THE CHRISTIAN GAMBLER

Part 5

Consequences!

I was reminded that I was owing my girlfriend ₦15,000 (which I had wasted on betting). Now I was broke! I was also reminded of the word, “She will cause you pain.”

My shop rent had expired as well and I managed to raise about ₦10,000 from someone who was owing me so I could give it to the landlord to hold on to. After I collected the money, I sat down and thought, “If I play this money, I can make
₦30,000.” Another thought came, “If you lose, the money is gone!” I decided quickly to just go to the landlord and give him the money with a promise to give him the balance later. I however resolved that if he didn’t accept the money, then I would use it to play the game.
When I went to see the landlord, he didn’t even allow me finish talking before he took the money from me, and so I returned to the shop. Time passed and I couldn’t raise more money, so the landlord gave me a three month notice to leave his building.

I didn’t have any money anymore. I tried several times to stop betting, and I had 'made up my mind' countless times too, but each time a little money came into my hands, I was there in the bet shop playing it away. I would initially make some money from the game, but shortly after, I would lose it all. Betting literally dried me up. The landlord of the house I was living in was on my neck shortly after. I knew I couldn’t go back to the village, so I decided to go and live with my cousin who was a politician, even though I didn’t like living with people.

In 2017, I met one of the sisters in God's Lighthouse when she was walking on the street to her house. My intention was to be her friend since she was a beautiful girl, so I went up and walked with her. When she got to the gate of the compound she was to enter, she told me she was stopping there. I told her I had noticed many young people enter and come out of that compound and asked what was happening there. She told me it was a church meeting and invited me. I told her I would attend “one of these days.”

Flickers Of Hope

Coincidentally, the day I attended was the week a retreat was going on. When I entered the building, I saw people praying, and some of them were laying hands on each other. I was folding my hands, standing and looking around. I wanted to be sure it wasn’t a 'familiar spirit' as I called it, causing them to do funny things. The next day, I came again and as I was seated there, the Pastor came up. I heard him say things that I hadn’t heard in a long time. The message touched me. When I got home, I asked myself, “Do people still preach these kinds of words?” I began to look at my life and all that had happened. I repented sincerely and asked God to help me stop my lifestyle of betting, baptize me, and fill my heart again.

I attended the meetings till the end of the retreat and then I stopped. I just decided to stay back and concentrate more on my [former] church group. I stopped betting for two weeks but found myself going back after that. I was also planning to reopen my shop, but I couldn’t due to a lack of funds. Then I remembered that during the period of the retreat, I had started reading my Bible again and I had a good fellowship with the Holy Spirit. But when I stopped attending the meetings, I began to feel lazy to read my Bible. I also noticed that any day I didn’t read my Bible or spend time with God, I would fall to the temptation of betting that day. And this time, when I betted, all my predictions came out wrong! I didn't win even one naira, but I still kept playing.

One Friday evening, I had only ₦500, and had planned how to manage it till Monday. But the money got lost on my way back home. I was so sad, and was walking on the street as though I was mentally unsound. When I couldn't take it anymore, I knelt down on the street in desperation and prayed to God to deliver me...

And He heard!

(Cont.d)

Victory, Freedom, Peace

I went back to the sister's church group, and started being more serious with the Bible studies and fellowshipping with the brethren there. I started to obey the things I was being taught. I had a real and rich relationship with the Holy Spirit. Scripture was opening up to me in a whole new way. I became a happier and fulfilled person.

I also learnt about what the Bible says concerning money making, and being diligent in business or work. I can't say exactly when I stopped gambling, but after my desperate prayer on my knees on the street, I gambled a few more times. However, being under the words of God delivered me.
I can now thank God that I passed through all of that 'betting phase' because I can boldly tell someone of my experiences and advise them properly, while now practicing what I say.

I even got to meet someone who had won ₦1.3million from betting, and I asked him "So what did you do with the money?" He had nothing substantial to say about it. In fact, he was sad and told me that he was trying to stop the habit. I tried to talk to him...


Wealth from get-rich-quick schemes quickly disappears; wealth from hard work grows - Proverbs 13:11

- Bro E.E.

To listen to a short clip on gambling, visit the link below: https://t.me/Godslighthouse/334 or https://g-lh.org/snippets

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Two-Faced!

How is it that people can truly or confidently say that God spoke to them? Some say He speaks through dreams and visions - I barely ever had those. Can God talk to people? If so, would He speak to someone as fake and shallow as I was?
This is my story...

