Faith: The power to overcome

Hello readers, 

when your health, your finances or family are at risk, you suddenly realise how fragile life is. Today you may be living on the sunny side of the street, but if you live long enough adversity will come knocking on your door. When it does, you’ll discover that things like power, possessions and popularity won’t sustain you. If power could do it, Joseph Stalin wouldn’t have been afraid to go to sleep at night or been so paranoid that he appointed a soldier to guard his very teabags. If possessions could do it, fear wouldn’t have caused billionaire Howard Hughes to live like a hermit and die alone. If popularity could do it, John Lennon’s biographers wouldn’t have described him as a fearful man who slept with the lights on and was terrified of germs. 

Earthly supports can only sustain you so long. Courage for living comes from a deep abiding trust in God, whose Word says, ‘This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith.’ But faith is only as valuable as the thing it’s placed in, and our faith is in a God who never fails! David said, ‘Through you we push back our enemies; through your name we trample our foes’ (Psalm 44:5 NIV). Jesus said, ‘I have given you authority to…overcome all the power of the enemy…’ (Luke 10:19 NIV). Paul said, ‘Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword?…No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us’ (Romans 8:35-37 NIV).

The One part 2

Part 2
Trisha was only twenty-two years old. She was a ‘normal girl’ as she described herself.  She did the ‘normal’ things girls her age do- club, drink get in and out of relationships for the fun of it and so on. As far as she was concerned, that was a normal thing. She did not particularly like the taste of vodka, red wine or champagne but she drank them anyway. She hated the sweaty arms that always rubbed against hers in the clubs and the smell that came out of those places, but she went anyway. According to her, that was the price to pay to fit into the society of today.
All along, she had always been a religious girl, went to church every Sunday and even attended mid week services occasionally. As she neared the marriageable age as defined by her, she started frequenting church more. She became a regular face at the singles’ meeting, and other programs organised by the Church. She not only frequented her own local Church, but other Churches, as long as she felt a number of eligible bachelors would be present.
She wanted to marry a God-fearing man and not just a passive church goer like herself. That way, she felt she would not have to worry about his unfaithfulness, keeping late nights or even have trust issues with him. She wanted a man that they could cuddle up together on a Friday night and not someone that would send her a text at 9pm at night saying “hanging out with the boys at the bar tonight, don’t wait up for me”. As she sculpted her perfect spec for a husband, it never for once occurred to her that she probably wasn’t the kind of lady that man would be looking for.
“Look who we have here?” She heard a voice say behind her. It was Rob.
“Nice of you to come and I’m sure you’ll now agree with me when I said you’ll like the program” he continued.
“You’re right, I absolutely loved it” she replied.
“Great! Which means we’ll be seeing more of you here?” Rob asked?
“I have my own local church, but I’ve been looking to change churches for some time no. Looks like you were God sent after all”. That was the truth; Trisha had been looking to change churches. According to her, her current Church didn’t have enough eligible bachelors so she wanted to leave.
Two months on, Trisha had only managed to get Rob’s number and nothing more.
Rob was a very focused and unassuming young man. With him, what you see is what you get. He had no hidden agendas whatsoever. God was his first love. Anytime, he mounted the altar to lead the worship session, miracles were bound to happen, men, women and even children would be moved to tears as they worshipped their Maker. He was truly anointed.
Trisha had continued to fantasize about him as her future husband. She would link the events that led to their initial meeting as ‘God’s way of bringing them together’ There was virtually nothing he could say to her that she wouldn’t interpret to mean that he liked her. She was always around him. She would call him just to make sure ‘he got home safe’ after the Youth Fellowship. In all of these, as far as Rob was concerned, Trisha was just a very caring lady. It wasn’t until pointed out to him that he thought Trisha liked him that he started noticing it too.
The other day at Alex’s birthday dinner, Trisha insisted to sit beside Rob, offered to drop him off as his car was in the garage and even asked herself over to his house the following day to help him give his flat a little make-over. At that point, Alex had casually mentioned it to Rob but he just brushed it off and paid no attention it.

