--Ahab fasted for mercy
2 Chron. 20:3--Jehoshaphat and Israel fasted for help and protection
Ezra 8:21-23--Ezra and the people fasted for help and protection
Nehemiah 1:4--Nehemiah fasted in mourning and for help upon Jerusalem
Nehemiah 9:1,2--Israel fasting in mourning and repentance
Esther 4:16--Esther and friends fasted for victory
Esther 9:3--Fasting is mentioned as having had a role in the victory
Psalm 35:13,14--Fasting in prayer and mourning
Psalm 69: 10,11--Fasting in prayer and mourning
Isaiah 58:6-8--The fast which pleases God
Jeremiah 36:9--Israel fasted for mercy
Joel 1:14; 2:12,15--God commanded fasting and repentance
Jonah 3:5--The Ninevites fasted in repentance for mercy
Daniel 9:3--Daniel fasted for wisdom
Matthew 4:2--Jesus fasted when tempted in the wilderness
Matthew 6:17-18--Jesus promised that the Father would bless fasting
Matthew 9:14-15--Jesus said his disciples would fast
Matthew 17:21--Fasting is necessary for overcoming some demonic strongholds
Mark 9:29--Fasting is necessary for overcoming some demonic powers
Luke 2:37--Fasting was part of Anna's service to God
Acts 13:2--Fasting was part of the ministry of the workers at Antioch
Acts 13:3--Ordination was accompanied by fasting Acts 14:23--Ordination was accompanied by fasting
1 Cor. 7:5--Fasting and prayer is the only proper reason for abstinence from the marital relationship
2 Cor. 6:5--Fasting was one way Paul approved himself as a minister of Jesus Christ
2 Cor. 11:27--Paul fasted often

Man of War

This morning I was struck by the fact that Abraham was a man of war. A fighting man, with trained men in his own house. How about that? I have never thought of him as a fighting man, I have always thought of him as a wandering man of faith. Now David... that was a man of war!

Anyway, in Gen 13 Lot and Abe part ways. Abe is confident enough to tell Lot, you have the first pick of the land and like we would all do in our carnal minds, he picked the Jordan plain because it was well watered and looked like Eden. Abraham had enough confidence in God to know that even though in the natural his land did not seem to be the most productive, he knew that because of the blessing of God on his life, success was inevitable regardless.

Lot goes to live in Sodom and war breaks out and he is captured. You have to be careful where you are, you can literally be in the wrong place at the wrong time like Lot was. Anyway... he gets captured and taken off by some King. A guy who manages to escape runs to inform Abe about the fact that his nephew has been captured, so he in turn rallies an army to rescue his nephew. Out of his own household, he gets 318 men and then mobilizes his neighbors to help him out. They go after these five kings and route them completely. They not only rescue Lot, but all the other people along with all their goods and cattle. On their way back, the King of Sodom comes out to meet them along with the King Salem, Melchizedek who is also a priest of God Most High. Melchizedek blesses Abraham and he in turn gives a tenth of everything to him. This is the first place where a tithe is mentioned. If our father Abraham tithed, then we too MUST tithe.

The King of Sodom is so grateful to Abe that he offers him all the goods and cattle they had brought back. All he wants for himself are the people. Check out the Rock's answer:

Gen 14:22-23 "But Abram said to the king of Sodom, "I have raised my hand to the Lord, God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth, and have taken an oath that I will accept nothing belonging to you, not even a thread or the thong of a sandal, so that you will never be able to say, 'I made Abram rich'"

He refused to take anything that would be percieved as the help of man for his enrichment as opposed to the help of God. You must be discerning. If you discern the person offering you their help just wants to do it so they can take the glory away from God, you have the right to say "my God will help me some other way" There are also people who lend you money and tell the world that they lent you the money to start the business that made you rich, therefore if it were not for them you would be a pauper. That devil is a liar! Stay away from such people. Our God is well able to give you material riches and true riches as well. Talk about a cut above the rest!

So Abe goes home after all the excitement has died down and God shows up and says to him "Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your very great reward." It's as if he is saying don't you worry about all that wealth you let go of, I am your very great reward. What I can give you even they can't come close. Abe answers God in a very broken way, he says "... O Sovereign Lord, what can you give me since I remain childless..." Everyone has that one great desire, that even if you had the whole earth, and not that one thing, you still remain unsatisfied. For Abe it was a child. He wanted one so desperately. Remember he is getting on in years, God called him out of UR at the age of 75, and if you read his geneology in ch 11 you will notice that majority of the people were having children in their 30's.

He addresses God as "Sovereign Lord" Sovereign acknolwedges that God does whatever her pleases and sees fit. So even though he is asking God for a child, he still recognizes that the decision for him to have one is still up to God himself. He is sovereign. How many times do we forget that in this name and claim it world we live in! Whatever the desire of your heart is, it is still up to God. Then he calls him Lord, which shows that he is submitted and in subjection to God. He is saying "You are my Master, and even if you choose not to give me a son because you are Sovereign I am still subject to you"

And because of that the Lord tells him that a son of his own body will be his heir and promises that out of him will come a great nation, more than the stars of the sky. God cuts a covenant with him and promises to give the land of canaan to his descendants forever.

