Our Faithful Father (Part 3)

How are you all out there? As I look at the map of where people have read my blog I am amazed ... from Alaska to India to New Zealand (can't get too big headed as I know that most of the dots mean only 1-10 log-ons!!) Hey, but I must admit that the Gospel according to Ritchie hasn't really penetrated Africa, Russia, South America and the other 99% of the world! So come on .. let's fill our map with big beautiful red dots ... any friends in strange and weird countries? Coming to think of it ... I do have a few friends in England! (Andrew David for one...) Ha Ha

So many things happening here right now. So many many stories to tell, but first I want to finish off about God's faithfulness. What is happening here at Sefton is ALL to do with His faithfulness and grace.


Here are the last 2 points:

4. God Is far More Committed to Me than I Am!

I am committed to me ... most of the time. I know my faults, failings and weaknesses more than anyone else. Sometimes, due to the fact that we very often feel that we let ourselves down, we can lose a sense of purpose and we can let discouragement come and sweep us off our feet.

But get this: God knows us better than we know ourselves. He knows our weaknesses and failings in a way that we cannot comprehend. And yet, despite of who we are and what we do ... He loves us and is fully committed to us. Sometimes I say, "God, why didn't you give up on me?" Ever felt like that? But the amazing reality we must grasp is that He will never walk away; He will never abandon us; He is always close, always waiting for us to turn to Him.

I Like what the Message Bible says in Phil 1:6:

'There has never been the slightest doubt in my mind that the God who started this great work in you would keep at it and bring it to a flourishing finish on the very day Christ Jesus appears.'

You must understand this: God is absolutely committed to you. He knows what He wants for your life, and he will use 'unforced rhythms of grace' to show you His dreams. His time is impeccable ... never late and never early and his grace knows no limitations. His patience goes beyond frustration and he never remembers a sin that He has already dealt with. His love is unconditionally available and He is like an excited father waiting to unfold beautiful plans that prosper his sons and daughters.

5. We See the Episodes; God has seen the series

At Christmas, my father in law gave me a DVD. It was the build up and aftermath of the Liverpool v AC Milan Champions League Final form 2005. I didn't actually see the game live as I was doing a youth camp here in the Philippines. But I had heard about this unbelievable game from many people.

I watched it ... and was gripped! Imagine, Liverpool lose an early goal to one of the best teams in the world. Then another, and another. Half time comes and they are 3-0 down. They troop off the park embarrassed and dejected. I cannot imagine what the manager shouted at them at half time ... but it worked. They came back and scored a goal ...another .. and then they scored with a penalty. The result was 3-3 after 90 minutes. Incredible. AC Milan missed a bundle of chances and it went to penalties. Liverpool scored more penalties and won the cup. No-one (and I mean no-one) had given them any chance after 45 minutes.

As I watched this match, almost 15 months later, I knew the result. I could watch the whole thing knowing the outcome and knowing that Liverpool were champions. However, the poor Liverpool and AC Milan fans who watched the game live were frazzled. They were emotionally exhausted. The lights were on but no-one was at home! Coz in the midst of the battle you are fighting for victory. You only see the battles you face; you do not think about the war.


This an amazing fact: God has seen the whole series. Even the episode of your life you are going through now ... he knows the result. He sees the big picture. He knows the beginning from the end. He is the alpha and the omega. He is the author and the finisher of our faith. Don't worry about tomorrow ... for God is already there.

For us, there are many battles and much pain. Some episodes are difficult. Where can we turn? Turn to the Lord my friend. Set you eyes on him. For He knows the best thing for you to do. He knows the best decisions you have to make. He knows the best answers and He can see things that we are not even aware of.

The Lord IS faithful. He is our Faithful Father and He longs for us to draw closer to Him so He can speak into our lives. Be assured of His assurance and have faith in His faithfulness.

Selah ...

