HAPPY NEW YEAR READERS! WE’RE GLAD TO BE BACK THIS NEW YEAR OF 2006. WE HAD A WONDERFUL CHRISTMAS SEASON, THANKSGIVING, AND NEW YEAR. WE CELEBRATED A LOT OF BIRTHDAYS IN DECEMBER, AND ARE VERY GLAD TO SIT BACK IN THE SADDLE OF TJIFA.
THIS WEEK WE’LL START WITH THE WILDERSNESS. THAT’S A WONDERFUL PLACE TO BEGIN THE NEW YEAR. DON’T YOU THINK? HAVE YOU HAD A WILDERNESS EXPERIENCE LATELY? ARE YOU STILL GOING THROUGH? READ ON . . .
NOTEWORTHY: HAVE YOU MADE NEW YEAR’S RESOLUTIONS?
BOOKSHELF: READ YOUR BIBLE; “THE MAGICIAN’S NEPHEW” BY C.S.LEWIS. ONE OF THE FIRST BOOKS OF NARNIA.
REVELATION: TRUTH?
TESTIMONY TIME: OUR INVITATION IS OUT FOR YOURS.
FRIDAY’S WORD: WILDERNESS
IN THE MIRROR: DO YOU HAVE SOMETHING IN COMMON WITH A CHILD?
O TASTE AND SEE! RUSSIAN TEA. A RECIPE PASSED DOWN MORE THAN 50 YEARS BY BMCC’S MOTHER. REAL GOOD!

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THE WILDERNESS
Jeremiah 2:5-9; 5”Thus saith the LORD, What iniquity have your fathers found in me, that they are gone far from me, and have walked after vanity, and are become vain? 6Neither said they, Where is the LORD that brought us up out of the land of Egypt, that led us through the wilderness, through a land of deserts and of pits, through a land of drought, and of the shadow of death, through a land that no man passed through, and where no man dwelt? 7And I brought you into a plentiful country, to eat the fruit thereof and the goodness thereof; but when ye entered, ye defiled my land, and made mine heritage an abomination. 8The priests said not, Where is the LORD? and they that handle the law knew me not: the pastors also transgressed against me, and the prophets prophesied by Baal, and walked after things that do not profit.
9Wherefore I will yet plead with you, saith the LORD, and with your children’s children will I plead.”

For the past twelve years and three months, I have been privileged to wonder and wander in the wilderness. There is so much about this experience that is mentally educating and spiritually purifying. We’ve been taught to flee the wilderness, and not to associate with wilderness dwellers. (If wilderness dwellers look anything like John the Baptist, I can understand some of the attitudes of forced solitude, confinement and rejection.)

For years, the wilderness experience has been preached, to reprimand and correct. The wilderness was a place where non-compliant church goers dwelt. It was a place where everyone talked about you, and no one in their right mind would ever intentionally go. It wasn’t for good people. The wilderness was for people who were generally bad. It was almost described as ‘hell on earth’.

You’ll find out who you really are in the wilderness. Your fears will magnify, but then minimize as you learn the power of the GOD that you serve. The Hebrew children, in the wilderness, murmured, complained and preferred other gods in the place of GOD. They verbalized their discontent wishing for Egyptian slave masters rather than Father GOD.

Moses heard GOD’S voice in the wilderness out of the burning bush. That wasn’t the end of his wilderness experiences. When GOD needed to get a message to the children of Israel, He talked with Moses on a mountain.(in a solitary place.) Was GOD mad at Moses? Was He punishing him? The answer is: No. God was grooming Moses to hear His voice, and obey.

John the Baptist came out of the wilderness preaching and baptizing. He had spent his life in the wilderness. (Luke 3:2-6) His presence was miraculous. Many of the young Hebrew men his age and the age of Jesus were killed by Herod the Tetrarch when he thought that there was another king in his kingdom. Remember? But GOD had kept him in the wilderness. Was GOD mad at John the Baptist? Was He punishing him? The answer is: No.

Jesus made good use of the wilderness experiences by retreating to the wilderness; but His popularity had grown to the extent that it was probably impossible to pull away by Himself because of the crowds. (Luke 4:42; 5:16; 6:12;) There were times when Jesus was lead, by the Holy Spirit, into the wilderness, and then there were times when He voluntarily withdrew Himself. If Our Lord and Savior found it necessary to withdraw Himself to the wilderness, alone, would it not be well for us to do the same?

In the wilderness, there is not a chorus of voices; but One . . . GOD’S. As you are now, there is a barrage of voices and thoughts. They constantly bombard your mind with the thoughts of this world. There are many things unsaid by Jesus; but, to me, the implication is to withdraw from the noisome pestilence and be still. Even though Jesus never had a car, with a CD player nor tape player, nor TV, nor cell phone, He unplugged Himself from the physical world by going to the wilderness to commune with His Father and replenish His Spirit.

While in the wilderness:
Noah built an ark; Abraham exercised faith; Jacob established the twelve tribes of Israel; Joseph became second only to Pharaoh, and brought the tribes to Egypt, to a place called Goshen; Moses lead the same tribes from Goshen to the Wilderness of Sin . . . And we’ll stop here.

Many feel that they have out grown the game of resolution promises. It really wouldn’t be a game, if you’d ask GOD, in Jesus’ Name what and how to do it.
Suggestions:
Pray about your needs.
Ask GOD for guidance regarding setting realistic goals.
Look around you. What is your most immediate need? (Do you see anything that has bugged you for the past year? (Resolve to do something about it.)

