Reach Magazine - June 2022

I N S P I R E YO U R FA I T H | I M PA C T T H E W O R L D

Choosing Joy Meet the Team What does this really look like?

CBNEUROPE.COM

Introducing Alisa Harewood

Finding Strength by Giving Thanks Teaching from Gordon Robertson

ISSUE 60

CONTENT

FROM THE DIRECTOR | 3

From the Director

03. Welcome to Issue 60 From the Director 04. Finding Strength by Giving Thanks Teaching

For his anger lasts only a moment, but his favour lasts a lifetime!

Weeping may last through the night, but joy comes with the morning.

06. Europe Updates CBN Ministry Highlights 09. Nina’s Story CBN Israel 10. Choosing Joy Featured 13. Superbook 5K! Fundraising 14. Discover CBN’s Impact Global Impact 16. Worry for Nothing DEVO YouVersion 18. Meet the Team Introducing Alisa 23. Activities Page!

Superbook 24. Pray with us!

Prayer Needs 26. God Answers Prayer Testimonies

Psalm 30:5 NLT PO Box 700 Hereford, HR1 9EW, UK 0300 561 0700 (UK) 01513 3738 (ROI) 02 7908 0700 (AUS) 04 488 0700 (NZ) +44 207 101 7045 (International) WhatsApp

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29. Put Your Hope into Action Your Ways to Give

R E A C H is a free magazine produced and distributed by CBN Europe to inspire, inform and strengthen your relationship with God. We partner with individuals, churches and organisations in order to share the message of hope in Jesus Christ, provide humanitarian relief and reduce poverty. It is our vision to share the Gospel in a relevant way to all generations and see people walk in their true potential with God. Would you like to support our ministry? Contact us on the numbers provided or visit cbneurope.com/donate.

Dear Friends, Welcome to the 60th edition of REACH magazine!

The theme of this edition is ‘Choose Joy.’ As always, we hope and pray that the content of these pages comfort, restore and encourage you.

I can imagine that many of us have had situations in our lives where it has been easy to choose joy – the birth of a new baby, a wedding or a milestone birthday. But what do we do when we must fight against all our natural inclinations and choose joy regardless?

In these circumstances, I like to call to mind the scripture above. We are promised that God’s favour over us will last an entire lifetime. To favour someone means to treat them with preference. To have the Creator of the Heavens and Earth treat us this way is a huge advantage and, even when the winds and waves of life come, we can take comfort in and rest in the

knowledge that we are highly favoured

by God. These are not meant to just be words on a page but, if taken to heart, I genuinely believe that as God’s word, they have the power to transform the most difficult moments in our lives.

Whatever challenges you may be experiencing today, remember that – tomorrow will come and things will get better. Where there is life, there is hope and after the darkness of night, Joy will come in the morning.

Psalm 30:5 – Weeping may last through the night, but joy comes in the morning!

So, as you read this edition of REACH magazine, my prayer is that you find renewed courage to keep going.

God bless you.

Mark Dijkens Regional Director CBN Europe

4 | TEACHING

TEACHING | 5

Finding Strength by Gi ving Thanks O

nly two cultures in the world have existed 4,000 years: the Han Chinese, who never had to leave their land; and the Jews, who miraculously survived much of their history without a country. We can learn from our elder brothers in the faith about how to maintain faith in the midst of a culture that opposes you.

Psalm 92, often attributed to Moses, is a song for the Sabbath. The psalm opens with thanksgiving:

The Lord chose Abraham, knowing he would teach his children God’s promises. How faithful are we to share His Word with the next generation?

We must tell them, because the world will not. There is great joy in seeing children grow up into spiritual maturity, and their children after them.

Are you discouraged? Give thanks and see what happens.

The Jewish people have also kept their culture by keeping the Sabbath – honouring God with a weekly remembrance. It begins every Friday evening as mothers’ light candles and pray.

‘It is good to give thanks to the Lord, and to sing praises to Your name, O Most High; to declare Your lovingkindness in the morning, and Your faithfulness every night.’ (v. 1–2).

Thank God for His faithfulness and the victory that is about to come. Declare His loving kindness and praise Him for the covenant He made in His own blood for you.

Verse 4 says, ‘For You, Lord, have made me glad through Your work.’

