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When Will We Meet Again?

November 30, 2016 by Anna Mangeni

“Do not let your heart be troubled; [a]believe in God, believe also in Me. 2 In My Father’s house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you. 3 If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also.”  John 14:1-3

I grew up knowing death as long as I can remember.  I lost my mother when I was four years old.  I have vivid memories of my mother, including her illness that eventually took her life.  My childhood was impacted by my mother’s absence.  At a young age I had to come to terms with life and death.  As I grew up I lost several relatives, including my sister who was 17 at the time of her death.  I know death all too well.

As a pastor there are times I am called to comfort those that have lost a loved one, and it is not an easy thing to do.  It is especially difficult in those moments that you prayed, had faith and hope for a loved one’s healing, only to see them eventually lose their battle to death.  Death is never easy because it always seems a life ended too soon.  We are left with the question “Why God Why?”

As I pastor people in times of a loved one’s death that question comes up.  It is difficult to answer.  At times, there is no answer nor explanation given by God.  Just recently I learned of someone’s death that we believed would be healed of cancer.  We knew God would heal and it was His will to heal.  At one point we were celebrating the news that the cancer was gone, only to learn later that it had come back spreading throughout the body.  Still you hope in miracles and you know God is able and willing to heal.  However, when the healing does not come, it is easy to question our faith.  Did we believe hard enough?  Did we doubt God?  Was it God’s will to heal?  Why did this person die?

As I pondered these questions the Holy Spirit reminded me of our faith in Jesus Christ.  The foundation of our faith is that one day we will see Jesus face to face.  That faith in Jesus exceeds all other acts of faith.  Salvation is the greatest miracle because a person that is saved is someone who was once dead and now is alive in Christ for all eternity.  Those that have put their faith in Jesus Christ have eternal life.  Death cannot hold them; when they are absent from the body, they are present with the Lord.  That is our faith.  So when a loved one dies in the Lord, they are with Him.  They experience the evidence of their faith.

Jesus told the disciples that He was going away and would prepare a place for them, for all of us.  He promised to come again but His ultimate promise was that He would receive us and we would be where He is.

We cannot fully comprehend eternity because we live in such a temporal world and are governed by time and space.  We experience life, sickness, disease, tragedies, and eventually death in this world.  Yet in heaven there is none of this and they are not governed by time and space.  So we have to rejoice when a loved one in Christ dies because they get to be where He is and stay.  They have received the full promise of God.

Still this may not bring us great comfort since we will no longer see our loved one.  We wonder “when will we meet again?”  So we mourn for our loved ones, we mourn with those that are mourning.  Soon our mourning will turn to joy.  We will meet again.

If you are reading this and you are not sure if you are going to spend eternity with Jesus then you can ask Jesus to come into your heart.  The bible says that whoever calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved (Romans 10:9).  Jesus died and rose again so that we could be reconciled with the Father and have eternal life.  It is available to all.  You don’t have to wonder where you will spend eternity once your life is surrendered to Jesus Christ.  He has gone and is preparing a place for us.  He will come again.  For those of us still left on this earth, let us continue to occupy until Jesus’ returns.  That is what our faith is all about, seeing Jesus face to face and living with Him for all of eternity.  In the meantime let us keep healing the sick, raising the dead, expanding the Kingdom of God on the earth – be SALT and LIGHT.

For this [s]perishable must put on [t]the imperishable, and this mortal must put on immortality. 54 But when this [u]perishable will have put on [v]the imperishable, and this mortal will have put on immortality, then will come about the saying that is written, “Death is swallowed up in victory. 55 O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?” 56 The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law; 57 but thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. 1 Corinthians 15: 53-57

Posted in Faith, God's Glory, Healing, Heaven, Jesus, Salvation, The Righteous |

Evil vs Good: The Battle for America

October 24, 2016 by Anna Mangeni

“For I have no pleasure in the death of anyone who dies,” declares the Lord G OD. “Therefore, repent and live.””

