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 (Check out the links below – you owe it to yourself)
7. Announcements

1.  Tips for Kingdom Living – Ambition

When is ambition good?

Ambition is good when it is directed at the quality of our character and not at the size of our accomplishment.  The Apostle Paul’s ambition was to preach about Christ around the world.

When does ambition become destructive?

Selfish ambition can twist our friendships and discipleship into petty spiritual competitiveness.  Satan can use our ambition to lure us away from God and toward destruction.

How can we use our ambition to glorify God?

Selfish ambition becomes godly ambition when transformed by a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.

Ps. 119:1-5 (NLT) Happy are people of integrity who follow the law of the Lord.  Happy are those who …search for Him with all their hearts…

2.  Strategic Advice for the Remnant - Building Character

What is it that you would do if you could do anything you wanted and it would never be discovered? Would that change your behavior?

When a poll was conducted that asked Americans why they did not steal, the No. 1 reason they gave was, "I might get caught." The next most common explanation cited was a fear of retribution from the victim. But the most surprising answer of all was, "I might not need the item."

If you choose to do something you know is wrong because you believe you can get away with it, that shows you have no character. That is where integrity comes in.

Character counts. Integrity matters.

What kind of character do you have? Are you a man or woman of personal integrity?

Know this: Everyone has character. It might be good. It might be bad. But you have it.

Your personal integrity or character is developed on a daily basis. With every thought you think, with every deed you do, you are either building it up or tearing it down.

It comes down to this. If you cheat in practice, you will cheat in the game. If you cheat in your head, you will cheat on the spouse. You will cheat in business. You will cheat in school.

Character is simply a long habit continued. As it has been said, "Sow a thought, reap an act; sow an act, reap a habit; sow a habit, reap a character; sow a character, reap a destiny."

You see, it is not too late to change the patterns of your life. It is not too late to change your direction.  You must resolve to be a man or woman of integrity.

We must spend time on who we really are. We will spend a lot of time on peripheral issues that don't matter, yet we won't spend enough time on the foundation we have built our lives on.

We need to make our spiritual lives a priority and take a stand in the small areas of our life. It may appear insignificant, but remember that small things become big things. Character is built from the little things and then demonstrated and revealed in the bigger things.

The voices of the world are strong but we are to be “in the world” and not “of the world”.  We must intentionally make a commitment to stand for what is right and intentionally resolve to be a person of integrity.

The time to decide what you are going to do is not when you face the temptation to compromise. It is now. You determine what you will do tomorrow by what you resolve to do today.

3.  Scripture Guidance

 "And preach as you go, saying, 'The kingdom of heaven is at hand.'''

 Matthew 10:7 

 The Revised Standard Version 

All who wait upon the Lord shall rise higher and higher upon the mighty pinions of strong devotion, and with the unblinking eye of faith, into the regions of heavenly-mindedness; and shall approach nearer and nearer to God, the Sun of our spiritual day.

John James 

4. Thoughts for Meditation

LIVING BY FAITH - CONFUSED? 

Joshua 7:7-9 NIV

And Joshua said, "Ah, Sovereign LORD, why did you ever bring this people across the Jordan to deliver us into the hands of the Amorites to destroy us? If only we had been content to stay on the other side of the Jordan!  O Lord, what can I say, now that Israel has been routed by its enemies?  The Canaanites and the other people of the country will hear about this and they will surround us and wipe out our name from the earth. What then will you do for your own great name?"

Joshua was totally confused. 

He thought God had led them into the promised land, had taken them across the Jordan on dry ground even though the river was at flood stage, and had miraculously knocked down the walls of Jericho. 

But now this tiny, insignificant city of Ai had routed three thousand of Israel's best. 

How could that be? 

Unless, perhaps, Joshua had mis-read the signs.  Maybe he had been wrong.  Maybe they weren't supposed to be in Canaan.  Maybe they had imagined all that miraculous business just a short time ago.  Maybe they should've stayed put on the other side of the Jordan.

This passage was a real eye-opener for me.  I had always thought of Joshua as a mighty man of God, someone who was totally sure of himself and of his relationship with God, someone who was never rattled, never in doubt.  But right there, in black and white, is written evidence that even Joshua got confused.  Even Joshua was frightened at times.

Have you ever had a circumstance in your life where you thought you'd been moving along just like God wanted you to? 

Everything was perfect.

Everything was falling right into place.  You'd prayed about it, gotten wise counsel, read the Word for guidance. 

Everything seemed to be right. 

So you headed down that path lickety-split, absolutely certain that you were headed in the direction God intended.  So sure, in fact, that you stopped consulting Him. 

After all, He put you on that track, so it had to be the right one, right?  Then BAM.  The whole situation started disintegrating right before your eyes.  And you couldn’t understand why…  You couldn’t comprehend what had happened… 

Could it be that things were falling apart because of your overconfidence?  Because you began to neglect consulting the Lord about the situation? 

Or maybe you did consult the Lord, but He caused another outcome for reasons of His own.

Instant confusion, right?  Suddenly, it's very easy to relate to Joshua at this point in his life, isn't it?  What should you do? 

You should do what Joshua did, talk to God about the problem.  Be honest with Him.  He knows your heart anyway, so express your confusion.  Express your true feelings.  God welcomes this kind of prayer, this honest intimacy with Him. 

Through this kind of honest prayer, you are acknowledging His power and knowledge.  You are acknowledging Him truly as your father and your God.  Do this, and your confusion will be replaced with wisdom and understanding, and you will have taken a big step in learning to live by faith.

If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double minded man, unstable in all he does.  James 1:5-8

Dogwood Ministries

5.  Articles Pointing to the End Times Watch

[Note: The number following End Times Watch is the sequence number for the End Times article and is inserted to assist the reader in locating the article as well as assisting the search engines.]

End Times Watch 31 - Stepping Out In Faith

In this End Times Watch 31 article, we find the spiritual level of maturity that all Christians should aspire to reach, is that place where our faith and trust is manifested in our own confidence.

Click to Read Rest of Article

End Times Watch 32 – One Global Crisis Away From Global Government

A one-world system in my lifetime? Never! Yet a frequent radio guest and one of our "Understanding the Times 2009" speakers, has said this to me for years: "We are just one global crisis away from global government."

Click to Read Rest of Article

End Times Watch 33 – A New World Order Will Emerge In 2009

This End Times Watch 33 article looks into the new world order of inter-national winners and losers after the worldwide economic crises of 2008.  It does not look good for the United States as the new world order emerges.

Click to Read Rest of Article

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, continues to be a part of the www.PracticalSpiritualWarfare.com  web site for the time being.

At some point in the near future, it will be transferred to the new web site www.EndTimesPreparation.com.  You will be informed at that time because you will need to re-confirm your desire to continue receiving the e-zine; this will help to eliminate spam, which I am sure you will appreciate - I know I do.