LAM Newsletter, November 2002

This newsletter is pretty lengthy, so please print and read at your leisure. Enjoy!

UPDATE - Pastor Wright's Meeting in Sacramento

Unable to say all that went on, because SOOOOO much did. If you missed the meeting, you can order the complete teaching tapes by contacting Life Application Ministries. You really need to get them, they will impact every ounce of your being - as it did me. I had already been teaching and ministering these truths, but we are always learning and changing and I did! Every person in that building got personal ministry from Pastor Wright. Yep, it went a little late, one night I had to get a room to stay in because we didn't get out until 11:30 p.m. Not that he went on that long teaching, but that we took time to minister to individuals.

So, how can I sum this up without pages and pages? I suppose you can get the tapes and find out for yourself, so I'll share with you what happened to me out of this seminar. I found my new horse. Recall the previous newsletter? I had an article that was called, "A new horse." I found direction, purpose, and vision for my life. I found out what part of the body I was. Pastor Wright said he was the intestine. He helps people eat food (the Word) and then helps get rid of waste (sins and disease). He only shared this, didn't teach on it at all but got me thinking. A lady that was at the seminar who is really getting involved in the teaching told me she found out what part she was - she was the feet. She said she takes the word to people to help free them. I also said, and the feet Hold people up. When I said that we both said, "Ooooooooh."

As I was talking to Tom (my husband) about all that happened, I described what I think my ministry is. I could be the intestine too, but maybe I'm something else. My ministry is to help people get back on track, Christians who have lost their way. I see myself as someone putting the chain back on the spokes so the bicycle can go. I am the equilibrium! I believe that is part of the body, right? I help people get back into balanced, and continue walking out their Christian walk in victory. Hmm… sounds good to me.

Another blessing was that I was privileged to meet with Pastor Wright and his wife Donna for lunch. He began sharing what Pleasant Valley is doing and began talking how I can become more involved. So that's where my "new horse" came from. I really don’t know all the details now, but I am truly on a new horse making headway down the road. I got free from some old ideas of what this ministry was and into a new light of what it will become. I am out of the box and looking forward to what the Lord is bringing me into. I will surely keep you posted!

And one other thing I saw up close and personal, was the pain in people's lives. They came from all over - some flew in, rode in motor homes to be there. It proves that the churches aren't doing what they are supposed to be doing taking care of the sheep because 90% of all who attend already go to a church that is not feeding them. Pastor Wright wore a red tie with white sheep all over it. In the middle was a black sheep. He said, he is a shepherd, but also a sheep. He was the black sheep. He let us know that he is a person like us, needing to be set free and walk in victory every day like the rest of us. And as Paul says, "I'm the chiefest of all sinners." He taught with humility and truth. His desire was to help us learn how God thinks. The Word of God is what God thinks. He was able to clarify scriptures that were puzzling to me at times. And as he taught, it was very easy to comprehend and understand. He is truly anointed because only an anointed one can penetrate revelation into people's lives. He also said that if you want revelation, get closer to the Lord. He went on to say that John was Jesus' best friend. You know, the disciple that the bible describes as the one that Jesus loved? He was the one you see in pictures leaning on Jesus? John was the one who wrote the Book of Revelation! You want revelation? Lean on the Lord and get to know Him intimately!

Men were ministered to, women were ministered to in ways I've never seen before. Pastor shared with me that they only want to send people out to the world to help them become fully functional churches. See, Pleasant Valley Ministries is very unique - practicing the principles of how a church should be. Every person in that church is able bodied people to minister. They all have an office, and they all participate in ministering to the body. Pastor can leave 3-4 months at a time because of those he's equipped to carry on in his absence. That is how the body is supposed to work. Ministering to each other, making disciples one to another, so that they can go out and minister and disciple to others. PVM is not a place full of counselors. They don't even counsel - this wears people out. They teach for life. I have the same vision and now know how to carry it out. I want to equip as many as I can so they can minister to others and watch the domino affect change the world. That's when revival will come. Praying about it and doing nothing is not faith. Praying about it and going out equipping the saints is. Faith without works is dead the bible teaches.

One of the evenings as Pastor was teaching I was freed from three spirits. He wasn't teaching on them, he was just teaching, but there in my chair I got free! One was an accusing spirit - which is a spirit that tells us we're not worth anything, and the second one was the unloving spirit - which causes us to believe what the accusing spirit said resulting in us not loving ourselves or others, and that's when fear sets in. Let me explain what happened:

The 2nd night of the seminar it got out really late. I was heading home but my eyes were really tired and I didn't want to drive over an hour home that late at night. So I pulled into a Holiday Inn to sleep. The manger helped get me a room. As he was putting it into the computer I asked how much the room was. He said $86.00; they were having a special. I blurted out, "$86.00? For a Holiday Inn on Sunrise in Sacramento?" He said, "You must not get out much." I said, "Yes I do, I stay in places all over, but for this area, $86.00 is a bit much don't you think?" I gave him my visa card and he said, "Oh, you have my same bank." He then asked, "Are you a state worker?" I said, "Yes." He said, "That explains it, all state workers are cheap!"

