2023 Year of: POWERED B Y PRECIOUS PROMISES
AUGUST 2023 EDITION
Editor’s Note
Have you considered laying a foundation for a successful life by practicing honour as a lifestyle? Why not honour your way to greatness? Simple as it sounds, practicing honour has the ability to open doors and change a person’s destiny. The Bible has examples of men and women who practiced this principle and received untold benefits and lifting power. Queen Esther is a good example, she honoured her king and gained redemption for her entire race that was doomed to die.
To honour, in one definition, is to assign high value to someone or something. Romans 13:7 tells us to give honour to whom honour is due. Our primary and utmost honour should be ascribed to God, from whom all life originates (Genesis 14:22). “And thou shall Love the Lord your God with all thy heart, and with all thy might” (Deuteronomy 6:5).
We also are to honour the Lord with all that He has blessed us with. And when we honour the Lord with our wealth, and with the first fruits of all that we receive, He fills our barns with plenty (Proverbs 3:10-11).
We are instructed to honour our parents, those in authority, our leaders –both spiritual and physical – that we may reap benefits like long life and peace. Commit yourself to a culture of honour and watch the Lord propel you forward in your dealings with Himself and others.
We invite you to this month's edition where we'll delve into the timeless treasures of God’s Word. We pray that you will be encouraged by the testimonies of God's unending faithfulness shared in the proceeding pages. You will also get acquainted with the upcoming ministry programs in the events section.
You can find previous editions of this magazine and more inspirational literature on our website: www.abundantlifefaithcentre.org. When you sign up to our mailing list, a copy of the monthly editions will be delivered to your inbox. We are pleased to invite you to our church services on Wednesdays: 6:30 to 8:00pm; and Sundays: 10:00am to 1:00pm.You are blessed!
A Lifestyle of Faith
“There was a man named Cornelius who lived in Caesarea, captain of the Italian Guard stationed there. He was a thoroughly good man. He had led everyone in his house to live worshipfully before God, was always helping people in need, and had the habit of prayer.” (Acts 10:1-2, MSG). This is the testimony of a man Jesus once marveled at his faith and described him as having “great faith” that was unmatched in the whole of Israel (Matthew 8:5-10, KJV).
Do you desire to be a man or woman of notable faith before God and men? If so, you need to know that faith is a lifestyle. It is not something we practice in special situations only. If your faith is genuine, it will sooner or later show in the different areas of your life as it did in the life of Cornelius (Matthew 8:5-10 and Acts 10:1-43). Here are 10 things about Cornelius that got the attention of God; and that you can also benchmark your faith on:
He actioned his faith with words and works: Jesus said to him: “…as thou hast believed, so be it done unto thee” (Matthew 8:13). He believed the promises of God enough to act on them; otherwise he would not have turned to Jesus for an answer for his servant’s sickness.
He was a godly man (a devout man): He honoured God in all his ways. He was not out to simply copy and fit-in the popular trends of his day.
He was a family man: His faith inspired his family to follow his God. Like Abraham, he understood that God’s plan is for a household head to be the vessel through which the kingdom of God extends to the lives of his household members.
He was a giver: He blessed the needy around him in a measure that was above and beyond the order of his day. The Bible says “…he gave much alms.” In short, he was a joyful and generous giver.
He was a man of habitual prayer and fasting. When God was looking for a man to use to extend the gospel to the gentles, it was his record of consistence in prayer and giving that got God’s attention.
He understood and practiced the power of words. He ordered his life and affairs with words; and was bold about it to the extent of telling Jesus to do likewise.
He was a man under authority, and by extension, a man with authority. He was quick to recognize and respect those in authority – both physical and spiritual authority.
He was a compassionate boss: He paid attention to the wellbeing of his servants to the extent of going out personally to do something about the healing of his servant.
He was a missionary: He extended the benefits of his encounters with God to friends and family. Did you know that it was partly through his outreach that you and I came to the Lord? That is correct.
He was a man of the scriptures and revelation. He gained insight into who Jesus was much earlier than most people of his day. “Now when the centurion, and they that were with him, watching Jesus, saw the earthquake, and those things that were done, they feared greatly, saying, Truly this was the Son of God” (Matthew 27:54, KJV)
MISSION WEEK
3rd – 9th September
Purpose to participate in Mission Week and extend hope to someone. You can make a world of di erence to a soul with the gospel of Jesus. Also consider becoming a Mission Partner with ALFC as we spread the Good News of God’s grace across the nation and beyond its borders. For additional information on partnership with ALFC, visit: https://abundantlifefaithcentre.org/partner-membership
Grow your muscle in the Word with us as we give attendance to reading, to exhortation and to doctrine in God’s presence. Increase your knowledge of Him and His ways. This and more can be yours when you take part in a monthly Youth Fellowship at ALFC.
23rd September 10:00am- 12pm
Never pay back evil with more evil. Do things in such a way that everyone can see you are honorable. Do all that you can to live in peace with everyone
Romans 12:17-18 (NLT)
Entebbe, Wakiso | Lydia gives thanks to God for His ways and works, and how He deploys His people in places for a purpose. Lydia is employed in an Islamic institution. She thanks God for His favour at her workplace. She thanks God for giving her a platform to preach the gospel. She starts all her classes with a word of prayer and whenever she is teaching, she weaves in the word of God. In September 2022, she had a vision that they were having a fellowship and students were being delivered. She prayed over it with her prayer partner and thanked God. Lydia testi es that in May 2023, the rst ever fellowship at her workplace was held and was spearheaded by the students from her class. Hallelujah.
