Marriage Restoration Net Work Uganda: January 2014

Friday, January 17, 2014

Start The Year By Looking At Your Marriage.

Hello husbands and wives, every time we start a New Year, it is the best time to look back over your marriage this past year. How can you be a better mate? How can you be more intentional in your marriage? How can you make it better? Did your spouse hurt you and you have been struggling to forgive? Commit right now to forgive and start fresh. For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 15 But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins. Matthew 6:14-15. Have you struggled with loving your wife? Commit now to loving her fully. Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless. Ephesians 5:25-27. Have you struggled with submitting to your husband? Commit to submitting to his leadership as God calls us to. Wives, submit yourselves to your own husbands as you do to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church. his body, of which he is the Savior. Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything. Ephesians 5:22-24. Enjoy the gift of marriage in this New Year.

Tuesday, January 7, 2014

KNOWING THE PURPOSE OF MY MARRIAGE

KNOWING THE PURPOSE OF MY MARRIAGE Brothers and sisters in the lord Jesus Christ, we as marriage restoration network Uganda, our mandate is to restore marriage to its original plan and purpose of which God created it for. From the days of Adam’s fall, most marriages are built on man’s plan and purpose instead of God’s plan. We as born again married couples, need to run our marriages as new creation in the lord, 2 cor 5:17 seeing our marriage as people and children of God. Why is it that couples behave in the way they do, even those who are Christian? They act in that way because they are rejecting God’s knowledge about His plan about marriage. Hosea 4:6 What is the consequence of rejecting God’s knowledge about God’s word? It affects our children and the whole family, do you remember Korah and Achan in the bible. Korah and Achan sinned but their entire families were destroyed. We thank God for in love provided Jesus that we can go back to his original plan, Ephesians 2:10 Why do you think the married couples behave the way they do? Because they lack knowledge of God’s plan. God’s plan was for couples to rule and dominate the earth Genesis 1:26-27. 26 And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. 27 So God created man in his [own] image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them. Who are those people who dominate? They are kings, princes and princesses. Now ask yourself, in my marriage, do I behave like a king, a queen? Am I a prince or princess? 1 peter 2:9-12 9 But ye [are] a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvelous light: 10 Which in time past [were] not a people, but [are] now the people of God: which had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy. 11 Dearly beloved, I beseech [you] as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul; 12 Having your conversation honest among the Gentiles: that, whereas they speak against you as evildoers, they may by [your] good works, which they shall behold, glorify God in the day of visitation. I would wish you as a born again married couple read Revelation 5:10 carefully and ask yourself this question; According to the way I behave in my marriage, am I a new creature? Am I a king or queen? Does my marriage fit in God’s plan? Am I fit to reign with Christ? Let us read it again; Revelation 5:10. And hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth. Friends, God created your marriage for a divine purpose and it is you to make it fulfilled and not just you alone but to have people who will fear and serve Him, Malachi 2:15 And did not he make one? Yet had he the residue of the spirit. And wherefore one? That he might seek a godly seed. Therefore take heed to your spirit, and let none deal treacherously against the wife of his youth. Let us not allow Satan to use our marriage and children to fulfill his plans but let us allow God’s plans be fulfilled.

Saturday, January 4, 2014

Dealing With Anger In Marriage.