Part 1

My Sore History

Externally, I was a church girl, but I was constantly dealing with a lot of issues. I had intense anger problems and would even go as far as breaking bottles. I remember breaking a bottle to stab my brother once. Sexual immorality was also my thing - I was bound. And I could hold grudges. Many times, because of the lack of stability and peace in my heart and life, it felt like I was bipolar or something close to that.

A Cry For Help

I grew up in a Christian home and I have been going to church since I was a child, attending Bible classes, Sunday School and everything in between. Unfortunately, I got introduced into sexual immorality pretty early - in my Junior Secondary school (JSS) 3. It wrecked my mind, affecting me adversely, and I grew up that way. This really got a hook on me. I kept going back. I would pray and say, “God, please help me.”

There were times that I would be in the act and I’d be crying and saying to God, “You know I can’t help myself, You just have to help me.”

Hunger For Righteousness

I could tell people about God. Oh Lord! I could share Christ with others. By the grace of God, I preached to a guy and he gave his life to Christ, and yet in between, I was still dealing with my issues. At home, I lived a different life; I had friends who did not really know me. One would have to get very close to me to know the 'real' me. One could be my friend for years and say, "Ah! That good girl, she sings in the choir," but know nothing else. I’d showcase only the good things about myself.
This double life continued for a good while until sometime around the end of the year 2016.

I began to tell myself that I was a hypocrite, and a hunger for God began to grow within me. Usually, at the end of each year, I would take a piece of paper and write down the things I wanted God to do for me the following year. I remember that my number one request that year [2016, for the year 2017] was: "God, I want to have a very close relationship with You. I want us to be very close, not like I’m doing now where I’ll pray in tongues and still be involved in immorality.” I felt that there was something more, something I was lacking. After writing it, I just kept it somewhere and prayed about it about once or twice.

To be continued...

Part 1 of 3

To read the full story, visit https://g-lh.org/lt02

© God's Lighthouse 2017.

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Two-Faced!

Part 2

Early Stirrings Of The Spirit

After the December break [2016], I still don’t know what moved me to the room that my friend [Ann E.], who is a member of God's Lighthouse, was in. I had just resumed school and that evening, I went to her room, sat down, and this was when I began to ask her if God truly spoke to people.

Ann E. was patient and simply listened to me talk. While speaking with her, I remembered and told her about the only time I think God spoke to me. This was in my 2nd year in the university, when I had fasted, prayed and asked God to speak to me. Unfortunately, after the fast, I didn’t hear anything so I became tired, gave up, and broke the fast. However, on my way to use the convenience, I heard a voice say, “The entrance of thy word giveth light and understanding to the simple.” When I turned around and didn’t find anybody around, I lost the urge to use the convenience as I became scared. I ran back to my room then and met Ann O. and Amaka (my roommates), who were very committed Christians. I asked them for the verse in Scripture where that sentence could be found and they told me it was in Psalms 119:130. When I opened and read it, I was so happy that God had finally spoken to me.

I desired to hear Him more. I desired a life where God was close, and active. A life where I could be free from my bondages.

When I was done talking to her, Ann E. finally responded. She told me about a church group she had recently begun attending and then invited me over. She said, “Do you really want to hear God? Come, you’ll hear God.” So we had a deal that I was going to attend the tarry there that weekend.

However, something happened. There was a guy that I'd had a relationship with in the past, who suddenly called to tell me that he was coming to town. The story is quite long, but in summary, I ended up not going for the tarry and spent the night with the guy. In my mind, I kept praying that Ann E. shouldn’t ask me why I didn’t make it to the tarry anymore. I avoided her so that she wouldn’t see or ask me. After sometime, I asked her about the church group again and she invited me to the Wednesday Bible study. That was how I came to God’s Lighthouse.

To be continued...

Part 2 of 3

To read the full story, visit https://g-lh.org/lt02

© God's Lighthouse 2017.

Two-Faced!

Part 3

All Things Were Made New

When I got here, it felt like God was waiting for me and had been waiting for a very long time because He just hijacked me and said, “No, you’re not going anywhere again." Since then, my life has been transformed. Then, as I started learning from God's words, I started even hearing God speak to me about others. He'll give me words of knowledge for people, like my mum, my friends and a lot of persons. The sexual perversion stopped and it seemed like my old mind was removed and a new one was given to me by God. I really am a new person.

