HIS WARRIORS' PATH E-ZINE

FROM THE PASTOR'S DESK
By: Brother Philip A. Payne, Pastor of Holy Mountain Mission Corps and Guiding Light Bible Fellowship

Wow, wow and another wow ... what a month February was. Certainly the most important thing to note is the safety of Brother Julito de Gracia and his family in the Philippines.

Immediately following the tsunami last month we had no contact with him for about two weeks. However, we have since heard from him several times and are now aware of his immediate needs, both ministerial and familial.

We are greatful to God for allowing us to be vessels for their assistance. However, their needs far out weigh our local Church's abilities to provide and so I am asking every Church which receives this e-zine to prayerfully consider supporting Brother Julito as he attempts to help people rebuild their lives.

For furth information, please contact me. I will direct you in how to send funds to Brother Julito directly.

We too received a great deal of bad weather here at home this month. Between the rain, snow and ice I do not know which one we had to fight the most. It never seemed to stop and we never knew what was coming next. I was very proud of the members of the youth group here. They are a small group, but they charged in head first and shoveled snow right along side the adults. Some of them even joined me when, during some of the worst of it, I made visits to the widows in the community. These kids have great hearts and a passion for serving the Lord that by far surpasses anything I have seen in my work with various youth programs. At right are two pictures which give some indication of what the storm threw at us. Some have said that these do not do justice to what it was really like, but I wanted to show them so that you would have some idea of why I am so very proud of these youth. In the top picture is a road near our home. Can you see it? It is between me and the barn. Still looking? It is between the electric pole and me. Now do you see it? This was taken during a break in the snow fall on the first day. The worst of it had not come yet. On the bottom, we see a picture taken two days later. Here Brother Evan Demaree (left) and Brother Nick High (right), ages nine and thirteen respectively, take a break in front of the home of Brother Josh Shaver. They are sitting where cars should be driving. Behind them Brother Josh's vehicle is completely snowed in. At this point, the worst had still not hit us.

I spent a great deal of time traveling this month, but it was all ultimately to the glory of God. I think the best part was getting to evaluate Nash Jones, age twelve, of the Fighting Irish Karate Club in Ireland, for his black belt. Nash (pictured with me at left) already had a black belt in another style when he started training with me, but it is wonderful to see the progress he is making through continued efforts. I believe he will make a great instructor one day and will, I pray, be able to use his own school as a springboard for witness for the Lord. I had hoped to announce some other promotions in this edition, but some candidates proved to not be ready for promotion. Also, one of the trips I had intended to take fell through. In a related area, my work as the head of both the W.A.R.S. and the A.I.A.C.S. began offically this month and it has proven to be quite exciting. We are planning some events in the fall and they should open a great number of doors for witness. Also, it has allowed a reopening of doors from the past, old friends from before my conversion. Two of these especially are on my heart for witness and I will be making my attempt soon, as the Lord directs.

We all need to be in prayer for Joslyn Rainey. She is only a few weeks old and had to have surgery at Riley Children's Hospital this month.

Please be in prayer for a family down the street. They have six boys and over the course of the last year I had been blessed to have a hand in leading three of them to the Lord.

The oldest two boys are heavy into drugs and have been dealing from their parents' barn for some time. One night earlier in the month, the oldest boy overdosed and had to be taken to the hospital.

In the midst of all of this, another of the brothers became a Brother. He knew something was wrong and idd not know what, so he asked and I told him it was all about Jesus.

The two oldest boys and the parents are still unsaved, but one by one the family is being turned over to the Lord. Please be in prayer for them, that their hearts will change and also for the four brothers who are Brothers, that they will be strong in the face of their home life.

On another note, Brother Shane has settled in here and is trying to readjust to "normal" life. Please be in prayer for him as he gets used to his new surroundings.

Please also be praying for his little brother, Lance, who is stationed in Iraq with the Navy right now. It is not an easy situation for anyone there, but Lance has been through some of the worst of it from what I understand and needs to be lifted up by all of us.

Brother Phil Lewis and his wife Elizabeth will be traveling to Brazil on a two week mission trip this summer. They are in the process of raising $1500.00 support.

I know that Brother Bill Martin has arrange to have Phil speak at his Church in Keeler, Michigan on March 7 to help in the matter and for that I extend my thanks. They have also received a pledge of support from the Church where he is currently preaching, but any interested party may contact him for further information.

I also need to appologize to those who have attempted to contact me recently with some important messages. I was briefly laid up, but am back on my feet and ready to serve.

Finally, I also want to lift up thanksgiving to God for His having provided me with some much needed income. I will be starting the new job in a few days and it meets all of the criteria over which we had been praying.

THE MIRACLE YOU NEED

By: Brother James Moss, Pastor of Hessed Ministries

As we start, let's take a look at Romans 10:8-10 in several versions:

KING JAMES:

But what saith it? The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith, which we preach; that if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.

AMPLIFIED:

But what does it say? The Word (God's message in Christ) is near you, on your lips and in your heart; that is, the Word (the message, the basis and object) of faith which we preach, Because if you acknowledge and confess with your lips that Jesus is Lord and in your heart believe (adhere to, trust in, and rely on the truth) that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart a person believes (adheres to, trusts in, and relies on Christ) and so is justified (declared righteous, acceptable to God), and with the mouth he confesses (declares openly and speaks out freely his faith) and confirms [his] salvation.

THE MESSAGE:

The word that saves is right here, as near as the tongue in your mouth, as close as the heart in your chest. It's the word of faith that welcomes God to go to work and set things right for us. This is the core of our preaching. Say the welcoming word to God—"Jesus is my Master"—embracing, body and soul, God's work of doing in us what he did in raising Jesus from the dead. That's it. You're not "doing" anything; you're simply calling out to God, trusting him to do it for you. That's salvation. With your whole being you embrace God setting things right, and then you say it, right out loud.

Some thirty or more years ago John Osteen shook the charismatic world and left much of his Southern Baptists roots by publicly admitting his experience in the Holy Spirit and praying in the Spirit. A short period after this he would write a small book titled There Is a Miracle in Your Mouth based on the scripture passages above.

The existing theological world was shaken to realize that maybe the Bible was not just a book of philosophical idealism. We had to begin to think that maybe the truths in the Word were applicable to this horrible world of ours.

First, to understand the importance of what the writer Paul was saying to the Romans in this passage we must keep in mind the definition that John in his writings gave of what the Word is. In both the Gospel of John and in 1 John the Word is described as Jesus Himself. John chapters 14 and 15 teach us that the Holy Spirit takes the Word and in His anointing ingrains it into us to reproduce the personality of the Lord Himself. In Matthew, in the wilderness Jesus asks the devil if man should live by bread alone, and then in the same breath answers by saying we live by every living word that proceeds from the mouth of the Father. In other words, Jesus spoke of Himself not only as the Bread of Life but also as the Living Word from the mouth of the Father Himself.

Looking at it in that respect, the book written by 66 authors in reality is the Word of the Father, or the essence of the life of Jesus. Look again at the passages at the beginning of this article. They all show that the reality now is that the life that was Jesus is given life within our being through the Word of the Bible in us. These verses give greater meaning and importance beyond being a salvation passage that we usually hold it to.

If we can only grasp this that the same word that was participatory in Genesis and the Creation epic is the same Word that is near us, even in our mouths, as the KJV writes. The revelation of this thought can bring the revelation to us that creative word from the Word is within us and in our makeup if we masticate on the Bible daily.

Masticate means to chew it and study it until it breaks down in such small pieces that it moves into our spiritual bloodstream and is taken into our makeup immediately; it becomes the core of our makeup. Taking the Word this way is the pathway to take the Word from a spiritual process to a physical reality.

