Monday, March 30, 2009

UNEMPLOYED GRADUATE

UNEMPLOYED GRADUATE

An unemployed graduate woke up one morning and checked his pocket. All he had left was $10. He decided to use it to buy food and then wait for death as he was too proud to go begging. He was frustrated as he could find no job, and nobody was ready to help him.

He bought food and as he sat down to eat; an old man and two little children came along and asked him to help them with food as they had not eaten for almost a week. He looked at them. They were so lean that he could see their bones coming out. Their eyes had gone into the socket. With the last bit of compassion he had, he gave them the food. The old man and children prayed that God would bless and prosper him and then gave him a very old coin. The young graduate said to them 'you need the prayer more than I do'.

With no money, no job, no food, the young graduate went under the bridge to rest and wait for death. As he was about to sleep, he saw an old newspaper on the ground. He picked it up, and suddenly he saw an advertisement for people withold coins to come to a certain address.

He decided to go there with the old coin the old man gave him. On getting to the place, he gave the proprietor the coin. The proprietor screamed, brought out a big book and showed the young graduate a photograph. This same old coin was worth 3 million dollars. The young graduate was overjoyed as the proprietor gave him a bank draft for 3 million dollars within an hour. He collected the Bank Draft and went in search of the old man and little children.

By the time he got to where he left them eating, they had gone. He asked the owner of the canteen if he knew them. He said no but they left a note for you. He quickly opened the note thinking it would lead him to find them.

This is what the note said: 'You gave us your all and we have rewarded you back with the coin,' signed God the Father, The Son and The Holy Ghost.

1 Kings 17:10-16;Matthew 11:28-30

Looking ahead...

There is much dialogue and debate in the church about "end times," the"Rapture," and the "Second Coming." I'm excited to venture in our near future study regarding these topics and the book of Revelation.
A friend of mine, Mike Schall, has studied the book of Revelation for 30 years and wrote a book himself called "The Hidden Rapture Code, secrets within the seven scrolls," After talking with him of our "Band of Brothers," looking ahead to study these for mentioned subjects, he said he would be more than happy to attend a meeting or two with us to give some insight on his study.
It's my belief, and some of the other "Wild-Men," that we are in fact experiencing some of these events currently. There are vital "prophetic" messages that need our attention, and I am enthused to tackle such a diverse and intriguing subject and I believe you all are as well. There is a lot of confusion about "Tribulation," and the definition of it. We will experience some form of "Tribulation" here before the "Rapture" and are here into the breaking of the "sixth-seal." Our goal, be prepared...
Let the Gospel spread like wild-fire from our lips to needy ears.
In the book of Luke chapter 21 verse 25-28, Jesus said, "There will be signs in the sun, moon and stars. On the earth, nations will be in anguish and perplexity at the roaring and tossing of the sea. Men will faint from terror, apprehensive of what is coming on the world, for the heavenly bodies will be shaken. At that time they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. When these things begin to take place, stand up and lift your heads, because your redemption is drawing near."
"Will-do!" I say...
I do not begin to understand the complexity of God however, I feel that we grew in times that biblical miracles were absent from us only for us to witness the greatest of them all in the final hours!

Be Blessed my "Wild brothers" and know that, "this Gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come." Matthew 24:14 niv

Everyone will be looking up then brothers!

Love you guy's,
Michael........

Sunday, March 29, 2009

On Healing and Casting Out Demons

I have researched the topic of healing fairly significantly and I believe, based upon Holy Scripture, that not only is it possible, but it is God's will. I have placed below just some of the passages that I have found that I believe support my position with my comments. I pray that you will prayerfully consider them and see what the Spirit shows you. Let Him decide whether I am right or have interpreted wrongly.

This from Matthew Chapter 10 (emphasis mine):

1He called his twelve disciples to him and gave them authority to drive out evil spirits and to heal every disease and sickness.

2These are the names of the twelve apostles: first, Simon (who is called Peter) and his brother Andrew; James son of Zebedee, and his brother John; 3Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus; 4Simon the Zealot and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him.

5These twelve Jesus sent out with the following instructions: "Do not go among the Gentiles or enter any town of the Samaritans. 6Go rather to the lost sheep of Israel. 7As you go, preach this message: 'The kingdom of heaven is near.' 8Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy, drive out demons. Freely you have received, freely give. 9Do not take along any gold or silver or copper in your belts; 10take no bag for the journey, or extra tunic, or sandals or a staff; for the worker is worth his keep.

