November 2021 Declarations
Father we will sing to You for thus far you have brought us this year. We will continue to sing in praise of Your name. We extol You who rides on the cloud and rejoice before You O Lord our God. You who answer prayer, to You will all people will come. Father we declare that as we go through this month:
- Hear us, O Lord as we voice our complaint, and protect our lives from the threat of the enemy.
- O Lord arise for us in this new month and let all our enemies be scattered right before our eyes.
- May You O Lord blow them away like smoke - as wax melts before the fire.
- Lord shoot them with Your arrows so that they will suddenly be struck down.
- May You turn their own tongues against them and bring them to ruin.
- Yes, our souls will find rest in You and our hope will come from You.
- Truly You are our rock and our salvation.
- You are our fortress and thus we will not be shaken.
- Our salvation and our honor depends on You O Lord our God.
- You remain our mighty rock and our refuge.
- You will give us abundant showers, O God and refresh our weary inheritance.
- From Your bounty, God, You will provide for the poor and needy this month.
- You will be a Father to the fatherless and a defender of widows.
- You O Lord will set the lonely in families and lead out the prisoners with singing.
- By Your unfailing love, You will reward everyone according to what we have done.
- May you bless us and make Your face shine upon us this month.
One thing You O God has spoken, two things we have heard, that all power belongs to You. So we declare it is so and so it is in Jesus’ name. AMEN!
XOXO,
Lady Abena
Dear Unbeliever - The Holy Spirit Is A Real Person
Dear Unbeliever,
Welcome to Letter Seven (7) and also the last day in October 2021. I am so glad that you have stayed with me through my series of letters so far. I’d like to encourage you to read from the beginning and I know you will be blessed. Today I will take a chance to clarify a really big concern: why we (Christian Believers) make noise about someone called the Holy Spirit. Some of us even speak and pray in weird languages called Tongues. I know how funny you think we sound and I also know you think we might be losing some screws in our heads to be speaking stuff we don’t even understand.
Well, the Holy Spirit is the Third person in the Trinity - Trinity simply means that God is a Three person in One. Some people call it the Godhead; God relating to us as the Father, God relating to us in the person of His Son Jesus Christ, and God relating to us in the form of the Holy Spirit. We all are spiritual beings dwelling in a vessel called the body (a material made up of flesh and blood). When our spirits separate from our bodies, we call it death. Your body dies but your spirit lives on so if you believe there is a ghost and you like to even dress up like one on Halloween, why do you not believe then that there is a Holy Spirit? The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of God himself, manifesting through us. Matter of fact, we cannot see Him with our carnal eyes but when God grants you the grace to see in the spirit, you will be able to see Him. We also see Him in our visions and dreams in various forms. The traits of a ‘PERSON’ are that you have individuality, identity, knowledge, feelings and a will. So does the Holy Spirit.
He acts like a person, He is treated as a person and He has the ministry of a person. In 1 Corinthians 2:10-11, you will see the thinking ability of the Holy Spirit. Romans 8:27 further reveals that the Holy Spirit has a mind. In Isaiah 63:10, you will see how the Holy Spirit can be grieved. Yes we can grieve the spirit of God and unconsciously, we do it daily. 1 Corinthians 12:11 reveals the ability of the Holy Spirit to choose according to His own will. The Holy Spirit even teaches us (1 Corinthians 2:13) and the Holy Spirit also comforts us (John 16:7). Oh, there are so many characteristics of the Holy Spirit and because He is a person, He reveals different dimensions of Himself as you continue to fellowship with Him. This walk with God is a journey of building and investing into the relationship. Even in our earthly/human relations, we get more from a person, get to know them better when we invest and grow the relationship. It is the same with God and His Spirit - a.k.a, the Holy Spirit.
