Testimony from Masindi

Recently, at a conference in Masindi at Family Empowerment Ministries, Jill shared with the sisters a radical testimony of the powerful fruit of walking in simple trust in the Word. 

A sister from the refugee camp where she lived got radically saved. When she went home her husband was furious. She prayed and God led her to practice  1 Peter 3:1-6. 

One day her husband threatened her, "If you go to hear a Bible study again I will beat you!" The day came for her women's study and she prepared her house and left to listen.

When she returned she found her husband true to his threat, he beat her smugly believing that would be the end of the matter. The following week to his surprise, she went again and resolved herself that it was worth even another beating. In exasperation, this husband plotted an even more aggressive threat. He was sure this one would stop her forever from going to learn about Jesus Christ....

"I have decided to take a beautiful young women from this village as my wife," he jeered, "and you must not only wash the bedroom and prepare clean new linens for us, I will collect her from her father's home and bring her to you. You will bathe, perfume, and make her look beautiful for me. Then I expect you to present her in all that glory to me!" 

She bowed her head in agreement...no doubt pleading in prayer for strength as you or I would have to do....

The wedding day came, and he watched her every move, expecting at any moment she would confront him in some way, but nothing happened. Quietly, yet lovingly, she fulfilled his every command without so much as a cross word. When he saw the room prepared more beautifully than she ever had, the warm water with its aromatic perfume, and her perfect peace as he marched in the bride to be, he stopped dead in his tracks. 

First he ordered the girl to be taken home, then he fell to his knees before his wife and said, "What must I do to be saved by this Jesus!" Today they live together for the glory of God.

Jill challenged the women to live drenched in His supernatural love. "Never consider that you are hidden away in this remote little village...so was she, but as I have shared this story and others I know have repeated it, it's been celebrated all over the world!" Jill exhorted them as they exploded in applause to the Lord.

We never know the great things God can do as we surrender and obey...one of my favorite pastors said that when we learn to a link your impotence to His omnipotence, the most ordinary and mundane becomes a living picture of the miraculous. This world we live in has lost it's hope in a love like that....maybe God has chosen you for such a time as this...Those precious sisters part of Family Empowerment Ministries were willing to believe God could do exceedingly abundantly more in them...can you do the same?

Grace is...

 Grace is an inflated raft that can submerge to the floor of a sea to save you.

 Grace is the silver thread that stitches up the shreds of mangled souls.

 Grace is the eye that finds us where it refuses, there, to leave us.

 Grace calls the waitress to the table and sits her down to wash her feet.

 Grace sees underneath the manhole on a street of self-destruction.

 Grace is the air to draw a breath in the belly of a whale.

 Grace is the courage to stand in the shamed wake of a frightful falling.

 Grace is the only fire hot enough to burn down a living hell.

 Grace waits with healing in His wings when we’re too mad to pray.

 Grace is the gravity that pulls us from depravity.

 Grace races us to the Throne when we make haste to repent 

          And always outruns us.

 Grace treats us like we already are what we fear we’ll never become.

 Grace is the doorpost dripping red when the angel of death grips the knob.

 Grace is the stamp that says Ransomed on a life that screams Ruined.

 Grace sets a table before me in the presence of my enemy 

          Even when my enemy is me.

 Grace is the cloak that covers the naked and the palm that drops the rock.

 Grace is divine power burgeoning in the absence of all strength.

 Grace proves God true and every self-made man a liar for the sake of his own soul.

 Grace is the power to do what we cannot do for the Name of Christ 

         To go where it has not been.

Grace is a room of a thousand mirrors, all reflecting the face of Christ.

Grace is…

The eye popping

Knee dropping

Earth quaking

Pride breaking

Dark stabbing

Heart grabbing

Friend mending

Mind bending

Lame walking

Mute taking

Slave freeing

Devil fleeing

Death tolling

Stone rolling

Veil tearing

Glory flaring

Chin lifting

Sin sifting

Dirt bleaching

World reaching

Past covering

Spirit hovering

Child defending

Happy ending

Heaven glancing

Feet dancing…

Power of the Cross.

