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DEATH LURKING IN THE NEIGHBOURHOOD

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DEATH LURKING IN THE NEIGHBOURHOOD

Sprawled across numerous beautiful hills, ridges and valleys…. Kigali, Rwanda.
It was a regular Friday night.
Fiery prayers were going up in a spirited all-night prayer meeting.

Suddenly a frantic phone call. It was one of our pastors’ wife. One of their young children was under some form of ‘attack’ back at home.

We left the allnight with a few others and dashed to the home of this pastor. Upon reaching his residence, we realised that the little boy was totally unresponsive!
He wasn’t breathing. We did everything we could – screaming his name, splashing water on him, he just wouldn’t respond!
From all indications this boy had either died or was on the verge of death.
To be honest it was frightening.

The situation began to draw some attention, neighbors gathering even at that time of the night.


Amidst fervently prayers, we rushed him to the nearest hospital.
After several checks, the doctors really couldn’t figure out what was wrong with him.

Then the miracle.


Suddenly the boy just came back to life. Sweet relief! Doctors were still at a loss as to what had actually happened. This obviously could have only been the hand of God at work!

Meanwhile back in the neighborhood, just about 3 blocks away from the pastor’s house, another family’s son passed away that same night. Strange happenings. Death had been lurking in the neighborhood.

Enoch Awuah – Missionary, Rwanda

Listening To Audiobooks While You Do Something Else Is The Ultimate In Multitasking

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Listening To Audiobooks While You Do Something Else Is The Ultimate In Multitasking

As a child I spent every summer with my nose in a book. Each year I looked forward to summer library loans, which back then allowed you to keep books for several months – instead of a couple of weeks – at a time. With the help of neighborhood librarians, I would make my selections and cart home as many volumes as I could carry, delighting in their musty smell and smooth plastic protective covers. One year, when I sent my summer books ahead in my camp trunk, the counselor who unpacked it before my arrival remarked that she couldn’t believe that someone who wore such small clothes could be reading such big books. At the time I thought it was an insult.

I can read this way on my iPhone while walking to the subway; forget my discomfort standing in the rush hour crush; plug the device into the kitchen radio during the time it takes to cook and clean up; and even slip the iPhone into a pants pocket when I’m doing other chores around the house. Suddenly I am a voracious reader again. For those who say that listening to audiobooks isn’t “reading,” I heartily disagree. It’s simply another way of consuming them. And when a wonderful narrator reads a compelling story, it’s an even richer literary experience.

Deborah L. Jacobs

It Is Essential to Seek out Enemy Agents Who Have Come to Spy against You

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It Is Essential to Seek out Enemy Agents Who Have Come to Spy against You

And Joshua the son of Nun sent out of Shittim two men to spy secretly, saying, Go view the land, even Jericho. And they went, and came into an harlot’s house, named Rahab, and lodged there.

And it was told the king of Jericho, saying, Behold, there came men in hither to night of the children of Israel to search out the country.

And the king of Jericho sent unto Rahab, saying, BRING FORTH THE MEN THAT ARE COME TO THEE, WHICH ARE ENTERED INTO THINE HOUSE: FOR THEY BE COME TO SEARCH OUT ALL THE COUNTRY.

Joshua 2:1-3

The king of Jericho did the right thing to seek out the spies who had come to the house of Rahab. He knew that the presence of these enemies spelt his doom. And he was right! A good general is aware of conspiracies of all kinds and fights them continually. He develops a strong network of intelligence using his loyal people.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BmRu4JF7y5w

Read Also https://charismatanews.org/dag-heward-mills-audio-catalog/

Spies and conspirators are real. You may criticize someone who teaches against those who forget, those who pretend and those who are disloyal. You may criticise someone who teaches against those who leave you. Such teachings seek out and expose those who do not really belong to you.

It causes the disloyal to be exposed and vulnerable. Inappropriately positioned people can turn against you. You can dislodge conspirators by the re-positioning of troops and commanders. Transferring people within the church is the way to re-position troops and commanders. Conspiracies need time and planning with familiar faces. The changing of the jobs and the transferring of people destroys the plots and the plans of hidden enemies.

Fight conspiracies through the teaching of loyalty. Fight deception in the ranks by teaching against those who forget, those who pretend and those who conspire. Fight conspiracies by marking quiet people who don’t speak their minds and those who are not open. Fight back by watching and taking note of people’s bodily language. Watch out for those who do not speak much and claim that they are quiet by nature. Don’t trust them! Watch out for those who chat happily with others but are quiet in your presence.

