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 1 Testimonies 3 The Founder’s message 3 The Book Stand 4 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 2 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 3 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 4