11"Whatever town or village you enter, search for some worthy person there and stay at his house until you leave. 12As you enter the home, give it your greeting. 13If the home is deserving, let your peace rest on it; if it is not, let your peace return to you. 14If anyone will not welcome you or listen to your words, shake the dust off your feet when you leave that home or town. 15I tell you the truth, it will be more bearable for Sodom and Gomorrah on the day of judgment than for that town. 16I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves.

17"Be on your guard against men; they will hand you over to the local councils and flog you in their synagogues. 18On my account you will be brought before governors and kings as witnesses to them and to the Gentiles. 19But when they arrest you, do not worry about what to say or how to say it. At that time you will be given what to say, 20for it will not be you speaking, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.

21"Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child; children will rebel against their parents and have them put to death. 22All men will hate you because of me, but he who stands firm to the end will be saved. 23When you are persecuted in one place, flee to another. I tell you the truth, you will not finish going through the cities of Israel before the Son of Man comes.

Clearly he talks about not finishing "before the Son of Man comes", which can only mean His return at the Second Coming. This would suggest that He is addressing not just the twelve, but disciples that would follow them and be alive even until the time when He returns to claim His Bride, the Church.

He also sent out more than just the 12 disciples, as we read in Luke 10:

1After this the Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them two by two ahead of him to every town and place where he was about to go. 2He told them, "The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field. 3Go! I am sending you out like lambs among wolves. 4Do not take a purse or bag or sandals; and do not greet anyone on the road.

5"When you enter a house, first say, 'Peace to this house.' 6If a man of peace is there, your peace will rest on him; if not, it will return to you. 7Stay in that house, eating and drinking whatever they give you, for the worker deserves his wages. Do not move around from house to house.

8"When you enter a town and are welcomed, eat what is set before you. 9Heal the sick who are there and tell them, 'The kingdom of God is near you.' 10But when you enter a town and are not welcomed, go into its streets and say, 11'Even the dust of your town that sticks to our feet we wipe off against you. Yet be sure of this: The kingdom of God is near.' 12I tell you, it will be more bearable on that day for Sodom than for that town.

13"Woe to you, Korazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the miracles that were performed in you had been performed in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago, sitting in sackcloth and ashes. 14But it will be more bearable for Tyre and Sidon at the judgment than for you. 15And you, Capernaum, will you be lifted up to the skies? No, you will go down to the depths.

16"He who listens to you listens to me; he who rejects you rejects me; but he who rejects me rejects him who sent me."

17The seventy-two returned with joy and said, "Lord, even the demons submit to us in your name."

18He replied, "I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. 19I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy; nothing will harm you. 20However, do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven."

21At that time Jesus, full of joy through the Holy Spirit, said, "I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children. Yes, Father, for this was your good pleasure.

22"All things have been committed to me by my Father. No one knows who the Son is except the Father, and no one knows who the Father is except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him."

23Then he turned to his disciples and said privately, "Blessed are the eyes that see what you see. 24For I tell you that many prophets and kings wanted to see what you see but did not see it, and to hear what you hear but did not hear it."

And in John 17, Jesus specifically prays for those believers who are to come later (you and me):

20"My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, 21that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. 22I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one: 23I in them and you in me. May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me. 24"Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am, and to see my glory, the glory you have given me because you loved me before the creation of the world. 25"Righteous Father, though the world does not know you, I know you, and they know that you have sent me. 26I have made you known to them, and will continue to make you known in order that the love you have for me may be in them and that I myself may be in them."

Note that he prays "I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one." If we have been given His Glory, and we are one with the Father and the Son, then it only fits that His power is within us and can work through us, just as it did through the original disciples (and not just the twelve, but the seventy in Luke 10, and others in the Acts of the Apostles as well).

Further, Jesus Himself condones a man who was not a disciple casting out demons:

38"Teacher," said John, "we saw a man driving out demons in your name and we told him to stop, because he was not one of us."

39"Do not stop him," Jesus said. "No one who does a miracle in my name can in the next moment say anything bad about me, 40for whoever is not against us is for us. 41I tell you the truth, anyone who gives you a cup of water in my name because you belong to Christ will certainly not lose his reward.

Why would that man be able to do that, even encouraged to do so, but His believers today not able to do so?

