Something to ponder...

In late November last year I started asking God what He wanted to say to us about 2025. Immediately He started speaking to me about being the light in the darkness of the world. I believe that we will need to be light in many areas this year. But we can only be light once we know the True Light. Reading and meditating on Psalm 73 I saw how, as Christians, we can allow the darkness to encroach on our lives, our faith, our relationship with God and our relationships with others. We can allow darkness, in fact, to consume us without us even realising it. Many times we think that we will be aware of the darkness closing in on us – however, I want to say to you what I heard God say to me at the beginning of this new year ‘ Beware of the subtlety of the darkness closing in on you ’. Psalm 73 describes how we can be jealous of other’s success, their prosperity financially, the way that those who don’t know God seem to do better than those of us who do know Jesus as our Lord and Saviour. We can be envious of other Christians who seem to be doing better in their walk than we are. That’s all darkness – yes, we allow the darkness to close in on us and then the light of Christ in us diminishes. Light is also diminished in us when we allow fear to consume us. There is, in the natural, much to be fearful of in this current day. The media is full of fear, and the more we listen to it and believe all that they say, the more we will succumb to fear. There are wars and rumours of war – that instils fear. There are rumours of more pandemics – that brings an element of fear. And then, before we even realise, the darkness has subtly closed in on us and the light goes out. BUT , Psalm 73 encourages us that as we seek God in His sanctuary, as we fall at His feet and gaze upon His beauty, things change in us. We are reminded in that Psalm that in spite of all that we fall prey to in this life, we still belong to God and He is the One who holds us and guides us. He allows us to see His glory. He allows us to stay in His presence even when we fall. It’s because we trust in Him and realise that we have no-one but Him that we will shine brightly with the light of Christ in us. It’s because we put our relationship with God above all other things, that the light of Christ will shine through us. Psalm 73:28 (TPT) “ But I’ll keep coming closer and closer to you, Lord Yahweh , for your name is good to me. I’ll keep telling the world of your awesome works, my faithful and glorious God! ” reminds us that drawing closer to God is the only option we have. At about the same time, Lana Vawser put out a prophetic word, in which she said “ For there will be much shaking that will take place in 2025 and as you stay low before Me in the place of intimacy and humility in 2025, you will find a strength, grace and empowerment in Me in 2025 that you have not known. You will find as you stay close to Me and deep in My Word in 2025, a stability of being grounded and founded in Me to not be shaken, in ways you have not experienced before. There will be unexpected empowerment for the unexpected places in 2025, and a grace to stand and stand in boldness like you have not experienced before in 2025. ” (to read the full prophetic word - https://lanavawser.com/i-heard-the-lord-say-listen-closely-i-am-releasing-clarity-for-2025/ ) I also have heard God tell me and warn me that there will be much shaking in the world in 2025 and there will be much that will allow the darkness to overcome the light. However, we are to keep seeking God and to keep the light shining bright in us. I also heard the Lord say “My people, who are called by My Name, must come together as one voice, in unison, and declare and decree that the light of Christ shines bright in this world. My people must rise up out of the darkness and come together as one voice to declare that there is only One Name, and that is the Name of Jesus. Many people will do things and declare that it is in the name of god – but that’s it, it will be in the name of their gods, not in the Name of the Almighty. Because much of what the world is saying is done in My Name, is in fact being done by the Prince of Darkness. Do not listen to the voice of the world – learn to discern which voice you are listening to. My Voice will be heard, and when you hear my voice, then the battle-cry will sound. Your voice is the battle-cry in the world. Use it well.” Psalms 1:2 (TPT) “His [the person who follows God’s ways – vs1] passion is to remain true to the Word of “I AM,” meditating day and night on the true revelation of light.” The commentary from The Passion Translation for this verse says “To mediate on the revelation of light day and night means to meditate 24/7 on what is good and delightful. However, day signifies a period of enlightenment (Eph 1:18) and night signifies a period of obscurity. Both when we have the light of insight and when we seem to be in the dark, meditation is the key to unlock the revelation of God.” A second commentary adds “ From Ps. 1 we learn that the righteous and the wicked are distinguished by what they delight in. ” Unless we have the Trinity in us, what we see and hear will either be enlightened or obscured. We need the truth of the Word to set us free from the darkness we succumb to and we need to meditate on the truth. And then when we hear the truth of the Word, we need to declare it out loud, with voices that must be heard. That is what will get us through 2025. Start the new year well by recognising that nothing can push you down or get the better of you when you remain in Christ. That His mercy, loving kindness and faithfulness is ours. That in Christ you will feast on the abundance of the Kingdom. That in Christ is the fountain of life, and in His light do we see light. That it is the loving kindness of God that will come upon those that truly know Him and His righteousness will come to the upright in heart. (Psalm 36:5-10 [AMPC]) Be blessed Jean If you were blessed by this article, please do share it with others

