O Give Thanks 2016
BUILDING A SPIRIT OF PRAYER IN THE HOME
During the week of O Give Thanks, each member of MFM should select 30 minutes that they will dedicate to prayer and quiet time in the home.
With all members participating, there will be many people praying every hour of the day for strength and development of individual families as well as the Body of Christ.
VETERANS OF FASTING & PRAYER
For those of you who are seasoned in fasting and prayer, you may want to fast two or more days continuously. This is fine, just exercise wisdom
CORPORATE PRAYER
Together, we will lift our voices in prayer for the following:
Pastor & First Family Church Family The Body of Christ Children/Youth The Vision of MFM
Ministry Leaders City, Country, Nation Community President & First Family Government
Law Enforcement Firefighters Mayor Peace Freedom Incarcerated Sick
Bereaved Missions Armed Forces Veterans
We are asking each family to adopt one or two other families to carry in prayer during the week of O’ Give Thanks. Pray that the Lord bless, keep and shine His face upon them, gives them grace, keeps His face before them, gives them peace, that His name shall be theirs. (Numbers 6:24-27).
1) THE NORMAL FAST: Luke 4:2 (To abstain from eating)
2) THE ABSOLUTE FAST: Acts 9:9 (To abstain from eating & drinking)
3) THE PARTIAL FAST: Daniel 10:3 (To abstain from certain foods)
Benefits to Fasting
- Develops humility
- Strengthens the inner man
- Looses the bands of wickedness
- Releases heavy burdens and freedom from oppression
- Manifestation of God’s power
- Brings the church family into greater unity and growth
- Opens the door for you to receive God’s anointing and fresh revelation
- Increases faith
- Gives you the power to gain victory over the sins of the flesh
- Breaks addictions (food, alcohol, nicotine, caffeine, gambling, etc.)
Prayer
Prayer is an important part of your Spiritual growth. It is two-way communication with God. We can talk to the Lord any time and any place. In prayer, God reveals His plans and purpose for our lives. It is in prayer where we receive direction, spiritual warfare strategies, and wisdom.
Types of Prayer
Personal Prayer: Taking your petitions and supplications before God.
Be careful with nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplications with thanksgiving let your requests be known unto God. Philippians 4:6
Intercessory: Praying on behalf of others as the Spirit of God leads.
Corporate: Praying together collectively as a church for the Body of Christ, the nation and it’s leaders, kingdom advancement.
If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land. II Chronicles 7:14
How to Pray
Learning to pray begins by making the choice to be alone with God. You must set aside time each day to meet with Him. Find a place where you won’t be distracted or interrupted.
O God, thou are my God; early will I seek thee, my flesh longeth for thee in a dry and thirsty land, where no water is; Psalm 63:1
Home /Work/ School
At home, work, or school do the following when appropriate:
- Read your Bible
- Stay prayerful.
- Maintain a quiet, spiritual state of mind
- Refrain from unnecessary talking.
- Encourage someone with words of love or kindness.
- Refrain from watching television, reading newspapers, and Internet activities. (During the week of consecration, knowledge of world events can weigh you down).
- Plan in-the-home activities for the family.
- Read the Bible together, as well as interesting fun books
- Play Bible games.
- Abstain from game consoles, internet gaming, and computer-based games.
- Develop a family hobby or individual hobbies.
- Write letters or notes to loved ones and friends.
- Enjoy the Word on audio and video recordings.
- Go to bed at a reasonable hour and get plenty of rest.
May God continue to bless your faithfulness to this Church. Your dedication, commitment, and love for God are the key to the success of this ministry. Without a true love for Him, we could not achieve the ultimate goal and purpose of God. Your individual blessings lie in your commitment to Jesus Christ, and our corporate blessings will be accomplished because we love Him and have made the choice to follow His will.
FASTING SCHEDULE
The time of fasting will commence Sunday at 12:00 midnight and conclude at 4:00p.m.on Friday.
The Daniel (Partial) Fast Monday, Wednesday and Friday (fruit, vegetables, water, juice).
The Total Fast: Tuesday and Thursday. You should have nothing to eat or drink during fasting hours on Tuesday and Thursday.
Eat only one meal after 4:00p.m.each day of fasting schedule. Feel free to have a healthy snack with juice and water following your meal.