A Whole New World

Before now, I realized that whenever I went home during the holidays, my presence was known by everyone because, I would be angry and scream at my brother at the top of my voice.

When God began to work on me, I realized that during the holidays [in 2017], I didn’t even have the time to be angry. I was so busy studying my Bible, reading a christian book, worshipping and praying.
I remember laying my hands and praying for my mum one day and she fell under the power of God. I was so shocked, I mean, my mum is a Pastor! After the prayer, she sat on her bed, looked at me and said, “My daughter, you’re now an evangelist.”

It has been an amazing ride with God. In the previous church group I was in, whenever we went for evangelism, I only followed them to share tracts because I never knew what to say to the persons we would evangelize to. The urge to talk to anybody about Christ used to come once in a blue moon. Now, I can’t talk to anybody without telling them about Christ. I do not have to force myself to preach to people as words of encouragement and help from Scripture just flows out of my mouth.

Providing Comfort for Others

I thank God because He has used me to comfort others who are and were in the same situation as I was (2 Corinthians 1:3-4). There was a vision I had where I saw a girl in my former church group whom I admired a lot because of her ability to sing. I used to see her as one who was on fire for the Lord, but in my vision, she died. I saw a ball beside her and written on that ball was 'SEXUAL IMMORALITY!' I was shocked when I came out of the vision. However, I waved it aside and thought it was my mind because I didn’t understand how she could be plagued by what I had gone through.

About a month later, I woke up to pray and started praying for her. The vision I had seen about her came back. I prayed and asked God if He was sending me to the girl. By 4am that morning, the girl called me and I said in my heart, “Okay God, so You want me to talk to her." I took the call and she said, “Hi. I haven’t seen you in church in a while. I just called to say ‘hi’ and check up on you.” So, I asked the Holy Spirit what to do next and He led me to go and talk to her. I obeyed and visited her. I began my conversation by asking her, “Are you okay, are you fine?”
She started responding with off-handed remarks, so I asked her directly, “Is there something you’re struggling with?” She kept quiet for a while, then said yes, she was struggling with lust and masturbation. I smiled, told her my story and told her that God could help her also. She was so happy to have finally opened up to somebody. She felt very relieved to talk to someone who wasn’t going to condemn her. I just shared with her and she was very grateful.

Furthermore, I really want to thank God for the fact that I can sit and read my Bible for the whole day without becoming tired.

My life has been rescued from filth! Who would have thought that this was possible?

God is good!

- Sis Q. I.

2020 Update:

Sister Q. I., who is now a lawyer, continues to love and serve God passionately. Walking in grace and the Holy Spirit's power, Sister Q. I has been a blessing to many people around her as she shares God's love and goodness to all she comes across, wherever she finds herself.

She can be reached via email at testifiers@g-lh.org

For more testimonies and life giving truth, visit https://g-lh.org

© God's Lighthouse 2017.

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The Fighter

Part 1

Early Days...

My Pastor’s teaching on being courageous, I must admit, is what has given me the boldness to share my story. Even for this, I am very grateful to God.

Being a Pastor's child, I was encouraged by my dad to read my Bible everyday. He said that if I read at least a chapter a day, it will really help, even in my academics and other areas. I started but got bored along the way so I stopped.

I was always sick as a young child. Once it was so serious that I missed a whole term when I was in JSS 2. My dad was mostly at home with me during this period, so he'd always come to my room with his Bible and teach me. He made reference to the scripture where Jesus told His disciples that the demon from the young boy could only be cast out by prayer and fasting. As a result, we fasted and prayed from 6am-10am. After that, he'd bring his Christian literature from authors like Kenneth Hagin and we'd sit together and read. I wasn't interested in the books read, I just didn't enjoy them but I read with him notwithstanding so that he wouldn't feel bad.

Evils crept in...

From my JSS1-JSS3, I attended a Christian School, so I wasn't really exposed to bad morals. I was a good boy and didn't cause any trouble. The only problem was that I had anger issues and I'd take it out on my sister. I recall once, when I was younger, about 5 years old, I picked up a knife and almost stabbed her. I don't know how I stopped suddenly but I remember my dad disciplining me severely that day. We kept on fighting everyday still. We were like 'cat and dog.'

In SS1, my school was changed. This new school was bad. I had struggled a bit with lust before that time, but it didn't really come up till I resumed the new school in SS1. I tried to date a girl but it didn't work out. So, I just focused on my books in SS1 and excelled.