Dealing with anger in Marriage. Marriage is hard work and if we want to have joy and peace in our marriages, then we need to work at it very hard every day. Like any type of work if you do not put in energy, then you will never get results. The bible says in Song of Songs 2:15 that “Take us the foxes, the little foxes that spoil the vines: for our vines [have] tender grapes.” Now one of the areas in marriage where the couples need to work on is taking this fox called anger. Anger has destroys marriage if not dealt with. Each of us we are prone to sin if we do not handle anger well. The bible says in Ephesians 4:26 that “Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath:” The longer we stay in anger, the easier for us to sin. Paul goes on to say in verse 27 that “Neither give place to the devil.” The more you stay angry you are giving satan the opportunity to harm your marriage. As we work with couples and families, we’ve observed that anger has many tragic consequences in a marriage or family. Let’s look at three of the most deadly. 1. Anger creates distance Anger almost always creates an unhealthy distance. In Jerry’s family his three daughters were slowly showing that they don’t feel safe around him. If you are married to an angry man or woman, he or she will try to create distance between you. You may want to get close, but the offended one will pull away. Angry people refuse closeness. 2. Anger pushes us into misery Unresolved anger can rip away our perspective and throw us into chaos. We don’t know where we are going. We can’t think logically. We don’t realize that we are doing to ourselves, and those we love. As we blindly lurch and stumble, our families become candidates for serious, possibly permanent, injuries of the heart. We’ve talked to so many people who, after years of going to church and counseling, have still not found peace. After hearing their story, the major reason for their failure is deep-seated anger. They are unwilling to forgive or seek forgiveness, and as a result, they hide secret caches of darkness in their lives-little toxic waste dumps seeping bitterness, gradually poisoning their home. 3. Anger ties us in knots Like few other emotions, anger restricts and binds us, tying us in internal knots. Forgiveness, on the other hand sets us free from those bonds, untying the knots that hold us captive. Much like rope tied around our feet or hands, anger hinders and hampers us. Children who grow up embittered and angry are handcuffed and hobbled, prevented from discovering their potential. Here are five attitudes to unite a person’s anger knots 1) Become soft and tender with the person. 2) Understand, as much as possible, what the other person has endured. 3) Admit the person has been wounded, and be sure to admit any wrong in provoking that hurt. 4) Seek forgiveness-and gently wait for a response. 5) Touch the person gently. Finally, always make sure your words are seasoned with love. Colossians 4:6 Let your speech be always with grace, seasoned with salt, that ye may know how ye ought to answer every man. Strong married couples will always take the word of God seriously and love you read these few scriptures whenever you feel angry. Proverbs 15:1 A soft answer turneth away wrath: but grievous words stir up anger. Ephesians 4:29-32 Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers. 30 And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption. 31 Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice: 32 And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you. Colossians 3:10-17 Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering; 13 Forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also [do] ye. 14 And above all these things [put on] charity, which is the bond of perfectness. 15 And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called in one body; and be ye thankful. 16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. 17 And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, [do] all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him. Have this fox called anger be arrested and you enjoy your marriage.