The relationship between Abe and God is amazing. I love that God is so involved with him and talks to him so practically, getting him to walk out and look at the stars and then cutting covenant with him according the his own traditions. God knows all our traditions and is not necessarily advers to them. In fact he will work in the contxt of them sometimes just to bless your little heart.

A quick example. I am a Kikuyu woman. In my traditions as a Kikuyu a man that is not circumcised is a boy and a total disgrace in the community. It would just about kill me to marry a man that was not circumcised. Now I know that it doesn't make a difference in God, but my traditions are in place here. God, just to indulge me, will give me a husband that is circumcised because the truth of the matter is that I would not be able to hold my head up if he wasn't. To others, even Kikuyu's it doesn't matter, and hey, that works for them. But for me it would be the ultimate disgrace. God and I have already had that discussion.

Now some of you are looking at me funny. There are men who will not marry a woman who was slightly overweight, now to God it doesn't make a difference, but God will honor that.

I love that God comes down and speaks to us even in our own cultures, tribes and traditions. So next time God speaks to you in your mother tongue don't be shocked. He is multi-lingual.

Hewn from a ROCK

They say the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree and we being the seed (and fruit) of Abraham should experience the wonderful things he did. That enjoyment however, is predicated on doing the things that he did. The Bible commands us in Isaiah 51:1-2

“Listen to me, you who pursue righteousness and who seek the Lord. Look to the rock from which you were cut and to the quarry from which you were hewn; look to Abraham, your father, and to Sarah, who gave you birth. When I called him he was but one, and I blessed him and made him many.”

Look to Abraham and learn from him how to love God, obey God, worship God, acknowledge God, sold out to God, and in turn be blessed and increased by God. I am doing a study on Abe and with the help of the Holy Spirit getting revelation on what the Lord wants me to copy from my Father Abraham.

Abraham is first mentioned in Gen Ch 11 in the genealogy of Shem. His father was Terah and he had two brothers, Nahor and Haran. Haran was the father of Lot and he died young (well, by the standards of those days). Abe married Sarai and Nahor married Milcah (we will see this family again in Gen 24). They all lived in a place called Haran.

First thing we hear about Sarai is that she was barren. She was NOT fruitful. She had no children. In Ch 12 we are told that she was very beautiful. So beautiful that Pharaoh's servants praised her to him and he took her as a wife. Isn’t it interesting how you can have something totally beautiful in your life but have barrenness in the same place? Like that great shop you opened with a wonderful window display and excellent customer service but no profits? You know what I’m talking about.

In Gen 12 the Lord commands Abe to get out from the familiar and go to a place God would show him. The familiar is the old way of doing things, which is rooted in man’s natural effort. It is the “same old, same old” or “this is how it has always been done” way of thinking. This is God saying, “Get away from all that, and come into my way of doing things.” And God makes some tremendous promises based on him walking away from the old way of doing things, into God’s way. He says:

• I will make you into a great nation (Increase in numbers physically – offspring)
• I will bless you (Empowerment to get wealth)
• I will make your name great (Honor and Glory)
• You will be a blessing (A conduit of God’s goodness to others)
• I will bless those who bless you and curse those you curse you (Divine protection)
• All the people on the earth will be blessed through you (That is you and me)

So Abram left. He obeyed God. He left all that was familiar and comforting and chose to do things God’s way. Obedience is key.

I see Abe doing something here that will become a study for another day; he builds two altars in quick succession to the Lord. After God promises the land to his offspring, Abe builds an altar to the Lord who appeared to him. Then again he builds another altar to the Lord and calls on the name of the Lord. When the Lord gives you a word, build an altar by giving an offering to him based on that word. By that you acknowledge his word and him, and you give thanks as well. It is your way of saying “let it be unto me according to the word of the Lord”

Then something interesting happens, there is a severe famine in the land. Why is it that every time you get a word from the Lord a famine comes? Abe is forced to go to Egypt for preservation. Check this out, while there, a wealth transfer happens. Pharaoh gives him sheep, cattle, male and female donkeys, menservants and maidservants and camels. That is the exact opposite of what should happen in a famine!! Instead of all his animals dying off from starvation, he is preserved and indeed they are increased. Just because there is a famine does not mean you have to die! You are hewn from Abe, in famine you will be both preserved and increased. Why? Because you are blessed and the blessing is not subject to the natural. By virtue of the blessing you are a supernatural being and you increase whether the conditions are favorable for increase or not!!

Now Abe was a man just like you and I, he feared that he would be killed for his fly wife so he tells a lie that she is his sister and omits the fact that she is his wife. Now, this is strange right here. You would expect God to rebuke Abe, instead God punishes innocent Pharaoh and his house with “serious diseases” (vs 17) which causes them to realize that Abe lied. Favor aint fair!! God was still preserving him, even when he was clearly on the wrong God was still protecting him.

