I want to express thanks to those who joined the fast (called for by Chuck Pierce) of bread, refined sugars, and alcohol for any 7 days in February. Remember, we will do this again March 26-29. I also want to thank those you who connected with us via UStream to watch our First Fruits meetings. In some countries you reported difficulty with buffering. Remember, you can watch the replay at any time.

I am also thankful to those who are connecting with us for prayer via Skype. It's great to use new technologies for the kingdom of God.

I have had a lot of time at home this February and really enjoyed it. Travel begins again this weekend, for which the Lord gave me Lev 26:8. I know He intends the international connections through “Arise” to compound and multiply, bringing breakthrough for each region.

Overcoming anxiety

Recently I have been hearing of people struggling with anxiety. This is very interesting because we are now in the 12th Hebrew month (Adar Feb 15-March 15) and one of God’s blessings during this month specifically is to help us overcome anxiety. Its important to get victory so we can go through the new doors God is NOW opening for us. Here are some thoughts on anxiety.
 
1. Anxiety will cause us to straggle behind. In Exodus 17, Joshua is fighting with Amalekites who were attempting to cut off stragglers.
 
2. Struggle with anxiety is really struggle with self-centeredness. The Amalekites descended from Esau who was described as profane (Hebrews 12:16), which really means he refused to choose God over his own self-interests. This caused him to:

a. Despise or make light of his birthright, which led to...
b. Making wrong covenants. He married native women of the land; they were a source of bitterness (Gen 26:34-35).
c. He missed out/was too late for the blessing (Gen. 27), which caused him to hate Jacob, and in the end, set himself against God’s purposes.
 
3. How do we overcome anxiety? Well, when Moses hands were raised, Joshua could win. When they fell, Joshua was beaten back. Therefore we should keep our hands raised by:
a. Continually dedicate ourselves to the Lord.
b. Be like Napthali (whose position in the tribes was to fight rearguard and thus protect stragglers.(Num 10:27)
i) Much communication of thanks and praise to God (be creative and let him give you eloquent words (Gen. 49:21)
ii) This will cause us to abound in favor of the Lord (Deut 33:23)

Schedule
 
Feb 28, Kota Kinabalu – Basel Church, Arise D'Gap Church
March 1, Arise Prophetic Upgrade Seminar
Mar 3-6, Solo, Indonesia
Mar 7, GBI Gilgal Central Plaza Sudirman,
Sunday Services (7:30 a.m., 10:00 a.m., 1:00 p.m.)
Mar 14 Arise, Sano – First Fruits and webcast