Watch out for those who look extra respectful in your presence. They are probably pretending and have a lot of negative thoughts and ideas in their heads. Don’t be surprised if such people leave you. “They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would no doubt have continued with us: but they went out, that they might be made manifest that they were not all of us” (1 John 2:19).

Do not naively assume that everyone loves you. Many people stay in their position because they have nowhere else to go and not because they love you. Constantly searching, probing and questioning in such a way that exposes hidden disloyalty is important. Those who assume that all is well will only be surprised. To fight a good fight and to war a good warfare, you must constantly seek out disloyal people and strip them of their coverings.

Spies in Britain

During the Second World War, the German army launched a spying campaign against Britain in which they sent several spies to England to gather intelligence and perform other sabotaging military duties. Some of these spies entered England by swimming out of submarines, and some of them were secretly parachuted into England.

Part of this group of spies entered as refugees whilst others simply entered the country as individuals with false passports. But the British army knew about this campaign and actively sought out these spies who had infiltrated the country. Their search for these spies was so successful that none of the German spies escaped. Records after the war proved that the British captured all spies who were sent into England.

Upon capture, these agents were doomed as they were to be imprisoned and executed. But the British military offered them a chance to become double agents and turn against their own country. Most of the spies accepted the offer to work for the British, rather than to be executed. Through these captured spies, the British intelligence were able to determine what information the German military wanted. They were also able to actively mislead the Germans by feeding them with outdated, useless and false information.

Capturing these German spies and turning them against their masters proved to be crucial in the Second World War. Through these double agents, the British deceived the Germans about where exactly they would invade Europe. The Germans believed the deception and stationed most of their forces in the wrong places, allowing the British to invade Europe with much less resistance. Also, when the Germans launched special V-1 bombing attacks, the British made the captured spies report that the bombs had fallen at the wrong places. This made the Germans redirect their bombs away from the expected targets in London. Many lives were saved because the bombs were misdirected away from Central London.

Seeking out spies and enemies from your midst, indeed can save you and give you victory in any war.

Excerpt from The Good General by Dag Heward-Mills

The Spiritual Law Behind The Demonic Warfare You’re Facing

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The Spiritual Law Behind The Demonic Warfare You’re Facing

We often experience resistance and spiritual opposition as we seek to serve the Lord. This week as we were praying together on an international zoom call with our friends from the Global Gathering with David Demian, I had this discernment about spiritual law:

A major change in the history of science came when men began to realize that events did not occur in nature just by chance or by accident. Every effect must have a cause. The principle of cause and effect is the foundation of science.

In the same way, we understand that God has made the spiritual world as well as the natural world with principles of cause and effect. There is the law of “sin and death” —sin causes death. There is the opposite law of “spirit and life” —the Spirit of God gives life (Rom. 8:2).

Yeshua gave us keys that what we bind, forbid or close on earth will be bound or closed in heaven; what we loose, permit or open on earth will be loosed or opened in heaven (Matt. 16:19; 18:18). What we “sow,” we will reap (Gal. 6:7). When we give, we receive (Luke 6:38).

Newton’s third law of physics is that to every “action” there is an equal and opposite “reaction.” It seems to me that the same is true in the spiritual realm. To the degree that we push away the forces of evil and darkness, there is an equal and opposite reaction against us. Spiritual advance is accompanied by spiritual opposition.

In a strange way, since it is both equal and opposite, the opposition can help us to understand what the truth is. Right before Yeshua was crucified, the Roman soldiers mocked Him, saying, “Hail, King of the Jews!” That response was exactly correct in the opposite direction (John 19:3).

Yeshua also taught us that the kingdom of God is like a woman giving birth. There are birthing pains and contractions. Yet those muscle contractions are pushing out the baby. When the baby is born, the difficulties are forgotten (John 16:21). The tribulations of the end times are the birth pangs of the coming of the kingdom of God on earth.

Yeshua also taught us that we should “know” the signs of the times (Matt. 16:3). A wind from the west, where the sea is, will bring rain. A wind from the south, where the desert is, will bring a dry spell. Just as there are simple causes and effects in the weather patterns, so should we discern what spiritual and moral influences will cause events to happen around us.