Our Faithful Father (part 2)

Well, it's Sunday night and what a day ... well, week actually ... it's been! A bit crazy perhaps. We arrived back from Singapore on Monday afternoon, travelled up north (7 hours) and arrived here in the evening. Next morning we had the KMGLC Recognition Service for all Nursery & Kinder 1 kids followed by the Graduation Ceremony of our Kinder 2 kids. It gets even better ...

... On the same evening (Tuesday) the Annual AoG District Convention started. This was a busy time as it was the Elections for all the leadership positions. So everyone and their holy dogs turn up! Pastors you haven't seen since the last election (2003) appear from nowhere. Unbelievable. We had the elections et al and everyone left on Friday morning. Today, we had our Tagalog Service, English Service followed by our 1st Anniversary Celebration of our church in Nagassican. We left for church joyfully at 7:45am and we collapsed in the door at 6pm! Not bad for a 'day of rest'! Actually, we were all very happy because we have had a great day. Seven people gave their hearts to the Lord today ... and that alone is worth a celebration in anyone's books!

I will blog about most of these events as the week unfolds .. I'm just kinda making excuses for not blogging as much last week. Am I forgiven???

Anyway, tonight I just want to continue my thoughts on God's faithfulness. On March 7th (my goodness, that long ago?!) I wrote part one of my thoughts:

1. 90% OF WHAT GOD DOES FOR US GOES UNNOTICED AND UNSTATED
2. GOD'S PROMISES ARE GREATER THAN MY CAPACITY TO REMEMBER THEM

Here are some more thoughts:

3. GOD ALWAYS PAYS FOR WHAT HE ORDERS
When I go to a restaurant, the people give me food and drink on the presumption that I can pay for what I have ordered. They don't ask when we arrive, "Sir, do you have the right method of payment to pay the bill?" No. They presume that the very fact that I will choose to go there - knowing the cost of my meal - is evidence that I can and will pay the bill.

God always pays His bills. Whatever He orders, he covers it. No questions. The ways in which He pays His bills are as numerous as the projects He undertakes. Incredibly brilliant ways of making sure that what His kingdom is established on earth, as it is in heaven.

Now, at Bible School I knew that in my head. I could have eloquently quoted every verse pertaining to God's faithfulness.But now ... I KNOW it. Truth is given in two ways. Either God sovereignly reveals it through the ministry of His Holy Spirit or He takes us through an experience so that we not only know in our head, but experience that truth with our lives.


And it starts small. Faith starts like a stream and ends up like a river. Step by step. I remember that God gave me the vision of the Fire Centre. I knew that God had spoken and sorta felt that He would provide the money for it to be built. We had no money at that time because of the illness of Pepito, but we got the plans drawn up by faith. The FC would be built in 3 stages ... the 1st, and most expensive stage, was going to be 3.5 million Pesos. After a few months of praying and trying hard, we had raised around 2.5 million. But I felt God was saying "Start. Don't wait. Trust me.". So we had a 'Groundbreaking' service .. all the local Pastors and District officials arrived and we had a great service. The pastors began to dig the foundations.

At this time, Pepito was in Manila every month for treatment. I had been down for 5 days with him and had just arrived the previous day to start the Groundbreaking. I was tired, but excited. Guess what? In the middle of the Groundbreaking Service our Social Worker came to me and said,"Bad news, Pepito has crashed his bike whilst messing around with his friends and has a hernia! He has gone to the Doctors." I was so mad with the little rascal! The Doctor phoned me and said,"You have to take Pepito to Manila immediately. We cannot touch him because of his condition."

What a blow! In the midst of all the celebrations and foundation digging ... I had to leave. Winston, Pepito and I all left for Manila. I was so upset. Pepito kept on saying sorry, but after a while I forgave him! For the next 5 days I was in Manila again. Pepito had his operation and all went smoothly. We began the long journey home. Exhausted.