“It is better not to vow a vow; than to vow a vow and not keep it.”
Deuteronomy 23:21 - 23 (NKJV) 21“When you make a vow to the Lord your God, you shall not delay to pay it; for the Lord your God will surely require it of you, and it would be sin to you. 22But if you abstain from vowing, it shall not be sin to you. 23That which has gone from your lips you shall keep and perform, for you voluntarily vowed to the Lord your God what you have promised with your mouth.
TJIFA’S BOOK SHELF:
THE HOLY BIBLE
Well, it’s a New Year, and we will once again begin to read the Bible through. How many of you actually read the Bible all the way through last year? Be honest. The good thing is that since we are all still amongst the living, we can pick up from where we left off last year, and complete our tasks or start in a different place and start to read through the Bible this year.

There are many suggestions for doing this activity. Almost all of the ministries have a plan. You might call or go on line to get a copy of their suggestions. Or…You might divide the 66 books of the Bible by 11 and read six books every month. This plan will leave you one month to over- view what you’ve read. Think about it.
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“The Magician’s Nephew”, by C.S. Lewis
This small book introduces Narnia to the reader. Evidently this imaginary world has a beginning. It is a delightful story of a brave young boy, an evil inventive uncle, and an inquisitive little girl. The story is woven intricately balanced on prominent personalities that hint of interchanging emotions; but quickly retract to their owner’s character. You can’t even begin to imagine what the excursions will uncover nor how each main character will react to the unveiling of circumstances. There is humor as well as intrigue, suspense and fantasy. It is an alarming combination and securely holds the reader’s attention.

TRUTH?
There is only one TRUTH. The TRUTH is the WORD of GOD, which was wrapped in flesh and sent to this earth to save all men.
If you do not have the TRUTH, you will never know the truth about anything; because only with the TRUTH will you ever be able to recognize . . . truth.
“I AM the Way, the Truth, and the Life, no man cometh unto the Father but by Me.” John 14:6.
“Ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” John 8:32.

WILDERNESS Holy Land areas, particularly in the southern part, with little rainfall and few people. The words for wilderness in the Old Testament come close to our word desert, because they usually mean a rocky, dry wasteland. Desert in the lands of the Bible is usually rocks instead of sand dunes. These have been called “tame” deserts, because they have infrequent rainfall and wells or oases enough to accommodate some nomadic or seminomadic human occupancy. It was the land that neighbored inhabited land to which shepherds could drive their sheep and goats for pasture. David’s older brother Eliab taunted him: “With whom have you left those few sheep in the wilderness?” (1 Sam. 17:28 NRSV). The wilderness could also have the foreboding sense of uninhabitable land, as Jeremiah described it: “a land of deserts and pits... a land of drought and deep darkness... a land that no one passes through, where no one dwells” (Jer. 2:6 NRSV). It was a fearful place in which to get lost (Ps. 107:4-9
From Holman’s Bible Dictionary

IN THE MIRROR:
“Two hundred years ago, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, the English poet and philosopher, was involved in a discussion with a man who believed that children should not be given formal religious instruction.
The man reasoned that they would then be free to choose their own religious faith when they reached maturity. It sounded very “enlightened,” doesn’t it? Well, Coleridge said nothing in reply, but later invited the man out into his garden. Coleridge was quite a poet, but he was a disaster as a gardener! The garden was a mess. “You call this a garden?” his friend exclaimed.“There are nothing but weeds here!”
“Well, you see,” Coleridge calmly explained, “I did not wish to infringe upon the liberty of the garden in any way. I was giving the garden a chance to express itself.”
If we want our children to have good, solid, godly values in this amoral world, we can’t leave it to chance! No one automatically develops virtues like self-discipline, hard work, courage, compassion, honesty, friendship, perseverance and loyalty. If children aren’t taught the values that will make them responsible and successful adults— if they aren’t taught about the love, power and mercy of God— chances are they won’t be interested when they’re grown up.
We must communicate moral and spiritual values to our children. Buy a children’s Bible. Read and discuss it with your kids. Pray with them. Teach them God’s principles for living. It will be the best investment you ever make!”

The conversation may have taken place, “Two hundred years ago”, but its principles are time tested and proven over and over in the Word of God. In the Christian life, I’m looking further and further into where God has placed us physically, mentally, and spiritually. I find in each step along the way, regardless of my chronological age, He still insist that I’m His “child”.
We have another year ahead of us where we can spend our time reflecting on truth, and a godly perspective through Christ Jesus, or go throughout the world in which we live, thinking it will be sufficient living with a “self _expression” of who we are. Declaring ourselves, our ideals our thoughts rather than have God glorified within us.
It should take no more than a glance in looking around at our whole society today, and readily see how God parallels the importance of why we, as His children must follow that which He has given us through the work of the Holy Spirit; (Luke 11:13) and that, “If we want our children to have good, solid, goodly values in this amoral (neither moral of immoral) world, we can’t leave it to chance.” We still have every available opportunity to receive God’s best, as we receive His Son. We have no ability to change what is written in Matt.18:3, and thank God for it! God Bless, SLC
O TASTE AND SEE

INGREDIENTS:
MIX TOGETHER:
1 QUART WEAK TEA AND 5 PINTS WATER AND 4 CUPS SUGAR
BOIL TOGETHER FOR 5 MINUTES.
ADD:
1 ½ STICKS CINNAMON
½ TEASPOON WHOLE CLOVES
½ CUP WATER
BRING TO A ROLLING BOIL.
ADD:
JUICE OF 9 LEMONS
JUICE OF 6 ORANGES
2-4 CUPS PINEAPPLE JUICE (LARGE CAN USE ¾ OF THE CAN)
A FAMILY RECIPE THAT WAS ENJOYED YEAR AFTER YEAR DURING THE CHRISTMAS SEASON. SUBMITTED BY BMCC
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INSTANT RUSSIAN TEA: