"Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be men of courage; be strong."
1 Corinthians 16:13

Traditions: Courage

One very important cultural tradition of Native Americans was the COURAGE of the Warrior. Clans, Tribes, and even nations were known for their courage when facing an enemy.

Today there is a great need for a Warrior for Christ to have this same courage in facing an enemy—in our case a "Spiritual Enemy". The Bible has many examples of courage:

Abraham was willing to obey God and leave his homeland.

Acts 27:25 - "Therefore, keep up your courage, men, for I believe God, that it will turn out exactly as I have been told." (NAS)

Paul was willing to risk all for the sake of the Gospel.

Philippians 1:20 - "According to my earnest expectation and hope, that I shall not be put to shame in anything, but {that} with all boldness, Christ shall even now, as always, be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death." (NAS)

Today be a warrior with Courage, for we face many enemies that would discourage us (just look at some of the new TV shows-it will take courage to stand for holiness and turn off the TV).

1 Corinthians 16:13 - "Be on the alert, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong". (NAS)

• Native woman fills key White House post: After a more than eight-year absence, there's finally a Native person in the White House. Jodi Archambault Gillette, a member of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, was named to a top post by President Barack Obama. She will be serving as a deputy associate director in the Office of Intergovernmental Affairs. In choosing Gillette, Obama cited a need for a diverse administration. He wants to ensure American Indians and Alaska Natives have a voice at the White House.
• Native Amercians could reap almost $3B in stimulus: The Senate Appropriations Committee included $2.8 billion for Indian tribes in its portion of the nearly $900 billion economic stimulus bill. That includes hundreds of millions of dollars for schools, health clinics, roads, law enforcement and water projects.
• Upcoming Native Christian Conferences: 5th Annual Native Life Celebration, Northwest Church, Federal Way, WA March 20 - 22, 2009. For more information contact Jan Morgan, (253) 804-0173.
• A SW Native American Discipleship Conference is scheduled for May 29, 30, 2009. It will be held at the LifeWay Bible Conference Center in Glorieta, New Mexico. The location is just NE of Santa Fe, tucked in the among the ponderosa pine trees. The theme for the conference, is "Making disciples and raising up disciplers," among the Native peoples. Missionaries are few on the federal reservations and the Native population is outracing the work of the missionaries. Churches on the reservation are few and they are in dire need of leadership training. We must "activate" the Great Commission, for that's the only way we can reach our Native peoples, that are residing on the federal reservations. For more information, contact Ray Perry, 505-321-7939.
• Tribe gives $7.3 million to charities: An American Indian chairman spoke of the supremacy of benevolence as his tribe handed out more than $7 million to 25 nonprofit organizations, marking not only what is likely an unprecedented donated sum for southern California gaming tribes, but also a fierce dedication to philanthropy even as American Indian casinos ride out a decline in revenue due to the economy.
  
  

Walking the New Path
(Lesson 4, Part 7)

Below is an excerpt of the Warriors for Christ discipleship course. Each newsletter we add a new section. Visit our first newsletters on the homepage or email us if you want previous lessons.

There is only ONE GOD, yet our God has three personalities. During creation of the earth written in Genesis the first book of the Bible, the "Spirit of God" (Holy Spirit) was active; the words "us" and "our" in the scripture refer to our God - three persons in one. The "angel of the Lord" spoken of many times in the Old Testament days, many have said this was Jesus.

Deuteronomy 6:4 - "Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one."

Genesis 1:26 - "Then God said, "Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground."

The "Father" spoke to His son when He was baptized.

Matthew 3:17 - "And a voice from heaven said, "This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased."

Isaiah 55:8 - "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways," declares the LORD."

