A frightening diagnosis, a curse of witchcraft, a death threat, and all else that terrorises the heart, are darts from hell to confront our faith. If our faith is based on the Word of God, none of these things will matter; however, if our faith is based on our emotions, the heart will tremble and collapse before the problems.

For this reason, the Spirit warns us not to look at things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal (2 Corinthians 4.17,18).

When we take intelligent faith into account, we do not accept doubts or give in to any “light and momentary” affliction, however difficult it might seem. On the contrary, we manifest a natural resistance as a result of our personal conviction! That’s when revolt comes in and we demand the fulfilment of the Word of the Eternal God.

This is to see what cannot be seen, to believe the impossible, to live from faith to faith and by faith.

How can a person understand this if he is not born of God?

Dear Apprentice Morphister,

I am delighted to hear that your patient’s mother was taken to hospital this last weekend. We want him to be in completely in doubt of his prayers for her, so make sure with Lomister, your colleague, that she gets worse somehow so his faith may be shaken.

There’s nothing like suspense and anxiety in a human’s mind. It’s a huge break for you and therefore you should take advantage whilst all these anxieties towards the mother’s health condition are diminishing his faith. Although, I must emphasize that in case he resists these doubts, you’ll have to face the fact that his prayers will be answered sooner or later and that if that happens, his mother will also want to convert.

The Enemy wants men to be concerned with what they do; our business is to keep them thinking about what will happen to them. Once your patient concentrates on what can or cannot happen to him, his family, and his mother in the future, his faith is inevitably shut off. It is funny how these earthlings get so deep into the things they can do nothing about such as their future or their past. They don’t realise that their past is gone and that their future depends on their present.

Some husbands lust after other women thinking only what could happen between them one day, not realising, of course, that what they’re actually doing is getting themselves in a big trap for the future. Their lust will eventually turn into reality and they will end up committing the adultery they have so much desired for only to find out they not only got a small percentage of what they thought they would get, but worst of all, they have destroyed their marriage and family altogether.

By distracting themselves of the present, these little worms fell right in our holes. In other words, their present builds up a problematic future for themselves with little influence from us. That is why I say to you, take the advantage of this whole situation – work together with Lomister in order to get your patient’s mother more ill so he may start doubting that his prayers will be answered one day.

The Enemy always work with the present, using faith in order for the present to make the future the expected blessing. He is aware of our continual manipulation of people’s faith and for this reason, He encourages through His useless servants to encourage people’s faith. And that is another way you can tackle your patient’s doubts. Keep him away from the church and servants of the Enemy. Get him distracted by the many problems in his life, making it difficult for him to take the time to go to church.

Besides, it is extremely important for us to keep our patients as far away from the light as possible. We all know that loneliness can trigger weakness therefore let it be his state of mind from now on.

Yours,

Chief Minthropis

(Based on the book ‘The Screwtape Letters’ by C. S. Lewis)

Pass it on!

Question:

Dear Bishop, is it wrong for a man of God to be a sperm donor? For the sperm to be viable it must pass through the penis, requiring masturbation.

I am a healthy 25-year-old male in the church, and currently a blood donor, which I do as often as I can to help save lives and give to those who may need to hear about Jesus. The law in some countries allows donors to choose what to do with their sperm, and so those who receive it can decide based on personal conviction like, for example, not accepting samples from gay people.

I am single at present and I plan to have my own children in 10 years time, but would be willing to donate sperm, due to that fact few men are donating, along with the troubling attempt by geneticists to produce babies without sperm. This would further lower the value of men in society, and increase Satan’s pride in his plans of destruction.
- Musonda

Answer:

Dear Musonda,

My advice is that you save your seed for the woman that God gives you. You say that you want to have a family, but imagine how your wife would feel if she found out that you had children prior to marriage, even if you didn’t have a sexual relationship with the mothers of those children.

I fully agree with being a blood donor, and I think you should continue doing this because it is very important in saving lives.

Hello! I just want to thank you for these messages of faith, which have helped me a lot—and will certainly continue to help. I have suffered a lot in my marriage but today, thank God and the UCKG, I will celebrate 25 years of a happy marriage with a transformed husband. I’ve learned to forgive. Not only did he have many lovers, but he also had 3 other wives. I’ve also been delivered from hatred and resentment.

I tried to kill myself. One of his lovers was an old friend of mine, and one day, God brought her to the Sunday morning service to ask me for forgiveness. She hugged me and I was able to forgive her as though I had never seen her in my entire life. That was a glorious experience for me; I felt great. I say this with joy, to glorify the LORD JESUS.

My encounter with God is the most important thing to me. And He has promised me that as long as I remain in Him, I will never suffer again. This is my biggest treasure.

You know dear friend, many times I left the church knowing that my husband was using drugs, drinking, going out with other women, and I would take solace in the messages of faith that you and your father write. I would feed from this faith and trusted that I would destroy the one that was destroying me. You have no idea of how important these messages are to us.

Today I can thank you from the bottom of my heart. Give your father, Bishop Macedo, a big hug for me, and tell him that I am grateful for everything. I can say that I am a living testimony of God’s power.

