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APRIL - MAY 2012 THE OASIS NEWSLETTER A Publication of Guiding Light Assembly Special Issue 2

PAID IN FULL...!

One day, a poor boy who was selling goods from door

to door to pay his way through school, found he had

only one thin dime left, and he was hungry. He de-

cided he would ask for a meal at the next house. However, he

lost his nerve when a lovely young woman opened the door.

Instead of a meal he asked for a drink of water.

She thought he looked hungry so brought him a large glass of

milk. He drank it slowly, and then asked, “How much do I owe

you?” . “You don’t owe me anything,” she replied. “Mother has

taught us never to accept pay for a kindness.” He said, “Then I

thank you from my heart.”

As Howard Kelly left that house, he not only felt stronger phys-

ically, but his faith in God and man was strong also. He had

been ready to give up and quit.

Years later, that young woman became critically ill. The lo-

cal doctors were baffled. They finally sent her to the big city,

where they called in specialists to study her rare disease. Dr.

Howard Kelly was called in for the consultation. When he

heard the name of the town she came from, a strange light

filled his eyes. Immediately he rose and went down the hall of

the hospital to her room. Dressed in his doctor’s gown he went

in to see her. He recognized her at once. He went back to the

consultation room determined to do his best to save her life.

From that day he gave special attention to the case.

After a long struggle, the battle was won. Dr. Kelly requested

the business office to pass the final bill to him for approval.

He looked at it, then wrote something on the edge and the

bill was sent to her room. She feared to open it, for she was

sure it would take the rest of her life to pay for it all. Finally she

looked, and something caught her attention on the side of the

bill. She began to read the following words:

“Paid in full with one glass of milk”. Signed, Dr. Howard Kelly.

Tears of joy flooded her eyes as her happy heart prayed: “Thank

You, God, that Your love has spread abroad through human

A LOVE LETTER...

Jesus, the Lover of my soul

I cannot imagine a life without

Him. A life without hope, a life

without real purpose - a life whose

path leads to destruction. I am

glad I found Him or should I say, I

am glad He let me find Him.

I am amazed at the depth of love

He has for me. Me...? Yes, He loves

me regardless of where I’ve been

or what I’ve done. Why does He

love me? I do not know, but He

does! He loved me even when I

seemed unlovable. He loved me

even when I was deep in sin. He

loved me even though I did not

really know Him.

He took me and cleansed me

with His love and made me into

a precious jewel in His hands.

Still I stumble and He loves me

nevertheless. This knowledge truly

amazes me. Why does He bother?

If He chooses not to love me, what

can I do to Him?

I’m so glad that loving me is not

an option for Him – it is who He is.

What an honour, what a privilege

to be called His very own.

Thank You so much Lord Jesus for

giving Yourself as a ransom for my

soul!

hearts and hands.”

Seize every oppoprtunity that you are presented with, to be a bless-

ing to someone. Even in the most inconvenient of places and at the

most inconvenient of times...You may just be sowing a seed for your

future harvest!

Selah...

Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some people have entertained angels

without knowing it.Hebrews 13:2

by Elsie Oladimeji

OASISThe

As with everything God gives us, He wants us to use money to build His Kingdom. Many times, we see people who give and yet never seem to lack because they are obeying God’s com-mand to give and there are those who never give or rarely give yet never have enough (Proverbs 11:24-25; 2 Corinthians 9:6). Giving (also known to Christians as sowing seeds), is the prin-ciple of prosperity that has stood the test of time. Genesis 8:22 (NKJV) says “While the earth remains, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, winter and summer, and day and night shall not cease.” Therefore as you give, it will certainly come back to you in due time as confirmed through the words of Jesus Christ in Luke 6:38.Christians and non-Christians alike benefit from this principle of prosperity, so be bold to give. As a Christian, besides your regular giving in church, it is good to also give to other chari-

table causes. A donation to a charity, a gift to that brother or sister that doesn’t have a job, grocery shopping for the old lady next door or even a nice dress for the little girl whose clothes look a bit worn out. However do not limit your giving to only those you feel need it, but be obedient to give to whoever God leads you to give to, because in your obedience there is great reward. Give, give, give! Determine in your heart to be used by God to change lives through your giving and as God gives more to you, remem-ber to search out those who you can also demonstrate God’s love to by also giving to them. Even if you think you don’t have much to give right now, start small, as you start and are consis-tent, God will increase your capacity to give because “He who has pity on the poor lends to the LORD, And He will pay back what he has given.” (Proverbs 19:17 NKJV)A key to helping us is to always remember that when God pro-vides for us, He is using us as a distribution channel. This under-standing gives us the right perspective and helps us develop a healthy relationship with money. Just as a tap needs a source of water to be functional, we have a Source that provides for us so that we too can be functional. Remember this from the word of God: “The generous soul will be made rich, And he who waters will also be watered himself.” (Proverbs 11:25 NKJV)