Then you have the passage in Mark 16 that talks about the Great Commission and refers to future believers:

15He said to them, "Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation. 16Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned. 17And these signs will accompany those who believe: In my name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new tongues; 18they will pick up snakes with their hands; and when they drink deadly poison, it will not hurt them at all; they will place their hands on sick people, and they will get well."

Clearly, when Jesus is speaking about "Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved," and then goes to state that "these signs will accompany those who believe...they will place their hands on sick people, and they will get well," He cannot just be referring to the disciples, but is also including future believers.

Jesus is also pretty clear during the Last Supper when He says "11Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; or at least believe on the evidence of the miracles themselves. 12I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. 13And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father. 14You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it. Most of what He had been doing was healing the sick and casting out demons, so it would be safe to say that is exactly what He meant.

And finally, Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 1 "7Therefore you do not lack any spiritual gift as you eagerly wait for our Lord Jesus Christ to be revealed." Surely he didn't mean only the church at Corinth did not lack any spiritual gifts, since Christians throughout history have used other quotes from Paul's epistles to apply to themselves, otherwise how could we expect to properly pick and choose what was meant for us and what was meant just for the actual audience receiving the letter? For as Paul told Timothy, "16All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, 17so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work." And surely when he says you do not lack any spiritual gift as you wait for our Lord to be revealed, that means until he comes back!

I believe, with all my heart, that the Lord's disciples, and that includes you and I, STILL possess the authority and power of Christ, and His spiritual gifts as recorded in Holy Scripture, which includes the power to heal. Of course, this all comes from faith in Jesus, and is HIS power, not ours, but as he says in Matthew 17:20-21 "I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there' and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.21 But this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting." and in Mark 11 ""Have faith in God," Jesus answered. 23"I tell you the truth, if anyone says to this mountain, 'Go, throw yourself into the sea,' and does not doubt in his heart but believes that what he says will happen, it will be done for him. 24Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. 25And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive him, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins."

Of course, this presupposes that this is within God's will. As you know, it was His will to keep Paul with a "thorn in his flesh". But I believe that was for a specific purpose to keep Paul humble. Paul clearly thought that healing was possible, or he wouldn't have asked, and he himself healed others as he went about his ministry, and he wasn't one of the original twelve. Jesus said "I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full." I believe that, for the most part, He wants us to be healthy. But in the rare circumstances where it is His will that someone be ill, then it is to be used to Glorify God, as in John 9:3 3"Neither this man nor his parents sinned," said Jesus, "but this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life."

People often quote the passage from James 4" You do not have, because you do not ask God. 3When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives," surely this wasn't meant for just those who James was writing the letter to.

I certainly don't have all the answers, and I know that not everyone who believes and asks will be healed, but I believe it to be a flat denial of Scripture to say no one can be healed today. Press in to Him and listen to His voice on this, not mine. I am but filthy rags, and am nothing without Him. But, just as you have been promised, I can do all things through Him who strengthens me. In His timing.

Respectfully Submitted with Love,

Deliverance Prayer

Deliverance Prayer



Lord Jesus Christ, I believe You are the Son of God and the only way to God – that You died on the cross for my sins and rose again so that I might be forgiven and receive eternal life.

I renounce all pride and religious self-righteousness and any dignity that does not come from You. I have no claim on Your mercy except that You died in my place.

I confess all my sins before You and hold nothing back. Especially I confess _________.

I repent of all my sins. I turn away from them and I turn to You, Lord, for mercy and forgiveness.

By a decision of my will, I freely forgive all who have ever harmed or wronged me. I lay down all bitterness, all resentment and all hatred. Specifically I forgive _____________.

I sever all contact I have ever had with the occult or with all false religion – particularly _______________. I commit myself to get rid of all objects associated with the occult or false religion.

Lord Jesus, I thank You that on the cross You were made a curse, that I might be redeemed from every curse and inherit God’s blessing. On that basis I ask You to release me and set me free to receive the deliverance I need.

I take my stand with You, Lord against all Satan’s demons. I submit to You, Lord, and I resist the devil. Amen.

Now I speak to any demons that have control over me. (Speak directly to them). I command you to go from me now. In the name of Jesus, I expel you!
-From They Shall Expel Demons, by Derek Prince pp. 216-17

Wednesday, March 18, 2009

The Media (Accidently?)Missed this one!!!!

The Media (Accidently?)Missed this one!!!! The troops oversees would like you to send it to everybody you know.

