CBN EUROPE
REAC H M
A G A
Seeing Vision Come to Life
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We are Free to Live for Him
JANUARY 2016
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It’s a New Day
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Vision Coming to Life
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A Second Chance
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A Vision Restored
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Free to Live for Him
CBN EUROPE PO Box 700, Hereford, HR1 9EW, UK 01 513 3738 (ROI) 0300 561 0700 / 0800 432 0700 (UK) +44 207 101 7045 (Europe)
6 R E A C H is a resource
made freely availabe by CBN Europe to inspire, inform and strengthen your relationship with God. CBN Europe has the privilege of partner with people and ministries across Europe to share the message of hope in Jesus Christ, providing humanitarian relief and alleviating poverty. It is CBN Europe’s vision to share the Gospel in a relevant way to all generations and see people walk in their true potential in God. Would you like to support our ministry? Visit cbneurope.com/donate
Connect We would love to hear from you and pray for your needs! Send your prayer request by email at prayer@cbneurope.com www.cbneurope.com 700clubeurope 700clubeurope CBN Europe CBN Europe
EDITORIAL |
Allen Carter | CBN UK Manager
NOTHING IS IMPOSSIBLE FOR GOD We are so glad to present you the first issue of our rebranded and revamped Reach magazine. Please feel free to use it as an evangelistic tool to help people gain a greater understanding of who Jesus is, and the incredible purpose that He has for every one of us. As we enter another new year, we often stop and reflect upon the previous year with memories still etched upon our minds. These memories can be a joyful remembrance of great achievements or a painful reminder of challenging or overwhelming circumstances. The truth is, we cannot turn back the clock. The Bible says we must “forget those things which are behind” both the good and the bad and embrace what the future may hold. When we choose to focus on the possibilities and believe that with God’s help we are able to achieve all that He has planned, our faith is increased and we are able to believe in greater things. I recently saw a phrase that said the word impossible from God’s perspective says I am possible. For impossible is nothing to God. The year ahead may well be challenging and at times overwhelming, however, why not believe that every impossible situation can be turned around for good? God has a proven track record of saving loved ones, healing bodies, restoring marriages, providing finances and making a way where there seems to be no way. Know that He has never failed and He won’t start now! As a ministry we want to stand with you and believe for breakthrough in your life. Please call our Prayer Centre at 0300 561 0700 where we would love to pray with you. R|03
WE RECOMMEND
Without Words If one of your New Year’s resolutions is to spend more time reading your Bible, we highly recommend playing ‘Without Words: Synesthesia’ by Bethel Music while you read. This record is the perfect modern instrumental companion to your quiet time. ‘Synesthesia’ includes beautiful instrumental arrangements of many well-known worship songs, along with new, original compositions.
Greater Life Are you ready to open your imagination to the possibility that God has a vision for your life that is greater? That’s the question that Pastor Steven Furtick, from Elevation Church in US asks throughout his book “Greater”. With brilliant insights from scripture, honest and transparent storytelling and a message of audacious faith, this book will challenge, stir and inspire you to see the greater life that God has prepared for you!
Want Christian resources? On our website you can read blog posts, devotions and factsheets. Visit www.cbneurope.com R|04
Organisation Organising our personal lives can be so difficult, and that is no exception when it comes to organising our work lives, especially when you have multiple team members working on different projects. One app and website we use a lot here at CBN is TeamWeek (www. teamweek.com). It is a fantastic tool to help you organise your week and easily drag and drop tasks onto different people’s workload. It is free, simple to use and will make your life so much easier!
