JUNIA Magazine Issue 03
A Magazine for women about faith, miracles and how to live the Christian life today. Encouragement, Inspiration and Links to Resources.
A Magazine for women about faith, miracles and how to live the Christian life today. Encouragement, Inspiration and Links to Resources.
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English Edition<br />
<strong>Issue</strong> <strong>03</strong><br />
MAGAZINE<br />
EDITOR´S VOICE<br />
TELL GOD HOW<br />
YOU FEEL<br />
A DREAM<br />
TRANSFORMED<br />
HER LIFE<br />
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USE THE<br />
WORD OF GOD
02<br />
<strong>JUNIA</strong> MAGAZINE / ISSUE <strong>03</strong><br />
Content<br />
PAGE 04 PAGE 20<br />
Inspiration Video - CeCe Winans -<br />
Goodness of God<br />
PAGE 05<br />
Editor´s Letter<br />
PAGE 21<br />
Inspiration<br />
PAGE 06<br />
A Dream Transformed PAGE 22<br />
Her Life<br />
Tell God How You Feel<br />
PAGE 13<br />
Inspiration<br />
PAGE 14<br />
Jesus, Greatest<br />
Intercessor<br />
PAGE 26<br />
Use the Word of God<br />
PAGE 28<br />
Video - The Chosen<br />
PAGE 30<br />
Prayer of Salvation<br />
COVER PHOTOGRAPHER © YURI ARCURS | DREAMSTIME.COM
<strong>JUNIA</strong> MAGAZINE / ISSUE <strong>03</strong><br />
<strong>03</strong><br />
- RESOURCES -<br />
lifeaudio.com<br />
A new podcasting<br />
platform dedicated<br />
to bringing you<br />
engaging Christian<br />
content.<br />
iBelieve.com<br />
Daily devotions for women,<br />
blogs by Christian female<br />
bloggers, articles on faith,<br />
relationships...
04<br />
<strong>JUNIA</strong> MAGAZINE / ISSUE <strong>03</strong><br />
INSPIRATION<br />
PHOTOGRAPHER © MARIA MARGANINGSIH | DREAMSTIME.COM<br />
DON’T BE AFRAID TO STEP OUT, HAVE DREAMS, HAVE<br />
VISIONS, HAVE HOPES AND ALWAYS, ALWAYS, ALWAYS<br />
BELIEVE IN MIRACLES.<br />
— JOYCE MEYER
<strong>JUNIA</strong> MAGAZINE / ISSUE <strong>03</strong><br />
05<br />
Editor’s Letter<br />
You are invited<br />
to find tools for<br />
living in victory<br />
this year!<br />
In this issue you<br />
are getting keys<br />
how you can<br />
live a victorious life even if your<br />
circumstances are tough and you<br />
don´t know the future.<br />
Anita Barker Andersen is telling<br />
the story about Soraya who first<br />
met Jesus in a dream and later<br />
started to pray and was healed<br />
from her illness. Prayer is the<br />
most important key for getting<br />
in contact with the power of God.<br />
Through prayer you can find peace<br />
in your life, but you can also be a<br />
tool for God to deliver healing and<br />
peace to other people.<br />
It is also important do take into<br />
your heart that God always is<br />
aware of everything you meet<br />
in life and you can be honest<br />
when you talk to him about your<br />
circumstances and your feelings<br />
(Page 22).<br />
In your walk together with<br />
God in prayer, the most exciting<br />
example you can follow is Jesus.<br />
He modeled prayer and was<br />
passionate about it (Page 14).<br />
You can learn from Him how to be<br />
effective in prayer.<br />
The Second Key for victory we<br />
want to lift up in this issue, is the<br />
Word of God. It is great power<br />
in God´s Word - The Bible. You<br />
can use the Word of God for your<br />
personal growth and it is also a<br />
great weapon to use in different<br />
situations in life (Page 26).<br />
In coming days, remember, Prayer<br />
and the Word of God is your most<br />
important keys for victory.<br />
Blessings!<br />
Marie Arnfjell<br />
Chief In Editor
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<strong>JUNIA</strong> MAGAZINE / ISSUE <strong>03</strong><br />
HOT STORY<br />
A Dream Transformed<br />
Her Life<br />
By Anita Barker Andersen<br />
PHOTOGRAPHER ADRIAN IONUT VIRGIL POP | DREAMSTIME.COM
<strong>JUNIA</strong> MAGAZINE / ISSUE <strong>03</strong><br />
07<br />
Soraya is 40 years old and grew up in a devout<br />
Sunni Muslim family. Her father is an imam in a<br />
mosque, and the family is very influential. Because<br />
Soraya was from a Muslim family, she prayed<br />
often and Allah was at the centre of her life. She<br />
prayed five times per day and fasted on Mondays<br />
and Thursdays, as any devout Muslim would. She<br />
wanted to be a servant of Allah and often read the<br />
