Monthly Newsletter Publication March 2006

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KINGDOM POWER (FAITH IS THE LINK)

Bible Text: II Corinthians 10:3-5Central Truth: The personal presence of God through the Holy Spirit is the source of all power.

The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. (II Corinthians 10:4)

Christians can fall into a number of satanic traps. Some may be deceived into thinking that "intending" to obey Jesus is the same as actually doing what Jesus says. Some seek great knowledge about God and His will and are satisfied with this, rather than trusting God and acting on that knowledge. Others are busily involved doing religious things based upon human traditions, rather than seeking to live each day in the power of the Lord through His Holy Spirit. And still others seek a mystical experience without changing their lifestyles to reflect the presence of the Holy Spirit.

Life Events

Celebrating Special Day WithGean Tucker

Deborah Watson

Happy Anniversary

Keeping Jesus as the Center of Their Joy

Jannice & Joe HortonLena & Oris Williams

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God has no competition. He describes Himself as a jealous god, and He will go to great lengths to bring His errant children back to Him. He continually manifests His deity and His power so that those who seek Him can have no doubt that He, and He alone, is God. Anyone or anything that supplants His rule as lord of our lives is as powerless to save us as was Baal. The personal presence of God through the Holy Spirit is the source of all power.

So let's go forward in faith just like Paul urged the Christians at Ephesus to have: "Above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one." (Ephesians 6:16) "For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places." (Ephesians 6:12) We have the power to resist our enemy, "For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds." (II Corinthians 10:4)

So the next time the devil tries to give you a hard time through attack or temptation, don't pretend it isn't happening. Don't give in to a fatalistic pity party. Instead, remember the words of John, the beloved apostle, "You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world." (I John 4:4)

Scriptural References:

“For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.” (II Corinthians 10:3-5)

Jesus distinguishes between knowing God's will and doing it! Jesus repeatedly reminded His followers that they would be blessed by "doing" God's will, not just believing in it. (Matthew 7:13-27; (John 13:15-17).

Why is it that we are so adamant about hearing what Jesus says, and so slack in doing it — always learning, but never acting? Knowledge is wonderful, but Paul says, "Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up." (I Corinthians 8:1 NRS)

The only way knowledge about things can become knowledge possessed by a person is for that person to act on that factual knowledge and thereby discover for himself if it is true! Theoretical knowledge becomes experiential — or real knowledge — only through obedience. Faith is the link between the two! For example, from information about the construction of a bridge across a river, one may come to believe intellectually that it will hold his weight. However, only when one walks across the bridge, trusting himself to the bridge, will he truly know it is reliable.

Jesus said to those who began to believe on Him intellectually, "If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free." (John 8:31-32). Holding to one truth allows you to reach for another truth. Growing in grace and knowledge is based on trust and obedience to the knowledge of the truth that is confronting us at the time. To fail to act on one aspect of truth about God keeps us from progressing to another aspect.

For too long, the church has been held guilty of Paul's indictment of "always learning but never able to acknowledge the truth." (II Timothy 3:7 NIV) It is imperative that we never stop learning, but it is only when we use what we learn that we will we be people of truth.

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symptoms, however welcome that relief might be. To understand the distinction, consider the common problem of toothache. To have that gnawing pain re-moved is a wonderful release but it is at best only of temporary benefit unless the decaying process that causes the pain is also halted and its effect remedied. Until this happens the tooth will be left in a weakened state and will one day crumble. The ache can be cured by various means but it is all too likely to return unless there is considerable remedial work done on the diseased tooth. The sufferer may also need to alter his habits if he is to prevent a similar problem recurring in the future. It's no use having only the necessary fillings; he ought to stop chewing so many sticky candies, eat more apples, and otherwise modify his previous practices.

Cure is removal of the pain, healing is about removing the origin of the pain and altering the habits that encouraged it to grow. It is concerned with remedying the disease in our very beings and may include a reversal of disease processes, putting right that which has gone wrong over the years. It reaches to the depths, the core, the very essence of our being and changes us so that we cannot be the same again. The practice of medicine cannot renew a person, it can only repair or restore function; but healing changes him. Unless we are prepared for change, prepared both to be changed and to change our ways if necessary, it is no use looking for healing. The penetrating and pertinent question, 'Do you want to be made whole?' gets to the heart of the matter. Unless that invalid (John 5) had been prepared to face a different sort of life, prepared to change and to begin to do for himself things which he had formerly left to others, he would not have received his healing.

The change that is necessary for healing can be instantaneous, which is miraculous.

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YES, I BELIEVE IN HEALING!Part I

Bible Text: Luke 6:18-19 Luke 9:1, 2

Central Truth: “Do you want to be made whole?”

Saints, you guessed it. A new series begins, “Yes, I Believe in Healing.” Let’s start by looking at the healing miracles in the New Testament. The woman with a high fever suddenly left her bed and waited on her guests; the paralyzed man stood, picked up his bed and walked home. The blind man strode away from his begging place, his sight restored; a frantic demon-possessed man was found sitting quietly, clothed and rational. With power and authority Jesus rebuked disease and commanded evil spirits to leave their victims. People came to Him in faith, 'Say the word and my servant will be healed.' A woman timidly touched the edge of his garment, believing. 'Your faith has healed you,' He said. 'Go in peace.'