DEVOTION |
Bridget Vogel | CBN UK Writer & Host
IT IS A NEW DAY Resolve to Continue
It is again the beginning of another January. Most of us have heard that scary ‘resolution’ word thrown around conversation in our homes, offices, and friendship groups. It’s easy to make a resolution, but as we all know, sticking to the things we resolve to do is another story. While exploring some incredible UK waterfalls, I was hit with the idea that water is determined to find its destination. I became fascinated by the small trickles eroding paths along the way in hopes of finding the river. Water has the ability to forge a new path, even though it could take years to do so. Simply stated, a ‘resolution’ is a firm decision to do something. But the action of ‘resolve’ carries with it a deep determination to see that resolution played out. Like those small trickles of water, it may take numerous attempts, but it will find a way to the goal. The ‘New Year’s Resolution’ fosters this idea of waiting until tomorrow to change something we could push through difficulty to change today. We often put more weight on creating
new goals than stirring up a fresh determination to finish what we set out to do the year before. In Philippians 3:12-16, Paul encourages us saying (my paraphrase), ‘Hey friends, even I have not yet arrived to the place Jesus wants us to go, but I see the goal! Keep pressing on. Stay resolute. Don’t give up!’ The point of resolution: keep going. This January, this February, this March, I encourage you to look back on the resolutions you made in the past. For the ones that you fear you’ve failed in, or think are too difficult to finish, resolve to try again. God wants us to practice resolution daily. Smaller steps to the goal are better than no steps at all. Which person have you given up praying for? Start praying again. What relationship do you know you need to mend? Choose to forgive today. Let 2016 be the year you resolve to keep going. Yes, each new year is a new opportunity to start over. But more than that, each new day is a new opportunity to continue. R|05
| FEATURED
VISION COMING TO LIFE
Jonathan Phillips | CBN UK Prayer Centre
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FEATURED |
“Where there is no vision, the people cast off restraint, but happy is he who keeps the law”. Proverbs 29:18
‘Vision’ is one of those subjects that can be easy to discuss at great length. We know that we’re supposed to live our lives with vision, and to have some sort of a clear understanding of what kind of person we are and what we want to do with our time here on earth.
vision come to life something that must happen despite our circumstances?
Given that, why do we struggle so badly to have a clear vision, or even one at all? Why is it that the approach to having a vision for something, and putting it into action, is so simple, yet seemingly so hard to attain? Do our circumstances dominate over our ability to live out vision? Is seeing
1. See what God’s word has to say about vision, and come to a conclusion on what God’s will is for us.
I think the best way we can find the answers we truly need to such profound questions is to approach this from two angles:
2. Look at some examples out there of people that have had vision for something great and have seen it come to pass, then study their R|07
| FEATURED
It isn’t your vision, but God’s that we must seek.
life like a recipe of how to have vision and, most importantly, how we can see it come to life.
clearly: “Where there is no vision, the people cast off restraint, but happy is he who keeps the law”.
Ultimately, deep down, this is what we truly desire isn’t it? To be used by God for His glory, to be a representative for Christ every single day, no matter where we go, or who we meet along the way.
Now, to cast off restraint quite literally means to be ungovernable, or to be someone who cannot be reined in. So what is the Bible talking about when it says ‘vision’ here in this verse? Well, the New King James Translation replaces the word ‘vision’ with the word ‘revelation’, so the verse now reads: “Where there is no revelation the people cast off restraint”. Now we see the meaning of this verse starting to take shape, so let’s go really deep into this for a second and see how this changes the way we view what vision truly is.
“TO BE USED BY GOD FOR HIS GLORY, TO BE A REPRESENTATIVE FOR CHRIST EVERY SINGLE DAY.” So, what does scripture have to say about having vision? Well, Proverbs 29:18 outlines quite R|08
“Vision”, or prophecy in its widest sense, is the revelation of God’s will, which directs the course of events. The prophets were the instructors of the people in divine things, standing witnesses of the truth and power of religion, who taught a higher morality than that of mere humans. The fatal
FEATURED |
effect of the absence of such revelation of God’s will is stated to be confusion, disorder, and rebellion; the people, uncontrolled, fall into sin, which nothing but high principles can restrain. They quite literally perish. When we talk about having vision for our lives, what we are actually talking about is having an understanding of the people God has called us to be, and that our lives are to be a reflection of Christ. As we read God’s word, we will have revelation upon revelation. The key then is not only to have the God-inspired revelation, but to put it into action, so that God may be glorified through our lives. That’s why Psalm 119:105 says “Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path.” His word shows us the way forward.
“THE KEY THEN IS TO PUT GODʼS REVELATION INTO ACTION.”
