New Breed - Royal Temple

  GOD IS FOR YOU! Realising this will make a world of difference in your Christian journey, Dear Young Adult. You may find yourself thinking thoughts like "God has abandoned me! Otherwise, why else would this happen to me?" "There's no way God will love me after what I did." Good news is, there are many stories in the Bible that prove that God is for you regardless of how you feel! One of the Bible passages I regularly refer to when I need to be reminded that God is for me, is that of Peter walking on water.  He was doing great for as long as he had his gaze on the Lord JESUS.  At some point, he got scared and began to sink.  He cried out, "Lord, save me".  Matthew 14:31 reports that "Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him".  The "immediately" always always warms my heart.  It reminds me of Psalm 46:1 - He is indeed a VERY present help in trouble. Not only is He present, He is "very" present. Whoooooshhhhhh!...

  After reading, Casey burst out crying again. She decided not to listen to the condemning inner voice. The next morning, she went to see Pastor Ben and told him about her addiction to masturbation and some bad lifestyles she had cultivated. In a conversation with Pastor Ben… “Masturbation is a terrible addiction that needs the right knowledge to get over it. When I was younger, I used to masturbate every day. It weakened me, it made me depressed to the point I took anti-depressants pills every day, because I knew the masturbation was tearing me apart.” “Know this Casey, there is no one trapped in the act of masturbation that he or she is proud of and that is why most people tend to be secretive about it, which is the greatest power the devil or the masturbating power has over them. Casey, you should be grateful to your mum for appearing in your dream, you are half way out of the battle.” Casey had her head bowed in pain… “Over the years I have counseled people on the i...

  She had a fight with Lynne and their friendship fell apart. She got herself an apartment and moved from the school’s hostel. She never went back to Mr. Nelson’s place. Renetta had completed her undergraduate program and currently doing her compulsory one year national service in the Eastern Region. “I thought I was raising a daughter fit for the King’s palace, but I didn’t know she wasn’t even close to it, where did I miss it with you? I sacrificed a lot for you Casey” Casey’s mother told Casey whilst she was crying loudly in a dream she was having one midnight. Casey suddenly woke up and was visibly shaking. Feelings of guilt overshadowed her. She felt remorseful of everything she has done. “What have you turned into Casey? This is not the life you envisioned for yourself. Mummy and Daddy never brought you up like this. What have you become Caseeey?” Casey maundered hitting herself. “You are worthless and useless! Nothing better will come out of you. Forget the promi...

  In the morning, Mr. Nelson comes to the kitchen where Casey was preparing breakfast. “Casey, if you want to still live in my house and go to school, you must do as I say. I need you in my room tonight or start packing your belongings and leave my house” Mr. Nelson told Casey and left for work. “God, haven’t I suffered enough already? Haven’t you punished me enough? What do you want from me again? Speak to me, God!” she muttered and started crying. Casey was in a state of dilemma. She knew the Bible speaks against sex before marriage. On the other hand was her school and the new family she has got. Mr. Nelson was her last resort. “If Mr. Nelson ousts me from this house, it will surely be the end of me. I am going to start from scratch again. My HIV on the other hand. Oh God! Although this man’s sudden behavior is weird but he has been good to me. I just can’t allow him to contract it. Let me go and see Lynne” Casey muttered. “Do you now understand when I say you have a p...

  She made friends with her roommate called Lynne. Lynne was an intelligent lady but an atheist. She did not believe in the existence of God. “Casey, do you know you can use the time you spend attending church services to learn a skill which can change your life? Praying constantly to a God who already knows what you need and will do what he wants for you and not what you ask for is pretty absurd. Why do you waste time worshiping him?” “We have layers of problems in Africa and our reasoning and so called relationship and understanding of “God” is one of our biggest problems. We are somewhat religious zealots – unable to reason or do anything for ourselves without the need to call for some heavenly help or endorsement. It is quite unfortunate you are engaging in this ridiculous religiosity and insanity. I pity you my dear” Lynne told Casey after she came back from one evening church service. “The time I will spend arguing with you, I will use that time to pray darling. Good ...

