Activated April 2005

8/14/2019 Activated April 2005

1/16

ctiv teCHANGE YOUR LIFE CHANGE YOUR WORLD

GODS POSITION

ON WARAnd what He plans to do about it

POWER TO FORGIVECould you do what this woman did?

LOVE WITHOUT PARTIALITYIt can be yours


2/16

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Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture

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CHANGE YOUR LIFE.

CHANGE YOUR WORLD.

Vol 6, Issue 4

April 2005

EDITOR

Keith Phillips

DESIGN

Giselle LeFavre

PRODUCTION

Francisco Lopez

PERSONALLY SPEAKING

Whenever I hear someone bemoaning thestate of the world, Im reminded of something I

first heard many years ago: If youre not partof the solution, youre part of the problem. Asan idealistic college student at the time, it waseasy enough to identify the problem as all theinjustice and suffering in the world. That quotewhich I later learned was by U.S. civil rightsactivist Eldridge Cleaver, didnt tell me how I

could become part of the solution, but it didreinforce my growing conviction that I couldntturn a blind eye to the problem.

Then I came across a similar quotation:He who is not with Me is against Me, and hewho does not gather with Me scatters abroad(Matthew 12:30). I was reading the Bible forthe first time, and finding answers for the firsttime. The more I read, the clearer the solutionbecame: Love your neighbor as yourself(Matthew 22:39). And the more I grew to believin that solution, the more Jesus challenged meto do something about it. Whoever desires tosave his life will lose it, but whoever loses his li

for My sake and the Gospels will save it (Mar8:35). That was quite a challenge! But then themost wonderful thing happened. I discoveredthat Jesus would empower me to do whateverHe asked of me. And He has, in spite of mymistakes and shortcomings.

Jesus needs you too. Will you gather withHim? He doesnt expect you to change thewhole worldjust to do your best, day by day,in your corner of it. Will you give Him a chanceto love and help others through you? Will you

dare to be part of the solution?

Keith Phillips

For the Activated family

2 ACTIVATED VOL 6, ISSU


3/16

SEVERAL YEARSAGO, while I was doingvolunteer work in Paraguay with several othermembers of the Family International, wehad an ongoing ministry at a nearby prison.During one visit, an inmate I hadnt met before

related the following story.Two months earlier, he and two other

prisoners drugged their guards, took theirguns, and escaped. Other police officersquickly realized what was happening andfollowed the men. One of the escapees diedin the ensuing gun battle, the man givingme this account was shot in the leg andsurrendered, and the third escapee wascaptured the next day.

By this point in the story I realized that thishad all taken place around the corner fromour house. I remembered distinctly that whenwe had heard gunshots, we had gathered

in our house and prayed desperately for oursafety and against further bloodshed.

After I was wounded, the inmatecontinued, I turned and was about to shootthe policeman who had shot me, but thenI heard a voice say, Dont shoot him! He isyour brother. Give him your gun. I obeyed thevoice and surrendered. The policeman couldhave shot and killed me right there, but hedidnt. Im also very thankful now that I didntshoot him!

We explained that we had prayed duringthe gun battle, and that we also pray everyday for our safety. The angel of the Lordencamps all around those who fear Him, anddelivers them (Psalm 34:7). Perhaps it was

one of the angels that watch over our housewho helped him do the right thing. We arecontinuing to counsel this man, and hope tohelp him make a new start.

Your Own Angel sGOD WILLSENDANGELSjust

when you need them. Youmay hear a flutter over yourshoulder, or think you seesomething out of the cornerof your eye. Or maybe therewill be an old man you meeton your path, who directs youthe right way and seems tohave a lively light and lovein his eyes. Or you may justfeel a certain warmth andpeacean assurance thatsomehow everything is going

to be all right.As things get worse and

worse in this old world, youllneed the help of these angelicbeings more and more, andHell send them more andmore. The Lord wants you toknow that He loves you, thatHe cares, and sending angelsto help you is just one of themany ways He shows it. So

dont forget that if you trust inGod and His help, youll haveangels watching over youyour own personal angel orangels, sent by the Lord to

take care of you!