A big hug!

Marisa

In Biblical times, when someone was infected with leprosy, they would immediately be isolated from society. In this case, mercy and compassion gave way to hostility, aggression and even condemnation. The religious leaders of the time were responsible for these convictions. They used and abused the name of God to impose their judgments over the afflicted.

Although times have changed, this condemning spirit still exists. Today, many so-called “Christians” have treated homosexuals as if they were the lepers of the past. Why? Are they any holier or more just?

Our Lord was clear and objective about this kind of behavior: “He who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first” (John 8:7).

God didn’t give us spiritual authority for us to go around judging or condemning anyone! On the contrary! If someone considers themselves to be from God, then they should know perfectly well that it’s their mission to help their equal. It’s not for them to judge or condemn!

If we want our faith to be respected, we must respect the faith and lifestyle choices of others. If God doesn’t impose His will, then why should we, mere mortals, do so?

Few know that hypocrisy is the worst of all sins and it is mainly found within religious institutions.

Don’t the words “For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you” (Matthew 7:1-2) mean anything?

Question:

Bishop, this blog really helped me. I’ve felt powerless these days with the voice of doubts oppressing me with evil thoughts that God doesn’t exist. Please help with a reply. Many thanks.
- Candice

Answer:

Of course God exists and you acknowledged it when you said “evil thoughts”. Who other than God’s sworn enemy, the devil, would want you to doubt His existence? He is the one whispering those thoughts in your ear, but it is written, “Resist the devil and he will flee from you.” You have to resist these thoughts. Start by participating in the church meetings and listening to the testimonies of those whose lives were transformed by the power of God. I am sure that these doubts will disappear. After this has happened, you can build up your faith by participating in the Sunday morning and Wednesday night meetings.

Question:

I want to be a pastor, but I’m dating already. Should I break up with her or not? Please help me, Bishop.
- Edward

Answer:

Hi Edward,

When we want to serve God we must place ourselves totally at His disposal, and that requires a full-time commitment. This must be done until your calling as a pastor is confirmed. Only after this has happened should a pastor look for his suitable helper, someone with the same vision who will help him win even more souls. In your case you already have someone; you’re divided, and either you give your attention to God’s will or to your girlfriend.

The second matter to take into consideration is: Does she have the same vision as you? The same desire to do the Work of God? If the answer is yes, then she will understand when you choose to put your desire to confirm your calling in first place.

Ultimately, the decision is yours. May God guide you.

If an ox knew just how strong it was, it would never subject itself to such laborious work. The same goes for those who have been sealed with the Holy Spirit. If they knew the power they possessed, they would not walk around lamenting over their problems!

The Egyptians had the Israelites as slaves. Their strength was running out and they became very weak. When God delivered them from their Egyptian torturers, He also gave them the strength of a wild ox.

If you have received God’s divine seal then you should know that He did not give you this power just so you could speak in tongues. He did, although, give you this power so that you could conquer the “pagan nations” that constantly surround you. So instead of sitting back and just enjoying this power use it to glorify the Lord.

We were born of God, we were sealed with His power, therefore, let’s exclusively live to serve Him more efficiently.

Occupy your mind with ideas of overcoming for the glory of the Lord, to whom you belong! Everything else (marriage, family, economic success, etc.) will come naturally.

Never allow your heart to become overwhelmed with the concerns of this world, because the devil knows how to take advantage of this human weakness. Instead, let’s work towards our biggest goal: winning souls.

The Work of God consists of winning souls, but that’s not all it consists of. Be careful! Don’t let your strength be tied up or controlled by evil.

“But my horn You have exalted like a wild ox; I have been anointed with fresh oil. My eye also has seen my desire on my enemies; My ears hear my desire on the wicked who rise up against me.” (Psalm 92.10-11)

When my daughter approached me with the idea of having her weekly articles made into a book, I thought it was a great idea, but I never imagined it would have such an impact in the Work of God. This was God’s sign of how much He wants to use women nowadays. Until now, we’ve had some women pastors, but there has always been an uncertainty as to what their role is in the church. We believed their role was to be less noticeable, discreet, subtle…

The importance women had during the building of the kingdom of Israel leads us to imagine them today full of the Spirit and working toward the construction of the Kingdom of God.

Women play a very important role in the Work of God, not only in regards to being zealous for the church, but also by glorifying Him through their character and testimony. Many women are looking for other women that they can look up to and follow. Unfortunately, many end up following celebrities that are a reflection of indiscretion.

“As a ring of gold in a swine’s snout, so is a lovely woman who lacks discretion.” (Proverbs 11.22)

God wants to use you, so that through you, He can reach out to other women, save them and use them as instruments in His hands. If you have not read the book Better Than a New Pair of Shoes don’t waste any more time. Even if you don’t like reading or if you don’t have time to read, make an effort. What matters is that through this book, you allow God to mould you.

I feel immense gratitude to hear that thousands of women, all over the world, have been blessed by this book. And yet, I would be even more pleased if more women were putting themselves at the Holy Spirit’s disposal to do His Work.