Search the siteAn Heroic MinistryIntroducing Pastor Steven from Rwanda:
Pastor Steven Turikunkiko has set up a community in Rwanda for victims of the genocide. 160 widows & teenagers & 80 younger children live with him; farming, sharing their lives and caring for those dying from AIDS. The community subsists on less than $1 per person per day. At enormous personal sacrifice, Pastor Steven and his wife have also adopted 20 orphans - who live with them and their 2 other children. For more information on Steven and this incredible community of hope, click here
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CCP, UK
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ParaLideres.org
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Shine like the dawn
The whole of last week, God was speaking to me about love. I knew that He was helping me deal with past hurts, showing me the beautiful picture of marriage and teaching me about the Perfect Fatherhood of God. Yet there was an underlying feeling that I couldn’t quite place and in the beauty of Kairos time, God helped me to place my spiritual finger on the root – fear. At a church service last night, the Pastor was talking about how being connected to the heart of God in an intimate relationship was the only way to be truly free. 18 There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love. 1 John 4:18 (NKJV) God helped me realise that love does not involve misery or pain. Those who have watched a few Bollywood movies may be tempted into the allure of the high drama and arduous nature of the type of ‘love’ that is depicted there, or even fallen prey to the Hollywood notion that only the outwardly beautiful can be loved. Yet the love-rich scripture of Isaiah 62 reveals the true source of eternal Love: 1 For Zion's sake I will not keep silent,
for Jerusalem's sake I will not remain quiet, till her righteousness shines out like the dawn, her salvation like a blazing torch. 2 The nations will see your righteousness,
and all kings your glory; you will be called by a new name that the mouth of the LORD will bestow. 3 You will be a crown of splendour in the LORD's hand,
a royal diadem in the hand of your God. Isaiah 62:1-3 If we keep comparing the pain of the past with the promise of today, we will be crippled from receiving the new thing that God wants to do in our lives. I used to be jaded and cynical about any type of love relationship because so many people had disappointed me. Yet all that did was keep me chained in brokenness and alone. Thank God He doesn’t leave us as we are and is constantly working on and pruning our lives so that it can bear much fruit for His glory. When we finally let God into the dark places in our hearts, when we let Him get near those spokes of fear that has left holes in our understanding, in our trust, in our hope, He proves time and again that His unconditional Love is the cure for any pain. I dare say that the secret of life can be found in the simply profound act of abiding: 9 “As the Father loved Me, I also have loved you; abide in My love. John 15:9 (Bruce Wilkinson’s ‘Secrets of the Vine’ unpacks this powerful truth). Once we get reconnected to the source of eternal light, we find everything we need in the heart of God. Then the people around us are off the hook, they no longer have to give us what we can only truly get from God. We stop trying to do things ‘for’ God and as we gain a deeper, personal understanding of His true character and nature, we find that its so much easier for Him to do His abundant work ‘through’ us. "But the path of the [uncompromisingly] just and righteous is like the light of dawn, that shines more and more [brighter and clearer] until [it reaches its full strength and glory in] the perfect day [to be prepared]" Proverbs 4:18 (Amplified Bible)
Cheryl Ramurath is South Africa's Purple Brain. You can read more of her devotional material and articles by logging on to www.purplebrain.co.za |
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It’s time to pull out the lies that fear has poked into your heart.