Treasures of the darkness

I will go before you and make the crooked places straight; I will break in pieces the gates of bronze and cut the bars of iron. I will give you the treasures of darkness and hidden riches of secret places, that you may know that I, the LORD, Who call you by your name, am the God of Israel.  Isaiah 45:3

 

“…God has taught me this lesson by experience and from His Word, sometimes His glory is in the darkness…Everybody else wants to stand back from the darkness (Exodus 20:21: So the people stood afar off, but Moses drew near the thick darkness where God was), I can remember a point in time telling God, ‘Everybody else wants to stand back from the darkness - the problems, the pressures, the things you don’t understand’…Moses embraced the darkness because he KNEW that is where he would know God in a way he wouldn’t in the light. I told God, ‘I also will embrace the darkness – suffering, pressures, pain, things I don’t understand, things that don’t make sense - because I want to know God. There are some ways you know Him in the darkness; you don’t know Him out there’…”  Anne Graham Lotz

Be still and know He is God. He has treasures for you too in this dark time. It’s here alone, broken, and without illumination that many learn to hear His heart, not just His voice, His heart…

Following His Light Natasha Chilikina

There are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. There are differences of ministries, but the same Lord. And there are diversities of activities but it is the same God who works all in all  ~1 Corinthians 12:4-6~

 


Sitting at the church on Sunday was so refreshing! It felt like we were living in the Holy Spirit’s fire just like the early church described in Acts. The Holy Spirit appointed elders and deacons at churches, love for God enabled them to let go of the world, and the church flourished because they ministered one to another.



Commissioning new leaders

Here in Nairobi we are arising from a long season where it “seemed” like there was little or no fruit, it felt dry and often everyday was a battle. I personally felt at times, drained of strength and even breath to press forward. Looking back, I see Jesus upheld me and sustained me by the treasures of wisdom and knowledge He spoke to me in my secret prayer closet. In a whole new way I am learning how to walk by faith, not by sight, or by circumstances. Sunday the Lord just opened my eyes to His work in the Spirit. What Jesus is doing is so beautiful. At CC Nairobi we are starting to see the desert places blossom! 

I am so encouraged to join heart to heart with my brothers and sisters for worship practice. It’s a miracle to see their burning and passionate hearts for more of Jesus…To see the ladies of Rabuna Fi take over the hospitality ministry, making, serving, and cleaning up after tea…To see the Bible College students washing the floors and cleaning the bathrooms…To see our Sunday school classes bursting at the seams with new comers…

Our Body – our Family in Christ – united with one voice, one Spirit, one desire as we worshipped our King in the Beauty of His Holiness.  Heaven and earth collided and it was so powerful it brought tears of thanksgiving to my eyes. 

Watching Pastor Dave proclaiming God’s Word while on his knees I saw the True Good Shepherd heart of Jesus pouring forth from him. It literally felt like we joined in with the hosts of heaven as we sang, “Thy Word is a Lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path”…I bow my knee before my Lord Jesus for Who He is…

Precious Sisters and Brothers, this is God’s design for His Bride. I know the external pressures and the cunning warfare in the Spirit are seeking to quench this revival in you, in your family, and in your church – don’t give in, keep praying, and expect to see Him for yourself today!

Human Trafficking in Kenya by Natasha Chilikina

I talked to Sam, (not his real name) a brother from Calvary Chapel Nairobi, on Sunday. Sam serves with an Inductive Bible Study Training Program. The ministry takes the training seminars to various regions all across Kenya.  

Sam shared that his heart was broken over the devastation Human Traffickers are inflicting on families deep inside the village. The Kenyan government took a bold step to close down all agencies recruiting young men and women to work in the Middle East. While that doesn’t eradicate Trafficking it does make it harder to prey on the innocent. Sam had no idea the networks enslaving Kenyans had penetrated so deep into the interior. Agencies, just like the ones in Nairobi, manipulate and deceive young people into thinking a job awaits them abroad…instead torture, sexual slavery, exploitation, and horrible abuse is all they find. The paycheck never comes and most families NEVER hear from their children again.
 

Women committed to fight Human Trafficking in thier village

Sam has firsthand experience with Human Trafficking – first watching us trying to intervene for Grace and then an agency lured his sister with the promise of a job. By God's grace the message informing her to report for her flight was "accidentally" sent to him. Thankfully his sister was spared…others are not so fortunate.