Because I topped the class at the end of the term, other students in the school started recognizing me. My elder brother who had graduated from the school had a good record too, he was very intelligent as well so they thought I'll do the same thing. They made a lot of appraising comments about me because of that. My house was crowded most of the time with students. We'd play and do other things children did. Nothing really bad happened.

In SS2, the girl I tried to date earlier began to make advances at me. By now, I was no longer interested in dating mostly because my elder brother said it wasn't good. It was kind of funny when I found out later that he was actually in a lot of relationships! He was worse than me (but thank God for finding my brother too!). I became a playboy who wouldn't date, but just stick around girls for pleasure. I broke people's relationships and enjoyed how the girls came to me quickly. This made me have issues with their boyfriends. And when I began JAMB preparatory classes later, I got introduced to more girls and did however i pleased with them.

I stopped studying like I used to and this made my position drop to 3rd in a class I used to top. This was by second term SS2. I gave the excuse that it was normal, and I couldn't take first position all the time. By third term, I had dropped to 5th position.

To be continued...

Part 1 of 6

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The Fighter

Part 2

Exhibiting Brutishness

I had some friends in school who were cultists too, and of course, my parents had no clue about this. Even my school father, I suspect, was a cultist. I remember one time when I did their signature handshake openly, and I almost got the beating of my life.

I guess I was attracted to their lifestyle because I loved fighting. And this love of mine, sadly, couldn't be explained. Anytime someone upset me, I'd want to fight. One time when I was still in SS1, a senior student in SS2 was bullying and giving me sweeping jobs to do. Already, I was exempted from such jobs because of my health issues and the school was well aware, but this senior insisted. We exchanged words for some time and while this was going on, my classmates came and spurred me to fight. My school father showed up also and sat down at a distance. Seeing this encouraged me to stand up to him the more.

Unfortunately, the principal was coming downstairs, and when we saw him, we all calmed down and instead of making the matter worse, I decided to go and sweep. When I was about to sweep the class, the senior student began to say some things (which I can’t recall now) that annoyed me. I took the broom, used it on the floor twice or thrice, I believe (I'm not sure now if I was sweeping the floor or scattering the dirt around), and then walked out on the senior student. He was so furious and was shouting behind me saying I was going to sweep the floor the next day by all means. The next day, I went to school earlier than the senior student and there was no way he could tell me to sweep, and that was the end of the issue.

Well, before the above incident, the senior student and I had had some misunderstandings in the past. There was a time he came to collect my phone in school, since I used to carry it to school then. I gave him my mathematical set saying that the phone was inside. He collected it and when he opened it, he saw nothing. I just stood there laughing at him. Well, just for clarity, one of the reasons I carried my phone to school was because my class teacher told me to (and sometimes, my school father too). I believe this senior student knew this, yet he'd make plans to seize the phone from me and expect me to give him money to redeem it.

I was brutal but didn't show it except someone hurt or wronged me in some way. There was a new guy who came to the school at that time. He was trying to act like he was strong and bad with everyone. Even when I tried to advise him not to advertise himself as a rough boy, he didn't really listen. He annoyed me. He spoke using cultist slangs and I spoke back with the little I knew. This surprised him. We almost got into a fight once outside school because he tried to fight one of my female classmates who I had a crush on. I punched the guy that day and I 'felt' myself [I was proud of what I'd done]. Moments later, some of my classmates began to approach us, shouting, “Who goes there?” They were coming to beat him for trying to fight with their Class Prefect [me] after they heard the noise we had caused. The guy ran into someone’s kitchen which was closeby when he saw them coming and didn’t come out till we left the place after I told my classmates to forget about it.

To be continued...

Part 2 of 6

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©God's Lighthouse 2017.

The Fighter

Part 3

A Chip on My Shoulder

Another incident happened when I was in SS1, but thank God that there was no opportunity for violence. The SS2 students took one of my classmates into their class and started bullying him. This got me and my classmates annoyed so we went to the back of the school and picked up some bottles. While we were going back to the class, the bell for another class (Physics) was rung. Since the majority of us who were planning to fight the SS2 students were science students, hence offering that subject, and the physics teacher was also very strict, we had to go to his class and planned to deal with the SS2 students later. But thank God there was no 'later' because the initial zeal died off, we got distracted, and our classmate was later released.

Sometimes too, I and a few stubborn classmates who were my friends would not go for the closing devotions in school. We preferred to stay in the class and whenever we were almost caught in the class, we would jump a short fence that connected the secondary school with the primary school (the fence separated the secondary school from the primary section). This path took us close to the devotion ground so we could blend in as though we had been there since. Sometimes, we would run from there to the back of the school, where the canteen was, to continue hiding.

