DON’T PLAY THE VICTIM OR ELSE …..

By Pastor Vincent Imwensi

Life is a school – the more you go, the more you learn.

And one of the things I’ve found out is that life victimizes those who play the victim. In fact, the way it works is, if you lie down, you will be climbed upon; if you sit down, you will be sat on and if you play dead, you will be buried – it’s as simple as that.

If you want to win, you must get on your feet, wipe your tears, roll up your sleeves and get into the fight determined to win and don’t quit until you do!

It’s Just Not Fair – But That’s The Reality
The pressures, challenges and difficulties of life will furnish you with more than enough reasons to throw up your hands and say I can’t go on anymore.

You may feel like doing so as  the pressures bashing against your weary self may strongly suggest it and even your logical analysis will lead you to the conclusion that the best thing to do is to throw up your hands and surrender. After all, you are only human and there is only so much you can bear (you may tell yourself).

vict

But don’t do it! Don’t give in to that despondency and play the victim. You can’t afford to go by what you feel in this case. It may not be fair but that is the reality.

You must press on even when you don’t feel like doing so and you must lift your head above the waters even when you feel like surrendering to the storm. If you play the victim, you’ll be victimized.

Not Many People Tell The Whole Story
Some of the greatest champions in history in whatever the field, (if they will tell you), came close to giving up. They are all too familiar with that sinking feeling to play the victim and quit but they refused. They pressed through that negative cloud and emerged as champions.

As champions, they are celebrated but not many of them bother to say what they went through and how that they almost gave up. And by the way, not many people care to find out what they went through to become the great successes that they became.

You Also Do Stand A Chance To Succeed
That’s right. You may be bombarded by the thoughts of giving up right now, but if you press through and end up at the other side (of success and breakthrough), many will celebrate you without caring to know what you went through to get there. What you are being confronted with is not new. That is the stuff that champions and winners go through.

If you don’t play the victim and quit, you stand the chance of succeeding and  emerging the successful you that you dreamt of.

Not Everyone Is Born With A Silver Spoon
Not everyone that has succeeded was born with silver spoon in their mouth. Some of the greatest heroes ever known were those who had very little to go on and came close to the brink of failure several times but refused to throw in the towel. Against all odds, they emerged as champions and that is even the more reason they are celebrated. If they could, what makes you think you can’t?

Most times, it is not how weak or strong you are; it is not how gifted or non-gifted you are; it is not how privileged or underprivileged you are. Most times, it comes down to one thing and that is the decision to press on and not to play the victim no matter what.

Get The Help You Need To win
Where do you find the courage to stand when you feel like sitting down? Where do you find the resourcefulness to press on when you feel like throwing up your hands in defeat? And where do you find reason to hope when all you can see is the dark cloud of hopelessness? I will tell you.

That help can only be found in God. He is a friend of the wounded, despondent and failing heart. He knows how to strengthen a man inside out at his weakest moments and most importantly, He has the power and the resources to turn any negative situation around if you will let Him step in and help you.

The first step to opening the door for Him to help you, is to come into a personal relationship with Him. And that is what happens when you receive Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Saviour. Believe me, that will open the door to a lot of good things that will surprise you. Click here to find out how.

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DO NOT SIGN YOUR DEATH WARRANT!

By Pastor Vincent Imwensi

We have a crafty enemy who has perfected the act of stealing, killing and destroying. So he has different clever ways of doing so.

The Bible calls the devil a serpent and when you look at serpents (or snakes) in the natural, you find that not only do they meander in the way they move, they also do not swallow their prey without first paralysing and strangling it. It is after they have strangled their prey that they begin to swallow it in.

The same thing happens with this spiritual serpent, the devil (and his demons).
One of the devil’s clever ways to carry out his killing agenda is to present you with your own death warrant and trick you to sign it.

