[I think that the following texts were published in The SouthSide Sun for Word Of Life Fellowship of East Point, GA. Feel free to edit in the name of your church and use these freely, IF you MEAN it!] PRAYER FOR THE SICK Nearly all churches offer prayer of one sort or another for the sick. The tally is a LOT slimmer for churches which believe that as a result of their prayer something will HAPPEN. "Is anyone sick? He should call the elders of the church to pray over him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise him up." (James 5:14-15 NIV) In any service at Word of Life Fellowship, the elders are responsible to be READY to pray for the healing of any member or visitor who asks for it. Also, as in the Scripture quoted above, elders and other prayer-warriors are called out to make "house calls" on occasion. This ministry to the sick is in no sense "practicing medicine", because our prayer for the sick is FIRST a ministry to the SPIRIT, and when the spirit connects with the power of God, the body is dramatically affected. We're not opposed to the legitimate practice of medicine. The Lord Jesus said that sick people need a physician (Matthew 9:12). We just want to consult the Great Physician first. Trustworthy medical doctors all acknowledge that their art only prepares the body, but _God_ must do the healing. Isaiah prophesied concerning the Messiah, "He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, And by His stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; We have turned, every one, to his own way; And the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all." (Isaiah 53:5-6 NKJ) Peter quoted this prophecy (I Pet 2:24), speaking of forgiveness and healing. Matthew definitely understood this prophecy to mean physical healing (see Mt 8:16-17). Healing of the spirit, receiving eternal life through trust in the Lord Jesus Christ, is more important than any physical healing; but life in this world is a whole lot nicer when we feel good. [Clyde Price--Scraps37] OUR SOCIETY IS BEING INVADED BY AGENTS OF AN EXTRA-PLANETARY POWER. People of earth are being recruited by a Person whose intention is to become recognized as Supreme Emperor of the Universe. These recruits call themselves "Christians" and openly admit that they serve the "King of kings." "They themselves are in the world,...I have given them Thy word; and the world has hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. ...Sanctify them in the truth; Thy word is truth." (Jesus praying, in John 17:11, 14, 17 NAS; see also Philippians 3:20) People who have put their trust in the Lord Jesus Christ no longer belong to the "system" of this world. According to the Bible, after being created by God, mankind revolted; and since then God has been working to redeem some of the rebels and re-establish His kingdom on the planet. The first phase is rescuing individuals and then building families and churches of righteous activists and kingdom recruiters. The Creator, the Word (see John 1), invaded His own creation through the womb of a devout young Jewess named Miriam (we call her Mary). He paid the blood-ransom to buy back any rebel who would repent, trust Him, and follow. Those who trust Jesus and follow Him as King are citizens of an extra-planetary sovereignty (that is, HEAVEN, see Philippians 3:20). The Marines are looking to recruit "a few good men." We are looking to recruit YOU! [Clyde Price--SCRAPS38] CONTROVERSIAL CLAIMS People criticize Bible-believing Christians because of our exclusivistic claims. We are just quoting our Lord: "Jesus answered, 'I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.'" (John 14:6 NIV) The Life: In the first chapter of John, we read, "In him was life, and the life was the light of men" (1:4). In John's first letter we read, "He who has the Son has the life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have the life." (I John 5:12) There is no life apart from Jesus. The Truth: The Greek word here (ALETHEIA) can also be translated "Reality". We all know people we think are made of shallow plastic. The Lord Jesus is the most intensely REAL Person in the universe. There is no truth and no knowing apart from Him. There is no wisdom or counsel or education that has a valid basis if it leaves out the Lord Jesus Christ. He also said concerning the Scriptures, "Your [God's] word is truth." (John 17:17). The Way: This is the most upsetting claim of all, that Jesus of Nazareth and faith in Him is exclusively the only way to God. People protest, "You're condemning millions, even billions, of people to Hell!" (as if we ourselves were gleefully pushing them over the edge). In reality (in Reality), we take seriously the Bible's teaching that all have sinned and earned sin's wages: death; and that the Lord Jesus is the ONLY one who has ever paid the sin-debt and rose from the dead to apply His payment to the benefit of all who put their trust in Him. Where there was NO WAY, the Son of God MADE A WAY. He has the RIGHT to say, "No one comes to the Father except through me." Read the Gospel of John for yourself, and verify that we are not misquoting. Ask God to show you the Truth, and prepare your heart to obey the Truth you find. We are not viciously condemning people to Hell. We are joyously inviting people to Life! Come to Jesus and trust in Him! Receive His life! [Clyde Price--Scraps39] "I WILL RETURN"--JESUS "Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. In my Father's house are many rooms, if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I WILL COME BACK and take you to be with me that you also may be with me where I am." (John 14:1-3 NIV capitalized for emphasis) Jesus said that He would go to prepare a special place for each one who has trusted in Him. The last three chapters of the book of Revelation give us more detail about what this very pleasant place is like. The most important, pleasant and exciting thing about this place for believers is that the Lord Jesus will be there, and we will be with Him. Meet the Lord Jesus in the Gospel of John. He will be the same Person with the same crucified and resurrected body, who ascended from the Mount of Olives and will someday (soon) put His foot down again there. There is no other Messiah; Jesus of Nazareth is coming back. Anybody else who claims to be the Messiah is a LIAR. Put your trust in Jesus, and together we will be