You will never believe what happened. We drove for 9 hours and were passing through Santiago when the phone rang. It was Keith, our agent. "Where are you? Stop the car right now, I have news for you." At this point, we were literally on the last corner before Sefton Village. As I stopped the car I could see the empty ground where the Fore Centre would be. Keith continued, "You'll never believe this, but in my hand I have a cheque for the Fire Centre equivalent of 1 million Pesos. You have the money now to complete stage 1."

Me and Winston just sat in stunned silence. I began to weep. All sorts of emotions went through my tired body. And then I felt God say, "I wanted to take you to the last corner of a long journey to let you know that you can trust me. I am your all sufficient One."

Are you facing difficult circumstances in your life? Are you depending on God to turn up? Are you hoping that God will pay for what He orders? Let me tell you from countless testimonies in my life ... God is absolutely faithful. He always pays for what He orders. You can count on it. It's done.

Right now, we have a burden to build a Primary School at Sefton Village. We know this is not only a good logical idea; this is God's plan to bless and touch thousands of children and their families. It was His dream first. Then He let us in on His plans. We need around at least 100,000 Pounds to complete the work .. maybe more. Where can you get that kind of money? I don't know ... but I know someone who does know! And He ALWAYS pays for what He orders. Sometime it may seem easy; other times He will take you to the last bend of a long and difficult journey. But know this my friend, He always pays for what He orders...

... just make sure you know HE has ordered it and not you. Otherwise - "there may be trouble ahead ...". But that's a different story on a different blog. I am tired and will give the last 2 points tomorrow.

Goodnight ...

Singapore

Well, we are back home now in the good old Philippines. We really enjoyed our trip to Singapore and we were so blessed. It is more than going to a regular Conference; it is a complete experience. Our group of 17 Filipinos were so encouraged by all that happened in these short 6 days.

Winston and four others went ahead on the Saturday because from Sunday-Tuesday Cornerstone run an amazing Youth Conference called "IGNITE" and the theme this year was ‘Relentless’. There were over 1500 young people registered from 30 churches and 24 nations. They had two powerful American as guest speakers and they were sharp. The praise and worship was LOUD but beautiful and to see the sincerity and passion of these young people is awe inspiring.

The rest of us came on Wednesday to attend the Zion Conference. The main speaker is an Englishman called Dr. Brian Bailey and he is the president of Zion Ministries based in Waverly, New York. He is a man who really has encounters with angels and with the Lord and he shared many prophetic insights. The theme this year was ‘God’s Mighty Army’. The Praise & Worship is excellent and you could feel the passion of the people as we sang. So many lovely new songs. The seminars were excellent – I attended the seminars by Pastor Yang entitled ‘The Impact of Church on Society’ and he was red hot! He was so excited and his enthusiasm was tangible. I really enjoyed what he had to say.

Keith, Anne and myself stayed with a host family from the church – Irene, Lynn, Ashley and Jason Ong. They could not do enough for us and waned to give us British breakfasts every morning! Not complaining. Bring it on. Actually, food is a major thing in Singapore. Their favourite phrase is ‘Have you eaten yet?” When you get asked that around 20 times a day you know you are in the right place! We ate Indian curry, Malaysian Prata, Chinese steam boat, English breakfast, Thai chicken and on the last night I went out with pastor Yang for an American steak… I feel as though I have international intestines!

There were over 1000 delegates at the Conference – over 450 from overseas - including 350 Filipinos! Everywhere I went I heard tagalog and saw a Filipino smile. On the Sunday I had the honour of preaching in the 3^rd service at Cornerstone. It was mainly young people who attend and everything is run by the youth department (called Generations) – the worship, PA, IT, video, offering etc. The youth Pastor is an amazing guy called Daniel Chua (left) – a young man with a dream and passion to see Singaporean young people touch the world. The service was great and I preached about David’s Mighty Men. Man, you should have seen the response at the end. Wall to wall young people crying out to God and weeping at the altar. We made white flags that symbolized ‘surrender’ and as they began to wave them and salute to the Lord the power of God hit them and many dropped to their knees in surrender.

Wow.

Check out all the preaching, downloads, podcasts and info on the excellent Cornerstone website ... there is a link just to the right of this blog!

