Yes! I am almost 35, A Virgin and I Refuse to Compromise!!

I think the question that cracks me up and irritates me the most, at the same time, is the question about my marital status.  Everybody looks at me and wants to know why I am not married and now that I am officially in my mid thirties the question has become "When will you have kids?" I used to worry about those things and then I read in God's word that I should be anxious for nothing, but in all things I must let God know what I need and then let his peace guard my heart and mind (Philippians 4:6-7)

The statement that follows that question is usually "If you don't want a man (they assume men are a bother to me)  you should just find one to impregnate you so you can at least have a child or two to raise on your own."  I find that very interesting especially because it often comes from women who are born again.  In their minds, I am allowed to put aside my salvation, marry an unbeliever and trust God to save him, or get pregnant if I find men a bother and don't want to live with one.  Can you say messed up mentality???!!!

Many times I have been looked at as a fool for waiting on God well past the "acceptable waiting time."  I will be 35 years old in 3 months, I am still a virgin and I still refuse to compromise my faith.  How can I leave God, even for a moment, to go fend for myself on something as important as a life partner?  I trust God to know what I need, when I need it.  I trust him not to withhold any good thing from me in accordance with his word (Psalm 34:10, 84:11, 103:5).  I trust him to build me a house just like he told David he would do for him in 2 Samuel 7:11b "...Furthermore, the Lord declares that He will make a house for you..."  This same God shall make a house for me.  He will settle me in my own home as a happy mother of children.  I will indeed have a quiver full of them.

Psalm 127 is my portion indeed, for I have not waited on the Lord in vain.

 ¹Except the LORD build the house, they labour in vain that build it: except the LORD keep the city, the watchman waketh but in vain.

 ²It is vain for you to rise up early, to sit up late, to eat the bread of sorrows: for so he giveth his beloved sleep.

 ³Lo, children are an heritage of the LORD: and the fruit of the womb is his reward.

 ⁴As arrows are in the hand of a mighty man; so are children of the youth.

 ⁵Happy is the man that hath his quiver full of them: they shall not be ashamed, but they shall speak with the enemies in the gate.

God will build me a house, he will give me a wonderful husband and together we will have the heritage and reward of a quiver full of children.  I am His in waiting and looking forward to marriage and my own home!

Pass on a Godly Heritage!!

Have you ever thought of the legacy you will leave the generations behind you?  What inheritance will you pass on to your kids?  I have always thought about this in regards to wealth but now I am seeing a spiritual inheritance as well.  Children look at you to see how you are carrying yourself and then go ahead and inherit various things by absorption.  Genetics is also something you can pass on including issues like depression, anxiety and more.  But is this the legacy you want to leave your progeny?  Whatever you do not overcome in your lifetime will be passed on to the generations behind you and they will have to fight it and overcome it if it is to be stopped.

Knowing that encourages me to change and become a better person if only for the sake of the next generation.  I must come up higher, make better choices, flee temptation and cling to God. Decide to set a new standard for your progeny because every right choice you make will overturn a wrong pattern in your family tree and will ensure that your family lineage is better off.  

Look at your family bloodline and identify some negative traits or trends that you would like to stop.  For my family its alcoholism and in some instances hedonism.  Its promiscuity which makes children out of wedlock common within the family.  In some instances its hot tempers and language that can be abusive.  Gossip can also be a challenge.  So what do I have to do? I am determined that as far as my progeny is concerned I will overcome those things and when I pass on the baton it will contain sexual purity, slowness to anger, filled with the Holy Ghost vs drunk on alcohol, words and language that builds up and encourages, not language that tears down.  

It is a spiritual battle, but God tells me how to overcome in Ephesians 6:10-18 and I know that once we are set free, we shall be free indeed.  So think about the heritage you want to leave behind.  Think about that thing that you struggle with and determine to overcome so that your generations will not have to struggle with it as well.  Even if you are not married or have no children of your own, think about the many children who observe you all around.  Determine to set an example for them and to pass on a godly heritage.  You are blessed!!

Look and See!

This verse jumped out at me today and made sense. Isn't it interesting how God will allow you to sit somewhere looking on something happening without really seeing it for what it is. Then one day, in the fullness of time, the scales fall from your eyes and you see things for what they really are. Exodus 2:11 says

"One day, after Moses was grown, it happened that he went out to his brethren and looked at their burdens; and he saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew, one of [Moses'] brethren".

Moses was 40 years old at this time. I don't believe that this was the first time he saw the oppression of the Hebrews, but that day when he went out to his brethren he did not just look at them generally, he looked at their burdens. He looked at the yoke that was laid on them and for the very first time in 40 years he saw!

I believe that God kept his understanding clouded on the issue because there were things he needed to learn while there and also because the fullness of time was not yet. When the time came for God to draw him near to himself he called him away by causing the incidents that followed after he finally understood just how oppressed his people were.

I am going through such a time as well where God has opened my eyes to see somethings I had never seen before. But I also believe that all this has happened to provoke movement and change of direction in my life to the glory of his name. May I only walk towards his will for me to the fulfillment of my destiny and never away. We serve a good God oh!!!

Death Valley

There is life to be found only on the other side of death. But walking through death valley is the hardest thing I ever did. A while back the Lord took me to Psalm 23 and focussed in on verse 3

"he refreshes my soul.