  Auntie Sheila ignored her and left the hospital hard-faced. She got home, packed Casey’s belongings and threw it out of the house Casey got to the house ashen-faced and found her belongings on the compound. “Is Auntie Sheila ousting me from the house? In this state? Couldn’t she have sympathized with me” she said to herself. Casey began to shed tears. She packed her belongings and headed to Renetta’s house. Renetta was the only friend of Casey and she has been in touch with her all this while. Renetta lived at Tema Community 25 so Casey decided to walk to her place since she had no money for transport. “ I have received prophecies upon prophecies of how great I would become. Prophets told me, God will use me mightily in my generation. They said I have a bright future. A lot of promises was given to me by God in His word. But my state now is far from all this. It has been two years and I have still not being able to attend tertiary. I have been raped and got HIV from it as...

  “What is this angry look on your face, Darling?” Uncle Derek asked. “Derek, you don’t listen to me. You don’t listen to me o! I told you this lady is a witch, you didn’t believe me” Auntie Sheila responded fuming with anger. “What is the problem my Dear?” Uncle Derek inquired. She burst out crying. A robbery had taken place at Auntie Sheila’s shop in a broad day light. The notorious armed robbers took all the sales they have made and about 90 percent of the fabrics which was given to Auntie Sheila on credit. As time went by, things became difficult for the family especially for Casey since she was badly maltreated by her Auntie. Uncle Derek’s daughters were sent home because tuition wasn’t paid for 2 semesters. Eating one square meal a day was a struggle in the house. Creditors kept on calling Auntie Sheila for their payment and threatening to get her arrested. A final decision was made by Uncle Derek that they sell the house to ease their financial worries. Fast ...

  Dear Young Adult, If you could outrun millions of other sperm cells to win the marathon to fertilise the egg, even before you knew that you exist, what makes you think that you cannot win the race of life now that you are fully aware of your existence and have the power to choose the life you want? You withstood the rigorous process of fertilisation, implantation and birth, and you are about to give up because life isn't going the way you want? Before you saw the light, you had a strong will to see a world that was unmatched. Now that you are here in the world, you succumb at the slightest challenge. Oh-em-gee! What happened to the resilience you had to become a zygote, get implanted as an embryo and developed into a viable fetus? Heck to the naw! You survived delivery!  Look at the narrow canal you came through. See the medical procedures you endured to live. I know that this is an unconventional perspective but really! You overcame a lot even when you were helpless and fra...

  Casey found herself beleaguered. She sat at the balcony for hours thinking of the miserable state she has found herself in. She has been offered admission to the University of Ghana to pursue a six-year Doctor in Veterinary Medicine program. The current financial situation in the house made it clear that enrolling was not possible. All her friends she completed school with has been enrolled in the university. “Renetta, the blockheaded girl is even in the university. How strange life can be” she mumbled. Her monthly period was due and she had no money to purchase a pad for herself. “Immediately, Auntie Sheila comes home, I will ask her for some money to buy pad. She is my last resort now” she said. The future looked bleak for Casey but she still believed in God. She took her Bible to read and flipped to Matthew chapter 6 and verse 30 stood out for her. It reads… 6 “Wherefore, If God so clothe the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the o...

  On that fateful evening, she received a call of her parent’s involvement in an accident and both of them dying on the spot. Everything seemed like a nightmare for Casey. She howled uncontrollably. “Someone should wake me up from this nightmare! God, are you alive?” she muttered whilst sobbing. In the trauma that followed, Casey’s confidence in people and God was shattered. This was intensified when her attack was not dealt with appropriately and the Choirmaster was allowed to continue in his church role. Distraught and disappointed, she subsequently moved away from the church and settled in another area – her Uncle’s place. Uncle Derek is married to Auntie Sheila and has two daughters who are in the University of Ghana. Uncle Derek works as a teller in the Ghana Commercial Bank - Achimota branch whilst Auntie Sheila sold fabrics at Accra – Rawlings Park. Uncle Derek and wife took it upon themselves to help Casey come out of her traumatic state, provide all her needs and h...

Needless to say, pandemonium set in as students ran screaming in all directions. There was some delay before it was discovered that Casey had been hit by the exploding fireworks.  Her cries for help were initially obscured in the din of the other students shouting. The ambulance was called and she was taken to hospital as her class tutor rang Casey’s parents to inform them of what had happened. Casey remained in hospital for several weeks fighting for her life. She was subsequently moved to a specialist burns unit for treatment of the third degree burns she had sustained in the accident. There followed months and years of treatment and surgeries for skin grafts to the damaged areas of her body. In time, and with rehabilitation, Casey began to recover both physically and emotionally as she learned to come to terms with her debilitating injury. She had to learn how to write again as her muscle tissue and tendons on her hands had been damaged. However it was a long road to recov...