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What is this death warrant?
What am I talking about? Well, it is not a piece of paper and pen that he gives to you – it is his misrepresentations and misinterpretations of your situations and circumstances which he pumps into your mind and wants you to accept. He paints them really black.
For instance, by the thoughts that he suggests into your mind, he reminds you of what is not working in your life. He shows you your colleagues and other people for whom everything is fine (so it seems) while you are still in your problems.

He tells you that at the rate you are going, nothing good is going to come out of your life. He leaves you thinking that there is no point in continuing to live. He tells you that prayer doesn’t work like you think; and that righteousness doesn’t pay. He will point out to you people that do not pray and do not care about righteousness for whom everything is working fine (so to say).

He will even tell you that going to church is a waste of time (which is why many don’t or no longer go to church these days). He will show you many people that do not go to church but who are enjoying life. What is he trying to do, he is trying to make you sign your death warrant because the moment you agree and begin to harbour these thoughts, he gets busy to destroy your life.

He hides his identity. It doesn’t sound as though it is the devil speaking
When the enemy is speaking to you, he doesn’t want you to know – he hides his identity while he subtly blows these thoughts into your mind. Yes, he does all these suggestions in a very crafty way by hiding behind your thinking process in which case, you don’t even know that he is the one pushing these thoughts into your mind – you’d think it is just you thinking things over.

The devil understands very clearly that most of the time, he cannot kill you or your vision or your dreams without your permission. He will come to you asking for that permission in some very subtle ways. He wants you to agree with him and when you do, you will begin to sign your own death warrant without knowing that that is what you are doing.

How is this death warrant signed?
It is first by the thoughts of your heart and then by the words of your mouth – in that order. The thoughts come first and they are followed by spoken words.

Like the scripture tells us, it is out of the abundance of the heart that the mouth speaks (Mt.12:34). So the enemy throws thoughts – negative thoughts, discouraging thoughts and defeatist thoughts into your mind. 
Most times, these thoughts are based on facts, they are logical. If you don’t deal with such negative thoughts, very soon, you will begin to speak against yourself, against your dreams and your visions; against your aspirations, pursuits and endeavours.

The words that proceed out of your mouth are acted upon by unseen forces
You may begin to say things like, “Oh, I don’t think it is going to work for me. I am a failure, my business will never succeed, I am too ugly to marry, I am too old to marry; all my mates have left me behind; it is too late for me to make any difference now, it is better for me to die than to live, no good thing ever happens to people like me, this sickness is going to kill me, I am not going to live long, why me, oh me, poor me ….” and stuff like that.

Life and death are in the power of the tongue, the scripture tells us (Prov.18:21). And you need to understand that the words that proceed out of your mouth are acted upon by invisible forces – that is, the forces of good or of evil.

When you speak the right words, positive words, words of hope and faith, the angels of God can act on those words to release your victory and breakthroughs according to what you are saying. But when your words are negative, the devils that have been on your trail are quick to jump at them and begin to execute those negatives sentences against you.

Correct logic and truth are not always the same
You may think you are being realistic and logical but you need to realize that logic and truth are not always the same. Something can be logical and seem realistic yet not true.

For instance, there are some people right now who are in prison for crimes they did not commit but the logic of the case pointed accusing fingers at them and so they were found guilty and imprisoned – even though the truth is that they are innocent. Don’t let the enemy imprison you by the logic of your circumstances.

Look at your life through the mirror of God’s word 
Look at your life and circumstances through the mirror of the truth of God’s word. What does God’s word say about you?

It says that it shall be well with the righteous; it says that weeping may endure for a night but joys is coming in the morning; It says that many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivers him out of them all; it says that God will not leave or forsake those who are His; it says that God is able to make way where there is no way for those that trust in Him; it says that to him that believes, all things are possible … and so on.

With all such wonderful promises there for you, there is no reason to despair. Stand on God’s word and keep on believing and trusting Him. He will turn things around for you. God is never too late and there is nothing impossible for Him.

Activate these wonderful promises and let them begin, to work for you. How do you do that? By meditating on them and speaking them forth by faith into your life and circumstances.