‭‭Ezekiel‬ ‭18:32‬ ‭NASB

I have decided to read a few articles and reasoning(s) why some Christians are voting for Trump and why others are for Clinton. I have also prayed for months about this election and sought God’s heart. What troubles me most are not the candidates—God humbled even the most evil King Nebuchadnezzar; in the end God always gets His way.
What troubles me the most is the hatred, fear and anger that has come from Christians on both sides. Then it seems like we have justified our beliefs by bringing in God’s name and giving “prophetic” words about the outcome. Yet we have failed to display the heart of God in light of all that is going on in this world including all the injustices being experienced. Satan has controlled the narrative in the media on both sides in that God has no plan and God does not care.
I am referring to those who have experienced racial injustice, violence, sexual assault, fear of our police and so many who have faced tragedy this past year. We have not displayed God’s heart for the poor, the brokenhearted, the oppressed, and hopeless ones. So many have been looking for answers from the “church” in regards to these topics, but have not heard God’s plan. Why, because we are actually arguing about which of the two candidates is going to save our nation. We have not displayed the heart or plan of God for this nation. We have fed into Satan’s lie and the world he wants is full of fear, hatred, division and eventually our destruction. This is what grieves me and has me laying my face before God thinking and saying: it feels like the enemy is winning.
As I have prayed I keep hearing the following truths:

• God loves His creation and He takes no pleasure in seeing the wicked destroyed. • God loves this nation and has great plans for us to help transform the world.
• God wants unity because we cannot defeat our enemies if we are divided. • God is in the process of healing this nation, but the things that have festered for so long and have sickened this nation are being exposed so they can be dealt with by God.
• God has great plans and strategies to reveal to His children for the healing and prosperity of our nation.
• God wants to reveal Himself through His kids by His way of LOVE. • God wants to be reconciled to His creation because every person was created in His image and He wants them to know their true identity.
• Finally God wants to see this nation stand on the His foundation of Righteousness and Justice, the two are dependent on each other—you cannot choose one and leave out the other.

I would like to encourage all my brothers and sisters in Christ to seek God’s heart and His character. Let’s all pray from God’s vantage point and not ours. In other words we should ask God to deal with our nation according to His loving-kindness and mercy, not based on what we have done.
As far as this election is concerned love will be the winner. We may argue and disagree about the better candidate, but love is greater and I refuse to give into fear and hate; plus we have a lot of work to do and we need to work together advancing the Kingdom of God.

I am so confident that He who begun a great work in us will bring it to completion until the day of Jesus Christ. Philippians 1:6

Posted in Uncategorized |

What Did God Say?

August 12, 2014 by Anna Mangeni

15 Then the LORD said to Moses, “Why are you crying out to me? Tell the Israelites to move on. 16 Raise your staff and stretch out your hand over the sea to divide the water so that the Israelites can go through the sea on dry ground. Exodus 14: 15-16 NIV

When Moses had led the Israelites out of Egypt, God had instructed Moses to go a certain way. God told Moses that He would harden Pharaoh’s heart and he would pursue the Israelites. God wanted to demonstrate His power and glory so that all of Egypt would know He was God. God had a specific route for the Israelites to travel and had made provision for their journey.

As Israel was being led by Moses they saw the Red Sea before them and the Egyptians pursuing them they cried out to God and then complained to Moses that he brought them to the desert to die. They said Moses should have left them in Egypt to be slaves. All Israel could see was that there was no way out. They didn’t see how they could change their situation. Then God asked Moses “Why are you crying out to me?” God told Moses to tell the Israelites to move on for they were going to cross the Red Sea on dry ground and God would have the Egyptians go in after them and God would be honored through Pharaoh, his army and chariots. That way all of Egypt would know the God of Israel was The Lord.

How many of us find ourselves in a situation where we see our enemy pursuing us on one side and the Red Sea in front of us. It would be very easy to accept our situation and simply resign ourselves to an attitude “It is what it is.” Many times we say that we want God to help us accept situations we cannot change. But what has God said about your situation?

Nothing is impossible for God. Every person, situation and circumstance should be surrendered to God. We should go by what God says, He should have the final say.

Many times when we face impossible situations or circumstance we do not control or cannot change we say things that actually disguise our unbelief. The Israelites didn’t need to cry out to God or stop and pray about the situation because God had already instructed them what to do. They just needed to believe that God would deliver them from the Egyptians and lead them out of the desert to the land of promise. That is what God wanted. God just wanted Israel to believe and follow Him.

So what report have you received? Who has left you or rejected you? What are you facing that seems impossible or incapable of changing? Let God have the final say. Believe and don’t doubt. Whatever you are facing or wHatever is behind you, God will cause it to work out for your best. So next time just ask yourself “What did God say?”

Posted in The Father, The Word |

“It Is What It Is”

August 2, 2014 by Anna Mangeni

How blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob, Whose hope is in the Lord his God,

Psalms 146:5 (NASB)

People love to say “It is what it is.” Usually I hear people say it when they are referring to a situation they cannot change. It is their way of declaring their acceptance. For me I hate the statement. It has become too commonplace in our speech. It is a statement shrouded in helplessness. We are not helpless.