He guides me along the right paths

for his name’s sake".

Even though I read it and highlighted it and knew there was meaning to it, I didn't quite comprehend what it was all about. Until today. Hindsight really is 20:20. The following verse reads

"Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death..."

That is one place none of us wants to be at, but each one of us must get to the place where we die to self. Some deaths are easier than others but then there are those places in life where you can't explain to anyone what is happening to you. All you know is that you are dying. That you must lay yourself and your will on the altar and die without knowing what is on the other side of death.

Yet I know that there is life on the other side of death. A life that can only be found on the other side of death. Abraham received confirmation of the promise after he gave his son up as a sacrifice to the Lord. He must have died a thousand deaths walking his son to the mountain of sacrifice. But he had to. He was submitted to this God just like you and I are and there was nothing he could keep from him. Not even his only son.

God must know, that he knows, that he knows, that he is your first love. He must weigh and test the heart of man over and over again to be able to say like he did with Abraham in Genesis 22

"now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from Me.”

Is there anything I can withhold from God? Not a thing. Therefore I must give it all up if I must and die a thousand deaths if I must until my Lord is satisfied that my heart loves him. Mine is to trust him that he is indeed leading me in paths of righteousness for his names sake. That when I come out of death valley there will be a table laid out for me in the presence of my enemies. That as I continue to trust in him he will somehow fulfill the desires of my heart according to his word and his promise.

In the meantime Lord, let your rod and your staff comfort me and let your goodness, mercy and unfailing love follow me all the days of my life!

Kairos - When Time Meets Destiny

This morning an angel woke me up with a tap on my arm. I woke up immediately but I was still groggy. Then I heard in my spirit to read Ecclesiastes 3. It talks about divinely appointed times. I must say that I am in an Kairos season of life. A door has been opened to me and God is requiring me to walk in the calling he has for me. He spoke to me through Acts 13:2 "Set apart for me Cynthia for the work to which I have called her" (my interpretation).

On the night of October 1st I went to bed at 9 exhausted. At 1:59 I woke up alert knowing that God had something to teach me. A friend and I had been talking about a vision I had in which I was taken up to heaven and the Spirit of the Lord had laid his hand on my forehead and imparted wisdom to me. As we were talking, the Spirit reminded me of the passage that says "Do not neglect your gift, which was given you through a prophetic message when the body of elders laid their hands on you." (1 Tim 5:14) I realized that when I had that experience I had not known what to do with the gift but that it was still in me. Neglected and lying dormant.

When I woke up the Lord started showing me through his word what a valuable gift wisdom is and that man does not really understand its worth. As such, rarely are we taught about the more quiet gift of wisdom. Many people prefer the more vocal gifts, but this gem tends to lie neglected and yet the Bible says give everything up to attain wisdom if you must. It is more costly than Gold or silver. God speaks about it in his word over and over again. He gives us the root of it as "The fear of the Lord" and in Proverbs 4:7 he says

"Wisdom is supreme; therefore get wisdom.

Though it cost all you have, get understanding."

This morning God started to show me that by his wisdom he has set for us appointed times in our lives. Kairos times. Kairos is a greek word that means opportune time, right time or seasonal time. I am in my Kairos time. My doors have opened and I must seize the moment! According to Donna Kazenske, Kairos can be described as a God given moment of destiny. It is a time to be seized with decisiveness! It’s the alignment of natural and supernatural forces creating an environment for an opening to occur; a time when heaven and earth align with one another in a spiritual sense; a time when heaven touches earth in a way that will never be forgotten. Kairos is a particular moment, out of all the ordinary moments in time that has the capability to forever change the outcome of time itself. Kairos is the moment of decision, the moment of action, the moment of change. It can be a moment, or it can be an entire season of moments.

I am right smack in my Kairos season and I refuse to miss the day of my visitation. I refuse to be too afraid to make the necessary moves. I refuse to hesitate. I will move forward in boldness and confidence in God to seize my Kairos moments in the name of Jesus!!! Kairos, my moment to step into destiny. This is my hour and I must walk in my calling!!

Wholly Devoted To Him!

This God we serve, who can understand him? On the 15th of September I put up a blog with the heading "Would I?" talking about would I give it all up to follow him. This came out of the following passage:

Mark 10:29-31

²⁹"I tell you the truth," Jesus replied, "no one who has left home or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields for me and the gospel ³⁰will fail to receive a hundred times as much in this present age (homes, brothers, sisters, mothers, children and fields—and with them, persecutions) and in the age to come, eternal life.³¹But many who are first will be last, and the last first."

I have never understood this passage before. The other day I heard the Lord ask me, "Would you give up your hope for marriage and children to be wholly devoted and focussed on me?" Honestly that was one of those questions I had never thought the Lord would ask me. I have always thought I would get married. Anyone who has followed this blog for any length of time will testify that marriage is a big deal for me. So what is this now?

I heard the Lord refer me to Paul's discourse in 1 Corinthians 7. I did not have the courage to read it. Not until today. This passage is extremely difficult to read. Paul says that staying single is better than being married. I have never heard anyone, other than Paul make a case for staying single for life. I have never heard a sermon on it. It is always mentioned in passing. But what if this is what God requires of me?