The news about the Healer spread and great crowds came 'to hear Him and to be healed of their diseases. Those troubled by evil spirits were cured, and the people all tried to touch Him, because power was coming from Him and healing them all' (Luke 6.18-19).

Jesus gave His disciples 'power and authority to drive out all demons and to cure diseases, and He sent them out to preach the kingdom of God and to heal the sick' (Luke 9.1-2). 'In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk,' said the apostle Peter and the crippled man jumped to his feet and began to walk. 'Lord, stretch out your hand to heal,' prayed Peter and John and the sick were healed.

Doctors cure, but God heals and this distinction is important. I believe that healing is much more than the removal of

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On other occasions the time normally required to achieve change is speeded up but it sometimes takes place almost unnoticed over a period of time. Speed is not the important thing; to become whole and healthy is the goal. In this age of instant everything, from coffee to cookers, our concept of healing tends towards the 'instant' variety. In our impatience for the end product we discount and devalue the idea of a process which is changing us and which in turn requires us to alter in response to the changes which are being worked out within us.

When ten leprosy patients were cured they all lost their symptoms completely, yet only one can be considered as healed (Luke 17). Only one was changed in his inner being so that he could not rest until he had gone back to express his gratitude. He had to acknowledge the wonderful change that had taken place. The other nine were cured of their symptoms but not healed in their total being. They returned to pursue the same way of life they had always followed. Their illness was an interruption to their life- style but, compared to the tenth man, it was clearly a missed opportunity.

Even minor ailments can be an opportunity for healing in this deeper sense because they are an invitation to change from the style of life that gave rise to them to a healthier manner of living. Aspirin is an excellent anodyne for headache; it cures the pain but it does nothing to prevent a recurrence. Sometimes aspirin alone is insufficient but there are also times when the sufferer may also need to stop what he is doing in order to rest for a while, perhaps having to retire to a quieter place before the cure is effected. If while doing so he reflects on the likely area or areas (they are frequently plural) of stress and tension in his life that have culminated in this headache on this particular day, and is prepared to modify many of his actions, reactions or attitudes that have made him

so tense, then he is open to being healed.

Headaches and many other disorders that are symptomatic of inner stress occur because of the build-up of tension within the person, and, if recognized at all, this tension will probably be blamed on overwork or other pressures from sources outside the person. Removing or lessening these outside pressures often provides a degree of immediate relief but long term release from the tendency to get into stressful situations will only come if the inner drive propelling a person into that particular way of life is dealt with. For instance, many people are workaholics. They either cannot delegate or, if they do, they will then take on two new responsibilities for every one they shed. This tendency to persist in trying to pour two liters into a one liter bottle afflicts many of us and shows itself in various ways but always the root of the problem lies in early, and by now quite unconscious, attitudes and beliefs. A common source is the inner, deeply buried belief that, 'I am only accepted, and therefore only loved, when I am good and live up to the expectations of . . .' This can lead to an almost compulsive need to succeed, to a fear of failure in any form, or to a life-style of intense rivalry. This latter problem is compounded by the competitiveness that rules in many schools and is continued in a large number of the sporting and recreational activities of adulthood.

Cure is the removal of such symptoms as tension headaches, compulsive work patterns and destructive competitiveness; whereas healing has a broader and deeper function and aim. Inner healing, the specific aspect of the larger concept with which I am most familiar, concentrates on dealing with the hidden roots from which these disorders arise. In theory this may be likened to a steady process of dealing first with the roots just under the surface. When those are cleared away bigger and deeper

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ones become apparent and as those in turn are dealt with even deeper ones are discovered and finally removed. In practice it is neither as rational nor as orderly as I have stated here.

There are many and various ways in which God sovereignly releases people from crippling, negative beliefs, attitudes and emotions, and in so doing He takes them into a profound transformation of their relationship with Himself. This can be a purely private, entirely personal event, either sought after or sometimes occurring spontaneously during a time of worship and devotion. Although this may take place when the person is alone with God, it is more likely to do so in a corporate gather-ing, especially during a Communion Service that is bathed in prayer. The presence of others seems to facilitate healing, and often ‘it is necessary for one or more to be actively engaged in the healing process, and to minister in various ways at different times in this personal but accompanied journey into the individual's past with all its hurts, hang-ups and hang-overs.

Particular wounds or attitudes are dealt with as they emerge into consciousness, or as they become evident in dreams, through behavior patterns, by 'following the feelings' wherever they may lead, and by observation of eloquent body language. Events are not therefore dealt with in the chronological order of original occurrence but as they become accessible through one or another means.

The language of a person's bodily posture and a knowledge of likely emotional responses both contribute to an under-standing of where to look for the root of the problem.