Jesus Christ, Grace Incarnate.

Copyright 2013 Beth Moore

To Reach Those He So Desperately Loves

 

“Let my hands perform His bidding,

 Let my feet run in His ways;

 Let mine eyes see Jesus only;

 Let my lips speak forth His praise.

 All for Jesus! 

 All my being’s ransomed pow’rs;

 All my thoughts and words 

 And doings,

 All my days and all my hours.”

Time is so short! We need to give the little we have to Jesus!  Please take a moment and listen for what the Spirit is saying in this 7 minute podcast by Leonard Ravenhill. 

Wes & Vicky Bentley

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/we-are-the-remnant/2013/03/05/agony--ravenhill

TRUE prayer is only another name for the love of God. Its excellence does not consist in the multitude of our words; for our Father knoweth what things we have need of before we ask Him. The true prayer is that of the heart, and the heart prays only for what it desires. To pray, then is to desire — but to desire what God would have us desire. He, who asks what he does not from the bottom of his heart desire, is mistaken in thinking that he prays. Oswald Chambers

May every breath we take be saturated with prayer to the Glory of His Grace!

His Incredible Greatness in my Unacceptable Places

My dear friend Jill Kanyike invited me to share with her ladies at the Bible Study for Calvary Chapel Kampala this Tuesday. They have been studying, “Loving God with all Your Mind,” by Elizabeth George. The scripture for this week is: 

Romans 11:33: Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and His ways past finding out!

On the same page as this verse is the topic heading, “Accepting the Unacceptable” and before I looked at anything else the Lord began to stir my heart…

Maybe you are in a place that feels unacceptable, impossible, excruciatingly painful, hopeless, unending, and at the same time you realize it’s unavoidable. Don’t give up ~ don’t give ~ Christ the Great Shepherd's skilled eyes will lead you THROUGH this Valley of Death… look into His eyes not at the war zone you are trapped in and trust in His Spirit to revive you!

He is RICH in Love, Mercy, Peace, Hope, Strength, Comfort…

            His knowledge is limitless ~ all the facts are crystal clear to Him and

                        Divine Wisdom means His next step will PERFECTLY meet every demand…

 The HOW and the WHY are unsearchable, beyond my comprehension...
             But Beloved the WHO is not outside our situation...Jesus longs to show you Himself!

… I pray for you constantly, asking God, the glorious Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, to give you spiritual wisdom and insight so that you might grow in your knowledge of God.  I pray that your hearts will be flooded with light so that you can understand the confident hope He has given to those He called—His holy people who are His rich and glorious inheritance.  I also pray that you will understand the incredible greatness of God’s power for us who believe Him. This is the same mighty power that raised Christ from the dead and seated Him in the place of honor at God's right hand in the heavenly realms. He is far above any ruler or authority or power or leader or anything else~not only in this world but also in the world to come. God has put all things under the authority of Christ and has made Him head over all things for the benefit of the church... His body; it is made full and complete by Christ, who fills all things everywhere with Himself.  ~Ephesians 1:16~23

The enemy lives to discourage our hearts and it’s time to FIGHT back!

Stop, bow your heart, and breathe out a quick prayer asking God to show you

…the incredible greatness of His power;

…the height, depth, breadth, and width of His unconditional love,

…the exceeding richness of His grace;

…or any other facet of His awesomeness…

That simple prayer will shatter the onslaught of the enemy in your valley…

           

If you ask, He will answer!

Have you ever felt like, “Why did God choose me?  He knows all of my faults.  I can't believe He would love me.” 

     Who are we? 

     Alone, we're nobody. 

Jesus calls us His Bride. The mystery of “Christ in you, the HOPE of glory,” means as you lean upon the Holy Spirit, as you hide yourself in Him, people don't see you anymore. 

They see Him. 

They see His beauty. 

They see His perfection…

And it's irresistible!

May your life be so lost in His love that others must seek Him to know you….