Many political, economic and even meteorological and seismological events are caused by spiritual actions behind the scenes (Matt. 24:7, 29; Rev. 8:2-5). Let’s become aware that there will be spiritual resistance to whatever we do that is “good.”   Let’s become “proactive” in a prayerful and prophetic way to help advance God’s kingdom of light and love in this world.

Occult Groups In Nigeria Kill, Kidnap Christians

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Occult Groups In Nigeria Kill, Kidnap Christians

Besides Islamic extremist Boko Haram and Fulani herdsmen, occult groups are also terrorizing Christians in Nigeria.

Pastor Victor Kanayo of the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG) was killed in a town in Lagos state on Nov. 26 by an occult group known as Badoo, a week after suspected Badoo members killed Iyabo Alaba and her two children, 4 and 8, at Celestial Church of Christ in Lagos city, according to local reports. Originating last year with a sole killer who called himself Badoo before authorities apprehended him, the Badoo group carries out serial, ritual killings rooted in the founder’s methods.

Pastor Kanayo was killed in Offin, Igbogbo, a suburb of Ikorodu town in Lagos state, and his wife, Gloria, and their 10-month-old child, Goodness, were seriously wounded, sources said; both were being treated at Ikorodu General Hospital. Head of the RCCG Fingers of God Parish in the Igbogbo area of Ikorodu, Pastor Kanayo and his family were reportedly attacked early in the morning as they slept. Police confirmed the killing of the pastor and the hospitalization of his wife and child due to injuries sustained in the attack. “Around 7 a.m., at Offin, Igbogbo, Lagos, a suburb of Ikorodu town, one Victor Kanayo, a male person and a pastor, was murdered,” said Lagos State Police spokesman Chike Oti at a press conference on Nov. 29. “The command has made a couple of arrests, and suspects are being questioned with a view to discover the author of the heinous crime.”

On Nov. 20 in Lagos city, Alaba and her two children, 4-year-old David Alaba and 8-year-old Rachael Alaba, were reportedly killed at their church premises in the city’s Temu village at about 2 a.m. Adesina Idowu, a member of the Celestial Church Christ, told Morning Star News by phone that the three family members lived at the church building. “They were killed inside the church, Celestial Church of Christ – they stay in the church,” Idowu said. The Lagos State Police Command confirmed the murder of the three family members, saying Alaba’s husband was away traveling at the time. Commissioner of Police in Lagos Imohimi Edgal said at a Nov. 21 press conference that the attack took place at Temu village in Ikosi Ejirin Local Council Development Area. “It is a clear case of murder,” he said. As a result of the assaults, police on Nov. 27 announced a ban on night worship services in the city of Lagos.

Only churches that make their own security arrangement will be allowed to hold night vigils, which are common in Nigeria. The commissioner warned that any pastor who organizes night vigils without adequate security will be charged with murder, should there be attacks resulting in killing of church members. “Henceforth, no pastor should organize a vigil in Ikorodu without adequate security arrangement,” Edgal said. “Do not organize any vigil if you cannot protect the lives of the people who attend.” He said most attacks by occult groups were targeted at churches at night during services. “All churches should not have vigil in isolated locations, and if you must have night vigils, you must put in place structures to protect your worshippers,” Edgal reportedly said. “If I hear that anybody is murdered in any church, I will arrest the pastor and charge them to court for murder.” Three-quarters of the occult attacks in Ikorodu target a church member or pastor or their relatives, he said. “They either occurred on the church premises or a building housing a church,” he said. “We must protect the women and children.”Another Pastor Threatened

Also in Lagos city, a pastor reported receiving death threats from another occult group upset that some of its members had converted to Christianity. Chukwudi Okoh, 52, general overseer of Kingdom Fire Ministry International, said in a press statement that he received the threats from the Ogboni Fraternity, a group whose rituals and ceremonies are secret and whose members believe they are intermediaries between the living and their ancestors. He said he has reported the threats on his life to the authorities of the Lagos State Police command, Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria leaders and the Christian Association of Nigeria, Lagos State Chapter. Okoh said the occult members dropped a letter at his church on Nov. 7 warning he would be killed for converting their members. He said the letter was signed by the grand master and secretary of the organization. “I went to church that day for a meeting when I saw the letter on the altar,” Pastor Okoh said. “I was in the church with three of my associate pastors. I thought the letter was a prayer request, and when I opened it, I saw it was a threat letter.” Okoh said the letter, dated Nov. 3, reads: “Dear Chukwudi Okoh; We the Aborigine Fraternity of Nigeria hereby warn you against character assassination. You are warned to desist from destroying our religion in the name of your confession; turning our members away from our ancestral traditional way of worship. We have sent out men to warn you on several occasions, but you [refused to] adhere to our warning. “We have many reports against you [on] how you destroyed our temple and burnt our materials of worship (malicious damage) in Ogun, Kwara, Cross River states. All these reports will be used against you unless [you] leave us and our members alone.