The Bible says study to show yourself approved unto the Lord. Why? The Word is life and flesh to those that find it "a light to their path" a way out of darkness or desperation. A truly inspired word of prophecy or word of direction from the Lord will never be out of place, but when there is a lack of study and preparation in the life of the believer, there is a constant door to false or flesh words that come as direction of the Holy Spirit but are actually out of the Spirit of man.

The enemy of souls knows the Word of God better than we do, and he will often use a partial truth from the Word of God to couch a lie of misdirection and death in.

With verse 9 we are establishing a principle in the spiritual realm, or saying it another way, we would be laying a foundation for a kingdom principle. Look at it again in the Amplified:

"Because if you acknowledge and confess with your lips that Jesus is Lord and in your heart believe (adhere to, trust in, and rely on the truth) that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved."

The KJV says "that if thou shalt confess." To confess something with our lips in the sense that the writer uses here is speaking forth a heartfelt reality from our innermost core. The Bible tells us that we can't confess the truths of Jesus unless the Holy Spirit empowers us. The Bible also says out of the mouths of two witnesses is a thing established. Therefore verse 9 is telling us by Hebrew or Biblical tradition that confession becomes our salvation or a law unto us. Don’t make a huge mistake here and limit the application of these verses just to salvation and deliverance from sin. Look up salvation in the Greek from this verse, and run a cross reference from the Hebrew; you will see that salvation from sin is only a small portion of what the writer saw here in these words. Salvation is the deliverance from anything that ensnares you from sin to poverty. When you confess this, you have become a witness to the world that it is established in you.

A little review here: when you open your mouth and release the word to the world, you are establishing yourself in line with whatever word you have confessed, and you have moved yourself from the snare of the fowler to the deliverance in the kingdom through God's Word. That is powerful! Paul told the Corinthians we were pulling down strongholds, and though the devil may put up what seems to be a brick and mortar building, he will quickly learn that you have the ability to release the equivalent of many tornados in his building.

The miracle comes when you allow your heart center, your core being, to be converted into the truth from the Word of God. When that core being is transplanted to the truth of the Word, it is then that the flow of the Holy Spirit takes the flow of God to every portion of your being.

The Word cannot quit on any task until the salvation from there is complete deliverance from whatever snare the enemy has bound you in.

In closing, the prophetic promises coming to the body of Jesus are coming to the true believer sold out in Jesus. We need to realize the now word of prophecy or spiritual promise is automatic. We can't live like hell and expect the greater truths that are coming to the body to come to ours.

The blessings of God are coming to those in line with God's Word. There is a price to this thing, and that's obedience to God's Word. That's where the blessings are obedience and that's where the prophetic promises of this time will be realized in obedience. The prophetic is always a direction to a point of receiving, and unless the directions in the Word are followed, we won't receive.

Remember that the Israelites had to follow directions to receive the manna, and that meant going outside the camp. Those that remained in the tents didn’t eat.

REPORTS OF JESUS' GRAVE A SIDE SHOW
By: Brother Dale Morgan, Pastor
A Hollywood filmmaker whose new movie reports on the "discovery" of the Jerusalem grave of Jesus Christ is nothing more than "a modern day circus sideshow," according to a prominent Christian leader in the United States.

James Cameron, who previously directed "The Titanic," held a New York news conference yesterday to display two stone coffins he said come from a family grave that he alleges he documented as belonging to Jesus and another member of his family.

The statement, of course, conflicts with the Christian belief that Jesus was crucified, rose on the third day, and after a time returned to Heaven.

"Cameron, whose claim to fame is a fictionalized account of the sinking of the Titanic, unveiled a documentary claiming a coffin found in Jerusalem 27 years ago once contained the remains of Jesus Christ," said Rev. Rob Schenck, the president of the National Clergy Council.

However, he said, "a Hollywood director is the least qualified to render any determination of biblical truth. Not only so, but the people Mr. Cameron has partnered with completely lack credibility. One has been discredited by experts as a charlatan. This is nothing more than a modern day circus sideshow. "At best it is pure presumption. At worst, it is pure chicanery," Schenck said.

The Resurrection of Jesus is key to the Christian faith, but Schenck said the attack on Christianity isn't even anything new.

"Over the years, Hollywood has attacked and mocked Christianity, providing only negative portrayals of people of faith. It has produced films that undermine moral culture. Hollywood's production of 'The Da Vinci Code' sensationalized a conspiracy theory that the Catholic Church engaged in a cover up of the real story of Jesus operating in the manner of a crime syndicate," Schenck said.

Cameron's film, which is to be broadcast next weekend, alleges Jesus not only was not God, but he apparently had a son, Judah, with Mary Magdalene.

"According to Cameron, his film is no mere speculation, but historical fact. By claiming the remains of Jesus returned to dust along with other members of his family, the Hollywood filmmaker is denying the divinity of the Son of God and his victory over death," Schenck said.

"Cameron clearly intended to drive a stake into the heart of Christianity, since without the Resurrection, Jesus was only a mortal man," he said.

Schenck recommended that media outlets "should exercise restraint in reporting Cameron's Hollywood fiction masquerading as scientific fact."

"All of Jesus' contemporaries recorded Christ rose after being dead for three days and ascended into Heaven. For 2,000 years people of faith along [with] countless scholars have pored over the Scriptures, confirming their veracity," Schenck said.

Rev. Schenck holds degrees in Bible and Theology, Christian Ministry and has completed additional postgraduate work in Christian History. He is chairman of the Committee on Church and Society for the Evangelical Church Alliance and president of the National Clergy Council in Washington.

The news conference promoted the Discovery Channel film, called "The Lost Tomb of Christ." It makes the claim that ancient ossuaries – small caskets used to store bones – found in a Jerusalem suburb in 1980 may have contained the bones of Jesus and his family, according to the Discovery Channel.

But a coalition of leading biblical and archeological scholars issued a statement calling Cameron's logic "full of holes, conjectures and problems." Ben Witherington, author of "What Have They Done With Jesus?" said the production is just "old news with a new interpretation."

"There are all sorts of reasons to see this as much ado about nothing," he said.

He and the others said the film is without substance because:

Theories about the possibilities that Jesus survived the crucifixion abound. One current website alleges that Jesus lived, moved to India, and died and is buried there, while another claims he's buried in Japan.

Israeli antiquities officials said they did allow two of the ossuaries to be transported to the United States for use in the press conference, but they contained no human remains.

The movie makes the claim that one of the boxes found in the tomb bears the title, "Judah, son of Jesus," providing support for a supposition that Jesus may have had a son.

The BBC more than a decade ago broadcast a short documentary on the same issue, and archaeologists at the time challenged the claims. It largely had been an ignored issue since then.

Amos Kloner, the first archaeologist to examine the site, said the conclusions cannot be supported by the evidence – but it's a way to make money on television. He would have nothing to do with supporting the movie's assertions. "It's nonsense," he said.

Another blogger at BibleProbe.com agreed the new movie is just another way to make a buck. "Why is it, nobody seems to have any interest in doing the same thing to Islam, rabbinic Judaism, Hinduism or Buddhism?" he asked.

And Bill Venard says to challenge the simple logic that the movie proposes. "Consider this: James, the half-brother of Jesus and author of the book of James, the early leader of the church in Jerusalem, was martyred for his faith. Why does James make no mention in his letter that Jesus was not bodily resurrected? When he was about to die why didn't he just recant his beliefs and say, 'Okay, okay! My brother didn't rise from the dead. Here's where we took him. Here's where his bones are. Here's our family tomb. We made the whole thing up?' People will generally not die for a lie when they know it's a lie. … Why would James die perpetuating a lie when it would have been so easy to disprove?"