DAVID BRANDT BERG

ACTIVATED VOL 6, ISSUE 4 3


4/16

A MESSAGE FROM JES

THE SKIESAREBLACKWITHCLOUDSthe clou

of the smoke of war. The ground is red withbloodthe blood of innocent lives caughtin the inferno and torments of war. Villages,towns, and cities are being destroyed. Poor aninnocent civilians, including small children, being deprived of basic necessities. Families being torn apart, watching their loved ones din pain and agony. Is any cause worth so greacost in human life? Are injustices on the part one government corrected by the injustices oanother? What government is righteous and j

and worthy of judging another?No army can claim to be waging war on

the side of right. War, killing, death, anddestruction are not right. Humanity was placon this earth to love and care for one anotherbut because of selfishness and greed, the worhas become increasingly corrupt, and fightinand killing have become a way of life. This wanever meant to be.



5/16

Those who wage war in the name of God,claiming His blessing on their cause, aremistaken. Many are misled by their own senseof right and righteousness, while others actout of hypocrisy. Those who truly know andlove God, and those who follow My words

and example strive for peace. Blessed arethe peacemakers, for they shall be called thechildren of God (Matthew 5:9, KJV). I went sofar as to say that you should love your enemies,bless those who curse you, and do good to those

who hate you (Matthew 5:44). Do those whoare so intent on waging war heed My words inthis? Or do they merely call on God with theirlips, but their hearts are far from Him?

Let those who think they stand take heed,for their time is coming, and they will fall. Itis a law of God and of nature that you willreap what you sow. Those who wage war, whopursue the domination, destruction, anddevastation of other lands will reap sorrow andbloodshed themselves.

I know the hearts of men. I will reward thepeacemakers. I will judge the warmongers.Every man will give account before Me inthe Day of Judgment. Search your own heart.Determine where you standwhether on the

side of peace or the side of war, on the side offreedom or the side of tyranny.

God is a lmighty. He could use His powerto force humanity to do what is right, but Hechose to give man the majesty of choice. Heallows each person and each nation to deter-mine their own destiny through the choicesthey make. He does not impose His will or Hisplan upon mankind. How much less shouldmere mortals impose their will and plan uponothers? People should never force others to

conform to their beliefs or way of life. One gov-ernment should never force another to operateaccording to its ideals and desires. This is notGods way. This is not His plan.

If you stand by when the freedoms of anothernation are being violated, do not be surprisedif someday you find your own freedoms lost. If

you have freedom of speech now but you donot use that freedom and speak out against

oppression and tyranny, one day you will loseDo not take your privileges lightly.

Are you a peacemaker and worthy to becalled a child of God? Are you personallyacquainted with the God who is love? Have

you come to Him by praying to receive Me int

your life? If you know Me in name only, you cachange that here and now. Get to know Me pesonally and intimately. Receive My spirit of lopeace, and light into your life and heart. TalkMe. Call on Me. If you dont know what to say

you can pray this prayer:Jesus, I want to know You personally. I want

to understand the truth. I want to see the worldthe way You see it. I want to understand Yourwill, and I want to do my part to fulfill Your wilI want to stand up for truth and justice. Giveme strength to do so. Show me what I can do tochange the world around me for the better. Showme how to love my fellow man, how to help andcare for others as You would help and care forthem if You walked on earth today. Show mewhat I can do to promote peace. Amen.

Take a stand with God, a sta nd for peace, astand against war. Take a stand for freedom,and against the hypocrisy, greed, and selfish-ness of those who are eager to wage war. Pray

for peace. Pray for the innocent. Remember, yare accountable to God and will stand beforeHim one day. Live accordingly.



6/16

Childrens choirs sing a sothat is popular throughout tregion. The lyrics are a pleafor love to survive in good abad times.

Whirling dervishes fromTurkey dance in intoxicatin

rhythm.Cheers are hearda doz

young men from Mostar hajust jumped with torches intheir hands off the 30-metehigh stone arch into the rivbelow.

Speeches are given byimportant men.

We must work togetherto foster a new era in which

dialogue, understanding, anreconciliation replace theturbulent past.