Needless to say he gets kicked out of Egypt with all the wealth he had acquired.

So what do we learn from our daddy right there:

• Obedience is key
• The promise is fulfilled when you are in obedience
• Get out of your old mindset, step into the supernatural
• When God gives you a word build an altar on that word
• You don’t have to die in the famine; God will command a wealth transfer for you.
• The blessing of God is not subject to natural circumstances so please stop looking around you
• Favor sure aint fair and YOU are highly favored.

Workout dynamics

I promised to let you know how I found the “Fat burning for dummies” DVD, so here goes. It is fabulous. You absolutely must try it. It is 50 minutes long but pure joy. I enjoyed it tremendously. The music is really good and you kind of get into groove mode with it. This is my first time doing aerobics so I had to learn the steps first. She takes you through 12 minutes of teaching you the steps which also doubles up as a warm up session and then you go into the “burn the heat” part of the work out. The DVD has chapters to it, which allows you to jump from one section to the next or skip a combo if you like. I like all of it so I do the full 50 min. This morning I found myself moving faster than she was which made me realize I need to start incorporating some of the High intensity moves as well, which I did this morning and enjoyed very much.

I have ordered “Weights for Dummies” which I hope to get today and start using for my lifting, which up until now I have been free styling on. It would be nice to work along with a tape. Since I tossed the scale, my workouts have been more relaxed and fun. I was always so stressed out because I wasn’t losing weight as fast as I would like.

I am finding that the body has rhythms of its own. I have to find my body rhythms and work with them for maximum results. I find that I am abit sluggish in the morning so the fat burning for dummies is great in the AM, but if I want to Tae Bo, which is high intensity, I need to work out in the evening. I’m having a bit of trouble with scheduling my workouts because I want to combine it all, Tae Bo, lifting and aerobics. I will have to update you on that as I learn how my body works. Right now I want to do the aerobics (50 min) in the morning 4 – 5 mornings a week, then Tae Bo (30 Min) 3 evenings a week, and lift (30 Min) 2 evenings a week. I get up at 4 am so a morning workout is great for me and kind of sets the activity/productivity level of my day. So far so good. Will keep you posted.

Covenant of Fruitfulness

John 15:8 "This is to my Father's glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples" God delights in us when we bear much fruit in every area of our lives (and yes, that includes children). Often we go to work, or live our lives without assessing the fruitfulness of what we do. Are you bearing much fruit? Is your presence felt wherever you are by virtue of the fruit you bear? My industry is quite challenging and I found myself in a meeting with my directors saying things that totally violated my sound dynamics teaching. I said "That kind of work is hard to find...We are not competitive in price because our bandwidth costs are too high..." What in the world?!!! The Lord reminded me of those things this morning and said to me "You are not subject to natural rules of business, you are subject to the supernatural" I am to be fruitful in the market whether the conditions are favourable or not!

I can see some of you looking at me funny! Let me explain.

Gen 26:1,12

"Now there was a famine in the land...Isaac planted crops in that land and the same year reaped a hundredfold, because the LORD blessed him"

His fruitfulness was not subject to the conditions for planting. It makes absolutely no sense at all for a guy to plant in a famine. There is no rain, there is not even a cloud, the sun is scorching and here you are planting. That is either total madness, or engaging in covenant. This is what God had said to him before he planted:

Gen 26:3 "Stay in this land for a while, and I will be with you and will bless you" Have you heard the Lord say that to you? Are you in the right place? Then regardless of the conditions stay in the land and God will be with you and will bless you. Now the blessing overrides the physical conditions. It overrides the economic situation, it overrides the fact that your womb is messed up or you don't even have one, it overrides the fact that you don't have a husband, if the Lord says I will bless you here, don't stress out about what you see in the physical the Lord will bring it to pass, yours is to have a word that you can hold on to, and activate covenant with. So how do you activate the covenant of fruitfulness, what is your part?

Josh 1:8 "Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful" You must keep the word in your mouth, confess the word and meditate on it until it becomes your MO. What it says is how you operate.

Ps 1:2-3 "But his delight is in the law of the LORD,and on his law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water,which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever he does prospers" It is when you delight in the law of the Lord, Keep it in your mouth, meditate on it day and night that prosperity comes. Then you yield your fruit in its season.

Let me help you, we each go through seasons in life. My season is not your season, and my time is not your time. If you are like me, in your thirties and single, that should not be cause for alarm. We all have different seasons. My sister who is 3 years younger than me, has been married 9 years and has 4 children. She just had her tubes tied and the devil took the opportunity to remind me that I was not even married. The one who comes after her, six years my junior, has a soon to be 5 year old and is expecting her second child next month. The devil was dancing a jig and whispering in my ear. He is a liar!!! God cannot do things out of time. He is a perfectionist. When it is time for me to get married, I will get married and not before, and when the time comes for me to have children I will become the mother of many. I totally believe that I am still within God's schedule and that is all that matters. In its season, you will yield the right fruit. Ps 1:6 "For the LORD watches over the way of the righteous"

John 15:4-7
"Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you" So there are two things a) We remain in Christ through salvation and b) His words remain in us. Many of us are in him but his word is not in us. Keep his word in your mouth and in your heart and mind by meditating on it. Then you will ask the Father whatever you wish and it will be given you. Then you will be fruitful and be multiplied.