We came back knowing we had an ultra busy week ahead of us. But we were refreshed, envisioned and empowered. I recommend that if anyone has a bit of time and a bit of money, they should start saving now for the conferences next year. Maybe we will have a ‘Fire Conference’ here at Sefton straight after Singapore. Interested? Let’s pray about it.

Bring on March 2008…

On the Way to Singapore...

Well, I am sitting here in an Internet cafe in a hotel just outside Manila. We are leaving to go to a conference in Singapore in a couple of hours. Just thought I would let you catch up with some news ...

1. Keith & Anne Pointon have arrived! We picked them up yesterday morning ... so good to see them again! They had a good flight and, apart from Keith dropping off in mid-conversation a couple of times, they are in great fettle. They are coming with us to Singapore.


2. We are taking a team of 17 to Singapore from Cornerstone Santiago. We are going to a conference hosted by our mother church Cornerstone Singapore. It is an amazing church and a great conference. I know a lot of the Pastors and leaders in the church and I can't wait to see them again. The Senior Pastor is a man called Pastor Yang Tuck Yoong and he is truly a wonderful man of God and an encouraging friend. I cannot even begin to tell you the ways in which he has encouraged me and my family. More later ...


3. Mary Grace is doing much better. She is putting on weight and is responding to the medicines given. She is expected to be discharged today. Praise the Lord...

4. Pray for Mary and my lovely kids. Whenever I go away it seems as if the enemy has a real go to discourage and defeat us. Sometimes sickness and sometimes events that happen out of the blue. Any church leader knows what I am talking about. When I was in Ghana a few years ago almost everything in our house broke down. Can you uphold my family in prayer? Thanks.

5. Pray for the KMGLC School as they prepare for their Graduation Programme next week. The teachers are working extra hard and so are the kids. Pray all goes well this week.

6. Please pray for me on Sunday afternoon as I am the speaker in the 3rd service at Cornerstone. Gulp! Anyway, it is a service aimed at young people. So it's OK 'coz I'm young dude ... right??? Aw, come on, be nice!

Gotta go and catch my flight. If I get 5 minutes in Singapore I will blog again. Please go to the Cornerstone Singapore website - you can just click it on the right) and check out what's happening - amazing! There are really good online sermons - many in Video.

Until next time ... be good!

Points for Praise & Prayer...

I'm just in the middle of writing 'Our Faithful Father Part 2', but I thought I would post a few bits of news to keep you informed. Like I mentioned before, the first Monday in March is always Enrollment Day for the KMGLC school .. and it is crazy! Talk about trolley wars at Tesco .. this can be just as hard! In the past Mary has had mothers bawling their eyes out, shouting (as the kid latches on to Mary's leg) and saying, 'Please take my child into your school ... I will do anything ... I can even bring a chair for my child!'

So this year we tried a new system. Everyone who came after 12 midnight on Monday 5th March would be given a ticket with a number. If they came back at 7:30 with the number, their child would be given a place at KMGLC. Well, by 7:30 pm on the Sunday many had arrived. We told them to return at midnight ... so at 12am it was like a market! By 4:30 all the tickets had gone and the school was full! Unbelievable. Would you get up at 1am to get a place for your child at school ... actually, I would!

So on the Monday morning all the parents arrived and they lined up by number. It is strictly 'first come first served' basis, so the rich stood with the poor. Excellent. There is actually a good mix of students this year and Mary was very happy with the outcome. Phew! Our school is now full for next year.

Before I go to bed, I want to bring an urgent prayer request. Yesterday we were called to an emergency situation by a Social Worker. We were asked to take a wee girl into the Children's Home. She is severely malnourished. Her name is Mary Grace and she is 18 months old. A normal healthy 18 month old girl would usually weigh around 10-12 kilos ... but she is only 4 kilos! The Doctor was so worried that she admitted her to hospital. It seemed as if her vital organs were packing up.

