A long overdue post…
Upon arrival in Cali, Colombia I was scheduled to be the evening speaker for the first session of a three-day conference. My homestay host was none other than Marcella MacMillan, who along with late husband Randy led the amazing prayer movement and repulsion of the drug lords back in the 80’s that was featured on George Otis’ first Transformation video. Her home is what I would call a “tropical bungalow” – the middle has no ceiling and features a tree and lovely jungle plants inhabited by tiny tree frogs that sing at night.

We set out for the church in her SUV with private driver and immediately got stuck in such a traffic jam as she had never seen in 30 years. We sat there for 1 1/2 hours and joked that I had brought India to Colombia! It turned out that university students were holding a protest on the streets. When we finally arrived, having missed dinner but thankful to be in time to preach, all the lights went out! Again, not the usual occurrence here… I knew God wanted to do something amazing because the enemy was working overtime! So worship occurred in the dark accapella with no mic but it was powerfully anointed. The below clip is from the next night when the lights were on:

That first night the Lord said to me, “I want to love the nation tonight.” I wasn’t sure what that meant. When people come together to worship, we think of expressing our love for Jesus, and of receiving His love into our hearts. It’s about God and me, me and God. But allowing God to love a NATION through US? This was different!

So when I stood up to speak, by faith I declared “God wants to love Colombia through us tonight.” Then I shared the story of how God led me to sacrifice everything to go to a very dark nation filled with much sadness and suffering. I told in great detail how I saw the powers of death, poverty and oppression ruling over the nation and the sadness in God’s heart to see the people bound in those chains. Then I told them about how today, God is indeed loving the nation through us – hope for children through education, ending of trafficking through drama teams, and the hope of Christ dispelling fear and superstition.

The altar was packed as people responded to the challenge to let God love their nation of Colombia through them.

How does God love a nation through us? By our proclamation of the good news of hope in Jesus. And also, by our demonstration of the good news of God’s rule as opposed to man’s rule – Where God is ruling, there is love instead of hate, forgiveness instead of retaliation, justice instead of oppression. And so wherever we go, we are bearers of good news when we allow God to love the nation through us.

Right before departing for the airport I got to meet and briefly encourage some of the regional leaders working in the outstation areas. May the Lord use them and all those who attended the conference, to love their nation.

The God who “so loved the world” that He gave us Jesus, wants to love that world through us. This is our purpose in the world; as God has showered His love and salvation upon us, as we have received and been made full of His love, now let us say, “How can I allow God to love the world through me?”