Mandla Tembe

When Jane, a twelve year old girl would cry in order for her mother to pay close  attention to her; Joane (Jane's mother) would quickly attend to her, pampering and  tapping lightly on her back with massaging strokes of her hand. At that young age, Jane enjoyed this experience so much such that it became her normal. However, as she grew older, she noticed that her mother had changed  her response towards her. She then realized that she had to do something different in order to regain her mother's attention... One of the obstacle that stands on our way or delays us from getting to another level of life is to try and solve today's problem with yesterday's formula. Just because a certain method worked wonders on yesterday's problem, does not necessarily mean that it can work on today's problem. Joshua understood this very clearly at the face of the raging river Jordan that was at a flooding stage. Instead of using the staff of Moses that parted the red see; Jo...

The enemy did not want you to hear this message. Every time I try to write the message; something urgent comes up. Thank God that today you are reading it. The devil has been defeated. Judges 6:3-5 AMP For whenever Israel had sown their seed, the Midianites and the Amalekites and the people of the east came up against them. [4] They would encamp against them and destroy the crops as far as Gaza and leave no nourishment for Israel, and no ox or sheep or donkey. [5] For they came up with their cattle and their tents, and they came like locusts for multitude; both they and their camels could not be counted. So they wasted the land as they entered it. I feel an urge today to declare over your life that 'Not this time' thus says the Spirit  of the Lord. The sower shall enjoy the fruit of his labour. The enemy shall not rejoice over your profits. The Lord rebukes the enemy right now. 'Get away from the work and the harvest of my people' says the Lord. Right now I canc...

As I was praying and asking God what should I write about this Sunday; the Lord put in my heart the word 'hooked'. Think about a fish in the river. The fishermen uses bait in order to entice the fish to come by and have some food. Little does the fish know the fact that in that bait there's a hook hidden in it. Once the fish tries to grab that bait it get hooked up. The moment it's hooked up it no longer has much control in the very environment it use to swim freely; it is now under the control of the enemy. Friend I want you to know that not every opportunity comes from God, the enemy also knows what you need. Many times he will try to bring that thing you need but remember there's a hook hidden in it. All the enemy wants is to control you. That is not the will of God for you. God wants to set you free. God desires to see you flowing in the holy ghost. It could be possible that right now you are hooked on to something, I don't know what that is but I can...

Many times God speaks to us, to warn us or give us direction, which way to take and where to go? Firstly we are able to hear his voice internally.  God will oftentimes warn us, don't go that route, go this way. Since he's a loving God, he makes sure that when we don't listen to his voice he uses other people like pastors or prophets in order to ensure that we get the message. Nevertheless,we just suppress His word and follow our own desires and end up in difficult situations that we could have avoided. So we end up saying,  "Only if I had listened to God I would have been far better than what I am now" Luke 6:47-49 AMP For everyone who comes to Me and listens to My words in order to heed their teaching and does them, I will show you what he is like: [48] He is like a man building a house, who dug and went down deep and laid a foundation upon the rock; and when a flood arose, the torrent broke against that house and could not shake or move it, because it had be...

According to christianity.about.com website, Grace is God's unmerited favor. It is kindness from God we don't deserve. There is nothing we have done, nor can ever do to earn this favor. It is a gift from God. Grace is divine assistance given to humans for their regeneration (rebirth) or sanctification; a virtue coming from God; a state of sanctification enjoyed through divine favor.. God has given us grace and  He expects us to be gracious toward others. When we show favor to someone after doing background check, (what they have done or haven't done) the truth is; we are not being Christlike. But if we bless others irrespective of what they have done or haven't done, then we are the true children of God. Every time you bless that poor man on the street without questioning where they come from or what they have done; you are being Christlike, you are being gracious toward that poor man. The scripture declares in Luke 12:48 AMP".... For everyone to whom much is ...

John 4:33-34 AMP So the disciples said one to another, Has someone brought Him something to eat? [34] Jesus said to them, My food (nourishment) is to do the will (pleasure) of Him Who sent Me and to accomplish and completely finish His work. From a very young age we hunger for food. Our bodies demand that we eat everyday. We need food for survival. We need food for strength. Food is the most important need in a human life. Food insufficiency in our bodies results in diseases. If we continue our lives without it we can eventually die and be useless. Jesus mentions something profound in his statement, "my food is to do the will of the one who sent me". Jesus says, "I get nourished when I do the will of my father". This is powerful. Doing God's will empowers us, it strengthens us; it causes us to supernaturaly grow. The will of God is found in the bible( the holy scriptures). Some examples of doing the will of God are; meditating in his word, praying, givin...