This is key to finding deep satisfaction – joy from seeing what God is doing. It’s

why my father has always challenged me to pray, “God, can I be part of Your plan?” There’s a gladness to be part of God’s purpose that will last for eternity.

Do you feel weary and dry? Verse 10 promises, ‘I have been anointed with fresh oil.’

Every day, He will give you a fresh anointing, vision and hope.

The psalm concludes: ‘Those who are planted in the house of the Lord shall flourish in the courts of our God. They shall still bear fruit in old age ... to declare that the Lord is upright; He is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in Him.’ (v. 13–15).

Think of the Jewish people singing the song of the Sabbath every week to guide them through the centuries.

When looking at all the uncertainty in the world, remember – He is working,

and He is faithful to see it through to completion.

So, this year, take time to give thanks for what God is unfolding in the world today.

Our hearts can be glad because of who He is. He is using us to preach the Gospel and usher in His kingdom.

In that kingdom, every day is a holiday and a Sabbath because we can rest in the finished work of Jesus Christ.

God bless you.

Scripture is quoted from the NKJV. This teaching was given during a CBN staff chapel.

By Gordon Robertson Chief Executive Officer

6 | FROM THE OFFICE

FROM THE OFFICE | 7 turn pray for me! “Let your light shine before others so that they see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in Heaven” Mattew 5:16.

W

e have an incredible volunteer base here at CBN Europe.

Everyone selflessly gives up their time to ensure that the people who call our Hope Line are served with excellence. The team comprises of 11 individuals, taking prayer calls throughout the day and ministering to those who need an encouraging word.

We thought it would be great to introduce some of our Hope Line volunteers and ask them what it is that makes them so passionate about serving in the ministry.

What drives you to volunteer for CBNE Hope Line?

Michelle: Prayer allows us to speak to God directly and has the power to turn impossible situations around; For me, King Hezekiah in 2 Kings 20 vs 1–6 is a fitting example. Sometimes we can fall into the trap of just talking about our situation rather than taking it to God in prayer, but the CBN Hope Line allows us to do both! I get to join my faith with others and pray the Word of God concerning any matter, which is a real privilege.

The Hope Line Daniel: I applied to join the CBN Hope Line term as a volunteer last year after I got my monthly email from CBN, part of the email talked about the volunteer team, and I had the conviction in my spirit to apply and in my waiting period and quiet times to invest in the kingdom of God. I applied and funny enough prayer or praying for others is something I tend to shy from so I had to come out of my comfort zone. I followed the link on the email and filled the form and the rest is history as they say.

them and they carry that out. I went into nursing because from childhood I discovered that I was born to love, and care for others; my mother and many other people confirmed that to me. The drive, motivation to Volunteer for CBN is because of who I am, and who God created me to be; to lay my life down for others.

Rosaline: First and foremost, during my early year, I have seen so much negativity in the world, but with God’s grace and love, you can overcome all. So that is the main reason I joined the CBNE Hope Line to share God’s Love trusting in him patiently for the impossible it will be made possible at God’s right time.

Bernadette: So far, so good. I am standing on the promises of God and working according to his will in Jesus’ name. Through standing with our callers in prayer I have been able to receive testimonies from many callers of what God is doing in their lives, in terms of healing and restoration with gratitude. I also receive positive feedback from my colleagues regarding callers’ satisfaction. It is an immense pleasure to note that, not only do I pray for them, many also in

Bernadette: There is nothing more rewarding and exciting than a person discovers what the Lord’s call is for

What challenges you most about serving on the Hope Line?

Daniel: My greatest challenge was to let go and let God lead and to trust in Him even though I still get butterflies when I am about to log on, which I am always looking forward to doing. I have learnt to pray and invite the Holy Spirit to have His way and when I pray, I follow His leading. It also helps me to keep my word knowledge up to invest more time in the word. My greatest joy comes from people that call back to give glory to God and testify of God’s goodness and mercy in their prayers being answered and times I pray with someone, and I begin to see God’s hand manifesting in their lives over the telephone. So, if you are reading his and you have even an hour a week to pray and agree with others in prayer please do not hesitate to apply, it is all part of us seeking God’s kingdom and His righteousness.

What have you learned about yourself, God and people in all your encounters so far?

Michelle: I remember as part of my training, Sarah, our Prayer Centre Manager, encouraged us to give out scriptures to our callers as ‘gifts’.