For example, more was revealed through the body than by the words of the man who said he was content to remain single and

to go on supporting his widowed mother but whose jaw visibly tensed whenever she was mentioned. Another man, deliberately sent to a different school than the one attended by his friends, and in other ways prevented from associating with them, asserted that these events had not affected him. Later he came to realize how these arbitrary parental decisions coming on top of his earlier experiences had colored his reactions to other people over the years, and had distorted his idea of himself as a person.

These important languages of the body and of the emotions can be studied, understood and utilized but they are by no means the only or the best tools that we have. The use of such spiritual gifts as a word of knowledge, wisdom or discernment is crucial. We need to seek them from the Holy Spirit and to exercise them with faith, boldness and discretion in the pursuit of inner healing.

It is the memories of feelings rather than the accurate, objective facts that are important in inner healing. Sometimes it is the ability to feel again the feelings one repeatedly experienced in earlier years, and at others it is the re-enactment of the impact made by a particular experience that opens the door for the healing of those bad times. When they are recalled and relived there is the opportunity for Christ, who is timeless, to enter into those felt experiences and by his presence in them to restructure the memories. In this way the person becomes released from their negative effect, free now to grow, free to develop his personality without the restraint of those earlier wounds.

It is the dimension of prayer and the exercise of sovereignly distributed Spiritual gifts given for the occasion that enables healing to occur in ways and at levels quite inaccessible to secular therapies.

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Many therapies can uncover past wounds, unravel complexes and accurately discern the inner plight of people, but none known to me have the power to undo the past, to transform the tangled web woven deep in a person's history and to remake an injured personality - in short, to redeem the person. To pretend that they can is presumptuous, but to discard them because of their limitations is surely equally unreasonable.

I believe we need to work for a truly functioning partnership of all that modern medical practice has to offer, utilizing sound psychological principles and work-ing with the rich, though often neglected, resources of the Body of Christ.

One of the crucial factors in healing is the ability and the intention to forgive. Most of us know that if we want to be forgiven we must forgive others. 'Forgive us our tres-passes as we forgive others' is in the universal family prayer. It is also true that if we want to be healed we must forgive because until we do so we will be hanging on to strong emotions that harm us both physically and psychologically. Until we are able to acknowledge and deal with anger, resentment and bitterness towards others we ourselves will suffer. These powerful emotions, when locked up inside us, cause tension which results, among other things, in muscle spasm as well as an upset in the finely tuned chemical regulation of body and mind.

When we say, and mean, that we have forgiven someone for the hurt they caused us but still go tense at the mention of their name then our body is betraying our lack of true forgiveness. It seems that there are several stages to work through before this healing state can be achieved. Our initial reaction to an inner injury is likely to be either a denial of feeling hurt at all or a declaration of forgiveness that remains at head level only.

It does not involve the heart and therefore does not heal. When we get over the denial and acknowledge the hurt, we also need to admit to the anger, hostility, bitterness or other feelings it arouses in us. Having admitted to that, we are then likely to go through a stage of bargaining in our minds with the one who has injured us. We say, 'If only he will admit he's wrong, then I'll forgive him', 'If she will say sorry then I'll talk to her again', 'If he will stop drinking (smoking, swearing, staying out so late) . . .' This 'if’ shows how conditional is our attempt at forgiveness. If we persist in facing the full impact of the hurt, and can acknowledge our own responsibility to respond with unconditional acceptance of the person who hurt us, then we are almost there.

Forgiveness is not complete until relation-ships that had been broken by injury are repaired. When there is this reconciliation the individuals concerned are released into a new freedom with one another and within themselves. Forgiveness that is healing does not consist of overlooking, forgetting or excusing an action but in facing what has already occurred, accepting the consequences and carrying on in those very circumstances.

Indeed, sometimes people find illness less of a problem than health, especially if they have had that illness for a long time and have become used to the way of life which it imposes. They soon find that they are re-quired to do more for themselves and to take on more responsibilities when they are well.

Being able and willing to accept the proper demands of life is one of the necessary outcomes of healing. This, together with suffering so often involved during the process of healing and the time taken to grow into wholeness, are aspects of health that are generally unwelcome and disregarded.

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If people are to be able to take on the responsibilities that come with healing, they need the care and encouragement of friends who will stay with them in their journey into wholeness. The best environment for healing is the local church when it is really being a caring body of believers who can accept the dark side of people, and accompany them in their distress, instead of trying to manipulate them out of it prematurely. We need to combine acceptance of the person where he is on his own journey at this moment with the expectation that he can change and that healing him is within the power today of our sovereign Lord God.

Many Demonic forces are concerned with the cure of symptoms, and in particular we must note that spiritual sources other than the divine may be called upon. When this is done true healing will in fact be hindered rather than helped because occult and psychic forces are opposed to the holiness of God. Beware! Those who invoke them, or receive their help, are led away from, rather than led into, the wholeness of God. The current upsurge of interest in these psychic and occult forces in the pursuit of health is a measure of our failure, as Christians, to 'preach the Kingdom of God and to heal the sick' as Jesus specifically commanded His disciples.