Koran and taught.<br />
ANITA BARKER<br />
ANDERSEN HAS BEEN<br />
SPEAKER DURING<br />
MANY CONFERENCES<br />
FOR WOMEN AND<br />
ALSO GUEST SPEAKER<br />
ON MANY OCCASIONS<br />
ALL OVER THE WORLD.<br />
PHOTOGRAPHER<br />
<strong>JUNIA</strong> MAGAZINE<br />
As an adult, she taught other women how to<br />
grow deeper in their faith. She wore a niqab<br />
(a cloth that covers the face) every day; her<br />
parents were strict and she was never allowed<br />
to go out alone. Soraya’s big dream was to study<br />
at a university but her family thought it was<br />
in¬appropriate.<br />
Soraya’s family situation was very strained<br />
for a time. Her husband had left her and she felt<br />
abandoned and without hope. One night when<br />
she was completely despondent and felt she<br />
could no longer deal with her chaotic ituation, she<br />
called out to Allah in desperation for help.<br />
That same night she had a dream. In the dream,<br />
she sat with friends when three men appeared.<br />
The man in the middle said: “Come and follow me,<br />
I will help you!” Soraya had learned that women<br />
weren’t allowed to go with men, so in her dream<br />
she refused to follow the man. When the man left,
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<strong>JUNIA</strong> MAGAZINE / ISSUE <strong>03</strong><br />
she asked her friends: “Who was<br />
he?”<br />
They answered: “Jesus.” She<br />
then ran after him and shouted:<br />
“Jesus, I want to follow you!” He<br />
smiled at her and with love in his<br />
voice, said: “Tell all the others to<br />
meet in one place, and then I will<br />
come and tell them who I am and<br />
show my love to all of you.”<br />
When Soraya woke up from her<br />
dream she remembered she had<br />
spoken with Jesus for a long time.<br />
At that time, Soraya’s family had<br />
begun to control her more and<br />
more. She no longer felt safe,<br />
and a month after the dream she<br />
ran away from home and fled her<br />
country.<br />
After 40 days of fleeing through<br />
many different countries, she made<br />
it to Europe and was given her<br />
own apartment. Soraya felt sick in<br />
her body and soul, feeling deeply<br />
depressed and often crying.<br />
She couldn’t tell anyone in her<br />
vicinity how she was feeling<br />
because she couldn’t speak<br />
German or English, and no one<br />
around her could speak her<br />
language. Two Christian women<br />
began to help her, taking care of<br />
her with such compassion she<br />
thought they were like angels. She<br />
was surprised they showed so<br />
much love for her.<br />
The women thought she was<br />
depressed because she missed<br />
her homeland and couldn’t talk to<br />
anyone in her language, so they<br />
helped her buy a satellite dish so<br />
she could watch TV shows in her<br />
own language. One day Soraya<br />
found a channel broadcasting<br />
Christian pro¬grams in Farsi. She<br />
listened to these and learned a<br />
great deal about the Christian faith<br />
and about who Jesus is.<br />
When Soraya prayed along with<br />
the pastor on television, she felt<br />
better. She received hope and new<br />
strength, but she still did not have<br />
the courage to believe in Jesus.<br />
She had forgotten the dream<br />
she had about Jesus back in her<br />
country. Later, she became ill, and<br />
didn’t know where she could find
<strong>JUNIA</strong> MAGAZINE / ISSUE <strong>03</strong><br />
09<br />
PHOTO FROM CHRISTIAN CHANNEL TBN NEJAT TELEVISION<br />
help or even what a health clinic<br />
was. She became convinced that<br />
her illness was a punishment, and<br />
prayed both to Allah and to Jesus.<br />
A month went by without any<br />
physical change, but because of<br />
the prayers, something happened<br />
within Soraya and her heart<br />
softened. One night, when she was<br />
in a great deal of pain, she called<br />
out in desperation: “Jesus, show<br />
your power now, I want you to heal<br />
me!”<br />
Later she watched a program on<br />
the Christian television channel<br />
about healing. She had heard<br />
many testimonies about people<br />
being healed, so she said to God:<br />
“Show me!”<br />
At that moment, the pastor<br />
started to pray and Soraya, prayed<br />
along with him. The pastor talked<br />
about how he saw a woman<br />
