DECRYSTALIFE

' Secret sin', a dilemma of many born-again Christians. It is secret in the eyes of men but God sees it all. One minute you are on fire for God and before you know it, you are back to ground zero. Just like 'a dog going back to its vomit' (read my post on this). Am talking  about the secret sin that you are secretly enjoying, the one that prinks you, fills you with so much guilt and your conscience won't let you rest. The one that makes us ask ourselves "how will I start praying to my God now that have done this ". Well,  He said we should come come boldly to the throne of grace asking for mercy. Many of us are struggling with one secret sin or more. We have tried to quit on our own. Maybe it's draining our health, stealing your Joy and relationship with God, causing issues in your home, workplace, marriage or financially. The solutions to these 'secret sin' from a personal view are: - Ask for the help of the Holy Spirit. - F

The past few weeks have been the happiest, fulfilling, gratifying and joyful days of my life. Why? My bundle of' Joy Overflow' arrived. After being married, typically people will start counting months for you. "she is not yet pregnant? " It will increase to the question being asked to your face. Well, I had this experience I got married in 2015 and I was already worked up on not being pregnant. Went for medical checkup; it was fine. Then I began to have strange dreams. That's when I knew there was a spiritual battle on my being fruitful. I began to engage in the word of God about fruitfulness. Declaring and praying on them: 1 Timothy 2:15, Exodus 23:26, Psalms 113:9, Psalms 128:3, Malachi 3:10-11 among others. I read books too. Like 'You Shall not be Barren' by Pastor Faith Oyedepo and 'Supernatural Childbirth' by Jackie Mize I read this books over and over again. Practically digested them. My Mum called me one day and shared this

Smith Wigglesworth, born June 10, 1859 in Menston, Yorkshire, England. He got born-again at the age of eight. He married Polly Featherstone on May 2 , 1882. She was a Salvation Army preacher. Blessed with a daughter and four sons. Being an illiterate, Smith learnt how to read through the tutoring of his wife, who taught him how to read the Bible. Smith received baptism of the Holy Ghost with evidence of speaking in tougues by the laying on of hands from Mary Boddy.  He had his ministerial credentials from the Assemblies of God in the United States. Smith's ministry was based on healing through faith. He practiced laying on of hands, anointing with oil and the use of Mantle (prayer handkerchiefs) He acknowledged that his ministerial success was due to the help of the Holy Ghost.  A man used tremendously by God; without any form of education.  God used him to heal hundreds of illnesses and diseases.  He was even healed of hemorrhoids that affli

King Hezekiah was sick and he recovered from the sickness through God's mercy (Isaiah 38). Merodach, King of Babylon heard of his recovery, sent letters and a present to Hezekiah (Isaiah 39) He didn't even come on his own but sent messengers to deliver his letters and present. Hezekiah being happy of what he has received showed them all God has blessed him with; everything. What an action! Well, maybe he did it with an open heart or to show off; I do not know. But, God sent Prophet Isaiah to him, telling him that his action has cost him peace in his kingdom. There is a great lesson to be learnt here. The lesson of learning to keep our blessings, testimonies, breakthroughs, future plans, journey to be undertaken, issues of life etc to ourselves. Not everyone should know certain things about you; most times its not even necessary for anyone to know. Why broadcast yourself? We should learn to control our mouth; don't just talk carelessly. Someone might pi

It all started on a Wednesday morning. I had woken up early and got prepared for CDS ( Community Development Service). Actually, that day there was no  CDS meeting; we were to go to Iticth (a community far away from my Place of Primary Assignment) for clearance. I got ready on time, stepped out in my NYSC outfit that I was so proud of. The idea that morning (as usual) was to stand by the road side with the hope of getting a lift for my friend Ben ( not real name) and I . I did not spend up to a minute by the road when this black Camry ('Big for nothing' as its generally called) pulled over. The driver offered to give me a lift; of course that's what I was looking out for. So I jumped at the offer. But, I didn't forget  to tell him that Ben would be coming along if he (the driver) didn't mind. He shrugged and said "no problem". Ben, who was just coming out of our flat, was surprised I had already nailed a lift, in a car for that matter (we served i

I was reading through John chapter 2, verses 14 to 16 spoke of Jesus chasing the sellers out of the temple. Now, I have read and heard this story so many times. But, it ministered to me in a different dimension. Let's look at this story; asking ourselves this question. Jesus was known for teaching the people the word but this time He didn't teach. Instead, drove them out. Why? The Holy Spirit ministered to my spirit saying "they wouldn't have listened". So, Jesus had to do this differently. Yes!, Jesus would have stood in the temple to teach, admonish that it is not good to turn God's temple into a market place. No one would have listened. He could have resorted to fasting and prayer; no one could've been moved. He didn't pat them on the back saying "oh, you've sold long enough in this temple it's time to move"; not even a bird would have flown away. But, He took a different approach, made a scourge of small cords and