Christine Caine is an amazing example of living out this meaning of vision. Christine could see that not enough was being done to combat and prevent sex trafficking worldwide and, knowing that sex trafficking was not God’s will for women and that God loved them, she decided to start the A21 campaign in 2008. Today, The A21 campaign has offices in 9 countries and is making a huge difference to ending sex trafficking worldwide. This is not only to save girls from slavery, but also to raise awareness, and funding for antitrafficking groups. Christine had a revelation of what God’s will was for women caught up in sex trafficking, and that revelation directed the course of events that came after, namely her decision to start the A21 campaign. Her vision, ignited and inspired by the Word of God, came to pass because it was the will of God.
Christine Caine
So you want to see vision come to life? Know that it isn’t Your vision, but His that we must seek. When we know what God’s will truly is in every situation, we begin to see people in desperate need all around us every day. R|09
| INSIDE CBN
OUR TEAM Meet Karl! Let us introduce you to Karl who works as our Accounts Administrator. Karl has a knack for excellence and efficiency. In addition, because of his passion to see kids fulfill all that God has for them in their lives, Karl also spends time developing and editing our UK Superbook curriculum. Karl is married to Jasmine, and has one daughter, Isabelle. Their family also includes a cat called Lightening and three Gerbils. Karl was born in South Africa. At the age of four, he was diagnosed with a brain tumor and was not expected to make it past childhood. However, God miraculously healed him! Karl worked as a nature conservationist in South Africa, but later took a gap year to visit the UK and has been here ever since! Outside of CBN work, Karl loves to study, and enjoys doing kids work with his church.
Karl Shares a Bible Verse “The Lord reigns; he is robed in majesty; the Lord is robed; he has put on strength as his belt. Yes, the world is established; it shall never be moved. Your throne is established from of old; you are from everlasting. The floods have lifted up, O Lord, the floods have lifted up their voice; the floods lift up their roaring. Mightier than the thunders of many waters, mightier than the waves of the sea, the Lord on high is mighty! Your decrees are very trustworthy; holiness benefits your house, O Lord, forevermore.� Psalm 93
Want to volunteer for us? Are you passionate about God and love to write inspiring articles? We need you! Vist www.cbneurope.com/jobs R|10
THANK YOU!
CBN partners are reaching out with the love of Jesus and meeting physical, educational and spiritual needs of orphans and vulnerable children.
www.cbneurope.com/donate
| GLOBAL IMPACT
Jinxi would have died without surgery to correct her heart defect.
A SECOND CHANCE The Gift of a Brigther Future
It was a race against time. Little Jinxi was born in China with a deadly heart condition that was getting worse. “Her lips and cheeks were always purple, and her fingernails were black,” her mother, Wang, said. “She couldn’t walk much, and she was always tired.” Jinxi desperately needed surgery to save her life. To make matters worse, Wang’s husband abandoned the family, but she was determined to save Jinxi. Wang labored 12 hours every day at a factory. Yet, she knew it would take three years to earn enough for an operation. Watching her little girl dying, she begged her, “Please wait for me…” In a fit of desperation, Wang said, “I was thinking of selling my kidney on R|12
the black market. It was the only way.” Thankfully, a caring doctor told CBN about this family’s dire situation. And our medical team quickly arranged to set up the surgery, at no charge. “The news was like a beam of sunshine. My daughter would live and not die!” Wang gratefully expressed. Even though Jinxi’s heart procedure was complicated, it was a complete success. Today, Jinxi is healthy, she is able to run, play, and even ride the merry-go-round as she had longed to do. “The people at CBN are angels,” Wang exclaimed. “You gave my daughter a second chance at life!”
GLOBAL IMPACT |
VISION RESTORED Healing and Help
When Ravi began losing his sight to cataracts, it affected everything, including his work. Ravi paints buildings in India for a living. Because of his poor eyesight, he was losing jobs. As a result, the family often went hungry. His daughter Priyanka and her brother were eventually forced to drop out of school. Priyanka desperately prayed to the Lord. Then one day, while Ravi was painting a church building, the pastor noticed areas he’d missed. Ravi mentioned his cataracts. To his surprise, the pastor contacted CBN, who provided free eye surgery for Ravi!