With this bridge we canprove something wonderfulhope triumphs overbarbarism.

Let this bridge guide us inbuilding a better future.

SOMETHINGTHEREIS THATDOESNTLOVE

AWALL, wrote Robert Frost (18741963)in his well-known poem Mending

Walls. But there is something that loves abridge. People write songs about bridges,like Simon and Garfunkels Bridge overTroubled Waters. People talk about makingpeace by bridging their differences. We

forgive and forget hurts and wrongs byothers because it is water under the bridge.Bridges are a symbol of reconciliation andhuman solidarity.

Perhaps nowhere can this symbolismbe so clearly seen as in Mostar, Bosnia-Herzegovina. It is Friday, July 23, 2004, anda replica of the Stari Most, or Old Bridge,from which the city takes its name, is aboutto be opened.

It took ten years to build the original

bridge, as each of the over one thousandstones were handcrafted to fit perfectly. It

was completed in 1566. For over 400 years itwithstood invasions, wars, a nd even earth-quakes. Two days of continuous shellingfrom artillery brought it down in 1993.

The opening ceremony is about to begin.Church bells and calls to prayer fromMostars mosques blend in unison.

By Cur t i s Pe te rVan Gorder

The weakcan never

forgive. For-giveness is

the attributeof the strong.MAHATMA

GANDHI

Yes, this iswhat good

is: to forgiveevil. There is

no other good.ANTONIOPORCHIA

He whocannot forgive

others, breaksthe bridge

over whichhe himselfmust pass;

for every manhas need tobe forgiven.GEORGEHERBERT

bridgesb u i l d i n g

b r i d g e s



7/16

We leave the speeches andmill about the crowd to findout what this bridge means tothe Mostaris.

Lets ask this man. A painterby trade, 55-year-old Zarisa

Velic is a Muslim. Do youremember how you felt whenthe bridge was destroyed?

When the bridge wentdown, it hurt my heart andsoul, but it couldnt preventpeople from communicating

with each other.And here is Borislav Sukic,

a Croat who works for theemergency medical serv icein Mostar. How do you feeltonight?

I feel like Ive been born

again, and I think that thisfeeling is shared by everyMostar resident.

And here is one of the archi-tects of the reconstruction ofthis bridge, Ivan Demirovic,

who is 56 years old. Tell us whythis bridge is so important.

Mostar was the Florence ofthe Ottoman Empire. It wasa tolerant and open city to

different cultures. The OldBridge was a door betweenEast and West.

So why was it destroyed?Destroying it wa s

definitely intended to destroythe spir it of the city, but wemust show that they didntsucceed.

How did the war affect you?The war cracked the city in two and came

down like a storm on my family. My sonSuleiman was seriously wounded in combat, my

wife and daughter were deported to Ljubuskiconcentration camp, and I was in jail for one

year. My house, on the other side of the river,was confiscated. But all of that is the past. Thisbridge is the future. My son and I have workedhard to rebuild this bridge.

Next to him is another architect, Carlo Blasi,who has come from Italy to help on this project.

Can you tell us more about the originalbridge?

The technology used to build this bridge wasvery sophisticated, based on perfect geometry.It is not an exaggeration to compare its builder,Hajruddin, to his contemporary Michelangelo,and the Stari Most to the cupola of St. PetersCathedral in Rome. It is a masterpiece!

Here is a woman waiting to cross the bridgewith her four young children. How do you feelabout this bridge reopening?

I feel great! Now I know what true happi-ness is.

What brought you here?I could not resist bringing the children to the

bridge. They were all born after its destruction,and this is their first chance to cross it, she says.

The ceremony is fin ished. The night sky isexploding in f ireworks. The signal is given,

and thousands of smiling Mostar residentsrush to cross the bridge.

The joy of tonight will remain for a longtime to come. We pray the love remains also.

As the popular song goes, May love survive ingood and bad times.

True, the wounds of war are sti ll here, butthe healing process has begun. A bridge hasbeen built.

There is nodifficulty

that enoughlove will not

conquer;no disease

that enough

love will notheal; no doothat enoughlove will not

open; no gulthat enoughlove will notbridge; nowall that

enough love

will not throw

down; no sinthat enoughlove will notredeem. ...