As time went on, Trisha’s crush on Rob became more glaring. Immediately, he took it to the Lord in prayer and asked the Lord if she was the woman for him not because he liked her, but because he did not want her to waste her time or lead her on like Alex had pointed out.
“Hey Trisha, I need to talk to you? Will you be free after service today?” he asked her over the phone that Sunday morning.
“Yes sure, no worries” she responded.
Immediately she hung up, she started guessing and second guessing what it was he wanted to talk to her about. She was convinced it had to do with the fact that he liked her too. She was very nervous and excited at the same time. She even changed her Blackberry status to “This is the day that the Lord has made it and I will rejoice and be glad in it”
“I don’t really know how to say this” Rob started off as they made their way to an empty room after the service.
“Okay,  here’s the thing, Alex seems to think you like me in a romantic way, is he right?” He blurted out all at once. Trisha wasn’t sure how to respond and she wasn’t sure where the conversation was headed but, she decided to be honest anyway.
“Errrm....” she took a long pause. “Errrr, Alex might be right, sort of” she finished. By this time, she could no longer look him straight in the eye, she was so shy.
“Wow, in as much as I guessed you’d say this, I was hoping you wouldn’t”.
She couldn’t believe what was coming out of Rob’s mouth. She had thought he was going to say something about liking her and they should both pray about it. But no, this was totally different from the script she had prepared in her mind.
“I’m really sorry Trisha, but I don’t feel the same way. I only realized you might have felt this way when Alex pointed it out to me. I immediately took it to God in prayer and He said ‘no’. I had to let you in on this right away as I didn’t want to continue “leading you on” as Alex described it.”
“What do you mean as Alex described it?” Are you trying to say you were not aware that you were leading me on? You’d sit beside me at every Youth fellowship meeting, called me at 12.00am on the dot on my birthday and even bought me a gift. You called me from time to time just to “check up on me and teach me the scriptures, we’d go on evangelizing walks together. In fact, I was certain you arranged for me to be paired with you” At this point, Trisha was getting a lot angrier
Rob was confused; he wasn’t sure how to react. He did not know whether to apologies or not, ‘cos left to him, he hadn’t really done any wrong. Just as he still gathered his thoughts together and plans his next course of action, Trisha stomped off and that was the last he saw of her.
Every now and then, he prays for her, hoping she’ll encounter his Jesus sometime soon.

Morale of the story: Be the kind of woman your future husband should be looking for.


Please leave your comments below.
God bless.

The One (Part 1)

Trisha knocked frantically at Becky’s door. She could even jump in through the double-glazed window if she had her way; that’s how badly she was hitching to tell Becky about Rob.
It was lovely summer day, the lush green grass and occasional wind
that blew made it even better. Trisha lay on the floor in the park reading John
Grisham’s- ‘The Firm’ as she soaked in the sun. If you know anything about England, you would know that the weather is one of the most

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OPERATING BY THE PEACE RULE

If you don’t have peace about it, don’t proceed! Often peace is all God will give you to let you know whether you’re in or out of His will. So how can you operate by the peace rule? ‘Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything; tell God your needs and don’t forget to thank Him for His answers. If you do this you will experience God’s peace, which is far more wonderful than the human mind can understand…His peace will keep your thoughts and your hearts quiet and at rest…’ (Philippians 4:6-7 TLB). Pay close attention to the words, ‘Don’t worry…instead, pray.’ Prayer transfers the problem from you to Jesus. ‘Let him have all your worries and cares, for he is always thinking about you and watching everything that concerns you. Be careful—watch out for attacks from satan…Stand firm when he attacks…’ (1Peter 5:7-9 TLB). Don’t give the devil a few days to work you over. The longer you wait to resist him, the stronger his hold over you becomes. The moment you find yourself worrying, stop and ask, ‘What’s the enemy trying to do here? If I give in to these thoughts and emotions, what will the result be?’ ‘Do not give the devil a foothold’ (Ephesians 4:27 NIV). Know your enemy, and each time he attacks put him to flight by saying what Jesus said to him in the wilderness: ‘…It is written…’ (Matthew 4:4 NIV). When Jesus said for the third time, ‘It is written,’ we read, ‘The devil left him, and angels came and attended him’ (v.11 NIV). So here’s the question: How well do you know God’s Word?