Cameron, on a movie information website, expressed a little of his own theology, which won't be familiar to those who study the Bible.

"Well, I see our potential destruction and the potential salvation as human beings coming from technology and how we use it, how we master it and how we prevent it from mastering us," he said.

The movie purports to have documentation from DNA supporting the idea that the bone boxes were for Jesus and his family.

But even bloggers discounted that. "DNA comparison only works if you have something to compare the bones to. Last I checked, no one had a Jesus hair follicle in their bathroom hair brush. Sure, someone might claim to have DNA that definitely belonged to the Christ, but there's no way to prove it. And without absolutely proof positive Jesus DNA to compare those bones to, I don't see how Cameron can prove anything," wrote Joshua Tyler.

"This whole thing is a waste of time," he said. Discovery said its "scientific analysis" provided "credible new information that the tomb once may have held the remains of Jesus of Nazareth and his family."

"It doesn't get bigger than this," said Cameron. "We've done our homework; we've made the case; and now it's time for the debate to begin."

The movie makes the case for Jesus and Mary Magdalene being "a couple," because their DNA results indicated people whose remains had been in two of the boxes were unrelated maternally.

Discovery also makes a modest attempt to assure Christians it means no disrespect by including a website disclaimer.

"It is a matter of Christian faith that Jesus of Nazareth was resurrected from the dead three days after his crucifixion circa 30 [A.D.] This is a central tenet of Christian theology, repeated in all four Gospels. … Even if Jesus' body was moved from one tomb to another, however, that does not mean that he could not have been resurrected from the second tomb."

"It is also a matter of Christian faith that after his resurrection, Jesus ascended to heaven. Some Christians believe that this was a spiritual ascension, i.e., his mortal remains were left behind. Other Christians believe that he ascended with his body to heaven. If Jesus' mortal remains have been found, this would contradict the idea of a physical ascension but not the idea of a spiritual ascension."

Schenck said the whole publicity stunt may backfire on Cameron, and encourage people to dig deeper into the reasons they believe the way they do. "In the end ... the truth will be told," he said.

He cited a favorite Bible verse: "What the devil means for destruction God will turn for good."

The news comes a year after the release of "The Da Vinci Code" movie, based on the best-selling novel of 2004 by Dan Brown, both of which also claimed Mary Magdalene was the wife of Jesus. But while the new movie alleges Jesus had a son, in "The Da Vinco Code," it was a daughter.

A website has been created to tout the media event. A companion book, "The Jesus Family Tomb," published by Harper-Collins, is set for release this week.

PLAGUES, PESTILENCES AND DISEASES
Feds Say 20 Million Have Form of HPV Virus
By:Lindsey Tanner, AP Medical Writer

CHICAGO (AP) -- One in four U.S. women ages 14 to 59 is infected with the sexually transmitted virus that in some forms can cause cervical cancer, according to the first broad national estimate.

The figure is mostly in line with previous assessments. The highest prevalence _ nearly 45 percent _ was found in young women within the age range recommended for a new virus-fighting vaccine, according to a report from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Researchers have estimated that 20 million Americans have some form of HPV. The study concluded that 26.8 percent of U.S. women are infected, a figure that is comparable to earlier estimates using smaller groups. "We expected the prevalence of any HPV infection would be high and that's what we found," said CDC researcher Dr. Eileen Dunne, the study's lead author.

Just 3.4 percent of the women studied had infections with one of the four HPV strains that the new vaccine protects against. But that doesn't mean the vaccine should be written off, said Dr. Yvonne Collins, an assistant professor of gynecologic cancer at the University of Illinois at Chicago.

For one thing, Collins said, that relatively small percentage corresponds with a lot of women _ about 3 million, according to the report. And it does not include those with past infections that have cleared up.

The number of women with HPV strains targeted by the vaccine was lower than in some previous, less comprehensive estimates. And the overall HPV prevalence among the youngest women studied, 14- to-24-year-olds, was substantially higher than in previous estimates, 7.5 million versus 4.6 million.

Dunne attributed those variations to different study populations and different HPV detection methods. She said the results should not be interpreted to mean infection prevalence has changed in recent years.

The new nationally representative report is based on vaginal swab specimens from 1,921 women tested in 2003-04.

The report appears in Wednesday's Journal of the American Medical Association.

There are dozens of strains of HPV. Low-risk forms can cause genital warts and non-cancerous changes in cells in the cervix, and often clear without treatment.

Several high-risk forms have been linked with cervical cancer.

Dunne said HPV prevalence is thought to be high in men as well, but none were studied.

An estimated 11,150 U.S. women will be diagnosed this year with cervical cancer, and about 3,670 will die from it. Numbers are much higher worldwide, especially in developing countries where Pap tests to detect cervical cancer are not routine.

The new vaccine, Merck's Gardasil, was approved last June for girls and women aged 9 to 26. It protects against two HPV strains believed responsible for about 70 percent of cervical cancer cases, and two other strains that cause 90 percent of genital wart cases. Other vaccines are in the works to protect against other HPV strains, Collins said.

Women aged 20 to 24 had the highest overall HPV prevalence in the study, 44.8 percent. Prevalence increased each year from ages 14 to 24, then dropped off gradually, confirming that young, sexually active women face the greatest risk of infection.

The study underscores the need for young women to get vaccinated, and to get routine Pap tests, said Dr. Howard Jones, a gynecologic cancer specialist at Vanderbilt University.

STUTZMAN FAMILY UPDATE
Jeff and Heather Stutzman, Missionaries to the Philippines

February was a little different than January. Not a bad month but definitely different. Two of our four meetings were rescheduled due to miscommunication or weather, so our travels were definitely minimized.

Then, for some reason, Indiana had all of its winter in the month of February. YUK!! The end result was that we spent more time at home than usual and are very ready to get back out on the road. Even though we were not able to be in as many churches as we would have liked this month, we still thank God for taking care of us. While there have not been any confirmed changes to our support schedule in the month of February, we have had some churches make mention of the possibility.

February has also been an opportunity to finish some office projects that we started in January. One of those being our new presentation video which is now ready to be used at churches. We thought it was finished before, but found that something was not right in the video and actually had to start over from scratch. The end result is the best presentation we have ever had. Thank you for your prayers for the month.

The month of March is also going to be a different month for us. Heather is going on a trip to see family and to a friend's wedding during the first two weeks and Jeff is going to a college missions conference the third week. This means that for the majority of March we will be in different places. Not the most exciting way to spend the month but sometimes that is how schedules work out. Please pray for our separate travels and for the missions conference. Jeff is attending the conference specifically for the purpose of recruiting more team members. We really believe that God has a use for a team in Dagupan and the province of Pangasinan and we want to do our part in gathering that team.

Thank you all for your prayers and support.

THE WACKY ADVENTURES OF STICKY GUMM
By: Tim Wildmon, President of the American Family Association

I’ll admit it, I enjoy slapstick comedy. One of my favorite comedians growing up was Red Skelton. I’m laughing right now thinking of the hobo character he played for so many years. Other greats that really tickled my funny bone were Carol Burnett and Jerry Lewis. If you are like me, just mentioning those names brings a smile to your face.

One of the great things about those days was the fact that you didn’t have to worry about foul language or off-color innuendo as is so common in entertainment today. Well, I want to introduce you to the father-son comedy team of Matt and Thom Gumm. I met these guys while vacationing at the Lake of the Ozarks a few years back where they are well known for their hilarious shows.

Now their comedic genius and heart for families has inspired a new DVD series titled, “The Wacky Adventures of Sticky Gumm.” We at American Family Association agree with the hundreds of thousands who have seen their live shows that this whimsical duo will have your child laughing while at the same time learning good morals at home. “Sticky Gumm,” played by comic Matt Gumm, takes children and the young at heart on the wackiest adventures you’ve ever seen!