It makes nodifferencehow deeply

seatedmay be the

trouble; howhopeless theoutlook; how

muddled

the tangle;how great

the mistakeA sufficientrealizationof love will

dissolve it alEMMET FOX

To forgiveis to set a

prisoner freeand discove

that theprisoner was

you.LEWIS B.SMEDES

FireworksaresetoffinMostartoinaugurateareplicaofthe16thcenturybridgedestroyedin

1993duringthearmedethnicconflictthattoreYugoslaviaapart.ThereopeningoftheStariMost,

orOldBridge,fromwhichthetownofMostartakesitsname,wasamajorsymbolofreconciliation

betweenMostarsCroatsandMuslims,whokeepmainlytotheirrespectivesidesoftheNeretvaRiver.



8/16

BY MARIA FONTAINE

God created people to be

different, and He loves

them all. His great love

and grace reach out to all

of His creations the same.

YOU SEEANDHEARIT ALLTHETIMEdiscrimination against minority races,minority religions, and minorities of allkinds, from governmental oppression andpersecution to prejudiced individuals with

their rude jokes and antagonistic behavior.What a stark contrast that is to the way God isand the way He wants us to be! The Bible tellsus that God shows no partiality (Acts 10:34).

In just about every country, lines are sharplydrawn between the rich and the poor, the edu-cated and the uneducated, the predominantrace and the minority races, the predominantreligion and the discriminated-against smallerreligions. The mainstream majority invariablydenigrates and despises the minority.

Racial and religious discrimination andhatred are thriving in the world today. TheBible says that in the Last Days the love ofmany shall wax cold (Matthew 24:12), andthis can be clearly seen in an increasingly hatefilled society. The news media is full of moreand more headlines of bigotry, cruelty, andcrimes against those who are different or holddiffering views from the majority.



9/16

We must not let ourselves be inf luencedby or fall into societys way of dealing withdifferences between people. God has given usa betterway, and that is to loveone another.

In our dealings with others we must be verycareful to not judge according to appearance,but judge with righteous judgment (John7:24). Making a hasty judgment based onsomething negative that you hear is not wise,and is usually incorrect. There are at least twosides to every story. If we respond to the firstnegative word about a situation or people byrejecting any possibility of there being anygood in them, then we are certainly guiltyof judging a matter before we hear it in itsentirety, and it will be folly and shame tous (Proverbs 18:13). We cant love or evensympathize with people unless we understandthem, and we cant truly understand them

without putting ourselves in their place ortrying to see things from their perspective.

Love the sinnerhate the sin!This is adistinction we need to always make. We mustnot let the sin negate our love for the sinner.

We must not see the sin as all-encompassing,

for love will cover a multitude of sins (1Peter 4:8). As the Bible says, There is nonerighteous, no, not one (Romans 3:10). Weneed to learn to see beyond the sins that arefound in each person to thegoodthat is foundin each person. No one is allbad, and nothingis all negative. We need to look for the goodand the possibilities in people and situations.

Whether someone is black or white or yellow orbrown, a Jew or a Gentile, Buddhist or Hinduor whatever, should have nothing to do with it.

Its sin that the Lord doesnt like, not peoplesrace or color or social status.

When you start putting more emphasison damning the sin than loving the sinner,

watch out! God does everything possible toloveus into His Kingdom. What wonyou toJesus? Was it having your sins exposed one byone and being told you were a filthy rottensinner? Were you belittled and criticized and

condemned for all of the wrong you had donOr were you told that regardless of what youhad done, there was a wonderful loving Fath

who loved you so much that He was willing t

send His beloved Son to die for you, to makea place for you by His side where you could bforever happy and at peace with Him? Goddemonstrates His own love toward us, in tha

while we were still sinners, Christ died for u(Romans 5:8).

If people have to be free of their sins beforwe can love them, who will there be to love?If we start judging people on the basis of theisins, who will ever meet our standard? If theLord kept a record of sins, who could stand?(Psalm 130:3). Were allhopeless without Golove, and thats the only thing that can saveus! While God teaches hatred of sin, He showgreat love for the individual sinner, just as Hdid for each of us.