The word 'devoted' keeps jumping up at me. Particularly when put as "wholly devoted." I'm hearing God saying to come out and be wholly devoted to the work for which he called me. And this passage says that staying single allows one to be wholly devoted to the Lord without distraction. Would it be so bad to remain single all my life? Jesus said that if I give it up I will, in this world, still get my reward. I believe him. This one is still up in the air. My answer is that I want to serve him in the way that he thinks is best for me.

Strangely enough I hear him asking me to make the choice. That if I choose to be married it is well and if I choose to stay unmarried it is well. There is no condemnation. But he would prefer that I focus wholly on him. There are things he can show me and use me to do only when I am single. Free will!! What to do with it?!!

2 Corinthians 8:12 says "For if the willingness is there, the gift is acceptable according to what one has, not according to what he does not have"

Lord, make me willing to devote myself wholly to you. I want to be used by you to the uttermost. I feel the loss of what I would be giving up if I choose to remain single forever. Yet I want your best for me and if that means being single till death then you help me to be willing to make the choice. Not grudgingly Lord, but with joy. I am yours. All yours. Make me willing O God and have your way in me.

34 Strong!!

They say that the older you get the better each birthday becomes. I can honestly say that it is true for me. I love each new year that the Lord gives me. This birthday is particularly exciting for me because of the things that God has been speaking to me as I fast. The numerology is awesome.

3 stands for the God Head

4 is a door as represented by the Dalet (number 4 in Hebrew).

7 is the number of completion resulting from the addition of 3 and 4.

I have been praying in line with these numbers and God keeps revealing more things to me. The number 4 is the one that has really stood out for me. God is talking about opening doors for me. The door to destiny. The definition of the word door is also quite interesting:

1) A door is a moveable barrier used to cover an opening.

2) Anything providing a means of access (or escape)

According to Wikipedia "Doors are often symbolically endowed with ritual purposes, and the guarding or receiving of the keys to a door, or being granted access to a door can have special significance"

Doors are also depicted as the portals through which the righteous may enter (Psalms 119:18) When God opens your eyes and you see wonderful things in his law, you see open doors in places you had not seen them before and God allows you to walk through them.

Another awesome thing that happened on Friday was that I was in a meeting at Kingdom Business Network when the man of God was led to anoint us with oil and prophesy over our lives. When he got to me he said:

"Stop waiting for the door to open. The sliding doors open for you when you move towards them. If you move in the direction you hear God telling you to move towards, the doors will open. Right now you are standing here waiting for the doors to open and they are waiting for you to make a move so they can open. "

After this I read the meaning of the word door in the back of my Bible and was amazed to find that Revelation 4:1 reads as follows:

"After this I looked, and there before me was a door standing open in heaven."

This is the season I have stepped into. The season of the open door and of access into the throne room of God. Friday and Saturday during times of worship I got to experience this open door to the throne room of God. On both occasions all I could do was weep as I realized that I was in the very throne room of God. On Friday I just had to prostrate myself before him and on Saturday I had to get on my knees. It is amazing that the God of the whole universe has allowed me to appear before him in Zion and join the 24 elders in crying out

"You are worthy, our Lord and God,

to receive glory and honor and power,

for you created all things,

and by your will they were created

and have their being."

I cannot even begin to tell you how real this experience has been for me and how precious. One thing that I know in my heart is that God himself has opened this door to me and no one can shut it. I am blessed!!

I also know that God has opened doors for me in heaven and on earth in line with my calling. I will walk boldly towards everything God has spoken to me and I know that I will see amazing things in God and you will read all about them here. God bless you and Happy Birthday to me!!

Ask Of Me...

This morning I am amazed at the goodness of God. That the God of the whole universe, of Galaxies unknown would show up in my bedroom this morning and say:

"Ask what I should do for you in the next 3 months."

Interesting how when you hear something like this you begin to wonder if you are losing it. But out of the blue, God, who can read my mind from thousands of miles away, begins to share places in his word that he encourages his people to ask:

1 Kings 3:5

At Gibeon the LORD appeared to Solomon during the night in a dream, and God said, "Ask for whatever you want me to give you."

Psalm 2:8

Ask of me, and I will make the nations your inheritance, the ends of the earth your possession.

Zechariah 10:1

Ask the LORD for rain in the springtime;

So it is not strange that God would show up this morning on the 23rd day of my fast which is only 4 days to my birthday to ask such a thing. Speaking of the number 4, I will be 34 in 4 days. The number four is the dalet in hebrew and is depicted by the picture of a door. When I found that out it was quite significant for me because of my age.

Yesterday I fasted within my fast. That is to say that although I have been on a Daniel fast, yesterday I did liquids only from the night of the 21st to yesterday evening. In the afternoon I found myself crying out to God to remove the mystery in his word so that I could understand it. We are often told that God has revealed himself in his word but many times we read the word and come away without revelation of any kind. It is shrouded in mystery and only the Spirit of the Most High God can show you what he is talking about. As I was praying I found myself asking God to remove the veil. I do not want to be among them that see but do not perceive, who hear with their ears but cannot grasp and understand with their hearts. I need to read his word, perceive and grasp and understand God's meaning with my heart.

