Published by Practical Spiritual Warfare web site, a division of Mission Miami Valley and authored by Dr.  D. Vincent (Bud) Ford.  This e-zine is dedicated to providing valuable, practical information for dealing with the chaotic and confusing times in which we live.

Contents

1. Tips for Kingdom Living
2. Strategic Advice for the Remnant
3. Scripture Guidance
4. Thoughts to Meditate on
5. Articles Pointing to the End Times
6. Site Build It (Note: Check out the links below – You owe it to yourself to see this)
7. Announcement

1.  Tips for Kingdom Living

8 Keys to Answered  Prayer

1. The first key is seeking – seeking thoroughly with all your heart, or essence, and with patience and perseverance.
2. The second key is the words we use.  Our words must be to the point and must touch the heart of God.  Our words must move God to remember His promises and His will for the situation we are prayed for.
3. The third key is the will of God.  Our prayer must be God’s will and not our own.
4. The fourth key is reminding God that He is a Righteous God.
5. The fifth key is to know God by being in His presence.
6. The sixth key is inquiring of the the Lord as to why your prayer is not being answered or why a situation has not changed.
7. The seventh key is knowing, and understanding, that God will not tolerate the breaking of a vow. We must confess and seek forgiveness for any broken vows or other sin in our lives.
8. The eighth key is learning to hear and heed the inner voice of God and not be governed by our circumstances, thoughts or affections.  When that still small voice in the depths of our being tells us to pray, then we should pray at once.

Bud Ford

2. Strategic Advice for the Remnant

A Vision for Living in the End Times

We are told not to conform to this world but to be transformed by the renewing of our minds. (Rom 12:1-2)

Transformation

Transformation involves change. To be transformation, change must begin with us. One way we can change this by developing genuine, trusting relationships with another person or group. That relationship must focus on a vision for unity that extends past our own friend or our own group.

Change

The vision for the great commission is changing one person at a time through discipleship, or through attaching our self to another. When a person is changed, their heart and presence also changes.  A changed persons’ presence changes their sphere of influence.  This is how one person, one group, one church, one workplace, one school, one city becomes changed.  Changed people bring about the change.

Group Unity

As group unity grows from one person to another and from one group to another, as we learn to come into the presence of the Lord, and as we stand together in a polarized and dangerous world, change takes place.

The Remnant Must Stand

Make no mistake, the unity of true believers brings change against the world systems and the true believers become outcasts and condemned by the world systems.  This is where THE REMNANT must stand.

What is it that brings about change - Change in homes, in racial and denominational reconciliation, in egos, in churches, workplaces, and schools?

In the secular world, there are many ways that change takes place. However, THE REMNANT cannot settle for that. When you are a genuine, true believer, change happens because of "The power of the Holy Spirit working in and through submitted lives."

We Have Focused on the Wrong Things

In most cases, we have been focusing on the wrong things. We have been focusing on the RESULTS of what we want to see. We should be focusing on how the results happen.

Many people believe that living a holy life as described in the Bible is idealistic, because people just don't live like that in today's world. That is, people do not live submitted, surrendered lives - lives that walk in the Spirit. Lives that follow the patterns God has provided for coming into his presence, patterns for the Christian lifestyle, and for prayer, faith, trust, belief.

Called to Live Holy Lives

Our focus should be on how God has shown us how to live holy lives. Our focus should not be on transformation, racial or denominational reconciliation, and dealing with the egos.

The focus must be on Christ and growing into perfected sons of God.

We Must Get It Right

We must get straight what we are called by God to do and not get distracted by the imperfections of the world. We cannot fix the world. We live in the world, not to become a part of it, but to reclaim the lost to back to Christ, by going into all the world and making disciples, baptizing and teaching them by attaching ourselves to them and showing examples of Holy Spirit power manifesting through us!

Bud Ford

3.  Scripture Guidance

The getting of treasures by a lying tongue is a fleeting vapor and a snare of death. 

 Proverbs 21:6 

 The Revised Standard Version 

We ask God to forgive us for our evil thoughts and evil temper, but rarely, if ever, ask Him to forgive us for our sadness.  Joy is regarded as a happy accident of the Christian life, an ornament and a luxury, rather than a duty.

R. W. Dale 

4. Thoughts for Meditation

Living By Faith – Have The Right Motives

James 4:2-3 NIV

You want something but don't get it. You kill and covet, but you cannot have what you want. You quarrel and fight. You do not have, because you do not ask God.  When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.

You're unemployed and you are praying for a job.  Why do you want a job?

You're sick and you're praying to be healed.  Why do you want to be healed?

You're praying for success in your career.  Why do you want success?

You're praying for your church to grow.  Why do you want it to grow?

You're praying for someone to marry.  Why do you want to get married?

You're praying for your marriage to be healed.  Why do you want it to be healed?

