Foundation of Praise - Spreading the Word of God

Foundation of Praise • P.O. Box 2518 • Escondido, CA 92033-3629 • (760) 741-2755

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   "You've got to accentuate the positive Eliminate the negative Latch on to the affirmative Don't mess with mister in between."
   You may be too young to remember that old tune but it still holds a good message. The spirit
of the world tells us to have thoughts such as, "Oh no! Another day!" but the Spirit of Jesus says: This is the day which the Lord hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it (Ps.118:24). Or, Clap your hands, all ye people; shout unto God with the voice of triumph (Ps. 47:1).
   We may think that rejoicing and shouting to
God with the voice of triumph is appropriate for
those whose life is going great, but not for us. We
want God to do something about our problems– do anything. But as we learn the shout of triumph, we invite the Spirit of Jesus to rule and reign in us. He wants each of us to emphasize positive thoughts and eliminate the negative ones. No matter how dark a person's life is He wants us to rejoice, be glad and to always believe we are triumphant because He lives in us.
   I'm so happy that God helped me to believe this. I had often centered my attention on the unpleasant things that happened in my life. As my attention changed toward thanking and praising God, my life changed!
   Have you ever been at sea in a small boat when the water was being driven by an angry wind? Jesus slept while the disciples worried. When awakened by His terrified disciples, He told the sea to be quiet – and it was quiet.
   What is going wrong in our lives; the things
around us as well as all over the world? Many circumstances have elements of bad or evil, but God tells us to shout with the voice of triumph.Why?
Jesus is living in us and He wants us to believe in
His triumph! I often quote to myself: I want to
remind you that your strength must come from the Lord's mighty power within you (Eph. 6:10 LB).
   We live in a dark world, but the darker it is the
more our light will shine! We may live with a
mean person or work in a terrible environment
but, again, the darker our environment, the
brighter His light can shine in us.

by Merlin Carothers

   Soon after we proclaim victory in Jesus the
thought may come, "This is not going to help me"
or other negative thoughts. The dark powers of
this world do not easily give up. They want to win.
   There is no end to the things Jesus may do
for us once we concentrate on His love for us
rather than on His failure to do whatever we
think He should do. Jesus could have come
down from the cross but He chose to say: Not
my will but Thine be done (Luke 22:42).
   Follow God's guidelines for your life on planet
earth. Rejoice, sing praises, shout and above all
learn to believe that we are victorious in Jesus (see
Rom. 8:37). He promised to be with us always.We
can learn to believe that He is with us and is working
in each of our lives according to His plan.
   Perhaps our most difficult goal is to believe that
God is always working for our good. He did not prevent
evil men from torturing Jesus, nor did He take
Him off the cross. God had a far higher purpose for
Jesus. And He has a purpose for you and me!
   Remember Job who lost his children, his wealth and

was covered with boils? He had no idea of what God would do to help him but his decision was: Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him (Job 13:15).  The end result? Job's testimony has helped millions of Christians to believe that God will work for their good if they believe Him.
   Hebrews chapter 11 has many illustrations of people who placed their trust in God. We are told in Proverbs 3:5 to: Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. Some say, "But I don't know how to trust Him," or how to not let my heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid (see John 14:27), or how to shout to God with the voice of triumph (Ps.47:1).
   Yes, learning to believe God may be difficult but His rewards are worth every effort we exert to learn how to trust Him. He may dissolve our problem or He may give us wisdom to know how to deal with our problem.
   The men God selected to write the Bible learned things that have benefitted men and women for many years (actually billions of people).
   Since I began learning to trust God, I have learned that I need to keep my thoughts and desires on Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ (Eph. 5:20). This helps me to believe that Jesus is triumphant in me!

     When Jesus becomes our Savior, we receive – right
then – the seed of the Fruit of the Holy Spirit. The fruit of the Spirit is Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness, and Self Control.
     These come to us in what I call seed form, because they are potential fruit. The fruit of the Holy Spirit describes the very nature of Jesus, and He promised in John 14:23 to come and dwell within us. It then depends on us whether or not we yield ourselves to the guidance and correction of the Holy Spirit.
     When the Spirit convicts us of a selfish attitude or wrong action or ungodly words, we decide how we will respond. Do we justify ourselves? Make excuses for our behavior? Or do we admit that we were wrong, repent and ask the Lord to help us repair any damage we may have caused?
     How we respond will determine whether or not the fruit of the Holy Spirit will grow in us. If we desire to be conformed to His image (by His fruit increasing in our lives) it is necessary that we humble ourselves and receive His loving correction. I Peter 5:5 tells us that God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble. It's never comfortable when the Lord corrects us, but if we receive it in the right attitude, it later produces
good fruit (see Heb. 12:11).

by Mary Carothers

     When Jesus became a living reality to me, the
first thing the Holy Spirit did was bring me under
conviction. He began to remind me of many
occasions in my life when I had been wrong …
not just what I had said or done, but mainly my
bad attitude. Each time I had to choose to admit
I had been wrong, make no excuses and ask God
to forgive me. The hardest part of this for me was
to not make excuses for myself. I had always justified
my actions by blaming my wrong attitude
and behavior on someone else. "Well, if he hadn't
said…" or "If she hadn't done…" The implication
was that nothing I said or did was my fault. It
was always someone else who was to blame. The Lord in His loving wisdom decided it was time I had a good look at myself and have a
major attitude change.
     Was this a painful experience? Yes, to my carnal
nature. But it was a great blessing from God
that He loved me enough to want to help me.
1 Peter 5:6 says to humble ourselves under
God's dealing with us, and in His time He will
lift us up. I'm so grateful for His correction. And,
believe me, He has continued through the years
to show me when I am not pleasing to Him.
     I've shared all of this in order that you might
understand when God corrects us, it's because
He loves us unconditionally, and wants us to
have His blessings. They naturally follow the
developing fruit of the Holy Spirit in our lives.