Recently we listened to a talk, and I was challenged by this question. Do we limit God? This is not a new revelation to me because I’ve spoken on this and ‘searched myself and my motivations’ on this before. But this certainly was one of those challenging moments. How am I doing in allowing God to use me to bring about His purposes. Can I ask you the same question? How are you doing in allowing God to use you to bring about His purposes? Andrew Womack (who was the preacher of the message) says this “How can finite (limited) man adequately represent an infinite (limitless) God? This question presents a dilemma that has caused most people to not even try .” How often have we had a dream, but deemed that dream to be impossible? How often have we envisioned things in ministry, but decided that we are not capable of fulfilling the vision? I know I have. And I have because I’ve looked at the situation with my finite limitations. I’ve looked at the resources I have and decided we can’t possibly do that because what if God doesn’t provide, whether it’s financially, or equipment, or resources, or opportunity. We limit ourselves when we limit God. More than that, we prevent ourselves partnering with God when He gives us a prophetic word, or an instruction, or a strategy to move in an area. Psalm 78:41 New King James Version – “Yes, again and again they tempted God, And limited the Holy One of Israel. ” On our recent trip to Albania, Holy Spirit revealed some things to me. This is what He said to the churches and Christians in Albania:- “You have heard My plans, and have been shown the strategies. Yet you do not align yourselves with Me in order to do and accomplish My Will for the Nation. You have heard My heart, yet you wait for it to happen supernaturally, without you having to participate in the programme. While I am the God who moves supernaturally, I choose to use you to bring about My plans and purposes on the earth. Why do you hear, and yet not do? Why do you think it must all be up to Me to make things happen, when I have asked you to partner with Me and accomplish My will, plans and purposes. When are you going to start moving so that the land and the nation can be taken back for the Kingdom. If you do not align with Me, then the evil one has an open door to do what he (Satan) wants. He has a foothold in the nation now, but unless you, My People, who are called by My Name, who are My holy Nation, My peculiar people, My chosen ones, start moving and declaring & decreeing the truths I have revealed to you, start putting into practice the strategies I have given you for bringing Heaven to earth and taking back the nation for the Kingdom, then the nation will be lost to the evil one.” I truly believe that this is not just a word for Albania, but a word for every nation of the earth, and every people of the earth. Let’s stop being responsible for limiting God. Let’s stop limiting and stopping the plans and purposes God has for our lives because we think too small. Let’s start WORKING WITH GOD and accomplishing what He wants done. Are you complacent? Are you satisfied with what you have right now? Are you scared to move in case it goes wrong? Are you limiting God by your small thinking? If you answer ‘yes’ to even one of these questions, then it’s time to get rid of the limitations and start to dream big. It’s time to ask God what your role is in His plans and purposes for you, and for the nation you live in. It’s time to renew your minds to come in line with Him. Start by remembering to build with God (Psalm 127:1) and to know that everything is achieved according to His power working in us (Ephesians 3:20). That everything we do is through Him who gives us the strength to do it (Philippians 4:13) and as we commit our plans to God (Proverbs 16:3), His will bless us abundantly and we will abound in every good work (2 Corinthians 9:8). So, as you choose to stop limiting God, remember to take delight in Him (Psalm 37:4) and to be strong and courageous in all that you do (Joshua 1:6,7,9) I’m not sure who to acknowledge for this quote – but I leave it with you to mull over “ Turn you CAN’TS into CANS, and your DREAMS into PLANS ”. I bless you to dream big in the Lord, and to allow God to use you to accomplish what He has called you to accomplish. I bless you to walk on water with God as you bring Heaven to earth. Be blessed Jean If you were blessed by this article, please do share it with others