I have had some challenges this past few weeks that really wanted to drain me. I had to really sit my self down and count my blessings; drawing strength from the word of God. My mind reflected on a 72 year old man that had challenges with his health that didn't permit him to urinate. He had to go through surgery to enable him urinate again. The surgery was successful. One of the days while still recuperating at the hospital, his doctor met him crying. He asked him what the issue was: The old man said "in all my 72 years on earth, I have not been grateful to God for always enabling me to urinate freely and unaided. Here I am paying huge amount of money just to urinate. I took my 'little blessings' for granted." Personally, have been blessed. Despite the challenges that come up. I may not be where I want to be right now but am not where I used to be. My past is better than today. You may be on the hospital bed hoping for a miracle and even angry a

Lena Marie Johansson of Sweden was born with no arms, only one developed leg and foot, the other leg was shorter than the other. She is the first child of loving Christian parents. Who were despaired at first by their daughters drastic deformity but learned from the Bible on how to cope and help their handicapped daugther. Lena records in her book 'footnotes:a life without limits' that her parents treated her like every other normal person. She went to church, attended Sunday school classes. She developed her faith in God that she was not a mistake or a circumstance that just happened. Lena learned to use her feet to eat, to carry out basic self functions. She plays the keyboard and has conducted choirs; has a successful professional singing career. She has won swimming competitions and competed in Paralympics in Seoul, Korea. Lena also drives a car with special equipment. In her words "I prefer to rejoice in what I can do - not mourn what I can't."

At almost every point in our lives we seek for absolute peace, calmness and quietness around us. We wish for a place of solace from the storm that is raging; in the midst of it we feel so helpless. Don't be helpless. For storms come to build our faith in God. As a Christian, challenges will come but always remember that God promised to be with you in the midst of trouble and revive you.  Remember His promises concerning that issue. Finding all round peace especially peace of mind has become an unending quest for many. And the way to finding lasting peace is from the WORD OF GOD; the BIBLE. From scriptures, you find words that minister to you personally. This particular scripture holds a formula for peace. I call it a prescription for peace of mind and heart. PHILIPPIANS 4:6-7 "Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with  thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.  And the peace of God, which  passeth all understand

I wouldn't call it a coincidence but in a way it was; for I got to meet 'the woman with the baby again'. You remember the woman with a baby I sighted from my balcony, who was so distorted that I wished I had asked her what troubled her? Well, I met her again. She looked better than last time. Her hair was plainted in a neat weaving, the navy blue gown she wore brought out her beautiful figure. She looked really good. She was the one that actually recognized me and approached with a lovely smile on her face. At first I was taken aback by who could the stranger be. I responded to her greeting and she introduced herself. She said her name is Gloria. She came to the town junction to get baby food. I then asked her the question I wished I had asked her the first time I met her. Why were you looking so haggard, troubled and confused that day? This is her story : She lost her husband four months ago and was buried a month before I met her. She married for onl

As many of you know, David & I celebrated our 1 Year Wedding Anniversary a couple days ago!! So exciting! In honor of that milestone and celebration, I wanted to share with you some of the things I learned my 1st year of marriage. The Little Things Matter I can’t stress this enough! Over the past year I’ve definitely learned how important it is to do sweet little things for my husband. This can be any number of things depending on what you and your spouse like! It can be a sweet text during the day or cooking his favorite meal. You can stop by his work to say hi & make sure you give him a hug and kiss when you both get home. These simple gestures really go a long way. They help your partner feel loved and appreciated and valued. David knows I loveeee flowers! He surprises me with them all the time and they’re always personalized in some way to the types and colors I like. It means a lot to me that he does this because he really pays attention to what I like and goes

I remember most of my children's day celebration vividly like its yesterday. Its always been one of my favourite holiday back then as a child; even now i will definitely stay clued to the television to watch the 'march past' and cultural displays. The 'march past' being one i was always involved in. Putting in all my effort like my life depended on it. Days of rehearsals unending and i being eventually choosed to be infront of the school banner; leading the school to march past the governor of the state or who represents him in the event. My school uniform well ironed with no fault on it, sandals polished with white socks. My hair neatly done that i was always being teased as carrying Christmas tree on my head because of the colourful beads. The 'D' day arrives, 8Am am already at school. Our games master counts the number of children boarding the school bus and we head off to the stadium. The atmosphere is charged up with competitive spirit of