Today, the more we seek to understand ourselves, the more complex we discover our natures to be. On the one hand we are human machines, motivated by a computer of incredible complexity, on the other we are jellies of wobbling emotions and feelings. The problem is that so often, for various reasons, we overload - part of the machine cuts out, and in various ways it affects the stability and running of the whole.In some instances what is needed is a withdrawal into the healing power of God's creation. The Psalmist observes, 'The heavens declare the glory of God and the vault of heaven proclaims his handiwork'

(Psalm 19.1). And again Paul writes, 'Ever since God created the world, his everlasting power and deity, however invisible, have been there for the mind to see in the things he has made' (Romans 1.20).

God's restoring power can be discovered in 'the being still and knowing' (Psalm 46.10). In the stillness of creation we absorb something of the orderliness and harmony - the rolling hills, the beautiful green of early summer, the buzzing insects, the granite rocks, all speak peace and healing to our souls if we but stop and listen.

However, there are areas of the mind which don't go away by being still in the creation. These are the areas which have been hurt by bad experiences in the past.

We reap what we sow, but it is also true that we reap what others sow.

The mind is indeed like a computer and registers our experiences of life. It records the rejections, abuses, and hurts of our early years that now cause us to behave irrationally in certain areas of our personalities. A girl from an extremely wealthy home was overwhelmed with feelings of rejection. It seems that her mother hadn't wanted her and during her pregnancy had had a nursery built on to the home, so that when the baby came it was put immediately into the hands of a nanny. She could never remember a time when either her father or mother had ever shown her any affection. She was scarred and a padlock was placed on that emotional trauma area of her mind.

When the Holy Spirit comes, he initially breaks the padlock, pulls back the iron bars, and allows the hidden, unresolved hurts to emerge into the daylight. It is into this situation that the Holy Spirit comes, like oil, seeping into every cavity and nook.For a person who has been deeply hurt, thisprocess can continue at various intervals

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over a period of many years. This is why the Body of Christ is needed for support and encouragement.

Because of traumatic experiences in the past, our minds react in certain preconditioned ways in the present. I had a door in my home many years ago that because of the damp weather, had warped and only opened half way. My mind was so conditioned, that even after I had it repaired, for a period of time I still only opened it halfway. I was free to act differently but my mind needed, through a conscious act of my will, to be re-programmed.

When seeking God's healing, problems may be caused by the tendency to slip back into old reactions after the obvious initial freedom. At such times we are tempted to think that maybe nothing happened to us after all, and that the supposed healing was an illusion.

At this time we need to draw upon the Word. The word of God is 'like a lamp to our feet and a light to our path' (Psalm 119.105), and the promises of God are to be trusted. It is often helpful to copy out a Scripture such as Philippians 4.8.

In writing about the Lord's Supper (I Corinthians 2.30-31), Paul suggests that the wrong use of Communion can lead to weakness, illness, and even death. How much, more than will the right use lead to wholeness of life. I always encourage people to seek the continuing healing of Christ every time they take Communion. A man was telling me recently that he had had an unresolved wrong attitude towards his mother which went back as long as he could remember. Because of this he was experiencing the beginnings of a stomach ulcer. He asked Christ to break into the situation and testified that the ultimate healing came over a period of time through Communion.

I going to end this message now, but there is so much more to come. As the Holy Spirit reveals, I will share it with you.

Memory Text:

“Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path” (Psalms 119:105)

IN HIS PRESENCE6:00 P. M. HOUR OF PRAYER

Use this wonderful supernatural tool the Lord has blessed us with the 6 o'clock hour of power.  This is the time to intercede for the needs of others, the concerns of the ministry, and to pray for the leadership within our community, our nation, and our world.

Bring all of your cares and burdens to the altar and encourage others to do the same. Lives are being changed. Breakthroughs are happening.

National Bulletin Board Party

March 4, 2006107 Brookside Circle

Clinton, MS6:00-8:00 PM CST

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NEW LASERJET PRINTERMelva McClain

I have been praying for another LaserJet printer for the ministry since October of last year.  The one I wanted cost $499.95.  Well, a couple of weeks ago I received a HP sales catalog that had the exact printer on sale for $399.95, plus an instant $100.00 rebate if I order prior to January 28th-that would reduce the price to $299.95.  It doesn't stop there.

As I was reading through the sales catalog, I read where HP offered $75.00 for recycled printers.  One of the printers we used prior to my relocation had a broken carriage, the Holy Spirit guided me to packed it anyway and take it to Brandon when I retired.  When I read the recycle information, I called HP immediately and explained to them that I had a printer but the carriage was broken.  They advised me to complete the online instructions and UPS would pick up the printer.  On Tuesday, January 24, UPS picked up the printer as agreed. 

Friday I placed the order for the new laser printer and was told I had a $75.00 credit and asked if I wanted it applied to this order.  Needless to say our new printer will arrive on Tuesday, January 31st at a cost of $224.95.  By the way there was also free shipping and handling and no sales tax.  Praise God! We now have two LaserJet and two Inkjet printers - 2006' here we come!

