Additional Accountability Questions

Additional Accountability Questions

I read these great questions in a newsletter from the ministry of
Blazing Grace. They come from speaker and author of prayer, Evelyn
Christenson.

1. Do you worry about anything? Have you failed to thank God for all
things, the seemingly bad as well as the good? Do you neglect to give
thanks at mealtime?

2. Do you fail to attempt things for God because you are not talented
enough? Do feelings of inferiority keep you from trying to serve God?
When you do accomplish something for Christ, do you fail to give Him all
the glory?

3. Have you failed to be a witness with your life for Christ? Have you
felt it was enough to just live your Christianity and not witness with
your mouth to the lost?

4. Are you proud of your accomplishments, your talents, your family? Do
you fail to see others as better than yourself, more important than
yourself in the body of Christ? Do you think as a Christian you are
doing quite well? Do you rebel at God wanting to change you?

5. Do you complain, find fault, argue? Do you have a critical spirit? Do
you carry a grudge against Christians of another group because they
don't see eye to eye with you on all things? Do you speak unkindly about
people when they are not present? Are you angry with yourself? Others?
God?

6. Are you careless with your body? Are you guilty of not caring for it
as the temple of the Holy Spirit in eating and exercise habits? Do you
defile your body with unholy sex acts?

7. Do you ever use filthy language, tell slightly off-color jokes? Do
you condone others doing so in your presence, in your home?

8. Do you fail to see that you are a landing strip for Satan when you
open your mind to him through transcendental meditation, yoga, psychic
predictions, occult literature, and violent, sex-driven movies? Do you
let Satan use you to thwart the cause of Christ in your church through
criticism, gossip and non-support?

9. Do you fail to pay your debts on time? Avoid paying them altogether?
Do you charge more on credit cards that you can pay when due? Do you
neglect to keep honest income tax records? Do you engage in any shady
business deals?

10. Are you irregular or spasmodic in church attendance? Do you attend
preaching services in body only, whispering, reading or planning while
God's Word is being preached? Are you skipping prayer meetings? Have you
neglected family devotions?

11. Do you ever lie? Exaggerate? Do you fail to see "little white lies"
as sin? Do you tell things the way you want them rather than the way
they really are?

12. Are you guilty of a lustful eye towards the opposite sex? Do you
fill your mind with sex-orientated TV programs, movies, books or
magazines? Their covers? Centerfolds? Do you indulge in any lustful
activity that God's Word condemns-fornication, adultery, perversion?

13. Are you guilty of being a part of factions or divisions in your
church? Would you rather add fuel to a misunderstanding than help
correct it? Have you loved only the ones in your own church, feeling
those of other denominations are not worthy of the body of Christ? Are
you secretly pleased over the misfortunes of another? Annoyed by their
successes?

14. Have you failed to forgive anybody anything they might have said or
done against you? Have you turned certain people off? Are you holding
grudges?

15. Do you steal from your employer by doing less work, staying on the
job less time than you are paid for? Do you pad your expense account?

16. Is your goal in life to make as much money as possible? Accumulate
things? Have you withheld God's share of your income from Him? Is money
your god?

17. Do you know in your heart that you are a fake, just pretending to be
a real Christian? Are you hiding behind church membership to cover a
life still full of sin? Are you faking Christianity for social status,
acceptance in your church, community? Do you smile piously during the
Sunday sermon but live in your sin all week? Are you the person in your
home that you are trying to impress people you are?

18. Do you enjoy listening to gossip? Passing it on? Do you believe
rumors or partial truths about an enemy of your competitor? Do you fail
to spend time every day reading the Bible? Do you fail to think on the
things of God-only good and true and pure things-always?

So how did you fare? Good questions to consider today and in the days
ahead.

Ask and you will receive

"Until now you have not asked for anything in my name. Ask and you will
receive, and your joy will be complete." John 16:24

"During the American Civil War, a certain man had a son who had enlisted
in the Union army. The father was a banker, and although he gave his
consent to his son, it seemed as if it would break his heart to let him
go.

Once his son had left, he became deeply interested in the plight if the
soldiers, and whenever he saw one in uniform, his heart went out to him
as he thought of his own dear boy. Often to the neglect of his business,
he began spending his time and money to care for the soldiers who came
home disabled. His friends pleaded with him not to neglect his business
in this way, by spending so much time and energy on the soldiers. So he
decided to give it all up, taking his friends' advice.

After he had made the decision, however, a young private in a faded,
worn uniform stepped into the bank. It was easy to discern from the
wounds on his face and hands that he had been in the army field
hospital. The poor young man was fumbling in his pocket to find
something, when the banker saw him. Perceiving his purpose for coming
into the bank, he said to the soldier, 'My dear man, I cannot help you
today. I am extremely busy. You will have to go to the army
headquarters, where the officers will take care of you.'

The poor wounded soldier still stood there, not seeming to fully
understand what was being said to him. He continued to fumble in his
pockets and finally pulled out a scrap of dirty paper. He laid the
filthy page before the banker, who read the following words written in
pencil:

Dear Father:

This is one of my friends, who was wounded in the last battle and is
coming to you directly from the hospital. Please receive him as you
would me.

Charlie

All the banker's previous resolve to focus solely on his business
instead of the soldiers quickly flew away. He took the young man to his
own magnificent home and gave him Charlie's room and seat at the dinner
table. He cared for him until the food, rest, and love had returned him
to health, and then sent him back to his place of service to again risk
his life for his country's flag." From STREAMS IN THE DESERT

Good thoughts to ponder today.

Great quote: If we can, by God's grace, turn ourselves entirely to Him,
and put aside everything else in order to speak with Him and worship
Him, this does not mean that we can always imagine Him or feel His
presence. Neither imagination nor feeling are required for a full
conversion of our whole being to God. Nor is intense concentration on an
idea of God especially desirable. Hard as it is to convey in human
language, there is a very real and very recognizable (but almost
entirely indefinable) Presence of God, in which we confront Him in
prayer knowing Him by Whom we are known, aware of Him Who is aware of
us, loving Him by Whom we know ourselves to be loved. -- Thomas Merton

DON'T MISS THE OBVIOUS ...

DON'T MISS THE OBVIOUS ...

Worship is all about HIM - not about YOU! I was reading through Psalm
150 this morning and two things jumped off the page. Read it for
yourself:

1 Praise the Lord! Praise God in His sanctuary; Praise Him in His mighty
firmament! 2 Praise Him for His mighty acts; Praise Him according to His
excellent greatness! 3 Praise Him with the sound of the trumpet; Praise
Him with the lute and harp! 4 Praise Him with the timbrel and dance;
Praise Him with stringed instruments and flutes! 5 Praise Him with loud
cymbals; Praise Him with clashing cymbals! 6 Let everything that has
breath praise the Lord. Praise the Lord!

Unfortunately worship divides rather than pulls us together. We get hung
up on what WE will get out of worship. We forget that the object of our
worship is not us - it's all about Him. Every phrase in this Psalm
instructs us to praise HIM! He is the FOCUS of our praise. We are
directed to use our particular instruments of worship not for ourselves
but for Him. From trumpets to cymbals! Wow. Can it be? And it says that
the clashing of cymbals are to be loud! (We'll just ignore the "d" word
...)

Worship is a blending of our individual personalities, likes and
dislikes, preferences and convictions to focus in on our great God! It
is the body of Christ coming together with a common purpose - Praise the
Lord! Someone said that if I am looking up in worship of Him I won't
have time to be looking around to see what's going on around me ...

This morning remember that worship is not about You! It's all about Him.
Praise the Lord! And do it with everything you've got! Let EVERYTHING
that has breath - praise the Lord.

ACCOUNTABILITY

ACCOUNTABILITY

From time to time guys ask me for questions that they can ask for
accountability purposes. This is a list of questions that I have shared
before with my Freedom Fighter guys, but here it is again. I trust it
will be helpful.

ACCOUNTABILITY QUESTIONS
1. Where are you presently in your personal relationship with God?
2. What have you been reading in your daily devotions this week?
3. What has God been saying to you during those readings?
4. Are you making notes of what God has been saying to you?
5. Have you been consistent in your times of prayer?
6. Which areas of your relationship with God do you experience
resistance? Are there any unresolved issues in your life?
7. What are the general and specific things that you are praying about?
8. What habits are you struggling with as a Christian at time in your
walk with God?
9. How are you going with regards to your spouse and children?
10. What general reading are you doing these days?
11. If Satan where to try to invalidate you as a person or as a servant,
how might he do it?
12. What is the state of your sexual perspective? Are you tempted, are
you struggling with fantasies? Are you entertaining evil thoughts?
13. Where are you financially right now? Are things under control?
14. Do you have someone to whom you are accountable, and do you meet on
a weekly or monthly basis with that person?
15. Have you spent time with a non- Christian this last month?
16. Do you have a prayer list where you pray for non- Christians?
17. What kind of challenges are you facing right now?
18. What is your greatest desire at this point?
19. What are the three things that you are most thankful for?
20. What areas of your life is the Holy Spirit working in?
21. Of the 20 questions you just answered, have you lied to us?
Adapted from a list of probing questions from my good friend and brother
in Christ, Dr. Gerard DuToit.