Fasting Schedule 2016
11-13 through 11-18
Fast begins when you go to bed Sunday night (Mon 12am) Nov 13th and concludes Friday, Nov 18th at 4pm. On Monday, Wednesday and Friday you should only have water, fruit & vegetables if you are doing Daniel Fast after 4pm you may have a light meal and a snack before bed. On Tuesday and Thursday (Total Fast) you should have nothing to eat or drink until 4pm. After 4pm you may have a light meal and a snack before bed.
Pink & Purple Sunday
On October 23rd, Mountaintop Faith Ministries First Aid Ministry in conjunction with CHR, Inc., (Caring, Helping and Restoring Lives) hosted their annual Pink & Purple Sunday. The church arrayed itself in pink and/or purple to bring awareness to breast cancer and domestic violence.
First Lady Dr. Mary L. House, who is also the CEO/President of CHR, Inc. has a passion for domestic violence awareness. She has shared her testimony of being a witness to domestic violence in her parents home; thus, bringing together the Pink & Purple Sunday to the church. During both the 8:00 am and 10:45 am services, she shared the startling statistics of both issues.
Breast Cancer is the most common cancer diagnosed in women in the United States, other than skin cancer. It is the second leading cause of cancer death in women, after lung cancer. There are over 3.1 million breast cancer survivors in the United States. Nevada Statistics show that breast cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer among women in Nevada and is the 2nd leading cancer killer among women in the State. It is estimated that 2,000 women in Nevada will be diagnosed with breast cancer in 2016 and 380 women in Nevada will die of the disease.
What can you do? Get screened and talk to your doctor about which screening test are right for you if you are at a higher risk. Have a mammogram every year starting at age 40 if you are at average risk. Have a clinical breast exam at least every 3 years starting at age 20, and every year starting at age 40. You can sign up for your screening reminder at www.komen.org/reminder.
Domestic violence is a pattern of violent and coercive behavior used by one partner in a relationship to control another. Every 9 seconds in the USA a woman is assaulted or beaten. Studies suggest that up to 10 million children witness some form of domestic violence annually. An estimated 29% of African American females are victimized by intimate partner violence in their lifetime. Women in Nevada are 65% more likely to be shot and killed by intimate partners than women nationwide. Nevada has the 5th highest rate of domestic violence gun murder of any state in the country. Statistics show that Black women typically comprise about 70% of black congregations. Religious convictions and a fear of shame or rejection from the church may contribute to their remaining in abusive relationships.
Dr. House also thanked her husband, Pastor Clinton House, for allowing her the platform to bring both issues to the forefront of the church. It is their desire that the Pink & Purple Sunday will be echoed throughout churches across the country. If you would like to become a volunteer, attend the domestic violence workshops or make a contribution, go to www.chrinc.net.
Statistics provided by: www.doj.state.or.us; www.huffingtonpost.com; www.ncadv.org; www.safenest.org; www.komennevada.org
When you can’t make lemonade out of lemons
Nevada Lemon Law
You bought a new vehicle two months ago and every week since your purchase…something has malfunctioned!!! The Nevada Lemon Law applies when, during the first year there is any defect or condition that substantially impairs the use and value of the motor vehicle to the buyer. The lemon law does not cover a defect or condition that is the result of abuse, neglect or unauthorized modifications or alterations of the motor vehicle. If a motor vehicle does not conform to all of the manufacturer’s applicable express warranties, and the buyer reports the nonconformity in writing to the manufacturer before the expiration of the manufacturer’s express warranties or one year after the date of the motor vehicle’s delivery to the original buyer – whichever is earlier – then the manufacturer, its agent or authorized dealer must make the necessary repairs to conform the motor vehicle to the express warranty.
The necessary repairs must be made even if the term of the warranty has expired. In addition, if the manufacturer, its agent or authorized dealer is unable to conform the motor vehicle to any applicable express warranty by repairing or correcting a nonconformity after a reasonable number of attempts, the manufacturer must either replace or repurchase the motor vehicle.
The Nevada lemon law establishes a presumption that a reasonable number of attempts have been undertaken to conform a motor vehicle to the applicable express warranties if, within the time the express warranty is in effect or within one year following the date of the motor vehicle’s delivery to the original buyer, whichever occurs first, either of the following occurs:
1. The same nonconformity has been subject to repair four or more times by the manufacturer, its agent or authorized dealer but the nonconformity continues to exist, or
2. The motor vehicle is out of service for repairs for a cumulative total of 30 or more calendar days.
The 30-day period is extended by any period of time in which the necessary repairs cannot be made for reasons that are beyond the control of the manufacturer, its agent or authorized dealer. If the manufacturer has established or designated an informal dispute settlement procedure, then the buyer may not bring an action under the provisions requiring refund or replacement unless the buyer has first resorted to the informal dispute settlement procedure.