PRAYER REQUEST: sent by Mary Jordan Smith on 2/10/06 - Mrs. Daniels' daughter, Betty Nell Daniels, has been a cancer survivor for quite some time. The cancer has reoccurred.  Betty is having surgery. She and her family need our prayers.

PRAISE: Mary Jordan Smith called and informed Melva that Betty is doing fine and is expected to be discharged from the hospital. 

BUSINESS IS BOOMING Denise Jones

I'm proud to say I NOW have orders coming from EVERYWHERE! At first I didn't think I was going to be successful. All I could hear was the Holy Spirit telling me to keep making the baskets.

Oris (my brother) who works at Bellsouth called me this morning with 7 more orders on the job and check this out, I even have a birthday order and I'm taking Valentine orders. Ain’t God a GOOD GOD?

Thank you so much for standing with meon this. One thing I have found out and that is when you're doing something you like to do, you will give it ALL you've got even if you have to stay up all night to make it happen. Praise God!

The next time you hear about me I will have my OWN BUSINESS. Take a look at one.

****Higher Praise****Denise Jones

My nephew Michael Williams, 27, has been really looking for steady employment.

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He has (2) children whom he tries to take care of but just couldn't find the right job to support them and add them to his insurance.

I had given Michael's resume' to the HR Department here at Diversified Technology several times but I never heard anything. About a month ago Diversified made a few changes in management replacing the Human Resource Manager because he was resigning.  He was replaced by Kevin Burnham (FAIR MAN).

After Kevin became HR Manager I emailed him and sent Michael's resume' asking if anything becomes available that fits Michael's resume please consider him. Well, about 2 weeks ago, Kevin emailed to let me know about (2) positions open in the machine area. Michael was called in to fill out an application and interviewed (same day).  Saints, Michael was hired today, he will be one of the machinists at DTI Monday morning. He Is Having A Fit. . .It Ain't Fair. . .It’s Favor.

DENISE CONTINUES WITH HIGHER PRAISES

Praise His Holy Name. . .God is really showing out! I put 10% of what God blessed me with on my Valentine Baskets in the mail.  Ya’ll better look out. T.D Jakes said, “If I can see it, its mine”

Saints all I can see is my business. “Eternal Creations” written on the side of my Toyota Sequoia. Yes, that’s what I said. . .BELEIVE IT!

***HIGHER PRAISE***Lena Williams

My daughter, Kenesha, has received not one... but two $500 bonuses at her current job in the last two months for doing special projects.  The Lord is blessing her in so many ways for her diligence. Her big break through is on the horizon. We are so thankful.

My son, Jarrett, who was hired in December by Best Buy...has just been notified that he has been moved to the cell phone and IPod department and has been given a pay increase.  He was so excited when I spoke with him today. In addition to this... his business at his recording studio "ALL I GOT" Productions has really picked up and increased since he wrote, produced and recorded my favorite CD through reve-lation of the Holy Spirit titled "BREATHE."  He was barely able to make his rent before...but NOW...suddenly his business has increased and he says offers are continually coming into his path faster than he can record them. 

And check this out... Jarrett's landlord who had neglected to fix major things wrong with the building has SUDDENLY begun to fix everything! Praise God for everything! I am praying that the Holy Spirit will continue to guide him to success at the job and in the studio...he shall serve the LORD.  I am so thankful for everything from the least to the greatest.       

“1ST AND NOT LAST”Jannice Horton

My daughter, Shanice, was selected to serve in the All City Band again this year. Also she made 1st Chair in Clarinet among all Middle School student’s who tried out.

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HOME BIBLE WORKSHOP SCHEDULE

Mark your calendars for the March 2006

dates. Please plan to attend.March 18th

1050 Ridgeside DriveBrandon, MS 39042

Phone:  601-824-7498

(Article Excerpts)www.mcclainministries.org

JESUS "ALWAYS POLITICALLY INCORRECT"

I’ll take the Jesus that barges into rooms full of sniffling, sobbing, shaking people and says “What’s the problem?” I’ll take the impolite Jesus who looks at death and smirks like He’s laughing at some private joke. I’ll take the Jesus who seems to actually believe that a dead person is just sleeping and then with a word or two makes everyone watching believe it too.

I’ll take that Jesus because frankly I have nothing else to offer anyone in response to all of the really hard questions of life. I have nothing else to take with me into a hospital room other than the promises of the gospel that in Jesus those who sleep, whether dead or just resting, can all be awakened with

His whisper in their ears. I have nothing to promise to people like the mother I met except that the Lord will let her little girl know when it’s time to get up. Yes, I also realize and have experienced those appointed times when God calls one of His children home. And in those times He gives us peace. But, those times when the enemy is prematurely intervening, I say, “NO.” A thousand times NO!

Don’t you settle for anything less, either. You have sins that need forgiving, don’t you? You have an aching heart that needs hope, right? You have fears about the future and despair about the present and regret about the past, am I correct? Whatever the cause, maybe you have a spirit that hasn’t responded to anything in a long time, that for all practical purposes has flatlined.