Great quote: When you become consumed by God's call on your life,
everything will take on new meaning and significance. You will begin to
see every facet of your life - including your pain - as a means through
which God can work to bring others to Himself. Charles Stanley

ADD TO YOUR FAITH ...

ADD TO YOUR FAITH ...

Sorry I am late in getting this out this morning, but we are in New
Hampshire to visit our kids and grandkids and will be ministering with
Robert and Joyce Hayes in Springfield, Mass on Saturday and Sunday. The
fall foliage on the way up was just spectacular.

Our grandson, Tanner, just turned two and we are amazed at his
vocabulary at his age. He is using some pretty big words and knows
exactly where to put them in a sentence. He absolutely adores our son,
Zach. You should have seen his face when we pulled into the driveway and
he spied Zach! I was afraid he would jump right through the picture
window.

What was amazing to me is that in just a few hours, he was observing
Zach and picking up words that Zach was saying adding them to his
vocabulary. It brought to my mind a some verses from Peter's epistle of
the qualities that we are to add to our lives:

5 For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness;
and to goodness, knowledge; 6 and to knowledge, self-control; and to
self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; 7 and to
godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love. 8 For if
you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you
from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord
Jesus Christ. 9 But if anyone does not have them, he is nearsighted and
blind, and has forgotten that he has been cleansed from his past sins.
(1 Peter 1:5-9)

My friend, and Bible teacher/speaker, Dr. Ron Blue taught us that one
way we can add these necessary qualities to our faith is to pray and ask
the Holy Spirit to do build them into our lives. He prays for a
different quality each day. There are seven of them - one for each day!
Good practice.

So what are you adding to your faith today? Enjoy your day.

Great quote: God wisely designed the human body so that we neither pat
our own backs nor kick ourselves to easily. Anonymous

THE GREAT LIBERATOR

THE GREAT LIBERATOR

"If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed."
John 8:36

"To those who are imprisoned in their sin, the world IF rings a sweet
silver bell of hope. No matter WHO you are or WHAT you are or how many
years you may have remained a slave of Satan, "IF THE SON THEREFORE
SHALL MAKE YOU FREE,' the glorious Liberator CAN make you free.
'Wherefore he is able to also save them to the uttermost that come unto
God by him.' (Hebrews 7:25)

Perhaps that which weighs upon you most heavily is a sense of your PAST
GUILT - you have offended God often, willfully, atrociously, with many
aggravations. You feel that God's Word says against you is deserved and
every threatening that His book utters is your just due. Can so foul a
sinner be made clean?

I know that the leopard cannot lose its spots nor the Ethiopian change
his skin by HIS OWN EFFORTS. Is there a power divine that can take away
the spots and change your nature? Surely, it already has happened. No
sin that you have committed need shut you out of heaven. However
damnable your iniquities may have been, there is forgiveness with God
that He may be feared.

You may have gone to the very edge of hell, but the arms of God's grace
is long enough to reach you. You may feel that your tongue is padlocked
with blasphemy, your hands bound by acts of atrocious violence, your
heart fettered with corruption, your feet chained fasts to the satanic
blocks of unbelief, your whole self locked up in the bondage of
corruption, but there is ONE so mighty to save that He can set even YOU
free. 'The blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanses us from ALL sin.' (1
John 1:7) from the pen of Dr. Charles Haddon Spurgeon (The Power of
Christ the Warrior)

Listen to the words of this powerful hymn ...

And can it be that I should gain
An interest in the Savior's blood?
Died He for ME, who caused HIS pain?
For ME, who Him to death pursued.

He left HIS Father's throne above!
So free, so infinite His grace!
Emptied Himself of all but love,
And bled for Adam's helpless race!
'Tis mercy all, immense and free,
For, O my God, it found out me.

'Tis mystery all! The Immortal dies!
Who can explore His strange design?
In vain the firstborn seraph tries
To sound the depths of love divine.
'Tis mercy all! Let earth adore;
Let angel minds inquire no more.

Long my imprisoned spirit lay
Fast bound in sin and nature's night.
Thine eye diffused a quickening ray;
I woke - the dungeon flamed with light!
MY CHAINS FELL OFF, MY HEART WAS FREE!
I rose, went forth, and followed THEE.

NO CONDEMNATION now I dread;
Jesus, and all in HIM is mine!
Alive in Him, my living Head,
And clothed in righteousness divine.
Bold I approach the eternal throne,
And CLAIM THE CROWN, THROUGH CHRIST MY OWN.

Amazing love! How can it be
That Thou, my God shouldst die for ME!

Powerful words this morning. I have one Freedom Fighter friend that this
is for. You know who you are today. May this truth burn into your heart.

DELIGHTING IN THE LORD

DELIGHTING IN THE LORD

"Trust in the Lord, and do good; so you shall dwell in the land, and
surely you will be fed. Delight yourself also in the Lord; and he shall
give you the desires of your heart." Psalm 37:3-4

"God's Word makes it very clear to us that He Himself, by His Spirit,
resides in our bodies. They are called His temple, His habitation, His
residence here on earth (see 1 Corinthians 6:12-20).

In other words, both God and I are joint occupants of my body. We share
the same premises. We cohabitate in the one residence. He is, therefore,
my CONSTANT COMPANPION. An acute awareness of this [should] change my
entire attitude toward the Lord.

There will begin to dawn upon my spirit and soul the deep desire to
delight in HIS companionship. If we live together, love each other,
respect each other, then surely we are bound to enjoy each other. Too
often there is a tendency to try and make this simple relationship
between God and man to mystical; too mysterious; almost magical. It need
not be.

So how does one delight in God? Here are just a few simple suggestions.
Use the same five physical senses of your body that the world exploits
to intrude into your life, to make yourself aware, instead, of God.

1. Use your EYES to read His Word - to study it. Use them to revel
in the sublime beauties of His creation around you.
2. Use your HEARING to listen to the sounds of wind, waves,
streams, bird song, the laughter of children, great music.
3. Use your sense of SMELL to inhale the fragrances of flowers,
fresh earth after the rain, ozone off the sea, hay curing in the sun,
orchards in blossom. Thank Him for every perfume.
4. Use your TASTE BUDS to relish clear, cool water, delicious food,
the delicacy of fresh fruits and vegetables. All come from Him.
5. Use your sense of TOUCH to feel the smoothness of a rose, the
roughness of a tree bark, the warmth of sand between your toes, the
luxuriance of grass and pine needles beneath your feet, the hand of your
wife, husband, child, or sweetheart.

Every good and perfect gift comes to us in generous measure from our
God. On every side He surrounds us with an overwhelming outpouring of
His loving provision for our bodily welfare. Submerge yourself in His
generosity. Let an upwelling stream of gratitude and delight pour from
you in every ardent appreciation for His presence that surrounds you on
every side.

It is in Him that you live and move and have your being. And it is in
you that He lives and moves and has his very being. Become acutely,
intensely aware of His interrelationship. Revel in Him. Rejoice in Him.
Rest in Him. It is He who will impart to you His own exquisite desires.
It is He who will impress upon you His own divine designs. It is He who
will consummate all of these as you share life with Him, walking
together in sincere, calm, quiet harmony. Walking with God can be
beautiful, beautiful, beautiful!" from the pen of devotional author and
lecturer, the late Phillip Keller (A Shepherd Looks at the Twenty-Third
Psalm) in his book, WALKING WITH GOD.

Great quote: Just as in prayer it is not we who momentarily catch His
attention, but He ours, so when we fail to hear His voice, it is not
because He is not speaking so much as that we are not listening. We must
recognize that all things are in God and that God is in all things, and
we must learn to be very attentive, in order to bear God speaking in His
ordinary tone without any special accent. A man must not stop listening
any more than praying when he rises from his knees. No one questions the
need of times of formal address to God, but few admit in any practical
way the need of quiet waiting upon God, gazing into His face, feeling
for His hand, listening for His voice. "I will hearken what the Lord God
will say concerning me." God has special confidences for each soul.
Indeed, it would seem as though the deepest truths came only in moments
of profound devotional silence and contemplation. Charles H. Brent

FINDING GOD'S PRESENCE

FINDING GOD'S PRESENCE

On of the classic books that has ministered to millions is Brother
Lawrence's PRACTICING THE PRESENCE OF GOD. Today's devotional reading is
from this powerful little book.

How do you find the presence of God in your life?

1. First, you need to guard yourselves from doing, saying, or thinking
anything that would offend God, and you need to keep a short account
with Him. If you slip, go straight to Him and ask for His forgiveness.
We're talking about purity of life.

2. Next, you need to keep your heart's eye focused on God always,
remembering in love to stay quiet and humble before Him and not let your
worries or day-to-day problems get in the way or dray you off the path.