In the year 2006, i took seriously ill in boarding school that i had to be sent home to my mother. Something i didn't really like because of the financial constraints she had; we had to move from one part of the town to another part to enable her pay rent comfortably and reduce some of her expenses. So, i didn't want to increase it for her but all the same i was sent home. I was high with fever that you could feel the heat coming out of my body, headache, body aches and appetite was gone. My mum did all she could for days and nights nothing worked. She prayed; anointed me with oil, feet washing and  used the mantle. Nothing still worked. She resorted to calling her sister and brother in-law who are medical practitioners. They too ran all the test, gave me all forms of medication to atleast bring down my fever but it didnt work. I was weak, no food eaten; surviving on glucose D and ORS (oral rehydration solution). In the pain of it all, God still kept me. Prayers was

I feel so gross. I said that, well thought that, to myself this morning as I looked in the mirror after getting off the scale. I have been practicing that negative self talk for some time now.  I am by no means fat. I have a few extra pounds on me after having my son a year ago. I have been making healthier choices and working out but it’s not going away quickly. It’s discouraging and frustrating and at times, clearly, affects my self esteem. The day didn’t get any better as I got dressed and didn’t like anything I tried on. I pouted before settling on an outfit and heading out the door, my son on my hip. I ran my errands, feeling sorry for myself but not showing it outwardly. Then I hopped on Instagram and saw a picture of Kylie Jenner, posed for some magazine, looking like, well, a model. I thought, Ok, not fair, she had a baby like a few months ago right?! She already looks better then me. Then it hit me, why am I comparing myself to Kylie Jenner? Her body is her job, h

A story is told of a gardener who served in a large estate in northern Italy. The garden was well-groomed and tended to,that visitors came just to see the garden.  On this particular day, the gardener was conducting a visitor through castle and beautiful garden. Lunch time came and the gardener invited the visitor join him and wife. The visitor commended them for the tending to the garden so beautifully. He then asked, "By the way, when was the last time the owner was here?" "About ten years ago." The gardener replied. "Then why do you keep the gardens in such an immaculate, lovely manner?" Asked the visitor. The gardener replied, "Because am expecting him to return."  "Is he coming next week?" The gardener replied, "I don't know when he is coming, but I am expecting him today." The owner of the estate didn't come back that day. And the gardener was still tending to its owners garden. This st

Episode 2. I was still devastated with the thoughts of Ifeoma and my husband David. After I watched the kids sleep, I strolled into the kitchen to make myself a cup of tea. Just after I poured the milk in a mug, I felt someone was in the kitchen too. I looked back, quickly surprised. “Welcome Madam,” she said, almost stuttering. I slowly poured the hot water from the flask into the mug, stirred it a bit and sipped. Then I noticed a protruded stomach, she had tried to cover it with her handbag. “Are you pregnant Ifeoma? you look it.” I asked in a soft tone. Her expression was in earnest. “Yes madam, didn’t pastor tell you? I am pregnant for him, we are expecting a child.” Her voice had a tremor in it, even though her face was bold and firm. Her words were like the score of a sharpened blade across my heart. I sensed the wound gape open even before she’d finished speaking. “You were sleeping with my husband while I was away?” “I am sorry madam, I think pastor is in

That morning, my husband David came to pick me at the airport. He was dry faced and tensed, very unusual. Other times, David would be so excited to come pick me, he would kiss me and hug me passionately, but now, everything became different. “You kept me waiting for hours in there,” I said, gazing angrily at him. “Don’t tell me it’s traffic honey, today is Saturday.” “I am sorry, I had to pick the kids from summer lessons, and then rush to church to counsel a few couples.”He said soothingly. “You now prepare the kids for school, What happened to Ifeoma? She is the kid’s nanny.” “And you are the kids mom!” He screamed suddenly. “You’ve been away from your family for 5months Ekom, the kids don’t even talk about you anymore.” David deliberately slowed his breathing in a bid to calm himself down. I was silent for a while. My lips quivered, but David ignored that he saw tears glistening in my eyes. Catching his eyes as he tried to look at me, I sensed a shiver of unease goes

image source: Google Have you ever read in the Bible about the man with six fingers and six toes? I bet you haven't. Now, he was from the family of giants; probably between 7 feet (2.13cm) and 9 feet (2.72cm) in height. He fought many wars with the children of Israel. 2 SAMUEL 21:20 And there was yet a battle in Gath, where was a man of  great  stature, that had on every hand six fingers, and on every foot six toes , four and twenty in number; and he also was born to the giant. Much hasn't been recorded of him in the Bible but we can find him being mentioned again in 1 Chronicles 20:6.  Scientifically, the unique condition he had is called polydactyly. According to Wikipedia, its defined: Polydactyly  or  polydactylism  (from  Greek   πολύς   (polys) , meaning 'many', and δάκτυλος (daktylos) , meaning 'finger'), [1]  also known as  hyperdactyly , is a  congenital physical anomaly  in humans  and animals resulting in  supernumerary  finger