Well, Jesus is ready, right now. He waits for us to do exactly what Jairus did in the Bible story and what a mother in a Jackson hospital has done every day since her daughter got sick. He waits for us to come to Him in faith. And when we do, He’ll come barging in and will set things right. He won’t always say the easy thing, or the politically correct thing, or the comfortable thing. But He will always say the Right Thing, and the same voice that woke Jairus’ daughter will wake you from death and into life, as well.

RAINBOW FAMILY

It is amazing that in 2006 we are still dis-cussing racial issues in our country. We live in a global society where we are still playing the “race card.” It seems that every ethic group harbor some form of prejudice.In the early days of Christianity, Jews and Gentiles were thrown together in the church. The barriers between these two races were far greater than barriers of skin color or language or custom. They were religious barriers. The way the Jews saw it; God in His law had chosen them as His special people

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and shut everyone else out. Jewish Christians would have grown up horrified at the though of eating many of the things Gentile Christians took for granted. Jewish Christians were used to keeping the Sabbath, while Gentile Christians weren’t. The Gentiles believed in many gods, while the Jews understood who God is from early in their history. Because of these differences, pious Jews wouldn’t worship or eat or socialize with Gentiles.And then Jesus came, bringing “good news of great joy for everyone”. The church found themselves faced with the reality that they could not possibly turn away the foreigners that God had accepted. They had to make the “new life” a reality for everyone of every race, whether they called Jesus “Messiah” or “Lord”.

When you think of how hard it must have been to overcome those barriers, it makes things like skin color, cultural differences, and generation gaps seem just a little insignificant, doesn‘t it? In a society still racked by racial tension and open hostility, the church must be a different place. The changing neighborhoods we’re located in, the racially diverse schools our kids attend, the ethnic battles in places like Iraq, Bosnia, Rwanda, Palestine, and Northern Ireland and even the race riots we’ve experienced in our own cities are arenas for the new life of Christ.

The church must be a place where different races can be seen worshipping and serving together, where different languages can be heard lifting praise to the same God. Sure, some of our brothers and sisters are different from us. They don’t always look, speak, act, eat, or worship just like we do. We don’t all live in the same neighborhoods or make the same amount of money. But if Jesus is in them, they are our sisters and brothers. We are a family where “Christ is all that matters.” And we need to learn to love

our family in Christ the way Hannah loves her family; with a love that doesn’t know color.

WHAT ARE PARALLEL UNIVERSES?

Recent discoveries in quantum physics (the study of the physics of sub-atomic particles) and in cosmology (the branch of astronomy and astrophysics that deals with the universe taken as a whole) shed new light on how our mind interacts with matter.  These discoveries compel acceptance of the idea that there is far more than just one universe and that we constantly interact with many of these “hidden” universes.

NEW PLANET

WASHINGTON (Jan. 25) - A new planet-hunting technique has detected the most Earth-like planet yet around a star other than our sun, raising hopes of finding a space rock that might support life, astronomers reported on Wednesday.

"This is an important breakthrough in the quest to answer the question 'Are we alone?"' said Michael Turner of the National Science Foundation.

"The team has discovered the most Earth-like planet yet, and more importantly, has demonstrated the power of a new technique that is sensitive to detecting habitable planets," Turner said in a statement.

In the last decade, astronomers have detected more than 160 planets orbiting stars outside our solar system. The vast majority of these have been gas giant planets like Jupiter, which are hostile to life as it is known on Earth.

But an international team has detected a cold planet about 5-1/2 times more massive than Earth -- still small enough to be considered Earth-like -- orbiting a star about 20,000 light- years away in the constellation

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Sagittarius (The Archer), close to the center of the Milky Way.

A light-year is about 6 trillion miles, the distance light travels in a year. To find this new planet -- named OGLE-2005-BLG-390Lb, the team used a technique called gravita-tional microlensing.

THE GOSPEL OF POWER

I wonder if one of the reasons people decline God’s generosity is that they don’t see the power of the gospel; they still see chains and bondage. And how could they, when the gospel hangs blank and powerless on so many "religious" people? It is not about religion, it’s about a relationship with Christ. Far too many Christians live lives that declare the gospel to be empty of power, unable to change even one life to the smallest degree. In the Bible, Paul warned Timothy about people who would have "a form of godliness but [deny] its power." (2 Timothy 3:5) Their lives would be empty of any indication that their "godliness" actually made them more like God. Unfortunately, I think I’ve met some of the people he was talking about. Maybe you have, too.

It’s easy, isn’t it, to make the gospel of Jesus into something to talk about in religious settings. We too easily reduce it to mere conversation, a religious vocabulary with which we frame debates, remind ourselves of God’s faithfulness, and reassure other Christians of our orthodoxy. But for too many of us, that vocabulary seems to make little difference in our lives. Despite our knowledge of and familiarity with the vocabulary of the gospel, we still find ourselves powerless against sin. Paralyzed by fear. Pain tears through our hope like wet tissue paper. Anger and hatred seem to be untouched in our hearts.