Please keep me on your mailing list. I look
forward to Praise News each month, and pass it
on to others. I pray for your beautiful ministry of
praise. SISTER PETRA, PA

Your books on praise are awesome. I've
viewed the Prison to Praise DVD several times, and it has made a huge difference in my husband's and my life. ELIZABETH, WA

I was very deeply blessed by Prison to Praise
in the 70's. I've been blessed by each of the Praise News in some way. May God bless, heal and restore you both. KAREN, MA

I am just learning about thankfulness and
praise to God in all things. It has really changed my life. I plan on sharing with others everything that I have learned from you. JOANN, MS

I feel you are my friends for so many
years faithfully sending Praise News. Your wonderful testimonies, prison and military ministries, and your books have affected me strongly and encouraged me
through many deeply dark days. SHARON, OH

Thank you for your teachings on praise. I
would not have made it if I had not read your
books and learned to praise Him. I was tormented
with remorse, regret and guilt over past mistakes until I learned to thank God for them. Now I know that He will take even my mistakes and work them together for good. JOYCE, OH

How can words express what your ministry
has done for me? I started thanking God for everything, and my "troubles" got worse and worse, but the blessings of the "troubles" have been explosive, and now I have real hope in my life. I am able to trust the Lord Jesus as I never believed possible. When I listened

to Mary's testimony, I cried and cried because I knew there was hope for me. Now I see that everythinghas been a great blessing. How big it is to be released from the heavy chains of a lifetime! Thank you Merlin and Mary for your great love to me, and for revealing to me God's way to live, even when
all seems lost. JANET

The Foundation of Praise has received a gift in loving memory of:

DEBRA A. BROWN By her parents Tom & Marilyn Brown of Millville, NJ	BILL & TRISH KARR By Gary & Jan Appert of Bothell, WA	RALPH L. BEELER By his daughter Kym E. Scott of Palisade, CO
JOSH DUMAW, MARINE By his grandmother Connie Dahlman of Liberty Lake, WA	FELIX OLUDOTUN LUWAJI By his daughter Victoria Olaegbe of Sun Valley, NV	JOHN & VICKI FAHEY By their son Chris Dakoulas of Squantum, WA
OUR LOSS IS HEAVEN’S GAIN! OUR PRAYERS ARE WITH THOSE WHO LOVED THEM.

Your continued faithful support has enabled
us to send shipments of free praise books
to the following facilities:

County Jail, Peoria, IL
Hill County Jail, Hillsboro, TX
County Jail, Portsmouth, VA
County Jail Ministry, Florence, KY
Polk County Institute, Butner, NC
Correctional Center, Carson City, NV
Upstate Correctional Facility, Malone, NY
Douglas County Jail, Douglasville, GA
Sequoyah County Jail, Sallisaw, OK
Correctional Center, New Haven, CT
La Palma Correctional Center, Eloy, AZ
County Sheriff's Office, Victoria, TX
Broward Sheriff's Office, Ft. Lauderdale, FL
Scott's Bluff County Detention Center, Gering, NE
Forsyth Correctional Center, Winston-Salem, NC
El Paso Criminal Justice Center, Colorado Springs, CO
St. Martin Parish Sheriff's Office, St. Martinville, LA
Morrow County Correctional Facility, Mount Gilead, OH

The Bible on Praise

I have enjoyed our thirty-two page booklet, The Bible on Praise many times.
Every time I read it, I discover something new. Each time I wonder why I didn't
understand that verse sooner. God's Word holds secrets that we find only when
we seek, and keep on seeking, in order to know the truths He has provided for us.
Jesus said: So I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will
find; knock and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and
he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened (Luke 11:9,10 NKJ). Place The Bible on Praise where you will frequently see it and meditate on the verses. You will be blessed.

THE BIBLE ON PRAISE CHRISTMAS CARD OFFER
About 95% of all the Christmas cards you send will be discarded a few days after Christmas – even the most beautiful ones. On the other hand, most copies of The Bible on Praise that you send as Christmas cards will be kept, read, and enjoyed for months and even years to come. This year, instead of sending out greeting cards, write
your message on the inside cover of The Bible on Praise where it will be enjoyed by friends and family. God's own words will be read over and over by those to whom you send this booklet.

Click on the items below to purchase online.

Buy 1 copy for $2.50 each plus $2.00 for shipping for a total of $4.50.
Buy 5 copies for $2.25 each plus $8 for shipping for a total of $19.25.
Buy 10 copies for $2.00 each plus $10 for shipping for a total of $30.00.
Buy 25 copies for $1.75 each plus $12 shipping for a total of $55.75.

The front cover is painted by Merlin and mailing envelopes are included. Shipping applies
to one U.S. address only. For other shipping requests or to place an order with a credit card
call 1-800-PRAISE1 (1-800-772-4731). This offer expires on December 31, 2011.

Year-end contributions to the Foundation of Praise, per the IRS, must be mailed and postmarked by December 31, 2011 to receive credit as a 2011 tax-deductible gift.

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Read excerpts from Merlin Carothers best selling books!
Prison to Praise • Power in Praise • From Fear to Faith • You Can Be Happy Now • Secret Sins

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