3. In addition, you need to warm up your spiritual muscles and focus on
the Lord before you begin any daily chores or regular work. That way
you'll stay fixed on Him all the way through it and afterward. But don't
get discouraged; it takes a long while and a lot of hard work to develop
this kind of habit. Once you've got it, though, a great abundance of joy
comes to live in your life.

Doesn't it make sense that our hearts would be the first and last to
love and worship God, because the heart begins and ends all that we do?
After all, the heart - the center of life - powers the rest of our
bodies. The heart sets the pace, spiritual and otherwise. So it's the
heart that lets us focus on God within in a way that's natural and
simple, without a fancy plan or a complicated agenda.

4. When you're coming into God's presence, I'd suggest you describe your
feelings in a few words such as 'I'm all Yours, Lord, "God of love, I
love You will all my heart," or "Mold my heart to match Yours, God." Or
tell God in your own way on the spur of the moment how you love Him -
whatever works for you.

In the process, though, be careful not to let your mind wander back to
thinking about everyday things. Stay close to God so your will can keep
your mind in line, focused on the Lord.

5. Working into this kind of presence of God is tough at first -
painful, even. But with a little practice, this habit will secretly
start doing things in your soul with incredible results. It'll draw down
showers of God's grace, and oh-so-quietly lead your right back to that
simple, 360-degree view of God. That kind of holy contact with the Lord
is the most real, yet the easiest kind of prayer anyone can pray. It's a
prayer bursting with life.

6. Remember that drawing this close to the God takes denial - saying no
to stuffing our lives full of everything the world has to offer. Cut the
umbilical cord! No one who is still attached to worldly pleasures can
find full joy with God." Adapted from Practicing the Presence of God by
Brother Lawrence and published by Navpress

"You will show me the path of life; in Your presence is fullness of joy;
at Your right hand are pleasures forever more." Psalm 16:11

Great quote: I love that word "encourage" - when you do it, you
literally put "courage in" to that person. Someone who may be more
battered than you know, closer to going down or giving up than you could
imagine. You never know when your encouragement might literally be the
difference in that person's life. When you're bruised and hurting, it's
that person in your corner who can get you back in the ring for another
round. Ron Hutchcraft

If Freedom Fighter is an encouragement to you, share it with a friend.
And we'd love to hear how it is encouraging you in your daily walk with
God. Drop me a line. I'd love to hear from you.

DIFFICULT CIRCUMSTANCES

DIFFICULT CIRCUMSTANCES

"God doesn't want to discourage you or spoil you. Embrace the difficult
circumstances you find yourself in - even when you feel they will
overwhelm you. Allow God to mold your THROUGH the events He allows to
enter your life. This will make you flexible toward the will of God. The
events of life are like a furnace for the heart. All your impurities are
melted and your old ways are lost.

As for the humiliation you feel when you see your faults - simply see
how sensitive your self-love is. The pain you feel at your own
imperfection is worse that the faults themselves. Your problem really is
that you become so irritated by seeing YOUR faults. Learn to live with
yourself as you really are without being so upset. If you do this, you
will soon have peace.

Patiently endure the ups and downs of everyday life. Behind every
annoying circumstance, learn to see God governing all things. See that
He trains you THROUGH troubling situations as well as pleasant ones. The
intrusions that God sends you will in no doubt upset your plans and
oppose all that you want. But they will also chase you toward God. Sit
still before Him and yield your will to Him. Your unbending will shall
begin to learn flexibility.

EVERYTHING that comes from God's hand produces good fruit. Sometimes the
annoyances that make you long for solitude are better for producing
humility than the most complete solitude could be. Use the circumstances
of each moment to the fullest. Sometimes an exciting book, or an
inspirational devotional time, or a deep conversation about spiritual
matters will make you feel extremely satisfied with yourself. You will
believe that you are farther along than you really are. TALKING about
the cross is not all the same as EXPERIENCING it.

So remember this: Do not seek annoying circumstances, but when they come
bear them in peace. It is easy to delude yourself! Do not seek God as if
He were far off in an ivory castle. He is found in the MIDDLE of the
events of your everyday life. Look past the obstacles and find Him."
From THE SEEKING HEART by Fenelon, written over 400 years ago!

"And not only this ... but we EXULT in our tribulations, knowing that
tribulation brings about perseverance; and perseverance, produces
character; and proven character hope; and hope does not disappoint,
because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through
the Holy Spirit who was given to us." Romans 5:3-5

Great quote: When we are spiritually free, we do not have to worry about
what to say or do in unexpected, difficult circumstances. When we are
not concerned about what others think of us or what we will get for what
we do, the right words and actions will emerge from the centre of our
beings because the Spirit of God, who makes us children of God and sets
us free, will speak and act through us.

EXCEEDING ABUNDANTLY

"Bow unto Him that is able to do exceedingly abundantly ABOVE all that
we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, unto HIM be
glory in the Church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without
end. Amen." Ephesians 3:20, 21

"In the great prayer which Paul just prayed (see previous verses in
Chapter 3 of Ephesians), he had apparently reached the highest
expression possible of the life to which God's mighty power could bring
the believer. In this doxology he rises still higher and lifts us up to
give glory to God as "able to do exceedingly abundantly ABOVE all that
we ask or think." Pause a moment to think that EXCEEDING ABUNDANTLY
means."

Think of the words, "the exceeding great and precious promises." Think
of "the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe according
to the working of the strength of His might which He wrought in Christ
when He raised Him from the dead." Think of the grace of our Lord as
exceeding abundantly with faith and love which is in Christ Jesus, so
that where sin abounded grace did abound more exceedingly.

He lifts our hearts to give glory to God as able to do "exceedingly
abundantly ABOVE all that we ask or think," according to the greatness
of that power which works in us, nothing less that the exceeding
greatness of the power that raised Christ Jesus from the dead. And as
our hearts begin to feel that there is here a prospect of something that
God will work in us beyond all our imagination, He lifts our hearts to
join in the universal chorus: "Now unto HIM be the glory in the Church
in Christ Jesus, unto all generations, forever and ever, Amen!

As we worship and adore, the call comes to believe in this Almighty God,
who is working in our hearts, according to His mighty power, able and
willing to fulfill every one of His exceeding great and precious
promises, and, where sin abounded, to prove that grace abounds more
exceedingly."

Editorial Comment: I started to type this and "accidentally type "Bow"
unto Him rather than "Now" unto Him. But Andrew Murray's concluding
statement is interesting ...

"Paul began this great prayer, "I bow my knees to the Father." He ends
it by bringing us to our knees, to give glory to Him as able to fulfill
EVERY promise, to reveal Christ dwelling in our hearts and keep us in
that life of love which leads to being filled with all the fullness of
God. Child of God, BOW in deep adoration, giving glory to God, until
your heart learns to believe: the prayer will be fulfilled, Jesus Christ
will dwell in my heart by faith. Faith in this Almighty God, and the
exceeding abundance of His grace and power will teach us that the
abiding indwelling of Christ in the heart is the secret of the abiding
presence." From Andrew Murray's devotional, GOD'S BEST SECRETS

Good words to think about and ponder as we take this day to corporately
worship HIM!

BEFORE YOU CALL I WILL ANSWER

BEFORE YOU CALL I WILL ANSWER

I am always amazed, and shouldn't be, at how many times in my morning
quiet time, the Lord gives me verses that I will need for the day.
Yesterday in my devotional reading of the Word, this verse appeared: "
... before they call, I will answer ..." Isaiah 65:24.

Like many of you, we had torrential rains throughout the night Thursday
and into Friday. Around 1:30 PM yesterday, the sun came up and the
temperatures started dropping and along with that came high winds. A
large pine tree near our main building snapped was about to fall. Our
maintenance crew were in the process of trying to pull it in the
opposite direction as the way it was falling, it was obviously going to
take down the power lines that feed to the Raws Administration building.

While this seen is unfolding we had 250 ladies checking in for our fall
Women's Weekend. The tree fell hitting another tree and broke the main
feed pole which took out the power in the Raws Building, Saint Memorial
Lodge and Victory Hall. We immediately called the power company, but our
experience in the past is it takes hours for them to respond.

Shortly after placing the call I heard the power trucks. Could it be?
Well it turns out that a crew just "happened" to be riding by the
property on 530 and noted that the fuses on the pull had popped. They
turned around and decided to come on our property to see what was up.
They hadn't even been dispatched to the job! I chuckled in my heart ...
"yes, Lord, before they call, You will answer." The crew did an
outstanding job and by 9:45 PM power was restored and all the ladies
were able to sleep in their rooms.

Just another lesson for me of the awesome power of our great God. We
were also grateful to the Red Cross who were willing to bring cots,
blankets and pillows so that we could set up emergency housing for our
guests in the event that the power would not have been restored. It was
a pleasure to work with them.

Thank You, Lord, for your amazing answers to prayer EVEN BEFORE WE CALL!

Have a blessed day!

Great quote: In the total expanse of human life there is not a single
square inch of which the Christ, who alone is sovereign, does not
declare, That is mine! Abraham Kuyper

ACT MEDIUM

ACT MEDIUM

From the pen of Charles Swindoll ...