sitting in her home. He described<br />
a woman who was in the exact<br />
situation that Soraya was in and
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<strong>JUNIA</strong> MAGAZINE / ISSUE <strong>03</strong><br />
had the same symptoms she did.<br />
“Jesus wants to heal you and take<br />
away all of your doubt” said the<br />
pastor. A warm wave went through<br />
her body and she was filled with<br />
the words: “Jesus is Lord”. She was<br />
completely healed from her illness<br />
and freed from her doubts.<br />
Now she had the courage to<br />
believe and trust in Jesus. She<br />
accepted him with all her heart and<br />
was filled with an immense love.<br />
Soraya had a fear of the dark her<br />
entire life, but now she felt safe.<br />
She knew Jesus was with her<br />
and took care of her. She was also<br />
healed from intense migraines<br />
which she had suffered since<br />
childhood.<br />
All this happened within six<br />
months of her arriving in Europe.<br />
She received a Bible in her own<br />
language; has forgiven her family<br />
who hurt her deeply; and she has<br />
been healed in her soul.<br />
family, something she ever felt in<br />
her own family. Not long afterwards<br />
Soraya miraculously received<br />
residency. Since then she has<br />
studied theology through an online<br />
program at a university in England<br />
and is now working in a church<br />
where she is able to help large<br />
numbers of people find a new life,<br />
just as she witnessed in her dream<br />
many years ago.<br />
From A New Life by<br />
Anita Barker Andersen<br />
***<br />
You can find more Real Life<br />
Stories from people around the<br />
world on https://anewlife.se/<br />
They can be translated to over<br />
100 different languages through<br />
Google Translate.<br />
Instead of her biological family,<br />
she feels she is a part of God’s
<strong>JUNIA</strong> MAGAZINE / ISSUE <strong>03</strong><br />
11<br />
- RESOURCES -<br />
<strong>JUNIA</strong>MAGAZINE.COM<br />
FB.COM/<strong>JUNIA</strong>MAGAZINE<br />
Life Stories,<br />
Articles,<br />
Blogs,<br />
Encouragement<br />
Bible Verses<br />
tv.joycemeyer.org<br />
Joyce Meyer<br />
in your language!<br />
encouragementcafe.com<br />
Devotions<br />
Podcast<br />
Bible Study
12<br />
<strong>JUNIA</strong> MAGAZINE / ISSUE <strong>03</strong><br />
- RESOURCES -<br />
Alpha is an 11-week course that creates a space, online or in<br />
person, where people are excited to bring their friends for a<br />
conversation about faith, life and God.<br />
The Alpha Concept will take you on an epic journey exploring the<br />
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National Offices<br />
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Find an Alpha near you:<br />
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<strong>JUNIA</strong> MAGAZINE / ISSUE <strong>03</strong><br />
13<br />
INSPIRATION<br />
PHOTOGRAPHER UNSPLASH.COM/@MILADA_VIGEROVA<br />
AT THE HEART OF SILENCE IS PRAYER. AT THE HEART OF<br />
PRAYER IS FAITH. AT THE HEART OF FAITH IS LIFE. AT THE<br />
HEART OF LIFE IS SERVICE.<br />
– MOTHER TERESA
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<strong>JUNIA</strong> MAGAZINE / ISSUE <strong>03</strong><br />
PRAYER<br />
Jesus, Greatest Intercessor<br />
By Carol Madison<br />
I confess. I’ve had the thought more than once:<br />
Why in the world did the three disciples fall<br />
asleep while Jesus was praying in the Garden<br />
of Gethsemane? Really? How could they not<br />
have stayed awake for even an hour during<br />
Jesus’ moment great need?<br />
CAROL MADISON IS<br />
EDITOR OF PRAYER<br />
CONNECT MAGAZINE<br />
AND DIRECTOR OF<br />
PRAYER MINISTRIES<br />
AT HILLSIDE CHURCH<br />
OF BLOOMINGTON,<br />
MINNESOTA. THIS<br />
ARTICLE IS AN EXCERPT<br />
FROM HER BOOK PRAYER<br />
THAT’S CAUGHT AND<br />
TAUGHT.<br />
How hard can it be?<br />
Well, I recall going to bed one night with a<br />
heavy burden on my heart. At about 2:00 a.m.,<br />
I simply could not sleep. I got out of bed, knelt<br />
on the floor in my bedroom, with my face in<br />
the carpet - and began crying out to God to<br />
intervene in a situation that was near and dear<br />
to my heart. I prayed and stormed the gates of<br />
heaven with passion and loud cries.<br />
