May 2011
Events on the Horizon
Stir it up.From the desk of Pastor John Greiner Does it seem like you're in a pressure cooker with multiple attacks coming at you from different directions? It's time to stir it up! Fan the flames and rekindle the embers of the faith that lives inside of you. Believe it or not, the answers to each circumstance already lie within you, ready to be tapped and employed. Timothy had this same challenge in his young ministry. He faced a meltdown not only from persecution by unbelievers but also from withering criticism by believers who should've accepted him most. To top it off, Timothy's father in the faith, the Apostle Paul, was in prison, unavailable to come personally to his aid. Paul wrote Timothy a letter of encouragement that still speaks to us today. Stir up the gracious gift of God- your faith- and rely totally on the mighty hand of God. Paul reminded him to resist fear and timidity, knowing that God had given him the Holy Spirit of power, love and a calm and disciplined mind. Timothy overcame his situation and you will overcome as well.
I Praise God and thank Pastor John Greiner and Sister Gladys for teaching me how to build my faith. In 1984, I had a sore on my elbow that popped in the bathtub. A day or two later, I felt a pop in my leg and was treated for a high fever. Finally, I was life-flighted to Texas Children's Hospital after a cardiac arrest. While in transport, my heart stopped twice more. It was a staph infection. The doctors told my mother that if I made it I would be permanently brain-damaged and all she could do was pray. It spread from my heart to my hip and down my left leg, almost requiring amputation. I had open heart and hip surgery done simultaneously. The hip fusion surgery made my left leg 3.5 inches shorter than my right. I lived that way for 5 years until I had a new lengthening procedure done in 1989. It took a little over a year for me to lengthen and de-rotate my leg, a process that caused terrible pain. During the process, I never wanted to move my knee because it hurt so bad. It locked up, remaining stiff for 22 years. I had accepted what doctors had told me, to just leave that knee alone. There was too much calcium buildup to do surgery, and if I bent it, I would not be able to extend it again because the muscles and ligaments were stretched to the maximum and literally stuck to the bone. But, GOD! I had just recently started working on my knee trying to build up the muscles. I was doing my part and asking God to meet me half way. During the meetings at GWC with Dr. Ed Dufrense, he asked anyone who had issues with bones to come up to the altar. I claimed my healing! Dr. Dufesne laid hands on me and I fell out. I saw what looked to be an angel over my left side. When I came to, I walked back to my seat and began to put pressure on my knee like I had many times before. All of a sudden I felt a pop in my leg and pain above my knee. I got scared at first, but I knew God would not hurt me. I was stuck for a couple of minutes with my knees bent! Now my knee is bending more and more everyday. PRAISE GOD!!! I remind God of the scripture in Philippians 2:9-11: Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: That at the name of Jesus EVERY KNEE should bow... I thank God for planting us here at Glorious Way Church where Love + Unity =Miracles.
Attention High School or College Seniors (or Parents):Are you graduating this month or next? Let us know who you are! Email claire@gwc.cc.
Poll Question: Bee in your bonnet
Agreement is a powerful force that moves the hand of God. The devil attacks it briskly, especially in the church. What should you do first if a fellow believer bothers/upsets/disappoints you?
Last Month Results: 88% of you say your faith makes the biggest impact on your worldview, while 6% say economic status, 4% say upbringing/family and 2% say peers/culture. No one said race was the biggest factor. It's exciting to see that, whatever our past, our faith in the Living Word of God is the center of our lives going forward. View all experiences through the filter of the Word of God, and His truth will guide you. People and wealth will disappoint, but God's Word will never fail. |
One way to stir up your faith: remember all the ways God has come through for you in the past. Mull them over in your mind and begin to praise Him again for His faithfulness to you through those times. Now you are ready to search the Word of God about your present challenge. Remember, God promises to minister seed to the sower (2 Cor 9:10), so expect to find ammunition to use against these attacks. Often it's just one God-breathed nugget that you believe and speak over and over that carries you through. Once you have God's Word on the matter, boldly start declaring your victory with rejoicing by "sticking" the enemy with the Word. You'll soon come out of that fire with a victor's crown-one to lie at Jesus' feet.
Last month, we reported on the bent knee that can now miraculously straighten. Now in a recent GWC service, God has dramatically healed a straight leg that can finally bend after 22 years. Here's our own Michele Batalla's amazing story, adapted from her own words. (Full version posted at 
Dunamis is Greek for THIS. Pray for Jacob Newell (shown firing an M120 mortar in Afghanistan), his platoon, and all our troops. Congratulations on helping bring OBL to justice. You make us proud to be Americans!
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