Therefore, be careful what thoughts you allow to stay on your mind. If they are negative, discouraging and depressing thoughts, (no matter how logical they may be, ) reject them outright – do not dwell on them and don’t let them come out of your mouth.

What if you don’t have what it takes?
Born again Christians can fight negative thoughts with their faith, with the wonderful promises of God word and through the help of the Holy Spirit.

But if you are not a Christian, when these negative thoughts invade your mind, you are helpless to counter them. That is often the time some people go and get drunk or begin to smoke substances intended to help them overcome the problem. Some even contemplate suicide at such times.

If this is talking about you, I am happy to let you know that there is help for you. All you need to do is commit your life to the Lord Jesus Christ and He will come into your life. Click here to find out how.

When that happens, you are put in a position to counteract and overcome such negative invasions on your mind and be able to say no the the death warrant the enemy wants to trick you to sign.

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BUY NOW, PAY LATER

(But what if you’re unable to pay?)
By Pastor Vincent Imwensi

The concept of “buy now, pay later” is a popular one here in the United Kingdom with a lot of big stores.
And especially in this Christmas season with all the buying and buying everywhere, many are finding such offers too good to refuse.
I believe it is the same in other countries and many big cities around the world as well.

This arrangement is often associated with high value items. By it, you are able to walk into a store, buy the item you want even if you don’t have the money to pay immediately.

With a simple agreement which you will sign, you are allowed to go home with the item provided your credit check as well as a few other inquiries are satisfactory.

You will be required to pay for the item (interest free) on or before the expiration of a given period of time (for instance, it may be six, nine or twelve months, etc).

buy_now_pay_ later2

A Brilliant Idea
This system has a lot of merits and in many ways, makes life easier. Last year for instance, I purchased an item under this arrangement and before the given time period expired, I called up the finance company and paid in full over the telephone.
The whole thing felt so smooth and easy as I was allowed the needed time to manage my cash flow to accommodate the expense.

But There Is Another Side To It
As good as it sounds, it has an ugly side – that is where a buyer fails to pay up within the specified time.

If that happens, the finance company (that underwrote the cost of the item you purchased) will immediately launch you into an instalment repayment plan spanning a number of years at the end of which you would have paid twice (and sometimes, three times) more than the original cost of the item.

If you default with the instalment repayment, then the whole thing will compound and that is when you know you are really in a deep mess. Depending on the value of the item, it can launch a person into a cycle of indebtedness that is difficult to come out of.

So if you are not sure of how to repay when the time comes, (or you know you don’t have the wherewithal to repay) don’t try this – you may be biting more than you can chew!

Having To Pay When The Fun Is Over, Is Not Funny
A more painful scenario is where the repayment comes up after the benefits (or enjoyments) have ceased.

It is like somebody taking a loan to sponsor an expensive holiday. By the time he begins to repay the loan, the holiday has come and gone. And all the fun he had (while on the holiday) is in past tense – the reality that he now faces is the pain of debt repayment which may last up to a year or more.

And it is worse if he does not have the means to meet up with the monthly repayments of the debt.

That Is Exactly What Many Are Doing Without Knowing It
Each time I ponder the fact that a lot of people are living their lives the way they please without regards to where they are going to spend eternity when they leave this world, I can’t help feeling that they are doing “buy now, pay later” with their lives.

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Many are enjoying all sorts of sinful pleasures without regards to the consequences they would face later if they die in their sins.

I know that saying things like this is no longer popular. In fact, it is considered an offence in many quarters including many churches (especially the “socially correct” ones).

But bear with me because this is still the truth according to God’s word.

The Big Question
The Bible tells us that “…it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment.” (Hebrews 9:27)

Many people have persuaded themselves into believing that the Bible is not true and there will be no judgment after this life. Well, let’s not go into any debate over that now.

My question is, SUPPOSING God is actually to judge sin one day…..! I said supposing – even if you don’t believe it, just suppose!