"The children worked long and hard on their little cardboard shack. It
was to be a special spot - a clubhouse, where they could meet together,
play and have fun. Since a clubhouse has to have rules, they came up
with three:

Nobody act big.
Nobody act small.
Everybody act medium.

Not bad theology!
In different words, God says the same thing:
"Give preference to one another in honor." (Romans 12:10)
"Let each of you regard one another as more important than himself."
(Philippians 2:3)
"Through love serve one another." (Galatians 5:13)
"Whoever wishes to become great among you shall be your servant, and
whoever wishes to be first among you shall be your slaves." (Matthew
20:26-27)
"Let another praise you, and not your own mouth; a stranger, and not
your own lips." (Proverbs 27:2)

Just 'act medium.' Believable. Honest, human, thoughtful, and down to
earth. Regardless of your elevated position or high pile of honors or
row of degrees or endless list of achievements, just stay real!

Junk any idea that you deserve some kind of super recognition for a job
well done. Who did you do it for anyway? If you did it for God. He has
an infinite number of unseen ways to reward you. If you did it for human
glory, no wonder you're seeking the credit! So easy to draw out that
praise for yourself, isn't it? Ye olde ego is a wily one!

Just "act medium."

Again, what Solomon said? "Let another praise you ... a stranger, and
not your own lips."

Meaning what? Meaning no self-reverence to some enviable accomplishment.
Meaning refusal to scratch a back when yours itches. Meaning no desire
to manipulate and manufacture praise. Meaning authentic surprise when
applauded.

Like the inimitable Principal Cairns, headmaster of an English School,
who was walking onto the platform along with other dignitaries. As he
stepped up, a burst of spontaneous applause arose from the audience. In
characteristic modesty, Cairns stepped back to let the man behind pass
by ... as he began to applaud his colleague. He genuinely believed the
applause was for another.

Just "act medium."

But one final warning: Don't try and to fake it. False humility stinks
worse than raw conceit.

The answer is not in trying to APPEAR worthless or 'wormy.' The answer
lies in consistently taking notice of others' achievements, recognizing
others' skills and contributions ... and saying so. That's called
serving others in love. And that's what Christ did.

Got the rules memorized?

"Nobody act big. Nobody act small. Everybody act medium." Such good
advice from a clubhouse full of kids who, by the way, are pretty good at
practicing what they preach." From The Finishing Touch - Becoming God's
Masterpiece, published by Word.

Good words for today!

ANOTHER WHACK ON THE HEAD

ANOTHER WHACK ON THE HEAD

One of the dangers that we face in our lives is thinking that the more
we DO for God the more He will love us. We sometimes think the BUSYNESS
is a sign of an effective, mature believer. The bottom line is that God
is more interested in us BEING first than doing. The DOING is an
outgrowth of our RELATIONSHIP with Him and will be more balanced if we
keep the proper perspective.

Today's thoughts from Oswald Chambers help us with an understanding of
that proper perspective:

"The great enemy of the Lord Jesus Christ today is the idea of practical
work that has no basis in the New Testament but comes from the system of
the world. This work insists upon endless energy and activities, but no
PRIVATE life with God. The emphasis is put on the wrong thing. Jesus
said, 'The kingdom of God does not come with observation ... for indeed,
the kingdom of God is WITHIN you.' (Luke 17:20-21) It is a hidden,
obscure thing. AN ACTIVE CHRISTIAN WORKER TOO OFTEN LIVES TO BE SEEN BY
OTHERS, WHICH IS THE INNERMOST, PERSONAL AREA THAT REVEALS THE POWER OF
A PERSON'S LIFE.

We must get rid of the plague of the spirit of this religious age in
which we live. In our Lord's life there was none of the pressure and the
rushing of tremendous activity that we regard so highly today, and a
disciple is to be like His Master. THE CENTRAL POINT OF THE KINGDOM OF
JESUS CHRIST IS A PERSONAL RELATIONSHIP WITH HIM, NOT PUBLIC USEFULNESS
TO OTHERS.

Your strength lies in being immersed in the truths of God to soak in you
before Him. You have no idea of where or how God is going to engineer
your future circumstances, and no knowledge of what stress and strain is
going to be placed on you either at home or abroad. And if you waste
your time in over-activity, instead of being immersed in the great
foundational truths of God's redemption, then you will snap when the
stress and strain do come. But if this time of soaking before God is
being spent in getting rooted and grounded in Him, which may APPEAR to
be impractical, then you will remain true to Him WHATEVER happens." My
Utmost for His Highest

Take time today to allow the Word of God to soak into Your heart. You
cannot negate your own personal time with the Lord just because you are
busy. As NIKE said - JUST DO IT! :-)

Great Quote: Wherever God's finger points, His Hand will clear the way.
Never say in your heart what you will or will not do but wait until God
reveals HIS way to you. As long as that way is hidden, it is clear that
there is no need of action that HE holds Himself accountable for all the
results of keeping you exactly where you are.

IT'S NOT FOR THE GIPPER

IT'S NOT FOR THE GIPPER

You might think that I have lost my marbles ... hang on ... stay with
me. President Ronald Reagan used the phrase often ... "Win on for the
gipper" or "Let's do it for the gipper." One of Reagan's nick name was
the "gipper" coined after a baseball friend whose name was George Gipp.
He died at an early age from a throat infection.

Before dying he told the coach that someday they were going to be
playing with their backs up against the wall and not sure what to do.
Tell them to go out there and "do it for the gipper."

Some of us get frustrated in life in the areas where we work. We THINK
we are doing what we do for a boss or an organization or a Board. We
work and serve in an imperfect world surrounded by imperfect people and
sometimes forget who we are really serving.

"Abraham Lincoln once made these two statements, as he evaluated the
decisions he was making in his attempts to heal a worn-torn nation:

'I desire so to conduct the affairs of this administration that if at
the end, when I come to lay down the reins in power, I have lost every
other friend on earth, I shall at least have one friend left, and that
friend shall be down inside me.'

'I do the very best I know how; the very best I can; and I mean to keep
doing it to the end. If the end brings me out all right, what is said
against me will not amount to anything. If the end brings me out all
wrong, then a legion of angels swearing I was right will make no
difference.'

'Whatever you are doing, and in whatever conversation you find yourself
engaged give it:
* Your whole heart
* Your undistracted attention
* And your maximum energy.

Give your all to each task you choose to do; give you best creativity to
each idea you ponder. You may not be the greatest success in the world,
but you will have made a success of YOUR world." (from "God's Little
Devotional Book for Leaders"

But it goes beyond that ... the bottom line is that we need to
continually remind ourselves of what the Apostle Paul says ... "And
WHATEVER YOU DO, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not to men ... And
WHATEVER YOU DO in WORD or IN DEED ... do ALL in the name of the Lord
Jesus ..." (Colossians 3:23; 17)

Today, go out and give it your best - not for the gipper, but for the
Lord!

Great quote: It has been well said that no man ever sank under the
burden of the day. It is when tomorrow's burden is added to the burden
of today that the weight is more than a man can bear. Never load
yourselves so, my friends. If you find yourselves so loaded, at least
remember this: it is your own doing, not God's. He begs you to leave the
future to Him, and mind the present. -- George Macdonald

SOMETHING SERIOUS TO PONDER

SOMETHING SERIOUS TO PONDER

"May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through
which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world." Galatians
6:14

"They were people who were living to themselves. Their hopes, promises,
and dreams still controlled them, but the Lord began to fulfill their
prayers.

They had asked for a repentant heart and had surrendered themselves with
a willingness to pay any price for it, and He sent them sorrow.
They asked for purity, and He sent them sudden anguish.
They had asked for meekness, and He had broken their hearts.
They had asked to be dead to the world, and He killed all their living
hopes.
They had asked to be made like Him, so He placed them in the refiner's
fire.
They had asked to help carry His cross, yet when He held it out to them,
it cut and tore their hands.
They had not fully understood what they asked, but He had taken them at
their word and granted them all their requests.
They had been unsure whether to follow Him such a long distance or
whether to come close to Him. Yet there was an awe of Him ... The
disciples were so filled with awe, they felt like asking Him to either
depart from or to hide His glory.

They found it easier to obey than to suffer, to work than to give up, to
carry the cross to hang upon it. But now they could not turn back, for
they had come too close to the unseen cross of the spiritual life, and
it's virtues had pierced them too deeply.

Now at last their opportunity had come. Earlier they had only HEARD of
the mystery, but now they felt it. He had fastened His eyes of love on
them, as He had on Mary and Peter, so they could only choose to follow
Him. And little by little, from time to time, with quick glimmers of
light, the mystery of His cross shone upon them.

They say Him "lifted up from the earth" and gazed on the glory that
radiated from the wounds of His holy suffering. As they looked upon Him,
they approached Him and were changed into His likeness. His name shone
out through them, for He lived within them. Their life from that moment
was one of inexpressible fellowship solely with Him above. They were
willing to live without possessions that others owned and that they
could have had, in order to be unlike others so that would be more like
Him.