The Trinity is hard for us to understand, but reminds us that God is God and man can’t understand everything every time- our capacity to understand is limited. The trinity is hard for us to understand, but it reminds us that we do not have God’s understanding. Here are a couple examples to help us understand the Trinity:Example 1 - An EggIf you see an egg you say, "Here is ONE egg." Yet, the egg has three parts:

A. The yoke represents the Father at the center.
B. The white or clear part represents the Holy Spirit.
C. The outerside shell - the part we can see - represents Jesus Christ.

Example 2 - a glass of water (H20). We could say, "Here is a glass of water," yet the water could be in the form of:

A. Ice - representing the Father.
B. Liquid - representing Christ the "Living Water".
C. Steam - representing the Holy Spirit.

All forms of H20 - each important for life.

Walking the Path

1. Based on Galatians 5:22-24 - "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires."
   
   Select one fruit of the Spirit, such as love, patience etc. to show (demonstrate) through the power of the Holy Spirit to a friend or relative or someone you work with.
2. In what ways (write down) has the Holy Spirit helped you this week? (See lesson 7 part B)

Light for the Path

Memorize one of the following for next week.

2 Corinthians 3:17-18 - "Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord's glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit."

2 Timothy 1:7 - "For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline."

Galatians 5:22-24 - "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires."

Talking to My Father-Creator

Suggested prayer:

Dear Father-Creator

Thank you Father, for your Holy Spirit. In the name of your Son, Jesus Christ, I ask the Holy Spirit to:

- Give me wisdom as I read your Word
- Give me strength to do your Word
- Give me your love to share your life, love and your Word

Thank you for giving me your power through the Holy Spirit. Amen.

• "I come from a Manitoba reserve and the conditions here are miserably similar. The utility companies often confiscate Aboriginal land and rivers for power sources and charge outrageous rates to those whom they have historically swindled. Then everyone wonders why Natives have such a high suicide rate! - can anyone comprehend it's just plainmiserable to live in chronic poverty, hunger, cold, debt, oppression, abuse, racism, discrimination, unemployment, threat of utility disconnections, shack housing, isolation (reserves are appointed on barren, isolated, non-productive swampy lands, and in northen MB. remote islands accessible only by boats) and the social conditions that result from relentless poverty, high incarceration rates (poverty related crimes) disease, from malnourishment, internalized violence (from overcrowded housing, homelessness, tensions, chronic pervasive hopelessness, helplessness, stress) Refrain from blaming the victims of oppression for their state of oppression. In the end it comes down to Jesus's word's 'What you do to the least of these, you have done for Me.' Please pass on. Thank you." - Coreene, Canadian First Nations
• "Please pray for my Mother who is fighting breast cancer which has spread to the nerve endings throughout her spinal area. Please pray that the Lord's will be done, and that He would be gracious to her and her husband, both two of the strongest Warriors I have known in my life." - Dan, Warriors for Christ Webmaster
• "Please pray for the healing of my glaucoma, that I may have prefect clear healthy eyesight. Please pray for my facial twitch that it goes away. Please pray for my skin condition that it may heal. Please pray that my financial situation greatly improves I'm currently going through bankruptcy and I can't even handle it, it's a mess." - Steve

Prayer Circle & Warrior Council

Warriors For Christ Prayer Requests & Oppportunities to be Involved:

• Volunteers to come and help with building projects.
• A volunteer who could help with accounting and office work.
• Additional finances for: discipleship center, new computers, printing discipleship material.

"THE PRAYER CIRCLE" - Those that have committed at least once a week, to pray for spreading the Gospel,  to effectively reach American Indians, for discipled native leaders, and the Warriors for Christ staff, Board and regional Directors. We will send you emails of prayer requests as we receive them and will ask you to join WFC staff to pray for these needs, and the ones posted on the WFC prayer board.  To join contact us at www.wfconline.org/contact.htm.

"WARRIOR COUNCIL" - Those that have made a monthly pledge of financial support to WFC.  Just go to http://www.warriorsforchristonline.org/donations.htm to reach our "help page" on the web site and let us know that you want to join with us to help reach our Host people with Christ's love.