I don’t' remember how I responded because frankly I was so tired I don't think I even responded at all. When I got to my room, then I remembered what he said more clearly. The Lord said to me, "Linda, you have not thought very much of yourself for a long time. You don't think you have much to offer. You think you impose on people too much. You think the things you make aren't of any value (I do crafts from time to time and put very low prices on them fearing they won't sell.) So, when you heard that price, it wasn't really the cost as much as it was if you thought you were worth the cost." With that I repented and confessed my sin of fear. See earlier during the service Pastor was teaching about something, not really sure at this moment what it was, but I began getting angry inside. But it wasn't toward him, it wasn't toward anyone, it was toward the sin in me. I saw that I had an accusing spirit telling me lies about me every single day! As I sat there, I told the accusing spirit to leave, that I would not listen to it ever again. And I became angry inside at that "creature" in me for having had me for so long! And that's why I was able to see from this hotel experience what God was showing me. Once that spirit left me, now I had to have my mind renewed. We are creatures of habit, now I had to brake that old habit of believing badly about myself and turn it around to believe good of myself. Now I know the enemy, I have a defense! I already noticed a change in my thinking. Things I would have talked down about myself to myself never happened. If they did try to come, I recognized it as a lie and cast them down. "Casting down all imaginations that exalt itself over the knowledge of God." (II Corinthians 10:5) The unloving spirit was also dealt with later. Let me add here that many of you know my testimonial. I was freed from the spirit of fear five years ago. I can no longer be tormented and used by that spirit. However, fear accompanies so many things we face, so it tries to get back in all kinds of ways. But, once we are set free, we recognize it and then we have the upper hand in keeping it away. I recognized the fear in this situation, and confessed it before God and it was removed. The difference from before is that I didn't see it in me, but now when it comes to me, I see it right away. You'll find later in this newsletter that there are 9 R's to freedom, and one of them is to "resist the enemy." A believer's whole goal is to get us to see how God thinks. That's the Knowledge of God we all need so that when lies (sin) come in like a flood, we do not drown but get in the boat and overcome. Pastor Wright said something I'll never forget; "Whatever has your mind has your body also." Well, I'm done with the enemy having my thoughts, aren't you? Time to expose them for what they are and get them out. Selah!

I do not know when Pastor is coming back to town again because he indicated he won't be able to hold many more of these kinds of meetings because the ministry is demanding too much of his time. So don't delay in getting your copy of the teaching tapes of the meeting held October 31, November 1 and 2nd. Contact us now.

TOM's TIDBITS

"Your world rocked, but not your foundation"

Tom and I were visiting one morning this month and looking over the past few weeks and all that has happened in my life. He saw the pain and the hurt I experienced from a series of events that took place. And he also saw that I was very peaceful through it all. The peace that passes all understanding was there all the time. That's when he said, "Your world rocked, but not your foundation because you are not the foundation." Wow, what a truth. When we put our confidence in ourselves, we can be moved. But when we put our trust and confidence in God, we can never be moved. Our world may rock and roll - but our roots are planted on a solid rock that never moves. All I can say is Hallalujah!!

INsight on Disease:

High Blood Pressure

Note: It is important that I share with you how conclusions are made that relate to spiritually rooted diseases. Not all diseases have a spiritual root. Disease caused by accidents, etc. do not. But 80% of all incurable diseases do. Pastor Wright at Pleasant Valley Ministries in Georgia has been in ministry for over 20 years - many of those years he has kept case studies of individuals he has ministered to and the result of that ministry. Then he realized a pattern in people's lives. The same diseases were in individuals with the same problems. So now we take what we have learned from those who have been healed and help others. We need to also tell you that we do not heal, only God can heal, but we find that when people line up with the Word of God, people are healed!