Though communicated by words, defined with words, the gospel is not just about words – any more than metal and plastic

and silicon make that electronic marquee what it is. "I am not ashamed of the gospel," Paul declared, "for it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes..." (Romans 1:16) The words communicate its reality; frame it in a way we can understand and pointing to the reality of gospel. A gospel that resonates with power. It’s a gospel about God giving His Son for the redemption of the world. It’s Jesus’ offering of Himself on the cross and His resurrection from the dead. It’s the Holy Spirit being given to every person who puts their trust in Jesus. The gospel is the act of God to transform human beings, to make us new creatures. And when that act of God is embraced, God Himself bursts into our lives bringing power and conviction. We’re made new. We’re transformed. And all the world can read, in bold, bright letters, what God is doing in our lives.

GOAL SETTING2006

There is considerable evidence to indicate that expectations of your future do, in fact, tend to create your future. People usually end up pretty much where they expect.

It seems reasonable then, to spend some time determining specific, worthwhile expectations that will make your life more meaningful.

The best way to predict your future is to create it.

Are you a goal setter? Do you typically set goals at the first of the year? If not, why not? And I’m not talking about New Year’s resolutions I am talking about setting goals for the New Year.

With definite goals you release the power of God and things start happening.

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OUR GLOBAL OUTREACH MAILING LISTMcClain Ministries 1050 Ridgeside Drive, Brandon, MS 39042

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MULTI-MEDIA FEATURES

NETMEETING-WEB CONFERENCING

WINDOWS MESSENGER-WEB CONFERENCING

ENTREPRENEURSCORRETTA SCOTT KING FUNERAL

PROCESSIONAL

CORRETTA SCOTT KING FUNERAL PROGRAM

ESSENCEBLACK ART

BIBLICAL BLACK ART

CRISIS AFTER KATRINA

CRISIS AFTER KATRINA-2

VIDEO CONFERENCING INSTRUCTIONS

We are moving forward with our Web Conferencing. There are two applications of software available in “Windows.” They are “NetMeeting and Windows Messenger.” Please contact me to assist with configuring your software. We will start our first Bible Workshop using Windows Messenger. Windows Mes-senger software is only compatible with Windows XP. NetMeeting is compatible with Windows 95-2000. NetMeeting will be used at a later date. So if you have Windows XP you will be able to participate in the first Video Conference-all other Windows applications will be able to join us on a later date to be announced.

The issue at hand is the need to configure both applications on your computer, so please give me a call if I haven’t spoken with you already.

A GLOBAL OUTREACH

Yes indeed, the growth continues. In December we added six (6) folks to our mailing list-in January an additional four (4) were added and already this month we’ve added eleven people-Jan Smith adding nine (9) of those names from the youth group she counsels in Shreveport, Louisiana. We have a total of 107 people on our mailing list. I am especially proud of this number because it represents a massive record update in December-removing all dated addresses and creating a current data base.

I am requesting that each of you add at least one (1) person to our mailing list. These individuals will receive our monthly newsletter. But to us it is much more than a newsletter it is ministry in its own right. The volunteer team that ministers monthly thru this publication is highly dedicated to producing a product to the Glory of God.

Adding a name to our mailing list carries the responsibility to follow up with that individual-making sure they first; receive the newsletter and second glean their thoughts on the content. I might add that our newsletters are very costly to produce because of the quality paper products we use as well as the cost of postage. So when adding a name, please do so with the thought that the individual will indeed take advantage of this wonderful ministering resource.

Our goal is to double our newsletter distribution efforts by April 1st. So simply email or mail me the name and address of the individual(s) you would like to add to our mailing list and they can start receiving our newsletter as early as March.

Fill in the information below and mail using the self addressed envelop enclosed.

Date_____________

Name___________________________________________________

Address_________________________________________________

City _____________________State_________Zip Code__________

Telephone Number( )______________________

Fax Number______________________________________________

Email Address____________________________________________

Send To:

McClain Ministries1050 Ridgeside DriveBrandon, MS 39042

DO YOU BLOG?

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As you know we are launching a "Blog" on the Internet in April.  Many of you have asked, "what in the world" is a 'Blog.'  It is similar to a Website.  But you get to participate in the action.  Blogs are totally interactive and a feature that I think you will come to love. Yes indeed, we are a 'Virtual' ministry alive and well in the 21st century.  Lena Williams, who has conducted the ministry's research on the subject of blogs, provides these wonder-ful details:

A blog is like a public diary that anyone can read. You can write about virtually anything you want... for example:

Like photography?   Tell everyone about the great pictures you just took

A stay at home mom or dad?   Tell everyone what your day is like

Love pets?  Tell everyone about your cat "Peaches," or even write a Blog for Peaches!

You can write as much or as little as you want, and as often or as rarely as you like.  Not a good writer?  Don't worry about it!... The whole point of a blog is that you are sharing your thoughts, desires, hobbies, hopes, dreams, or whatever!  Everyone is interesting and very different and blogs are a way for you to reach the world.

Blog   (noun, verb)A web based, interactive, public diary of ones thoughts.