This morning when he asked me what I wanted, I felt like Herod's daughter after she had danced. She ran to her mother and said "What should I ask for?" And then it entered my heart to ask him to remove the veil. To open the door and let me into himself in the next 3 months. Everything I need is in him. If he can let me into himself I can understand me. I can have a greater sense of direction in this world. My husband and children, my riches and honor and everything else that I need are in him. I am so blessed to know this God.

Then I realized that I will be 34 and 3 is the number of divinity while 4 is depicted by a door. He interpreted it for me to mean that he will open the door into the God head. He will let me into himself and will remove the veil. I am so blessed. I am sitting here amazed and tickled at the same time. Amazed that the God of the universe would draw me deeper into himself and tickled at how awesome it will be to go in deeper. I said to him "Lord, bring me in like you brought Moses" God's testimony of Moses was:

Numbers 12:7-8a

⁷ But this is not true of my servant Moses;

he is faithful in all my house.

⁸ With him I speak face to face,

clearly and not in riddles;

he sees the form of the LORD.

34 will be a great year for me and in the next 3 months I believe I will see the mighty outpouring of the goodness of the Lord in my Life.

You can be sure that you will hear all about it on this blog so stay tuned!!

My 3 Fathers

Bless the Lord oh my soul and forget not all his benefits!! I am rejoicing greatly today because I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. I see the purpose of this fast. Surely when you seek God on any matter, you will find him. I will talk about what God has done for me at a later date when I can do so freely, but be informed, God is making the path for my feet very clear. I bless his name.

Today I want to talk about fatherhood and some of the things I am discovering along the way. My dad passed away on March 13th this year. As I said at the time, God stepped into that place he held in my heart immediately so that even though I missed dad terribly and grieved his death there was no void in me. I was still complete and whole. There was no emptiness. When we first learnt about dad's diabetes complications I had cried out to God in fear because dad had almost died. I could feel the huge void in me and did not want to have that emptiness. God was gracious and waited until I learnt to make him my true Father before taking dad.

Funny enough, now he has began to show me Fathers in the community who will step in to advice me as a father would. One is my best friend's dad who has so adopted me and indeed my family that he came for my sister's ruracio (ceremony to pay the bride price) after dad died. It was such a comfort to see how God had touched his heart for us and given him a sense of responsibility for the family. Mom was so honored to see him there too. This is the dad to whom I will take my boyfriend for the "daddy interrogation session" I am so blessed to have him.

The other Father that God has given me is Mr. Anthony Wahome of Linksoft Group. This father is the one who advices me on how to do life and business. When I think I am hearing God about something or when I want to make a career change or need business advice this is the Father to go to. He is so godly and such a blessing and I will be working very closely with him in the next season of my life.

Daddy No. 3 is my Pastor Allan Kiuna who I just love to bits. This daddy prays for me, cries for me, seeks God on my behalf. This father teaches me the ways of the Lord, how to walk uprightly before my God. He puts tools for success in my hand and blesses me Sunday after Sunday and other times in between. I love my pastor dearly.

These three men have been put in my path by God and are always ready to hear me if I need to speak. I pursue these fathers diligently because they have been put in place for me by God. I honor and treasure them. See how good God is, even though he has taken away my biological father, out of his death I have received 3 Fathers and Jehovah as well. I am blessed!!

Would I?

I keep asking myself, "would I give it all up to follow Christ?" He says:

Mark 10:29-31

²⁹"I tell you the truth," Jesus replied, "no one who has left home or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields for me and the gospel ³⁰will fail to receive a hundred times as much in this present age (homes, brothers, sisters, mothers, children and fields—and with them, persecutions) and in the age to come, eternal life. ³¹But many who are first will be last, and the last first."

And then I think of the donkey that Jesus rode on to enter Jerusalem that final time and what he said about it in Mathew 21:3 "³If anyone says anything to you, tell him that the Lord needs them, and he will send them right away."

My mentor often says that he is the donkey that Christ is riding on. I hear Jesus saying "Come away with me Cynthia and if anyone asks you where you are going tell them 'the Lord needs me'"

Last night I had a dream with the picture of Christ entering Jerusalem on the donkey. And I was being instructed in the dream and the person instructing me said "they will welcome him with shouts of El Rei! El Rei!" I could see the words and the spelling was clear. I asked in the dream, "What does El Rei mean?" and the person instructing me said "You will find out." I woke up at some crazy hour of the night and googled those words and this is what I found. El Rei is Portuguese for "The King" interestingly enough the Spanish translation is "El Rey" but that was not what I saw. I clearly saw it spelled with an "i" at the end. I don't know what this dream means but "they shall welcome him with shouts of The King, The King!"

Now please note that I do not speak Spanish or Portuguese and these words were downloaded to me in the spirit. My intellect was absolutely clueless on what they meant until I googled them. How is that for food for thought?!!!

Sweet Forgiveness

I thank God for Mahesh Chavda who has written an awesome book on prayer and fasting called "The hidden power of prayer and fasting." In it he talks about the power of a fast to cleanse by bringing to the surface hidden or underlying sin that the person may not even know exists. He gives an example of himself and how at one point he let out an expletive that shocked even him during a fast. He was surprised when the spirit of God, instead of being offended, showed him that he was bringing hidden sin to the surface.