What are your motives?  Why do you pray for the various things in your life?  So that you can be rich?  So that you'll feel better?  So that things will start to be easier for you?

Actually, if you answered any of the questions above with anything other than “so that God may be glorified,” your motivation is not in line with God’s Word.

Each and every thing that Jesus did, He did so that the Father would be glorified.  As with all things, He was giving us a living illustration of how we are to live.  Through His every action and word, He showed us what our entire purpose and our entire motivation must be here on earth if we are truly to live by faith.  That motivation is… to glorify the Father.

When we shift our motives, He shifts into high gear.  Not only does He answer our prayers as He always does, but He will send us answers that are much better than what we thought we wanted.

Take the eighth step in learning to live by faith, and make your motive for everything in your life be a burning desire to glorify God. 

So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.  1 Corinthians 10:31 NIV

Dogwood Ministries

5.  Articles Pointing to the End Times

[Note: The number following End Times is there to assist the search engines find the article]

End Times 19 - Recession alarm rings around the world – www.news.yahoo.com

PARIS (AFP) – Giants of the auto, airline and technology industries ordered emergency action against the global financial crisis on Friday as shares took a new hammering amid mounting gloom.

Even a 1.5 million barrel a day production cut by OPEC failed to stop oil prices falling amid fears of a deep global recession.

Grim news backing those fears came from around the world.

Click to Read Rest of Article

End Times 20 - A Financial Plan for Hard Times: Earn, Save and Give  Mark Earley

Simple yet profound financial advice for Christian mony management is required in good times and bad for the end times 20.

It’s been a rough month financially for everyone. We’ve watched the stock markets plunge and our retirement or college plans shrivel up like autumn leaves. Hard times call for some hard thinking—and a re-examination of how all of us, as Christians, should manage our finances and plan for our futures. So let’s do it.

The famous preacher John Wesley had the right recipe for Christian money management. It was quite simple: Earn all you can, save all you can, and give all you can. [This was true then and it is especially true now in the end times 20.]

Simple, yes. But quite profound. In fact, Wesley delivered a lengthy sermon on the topic. It’s a sermon I would recommend you read. But let me warn you: Reading a Wesley sermon is not for the faint of heart. He had the gift of convicting his audience.

Click Here to Read More

End Times 21 - Inside Iran: Signs of the Apocalypse - By George Thomas - www.cbn.com

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has made it clear in his speeches that he sees himself as born for the divine purpose of ushering in the Mahdi.  The return of the Mahdi to the Shiite Muslims is equivalent to the return of Jesus Christ.

Cleck Here to Read More

6.  Site Build It (SBI)

This is the 21^st century and the day of the internet.  Like it or not it is here to stay.

I needed a web site but had no idea how to build it.

It was all greek, mysterious and intimidating to me.

I paid to have a web site built – cost me a lot of money.  But the good thing (I thought) was I could maintain it and add to it myself through a control panel.

This was supposed to save me money – but guess what – I could never get it to work properly.  Way to difficult and complicated to understand.

Alas, this too was greek!  The site looks good – take a look at it by clicking http://www.MissionMiamiValley.com

The only problem is no traffic comes to it and it is a waste of time and money!

I found the solution!  It is Site Build it.

This is absolutely fantastic and I can not say enough good about it

It does not cost as much as I paid for the other site – that is a very good thing.  The step-by-step teaching and the unique and phenomenal large amount of tools is unsurpassed.

This is a TRULY USER FRIENDLY web site builder.

Take a look at some of the information – you’ll be glad you did.

1. Quick Tour Slide Show: 

2. Site Build It Home page: 

3. Find Your Business: 

4. I Love SBI: 

5. What’s your passion?: 

6. Web Hosting: 

The networking available with the internet is mind boggling, and the use of the internet seems to be limited only by our imagination.

It is rapidly becoming the source of commerce.  Don’t get left behind in communication, commerce, networking, information and you name it.

I have found a way to benefit greatly with the Site Build It approach and I want to share it with you. 

Check out the above links by clicking on the picture.  You owe it to your self to see this wonderful user-friendly tool.

7.  Announcements

This e-zine “The Remnant” is part of the web site Practical Spiritual Warfare.  The theme of the we site is being revised and will be called “Understanding End Times”.

The address of the revised web site is: http://www.UnderstandingEndTimes.com and will be coming on line the month of January 2009.  You will still be able to reach the site from the old address http://www.PracticalSpiritualWarfare.

The theme of practical spiritual warfare will still be included in the new theme but the theme Understanding End Times will lend itself to deal with the times in which we live.

These are exciting times we live in and God’s chosen people need to be aware of what is going on around us and in this world.  There will still be plenty of spiritual warfare involved but we also need solid information.

Watch for the newly revised web site. http://www.UnderstandindEndTimes.com.