John 3:8 AMP The wind blows (breathes) where it wills; and though you hear its sound, yet you neither know where it comes from nor where it is going. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit. Jesus reveals to us one of the characteristics of the people of the spirit, people who are born of the spirit of God. He says they seem to have no direction in life. People cannot tell where the wind is going. So are the people born of the Spirit. One of the question people have about you is, "where are you going?" They want to know about where you going. You see it takes faith to follow someone you don't know where he is going. And many times too often people miss their opportunity because they are so accustomed to rigidity. If you want to marry someone or enter into partnership with someone check if they are rigid people or flexible people; otherwise you are setting yourself up for disaster. You will be saying, let us do something else and he/she would say, no let u...

In the book of Psalms 23:1 David says, "The Lord is my shepherd..." This text implies that David considers himself not as a lion or a bear before God but as a sheep. In order to fully understand this text it's necessary to explore the characteristics of a sheep. Research tells us that a sheep can see about six feet ahead hence they walk as a group and in close proximity to each other. That is why the shepherd has to walk ahead of the sheep. The sheep follow the shepherd. The shepherd can see about a thousand miles ahead. Therefore the sheep solely depend on the shepherd. Likewise, if we want to get far in life, reach far beyond our abilities; we must get to a point where we admit that we are shortsighted. We can only see for about a short distance. The information and the knowledge we have is not enough to get us to higher places. It is therefore necessary to put our lives in the hands of a shepherd. This shepherd is Jesus. Jesus is a good shepherd, in his arms we ...

Life is not just about food, drinks and anything that satisfies the flesh. There's something bigger than life itself. Have you ever wondered why people who have everything this world could offer, commit suicide? You must understand that the earth and everything that is in it; is not enough to satisfy the human soul. No matter what you can have in this world without the Holy Spirit you will still feel void. The Holy Spirit is the indwelling presence of God to those who accept Jesus as their Lord and saviour. Apart from Jesus, you cannot receive the Holy Spirit. What you will receive is just religion. It's impossible to worship God without his spirit. Without the Holy Spirit we are only worshiping God in flesh. I challenge you to open up for Jesus in your heart so that you may receive God at his best. 

Every now and then God speaks. "Don't go there, help there, don't touch that", He says. Sometimes his voice is so clear simple because it is mostly in line with the scriptures. For example, when God says 'give there', it's easy to accept or carry out that instruction than when He says, 'don't give' because giving is in line with the prevalent or most read scripture in the pulpit. King Saul was told by God to kill everything and spare nothing but he disobeyed. 1 Samuel 15:9 AMP Saul and the people spared Agag and the best of the sheep, oxen, fatlings, lambs, and all that was good, and would not utterly destroy them; but all that was undesirable or worthless they destroyed utterly. You see, if something is not good before God; it is not good at all. Destroy it while you still have power to, and before it cost you something great you wouldn't want to lose. What then did Saul lose? 1 Samuel 15:28 AMP And Samuel said to him, The Lord has to...

On this planet earth, we are either open to God or to the devil. It’s either we are in the light or in darkness. Whoever we are open to controls our lives. He influences our behaviors out thoughts and our emotions. The outcome of our lives, therefore, depends on who we open to. Not only does God or the devil influence us, but they also influence the circle of our relationships; in friendships or families. What I’m endeavoring to articulate is that, God sends the right people to his children. These are the people who take his children to another dimension of life. I must admonish you though, just because it is God, who allows these people into your life; that does not necessarily mean that it will always be kind people. It may be unkind people, but right people. Take, for instance, a surgeon. A surgeon uses sharp knives and needles in order to perform an operation to a patient’s body. A surgeon is not a bad person however the operation might look gruesome. If you are not careful...

How many have watched the moon at a certain point and called it a full moon or a half-moon? Have you ever considered if this naming of the moon as a “half-moon” is correct or not? This kind of naming things is an underlying perception of who we are as human beings. This reveals that most of the time we call things by the way we perceive them without deliberate contemplation on the matter at hand. In other words, we sometimes don’t call people by what they really are but by how we perceive them. Before I get to the main point, I would like to suggest to you that it is not a “half-moon” but a half-lit moon. What precisely am I endeavoring to say with all this? Beloved, my point is, the people will not always call you by what you genuinely are, but they will call you based on their perception of you. In most cases, the names people call you often reveal the unconscious perceptions they have towards you. Think back at the high school. What names did the b...