It is as if milk has been put on a fire to boil. When you let it cool the cream forms at the top. That cream represents the hidden sins in your life. The Lord removes that sin as you would remove cream to skim milk then allows it to boil again that he may get more to the surface.

I have had two such incidences in the last 4 days. Boy was I embarrassed! Each time the Lord says "I am exposing some root causes of sin in your life so that we can deal with them." The Lord wants to make sure that those sins never show up again in my life. I think that because of this I am discovering the value of a prolonged fast. These sins have only shown up on day 10 and 13 of my fast. I was of course feeling very guilty as I kept thinking to myself "How can I sin like this when fasting?" But the Lord has ministered grace to me through the book of Zechariah 3.

In this wonderful chapter is Joshua who is a high priest through the calling of God. He stands before the Lord in filthy garments representing his sin. Satan the accuser of brethren has also come to point out just how filthy his garments are and to accuse him before the Lord. Joshua, guilty as sin (pun intended), does not say a word. He is clearly guilty as charged. But the Lord speaks up for him in verse 2 and rebukes the devil:

The LORD said to Satan, "The LORD rebuke you, Satan! The LORD, who has chosen Jerusalem, rebuke you! Is not this man a burning stick snatched from the fire?"

Then he commands that clean rich garments be put on Joshua and that a turban be put on his head. The priestly turban read "Holy to the Lord." He is reinstated to his position of service and authority in God with the command to walk in his ways and keep his requirements. I thank God for this chapter because it speaks also of us who are kings and priests to our God! We also through repentance have been forgiven and reinstated to our positions in God. The accuser of brethren has been rebuked for us. We shall make it in God in Jesus Name! When you fall be encouraged and repent. Ask God to take away the root cause of that sin so that it will never manifest again. You are Holy unto the Lord!!

Beautiful In Its Time

I woke up this morning with a smile on my face enjoying the fact that the early morning sun was pouring into my apartment. I love sunny mornings! Shortly though, I got in a very strange mood where I began to feel disappointed and discouraged at God. I felt that he was moving too slowly and was not listening to me. Now that I think about it, I must be doing some serious damage to the devils camp for him to give me such an attack. Something must be happening in the heavenlies if that attack is anything to go by. There was a darkness and a heaviness in my heart that I was not understanding. I just kept praying over and over again for God to deliver me and I was really rebuking the devil. Then it hit me that I needed to tell God what I was feeling and so I began to pour out my heart to him. In the middle of all that I said "Now is my time!" and I put in some really crazy demands. You know, when you are busy ranting and raving the Lord just lets you finish then later it dawns on you how ridiculous you sounded!

When I was done the Lord said "Anything I do for you is only beautiful in its time." That hit me hard. It means that if it comes before or after its God ordained time it will cause havoc and not be a blessing. God being the awesome daddy that he is knows this and will not respond to my demands for "Now!" if that is not the right time. So once again I found myself at his feet. Begging forgiveness and laying down my demands, dreams, hopes and desires. All I can say is "let it be unto me according to your word and in your time." I pray for peace and victory in the waiting. I need that more than anything else at this time!!

Father to the Fatherless

As I continue to pray that God would release me into my destiny, the Lord unfolded a different aspect of it yesterday. In all truth, I was not expecting this aspect of it to be part of the discussion. I had told God that I had entered rest where marriage was concerned and that I was never going to let it be a an issue between us. I had really began to slide into the thought that I would never be married and that it would be well with my soul. I have said it often to those around me that a man is not a need. I can live without one. But it would be good to have one. But delay is not denial!! Now I know (this is personal revelation) that if I remain single forever I will miss out on God's best for me. Yet for others, it may be that if they get married they will miss out on God's best for them. That is why I say it is personal.

The Lord led me into several prayers last night and this morning. He also asked me to put together a wish list where my man was concerned with instructions to put a seed and the list in an envelope and drop them at the altar on Sunday during the service. In the middle of my quiet time this morning I suddenly found myself missing my dad intensely. I remembered the day he came out of surgery. I remembered the day he told me that he was going to die. I remembered conversations we had in the past and how towards the end of his life he had become my confidant. I would ask for his advice and tell him what I was thinking of doing. If dad said no that was the end of it. If he said go ahead I knew that God had spoken. Many times when I was confused about what to do, or if I had two options that seemed right, I would ask God to speak through dad and whatever dad said to do is what I did. I was blessed every time. I miss that.

I remembered the day he died. I remembered his face and how my sister Gigi and I were the wailing women in the hospital. Gigi and I had such a special bond with dad. We knew without a doubt that he loved us. Even when we did crazy things and got ourselves into a mess. It was dad who always picked us out of our mire, provided solutions to our mess and punished us in love. He did not spare the rod. Not Dad!!! He would whack you good and then give you an added punishment just for effect. But his discipline was the life giving kind. His loss was very painful for me. However, I must say that God stepped in immediately to fill the gap. He became my Father in more ways than one. Even though I felt dad's loss I did not have a void or gaping hole within me. God filled up that spot immediately and by so doing preserved me in more ways than one.

