Burnt to Ashes

From Our Pastor's Desk.

Isaiah 61:3 says “to appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that he might be glorified.”

Ashes refer to the adversities in life, a time of test, reproach, mourning, weeping, and fire.. Beauty refers to how the Lord can turn around those adversities that He may be glorified, a time of testimony, completion, dancing, laughing, rejoicing, joy.

Luke 4:18-19, 1 Samuel 30:6. Ashes come from wood that is burnt not wood that is not burnt.  Just because something bad happened to you does not mean that God does not care for you.

He allows His children to face great battles because He has greater victories for them. His plan is to give us beauty eventually. So, when we feel God seems a million notes away; when we pray but nothing happens. We rebuked the devil, but it doesn't change anything. We confess our sins, we fast, still nothing. We then begin to wonder how long this spiritual gloom might last. Will it ever end?

“What is wrong with me?” we ask. The truth is nothing is wrong with you. We all go through the refiner’s fire. It's painful and disconcerting but it is absolutely vital for the development of our faith. Knowing this gave Job hope....Job 23:8-10.

Even our  Lord Jesus Christ cried out "Why have thou forsaken me". Everybody you meet is fighting a great battle. God is in the ashy situation with you, He will see you through, and you will not die in it.

There shall be beauty for ashes, that is the promise of God, just believe and trust in Him, and victory will be yours at last and forever, in Jesus Name. Amen.

You will have good success this 2019.

Remain blessed. 

Shalom.

February 2019 - Our Month of Beauty For Ashes

From Our Pastor's Desk.
 
Welcome to this our new Month of Beauty For Ashes in Jesus name. In Isaiah 61:3, Isaiah prophesied, "To console those who mourn in Zion, to give them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they may be called tress of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified."

On the outside, do you seem to have it altogether, but on the inside you’re hurting? Maybe your heart has been broken or someone has wounded you deeply.

If so, God wants to pick up all of the broken pieces and make you whole again.  Ashes refer to the adversities in life and beauty refers to how the Lord can turn around those adversities that He may be glorified .

Look at the people who came to the Lord in tears and see how the Lord wiped their tears. Hannah was in tears. 1st Sam 1:7 says, 'Hannah wept sore and did not eat'. But God came through.

He turned her mourning into joy. When little Samuel was born, she started rejoicing in the Lord. The Lord who wiped away the tears of Hannah & many others will do the same thing for us. He is exactly as concerned about us as He was to Hannah and Hezekiah.

He is the same yesterday, today and forever. If He did it for them, He will do it for us. He will give to us beauty for all our ashes. this month, in Jesus Name. AMEN

The Latter Glory

From Our Pastor's Desk


Acts 3:2 – “And a certain man lame from his mother's womb was carried, whom they laid daily at the gate of the temple which is called Beautiful, to ask alms of them that entered into the temple”
Remember the story of this lame man.

A story of ugliness at the beautiful gate; Wickedness at the gate of Mercy; Evil at the gate of Good; An eyesore at the gate of Eye Candy;  Filth at the gate of Faith; Odor at the gate  of Glamour; Gory sight at the gate of Glory  bright.

Daily it was a  routine to drop him off at the Beautiful Gate  in Jerusalem. Day after day, it was the same  routine; begging because he had no choice  and not fulfilling his destiny. 

During  Jesus' earthly ministry, he  passed through this same  gate. We are not sure what happened, maybe this lame man  was not around that  day or it was just the day for Jesus to drive out the greedy lots in the temple. 

In Jeremiah 29:11 of the Amplified version, the Lord says, 'I know the thoughts (and) plans that I have, for you, says the Lord, thoughts (and) plans for welfare (and) peace and not for evil, to give you hope in your final outcome." Begging was not the final outcome for this lame man at the beautiful gate.

Beloved, shame and reproach is not your final outcome; neither is disgrace and despair your final outcome nor your expected end. No matter what we may be facing today, the difficulties, challenges, heartbreaks, disappointments, or failure, we should not lose hope.

These, too, shall pass. The God of glory has better plans for us. Our latter days cannot but be greater than our former days, most definitely, in Jesus Name. Amen.

You will have good success this 2019.

Remain blessed. 

Shalom

Of Jesses and Samuels

From Our Pastor's Desk

1st Samuel 16:10-11 “A gain, Jesse made seven of his sons to pass before Samuel. And Samuel said unto Jesse, The LORD hath not chosen these. And Samuel said unto Jesse, Are here all thy children?

And he said, There remaineth yet the youngest, and, behold, he keepeth the sheep. And Samuel said unto Jesse, Send and fetch him: for we will not sit down till he come hither”

 In this scripture, there were two people, Jesse & Samuel having a deciding interaction about the destiny of another, David. 

