Document 6589202

Transcription

Document 6589202
RUNNING THE RACE
VOLUME 2, ISSUE 3
September 2013
T H E G R E AT E S T I S L O V E ( PA R T T W O )
I remember working for a Christian organization twenty- two years ago. There was an older
Christian lady called Matilda (not her real name) in that organization that hated me openly.
She never passed any golden opportunity to criticize me. Her dislike for me was so obvious
that other colleagues also noticed and asked me what I had done to her. In the beginning I
was furious, not knowing what I had done to offend her. If she gave me a bad look, I would
give her a bad look right back! Then the Lord challenged me through Matthew 5:43. “You
have heard it was said, ‘Love your neighbour and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you: Love your enemies
and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be sons of your father in heaven. He causes his
sun to rise on the righteous and the unrighteous.” I was very angry towards God! “Lord You
can’t seriously be asking me to pray for this woman!” I lamented, in self-righteousness.
IN THIS ISSUE
The greatest is love
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Testimonies
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The Founder’s message
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The Book Stand
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INSPIRATIONAL VERSE
Mathew 5:44
‘But
I tell you, love your
enemies and pray for
those who persecute
you”
As if that was not bad enough,
the verses continued on. “If you
love those who love you, what
reward will you get? Are not even
tax collectors doing that? And if
you greet only your brothers, what
are you doing more than others?
Do not even pagans do that? Be
perfect even as your heavenly
father is perfect” –verse 46-47.
The first thing that rose up in
me was pride. “How low do
you want me to stoop down
Lord? I have not done anything
wrong to her!” Then the Holy
Spirit highlighted a part of
verse 43. “ . . .that you may be
sons of your father in heaven.”
I loved the Lord and wanted to
be His child. If this is how I was
to demonstrate that I was a
child of my Father then I was
willing to do what God wanted
me to do. That same week an
opportunity for me to show
love to Matilda arose. I was
walking past the reception and
there was Matilda taking to the
receptionist. She looked
flustered and worried. She was
telling the receptionist how she
had a lunch meeting in fifteen
minutes, and that her daughter
was at home waiting to be
taken for her piano lesson and
that he lady who was supposed
to take her had called to say
that she was not well. I was
tempted to think, “Serve you
right! I bet your daughter is not
even that good in piano
anyway!”
However, remembering what
the Holy Spirit had been
challenging me about, I offered
to go and pick up the child and
take her for her piano lesson. Matilda looked at
me suspiciously. What if my aim was to pick
up her beloved child and leave her in the hot
Sahara Desert!? I tried to look as sincere as I
could as I made the offer again. She thanked
me profusely and explained to me where to
pick her up from and where to drop her. I
could not believe how good it felt to reach out
in kindness instead of in retaliation.I was
amazed at the transformation in our
relationship! Matilda actually started passing
by my office in the mornings just to say hello.
After that she invited my husband and I to her
house for dinner. Our two families became
very good friends. Today Matilda’s daughter is
one of the ladies that I meet with for coffee
when I am in Nairobi.
The Bible says, “If I speak in the tongues of men
and of angels , but have not love (emphasis mine),
I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal”
– 1 Corinthians 13:1. Gonging and clanging are
the description of noises that are very irritating
to the ear. Can you imagine that the gift of
tongues being displayed by a man or woman
that has no love irritates God? The word of God
tells us, “For anyone who speaks in a tongue does
not speak to men but to God” – 1 Corinthians 14:2.
God will not hear what is irritating to His ear!
The next verse puts a lot of things together. “If I
have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all
mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have faith that
can move mountains, but have not love, I am
nothing (emphasis mine).” This verse is
describing some of the mighty men and women
of God that we know. We call them “prophets.”
They seem to fathom all mysteries. When we
have a dream we do not understand, we often
run to them to explain it to us. They seem to
have a superior knowledge of things both
inside and outside the Bible. They have faith
that can move mountains into the sea! What
does God say about them if they do not have
love? THEY ARE NOTHING. Love must be the
priority of every Christian!
The
next
verse
talks
about
giving
martyrdom (losing our life for the sake of the
Gospel). “If I give all I possess to the poor and
surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I
gain nothing.” Giving a poor person money or
material wealth is easier than loving them by
spending time with them. Showing a poor
person love, is more noble than giving them
money without love. It might be very
impressive to the people around us, but God
will not give us anything in return. A
missionary who is burnt at the stake by people
that he had no love for gains nothing! The
greatest is love.