This morning God showed me in the Bible of another person that had lost a parent and how God had stepped in to comfort him. Genesis 23-24 talks about the death of Sarah and how Abraham mourned and wept over her. Isaac was there too. Like me, he was weeping and mourning the loss of a parent that dotted over him, that encouraged him and loved him. After Abraham had buried her it is important to note that he saw a need in Isaac that he did not see in himself. Isaac did not realize that he needed a wife and he was 37 years old. He was probably saying like me that she was not a need but it would be good to have one. Yet his father, who represents God in this case, saw a need in his son and immediately knew that a wife would meet that need. So he sends his servant, who represents the Holy Spirit, on a matchmaking mission. He says to him "...get a wife for my son Isaac."

You know the story. The servant is successful and comes back with Rebekah in tow. Verse 67 of Genesis 24 gives the conclusion of the matter:

"Isaac brought her into the tent of his mother Sarah, and he married Rebekah. So she became his wife, and he loved her; and Isaac was comforted after his mother's death."

The love between a man and a woman has a comforting effect in the death of a loved one. It is no wonder then that in this time of discussing my destiny God would think of my wholeness and would see a need in me that I have not even seen in myself. What a wonderful Father he is. God takes care of every need to ensure that you are whole in order to run with the destiny that he has in store for you. I am not deceived. I know that marriage is for destiny, but how wonderful to know that God wants to comfort me after my fathers death and to use a wonderful man of God to love on me like Christ loves the Church and to become a confidant and covering for me as surely as Dad was. I know in my spirit that even now the Holy Spirit is out on a matchmaking mission on my behalf for the word of the Lord says in Isaiah 34 :16

"Search from the Book of the Lord and read; Not one of these shall fail; Not one shall lack her mate. For my mouth has commanded it, and His Spirit has gathered them."

Deaf and Mute

In Mark 7:33-35 we read about a man with a deaf and mute spirit. Still on the topic of the tongue it is obvious that if one cannot hear they cannot speak. If you cannot hear what God is saying, how can you speak what is right? Psalm 38:13 says:

¹³ I am like a deaf man, who cannot hear,

like a mute, who cannot open his mouth;

Jesus spoke in parables that had hidden meaning. The disciples asked him why he did this and his reply found in Mathew 13:13-14 says

¹³This is the reason that I speak to them in parables: because having the power of seeing, they do not see; and having the power of hearing, they do not hear, nor do they grasp and understand.

¹⁴In them indeed is ^]the process of fulfillment of the prophecy of Isaiah, which says: You shall indeed hear and hear but never grasp and understand; and you shall indeed look and look but never see and perceive.

The secrets of the Kingdom of God are for those who hear with their natural ears and then hear again with their spiritual ears. Hearing with your spiritual ears means that you grasp and you understand the secrets of God behind the natural words you are hearing. You have the power to hear the secrets of the Kingdom and those secrets when spoken by you bring deliverance, prosperity, healing and success in every area of your life.

I am amazed at the goodness of God. Two days, or so ago I was telling him to speak to me like he did with Moses. God testifies in Numbers 12 6-8

⁶And He said, Hear now My words: If there is a prophet among you, I the Lord make Myself known to him in a vision and speak to him in a dream.

⁷But not so with My servant Moses; he is entrusted and faithful in all My house.

⁸With him I speak mouth to mouth [directly], clearly and not in dark speeches; and he beholds the form of the Lord. Why then were you not afraid to speak against My servant Moses?

And again in Exodus 33:11 "And the Lord spoke to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend."

My hearts desire is that God will speak to me so that I can understand and grasp with my heart the mysteries of his Kingdom to walk in the ways he has ordained for me.

Mark 7 and Mark 9 record incidences when Jesus met with people who were deaf and mute and needed to be free of this condition. In Mark 9 a demon is causing the issue. It has blocked the boys hearing and stopped him from speaking. Moreover, it has on occasion thrown him the fire and in water so that it could kill him. A deaf and mute spirit has nothing for you but destruction and death. Does not the word of God say that the enemy comes only to steal, kill and destroy? When you are unable to grasp and understand the meaning of the word of the Lord you are unable to receive life to yourself. Why? Because Jesus said to the woman at the well, "these words that I speak to you, they are spirit and they are life." The words of the Lord are life. If you cannot truly hear what the Lord is saying you are dying.

The Lord looks at the boy and commands that deaf and mute spirit to depart which it promptly does. This of course throws off the disciples who had been doing the same thing in his name and had been unable to get this nasty spirit to leave. Jesus tells them that this kind, this particular breed, rank, caliber of spirit can only bow to prayer and fasting!! Wow!! Does that not just shed a whole new light to prayer and fasting?!! If you want the deaf and mute spirit to depart from you pray and fast then rebuke that spirit and send it packing!! This explains why when you are fasting you hear, grasp and understand what God is saying so clearly!!

The case in Mark 7 is different. We see no spirits here. This man, although deaf and mute, does not seem to be possessed by any devil. There is no deliverance service happening here. The process is quite simple:

³³After he took him aside, away from the crowd, Jesus put his fingers into the man's ears. Then he spit and touched the man's tongue. ³⁴He looked up to heaven and with a deep sigh said to him, "Ephphatha!" (which means, "Be opened!" ). ³⁵At this, the man's ears were opened, his tongue was loosened and he began to speak plainly.

Christ commands him to be opened. Immediately he can hear and immediately he can speak plainly.

