Magna Carta of an Out of Control Disciple

Have you considered your year-end giving options? If Victory Call has encouraged you, would you please encourage us with a year-end gift for the ministry of addiction recovery. You can donate online (www.americaskeswick.org) or call 800-453-7942. Thanks for your consideration.

Magna Carta of an Out of Control Disciple

As we bring this year of Freedom Fighter e-votionals to a close, I want to share with you two powerful readings that I came across several years ago:

John Wesley wrote in a "Covenant Prayer"--

        I am no longer my own, but Yours.

        Put to me what you will.  Put me to doing.  Put me to suffering.

        Let me be employed for You, or laid aside for You.

        Exhalted for You, or brought low for You.

        Let me be full. Let me be empty. Let me have all things.

        Let me have nothing!

        And now, O Father, You are mine and I am Yours. So be it.

        And the covenant I am making on earth, let it be ratified in heaven.

        Amen.

I am part of the Church of the Out-of-Control.  I once was a control junkie, but now am an Out-of-Control Disciple.  I've given up my control to God. I trust and obey the Spirit. I've jumped off the fence.  I've stepped over the line. I've pulled out all the stops. There's no turning back, looking around, slowing down, backing away, letting up, or shutting up. 

Its life against the odds, outside the box, over the wall, the game of life played without goal lines other than "Thy will be done...."  I am not here to please the dominant culture.  I live to please my Lord and Savior.  My spiritual taste-buds have graduated from fizz to froth to fire and ice. 

Sometimes I'm called to sharpen the cutting edge.  Don't give me that old-time religion.  Don't give me that new-time religion.  Give me that all-time religion that's as hard as rock and as soft as snow.  I've stopped trying to make life work, and started trying to make life sing.

I am finished with second-hand sensations, third-rate dreams, low-risk high-rise trades and goose-stepping, flag-waving crusades.  I no longer live by and for anything but everything God-breathed, Christ-centered, and Spirit-driven.  I can't be bought by any personalities or perks, positions or prizes.

I won't give up, though I may give in...to openness of mind, humbleness of heart, and generosity of spirit.  In the face of adversity no longer will I hang in there.  I will stand in there, I will run in there, I will pray in there, I will sacrifice in there, I will endure in there--in fact, I will do everything in there but hang.

My face is upward, my feet are forward, my eyes are focused, my way is cloudy, my knees are worn, my seat uncreased, my heart burdened, my spirit light, my road narrow, my mission wide.  I won't be seduced by popularity, traduced by criticism, travestied by hypocrisy, or trivialized by mediocrity.  I am organized religion's best friend and worst nightmare. 

I won't back down, slow down, shut down, or let down until I'm preached out, teached out, healed  out, or hauled out of God's mission in the world entrusted to members of the Church of the Out-of Control...to bind the confined, whether they're the downtrodden or the upscale, the overlooked or the underrepresented.

My fundamental identity is as a disciple of Jesus who lives in Christ, who doesn't walk through history simply "in His steps," but seeks to travel more deeply IN HIS SPIRIT.  Until He comes again or calls me home, you can find me filling not killing time so that one day He will pick me out in the lineup of the ages as one of His own.

And then...it will be worth it all...to hear these words, the most precious words. I can ever hear:  “Well done, thou good and faithful...Out-of-Control Disciple."

Well brothers, are you an “out of control disciple?” Are you willing to pray the prayer of John Wesley as we welcome in the New Year? Thanks for joining me on the journey in 2010. I look forward to your participation in 2011. – Bill Welte is President and CEO of America’s Keswick

Digging Deeper:  Congratulations! If you read these scriptures every day, you have read through the Bible in one year! Proverbs 31; Malachi 1-4; Revelation 22

Dig This Quote: What can the world offer you without Jesus? To be without Jesus is hell most grievous, to be with Jesus is to know the sweetness of heaven. If Jesus is with you, no enemy can harm you. Whoever finds Jesus, finds a rich treasure, and a good above every good. He who loses Jesus loses much indeed, and more than the whole world. Poorest of all is he who lives without Jesus, and richest of all is he who stands in favour with Jesus. Thomas a Kempis

Determined Digging: Level 1: Acts 16:31; Level 2: John 1:8-14

Determined Praying: If you love God, you cannot be at a loss for something to say to Him, something for your hearts to pour out before Him, which His grace has already put there. – Matthew Henry

The Atheist Arguing Job -- Part 4

Have you considered your year-end giving options? If Victory Call has encouraged you, would you please encourage us with a year-end gift for the ministry of addiction recovery. You can donate online (www.americaskeswick.org) or call 800-453-7942. Thanks for your consideration.