When this generation is so busy trying to prove that women can do everything men can do, women are losing the unique qualities that set us apart. The God-given femininity and unique way our Creator designed us. Women were not created to do everything a man can do. Women were created to do everything a man cannot do. The lioness does not try to be the lion. She embraces her role as the lioness. She is powerful, strong, and nurturing. She does not mistake her meekness for weakness. The world needs more kind, compassionate, humble, faithful, persevering, confident, fierce, bold, pure, and tender-hearted women. Be one of them. Proverbs 31 asks if our husbands and children can call the mothers and wives blessed. Can they??? What a scary question! What is more disturbing is the fact that it is actually a question that needs to be asked. In my counselling of young married couples, I am amazed of how many young women do not even know how to sew a button on a shirt. They cannot knit, they cannot crochet, they cannot sew and they cannot even cook. I am amazed at how much the ability to be true women of God has become so scarce within the next generation. I then have to look to the mothers and say “What are you teaching your children”. We need to get back to basics and start to teach the next generation the ways of the Lord. Men have not taken their place either in the world. They are stepping back and allowing the women to do the man’s job. They have become lazy to stand up and be accountable for what God has given them. The focus has been so much on making money instead of building families that the Godly family is breaking up. We need to get our knees bent on prayer and start to focus on the family relationship instead of how much money we need to be better than our neighbours! The scripture Matthew 6: 24 [“No one can serve two masters. For you will hate one and love the other; you will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and be enslaved to money.”] is often overlooked or used as an excuse for pastors and ministers to be poor, but in fact it is telling us to serve one or the other. Yes we need money to survive in this world, but we are using it wrongly and not for the purpose we suppose to use it for. It’s to just live here till we get to heaven. We need to be building our treasures in heaven not here on earth. Please do not see this that I am saying we cannot have nice stuff and live well. No, in fact Ecclesiastes tells us to eat drink and be merry. In other words enjoy life. But we have turned it into obesity, drunkenness and sinning through evil doings. We are calling evil good and good evil. Our time is running out. Once the next generation gets to be in control in a full time mode, our youngest generation will be lost. We need to pray hard for the next generation, and I mean really hard. We need to call the five-fold ministry back into the church to grow God’s Kingdom. Prayer : Father God, we ask for Your guidance into the lives of the next generation that will be leading the younger generation. Let Your will be done for the Kingdom of God to expand. Help us Abba Father to be bold and strong and to be examples for the young to lead them into Your Heavenly Kingdom in Jesus Name. Amen. Blessings Toby Dr Marishjean Paton Dr.Div PhD Melqowsh Ministries and Melqowsh Bible College Our thanks to Toby for this month’s Blog contribution If you were blessed by this article, please do share it with others

Ecclesiastes 5:1 (a) “As you enter the house of God, keep your ears open and your mouth shut. It is evil to make mindless offerings to God.” This is so relevant for the church today! There is a corporate and personal understanding of “the house of God” in this Scripture. In the corporate sense, Peter wrote, {1 Peter 2:5} “You also, as living stones , are being built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.” And for us individually, Paul wrote, {1 Corinthians 6:19} “Your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own.” It is important to consider and apply this exhortation on both levels. When people come together to worship and honour God, especially in a church setting, whether it’s in prayer, songs, offerings, teaching, ministry, celebrating the Lord’s Supper or just doing what needs to be done, they most often have a set agenda to work to – the one set out for them by the leadership, congregation or of their own design. Solomon is very clear here, doing so without first consulting God is foolish. And not only that, it is considered evil! When people come together to worship God and bring the sacrifices of their hearts, the most important thing is to be quiet, i.e., waiting upon the Lord and listening. The most important “mind” that should matter is the mind of God. Another way to put it would be, {Ecclesiastes 5:1(b)} “to draw near, to hear and obey is better than to give the sacrifice of fools (carelessly, arrogantly), too ignorant to know that they are doing evil.” As we endeavour to do what we think is right and do not consider God - in any form or act of our worship - when we omit Him and disregard Him, we fulfil exactly what foolishness is defined as. We find a good example of this in Isaiah 58 too. A very religious, self-righteous Israel complained to the Lord, and God responded, {vs 2-3} “Day after day they seek me out; they seem eager to know my ways, as if they were a nation that does what is right and has not forsaken the commands of its God. They ask me for just decisions and seem eager for God to come near them. ‘Why have we fasted,’ they say, ‘and You have not seen it? Why have we humbled ourselves, and You have not noticed?’” Whereafter God pointed out that He’s always after people’s hearts and not what they should sacrifice or ritually do. He desires loving obedience and complete devotion. That is the essence of true fasting, not eating the “food” of the world, but living by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God. When we realise that we are the house of God, the house of prayer, individually and corporately, it is wise to consult Holy Spirit first, in fact prudent to do so, and wise to act on His leading. Before we speak on behalf of God, or even on behalf of ourselves, always ask, “Lord, what is your take on this?” Initially, it might prove difficult as we so easily react as we did before, and bring what we consider sacrifices worthy of His attention, just as Cain did. That is why we must choose to wait upon the Lord, wait upon Him first, as an active discipline. And as we collaborate with Holy Spirit continuously, the process can become so cemented that one can eventually follow Jesus’ example and say, {John 14:24} “These words you hear are not my own; they belong to the Father who sent me.” And, {John 6:63} “The Spirit gives life; the flesh counts for nothing. The words I have spoken to you - they are full of the Spirit and life.” That’s prudent and discerning, and you will then avoid doing things that the Father never required of you. You will avoid being foolish, and you will stay in step and on track with Holy Spirit. When we approach God, it should always be about His agenda and the things He has on His mind. Our thankful, loving response is to obey, to follow Him and to worship Him in ways He truly appreciates. Blessings Ben Our thanks to Ben for this month’s Blog contribution If you were blessed by this article, please do share it with others

Nita and I just celebrated our 50th Wedding Anniversary. In that time, we have had hundreds of opportunities to argue. Now, I’m not saying that we did or didn’t argue, just that we’ve had hundreds of opportunities. When you argue with a person, do you have the possibility of winning that argument? Now for an important question, and please answer honestly. How many of you have ever argued with GOD? How many know that is a futile attempt? John 5:1-9a - NLT 1 Afterward Jesus returned to Jerusalem for one of the Jewish holy days. 2 Inside the city, near the Sheep Gate, was the pool of Bethesda, with five covered porches. 3 Crowds of sick people—blind, lame, or paralyzed—lay on the porches. 5 One of the men lying there had been sick for thirty-eight years. 6 When Jesus saw him and knew he had been ill for a long time, he asked him, “Would you like to get well?” 7 “I can’t, sir,” the sick man said, “for I have no one to put me into the pool when the water bubbles up. Someone else always gets there ahead of me.” 8 Jesus told him, “Stand up, pick up your mat, and walk!” 9 Instantly, the man was healed! There is a really big point here. There is a great number of us that, when God speaks to us, we have an excuse why what He wants either won’t work or we’re not capable of doing it. This is equal to telling God that He doesn’t know what He’s talking about. Can you imagine that!? Would you stand face to face with God and tell Him that He doesn’t know what you’ve been through, that He doesn’t know what you’re facing!? Would you tell Him that He doesn’t know your limited talents and abilities!? No one knows us better than our Heavenly Father. Psalms 139:13 - NIV For You formed my inward parts; You wove me in my mother’s womb. There was a period of a couple days when I first heard of the possibility of moving to Albania where I had to pray and seek God. I would see things that I wouldn’t have anymore, like a beautiful forest to hunt in or a river to kayak in and I would say to myself, “I’m not going to have these things anymore. And then I would grieve it, with heartache and tears (This was my arguing with God, sort of). ” Then God would immediately say, “I have something better.” After those two days I conceded and agreed to move to Albania. God did indeed have something better! Even Jesus had to learn obedience. Hebrews 5:8 - ESV Although He was a son, He learned obedience from the things which He suffered. I want to talk about one of the least mentioned characters in the Bible but what we do know about this person tells us volumes about what our relationship with God should be like. Joseph, the step-father of Jesus, has become one of my favourite characters in the Bible because of his immediate obedience. Matthew 1:18-21 - NIV 18 This is how the birth of Jesus the Messiah came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit. 19 Because Joseph her husband was faithful to the law, and yet did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly. 20 But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. 