We have had many 'no hope' babies at the HMCH that have pulled through. This is due to having a wonderful caring bunch of aunties, people who will pray, a good diet and the right medicine. Can you so your part an pray? Thank you...

Goodnight and God bless .... ZZZZZZZZZzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.......................

Our Faithful Father

Sorry folks .. been such a busy time since I last blogged. So much to tell but so little time to tell it! Had a good weekend - Powerhouse was great and Cornerstone Utd was superb. Really enjoyed. On Monday I got one hours sleep because I was at the gates of Sefton Village giving out numbers to parents who wanted their kids to come to our school. Maybe later this week I will let you know what happened ...

...but today I want you to be absolutely totally blessed in the assurance of a very important fact ... OUR FATHER IS TOTALLY AND ABSOLUTELY FAITHFUL. I have been thinking about, and praying about the faithfulness of God, and I want to share the following few thoughts with you. I warn you, this might be a longer blog than usual!

1. 90% OF WHAT GOD DOES FOR US GOES UNNOTICED AND UNSTATED
We are great at talking about the faithfulness of God when things that we want God to rubber stamp pushes through. We talk about His faithfulness when a financial need is met; when one of our prayers are answered; when we come through a trial or difficult circumstance; when we celebrate a birthday, wedding or anniversary. We are so good at attributing God's faithfulness when we are the recipients of His blessing.

But over the last week, I have been asking myself, "What are the things God does for me that I never thank Him for and seldom ever think about?" This train of thought started when I was at one of our early morning prayer meetings and we started in darkness. As the meeting went on I saw light coming from the East. Within minutes the sky turned a shade of orange and within minutes the sun rose with all her glory. The day took on a brand new complexion as the birds began to sing their welcoming songs.

Now, I have been on this earth 37.75x365=13700 days. But last Wednesday something in my spirit was overwhelmed by the fact that our faithful God had sent another day. I remember thinking, "God ... you've done it again!" As I write this I am thinking, "Either I am crazy or this is a revelation from God. I trust it is the latter!

I came up with a few other ways in which God is faithful...

* The air we breathe. Every breath is a gift, an opportunity. Yet we never truly appreciate it until we are almost at our last. Seize the Day..

* Food - today I was challenged again. There is a family nearby whom we have started sharing about the Lord. The mother of that family went to the home of one of our members this morning. She asked,"Can I wash any clothes for your family?" Our member replied that they had none to wash and asked "why?" The woman responded,"I have no food in my home, no money to buy breakfast and my children are crying."

I've never been there. I don't know what it feels like. For me, I have known God to be a faithful father who has always fed my family.

* Protection - heaven alone will show the ways in which the Lord protected us from illness, curses, accidents, injuries and even death. He has sent His angels to minister to us and watch over us ... and mostly we are unaware they are even there. Amazing.

* Grace and Mercy - I am trying to work through the ways in which God shows grace in my life. If I were to start to write down all the ways in which He has demonstrated His grace to me, I would be here for days. And I cannot tell you all the times He has shown me His mercy.. when mercy was the last thing I deserved. He is the God of the second chance (at least!) Simply put: Grace is when God lavishes us with things that we do not deserve; Mercy is when God keeps us from not so nice things that we do deserve.

* Health & Strength - we don't appreciate it until we don't have it. The cry of a man whose health has been taken away is always 'if only I could turn back the clock.' When we have it we don't realise the potential of a healthy life and the true strength of strength.

There are so many other ways in which God is faithful in His faithfulness .. and so much of it goes unnoticed and we are unaware. Let's recognise His faithfulness much more.


2. GOD'S PROMISES ARE GREATER THAN MY CAPACITY TO REMEMBER THEM
In our walk with the Lord, there are times when we receive a promise from the Lord. God is interested in us as individual sons and often He will show us something that He wants to do in our lives. Sometimes he will show us a place He wants to take us, or something He wants us to do or someone He wants us to meet. these times when the Lord opens up the intents of His heart for us are precious times, for in these moments our destiny is shaped.