And then I woke up about 20 minutes later.<br />
I could not feel my legs. Both were numb and<br />
completely useless. I reached back behind<br />
me (because I was still in a kneeling position),<br />
picked up a leg, and dropped it with a dead<br />
thud. The other leg responded with the same<br />
thud. I panicked. Oh, no. Is it possible to<br />
paralyze myself?<br />
I rolled over on my side and started dragging
<strong>JUNIA</strong> MAGAZINE / ISSUE <strong>03</strong><br />
15<br />
myself toward my bed. That’s when my<br />
“dead” legs started to wake up. You know<br />
that tingle. It starts as a little stab and then<br />
gets increasingly worse, until it consumes<br />
your entire leg. Imagine both legs at the<br />
same time! I was in agony for several<br />
minutes as the blood flow was slowly<br />
restored to my legs.<br />
I don’t judge the disciples anymore.<br />
Still Counts<br />
Yes, I slept through my prayers. Yet,<br />
because of God’s mercy and my<br />
partnership with Jesus, my prayers were<br />
answered that night! Even as I snoozed<br />
my way to paralysis, Jesus was still right<br />
alongside me, praying at the right hand of<br />
the Father. The Spirit of Christ prompted<br />
me to get out of bed and pray in the first<br />
place - and the prayers of Christ continued<br />
while I dozed.<br />
My heart was right; my eyes were<br />
heavy with sleep. But Jesus had me<br />
covered. I was partnered with the Greatest<br />
Intercessor Ever.<br />
Whether the disciples realized it or not,<br />
they were also partnered with Jesus in<br />
Mark 14:32 - 42. And as they slept, Jesus<br />
prayed on.<br />
Jesus knew His death was imminent.<br />
He was fully aware of the events soon to<br />
“JESUS IS PRAYING FOR US.<br />
RIGHT NOW.”<br />
PHOTOGRAPHER MELINDA<br />
STODOLA | DREAMSTIME.COM<br />
“HIS PRAYER OF FORGIVENESS<br />
IS PART OF THE DESTINY FOR<br />
ANY OF US WHO HAVE FAILED TO<br />
HONOR JESUS IN OUR LIVES.”<br />
PHOTOGRAPHER LEO LINTANG |<br />
DREAMSTIME.COM
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<strong>JUNIA</strong> MAGAZINE / ISSUE <strong>03</strong><br />
face Him. In that moment of deep<br />
sorrow and heavy heart, Jesus<br />
prayed. He brought Peter, James,<br />
and John with Him to the Garden<br />
with one simple request: “Stay<br />
here and keep watch” (vs. 34).<br />
During the next hour while He<br />
prayed, the disciples fell asleep.<br />
No doubt they made themselves<br />
as comfortable as they could while<br />
they waited, and eventually sleep<br />
overtook them. Three times. That<br />
had to be a little embarrassing. (But<br />
again, no judgment here.)<br />
Jesus called them out, I suspect<br />
with both compassion and maybe<br />
a little disappointment. “Couldn’t<br />
you keep watch for one hour?”<br />
(vs. 37). But Jesus added a<br />
prophetic warning that I doubt<br />
the disciples understood. He tied<br />
their sleepiness with a weakness<br />
toward temptation: “Watch and<br />
pray so that you will not fall into<br />
temptation. The spirit is willing, but<br />
the flesh is weak” (vs. 38).<br />
He was warning them about the<br />
power of prayer to sustain them<br />
in the years to come ‐ and they<br />
had no idea how much they would<br />
need it!<br />
Yes, the disciples failed<br />
miserably in staying awake on<br />
behalf of their friend. Yet, Jesus<br />
prayed on. With or without them,<br />
He was fully present to His Father<br />
and was interceding in His hour<br />
of great need. He prayed into the<br />
fullness of His destiny - and that of<br />
His disciples.<br />
This is our assurance today.<br />
Even as we slumber in our<br />
prayerlessness, or even as evil<br />
lurks around us and is ready to<br />
pounce in our weak moments,<br />
Jesus is praying for us. Right now.<br />
Necessity of Prayer<br />
One question you might ask - and<br />
it’s a valid one: “Did Jesus really<br />
need to pray?”<br />
Here’s my theologically profound<br />
answer: Apparently, He did!<br />
There are too many examples<br />
in Scripture to conclude any other<br />
way. Someone has counted 45<br />
times in the Gospels where Jesus<br />
went away to pray. It doesn’t make<br />
sense that Jesus would devote so<br />
much time to prayer if He didn’t<br />
consider it a necessity in His own<br />
life.