Summary
To walk in the covenant of fruitfulness I:
a) Remain in Christ
b) His words remain in me - I do this by keeping the word in my mouth (confessing it)and by meditating on that word until it becomes my MO.

Asking Amiss

There is a wisdom that God gives you that changes your life and makes you a sign and a wonder to the nations. Jesus had such wisdom. Wisdom that distinguished him at 12 years of age so that the scribes and the pharisees marveled at him (Luke 2:40-52) The Bible declares that Jesus grew and become strong in spirit and filled with wisdom. And the Grace of God was upon him. Verse 46 explains how he got it, I bet that is exactly how we also should read God's word "...sitting in the midst of the teachers, both listening to them and asking questions." The Holy Spirit is our number one teacher. We should read the word, listen to him teach us and ask him questions. Do you ask the Holy Ghost direct questions when you are reading the word? Do you meditate on the word of God or do you just read it like a novel? We need the wisdom of God to direct us in the way we should go at all times. This morning my questions are how can I get more clients? How can I get divine speed? What can I do to improve my bottomline?

God has been speaking to me about changing my mind set. And he spoke to me from James 4:3 "You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasures." How many times do I give to someone just so God can give back to me? There is nothing wrong with receiving and indeed we are to expect God to give back to us, but that should not be our primary purpose. We should give them to help their need, to ease their struggle or their pain.

The Lord said, "Why do you want to be the leader in your industry? Is it so that everyone can say how awesome you are?" What is my purpose for wanting more clients? More success? Is it just so I can drive the best and live in the best? That is asking amiss. Humans from living in a fallen world are so messed up. Clean me up Lord. Clean up my motives and my heart. Give me the right reasons to do things and to bless others so I can bring Glory to your name, ease burdens and win souls. My own warfare is accomplished, now let me go out to accomplish the warfare of others in Christ Jesus.

New Wine, Old Wineskin

A Paradigm is our current way of thinking. Our thought patterns. Whether we believe it or not, we have formed paradigms about the Trinity, and God's word among others. However, our paradigms do not reflect the totality of who God is, and in fact may put him in a box. The term Paradigm paralysis means the inability to see beyond the current way of thinking. Your paradigm is your wineskin it is your holding, grasping capacity of the things of God. But God is multifaceted and will often need us to undergo a paradigm shift (a change in the way you think, act, do things) before he can reveal to us the next chapter in the book that he has written for us.

Ps 139:16 says
"All the days ordained for me
were written in your book
before one of them came to be."

So all your days are written down and each chapter requires a new way of thinking. Moving from singlehood to marriage takes paradigm shift, moving from sinner to saint requires a paradigm shift. If I experience Paradigm paralysis I will hinder the move of God in my life because New wine can only be poured into a new wineskin. Luke 5:38 "No, new wine must be poured into new wineskins"

What is the danger of putting new wine in old wineskins? There is the pain of tearing and wastage. Matthew 9:17 "Neither do men pour new wine into old wineskins. If they do, the skins will burst, the wine will run out and the wineskins will be ruined. No, they pour new wine into new wineskins, and both are preserved." The mind of God is to preserve you when he commands a paradigm shift. The wine of God, that new infilling, refilling, anointing, phase in life, idea, strategy etc will only be of use to you and do you good if you undergo the paradigm shift.

I received the call for a paradigm shift today and I know that God is wanting to pour something new into my life. I pray that neither you nor I, will miss God in this season, because we suffered paradigm paralysis. Lord, make us pliable. Make us able to change our way of thinking as you show us the new way you want us to think and act. I need it Lord. You are welcome Holy Spirit to make the necessary changes in my life and fill me with new wine to the Glory of your name. Amen!

New Excercise Video

Just wanted to let you know I got this new DVD for my workouts. Will let you know how it turns out next friday.

Throw away the scale!

Some things do NOTHING to increase your faith. Sometimes too much information is not good for you at all. I have been in the plateau from hell for the last two weeks. I started lifting weights and what has happened is that I have not registered a downward slide on the scale. However, I have definitely noticed inches lost. So I know that I am doing well, but you know how we get. I want to see the scale move closer to my goal weight of 150lbs. Uuuuuuugggggghhhhhhhh!!!

Right. As usual, the enemy has taken that opportunity to try and discourage me on my perfect weight project by telling me it is not working. Even though I can clearly see that it is!!! I heard Joyce Meyer say on her show yesterday that the devil will come in and try to deceive you. Once you believe the deception it becomes true for you! How terrible! So if I believe that nothing is happening, then nothing will, but if I continue to believe and declare that I have achieved my goal weight, then that will be true for me.

Weight loss is a science. I am using fitday.com to record all my intake and my excercise. As long as I can tell that I am eating right and working out right, I will only weigh myself once a month, and not once a week as I have been doing. That scale is not serving me well at all right now.