How then is love described? What is the
character of love? It is patient, kind, not
envious, not boastful, not proud, not rude, not
self-seeking, not easily angered and keeps no
record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil
but rejoices with the truth. It always protects,
always trusts, always hopes and always
perseveres.
We are told that prophecies will one day cease,
tongues will be stilled and knowledge will pass
away (1 Corinthians 13:8), because these things
are imperfect. What makes them imperfect is
the fact that they proceed from imperfect men
and women. When all these impressive things
have passed away, only three things will
remain – Faith, Hope and Love. BUT THE
GREATEST OF THESE IS LOVE!
Friends, this kind of love is impossible for any
human being to manifest on their own power. It
is only because God has shed His love abroad in
our hearts that we are able to love (Romans 5:5).
God is calling us to allow Him to love people
Pastor Nellie Shani
Founder & CEO, BBI
!
and
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TESTIMONIES
Recently when Pastor Nellie went to Kigali, she was asked by a friend to pray for
her mher who had travelled many miles from nohern Rwanda. Her mher
had suffered for many years. She had had six operations on her stomach over a
span  twenty years without any release from her problem. The most she could
eat was a lile boiled rice, but mainly drank water. Aer she was led to break
her generational curses, and her sickness rebuked, she was instantly healed! The
next day pastor Nellie’s friend called her and told her that her mher ate a full
meal that evening and did n react the way she had always reacted. May God
receive praise and glory forevermore!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Thank you for allowing yourself (BBI) to be yielded enough so that God can
use you greatly, and transparent enough so that in all the work  the
ministry you point people to God directly. Thank you for how you have
walked with us as a family and pointed us to God. He continues to reveal a
l that had been hidden in our own lives; He continues to grow us in
understanding and application  the authority He has given us through His
name; He continues to deliver us in so many additional ways; and very
wonderfully, He continues to demonstrate to us how the blessings now flow
readily because the curses have been broken. - E W
THE FOUNDER’S MESSAGE
The greatest, is truly love! We are told in Romans 5:8, “But
God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were
sinners, Christ died for us.” Love must be demonstrated.
Recently as I taught and prayed for the people of God in
Rwanda, God demonstrated His love in this: Hundreds were
delivered through the power of the cross of Jesus, and
eighteen people gave their lives to Christ!
May God continue to demonstrate His love through Breaking
Barriers International (BBI). As you have supported us
through prayers and in giving, we have been able to reach the
people of God with the message of salvation, healing and
deliverance in one more country in Africa!
Pastor Nellie Shani
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THE BOOK STAND
BREAKING INVISIBLE
BARRIERS
VISION
Every believer in the Lord Jesus Christ is
set free from the invisible barriers that
prevent them from fulfilling their
purpose and achieving their potential
MISSION
Many Christians today are living a life
of constant struggle and failure no matter what they do to try and improve their
lot in life.
They are fighting something they do not
understand.
This book explores these invisible barriers and how to break them by the Power
of the Cross.
BBI is a Christian Organization inspired
by the Holy Spirit to equip believers in
Jesus Christ to live victoriously and
fulfill their purpose in the world.
Kshs. 700.00
OBJECTIVES
UNGODLY SOUL TIES
How to Identify and Break them
1. To teach Biblical truths concerning
spiritual warfare and deliverance.
2. To help believers in Jesus Christ,
identify and break generational
curses.
3. To enable believers in Jesus Christ
know how to sustain their
deliverance.
4. To counsel believers in Jesus Christ
who may need specialized help
beyond the teaching and prayer
seminars.
5. To identify and train workers in
spiritual warfare and deliverance
ministry.
The Bible tells us, about the relationship
between David and Jonathan, that their
hearts were knit together - They had a
"soul-tie".
God designed for us to have healthy soulties, for example between husbands and
wives, and between children and their
parents. Satan is however able to corrupt
relationships so that we end up with ungodly soul-ties.
These soul-ties can affect our lives negatively so that we are captives and unable
to walk away from the influence of certain
relationships Find out how these unwanted ties are formed and how to break
them.
Kshs. 1,000.00
CONTACT US
P.O. Box 44476
00100 Nairobi, Kenya
Tel: +254 714542993
[email protected]
www.bb-international.org
All the books are available at :
Navigators Bookshop,
Kindaruma Road, Nairobi. Tel: 0723 969-644; 0738 573-868
www.amazon.com
www.barnesandnoble.com
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