Blog·stream   (noun, adjective) One's stream of consciousness expressed in a blog. The common current of thought as related to blogs.

Technical RequirementsWindows 2000 or XP

Internet Explorer 5.5 or 6.x installed (but does not have to be the default browser)

50 MB available hard drive space

CORETTA SCOTT KING 1927-2006

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After her husband’s assassination in 1968, instead of retreating with her young children into her grief, Coretta Scott King stepped out into the forefront to continue her husband’s legacy. She began this the day before his funeral, leading the sanitation worker’s march he had gone to Memphis to support. She continued to stand up for social justice for the rest of her life. Mrs. King was devoted to preserving Dr. King’s legacy by committing much of her energy and attention to developing and building the Atlanta-based Martin Luther King, Jr. Center for Nonviolent Social Change as a living memorial to her husband’s life and nonviolent philosophy.

Situated in the Freedom Hall Complex encircling Dr. King’s tomb, the King Center is part of a twenty-three acre national historic park which includes his birth home and which hosts over one million visitors a year. For the twenty-seven years between 1968- 1995, Mrs. King devoted her life to developing the King Center, the first institution built in honor of an African-American leader. As the Founding President, Chair, and Chief Operating Executive Officer, she dedicated herself to providing local, national and international programs that have trained tens of thousands of people in Dr. King’s nonviolence philosophy and methods. She guided the creation of the largest archives in the world of civil rights documents at the King Center. In 1995, she passed the torch of leadership to her son Dexter Scott King.

Mrs. King spearheaded the massive educational and lobbying campaign to establish Dr. King’s birthday as a national holiday. In 1984, at the request of Mrs. King, Congress established the Martin Luther King, Jr. Federal Holiday Commission to assure appropriate commemoration of Dr. King’s Birthday throughout the nation and world. Mrs. King was the commssion’s Chair for its duration. On the third Monday in January 1986, the first official national holiday in honor of Dr. King was celebrated. The King holiday is now celebrated by all 50 states and by millions of people in over 100 countries. Coretta Scott King has carried the message of nonviolence and the dream of the “Beloved Community” throughout the

McClain Ministries 1050 Ridgeside Drive, Brandon, MS 39042 20

world. She has led goodwill missions to Africa, Latin America, Europe, and Asia and has spoken at some of history’s most massive peace and justice rallies. She served as a Woman’s Strike for Peace delegate to the seventeen-nation disarmament conference in Geneva, Switzerland in 1962 and as an alternate U.S. Delegate to the United Nations during the Carter Administration. She is the first woman to deliver the class–day address at Harvard, and the first woman to preach at a statutory service at St. Paul’s Cathedral in London. Through her international speaking platform and leadership for nonviolent social change, Mrs. King carried her message of hope and healing across the nation and through-out the world.

An advocate of interracial movements for nonviolent social change, in 1974 Mrs. King co-founded a broad coalition of over 100 religious, labor, business, civil, and women rights organizations dedicated to a national policy of full employment and equal economic opportunity serving as co chair of both the National Committee for Full Employment and the Full Employment Action Council. In 1983, she brought together more than 800 human rights organizations to form the New Coalition of Conscience, which sponsored the 20th Anniversary March on Washington, the largest demonstration in our nation’s capital up to that year.

In 1985, Mrs. King and two of her children were arrested at the South African Embassy in Washington, D. C. for protesting against apartheid. In 1987, she helped lead the Mobilization Against Fear and Intimidation in Forsyth County Georgia. In preparation for the Reagan-Gorbachev talks in 1988, she served as head of the U. S. delegation of Women for a Meaningful Summit in Athens, Greece; and, in 1990, as the U.S.S.R. was redefining itself, Mrs. King was co-convener of the Soviet-American Women’s Summit in Washington, D.C.

The recipient of more than 50 major awards and doctorates from over 40 colleges and universities, Mrs. King Authored My Life with Martin Luther King, Jr. and has written a syndicated newspaper column. She has co-founded and served on the boards of numerous social change organizations including the Black Leadership Forum, the National Black Coalition for Voter Participation and the Black Leadership Roundtable. Heads of state including Prime Ministers and Presidents have held dialogues with Mrs. King. Yet she has also led on picket lines with striking workers and mothers seeking welfare rights.

She has met with great spiritual leaders including Pope John Paul II, The Dalai Lama, Dorothy Day and Bishop Desmond Tutu. She witnessed the historic handshake between Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and Chairman Yassir Arafat at the signing of the Middle East Peace Accords and stood along side Nelson Mandela when he claimed victory in South Africa’s first free elections. Mrs. King has traveled across our nation and world speaking out on behalf of racial and economic justice, religious freedom, dignity and human rights for women, children, people with disabilities, universal healthcare, educational opportuni-ties, nuclear disarmament and environmental protection. She has lent her support to nonviolent freedom movements worldwide and has consulted with many world leaders, including Corezon Aquino, Kenneth Kaunda, and Thabo Mbeki. As one of the most influential women leaders, Coretta Scott King has tried to make ours a better world and, in the process, has make history.

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