What Do You Believe?

Dear Precious Ladies We are halfway through this year. To God be the glory for all He has done. I was glad when they said unto me; Let us go into the house of the Lord. Our feet shall stand within thy gates, O Jerusalem (Psalm 122:1-2).  My feet have just literally returned from Jerusalem! The Lord gave me an opportunity to pastorally lead a group of people to Israel. We had a life-changing encounter with God. It was a privilege to visit the birth place and the historical areas where Jesus operated from. We also visited the historic area where Abraham, the Father of Faith, and the patriarchs lived. We encountered the presence of the Lord as we held services and prayers at each site we went. Something that concerned me, but taught me valuable lessons, was the unbelief in some parts of Israel. This was so evident at the Wailing Wall in Jerusalem. We were praying next to our Jewish brethren who were petitioning for the initial coming of the Messiah in order to save them, while we were thanking the Messiah who already came and saved us. Here I saw the importance of one’s belief system and how it affects one’s spirituality and world outlook. If what we believe is flawed and we conduct our lives according to what we believe then we will end up being influenced by these flawed beliefs. The danger is that we will pass these down to those in our spheres of influence, starting with our families. My sisters, let us examine what we believe and why we believe it. Who is leading us? What do they teach us and what is their spiritual DNA? Are we following traditions of men and blindly practicing certain religious rituals? Do we know God for ourselves? Are we free to follow His voice? Are we dependent on someone else to hear God for us? Are we like those in the place of prayer but praying on the basis of flawed beliefs? I encourage you to know God for yourself. If you seek Him with your whole heart, you will find Him. I pray that all of us may not be misled by those who are leading us and that we may also not mislead others. I have discovered that one of the ways to stay safe is to follow the leadership of the Holy Spirit on a daily basis. We should continually surrender our lives to Jesus and keep Him the centre of our focus. Let us read His word and apply it in our everyday lives. I pray that God will help us all as we pursue Him. He will make a way for all of you who would like to visit Israel, the same way He made a way for me. God bless you all and enjoy the rest of the month for the Lord God of Israel, our God is with us. Love and blessings, Pastor Fatima