ready to be with Him forever. [Clyde Price--Scraps40] STAMPIT I Thunk-thud, Thunk-thud, Thunk-thud. I spend a lot of time stamping things. I stamp product information and reprinted health articles for handouts and bag stuffers so my customers will know where to come back and buy more good stuff. I put my personal stamp, or my signature and phone number or both, on over a thousand tracts, booklets and Scripture portions a year so that there will be a channel from the people who receive them back to a living, listening human being, if they want it. In fifteen years, I have only had two people ever call me back from literature I had given out. An old praying mother needed someone to pick up her middle aged son from jail, and wanted somebody who had spoken with him about the Lord. I did it. Another time, a woman wanted to talk to somebody at 3 am one night. I listened to her, and told her that God had a way out for her. For all the thousands of other people who have received those gospel leaflets and booklets, they have not simply taken an anonymous fingerprint-free piece of Madison Avenue propaganda. CLYDE PRICE PERSONALLY ENDORSES THIS MESSAGE. I hope that's worth something. II God can use His Word in printed form, or broadcast, or recorded, or any other less personal method. Those other media are NOT bad, and NOT inferior, and should not be abandoned or avoided; but the most God-honored medium in history is tell-a-person. When I use tracts, I try to give the printed message along with a spoken "plug": "This little booklet is an outline presentation about how to have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ" or "...about how to receive the gift of eternal life." Or, "This is the Gospel of John from the New Testament in plain English, and [pointing to my stamp] that's me." I have spent many hours copying out sections of Scripture by hand onto bookmarks for love-gifts to people going on certain kinds of spiritual retreats. I feel that when I HAND-COPY Scripture FOR another person, that I am personally endorsing and adopting God's Word as MY MESSAGE TOO to the other person. The apostle Paul spoke of "MY gospel". Well, it's MINE too. I HEARD the invitations to "TASTE and see that the Lord is good" and to DRINK of the living water that really SATISFIES. And even though I'm not a celebrity, I'm a "satisfied customer" and I am eager to give my personal "testimonial." The Gospel is GOOD NEWS. Jesus is GOOD. Clyde Price says so, too. AFTERWORD The mechanical considerations of book manufacturing and the decisions of the editor(s) can determine how much more extra stuff goes into the appendices of any print-media version of this collection. I really like to give a "Baker's Dozen" when it comes to material that could promote the Kingdom of God. In sharing this material electronically through bulletin boards and information systems, I am seeking to get the "stuff" to the people who are most likely, and most easily, able to use it: Evangelicals who use personal computers to produce their church newsletters and other literature. I had this waking nightmare about a published book, that (for instance) the Manna Bookstore in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, got in four copies of a book-version of Shots. Next week, the Methodists, Baptists, and Church of God had identical "Extra-Terrestrial Invasion" ads, and the Presbyterians were still trying to get it through committee. Perhaps electronic publication would reduce some of that. It's certainly much less expensive than manufacturing and marketing paper & ink books. Remember that reading my stuff electronically was FREE (as far as I was concerned--connect & phone charges don't pay authors' royalties). That's like getting a book at the bookstore free, and sending a small fee only if you republish. I have asked you to consider an honorarium similar to what you would give a guest preacher, if you reprint several articles. I think that's reasonable, since on electronic media you can print it out as many times as you wish in any format you specify. I do need to pay the costs of hardware, supplies, etc. I've spent a LOT of time writing and re-editing this material, and during the most intensive times of labor, my income went down drastically. "The worker is worthy of his support." What I ask is probably less than a typist would be paid to retype the material. SUCH A DEAL! In case you're interested, I did Arrows, Shots, and Scraps completely on a non-upgraded Tandy 600. I ran out and bought this little dinosaur because the Z-80 8-in. drive C/PM machine my electronics-genius brother (Dr. Burt Lee Price) built for me got sick, and I couldn't afford the Tandy portable PC (the 14000LT). Until I got a more muscular machine of my own, I leaned on dear friends like Harry Whitehead to compile my little files and compress the stuff so BBSs will accept it. Harry compiled and compressed HOW TO PRAY by R.A.Torrey, which I keyed, (C) about 1900, as well as other smaller pieces. Other projects are in planning, both for stuff I've written and for (C)-expired or copyrighted material okayed to issue on a "Shareware" basis. My prayer for YOU is that God will bless your efforts to challenge His children to deeper consecration, repentance from open and hidden sins, and a freshened encouragement to receive and walk in His Power. I pray that as you reach out to the unchurched and the religious unsaved that God will draw many to genuine salvation and full deliverance in our Lord Jesus Christ. I have preached, sung, and/or taught in Methodist, Baptist, PCA, EPC, CH, Church of God, and assorted independent churches. If you like what you've read, you might like to hear me preach. I'm not a screaming jumper, but I'll try not to let you go to sleep, either. One set of my earlier ministry cards had the logo of an open Bible outline containing the motto: "Open Book Policy". I preach the Bible, with no strings attached, and I try HARD to label my own opinions, when I share them, as such. My deepest desire is to see local churches blessed, Christians consecrated and growing, and as a result, MANY MORE coming in faith to Christ. I would like to meet you and talk with you someday. Whether or not we ever meet before that Day, if you send me your newsletter, I'll pray for you. God bless you. His, Clyde I believe in redundancy: (404) 761-2327 P.O.Box 667, Red Oak, GA 30272-0667 USA.