This is the description of all those who throughout the ages who "follow
the Lamb wherever He goes" (Revelation 14:4). If they had chosen
selfishly for themselves or if their friends had chosen for them, they
would have made other choices. Their lives would have shone more
brightly here on earth but less gloriously in HIS kingdom.

Yet God strengthened them and protected them, even from themselves.
Often in His mercy He held them up when they otherwise would have
slipped and fallen. And even in this life, they knew all that He did was
done well. They knew it was good to suffer in this life so they would
reign in the one to come; to bear the cross below, to wear a crown
above; and to know that not their will but His was done in them and
through them." Adapted from Streams in the Desert

Very powerful words for us to consider today. Something serious to
ponder ...

Great quote: Give me a stout heart to bear my own burdens. Give me a
willing heart to bear the burdens of others. Give me a believing heart
to cast all burdens upon Thee, O Lord. John Baillie

HIS ROAR IS WORSE THAN HIS BITE

HIS ROAR IS WORSE THAN HIS BITE

Our dumb dog Crystal is really a good watchdog. Her bark is quite
impressive. It is so loud that when she barks the ground beneath you
shakes. But deep down, she is a big baby and loves people. But if you
didn't know her personality or were acquainted with her, she would scare
you.

The enemy of our souls, Satan, is like that. We need to not dwell on him
and make him our focus, but neither should we be like an ostrich burying
our heads in the sand. We need to be aware of his methods and devices
and also become acquainted with his ways.

Peter wrote in his letter "Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your
adversary, the devil, prowls about LIKE a roaring lion, seeking someone
to devour. But resist him, firm in YOUR faith, knowing that the same
experiences of suffering are be accomplished by your brethren who are in
the world." (1 Peter 5:8-9)

My friend, God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life. And the
reality is that Satan DOESN'T love you and has a plan for your life. He
is always on the prowl seeking someone to "gobble up and destroy." His
ways and methods are so subtle. He and his crew are desperately
unfurling and unleashing their wicked ways to try and take you and me
out of the race. We must remember that while he is walking around
seeking someone to devour - he is already a defeated foe!

But I love what one writer said: "If Satan is/was defeated, why does he
still control "the lie?" In reality, his fangs have been removed and he
has been declawed, but if he can deceive you into believing that he can
chew you up and spit you out, he can control your behaviors. In reality,
he is faking Christians into defeat!" Wow!

My dear brothers and sisters, this is why we need to be in the WORD
constantly. This is the instruction manual for life to keep is alert and
sober in these evil days. Remember today - his roar is worse than his
bite. Don't fear him - resist him!

Good words to consider for today.

Great quote: "Those who have been gripped by the power of the Holy
Spirit and are used for God's glory are those who have been broken in
their finances, broken in their self-will, broken in their ambitions,
broken in their lofty ideals, broken in their worldly reputation, broken
in their desires, and often broken in their health." _Mrs. Cowman -
Streams in the Desert.

DO YOU NEED A FACE LIFT?

DO YOU NEED A FACE LIFT?

I know I wrote about this several weeks ago, but as I was reading
through Proverbs this morning, three verses jumped out at me that are
worth sharing.

Proverbs 15:13 - "A cheerful heart brings a smile to your face; a sad
heart makes it hard to get through the day."
Proverbs 15:15 - "A miserable heart means a miserable life; a cheerful
heart fills the day with song."
Proverbs 15:32 - "A twinkle in the eye means joy in the heart, and good
news makes you feel fit as a fiddle."

One of my pet peeves when folks gather together for worship is the lack
of joy evident on their faces when they are praising the Lord. I'm not
suggesting that we plaster fake smiles on our faces ... but I sure wish
we could turn the video cam's on our congregations when they are
singing. Sometimes when I look out over congregations I lead, they look
... well I won't go there.

I realize that on any given Sunday there may be folks who are going
through tough times, but when you and I stop to think of WHO we are
worshipping and what HE has done for us ... the joy in our hearts should
bubble out to notify our faces. My grandmother used to say you become
like the people you hang around. Hang around miserable people and you'll
become just like them!

Friday night we were walking in the mall with our kids and Garrett was
holding baby Emma. It is amazing to me how a baby can make a shift in
someone's countenance. People would see her and big smiles would break
out on their faces. It is even more fascinating to watch older people
when someone brings a baby into the room.

Well think about that ... this morning we are worshipping the BABE of
Bethlehem that came to give you and me ABUNDANT LIFE! We deserve hell
and have been given newness of life, our sins have been forgiven, we
have a new name that is written in the Lamb's book of life with ink that
cannot be erased, we have been adopted into the family of God, and have
heaven too! Now if that doesn't put a smile on your face - then as by
good friend Dr. Ron Blue would say - your firewood is wet!

Try it today. As you are worshipping Him allow the joy in your heart to
register on your face. Who knows - the person standing next to you might
even ask - What happened to your face? Did you get a face lift? Have a
wonderful Lord's day.

Great quote: The Bible is the greatest traveler in the world. It
penetrates to every country, civilized and uncivilized. It is seen in
the royal palace and the humble cottage. It is the friend of Emperors
and beggars. It is read by the light of the dim candle amid Artic snows.
It is read under the glare of the equatorial sun. It is read in city and
country, amid the crowds and solitude. Wherever its' message is
received, it frees the mind from bondage and fills the heart with
gladness. Arthur Tappan (A. T.) Pierson

THE PRIMARY LABORATORY

THE PRIMARY LABORATORY

"Wives, be subject to your husbands ... Husbands, love your wives ...
Fathers, do not exasperate your children (Colossians 3:18-21)

"God works in our lives primarily through committed relationships. Your
family is the primary laboratory for your character development. This is
precisely the order of Scripture: Establish YOUR identity in Christ,
then focus on living out who you are at home. Notice the order in
Colossians 3:10-25:

* God's great goal for His children is that we conform to HIS
image: "Put on the new self" (vs.10).

* Our identity is no longer in racial, religious, cultural, or
social ties: "There is no distinction ... but Christ is all, and in all"
(vs. 11).

* Character is the focus of development once identity is
established: "Put on the heart of compassion, kindness, humility,
gentleness and patience" (vs. 12).

* Character is developed in the context of relational living:
"Bearing with one another, and forgiving each other" (vs. 13).

* Love is the highest level of character development: "Beyond all
these things put on love (vs. 14).

* The means by which all this is accomplished is Christ in you:
"Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts ... Let the word of Christ
richly dwell within you" (vss. 15-16).

* The primary setting for character development is the home:
"Wives be subject to your husbands ... Husbands, love your wives ...
Children, be obedient to your parents ... Fathers, do not exasperate
your children." (vs. 18-21)

As a parent, you are not just shaping your child's behavior, you
are developing his character. Training a child means discipling Him to
be Christ-like. Don't be a phony at home; your spouse and children will
see right through it. You can't model perfection, but you can model
growth."

Adapted from Daily in Christ - A Devotional by Neil T. Anderson
(Harvest House)

Great quote: "Difficulty is actually the atmosphere surrounding
a miracle, or a miracle in an initial stage. Yet if it is to be a great
miracle, that surrounding condition will be not simply a difficulty but
an utter impossibility. And it is the clinging hand of His child that
makes a desperate situation a delight to God." - Mrs. Cowman Streams in
the Desert

Recommendation: This week an incredible movie on the life of
Esther will be showing in movie theaters all over the country. I highly
recommend it to you. For information check out:
www.onenightwiththeking.com.

ARE YOU ANXIOUS?

ARE YOU ANXIOUS?

Today is Friday the 13th and I have a Board meeting. I have been blessed
with a great Board of men and women who love the Lord and are committed
to the mission and vision of the ministry of America's KESWICK. But in
all honesty, Board meetings for me are always anxious times. This
morning as I woke up and opened the word, it was neat to know that the
Lord once again knew what I needed to hear from Him for today.

From STREAMS IN THE DESERT ....

"Do not be anxious about anything ..." (Philippians 4:6)

"Anxiety should never be found in a believer. In spite of the magnitude,
quantity, and diversity of our trials, afflictions, and difficulties,
anxiety should not exist under any circumstance. This is because we have
a Father in heaven who is almighty, who loves His children as He loves
His 'one and only Son' (John 3:16), and whose complete joy and delight
it is to continually assist them under ALL circumstances. We should heed
His Word, which says, 'Do not be anxious about ANYTHING, but IN
EVERYTHING, by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, present your
requests to God."

IN EVERYTHING - Not simply when our house is on fire or when our spouse
and children are gravely ill, but even in the SMALLEST matters of life.
We are take EVERYTHING to God - little things, very little things, even
what the world calls trivial things. Yes, we are to take EVERYTHING,
living all day long in holy fellowship with our heavenly Father and our
precious Lord Jesus. We should develop something of a SPIRITUAL
INSTINCT, causing us to immediately turn to God when a concern keeps us
awake at night. During those sleepless nights, we should speak to Him,
bringing our various concerns before Him, no matter how small they may
be. Also speak to the Lord about ANY trial you are facing or ANY
difficulties you may have in your family or professional life.

