CHANGE

Dear Readers:

Greetings to you all in the name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. I trust that you all had a blessed and merry Christmas...spending time with your families, friends, and love ones...giving, sharing, and worshipping our Lord. I was and am truly blessed to witness this wonderful season.

As we embark upon the new year, I am looking forward to and have decided that I need "Change;" I desire "Change," and will have "Change." I will contend for the faith and anointing that breaks the yoke of bondage. I desire that my life will reflect the love of God among His people; that I will walk in the Spirit, that as I cross the path of those who are in need of and are seeking for joy, peace, contentment and compassion, that I will be sensitive to that need or needs and that I will hear from God to be of service for [Him] in meeting the need or needs of His people.

I am convinced that we (born-again, Spirit-filled Christians) are left on earth to serve our fellowman. Yes, to serve. We are servants of God. To serve God, we serve His people. Because of love we serve one another. This pleases God.

The Holy Spirit has provided instructions (the Holy Bible) for us to follow. If we love God we will obey His instructions. When we really know Jesus we will want others to know Him.

In effort to serve, we must live it...our strongest testimony is our daily life. In order to serve, we must love people...not pretend to love. The other person knows our motive immediately.

My "Change" is spending more time studying God's Word, obeying God's Word and truly loving God's people. I praise God for His unconditional love and for planting concerned born-again, Spirit-filled people in my path over 40 years ago. These people of God were responsible for planting seeds of love into my life that led me to Jesus, and I have not regretted one second of this new life. Praise the Lord for them and their obedience to His voice.

God loves the soul more than all creation. He fashioned it after His own image and made it like unto Himself. Every soul has departed from God and gone astray, and God has bought every soul back again with a price. That price was in, and through, and by Jesus Christ. God loves every soul with an everlasting love.

As born-again, Spirit-filled Christians, let's make it our "Change" to remember our responsibility to pray for all men, and especially for those who are in leadership roles; home, family, local assemblies, churches, and synagogues; leaders in County, State and Federal government. We must pray without ceasing. We cannot forget that our warfare is not physical...but spiritual, and that our Spiritual weapons; the belt of truth, breastplate of righteousness, shoes of the gospel of peace, shield of faith, helmet of salvation and sword of the Spirit must be in our arsenal for Spiritual warfare.

Jesus said to His Disciples, "Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another's feet."

My "Change", When people observe my life, I want them to see the love of Christ.

SUPPORTING SCRIPTURES: John 13:14, Acts 2:28; 20:19, Romans 7:6; 8:28, Galatians 5:13, Ephesians 6:14-18, II Timothy 2:15; 3:15-16, and James 5:16.

HOLY BIBLE

Holiness is the only way,
That we'll meet the Lord in peace someday;
Holding up the blood stained banner,
And living in a holy manner;


Only in the Word of God,
We'll find rest for our soul, and peace for our heart;
Obeying His ev'ry command,
As He gives strength and knowledge to understand,


Standing against the wiles of Satan,
Not yielding to sin and temptation;
Loving thy neighbor as thyself,
Sharing and giving till nothing is left;


With gladness within the heart,
Knowing this is the will of God;
Yes, life is sweet and filled with joy,
As we climb higher in the Lord;


Climbing a ladder invisible to man,
Holding on to God's unchanging hand;
Believing with all thy heart,
There's only one true living God;


Lord of Lords is He,
None other power can set man free;
Included in the Word of God,
Is nothing unseemly and nothing hard;


The way of eternal life is written therein,
As promised to all holy men;
Because of God's love for man,
He sent His Son and salvation plan;


That through His holy name,
Eternal life is there to gain;
Love this great came from above,
In the beauty and likeness of a dove;


If all to Him we freely give,
His Word says we shall surely live;
Ev'ry Christian should take a part,
In leading lost souls to God;


This is a small price to pay,
For eternal life someday;
A life we're striving to receive,
And will, if we read, accept, and believe.

Submitted from: Complete Bits and Pieces

THIS SEASON
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The angel went to her and said, "Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you." Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. But the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God. You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus."

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For to us a child is born, to us a son is given and the government will be on his His shoulders, and He will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

This is a time when we can lean on the goodness of God and rejoice in Christ's birth.

In the midst of activities; shopping, cooking, wrapping gifts, going to parties, programs and much more---let us remember who that Baby was and share the story with those in our life. Let us not miss out on the genuine worship of Jesus. Let us take time to go before Him in prayer and worship singing songs of praise.

Jesus came to save us from our sins and to give us eternal life--this is the reason to give Him the worship He deserves!

So let us give glory to Jesus for being our Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, and Prince of Peace.

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Supporting Scriptures: Mark 10:45; Luke 1:28-31; Isaiah 9:6

Excerpts from: Daily Living for Seniors

DREAMS OF MY MIND

by Christina Ogunmusesan

To the skies my mind flies

And glides with winds of rage

To the beds of the Earth I fall,

Through the burning clouds of plaques

Barefoot in the forest of greens,

Glimmering in the dress of Springs

Along the river of things

Things of treasures and all what pleasure,

I dance along the bend

Glistening in the crystal lights of the moon
Flowing on the waves of the sea
Then into the air, I fly

Asleep I presume

And sinking into the depths of my mind

Soon my eyes flashed wide

Awake hanging off my window.

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MY ROSE

by Christina Ogunmusesan

Every day, as time rushes through me,

I wonder who I am,

As I spend time alone with myself, I also see that I am always in the mood of

angriness and seem to be violent; what's

bordering deep inside?

I wish to have the Love to tender my heart

that was ragingly shattered.

Love so precious, that it mends the broken

pieces of my heart,

and to regain the tears that didn't deserve

to drop.

However, I still remain scared, afraid for

someone else to vandalize me, and remain

protective of myself.

My heart is a Rose, and the petals are

constantly being ripped apart.

"Why did my Rose have to be unraveled?"

This poem was written by my oldest granddaughter,

Christina Ogunmusesan.

Christina's parents: Ebenezer and Karen Ogunmusesan

Faith

"And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him,who have been

called according to His purpose."

As born-again Spirit-filled Christians we must stand firm in times of uncertainty; lack of employment, loss of income, home foreclosures, greed, lust and all types of addictions that're destroying the fabric of communities, families and self-respect. During these times of Christian challenges, we are to live by 'faith', continually choosing to trust God and not to believe the enemy's lies...we must know and use God's Word.

We must keep in mind that God is our loving Father who tenderly guides His children through the difficult places. When our Father takes us through times of leaness, we will know that He is the restorer of that which the locusts have eaten. We must wait patiently for Him to bring this about in our life. He will do it.

Supporting Scriptures: Romans 8:28; Joel 2:23-27; Ephesians 6:14-18.

YOU ARE THE ONE

You make me happy even tho you're not here,

Just to think of how you're sweet, tender, and dear;

How you cause my heart to be filled with joy,

And my mind the thoughts of you employ;

You are the one I will live with forever,

And depart from you...never, never, never;

The thought of it is so far away,

For our love will grow stronger day by day;

I know what I want,

I know what I need,

"To be with you"

Will be heavenly, indeed;

To hold you and to love you,

Will be my goal,

And to be with you til we both grow old;

Age will have no depth, length, or width,

Our love will just continue to exist;

We'll reminisce all the happiness we have

and laughter we shared,

Not a dull moment and never lonely or sad;

For you are the one who has captured my heart,

And my love for you will never depart.

Revised selection from Complete Bits and Pieces.