God created people to be different, andHe loves them all. His great love and gracereach out to all of His creations the same.He didnt make some that He loved less anothers that He loved more. He doesnt love

people with a certain color of skin a ny mothan He loves people with another colorof skin. If we show a prejudicial, belittlingdemeaning spirit like that toward others, imust hurt Him very much.

We are supposed to love al l people the samJesus gave His life for allhumankind. Howcould He love one person more than the othe

when He has shown the very greatest love posible by dying for each of them?

Like the universal heavenly Father that H

is, God loves all people equally. When youreparent, as your children come along, you loveach one to the ful lest. You put everything ycan into each one according to their particular needs. You give your life over again foreach one. And regardless of their differences

you love each one individually with as muchlove as you have to give.

Thats how God loves. Can we love the sam



10/16

I DISCOVEREDTHEPOWEROF FORGIVENESS ona July afternoon in 1976. It was during theIdi Amin regime, when Uganda had cometo a standstillcareers, the economy, theinfrastructure, education, everything. I was astudent at Makerere University, and also new

married and expecting a baby.Because the university didnt have any

supplies and the lecturers didnt have any futo get them to and from the university, theydidnt come to teach us. So we students woulgo to the library every morning and eitherread there, or get books to study in our roomIdi Amin, not having gone to school himself,didnt understand why we were doing that. Hthought it was a demonstration against him,so he routinely sent soldiers to the campus to

terrorize us students.At that time my husband was working in th

northern part of the country, near the borderwith Sudan. Every so often he would come toKampala or I would visit him and we wouldspend a few days together. He had just come fthe weekend, and Monday morning he droppme at the campus. When I got to my room, myroommate, Judith, and another friend, Brend

FORGIVE

StellaSabitiwithherhusban

danddaughterabout

oneyearafterherMakerere

Universityordeal.



11/16

told me that soldiers had been coming andgoing from another hall of residence on theother side of the campus, and had broken thingsand beaten up some students.

This wasnt the first time this had happened.Off and on truckloads of soldiers would come

and beat some of the boys. We girls would shoutat the soldiers from the balconies of our rooms,telling them to stop, and they would yell backthat we were stupid women who didnt knowanything. We were used to not being attacked bythem because we were women.

About noon that Monday there was a knockon our door. We thought it was some friendsplaying a joke on us, so we shouted, Go away,

you soldiers! and we laughed. You know howstudents are. But the knocking got louder and

louder until we realized that it wassoldiers!Brenda and I ran onto the balcony and

crouched down. Judith jumped into her bedand covered herself. Moments later, the soldiersbroke down the door with such force that bitsand pieces of the lock and door flew across theroom and out onto the balcony. Soldiers burstinto the room, shouting. Miraculously they neversaw Judith in bed, but they did find Brenda and

me on the balcony. I remember thinking, This it!Anytime the soldiers went after someone inparticular, that was the end of them.

They pulled us from the balcony and shoveus through the room and into the corridor atgunpoint. One soldier stayed behind and leafe

through our papers. Judith could hear him jusa few feet away, but he never saw her.

We found you! We found you! they keptshouting at me, as though they were sure I wassome sort of ringleader. When we got to the topof the stairs, they pushed us down. Each time w

would get up, they would push us again. Fall aroll, get up, fall and roll, down one flight of staafter another. At the top of the last flight of sta

which was the longest, one of the soldiers hit mfrom behind so hard that I went flying and did

stop until I hit the f loor. I lost consciousness.When the others reached the bottom of the

stairs with Brenda, they said they were takingus to Makindye, a barracks that at the time waa slaughterhouse. But first they took us nextdoor to Lumumba Hall, a male hall of residenbuilt around a courtyard. There soldiers weretorturing the boysboys we knew, good boys

Apparently this had been going on all mornin

IT HAPPENEDTO ME

POWER TBY STELLA SABITI,AS TOLD TO ACTIVATED EAST AFRICA

CORRESPONDENT KATHLEEN MURAWKA



12/16

without us knowing about it, even though wewere in the next building.

