Foundation of Praise - Spreading the Word of God

Foundation of Praise • P.O. Box 2518 • Escondido, CA 92033-3629 • (760) 741-2755

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     Have you ever thought, “I don't like them”? Who were you thinking about? A neighbor? A relative?
A person in the church? Are there certain people who get under your skin and make you want to run when you see them coming?
     Yes, sometimes there are people that to us are
unlikable. They irritate us. Actually they can do more to us than just irritate us.
     Are we responding normally when people give us
unpleasant feelings? Normal? Yes, normal. But is
being normal what is best for us? No, it's just the
opposite. If we don't understand what is happening to us, our reaction can do all kinds of things that are harmful to our health and destructive to our happiness.
     Most of the time we can just go with the flow and not be too upset with what other people do. But if we should be seriously ill one of the first things a doctor might tell our family is, “Don't let anyone upset them. It could be very dangerous to them.”
     Our health can always be affected by our reactions to others, but if we are reasonably healthy we may not realize what is happening when someone upsets us. Among other things, our reaction can control our heartbeat! We may not realize it but our heart can react quite unfavorably when we permit others to upset us. If we are affected over and over by people, our heart has a difficult time keeping up with all that is going on. Many of our organs receive the same message, “We are upset!” The stomach can quickly fill with acid and other unfavorable things happen throughout the body.
     Why do all these adverse things happen? It is because God designed us to be at peace. If we have years of inner turmoil we can eventually suffer serious damage to important parts of our body. But usually we just feel bad and don’t even know why.

by Merlin Carothers

     Jesus knew how to deal with other people in ways that kept Him from being upset. I believe He held His strength in reserve so He would have power to help others. His disciples found it difficult to learn how to react to people as Jesus did, but eventually they understood.
     Paul’s personality initially caused him to be so upset with people that he wanted to have them executed. Later he learned to have completely different feelings toward people who hated him and wanted to have him executed. He wrote: God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us. (Rom. 5:5 NIV)
     As we practice learning to have the mind of Christ (see I Cor. 2:16) we will be able to use people’s irritating ways to work good in us! Joseph’s brothers had sold him into slavery. Now that was something that Joseph could have been really upset about. But he had learned something from God. So, when he had the power to have his brothers executed, instead of being upset with them he said to them: As far as I am concerned, God turned into good what you meant for evil. (Gen. 50:20 TLB)
     God will do the same thing for you and me! Others may want to cause us all kinds of irritable feelings but we can do just what Joseph did. He believed God had used what his brothers did to work much good. His heart did not become upset. To the contrary, he trusted God, and his brother’s actions worked for his good and even for their good. You and I can learn to do the same thing today and every day.

     Rick Warren’s bestseller The Purpose Driven Life began by saying, “It’s not about you.” Rather, it’s all about God and His plan and purpose in each of our lives.
     Well, when we read the statement “It’s not about you,” what a shock it is to realize that we want it to be “all about us!” It’s a surprise to realize how naturally self-centered we each are. Here at the Foundation of Praise we receive hundreds of prayer requests every month, many asking Merlin and me to pray that God will change some circumstance in their life, or perhaps to change another person.
     Well, isn’t this just like all of us? It’s perfectly understandable, since none of us enjoys suffering or sadness. We live in the “here and now”. It’s hard to grasp God’s perspective, which is eternal. If we have illness or physical pain or disability, we want it to go away – now. If we’re in a distressing relationship or have problems on our job, we want God to change things – now. God, however, has a completely different point of view. He has saved us from the eternal penalty of our sins. And He is continuing to work in all the problems and trials of our lives, desiring to help us grow more like Jesus. In Philippians 1:6 Paul assures us that: God who began the good work within you will keep right on helping you grow. Okay, that’s encouraging, knowing God isn’t going to give up on us. After all, we are His beloved children.

by Mary Carothers

     Unfortunately, it seems that when all is going well we get comfortable with our walk with the Lord. We don’t want to change. We like being comfortable. When God wants our attention, it seems that He has to allow trials and troubles to come our way. THEN we want His help. God desires that our response to difficulties will be: “Lord, how can I bring glory to You in this problem? Help me to learn how, and to become more pleasing to You.”
     Oh, if we could only see things through God’s eyes! Then we would have the perspective of eternity instead of just the “here and now”. God is in the business of growing us up into a bride for Christ: Without a single spot or wrinkle or any other blemish, being holy and without a single fault (Eph. 5:27).
     God has promised in Romans 8:28 to cause all the things that happen in our lives to work together for our good. Sometimes we will realize how He has made the difficult and painful times work for our good. Other times we don’t see how our problems have benefited as at all. At those times, let’s not limit God to what we understand. Let’s trust Him to cause each joy and sorrow of this life to prepare us for eternity with Him.
     Father God, we do want to grow up in Christ, but it’s hard to surrender completely to You. We want our own way too much of the time. Help us, we pray, to desire your will more each day.