In her book "The Secret" Rhonda Byrne talks about how to receive from the Universe (I substitute that with God) and she says all we have to do is appropriate Mathew 21:22 "Whatsoever ye sahll ask in prayer, beliveing, ye shall recieve." and Mark 11:24 "What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them." She goes a step further and actually talks about it in the context of weight loss.

Ask - Get clear on the weight you want to be, visualize yourself at that weight and think of it often.

Believe - You must believe you will recieve and that the perfect weight is yours already. Imagine, pretend, act as if, make believe, that the perfect weight is yours. So when you make your confession do it in the present tense. "I am 150lbs" Do not contradict what you have asked for with your thoughts, words, and actions. When I weigh myself, that is what happens. The moment I see the readout, all the contradicting thoughts flood my mind. Rhonda recommends that you don't weigh yourself at all. Make it your intention to look for, admire, and inwardly praise people with your idea of perfect-weight bodies. Feel yourself at your perfect weight.

Receive - Feel good about your body. Praise and bless every square inch of your body. Don't criticize it and dub your belly, arms or thighs "the trouble spot" you have no such areas. You are perfection. Trust me, this is Biblical he says in Song of Solomon 4:7 "Beautiful are you my darling, and there is no flaw in you." Believe the word of the Lord. Think about all the perfect things about you, as you do you are on the frequency of your perfect weight summoning it to you. You are summoning perfection. Focus on your perfect weight, imagine you at your perfect weight, be thankful for it and for perfections sake throw away the scale!

PROPHETIC SOUND DYNAMICS

Since the beginning of this year I have been attending a mentorship class call Kingdom Business Network every Monday. This class has been phenomenal and has changed my life dramatically. One of the modules that has really blessed my life is that of Prophetic Sound Dynamics. The power of the spoken word.

Basically, your mouth is a weapon of authority ordained by God to keep you in perfect dominion on the earth. You have what you say!! You must produce sound based on the word of God revealed to you, regardless of the circumstances. This calls supernatural forces into action for your sake. Angels hearken to your words to do them.

The type of sound you produce determines the type of sign you will receive, either negative or positive. If you say things like “nothing ever works for me, business is so dry, life is not easy, the struggle continues…” that is what you welcome into your life, leaving the door wide open for the devil to come wreck havoc in your life. But if you say “my future is bright, the Lord makes a way for me, Business is excellent, Health and wealth are mine, my children are taught of the Lord…” that is what comes into your life.

Prov 18:21 tells us that Life and death are in the power of the tongue. Choose life that you and your generations after you may live. Speak life always. You have two mouths. Your inner mouth which is your heart and your outer mouth which is your physical mouth. Both must work in agreement. Hence the word of God says in Prov 4:23 “Keep thy heart with all diligence for out of it flows the issues of life.” What you say with your mouth, should be what your heart is saying and believing. What your heart is saying is what will rule the day. “As a man thinketh in his heart, so is he.”

So, perhaps you have been resounding the wrong thing. And you have clearly been seeing the results of your wrong speaking. What now? You can turn it around. Pray this little prayer with me “In the name of the Lord Jesus, I repent of any negative words that I have spoken and thought in my heart. I renounce those words and change my confession from this day forward. Amen”

James 3:3-11 talks about the power of the tongue it says “we can make a large horse turn around and go where we want by means of a small bit in his mouth, and a tiny rudder makes a huge ship turn wherever the pilot wants it to go even though the winds are strong, so also the tongue…” You may be struggling with finances, raising your children, your marriage, your weight, etc but you can turn that situation around even though the winds of opposition are strong with your tongue.

Confess the word of the Lord. Confess your expectation, your hope. And in the words of the Lord Jesus “[You] shall have whatsoever [you] say”

When I become a mum...

When I become a mom I want to be a stay at home mom. I want to do much of the house work myself so I can teach my children how to do it and relate all we do to God and his word. I want to teach them chores, God's word, do homework together and the like. I want to teach my kids that they are Kings and Priests, and that Daddy is the King of our house. I want to teach my daughters to be good wives and mothers, and my sons to be great husbands.

I have only one dilemma, it feels like I will be giving up my calling in the market place to do that. Strange because I know staying home with my children is the higher calling. I need to be renewed in my mind about that. I wonder where in Kenya I will find a man who does not mind having his wife stay home. He needs to get a revelation first.

I want 6 children. 4 boys and 2 girls. I wonder once again where in Kenya I will find a man who wants that many kids and a stay at home wife. The kind of man that is not intimidated and overwhelmed by his responsibility as the provider of the home. One who understands the value of relying on God for all things.

The older I get, the stranger I get. Lord marry me off before it gets worse!!!!

