March Forward

Dear Precious Ladies

Oh wow we have come to the end of yet another month. February 2015 will never come again during our lifespan. It does not matter how good or how bad it was, the end of February has come.

We might want it to linger longer or we might want to hold on to it but we have to let go. It’s interesting to note that the coming month is March! This is an action word that denotes movement, rhythm and order. One of its synonyms is to come forward. Coming forward has an element of making progress or proceeding. The year is proceeding and moving forward and so must we.

In the book of Philippians 3:13 the apostle Paul says, “Brothers and sisters. I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead…” I would like to encourage you to look forward and continue to pursue God. You might not have managed to lay hold of that which you had planned for February or even for the year. Do not give up on your dreams and goals. Do not allow disappointment and discouragement to settle in your heart. Leave your regrets and failures in February. You cannot afford to march forward carrying baggage into March. This will hinder your march and your progress in the Lord and in life. Remember we get one shot at life, there are no rehearsals and there is no month that comes twice in one year. Dust yourself up and move forward. It’s not too late to recover lost ground. The Lord is there to help you to advance.

The word strain in Philippians 3:13 has stretching implications, it also implies pain, injury force, pressure and excessive demand. The apostle Paul says, “ ..straining toward what is ahead...” This shows that moving forward and making progress is not always easy. Sometimes there is pain, demands and pressure on us as we move forward. We can push past the pain and hindrances and challenges. This March the grace of the Lord abounds to all of us enabling us to make progress despite our current circumstances. May we all reach out for what is ahead of us instead of being stuck in what lies behind us. We can learn valuable lessons from our past but then the past should remain in the past because it has now passed!!

I pray that this month of March maybe a notable month for you, that you will flourish and blossom in it. Continue to move forward in your prayer life, reading of the word, and exercising spiritual disciplines that enhance your character. Continue to work hard and to be diligent in all you do. Continue to love the Lord your God and to serve Him in the field you are. The Lord will surely visit you and bless you this month so sisters let us march on in March!

I am inviting you all who can make it to our annual conference on the 6th and 7th of March. To those of you who are in other parts of the world do pray for us we are expecting a mighty move of God during this conference and beyond. We know that no woman attending will go back home the same way they are coming. The Lord will surely visit us.

Much Love

Pastor Fatima Sibanda
Chairperson

Run to Jesus

Dear Precious Ladies

February is already moving forward and we thank God for all that He did for us in January.

How are you all doing and are you keeping up with your resolutions if you had any? If not how has your year been so far? Here is another opportunity to start again and make sure you glean valuable lessons from January. Remember not to carry over what is not beneficial to you in this new month. Many of you have been on different fasting and seeking the Lord programmes. Rest assured that those who hunger and thirst for righteousness will be filled, Jesus meant it when He spoke those words. I have since realised that I cannot seek after God or serve Him with all my heart without His help. I cannot achieve any of my goals without Him either. I want to encourage you to continue to depend on Him, run to Him and you will be safe.

Recently I have been reading from the book of Luke 4 during the time Jesus was fasting and praying and I saw something that opened my eyes to some of the tactics of Satan. I saw how Satan had the audacity to approach Jesus during the time when Jesus had separated Himself to seek the Lord. He tried to distract Jesus from his time of sanctification by making Him many offers including wanting Jesus to stop fasting and eat. I saw how Satan was twisting the scriptures to make them say what he wanted in order to deceive Jesus. I was startled by how he offered Jesus power and fame i.e. authority and splendour. He went on to say, “I give authority and splendour to anyone I want to." This he would give in exchange for being worshipped!! My dear sisters, let us not be distracted by him and focus on our love and service for God. We must not accept any of his offers! Influence and wealth that come from Satan will enslave you in the long run. If you accept any of his goods he will come viciously and aggressively after them.

Luke 4:13 states that “When the devil had finished all this tempting he left him until an opportune time.” To tempt means to lure someone to do evil or to pull towards doing what is not right. Satan’s agenda was to try and stop Jesus from doing what was right. He will try to stop us and to pull us towards doing what is wrong whether in our thoughts, actions or attitudes. We must not give him room (Ephesians 4:27).The word opportune means: convenient, suitable, favourable, appropriate and a golden moment. He left Jesus temporarily and waited for a convenient moment to come back. My sisters, Satan is looking for a convenient time to pounce on us, our families, churches, workplaces and our nations. He is looking for a suitable time that is favourable for his attacks. As we proceed with the month let us not open the door or create room for him to pull us towards doing what is wrong. Let him have nothing in us in any area of our lives.

In 1 Corinthians 10:13 we are assured that “No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; He will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, He will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.” My prayer is that we do not give Satan room and that when we are tempted we see the way of escape that the Lord has provided for us. May we continue to pursue Him with all our hearts and the Lord will help us. Have a fantastic fabulous February.

Again I invite you to our annual Celebrating Womanhood Conference 2015 on the 6th and 7th of March. It will be held at our church, so you can write us if you need more information about the conference. Grace to overcome temptations in the month of February and beyond be multiplied to you all.

Much love and blessings,

Pastor Fatima Sibanda
CHAIRPERSON