For some reason that impacted me and brought to mind the following scripture from Proverbs: 25:11 ‘A word swiftly spoken is like apples of gold in settings of silver’. I try to keep this in mind on every call and allow the Holy Spirit to guide me on the best scripture to share. Listening to how this impacts our callers is a true blessing.

8 | FROM THE OFFICE

The Hope Line is a key pillar of CBN’s ministry and a vital outreach through CBN’s prayer team

9

Victim of Terrorism: Nina’s Story

Hundreds of callers pick up the phone for someone to stand with them in faith. By this special invitation, you can reach into homes, and put your faith into action.

In the Prayer team, you can connect with people from all walks of life, sharing the Good News of Jesus and release Hope through conversation and prayer.

Our incredible team is dedicated to reaching the lost, the last and the least. We are committed to seeing lives changed through the power of prayer. We need you to add to the numbers of this great team of prayer warriors. Together, we can see many more lives transformed by the Grace of God. Apply now to volunteer and join our team.

Visit www.cbneurope.com/volunteer and fill in our simple form!

A

t age 52, Nina felt that life had just begun to settle down. She and her husband live in the Israeli city of Ashdod, have stable jobs, and their children have been doing well. But with their beloved home and precious possessions in ruins, Nina was left dazed and shaken. Added to that, their apartment building was beyond repair and was scheduled to be demolished.

All they had left were memories.

the bombing. Through CBN Israel, caring partners provided emergency relief so Nina’s family could purchase immediate essentials to get through this devastating time. They also offered them trauma counselling, which is helping them find hope as they recover. Nina exclaimed, “I want to thank every single donor for your generosity. We are overwhelmed by your kindness and compassion!”

Initially, Nina was grateful that the contents of her home were covered by the Israeli government’s war compensation insurance. However, although her possessions were old but in good condition, state appraisers only reimbursed her for the actual value— which was half the amount needed to replace everything. After losing it all, how could they afford to start over?

Gifts to CBN Israel can be a godsend to other terror victims—as well as lonely Holocaust survivors, single mothers, refugees, and more. The needs in Israel are great, especially during this pandemic. You can bring food, housing, and financial aid to those with nowhere to turn.

Thankfully, friends of CBN were there for Nina and other victims of

If you would like to know more about the work of CBN Israel visit cbnisrael.org

10 | FEATURED

FEATURED | 11

True

Joy Laura Boswell| TV Presenter & Script Writer

I

have always been a very outwardly joyful person. I’ve always wanted to be friendly and approachable, as well as smiley to those around me.

It has always been a huge part of my personality. As such, it has been easy for people to assume that what they have seen on the outside is how I have felt on the inside. Unfortunately, that has not always been the case.

I was saved back in 2002 following a lady sharing the gospel with me on a work placement from University at a Christian radio station. I was convicted of my sin and my need for Jesus and gave my life to Him in a prayer.

Shortly after that I had a troubling time with my thought life. Previously, as a teenager, I had experienced fear and irrational thoughts, but it seemed (after salvation) to crank up a gear. Suddenly I found life became more challenging

and I was unable to mask what was actually going on inside.

At the time I think I was very caught up in my feelings and believing that my thoughts were important. The more I dwelt on them, the worse I felt.

What God has taught me over the years is that He is in control, and we can choose to be joyful! That doesn’t mean we need to understand everything first.

As soon as I have engaged with the thoughts and fear has grown, it always creates more thoughts and more fear.

God says in His word: “Do not be anxious about anything but in everything by prayer and petition with thanksgiving present your requests to God and the peace of God which transcends all understanding will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4: 4–6).

What God has taught me is that the Truth is true regardless of what we are thinking about.

If God says don’t worry, then we don’t need to worry because He is in control of everything.

I used to think this was a nice scripture, but it spoke against what I was doing and as I had so many reasons to be worried, it couldn’t apply to me. It’s like when I have a thought and worry, I will think “but there’s this and what about that?” God is saying, you don’t need to worry about that! It is literally a case of letting go of the control and trying to figure it out and instead, leaving it with God because He wants me to trust Him and to live at peace.

When we obey God there is such freedom and peace. It reminds me of a child just trusting their parents for everything. They don’t worry about their needs being met. They don’t even need to think about it. That is what God wants for us. Trusting Him like a child.