A sign and a wonder

Behold, I and the children whom the Lord has given me are signs and wonders [that are to take place] in Israel from the Lord of hosts, Who dwells on Mount Zion.
Isaiah 8:18 (Amplified Bible)

That is who we are. Signs and wonders in the earth from and for God. We are to show who he is on the earth. We are to manifest his Glory and his might in the earth. We are to be supernatural, not same old, same old. We are different, a cut above the rest. Favor aint fair love, you are better than the rest. By virtue of the God who lives in you. You have divine favor, divine wisdom, divine speed in what you do. When it takes them 10 years to get a company off the ground, when it takes them 3 years to turn a company profitable, it should take you much less time, by virtue of divine favor and acceleration.

Is 66 puts it this way:

7Before [Zion] travailed, she gave birth; before her pain came upon her, she was delivered of a male child.

8Who has heard of such a thing? Who has seen such things? Shall a land [a]be born in one day? Or shall a nation be brought forth in a moment? For as soon as Zion was in labor, she brought forth her children.

That is divine acceleration and divine speed. You do not have to go through labor pains to birth your business. Before you travail you shall give birth, you shall get the clients you need, the finances you need, the miracle you need. Before pain comes upon you it shall be done. You do not have to birth your dream in pain and travail. You are asking the same question Isaiah asked "Who has heard of such a thing? Who has seen such things?" Do you not know that the pain of child birth came with the curse, and we have been redeemed from the curse? From the beginning it was not so. Struggle and pain to bring forth a blessing was not God's divine plan. It came with the curse. Henceforth, there shall be no struggle, pain and travail to birth my dreams. Before I travail, I shall bring forth!

9"Shall I bring to the [moment of] birth and not cause to bring forth?"The time has come for you to bring forth. Indeed you shall birth your dream without pain and without travail in the name of Jesus! 12"For thus says the Lord: Behold, I will extend peace to her like a river, and the glory of the nations like an overflowing stream; then you will be nursed, you will be carried on her hip and trotted [lovingly bounced up and down] on her [God's maternal] knees."

You are a sign and wonder. It is not the same with you as with the world. Dare to be radical. Dare to believe.

Discouragement

If you are anything like me the devil does a number on you with discouragement. I hate it! Yet I seem to fall for the same old tricks over and over again. Yet the bible tells me that I cannot fail neither shall I get discouraged. Is 43: 1-4 has the following reasons for why I shouldn't be in the dumps:

God has redeemed me
I am called by His name
I am His
He shall be with me in the fire and in high water.
God will even give others for my ransom and in my place
He will give men for me, people in exchange for my life (Favor aint fair)
He has honored me
He loves me

If God is willing to give others up for me, so that I may surely see success. Why do I listen to the voice of the enemy? I shall not do it any longer. I shall learn to encourage myself in the Lord and to walk with my head held up all the days of my life.

I am looking forward to a great week. To many Victories in Jesus this week. You will read about them! I do pray the same for you. Stay victorious in every area of you life. God Bless!!

FOOD ADDICTION

I have heard of it, but I never knew that I was addicted. I guess denial had something to do with it. My best friend can eat anything and still weigh 49 kgs. She weighed 63 kgs at full term pregnancy, get that! And me? I have weighed over 100 kgs for as longs as I can remember. I was 99 kgs last February and that was me at my smallest in a while. That’s how bad it has been. But God is faithful and will always help us out when we call to him.

At the beginning of this year, the Lord called me into a life of prayer and fasting. The prayer was okay but the fasting was punishment. I couldn’t even imagine it. But he gave me the grace and I began to fast the best I could, a meal a week. It sounds like little, but for a person that would eat every couple of hours it was a lot. Soon, I got better and better and have continued to progress well in that area. Now I’m fasting two days a week from sun up to sundown. I’m still trying to get to all water only for 24 hours and I believe I will.

But this is what fasting has done in the area of weight loss, it has broken the bondage of food addiction. I am no longer tied to food. Now I can actually wait until I am truly hungry before I eat. I used to almost panic without food in my bag or my drawer at work. I needed that comfort, and I used it for everything. When I was stressed I ate, when I was angry or anxious I ate. When I was sad or lonely, I ate. That was a lot of eating.

Now I am free. The Lord is who I run to when I am anxious, stressed, angry, lonely or sad. I have no need to eat all the time. And I can see it in the way the weight is coming off me. I am so blessed.

If you are struggling with a food addiction, call to God and start to fast. Even just one meal a week. He says he will teach you how to profit. That word is multi faceted. He will show you how to get the most out of your body so that you live a long and healthy life on the earth.

TAE-BO

I will vouch for it for as long as I live! It is fun, hard and addictive. I mean I’m running home to work out in the evening after my day’s work. I love my work out. I have Cardio which is 35 min long and rigorous. My weight did not change this week. I guess the Tae-Bo and the lifting have built some muscle which caused this, but I am not alarmed. I know next week will be awesome. And my clothes, they are just falling off of me. I will have to either have a tailor adjust them, or have get a new wardrobe. I’m going with the tailor for now because there is still so much to lose. And guess what?! Clothes that I have not won in over a year fit again. I have dug out all those old clothes that I really could not part with even though I couldn’t fit in them, and some of them are beginning to sag. Now that is a good problem to have. It’s amazing how losing 7 kgs and tightening your body affects your dress size. If you would like to get a Tae-Bo work out, there is a guy selling the DVD’s on Moi Avenue right by Sanford the chips place for a Sok! How about that?!!! Enjoy your work out.

