Dear People of the Northstate Vision:

On a recent trip God gave me a vision that needs sharing. I saw the people for whom Jesus gave His life – those who accept Him and those who do not yet – milling about like a herd that was more of a mob. God was calling and they just kept on milling – and God did not even seem to be perturbed by it – but He had provided horses for some of us. He told us to ride and guard the flanks of the Body. He was quite clear that we should make no effort to turn or guide them; our attention was to be entirely on Him and on riding where He told us to ride, and our activity was to guard – not to prod or nip or push, but just to guard as we rode according to His direction. He said that our faithfulness to these twin instructions would have the effect of turning the herd in the direction He wanted them to go.

Don’t get me wrong. Our nation, culture, society are headed in the wrong direction. We are as Jesus (later Paul) predicted as we approach the latter days; we prefer myths to truth and want our ears tickled with nice stories by superstars – sacred and secular – rather than being Great Commission people. (Remember the Church will be judged first on these issues.) At the same time it is just as true that we are in an Elijah season of unprecedented miracles and decisions for Christ. The events depicted in Revelation and the apocalyptic Gospel passages are racing our way like a runaway freight train at the same time that it has never been more exhilarating to be a Christian as we watch Him work wonders through our hands. Their purpose is to turn the fathers’ hearts to the children, as in Luke 1:17, and we need to obey.

What to do in the face of this seeming dichotomy? Guard the flanks of the people He loves and ride as He directs – in prayer and action. He’s coming.
CURRENTPrayNorthstateEVENTS

• Praying Home the Prodigals is offered at St. Augustine’s Anglican Church in Chico the weekend of March 6 and 7, St. Michael’s Episcopal Church in Carlsbad (CA) over the March 13 and 14 weekend and for Redding’s Single Parent Family Home Group the weekend of April 3-4. Praying Home is hands-on teaching about sowing into the current season of God’s grace. It is a season of unprecedented proliferation of miracles – but with a specific purpose summed up in Luke 1:17 – to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children and prepare a people for righteousness. Contact Father Peter Hansen at 530-894-7409 (Chico); Father Neil Moquin at 760-729-8901 (Carlsbad); or Susie Rodriquez at 530-917-2560 (Redding) for information or to reserve space.

• Eagles’ Heart is a new prayer group for business persons with an interest in the fulfilling of prophecies made over the Downtown Mall in Redding. Upon This Rock is the group meeting and praying over the Four Corners area of Redding. Meetings combine prayer with strategies for blessing the zone where these business persons are located. Call PrayNorthState at 530-941-3470 for information about participating or for help setting up such a group in your enterprise zone. Do we live in intractable times, or in times in which God calls us to walk – on our own two feet – through doors that He alone can open?

• Jim’s new book – The Holy Spirit and the End Times: A Season of Unusual Miracles – is out. Everything we know about revival and transformation – and a whole lot of good stories – are in its pages. The book sells for $16.00. Jim will be signing books at the Barnes & Noble store on Sunrise Boulevard in Sacramento on Saturday, March 28, from 1-3 PM.

PRAYNORTHSTATE RADIO and TV for MARCH

KLXR, KBLF and KNTK:
• 3/7-8 – Bobby Piceau & Marty Mosely – Jericho Climbing Gym
• 3/14-15 – TBA
• 3/21-22 – Bob Ferrari – Flue Season Chimney Sweeps
• 3/28/29 – Mark Smith/Doug Tooley – Smitty’s Heating & Cooling/B & T Sat.

Fox 30:
• 3/2 – Pastors Mike Gleason & Ron LaGatta – Pastors’ Prayer Summit
• 3/9 – Pastors Kim & Mary Andersson – School of Deliverance
• 3/16 and 23 – Diane Largent & Renee Lorge – Bethany Christian Adoptions
• 3/31 – Dean Patty Taylor and Director Brian Nystrom – Aspire Program

PrayNorthstate Radio is heard every Saturday Morning at 8 AM on AM 1490 KBLF, and 9 AM on FM 102.3 KNTK, Sundays at 7 AM on AM 1230 KLXR. See PrayNorthstate TV Monday Mornings at 6:30 AM on Fox Channel 30/Cable 2.
WHAT’S UP IN THE NORTHSTATE

• There is good news and challenging news around the state and nation. Recent national studies show that a majority of high school students are remaining virgins, and only 30% of girls and 31% of boys are engaging in sex before age 18. Abortions are down by nearly a third since peaking in the early 80s. (During our last Paah-ho-ammi project decisions for life increased by 130% in our county.) Divorce rates are also dropping dramatically. On the challenging end of things, the California legislature is poised to adopt a constitutionally questionable resolution urging the state supreme court to void Proposition 8 – that protects traditional marriage – and the court will hear arguments on this issue on Thursday, March 5. Praise God for the good news and meet the challenge by going before Him daily – begging Him to bless and transform (all) hearts.