This is the last warning to you, or else you will run out of Nigeria. We know your house and your church; there will be no hiding place for you.” The pastor said this was not the first time his life has been threatened, as a hit squad from the same group attacked him in September. “A motorist waylaid me on the road with his car,” he said. “He said I was disturbing his group, and I should stop or else they would come for me. He then quickly drove off.” The Pentecostal pastor said that in 24 years of ministry he has received various death threats from occult groups. His ministry has included evangelism campaigns and medical outreaches. “There are times people confess to belonging to the Ogboni Fraternity, and they bring their materials and books for burning,” he said. “I have done this many times in different parts of the country.” Another RCCG pastor was killed in Ondo state, in southwest Nigeria, on Nov. 24 when armed men ambushed him and his son at Ore town, Odigbo Local Government Area, according to area police. Pastor Oluwafemi Komolafe was traveling with his son, Timileyin Komolafe, when assailants stopped them on the road, shot the pastor and kidnapped his son, Ondo State Police Command Commissioner Gbenga Adeyanju said at a press conference. He said police rescued the pastor’s son and two others persons after it invaded the kidnappers’ den in a forest in the area. The pastor and his son were travelling with two others, also kidnapped, to Lagos from Port Harcourt, he said. “Our men engaged the hoodlums in a shootout, but they escaped,” Adeyanju said. “We even lost one of our men who went for the operation. After the incident, our men with the assistance of the local hunters combed the whole area. We attacked the hoodlums, and we were able to rescue the three victims in their den.”

Somali Muslims Break In, Beat Children Of Christian Widow In Kenya

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Somali Muslims Break In, Beat Children Of Christian Widow In Kenya

Hard-line Muslims on the outskirts of Nairobi, Kenya attacked a Christian widow’s children, ages 13, 17 and 21, leaving two of them seriously injured and still in pain 11 days after the assault, sources said.

Hadiya (surname withheld), an immigrant from Somalia, had not yet returned from a trip to a funeral when the assailants of Somali descent broke into her home at a town (undisclosed for security reasons) outside of Nairobi, at 5:30 a.m. on Nov. 17.

Hadiya’s 17-year-old daughter was asleep in her room, while the brothers (siblings’ names withheld for security reasons) were asleep in the front room, when the Muslim gang knocked on their door, the older brother told Morning Star News. The brothers asked who was at the door.

Refusing to identify themselves, the Muslims smashed a window, the older brother said.

“We have warned you several times to stop taking the children to church,” one shouted, he said. “You have become an embarrassment to our clan as well as the entire Muslim community. We are here today to finish you and your children.”

Their sister began screaming as the assailants broke in through the window, and the three siblings tried to escape through the door, Hadiya said. The gang beat them so much that blood was found throughout the front room, a Christian neighbor told Morning Star News.

Neighbors soon arrived and rescued the three children.

“When we arrived at the scene of the incident, the attackers fled,” the neighbor told Morning Star News. “We took the three to a nearby clinic before their mother arrived and then transferred them to a government health center, where the youngest child was discharged, while two who were seriously injured were admitted for four days.”

The younger brother suffered injuries to his left leg, neck and chest, while the older brother sustained injuries to his head, chest and back from a blunt object and remains very weak, according to the neighbor. Their sister, who received heavy blows and kicks, bled from her nose and sustained a rib injury, he said. A doctor’s reports corroborated his assessment of the injuries.

A recent follow-up visit to the doctor showed the older brother and sister need X-rays as they remain in continuous pain, Hadiya told Morning Star News by phone.

“We are living in great fear and experience sleepless nights,” she said. “It is not safe for us to stay in this particular place. We need prayers and financial help at this difficult moment.”

Having fled Somalia more than 13 years ago after the death of her husband, Hadiya has eight children – two from remarriage, though her second husband recanted his Christian faith amid a wave of persecution and returned to Somalia in 2010.