The bible teaches us that our words have power. We can speak life or death into any situation. What we speak comes from our hearts. We must be careful what we say. The tongue can be dangerous. The tongue can heal. We can change our situation by what we say.

“It is what it is,” speaks something. The phrase has power. I saw a picture of the phrase on Facebook, and the person who posted it said it was wisdom. It is not a wise statement. It can have various meaning such as “who cares” or “things won’t change so deal with it.” It leaves a person feeling helpless. Whenever I hear people say it I hear the defeat in their voice.

We must guard our mouths. When we feel helpless or we find ourselves in a situation we cannot change, we can cry out to The Lord. No situation is impossible for God. He makes all things work for our good. God cares about every detail in our lives. No problem is too small or too big. God can and will work it out.

No matter what life throws our way, God is still God. It is what it is.

Posted in Peace, The Father, The Righteous, The Word, Uncategorized, Wisdom |

Pursue Wisdom!

October 10, 2013 by Anna Mangeni

 “I directed my mind to know, to investigate and to seek wisdom and an explanation, and to know the evil of folly and the foolishness of madness.” Ecclesiastes 7:25

“Pursue Wisdom!” that is what I heard God say to me.  A few months ago I was at an impasse in my walk with God.  I was not sure which direction I should go.  I serve as an associate pastor at my church; I also work there and have a ministry.  However, I felt I lacked direction for my own self.  So I began to pursue wisdom and what a journey it has been.

As I have pursued wisdom I have become more aware of foolishness.  Foolishness is really maddening and I see the evil of folly.  Most importantly I am discovering the value of wisdom and why God expects us to walk wisely.

I have not sought man’s wisdom but God’s.  There is a difference.  I am discovering that many things we do and believe in the world and think is wisdom is actually foolishness to God.

My pursuit of wisdom has not made me smarter; it has made me more sensitive to the nature of God and the schemes of the devil.  I have discovered a righteousness that exist in wisdom and noticed evil that lies in folly.

Too often we look at foolishness as someone or something that may be slow or dim witted.  In the bible foolishness is rooted in wickedness.  The contrast of wisdom and folly is actually the contrast between the upright and the wicked.

I am enjoying my pursuit but it does come with a cost.  The word is a two edged sword and my pursuit of wisdom has caused me to discover the folly in my life.  I am actually examining my own heart.  Anything that God gives us comes with great responsibility.

My pursuit of wisdom has demanded that I walk in it.  God help me.  To ignore wisdom at this point is the most foolish thing I could do.

Posted in Wisdom |

What Pleases God?

October 8, 2013 by Anna Mangeni

“And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him.” Hebrews 11:6

I am sure that every believer wants to please God.  Of course we want to please our Father.  Many of us strive to please God.  We may think doing certain acts makes God happy.  God does love to spend time with us.  He wants us to walk upright before Him.  The thing that brings God pleasure though is our faith in Him.

Many believers are satisfied in their faith for salvation or that God will take care of them.  But I believe God is really pleased when we put our absolute faith in Him.

Abraham had faith in God.  God told him to leave his country and family and go to the place God would show him.  Abraham listened and obeyed God.  That is good faith.  God did not stop there.  He made Abraham a promise, God told Abraham something that was impossible but Abraham believed God.  God promised that Abraham’s descendents would number the sands on the sea shore.  This seemed impossible because Abraham and his wife Sarah were old and beyond child bearing age.  However, Abraham believed God.  That pleased God.

God doesn’t want us to simply have faith for things like our basic needs.  Jesus told us that God would take care of that because He created us; look at how God cares for the birds.  God wants us to have faith for those things which are impossible with man but made possible with God.

God wants us to believe that He will do what He says.  That He is a keeper of His promises.  He wants us to believe that when we come to Him He will give us what we ask for but mostly that we believe that He is who He says He is.

God wants us to believe that He will heal our diseases because He is a Healer.  God wants us to believe that He will bless us because He has promised to bless us when we obey His commands.  God wants us to have faith that we will prosper because God is our provider.

Many believe that sin displeases God.  God hates sin but Jesus paid the price for sin.  Our sin was settled on the cross.  What brings God displeasure is our doubt.  Without faith it is impossible to please God.  Imagine if Abraham had doubted God’s word and said it would never come to pass.  What kind of relationship would Abraham have had with God?  Even though Abraham obeyed God it was His faith that pleased God and was counted as righteousness.

Whenever we see God in pain in the bible it is because His people refused to believe in Him.  He was in pain when Israel built the golden calf.  He was hurt when Israel cried out for a king like the other nations of the world.  God saw generations of men in Israel die because they doubted God.  Now it pains God when men reject His Son Jesus and refuse to believe in Him.  Without faith it is impossible to please God.