AFA and CP Media are happy to present the first DVD: “Camping Adventure.” In this episode, Sticky’s mother, Bubbles, played by Thom Gumm, gives Sticky too many chores to do so he decides to run away from home. The friendly narrator, voiced by writer/director Darrel Campbell, suggests he try camping as a temporary solution and we’re off at the speed of laughter! On the goofy adventure, we learn how to put up a tent (or how not to!), meet some helpful park rangers, and find out if Sticky thinks running away was such a good idea after all.

To purchase this hilarious DVD (which your children will enjoy over and over again), you can visit Sticky’s very own website. Don’t miss out on the laughter. Come along with Sticky and his friends on “The Wacky Adventures of Sticky Gumm!”

GOSPEL FOR ASIA UPDATE
By: Dr. K. P. Yohannan, Founder and President of Gospel For Asia Ministries

______________________________
LATE UPDATE:

Sharing the Gospel in India is an increasingly dangerous undertaking, especially in the state of Orissa. You may remember that this is where Australian missionary Graham Staines and his two young sons were burned to death in 1999.

On Wednesday evening, February 28, about 500 anti-Christian militants attacked the staff and students of a Gospel for Asia Bible college. You can read more about this attack here: http://www.gfa.org/militants-attack-gfa-bible-college

This is one of the most severe situations we've ever dealt with. Five students were hospitalized, one in critical condition. The Bible college campus sustained considerable damage during the attack. The situation remains tense. Please join me in praying for complete restoration of the injured students, staff members and their college. Also join me in praying for the souls of these 500 men who carried out the attack--they, too, need the love of God.

_______________________________
Hindu fundamentalists attacked four women who serve as Gospel for Asia missionaries in Haryana, India. The attack occurred on Sunday, February 4. You can read more about it here: http://www.gfa.org/newsupdate020707

The attack is a shocking reminder that these anti-Christian groups will do anything to stop the spread of the Gospel. It also helps us understand that the true enemy is not just a group of human beings. The Bible clearly tells us that "we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places" (Ephesians 6:12).

Thank you for joining me in prayer for these women who were injured for the sake of Christ and for those who carried out the attacks. The only hope we have of seeing lasting change is through the love of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

It's an exhausting walk to Panchu's home in the mountains of Sikkim, India. But a message brought all the way up the mountain changed this Buddhist lama's life. View a PhotoShow of Panchu's story: http://www.gfa.org/panchus-story?motiv=WA72-G1PS

My friend, so many people like Panchu are hearing the Gospel for the first time because of your prayers and support. Thank you for being part of the harvest. May the Lord bless you.

Did you know that most women in India cannot read or write, and many receive little or no education? Tobias, pastor of a Gospel for Asia-related Believers Church, realized these sad facts when he noticed that at least half the women in his church were illiterate. So, in order to give these women a chance to read the Bible themselves, Pastor Tobias started a literacy program. See a PhotoShow about this incredible ministry here: http://www.gfa.org/growing-spiritually-through-the-alphabet?motiv=WA72-G2PS

Now that the classes are in place, many women are learning to read and are excited to study the Bible on their own for the first time. Because of this outreach program, many new people are coming to the church and are opening their hearts to the Gospel.

It is exciting to see what God is doing in the lives of these precious women--and what a privilege you and I have to be part of it!

SERVE GOD OVERSEAS IN 2007
By: Sister Christie Nichols, Educational Services International

Do you have any special goals for 2007?

Develop a new skill? Deepen a relationship? Discover something new?

Reaching an important goal begins with taking a first step. Oftentimes, it's a step of faith...

If you want to explore missions this year, then take the first step and reply to this email.

TeachOverseas is a friendly organization that has been helping Christians reach their goal of serving God overseas for over 25 years.

Ask about summer and year-long programs in China, Russia, Czech Republic, Morocco, Vietnam, Hungary, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Ukraine and Slovakia.

If you are interested in Central Europe, the application deadline is March 15. But don't wait until then! Email me today!

Are you interested in how other cultures celebrate?

This year, Chinese New Year falls on February 18. Many Chinese families will celebrate with a meal full of foods that have special meaning.

For example: a whole chicken represents family togetherness; long noodles symbolize long life; and sweet, sticky rice cakes mean a pleasant year to come.

Learning about cultural traditions helps us connect with people and expand our way of looking at the world.

There's no better way to learn about a different culture than to actually visit a different country.

And, there's no better way to visit a different country, than to go as a servant and messenger of Jesus Christ.

With TeachOverseas, you can spend a summer or a year in China, Russia, Czech Republic, Hungary, Kazakhstan, Morocco, Slovakia, Ukraine, Kyrgyzstan or Vietnam.

Please reply to this email or contact us today for more information (800) 895-7955.

AMERICAN HERITAGE MINISTRY, ACTION ALERT
By: Wayne Riddlebaugh, Pastor of American Heritage Ministries

Ministry Note: I will be traveling to the Reclaiming America For Christ Conference in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. Some of the nation's top Christian speakers will be at the conference, and it will be an uplifting spiritual event! Please keep us in your prayers for safe travel on the highways. I will be also preaching at Harvest Preparation Ministries, while in Ft. Lauderdale, on Sunday. If you are in the Ft. Lauderdale area and would like to attend the services, you can contact Pastor Anthony Yorke, 954-718-9947, for further information and directions.

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AFM Launches Bi-Partisan Marriage Caucus for State Legislators AFM Launches Marriage Protection Caucus For State Legislators in Both Parties To Protect Marriage Nationwide Bi-Partisan State Legislator Caucus to Advance Constitutional Amendments and Marriage Protection Resolutions

WASHINGTON, DC -- The Alliance for Marriage today announced the launch of a state legislative Marriage Protection Caucus marking a determined shift to a fifty-state strategy for the organization that drafted and spearheaded the federal Marriage Protection Amendment in Congress.

"AFM's Marriage Protection Caucus is powerful grassroots strategy that organizes the bipartisan strength of citizen legislators to strengthen and protect the future of marriage," said Matt Daniels, president and founder of the Alliance for Marriage. "The vast majority of Americans - regardless of party -- believe that marriage is a man and a woman, and America's state legislators overwhelmingly agree".

The Marriage Protection Caucus now has individual state legislator members in fourteen states, with additional states and individual legislators coming aboard daily. Ultimately, the Marriage Protection Caucus will be comprised of individual state legislators from all 50 states.

"In the short-to-mid term, the Marriage Protection Caucus will work to strengthen and protect marriage in states, but all the while preparing for the inevitable time when the federal Marriage Protection Amendment will be sent to the states for ratification" added Daniels.

The initial focus of the Marriage Protection Caucus (MPC) will be to advance state marriage amendments in states without a constitutional definition of marriage. In states that already have amendments, the MPC will work to advance a non-binding Marriage Protection Resolution; a joint resolution passed by state legislatures calling upon the state's congressional delegation and congressional leadership in Washington, to send the federal Marriage Protection Amendment to state legislators for ratification. "Americans want our laws to send a positive message to children about marriage, family and their future," said Daniels. "Our bipartisan Marriage Protection Caucus will give state legislators the tools, resources, and organization they need to do so."

While state marriage amendments and resolutions will be the initial focus of the Marriage Protection Caucus, the MPC will also advance model legislation and policy on issues central to the future of marriage, including marriage-friendly workplace reforms, tax credits for couples who voluntarily seek premarital counseling, and marriage tax penalty relief.