BY PRAYER AND PETITION - earnestly pleading, persevering and enduring,
and waiting, waiting, waiting on God!

WITH THANKSGIVING - always laying a good foundation. Even if we have no
possessions, there is one for which we can always be thankful - that He
has saved us from hell! We can also give thanks that He has given us His
Holy Word, His Holy Spirit, and the most precious gift of all - His Son!
Therefore when we consider all this, we have abundant reasons for
thanksgiving. May this be our goal.

AND THE PEACE OF GOD WHICH TRANSCENDS ALL UNDERSTANDING WILL GUARD YOUR
HEARTS AND YOUR MINDS IN CHRIST JESUS (Philippians 4:7) - This is such a
wonderful, genuine, and precious blessing that to truly know it, you
must experience it, for it 'transcends all understanding!"

May we take these truths to heart, instinctively walking in them, so the
result will be lives that glorify God more abundantly than ever before.
Search your heart several times a day, and if you find something that is
disturbing your peace, remember to take the proper steps to restore the
calm."

Wow! Thank You, Lord, for this powerful reminder. I pray today that this
will be an encouragement to someone in our Freedom Fighter family as
well! Amen.

Great quote: It has been well said that no man ever sank under the
burden of the day. It is when tomorrow's burden is added to the burden
of today that the weight is more than a man can bear. Never load
yourselves so, my friends. If you find yourselves so loaded, at least
remember this: it is your own doing, not God's. He begs you to leave the
future to Him, and mind the present. George MacDonald

FREEDOM IN YOUR WORK

FREEDOM IN YOUR WORK

Do you like your job? Are you fulfilled? Do you look at your job as a
necessary evil or do you enjoy what you do?

I guess I have a weird personality (no comments from the peanut gallery)
... but I have been blessed with positions that I have really enjoyed. I
enjoy what I do at America's KESWICK. Now I would be lying to you if I
would say that there has never been a day that I have thought or said,
"I can't do this anymore" or "I am throwing in the towel." But those
days are relatively few.

I read this quote recently: "Find out what you love to do and you will
never have to work another day in your life." Now it intrigues me as to
how many principles the world teaches that come from the Scriptures.
Today in my reading of Proverbs, and I hope that there are many of you
that are still on that journey with me, I came across this verse: "The
diligent find FREEDOM in their work; the lazy are oppressed by work."
(Proverbs 12:24)

"A designer in Dallas, Texas, was once asked by a client to build a
large, elaborate model. It was one that called for several building
interiors and hundreds of human figures. The model was to be created in
a scale of one inch to five feet, which meant that each of the human
figures was only a little more than an inch in height. Each had to be
hand-painted, using a brush with a single hair.

As the designer hunched over his table one day, painstakingly painting
the figures and then carefully gluing them in place, one of his
employees asked him, 'Don't you find this tedious?'

The designer replied, 'Tedious?' My goodness, no! I've loved making and
painting models ever since I made my first model airplane at age seven.
I just can't believe someone is actually paying me to do this!

Whether you work with your hands or your mind, loving what you do is the
secret to having 'fun' while you make money. Indeed, work will cease to
be "work." A kindergarten teach once said about her class of
five-year-olds, 'They build and tear down and rebuild in a day more than
most construction workers do in weeks, but they never call it work. They
call it play!" from GOD'S LITTLE DEVOTIONAL BOOK FOR LEADERS

How about you, my friend? Do you have FREEDOM in your work today? Or are
you oppressed? Might be a good time to step back and prayerfully look at
what you are doing. Good thoughts to ponder today.

Great quote: "Stand at the crossroads and look; ask for the ancient
paths, ask where the good way is, and walk in it, and you will find rest
for your souls . . . " Jeremiah 6:16 (NIV)

ALL THINGS ARE PURE

ALL THINGS ARE PURE

"To the pure all things are pure, but to those who are defiled and unbelieving nothing is pure; but even their mind and conscience are defiled."
Titus 1:15

"Your heart's condition will be expressed through your life. It will be evident by your ATTITUDES, your WORDS, and your BEHAVIOR. Jesus said that you can clearly see others only when your own eyes are unobstructed (Mark 6:42). If your vision is hindered by sin, you will not look at others properly.

If your heart is pure, you will approach life without malice. You will not question the motives of everyone around you; you will not doubt the truth of everything others tell you; you will not look for the faults in others. Instead, you will look for the good in others, finding what is praiseworthy. You will not be naïve or gullible, but you will seek what is good rather than what is evil. If your heart is pure, you will see others the way God sees them (Matthew 6:22).

If your heart is defiled, everything with which you are involved will seem corrupt as well. You will assume evil motives in others because you know what you would do given the same circumstances. You will be cynical about what you hear because your own words are deceitful. You will be drawn to evil people and evil things.

How do you look at the words and actions of others? Are you critical of them? Are you judgmental? If so, ask God to purify your heart. Once He has, you will be free to see yourself and others as God does." Powerful words from the pen of Dr. Henry Blackaby - Experiencing God - The Devotional.

GREAT QOUTE: "When you cannot hear God, you will find that He has trusted you in the most intimate way possible - with absolute silence, not a silence of despair, but one of pleasure, because He saw that you could withstand an even bigger revelation. If God has given you a silence, then praise Him - He is bringing you into the mainstream of His purposes." - Oswald Chambers

YOU CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE

YOU CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE

I had the opportunity to spend some time last night with Margie
Blackley, the wife of Chaplain Bill Blackley who went home to be with
Jesus on Friday evening. Margie and Bill will have been married for 61
years in just a few weeks. Chaplain Bill has been in ministry for almost
their entire married life.

In talking with Margie, she shared with me several stories of how
Chaplain Bill had made a difference in someone's life by just being
dressed up when he went into a restaurant. She shared a story of how we
was headed to the rest room and a man sitting alone at a table called to
Chaplain Bill, "Hey, did you pray for me today?" Blackley, looked at the
man and realized he was a total stranger, smiled and waved and walked
into the men's room. When he came out, he walked over to the man, and
again the man said, "Did you pray for me today?"

Blackley was curious as to why the man asked the question. The man said,
"I figured you must be a preacher 'cause of the way your dressed. Will
you pray for me?" Right there in the restaurant, Chaplain Bill had the
opportunity to share Christ and prayed with this total stranger. He made
a difference in the life of this man.

The question was asked, "Can one person really make a difference in the
world today?" Listen to what one writer said: "One New Yorker thought
so. He was so determined to be complimentary to every person he saw,
every day. A friend asked him, 'Do you even compliment cab drivers?' The
man said, 'Certainly! If I am nice to one cab driver, he's likely to be
nice to the next twenty fares, at a minimum. If they are in turn nicer
to the shopkeepers, waitresses, and their own families, that one gesture
of goodwill might influence a least a thousand people.'

'Now, if only three people that I talk to today have a happier day
because of what I say to them, I might indirectly influence the attitude
of 3,000 people. If a few of those I talk to are teachers, or people who
have contact with more than the usual number of people . . . why my good
mood might touch more than 10,000 lives. Not one thing I do today is
likely to have that kind of impact!" (adapted from God's Little
Devotional Book for Leaders, published by Honor Books).

So what about you ... are you willing to make a difference today in
someone's life? It could have a rippled effect that could turn this
world upside down! Think about it.

Join us on Thursday evening, October 12th for our first Men's Fellowship
night of the new season. Dinner begins at 6:15 PM followed by a time of
worship, testimony and a challenge from the Word. Our speaker this month
is Pastor Ed Hlad. Following the gathering, you may use the Activity
Center. Call today for reservations: 732-350-1187.

COME TO JESUS ...

COME TO JESUS ...

"Come to me ..." Matthew 11:28

Today's reading from Oswald Chambers socked me right between the eyes
...

"Isn't it humiliating to be told that we must come to Jesus! Think of
the things about which we will not come to Jesus Christ. If you want to
know how real you are, test yourself by these words - "Come to Me ..."

In every dimension in which you are not real, you will argue or evade
the issue altogether rather than come; you will go through sorrow rather
than come; and you will do anything rather than come the last lap of the
race seemingly unspeakable foolishness and say, 'Just as I am, I come.'
As long as you have even the least bit of spiritual disrespect, it will
always reveal itself in the fact that you are expecting God to tell you
to do something very big and yet all He is telling you to do is "Come to
me ..."

"Come to me ..." When you hear those words, you will KNOW that something
must happen IN you before you can come. The Holy Spirit will show you
WHAT you have to do, and it will involve ANYTHING that will uproot
WHATEVER is preventing you from getting through to Jesus. And you will
never get any further until you are willing to do THAT very thing. The
Holy Spirit will search out that ONE IMMOVABLE STRONGHOLD within you,
but He cannot budge it unless YOU are willing to let Him do so.