Bible Reading C h a r t

Would you like to read the Bible in a year? We will send you a free copy of the Bible Reading Chart upon request. We hope you will value it enough to place it in your Bible - and use it daily to renew your mind. All scripture is God breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness (II Tim. 3:16).

WHAT A BLESSING !

Your books have been very popular with our population of 1200. Could you donate more books for the religious carts that I place in the 20 units? I know the inmates will deeply appreciate it. CHAP. HOWELL, FAYETTE COMMUNITY FACILITY, KY

Thank you for the shipment of Prison to Praise. It didn't take long to distribute them. I thank God for your faithfulness to minister all these years to those in custody. They so need to know what praise can do in their hearts and lives. CHAP. MROTZEK, PITCHNESS DETENTION CENTER, CA

I'm asking you to help me show locked up men
and women, love and hope in Jesus Christ. I am
building a library of books for the inmates to check out and hope that you can send me some. TOMMY, CHAPLAIN’S OFFICE,
MOBILE METRO JAIL, AL

Your donation of books for evangelism is appreciated very much. There are many inmates who will be blessed and ministered to because of your generosity. CHAP. VAUTIN,
LAKE ERIE CORRECTIONAL, OH

Praise News is so timely with the things that are going on in my life. Each time I read your articles they answer or explain something I'm going through or am questioning. Thank you for helping so very many people. KAREN, NC

Praise News always brings a smile to my face
when I find it in the mailbox. SHIRLEy, WA

I am reading your books over and over and over. One lies beside my bed. I watched the video on your website, and heard your voice for the first time. I can still see the joy of the Lord in your face and eyes, even in your old age.
DOROTHEA, GERMANY

Praise News is always refreshing. I pass it on to
others and ask them to please also pass it on.
MARGE, OH

I've read all your books, many times and they have changed my life. I'm filled with His peace and I'm rejoicing in all circumstances. What a miracle that is! I no longer wallow in misery and self pity. I just wanted you to know how much you have helped me. NANCY, OH

Thank you for offering all these wonderful spirit
filled books. They really expose areas where some clouds may be obstructing our view. ANDREW, NY

I read Prison to Praise and accepted Jesus as my Lord and Savior. Is there more literature that you can send? Anything would be appreciated and I will share them with my cellmates just like I did Prison to Praise.
MICHAEL, CORRECTIONAL CENTER, WA

Thank you, most profusely, for the donation of
books. We have over 2000 female inmates, for
whom we strive to keep their faith and love of God alive. Many have lost their way and are actively seeking spiritual guidance. More than you know your generous gift of books helps our women. CHAP. BILES, PLANE STATE JAIL, TX

Please visit
our website hompage at
www.foundationofpraise.org
to see a brief video of Merlin.

Please agree with me in prayer for everyone
who receives Praise News. We receive so many
requests for prayer. Some of these requests are for:
Marital problems
Health problems
Financial difficulties
Our military personnel
Family hardships and conflicts
Salvation and healing of loved ones

Thank you for being used by the Lord to help us share His Good News with others. We see positive evidence that our labors are not in vain. The following is just one more example of how your prayers are being answered. We received this letter from a Navy Chaplain:
“We have received the copies of Prison to Praise, and are excited about what the Lord is doing through this wonderful book. I left some copies on a clinic bookshelf and personally handed one to a sailor at the front
desk. The next day I received the following message from him. ” 'Thank you for the book you gave me yesterday. I read it last night and could not put it down. It was the most amazing thing that I have ever read. Since I have been here I have been having a personal
struggle to renew my faith again. About two years ago I lost my faith and have been struggling to get it back and last night when I read about the miracles that the Lord has done I began to cry and a voice swept over me telling me that I was forgiven and to come back to Him. Thank you Chaplain for all that you have done for us.'
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Please continue your prayers that God will use the
Foundation of Praise in ever greater ways to lead men
and women to our Lord. These are difficult times
but God will not fail to bless every effort we make
to be His witnesses in a dark world. Merlin

Coming next
month!

An activist is active - so,
be active! For starters,
do something with this
issue of Praise News. What?
Tell someone about it.
Loan it to someone. Write us
and request a few copies
to give to others. Respond to
something in this Praise News.
Be an activist for Christ!

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Read excerpts from Merlin Carothers best selling books!
Prison to Praise • Power in Praise • From Fear to Faith • You Can Be Happy Now • Secret Sins

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