SUPPOSING there’s going to be judgment for every act of ungodliness and sinful pleasures including sexual immorality and perversion, lying, cheating and stealing, blasphemy, hatred and murder, etc ….

Yes, SUPPOSING that is going to be the case just like the Bible says, how well will you fare?

That is to say, when the time comes to repay, can you really pay? And the truth is, no one is without sin – whatever that sin may be.

A Generous Offer To Help You Pay Now
According to God’s word, none of us has what it takes to pay for our sins. The wages of sin is death and we are all guilty!

But God in His marvelous kindness and love sent His own Son, Jesus Christ to come down to this sinful world to die in our stead to take away our sin and the penalty we justly deserve.

All that is left is for us to come to God with a repentant heart, believe in the price that God’s son (Jesus Christ) paid on our behalf, and ask to be forgiven and saved.

God in His mercy has promised in His word that it doesn’t matter how sinful and guilty we have been, if we will do just that, He will accept us, forgive us of our sins and make us His own children.

Or Would You Rather Pay It Later – Yourself?
God’s free offer of salvation is only available while we are alive – it expires the moment a person dies.

Those who reject this gracious offer will have no choice than to face up to the consequences of their own sins before a holy God and they will be required to pay the debt that they have no means or ability to pay.

The result will be an unending (justly deserved) punishment in a place called hell fire.

I know it doesn’t sound exciting and it is certainly not “socially” or “politically correct” but it is the truth of God’s word and no one ought to be ignorant of this truth and impending reality.

Be Smart Dear Friend – Don’t Let It Happen To You!
It is when faced with God’s judgment for a sinful life that many will come to realize that they did not get away with their careless godless living and all the sinful fun they had while on earth.

The Devil has tricked many into a program called “buy now, pay later.”
And many have embraced it, rejecting the truth of God’s word and blatantly indulging in all manner of sinful living.

“Buy now, pay later”?
Don’t do that with your eternal destiny. It is too expensive a proposition to allow.

Accept God’s love for you today and be saved. For more information and help, click here.

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The Dilemma Of love – (part1)

by Pastor Vincent Imwensi

Love is a beautiful thing
Have you ever been in love? I mean romantic love with someone of the opposite sex? I am not talking of infatuation and lust but real sincere love. If you have, you will agree with me that it is a wonderful thing.

To truly love somebody who also loves you with the same or greater intensity is one of the most beautiful experiences known to man. It fills your life with sunshine, your heart with gladness and your mouth with laughter. In fact, it adds meaning to life and makes it worth living.

 I know what it means
By God’s grace, I became a born again Christian early in my life and so the Bible became “a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path”. As a result, I did not dabble much into the quagmire of youthful lusts with all the pains, hurts, heartaches and regrets that often go with it. I saw what happened to some of my colleagues and friends who went out to experiment.

It was not that I did not find the opposite sex attractive or that I was never tempted – of course I was! But I understood from God’s word that I needed to wait until I was ready for true love before venturing into it.

So I waited patiently (while concentrating on my studies) until I was ready to get married and that was when I opened the door. Prayerfully, I went out searching and I found. Yes, I fell in love with someone really special and married my sweetheart.

It has been a number of years since then (well over ten years) and today, we are happier together than we’ve ever been – and I mean that.

To be honest with you, it has not always been a smooth ride. There have been times when it was all so sweet, but also there have been many troubled times when things were rough, when the violent and ugly winds of life’s realities threatened to blow us apart. So I am not a total novice in this department, I have learnt one or two things.

Like a jigsaw puzzle
There is perhaps no other subject on earth today, other than love, which has within it the capacity to generate a combination of opposing extremes.

It can provoke the greatest excitement as well as the deepest disappointment; it can produce sweetness as well as bitterness, goodness as well as wickedness, kindness as well as cruelty, gentleness as well as violence, happiness as well as heartaches …. etc.