Behind Closed Doors 2 [End]: Lesbianism, marriage, past catching up,

Hi Friends, this is the 2nd part of the story “BEHIND CLOSED DOORS” it’s a lengthy story pls take time to read it.

“Maybe things aren’t the way she had thought” Bridget thought to herself as she watched Abigail talked endlessly about her new job and other things in her life. She remembered the passion in the way she spoke, the uplifted spirit. She spoke about people she had met and how things have worked so well for her.
Bridget was beginning to think it was definitely over, her obsession over her was finally over.Abigail had called her few days ago after their first meeting in church to schedule a lunch between the two ladies which Bridget had no choice than to accept. She felt she had no reason not to see her since her motives and intentions were not clear. Abigail went on and went about her success in her job, her family and out of curiosity; Bridget had asked her how she met Peter. She told her they both met during one of his visit to her work place; one thing led to another, she claimed she was totally attracted to him and they hit it off from there.
Then, they decided to go for cloth shopping; in the dressing room where Bridget was trying on a new dress; she was aware of the intense scrutiny of Abigail on her which made her uncomfortable. Just as she took off the dress to get into her own clothes, she heard Abigail’s voice.
“You left me Bridget,” She said in a sad tone. “You left me just like that.” Her heart sunk, although, she had been expecting this scene for a long time but since she had been so lively throughout their outing, she had given up on the notion of her ever going back to their past.
“I….” Bridget tried to say something but the right words wouldn’t come.
“How bad did I offend you to leave me just like that, six whole years Bridget” She continued to say looking straight into her eyes. “I gave you my life, my love, my devotion, I loved you Bridget. I gave you everything but you tore my heart into pieces” She said as her eyes became moist with tears. “Whatever I ever did to you, I never deserved that treatment.”
Bridget inhaled deeply. She couldn’t understand why she could be so hung up on that; after all, as she said, it’s been six years. Years where they both have grown wisely, years where they both should have come back to their sense and renounce the scandalous life.
“It’s not like that” Bridget found herself saying. “I never intended to hurt you Abigail”

Behind Closed Doors 1: Lesbianism, marriage, past catching up

“Oh God!” Bridget screamed in awe, “His trouser is going to fall off.” She said to her husband pointing at the teenage boy walking down the aisle.
“Teenagers!” Mark, her husband said, nodding his head.
Bridget quickly ran after the boy calling after him.
“Steven!” She called out.
“Ma!” Steven turned around, realizing who was calling him.
“Why do you always have your trouser so low beneath your underpants? It’s going to fall off one of these days.” She said to him.
Embarrassed, Steven pulled his trouser up and tightened the belt.
“I know this is the common amongst your peer but you don’t have to do that, you shouldn’t join the multitude because they all do it.” Bridget said, looking into his eyes.
“Yes ma’am.” Steven replied lowering his head.
“Oh Steven!” She muttered. “You have always said, ‘yes ma’am’ each time we have this conversation and yet your trousers is still falling off.” She gently said to him.
“I’m sorry ma, I will be more carefully.” He said smiling and then went his way.
“Oh teenagers!” Bridget said, going back to her husband. “I wonder what exactly they are trying to show us when they pull their trousers below their underpants” She said.
It’s called ‘sagging’ dear” Mark said laughing at her. “You need to see how your face was running after the poor boy, Oh dear!" He said laughing. "I better go attend to the minster’s meeting now” He said.
“It was a great sermon today dear, God was glorified.” She said to him.“Glory be to God!” Mark said hurrying to the minister’s meeting.
Being a pastor’s wife has too many responsibilities

Battered woman (full story)

Sandra walks back to the living room with a bottle of drink Alex requested for. .

''Here you go, '' she said placing the drink on the table.

''Who was that you were talking to back there?'' he flashed an angry look at her.

''Angela.'' she answered.

''What Angela!" he snapped. ''Why would she be calling you by this time of the night?''

''Its only 8'o clock, '' Sandra answered back, displeased at the tone of his voice. 

''Still, why would she be calling?" he asked again.

''She called just to say hello, '' she answered sitting next to him. ''Why do you always question me each time I receive a call, Alex''? She asked to tease him.