<strong>JUNIA</strong> MAGAZINE / ISSUE <strong>03</strong><br />
17<br />
And His times of prayer weren’t<br />
always simply for the teaching or<br />
modeling for others. There are<br />
many instances when Jesus drew<br />
away to pray without anyone else<br />
present (Matt. 14:23; Luke 5:16).<br />
We don’t know what He prayed<br />
during those times, and He didn’t<br />
see the need to always record<br />
His intimate conversations with<br />
His Father. We just know it was<br />
important enough to Jesus that He<br />
orchestrated moments to be alone<br />
in His prayers.<br />
Other times He modeled prayer<br />
for others, such as when He<br />
instructed His disciples in what<br />
we now know as the Lord’s Prayer<br />
(Matt. 6:9–14). He also prayed<br />
at key moments ‐ such as the<br />
resurrection of Lazarus ‐ in a way<br />
that benefited those around Him:<br />
So they took away the stone.<br />
Then Jesus looked up and said,<br />
“Father, I thank you that you have<br />
heard me. I knew that you always<br />
hear me, but I said this for the<br />
benefit of the people standing<br />
here, that they may believe that<br />
you sent me” (John 11:41–42).<br />
We also notice that Jesus’ prayers<br />
were often full of emotion and<br />
agony. It’s one more indicator that,<br />
yes, Jesus needed to pray:<br />
During the days of Jesus’ life on<br />
earth, he offered up prayers and<br />
petitions with fervent cries and<br />
tears to the one who could save<br />
him from death, and he was heard<br />
because of his reverent submission<br />
(Heb. 5:7).<br />
You can’t study the life of Jesus<br />
without concluding that prayer<br />
was - and is - a critical component<br />
of His life. He modeled it, pursued<br />
it, and was passionate about it.<br />
And now He has the assignment of<br />
fulltime intercession at the throne<br />
of God: “Christ Jesus who died ‐<br />
more than that, who was raised<br />
to life ‐ is at the right hand of God<br />
and is also interceding for us.”<br />
(Rom. 8:34).<br />
He is, after all, the Greatest<br />
Intercessor.<br />
How Else Did Jesus Pray?<br />
What are some other general<br />
things that Jesus prayed about?<br />
Whatever Jesus prayed about
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<strong>JUNIA</strong> MAGAZINE / ISSUE <strong>03</strong><br />
gives us a clue as to how we<br />
should also pray.<br />
• He prayed for God’s direction.<br />
When selecting the 12 disciples,<br />
Jesus prayed all night. We don’t<br />
know the specifics of what He<br />
was praying, but we can at least<br />
imagine some of the things that<br />
may have been on His heart: “Peter.<br />
He’s going to have a rough go of it.<br />
Keep him and restore him.” “Help<br />
me to love Judas extraordinarily,<br />
because I know he is going to<br />
betray Me.” “John is so young -<br />
grow him up and prepare him for<br />
Kingdom assignments.”<br />
I’m guessing Jesus prayed not only<br />
for God’s direction in His choice of<br />
disciples, but He also prayed for<br />
them in advance and dedicated<br />
them to the God (Luke 6:12–13).<br />
• He prayed for others who<br />
needed God’s forgiveness.<br />
Despite Jesus’ pain and impending<br />
death, He still had compassion and<br />
forgiveness for those who betrayed<br />
Him. “Jesus said, ‘Father, forgive<br />
them, for they do not know what<br />
they are doing.’ And they divided<br />
up his clothes by casting lots” (Luke<br />
23:34).<br />
Even as He was thirsty, bleeding<br />
out, and dying ‐ Jesus knew the<br />
power of forgiveness. His prayer of<br />
forgiveness is part of the destiny for<br />
any of us who have failed to honor<br />
Jesus in our lives.<br />
• He prayed for His beloved<br />
friends - and for those to come.<br />
Jesus’ most lengthy recorded<br />
prayer is both for His disciples<br />
of that day, as well as for those<br />
of us in the future Church. He<br />
prays prophetically, knowing that<br />