2 Investing in the KingdomYour Money and You by ‘Lola

Building a healthy relationship with money is a vital factor in maximising its benefits. Before branch-ing out into other forms of investments, invest first

in the Kingdom of God and He will guide you to hidden treasures. Matthew 6:33 (NKJV) rightly says “But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.”

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WHAT’S NEW?

BUSINESS DIRECTORY• Chidi Best - Avon Rep

For all your beauty needs, call: 07903 286021

• Etiquette and Image Consultant

(Yetunde Abraham)

e-mail: tundeoki@me.com

UK - 07946 252957

Nigeria - 08023139738, 07027761040

U.S.A - (301) 4049449356

• Himspiration Concepts Limited

Design & Print - flyers, brochures, point of sale

graphics (banners and backdrops), Corporate

Gifts. Tel: 07957 276002

• Competent Flyers Car Services

For Your 24hr transport, Airport Shuttle and

concierge services. Call: 020 8959 2856;

0844 5674 507; 07582 875908

PLEASE HELP US BUILD!We are looking to secure premises for our permanent place of wor-ship and ministry activities. This is a huge step of faith that will re-quire considerable financial sup-port to make the dream a reality.

If you would like to give a one off donation or make a pledge to give regularly towards the Building Fund, please call 07824336650, or email: churchoffice@glachurch.org for the building fund account details or to make your pledge.

May the Lord richly bless you as you give towards the building of His Kingdom in Jesus’ Name.

PRECEPTS OF LIFE

“Seeing then that we have a great High Priest who has passed through the

heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do

not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but

was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly to

the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”

(Hebrews 4:14-16 NKJV).

There is never a time while we are on

this earth that we will not have one

need or the other or one issue or the

other to deal with. As the scripture

above says, our High Priest (Jesus

Christ), sympathises with our weak-

nesses. He understands us, even if no

one else does. He knows how we feel;

He feels our pain. When Lazarus died,

even though He planned to raise him

up, the Bible states in John 11:35 that

“Jesus wept”, so we know that He is

compassionate. He truly is concerned

about and seeks better things con-

cerning us. He has made a way for us

to come boldly before His throne of

MAKING THE MOST OF A BAD SITUATION

Once there was a golfer whose drive landed on an anthill. Rather than move

the ball, he decided to hit it where it lay.

He gave a mighty swing of his golf club. Clouds of dirt and sand and ants

exploded from the spot. Everything moved except the golf ball. It sat in the same spot!

So he lined up, steadied

himself and tried another

shot. Just like the first shot,

clouds of dirt and sand and

ants went flying again; the

golf ball laid untouched.

Two ants survived...

One dazed ant said to the

other surviving ant: “Whoa!

what are we going to do

now?”

The other ant replied: “I

don’t know about you, but

I’m going to get on that

ball!”

grace --- What you can’t tell man, you can tell

Him. He does not condemn us! However He

desires that we overcome as He overcame,

and has made the grace available for us to

do this.

Hebrews 10:35-39 NKJV - “Therefore do not

cast away your confidence, which has great

reward. For you have need of endurance,

so that after you have done the will of God,

you may receive the promise: “For yet a little

while, and He who is coming will come and

will not tarry. Now the just shall live by faith;

but if anyone draws back, My soul has no

pleasure in him.” But we are not of those who

draw back to perdition, but of those who be-

lieve to the saving of the soul.

by Elsie Oladimeji

BIBLE STUDY TIPS - Life Application

4 COMMUNICATIONand Body Language

A. Sight or Visual: What you see first car-

ries the most impact than anything else.