Somalis generally believe all Somalis are Muslims by birth and that consequently any Somali who becomes a Christian can be charged with apostasy, punishable by death. Kenya ranked 18th on Christian support organization Open Doors’ 2017 World Watch List of the 50 countries where it is most difficult to be a Christian.

Hadiya said her family has suffered various attacks since embracing Christ. After she filed a police complaint about an attack by Somali Muslims in Kenya in 2014, no fewer than 10 Islamic elders visited her to warn that she was risking her life by doing so.

Last year Somali Muslims attacked another of her adult sons, beating him unconscious.

Muslim Somalis in Nairobi had seriously injured the same son on Oct. 27, 2011, after they learned that family members had become Christian. The Somali neighbors hit him with a metal bar on his forehead and face, and he lost two teeth and sustained knife wounds to his hand. They left him for dead.

“My family has experienced difficult times since the time we embraced the Christian faith, but God has been always coming to our rescue and meeting our needs,” Hadiya said. “We are grateful to the church and good Samaritans who have stood with my family in trying moments. We are at crossroads. But how long will this kind of life and persecution continue?”

She called for the government to offer protection.

“We will not recant the Christian faith,” she said. “We will continue putting our faith in God.”

Thankful For Trials

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Thankful For Trials

November. A time to focus on thanksgiving, on the many blessings in our lives.

Of course, some blessings are obvious: family, friends, freedom. I am blessed to walk into a home where I am surrounded by three beautiful, healthy children. I am blessed with good health, with a job that I enjoy. I am blessed with a Heavenly Father who lavishes me with love, grace, and mercy.

But as we enter this thanksgiving season, I am overwhelmed with gratitude for my trials. I am beyond thankful for the pain and suffering that I have experienced over the last few years.

Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. James 1:2 NLT

It seems so counter-intuitive to rejoice over trials. And yet, the verses following begin to explain why we should be thankful for our trials

For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing. James 1:3-4 NLT

I lived a very blessed life the first 35 years of my life. And then, calamity struck. I found myself drowning, mired in heart ache and devastation. I wasn’t sure I ever wanted to follow the Savior again.

And then my Father swept in and became real. He picked me up and began to put my life back together. He lavished me with love and grace. And he promised that he would give me a future greater than anything I could ever imagine.

Oh, how faithful he is! I’ve walked through the fire, and I have learned how blessed I am to experience all kinds of different trials!

Why do I count it joy when I face trials?

God is near. In the deepest, most painful days of my life, God was near. He was real. The days were characterized by intimacy with my Savior that I had never before known.

God promises that in our pain, in our brokenness, he will be near. Never before had I heard his sweet whispers, comforting me, directing me, encouraging me, the way I did in my brokenness. Never before had I experienced him walking so closely with me, being everything I needed exactly when I needed it. Never before had he been as real to me as he was in the darkest days of my life.

The Lordis close to the brokenhearted; he rescues those whose spirits are crushed. Psalm 34:18

My faith grows. Walking through the fire showed me just how weak my faith was, how quick I was to turn and walk away from my Savior. The longer I journeyed through the wilderness, however, the more I saw his constant faithfulness, his never-ending provision. The more I experienced his tender mercies, the more my faith grew.

The walk through the fire has changed me, changed my faith. I have a confidence in my Savior, in his provision for me. I can release every fear, every pain, and trust my Father to redeem them all. I know that when difficult seasons come, he will faithfully carry me through.

These trials will show that your faith is genuine. It is being tested as fire tests and purifies gold—though your faith is far more precious than mere gold. So when your faith remains strong through many trials, it will bring you much praise and glory and honor on the day when Jesus Christ is revealed to the whole world. 1 Peter 1:7 NLT

I realize how much I need God. When I first began this journey, I wasn’t sure I wanted God…or needed him. But, as the days passed and God gently called me to him, I began to realize how much I needed him.

I need my Savior every day. I need his love and his grace. I need his wisdom and his direction. I need him to give my life meaning and purpose. I need him to open doors, to lead me into the future he has for me. I need him to mold me into his image, to make me more loving and compassionate. I need him to live my life through me.

My suffering was good for me, for it taught me to pay attention to your decrees. Psalm 119:71

I see the true condition of my heart. I gave my life to Christ at the age of six, and I have very few memories of life without God. I have spent my entire life walking with him, seeking to know him and walk in obedience.