There is such power in God’s word and when we stand on it, we will bear fruit from doing what it says. When I sense fear attached to a thought, I now know that I can stand on that scripture and not even let the thought land because God does not want me to worry. It is living life in peace today and not allowing fear to rob me of it. Joy is the fruit of that.

The Bible says in Nehemiah 8:10: “The joy of the Lord is my strength.” When we choose to be joyful, He lifts us up from the pit we are in.

12 | FUNDRAISING

SUPERBOOK | 13

The SUPERBOOK

5K

is back!

It’s not too late to sign up today!

Which of your friends will you invite to join you on this SB 5K? Encourage the children in your life to get to know Jesus.

Gizmo in mascot dash

Oh, what an amazing day it was!

Our runners did us all proud by completing the Half-Marathon.

Amongst many charities, Gizmo was one of the eight mascots selected to take part in the Mascot Dash – woohoo! The Cheering Squad pumped out praise, fun and encouragement to every runner and spectator.

Love the vibes? Join and be part of the CBN Team next year 2nd April 2023! Bring joy as a sponsor, cheering volunteer or as a runner-fundraiser. Training starts now!

Drop us a line at fundraising@cbneurope.com

Fanoulla – Top Fundraiser 2022

Help other children to have a life-changing relationship with Jesus.

Fundraise for Superbook!

Eniko finishing race

23rd to 30th June 2022

Special shout out to our Super Troopers – Reuben, Joel and Luke!

Registration fee: £7/child £12/adult £35/family (2 adults and 2 children) All participants will receive an event pack – including a little surprise...!

Kim finishing race

We apologise that there were technical difficulties at the LLHM virtual partner event that took place on the 02 April 2022. Rest assured that the annual partner event will still be going ahead on 7th October 2022. Look out for further details.

We hope to see you there!

Need help to begin your fundraising? Please drop a line to: fundraising@cbneurope.com We are SUPER grateful for all who have taken part so far in a Superbook 5K – Adults and children alike! Everybody’s effort is making a huge difference!

14 | GLOBAL IMPACT

GLOBAL IMPACT | 15

Thank you for your support in Ukraine!

Because of you, CBN’s Operation Blessing staff quickly sprang into action at the start of the war in late February 2022. Whilst men had to remain and fight, there were millions of women, children, and dependants fleeing for their lives.

Your kindness helped bring solace to scores of families facing an uncertain future in a new land. You provided a basecamp at the Ukrainian border in Medyka, Poland. Here, CBN’s Operation Blessing staff and volunteers are working tirelessly to provide food, blankets, direction, encouragement, and a warm, safe haven for weary refugees.

Not only did you provide the basecamp, but your generosity supplied an Operation Blessing warehouse in Poland. This warehouse provides a central location to store and send out these critical supplies across the border into Ukraine as the war rages on.

Your support facilitated partnerships with local churches and community leaders throughout Ukraine. They were able to put supplies directly into the hands of Ukrainian families who need it. They are able to stand with and strengthen families through prayer and words of encouragement.

One refugee shares, “I’m grateful for such support and care, it’s unreal. It is so needed, and we love you. Right after we crossed the border, without any doubt we knew that people would help us.”

Changing a Young Girl’s Life Nine-year-old Shiloh in South Africa was intrigued when her mother introduced her to Superbook after seeing an advertisement on The 700 Club. It wasn’t long before Shiloh was hooked, and soon, she could not stop watching.

As a special surprise, her mother blessed her with a DVD combo of Superbook episodes.

As a result, Shiloh received Christ and even got baptised.

Her mother raved about the impact that Superbook has had on her life. The love and support of global CBN partners are making an eternal difference to children and families worldwide.

Shiloh says that she and her mother are “Superbook fans” and that they love to “tell others to watch it too!”

Saving Baby Praise Betty couldn’t stop her baby Praise from crying. Something was terribly wrong, and Betty didn’t know how to help.

Times were difficult for this family since her husband had suffered an injury and could no longer work. Without his income, food was scarce, and medicine was non-existent.

Following her pastor’s advice, Betty took Praise to a local centre near their home in Uganda supported by CBN’s Operation Blessing. Doctors determined that Praise suffered from a cold, anaemia, dermatitis, and a lack of nutrition.