“I AM SO HAPPY THAT MY DAD CAN SEE AGAIN. I THANK GOD FOR HEARING OUR PRAYERS.”
With his sight restored, he can work again. CBN also opened a cosmetics shop for his wife to run. And thanks to this extra income, the children have enough to eat and can now attend school. Ravi exclaimed, “The Lord gave us a new life!”
#Thailand
A new water purification system was dedicated at a local school, benefiting over 1,350 students and teachers, as well as 220 village families. R|13
| CBN STORIES
FOLLOWING GOD When I got saved I felt I had misused the first 38 years of my life and I said to God “I want to live the rest of my life for You. Just tell me what you want me to do.” I have been a tattoo artist for about 15 years. People would come to me and say “I wish I could get nice tattoos as you have, I only got these stupid old gang tattoos’. And it just clicked. I reached out to a couple of friends that were probational officers and I said ‘I believe this is my calling, I will start to remove gang tattoos for free. Do you think people will want it?’ Both of my friends laughed and said ‘We will have people lined up around the block.’ So, we started Ink180. I can always feel the relief on people’s faces when getting rid of an old tattoo that defined their past.
“I ASKED GOD WHAT HE WANTED ME TO DO, I LISTENED TO HIM AND FOLLOWED THROUGH.” Chris Baker
I was invited to discuss the ministry with a human trafficking operation. I was in shock. They started to give me the facts and the figures and it blew me away. I had no idea that this was happening where I live. There are barcodes put on victims by their traffickers, vulgar images, words, rules that they have for the girls, contact information. Almost like a bussiness card tattooed on these victims. It broke my heart. They took this art that I love so much and transformed it into something disgusting. So, I extended the ministry to help these girls. They can’t contain their reaction when these marks are gone from their bodies. We have perfomed more than 2,200 tattoo removals, free of charge. I asked God what He wanted me to do, I listened to Him and followed through. Have that conversation with God, ‘What gifts have you given me that I could serve and bless others in my community with?’
What is your story? Send your testimony to us: PO Box 700, Hereford, HR1 9EW, UK or email us at testimony@700club.tv R|14
CHILDREN |
Karl Waldegrave | Superbook Team
Superbook Hey kids! Do you know that CBN has a website just for you guys? CBN’s Superbook website is a safe place for you to play free online games, learn more about the Bible, and grow in your faith! You can also have your own Bible app on your phone or kindle. It brings the Bible to life with videos and images from our Superbook animation series. To enjoy, visit www.superbook.tv
HEY, ITʼS A NEW YEAR So Christmas has come and Christmas has gone. It is a start of a new year, 2016! It is a time when many adults make “New Year’s Resolutions”, when they make plans to achieve things during this year, which they could not manage to do last year. But they think “Hey, it’s a New Year, a magical moment when things will be different!” But most of the time they soon forget these super plans. But seriously it is a New Year, and we can use it as a new start, a fresh start! Think about this coming year. What things might happen? What things could happen! What friends might you make? What thing might you do? What places might you go to? And guess what? You don’t do it alone. Jesus is going along with you, every step, every moment of every day of 2016. Isn’t that amazing? He has such big plans for you for this year. They are plans that only you can do for Him. He made you and knew you before you were even born. In Jeremiah 1 verse 5 God says: “I knew you before I formed you in your mother’s womb. Before you were born I set you apart and appointed you as my prophet to the nations.” So before your parents even knew you were in your mother’s ‘tummy’, Jesus knew, because he was there, he made you! He loves you more than anyone in this world loves you! God has also got a wonderful plan for your whole life, for this year even. He walks with you into 2016 and it is going to be amazing. So walk hand in hand with Jesus and know that it is going to be a remarkable year! Bless you.