Too often, life asks us this question, “how bad do you want it?” We all have something in life that we want. We want to achieve this and that. Nevertheless, the truth is, not everything is going to come to you easily, just like in a soccer game, a striker will not always be granted an opportunity to kick a penalty. There are times where a striker has to fight his way to the goalpost before he can score. He has to face the defenders that are against him and face the crowd that is booing him. Likewise beloved, whatever you want, you must understand that it is not always going to come easily. There are defenders who are speaking against your breakthrough. There is a crowd that is discouraging you, calling you all sort of bad names. When we face those times in our lives, it’s easy to throw in the towel, just accept the fact that we are not going to make it. If you are in this situation right now, I’ve got good news for you. The scripture declares, ‘many are those who are with you...

Every now and then, God will intentionally present unusual people into your life who will elicit undesirable behavior in you. When you interact with these people you sometimes respond in a way that you are not proud of. When we encounter such people we have two choices to choose from; the easy road or the rocky road. Whichever path one chooses will determine whether they progress to the next level of life or they don't. The easy road oftentimes looks alluring and the rocky road is despised for its uneasiness. When we cut these people off, we choose an easy road. It's easy to cut people off, but sometimes the relief is only for a moment. Sooner or later you will meet the same people again and again until you have learned what God wants you to learn from them. When we do an introspection we prove to be authentic people who are open for growth. We prove to be people who are willing to grow and become better. People who understand that it's not always about the others bu...

It is indispensable to be spiritually in tune with God, for if you not, you will, predicated on the precedent injuctive authorization, kill that which is special to you. God's underlying intention was not to kill your son Abraham, but to test your heart. So always ask yourself,"what is God saying now?" What I'm endeavoring to verbalize beloved is that we must always be in the presence of the Lord. God always wants to verbalize something whiçh pertains to our lives and if we are always missing in his presence we will miss the word that he has for us. Recollect, we are not supposed to live our lives in perplexity, not knowing which way to take or what to do at a particular moment in time. Therefore, don't wait to be confounded in your mind afore you worship the most high. Make it a point that you will always accolade his denomination no matter what!

Most people in this present day, they need money more than anything. People would do anything to have money. They could kill for money. Prisons are filled up with men, of which most of them were robbers. There are spouses today who died before time because someone was hoping to get some benefits from the life insurance policy.  Money promises us to solve most of our problems. Hence, many people chase after it. In Luke 2:52, the scripture says,    And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man. Moses prayed this prayer;    If you are pleased with me, teach me your ways  so I may know you and continue to find favor with you. Remember that this nation is your people.” Exodus 33:13. You see money can help you up to a certain degree but there are places and areas in your life that money cannot save. Moses prayed that he may continue to find favor with the Lord. You see, you might not have money but if you have found favor from the L...

Have you ever found yourself asking the question, "why?" Why me, why now? Why does it have to be akin to this? We have all asked questions like these in our lifetime. Most of the time when we ask these types of questions; we genuinely looking not just an answer but a reason. Why is this transpiring? such questions require a reason. In other words we optate to understand what's transpiring. It's like when you waiting for a bus, when the bus is not arriving at your expected time you commence  to wonder, Why is the bus not peregrinated? This is because you optate to understand the reason abaft the situation, why the delays? Most of us are in a caliber in our lives where there is some delays in certain areas, We are asking, why? Many times when people are experiencing some delays, some they commence to get frustrated and commence repining. Frustration and repining is a designation of lack of understanding. Without understanding, we will be frustrated when things are no...

What do you fear or who  do you fear? Some fear people. You auricularly discern them verbally express, "I'm trepidacious to pursue this dream, what will people verbalize?" These people scarcely progress in life because of trepidation of people. Sometimes the people they fear are people who don't even ken their designations or ever care that much about whether they have eaten or not. The trepidation of people can hold you captive in a cave of mediocre. Brothers and sisters the word of God verbalizes, don't fear their faces, for the Lord is with you. Heedfully auricularly discern, we are commanded to fear the Lord. The trepidation of the Lord is the commencement of sapience. The word of God perpetuates to verbalize that, the angel of the lord encamps around those who fear him, who walk uprightly. Could it be possible that the reasons we have all these phobias , it's because we fear what we shouldn't fear in the first place, more than God? Let us fear Go...

How many people you know today who are still at the same level, not because they are incapable of getting to the next level but because they always wait for the perfect moment? Quit waiting for everything to be in place before you can do what God has called you to do. Imagine what would have happened if Marry, the mother of Jesus had waited until everyone around her agreed with the way she got pregnant. She could have aborted the child, who knows? My point is, quit waiting for everyone to understand you or for everything to be in place before you can do what God has called you to do. I challenge you today to have faith in God, not in what you don't have, not in the people who don't understand your situation but on God who is all powerful and knows everything.