The reason I want to address High Blood pressure is because many individuals in my family have it, including my husband. High Blood pressure is caused from the vessels being clogged, causing the blood flow to back up in the arteries. This clogging has to be removed. What causes the clogging? Fear and anxiety. What is anxiety? Anxiety is worrying about tomorrow. The bible says, "Take therefore no thought for the morrow; for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof." (Matthew 6:34). Another scripture says "Men's hearts are failing them for fear." (Luke 21:26)

The root is not trusting God with their lives. Men have a hard time trusting others because they think they are the one to be dependent upon, that they don't need anyone else to be dependent upon. That has been taught to our men for centuries. That is a lie. There is a flow for the body of Christ that starts with God. God is the Godhead. The head of Jesus is God. The head of Man is Jesus, and the head of the woman is man. (Now ladies, we are told in scripture to submit to our husbands - but the word submit means to "agree with." And it doesn't mean you are to stay in an abusive relationship either.) But what is happening is that the man doesn't go to God because of pride. They are taught that THEY are the providers, and if they get any help it's a sign of weakness. To cry is a sign of weakness. These are all lies. Men are not trusting God, they are trusting themselves and since they cannot come up with all the answers, they become fearful and full of anxiety and stress. Then if the men are in this state and everything flows down from the top… guess where it leaves the women? They receive the junk from the men, and pass it onto their children. No wonder we have such messes in our lives. Another side note: Men are the ones who set the stage in a home, not the women. Women are not to be the glue that holds a family together, it's supposed to be the men! Anointing flows down from the TOP not up. We need to begin to believe God and trust Him starting at the MEN every single day.

A lady in the meeting stood up and gave testimonial to this because Pastor talked a bit on High Blood pressure at the seminar. She said, now I know why my husband died of a massive heart attach, he had fear of tomorrow and she knew it. Men are worrying about how to care for their families. What's going to happen when they get older? What's going to happen to their family if they die? What's going to happen?????????? We are dying too prematurely because we aren't believing and trusting God in the depth needed. We are trying to "figure out" tomorrow. It will never happen. I think it's time to change our thinking, don't you?

How to get this resolved? Confess to God that you have not trusted Him and repent. Receive forgiveness. Forgive yourself and anyone that needs forgiving then go to your family and share your heart with them and repent to them too. Begin to ask the Lord to teach you how to trust and receive more of His love for you personally. Ask the Lord to reveal anything in you that is sin and confess them to Him as He exposes them to you. The bible says to "Cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit..." (II Corinthians 7:1) Doesn't mean we are to do the cleaning up, but we are to do the recognizing and confessing SO God can clean it out. I John 1:9 says, "If we confess our sins, God is faithful to cleanse us and purges us from all unrighteousness." I would like to add here that this scripture says to cleanse ourselves from both spirit and flesh. That they are NOT one; they are separate and both needs cleaning out. Think about that. Here are the 9 basic principles to being cleansed from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit.

These 9 R's is what I and many others live every single day and not just for the spiritual root of High Blood pressure but ANYTHING that is sin. It's not a one-time fix. It's not a formula. These are principles founded by the Word and we put it in a way to teach others. We need to apply the Word to our own lives so we then have it to give to others.

If you need personal ministry, please contact the LAM office at TruthFrees@Mindsync.com or Pleasant Valley Ministries at pvcm@alltel.net. or their Website at: www.pleasantvalleychurch.net.

I learned something very life changing and valuable this last month. It has impacted my whole life - for the better! It was when I was asking God if what I was doing was what I was supposed to be doing - and that is having this ministry. As the days passed by, I began doubting my calling (which I now know was the accusing spirit within me lying to me and causing me discouragement). Well, at the writing of this article, the Lord spoke to me. He told me 1) You need to think right about yourself and 2) Until you truly believe that I have called you, I cannot use you to the degree you want to be used. The bible says that if you doubt that God hears you, then He cannot move - He only responds to faith, and faith believes. (Hebrews 11:6)

1) God told me that I'm not thinking correctly about myself. As I began thinking about that - I realized I was feeling "ashamed". And when we "feel" or think of ourselves a certain way, others will think of us that way too. (Exodus 13:33 - "....and we were in our own sight as grasshoppers - so we were in their sight.") So I knew this morning I had to change my thinking on purpose! So this morning I said, "I am righteous, I am holy, I am doing what is right and good, I have no guilt or condemnation within me, I have been called, I am anointed, I have the "good" seed in me so I am also good." Just the other day a good friend of 20 years said something to me that caused pain - but the Lord quickened to me that even Jesus' closest friends betrayed him. (And for those of you who are my closest friends, don't begin to "think" it's you… to tell you the truth, I don't even remember who it was myself.)

2) I doubted the call of God on my life. It seemed lately that I had needed confirmation of what I was doing and if I should continue. I asked God the other day, "Lord I'll stop teaching if that's what you want - I only want what you want. I can think of other things I'd rather be doing Lord - just give me the word." Then of course, an email will come through that blows that idea out of the water because what they have read on my Website has helped them in some miraculous way, or a response I gave them helped them come clean before the Lord. I have to stop waiting for confirmations that what I'm doing is right. God told me that until I KNOW in my heart that what I'm doing is what He's called me to do, He can't use me. That's pretty blunt, but very true. I have to KNOW that He has called me, no matter what happens around me, to continue "doing" what He's called me to.