For example, when I was around 15 my dad felt a real burden to go to Asia for 3 weeks to take -or should I say smuggle! - Bibles from Hong Kong into China. To me, as an insular wee lad from Fraserburgh, China was the furthest of far away! And my dad, yes MY dad, was going there to be God's smuggler. Wow. My didn't have the looks or figure of James Bond ... but to me he had the heart!

And off he went. He came home with photos and stories and experiences that made me wide eyed! I was so proud of my dad. I remember saying to the Lord,"I want to be like my dad. One day I would like to follow in his footsteps and 'smuggle' Bibles into China." I felt that day that the Lord really heard my cry.

Zoom forward to 2002. I've been a fish salesman ... Bible School ... Edinburgh Church Planting .. Africa ... Marriage ... Whitburn Church ... blah, blah blah ... and here I am now in the Philippines. I get a call from an AoG Church in Hong Kong to ask if i would preach at their anniversary weekend. No problem. We go with 8 pastors from the Philippines. When we get there the Pastor asks us, 'Would you like to go to China?' I was reading the 'Heavenly Man' book and I really wanted to go. So off we went. A few minutes into the drive to the station, the Pastor said,"It is a waste if we go into China empty handed. The Brothers in China need 'bread'. So we went first to this big old house in the middle of Hong Kong somewhere.

A little Malaysian lady saw me with all these Filipinos and said, "Who are you?". I gave my name. "Where you from?", she continued. "Scotland but now the Philippines," I replied. The next question floored me - "Do you like making and eating mashed potatoes?" My goodness, what was this woman on? Anyway, I said I preferred to eat them!

She went upstairs and I heard her thumping about looking for something. She came down with a Visitors book and pointed to a name -"Know this guy?". I could not believe it. It was the signature of my dad! He had stayed there in that exact house in the middle of nowhere for three weeks in 1986! Everyone ate rice .. but he always made potatoes. I was dumbstruck!

As that moment I took the book and went on a little walk. I cried. I felt God say this to me -"Mark, this is my promise I gave you all those years ago. You forgot, but I have been planning this moment for many years. I never ever ever forgot what I promised you." I cried even more. For at that precious moment I realised for a certain fact the truth ... THAT GOD IS FAITHFUL. ABSOLUTELY. TOTALLY.

I have another 2 or 3 points to make, but that can wait until tomorrow. Be assured that our Father is faithful ...

Selah.

Power from the 'Upper Roof'

I am constantly blessed and challenged by the dedication and devotion of our Pastors here in Cornerstone Santiago. I know that it was not easy for them while I was in Scotland, and as I have blogged a few weeks ago, there were some compromises made in terms of our vision and direction. Praise God, we have worked it all through and we are heading for greater harvests. There is an excitement in the air ....

...especially this morning! Every morning, our Pastors meet together for 'Early Morning Prayer'. Believe it or not, we meet from 5am-6:15am every morning from Monday to Saturday. Sometimes there are 5 or 6 leaders, but today there were 12 of us. I am trying to get there at least 3 mornings a week ... pray for me! I go there dressed like a on-holiday-tourist ... they are dressed like frozen eskimos!

Ptr Marlou is in charge of our intercession at Cornerstone and he is there every morning. He just encourages us to seek God. We worship the Lord and wait upon Him. When we seek God with all of our hearts, we find ourselves at the edge of revelation and at the beginning of revival.

This morning was extra special. Imagine, we are on the roof of the Fire Centre, what a beautiful view. When we start the meeting the moon and stars are out, but half way through the meeting the sun begins to rise and by the end it is a beautiful sunny morning. This morning we prayed for each other and our churches. Wow ... so powerful! When I first heard these guys pray when we returned a few weeks ago I thought there were at least 100 people praying, but when I went down to the Fire Centre there were only 7 of them! They can be loud!