Denzel Washington, and Brooks Army Medical Center Don't know whether you heard about this but Denzel Washington and his family visited the troops at Brook Army Medical Center, in San Antonio, Texas (BAMC) the other day. This is where soldiers who have been evacuated from Germany come to be hospitalized in the United States, especially burn victims. There are some buildings there called Fisher Houses.

The Fisher House is a Hotel where soldiers' families can stay, for little or no charge, while their soldier is staying in the Hospital. BAMC has quite a few of these houses on base, but as you can imagine, they are almost filled most of the time.

While Denzel Washington was visiting BAMC, they gave him a tour of one of the Fisher Houses. He asked how much one of them would cost to build. He took his checkbook out and wrote a check for the full amount right there on the spot. The soldiers overseas were amazed to hear this story and want to get the word out to the American public, because it warmed their hearts to hear it.

The question is - why do:Brad Pitt Madonna, Tom Cruise and other Hollywood fluff make front page news with their ridiculous antics and Denzel Washington's Patriotism doesn't even make page 3 in the Metro section of any newspaper except the Local newspaper in San Antonio.

A true American and friend to all in uniform!

Monday, March 16, 2009

Which one were you?

I often wonder what part of the Crucifixion was I a part of. It started on a Friday, I think about the content of the task. He went to the plaza standing before a man who could free Him. He heard the screams of mockery. He received the spit from mouths of hundreds. He watched His friend deny Him. He bore the bruises of the conflicted. He felt the sting of the whips. He took the pain as His skin was torn and tattered. He wore the crown of thorns. He remained calm during all of the torture. He continued to save. He provided comfort to a grieving mother. He accepted love from a man who helped carry the load. He honored a girl who wiped His brow. He fell to the ground with the body of a human. He accepted the nails. He hung and struggled to breathe. He saved a thief who asked Him to remember him. He asked for their forgiveness. He cried out for His Father. He finished the journey. He took the spear. He laid in peace.
He rose!

Which part of that were you and me? All of it!

Feel Him,

Michael.......

Wednesday, March 11, 2009

Plant a tree, watch it grow...


Brothers,


May you enjoy this beautiful day and the rest to come... I was so amazed at our study last night. The examples of strength were paramount and the dedication, tenacity, vigor, and passion these men of Christ exhibited made me wonder about myself in the face of adversity.
It also made me wonder how God felt when He created that seed, the one He would have planted and nurtured to maturity. From sprout to sapling to a full bodied tree with long branches and a solid trunk. The one that would be cut down, honed, milled, and fashioned into something so dreadful but also so miraculous. It was bulky and heavy, the worlds filth on it, the pain and sorrow of humanity stinging a scourged back, beaten, battered, and bruised flesh for the burden to rest on.
The long journey with this ending to face. And all the while, He saw hope! He saw it in the face of the woman with two copper coins who gave not out of her wealth, but gave out of her poverty. He saw it in the face of a whore, in a Samaritan woman at a well and offering her a different brand of water. He saw it in the girl who along the way sopped the blood dripping from His face with a clean cloth. He saw all of those things and He even saw it in men that formed a vine of thorns into a circle and pulled it down embedding the thorns in His skull. He saw it in a man that washed his hands of Him, the man holding the hammer, the one's with the whips, the one with the spear, and the thief that hung to His right, and you and me...

"Father forgive them for they know not what they do!"


Know Him,

Michael.......

Tuesday, March 10, 2009

Our walk on the water...

Yesterday a very good friend of mine and brother in Christ, had the privilege of getting out on his boat to do some fishing. The day was perfect, we started out around 2:30p.m. and headed north on Sarasota bay. We scouted a flat near Buttonwood Cove and started our search for our two favorites, the Redfish and Snook...
We fished a beautiful looking flat with multiple pot-holes and potential holding areas for fish. Spooking a half dozen with no hook-ups. The water was so clear I think they were seeing us first! After cruising over that nice flat, we decided to seek deeper water and grass with a good drop off or edge. So as Dave went to fire up the motor we found out we had some trouble. The starter wasn't engaging and we were without a trolling motor. The drift was over the deeper water we were looking for so we decided to fish and figure out the motor woes later, typical "dude" mentality! We did snatch some nice trout and the fierce fighting Lady fish. I was telling Dave, "too bad the Lady fish aren't a keeper for eating, then again, if we don't get this boat going, we might be keeping them!" We laughed and fished more and enjoyed the gorgeous weather...
I Started to think about how I might have reacted to this situation earlier in my life. "Son of a #@&*, I can't believe this *&%^!" "What the &$^% is going on here?" "This #$*&%(@ sucks!"
There was none of that...
Dave and I never raised our voice, we didn't get angry, we remained calm, and we noticed that our drift was an exact straight line from Buttonwood to the ramp. After a while we put the poles down and started to figure out our options. We un-frailed the end of the anchor rope to obtain a smaller piece of rope to wrap around the head of the motor for a pull-start. Dave made a make-shift handle with a wrench at the end and after multiple trys with me on the ignition at the same time, "1-2-3," we got the motor started! We gave the "high-five," and headed home. We couldn't help but notice the time it took to get to the ramp with running full throttle. We thought it would have taken all night to drift there... It was so nice not to get worked up, if we would have had to drift it all night, I know it would have been alright, we had someone else aboard with us! One of the best fishing trips I ever had! Thanks Dave...