21 She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.” What an awesome responsibility to be the parent of the Messiah. But, Joseph didn’t know what was coming in his future, even his near future. The Bible says, that at the birth of Jesus, three Wise Men came from the east to worship the New King. They went to the Roman king and asked about Him. They actually tipped Herod off that Jesus had been born. Matthew 2:13-14a - NIV 13 When they had gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. “Get up,” he said, “take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt. Stay there until I tell you, for Herod is going to search for the child to kill him.” 14 So he got up, took the child and his mother during the night and left for Egypt, Every time we see Joseph get a command from God he obeys right away. Isaiah 41:10 - NASB1995 ‘Do not fear, for I am with you; Do not anxiously look about you, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, surely I will help you, Surely I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.’ The angel told him “Do not fear”! That phrase is in the Bible 365 times! You do not have to be afraid to obey God. HE has said so many times in His word that He will take care of us. Matthew 6:25-33 - NIV 25 “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? 26 Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? 27 Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life? 28 “And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. 29 Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. 30 If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? 31 So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. 33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Let’s all make an effort to, Get to know God, Learn to hear His voice, and Do what He says, right away! Let us dispense with that awful resistance period. Abundant Blessings, Ted Our thanks to Ted for this month’s Blog contribution If you were blessed by this article, please do share it with others

Jonah 1 When God gives you a command and the Holy Spirit convicts you, you learn a lesson that you just cannot ignore. Jonah learnt this lesson in a very hard way. He did not like what God was instructing him to do and he tried to avoid the assignment by running from God. And really!!! Who can run from our God?? We can never outrun God or His commands. By running we are actually rebelling, and rebellion toward our heavenly Father so often happens either by our outright disobedience, or by quietly pursuing our own agenda while disregarding the very commands that we do not like and what God gives us unction to fulfil. And whatever way we pursue our running away from God, we cannot silence Him because His Holy Spirit convicts us and will follow us to the end of our life. No distraction will make a difference. We need to understand that our Lord is willing to strip away all the distractions and will allow negative consequences to happen in order to get our attention. He is a loving Father, but He also disciplines us if we continue to run the path of disobedience. Our God will never leave us nor forsake us, but our relationship with Him depends on our willingness to do what He tells us to. Jonah is such an example that running away causes suffering and consequences that are really unnecessary if we had to just promptly obey the commands He gives us. When Jonah was swallowed up by the whale, he had nowhere to run. Sitting in that dark, wet belly and having regrets and feeling sorry for himself, he called out to God and came to the decision that obedience is better than being swallowed up by the enemy. It caused him to reconsider his actions. Today we have the world and the distractions that is around us (including our finances) that swallow us up and keep us in rebellion. It also keeps us from following our calling. The enemy will use whatever means around us to swallow us up so that we will not fulfil our walk with the Lord Jesus Christ. We need to be obedient and promptly do what God commands us to do so that we don’t need to first be vomited out of that dark place before we will be obedient. We just need to be obedient and do as He commands us. It is as simple as “Yes Lord Jesus”. Prayer : Father-God we call upon Your Holy Spirit to bring obedience into our lives in every area that You need us to be set free of rebellion in. May we move the moment you command us to so that we can stay in the will of the Father. We rebuke the enemy’s strategies that keep us from following what you deem right for us to do. Help us in our doubt and rebellion Abba, and may we know the blessing of obedience in our lives. In Jesus might Name. Amen Blessings Toby Dr Marishjean Paton Dr.Div PhD Melqowsh Ministries and Melqowsh Bible College Our thanks to Toby for this month’s Blog contribution If you were blessed by this article, please do share it with others

It is so important for us to recognize our true eternal identity, as it will affect our very eternal existence. But part of that identity entails our position or station - where will you spend your eternity? Before attempting to zoom in on that prospect, it is important to zoom out first. Many leaders would want to propose that the main reason for Jesus’ incarnation was and is to reveal the Father, but surely, as John put it, from the eternal sense, putting Sin aside forever must have been foremost in His mind. John wrote in 1 John 3:8b, “For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil.” In essence, the “priority” is of no real importance for us, but the revelation of Father-God is just as important. His meticulous plan and mystery also unveiled an eternal Wife for the Lamb who made the ultimate sacrifice for Sin. So, as we return to the issue at hand, we still encounter too many