The soldiers made Brenda and me join theboys for a while, but soon we were all ordered togo outside, in front of the hall. Brenda and I wereseparated from the others. I was told I would getspecial treatment because I was the ringleader.

More soldiers arrivedhundreds of them.They brought many more girls outside andmade them join the boys, crawling half-nakedback and forth at gunpoint on the tarmac, theirknees bare and bloody. When Judith saw what

was happening outside, she felt so bad for therest of us that she voluntarily came and joinedthat group. I dont know that I would have beenstrong enough to do that!

I have no idea why they thought I was theringleader. They didnt have any reason. Butsurprisingly, that was the thing that gave mestrengthknowing that the accusations theykept shouting at me were baseless. They beatand whipped and trampled Brenda and me, buttheir main attention was on me. This went onnonstop for hoursone cruel form of tortureafter another. I wont go into all the detailshere, but it got worse, especially for some of the

women found hiding in their rooms. The sol-diers had a field day on us! Remember, I was also

about one month pregnant at the time. It was amiracle that the baby survived. Rita is 27 now.

By the end of the afternoon, the soldiersapparently decided they had tortured meenough and said they were taking me toMakindye, the slaughterhouse. But before Idied, I wanted to find out why they were doingthis to me. Why, out of the hundreds of girlsat my hall of residence, had they picked me asthe ringleader?

All day I hadnt said anything. I hadnt cried.

I hadnt screamed. I hadnt done anything toresist. I had been like a piece of wood. Now partof me wanted to ask them why they were doingthis to me, but another part said that if I did, it

would only make them come down harder onme. Then a voice inside said,Just look into theireyes. Thats where you will find the reason for this.

So I looked them in the eye, and I was sosurprised at what I saw there! Despite all their

curses and bravado, they were hurting insideThey didnt like what they were doing, contrato what I had thought all along.

I was so overwhelmed with compassion forthem that I wanted to tell them before I died tI understood, that it was okay. But how couldI tell them that? I was still being beaten and

tortured, but between blows the thought camto me,Maybe if I talk about something we havecommon, that will help them understand. It wacrazy idea, but I didnt care. I had nothing to l

But what did I have in common with thossoldiers? They were strong menI was apregnant woman. They had guns, boots,

whipsI was just a simple girl and helpless.Then it dawned on me. Youve just beenmarried, youre expecting a baby. These menmust have families too.

What did your wives cook for you last nigI asked.

What!? they asked in disbelief. And thenthey said something in Kiswahili. WheneverIdi Amins soldiers tortured people, they spokin Kiswahili. Thats why most Ugandans todadont speak Kiswahilithey associate it withtorture and bad things. What a stupid womathey yelled, and they kicked me some more.

Stella Sabiti today.



13/16

When they stopped, I took a deep breath andasked them again, What did your wife cook for

you last night? They hit me again. That contin-ued until they must have thought, Lets humorthis dying thing. And they started answering, Iate this, and, I ate that.

Then I asked, Where do your children go to

school? Did you take your children to schoolthis morning?

My simple questions led to a conversation,and the soldiers eventually sat down with meunder a tree, where we talked and laughed. Yes,

we actually laughed together! Brenda told melater that when she saw that scene, the fearand pain left her.

It turned out that the soldiers who had beenwith me the whole day were the leaders. Theymade a signal, and the whole thing stopped,

just like that! By this time it was around 6:30, sosome of the boys had been tortured all day longand the rest of us for about six hours.

Trucks came and collected the soldiers, andambulances came for us who were the mostseverely injured. All the gates to the universityhad been locked and guarded all day, but theambulances must have been waiting outsidebecause they arrived immediately, while thesoldiers were still leaving.

The university cooks and kitchen staff, whothe soldiers hadnt harassed, brought us stu-dents tea and bread, then sat with us on theground and cried for us. Thats when I finallybroke down. I couldnt imagine what it hadbeen like for them, having to witness all this butbeing unable to do anything to stop it.

Looking back, I can honesty say that I for-gave those soldiers the moment I looked themin the eye, because thats when I realized thatall of usstudents and soldiers alikewere

victims of something we didnt understand.And when I asked them about their homes andfami lies, they got the message that I realizedthat and forgave them.