''I have a right to know who you talk to.” He snapped at her.

“That’s not what I mean; you don’t trust me Alex and that is one of many issues we have in this marriage. Do you have to question everything I do?” Sandra flashed angry look at him.

“You think I don't know what you do? You save guys numbers as females names on your phone and then, you delete all messages on your phone, why then should I trust someone like you.'' he shouted.

''Alex, I don't know what you are talking about, you are so paranoid, and that makes you suspect everything and everyone.'' she said back.

Just then, a message came on Sandra's phone. Alex immediately took her phone and read it.

Battered Woman part 3

The next day, Alex had left the house early. Sandra dragged herself out of bed, cleaned and nursed the wound from the previous night. She had taken the day off, so she decided to go see her Mum.

''Hello Mum,'' she greeted her. She found her in the study working on her computer. 

''Hello dear,'' Alice greeted, ''how are you honey?''

''Okay.'' she answered.

''You didn't tell me you were coming over,'' Alice said.

''I know, I was off from the hospital today and thought to come see you.'' she said

''Hmm'', Okay.” she said and continued typing.

''Mum,'' Sandra called out.'' I came to see you and you are still typing, why you don’t take a break. Let’s go outside for some air,'' Sandra said.

Battered woman part 2

After several minutes of banging on the door, he left for his room, while Sandra soaked herself into more tears.

Everything was fine for the first few months they started dating, but shortly after six months of their marriage; Alex began his rage of anger, his nagging, jealousy and then physical abuse. He promised to change time and time again and blame his work, being a police officer. It's been five years now, and the story continues. At first, Sandra thought she could change him, so she stayed until now, the toil of abuse all these years have taken away her strength to break free; although all their families and friends think of them as the best couple, and so much admire what they have; if only they knew what she was going through and the shame of falling below her own standard, but she would rather endure the pain than face her demons. Her profession as a medical doctor has taught her the danger of an abusive relationship. She has treated several victims of this abuse and knows from experience that after a series of beating, it may one day lead to death.

Battered Woman. (A Short Story) 1

Sandra walks back to the living room with a bottle of drink Alex requested for. .

''Here you go, '' she said placing the drink on the table.
''Who was that you were talking to back there?'' he flashed an angry look at her.
''Angela.'' she answered.
''What Angela!" he snapped. ''Why would she be calling you by this time of the night?''
''Its only 8'o clock, '' Sandra answered back, displeased at the tone of his voice. 
''Still, why would she be calling?" he asked again.
''She called just to say hello, '' she answered sitting next to him. ''Why do you always question me each time I receive a call, Alex''? She asked to tease him.
''I have a right to know who you talk to.” He snapped at her.

LOOK BACK AND REMEMBER

'[He] redeems your life from destruction...' Luke 15:6 Dr. Ann Shorb writes: 'The key to being able to rejoice in the past is not found in counting the number of good things that have happened, but in remembering that God remembers! He never forgets His plan and He never forsakes His promises. Even when life is tough and things don't make sense, He's in control and He's working out His plan.' The Bible says, 'The word of the Lord came to [Jeremiah]: "What do you see?"... "I see the branch of an almond tree," I replied. The Lord said..."You have seen correctly, for I am watching to see that my word is fulfilled'' (Jeremiah 1:11-12 NIV). Almonds blossoming; it's springtime! The change of seasons is a reminder of God's faithfulness. It gives you hope that the winter season you are in right now will soon give way to springtime and new life. How can you be sure? Because the Bible says that God keeps '...his agreement forever...' (Psalm 105:8NCV). In life, every investment comes with the possibility of loss. But there's a big difference between losing and being wiped out. The truth is, God has too much invested in you to let His plans for your life be destroyed. The damage others can do to you is limited by the shield of God's divine purpose. Even when you are not aware of it, '[He] redeems your life from destruction...'. Stop and think back on some of the doors He closed that didn't make sense to you at the time. Now you realise that without His guidance and protection, the enemy waiting behind some of those doors would surely have destroyed you, right?