Faith pleases God.  He takes great pleasure in our belief that He is and a rewarder of those who seek Him.  So when God says He will take care of all your needs and wants believe Him.  When He says He will heal all your diseases trust in His word.  When God says He loves you don’t doubt it.  Have faith in God.

Posted in Faith, Knowing God, The Father, Uncategorized |

Happy New Day!

January 1, 2013 by Anna Mangeni

The Lord’s lovingkindnessesindeed never cease,
For His compassions never fail.
They are new every morning;
Great is Your faithfulness.  Lamentations 3:22-23

Happy New Year!  I was reflecting how excited we get on the last day of the year.  We are ready to put the year behind us and have such hope for the New Year.  We celebrate when the New Year comes.  It’s like a new beginning for us.

We should treat each day like that.  God does.  The bible says that every morning His compassions are new.  They never cease.  God does not dwell on the day before or the day ahead.  Each day is a new day with so many possibilities.  How different would our lives be if we approached every new day the way we approach the New Year.  Each day can be a new beginning, putting behind us yesterday and not worrying about tomorrow.  Let’s make the most out of each day.  Imagine what we could do with 365 days.  Each day would be an opportunity to improve on the day before, to learn from our mistakes, to make right what has been wrong in our lives.  Each day is precious let’s not waste one day.

Remember that we are precious to God and He is faithful every day of our lives.  His love, mercy and patience never run out.  For God each day is a brand new day to begin again and start anew.  So let’s stop looking at our lives through the lens of years but one day at a time for we do not know what tomorrow may bring.

Happy New Year and Happy New Day!

Posted in Peace, The Father |

The Weary World Rejoices

December 26, 2012 by Anna Mangeni

Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful. John 14:27

Our nation has been so weary these past couple of months, with natural disasters and people losing their homes and businesses, and mass shootings including elementary school kids losing their lives.  Now we have a looming fiscal cliff that threatens our economy and may plunge us back to a recession.  There are still people that are out of work and barely can make ends meet.  Yet the world rejoices on this day – Christmas.

Christmas is a celebration of Jesus’ birth.  We talk about how Jesus brought peace and love on the earth.  It is celebrated around the world.  It is a time we spend with family, give gifts and try to live in love and at peace.  So when we think of the birth of Jesus we rejoice in spite of what happens we rejoice.

The greatest weapon against the enemy is praise; especially, when you have nothing to praise Jesus about.  Despite the recent tragic events this holiday many family are more grateful and rejoicing over what they do have.  It is during tragedy that we realize what is important and what isn’t.

So we rejoice on this day.  Hopefully you had a wonderful Christmas.  Just remember that Jesus is the reason for the season.  He is our example to live at peace with all men and loving one another.

Posted in Jesus |

A Cry for Justice

December 21, 2012 by Anna Mangeni

When justice is done, it brings joy to the righteous but terror to evildoers. Proverbs 21:15

When tragedy strikes we spend time trying to understand the events and then at some point we try to accept what has happened and hopefully move on sometime in the future. Many question where God is and why do such horrible things happen to good people especially innocent ones like children.  Somehow we have to come to accept the tragic events that take place and live with the reality of what has happened and just hope it doesn’t happen again.  We pray for the comfort of those that have lost their loved ones and pray it doesn’t happen again.  But how can we cope?  How can we move on when a senseless tragic act has taken place?

Last Friday was such an event.  In Newtown, CT an armed gunman went in killing 26 people at the school including 20 children.  He killed his mother and at the end killed himself.  Those that are involved are gone.  So who do we hold accountable?  How can justice be served?  Do we just accept what has happened and try to move on?  This community, this town, the families, even our nation will never be the same.

What aches in the hearts of these families and each of us is a cry for justice.  We want justice for every life that was lost and every one that was terrorized by these events.  It gives us no comfort in knowing the gunman is dead.  He will never have to face the grief of the families or feel the shame of what he has done.  The families need justice, we cry for justice.

God is a lover of justice.  He is just.  He does not look the other way, or ignore our plights.  We must cry out to God for justice.  We must ask God to restore and repay to these families, community, and others everything that they lost.  We cannot be satisfied with simply accepting what has happened and move on.  Deep down we want justice; we will never be satisfied until justice is served.

That has been my cry to God this past week for justice.  I know God will comfort those families and I will hold them in prayer.  But I want to see justice given to them.  I want the enemy of this earth to pay back everything that was stolen from Newtown including the innocence that was lost last Friday.