Want To Read More Stories?

Visit cbneurope.com/impact to read more inspiring stories about how God has used CBN across the globe.

Thankfully, Betty received the urgent medical care that her child needed. Including baby formula, nutritional education, and a better quality of life that compassionate global partners helped make possible!

3-DAY PLAN 16 | FEATURE

BRING IT ON | 17

PAT ANSWERS YOUR QUESTIONS Join Pat Robertson, CBN founder, as he answers the tough questions in life with Biblical truth’s.

Worry is a thief of our time, energy, and peace. So why do we do it? In this 3-day devotional, we will look at worry, why we do it, and how we can stop.

WORRY FOR NOTHING

Q.

Please help me understand Isaiah 26v3, which says, ‘you will keep in perfect peace all who trust in you, all whose thoughts are fixed on you!’

A.

‘Where are your thoughts most of the time? Are they usually on your marriage, your relationship with others, or your image? Are your thoughts primarily on what people think about you, or do you try your best to always think about God? He’ll keep you in perfect peace when you keep your mind centred on Him. There’s a saying, “All the world’s a stage and everyone’s a player.”

When you walk across the stage of your mind, who is the audience you’re trying to make an impression on? Your thought should be that you have an audience of one, and that audience is God. Your focus should be to please Him in what you do, what you think, and what you say. In turn, He will bless you with peace of mind and heart.

DO YOU HAVE A QUESTION FOR PAT? Log on to CBN.com/BringItOnline and follow the instructions.

18 | SPECIAL FEATURE

SPECIAL FEATURE | 19

Meet the Team In this new feature we would love for you – our REACH readers – to get to know some of the faces behind the scenes here at CBN Europe. Today we will meet Alisa, our Creative Media Lead. We will be asking Alisa a few questions about herself and how she arrived at CBNE. Enjoy!

Elizabethan or Tudor era. I am absolutely fascinated by King Henry the eighth, his life and his wives...Queen Elizabeth.

Alisa Harewood Creative Media Lead

Hi Alisa, how are you?

I am very well, thank you, very well indeed.

Fantastic! So, Alisa, tell us a little bit about yourself! For example, what kind of things interest you? What do you get up to when you’re not at CBNE? I love the monarchy! What intrigues me more than anything are the Elizabethan and Tudor eras. If I could go back to any era (where racism or discrimination wasn’t an issue) it would be the

I also love music, all types of music; classical, jazz, 80’s and 90’s pop. Worship music has been something that, even before I was a Christian, I really felt in my soul. And actually, when my husband passed away in 2015, 3 days after, that was the moment that Jesus came and spoke to me and told me to follow Him. It was after just being in the shower, I just wanted some time away from everybody, I just got into the shower and sang worship and gospel songs – for a long time I was in that bathroom. That was the moment that the Holy Spirit filled that room and Jesus came and spoke to me and my life has been blessed with Christ since then.

Awesome, I love that. What a beautiful way for Jesus to meet you, in your vulnerability. Great stuff. So, how did you come to be here at CBNE? So, prior to 2019, I pretty much spent the first 16 years of my career working at a high level in the corporate world – a 6-figure salary and working in the U.S. was the last serious role that I had before my husband passed away. Then I moved back to the UK. I felt, in 2019, God spoke to me and said,

‘I need you to take everything that you have learnt in the last 16 years – all of those skills, and bring them to ministry, bring them to build my kingdom.’

I didn’t know what that looked like. I didn’t know if that was in a church or something else. I didn’t know what that meant. So, I prayed, and God opened the door to a role at a global digital evangelism ministry – a phenomenal ministry that are using digital platforms and social media to touch the lives of people and introduce them to Jesus.

So, I joined the team in Solihull as the Head of Community for the UK and western Europe and spent a year and a half with them recreating processes and structures that would work in the UK but could also be duplicated in countries in western Europe. This would enable us to partner with churches so that when we pushed out social media ads – which are all to encourage people to get to know Jesus in whatever situation they are in now – and respond to that social media ad. Those responses go to a local church partner who are best positioned to speak to them about whatever they are dealing with, but also introduce Jesus into that situation.

