The Vision of the “Voice of Manifestations” Newsletter is to communicate the various events to our partners and the community. Thus, it helps to build and enhance relationships between the two. The newsletter is also a mechanism to evangelize, encourage, build and lift up. The Voice focuses on the four aspect of Manifestations Worldwide, which are Spiritual Trainings, Education, Job and Housing. Our prayer is that God is touching someone’s life through the Voice of Manifestation Newsletter (VOM). Ultimately, our desire is to be obedient to the commission God has given us; to go and spread the gospel. All we need is an audience; someone that is interested, ready to listen, with a heart to receive. Many go door to door; but VOM newsletter travel email to email; across the country and around the world, seeking the heart in need of a word. And teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” Matthews 28:20 (NIV)
“GAINING FOCUS” Pastor Eddie Boles
G
reetings Believers! I would like to talk briefly this month about focusing. Proverbs 5:1-2 says, “My son attend (focus) unto my wisdom, and bow thine ear to my understanding. That thou mayest regard discretion, and that thy lips may keep knowledge.” My brothers and sisters, like never before has there ever been a mandate for focus in the life of the believer as it is today. There are so many things soliciting our attention,
but Jesus reminds us in Mark 6:31 what we must continually do in order to remain focused. He said “come ye yourselves apart into a desert place and rest a while, for there were many coming and going, and they had no leisure so much as to eat.” Three things here: First of all, He said come and separate yourselves He then says where, into a quiet place Lastly He instructs us on what to do, Rest awhile Sons of God must learn to make a habit of separating themselves into quiet places away from the noise in order to rest. As in scripture, we see the
same thing today that so many believers are busy coming and going so much so, that they don’t even have time to sit down and eat. We cannot carry out the plan of God if we do not make getting away to our quiet place with God a lifestyle. We need times of refreshing in the presence of God in order to carry out our assignments. There are too many Marthas today and not enough Marys; a lot of activity and complaining, but no worship of our Lord and Savior. Jesus gives us three keys to gaining focus in our lives: 1.Come unto Me all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Matthew 11:28 The key is making the choice to come to Him and in Him everything we need is there. 2.Take My yoke upon you and learn of Me. Matthew 11:29 How will we learn of Him if we do not t take His yoke? In other words, we must work with Him in order to accomplish His will. 3.If any man will come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow Me. Luke 9:23 In order to follow Jesus we must be willing to say ‘no’ to self. Arguably the biggest hurdle we will ever face is ourselves, not the enemy. We must be willing to say no to the bad as well as some of the good. Probably one of the greatest principles the believer will ever master is the ability to say ‘no’ to many things and not feel guilty about it. So as we continue to pursue Gods perfect will for our lives, let’s strive to remain focused on what He says and not the things of the world. Till next month Peace Be Unto You.
HE RENEWS MY STRENGTH On those cloudy days When my strength is sapped away My faith is put to the test I cry out to my Savior He renews my strength Lord I know Your love never changes Your guiding hands touch me daily As I turn my heart and voice to You I think of all You've promised me You promise to guide my steps Lord I have no reservation As You give me wisdom To face those challenges to the end Worshiping You is not optional Neither is praising You You are my internal function I stay in love with You Lord I trust Your armor against temptation And the distractions of this dangerous world I shall live courageously Knowing that I am touched by Your grace For only You, my Lord can renew my strength
Jennifer Grant
Grow Your Leadership Influence By Pastor Al
So you want your ministry to grow? You're losing members of your team left and right and you have no clue what you need to do. Let’s turn to a story in the Bible to see what we can learn. This story is about Jonathan and his armor-bearer slaying 20 Philistines by themselves in 1 Samuel 14.