CHRIST'S LOVE FOR YOU

'You will understand later.' John 13:7  What's amazing about Christ's love is not that He knows and forgives all your past sins, but that He knows and has decided to forgive your future ones too. On the eve of His crucifixion Jesus washed His disciples' feet, saying, 'You will understand later.' He knew they were about to perform the vilest act of their lives, deserting Him. By morning they would bow their heads in shame and look down at their feet in disgust. And when they did, He wanted them to remember that He'd washed their feet. Remarkable. He provided mercy before they needed it and forgave their sin before they even committed it. Deeply moved and compelled by His love, all but one of them would go out and preach the gospel and lay down their lives for Him. Paul writes, 'For the love of Christ compels us...' (2 Corinthians 5:14 NKJV). Christ's love for you is: a) the only constant that never changes in a constantly changing world; b) the thing that will draw you back to Him each time you fail; c) the driving force that will cause you to want to give Him your all. '...The blood of Jesus, God's Son, cleanses us from every sin' (1John 1:7 NCV). The truth is we are always being cleansed by the blood of Jesus. The cleansing is not a promise for the future but a reality in the present. Let a speck of dust fall on the soul of a saint, and it is washed away. Jesus still cleanses His disciples' feet. He still washes away our sins. That knowledge will motivate you to live for Him like nothing else will.

STAND OUT FROM THE CROWD (2)

'Do not follow the crowd...' Exodus 23:2 Mark D. Roberts writes: 'In junior high, a boy named Andrew...was the classic nerd: overweight...thick glasses...skin so white it seemed he'd never been outside. One day some of the boys began teasing Andrew and making fun of his appearance...I saw the pain in his eyes and knew I should tell the other guys to knock it off. But I saw an opportunity to be aligned with the in-crowd. So I joined in...adding my taunts as Andrew began to cry...In my heart I knew I'd done a terrible thing...Sometimes the temptation to "follow the crowd" is almost more than we can bear. We crave acceptance to such an extent that we do what we know is wrong so others will like us. This is true not only for insecure junior high boys, but for just about everybody. It's hard to stand up to the crowd.' Jesus wasn't ruled by people's opinions. Even His critics acknowledged, '...We know you are a man of integrity...You aren't swayed by [others]...' (Matthew 22:16 NIV). When you know who you are in Christ it frees you from the need to impress. Paul writes, 'Don't let the world...squeeze you into its own mould...let God re-mould your minds...so that you may prove in practice that the plan of God for you is good...' (Romans 12:2PHPS). As painful as it is to be criticised, it's far worse to give up the course God has for you just for acceptance. At some point you must ask, 'How much am I willing to lose in order to be accepted?' Can you take the pressure? Will you be like Nehemiah who said, '...I am carrying on a great project and cannot go down...' (Nehemiah 6:3 NIV)

STAND OUT FROM THE CROWD (1)

'Don't become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without...thinking...' Romans 12:2 A man walking into a bank held the door open for the lady behind him. Instead of thanking him, she said, 'You don't have to hold the door because I'm a woman.' Smiling, he replied, 'I'm not doing it because you're a woman, I'm doing it because I'm a gentleman.' As believers we do what we do because of who we are 'in Christ', not because of how society thinks we should act. John says, '...The Holy Spirit...lives within...so [we] don't need anyone to teach [us] what is true...' (1John 2:27 NLT). In his book 'Hope Again', Chuck Swindoll says: 'In the Marine Corps...our troopship carried us...onto Japanese soil...For many of us, it was our first visit to a foreign country. We were surging with excitement...Our company commander called us together...and...said..."Remember, for the first time in your lives, you're the foreigners. This isn't your country or your culture...you're the minority. These aren't your fellow citizens; they don't speak your language. They know nothing of your homeland except what they see in you...Act in a way that the Japanese people will gain a good impression of your country."...As Christians,...our citizenship is in heaven...We belong to the kingdom of God...We need to be on our best behaviour, otherwise people will get a distorted perception of what our homeland is like...Our earthly culture is pagan to the core...God left us here for a purpose...to demonstrate what it's like to be a member of another country, to have a citizenship in another land, that we might create a desire for others to emigrate.' Think about it!

2face buys new house

2face Idibia acquires two multimillion Naira homes