And sometimes living such a life causes pride. If I’m honest, I wasn’t certain I needed forgiveness. As I walked through the painful days of devastation, I came face-to-face with the true condition of my heart—a heart filled with pride. I was horrified to realize how I had looked down on others, had such a judgmental attitude toward them. I came to understand the capacity of sin within my heart.

I was humbled. I was truly a sinner in need of a Savior.

Remember how the Lordyour God led you through the wilderness for these forty years, humbling you and testing you to prove your character, and to find out whether or not you would obey his commands. Deuteronomy 8:2

I gain the opportunity to share God’s love with others. When my life fell apart, I begged God not to let my pain be in vain. And how faithful he has been! To see the doors of ministry swing wide open at every turn is so amazing, so humbling.

God was such a comfort to me, and now I am blessed with the opportunity to share that comfort with others. To take the lessons I’ve learned and encourage others, to see God use me to offer a word of hope to someone who is hurting…there is truly no greater blessing!

He comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others. When they are troubled, we will be able to give them the same comfort God has given us. 2 Corinthians 1:4

I am gaining eternal rewards. God promises that when we endure suffering and trials, he is doing a work in us far greater than anything we could imagine. He promises thatour suffering is actually renewing us day by day. He promises that our trials are accomplishing an eternal work, one that far outweighs any suffering we do here on this earth.

We often live for instant gratification. But, living for eternal rewards is far more rewarding.

Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day.  For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.  So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.1 Corinthians 4:16-18 NLT

As the storm calms around me and I return to a life of normalcy, I sometimes long for the difficult days—days where I know my Savior will meet me, love me, comfort me. I sometimes miss feeling as if everything has been ripped away—because I know that the one thing I truly need is him. I sometimes miss being desperate, needing to hear his quiet voice reassuring me at every turn. I miss the intimacy that I experienced in the most painful days. I treasure the memories that carry me through the mundane days of life.

Are you walking through the fire? Are you enduring suffering, trials far greater than you ever imagined? Count it all joy because God will work in you and through you.

Dena Johnson is a busy single mom of three kids who loves God passionately. She delights in taking the everyday events of life, finding God in them, and impressing them on her children as they sit at home or walk along the way (Deuteronomy 6:7). Her greatest desire is to be a channel of God’s comfort and encouragement. You can read more of Dena’s experiences with her Great I AM on her blog Dena’s Devos.

What To Do When You Fall Out Of Love

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What To Do When You Fall Out Of Love

“Is this really my life?” the young bride said through tears. Theresa couldn’t believe she found herself “falling out of love” with the man she had vowed to love forever—only 18 months previous.

Theresa composed herself and told me the story of the whirlwind romance that led up to her marriage. As she shared with me how she and her husband met, I saw a sparkle in her eye and a gentle smile across her lips. When she talked about the long walks she and her fiancé would take on the beach, holding hands and dreaming about how happy they would be as husband and wife, another tear trickled down her cheek.

What had happened? Theresa couldn’t point to any particular event that had caused her feelings for her husband to change. It had all happened gradually. “Life just got in the way,” was how she put it.

What’s the Key to Staying in Love?

Theresa’s story is not uncommon. Many couples find themselves in trouble when they wrongly make the tasks of everyday living their priority—rather than nurturing their love for one another. So how can you cultivate a loving relationship with your husband that will stand the test of time?

The first insight into building a love that lasts is to take your focus off of how much you want to be loved by your husband.

If you become obsessed with your longing to feel loved, you will become more preoccupied with self-satisfaction than with building a happy relationship.

And this, in turn, will undermine the health of your marriage.

You may be surprised to learn the secret to loving your husband well lies in learning to love God deeply. Because when your love for the Lord is genuine, He gives you His supernatural ability to love others selflessly—including your husband.

The marriages I most want to emulate are those of husbands and wives who have learned to love God so much that their passion for one another is almost supernatural.

Don’t you want a marriage like that?

So how can you learn to love God so deeply that it spills over into your marriage?

Jesus said the greatest priority of life is to “love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength” (Mark 12:30).

Let’s take a closer look at Jesus’ words, shall we? Notice how He said you are to love God: with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, all your strength. It’s an all-out love. It holds nothing back. And it involves every part of your being—your emotions, your inner self, and your thoughts. This kind of love seeks to grow closer to God and know Him intimately. That’s how you fall more and more in love with someone—by getting to know them.