Lydia also thanks God for using her to intervene in a dire situation in the life of her colleague’s wife who had a history of miscarriages during pregnancy. Doctors had told her that the reason she su ered recurring miscarriages was because her womb could not carry a baby of one or more kilograms. In January 2023, her colleague’s wife was faced with the threat of another abortion when she was 10 weeks pregnant. The husband rushed her to hospital and the situation was barely managed. She was discharged but the doctors had no hope that she would carry the pregnancy full term. Lydia learnt of the situation and was moved with compassion. She asked her colleague if she could stand with his wife in prayer. He was receptive. Lydia called and prayed with the lady and encouraged her that she would carry her baby to full term. The labour pains ceased. They still had about 30 weeks to go but trusted the Lord and continued in prayer. The short and glorious end of the situation is that her colleague’s wife carried her baby to full term. At the end of June 2023, she gave birth to a 4.5 Kilogram baby. Glory to God!
Ngobe, Makindye Ssabagabo | Fridah testi es of the Lord’s goodness. She is employed as a teacher; and her students participated in regional convention competitions. Her students emerged best in their category.
Fridah had for a long time desired change in her community because it had become synonymous with drunkards and worship of idols. She set aside time to intercede for her community. The Lord answered her. In June 2023, one of the sacred altars of idol worship was demolished.
She also thanks God for the courage to start and run a homecell. Some people in her community attended just to investigate if the power of God works; and indeed found it to be true. Many have received healings and 6 people have given their lives to Christ. Her homecell has greatly progressed in its nine months of existence.
For every victory, there’s a battle. Overcomers or conquerors without a challenge are non-existent! Curve balls, twists and turns are always lurking in our environs. However, the good news is that as believers, we are battle ready, fortified by the truth to subdue every opposition. “…. the people who know their God shall be strong, and carryout great exploits” (Daniel 11:32, NKJV).
Just A Matter Of Time!
Our ability to recognize, get acquainted with His ways, character and discern His sovereign will, grants us access to divine strength.
Divine strength is the springboard for extraordinary results in our affairs as believers.
This divine strength is available to every believer – not for small undertakings but to live large and make significant impressions on our world as the glory of our Father is showcased.
It is impossible to discover and apply oneself to this secret and live a defeated life. God cannot afford to put His name to shame; no, never! “And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose” (Romans 8:28, NKJV).
God is able to make the best of any situation, and to create a favourable outcome for the sake of His ”Lover”. Why?
God has called you, and to everyone He has called, He has assigned a purpose.
All things must serve to the advantage of His “lovers” and pursuers of His purpose. Nothing is able to hinder or stop those in whom He has birthed His purposes. Be rested in Him. The blazing furnace (Daniel 3:20) became an air conditioned prayer alter, those that were cast therein came out un scotched, the lion’s den turned into an arena of unusual angelic activity (Daniel 6:22), the prison cell became a center of excellence in re-tooling and skilling Joseph (Genesis 39:22-23) before his next assignment as Prime Minister of Egypt.
It is possible to see God through the storms and to rise to your next level of greatness. You can however decide to focus on the storm, miss God and perish. It’s all a matter of choice. Within every challenge are hidden opportunities with capacity to catapult you to influence, significance and to give you visibility; search and find them. Don’t be careless about your destiny.
Smooth seas are not known for producing smart and great sailors!! Most of life’s failures stem from knowledge gaps; but men armed with the right knowledge rise to greatness against all odds!! It’s just a matter of time.
Love In The Light Of Grace
God is Love (1 John 4:8). That means every time we mention God, Love needs to be the rst thing that crosses our minds. Not wrath, not terror, not punishment not fear but Love. For God so loved us that He gave: He gave us Jesus, He gave us of Himself even when we did not deserve it. This is His grace. John, by the Holy Spirit, said this about God: “From his abundance we have all received one gracious blessing after another. For the law was given through Moses, but God’s unfailing love and faithfulness came through Jesus Christ” (John 1:16-17, NLT)
Grace came through Jesus. When we look at how Jesus took our place, our sin and was punished brutally so that we could go free, and on top of that, gave us His righteousness, joy, freedom, peace and everything we’d ever need to live a ful lled life, we see grace. For grace is undeserved, unmerited favour. None of us deserved His goodness, we all deserved to die no matter how good we thought we were and yet He looked at us and loved us because His plan has always been for us to be one family in Him ( Jeremiah 31:3). God most high burned with Love for us and showed us His grace.
Grace is found in knowing Jesus. The more we look to Jesus and learn of His character in the word, the more God’s love and grace are revealed to us. We’ll start to know and experience the kindness and gentleness that our Father has toward us. We’ll start to see how patient and sel ess God is every single time, we’ll start to run to Him every morning expecting goodness no matter who we are.
God is love, He is more kind, merciful, humble and sel ess than any human being could ever be.
Prayer of Salvation
Are you ready for a relationship with Jesus as your Lord and savior? It begins with a simple prayer in faith. Here is one you can repeat out loud enough to hear yourself:
“Dear God, I accept your forgiveness of my sin. I believe with my heart that you raised Jesus from the dead for my benefit, and I now declare Him to be my savior and Lord.” Amen
Faith Acen
Connect with us in a Homecell
Did you know that at ALFC, a homecell is a hopecell? If you are looking to find hope-inspiring relationships with everyday people like you, simply call, text or email us and we will be glad to look you up and hook you up with one of our homecells for an ever-increasing hope experience.
0785-807-650 / 0704-903-593
Abundant Life Faith Center Seguku Hill
f rontdesk@abundantlifefaithcentre org
P.o Box 9905 Kampala, Uganda
www abundantlifefaithcentre org
Seguku Hill, Entebbe road. Uganda