Blessings, Michael......

Friday, March 6, 2009

Football

TALLAHASSEE - Gov. Charlie Crist, no slouch in the popularity polls, may have met his match Thursday when Tim Tebow and the Florida Gators came to Tallahassee to be honored for their latest national football championship.
Florida football coach Urban Meyer, left, talks to members of the Florida Senate as players Tim Tebow, center, and Ryan Stamper, right, wait their turn to talk during Gator Day festivities at the Florida Legislature on Thursday.

PHIL COALE/THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Tebow threw a dozen passes with Crist on the front driveway of the Governor’s Mansion and signed helmets, T-shirts, hats and other Gator paraphernalia as he and his entourage ate breakfast with the governor and were feted on the House and Senate floors.
"All Florida is incredibly proud of your accomplishments," Crist told the Gator gathering that also included University of Florida President Bernard Machen, football coach Urban Meyer, linebacker and team captain Ryan Stamper, UF athletic director Jeremy Foley and three UF trustees.
"Even this Seminole heart beat a little harder when I watched you guys win your second national championship in three years," Crist said, referring to Florida’s 24-14 victory over the University of Oklahoma in early January.
Meyer told the breakfast group that he enjoyed coaching the team that ended up with a 13-1 record.
"I love this team," Meyer said. "This was an extremely unselfish team that handled their business. Were we perfect on and off the field? No, but we were pretty close."
And Meyer added a little more to the Tebow legacy, explaining two of the major reasons why the junior quarterback decided to put off an NFL career and return to Florida for his senior year.
Meyer said Tebow’s return wasn’t related to his draft status or the need to make some money — pointing to the 14-year-old Ford Thunderbird that the quarterback drives, adding "it's not a nice one."
"It has nothing to do with self gratification," Meyer said. "It has something to do with something that he believes in. If you get to know Tim, when he believes in something: watch out."
Instead, Tebow decided to return for another year after he found out UF had received permission from the NCAA to let Tebow raise money for an orphanage that his family is involved with in the Philippines, Meyer said.
As UF students begin their annual spring break this weekend, Tebow is scheduled to return to the Philippines for another mission next week. The second reason had to do with the Biblical verse that Tebow wrote on his eye black during the national championship game.
All through the 2008 season, Tebow had used Philippians 4:13 — "I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me" — on his eye black. But on the championship game day, Tebow switched to John 3:16 — "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." After the game, John 3:16 became the top Google search item on the Internet.
And a few days after the game, as Tebow's family and Meyer talked about the quarterback's future, his mother, Pam Tebow, told her son that his role in increasing the awareness of the Biblical verse showed he had more influence as a college quarterback than he could have as a professional athlete.
"When she said that, I looked into Tim's eyes and knew we had our quarterback coming back for one more year," Meyer said.
Tebow was in Tallahassee last year where he was honored for having won the Heisman trophy — given to the nation's top collegiate football player.
"This year in coming back, it's a lot more special," Tebow said. "I got to achieve something with the team." And as his coach explained, Tebow said his role in influencing others' lives was more important to him than his next career move.
"I think that's something we all have to keep in mind," Tebow said. "It's not all about me. It's all about who can I help."
If he wanted to, state Sen. Steve Wise, R-Jacksonville, said the young quarterback could have a successful political career.
"He would be great," Wise said. "He really has the qualities you need to have in politics. But I think he has bigger and better fish to fry."
House Rules Chairman Bill Galvano, R-Bradenton, said Tebow would be "a tremendous politician."
"Just the message — it's so genuine. It's not contrived. You can tell he's speaking from the heart," Galvano said, adding he has even seen the positive influence that Tebow has had on his own sons.
"If he ran for office, I would be the first one to write him a check," Galvano said.