The content that we created was primarily focussed on introducing Jesus to non-Christians. So, I started there in January 2020 and created with the team everything that they needed – an end-to-end process, end-to-end systems of working that we duplicated and launched into France, Germany, Portugal and Spain. God was incredible through the covid season, and we were able to get more done in that year and a half than we thought we were going to. We

thought it was all going to take 3 years, but it took less.

So, when it got to that point, I then thought to myself, ‘what do I do next?’ because I had done everything that I felt that I could do there and I just prayed and prayed and continued to pray about what God was asking me to do and during my time there, I really felt this desire to start to evangelise more.

I felt God strongly say ‘I need you to evangelise. I need you to share your testimony, I need you to speak to people.’

So, I sat down and was praying, and this advert come up on Facebook for a Presenter at CBN Europe. And I thought, ‘Ok, I could possibly do that!’. I’d never really had any presenting experience, but I thought that that was a way for me to evangelise directly to people. However, the role was a fixed term maternity cover contract, part time, based over 90 miles away from where I live! But I felt called to apply. And so, I did. I didn’t hear anything for a little while so thought that that wasn’t the route God wanted me to go down, and, as always, God turns up when you least expect it, and I got a first interview here.

Even though it was a part-time, fixed term contract, I felt strongly in my heart that this is where the Lord was positioning me to be. I got called back for a second interview, I came and had a screen test here. When I left the screen test and second interview, I really believed that this is where I was going to be.

There’s a funny story to go along with this. My marital surname is Harewood and, when I drove out of Herefordshire after that interview, I passed a little village

20 | SPECIAL FEATURE called Harewood End! I drove through it and just laughed because if that wasn’t a sign, I don’t know what is! Then, about 2 weeks later, I got a call from The Head of Operations here that they had offered the position to someone else but there was a new position just for digital platforms which is what my speciality area. I was blown away. I arrived here on 19th October 2021 and within a couple of months, as the Lord does, He moved mountains and moved situations and I got promoted to Creative Media Lead at the end of the year!

So, at the beginning of January, I started at CBNE on a permanent contract. So, God turned everything around and now I’m in a position where – with the team here – I’m able to help drive innovative content that we produce for TV, for all social media and digital platforms so we can really touch the lives of millions and billions of people across the UK and Europe.

That’s so great. I love that God knew the minute that you saw that advert on Facebook where He was taking you.

I know that promotion is something that you are not new to! God seems to have a habit of escalating your roles wherever you go but I think that’s a testament to your capacity and capabilities. You may be employed at one level, but people quickly realise that there’s more to you, there’s more to your passion, there’s more to what you’re capable of and promotion just follows, so that’s exciting.

Alisa, as you know, our theme for June’s REACH magazine is ‘Choose Joy’. Can you think of a scenario where you have had to choose joy amidst difficult circumstances?

SPECIAL FEATURE | 21 Oh wow. There’s so many, right? God is always working for our good. But the one that always stands out for me – and I share it often when I share my testimony – is when I suddenly lost my husband in April of 2015, I gave my life to Christ 3 days after and in that moment.

He told me that it wasn’t going to be an easy road for me but at some point, He would show me why this had to happen.

For the following 3 years I spiralled. I was so deep in my grief that I turned to dependency on alcohol, dependency on marijuana, on sex, just to feel something.

I moved away from the U.S. to the U.K., lost my career at the same time that I lost my husband. I just couldn’t function in the way that I had previously. I remember this one time that I got to a place where I was just suicidal, and I wanted to end mine and my son’s lives. That evening I dropped to my knees and cried out to Him from my soul and said, ‘Help me! I don’t see any light. I don’t see any way forward. I’m in so much pain and I don’t know where the end is so you’re going to have to show up for me now so that I can see something, otherwise I don’t want to be here anymore, and I don’t want Jacob (my son) to be here anymore.’

Slowly but surely the cracks in the dark storm clouds started to open and He filled me with a sense of hope. That hope came from positioning new friends in my life that I could turn to, a church (I was unchurched at that time) that I could start to serve in on the worship team. The very first time of being part of a church where I served, He positioned me to lead worship, which is the thing that had always connected me to Him throughout the years that I was a non-Christian, it was always worship music, so it was incredible how He positioned me there.

Then I started to grow in my relationship with Him. I read scripture more. He positioned, within my church, somebody who was a trained counsellor that I could start talking to about my grief and about how I could manage that grief in a Christ-centred way. My family were incredibly supportive. I think I just stopped pretending that I was ok and said, ‘actually, I want to be in a place where I have a life again.’ I want to be in a place where I can feel joy.

