July 2007
CLU Student Newsletter
God's
voice gives you:
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Stay Focused!By
Dr. Karen Joy King
Since this time of year is filled with vacations and all kinds of activities, it is easy to become lax in staying focused on God and the CLU courses. By keeping God first and continuing to pursue the CLU courses, God will give you continuous guidance, personal fellowship with Him, meet your needs, and bless you with His favor. “But seek first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.” Matthew 6:33.
When we make time for God and walk with Him on a continuous basis, He increases and blesses our time to really live life. Give Him the best part of your day for a focused quiet time with Him! Since we can't out-give God, He will multiply it back to you so you can walk in His flow consistently!
I love living life with Him! Throughout the day, I can see Him smiling at me; hear Him speaking His love and approval; checking me before I make a mistake; giving me moment by moment instructions, and enjoying wonderful conversations with Him. What a wonderful Friend He is! But like any friendship, it must be cultivated by setting aside quiet times, prayer, Bible meditation, journaling, visions, dreams, and acknowledging Him in everything. Staying focused and committed to the anointed and life-changing CLU courses helps to integrate this cultivation.
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Just a reminder. A group of students meet with me everything Thursday
night at 9:00 P.M. Daylight Eastern Standard time to enjoy the CLU chat room
at www.cluonline.com/chat.htm. This is a great time to get acquainted with other
students and to have some great chats about God, CLU courses, personal blessings
and needs, or whatever. Please join us! PST trainees are also welcome! * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Below is a must-read experience from a student's journaling and visioning – I know it will bless and encourage you! The second testimony is from a missions student in Zambia. His photo is unavailable, but his testimony, though short, is powerful!
A
Fool for Christ!By
Susan Cruz
Good evening Dr. King! I had an interesting experience. Although it may appear to be a mini novel, the details are important. A little background info: I have a very dear friend with whom I have been friends for about 13 years. I had the privilege of leading her to Christ in September of last year. In December she was finally able to conceive a child through in-vitro after tons of disappointments.
As a result of her age (39), she has had some complications, including severe swelling. The doctors weren't able to pinpoint the problem until a couple of weeks ago when they decided she had some type of blood disorder. They warned her that she is highly susceptible to a miscarriage up until her 9th month along with the risk of heart attack and stroke.
She had called me on Thursday to tell me that her blood was too thick, resulting in the inability for the lab to perform the blood tests necessary for further treatment. Needless to say, she was beside herself.
Thursday evening when I sat to journal, I asked the Lord: How would You have me to pray for her? I wanted to make sure that I didn't go to the Lord with a preconceived idea on how I wanted the situation resolved, but really wanted to know His will on the matter. The initial answer I journaled was “to watch.”
As I got still, I asked the Lord again to remove any personal desire, that I would be open to whatever He had in store, and that I didn't allow my personal feelings to get in the way of what His will would be. I asked that several times. Immediately I saw Therese, her husband Steve, her Brother Juju, and the Lord standing around her in her kitchen. Interesting enough, every time I tried to remove Juju from the scene, he kept showing back up! I saw the Lord sit her on a stool and begin praying over her. He placed Steve's hands on her head, Juju's hand on her shoulder, and His hands on her head.
I appeared to be sitting across the room watching. I asked, “What do You want me to do?” He then gestured for me to come to where they were, and place my hands on her head. The Lord started praying for her. When He got to her stomach, He prayed for her unborn son, and said, “She'll name him Jonathan.” I also saw Him “sweeping” away at her shoulders, like someone who is removing lint from a shirt.
When I got to the “Jonathan” part, I stopped journaling for a moment, thinking I was making this all up because I just wanted to see her well. My brain started going through some facts: Therese is from Sudan, Africa. She has no stool in her kitchen, her brother Juju lives there, but is never home, she wouldn't name her child a normal name. After all, she's got a dog named “Acet”, her Mom's named “Mahabma”, and a brother with a name like “Juju”!
