Turn to the Stronghold, you prisoners of hope, even today I declare that I will restore double to you. Zechariah 9:12.
In addition to the news of disasters and riots on TV this week, I heard a report from Release Magazine that over 500,000 believers were killed in Africa in 2014, four states in India are bringing the death penalty for anyone who converts from Hinduism to another religion, and women in the middle east are fleeing for their lives as ISIS takes over towns and villages, beheading their husbands, and even children as they go.
Reading daily about increasing persecution, natural disasters, riots, breakdown of the family and evil on every front, Zechariah 9:12 was a powerful reminder that God calls His people “prisoners of hope.”
We have nothing to cling to and nothing to offer others in our broken world if we don’t have our hope rooted and grounded in our Stronghold, Jesus. We have made the promises in Isaiah 61 and Luke 4:18-21 the hope we share with others in broken world – Jesus is good news for the poor, He heals the brokenhearted, He sets the captives free, He opens the eyes of the blind and brings beauty out of ashes, He turns morning into joy, and He promises a day that is the acceptable year of the Lord, His return.
But these cannot just be words we read and recite. These must be truths that we deeply believe and have experienced, for they are the promises which God has and is fulfilling even today, through Jesus. These are the promises which give hope, they are the transforming miracles He brings about in our hearts everyday – therefore we have hope for ourselves, and for others!
I received two emails this week from two women serving in situations where they are prisoners of hope. They cling to these promises and the hope they have experienced in Jesus, so they can bring this hope to others in hopeless situations.
Please join me in praying for these courageous women bringing hope to the brokenhearted in Nepal and the Middle East.
Monica ministering in Nepal Earthquake!
Monica is one of our Butterflies who was based in Honduras and recently relocated to the UK. On Monday she flew to Nepal as part of Samaritan’s Purse team of First Responders to help victims in the earthquake. Pray for her safety and for her emotional and spiritual strength ministering where Jesus calls her to be His heart, hands and feet.
“A” writes from the Middle East, where she is ministering to women who’s escaped ISIS and who’s husbands were killed.
Over the month, we have been able to do a few more distributions of flour, hygiene kits, and cooling units for the hot summer ahead. We have also spent some time with the Yazidi’s that have escaped from captivity from ISIS and are continuing to mourn the loss of their husbands and daughters. The grief they carry can be overwhelming to see but I know Jesus sees them and He loves them so dearly.
- A little over a week ago, we had a car bomb go off in the Christian quarter of the city and it killed several and injured a few more. Two days after the bombing, I went to the local church right around the corner from the bombing and it was filled with local believers worshiping the One True God without fear. I admire them and honor them so much for their faithfulness to press into His truth and love.
Please pray for these courage women, and for the ones they are serving. Pray the Holy Spirit baptizes and empowers them with the love of Jesus, to pour out His healing, freedom and hope on those who have been so greatly traumatized in these areas.
Please continue to pray for our butterflies in the USA and around the world.
A prisoner of hope
Yours in His love
Liz
Liz Dickson
Founder & Executive Director
Love UnVeiled
www.loveunveiled.org
407 385 5796