How often have you come to God with your requests and gone away
thinking, 'I've really received what I wanted THIS time!' And yet you go
away with NOTHING, while all the time God has stood with HIS hands
outstretched not only to take you but also for you to take HIM. Just
think of the invincible, unconquerable, and untiring patience of Jesus,
who lovingly says, 'Come to me ...'" from My Utmost for His Highest

Good words for you and me today. Are you willing to COME TO HIM today?

Great quote: "Every time I obey, the absolute deity of God is on my
side, so that the grace of God and my natural obedience are in perfect
agreement. Obedience means that I have completely placed my trust in the
atonement, and my obedience is immediately met by the delight of the
supernatural grace of God." - Oswald Chambers

PRAISE AND THANKSGIVING

"I will enter His gates with thanksgiving and into His courts with
praise ..." Psalm 100:4

As you prepare your hearts for worship today, here is a prayer from a
Puritan from the treasure A Valley of Vision:

O My God,
You fairest, greatest, first of all objects,
My heart admires, adores, loves You,
For my little vessel is as full as it can be,
And I would pour out all that fullness before You in ceaseless flow.
When I think upon and converse with You
Ten thousand delightful thoughts spring up,
Ten thousand sources of pleasure are unsealed,
Ten thousand refreshing joys spread over my heart,
Crowding into every moment of happiness.
I bless You for the soul You have created,
For adorning it, for sanctifying it,
Though it is fixed in barren soil;
For the body You have given me,
For preserving its strength and vigor,
For providing senses to enjoy delights,
For the ease and freedom of limbs,
For hands, eyes, ears that do Your bidding;
For Your royal bounty providing my daily support,
For a full table and overflowing cup,
For appetite, taste, sweetness,
For social joys of relatives and friends,
For ability to serve others,
For a heart that feels sorrows and necessities,
For a mind to care for my fellow-men,
For opportunities of spreading happiness around,
For loved ones in the joys of heaven,
For my own expectation of seeing You clearly.
I love You above the powers of language to express,
For what You are to Your creatures.

Increase my love, O my God, through time and eternity."

Good prayer to set the stage for worshipping Him today.

For information about the services for Chaplain Bill Blackley, please
see our website: www.americaskeswick.org.

Great quote: Obstacles are things a person sees when he takes his eyes
off his goal -- and God.

FINISHERS

FINISHERS

"I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course ..." 2 Timothy
4:7

It's hard to believe, but another one of my staff members went home to
be with Jesus last night at 8:30 PM. Chaplain Bill Blackley has been a
faithful servant of the Lord for many years at the Colony of Mercy. He
was saved as a child at the rescue mission where his parents served in
New York and committed his life to serving the Lord through preaching
and playing his cornet. Last evening after having major heart surgery
several days ago, at age 85, he closed his eyes on earth and opened them
in glory!

Someone said, "The test of a first-rate work is that you finish it!"

"The Brooklyn Bridge, which links Brooklyn to Manhattan Island, is one
of the most famous bridges in the world. At the time it was first
conceived in 1883, however, bridge-building experts throughout the world
told the designer, a creative engineer by the name of John Roebling,
that his idea wouldn't work.

Roebling convinced his son Washington, who was also an engineer, that
his idea had merit. The two of them developed the concept, resolved the
problems others forecast, and enthusiastically hired a crew to build
their bridge.

After only a few months of building, a tragic on-site accident took
John's life and severely injured Washington, who became unable to talk
or walk. Everyone thought the project would have to be abandoned, since
the Roeblings were the only ones who knew the dynamics of building the
bridge.

Washington, however, could still THINK, and he had a burning desire to
see the bridge finished. As he lay in his hospital bed, he had an idea!
He would communicate with the engineers by using one finger to tap in
code on his wife's arm what he wanted to tell them.

Washington tapped out his instructions for 13 years until the bridge was
built!" (from God's Little Devotional Book for Leaders - Honor Books)

How about you? Are you going to faithfully complete and finish what God
has called YOU to do? Thanks, Chaplain Blackley for the impact you had
on hundreds of men who came through the Colony of Mercy. Thanks for
showing us the example of how to finish well!

Good quote: "Whenever I am conscious of Satan's presence, I try to
follow the formula once offered by a little girl: "When Satan knocks, I
just send Christ to the door." Billy Graham

ARE YOU AN OPTIMIST OR A PESSIMIST?

ARE YOU AN OPTIMIST OR A PESSIMIST?

Two old men were in the hospital. The man by the window was describing
to the man in the other bed all the things that were going on outside.
He described the beautiful trees, the birds, the activity that was
taking place below. He talked about being able to see the park and a
beautiful lake. The man in the next bed was quite jealous of the man
with the bed next to the window.

During the night, the man in the bed near the window got very sick. He
was struggling to breathe. The man in the other bed could have called
for help, but he the guy struggle, and guess what, he died. After
removing the man's body, they decided to move the other man to the other
side of the room with the window. He was so excited that he would
finally have the great view all to himself.

They nurses moved the bed and got him all settled in and he leaned
forward to look out the window only to discover the view was a brick
wall!

Some of us go through life with optimism while others of us are
pessimists. Some of us see the glass half full while others see the
glass half empty. King David was an optimist: "Then David said to the
Philistines, 'You come to me with a sword, with a spear, and with
javelin. But I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of
the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. This day the Lord will
deliver you into my hand." 1 Samuel 17:45-46a

Speaker and teacher, Dr. Henry Blackaby says: David was certainly an
optimist! Regardless of his circumstances, David could always see God's
activity! A pessimist focuses on the PROBLEMS, concentrating on the
reasons why something CANNOT be done. The optimist sees the same
problems, but he sees them from the perspective of GOD'S PRESENCE.

David was just a young boy when he faced Goliath, and intimidating
veteran warrior who frightened even the bravest Israelite soldier. As he
prepared for battle, David saw that Goliath was a giant. He HEARD his
boastful taunts. He could not fail to notice his enemy's weapons: a
sword, a shield, and a javelin. David did not barge into the battle
unprepared for a fight. He armed himself with five smooth stones. David
was prepared for God to grant him victory with the first stone he hurled
at the giant or the fifth. David was ready to accept God's victory,
whether it came easily or with much effort.

Optimists do not ignore the difficulties; they are keenly aware of them.
But the knowledge of God's presence prevents them from becoming
discouraged or giving up. It is impossible to stand in the presence of
God and be a pessimist!

The account of David and Goliath vividly pictures the SOURCE of the
Christian's faith - not our own size, strength, or resources, but the
power of almighty God. If we focus on our OPPOSITION and PROBLEMS, they
will seem gigantic. But as we focus on GOD, we will see our situation in
the proper perspective and be assured that all things are possible with
God (Philippians 4:13).

So ... are you an optimist? A pessimist? Good words for today.

Great quote: ...being a disciple means living a disciplined life, and it
is not very likely that you will get other disciples unless you are one
first.
Evelyn Underhill

ABSTAIN FROM WICKEDNESS

ABSTAIN FROM WICKEDNESS

"Let everyone who names the name of the Lord, abstain from wickedness."
2 Timothy 2:19

This morning I was reading through Proverbs chapter 5 and again I was
reminded of the deceitfulness of sin and its consequences. If you have
been following the news the past week, you have heard many illustrations
of the destructiveness of sin as men yield to its power and control.

I did a quick search this word abstain. Here are some of the meanings of
the word:
1. to stand off, to stand aloof
a. to go away, to depart from anyone
b. to desert, withdraw from one
c. to fall away, become faithless
d. to shun, flee from
e. to cease to vex one
f. to withdraw one's self from, to fall away
g. to keep one's self from, absent one's self from
When Paul instructs Timothy in this passage, he is pretty forthright -
don't play with sin! Martin Luther said that we so often play with sin
like playing with fire. We think we can mess around with it and not get
burned.
Pastor and author Chuck Swindoll, offers several very personal questions
to help us gain an understanding on how severe we need to be with
ourselves in order to "abstain from wickedness."

1. Are you regularly with a person of the opposite sex in appropriate
situations?
2. Are you completely above reproach in all your financial dealings,
including your taxes?
3. Do you expose yourself to explicit sexual materials?
4. If you have a family, do you invest sufficient time with them?
5. Do you tell the truth? How often do you lie (don't forget to count
the little white ones)?
6. How quickly do you say "I am wrong . . . I am genuinely sorry" when
you have said or done something that hurts another?
7. Do you hold grudges?
8. Are you knowingly compromising in some areas of your life, refusing
to acknowledge the consequences that you will surely have to face?
9. Have you formed a habit that is detrimental to your health or your
job or your walk with Christ?
10. Are you proud ... selfish ... arrogant?
11. Have you taken credit for something that someone else did and should
have been rewarded for?
12. Do you return things you borrow?
13. Have you failed to confess something to someone who should know of
your wrongdoing?
14. Are you abusing your mate or your children - physically or
emotionally?
15. Do you allow abuse to happen without seeking help?
16. Do you regularly spend time in prayer and in the Scriptures?

from THE FINISHING TOUCH - Becoming God's Masterpiece by Charles R.
Swindoll - Word
Good thoughts to ponder today.
Great quote: Nobody ever outgrows Scripture; the book widens and deepens
with our years. -- Charles Haddon Spurgeon

IT'S WRITTEN ALL OVER YOUR FACE

IT'S WRITTEN ALL OVER YOUR FACE

There are some faces that just give everything away. You know the ones I
am talking about. They don't have to say a word - you can tell by
looking at them if they are up to no good or if they have a secret they
are dying to tell you. You can read a person's face and tell by their
countenance if they are having a bad day and you'd better stay out of
their way.