These two instances tell me that one can have their spiritual hearing (and by default speaking) blocked by a demonic spirit or by God. Exodus 4:11

¹¹ The LORD said to him, "Who gave man his mouth? Who makes him deaf or mute? Who gives him sight or makes him blind? Is it not I, the LORD ?

However, the desire of God is that you hear and that you speak right. However, your hearing and your speaking is dictated by your heart. If your heart is calloused then you will see and will not perceive, you will hear but will not grasp and understand. The heart of God is that you will have your heart fixed so that you can truly see and truly hear. Jesus continues his discourse in Mathew 13:15 -16 and says:

¹⁵For this people's heart has become calloused;

they hardly hear with their ears,

and they have closed their eyes.

Otherwise they might see with their eyes,

hear with their ears,

understand with their hearts

and turn, and I would heal them. ¹⁶But blessed are your eyes because they see, and your ears because they hear.

Therefore spiritual hearing and seeing is about understanding the meaning of what you see and hear. Its a matter of the heart. Each one of us therefore needs a new heart according to Jeremiah 17, because the old heart is "deceitful above all things, and it is exceedingly perverse and corrupt and severely, mortally sick!" If you can allow God to fix your heart, by taking away the old one and giving you a new one you can then be able to understand with your heart what you see and hear. Once this is done you can begin to speak the word of the Lord and by so doing to make your way prosperous!

Father today I come into your presence as one who longs to see and hear and to communicate with you face to face. Father, I ask that you would give me a new heart. The kind that can perceive, grasp and understand the things that you are saying to me. Father, today in the name of Jesus I come against any deaf and mute spirit that could have been hindering me from clearly hearing what you are saying to me. I come against it in the name of Jesus and decree that in that mighty name I am free to hear what the Lord my God is saying to me and perceive what I see, to grasp and understand with my heart everything that I hear you say. Lord I put my fingers in my ears just like you did with the deaf man and I touch my tongue and command them in the name of Jesus "Be opened!" I thank you for opening my hearing and loosing my tongue. Lord God I touch my eyes too and command them to be opened in the name of Jesus. Yes Lord! Blessed are my eyes for they see and my ears for they hear clearly. Blessed I'm I for my heart perceives, grasps and understands the mysteries and secrets of the Kingdom of God. Lord, I worship you today for reaching out to me. You are the revealer of mysteries and you have chosen to reveal them to me. I bless you and honor you. In Jesus name I do pray. Amen!!

Milk and Honey are Under Your Tongue!

I was praying before I started reading my Bible this morning and just as I was about to say Amen I felt that I was not done yet. So I began to worship the Lord and to pray in tongues. As I was doing so I could see in my minds eye flames on my tongue and a sword that went in and out of my mouth. As if my tongue was a sword going back and forth and a flame or tongue of fire was sitting on it.

James says that the tongue is a fire and like a small spark that can set a forest on fire so is the tongue. James says that the tongue is set on fire by hell and can cause much destruction. Then Isaiah 30:27 describes the tongue of God as a consuming fire. I realized that since we are created in the image of God our tongues also are a consuming fire. Everyone's tongue is a fire. The question becomes, who has lit the fire on your tongue?

This little thing in our mouth can bring both blessing and ruin to our lives. Consider that when the Lord wanted to bring ruin on the wicked he turned their tongues against themselves (Psalm 64:8). It is out of the abundance of the heart that the mouth (tongue) speaks. So when it comes to the tongue the change must start in the heart. As James says, no one can tame the tongue. The only way to get the tongue to fall in line with God's word and way of doing things is to get your heart fixed.

Psalm 39:3 says:

My heart grew hot within me,

and as I meditated, the fire burned;

then I spoke with my tongue:

What you meditate on in your heart fans the flame that lights your tongue so that you speak. Have you ever been really angry about something and you just wanted to tell off the person that had done you wrong but they were not around you? You meditate on what they did or said, you stew up good and the more you dwell on the issue the more the fire burns within you? Then the person shows up and you are just like a volcano waiting to erupt. You spew your hot lava out your mouth faster that they can digest it and they are looking at you all confused because you can't seem to hold back. Well, I've been there. Today God is telling me that if I am to say things that are in line with him and his word always, then I must meditate on this word and marinade it in my heart at all times. That way when I open my mouth to speak, only his word will come out.

Look at this words from Job 33:2-3

² I am about to open my mouth;

my words are on the tip of my tongue.

³ My words come from an upright heart;

my lips sincerely speak what I know.

When you open your mouth with the words ready at the tip of your tongue, you will speak from your heart and you say what you know!! What do you know? Listen to yourself speak. What is coming out of your mouth is what is in your heart. Whatever is in your heart is what you know. Do you need to change what you know?

If you are a marketplace Christian like me and have been called to take back the Kingdom's resources then you have a land to conquer. God gave Joshua direction on how to conquer the land in Joshua 1:8

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.

The word of God is what you need to know. Read it to yourself out. Meditate and Marinade your heart in it all the time. Practice that word so that it becomes a part of you. Then you will naturally speak it and you will become prosperous and successful. Psalm 73:9 says:

⁹ Their mouths lay claim to heaven,

and their tongues take possession of the earth.

You posses with your tongue!!! It's no wonder then that the devil would seek to fill your tongue with negative things. With lies, destruction and evil. He knows that the way to take possession is with your tongue. Meditate on this word and let it sink deep into your spirit. Your tongue is your instrument for possessing the earth!!