Don't be too good to do menial tasks. Instead, allow your staff to finish the job. Be a part of the process not just a superstar that ends it all. Let them win big and look good. Abraham Lincoln wrote in a journal once "when your army loses, it is all your fault and you should take the blame. However, when they win, In this story we see Jonathan, the son of King Saul, a remember you had nothing to do with it; allow them prince of extreme importance to the kingdom; yet this to celebrate their victory." When people see that you don't just hold the title, but you are a part of a team leader and heir was in the field at battle. When Jonathan wounded the Philistine during this time, his ar- that you are blessed to lead, they will see greatness mor-bear was right behind him to finish the job. The and want to be a part of that. People want to see what you do, not what you say you do. armor-bear didn't have to “do” the job, the armorbear had to “finish” the job. This is because Jonathan You don't need team members, you need people to was a true leader. He was the heir to the kingdom, join you in leadership as you lead. Allow yourself to however, he was not sitting on the sidelines pointing, lead leaders. As you do, allow them to “finish it.” giving directions, nor delegating everything. His Give away responsibilities that you are already doing. delegation started and ended with actions on his own Then from time to time, join them and be a part of behalf. He was in the trenches and had the right, be- what they're doing. The point here is to allow your ing the heir to the king, to act like a king and selfleaders to finish what you started. To attract help, you preserve in battle. Instead, he chose to lead by exam- will need to talk to people and let them see what ple. you're doing. Let interested parties know of what you are doing and give it away. There's no point in growAs leaders, do you find yourself delegating everything and not having anything to do? Have you dele- ing a team or even having one, if no work gets done or little work gets done because you're doing it alone. gated yourself out of a job? When you are leading, don’t you want your staff, your team, or your partners Let yourself lead by letting your leaders lead. They to remain faithful? The first thing you need to do is will surprise you! be faithful when you put your hands to the plow.
Reentering the Dating Scene after Divorce Heal First, Date Later Divorce is the death of the dreams you had when you committed yourself "for better or for worse." As a Christian, you can't simply separate from your spouse one day and hit the dating field the next. And as with any loss, big or small, time is needed to grieve and to reassess who you are, where you've been and where God wants you to go. Healing is also necessary to follow God's command to" do unto others what you would have them do unto you," (Matthew 7:12). If you start dating prematurely, you could be hurting — rather than honoring — those you date. Jennifer is a single woman who recently divorced. Even though she has decided to wait a few years until her daughter is grown to reenter the dating scene, she's confused about how to proceed. "When Madaline is out of the house, I want to date, but I don't know how." Samantha has been divorced for only a year, but would like to start dating again even though her two boys are still in elementary school. Like Jennifer, she needs some advice but is concerned about how she can make the transition into dating easy on her children. John is separated from his wife. He'd like to date again, and some of his friends say he should start looking for a woman now — after all, he's getting divorced soon. But John knows better because he's still married, and dating now would go against God's desires.
When Tonia was invited to lunch by a man she met at a bookstore, she was excited. She was ready to date and had taken time to seek God and heal after her divorce three years earlier. She thought her lunch date had done the same, but she quickly discovered otherwise. Instead, he was still drowning in grief. During their lunch, his eyes filled with tears and anguish. When Tonia asked him how long he'd been divorced, he admitted that it wasn't final yet, that he was living in the basement of the home that he and his wife shared, and that they'd only been separated for three weeks.
Tonia gently told her date that he needed to first pursue emotional and spiritual healing. She suggested that he develop relationships with other Christian men for support, rather than seek out women for emotional comfort. Perhaps you know someone like this man. UnderstandaJennifer, Samantha and John's concerns are common, be- bly, he is lonely. But dating so soon will almost inevitably cause according to the U.S. Census Bureau, 19.3 million lead to heartache, since he's neither emotionally nor leAmericans get divorced each year, and many of them date gally available. And, until he heals, he won't be able to and eventually remarry. relax and commit his entire heart to his new partner the way God intends. Perhaps you share their concerns, as you're also wondering how you can reenter the dating world after divorce — To begin healing, you'll want to seek counsel from comand do so according to God's standards. Here are four mitted Christians who are willing to walk through the practical ideas. grief process with you. This may mean seeking out your pastor for support, joining a Divorce Recovery group or visiting a Christian counselor.
Jennifer is a single woman Guard Your Sexual Integrity
Some divorced church-goers try to convince themselves that God's command to abstain from sex doesn't apply to them — that it's for the never-married crowd. However, Scripture is clear that it doesn't matter if someone has been married or not, sex with someone other than your spouse is still fornication (I Thessalonians 4:3, I Corinthians 6:9).