ungodly beliefs concerning the enemy and their ability to induce deception, shame and guilt. I found it so enlightening to highlight the truth that the devil has lost his access to third heaven. Why? The first of these we see when Jesus told His disciples, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven” in Luke 10:18. And then three times, yes THREE TIMES, this truth is attested to in the book of Revelation. Firstly, “The third angel sounded his trumpet, and a great star, blazing like a torch, fell from the sky on a third of the rivers and on the springs of water - the name of the star is Wormwood [or Bitterness]” (Revelation 8:10-11). And no other creature is as embittered as the devil himself. And then, “Then the fifth angel blew his trumpet, and I saw a star that had fallen to earth from the sky, and he was given the key to the shaft of the bottomless pit” (Revelation 9:1). Bearing in mind that the devil tempted Jesus in Luke 4:6-7 - “ I will give you the glory of these kingdoms and authority over them,” the devil said, “because they are mine to give to anyone I please. I will give it all to you if you will worship me.” As the king of the demonic realm, he had the key to inflict pain on the inhabitants or dwellers on earth. But then, gratefully, we see the Eternal Woman of God protected in Revelation 12. And we are told without a shadow of a doubt, that access to the third heaven is denied the enemy, “Then there was war in heaven. Michael and his angels fought against the dragon and his angels. The dragon lost the battle, and he and his angels were forced out of heaven. This great dragon—the ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, the one deceiving the whole world—was thrown down to the earth with all his angels.” Ezekiel foresaw this victory, in [Ezekiel] chapter 28:16, “So I banished you in disgrace from the mountain of God. I expelled you, O mighty guardian, from your place among the stones of fire.” This is then borne out by Paul defying the accuser of the brethren in Romans 8:33, “Who dares accuse us whom God has chosen for his own? No one - for God Himself has given us right standing with Himself.” Why is understanding this crucial? Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 2:14, “But thank God! He has made us his captives and continues to lead us along in Christ’s triumphal procession. Now he uses us to spread the knowledge of Christ everywhere, like a sweet perfume.” And in Romans 8:37, “Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.” Again, why is this pertinent to our identity and function? We must realise that we are seated in third heaven in Christ, where the enemy is denied any access, and we must begin to appreciate who we are in Him, and what authority we carry, even though we are still at war here on earth as pilgrims and sojourners. When we grasp the immensity of the situation, I believe so many more believers will be able to overcome, lifting their vision beyond this world, appreciating their access, victory and intimacy with Almighty God and rule and reign effectively in Him, able to spread that fragrance of life wherever they go. And the key to accessing and releasing this authority does not only lie in understanding and embracing these truths, but it also becomes reality and it is activated by unified, heartfelt worship, adoration and loving obedience to Holy Spirit who has befriended us eternally. Be blessed Ben Our thanks to Ben for this month’s Blog contribution If you were blessed by this article, please do share it with others 

Are you still aligning yourself to Generational Curses or Sins? Are you still allowing them to affect your life and the lives of your children and those generations after them? Have you gone down the route of blaming your parents, grandparents, etc for the issues in your life? Do you use your bad behaviour or your misfortune as an excuse – ‘I can’t help it, it’s just something in my family line’? Or have you chosen to stop the curse or sin and take responsibility for your part in perpetuating the curse in your life and in the lives of the generations after you through forgiveness and changing the way you speak and do things? My testimony is that for about 40 years of my life, I chose to believe that I was the victim – the one who had been hurt by the emotional abuse of people in my ancestry and was justified in my hurt, anger, hatred etc. Until I learnt the truth about Inner Healing, and God revealed to me that I was complicit in allowing the Generation Curse to continue in my life and into my children because of my choices – or lack of choices. Because I had aligned myself with the hurt, pain and anger, I was, in turn, speaking death and curses over myself and the generations to come because I was saying things like ‘I hate what they’re doing to me’ and ‘I hate them’. It was only when I chose to forgive those in my generational line for what had been done to me and what had been passed down to me and made a choice to put a stop to that kind of abuse, did I see and know the start of freedom and the life Jesus created me to live. I also saw a change in the relationship between myself and my daughters. However, I still today have a choice to make – I need to be aware of my responses and reaction and be mindful of not falling back into that way of life - the way of curses, death and