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Help make English our official language A common language, not “diversity,” makes our country stronger Recently, the mayor of Nashville vetoed a bill that would have made English the city’s official language. He called the measure “unconstitutional, unnecessary, and mean-spirited.” U.S. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid even called a bill to make English our official language “racist.”

A Zogby poll last year showed that 84% say English should be the official language of government operations. The poll also showed that 77% of Hispanics support English as our official language.

It is time for liberal members of Congress to quit playing politics with the future of all children --U.S. and Immigrant--and follow the lead of 28 states which have made English their official language.

Failure for Congress to act will establish a major obstacle for immigrant children as they try to move up in our society.

Without a common language, citizens cannot communicate with each other. Any child growing up in America without knowing English is at a distinct disadvantage. At a time when our society is becoming more fragmented, we need an official, common language. Diverse cultures, different backgrounds and varied traditions enrich our culture. But for the nation to thrive, we must have a common language.

As Ed Feulner points out, “instead of having one official language, in practice we have dozens.” Click here to read Mr. Feulner’s article.

Take action
Send an email urging members of Congress to make English the official language.
Click here to send Email now

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Kennedy's amnesty bill nearly complete

Ted Kennedy invited the American Civil Liberties Union, the National Immigration Law Center, the National Council of La Raza, the Service Employees International Union, the Chamber of Commerce and the Essential Worker Immigration Coalition to help him craft his comprehensive immigration-reform bill.

Completely shutout of the negotiations was the entire GOP leadership--except for John McCain--who may be the last one Republicans want representing their interests regarding border security!

Even more outrageous was Kennedy spokeswoman, Laura Capps press release saying that her boss has been working with "...many Senators and members of Congress trying to draft a new bill," adding that "...the bipartisan coalition behind the bill remains strong and intact."

Does bipartisan mean McCain?

Any attempt to draft a legitimate immigration bill that would satisfy the American people has been stolen away by "open-border" lobbyists!

++ Citizen Petitions to Ted Kennedy!

The American people are being ignored. We have been sold out to "open border" lobbyists who have effectively hijacked the comprehensive immigration-reform bill--a bill that includes an easy citizenship for illegals and weaker enforcement provisions than were included in the Senate approved bill last year! The voice of the American people MUST BE HEARD over the lobbyists, which is why Grassfire is taking hundreds of thousands of petitions to Sen. Kennedy's office this Thursday (March 1)... but we need your help.

++ Alert your friends

Over the next 48 hours, we are asking ALL members of our Border Security team to help us rally an additional 25-30,000 citizen signatures leading up to our presentation!

This is truly an EMERGENCY PRESENTATION, And we are asking you to send this message to 30-40 of your friends and family, urging them to sign our petition and be included in our Thursday presentation by clicking here:

http://www.grassfire.org/42/petition.asp?PID=5471877 We cannot afford to be silent while liberal leadership creates a bureaucratic nightmare that will endanger national security!

This Kennedy plan undercuts wages for citizens, provides immigration lawyers with limitless clientele, and gives untold political leverage to various "open borders" advocacy groups!

Please take immediate action by forwarding this vital message today to your friends. Encourage them to stand for border security, and against the Kennedy bill by clicking here:

http://www.grassfire.org/42/petition.asp?PID=5471877

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Federal Judge: No Room for Parents in the Classroom According to a federal judge, public schools--not parents--have the right to control the curriculum to which children are exposed. Joseph and Robin Wirthlin sued Lexington, Massachusetts schools for allowing their son's second-grade teacher to read the homosexual fairy tale, King and King, to the class without prior notice to the Wirthlins. A couple FRC interviewed for Liberty Sunday, Tonia and David Parker, joined the suit when their son brought home a book about families that included two gay adults.

Judge Mark Wolf sided with the school, saying, "...Under the Constitution public schools are entitled to teach anything that is reasonably related to the goals of preparing students to become productive citizens in our democracy." Wolf continued by saying that if parents don't agree with the curriculum, they are welcome to send their kids to a private school. "It is increasingly evident that our diversity includes differences in sexual orientation."

Clearly, this is not about diversity but a political agenda. Massachusetts law on homosexual marriages was imposed by judicial decree and is far from settled. The government seems bent on overpowering parents and dictating what's in the best interest of children. At the very least, the Parkers, Wirthlins and others deserved to be informed about the content of the curriculum and to have their kids exempted from lessons that violate their moral beliefs. School administrators argued that the books did not focus on human sexuality but family structures. If they truly believe that, Lexington officials must be living in the very fairy tales their schools are promoting. It's no wonder America is failing miserably to keep up with international test scores. Public schools are consumed with teaching not the basics reading and writing but the chic and the radical. Both couples will appeal the case to the U.S. 1st Circuit Court of Appeals, where we can only hope that the inherent authority of parents will fare better.

Additional Resources
Judge tosses suit by parents who objected to talk of gay marriage in classroom

Order Your Copy Now here.

We pray God's richest blessings upon you for supporting His Kingdom work! +++++++++++++++

"Amazing Grace" Movie -- in Theaters all over America Today -- about Life of William Wilberforce/Christian Coalition of America Commends Republican Senator Sam Brownback and Democrat Senator Mark Pryor for Introducing a Resolution, S. RES. 84, Commemorating End of the Slave Trade and Honoring William Wilberforce

Today, the tremendous movie, "Amazing Grace" about the life of William Wilberforce and his fight to end the slave trade in Great Britain begins in theaters all across America. Christian Coalition of America commends U.S. Senators Sam Brownback (R-KS) and Mark Pryor (D-AR) for introducing a resolution, S. RES. 84, last week commemorating the 200th anniversary of the abolition of the British slave trade and honoring the life of William Wilberforce, a humanitarian who was instrumental in abolishing the British slave trade.

Senator Brownback said, “Wilberforce’s passion and commitment to end the British slave trade and renew the culture solidified the inherency of human dignity and sanctity of human life. As the 200th anniversary of British slave trade abolition approaches we should celebrate Wilberforce’s victories and use his legacy as an inspiration to renew our culture by continuing to fight for human life and human dignity.”

As a member of the British House of Commons, William Wilberforce fought for twenty years to pass legislation banning the slave trade. On February 23, 1807, the British Parliament passed a bill banning the slave trade in the British Empire. In 1833, the House of Commons voted to abolish slavery altogether.

Arkansas Democrat Senator Mark Pryor said about his and Senator Brownback's resolution: “William Wilberforce’s unmatched determination to end the British slave trade practice continues to inspire leaders and communities throughout the world. However, we can not turn a blind eye to how the slave trade has evolved into the trafficking of women and children. The life of Wilberforce is a powerful reminder that we all have a responsibility to stand up and speak out against injustice no matter how long it takes.”

Senator Brownback added, “We must continue to follow Wilberforce’s example and fight for the dignity and freedom of every person. It is intolerable that 200 years after Britain banned its slave trade, there are still hundreds of thousands of victims of human trafficking who are used as bonded labors, sex slaves, and in other horrifying capacities.”

In 2006, the United States Department of State estimated that between 600,000 and 800,000 persons were trafficked across international borders. In 2000, Senator Brownback was instrumental in drafting and passing the Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act, which seeks to combat human trafficking.