I also owe a lot to my upbringing. My par-ents taught me that there is some goodnessin everyone, no matter what. There has to be,because the Bible tells us that God created usin His own image.

That experience gave me so much strengthand showed me that I should never fear anothhuman beingnever! Thats how I can do the

work I do today. Im at ease even with armedsoldiers, and will even go into areas wherethere are landmines. I fear the landminesand the guns, but I dont fear those soldiers or

rebels holding the guns or planting the land-mines. I know that they are human, just likeme, and we share a deep commonality that canever be taken away.

Having gone through that experience atMakerere University gives legitimacy to thetalks I now give about forgiveness. When I telmy own story of how I was able to forgive andthe wonderful things that happened as a resupeople listen.

Why should I forgive anyone who doesntsay they are sorry? people often ask me. AndI tell them, Life is too short for me to hangaround waiting for someone to say sorry tome. My saying, Its okayI forgive you, doenot depend on others saying they a re sorry. Fome thats not a precondition. The Our Fatherdoesnt say, Please forgive me so I can go andforgive others. Jesus taught us that we need toforgive others before we can ask to be forgiven

So much good has come from that horrible

experience. Best of all, I discovered that, likeeveryone else, I was born with a wonderfulsomethingthe power to love people! I didnthave to earn it. Its just there. And it doesnt ruout. The more I use it, the more I get!

Stella Sabiti is the executive director of theCenter for Conflict Resolution (CECORE), aUganda-based not-for-profit NGO founded in1995 by women aspiring to promote alternativand creative means of preventing, managing,

and resolving conflict. She has taken hermessage of forgiveness and reconciliationto Northern Ireland, the Asia-Pacific Region,North America, Central America, South

America, and various African countries, and

has been instrumental in helping to resolvebloody conflicts in Uganda, the DemocraticRepublic of Congo, Liberia, the Sudan,Rwanda, Burundi, and elsewhere.



14/16

NEVER TOO LATE

FOR LOVE

The simple love of God and each ot hecan solve all of our problems. His loveis the answer to everything: It savessouls, forgives sins, satisfies hearts,purifies minds, redeems bodies, winsfriends, and makes life worth living.It can survive almost any diff iculty,

difference, weakness, shortcoming,failure, fault, sin, or obstacle. Itsthe only truth, the only way, andthe only peace. Love even hascreative power, because God is loveand He is the Creator (1 John 4:8). Hislove can change wrecks of l ives into

wonderful, productive, happy, warm,glowing sons and daughters of God. Ican do anything. Nothing can resistthe power of Gods love. Whatever it

touches, it changes. Its so beautiful!Theres nothing like it. It can healevery disease and cleanse every stainIts all-powerful. Love knows nohours or days. Love is always, forlove is God and God is always. Itslike a stream, a river, that just keepsflowing no matter what.

DAVID BRANDT BERG

loveenoughYou may feel that what youve suffered is unpardon-

able, beyond forgiveness, but God can lift that burdenand give you a change of heart. The miracle-working loveof God is love enough to forgiveand to helpyou forgive.

GABRIEL SARMIENTO

No matter what losswe may suffer, wellalways have Jesus.

Deuteronomy 33:27aPsalm 142:45Isaiah 54:10Matthew 28:20bJohn 14:18Hebrews 13:5b

God understandsexactly what youre

going through.Exodus 3:7Psalm 103:1314Isaiah 53:3a,4aIsaiah 63:9Hebrews 4:15

The Lord knows everytear youve shed.2 Kings 20:5bPsalm 6:6,9Psalm 39:12a

Psalm 56:8b

FEEDING READING

COMFORT IN SORROW

God always has a good reason for allowingsorrow in our livesTo make us wiser: Ecclesiastes 7:34