If you do a google search on “The Holy Spirit '', you will find several articles and blogs on it. I’ll say that each one of them was written from the writer’s encounter and most of them backed their articles with scriptures. So, let me spare you another long article on it. However, I’d like to share my own experience with the Holy Spirit to encourage you that He is REAL! For a long time I didn’t speak in a ‘heavenly language’, which is commonly known as ‘Tongues’. In the book of Acts chapter 2, we are first introduced to the manifestation of the Holy Spirit - which gave people a different language from their native or known language. Based on this scripture, many Christians have associated the Holy Spirit with only when you are able to speak in Tongues. That entirely is not true - there are many people who have the indwelling of the Holy Spirit but do not speak in Tongues. My experience happened sometime in 2017. I’m not sure about the exact month but I remember that I was visiting an older lady friend of mine and as we were praying, I noticed that my mind was forcing me to utter the prayer in a different language. I speak about Five (5) African languages but none of them was rolling on my tongue. Somehow I started to just utter whatever was coming to mind and it sounded very gibberish to me but I prayed it out loud all the same. After the prayer, I told myself to not pray like that again. So I became very conscious of it and will try to keep quiet every time I feel like I’m uttering my prayer in that language. Then in early 2020, I experienced a dramatic change in my Christian life. I had been seeking the face of God for a while through intense prayer and fasting and like a gushing flood of water, the utterance came back again with such a force and power that I couldn’t suppress it anymore. I noticed it began to change to other languages and the intensity was different.
Then one day, as I was pacing back and forth in my home praying, (FYI - my home is my ‘Tziyon’ and the entire house is my altar of prayer) I asked God, how can I know you’re here with me? Can you please let me just see you? Then He responded to me (it weird me out at first, it was as if someone was speaking directly into my ears and I was alone in that house. It was as clear and distinct) every time you (Abena) call me, “Spirit of the living God” I respond back to you by giving you that cold sensation in the right side of your head. Sometimes I wrap it all around your head”. Whaaattt! So that sensation that I had been feeling for some months now was Him making me aware of His presence and response and I had no clue but rather spending my time trying to find out why I felt that sensation every time I was in prayer mode? Wow! I had even concluded that it might have been the different temperatures outside but that didn’t affect my body and the inside temperatures of my home. After this encounter, I became more conscious of this sensation and wanted to really verify that what I heard was true. So, I just call, “Spirit of the Living God” and immediately the sensation will run through my head again. I started to pray on my morning walks in the neighborhood and even in the heat of summer under the scorching sun, every time I made the call, the cold sensation would come again. I tried it even in the grocery stores and it came to me again. I’ll call on Him when I’m driving and in my car, I’ll feel that sensation. I’m so glad He was patient with me because I was worse than Gideon in the bible, asking for my instances and signs to really confirm what He, God, has already confirmed with me. I used to be very doubtful you know so He knew my kind of heart that He had to re-confirm it multiple times in different ways for me to believe. I kept doing this at every new place I found myself and He responded. I was finally convinced He was with me everywhere I went and that honestly made me more conscious of my environment and my behavior. I truly enjoy having Him in my life and I will gladly give up anyone and anything that will make God take His Holy Spirit from me. Just so you know, I do not advise anyone to create a doctrine out of people's encounters because God deals with everyone differently. I have by His grace and mercy seen different dimensions of the Holy Spirit. I have seen Him in figure a few times because I begged Him to show Himself to me so much that I think He might have been tired of hearing me ask/nag Him, so He gave me a few glimpses of Himself. Those were moments I cherish and value in my walk with Him forever.
Can I also assure you that if you do not believe in God, it is the Holy Spirit who will convict you in your mind and heart to come to Christ? No amount of words or stories I share with you can draw you to Christ unless He steps in. So I pray for you, and I ask that the Spirit of God, will come into your home and your life and give you an encounter that will make you believe in Him and in God. Above everything, may He reveal to you that He is there with you always. As you go about this week, may you see God in any and everything you do, may the Holy Spirit direct you and lead you away from all evil. May the Spirit of God open doors for you that no man can shut. May you soar in all your endeavors. AMEN! Next week we will have our declarations for November, so, we will continue to Letter 8 the following week. Be blessed!
To be continued…
XOXO,
Lady Abena.
Dear Unbeliever - Why Do Preachers Live Extravagantly?