Congressman Joe Pitts introduced a similar resolution commemorating the end of the slave trade and honoring William Wilberforce. The Members of the House co-sponsoring Congressman Pitts' resolution so far are: Pitts, Joe, Aderholt, Robert, Barrett, Gresham *, Blackburn, Marsha, Boozman, John *, Burton, Dan *, Campbell, John, Cantor, Eric, Carter, John, Chabot, Steve *, Clyburn, James, Doolittle, John, Feeney, Tom, Flake, Jeff *, Forbes, Randy, Fortenberry, Jeff *, Franks, Trent, Garrett, Scott, Gingery, Phil, Gohmert, Louie, Hastings, Alcee, Jordan, Jim, Kingston, Jack, Lamborn, Doug, Manzullo, Dan *, McHenry, Patrick, McIntyre, Mike , Miller, Gary, Moran, Jerry, Musgrave, Marilyn, Neugebauer, Payne, Donald *, Pence,Mike*, Poe, Ted *, Rogers, Mike (MI), Roskam, Peter, Sessions, Pete, Shadegg, John, Smith, Chris *, Weldon, Dave, Wilson, Joe *, Wolf, Frank

* Denotes member of Foreign Affairs Committee: 12 ACTION: Call both your Senators at 202-224-3121 or you can go to http://www.cc.org/contactcongress.cfm and urge your Senators to co-sponsor the bipartisan resolution, S. RES. 84, sponsored by Senators Sam Brownback and Mark Pryor which honors the end of the British slave trade and William Wilberforce.

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'Rhode' Rage: Ocean State Recognizes Mass. Gay Marriages

Based on the political preference of one man, Rhode Island Attorney General Patrick Lynch, the state will now recognize same-sex unions performed in Massachusetts. In a letter this week, Lynch argued that because Rhode Island has not banned gay marriage, there is "no reason to deny recognition" of gay unions. Although his opinion is not binding, many of the state's agencies are expected to follow his advice. Although he says his family situation had "zero impact" on the decision, many speculate that Lynch had personal reasons for his opinion. A week before he issued his report, Lynch attended the same-sex wedding of his own sister in the Bay State. This abuse of power should sound the alarm for Rhode Island's pro-family voters and spark a movement to introduce a marriage protection amendment so that the state's position on marriage is no longer in doubt.

Additional Resources

R.I. May Recognize Gay Unions From Mass.

Order Your Copy Now The Slippery Slope of Same-Sex 'Marriage'

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More Americans killed by illegal aliens than Iraq war, study says
By Jim Brown, AgapePress

(AgapePress) -- Illegal aliens are killing more Americans than the Iraq war, says a new report from Family Security Matters that estimates some 2,158 murders are committed every year by illegal aliens in the U.S. The group says that number is more than 15 percent of all the murders reported by the Federal Bureau of Investigation in the U.S. and about three times the representation of illegal aliens in the general population.

Mike Cutler, a former senior special agent with the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service (the former INS), is a fellow at the Center for Immigration Studies and an advisor to Family Security Matters (FSM). He says the high number of Americans being killed by illegal aliens is just part of the collateral damage that comes with tolerating illegal immigration.

"The military actually called for the BORTAC team, ... the elite unit of the Border Patrol, to be detailed to Iraq to help to secure the Iraqi border," Cutler notes. "Now, if our military can understand that Iraq's security depends in measure on the ability to protect its border against insurgents and terrorists, then why isn't our country similarly protecting our own borders?" he asks.

"We are not five and a half years, nearly, after 9/11, and yet our borders remain open," the Center for Immigration Studies fellow observes. "We have National Guardsmen assigned on the border, but it turns out they are unarmed," he points out. "Their rules of engagement are very simple: if armed intruders head your way, run in the other direction."

This situation would "almost be comical if it wasn't so tragic," Cutler asserts. "If our borders are wide open, this means that drugs, criminals, and terrorists are entering our country just as easily as the dishwashers," he says.

The report from FSM estimates that the 267,000 illegal aliens currently incarcerated in the nation are responsible for nearly 1,300,000 crimes, ranging from drug arrests to rape and murder. Such statistics, Cutler contends, debunk the claim that illegal immigration is a victimless crime. "Then we even have another problem," he adds, "and that's the Visa Waiver Program."

The federal government's Visa Waiver Program enables nationals of certain countries to travel to the United States for tourism or business for stays of 90 days or less without obtaining a visa. According to the U.S. State Department website, the waiver program was established in 1986 with the objective of "eliminating unnecessary barriers to travel," stimulating America's tourism industry, and allowing the government to focus consular resources in other areas.

Cutler says the U.S. retains the Visa Waiver Program because the nation's travel, tourism, and hospitality industries want America's borders wide open. In other words, the former INS official contends, the nation's security is being compromised in the name of trade.

COUNTDOWN TO DEPARTURE, TRANSITION, AND PRAYER UPDATES
By: Dan, Amy, Kayla, Naomi & Josiah Potrugal, Missionaries to Spain

Until recently it had been our goal to reach $3422.00 (85%) of our total $4027.00 recommended monthly support before departing for Spain. However, the Lord has shown us now is the time to step out by faith and trust Him to provide the remaining $250.00 to reach 85% or even provide our full support. We are aware God can do exceedingly beyond our goals or expectations and are trusting He will bring this to pass. We ask you to pray and trust the Lord with us to provide what He knows we need.

DEPARTURE DATE

With our eyes on the Lord to do beyond our expectations, we are excited to say that we have scheduled and confirmed February the 27th as the day when our family will cross the Atlantic to obey our Lord’s command to carry the precious light of the Gospel to the country of Spain. We anticipate doing this by pioneering church planting projects.

MUCH TO DO BEFORE DEPARTING

Between now and February the 27th we have many things to accomplish, some of which include finishing our packing, getting our last doctors’ visits, writing our wills, visiting and saying farewell to supporters, friends, family, and our home church here in Easley, SC. On February 19th we are scheduled to bring our boxes to the warehouse where they will be put in a container to be shipped to Barcelona, Spain about a week after we depart. These next weeks will find us pretty busy, needing extra physical and emotional strength to wrap up and finish this chapter of our lives here in the US. We really covet your prayers for strength and diligence to make it to the end here before we begin in Spain.

FAREWELL TO HISPANIC MINISTRY

Throughout this period of raising prayer and financial support, God has allowed us to lead to our Lord Jesus several Hispanic families from Colombia. We have countless of times met to disciple them, watching their struggles and victories in their spiritual growth and understanding of the Scriptures. The Lord has taught us so many practical things and now we rejoice seeing the fruit from the Vine slowly impacting and changing their lives. As we meet with three of these families for the last time, our hearts rejoice at the change our Lord Jesus has brought to their lives. We will definitely miss our ministry to them, yet we rejoice they have received from His Word and are now connected with believers from different churches in the Greenville area.

TRANSITIONING TO SPAIN

In less time than we realize we will be entering Spain. Having grown up and lived in three different countries (speaking fluent Spanish and being somewhat fluent in Catalan) will greatly help my (Dan) own adaptation to a previously familiar yet now reportedly different and rapidly changing culture affected by demographics, laws, and a very decadent morality.

With regard to the language, Amy’s goal will be to polish her Spanish before venturing into Catalan, the autonomous language of Catalunya which is the region of Spain we will be living in. As for our children, we don’t expect them to have many problems with either of the languages once we settle down to live and interact with the people.

We have been cautioned to guard against discouragement regarding the increasing moral and spiritual bleakness of the culture and its people. We go being aware that our life, strength, and fruit comes from the Lord and therefore desire to completely abide in the Vine, Christ Jesus, to become branches that will bear fruit in His time. We likewise thank you for your prayer support on our behalf as we labor spiritually in these areas.

JOINING THE BMW TEAM IN SPAIN

We will be joining Dave and Lena Philbrick with their three children (currently the only BMW family in Spain) in Sant Cugat, a town located NW of Barcelona and about half an hour’s drive from downtown Barcelona. Immediately after setting up house I will join Dave with teaching English classes at the Advance Center (a multi-purpose outreach center Dave and Lena recently opened up) as a means to establishing contacts while we are getting acclimated to the new culture. In the following weeks and months together we will explore goals, strategies, surveys, and mostly seek the Lord’s face as to how He will guide our endeavor to pioneer a church planting project.