There is no short cut to a move of God. There are no easy ways to find revival... you can't buy it; you can't send away for it; you can't copy it and you certainly can't manipulate it. All we can do is prepare ourselves and ask God to do something in us, at His right time. It sounds old fashioned, but can you tell me any other way? I cannot find any other way in the Word of God or history ... God never sends the fire on an empty altar. When he sees the tears and the sacrifice, he will send the fire.

At Cornerstone Santiago, we are not there yet, but we have begun our journey of intimacy. We will learn along the way by way of trials, testings and tears. Yes, we want to be a modern church with up to date songs, use our best technologies and to be as excellent as we can be. But they are not the top priorities; the priority is to know, experience and lift up the Lord... for our churches to be temples of His glory.

I get concerned at the way churches 'buy into' other churches' vision and programmes. If we cannot pray, then lets not waste our time and money. Simple as that. It all starts through repentance, prayer, fasting and declaring His promises. Just ask Jehosophat, Nehemiah, Josiah, Isaiah or any of the 120 in Acts 1.

I want to leave you with a few quotes I came across this week.. Allow them to challenge you, as they have me. Have a great weekend and live for Him...

"Jesus today has many who love his heavenly kingdom, but few who carry his cross; many who yearn for comfort,few who long for distress. Plenty of people he finds to share his banquet,but few to share his fast. Everyone desires to take part in his rejoicing, but few are willing to suffer anything for his sake.There are many that follow Jesus as far as the breaking of bread,few as far as drinking the cup of suffering;many that revere his miracles,few that follow him in the indignity of his cross. "

-Thomas Kempis (Imitation of Christ)


"A huge religious marketplace has been set up in North America to meet the needs and fantasies of people just like us. There are conferences and gatherings custom designed to give us the lift we need. There are books, videos, and seminars that promise to let us in on the Christian "secret" of whatever it is we feel is lacking in our life- financial security, well-behaved children, weight loss, sex, travel to holy sites, exciting worship, celebrity teachers.... It isn't long before we're standing in line to buy whatever is being offered. And because none of the purchases does what we had hoped for, or at least not for long, we're soon back to buy another, and then another. The process is addicting. We become consumers of packaged spiritualities. "
- Eugene H. Peterson (Living The Resurrection)

"God makes it quite clear in His Word that He has only one answer to every human need -- His Son, Jesus Christ. In all His dealings with us He works by taking us out of the way and substituting Christ in our place. The Son of God died instead of us for our forgiveness: He lives instead of us for our deliverance. So we can speak of two substitutions -- a Substitute on the Cross who secures our forgiveness and a Substitute within who secures our victory."

-Watchmen Nee


"It is only when the whole heart is gripped with the passion of prayer that the life-giving fire descends, for none but the earnest man gets access to the ear of God."
- E.M. Bounds

Who's Report Will You Believe?

Hi folks. A couple of weeks ago a lovely young 32-year old lady gave her testimony in the Tagalog service at Cornerstone Santiago. I didn't understand a lot of it but I saw that our people were so excited & blessed with what she said. So I asked her to write down her testimony so I could read it. When I read it I was so blessed, so I thought I would share the blessing with you. Be encouraged ....

“Life is like a wheel, sometimes you’re on top and sometimes you find yourself be on the bottom.” Sometimes we can’t understand what’s happening…..full of surprises….a bit of discouragement…but whatever life would bring us, one thing is for sure, someone is always with us.

I just want to share with you all the things that has happened in my life recently, my darkest moments when I thought I can’t cope anymore. It was very hard ... but someone pulled me out of that darkness.

