Thank you people of China…
By Larry Schoonover, Puyallup, WA

Being exposed to the phenomenal work being done in China with the biblical concept of, “House Church” made a great impact on me. Upon my return home, I researched a group that began in China around 1980 called “Three Self Patriot Movement”. This was an effort to found Christian house churches after the Cultural Revolution. Today the leaders and authorities of this massive body of believers (80 million house churches) are answerable directly to the Communist Party. This in time has spawned many underground house churches who are hungry for the pure word, as well as genuine apostolic ministry. There greatest need at this time is for teachers. These people already congregate in homes by the thousands. I was reminded of the account in Acts 2 & 3 where Peter and John went daily to the Temple for prayer and went house to house to minister the word, break bread together in fellowship and in prayers.
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The Balancing Act Between Tough And Tender
By Pastor Jeff Arnold, Gainesville, FL

Our Lord Jesus spoke about the parable of the fig tree, showing that when the tree put forth its TENDER BRANCHES you can tell that summer was very near, using the illustration from nature to show how we could tell about HIS COMING. I am lifting the example from the setting to speak about TENDER BRANCHES.

Having a TENDERNESS in us is the first stage for the next level of GROWTH. Growth only occurs when the branches are YET TENDER, what a challenge to all of us. Maybe the progress and growth many of us are desiring has not come, due to the fact that TENDERNESS is not working in us, so that the next STAGE can happen. There is a time when the branches must be TOUCH AND HARD; that time is WINTER. The branches HARDEN to brace themselves against the HARD, COLD SEASON called WINTER. Hardships of winter include the terrible cold, fierce winds, and various animals foraging for food.
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Utterance – by Larry Schoonover

One of the very first actions of God that we read about in the Old Testament is the act of speaking out. The desire of the spirit of God was manifest through utterance when the scripture declares, “God said.” 
Whatever the form, we conclude that there was a thought of God that expressed itself through speaking out. 
That spoken utterance produced something. We call it creation. God said, “Let there be light, and there was light.” 

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