First impressions always last. Dress how you

want to be addressed. These are all phrases

that you have heard number of times but

don’t really pay much attention to. The way

you look and dress communicates who you

are, how you feel about yourself and your

confidence level. It is important to pay par-

ticular attention to all these aspects of your

appearance so as not to offend anybody or

give the wrong impression

of yourself. Your comport-

ment is also very important

as different postures of the

body can also convey or

communicate signals. For

example, drooping of the shoulders can sig-

nify depression, lack of confidence and leth-

argy. Fidgeting e.g constantly touching your

face or scratching your head could signify

nervousness or timidity. Not having eye con-

tact when conversing could signify shyness,

lying or low self-esteem. All these aspects of

communication are silent indicators that can

work to your advantage or disadvantage.

B. Auditory (sound): What you hear and

how you hear a message affects your per-

ception of the message and the person com-

municating it. For example, if you talk very

fast, it could convey that you are nervous

and you leave your listener frustrated. Talk-

ing too softly could say you are timid and un-

sure of what you are saying. Talking too loud

could be seen as arrogant and overbearing.

If you mumble or make noises when you

need to be quiet, it shows lack of concentra-

tion and a disconnect.

C. Kinesics: The language of gestures, ex-

pressions and posture. This is body language.

Communication can be conveyed through

the most insignificant yet habitual gestures.

The way you position your body while talk-

ing is important. Always stand straight, hold

your head straight and maintain eye contact

when talking. Over gesticulation and shift-

ing from one leg to the other can signify ner-

vous energy. Folding your arms when talking

or being spoken to can say you are not inter-

ested or are fed-up.

D. Olfactory: This is communication by

smell. It is very obvious that everyone likes

nice and pleasant smells. Bad smells like body

odour or bad breath can be off-putting and

could have a negative effect on any communi-

cation you may wish to engage in.

E. Touch: The way you touch people can also

communicate love, friendship or hate and

aggression. The handshake is one of the first

forms of touch you might encounter, and if

it is not done properly, it can communicate

the wrong message. A good firm handshake

shows confidence and interest in the per-

son. Whereas a soft haphazard

handshake could show a dis-

connect and lack of interest in

the other person.

F. Speech: This is verbal com-

munication. Your voice is a rep-

resentation of who you are your own signa-

ture. Voice and speech are connected to body

language. Your tone gives depth and reso-

nance to your voice the way you speak, choice

of words and tone are a barometer of how you

really feel. For instance, if someone were to ask

you how you are feeling, and you are are feel-

ing well yet answer with a very weak and le-

thargic voice, the person will feel you are lying

as your answer doesn’t match the way you re-

ally feel. In other words control your message

rather than let the message control you.

BIBLE STUDY TOOLS

• Multiple Bible Translations• Study Bible With Cross Reference• Topical Bible• Bible Concordance• Bible Dictionary• Bible Commentaries• Lexicon (Greek-English / Hebrew - English)

SCRIPTURE FOR MEDITATION: Colossians 2:6-10

1. Personalise the studies: The bible says it is not the hearers of the word that are justified, but the

doers. What has God been ministering to you from this season’s study?

Use today to reflect on the issues God is challenging you to confront

and deal with. Ask God to search your heart and reveal things that you

need to deal with. Get a notebook and begin to jot down those things.

2. Pray: Seek God’s face on those issues and ask the Holy Spirit to give you the

grace and wisdom to help you to effect the necessary changes.

Communication is a vital part of our every day lives and human existence. Even as Christians, the way and manner in which we communicate is vital to the message we are sending and how we are being understood. If you have the right method of communication but the wrong body language, your message can be misunderstood and mis-

guided.There are two kinds of communication, verbal, which takes up to 35% of our communication while non-verbal, takes up

“The way you look and dress commu-nicate who you are, how you feel about

yourself”

Tunde Abraham

HUMOUR 5

A LOOK AT TAXES A Dutchman was explaining the red, white and blue colours in the Netherlands flag to an American friend.“Our flag is symbolic of our taxes. We get red when we talk about them, white when we get our tax bills, and blue after we pay them.”The American nodded. “It is the same with us in the USA, only we see stars too!”

FUNNY OLD AGEThe story goes that a certain court jester went too far one day and insulted his king. The king became so infuriated that he sentenced the jester to be executed. His court prayed upon the king to have mercy for this man who had served him well for so many years. After a time, the king relented only enough to give the jester his “choice” as to how he would like to die. Without missing a beat, the jester replied, “if it’s all the same to you my Lord, I’d like to die of old age.”

“Experience first makes you sit the test, then it takes you through the lessons after...”