PROCLAMATION DECLARING UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA FOOTBALL DAY
WHEREAS, the University of Florida defeated the University of Oklahoma in the 2008 FedEx Bowl Championship Series National Championship game; and
WHEREAS, this marks the University of Florida’s second BCS National Championship in the last three years; and
WHEREAS, the success of the University of Florida football team has resulted in a tremendous amount of pride for the Sunshine State; and
WHEREAS, it is important to recognize this incredible accomplishment by the University of Florida’s student athletes; and
WHEREAS, head coach Urban Meyer and his staff deserve credit for their hard work and dedication to produce not only a championship football team, but young men who excel in the classroom and in the community;
NOW, THEREFORE, I, Charlie Crist, Governor of the State of Florida, do hereby extend greetings and best wishes to all observing March 5, 2009 as University of Florida Football Day.

Put on your schedule

Mark you calendar for Thursdays at 12:00 for a Real Men bible study lunch. This is open to all… It is held at the China Buffet on the northeast corner of University and Lockwood Ridge. We meet there every week and it is a great place to eat and spend sometime with your brothers in the middle of the week.

I call it the Recharging day because by Thursday with the way the economy is we all need a boost. The cost is ONLY $7.50 for ALL YOU CAN EAT and a drink. Bring a friend and join us. We are in the room right behind the cashier as you walk in.

Check this out

This is great,

Wednesday, March 4, 2009

Reach out!

Hey Men,

Just a friendly reminder to call, e-mail, or text a brother this week and let him know your thinking about him. Ask what his week has been like, or what subject is his scripture reading study currently. We had a chain cutting last night, and with that comes the chance to welcome new hearts in our circle of brotherhood. Make them feel welcome, give your ear to someone. Guy's tend to need to empty their "boxes" and vent... This can be a prime time to help minister to others struggling with the world and all of its obstacles. Fellowship, it's what "Wild Men" is all about!

"May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all." 2nd Corinthians 13:14

In Him,

Michael....

Monday, March 2, 2009

A Personal "Thank You" & Call For Help

This is a message I received from our friends, Chuck and Joanne Broderick, who have blessed so many of us with their ministry at Living Word Christian Store. Please read and feel free to pass it on.

February 26, 2009

Dear Friends,

We need your help. Living Word Christian Store has been serving our community for over 8 1/2 years now. The past year has been difficult. Joanne and I believe we were called to open Living Word in Sarasota in 2000; and we believe it has become a vital part of our community and an extension of area churches, as well as being a ministry unto itself. The store provides books and supplies which help believers 1) grow in their walk with Christ, 2) become more encouraged to not give up the good fight of faith and 3) receive answers to worldly problems so as to be overcomers and not to be overcome.

The fact right now is that, we are the last independent Christian Bible and Book store in Sarasota. And, just like everyone else, our store is feeling the effect of these economically challenging times. If we do not receive support from area believers we may also be forced to close Living Word in the near future. Our community needs a Christian bookstore; and especially during unstable days ahead, people need God's answers not the world's answers.

The store needs your prayers and assistance in this matter. We need you to shop our store. We are not asking for anyone to shop more or spend more. We are only asking that when you intend to shop for a book, a Bible, music, video, gift or greeting card, etc., that you think of us first; especially before going online. A good share of what is spent locally stays locally; and we employ 22 locally. Almost nothing of what is spent online ever comes back to our community.

If you must shop online, go to Living Word online at www.golivingword.com.This is our website, and it has a complete catalog of Christian and church products. We have partnered with our Parable marketing group in supplying this online shopping for you. If you find a product elsewhere online for less, call us or bring in the evidence and we'll match anyone's price if at all possible. You are important to us. We need your "loyalty" and support to continue our ministry and to be here for you.

It has been a pleasure serving our community for the past 8 1/2 years. We thank all our supporters/customers very much for their partnership and look forward to serving the community years into the future.

In His Service,

Chuck & Joanne

Chuck & Joanne Broderick
P.S. Please feel free to respond to this email and tell us what you think. Help us to see if we are on target for serving you; and we welcome suggestions on how we can serve you better in the future.