Tozer on the enemy within...

If any man will come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.

For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and

whosoever shall lose his life for My sake shall find it. 

Matthew 16:24-25

“….it would seem that there is within each of us an enemy which we tolerate at our peril. Jesus called it ‘life’ and ‘self,’ or as we would say, the self-life. Its chief characteristic is its possessiveness….To allow this enemy to live is in the end to lose everything. To repudiate it and give up all for Christ's sake is to lose nothing at last, but to preserve everything unto life eternal. … the only effective way to destroy this foe: it is by the Cross…”

Excerpted from The Pursuit of God, by AW Tozer

The Cost of Declaring His Glory ~ Dr. Helen Roseveare

Dr. Helen Roseveare stood to address a conference after pulling all the blossoms and leaves off a forsythia branch demonstrating for them, The Cost of Declaring His Glory:

As the stripping and whittling and sandpapering processes are complete, what results from the rough (though once beautiful) branch? An arrow - a polished shaft, fit to carry the arrowhead direct to its target. A perfect balanced tool in the hand of an expert archer to achieve a destined goal. Does the "cost" now seem quite so high? Was it really a pointless waste? God says that he will make of his Branch (Isaiah 11:1) a polished shaft (Isaiah 49:2). And he longs to make you and me more "like unto Jesus," conformable to the image of his Son (Romans 8:29).

Am I willing for the stripping and whittling and sandpapering, through circumstances, companions or committees, to make me into that perfect arrow to achieve his wonderful purposes in and through my life? "For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them" (Ephesians 2:10)…

I have looked back and tried "to count the cost," but I find it all swallowed up in privilege. The cost suddenly seems very small and transient in the greatness and permanence of the privilege.  Can you, will you, believe it and enter into it?

As the branch to become the arrow had to lose its leaves and flowers, so I perhaps the pleasant home, fixed salary and married joys. (Nothing wrong in leaves and flowers - essential to the life of the branch - but a hindrance, a weight, to the balanced arrow). So also the side branches, roughnesses and knots - my temperament, my sensitivities, my habits the sin that does so easily beset us, of bad temper, of being hurt, of throwing my weight about. And even to the bark, the final individuality of the branch - my personality, my right to be myself - that I may be crucified that Christ may live wholly in me: so will we be able to run the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, who has paid the cost and offers us only the privilege.

We Hear You and We Want to Live for Jesus

“The teaching today deeply touched our hearts. You made the Word so clear. We hear you and we want to live for Jesus…Our trouble comes from our challenges at home… unsaved husbands, pressure to provide basic necessities: food, medical care, school fees for our children, no one caring about these needs – many husbands sit in the market and drink all day long….We know brewing alcohol is wrong…We don’t want our children to hear us say, ‘Alcohol is bad, stay away from it!’ Then watch us later that evening serve others alcohol. What you said is true, when we do that our children can’t respect or depend on our advice….,” said one of the women from our Bible study today.

The heart wrenching truth to her statements is undeniable; but the dawning of HOPE is equally unmistakable! God is answering our prayers for these sisters. They are stepping forward, breaking tradition and culture, sowing truth into their children and believing God CAN HEAL this broken and hurting land.

My confidence (for the sisters of Rabuna Fi South Sudan and for you) is in the Almighty Captain of Heaven’s Hosts, the One who rides the clouds putting darkness under His feet, inclining His ear even to our unspoken cries from the heart, Who promises to go before, behind, and beside us – Jesus Our Omnipotent Overcomer!

He is ABLE and I am so grateful to see these sisters are willing…. I ask you to please keep praying for the women of Rabuna Fi. They desperately want all Jesus has for them; but, like you and like me, there are “giants” to subdue in the land. Pray we will walk in faith, DOING what He says without fear of the cost or consequence….