The Atheist Arguing Job.

Part Four

“For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse.”  Romans 1:18-20 (ESV)

There is one last thing to cover to from this “Atheist Pocket Debater” that I thought I should speak on. It’s titled “Pascal’s Wager” To give you a background on this; it is an argument that comes from the 17^th century French philosopher Blaise Pascal and it goes something like this. If you don’t believe in God and you’re right, when you die nothing happens. BUT, if you don’t believe in God and you are wrong, you will suffer forever in eternal damnation or Hell; why not just believe and play it safe? Plus you will get to go to Heaven. Got it? Do you agree with it? I don’t!! There is no heart in it. Doesn’t say a thing about the condition in which to believe with, does it? So we will get to Heaven…just because? Nonsense!!

As I read on, the comment comes up that if you believe you wager (I don’t like that wording) or risk nothing. If you don’t believe, you risk eternal damnation. Then the debater asks which versions of God and Hell are correct. They bring out the contrasts between Judaism, Christianity and Islam and if you were to throw that into the mixing bowl, like the way the debater does, you will get the kind of disbelief that the debater wants to bring out. You might be inclined to think that Jesus was just a good man with some good teachings and that the Bible is corrupted. But that isn’t truth, is it? That is a potpourri of man’s unwantingness of being held accountable to a triune God. Period!!

The debater brings up the matters of prayer between the three heavy hitters of religion. As a Christian we pray to Jesus to avoid Hell. Muslims pray to Jesus they go to Hell. Jews pray to Jesus they waste their time. Then they ask the questions, ‘What do you do? Which rules are correct?” Once again I will say that if we were to take all of this and put it a “Magic Bullet” blender like we see on T.V., we would get the kind of disbelief that is needed to understand the confusion of who to pray to. But for us, if we have a true sense of the surrendered heart, who to pray to and what to pray for is right down the narrow roadway with His arms stretched wide open. Amen!!

Then here it comes, that cop-out of a statement that the world leans on like a crutch. “How about just being a good person and enjoying your life? If there is a God, it seems to be a fair wager (really not liking that wording) that God is certainly more concerned that you were a decent person in your life, and will spare you Hell.” Hogwash!! I would like to know the definition of a decent person. You can get a different answer for every occasion couldn’t you? Well just turn to page two (which is titled “By believing, we are sacrificing too much) on the debater and they will help you comprise yourself to almost every humanist thought pattern that will keep you in the bondage of sin possible. Every Christian, Jew and Muslim can have their beliefs flush down the drain if any of them were surrender over to what is on that page.

But there is a glimmer of truth at the end of this article…”And if I did just pretend to believe, wouldn’t God know that I was a faker, just going through the motions to avoid Hell?” Yep!!! That has been the most truthful thing I have read in this debater. The one thing I have gotten by looking into this debater is that there are people around us that will spend more energy avoiding God than surrendering over to Him. I appreciate that my pastor challenged our church to take a look at this application for our i-gizmo’s. I might ask you to do the same. After all, we all need to defend the work of Calvary and that requires being armed. So make sure your Sword is sharpened and ready for battle this New Year. – Chris Hughes is a frequent contributor to our Freedom Fighter e-votional and a graduate of the Colony of Mercy