One day, I woke up with this worst problem in my life, not only in my life alone but an enigma for all the people around me who cares for me. I can’t really accept the reality that life is like a flower that blooms and soon will be withered. The fact is, that in the midst of my supposed time to be blooming it will also be my time to wither. I’m only young! I have lot of things to do! I haven't even started fulfilling my plans yet…

...It’s 10th day of September and now, here I am in a hospital emergency room undergoing biopsy and I soon found out that I have a third stage of cervix cancer. I have to undergo major operation and a series of chemotherapy. The moment I heard about my condition, I just can’t help myself from crying! Asking God…why me Lord? I spent the whole night crying and crying then something came into my mind, I remember my cousin who is a pastor, I think

I have to share with him about my condition. So, I have decided to talk to him that day. He prayed for me and encourages me to attend the Sunday service in their church. I still recall December 10, 2006 as my first attendance in that church and that was also the same date that I felt something different. They prayed for me and that time and I asked forgiveness to the Lord, receive Him in my heart and surrendered my life to Him.

I’ve also shared my problem to Pastor Jun Fernando who is my brother in law. He told me to write my prayer request of healing in a sheet of paper and give it back to him. He promised me that he would pray for me always during their prayer meeting. I’ve attended in Cornerstone Church, Santiago City with the encouragement of Pastor Jun and later on he invited me in their prayer meeting ... not only me but my whole family. I am very happy because I feel the whole support of my friends and I noticed that my life was changing, little by little the Lord changes me everyday.

Then, time came that I need to go to another doctor for a second opinion. He examined me again and he was confused with the first findings. I’ve talked to the Lord, “Lord I know that you’ve done all these”.

On January 9, I was admitted into an emergency hospital again, they’ve got another opinion of me and told me to wait for 3 weeks. In those days, I didn't do anything except pray, my whole family keep on praying every time.

Then, it’s the moment of truth, I have to find the result and my whole world fell the moment I’ve heard that my cancer became malignant (LYMPHOMA). I can’t get an operation but the doctor told me to prepare P250,000 (2500 pounds) and wait. Oh no! God where can we find that amount of money? At that time, I’m losing my hope. I even make real plans to commit suicide because I don’t really know what to do. But I said to the Lord, I don’t have the right to destroy my own life because You’re the only one who can take it from me. My times are in your hands Lord. I felt guilty, but that made me feel braver and stronger. I talked to God again, prayed and prayed …..”Lord, give me more time to live and I will serve You all of my life! I just need Your healing touch today, I believe in You. You can do miracle for me, Lord.”

Then I decided to be baptized in water, not only me but my whole family. The time that Pastor Mark and Pastor Danny prayed for me in the water, I feel something different within my body. It seems like a heat flowing from my head going down. I was overwhelmed with joy but tears flowing in my eyes…'I know that nothing is impossible with you Lord,…I commit to you everything..'

The same day of baptism was also the same day as my visit to my doctor. So, after our merienda in Sefton Village we hurried going to the doctor, again claiming to myself that God had healed me and I don’t want to go to Manila for my chemo. That was February 10 2007, and while we’re on our way I kept on praying and praying that God will do amazing things that day. I will tell the whole world about it, testify of the goodness of the Lord. So, I’m a little bit excited and worried about the result. And here’s the great miracle happened when the doctor told me that they cannot find anything any more and that I just need to drink a lot of water and I don’t have that illness any more. Praise God! It’s really a wonderful miracle. I know it!

I promise that I will serve Him with all my heart and my whole family have been born again, accepted Him into our hearts as a way of thanking Him, and I’ll do everything for Him. Thanks God for the slap that has awakened me for my long sleep. Thanks also to all the Pastors, for their prayers and encouragement. At present, I have a burden to help in children’s ministry in our place at Cornerstone Nagassican. And I'm praying always that this testimony will encourage everyone who needs it and be a blessing to many people.

Now, I’m on the top of the wheel again, but I don’t have any fear of going to the bottom ‘coz, I know God had a great plan why He let those thing happen.”

Thank you Lord!
God bless.

Merlita Fernando

P.s. - Josiah is feeling much better now, thanks to your prayers. Also, we took little Selina to the specialist yesterday and he said that she will need an operation. So we will do it this week, God willing. Thanks to all who have sent something for this wee girl. She is beautiful and special. When we went to pay the Doctor he told us to put our money away - "I took one look at the smile of this little girl and my heart was touched". Another miracle!