him, so it's understandable that he longs for a relationship with a father figure. Whenever Sharon meets someone new, she hopes that "this is the one," and Branden does, too. Sadly, when Sharon's relationships don't work out, not only is her heart broken, but so is her son's. Scripture warns believers to "guard your heart" (Proverbs 4:23). For the single parent, this means that you will have to do some "guarding" for your children by not involving them with your suitors too soon in a relationship. Some people hold off until engagement before introducing their significant other to their kids. (Granted, this can create other complications because you want to know how your children will respond to a potential mate prior to engagement.) Bryan, a single father of three, always meets his dates on
Don't wait to put some practical boundaries in place, such as not staying at your date's home overnight. You can also establish an accountability group made up of those who know and love you. That way, when you feel tempted, you can call on them for prayer and support. Be aware that when you commit to remain celibate until you remarry; there may be some people who will try to convince you that you are being unreasonable. If a date pressures you, don't compromise. Instead, run the other direction and resolve to date only fellow believers who share your convictions. The Bible is clear about this: maintaining your sexual integrity is not optional; neither is getting romantically involved with someone who doesn't share your faith (2 Cor. 6:14). Above all, God wants to come first in neutral ground with his children, such as at a church picall you do (Matthew 6:33). nic or at movie theatre with friends. He never introduces Think Before Involving Your Kids his date as his girlfriend, but a friend. This spares his Sharon has been single for many years. During that time, children from the complicated emotions that will inevitaseveral men have come and gone from her life. And each bly come with adjusting to a new stepparent prematurely. new boyfriend has developed a relationship with Sharon's son, Branden. Unfortunately, Branden's father abandoned
Stick With God's Plan After experiencing the comforts of marriage, it can be tempting to settle for less than God's best. You may believe the lie that you'll never find a godly man or woman; that you'll have to accept whoever comes along. One way to avoid the temptation of settling is to know what's acceptable and what's not to both you and God, before you start looking for love. This is where slowing down before getting into a serious relationship helps. Not only does going slow give you time to heal, but it also helps you better assess those you date. If you have taken the time to understand yourself and the dynamics that contributed to your divorce, you are more likely to make a godly choice in choosing the second time. Shortly after Sam divorced, he was desperate to meet a woman and start over. When Ashley showed a strong interest in him, he started spending time with her. She was kind, and he enjoyed her company — but she didn't share his faith, which was also a problem with his first wife. Unfortunately, Sam ignored God's clear directive in this area, and only after they had dated for several months did he decide to end the relationship. As a result, Ashley's heart was broken, and his was, too. If Sam had taken time to seriously commit his personal life to God, he could have made the choice not to get involved with Ashley in the first place. If you're contemplating dating someone new, take your time in getting to know them. And, if they fall short in one of your major criteria such as faith, children or sex before marriage, make the wise choice early on by saying no to the relationship. Remember too, that navigating the dating jungle is not easy. But, if you seek God and put Him first, He will make your paths straight (Proverbs 3:5). Source: Focus on the Family Brought to you by: CMF Live Again Divorce Care Ministry Contact the ministry leader for more information at liveagain@centerformanifestation.com
CFM Beauty Corner Let’s Talk Makeup…. The key to a successful makeup application is skin care. By this I mean having a skin regime of properly caring for your skin and/or skin type on a consistent basis. Get to know your skin….what type of skin, oily, dry, or combination (a little of both). Is you skin tone cool or warm? Always remember to get the best results you have to be consistent with caring for your skin. Tip #1: Just because a product is expensive…….does not mean it is the best product for your skin. Let’s talk skin preparation, to ensure the longevity of your foundation and to properly protect your skin, you should always apply foundation to clean and moisturized face. Once you have cleaned and moisturized your face, applying a face primer will ensure the longevity and a smooth application to the skin. Tip: 2: Do not try to match your foundation to the color of your hand. In most cases your hand is not the same color as your face. What are some questions you may have when it comes to foundation types and how to select your foundation shade? Did you know well shaped and/or defined brows, lip gloss and a light dusting of face powder can give you a nice clean look for those days you need to get out of the house quickly?
From the Editor Dear Reader, The Voice of Manifestation Newsletter (VOM) purposefully shares with you each month what is happening at the Center for Manifestation and our fellow partners worldwide, as well our earnest commitment to help in serving our community. We are also very intentional about giving words of encouragement and inspiration to help build-up one another as God has asked of us in His word. Therefore we make sure to have a variety of relevant topics that we believe will bring answers to your lives. We invite you to read for yourself and allow the Holy Spirit to speak to your need(s). A few of our monthly topics include “Spiritual Training” by Pastor Boles, “Career and Education Tips” by Brother Keith Lashley, “Words of Encouragement” by Sister Sonya,” and “Leadership Training” by Pastor Al. There are others and we are certain that one or more of these topics will be very beneficial to you as well as your family members, friends, coworkers, etc. Everyone has value and that is why we put together this resource to help others increase what they have. Many go door to door; however VOM goes email to email and we need your help friend. How? I’m glad you asked. Share the VOM link with others and ask them to share the link as well. By sharing the VOM link, you are helping to touch lives and that is our main focus. Ps, we have an open door policy; so email “voiceofmanifestation@gmail.com” with any questions, topics, etc. that you may have. Till the next time And teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” Matthews 28:20