Digging Deeper: Proverbs 30; Zechariah 13-14; Revelation 21

Dig This Quote: Even if you are trained in many of God’s ways, as John was, you are still likely to have an opportunity to be offended with Jesus. If you truly love and believe on Him, you will fight to stay free from offense, realizing His ways are always higher than yours. Also, if you are going to obey the Spirit of God, people will be offended by you. Jesus said in John 38, “The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes. So everyone who is born of the Spirit.” Some will not understand you as you move with the Spirit. Don’t allow their unpleasant response to deter you from what you know in your heart is true. Don’t abort the flow of the Spirit for the desires of men. The Bait of Satan -- John Bevere

Determined Digging: Level 1: Acts 1:8; Level 2: John 1:8-14

Determined Praying: The nature of the divine goodness is not only to open to those who knock, but also to cause them knock and ask. -- Augustine

The Atheist Arguing Job -- Part 3

The Atheist Arguing Job.

Part Three

“And count the patience of our Lord as salvation, just as our beloved brother Paul also wrote to you according to the wisdom given him, as he does in all his letters when he speaks in them of these matters. There are some things in them that are hard to understand, which the ignorant and unstable twist to their own destruction, as they do the other Scriptures. You therefore, beloved, knowing this beforehand, take care that you are not carried away with the error of lawless people and lose your own stability. But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity. Amen.”                                                                                                                2 Peter 3:15-18 (ESV)

Over the past few Freedom Fighters I covered just the tip of the iceberg concerning an i-app for the i-gizmo’s that are out there called “The Atheist Pocket Debater.” In my first moments of looking into this i-book I had issues and I was outraged with what I was reading. Well in this Freedom Fighter I want to cover why the compiler of this i-app went the direction he did. If it wasn’t for a conversation with my pastor I just may have missed this particular reason why Jason Hagen made the decision early in his life to dismiss God totally. So I thank Pastor Paul Ort for taking the time out for presenting the evidence that lite the light bulb for these past Freedom Fighters in the first place.

I found the following quote in the N.Y. Times online archives from earlier this year, “What inspired him, he said, was a lifetime of frustration as the son of a fundamentalist Christian preacher in rural Virginia. “I know what people go through, growing up in the culture I grew up in,” said Mr. Hagen, 39, adding that his father had only recently learned of his true beliefs. “So I tried to give people the tools they need to defend themselves, but at the same time not ridicule anybody. Basically, the people on the other side of the debate are my parents.” When I read this I immediately called Pastor Paul and asked him where I could find the rest of this guy’s bio. “It’s part of the debater titled “The Skeptical Teenager” Pastor replied. So I went there and read some disturbing stuff. 

He was baptized at age 12 “just to please the folks.” By the time he was 14 he began to question the stories in the Bible. “How do we know those stories in the Bible actually happened?” The reply was, “Jason, don’t even go there! We know it’s true. We just know!” And then he asked, “Why don’t all those miracles happen today?” The reply to this question was, “I don’t know why God doesn’t do miracles nowadays. Maybe He wants us to have faith.” That last answer bothers me something fierce. These were the answers provided by a teacher at the Baptist school he was attending…according to him.

Later on in the bio Jason tells a story about being 19, living in Atlanta and running into a street corner preacher. The preacher was the “fire and brimstone” kind of preacher and, in front of his friends; Jason begins a dialogue that went like this. “Those who do not accept the Lord Savior Jesus will perish in the everlasting fire of Hell.” Jason walks up to him and asks, “Sir, if God knows everything and loves us, why would He create Hell? Wouldn’t it be better to not even be born in the first place, if we knew we were going to be sent there? It’s being born into a curse.” And of course this street preacher goes into an incoherent tirade about Satan even though it is not directed towards Jason.