I trust God knows what justice is and what justice looks like.  I really don’t know but God does so I ask for justice.  God please give us justice.

Even though this act was committed by one man, we know that the enemy prowls around like a roaring lion seeking whom he can devour.  Jesus described the devil as one that kills, steals and destroys.  Satan is the father of evil and he has shown that nothing is sacred including our children.  Evil visited Newtown last Friday disguised in the form of a lone gunman, but evil none the less murdered those children and adults last Friday.  So we ask God for justice to put an end to the tactics and role of the enemy.  That evil not have the final say in these peoples’ lives but that in the end justice and love will prevail.  We will not bow down to fear and evil but we celebrate the love, unity and peace that are within us and from God.

So God please give us justice – vengeance belongs to you.

Posted in God's Glory, Peace, Prayer, Satan, Sin |

Are We Jonah?

November 8, 2012 by Anna Mangeni

But to Jonah this seemed very wrong, and he became angry. 2 He prayed to the Lord, “Isn’t this what I said, Lord, when I was still at home? That is what I tried to forestall by fleeing to Tarshish. I knew that you are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abounding in love, a God who relents from sending calamity. 3 Now, Lord, take away my life, for it is better for me to die than to live.”

4 But the Lord replied, “Is it right for you to be angry?” Jonah 4: 1-4 NIV

God told Jonah to preach to Nineveh about their wickedness and their coming destruction.  At first Jonah did not listen and he fled to Tarshish.  He was on a boat and a storm arose and he was tossed into the sea and swallowed by a giant fish.  Jonah finally obeyed God and went to Nineveh to tell them about their wickedness and their destruction.  But Nineveh decided to turn from their wickedness, and repent of their sins.  Even the King entered a decree that the people give up their evil ways and turn to God.  So when God saw what Nineveh did, He relented and decided not to bring judgment on Nineveh.  This angered Jonah and he went away with that anger still in him.

There are many Christians who are upset at the direction our nation is going and based on this week’s election results many have concluded that are nation is headed to destruction.  We have fasted and prayed yet God has said to us “go and make disciples.”  For decades we have said and done this.  When the nation took out bibles and prayer in schools we said destruction would come we prayed and God told us to disciple the nation.  But we just stayed in our pulpits and pews and pronounced the nation was headed in the wrong direction.  When sexual immorality became the norm in our society; we fasted and we prayed and God told us to disciple the nation but we returned to our churches grumbling and complaining.

As more and more officials were elected and brought more liberal ideas and policies, we griped and complained but we still didn’t heed the voice of God who told us to go and make disciples of this nation.  Instead we seem content to just tell the people because of their wickedness this nation is headed for destruction.

Are we like Jonah?  Do we fear that if we preach the Good news, disciple the people that God will relent and save this nation? Because deep down we know that God is slow to anger and abounding in love. When will we as Christians rise up and repent of our disobedience to the great commission given to us by Jesus to go and make disciples of all nations especially our own; baptizing them, healing them of all their diseases and loving them instead of condemning them to destruction.

Jonah was angry that God relented.  He thought the people of Nineveh deserved to be destroyed because they were so wicked.  He questioned in the bitterness of his soul – Why should they be given another chance for God’s mercy?  Jonah didn’t want to see Nineveh repent.  Are we like Jonah?

God’s response to Jonah was “And should I not have concern for the great city of Nineveh, in which there are more than a hundred and twenty thousand people who cannot tell their right hand from their left—and also many animals?” Jonah 4:11

God has great concern for the United States of America He wants to heal our land and change it for good.  He has directed His people to go and disciple the people of the nation.  When we do this they will turn to God and desire the things of God.  They will no longer seek those things out that are evil but call upon the Lord for salvation.  If the people change so will our government and their hearts will be turned to God.

The law cannot save.  We cannot expect our government to enact laws that will cause this nation to turn back to God.  Instead we have to humble ourselves and do what God has commissioned us to do.  We must remember that the Holy Spirit will convict men of their sin and turn them to Jesus.  We must be that light and proclaim the word of God in our towns and cities throughout this nation.  One man was able to speak a word from God and the entire city repented and turned to God.  How much more can the people of God do today under the power of the Holy Spirit?

So let’s not focus on the law or grumble about the state of our government.  Instead let’s save the people and heal their broken hearts.  They are longing for the truth and the light of God.  Everything we do we must do out of love and not judgment and pride.  We must deem them higher than we deem ourselves.

Posted in government, Love, Salvation, The Body, The Righteous, The Word | Tagged , , |

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