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| INTERVIEW
NOEL ROBINSON “LIVING IN THE PRESENCE OF GOD MEANS THAT YOUʼRE CONSTANTLY WORSHIPPING.” Noel Robinson is an international worship leader, music pastor, songwriter and producer who is bringing people from different cultures and backgrounds together to worship God. He talked with REACH about his new album and the importance of worship in his life. As a worship leader you travel a lot to play at different conferences. For you personally, what does worship look like in your day to day life? Well, this may be a cliché, but worship is everything I do. Worship is a vehicle to get to the presence of God. Living in the presence of God means that you’re constantly worshipping. In everyday things, even mundane things, there is always a sense of God being with you. For me, that would be worship. For you, is worship always related to music? No, it isn’t. One of the things I teach is that worship is a heart function and R|16
INTERVIEW |
a presence function. Music is just an expression to actually interpret the presence. We write songs about the presence and we write songs out of the presence. For me, part of my reality is that I am gifted musically, so I use my gifting to interpret what I see and what I sense in my spirit. So that is the part that music plays. Outside of that God is real in everyday things. A true worshipper is a heart function, you’re feeling God when you are washing the dishes, or trimming the hedge, or having a conversation, or even when you’re upset about something, there is a sense that God is around you, he is there, he is present – ever present.
“HIS LOVE PUSHES PAST THE HURTS AND THE PAINS THAT PEOPLE LIVE THROUGH.”
You teach about worship and founded the Kingdom Worship Movement. Can you tell us a little bit more about what it is? Kingdom Worship Movement is a gathering; a movement of people that came together because of worship. I realised that oftentimes, churches and denominations are separated on theological points, but there are things we all agree on. We agree on who Jesus and God are and we agree on the expression of music that brings us together. We sing the same songs, we’re using the same themes, and the same ability to describe the same God. I thought to myself, what if we came together? So I just went on this journey of forming relationships with the Spanishspeaking community, the Portuguese, the Russian, the Bulgarian, the Polish, the African, the Caribbean communities. I invited worship leaders from different places, like Matt Redman
and Tim Hughes. We came together and God began to do something, build relationship, and it’s actually through this place that revival comes. Tell us about your ‘Outrageous Love’:
new
album
The whole story of ‘Outrageous Love’ is that God’s love is so powerful, that it pushes through whatever barriers you may find. God’s love will find that girl, or that woman in that crack den, will find that woman on the streets. God’s love will find that lonely man in that mansion house, He’ll find the destitute but He’ll also find the rich. His Love pushes past the hurts and the pains that people live through, and that’s why we called it ‘outrageous.’ R|17
| BLOOM
FREE TO LIVE FOR HIM Gordon Robertson Preparing the way of the Lord into our hearts
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BLOOM |
Jesus’ first message was, “The kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel” (Mark 1:15). The Greek word for “repent,” metanous, simply means to change your mind. He wants us to change our thinking and believe the good news. What is the good news? God is not mad at us. He poured all of His wrath for our sins on Jesus, and we enter His kingdom through faith. Yet changing our minds can be a spiritual battle. We must bring every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ (2 Corinthians 10:5).
“CHANGING OUR MINDS CAN BE A SPIRITUAL BATTLE.” Have you ever made a vow that is not of God and not good news? If you have said something like, “I will never trust again,” you have set up an idol in your life and bound yourself with fear. Perhaps someone hurt you, even years ago. If you are still angry or bitter, there are crooked places in your life that need to be made straight. We will all be offended in our lives. The
question is: What will we choose to do about it? Men nailed Christ to the cross, yet He prayed, “Father, forgive them” (Luke 23:34). When we forgive others, we set them and ourselves free to walk in Him. Allow the Holy Spirit to search and cleanse your heart, because Jesus wants to set you free. Ask God to reveal your innermost desires, and what your heart is truly set on. As Jesus says in Matthew 6:21, “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” The Lord isn’t looking at outward appearances; He is looking at our hearts. When we pray, “Father, forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us,” we clear the ground. As Isaiah 40:4-5 promises, Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill brought low; the crooked places shall be made straight and the rough places smooth; the glory of the Lord shall be revealed. This is how we prepare the way of the Lord into our hearts. The only vow we should make is, “I will live for You.” And when we say, “Your kingdom come, Your will be done in my life,” we experience His glorious presence, His complete acceptance, and His infinite love.
Do you need prayer? Send your prayer request by email to prayer@ cbneurope.com or visit www.cbneurope.com/prayer R|19
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