Sometimes a blessing comes wrapped up in sack clothes. If we are not careful, we will throw away the blessing because of the temporary outlook. Sack clothes are undesirable. They are not clothes that you can wear for a special occasion. You can't just attend a church service wearing them. Most people don't like being with some one  who wears in an awkward way or style. They want someone who is dressed for the occasion. In the Bible, a person who wore sack clothes was not even allowed to enter into the king's palace. Those who passed by would despise him and call him all sort of names. John the Baptist came not wearing like everyone during those days. The scripture tells us that he wore clothes made of Camel skin and to top that up, he ate a different meal, which consisted of locusts. Now Jesus knew the principles of God that it's not about what's on the  outside but on the inside. Jesus could have missed the blessing of being baptized by the messenger of God ...

Which movies do you watch and why? Maybe you like thriller movies, romance, drama or horror movies? Whatever the case may be; but some of us have fallen in love with so called starring actors the ones who plays the leading role. Sometimes we don't even ask or try to check the movie reviews before watching the movie simply because we know that if our favorite actors are there; the movie will surely be nice. Shifting away from the leading role actor we can see that not everyone one plays a leading role but there are also those who plays as supporting actor or actresses. What we know for sure is that out of all these actors and actresses they have all been given an opportunity to become one thing that is 'the best actor or best actress' in their roles. In life if we want to become best actors or best actresses we must ensure that we play our roles with excellence without comparing or being intimidated by some one's role or leading role. Play your role. Be comfortabl...

If we submit to Jesus everything will bow down to us! Whatever you think is big, that which  is standing against you will fall, It will not have power over you! But it all starts with submitting to Jesus. The things you failed to do when you were at your best, you will do even more at your worst shape. At a moment when you are highly exhausted. Yes at a moment where you think you can't! You will do more with little than what you could have achieved when you had more. It's not by might nor by power but by my spirit says the Lord. What your money couldn't  get you by the power of God you shall receive it. You have won in the realm of the spirit so shall it be in the natural. You will overcome. You will come out victorious! Nothing will stop you! Nothing will be able to stand against you! People will look and wonder and say how did it happen? Surely it must be the power of the Lord. Yes you will be a sign and a wonder! People are looking for a sign and a wonder, guess what,...

Remember the moment you think, "I can't make it" , or "I don't have the strength to do it, it's too much for me" ; you are actually revealing the state of your heart. Are you depending on God or your strength? If you are a person who draws confidence from flesh; there are places where  you will not be able to stand. You will run away from your blessing. There will always be someone who is more qualified than you; but if your confidence is in God; you won't be intimidated by the size of the giant. Instead you will look at its face and say to it, "I do not come to you in my own strength but I come against you in the name of the Lord. Some of you, this year, God will give you opportunities that are bigger than you. Don't refuse to take the opportunity. For the Lord is your  strength! God is on your side! Yes you can! ___________________ image: sonygroup.wordpress.com Thank you so much for sharing; tweeting and liking as a result of ...

Most people search for, "how to hear the voice of God". They want to hear God, they want him to speak to them concerning their future or their situation. What they are not aware of is the fact that  God is already speaking to them, it's just that they haven't recognized his voice. When talking about God speaking to you I'm not just talking about God speaking through dreams and visions, certainly He still does; but in this case I'm talking about God speaking to you through that still small voice in your heart. Sometimes that small voice would speak when you are over-speeding on the road you shouldn't be driving beyond the speed limit, and say, 'slow down'. Or say to you show mercy on that waitress who seems to be confused, mistaking your order for somebody else. I believe with all my heart that if we begin to be obedient and faithful in small things and not suppress his voice when God speaks; we will grow in hearing the voice of God. God w...

As long as you keep on saying yes to the things you should say no to; you are only delaying yourself from what God has in store for you. It could be a bad habit that you need to say no to. Or it could be places that you keep on visiting but you know in your heart that you shouldn't be there. I'm asking you today to do yourself a  favour and say no! It might be hard to say no to what you used to enjoy doing; but you have to if you are  really serious about getting to the next level. As long as you keep on saying yes to those things; they will keep you in bondage and wonder why you never get past a  certain level. God is about to promote you but you have to start by saying no. No to prayerless-ness. No to bad habits. No to godlessness.  Friends will you be so kind as to tweet, like or Google+ this message. Thank you.

According to the scriptures every human being is made in the image of God! In fact the bible continues to point out that you are fearfully and wonderfully made. But the question still remains, why is not everyone promoted? Maybe we should ask differently; what causes others to be promoted and others not. Answering this hot question correctly  could set us up for promotion. 1. God wants a reason. God is asking, out of all these fearfully and wonderfully made images of God, why should I promote you? In other words give me a reason.   David was promoted simple because he was a man after God's heart.    Joseph was promoted because he did not give in into temptation.   Abednego, Shadrach and Meshach were promoted because of obedience. In the face of death; they chose to worship God not any other God.