PICTURES FROM 2012 EASTER RETREAT

BOOK EARLY FOR 2013 EASTER RETREAT.LIMITED SPACES AVAILABLE...!

by Sola Onalaja

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Healthy Living & Lifestyle

MAINTAINING A LOW SALT (or No Salt ) DIET

Practical Mixing and Match-ing Fashion tips by SimplyLars

Whether you are petite, large, tall or short whatever your size,

you can mix and match your style. You don’t have to spend a fortune on a new wardrobe, but buying some key pieces such as a good black blazer, great pair of jeans and using what you al-ready have to your advantage can create the illusion of a new wardrobe.I have found that people tend to compliment me or comment “is that new”?, on outfits that they have seen me in several times, but the key is it has just been

worn in a different way to how they saw me wear it initially.For example, you may wear a dress on its’ own and to change the look wear the same dress over a pair of leggings on another occasion with a different hair style or different accessories. An-

other great way to make the same out-fit look different is with accessories or a pair of shoes, just by going from flats to heels you can instantly transform a look. It really is that simple!Here are 5 tips to transforming your wardrobe and look:1. De clutter – if you have not worn an outfit in 6-12 months, give it to charity. Invest in some quality key pieces such as a black dress, good bra, white shirtand black shoes.2. Be creative with what you have, don’t be afraid to try new looks.3. Read fashion/style magazines for in-spiration or just follow the fashion col-umn in this newsletter.4. Steal, Steal, Steal great looks from people with a similar body shapes to yours, I do it all the time.5. Be confident and unique with your own style and remember you don’t have to follow every trend.You are fearfully and wonderfully made.

Frequently Asked Questions:WHAT IS SALT?Salt is also known as sodium chloride. Sodium is a mineral that is needed by the body for the control of blood pressure, normal functioning of the muscles, nerves and the regulation of fluids.

WHY IS TOO MUCH SALT HARMFUL?Too much salt in the diet has been linked to high blood pressure. HEALTH ALERT : high blood pressure can increase a person’s risk of having a stroke, developing heart disease and cause the kidneys to fail. Another harmful effect of too much salt intake is the ability to make the body retain excess, dangerous levels of fluids.

WHERE IS SALT FOUND IN OUR DIET?Majority of salt found in our diet is added during the processing or preparation of food. We tend to add too much salt along with other condiments (such as Maggi, soy sauce, etc that are extremely high in salt) when cooking. Too much salt is also added into processed foods so as to preserve and prolong their shelf life or expiry date.

WON’T REDUCING MY SALT INTAKE MAKE MY FOOD TASTE BLAND? Initially, food will taste different as a result of our taste buds over the years being used to the taste of salt. There’s no cause for concern though; this would change, the taste buds quickly adapt. The sooner we reduce our salt intake, the quicker our body will benefit.

HOW CAN WE FLAVOUR FOOD WITHOUT SALT?There are many alternative flavourings that can be used as a substitute to salt. For example, cooking with fresh herbs, ginger, pepper, low salt spices, fruit zest and fruit juices. Meat, chicken and fish can be marinated before cooking to enhance flavour.

Next Installment: Vital changes needed in maintaining a low salt diet.

A few years ago, after a lifetime of being dissatisfied with my gangling, scrawny physique and hoping for a miraculous intervention by God, I finally decided

to join a gym and started a weight training routine that has seen me grow in size and weight from a lanky 12.5 stone 6’ 4’ beanpole, to a more respectably proportioned 15.5 stone stature.I remember looking at myself in the mirror while training at the gym one session, and reflecting on the “miraculous” change my body had gone through over a relatively short period of time, and the Holy Spirit began to draw some spiri-tual parallels with my Spiritual life. He began by showing me the similarities between spiritual growth and physical growth - your body is programmed to respond to pressure by making itself stronger to accommodate that pressure the next time around. It does this by building more muscle fibres and increasing the size of existing ones. Working or exercis-ing against the resistance of heavy weights is the impetus that your physical body requires to build physical endurance and to build muscles and grow stronger.Building muscles is a very demanding and painful venture; it calls for a disciplined, committed and hardworking regime of exercise and diet to see the gains and achieve the desired results, which for many people, you do not begin to see till many months into the programme, long after many would have given up in frustration and discouragement in the face of the apparent lack of growth!The recipe for your spiritual growth is also somewhat akin to the process described above. Much the same way that car-dio - vascular exercises help to keep your body in tune and your heart in shape, reading and meditating on the word of God will keep your spiritual heart in shape and keep your body in tune. However, it is the challenges and resistance of your daily living experiences that God uses to build your spiritual muscles and endurance, and also stimulate growth in you. While it is true that faith comes by hearing the word, living faith is achieved and nurtured when your faith is tested un-

