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But the woman had taken the two men and hidden them. She said, "Yes, the men came to me, but I did not know where they had come from. 5 At dusk, when it was time to close the city gate, they left. I don't know which way they went. Go after them quickly. You may catch up with them." 6 (But she had taken them up to the roof and hidden them under the stalks of flax she had laid out on the roof.) " Joshua 2: 4-6
From the time that we are introduced to Rahab in Joshua chapter 2, she comes on the scene with baggage. She is presented as Rahab the harlot. As soon as we hear her name, it is easy for us to make some assumptions about her. After all, she sleeps with men for money, so she must be devoid of all morals, unacceptable among more refined folk, and has no concern for the things of God! Right? If those were your conclusions, you would be right about some and wrong about others. The Bible does not tell us how she was introduced to this "profession". But I feel certain that when she was a little girl and people asked her what she wanted to be when she grew up, a prostitute was not her answer.
Many of us have baggage in our backgrounds that can and in fact do cause people to make assumptions about us. We have come from families who had all kinds of issues going on. Things happened that we are not proud of and would just as soon forget. We have made choices that we still regret, but you can't un-ring a bell.
But back to Rahab. What you cannot see in her name is that she was an observant woman who discerned that the men who scaled her wall were spies from the armies of Israel. Her name does not tell you that there were stirrings in her heart, seeds of faith in the God of Israel, because she had already heard about the marvelous things that He had done. At the outset there certainly was no way by hearing her name that you would know that the genealogy of Jesus would contain the names of more than forty men and only four women, one of which is Rahab.
No matter how shaky the start, God does have an awesome plan for anyone who will come to Him in faith. Don't allow your past to "hang you up." Exercise your faith in God and move forward. I heard a great preacher say not too long ago that the windshield of a car is much larger than a rearview mirror. Spend more time moving forward than you do looking back. God can bring great things even out of shaky starts!
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Last week's Bible quiz questions was: What argument prompted Jesus to tell his disciples that they would judge the twelve tribes in the kingdom?
The correct response is found in Luke 22:24-30
Disputing who was the greatest disciple.
Bible scholars providing a correct response are:
New Jersey
Mrs. Sandra Brown
Congratulations also on completing last week's Bible Word Search Puzzle!
Florida
Mrs. Doris Wise
Mrs. Gloria Benjamin
Mrs. Nellie Davis
Mrs. Carolyn Coleman
Ms. Marion Shelby
Mrs. Pat Brown
Mrs. Loretta Pete
Delaware
Minister Barbara McCamie
Honorable Mention
Ms. Francine Boykin - Florida
Ms. Elaine Camper - Delaware
Your quiz for today, 8/29/14:
What was the name of the Sorcerer
Paul met on the island of Cyprus?
A correct response must include the scripture reference. Are you using the resources available to you on our website? Remember that the Bible Search feature is available to you. If all you can remember is a phrase, but can't recall where it is found, the Victorious Life Ministries website can help you with that. Go to www.vl-ministries.org click to " enter" and in the bottom left hand corner of the home page you will find the Bible Search link.
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FIGHT For Families Fellowship
1016 Thames St.
Belvedere, De. 19804
For more information call Deaconess Lolita Veasey
(302) 287 2220
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CareerSource Flagler Volusia seeking long-term unemployed for new program In an effort to connect businesses with local unemployed talent, CareerSource Flagler Volusia is offering a new program called Paid Work Experience. This program will provide up to four months of wages to qualified job seekers working at local businesses. CareerSource Flagler Volusia will pay the costs associated with the selection and recruiting of the jobseekers. Most notably it will pay for their wages and worker's comp, up to 30 hours per week for a maximum of four months. The hourly training wage will be $12 per hour. Businesses interested in this opportunity are encouraged to contact Ted Young at 386-323-7094, as soon as possible, as slots are limited. Jobseekers interested in this opportunity must be unemployed for 27 weeks or longer and willing to undergo extensive training and career assessments. The recruitment process for jobseekers will begin in September. Anyone interested should contact Velma Lowe at 386-323-7013. |
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Gratitude
 The purpose of our gratitude journal is to always remind us of the many reasons that we have to thank God. When we introduced it a few weeks ago, we had a hand full of folks respond. The journal is empty. That cannot be. Where are the grateful people? Where are the people who realize that every good and perfect gift comes from the Lord? Where are the people who want to encourage others by telling of God's goodness in their own lives?
To participate is easy. Email us 5 things that you are grateful for. Write them in your own journal and add to the list each day.
Since we cannot have an empty journal, I am grateful that:
(1) The Lord provided safe travel for the Victorious Life Ministries outreach team to North Carolina and back to Florida
(2) While on the mission trip we touched countless lives with the love of God
(3) I am grateful that right before we left for our trip I got a call from my doctor telling me that the "suspicious" mass that was found during my mammogram a couple of weeks ago and then biopsied was benign
(4) I am grateful for clean water, to drink, cook with and to bathe in
(5) I am grateful for you that you are reading what I am grateful for We need to hear from you! Email- victoriousmin@att.net
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Christian Connection 
 | Chef Elliot Farmer
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Learn about Chef Elliot and the marvelous things that he is doing by visiting his website Today, Chef is sharing with you his mouth watering pound cake recipe.