A DIFFERENT SPIRIT

The Call Centre industry in Kenya is young and was already faced with its own difficulties before the political chaos that rocked our nation after the elections. The few of us who had been privileged to spy the land saw that it was a good land, and many begun opening up fledgling call centres in the hope of cashing in on the milk and honey. However, with the challenge of finding clients exacerbated by the post election violence I am beginning to hear whining and complaining among many. Some wishing they had invested in another business or a different venture. They have spied the land, and surely it flows with milk and honey, but the challenges that stand in the way of the promise seem too difficult to bear.

Numbers 13 & 14 is the same thing. The spies loved the land but the price to be paid to attain it was not considered equivalent to the reward. They said the people dwelling there were strong, the cities were fortified and large so taking them was going to be a challenge, and there were giants there! Now the instructions they had been given by Moses were to spy along with everything else these listed here:

 Whether the land is rich or poor, good or bad
 Whether the people are weak or strong, few or many
 Whether the cities are camps or strongholds

The land was the promise, the people were the challenge and the cities where the obstacles. They went out in the hope that the Land would be good, the people weak and living in camps. Uuuuhhhhh… Not so!!! The greater the reward, the greater the challenges.

When God was asking them to go spy the land, he wanted them to focus on the goodness of it, the profitability of it. He wanted them to see the Milk and the Honey, the Sugar, spice and all things nice! But true to form, they saw the work that had to be done. The fortified cities and the giants and they immediately concluded “We were like grasshoppers in our own sight, and so we were in their sight” how terrible! And do you know why they saw themselves as grasshoppers in light of all the challenges? Because they had taken God out of the equation. Because had they acknowledged the help of their God, after giving that report they would have said what Caleb said “Let us go up at once and take possession for we are well able to overcome it”

Kenyans in the Call Centre industry, believe in the Lord your God for he is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all you can think or imagine (Eph 3:20). Don’t look at your own ability, for surely you will see yourself as a grasshopper in light of all the challenges the industry is facing, but see yourself hidden in God. It is no longer you who live but Christ who lives in you. Therefore let us go up at once and take possession of the global outsourcing industry for we are well able to overcome it!

Look at what Joshua and Caleb say in Ch 14 vs 7-8 “The land we passed through to spy is an exceedingly good land. If the Lord delights in us, then He will bring us into this land, and give it to us, a land which flows with milk and honey”

What are you seeing when you look into the outsourcing industry in Kenya? The good of the land or the challenges? And when you have taken stock of the challenges, do you stagger at the promise or do you consider your God well able to bring it to pass?

And the Lord had a testimony regarding Caleb son of Jephunneh “But my servant Caleb, because he has a different spirit in him and has followed me fully, I will bring into the land where he went, and his descendants shall inherit it” Numbers 14:24 Because he had a different spirit, a spirit that saw the good of the land, took stock of the challenges and concluded that God was more than able to give him the land, he inherited the land.

And you know the rest of the story…the spies who saw only the challenges and did not take into account the power of their God, and spread that bad report to the rest of Israel died that very day. And the others, all who were 20 years of age and above died in the wilderness, having roamed that same dry, barren place for 40 years. Going around in circles all their lives because they “despised” the land (Numbers 14:31). Do not despise the land that the Lord your God is giving you. Do not stagger at the promise because of the challenges before you. Our God is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all we can think or imagine and because of His power and in His name we are well able to take the land and overcome it.

Let all the Joshua’s and Caleb’s in the Kenyan Outsourcing Industry shout it with me:
“I AM OF A DIFFERENT SPIRIT”

HIS PRESENCE

PS 42:1-2 is the only way to describe how I feel about his presence and his glory.

“As the deer pants for the water brooks, so pants my soul for You, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When shall I come and appear before God?”

I want his presence. I need him to be so real to me that I carry on a conversation with him all day. That sin does not have a place in my life because He is so real, I can’t get myself to commit sin in his presence. Often I forget that he is there. That his eyes roam to and fro, that nothing is hidden from him. O’ that you were as real to me as I am to myself O’ God! That is the cry of my heart this morning. I want God. I want to know him. I want to be wrapped up in his presence, every inch of my life, every area permeated by his glory. “When shall I come and appear before God?”

Exodus 33-34 is my most challenging scripture right now. God was so real to Moses. He spoke to Him face to face as a man speaks to His friend. If I too have been called a friend of God by virtue of redemption, and God shows no partiality, why is my relationship with God not like this? I want more Lord. I want a deeper relationship with you. I want to speak to you as a man speaks to his friend.