Nothing can build as well as love does and yet nothing can destroy more than love when it turns sour. It can bring two total strangers into oneness and bond them together in beautiful harmony but also, it can tear apart bosom friends and make them unforgiving enemies.

It can beam the light of hope and lift up the downcast into a high euphoria of bliss but at the same time, if not handled properly, it can wipe the smile off the face of the happiest person and cast his soul down into the pool of deep despair.

Those who don’t have it wish for it but those who mishandle it wish they never had it. Love is something you can’t satisfactorily live without.

Life without love (not necessarily romantic love) is like an empty shell. But when violated, love can turn into something you want to run from. What a dilemma indeed!

What went wrong with love?
Something is not right somewhere about this love thing. How can the very thing that is supposed to yield so much fulfillment, joy and happiness become the root cause of so much bitterness, wickedness, disappointment and sadness?
Do you know how many people each year pull the trigger or stab with a cruel knife to kill the one they are supposed to love most dearly?

Many reasons may be advanced for this but I believe that the chief cause of love dilemma is because God is left out of it.

Love between man and woman (romantic love) was God’s idea, to begin with. It was God who said it was not good for man to be alone and He created the woman as a result (Gen.2:18-25).

When Adam set his eyes on Eve, it was love at first sight. He was so excited that he constructed a poem right on the spot –
“…This is now bone of my bones,
and flesh of my flesh:
she shall be called Woman,
because she was taken out of Man.
Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother,
and shall cleave unto his wife:
and they shall be one flesh…”

And that melody of love and sweet harmony between Adam and his wife continued until man fell out with God through disobedience.
Sorry if you do not believe the Bible but I do.

It still works today
Letting God into your life and basing your marriage or relationship on His word is the best antidote against “love decay” and the best tonic that can protect your love and keep your love life from turning sour.

Hacking your spouse’s telephone conversations, probing every unfamiliar number that you find on their phone bills or even hiring private detectives to stalk them will not safeguard your love. Look around and you will see that this is true. In fact, more than likely, these actions will bring in the divorce lawyers quicker than anything else.

The reason I don’t cheat on my wife
By God’s grace, I do not cheat on my wife and I am not about to do so. In fact, the mere thought of it is offensive to me.

That is not to say that I am better or stronger than anyone else – not at all.
If you must know, the reason is NOT because I am a disciplined man (with plenty of self-control) or that I do not feel tempted by the opposite sex or that I hold a responsible position as a Pastor or that my wife is so flawless that she doesn’t do things that I hate sometimes or that I don’t want to hurt her feelings – none of those.

Of course, I would hate to purposely do anything that will hurt her feelings but there is a way a man’s weakness can get hold of him that he ends up doing weird things without caring about who gets hurt and who doesn’t. That is the naked truth.

The reason I don’t cheat on my wife is because of my relationship with God through faith in Christ Jesus. To me, this is a very real thing. This relationship has brought into my life the fear of God, the ability to overcome temptations and personal weaknesses as well as the consciousness of His indwelling presence.

Even behind closed doors in a remote hotel, God’s presence is there. How can you then do what He calls abomination right before His watching eyes? Such a wonderful consciousness makes it hard to do some ugly stuff. Every truly born again Christian committed to walking with God can testify to these blessed realities in their lives.

You don’t know what you are missing!
People don’t know what they miss when they live their lives based on their own humanistic ideologies without God. A living relationship with the almighty God is not only life-changing, it is exciting and with many advantages including where love is concerned.

I am not talking of dead religiosity here – I am talking of a living relationship with God (by faith in Christ Jesus) that satisfies the deep longings of the human soul.

Dear friend, you need Him more than you do realize and I invite you to open the door of your heart and enter into a wonderful relationship with God. He loves you!  Click here to find out how.

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TAKING CHRIST OUT OF CHRISTmas.

by Pastor Vincent Imwensi

How would you like it to be your birthday and people gather to celebrate it but decide not to allow you into the party? You are locked out and in fact the mere mention of your name, offends some of the celebrants – how would you like that?