His followers will always face<br />
opposition from Satan and will need<br />
to stay unified so that the world will<br />
know and witness the power and<br />
glory of Jesus (John 17:1–24).<br />
Jesus longs for His Church to<br />
love each other and walk in power<br />
through our unity in Him. We are<br />
His beloved, He prays for us even<br />
now, and this is how we can join<br />
Him in world-changing prayers.<br />
This is not an exhaustive list of<br />
how Jesus prayed, but you can
<strong>JUNIA</strong> MAGAZINE / ISSUE <strong>03</strong><br />
19<br />
see through just a few examples<br />
that Jesus focused His prayers<br />
on others − and His heart was<br />
always for the advancement of the<br />
Kingdom.<br />
Redemption Time<br />
I had the amazing opportunity<br />
to travel to Israel in the spring of<br />
2017. The sites and experiences<br />
solidified even more my<br />
confidence in the truth of God’s<br />
Word!<br />
As our group gathered on the<br />
Mount of Olives, we looked back<br />
on the walled parts of Jerusalem<br />
and the old city. We saw the<br />
approximate path that the Jewish<br />
leaders and detachment of soldiers<br />
most likely took as they headed<br />
toward the garden with their<br />
flaming torches in the dark of night<br />
to seize Jesus. Scripture says<br />
Jesus went to meet them even<br />
though He knew their intentions<br />
(John 18:1 − 9).<br />
Then my pastor asked me<br />
to pray on behalf of our group.<br />
Of course, I thought about the<br />
significance of Jesus’ prayer in<br />
the Garden of Gethsemane. I<br />
remembered the disciples falling<br />
asleep in the shadow of Jesus’<br />
impending death. I recognized<br />
Jesus’ agony and sacrificial love<br />
on behalf of all His followers. And<br />
here I was at one of the most<br />
sacred places in Israel, offering<br />
thanksgiving to Jesus for His<br />
incomparable sacrifice.<br />
I prayed with hope and<br />
anticipation of that soon glorious<br />
moment when He returns and<br />
the Mount of Olives splits in half<br />
with the power of His victorious<br />
presence (Zech. 14:4).<br />
In that moment, I was wide<br />
awake and thrilled to be partnered<br />
with Jesus! how to be faithful to<br />
that call. He just needs to know<br />
that you are willing to contend for<br />
it!<br />
PHOTOGRAPHER<br />
YURI ARCURS | DREAMSTIME.COM
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<strong>JUNIA</strong> MAGAZINE / ISSUE <strong>03</strong><br />
CECE WINANS - GOODNESS OF GOD (OFFICIAL VIDEO)<br />
Official music video for “Goodness Of God” by CeCe Winans.<br />
“Cause all my life You have been faithful<br />
And all my life You have been so so good<br />
With every breath that I am able<br />
Oh I will sing of the goodness of God”
<strong>JUNIA</strong> MAGAZINE / ISSUE <strong>03</strong><br />
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INSPIRATION<br />
PHOTOGRAPHER UNSPLASH.COM/@TIMOTHYEBERLY<br />
THOUGHTS ARE LIKE A TRAIN, THEY’LL TAKE US SOME-<br />
WHERE. PROTECT BY FILLING WITH THE WORD OF GOD.<br />
– CHRISTINE CAINE
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<strong>JUNIA</strong> MAGAZINE / ISSUE <strong>03</strong><br />
EDITOR´S VOICE<br />
Tell God How You Feel<br />
By Marie Arnfjell<br />
God is present, unshakable, and<br />
unchanged, and remains with you.<br />
PHOTOGRAPHER © SIMON LEHMANN | DREAMSTIME.COM
<strong>JUNIA</strong> MAGAZINE / ISSUE <strong>03</strong><br />
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MARIE ARNFJELL IS<br />
THE EDITOR IN CHIEF<br />
FOR <strong>JUNIA</strong> AND<br />
THE FOUNDER OF<br />
THE ORGANIZATION<br />
SISTERS<br />
INTERNATIONAL<br />
PHOTOGRAPHER<br />
FRIDA FUNEMYR<br />
Good God, here I am again. I can’t find<br />
the words I so badly need when I see<br />
and understand how people are suffering<br />
from the wars in the world. I cannot find<br />
words to express the helplessness and<br />