Thursday, January 2, 2014

God's Battle Axe

Praise God my dear friends and prayer partners, As we bid farewell to the year 2013 and well coming 2014, I stopped to think of the goodness of the Lord and what he has helped us accomplish in 2013. When I think of the many people who came and confessed the Lord as their savior, the many families which were spared from breaking and what we achieved as a church, I gave the Lord the glory but one verse came to my mind in Jeremiah 51:20-23. I was happy for the team that maybe we were good axes and gave God the glory and the honor but I also give all of you the credit because you are the reason of the success. You have sacrificed a lot and put in a lot of time praying for this ministry making us a better battle axe. This verse brought a lot of meaning to me and would like to share it with you as we plan for the year 2014 if we are to be successful as good battle axes of God. Jeremiah 51:20-23 Thou art my battle axe and weapons of war: for with thee will I break in pieces the nations, and with thee will I destroy kingdoms; [21] And with thee will I break in pieces the horse and his rider; and with thee will I break in pieces the chariot and his rider; [22] With thee also will I break in pieces man and woman; and with thee will I break in pieces old and young; and with thee will I break in pieces the young man and the maid; [23] I will also break in pieces with thee the shepherd and his flock; and with thee will I break in pieces the husbandman and his yoke of oxen; and with thee will I break in pieces captains and rulers. God is a warrior; the Man of war is His name. Every warrior goes to battle with weapons of warfare trusted, effective and reliable. No warrior ever goes to battle without his weapons, no matter what it is; there must be something with which the warrior hopes to fight. When God says that you are His battle axe, He is saying you are His weapon of warfare. He intends to fight battles through you. A battle axe is anything in the hand of the warrior that is capable of bringing down the enemy. So God is saying with you in His hands, He can bring down any enemy. Think about Moses when he was to go to Egypt to bring up the children of God. God told him, ‘I have made you a god unto Pharaoh…’ And the LORD said unto Moses, See, I have made thee a god to Pharaoh: Exodus 7:1 This would mean that whatever God would have done by Himself to Pharaoh, He would do through Moses. Pharaoh did not see God but he saw God’s power working through Moses. People should see the power of God in you as a child of God. The world is a battle-field and it is a place of darkness. Many Christians have died untimely and some are in hell now because they refused to be the battle-axe of God. Today, beloved, you have the opportunity of making the choice of becoming God’s battle –axe or not. The enemies of God are the arch-enemies of God’s children. And usually when you cannot get at a man, you make his children the next target. CHARACTERISTICS OF A GOOD BATTLE AXE A good axe must be swift, sharp, strong and powerful. God expects every Christian to be His battle-axe, which He will use in destroying the kingdom of darkness. The devil is aware of this fact, so he is vigilant, he knows the Christians that are not useful and cannot function as razor blade, let alone being battle-axes, for the Lord. That is why the seven sons of Sceva suffered in the hands of a man that was possessed of evil spirits (Acts 19:13-16). Some Christians are tools and toys in the hands of the devil; whereas, that is not the will of God. The devil is occupied 24hours of the day and he fires arrows at people, day and night. CHARACTERISTICS OF GOD’S BATTLE AXE: 1. Must be SHARP: What sharpens you as a child of God is the word of God. When the word of God is rich in you, you will be a sharp axe in His hands. The word of God can cut into pieces anything it lands upon. With the word of God you can bring into captivity everything that exalts itself above the knowledge of God. 2 Cor 10:5 Hebrews 4:12 For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. Matthew 21:44 And whosoever shall fall on this stone shall be broken: but on whomsoever it shall fall, it will grind him to powder. The stone in the passage talks about the word of God. 2. Must be RUST FREE An axe must not get rusted; otherwise, it becomes blunt and will not be able to chop anything. Rust in the life of a Christian, could be in many forms. Any atom of worldliness leads to impurity and hinders person from prospering in the things of God. Some of the impurities include: 1. Instinctive addiction to food, sleep, drugs etc 2. Sin: Disobedience against the word of God, either spoken or written would make the axe head to be blunt. 3. Pride: When you allow what you have to get into your heads, you can run yourself blunt as God’s battle axe. 4. Inordinate love for the opposite sex: Many people started on the right track with God but fell out because of this sin. Solomon was lured away from God by strange women and he sinned against God. Samson was prophesied into being and he was a special child dedicated unto God. He was powerful but gave himself up to a strange woman, who betrayed him and died with his enemies. Anyone that is not pure in his or her heart and deeds, is not worthy of being a battle-axe in the hands of God. The eyes of God cannot behold sin and He cannot share His children with the world and the devil. 3.Must pass through FIRE An axe is made from metal; for it to get its shape, the metal-smith puts the metal in fire and hits hard on it, to shape-shift it, So also are human beings in the hands of God. If you must become God’s battle-axe, passing through fire becomes non-negotiable. Passing through fire might not be pleasant but in the end, it makes a person a better vessel. Passing through fire could be trials, temptations, hardship etc. Sometimes, a person passes through fire without knowing why, until God promotes him or her. A person could be a battle-axe and then become blunt. He or she could be rendered invalid, if he or she is not careful. The person’s story will now be “in those days…” WHY DOES GOD WANT YOU TO BE A BATTLE AXE? The answer to the question above could be found in our main text; 1. To break nations into pieces. 2. To destroy the kingdom of darkness. 3. To destroy demonic agents. 4. To destroy satanic principles and practices. Except you are a battle-axe in the hands of God, you cannot do the above mentioned things. Being God’s battle-axe, takes more than church attendance. You have to start from the starting point, which is an encounter with the Lord, before you can grow and groom yourself into being useful and useable in His hands. Keep yourself sharp at all times. Remember: If the iron be blunt, and he do not whet the edge, then must he put to more strength: but wisdom is profitable to direct. Ecclesiastes 10:10 Friends, thank you for making me a better battle axe sharpening me with your encouraging words and prayers. See you on the winning side in 2014. Shalom! Your brother, Moses.

Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)

Pasotor Moses Kerejji and Ruth are leaders of marriage restoration network Uganda

I am the fifth child in the family of six. My father married nine times before marrying my mother. This was so because of the choices he made were not the choices of his parents. As I was growing up, I saw all the injustice which was in the families. I saw the fighting the bad words which made me fill bad and I purposed in my heart that when I grow up and get married, I will not do like the people around are doing. I said that I will have one wife to avoid what I was seeing in our family and in the families of our neighbors. Also what I was seeing in the families of my two elder brothers. For my eldest brother had three and my other brother had two but their homes were battle fields. Fighting seven to ten times every month. I said that I will not beat up my wife and that I will have only one and that when I grow up I need to tell the people not to beat up their wives. I was 14 years when I made this resolution, but I was not a Christian. When I was 16 I started talking to my two elder brothers about their fighting all the time that it was not good. And that may be having one wife can solve the problem. My eldest brother thought about it and told my father what I told them and he told him that if a young person can see this then I need to act. So he sent away the other two wives and remained with one and that was the end of fighting in the Home. And they are still married. That was in 1978. the other brother refused and he had had the same problem and he has never had a happy marriage. During this time there was a pastor who was teaching about God and three years latter I gave my life to Christ. S when I gave my life to the Lord, I started to see things differently, I knew it is God’s will for the man to love his wife and it is God’s will for the wife to respect her husband. So from what I saw in the life of my elder brother and how things were going in their home, it gave me courage to speak to my cousins who were having the same problems. Those who thought about it are having a good marriage. But I did not know that this is what God what’s me to do. I would not fill happy when I saw people fighting their wives and I would not respect the people who would advise their sons to divorce their wives because of the cultural beliefs. But I would fear to tell them that what they are doing is not right. When I grew in knowledge of the word, then I knew that this is a call on my life, like when I could see the children from the divorced families on the street of towns. So I felt the burden for the marriage and of the children on the streets. Many people have come here to help the street kids but every time we have new ones. So I decided to tackle the root cause which is the marriage of their parents. That is when I, my wife and a few couples started meeting every Sunday evening to study Gods word, pray together, and also pray for the families. We did this for one year and we thought that praying alone will not help much. The Bible says that faith comes by hearing and hearing the word of God. So we said it will work more if we can go to them and teach them the word of God. That led us to start the marriage restoration network Uganda. Ruth is the second born in her family and for her case, she grew up in a Christian family unlike my self but before that it was not fine for her parents also. Before they had children and they died and the father thought that it was the fault of Ruth’s mom and they had a rough time in their marriage. After some time, her father heard the gospel, he went and asked the preacher if he got saved will God give them a child? The preacher told him that every thing is possible with the Lord. That is how he got born again and true God answered them and they had children. Two boys and one girl who happens to be Ruth. Her studied the word, and he became a pastor, his two young brothers did the same and they are pastors up to today, her elder brother is a pastor and over sees the church in three districts of eastern Uganda and happens that he is our coordinator for marriage restoration network Uganda in eastern region. So that is some thing about us and how we came to be involved in the married ministry. God bless you as you work with us to bring back marriage to God’s principals. Be blessed.

Godfrey and Sarah Ouma are the publicity coordinators for the Marriage restoration network Uganda

