W.I.N. - A Publication of Freedom Covenant Global Ministries Hi ! In this issue, you'll read: A WORD FROM THE EDITOR - WEEK ONE I would like to welcome each of you to the E-mail version of W.I.N. In addition to short articles and reports written by Freedom Covenant Pastors, Evangelists, and Missionaries, each edition will contain a Bible study lesson that may be used as a devotional or springboard to much deeper study. It is my prayer that God will grant you His Wisdom and bless you with His understanding as you take time to read the articles and study the Bible lesson presented in each edition. Please keep in mind that we need to allow the Holy Spirit to change and motivate us to apply the principles learned in our study to our daily lives. NKJ Proverbs 2:1-9; 1 My son, if you receive my words, and treasure my commands within you, 2 so that you incline your ear to wisdom, and apply your heart to understanding; 3 yes, if you cry out for discernment, and lift up your voice for understanding, 4 If you seek her as silver, and search for her as for hidden treasures; 5 then you will understand the fear of the Lord, and find the knowledge of God. 6 For the Lord gives wisdom; from His mouth come knowledge and understanding; 7 He stores up sound wisdom for the upright; He is a shield to those who walk uprightly; 8 He guards the paths of justice, and preserves the way of His saints. 9 Then you will understand righteousness and justice, equity and every good path. Remember, studying in order to learn the words or their meaning is only the gaining of knowledge, but applying that which we have learned (the knowledge) to our lives is wisdom. Blessings to you all in Jesus Name! Rev. Sam T. Leigh ***A word to our readers: If you know someone whom you think would like to receive this newsletter on a regular basis, please pass along a copy of this edition for them to review. If they decide they would benefit from having this newsletter sent directly to their e-mail address, they may simply send an e-mail containing their name and e-mail address to winsubscribe@fcgm.org. Read Mark 1:35; Luke 5:16; Luke 6:12; Luke 9:28-29 These four verses capture a dominant characteristic of the lifestyle of Jesus. Anyone who spent any time at all with Jesus saw something unique in his daily lifestyle. Jesus prayed. Not the perfunctory prayers of the Pharisees but the passionate prayer of someone who knew God on intimate terms. It was no wonder that the disciples approached him one time and asked him to teach them to pray (see Luke 11:1). They had observed Jesus' lifestyle of prayer for many months and had begun to realize the priority of prayer. Read Matthew 10:24-25 In Luke 6:40, Jesus said in NKJ Luke 6:40; "A disciple is not above his teacher, but everyone who is perfectly trained will be like his teacher." The Holy Spirit's work is to do exactly this - to train us to be like Christ (see Romans 8:29) - and that includes his lifestyle of prayer. Our aim is not simply to get you to "pray" or "read the Bible" each day. We are seeking to help you develop a culture of intimacy with God. There is an intimacy to be found in prayer. When we pray, we are not simply mouthing words to God. We are meeting with God in prayer. There is also an intimacy to be found in God's Word. When we read the Bible, we are not simply reading ink on paper. We are meeting with God in the pages of his Word. This subtle difference between dry role-playing and the intimacy of a Christlike lifestyle of prayer is the foundation upon which a vibrant prayer life is built. But be warned! Discovering the excitement of prayer can be addictive! II. Putting it into Practice In your devotions this week, read Psalm 1. As you read, talk to the Lord about the content of this psalm. Let God’s Word shape your conversation with him. Now read the psalm again, allowing the Lord to speak to your heart. Remember: your goal is intimacy, not information. Here are a few suggestions that may help you to memorize your memory verses: 1. Ask the Lord to help you remember his Word (see John 14:26). 2. Use the version of the Bible you are most familiar with. What you normally read in your Bible is what you need to be memorizing. 3. Don't just memorize the contents of the verse; memorize its “address” (the verse reference) as well. You can do this by following this pattern: Step 1: reference; Step 2: verse content; Step 3: reference. Then repeat steps 1-3. Note that you are quoting the reference twice as many times as you quote the actual verse content. This gives the verse a clear “reference tag.” 4. After you have read your memory verse out aloud several times, try going through your memory verse without reading your computer screen. 5. Look up your memory verse in your Bible. Look at its immediate context and read the verses that come before and after your memory verse. 6. Print out your memory verse or jot it down on a piece of paper. Take this paper with you when you go to work or do other daily activities. Meditate on the meaning of the verse throughout the day. 7. During your noon appointment with the Lord, take out your memory verse and go over it again. Talk to the Lord about what this verse means to you personally. 8. In the evening (at either your evening study or your evening devotions), see if you can quote your memory verse from memory. Then, without looking at the memory verse itself, see if you can find it in your Bible. 9. The next day, before you begin committing a new verse to memory, rehearse your previous day’s memory verse and see if you can remember it (without cheating!). 10. Finally, at the end of the week (possibly on Sunday), collect all your week’s memory verses, rehearse them and see if you can recall them without reading them. Spend a little extra time on any verses you have difficulty recalling. 