powerlessness I feel, and words are not<br />
enough when I see the enormous influx of<br />
refugees ‐ especially women and children<br />
who have to leave their country involuntarily.<br />
I don’t know how to pray, I mostly sigh, I<br />
can´t find the right words. I know that God<br />
knows everything anyway.<br />
However, as in any relationship, we want<br />
to be able to express our feelings in words.<br />
But when the words are absent and we may<br />
feel as if we are not getting through, does<br />
it necessarily mean that God abandons us,<br />
that He does not care or respond?<br />
No, I don’t think so, and I think he<br />
understands us even if we can’t put words<br />
to what we feel. I believe he is with us in and<br />
through it all. So persevere in your prayers!<br />
You are allowed to be wordless, or speak<br />
from your heart, tell the truth exactly how<br />
you experience it, and you are allowed to<br />
show your feelings. Don’t let your hesitation<br />
stop you from showing your true self and<br />
how you feel - with or without words, it<br />
doesn’t really matter. Don’t you think God
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has heard and seen most of it by<br />
now? Absolutely! He has that, and<br />
he can stand up to it.<br />
Some time ago, my mother<br />
fell so badly that she needed<br />
an operation and after that a<br />
rehabilitation was underway that<br />
took time. She struggled with<br />
fatigue and aches, but slowly tried<br />
to get back to the health she had<br />
before the accident. Mom is my<br />
hero, she has never given up no<br />
matter what she has been through<br />
in her life, nor has she blamed her<br />
trials on God. On the contrary, in<br />
her faith in God, she has carried<br />
her whole family and herself in<br />
trust in God’s faithfulness.<br />
She has often said, “What would<br />
I have been, and how would I<br />
have coped if I had not had God?”<br />
In our conversations, which are<br />
sometimes about her relationship<br />
with God, she can openly tell<br />
us how she feels, and in those<br />
conversations there is room for<br />
everything from worries and<br />
doubts to genuine love and trust in<br />
God.<br />
What she doesn’t always know<br />
is that her faith - even when she<br />
can’t put her feelings into words -<br />
brings encouragement and hope<br />
to many she meets. When I called<br />
her the other day, she had taken<br />
out her guitar and was singing.<br />
She felt that now was the time<br />
to start getting back to what she<br />
was doing before the accident.<br />
Yesterday is over, today the Lord<br />
helps and now, well now she longs<br />
to clean her little balcony and<br />
plant her beloved flowers that she<br />
wants there.<br />
It says in the Bible that God is<br />
omnipresent, which means that<br />
He is closer to you than you think.<br />
When you can’t find words, when<br />
you have a hard time showing<br />
what you feel, let God be your<br />
sanctuary, just keep being with<br />
Him. God is not swayed by our<br />
preconceived notions of who He<br />
is, but He insists that He wants to<br />
help you.<br />
He is present, unshakable, and<br />
unchanged, and remains with you.<br />
It’s a promise that can be trusted
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no matter what you’ve been<br />
through, no matter how it feels<br />
right now, if illness affects your<br />
body, if war makes you anxious, if<br />
discouragement is taking over, or if<br />
life is at its peak.<br />
God is there, by your side.<br />
Show God what you feel, you<br />
don’t always have to find the right<br />
words!<br />
Blessings<br />
Marie Arnfjell<br />
Editor in Chief <strong>JUNIA</strong> <strong>Magazine</strong><br />
- RESOURCES -<br />
The YouVersion Bible App’s<br />
interface is available in more<br />
than 60 languages, allowing<br />
people to: Read the Bible or<br />
let the Audio versions read the<br />
Bible to you.