Calvary Greetings; About Mr. and Mrs. Ouma. Mr. and Mrs. Ouma met in 2002. Sarah was 34 yrs with two children (girls) when we got married.  With today’s high divorce rates, the phrase “ What God has joined together no man can put a sunder” has lost meaning , it has been abused so much that nobody takes it seriously .But not for Sarah and Godfrey .  Despite the difference in age that are a threat to marriages , Godfrey and Sarah have been happily married. Ours is a marriage that has unbalanced the Old social Order that the must be Older than his wife for marriage to work out ,and traditionally most people have been made to believe that marrying a woman with children is like a curse, but Godfrey died from the criticisms he got from his family and friends and accepted me with hands open wide looking beyond the children and age to pursue a long lasting relationship. It takes God’s Grace for someone who has never been a parent to begin even thinking a bout the idea, it is very involving.  Marriage is from God. There is no formula for relating. Godfrey met Sarah in the neighborhood. He was from a different Church and different social- cultural background. Sarah comes from Bushenyi District western (ug) while Godfrey hails from Busia Eastern (ug).  Tribal differences did not bother him because as born again Christian, he believes marriage is meant to fulfill God’s programme.  Marriage in Christ is enjoyable. We didn’t look at the differences and children disadvantages, but we saw them as spring boards to take us forward.  Our marriage has flourished we didn’t involve the whole clan or the society in it.  Marriage is between the two people involved and not the whole world, the world will fail.  When he proposed to me I didn’t say no outright, but in my heart I didn’nt take him seriously. was only being polite. I didn’t want to marry a poor man, I wanted a man who was well off. I prayed about it and I heard a voice during day time that he is the one.I prayed again and God showed me how riches can come to nothing. Then I knew it was God’s plan  We have not yet got children together but we believe God in everything.  To us marriage is a bout learning to forgive one another Though most people put love at the top of the list for relationship to workout, but for us we believe that the one who forgives is the one who loves.  Although she is older than her husband she respects him. A man deserves to be held in high esteem whether you have more money than him, you chose him.  We advice you people to stop hunting for beautiful faces one ought to look for the beauty of the heart, that’s when God’s promise will come true.  Sarah is agrade III Teacher and an adult Education instructor with ten years experience Adult Education, specializing in languages, and primary Education.  Godfrey has a Diploma in Human Resource management and certificate in Art and Design owning a printing workshop where he does screen printing,digital aided printing and logo Designing as well as visual paintings and prints.  The couple has joined hand and established a junior school purposely to help the urban poor, Educate their kids at the lowest costs likewise there few orphans and vulnerable children are also a warded free Education by the same school.  As a couple being both directors Goodsphepherd Education centre have not found any difficult in helping the community through Education sector, we sit down and we discuss on any part that needs attention and resolve to do something and it works because the lord is always in the control. It seemed to be a difficult venture to put up such a project, with a lot of criticism expected to make a school for business but then we did the opposite.  In all these we have really seen the hand of the lord support our projects through prayer and unity. We want to encourage you to work, Together, serve the lord together invest together you will see the returns from Jesus Christ Ecc.4.9. GOD BLESS YOU!!!!! WE LOVE YOU

Pr. Samuel and Magaret Kato are the eastern region coordinators.

About pastor Samuel and Mary Kato. I grew up it the family of a preacher of the word. I am the first born in a family of three and my father says that we are a result of prayer, for he says that every child they produced died young and they had six before us. My father was a pastor who taught about holiness and wanted me to follow him. So he took me to the bible school to become a pastor. I went and graduated in 1986. From that time I have been a pastor. I pastured Pentecostal assemblies of God church in Tororo, was a district overseer and now am now the regional overseer still in the Pentecostal church. I also teach about holiness and I travel the whole country teaching the word of God about living a holy life. From the many trips I have made in this country I found out that marriage was suffering and that as the church we need to do some thing. Many people were not committed to their marriage and there was a lot of divorce around. So I wanted the church to come in and solve the some of the problems. That is how I contacted the brothers in the Lord who were having the same conviction for the married people and we started marriage restoration network Uganda. And that is how I became the regional coordinator for ministry. I am married to my wife Mary a teacher by profession, and we have been married for the last twenty years and God has blessed us with six children. She is the leader of the women in our church and has been a source of encouragement for the marriage couples in the community. So I would request whoever has the heart for marriage who believes that God made man and woman for marriage to come and work with us at marriage restoration network Uganda to bring marriage back on God’s principals.

Mike and Teddy coordinates prayers for the ministry and teachs about prayer.

ABOUT MIKE AND TEDDY ETWALU. PRAYER KEEPS A MARRIAGE TOGETHER. Praise God my sisters and brothers in the Lord, I learnt the power of prayer when I was a young man. As a single young man, I took a step of faith and went before the throne of grace making my request known to God by prayer according to Philippians 4:6. God was faithful and answered my prayers by leading me to my beautiful wife Teddy Awori Etwalu. Now as a couple we have been in marriage for a period of14 years and what has sustained our marriage is prayer and as a couple we have learnt that prayer is a weapon that can be used shatter and destroy the enemy in the family. Isaiah 54:17; the enemy forges many weapons against the married couple i.e causing quarrels, disagreements, bitterness unfaithfulness and many others in order to destroy your family. I have a lot of examples about these things as a result of praying with couple. They tend to be so bitter to their spouses and as we pray about these particular things and ask them to repent of them I have seen families change and have happy marriages. So I realized that there is a great need for the married to pray, have family alters, forgiving one another and to pray for their spouses. So that is why we at marriage restoration network Uganda encourage married couples to maintain the spirit Love burning their hearts so that their prayers ca be effective both in their lives and also in the lives of other married couples who sees them. So join hands with us for this noble cause that our families should go back to God’s principles.