I also recall that when I was little, I fought with my childhood friend and his two younger brothers. It was three against one, but I stood my ground. Don’t worry about the winner, we usually reconciled quickly.

I was exposed to a lot of movies too. Now, I understand that movies you watch do lay hands on you, as I've been taught in Believers Bible School in church. I watched a lot of vampire movies and so I wanted to be like them. I think I went online to read about them and all that they could do. It even made me think I loved blood. One time, two people in my class fought, and one was injured. I just stood there frozen, because of the blood I saw. The whole vampire characteristics started to come up as I stood there just watching instead of stopping the fight (I was the Class Prefect then). It was an unusual and strange thing, I wondered why I had such seeming 'high' feeling when I saw blood, even if it was mine.

I left the school in SS2 to another school. I continued the relationship policy of not really dating but hanging around girls for pleasure even though I never slept with any of them because I thought it would mean that I have to commit myself to the relationship.

So, my life in summary was just all about fighting, being a playboy, lusting after people (even those older than I was, like female teachers or Corps Members at school).


To be continued...

Part 3 of 6

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©God's Lighthouse 2017.

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The Fear of The Lord
(Part 1 of 5)

We have to be aware that there's room and access provided for us all. There are things we need to brace ourselves for. There was an opening, and we grabbed the opportunity. While praying, I asked the Lord to leave a blessing behind; we asked for reinforcements, we asked for the Spirit of just men made perfect, our teachers not to be hidden, etc. I've hinted these things in meetings. I don't know if anybody's eyes were open – you may have seen, I was kind of looking around. I was wondering, "Should I...?"
But I felt, "Well, I don't know when we'll have another chance.” Every time things like this happen, there’s an opportunity… Everyone needs to prepare – it’s the Spirit of The Fear of The Lord; please prepare. We really need to prepare with our lives, in our obedience, in our love for God, in our fruit of the Spirit; we need to. If you still have stubborn streaks in you, all that ‘audacity’, I suggest you humble yourself radically. Be a fool for Jesus; be willing to humble yourself radically. Be obedient, not disobedient. Don't know very well that I have told you not to do certain things, and still do them. You want to show you’re vexing? Don't be foolish; it will cost you. That was my hesitation too; I was looking at (these) faces and saying, "Ah, the people here… Is it safe? Are you going to put people in trouble?" It’s not about the falling, that's small. Even then, I was holding back. I still didn't ask some of the things I felt there was an opportunity to ask, and then because I want us to go too, but we'll definitely have meetings where that happens.

You heard someone say Paul came down, and then he said that they should close the hatch, so more things won't come down from heaven. This is not from hell; this is not dark stuff – it’s of the light. But the more they come, with their presence comes (certain things). We have prayed that this place should be a soft and accessible place (that’s when they screamed and fell); a place where the veil is easily parted. "Part the veil!"– that was the trigger.

When the veil is parted, there is gonna be glory; a lot of it shining through, but heaven is pure. We really have to work on being found acceptable at all times. The Lord Jesus is going to appear to His people before He appears to the world. There are going to be lots of revelations of the Lord Jesus. At the same time, lots of darkness and bad stuff is happening, but upon us, His light will shine. The alternative of what happens in the dark places of the earth will be happening to us. These are the things that have been dropping and hitting (being emphasized) more and more in the meetings; strong things, powerful things.

We are the army of the Lord, the God of the whole earth. The enemy has been doing sorts of stuff. He's been very busy creating his own for years, but the Lord is on our side. It's just that He doesn't have enough people asking. Some people get things, but they don't have context for them. They just have random scattered experiences without context, like, "I had this wonderful experience!" (For what?) "I don't know." “I was shown this… okay!”

Part of what I believe God wants to clearly do in this season is to take all these random experiences and tie them together. So, part of what will help us is that as we get what we get, as God helps us, we transcribe it and put it out there. People will hear and come and say, "It's true. That thing I read you people see..."
People have these things and hide them; they are scared, they don't want to be thought crazy. That's part of why God allows us to be vilified, attacked, hated and rejected, so that already you're used to being rejected. There are other people that are busy being accepted, or perhaps nobody says these things in the circle they find themselves, but we will raise the trumpet and declare aloud what God is doing, which is why we must be very faithful.

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