Growing more deeply in love with the Lord means spending time with Him.

But first, for this to happen, you must have a relationship with God through Christ. If you have received Christ as your Savior and Lord, then you are a child of God and you have a relationship with Him.

If you haven’t taken this step or you aren’t sure whether you have, then I would encourage you to contact me through my website NoRegretsWoman.com so I can send you an article I’ve written called: “How to Have a Relationship with Jesus.” This article is also found in the appendix of all of my books.

Getting back to loving God—here are specific steps you can take to grow in that love:

  • Devote yourself to discovering God’s character qualities through Bible study. Study the Bible with other women who have a sincere desire to love God with all of their hearts.
  • Read His Word and get to know Him better. The more you read the Bible, the more you’ll learn God’s desires for your life. You’ll come to see life—and your marriage relationship—from His perspective.
  • Pray to Him throughout the day. Communicate with and talk to God regularly because love grows through frequent interaction.
  • Fellowship with other believers who have a genuine love for the Lord. Let their love for Jesus serve as a contagious influence for you.

I can say with confidence that pursuing intimacy with God transformed my marriage, and I am confident that it can transform yours as well.

That’s because when your love for God is right, He will help you love your husband the way your heart longs to love him, and you will build a marriage with no regrets.

Are You A ‘Homeless Hater’?

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Are You A ‘Homeless Hater’?

Move right past, and maybe I won’t get “the ask.” He better not try to talk to my children. Make no eye contact. Great, now I am going to have to say no again.

Can’t I walk down the city streets without getting hassled? If I give money, I know what it is going towards.

It is embarrassing to admit folks, but these are my thoughts as I pass the homeless. Thoughts of fear, thoughts of worry, thoughts of judgment and thoughts of control.

To state the obvious, the homeless are homeless. But, not just because they have no place to lay their head, but, in part, because of how my actions seem to push them outside of God’s family. When I turn my head, when I am afraid, when I fear a loss of comfort, when I cling to my money, I silently send a message that they have no home anywhere near Christ. My body language proves that they are not insiders, ones welcome to receive the love of Christ, but they are misfits, lying outside any possibility of finding a Savior.

But, what if? What if I looked to these people to see – not a person who is dirty, unworthy and possibly manipulative, but I looked into their eye to see – myself? What if, as I took a moment to deeply ponder their faults, I realized my own: dirt from the sin that often runs wild, an unworthiness to receive even the smallest measure of Christ’s sacrifice, deep manipulations to get my own needs met?

“Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? (Mt. 7:3)

What would happen if mankind decided to turn their face – from me? Where would I be today?

Decisions

Recently, my suit-clad husband sat in a coffee store, a little nervous about a big meeting ahead. He pulled out his Bible and decided to let God’s Word soothe his fears. As he sat there, a homeless man swaggered in. He came right up to my husband and started talking to him about the Word of God and how amazing it was.

At this moment, my husband stood before a choice. Would he think: “This man is manipulating me and spouting out Christian words to get money”? Or would he hear: “There is no fear in love”?

“The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’ (Mt. 25:40)

When we do for the “least,” we do for Jesus. And, often, what we do for Jesus, he knits up – in us. When we step back to realize we are in need, just as much as the needy, suddenly God meets our needs in staggering ways.

My husband entered into dialogue with this man and the dialogue that ensued was one that delivered a sermon like an arrow straight to his heart. As if Jesus handed this homeless man queue cards, peace abounded. Together, these men spoke into each other’s lives. Together, they pondered. Together, they humbled themselves. Together, they acknowledged God’s sovereignty. Both, delighting in the power of the Spirit that unites the body of Christ.

“For we were all baptized by one Spirit so as to form one body–whether Jews or Gentiles, slave or free–and we were all given the one Spirit to drink.” (1 Cor. 12:13)

Yet this oneness was only the beginning, for then the jaw-dropping happened. Overflowing with the fullness of God’s love, the homeless man stood up, in the middle of this bustling coffee store, in a city hustling with needy souls, in a place where few ever hear the name of Jesus and he started proclaiming the goodness of the Lord. He started to say how good Jesus was.

Would mankind shut him up and push him out, like the worthless street scum he was? Or would they listen, and hear the goodness of the Lord, spoken from the type of man that Christ loves? Spoken from the type of man who has every reason to hate God.