destruction. I still need to choose to, of course renounce the sin, but speak life and blessing over my generations past and the generations ahead of me. And I am learning how to bring forward the Generational BLESSINGS. Ezekiel 18 (read it in the Passion Translation because of the very helpful commentaries that come with it) makes it very clear that we cannot keep blaming everyone else for the sin, curses, wrongs, imperfections in our lives. We are solely responsible for the sin, wrongs, aligning with curses and imperfections in our lives and we have to make a choice to confess them, repent of them and receive God’s forgiveness. Then we need to choose to move forward in the way of blessings and life. Ezekiel 18:4 (b) says “The one who sins is held responsible and will die” . Thank goodness for Jesus and what He did for us on the cross, because if we have Him as our Lord and Saviour, His grace is extended to us along with forgiveness. So the only thing that needs to be put to death is the sin/curse in our lives. Ezekiel 18:30-32 continues “'So from here on, you people of Israel, I, Lord Yahweh , say to you: I will judge each of you by what he does. Repent, turn away from all your sins, or your own wickedness will be your downfall [or “so that iniquity will not be a stumbling block to you”]. You must get rid of all the guilty sins you have committed and clothe yourselves with a new heart and a new spirit. People of Israel, choose life! I find no pleasure watching anyone die, so repent and live! I, Lord Yahweh , have spoken.”' We must all “stand or fall according to [our] relationship with God. The sins of others can never determine your destiny” (TPT comment on verse 4). How about you? Are you allowing generational sins/curses to impact your life? Are you allowing the comments or thoughts of others about you affect how you live? Are you battling with your relationship with God and with others? Are you using those things as an excuse for bad behaviour or ‘bad luck’? Are you living with a Victim mentality? Don’t allow generation curses/sins, your own sin, the effects of the lives of others to affect your destiny. Choose today to repent of your alignment to those things and receive God’s forgiveness. Choose today to put a stop to the curse/sin and to move forward in the plans and purposes of God. Choose today not to speak curses and death over your life and the lives of your children and children’s children and choose today not to believe the lies of the enemy. We each have a destiny that has been prepared in advance for us by God. Move forward in that, run the race set before you and know God’s blessings, favour and honour on your life today. Be blessed Jean If you were blessed by this article, please do share it with others

2 Kings 6:6 “So the man of God said, ’Where did it fall?’ And he showed him the place. So he cut off a stick, and threw it in there and he made the iron float.” Moses had a rod which he raised up… he hit the rock with his rod to let the water flow from the rock. The cross is enough… it took Jesus upon the piece of wood to be raised up and conquer death. A piece of wood, what does that have to do with it? Every part of the Bible is significant to the piece of wood. It points to something that happened that was significant for us on wood. It points to the cross which was a piece of wood on which Christ was crucified for us. God wants us to realize that Jesus’ sacrifice at Calvary was enough to take care of all our problems and to restore us to the Father so that our sins can be forgiven. It’s enough to cleanse us and reconcile us so that we have an open portal in which we can enter heaven through Christ Blood. If we apply what He did on that piece of wood, it sure is enough for us no matter how far we have fallen away from where we should be. Jesus took all our failures and he allowed it to be nailed to that wood, he arose from that wood victorious and gave that victory to us. If you have lost your will to carry on or feeling that you are too far from Christ to move forward, then just pick up a piece of wood and look at it and begin to realize that Christ and His piece of wood was more than enough for you. Jesus is the way, the truth, the life. He has conquered all your fears and all your problems through that piece of wood. The piece of wood is enough, just as Christ’s Grace is sufficient for you. So that piece of wood is sufficient for your life in Christ. We should stop making the Bible so complicated that is scares people away from God instead of towards Him. We need the unsaved to know that the piece of wood is more than enough to make it right in life. That Christ’s life is the only Way and it is the Truth of what life is and it is the Life which we all long for. John 20 is our victory in Christ! Prayer Father God, forgive me for allowing the pressures of the world to cloud my vision of who You are in my life. Jesus, I believe that Your work on the cross was enough to restore me. Abba Father every time I see a piece of wood may it remind me of what you did for me on the cross. Thank you for saving me through your love for me. In Jesus Name Amen Blessings Toby Dr Marishjean Paton Dr.Div PhD Melqowsh Ministries and Melqowsh Bible College Our thanks to Toby for this month's Blog contribution If you were blessed by this article, please do share it with others