To bring about good: Romans 8:28

To drive us to His Word: Psalm 119:50,67

To teach us compassion: 2 Corinthians 1:4

To bring us to repentance: 2 Corinthians 7:911

To prepare us for greater service: 2 Timothy 2:12a

To teach us patience: James 1:24

To draw us closer to Jesus: 1 Peter 1:68To strengthen us: 1 Peter 5:10

Trust God through yoursorrow, like King David.Psalm 13:2,5

Psalm 38:6,9,15,1718,2122

Psalm 42:9,11Psalm 55:2,4,68,22Psalm 69:2931

Earth has no sorrowthat Heaven cannotheal.Isaiah 25:8aIsaiah 60:20Luke 12:32Luke 16:1922a,25John 16:2122Romans 8:182 Corinthians 1:72 Corinthians 4:172 Timothy 2:12aRevelation 7:17Revelation 21:4



15/16

THANK GOD FOR HEAVEN!BY DAVID BRANDT BERG

Wouldnt you just love to enjoy all the blessings you have right

now without any pain, sickness, death, weariness, or any of theother difficulties of this present life? We will never get to truly enjoylife to the full as long as sin and its results are in the world, but inHeaven there will be none of these (Revelation 21:4). There all ofour hearts desires will be fulfilled.

Its going to be a sinless new world where everything will bea joy and a pleasure and perfect, with peace and harmony andcooperation and love for all. Everything there will be truethe truth,the whole truth and nothing but the truth! Everybody there will belike Jesusgood and honest and loving and caring and kind. It willbe the perfect society, where everyone will be in perfect fellowshipwith each other and the Lord. Isnt that beautiful?

Gods plan is not going to be defeated. Hes going to bring usthrough to final perfection the way He originally intended. We

will have eternal, wonderful happiness, joy, and paradise, similarto what we who love the Lord have now, only it will be far betterand it will be forever! Thank God for the hope of such wonderfulthings to come!

[WISDOM FROM ABOVE]

The wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle,willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality andwithout hypocrisy. Now the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace

by those who make peace (James 3:1718).

REMEMBER THIS

When the concentration camp at Ravensbrck, Germany,was liberated by the Allies af ter World War II, a piece of tornwrapping paper was found, on which an unknown prisoner had

scribbled these lines:Oh Lord, remember not only the men and women of good will,

but also those of ill will. But do not remember all the suffering theyhave inflicted on us; remember the fruits we have brought forth,thanks to this sufferingour comradeship, our loyalty, our humility,

our courage, our generosity, the greatness of heart which hasgrown out of all this. And when they come to judgment, let all thefruits which we have borne be their forgiveness.

AUTHOR UNKNOWN

An Instrument

of Thy Peace

Lord, make me an

instrument of Thy peace.

Where there is hatred,

let me sow love;

Where there is injury,

pardon;

Where there is doubt, faith;

Where there is despair, hope

Where there is darkness,

light;

Where there is sadness, joy.

O divine Master, grant thatI may not so much seek

To be consoled as to console

To be understood

as to understand,

To be loved as to love;

For it is in giving

that we receive;

It is in pardoningthat we are pardoned;

It is in dying that we are

born to eternal life.

AUTHOR UNKNOWN,

OFTEN ATTRIBUTED TO

SAINT FRANCIS OF ASSISI



16/16

PRINCE OF

FROM JESUS WITH LOVE

Once, when I was crossing the Sea of Galilee with My disciples, a storm arose and

threatened to sink our small boat. My disciples were frightened, but I commanded the storm

to ceasePeace! Be still!and the wind and waves obeyed Me. So shall it be one day

soon when I say, Enough! and cause the storms of wars and strife to cease.

All of the problems of todays world prove that people cant solve their own problems. The

world cannot survive without its Savior; it needs Me. Universal, lasting peace is not possible

without Me, the Prince of Peace, but the time will come when the whole world will submit to

My loving and righteous rule. Just a little longer and I will dry the eyes of the downtrodden

and those who have been cruelly tormented by the horrors of war. One day, war will be a

thing of the pasta concept only scarcely understood by those living then.

In the meantime, you can have real and lasting peace in your heartpeace that can

withstand anythingby receiving Me as your personal Savior and turning to Me, the Prince

of Peace, in your time of need. I will always be there for you.

Peace

Activated April 2005

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Transcript of Activated April 2005