 

While upcountry, Sam was shocked to discover agencies just like the ones in Nairobi, are devouring families. Because it seems like a legitimate job opportunity and because the poverty level is so high, families willingly agree to send their children for work… He met two families who just lost their daughters.  

Sam told me that his heart was so broken when he saw how big the problem is and asked us to pray for him. Although he is overwhelmed with sadness he is committed to speak out – bringing awareness and warnings to pastors and leaders. Sam attended our Awareness Seminar at Calvary Chapel Nairobi in August and now passes the information along as he travels. Please pray for Sam to have discernment and boldness. Pray the communities will heed the warnings!

 

Nodding Disease ~by Vicky Bentley

…The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much. James 5:16

 

Our Kitgum, Uganda outreaches to children are passionately praying for the children attacked by “Nodding Disease.” The World Health Organization, the Center for Disease Control and various other experts have unable to trace the cause of this FATAL illness. It starts as seizures, progresses into epilepsy, and slowly they become completely incapacitated and die.

 

Missionaries on the ground say the statistics are worse than what is being reported in the paper. Hundreds of children in Northern Uganda have been already perished; thousands more are sick. Nodding Disease predominately affects children. There is no known cure…

 

Today I received an urgent prayer request asking for all who are willing to fast and pray for these children this week. Please pray with us this week. These families have been through severe trauma and heartache only Jesus can fully understand…Now is the time for us to bridge this gap, restore the breach and PRAY God will revive Northern Uganda, one soul at a time.

 

Lois Ford, Founder and Director of Tender Trust, has been reaching out to the villages hit the hardest. One family shared with her as tears were streaming down their faces, how they survived the attacks, escaped abduction by the rebels, endured the horrors of the IDP (internally displaced persons) Camps, resettled, sweated and toiled to cultivate, scrimped and saved to get their children in school and now their ONLY two children had advanced stage nodding disease.

 

Please ask God to sweep through like a flood, carrying away all the pain and aftermath of the LRA, all the devastation and hopelessness of this disease, and bring a season of healing and total spiritual restoration.

 

Listen! The LORD's arm is not too weak to save you, nor is His ear

too deaf to hear you call. …Do not remember the former things,

nor consider the things of old. Behold, I will do a new thing…

With this news, strengthen those who have tired hands,

and encourage those who have weak knees.

Say to those with fearful hearts,

“Be strong, and do not fear, for your God is coming to destroy

your enemies. He is coming to save you.”…

Ah Lord GOD! Behold, Thou hast made the heaven and the earth

by Thy great power and stretched out arm, and

 there is nothing too hard for Thee…

 

O sing unto the LORD a new song;

for He hath done marvelous things:

His right hand, and His holy arm, have brought Him the victory…

He acted with a strong hand and powerful arm.

His faithful love endures forever….

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation;

old things have passed away;

behold, all things have become new. …

 

Isaiah 59:17 (NLT) Isaiah 43:18-19; Isaiah 35:4-5 (NLT); Jeremiah 32:17;

Psalm 98:1, Psalm 136:12 (NLT); 2 Corinthians 5:17

John ~ by Vicky Bentley

John listening as I read Anne Graham Lotz's, "Heaven, God's Promise for Me."

Meet my friend John! His smile is ALWAYS that bright and He loves Jesus passionately. John and his family fled from the LRA and now live at Canaan Farm. His mother Ketty is part of Rabuna Fi and

is sewing the "pouches of prayer" - bags to hold the Bible,

workbook, pen and paper that will be given to

EVERY guest at the  Anne Graham Lotz, Rooted in More of Jesus Uganda event.

(See the amazing story at: http://frmusa.blogspot.com/2012/09/pouches-of-prayer-by-vicky-bentley_6.html).

The same Jesus Ketty worships is alive in John...

His joy remains even when sitting in his wheel chair starts to hurt,

or it gets lonely in his room because no one is there to talk with him...  

John and Jesus go through life hand in hand,

heart to heart...I want to live like that too...don't you?

I hope one day you will come and see it for yourself....

because if John hears you came just to see him

he will flash that smile I love so much...

as proof of that your love in action

feels to John exactly like the touch of Jesus love he knows so well..