Throughout our communication, Dave and Lena have been extremely helpful in coaching us, advising us, and are currently in the process of finding a place for us to rent. For the past nine years they have labored to see a national church strengthened and established in Barcelona city, while at the same time reaching out in their home town of Sant Cugat through various outreach ministries.

SETTING UP HOUSE IN SANT CUGAT

Upon arriving in Sant Cugat, the first weeks our focus will be to set up house, take care of paper work, such as getting Amy’s residency, setting up bank accounts, working on paper work for drivers’ licenses, setting up utilities, etc. Two things that are up front in our minds are both finding a home and a reliable vehicle.

The value of home rentals and cars are now at an all time high. A small 3 bedroom apartment or house averages $1,500.00 per month requiring an up front 1 year’s worth of collateral rent plus a 3 months rent deposit. A reliable second hand car averages $12,000.00 The high Euro is not necessarily too favorable to us. All this brings us to trust the Lord to provide for what He knows we need to do the ministry He is calling us to do. Please help us bring the support and outgoing expenses we need before the Lord and may He provide what He knows we need before leaving the US.

As we close we can’t express how GRATEFUL we are to all of you for your prayers, giving, patience and trust in our God to be a part of working in His harvest field while so we can worship Him together in Heaven with one from every tongue, tribe and nation!

LATE UPDATE: Safe On The Other Side Of The Pond

February 28th saw us crossing the Atlantic for a new beginning to serve our Lord Jesus in the Northeast region of Spain! Praise our Heavenly Father for His kindness to have given us a safe and smooth trip.

Our flight took us from Greenville SC to Atlanta GA, to New York and on to Barcelona. The children were SUPER travelers…Kayla was a big help carrying more than her share, Naomi did quite well considering she left with a cold and fever and some kind of a mouth ulcer.

Josiah felt like a “little man” pulling his own rolling carry on!!!! Having our “little ones” next to us helped with “leaving behind” our loved ones and loved family in Christ.

We didn’t experience any trouble getting through customs and were blessed to be welcomed by the Philbricks (our Biblical Ministries Worldwide teammates!) and some of my (Dan’s) siblings.

THANK YOU FOR PRAYING for the trip!

LOTS TO DO WHILE GETTING OVER OUR JET LAG

Though we are physically present, our mind and emotions have not quite arrived in Spain yet. We still feel like zombies walking in the midst of sprawling high rise apartments.

While we recover from our jet lag, we will have to take care of several paper work items right away. Some of these include signing the rental contract to move in (pray everything will go well tomorrow, March 1st), finalizing paperwork for my driver’s license, taking care of Amy’s residence paperwork, setting up new bank accounts, looking for and purchasing a car, and buying basic furniture and appliances we need to set up house.

In the mean time, we are spending these two nights with my oldest sister’s family who lives in a nearby city from our future new home. Lord willing we can get the paper work done soon so we can begin living there March 2nd.

This will be short. We just wanted to let you know we are here and we have felt and experienced your love and prayers with us!!!

We will be writing a more thorough update soon. He is Faithful!

THE EUROPEAN CONSTITUTION RETURNS

By Stephen Mulvey, EU Rporter, BBC News
The corpse of the European Constitution is coming back to life and staggering around the EU's corridors of power.

Two years ago, the constitution appeared to be dead, buried by voters in France and the Netherlands in 2005, it has been resurrected by the EU's German presidency and put on the table of a summit in June.

Germany aims to produce a "roadmap" pointing the way to ratification by 2009, and has the full support of another 17 of the EU's 27 member states, which have also completed or all but completed ratification.

Meanwhile, both leading candidates for the French presidency have been laying out their plans to turn France's No into a Yes, once they have been elected.

But where will all this activity lead? Will any new treaty resemble the old one and will it be ratified by popular vote, or by national parliaments in what some critics are describing as a "backroom deal"?

Different ideas Germany's plan is to keep the constitution largely intact. Tony Blair and Angela Merkel Any agreement on a roadmap will have to be unanimous It could be supplemented by an additional "social protocol" to reassure French No-voters, who saw the constitution as a manifesto for pan-European free markets, Chancellor Angela Merkel has suggested.

Observers also anticipate changes to Part III of the treaty, which rehashes and supersedes earlier EU treaties.

But according to British MEP Andrew Duff, a member of the convention which drafted the original text, Germany will not re-open discussion of Part I, which contains all the best-known ideas, such as a new EU presidency, a foreign minister, and a new voting system in the Council of Ministers.

So if Germany gets its way, the new treaty will look very much like the old one, even if it is no longer called a "constitution" - and governments that promised voters a referendum will have no excuse for changing their mind.

But Germany may not get its way. Whatever is agreed at the June summit will have to be agreed unanimously, and a number of countries have very different ideas.

More No votes?

"The main problem with the constitution is that it is dead. It's dead because of the rejection of it by the French and Dutch people," says Polish MEP Michal Kaminski, an adviser to Poland's president and prime minister.

"It was a project made by a small elite group of Euro-enthusiasts, people who are addicted to the idea of a big federal new state of Europe. It was out of touch with so many feelings, which are in the European nations today."

The "sherpa" representing the Czech Republic in confidential talks on the constitution with the German presidency, Jan Zahradil, describes it more guardedly as a "lame duck" which "cannot be revived as simply as some politicians think".

British officials, meanwhile, argue that any course of action that ended in a resumption of the round of ratification referendums would be a recipe for disaster.

"We don't want to set up Europe for another failure that would result in more resounding No's," says one.

Amending treaty

All three countries say the EU is not in crisis and can continue comfortably with its existing rule book. People started to get enthusiastic about a grandiose project but it didn't come off- UK Foreign Secretary Margaret Beckett

While the Polish and Czech leaders say they are ready to negotiate a completely new Basic Treaty the British are reluctant to go even this far.

"It's a common failing, isn't it? People started to get enthusiastic about a grandiose project but it didn't come off," UK Foreign Secretary Margaret Beckett said in October.

In a ministerial statement to Parliament in December, Mrs Beckett said the UK would "favour proposals that modernise the workings of the EU".

But the UK's "overall aim", the statement said, would be to maintain the EU's focus on the delivery of practical benefits to citizens - in other words, to prevent the EU getting obsessed with institutional reform.

British officials point out that the only essential treaty change needed in the foreseeable future - a review of the size of the Commission, as required by the Nice Treaty - can be tacked onto Croatia's accession treaty if it joins the EU, as it hopes to, by 2009.

The most they want to contemplate is a treaty that makes modest amendments to earlier EU treaties, which few countries saw necessary to ratify by referendum. This would be just one more amending treaty, not a constitution.

Ratification routes

Germany's near-impossible task is to find some common ground between countries such as Poland, the Czech Republic and the UK, and the enthusiasts who would prefer to add to the constitution rather than take anything away from it.

Michal Kaminski: Poland will definitely vote on a new treaty

In a declaration to be signed on the EU's 50th birthday in Berlin next month the member states may agree to seek solutions to the constitution problem, but negotiations will only begin in earnest after the French presidential election in May.

By the end of June, Germany is hoping to have agreed a timetable for further action, and something about the "substance" of a future treaty.

If it succeeds, an inter-governmental conference will be called later in 2007 or in 2008, to hammer out a new text.

What this text looks like will determine how it is ratified in the member states - by parliament or public vote - and different countries may take different paths.

One of France's leading presidential candidates, Nicolas Sarkozy, has proposed that the new text should be slim enough to render a referendum unnecessary. His opponent, Segolene Royal, on the other hand, favours the full constitution, with the addition of a social protocol - and a new referendum.