Proverbs 18:21 says it clearly:

²¹ The tongue has the power of life and death,

and those who love it will eat its fruit

Don't speak death to that which concerns you, speak life. If your business is struggling find the word of God that speaks prosperity and success to the work of your hands and prophecy to your business before you begin working. If you are employed do the same. Begin to speak life. Tell your business that it shall live and not die according to the word of the Lord. Do you not realize that in Genesis Ch 1 the world was void and dark but the Spirit of the Most High God was hovering over the water, in that darkness just waiting for God to say "Let there be" so he could get busy? It is the same with you. You are made in the image and likeness of God. Begin to say "Let there be" and just like God you will then say "And it was so".

As I'm writing this God is giving me an example for us single people. We are to say:

"Let there be a husband (or wife) in my life for God has said in his word that none shall lack a mate and it is not good for man to be alone. His word has said that two are better than one and that from the beginning God made them two by two. He who finds a wife finds a good thing and obtains favor with the Lord. Therefore let the mate God has prepared for me show up in the name of Jesus!!"

Let that word marinade deep in your heart and it will be so.

Now, when I came across this next verse I was blown away. Song of Solomon 4:11 says this:

¹¹ Your lips drop sweetness as the honeycomb, my bride;

milk and honey are under your tongue...

It occurred to me that the Lord had said that he was taking his children to a land flowing with milk and honey. How then was it possible that milk and honey was under my tongue. Why under and not on my tongue? Under the tongue is a storage place. It is a place of hiding. When we were kids and were caught chewing gum in class I remember the teacher would ask you to open your mouth if you said you were not chewing. You would open your mouth and nothing was there. Meanwhile, the piece of gum was under your tongue. If milk and honey are under your tongue it means that the only way to partake of them is to get them from under there and onto your tongue.

If you want to partake of the good of the land, get the milk and honey from under your tongue. Begin to speak what the word of the Lord says about you, your family, the work of your hands and your health. Begin to speak it and you will find that the milk and honey will come from under your tongue so you can partake of it.

It's a Hostile Take Over!!!

I have been going about this the wrong way. I'm sorry ya'll but the marketplace is about a hostile take over. Realize that the land you want is already occupied. Realize that the enemy has already set up camp there and has been there a long time. You cannot ask the powers of darkness to politely make room for you. You cannot make alliances with them. You must take it from them by force! The land you want is already occupied and God knows that. He never told you that he was going to give you a land that is lying fallow just waiting for you to come and take your place. NO!!

Exodus 13:5

When the LORD brings you into the land of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Hivites and Jebusites—the land he swore to your forefathers to give you, a land flowing with milk and honey...

The land of your prosperity, the one that flows with milk and honey that you can't wait to get into is an occupied land. Realize if you want to go into telecoms that Safaricom, Zain, Orange, Telkom Kenya, Essar and the rest are already there. The business you are thinking of going into, the one that God has promised to give to you, exists in a land that is fully occupied by giants!! You have to make up your mind that you will dispossess the giants and take hold of that for which Christ laid a hold of you.

Do you know that the marketplace was God's idea? That he owns the marketplace as surely as he owns the cattle on a thousand hills? Do you know that the devil, knowing that the marketplace was the heart of the city took control of it so that he may take control of the resources of the earth? Wealth is made in the marketplace. The wealth of the wicked is not taking a walk from their camp to yours all by itself. You will not wake up off the prayer mat and be a millionaire. You must work. And the place where work takes place is called the marketplace. The channel that God has ordained for channeling the wealth of the wicked into your hands is called the marketplace. You must wake up in the morning and engage in the marketplace in order to increase in wealth. The Lord wants to channel the resources of the earth into your hands that you may favor his righteous cause and send the gospel all over his green earth.

The devil will not just put the wealth into your hand because you have shown up in the marketplace. It has to be a hostile take over. You must show up in the marketplace, scatter the powers of darkness that govern your industry and then take over by force in the name of Jesus!! Move over devil there's a new sheriff in town!! Take over your industry. Take over in the place where God has placed you. Take the industry by force. Take over the resources in that industry. Take over the business in that industry. Become a monopoly in your own right by the power of the Most High God. Don't let the giants intimidate you. Show up before the throne of God, power up and then go in this might of yours and take over the land. God shall enable you. Worship him today as the Man of War. The Warrior King. Worship him as the one who goes before you to hand over to you the treasures of darkness in secret places. Call God out. Tell him to put on his fighting gear, get on his chariot and ride ahead of you into battle. The good Lord enjoys a good fight!! Put on the full armor of God and go into battle for your industry. It's a hostile take over!!

Yeah!

I found this little tidbit from a yahoo finance article titled "7 spending tips from frugal billionaires"

"Carlos Slim Helu (Carlos Slim), a telecom tycoon and billionaire with well-known frugal tendencies, has a net worth of $60.6 billion, according to Forbes. Assuming no changes in his net worth, he could spend $1,150 a minute for the next 100 years before he ran out of money. To put this in perspective, he could spend in 13 minutes what a minimum-wage earner brings home after an entire year of the daily grind."

Imagine that, then imagine that God wants to get you there and beyond. Then just give a loud shout "YEAH!!!!!"