• As I write it’s raining in Northern California (SoCal too) and the rain gauge has upped by 50% in the past two weeks. None was predicted; all was prayed. Praise God for this – and pray harder! We are still at a mere 75% of normal precipitation and snow levels are at critical lows. But God says, “Seek me.”

• Siskiyou Christian School is an interdenominational effort supported by multiple churches in the county and sponsored by Hope Community Church in Mt. Shasta. The school will hold a garage cum bake sale on Saturday, March 7, from 9 AM to 1 PM. All proceeds will benefit the school. Contact Jo Anne Walker at hopeemc@snowcrest.net for information or to donate.

• The Center for Transformation Studies in Chico is gearing up for Spring. In addition to a full bore class titled Spiritual Disciplines for Everyday Life – already underway, the center will offer a March 13 seminar titled Can Faith Really Work?; and a March 27-28 class called Kingdom Change: Essentials of Transformation. More offerings are planned for April and May. Contact the Rev. Terry Walling, director, at 530-891-0830 for information. There is a fee for participation in these offerings.

• Siskiyou County is preparing for a year of focus on Transformation of the county. Leaders anticipate kicking off the season with a visit by world renowned transformationalist George Otis Jr. on March 23-4. Plans are still being formed. Call Ray Shelton at the JH Ranch in Etna – 530-467-3864 – for information.

• The Perspectives Course on the worldwide Christian movement is underway and being taught in several locations this Spring. The fifteen week course covers what God is doing in mission around the world – and how to be in mission in our own communities or on foreign mission fields. The weekly course began on Sunday, January 25, at the Covenant Community Church in Davis and on Monday, January 26 at Matthew’s Café Community Church in Chico. Each unit is taught by experts in many fields; Jim will teach cross-cultural ministry at both locations on April 12 and 13. Go to www.perspectives.org or call Frank Agee at 530-877-1017. For those who are interested it is not too late to register.

• Forty Days for Life continues in Sacramento through April 5. This extended vigil for a culture of life spans the traditional season of Lent and includes prayer and sidewalk counseling training as well as worship at the state capitol and at various sites around Sacramento. It now occurs several times yearly in more than eighty American cities and more than six hundred lives were saved – not through picketing but through ministry – during the last season. Contact Wynette Sills at 916-955-1577 or e-mail her at wsills@succeed.net to participate or to learn how to establish this ministry in a new community.

• Jim’s new book, The Holy Spirit and the End Times, is all about practical prophecy and field-tested strategies for welcoming God into your community in ways that demonstrate and celebrate His transforming power. Check it out on our web site – www.praynorthstate.org – e-mail us at praynorthstate@charter.net or just give us a call at 530-941-3470. It’s available at most bookstores as well.

• Lieutenant Colonel Steve Russell will keynote the 24th Annual Community Leaders’ Prayer Breakfast in Redding on Friday, April 10, from 7:00 to 8:30 AM in the Simpson University Gymnasium. Russell commanded the 1st Battalion of the 22nd Infantry – the unit that captured Sadaam Hussein – in Iraq. Retired from the Army, he currently serves in the Oklahoma State Senate. Tickets are $15.00 and a table of 8 may be sponsored for $120.00. Call Shelley at CBMC – Christian BusinessMen’s Connection – at 530-275-9401 for information or tickets.

• FaithWorks Coalition is a gathering of some seventy supporting churches in Shasta County that was born of a vision given to a dozen local pastors in 1997. In partnership with County Social Services they cut the welfare rolls in half in their first eighteen months. They built homes for twenty-two uninsured families – with no government aid – in the aftermath of the wildfires of 1999. More recently they have built and continued to manage a transitional housing project called Francis Court. They offer practical assistance with an evangelistic heart and lead many to dependency on the Lord as they teach families how to live independently of circumstance. Their annual fundraiser for 2009 will raffle off a new motor-scooter at the same time it raises funds for ongoing operations. Call 530-242-1492 for information.