The new Dutch government has asked a body called the State Council to rule on whether a referendum is necessary, amid expectation that it will say No. Ireland and Denmark will probably have a referendum in any case.

The UK would hold a referendum on a constitution, but not on a simple amending treaty, while Poland is keen for a public vote on any treaty that meets its terms. These include preservation of the existing voting system in the Council of Ministers, and a reference to Roman Catholicism in any section touching on European history and values.

"I don't see a reason to vote on a document that is dead, I would not want to spend taxpayers' money on it," says Michal Kaminski.

"But if there will be a new treaty, definitely, we will have a referendum."

THERE IS A MIRACLE----PART II
By: Brother James Moss, Pastor of Hessed Ministries

“Therefore, [there is] now no condemnation (no adjudging guilty of wrong) for those who are in Christ Jesus, who live [and] walk not after the dictates of the flesh, but after the dictates of the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of life [which is] in Christ Jesus [the law of our new being] has freed me from the law of sin and of death” (Rom. 8:1-2, amp)

When I first heard ministry on these verses, I thought of the boy who didn’t have a developed immune system and who could become terminally ill if he was exposed to atmosphere that could cause him to become germ laden. Because of this problem, a balloon-like sphere was created for him to live in that was germ free. Everything necessary for him to survive was given to him through the sphere.

Let’s look at Adam in the garden; the Bible records that Adam literally walked with God in the cool of the day. The Bible records that God literally gave His creation—the garden—into the hands of His created to keep and preserve. Bear this in mind here: in the garden at this time there was no sin because the devil had not come on the scene to bring about the temptation and fall of man.

Adam with his helpmeet, Eve, walked in the presence or anointing of God. That presence, or anointing, however you wish to call it, was all provisional for these two. If you doubt this, go through the epic of the garden before the Fall and see if you can find an incident in which Adam or Eve ate anything. See if you can find an incident or time in which Adam and Eve had an intimate moment.

What does this mean? It means that in Adam’s and Eve’s failing in Eden, not only was sin released in the form of a rebellion against God’s Word, but also the voice of cravings in the flesh of man now had a voice. Adam and Eve now experienced hunger, fear, pain, fear of the animal kingdom they once ruled, failing in the bodies with sickness, and being in a sense now co-dependent on each other. They found out what being nurtured and getting and giving love to each other would mean. Their sin and rebellion had disconnected them from that physical aspect of God. Eve had no idea what sexual desire and fulfillment would mean or what physical reproduction would mean. Adam’s flesh had never felt physical exhaustion before, but now he would know that feeling daily.

God has a plan and program for each of us, but the problem is that it is in His Word, and not too many of us want to find it for ourselves. God had given the details of His plan and program to Adam to carry out God’s directive in the earth. Eve was not of less importance than Adam, as some might say, but she had different responsibilities. In the fifth chapter of Genesis we find that God viewed Adam and Eve as one.

It is not recorded where Adam sat down with Eve before the Fall and point by point explained to Eve what they were to do. She had some knowledge because she quoted partial truths to Satan in answering him at the trees. Eve must have incorrectly heard God in His instructions to Adam or did not absorb instructions that Adam gave her. A truth is very evident here, and it is when the Word of God is discussed in the home, make sure there is one understanding and that you have it correct.

Now let’s get to the importance of this verse Paul wrote: Number 1, it is important to understand that Old Testament events are patterns of New Testament truths to come. In other words, the New Testament will always fulfill or complete the Old Testament.

Number 2, that means that the Garden failure must become a New Testament victory for another Adam. Jesus was called the only begotten of the father, but yet Adam was a son also. Adam was the created son, and Jesus was the son of the blood of the Father through the Holy Spirit.

In the Garden the temptation was a time of testing and evaluation of Adam and Eve and their experience in God’s Word. In Luke 4:1-4 we find:

“And Jesus being full of the Holy Ghost returned from Jordan, and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, being forty days tempted of the devil. And in those days he did eat nothing: and when they were ended, he afterward hungered. And the devil said unto him, If thou be the Son of God, command this stone that it be made bread. And Jesus answered him, saying, It is written, That man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.”

The first thing we find that happened to Jesus following the baptism by John was that He, being full of the Holy Spirit, was in submission to the Spirit. The Spirit of God led Him to temptation in the wilderness. Remember this, that the temptation and failure in the garden came through flesh being allowed prominence. Both Adam and Eve in their garden experience enjoyed living in God’s presence continually, because the Bible said that God walked with them in the cool of the day. There could not be sin present where God was because His holiness would destroy it.

Luke said that Jesus was tempted in every form and faced it with the full truth of His Father’s Word, not anything of Himself. The Word recorded that when He went into the wilderness, He went full of the presence and anointing of the Holy Spirit and did nothing of Himself but walked in full obedience to His anointed purpose.

Adam and Eve in the garden, flesh and failure; Jesus in the wilderness, anointed, full of the Holy Spirit and walking in the authority of His Father. Now let’s look back at Romans 8:1 from the Amplified Bible:

“Therefore, [there is] now no condemnation (no adjudging guilty of wrong) for those who are in Christ Jesus, who live [and] walk not after the dictates of the flesh, but after the dictates of the Spirit.”

Jesus stood in the presence of the Holy Spirit and paid every price for sin, and at the same time overcame all that Satan had. So if we move from the Adamic experience in the flesh to one of the Spirit, we are not walking in flesh but walking in the Spirit with Jesus in the pattern He set in the wilderness.

In that case it is very easy to understand Him when He said man does not live by bread alone but by every word from the continually speaking mouth of the Father. It is very easy to understand Paul when wrote the Romans in this verse there is no guilt because it was all laid on the Savior, and we walk in the Spirit after His steps.

John begins by establishing the Word as Jesus when he opened his Gospel in John 1:1 by saying, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”

Throughout the wilderness experience in every confrontation with Satan Jesus replied to him by saying, “It is written.” Jesus never replied from within Himself but spoke the word of His Father. In everything He established patterns for us to follow. Jesus Himself elevated the words of His Father to a position of superiority above Himself in every incident in the wilderness.

Neither Adam nor Eve in their confrontation with the devil in the garden held the word the Father had given in high enough esteem to set the enemy back on his heels. Jesus in His own right as the Son of God had the right and the authority to drive the devil back on his heels. Here another principle surfaced, in that Jesus chose to be obedient even though it eventually would mean death for Him.

Submission and obedience were the hallmarks of Jesus’ life on earth. A true believer is a true image of what Jesus was in life here on earth and in the life in His Word that He left us.

Adam’s word was nothing overpowering or memorable, but he is thought by many theologians to have been a very big and powerful man physically that would have been overpowering in appearance.

What can we draw as a lesson from this? Walking in the flesh is a key to failure, but walking after the Spirit in the Word of God is the door to victory for us.

Jesus did several things to establish Himself as the true Son of God in the earth. The primary things He did were to be continually in obedience to the words of the Father; because of that He was anointed with the authority of the Father through the Holy Spirit. In his two books (the Gospel of John and the book of 1 John), John begins with referring to Jesus as the incarnate Word of the Father, and this brings us the idea that He became the Word of the Father in flesh in the earth.

Paul, in opening Romans 8, tells us that by walking after the Spirit in the Word of God we can bring flesh to the Word of God as He lives through us. Though Adam in the flesh failed in the garden, there is no way that Satan in any form can deal with a remnant (the bride of Christ) walking after the Spirit in the Word of God. It was the Word alive that brought his defeat and caused him to be thrown out of the heavenly places, and it was the Word in flesh that took captivity captive after the triumph of the cross. We live through the Word.