Sounds ridiculous, doesn’t it? But that is how a lot of people treat the One whose birth they celebrate during Christmas!

Do you realise that Christmas is actually somebody’s birthday? Yes, it is Jesus Christ’s birthday. Christmas is actually named after Him. Take “Christ” away from “CHRISTmas” and you will see that what is left (“mas”) doesn’t make sense.

Subtle Denials

Yet if you look around, you will see the many subtle ways in which so many people are seeking to take Christ out of Christmas.

For instance, in the United States of America, this season used to be the Christmas season but now that has been changed to the holiday season and the greeting is now “happy holidays” instead of “merry Christmas”.
Why? Because “Christmas” reminds people of Christ and refers to Him (which may offend some people) but “holiday” takes people’s minds away from Him to something totally different. And yet, Christ is the reason for the season.

Maybe it is not politically correct to say “merry Christmas” in nation whose motto is “In God We Trust”. Oh well, who knows, maybe it is not the God of the bible they are referring to after all. To my own mind, this is a crying shame and it is unfortunate.

Even here in London (United Kingdom), you can see the same subtle denial going on in different ways. There used to be Christmas music and songs in the air everywhere you go during the Christmas season. But now it has turned to “silent Christmas”.

Go to the shops, you will see people, busy as bees, buying all sorts for Christmas but not a single word is being said about the One who is the reason for Christmas – Christmas songs are no more.

In fact, in many shops and super malls, you don’t even see Christmas greetings anywhere!
And yet someone said to me not long ago that the United Kingdom is a “Christian nation”. Hahaha …. really?

The Date Argument
Of course there are people who take great pains and go to great lengths to try to prove that Jesus Christ was not born on the 25th of December. They may or may not be right but that is not the point.

What we celebrate is the very fact that He was born into this world and somehow, the 25th of December has become the preferred day in which His birth is celebrated all over the world.

We are familiar with a situation where somebody’s birthday may be on a Monday but he may not celebrate it until the following Saturday. Is it therefore less of a birthday because he did not mark it on Monday? Of course not.

Therefore Christmas is the celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ. He is the reason for the season.

Jesus Christ – The Gift Of God’s Love

Who is this Jesus Christ and why does the whole world stop to mark His birthday?

The Bible provides clear answers to this question:

“For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord” – Luke 2:11

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life” John 3:16

“Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me” John 14:6

“Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved” Acts 4:12

Jesus Christ is God’s gift of love to a lost and suffering humanity. In Him is our salvation, peace, forgiveness, freedom from sin and it’s consequences, divine favour and the hope of everlasting life. Without Him, we are lost in sin and without hope for all eternity.

He is the greatest gift ever known to man. Haven’t you noticed that during Christmas people give gifts (or presents)? It is because Christmas is about the gift of God – the gift of His love to us in the person of Jesus Christ, the Saviour.

But for any gift offered to you to become yours, you have to receive or accept it. In the same way, to realise the benefit of the greatest gift of Christmas (Jesus Christ), you have to receive Him as your personal Saviour and Lord by a simple act of faith.

Let Him In And Celebrate This Christmas With The Celebrant

So as you prepare for this Christmas, here is a key question: are you going to be celebrating with the Celebrant or without the Celebrant?

He says in His word “Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me” – Rev.3:20

Here, He is talking about the door of your heart. Will you open to Him today? If you would like to do that, here is a simple prayer to help you:

All Mighty God, I thank you for the gift of your love – Jesus Christ. Today, I open the door of my heart and invite Jesus Christ into my heart to be my Saviour and Lord.

I repent of my sins and ask you to please forgive me. By faith, I welcome Jesus Christ into my life right now and I receive the gift of eternal life, in Jesus’ name, amen.

If you prayed the above prayer committing your life to Christ, I say congratulations. Now you will see the difference it makes when you celebrate Christmas with the Celebrant – Jesus Christ, our Saviour.

Click here for further information and to access very helpful faith building materials, free of charge.

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