Five Flavor Pound Cake
Ingredients
3 c sugar
2 sticks butter
1/2 c shortening
5 eggs
3 c flour
1 t baking powder
1 c evaporated milk
1 t each extract: almond, rum, lemon, coconut, and vanilla
Directions
Preheat oven to 325*F. Prepare 10" tube cake pan. Cream butter, shortening and sugar, add eggs one at a time. Add flour with baking powder and milk gradually, alternating between dry and wet ingredients. Stir five flavors in batter. Bake for one hour and 15 minutes, or until cake tests done.
Sauce: 1 t each extract: almond, rum, lemon, coconut, and vanilla 1/2 c water 1 c sugar
Bring ingredients to a boil. Pour over cake once it comes out of oven immediately. Let cool about 15 minutes before turning out of pan.
For more from Chef Elliot visit his website at:
www.chefelliott.com
You will want to get his cook book, full of awesome recipes!
In addition to his outstanding culinary skills Chef Elliot is a Minister serving in Full Gospel under Bishop Paul Morton.
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Mission Accomplished!
For weeks we were telling you about our mission trip to New Bern, North Carolina. Can I just tell you that God did it in a big way! The following pictures only give you a glimpse of what happened on Saturday, August 23rd.
We are eternally grateful to each of you that gave money, supplies, and time to make this initiative the tremendous blessing that it was to the entire community.
 | Families getting new shoes
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 | Book bags and school supplies on deck
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 | Bags of toiletries
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Check out our website next week for many more pictures from this glorious day of giving and blessings!
We are already planning and working on next year's mission. Stay tuned, it might be in a city near you! We have started a Go Fund Me Campaign to raise $10,000 so that we can make an even bigger impact. If you want to help us impact lives for the glory of God, make a donation today!
http://www.gofundme.com/dmupds
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Prayer Matters
Our monthly prayer calendar is a great tool to keep us focused on
our praying for the needs of others.
Today's assignment is to pray for those who are grieving. Join us as we pray for God to comfort those who mourn.
Job 42:10 - And the Lord restored the fortunes of Job, when he had prayed for his friends. And the Lord gave Job twice as much as he had before. When you pray for others, God moves in your life also!
As we approach a new month, would you like to be added to the distribution list for the prayer calendar? If so, email us at victoriousmin@att.net. It is our goal to grow the prayer ministry. If you have the heart of an Intercessor and would like to become a part of the prayer team, keeping the many requests that we receive, covered in prayer, contact me at LisaIvy@hotmail.comCall (888) 479 1113 or visit our website at www.vl-ministries.org to submit your prayer request. Are you one of the people who joined the church and was baptized, but never confessed your sins and asked Jesus to come into your heart? If you answered yes, today is the day for you to be born again. Pray this simple prayer and receive salvation:
Dear Lord Jesus,
I know I am a sinner, and I ask for your forgiveness. I believe you died for my sins and rose from the dead. I trust and follow you as my Lord and Savior. Guide my life and help me to do your will. In your name, amen.
If you prayed this prayer in faith, you have passed from death to life, from darkness to light. Heaven is rejoicing over you. If you received Christ today email us and we will add you to the prayer list.
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Saturday, November 8, 2014,
Victorious Life Ministries presents a 1-Day conference in Palm Coast, Florida.
Theme: Living God's Purpose On
Purpose.
Guest Preacher: Evangelist Vanessa Palmer, Vineland, New Jersey
Tickets are available now!
$40.00 includes breakfast, lunch and conference
Call (386) 871-7192 or (386) 503-9414 to reserve your ticket!
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Unfortunately, the world is full of scammers. Many of these people spend their days and nights figuring out ways to separate you from your hard earned cash. I received such a call today and I want to make sure that if you get a call that you know that it is not legitimate. I found the the exact wording in my call on SNOPES:
I have just received a phone call from someone claiming to be from Microsoft, who says that I have a virus which is sending information from my computer.
Microsoft does not contact people out of the blue to tell them there's something wrong with their computers. Unless you've initiated contact with Microsoft about a computer problem you're having, you should dismiss as frauds any phone calls, e-mails, online chat dialogues, and the like from folks who claim they work for Microsoft and have spotted something wrong with your computer.
End the conversation and DO NOT give them any information or remote access to your computer!
Read more at www.snopes.com
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Help A Child Succeed
Have you heard that there is something called a "school to prison" pipeline? Did you know that 70% of the students involved in "in school" arrests or referred to law enforcement are Black or Latino? Did you know that you can do something besides wring your hands? You can!
As I looked at the scores of children living in the projects of New Bern, North Carolina something began to stir in my heart. I felt so strongly that we must do something for the children that God puts in our lives. They need attention, positive reinforcement, options, self-esteem and encouragement. What will you do to help a child succeed?
Have you ever considered becoming a Mentor? The experts say the following about Mentors:
- Mentors help keep students in school.
- Students who meet regularly with their mentors are 52% less likely than their peers to skip a day of school and 37% less likely to skip a class (Public/Private Ventures study of Big Brothers Big Sisters).
- Mentors help with homework and can improve their mentees' academic skills.
In addition:
- Mentors help improve a young person's self-esteem.
- Youth who meet regularly with their mentors are 46% less likely than their peers to start using illegal drugs and 27% less likely to start drinking (Public/Private Ventures study of Big Brothers Big Sisters).
- About 40% of a teenager's waking hours are spent without companionship or supervision. Mentors provide teens with a valuable place to spend free time.
- Mentors teach young people how to relate well to all kinds of people and help them strengthen communication skills.
You can make a difference! Will you?
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