Dear Unbeliever,
I would like to claim that we are kind of “Besties” now since you’ve been following my letters. Welcome to Letter 6 and today I will try to address your concern on why you think some preachers or religious leaders lead extravagant lives yet, we try to guilt you (Unbelievers) for spending your money anyway you please? Well, I don’t know many extravagant preachers but if you’re referring to the ones who own “Mega Churches'', private airports and private jets, driving in Bentleys and own private Islands and have some cash stored in foreign banks, then let’s have a bit of a discussion here.
I’ve been studying the bible more lately and I really haven’t come across any scripture that says it is wrong to make money or have wealth. People who live and work in the Kingdom of God are not supposed to be average, poor and hungry. Matter of fact, the earth and everything in it belong to our Father Jesus so we are entitled to the riches and glory in it. When God anoints His men and makes them shepherds over thousands of flock, it comes with thousands of blessings as well. The same way the healthcare industry needs money to fund it, the spiritual care industry is just as relevant if not more, and needs resources to operate it. Men and Women of God do not DEMAND money from their members - the bible says in 2 Corinthians 9:7 NIV, “Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.” This means that when Believers give, they are giving out of what they have been blessed with to support the work of God and the leader at the helm of things. I don’t see anyone criticizing King Solomon for living an extravagant life and why? It is because God was the one who blessed Him with it. In Deuteronomy 8:18, it is revealed that the Lord gives us the power to get wealth (paraphrased). So if I am a child of God and working His field, He has every right and at His discretion to bestow wealth and riches upon my life. Now, if I abuse that blessing or misuse it for anything other than living a comfortable life and blessing His Kingdom and the world at large, there will be severe consequences for me in this world or the next.
What I am expressing here is that, you (Unbelievers) are allowed to spend your money and wealth anyhow, we are also allowed to make money righteously but we don’t have that ‘extravagant spending’ exemptions as you do. What you see these men and women of God owning doesn’t mean abuse. Why do secular celebrities feel the need to fly private jets? Efficiency correct? Because they have to get to a stadium where Thirty Thousand plus people are waiting for them to perform. Any regular flight delays can affect these many people won’t it? Why is that different from servants of God also getting to multiple destinations to minister the word of God to thousands of souls who are waiting to hear it? While the secular world believes that they are blessing people through their entertainments and all, we are blessing God’s Kingdom by setting people free from bondages and bringing them to the knowledge of Christ Jesus. The question to ask is what is your wealth doing for humanity and the Kingdom of God? If it is not blessing anyone, then you can call it wasteful. If we (Believers) do not use the wealth and riches we are given to bless His Kingdom, we will pay for it dearly. You on the other hand, no one will hold you accountable on how you spend your wealth and riches. We have someone we need to give an account of our lives to - Jesus our Father and Lord.
I have heard many Unbelievers misquote and misinterpret this scripture to tell us Believers that we shouldn’t aim for riches and wealth since we think it’s evil - 1 Timothy 6:10 KJV, “For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.” Let us be clear that the scripture says “the love” of money. Anything you love, you put your heart and soul into and when you do that, it will lead you to evil. Money is power and when people have more riches and wealth than they need or want, it can cloud their judgement and they can abuse it and cause a lot of evil with it. Money falling into the right hands can do a lot of good. Look at all the wealthy men in business - how much good they do with their monies and wealth, donating to charities and helping to alleviate poverty in many countries.
I learned recently about the Four (4) levels of economic realms: 1. Survival zone, 2. Comfort zone, 3.Luxury and 4. Extravagant zone. Both Survival Zone and Extravagant Zone can lead you to sin and away from God. Believers must strive to be in the Comfort Zone where all the needs are met and in the Luxury Zone where their wants and certain quality of life is available to them as well.
My prayer for you this week is that, even if you do not have a relationship with Christ Jesus, use your resources to bless humanity and not to waste it. Blessing humanity is blessing the Kingdom of God. May you be blessed when you go out and blessed when you come in this week. AMEN!
To be continued….
XOXO,
Lady Abena.