The Importance of Life Insurance
One of the worst things I have witnessed in recent weeks is a family that had a member pass unexpectedly. There was no insurance, no will, no trust, and no money for the burial. And to make matters worse, the surviving family didn’t have enough money to pay for funeral expenses. So the grieving family is left with having to raise or borrow the money in the midst of dealing with all the emotions and stress of losing a loved one. This scenario is so very sad, but it is all too common. It is a horrible situation and I truly feel for anyone going through it. Although this is not a pleasant topic, it must be discussed.
Have you ever considered what would happen to the people that depend on you if the unthinkable were to happen? Where would they live? How would they survive without your income? This can be a sobering thought; it is all too real. Life insurance is meant to ease the financial burden of a loss of income due to death, illness, or even an accident. In the case of someone getting hurt and losing their ability to work, somehow, the bills must be paid. And life insurance helps to bridge those gaps.
Basically, there are three types of life insurance policies. There is term life, whole life, and universal life, and it is extremely important to know the difference. Term life policies have a face value (how much it is worth in dollars) and offer protection for a particular time or term. For example, a term life policy may have a $200,000 value face value for 20 years. So, if the insured person were to die within the term, the beneficiary (person receiving the money) would inherit $200,000. After the policy term expires, if the insurance is not renewed, the insured person no longer has life insurance. Whole life policies are also a face value, but they don’t have an expiration date. As long as insurance premiums (or bills) are paid, a person has insurance. Universal life insurance has a face value, and also doesn’t expire although it has may more options. There can be all kinds of “features” such as savings plans, and investments included into a policy.
So which insurance is the best for you? I recommend term life insurance. Why? Term life insurance is much cheaper. It offers you “more bang for your buck”. With term life, the insurance is only responsible for paying out money within the designated term. Whole life is more expensive because, the insurance company, again as long as the premiums are paid, will have to pay out money at some time. Universal life is expensive because it also doesn’t expire and has options. You pay for the option of having savings plans and investment opportunities within a life insurance policy. I recommend keeping your insurance separate from your investments. Let your insurance be only insurance.
How much life insurance should I get? I would recommend 10-12 times your annual salary. I know that seems like a lot of money, but consider the following. If a husband making $40,000 a year, has a life insurance policy of $200,000, if he were to pass, his income would be replaced for about 5 years. What about year 6? Now what if the same husband has an insurance policy for $500,000? Upon his death, if that money is invested and does just average (around 7%), that husband’s income can be replaced for 30 years!
In Isaiah 38, God told King Hezekiah, he was going to die soon and to “get his affairs in order.” Do you know when you are going to die? Of course not! That is why you need to get life insurance now! If God told Hezekiah to do it, surely he wants you to be prepared for your home-going. So do the right thing and spare your loved ones any unnecessary stress. If you don’t have life insurance, get some! If you already have life insurance, review your policy and make sure it is what you want and need. May peace be with you all, God bless!
Getting the Mind of Christ
2 Corinthians 10:5
Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;
Philippians 2:5
Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:
Some of the greatest battles we will ever fight take place in our minds. There is a daily warfare against the mind of the believer. There is a saying that suggests feelings follow thoughts. If the enemy can send your thought life into turmoil, your feelings generally follow too.
God’s thoughts towards us according to Jeremiah 29:11, are for peace and not evil. So if His thoughts about us are productive ours should be too. We let the mind of Christ be in us by daily submitting ourselves to God. God here I am, all that I have and even all that I am not, but I ask you to take the lead. We also do so by recognizing the thoughts that are contrary to the Word and will of God.
What does it mean to cast down imaginations? It is to violently evict them from our spirit. It is to replace them with a truth found in the Word of God. When the enemy would suggest defeat, you decree that if God is for you who can be against you. If the enemy suggests failure, you decree that you can do all things because Christ is your strength.
My prayer for you is that as you begin to recognize when your mind is being attacked, that you would arm yourselves with the Word of God. We are victorious with the mind of Christ.
Pastor Clinton House
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