So, in that moment and over the course of the following year and a half it was definitely a journey of saying, ‘I choose joy now. I choose to let go of the sorrow and the pain and the grief and all of that and say that I have more to look forward to.’

I think, when you haven’t spent much time with the Lord as a young Christian, you can sometimes think, ‘He’s left me.

He said He would be there, but He isn’t’.

But, the more time that you spend with Him and the more time that you spend in scripture, you understand that He’ll never leave us or forsake us. The plans that He has for my life, as He told me in that bathroom many years before, was that He would show me what it was for.

So, He started to position different things in my life; working in ministry, starting to build my own ministry around sharing my testimony with people who have gone through or are going through grief or some type of trauma, being able to share that at different churches, writing my book that’s coming out at the end of this year – ‘From Grief to Glory’. All of those things were positioned by Him. He knew what was inside me when I lost my husband and He said to me, ‘You’ll see one day.’

So, in my moments of lamenting to Him, where I just didn’t want to be here anymore, then Him positioning people and things in my life so that I could say, ‘no actually, I want to choose to be in a place where I can be happy again, I want to choose to live a life that is full of Him, full of love, full of truth, full of life’, and share that with as many people as I can in every single part of my life.

I think, when we choose joy, we’re making this declaration to the enemy, that you’re not going to have a hold over me. I choose Jesus. I choose love.

I choose joy. I choose peace. When you do that, the storm clouds can start to disappear. They come back! And they come back often! But the good thing that I’ve been able to do is now remind myself, looking back on all of the things that He has brought me through, to be able to choose joy because He’s got more for me to do and more planned.

What a beautiful testimony, Alisa. It reminds me of the verse in Isaiah 61 that says, ‘He brings beauty out of ashes.’ Because, to meet you first of all, you would have no idea that you’ve been to such a place where life was inconceivable and that there was no light because you emanate joy, you emanate motivation, vision and energy.

For the enemy to think that he could rob that from the face of the earth is laughable.

Thank you so much for joining us, Alisa, it was great to learn more about you!

22 | KIDZ DEVOTIONAL

ACTIVITIES | 23

Choosing

Wordsearch

Hi there everyone, it is so good to connect with you again. These devotions are a really good way for you to take a few minutes to connect with a child in your life and speak about a Bible topic to engage with them and grow healthy values.

CHOICE

JESUS

DISCIPLES

JOY

ESTHER

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This time, we will talk about choosing joy.

Everyone has things in life that are tough.

Unfortunately, being a follower of Jesus doesn’t mean that we will no longer experience hurt and sadness.

However, there is a gift that God promises to us – joy.

Now joy may sound a bit like happiness, and in some ways, it is the same, but joy is a choice we make, whereas happiness is an emotion we feel at a certain time or during a certain moment.

Have a think about a time or moment when you have felt happy – maybe when you achieved a goal or when you were with a certain person.

“I have told you these things so that you can have the same joy I have. I want your joy to be the fullest joy.” John 15:11 (ICB) When Jesus spoke these words to his disciples; he was talking about keeping God’s commands and by doing so you will continue to feel the love and joy of God. Jesus did not say to his disciples that by following God, bad things will no longer happen. In the book of Acts there are many examples of how unhappy people could be during their walk with God because of the way it meant others would treat them.

Have you ever struggled with the way someone has treated or spoken to you about being a believer of Jesus?

The amazing news is that no matter what we go through, we can have joy in God!

“And we also have joy with our troubles because we know that these troubles produce patience.” Romans 5:3 (ICB) The Bible shows us this in many instances – just look at the story of Esther in the book of Esther! We can learn from our problems; even in our struggles, we can become better people with God’s help. We see that God will turn around our struggles for His glory.

Take some time and read Esther’s story in your Bibles or watch the Superbook episode on the Superbook YouTube channel.

Prayer: Father God, we pray for more joy within our lives. We pray that even when life gets hard, we will remember that you are with us and that you will help us in our struggles. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Spot the Difference Difference

24 | PRAYER NEEDS

PRAYER | 25

Prayer PRAYER NEEDS

Please stand with us in prayer for our many initiatives across the region.

