Where The Love Lasts Forever

Precious Saints!!!!!

I’m gonna make an attempt at trying to convey to you some of what took place this past Alpha weekend.

Yes it was another Alpha Holy Spirit weekend away. Now you might quickly say, “Oh well that’s just another Alpha weekend, you know we have so many of them these days, just boring humdrum kinda stuff, yeah I suppose you’all (say that with a real Texan drawl) will have a mighty fine time with God.” Thank GOoDness God’s ways and thoughts are so way above ours and that He is new every morning.

So first up was the training for the team and the pilgrims in the week leading up to the weekend, training overseen by God the Father, Jesus Christ the Son and the Holy Spirt. So God allowed a car engine to catch on fire, arguments with crabby neighbours, family tensions, some of the team members were all over the place putting their foots in their mouths and oh yes how about a good dose of physical ailments that suddenly cropped up, tummy bugs and mysterious pains that doctors could not identify and I’m sure there were others that I have not heard of yet.

Of course this is to get us all to the point were we will stop trying to do things in our own strength and start leaning on our Almighty God’s limitless strength. So that we would cry out to Him in prayer and say “Please, please……Jesus…..we don’t have the answer.” You’d think some of us would have gotten the point by now but hey we’re sheep, we are oftentimes just so stoooopid.

Eventually we all ended up at Manyano Centre, Paarl to spend time with God to seek His face and to try our best to be in the centre of His will. When I got to Manyano I could almost tangibly feel the prayers of the Saints. Those there at the centre and those praying at home for us it was kinda like walking into a cloud of God’s love, you could at first kinda feel it but not see it. However if you started to look with your heart you would see it in the acts and ways of the people there.

For me personally I was totally blown away and humbled at how God used me, to encourage, teach, facilitate and to shine His light of love. During the Holy Spirit ministry session on Saturday afternoon, His Holy Spirit just let me know and feel the hurts of those I prayed for. It was surreal, it was almost as if I wasn’t really there but at the same time I was so focused. Actually it’s impossible to explain. I still tried to manipulate who to pray for as the people stood awaiting their turn. I of course wanted to pray for the people in my group, people that I’d gotten to know and felt responsible for but God kept on giving me all these other people. I could almost imagine Him stroking me on my head and saying, “There there my little lamb, no this is the one to whom I want to extend my invitation of grace, mercy and unfailing love through you.”

After this intense period of prayer and ministry I was totally drained, mentally, physically, emotionally and spiritually. I was literally prayed out. I gave everything that I had. This was not that I was doing it in my own strength but ‘cause I was just so trying my best to open my heart to Him and do things His way and not my own way. This can sometimes be a huge battle . After supper I just went for a walk to be on my own and to speak to Allie on my cell. After that I had a fifteen minute power nap and was revitalised enough to go to the one hour praise and worship session which continued my revitalisation. It is such a blessing to worship God in song, even with my broken and mostly out of tune voice. After that I was involved in some prayer but I realised then that I was still ‘prayed out’. So I asked for and received some wonderful prayer then I knew it was time to take a shower and get to bed. After the shower I just sat and chatted to a good friend of mine, we don’t get too many opportunities to speak to each other so we made the most of it. Then off to bed at about 12.30am. Much earlier then my previous bedtime of 4.30am.
Of course the weekend had to come to an end. And we all went home on Sunday afternoon. Most of us just wanted it to last forever. This special time of God’s love. One of our team members said that God bows heaven down to us when we pray; it really felt like that this weekend. However Jesus is coming again and then the love will last forever for all His children just like the song below.

Sooooo much else happened it is really quite easy to write a book about it, yep just another weekend of God changing lives for all eternity.





Your mercy found me,
Upon the broken road,
And lifted me beyond my failing,
Into Your glory,
My sin and shame dissolved,
And now forever Yours I'll stand

(Pre-Chorus)
In love never to end,
To call You more than Lord,
Glorious friend.

(Chorus)
So I throw my life upon all that You are,
'Cause I know you gave it all for me.
And when all else fades,
My soul will dance with You,
Where the love lasts forever.

Your mercy found me,
Upon the broken road,
And lifted me beyond my failing,
Into Your glory,
My sin and shame dissolved,
And now forever Yours I'll stand

(Chorus)

(Bridge)
And forever I will sing,
Lord forever I will sing,
Of how You gave Your life away,
Just to save me,
Lord You saved me.

(Chorus)

Lord, where the love lasts forever.
I will be with You,where the love lasts forever.
I will sing to you, where the love lasts forever.
I will dance with you, where the love lasts forever.

LoCTY!!!!!!