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<strong>JUNIA</strong> MAGAZINE / ISSUE <strong>03</strong><br />
ENCOURAGEMENT<br />
Use the Word of God<br />
By Anita Barker Andersen<br />
When Jesus was tempted by the devil after his<br />
forty-day fast in the desert, he responded to the<br />
temptation by saying, “It is written...” (Luke 4:1-3).<br />
ANITA BARKER<br />
ANDERSEN HAS BEEN<br />
SPEAKER DURING MANY<br />
CONFERENCES FOR<br />
WOMEN AND ALSO<br />
GUEST SPEAKER ON<br />
MANY OCCASIONS ALL<br />
OVER THE WORLD.<br />
PHOTOGRAPHER <strong>JUNIA</strong><br />
MAGAZINE<br />
All sin can be divided into three groups, which<br />
we find in 1 John 2:16: “…the cravings of sinful<br />
man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting<br />
of what he has and does ...” Jesus was also<br />
tempted in these areas, and He was victorious!<br />
He is our example. Revelation 12:11: “They<br />
overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and<br />
by the word of their testimony ...” Jesus did this<br />
and so can you and I.<br />
I met a woman in the States who had been<br />
delivered from a dangerous situation by using<br />
the Word. Over some months she had been<br />
having problems with a peeping tom, and one<br />
night a man came to her home wanting to use<br />
the telephone.<br />
It was pouring with rain, so she did not<br />
recognise him as the culprit. The man came into<br />
the house and went to the bathroom where he<br />
removed all his clothes, came out and ordered<br />
her to do the same. Rising up within her she<br />
sensed the words from 1 John 4:4 and spoke
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out, “Greater is he that is within me than<br />
he that is in the world”. The man put his<br />
clothes back on and she asked if she could<br />
get him a cup of coffee and tell him about<br />
Jesus.<br />
Long ago I heard another story of using<br />
the Word as a powerful tool. A woman was<br />
very frightened of the dark. After hearing a<br />
teaching about the power of God’s Word,<br />
she learned Psalms 91:4 by heart: “He will<br />
cover you with his feathers, and under his<br />
wings you will find refuge….”<br />
REVELATION 12:11: “THEY<br />
OVERCAME HIM BY THE BLOOD<br />
OF THE LAMB AND BY THE WORD<br />
OF THEIR TESTIMONY ...” JESUS<br />
DID THIS AND SO CAN YOU AND I.<br />
PHOTOGRAPHER JASON STITT |<br />
DREAMSTIME.COM<br />
One night she had to go out and went to<br />
the garage to fetch her car. On entering<br />
the garage she saw a man standing<br />
there waiting to attack her. She was very<br />
frightened. She started flapping her arms<br />
wildly and shouting, “I am covered by His<br />
feathers, I am covered by His feathers!”.<br />
Now it was his turn to be frightened.<br />
A strange woman like that you dare not<br />
attack!<br />
Anita Barker Andersen<br />
With permission from “The Way Out”
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<strong>JUNIA</strong> MAGAZINE / ISSUE <strong>03</strong><br />
THE CHOSEN<br />
She was healed by touching the hem of His garment?<br />
From Mark 5 and episode 5 of The Chosen...<br />
Watch The Chosen and find exclusive content free and easy on<br />
the app: https://new.thechosen.tv/#app<br />
Wear The Chosen and go deeper with study materials:<br />
https://thechosengifts.com
<strong>JUNIA</strong> MAGAZINE / ISSUE <strong>03</strong><br />
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- RESOURCES -<br />
Discover the moving stories of people<br />
that have been moved<br />
MyStory.me<br />
JesusForAll.info<br />
fb.com/jesusforall
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<strong>JUNIA</strong> MAGAZINE / ISSUE <strong>03</strong><br />
Prayer of<br />
Salvation<br />
YOU CAN FIND INFORMATION<br />
ABOUT THE CHRISTIAN FAITH<br />
ON THE FOLLOWING PLACES:<br />
SAT7PLUS.ORG<br />
YOUTUBE.COM/SAT7ARABIC<br />
JESUS.ORG<br />
JESUS.NET<br />
If you want to be a child<br />
of God, you can pray the<br />
following prayer. If English<br />
is not your native language,<br />
you can say the words in<br />
your own language:<br />
***<br />
Dear Jesus, I am so sorry<br />
for the bad things I have<br />
done. I want to make peace<br />
with You. Please forgive me!<br />
Thank you for dying on the<br />
cross to pay for my sins,<br />
and then rising from the<br />
dead. Come into my heart<br />
today and let me be your<br />
Child. Thank you for eternal<br />
life in Heaven. I now commit<br />
my whole life to you. Jesus,<br />
I will follow you. Amen.
<strong>JUNIA</strong> MAGAZINE / ISSUE <strong>03</strong><br />
31<br />
- RESOURCES -<br />
www.silentnomoreawareness.org<br />
BibleStudyTools.com<br />
BibleStudyTools.com is<br />
the largest free online<br />
Bible website for verse<br />
search and in-depth<br />
studies.
God, grant me the serenity<br />
God, grant me the serenity to accept<br />
the things I cannot change,<br />
Courage to change the<br />
things I can, and the<br />
wisdom to know the difference.<br />
Living one day at a time;<br />
Enjoying one moment at a time;<br />
Accepting hardship<br />
as the pathway to peace.<br />
Taking, as He did,<br />
this sinful world as it is,<br />
not as I would have it.<br />
Trusting that He will make<br />
all things right if I<br />
surrender to His Will;<br />
That I may be reasonably happy<br />
in this life, and supremely happy<br />
with Him forever in the next.<br />
Amen