ALFC Hope Herald February 2022 Edition

ABUNDANT LIFE FAITH CENTRE

HOPE

FEBRUARY EDITION

Editor’s Note

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I have often heard the saying that you are the average of the 10 people you spend most of your time with. So who are you letting into your life? Are you moving forward together or backwards? You see, relationships are advantageous connections. Good relationships are one of the ways to rise in this life. You can cash in on a relationship and purchase a good or service. Read (2kings 4:13-17) KJV. A relationship requires that the parties involved commit to maintaining it, lest it dies. There has to be a form of reciprocity, a give-and-take situation. Solomon declares that a man that has friends must show himself friendly (Prov 18:24) KJV. Study the plant and animal relationship: the animals eat the plants and in turn they excrete waste that the plants use to grow hence sustaining each other in a healthy relationship. One must be willing to be selfless and invest themselves to attain a good quality relationship. There are different kinds of relationships and each requires a different level of attention. Jesus ordered His life that way. There are times when He walked with the multitudes, then with the 12 disciples.

Nevertheless, He had 3 close friends. Know whom to invest in at a particular time.

Everyone loves to hear a good story, you will read a few of those encouraging stories about everyday people that you can relate to. You can find hope and strength to warm your heart and give you the resolve to go on living with a positive outlook on life.

If you are ever around the Seguku Hill area, join our mid-week service – every Wednesday, 6:30 – 8:00pm or our Sunday service at 10:00am– 1:00pm. Experience Jesus with the Abundant Life Faith Centre Family. We will make you feel right at home. You can also connect with us on our website: www.abundantlifefaithcentre.org or our YouTube channel: Abundant Life Faith Center and get access to a lot of inspirational and uplifting material to aid you in your walk with Jesus.

Editorial team

If your vision is for a year, plant wheat. If your vision is for ten years, plant trees. If your vision is for a life time. Plant People!

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~an old Chinese Proverb

Did you know that man was created to be a relational being?

From the beginning, we are introduced to relationships by the very nature of the God in whom we believe. He is Three in One - God the Father, God the Son and God the Spirit. We see that from the first words of Genesis 1:26 “And God said, LET US….”. Relationships are not limited to being together; they are about working together.

When God says in Genesis 2:18, “…. It is not good for man to be alone”, He makes a vital statement concerning man's need to have meaningful relationships. It is clear that right from creation, man was not meant to live in a vacuum void of relationships but rather, man was created to enjoy the benefit of healthy relationships and partnerships to accomplish the purposes of God on earth.

When Jesus called His disciples in Mark 3:14, He was saying to them that before you dive into other relationships, your relationship with Me is of uttermost importance. Many relationships are glued together by things people have in common: goals, agendas and many other such things. However, all these are bound to be unfulfilling and misguided if there is no relationship with God first.

After we become born again, we do not live by ourselves; we are adopted into the family of God. (1 John 3:1). This means that we no longer have to do life by ourselves! We have brothers and sisters around us to help, support, pray with, celebrate, encourage, and walk through life with us. Determine this year not to live in isolation, but rather have one or two people that you walk closely with in a God-centered relationship – one that is open to accountability to each other.

This will help you grow together in knowing God and His plans for your life.

Relationships help us accomplish our God given mandate. God places us in a local church so that we may serve one another with the gifts He has given us (Romans 12). It is as we come together that our relationship with God grows deeper and more intimate. Our relationships with others also become healthier and vibrant as we serve each other with the different gifts we carry. This sets the center stage for us to share Christ with many as they also fall in love with Him.

J. Kiggundu

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Love Thy Neighbor And Jesus told him, love thy God with all your heart, with all your soul and with all your spirit. This is the greatest command and the second to this is love your neighbor as you love yourself (Matthew 22:37-39).

Love is the absence of self. It is all about the other person, not because they make you happy, or that they are your friends but because it is the second greatest commandment that God gave us. He knew that where love reigns everything is well. You don't hurt those you love and you always wish them well. It's my prayer that we love unconditionally. Let us ask God to give us the grace to love even when it seems so hard.

Min W. Mutesasira

Jesus, Be my Valentine When I was still single, I dreaded the time when Valentine's day would come. For some reason, this day would find me alone - at times, nursing a broken heart. I felt rejected, unloved, unwanted. One day, God reminded me who I was. He reminded me that He loved me unconditionally, that I was beautifully and wonderfully made. And most of all, God reminded me that I am a portion of His love, His Valentine's gift to my parents.

You see, I was born very early on the morning of Valentine's day many years ago.

The devil had stolen this fact from me. The Bible in John:10.10 says, "The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full." The enemy wanted to kill my self-worth and destroy my self-esteem. When Jesus Christ reminded me of how much He values me, how He came to the world just to lay his life on the cross for mine, that is when I realized my value. I am loved, I am a masterpiece! My Lord will never leave nor forsake me.

Let Jesus be your Valentine today. Let him heal your broken heart and make you whole. He loves you. What are you waiting for?

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TESTIMONIES - THE SHAPINGS OF DESTINY After following God, marriage is one of the next important decisions man makes. Let us take a look at what prompted these couples to make the marriage decision.