11. Remember: Don't just memorize a verse. Put it into practice (James 1:22). It is not being able to quote a verse from memory that counts. It is His Word abiding in your heart that counts (John 15:7). When you actually apply a verse consistently to your daily life, that is when you truly know that verse! But there is hope! God’s Word tells us that He cares and loves us even though He allows us to reap the consequences of our actions. KJV Joel 2:25 says, “And I will restore to you the years that the locust hath eaten, the cankerworm, and the caterpiller, and the palmerworm, my great army which I sent among you.” The key to this verse, “And I will restore to you…” is God’s way of telling us that He is willing and able to mend broken hearts, restore lost relationships, and bring back our joy. I personally am a living testimony to God’s love and mercy. After years of painful suffering and guilt due to choices made and actions taken as a young man, I have experienced God’s first hand mercy and grace through the restoring of two lost relationships. First, with my sister whom I had not seen for over 33 years, and then with my daughter whom I had given up for adoption over 25 years ago. While the circumstances under which these broken relationships came about are of no consequence to the average reader, the fact that God has moved to restore them should be shouted from the mountaintops. This message should bring renewed hope and peace to others who have had similar experiences. What God has done for me, he can and will do for others. Are you one of these people? Are you in need of a restoration and healing? Or have you already experienced God’s mercy in your own life? In either case, why not write to us and tell us your story. We will be glad to share with you through e-mail and if your story is selected, with your permission, we will publish it in this newsletter that others might read it and receive hope for their own lives. Our e-mail address is It is my hope today that each of you who read this story will find inner healing and experience the Peace of God fully in your life. May He restore to you that which has been lost is my prayer. God bless you each and every one! Bishop Sam T. Leigh The battle for the hearts and minds of the unsaved in this area is growing hotter day by day. And the battle for those in our small congregation has been hot as well. The enemy has done his best to keep us from even getting together to worship and learn and pray as a group. I am happy to praise God that He has made ways for us to still stay in contact and praise the Lord. We have had a couple of Sundays where the gathering was slim, but God was with those of us who were here just as He promised in His Word. And I am learning that trusting God, as ministers of His gospel, requires completely new levels of commitment to the work of God. This involves learning new meanings to the words "stepping out," but that is when the walk with God is the most exciting; whether it is for myself, Kris and I as parents, Kris and I as ministers, or for the congregation that God has given us care over. For those who have been coming, I have been blessed to see them grow in the Lord. And some of them are starting to look for what God wants them to do for him. I am excited in what God has done and what He has ready to come down the path next. Again I want to thank you,
WITNESS ~ INSTRUCT ~ NURTURE / Volume 1 Issue 1
Feb 23, 2005
THE INTIMACY OF PRAYER
WHAT WILL BE YOUR LEGACY?
HELLO FROM FREEDOM COVENANT CHURCH NORTHWEST
Greetings in the Name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ!
Presiding Bishop
Freedom Covenant Global Ministries
E-mail:
Website: www.fcgm.org
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THE INTIMACY OF PRAYER
I. Developing a Devotional Lifestyle
III. Memory Verse
NKJ Psalms 119:105 Your word is a lamp to my feet And a light to my path.
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WHAT WILL BE YOUR LEGACY?
Our legacy is that which we leave behind when we depart from this life. However, it is not how much material wealth we have or to whom we bequeath it. No matter our station in life, what our occupation, whether we are married or single, whether we are a father, mother, son, daughter, brother, sister, grandfather, grandmother,uncle, aunt, cousin, or friend, we will all leave behind something much more important. That legacy is how we are remembered. That legacy is how others think of us. And that legacy will be our everlasting testimony.
Do we have joy in this life and spread that joy to others? If so, our legacy will live on in the stories that others tell. Are we a kind person? If so, others will carry on those traits in our memory. But what if we have lost that joy? What if we have lost (or never found) our relationship with Jesus Christ? What if we have broken relationships with family or friends? What if we leave this life with things unfinished? What if we leave this life in a state of bitterness? Then our legacy will be different, won't it?
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HELLO FROM FREEDOM COVENANT CHURCH NORTHWEST
First off I want to thank all of you who have been praying for us. I don't know how we would be doing otherwise, but God's blessings have been pouring out on us because of your prayers.
Your Brother in Christ
Pastor Phillip Hildreth
Freedom Covenant Church Northwest
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This newsletter Copyright © 2005 Freedom Covenant Global Ministries. All Rights Reserved. Individual articles displaying copyrights from other ministries are used by permission, have been formatted for use in this publication, and remain the property of respective ministry. Permission is granted to copy, print, and distribute this newsletter for ministry purposes, whether whole or in part, so long as ALL copyrights remain in place and no copies are printed or distributed for sale or commercial purposes. Unless otherwise noted: All Scripture is taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1979, 1980, 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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