Creative Media Please pray for our TV broadcasting, Digital Media and Print Media, that we would reach many with the new initiatives that will be released this year. Please pray that our team would be able to share the love, hope, and peace of the Gospel in a fresh new way bringing people toward Him. Pray for salvations to come through the work of this ministry.

Hope Line Please pray for our many Hope Line callers from all across the UK, Europe, and Australasia. We are praying to see more salvation, recommitment, and testimonies of God’s faithfulness and provision. Please pray that we would see an increase in all areas of this ministry for His glory. Please also pray for word of wisdom and knowledge for our teams as they minister to our callers.

Humanitarian Please continue to pray for the work that Operation Blessing & Orphan’s Promise are doing around the UK and Europe. Please pray for the many projects we hold across the region,

that we would see people recognise the love of God through the practical aid given through these projects.

Please pray for the work continuing at the Ukraine border; pray for the logistics of this new project to come together smoothly and that God’s love and protection would reign over all that encounter our teams.

Superbook Superbook, CBN’s animated Bible series, continues to increase its reach in so many countries. Please continue to pray that more families would be introduced to the hope that is found in Jesus through this ministry. Please pray that these children would be bold and courageous to impact those around them for His Kingdom as they grow in their faith.

Eternal Wall of Answered Prayer CBN partners with the ‘Eternal Wall of Answered Prayer’ who are building a God-centred UK monument. Please pray for testimonies to come in through our dedicated Eternal Wall phone line to ensure that each brick has a testimony attached to it, as planned.

CAN WE PRAY FOR YOU? We at CBN Europe, have a heart for prayer.

We believe that Jesus has called us to pray for one another and encourage each other in our walk with Him. If you need prayer, please call our Hope Line and there will be someone ready to stand in prayer with you.

Call the CBN Hope Line 0300 561 0700 (UK) | 01513 3738 (ROI) 02 7908 0700 (AUS) | 04 488 0700 (NZ) | +44 207 101 7045 (Int) Or message us on WhatsApp! 07833 993 924

26 | TESTIMONIES

27

TESTIMONIES

Inspire Your Faith

We can often come to God with requests and petitions – and so we should, there is nothing wrong with that! But how wonderful is it when we come before God in gratitude – with a praise report of answered prayer.

Not only does it encourage others, but it feeds our own faith!

Below are some examples of answered prayers received through CBN’s ministry.

We pray that they inspire and encourage you to keep submitting your prayers to our Lord – He is faithful to answer us!

HEALING Olivia called to give a praise report while watching the 700 Club. She said that she received healing from the Lord for her swollen ankles while Terry was praying – praise God!

Discover Global Impact

PROVISION Tania called in to say thank you all for praying for her. She has been offered a job this afternoon and is starting soon!

Praise the Lord for His goodness at all times.

HEALING Many, many thanks for your prayers and a million thanks to God Almighty.

Thank you for praying for my niece, God is so faithful! The Doctor has said that there is no lump and my niece doesn’t need a mammogram. Thank you, Jesus!

SALVATION Sylvia – a very broken lady who watched our programme on TBN – we had the privilege of leading her into a living relationship with Jesus! Whilst speaking with her she cried many tears but, her relationship with Jesus has been restored after being far away from God many years. She commented that she no longer feels bad or alone.

She thanked us for taking the time to talk and pray with her.

CONNECT WITH US ON SOCIAL MEDIA!

RECOMMITTMENT Ian rang in today feeling very broken, He had lost the will to live. He said that he did not want to wake up tomorrow. We prayed and Ian ended up recommitting his life today. God is wonderful.

PRAISE Lydia called to say that her son’s surgery went very well and he’s coming home today after being in hospital for a month. She is so grateful for our prayers. Praise God.

@ CBNEUROPE CBNEUROPE.COM | 0300 561 0700

28 | REACH ONLINE

YOUR WAYS TO GIVE | 29

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To find out more about Legacy Giving, please visit cbneurope.com/legacy.

Standing Order Giving to CBN Europe via standing order is so easy! Simply use the information below to let your bank know that you would like to give to CBN Europe. Then email us at partners@cbneurope.com letting us know your name, address and that you have set up a standing order. We’ll then be able to find your gift and can also send you CBN Europe resources!

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‘...the joy of the Lord is your strength.

Nehemiah 8:10