The Kinobes

4th July 2015 was the first time I met Doris. She went to school with one of my cousins (Berna) that my mum raised. On Berna’s prom day at school, I gave her my camera to take photos, I jokingly asked her to take photos of the prettiest girls in her school.When I saw the pictures the first face I noticed and liked was that of Doris. I told my cousin that this is the one I want to marry and we laughed about it. I asked that I be introduced to her and I got her Facebook contact. That was the start of our interaction, it wasbasically online.

One day I heard Minister Kiggundu teach that God is very purposeful. Even when you’re looking for a spouse, you can tell Him what you are looking for in a spouse even without telling anyone else and He will answer you. I took that advise and I asked God for these signs. I asked that my spouse have a date of birth similar to mine or that of my mother or somebody significant in her life should have those dates. As destiny would have it, both her sisters have my exact date of birth. This is something I found out about four months into our dating and I took it as my sign and answer from God. Today I am married to my beautiful Doris.

The Mwesigwa’s met for the first time in 2018 when Lynn passed by Arthur’s office. She suggested she knew Arthur but he didn't know her.

That conversation was limited. They met again in 2020 at Arthur’s sister's place during lockdown. A mutual friend had come to visit, later Lynn passed by with Arthur’s friend’s wife whom she had escorted. A few days later the same couple hosted a small get-together where they met again. Arthur offered to take Lynn and her friend back home and that was their first focused interaction. During that time, Lynn was doing a course that involved building websites, she was advised that Arthur would be of help. Arthur had been praying about his relationship life. To that end, he got a dream in which he was being invited as a son into a home of banyankole speaking people. From the dream, he knew God was saying his wife would come from the ankole region of the country. It occurred to his spirit that Lynn could actually be the one since she came from the ankole region.

Arthur became intentional about knowing Lynn - who she was and what she did. He offered to share his knowledge about websites with that in mind. He asked God for an opportunity to meet Lynn again. One day he got a random call from Lynn, asking if he could get her porridge. The Lord had answered Arthur. A month later, he took her out for her birthday and they connected and talked a lot. The talking became more frequent after that as they often talked on phone literally every day. As time went by, Arthur asked Lynn into his life and she said, Yes! And that’s when their relationship begun. The following year, they envisioned a life together and in October 2021, their plans fruited.

The Mwesigwas

The Ssozis

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One day I went to Church for an overnight to seek the Lord for some answers. I sat in a particular place. As I was about my business, an usher brought a young beautiful lady to sit next to me. As the service went on, the Pastor kept prompting the congregation to say certain phrases to our neighbours, and I did so but superficially. The next overnight we happened to sit in the same exact place; and a third time still, an usher brought this same lady to sit next to me. These meetings happened once every month.

The fourth time I changed my sit to avoid meeting this lady but as I was going to the washrooms, I still found her and our eyes met.

During break time, I took her for a cup of tea. At this point we exchanged numbers and became friends (prayer buddies). I invited her to my church a number of times for fellowships. In one fellowship, theExtra Ordinary Gentlemen (EOG’s) called out ladies that were believing God for marriage and asked to pray with them. As they moved forward, one of them being led of God said to me, “your wife is among them”. They were 12 ladies and I noted down all the ladies. Lillian was one of them.

I prayed about it to the point that I let it go. Two years went by and I forgot about the issue. I began to purposefully pray about settling down in line with my destiny. Meanwhile, my relationship with Lillian was growing stronger. Lillian says for the time they had been friends with Barnabas, she hadn’t considered him as a potential husband. This was because he didn’t meet her preconceived ideas of an ideal husband. She had long forgotten the man after God’s own heart that she initially desired.

One day after their meeting, Barnabas turned to Lillian and said, “now that you are about to leave,let us pray”. This was a wakeup call for her and a turning point. From then on, she paid attention to who Barnabas truly was – hishearttowards God, ministry, people and his values.

Their relationship blossomed in prayer and ministry-centered activities until the two agreed that it wasn’t good to be apart anymore and are now happily married.

Prayer Call Are you confused, lost, seeking direction or clarity on a matter? We have good news for you. The Lord can put an end to this and restore your life to order, come let us go before Him in prayer and inquire of Him. Reach out to our prayer team by email: prayer@abundantlifefaithcentre.org You can also reach out to one of our Ministers or Elders after a Sunday service and let them agree with you in prayer for alignment of the affairs in your life to God’s will.

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EVENTS

MISSION WEEK 2 28th Feb to 5th March 2022

Life comes with many daily demands that compete for our time and attention. That's why an opportunity to focus and get intentional about our obedience to the Great Commission is something that every believer needs. ( Matthew 28:18-20) Wherever you are in the nation, we welcome you to join the ALFC church family every first week of the month in an opportunity to: • Exercise your grace and gifts as a missionary to the lost and the needy - the hungry, the needy, the naked, the homeless and those in prison.

• Receive prayer agreement and material support for your outreach ministry as an individual.

• Step out in your community and city as a 'good samaritan' of your day and generation.

For more information about the ALFC Mission Week or to share your testimony about it, contact us: missions@abundantlifefaithcentre.org

HOPE HERALD 2022

0785-807-650 / 0704-903-593 Abundant Life Faith Center Seguku Hill

www.abundantlifefaithcentre.org

frontdesk@abundantlifefaithcentre.org

Seguku Hill, Entebbe road. Uganda

Don’t be left out, come and join in on our Wednesday evening service (6:30pm) and Sunday service (10:00am) @ Seguku Hill, Entebbe Road on ALFC’s grounds.