Jesse represented David’s past, and Samuel his future, his destiny. While Jesse was his past, his natural “father”, Samuel was his future, his spiritual “father”. David was a man scorned, reproached and disgraced in his father’s house.

He said in Psalms 69:7-8 – “Because for thy sake I have borne reproach; shame hath covered my face. I am become a stranger unto my brethren, and an alien unto my mother's children” Then God sent Samuel to him.

Within a few hours, things turned around for him. A rejected, dejected, discarded out-cast and shepherd boy became anointed as the king of a mighty nation. Within a few hours. God is sending our “Samuel”, that would change our former to latter glory.

As like the old days, our “Samuel” will bring our good news, change our situations for better & wipe our tears away, in Jesus Name.

Amen You will have good success this 2019.

Remain blessed. 

Shalom.

Be a Partaker of the Latter Glory

By Grandma Priscilla Fenuku 

Haggai 2:9 - “The glory of this latter house shall be greater than of the former, saith the Lord of hosts: and in this place will I give peace, saith the Lord of hosts”.

There is a glory that is coming to the church and we are called to be partakers. The ancient prophet Haggai saw it afar off and declared that the glory of this latter house shall be greater than he former.

He was literally talking about a people who will emerge in the future. If we must truly partake of the glory of the latter house, then we have a responsibility to examine ourselves in the light of the scriptures in order to identify where we need to make amends.

We must understand that when the glory comes it does not only bless but it can also kill.  In Acts 5:1-5, Ananias and his wife taught they could lie to the apostles who were full of the Holy Spirit and the glory of God without any repercussions but they died.

This clearly tells us that we must take full responsibility for our own lives so that we will be partakers of  the latter glory. The latter glory will not allow defilement nor accept any form of filth and it will not permit any form of hypocrisy.

We must remember God has not called us to see shame or embarrassment. He who called you will perfect all that concerns you; Psalm 138:8. Something new and unusual is about to break forth in your life.

May He fill us with His Spirit and cause us to be a demonstration of His latter glory, in Jesus Name. Amen.

You will have good success this 2019.

Remain blessed. 

Shalom.

Your Testimony is Valuable

From Our Pastor's Desk

Revelations 12:11 - "And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death."  In John 9, we read a story of a man born blind from birth, and healed by Jesus.

He received his sight on the Sabbath, which was a problem for the Pharisees. When they called the formerly blind man to hear his story, he gave a simple yet powerful personal eyewitness testimony.

"All I know is this: Once I was blind, and now I can see!" You and I are often given the opportunity to use the power of our eyewitness testimony to convince others of God's grace, love and mercy and to encourage our brothers and sisters. 

The text says, "they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their  testimony." Jesus has done His  part in perfectly defeating the  enemy.  He shed His blood  and rose from the grave.  Now  we must do ours by telling our  testimony! 

Every time you tell  it, it reminds the devil he’s  defeated!  Go ahead, don’t  be afraid or ashamed -  "tell it!" Today’s Testimony Service is an opportunity that the Holy Spirit has given us to tell our story of His great, amazing and wonderful things the Lord has done in our lives.

ALL TO HIS GLORY. May He fill our mouths with many more testimonies, in Jesus Name. Amen

You will have good success this 2019. Remain blessed.

January 2019 - Our Month of Latter Glory

 From Our Pastor's Desk

Welcome to this Our New Month of Latter  Glory in Jesus name. Haggai 2:9 – “The latter glory of this house shall be greater than the former, says the LORD of hosts.

And in this place I will give peace, declares the LORD of hosts” Looking at this word of God to Haggai, from verses 2-3 – “Who is left among you that saw this house in her first glory? and how do ye see it now? is it not in your eyes in comparison of it as nothing”

We see that there was a former glory of that house in the scripture, but when it was rebuilt, that former glory was nothing compared to the latter glory.

There is the glory of God, one of His attributes. God’s glory is His manifest presence, by which He reveals His character of goodness and displays His power through signs & wonders. He does not share His glory with anyone. But He reveals His glory in us, His children. Job said in 29:20 – “My glory shall remain fresh in me”

Joseph told his brothers in Genesis 45:13 – “And ye shall tell my father of all my glory in Egypt” God desires His people to know Him, to glorify Him and to reflect His glory more.  In this Our Month of Latter Glory, as we get to know God more intimately, the more His glory will be revealed to us and in us.

As we are the temples of God, our coming latter glory shall be greater, better, brighter, & sweeter than the former past glory, in Jesus mighty Name. Amen.