As I was reading this article for posting, I realized there was a third thing that I got a revelation on. The Lord showed me that the reason we feel like we don't think we are doing what He told us to do is because we aren't getting the recognition. That is the truth! It's a deep hidden truth no one wants to admit, but I do know if we "feel' this way, we are doing this. Psalm 1:3 says, "Whatsoever I do shall prosper." As I was reminded of that scripture I read it correctly. Whatsoever is the "thing" I am doing. That is what will prosper. The project, the activity. I didn't realize it but I was looking for ME to prosper. Sure, God will bless me and has tremendously, but until I stopped looking for the activity to bless me, I didn't understand what was going on. Now that I know these two things are separate, what a freedom has come! I was connecting my "do" to my "who."

I have been in a very creative mood these last couple of weeks so I decided to pull out my beads and make some hair stuff and jewelry. I have so enjoyed it. I put it away years ago because I felt it was not "spiritual" enough. That everything I do should "mean" something. I found that I was very wrong. God gave me talent and a creative mind to create things. He wants balance in our lives to be able to "enjoy" those gifts and also to do His will, not one without the other. I can say that I understand what being, "Well balanced is" because now I am enjoying everything and in the midst of it watching God use me to minister to others.

Tom told me something when I told him it was OK for me to do my gardening, plant flowers, make jewelry, bake, and do the things I so enjoy without guilt or condemnation. Tom's response was this, "That's why they make off-road vehicles, so we can play." He has learned how to live every moment of his life fully. When he needs to be serious he is, when he plays, he does. So simple, but we somehow make things so complicated. I am free now to live each day without guilt or condemnation and not everything has to be all about being spiritual. Because truthfully, because I am a believer, I am already spiritual, I don't have to "try" to be, so that whatever I do IS spiritual. Especially the creative part of me.

During one of these "creative" mornings I wrote this poem. As I began writing, it just flowed out from me. You may recognize the scripture I used in reference - I Corinthians 13 - the Love chapter. Enjoy!

Who can give all that they have?
put aside their own desires
Who can over look an offense?
Whose will can never tire?
The person's whose love is
Where their heart is

Who can patiently endure with joy and peace?
Whose trust makes them stable and at ease
Who can stand the storms of life?
And not be moved to live in strive?
The person's whose love is
Where their heart is

Who truly rejoices in those that are blessed?
Even when they're own lives are far from the best
Who doesn't rejoice when hurts come to foes?
But prays and speaks goodly, no matter their woes
The person's whose love
Is where their heart is

Who is humble and exhorts others to fame
Does not sound their own horn to be seen of all men
But stands in silence, trusting the Lord
To uplift and justify even when all is NOT good
Who speaks respectfully without rudeness or shame?
To those they come in contact with, each and every day
But speaks only truth with tactfulness and care
So that perhaps those they touch will open and share
Who listens with compassion without gossip in sight?
So that those in pain, will find rest from their plight
Who is not offended or suspicious of others?
Who won't assume what they are thinking, cause only
God knows our brother?
The person's whose love is
Where their heart is

See we just can't "do" and "be" all these things
Without first receiving from God the love that He brings
Then we'll have what we need to live every day
Because our heart has the love now to give it away.

November 30th - Help for the Holidays 4th event to be held this year at Amador County Fairgrounds in Plymouth CA. This is where individuals who need a little help during the holidays and come and shop for free! We set up the facility like a department store, we have many individuals helping in the different departments. We provide live music, door prize drawings, craft demonstrations, gift-wrapping, 35-voice children's choir, and more. This year it's being held in Plymouth, CA in Pokerville Hall at the Amador County Fairgrounds. We are taking donations now of slightly used and new items. We want to have a good selection of quality items. All donations are tax deductible.

Unlocking the Mysteries of Creation - FREE seminar. Dennis Peterson, a good friend of mine, is Founder and President of the Creation Resource Foundation. He will be sharing what he has found that relate to creation which will be very educational for anyone wanting to know about what the bibles says about how this world of ours took shape. Dennis will greet you personally and you'll have time to talk with him. Along with Dennis, John Mackay, Australian Director of Creation Research Institute, will be speaking as well. Date: Dec. 7th, 9:30 a.m. - 6:00 p.m. at the El Dorado County Fairgrounds. For more information call 530-626-4447.

Please call at (530) 620-2712 or email back for more information on these seminars or on the Help for the Holidays event.