He who shuts his ears to the cries of the poor will be ignored in his own time of need. Prov. 21:13

What will we do? Will we hear or will we shut our ears to the cries?

For others’ cries are our cries. Our cries are cries we want God to hear. Cries of mankind are cries that long to be heard by us. Judgments are things we run from our whole life. Yet, we so easily hand out the very thing we detest. Either way, God looks the other way, because of Jesus on the cross.

What if, instead of being those who reinforced the very things we hate, we were the ones who reinforced Jesus’s love on the cross? Might we find ourselves the greatest recipient of God’s love?

Often called a “Cheerleader of Faith“, Kelly Balarie encourages other to live with passion and purpose. While Kelly has suffere d through various mental, physical and financial trials, she has found God’s unique plan in these dark places.

THE ARREST: MISSIONARY OR CRIMINAL?

Admin
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THE ARREST: MISSIONARY OR CRIMINAL?

It was a beautiful day in Managua, the capital city of Nicaragua.
I was standing at a busy bus stop, waiting for a bus to go home from church when a police pick up truck came driving slowly past the bus stop.
I noticed the police men inside were watching and carefully analysing the people at the bus stop.


I wondered to myself why they would drive so slowly but I dismissed it in my mind as I knew it had nothing to do with me.
About a minute or so later, I noticed the car had stopped and then reversed towards the bus stop.


Two policemen got out and headed straight in my direction.
To my complete surprise they grabbed my arms and held them behind my back uttering some words in Spanish I barely understood. Before I knew it I was being shoved into the back of the pick up truck!
Everyone at the bus stop looked on in amazement.

As the police truck sped off towards the police station I tried frantically (with the little Spanish I knew) to plead my innocence and to explain that they there had to be some kind of mistake.


However each time I spoke, one of the officers would raise his club at me gesturing that I should shut up.


Finally after the third effort, he warned me that the next time I spoke he would hit me with the club.


I obediently kept quiet from that moment.
When we arrived at the station, they did a full body search and ushered me to a corner where pictures of me were taken (front and side views).
Sounds like a movie right? Well it did feel like a movie!
They searched the bag I had and found only a bible, a Christian book in Spanish about the Cross and a notebook.


At this point their attitudes began to change. They became less aggressive.
I thought the experience was coming to an end and they would finally believe that I was an innocent missionary. But to my surprise, I was directed into a cell!


I tried again to protest. I told them I had a right to an interpreter so that I could explain myself well. Once again they ignored my request and ushered me into the cell and locked the door.

So here I was, just about 4 months on the mission field and I had been locked up in
a dark and dirty cell with no chairs!
I sat on the floor in the corner and tried my best not to look around at the others in the cell.


There were about seven other men who looked quite accustomed to being there and didn’t even seem to notice my presence.
My mind began racing. How long would I be here? Would it be hours? Days?


Or would I just be forgotten like Joseph when he was thrown to prison???
As I sat praying, the overwhelming sensation I had was one of hopelessness. I imagined that this was a taste of what hell was like – being trapped in a place of no escape forever.


I imagined how hopeless it would be like to go to hell and have no way out.
I determined in my heart as I sat there that when I got out of this place I would preach about Hell like never before!

Minutes turned to hours.
I sat, waited and prayed.
Finally after about four hours the bars opened and I was called out.
I was asked to sit down in the office and finally given the chance to speak.
I told him I was a missionary sent from the UK.


He looked at me with doubt in his eyes. I guess I didn’t quite fit the picture of the typical white American missionary they were used to in Nicaragua.
The chief officer then explained to me that a woman in the area I was picked up had reported a theft and the thief had matched my description.
I looked like a thief??? Oh goodness! Lol.


Anyway, I was finally allowed to make a phone call so I called my next door neighbour and asked him to bring my ID. When he finally arrived with my passport, the chief saw that I was a British citizen. He was quite alarmed.
He knew that I wasn’t lying and i was indeed a missionary. He asked me if I wanted to press charges against the officers who had arrested me but at that moment I didn’t want to spend a minute longer in the police station!
I simply said no and left with my neighbour.

“However, if you suffer as a Christian, do not be ashamed, but praise God that you bear that name.”
(1 Peter‬ ‭4:16‬ ‭NIV)

Clarence Welds – Missionary, Nicaragua

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