God has said to me “Go up to a land flowing with milk and honey” But I am saying with Moses “If your presence does not go with [me], do not bring [me] up from here”

Why was it so important that the Presence of God, his glory go with the Israelites? Check out the benefits:

 His Favor will be evident (undeniable proof)
 There will be a separation or a distinction between the others and them because of God’s favor over their lives

What does that mean? That the presence carries with it divine favor, divine protection, divine provision, divine healing, divine direction, divine peace and joy, divine abundance every single thing that is in God is in the Presence so you have the best. This meant that even in famine, Israel would continue to have plenty (Ps 37:19, Gen 26), that the supernatural is what operated in their lives always and not the natural. This is evident in their journey through the wilderness, they were supernaturally fed, clothed, their thirst was quenched and they had need of nothing that God did not provide for them.

With the presence of God active in your life, when the economy is in a slump, you will not be in a slump, when others are complaining they can’t get clients, clients will be flocking to your business. When everyone else is broke, every day will be pay day for you. God’s presence dictates the circumstances, not the other way round.

Moses was greedy for God as I’m I. When God told him he would go with Israel he said to Him “Please show me your glory” Ex 33:18. I want to see the glory of God. I want Isaiah 60 to come alive for me and to be a physical thing, a manifestation for me. I want the glory of God to shine in my life like the break of dawn. When the sun comes out and day finally breaks, the darkness is gone and you can see clearly. That is what I want. The light of the sun brings life to everything it touches. How much more the glory of the living God? Come Lord. Come in all your glory and majesty. Come touch my whole life. Every bit of it, every inch of me, Spirit, Soul and Body that I may live and not die. It is the entrance of his glory that paves a road in the wilderness that makes rivers in the desert. The glory of God turns every barren land fruitful and ushers you into the land of Promise. A land flowing with milk and honey.


And see how the Lord answers: “I will make all My goodness pass before you, and I will proclaim the name of the Lord before you…” So when you cry “Show me your glory” His goodness passes before you and walks with you. Then Ps 23:6 is fulfilled in your life “surely goodness and mercy shall follow me…” All that pertains to his goodness, all good gifts are ushered into your life. How wonderful is our God?! And he proclaims his name before you. And what happens when he proclaims his name? “Every knee shall bow in heaven, on the earth and under the earth” and “Every tongue confess that He is Lord” So your circumstances must bow. Any opposing spirit must bow. Anything, thought, issue, enemy in your life must bow to his Name. How awesome is that?

And then he goes a step further, he says “Here is a place by Me, and you shall stand on the rock. So it shall be, while My glory passes by, that I will put you in the cleft of the rock, and will cover you with my hand while I pass by.” So while his favor is showered on you, and your enemies are vanquished before you, he puts you on a rock. A steady and stable place. An elevated place, a place of promotion. And then He gives you divine protection, covering you with his very own hand. You are hid in the “rock of ages” and covered there by his hand. Hallelujah!

With all this in place, who can but prosper? Who can but succeed? Who can but walk in their destiny?

O’ God of Israel. God of my Fathers Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and Moses. May your presence come with me all through my journey on this earth and may you show me your glory. Do it for me I pray, for you are not a God who shows partiality. If you did it for Moses, you can do it for me. In Jesus name I ask it, Amen!

Weighty Matters

This is a belated skinny friday blog. Sorry!

Welcome to the first official skinny Friday blog. At the beginning of this year the Lord spoke to me on the fact that my personal theme for this year is “supernatural.” When he said that, I did not think that included my health even though I have often confessed that I walk in divine health. However, my mentor says that health is also a factor of what you do. Do you eat right? Do you work out? Are you keeping your body fit for the master’s use?

I have been a heavy girl all my life and I bought into all the lies. You have large bones (which I do, but is my belly made of bones?), it’s genetic for you, you should just be happy the way you are… But how can you be happy when your weight issues eat into your self esteem, when going clothes shopping is a night mare because you either don’t find clothes in your size, and if you do they don’t look good on you, when you’re too embarrassed to go swimming with everyone else? How can you be happy when you are carrying disease and death in your body… diabetes, hypertension, fibroids (from hormonal imbalances brought on by obesity), arthritis and other diseases that are brought on or exacerbated by obesity.

Well, the Lord was quick to show me that the state of my body is of concern to him, and not only that, but that he is willing to come in, break the bondage of food addiction and guide me step by step into losing weight. The word of the Lord is sharper than any two edged sword, and when he speaks a word you can apply it into any area of your life. Is 48:17 says that he teaches us how to profit. He will teach you how to profit even in your health. How to ensure that your body functions in the perfection for which he created it. He will cause you to be strong, and toned and flexible. You will be able to jump and run and do all the silly things you wish you could.

I started this weight loss journey on January 28th and the Lord started by teaching me how to eat. He said “Eat when you are hungry and stop when you are satisfied.” I lost 6 lbs that first week, then 2 lbs the week after that and 3 lbs in the third week. 11 lbs in 3 weeks just by not overeating. I hit a plateau on week four and held steady. Last week was my fifth week in the journey, and I had two 20 min sessions of exercise and that jump started my weight loss again and I lost 3 lbs, and that brings me to a total of 14 lbs weight loss in 5 weeks. Isn’t God good? This has never happened before in my life. I am so blessed.