newsdec04jan05

Renew Your Mind
Rev. Verna Brown
Dec. 04-Jan. 05

Renew Your Mind

Don't copy the behavior and customs of this world, but
let God transform you into a new person by changing
the way you think.
Rom 12:2 NLT

And do not be conformed to this world, but be
transformed
by the renewing of your mind
Rom 12:2 KJV

Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is
stayed on thee
Is. 26:3 KJV

Our minds can be a sanctuary of worship for our Lord,
that He keeps in perfect peace, or, the devil’s
playground. The choice is ours. We’ve been given the
responsibility of guarding the gateway to our hearts, like
warrior soldiers. God gives us the weapon of His word
to demolish every stronghold, and the power to take
every thought captive to the obedience of Christ.
Renewal can only come when we are willing to examine
ourselves and identify where we have left the door
unguarded, or worse yet, flung it open to a spirit of
offense, anger, revenge, unforgiveness, bitterness,
envy, pride, worry, lust…. the list goes on. These sinful
thoughts create a dungeon or prison where you
become a victim chained to your hurts, that if left
unchecked will become hates. God’s peace cannot
reside there. These fleshly thoughts are hostile toward
the Spirit of God, and do not want to give up residency,
but you must “kick them out” and fill that vacancy with
the Spirit of God. In moves the peace that passes all
understanding, and our countenance and conversation
reflects the glory, joy, peace, and love of Jesus. We are
set free to love again and everything changes. Many of
us manage our time, our weight, our finances, our
business, but give no thought to managing our thought
life. The result is we become angry, stressed out
nervous wrecks looking for relief in a variety of
remedies. The remedy or “key to freedom” from this
prison is found in one word “forgiveness.” Forgiveness
unlocks the chains and serves the devil his “eviction
notice.” If you refuse to forgive, it’s like drinking poison
and expecting the other person to die. Don’t wait for the
person(s) who hurt you to change. Release and forgive
them as an act of obedience. Let God deal with them,
He is your avenger. Let go of pride, humble yourself
and be sincere. First, you must confess outloud that you
forgive the one(s) that hurt you (say their name(s). Then
ask the Lord to forgive you for allowing these sinful
thoughts into your mind, and receive God’s forgiveness.
(Matt. 6:14) If you forgive others for their sins, your
Father in heaven will also forgive you for your sins.)
When this happens, you look into the face of God,
uncovered, stripped bare, and He changes your
countenance. By His fingers wrinkles of worry are
rubbed away. Clenched jaws are relaxed, furrowed
brows are smoothed, bags of exhaustion from beneath
the eyes are removed, and tears of despair become
tears of joy. Worship is sweet again, and intimacy with
your Beloved Lord is restored. Let renewal begin in you
right now..don’t wait… God loves you and wants to heal
you everywhere you hurt.

Increase
           Rev. Dana Waller
Dec. 04-Jan. 05

One year ago, God gave us two words for 2004
- growth and refinement. He has done so much
in our ministry, we stand in awe of Him. In
January we began our CD project. As I write
this article we are 90% finished, and we
anticipate it's release in early 2005. God is
faithful - all the glory goes to Him.    This has
been a year of tremendous increase for us all -
personally, spiritually and musically. After
purchasing our computer and ProTools
program, we were able to get two studio
microphones. Soon after that, we purchased
our vocal booths, and just recently a digital
camera. These are all tools for us to use for the
Kingdom of God, and we are truly grateful.
Last spring Verna got our website up. We are
still working to make additions to it, but have
already had several responses from believers
around the world. God is using this website as
another way to get out the gospel message.
And, our CD will soon be available for purchase
from the website.   As Verna and I have worked
diligently to bring excellence to our music, we
have also been given numerous opportunities to
preach the Word, prophesy and participate in
deliverance ministry. Mitch has become our
recording engineer and we rejoice at the
knowledge God has given him in the studio.
Rick has been our ever-faithful awesome sound
technician and continues to find new ways to
make us sound better.   We continue to have
intercessory prayer on Monday nights. Prayer
is absolutely the foundation of our ministry. Our
passion for and intimacy with our Savior Jesus
continues to grow. All that we are and all that we
do flows from that relationship.   Thank you
Jesus for your love, your amazing sacrifice, your
patience, your provision, your gifts and your
faithfulness. Thank you for increase within us
and within this ministry. IT'S ALL ABOUT YOU.