der the weight of your challenges and trials as you go through each “training session”. The effect of the training on growth is achieved through the principle of “progressive overload” where every subsequent training session applies more pressure on the muscles than was used in the previous session, to force the mus-cles to continue to grow. In the same way, in our walk of faith, God takes every believer through a regular process of progres-sive overload to build your spiritual muscles and to encourage you to continue to grow. Do you recognise that process in your life right now? Does it appear as though you are constantly being bombarded on every side by challenges and trials? Be greatly encouraged! Whenever you are going through stuff that seems hard for you to endure and the pains too much to bear, rest assured that God is using this opportunity to build up your faith and take you to a higher place in Him. Your character is being shaped, the fruit of the Spirit is being nurtured in you; Godly response to pressure is be-ing stimulated. Before you know it, your faith has grown, you are ready to do more exploits for the kingdom, the devil has lost again!SCRIPTURES FOR MEDITATION:2 Corinthians 4:1-182 Corinthians 12:7-10

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PROGRESSIVE OVERLOAD“We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair;

Persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed”2 Corinthians 4:8-9 (KJV)

KINGDOM PRINCIPLESby Wale Oladimeji

Have you ever taken a moment to consider why it is easier to show more love to strangers than members of your own family? Or why we feel out of touch with Jesus after hanging around with certain people?

BOOK REVIEW

Well, C.S. Lewis definitely has. In his book, ‘The Screwtape Letters’ he ad-dresses such issues from an interesting perspective.

Written during the European war, about the human condition, he writes through the eyes of demons and he does so in a way that forces the reader to reflect and confront certain issues that at one point or another, the read-er will have gone through. And if they have not, they would most definitely know someone who has.

‘The Screwtape Letters’ is a book about a demon called Screwtape, who writes letters to his nephew, Worm-wood about the job (human being) he is doing. He continually advises and en-courages him to be steadfast in his work as a demon, whose main aim is to keep his job (the human) from the One they call the ‘Enemy’ (Jesus). He praises his nephew when his nephew successfully takes away attention from his Christian walk and the Enemy (Jesus) and scolds

him when he ‘lets the job slip through his fingers’. In his letters, the stories he recounts about former jobs (humans) and the description of how he success-

fully distracted them is shocking. His observations about the jobs (hu-

mans) especially Christians he was allo-cated to, were heart breaking because

they were things we as Christians would over-look or see as meaningless. While he, saw them as essential and very valu-able for his role. Even in the way in which he spoke about some of these jobs who ended up in his Father’s house (Hell), it was clear that these jobs were no threat to him or his rule. Although he does ob-serve and emphasize the point that that these jobs were religiously devout. With every letter written, you are almost ob-ligated to stop and reflect upon every-thing you just read especially because it is from a demon’s perspective.

I encourage every Christian to read this because it allows you to see even for a few hours how much we as Chris-tians need to watch and pray because based upon Screwtape’s observations, the most ridiculous things trips us up. It continually reminds us throughout the book, how much we are despised and hated by the devil. It is also evidence of how far he is willing to go to make sure that we miss Heaven. An intriguing read!

BOOK TITLE - THE SCREWTAPE LETTERS (C.S. Lewis)Reviewed by Hannah

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FELLOWSHIP WITH US!GUIDING LIGHT ASSEMBLY is a vibrant Full

Gospel Church with a strong family oriented

and bible believing congregation.

CHURCH MEETINGS:

Come join us for a refreshing time in God’s

presence!

VENUE: Parliament Hill school, 140 High-

gate Road, London NW5 1RL.

• Sunday Service: 11.00 am - 1.00 pm

• First Friday of every month: 8.00pm -

10.30pm

OASISNEWSLETTER

Published By:GUIDING LIGHT ASSEMBLYA FULL GOSPEL CHURCH

P.O.BOX 1315, Hemel Hempstead

Hertfordshire, HP1 9JR.

TEL: 01442 259 961

EMail: publications@glachurch.org

Web: www.glachurch.org

DESIGN & PRINTING HIMSPIRATION CONCEPTS

07957 276 002

WHY IS TOO MUCH SALT HARMFUL?

PRAYER REQUESTSIf you’d like us to pray with you on any issue, please email publications@glachurch.org with details of your request.