• Julia Loren is a licensed pastor and family counselor in Redding, as well as an accomplished author and speaker. She offers Love and Glory: An Experience in Reawakening on Saturday, May 9, from 10:30 to 5. The workshop is designed to re-invigorate – with the peace and the joy of the Lord – ministers of all kinds from pastors to caregivers to disaster relief workers. There is a charge of $75.00 and info is available at windsongoutreach@gmail.com. Loren is the author of Breaking the Spirit of Despair and Dancing in the Fullness of Joy.
UPCOMING PrayNorthState EVENTS

• National Day of Prayer is on the way. The week of May 4-8 will be devoted to this time of calling the nation to prayer and praise in Redding and other NorthState communities. In Redding the annual Bible Reading Marathon begins at 6 AM (Monday, May 4) in the breezeway of City Hall – 777 Cypress Avenue – and continues until Noon on Thursday, May 7, which is the National Day. From 7-9 PM on Wednesday, May 6, the Body is invited to gather in the City Hall Plaza for prayer, praise, and testimony. (There will be tents reflecting the business community, veterans, compassion ministries, healing, prophetic arts, and youth.) At Noon on Thursday the community gathers for the traditional hour of prayer and praise for the nation, and that afternoon those who can stay will fan out to pray at the spiritual gates of the city. Call us at 530-941-3470, or e-mail us at praynorthstate@charter.net, for information or to report the events in your community so that we can help and publicize with you.

• PrayNorthState offers Seeding the Future: God’s Way of Sowing Into This Economy at Dr. Todd Royse’s Chiropractic First Healing Services – 1435 Market Street in the Downtown (Mall) Shopping Plaza – 9-5 on Saturday, April 25. There is no charge for attendance (love offerings will be taken) and lunch on your own. There is a seating limit of 30. Call us at 530-941-3470 or e-mail at praynorthstate@charter.net. Topics include A Prophetic Community in the Marketplace; Having Each Other’s Back; From Revelation to Reality – Be Practical; and Tending What God has Already Given.

Anyone desiring to participate or to gain a fuller picture of any current or upcoming events should go to the PrayNorthstate web site at www.praynorthstate.org or call us at 530-941-3470.

WHAT THE COORDINATORS ARE UP TO

• It really is Anglican month for PrayNorthState! Jim preaches Sundays, March 1, at Vistas (10 AM) in Redding; March 8, at St. Augustine’s Anglican (8 and 10 AM) in Chico; March 15, at St. Michael’s Episcopal (8 and 10 AM) in Carlsbad; March 22 at Bouquet Canyon Community Church (at 10 AM and 6 PM) in Canyon Country; and March 29, at St. Mary’s Anglican (10 AM) in Manteca. Jim will serve as chaplain for the orthodox Anglican clergy retreat in Oceanside from March 16-18, and he co-leads the clergy conference for the Anglican Diocese of San Joaquin in Oakhurst March 23-25.

• Jim and Diana will visit the State Capitol to lead their regular prayer meeting in March, as well as taking Prayer Vanguard to area businesses as requested. Jim will be signing copies of his books at Barnes and Noble on Sunrise Boulevard in Sacramento from 1-3 PM on Saturday, March 28.
Please pray for our leaders and media sponsors:
Please pray for PrayNorthstate’s Board: Jim and Diana Wilson, Dr. Andre Van Mol, Mollie Wilson, Charles Davidson, Charlie Harper, and Linda Hartman. Pray for Taylor Motors, Hue and Cry Security, Redding Custom Home Theatre, Nicolet Glass, Fox 30/Cable 2 TV, Crown Motors, Belongie Entertainment Enterprises, Curves of Redding and Anderson, Children First Foster Family Agency, Gallagher’s Heating and Air, Dr. Scott Kremer, Corning Ford, Method 3 AM, Mercy Medical Centers, and Dr. Todd Royse’s Chiropractic First Healing Services. Pray for Imago Dei Ministries, Carenet Pregnancy Centers, Bethany Christian Services, Spyglass, and LifeLight Pregnancy Center.

HOUSEKEEPING DEPARTMENT
Correspondence – and donations – may be addressed to PrayNorthstate, P. O. Box 493743, Redding, CA 96049-3743. Call us at 530-941-3470. Our web site is www.praynorthstate.org; our e-mail is praynorthstate@charter.net.

PRAYER FOCUS FOR WINTER:
THAT THE WHOLE BODY OF CHRIST WOULD AWAKEN TO
THE FULLNESS OF OUR INHERITANCE AS AMBASSADORS
OF THE KINGDOM AND OF ITS KING – AND TO THE
RESPONSIBILITIES THAT ACCOMPANY INHERITANCE – TO
BECOME PEOPLE OF PRAYER AND WORSHIP, BOLDLY AND
PUBLICLY SHAPED BY HIS WORD, AND BLESSING IN POWER