Therefore put away all filthiness and rampant wickedness and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls. Be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like. But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing. ~ James 1:21-25

His Treasure

Jesus’ ransom sacrifice & victorious resurrection is a miracle we’ll celebrate throughout eternity. The wonder, majesty & sheer awe are far beyond our comprehension; yet, even the glimpses we do see overpower us with adoration... We can’t help but praise Him for such an awesome demonstration of love…

Think about it… we are cleansed – from head to toe; A to Z; past, present, & future – all sin’s guilty stain is gone and we are able to stand before Our Holy God justified (“just-as-if-I-never-sinned” as pastors often say). Please don’t stop here, there is so much more…think about this….

Jesus came because He wants YOU! He didn’t come just to collect your filthy sins – that was just a fringe benefit! He wants YOU – every part… Your Beloved Savior, with heart ablaze, came to claim YOU as His Bride…

…Our Great GOD and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for us

to redeem us from all lawlessness and

to purify for Himself a people for His Own possession

who are zealous for good works.

Titus 2:13-14

The KJV elaborates on the phrase, “His Own possession” saying, “His Own peculiar treasure.” God calls you a treasure…that is a far cry from how most of us describe ourselves isn’t it?

God has claimed you FOREVER…

He loves you in the extreme & infinite…

              He proved it with His life, death, & resurrection…

                              He cannot possibly love you anymore than He does right this minute!

                       He promised never to leave you or fail you!

He is so confident in His transforming LOVE and LIFE in you He boldly stakes His entire reputation, putting you on display as work of art… How can we give any less than our ALL?

Live every second as His Own, set apart exclusively from all others, & willing to follow His lead – even if it leads to your own cross! Live your love out loud… when we get to heaven we will never regret how much we declared our love for Him! He is so worth it!

When we get to heaven...

“When we get to heaven God isn’t looking for our diplomas or medals – He’ll be looking for our scars.” Leonard Ravenhill

What is the most painful thing you are facing today? One day that will be a scar… The searing pain of the wound and the memory of the heartbreak can be swallowed up in His presence starting today if we choose His way and relinquish our own….

God’s Word promises He alone can cleanse the deepest wounds; He binds them up, wipes dry our tears, and makes all things new. His nail scarred hand reaches out to offer you the most intimate fellowship – the one of His very Own suffering…do it now and be comforted….Our part is to choose to die to ourselves! Take His hand, bow your heart, and watch Him make beauty from even these ashes. He alone makes all things beautiful in His time!

Stop running from the pain and hardship, it is the way the Master went and He bids us to follow. He longs to show you His treasures of love (Agape love). Deny yourself, take up your cross and follow Him – in eternity you will not ever regret these choices – “For nothing is too precious for Jesus,” said the famous missionary Amy Carmichael.

Do not fear beloved, it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you all things that pertain to LIFE and GODLINESS…He is prepared to share His Own Divine Nature with you…don’t fear the scars...Your Beloved Savior did it - He offers you the power and authority to become an overcomer too!

I want to do a beautiful work.

"He is a chosen vessel of Mine to bear My name." Acts 9:15

"You are Mine.  You are not your own.  

With a great price I have purchased you for Myself.  

I am not dismayed that you do not comprehend, but I say that if you will listen to Me, 

I will reveal to you more fully so that you may know more clearly how vital you are to My purpose.  

There is work to be done, and I need you as a vessel through which to work.  

Not a vassal, but a vessel  I want to do a beautiful work."

I need an individual to use who is not only available and suitable, 

But who loves Me in such a way as to enhance My creation.  

I desire not the kind of loyalty a soldier gives to his country, 

But a dedicated devotion of the type of love a mother feels toward her unborn child.

There will be inconveniences to be borne, 

self-pleasing to be laid aside, 

sacrifices and pain--but what a blessed reward I have in store!  

Yes, in store for you, if you are able to let Me use you the way I desire.

You are not unworthy; you are not unprepared.  

You have no reason to hold back unless your love for Me is too small.  

If this is the only hindrance, draw closer to Me, and 

I will pour My love out upon you so that your affection for Me may be deepened and perfected.  

Lo, I wait for you.  

Come to me."

Francis J. Roberts