But, I figured no one would be reading this except me, so I decided to just keep writing...even if I didn't believe it myself. I watched as the Lord prayed to the Father, calling Him Adonai, Elohim, and then what sounded like El-Shabacti (phonetic). (I can't figure that one out). Before He finished, He said to tell her, “There is no need to weep anymore. Trust Me.” When the Lord was finished praying over her, He looked at me and said, “It's done”.
That evening and the next day, I didn't get much sleep. I kept asking myself if that was what the Lord was telling me to do. My fear wasn't praying with or for her, but the outcome. I reasoned that she was a new Christian, and I would hate to cause her to doubt. Plus I didn't want to look like an idiot and lose all credibility with her, blah, blah, blah. And besides, she lives over an hour away, and our schedules wouldn't allow it. Self-consumption.....ugh!
Saturday morning I called one of my spiritual advisors about another matter and also brought up the journal entries. She commented that if there was that much turmoil going on in my spirit, it was probably from God. As we talked, she asked a couple of hard questions: “Would I be willing to look the fool for Christ?” “Who was I to be concerned about the outcome?” “When was I driving down there?” I love her for her candor, or at least I used to. Ha-ha!
While in the shower, John 8:38 and 5:19 kept playing over and over in my mind. I again rationalized it away. They were just fresh in my mind as a result of the recent study. Later on that day, I determined in my heart to drive to her place the next day because the conviction was so heavy and would just play it by ear. While driving down to her place, the Lord reminded me over and over again that this was not about me!
This is how it went. I walked in and there were 3 stools in her kitchen! Juju was there with his fianceé, her mom, sister, and of course, Steve and Therese. After starting a movie, Juju got up, along with his fianceé and her family to leave. When I saw them at the door, I decided I was off the hook. Then Juju came back in since he was just walking them to the door. That left Steve, Therese, Juju and me. Funny how God has a way of lining up all the pieces--whether you agree or not!
After the movie, Therese, Steve and I were sitting outside chatting. I asked her if she had come up with any names for the baby yet. She stated that they thought of some African names, but the name Jonathan kept rolling around her head!! I'm not going to lie. I think my heart stopped. Jokingly, I asked her what about names like, Muhammad, Akia, or something African? She simply stated that that name wouldn't leave her head.
I think I knew at that moment, the Lord was about to show up and show off! I pulled out my journal and shared with her what was written 3 days prior. Her tears killed me. She confided that she had been crying herself to sleep for the last month or so and would often wake up at 3:00 A.M. weeping in fear for her unborn child. Words cannot possibly describe the aching in my heart that I felt for my friend.
Her brother and husband had gone to take showers, leaving Therese and me alone. I told her I was going to head out, but needed her hubby and brother here so I could pray for her before I left. I did everything the Lord told me to do that I saw in my mind. I don't remember much of what I prayed, but I remember a peace as I saw the Lord standing next to her, just as I had seen several days prior.
Just as we were finished another brother walked in (not a Christian), stopped dead in his tracks and asked who was here? The four of us just looked at one another. When we asked him what he meant, he stated “that it seemed like there is something else in the room, but he couldn't quite place his finger on it.”
When I was driving home, Therese called to tell me that she inquired of her brother a bit more. He told her that when he walked into the room, the hairs on his arms and the back of his neck stood straight up and “freaked him out.” He again told her that someone was in the room!! After Therese told him what we had been doing, that night he wasn't able to sleep. God has a way of doing that.
Since then, Therese called to tell me that her doctor can't find any reason to be concerned about her blood anymore, her swelling has improved, and her brother has called another brother to discuss faith “issues”!
I learned a few things through this: regardless of how we feel, do it anyway. It is not about us. Fear is only a concern when we are placing too much emphasis on self, rather than what God wants. When something is in writing, it compels you to follow through. It's funny how God has a way of reinforcing an issue, regardless of whether we think we are ready or not.
My Whole Outlook Has Been Transformed
By
Levious Zulu – a missions student
(Photo not available)
Greetings from Zambia!
Reading through the material on the two CLU websites and putting it into practice has brought a transformation in my life! This is not just exam material that you cram to make a grade. The material taught on these websites transforms your whole outlook.
God bless CLU. The approach to teaching is totally unique. If all Bible colleges were like CLU, Christianity would be a revolution.
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