You've heard the expressions: "You look like the cat that swallowed the
canary?" "You're grinning from ear to ear ... what's up?" "Something's
up - it's written all over your face!"

Our face's are often a good read of what is going on in a person's
heart. Solomon wrote: "Just as water mirrors your face, so your face
mirrors your heart." Proverbs 27:19 (The Message)

When we spend time with the Lord it not only transforms our hearts
(inside) but it transforms our countenance (outside).

Remember Moses? "Moses did not know that the skin of his face shone
while he talked with Him." (Exodus 34:29)

Then there was Stephen -- "All who sat in the council looking
steadfastly at Stephen, saw his face as the face of an angel." (Acts
6:15)

And Paul reminds us that we too have transformed faces because of our
relationship with Him and the time we spend in His presence: "We all,
with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are
being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as the
Spirit of the Lord." (2 Corinthians 3:18)

So tell me today - what's your face saying? To your spouse? Your kids?
Your co-workers? Can they tell by what's written all over your face that
you have been in His presence? Good thoughts to consider this morning.
Maybe today is a good day to allow the Spirit of God to do a face-lift!
Get alone with Him today.

Great quote: "Men are in a restless pursuit after satisfaction in
earthly things. They will exhaust themselves in the deceitful delights
of sin, and, finding them to be vanity, and emptiness, they will become
very perplexed and disappointed. But they will continue their fruitless
search. Though wearied, they still stagger forward under the influence
of spiritual madness, and though there is no result to be reached except
that of everlasting disappointment, yet they press forward. They have
no forethought for their eternal state; the present hour absorbs them.
They turn to another and another of earth's broken cisterns, hoping to
find water where not a drop was ever discovered yet." Charles Haddon
Spurgeon

DETERMINATION

DETERMINATION

Today is our 11th annual fundraising Golf Tournament for the ministry of
the Colony of Mercy, and we are looking forward to a great day.

I am not a golfer. In fact, I am athletically challenged. Sports has
never been my thing, so it really amazes me how determined golfers are
about their sport. The "golfers" I know are not just casual golfers -
they are committed - determined. They don't just own clubs, they have
the socks, the shoes, the outfit ... they have made it their goal to be
a GOLFER.

One of my old bosses was the pastor of a large church in Southampton,
PA. He loved golf. He played golf every Monday - rain, snow, sleet or
hail! In fact, when his wife went home to be with the Lord we were
afraid that he would have to arrange the service around his Monday golf
game! He had weather gear for any kind of weather. He was determined to
play no matter what - nothing interfered with his golf game.

The Apostle Paul to my knowledge was not a golfer. But he was a man of
determination. I love what he wrote in Philippians 3:10, "For my
determined purpose is that I may know HIM [that I may progressively
become more deeply and intimately acquainted with Him, perceiving and
recognizing and understanding the wonders of His Person more strongly
and more clearly], and that I may in the same way come to know the power
outflowing from His resurrection [which it exerts over believers], and
that I may so share His sufferings as to be continually transformed [in
spirit into His likeness even] to His death ..." (from the Amplified
Bible)

We are determined in life to do many things - but there is no greater
purpose for us that to KNOW HIM! May that be the determined purpose of
our lives today. When that happens - look out world - we will make a
difference!

Great quote: "Faith means you want God and want to want nothing else.
When God's love is taken for granted, we paint Him into a corner and rob
Him of the opportunity to love us in a new and surprising way, and faith
begins to shrivel and shrink. When I become so spiritually advanced that
Abba is old hat, then the Father has been had, Jesus has been tamed, the
Spirit has been corralled and the...fire has been extinguished...To be
Christian, faith has to be new, that is alive and growing. It cannot be
static, finished, settled...when I conclude that I can now cope with the
awful love of God I have headed for the shallows to avoid the deeps."
Brennan Manning, The Ragamuffin Gospel

Guys - here is an opportunity to encourage your wives. Sign her up for
our new event, ReviveHer Night this Thursday from 6:30 - 10:00 PM. She
will enjoy a night out at America's KESWICK with other women. $8.50
covers the activities and a special dessert buffet. Call today and make
her reservation: 732-350-1187. For more details, visit our website:
http://www.americaskeswick.org/rhn.htm

ATTITUDES: BALONEY OR THE REAL DEAL

ATTITUDES: BALONEY OR THE REAL DEAL

I read this humorous story this morning about two construction workers
who were sitting down to have lunch. The one worker opened up his lunch
box and sarcastically and full of anger remarked, "I can't believe it!
Baloney again! I hate baloney sandwiches. This is the fourth time this
week I have had baloney. I can't stand baloney.

The other construction worker tried to calm him down and reason with
him. "Why don't you take it easy. Just be honest and tell your wife that
you don't like baloney sandwiches? Tell her what you like and maybe she
will fix something else."

"Wife?" replied the man, "I make my own lunch!"

Dr. John C. Maxwell suggests that "most of the baloney in our lives, we
have put there ourselves." You can I CHOOSE our own ATTITUDE every day.
No one forces us to have a good or bad attitude. We make the choice.
Paul wrote: "Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with
HUMILITY of mind let each of you regard one another as more important
that himself; do not merely look out for YOUR OWN personal interests,
but also for the interests of others. Have this attitude (YOU CHOOSE!)
in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus." Philippians 2:3-4

Remember"

Attitude is the advance man of our true selves.
Its roots are inward but the fruit is outward!
It is our best friend or our worst enemy.
It is an outward look based on past experiences.
It is a thing which draws people TO us or repels them FROM us.
It is never content until it is expressed.
It is the librarian of your past.
It is the speaker of your present.
It is the prophet of your future.

The bottom line - YOU CHOOSE how you will use your attitude today. Paul
made that clear in the verses above. The only way to have an attitude
like CHRIST is to spend time with him each day. That is why your OWN
daily quiet time is important. The old adage is true - you become like
the people who you spend time with. Immerse yourself today in God's
Word. Spend time looking at the life of Jesus. The more you spend time
with Him, the more like Him you will become - and that's no baloney!

Great quote: Oh, how few find time for prayer! There is time for
everything else, time to sleep and time to eat, time to read the
newspaper and the novel, time to visit friends, time for everything else
under the sun, but - no time for prayer, the most important of all
things, the one great essential! -- Oswald J. Smith

Treat your wife to a special evening just for her. This Thursday night
we begin a new event: ReviveHER night for Ladies. She can enjoy of
evening of fellowship and encouragement with other women. Call today and
make a reservation for her: 732-350-1187. You'll make her night!

HEAVENLY MUSIC

HEAVENLY MUSIC

One of our monthly outreach events at America's KESWICK is our community
Hymnsing. Over 500 folks gather together to sing for two hours, mostly
hymns, but we mix in newer songs and choruses. This Thursday's theme is
choruses from the past.

I was amazed in putting together the program how many songs I have
learned in my 52 years. In fact, it was fun taking a walk "down memory
lane" and reviewing hundreds of songs that I had forgotten about. I
joked with my wife that there are enough choruses to do at least another
twenty Hymnsings just with choruses.

Did you ever stop and think about the blessing of music? Just think what
our Creator God has allowed man to do with a simple scale of eight
notes. I have been having fun putting my CD collection on my IPOD. Right
now I have over 1500 songs downloaded which equates to about three days
worth of music. I still have another hundred or so CD's to download, but
I would venture a guess it might give me another seven or eight days of
music. My collection is just a drop in the bucket to the millions of
songs that our floating around.

One of the things that we will do in heaven for all eternity is worship.
Scripture is full of references that talk about the singing we will do
around the throne. No try and get a handle around this: we will sing for
all eternity. That's a lot of music! That's a long time. But the God who
created music for our enjoyment and benefit will be the One we will be
singing about!

John Newton wrote - "When we've been there ten thousand years, bright
shining as the sun; we've no less days to sing God's praise - then when
we first begun!"

As you gather together to worship this morning with like-minded brothers
and sisters in Christ at your church, be mindful that one day, we will
all be doing this together. Heavenly music will be grand!

Great quote:
"It is an odd business: the more I live, the more I fail. The more I
fail, fall forward, and am caught by the arms of grace, the more I
reveal the message of the gospel. The more I pretend to have arrived and
offer others advice on how they can do the same, the more I become like
the prodigal's older brother, self righteous and angry. The ironic truth
that those who proclaim the gospel need it more than those who hear it
is not new. It just isn't being said loudly and clearly enough in this
day of spin and professionalism and big programs." Dan Allender,
Leading with a Limp