There are two things we can glean from this. One is that we have a rebellious teenager who just feels like being so or we have a younger brother who had doubts and an older brother did not do what should have been done to reinforce the work of the Cross. Even so this man has gone to compile a very popular tool for people to use against us. It is important that the Christian take the time to present the evidence to support their faith. To say, “Just because” may not be enough. Maybe Jason’s story is one-sided but it should still serve as a warning to all of us that the world is grabbing at anything right now and we need to have them and reach out…to Jesus. I got one more thing left to say but that will be for tomorrow. – Chris Hughes contributes frequently to our daily Freedom Fighter e-votional

Digging Deeper: Proverbs 29; Zechariah 9-12; Revelation 20

Dig This Quote;

“The unchurched don’t care much about our credentials. Bible school and seminary degrees aren’t important if we can’t undergird them with our wholehearted response to God’s character requirements. We must live out the reality of our message. And we live it out best in community and relationships when we deeply share our lives, our dreams, our joys, and our sorrows. What people expect of us-their pastors and church leaders- is that we be holy men and women, that we love mercy, that we sacrifice ourselves for the sake of the sheep, including sheep that are lost. They want to know that their pastors aren’t always looking for a fight or motivated by money. They long for leaders who are patient and gentle, kind and generous-pastors who love them.” Reclaiming God’s Original Intent for the Church                                                                                   Wes Roberts and Glenn Marshall

Determined Digging: Level 1: Acts 1:8; John 1:8-14

Determined Praying: When faith sets prayer on work, prayer sets God on work. Thomas Watson

The Atheist Arguing Job -- Part 2

The Atheist Arguing Job.

Part Two

“The Lord said to Satan, “From where have you come?” Satan answered the Lord and said, “From going to and fro on the earth, and from walking up and down on it.” And the Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, who fears God and turns away from evil?” Then Satan answered the Lord and said, “Does Job fear God for no reason?”                                                                                                                                 Job 1:7-9 (ESV)

 Yesterday I told you about this new application I got for my i-touch that my pastor told our congregation we needed to get and read if we had an i-anything. The i-app is called “The Atheist Pocket Debater” and it contains some of the outrageous arguments against the Father, Son and Holy Spirit that I have ever browsed through. In yesterday’s Freedom Fighter I shared with you a few things that concerned me. One was author Jason Hagen’s insinuation that God would participate with Satan on placing bets on human suffering. The other ones were about his questioning of Job being righteous, that God has an ego and that He is ‘very concerned about His vanity.” Well today I’m still steamed so I will continue with a few more of Jason’s attitude with God through Job.

As this writing goes along Hagen wants his reader to think that God is boasting to the prince of evil by saying, “God asks Satan, “Have you seen my servant Job? There is no one more righteous on the Earth?” Well my friend here’s the part of this Freedom Fighter where I need you to open your Bible and see if this is what the text says. My NKJV does not have this particular wording, however I think the writer wants to change God’s word around to support his own statement that, “God is boasting to Satan.” I will ask you this…Does God need to boast? I for one do not think He needs to boast. His mercies are new every morning that says enough to me. Does it for you?

Something else struck me with unease. As the writer goes along with the opening dialogue that we find in chapter one of the Book of Job he is asking questions and making comments. These are smug comments and his question are those that an unbeliever would ask but he ticks me off with the following statement, “God is being challenged and tested by Satan. Realize, if Satan’s intention is simply and solely to be permitted to punish and hurt Job, and the testing of Job’s loyalty to God is only a ruse, then God is being completely manipulated and outsmarted by Satan. Think about it.” All-RIGHTY THEN!!

Well I have thought about it and whatever thoughts about El Elyon this author wants to plant into the mind of his readers they can’t be good.  He had better get his nose into God’s Word and find out what happens when people question who manipulates who and what happens to them. The text simply states that, “Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan also came among them.” God even asks the adversary, twice, where he has been and the only answer there has ever been given is, “From going to and fro on the earth, and from walking up and down on it.” I call that wandering around without any real purpose but what do I know, huh?

There is a lot more I could cover and I would need a month of Freedom Fighter space to go on. But there is a good reason why Jason Hagen takes God and the church to task in the fashion that he does. I will cover that tomorrow. So think about how this kind of debating can lead people to fall away from the Church of God if the church does not come alongside those whose faith may be wavering. Remember that Jesus came to straighten out a great big mess that was left in the Garden because Satan was crafty enough to twist the Word of God around and make it look as if the Creation could do fine without Him. – Chris Hughes is a regular Freedom Fighter e-votional contributor and a graduate of the Colony of Mercy

Digging Deeper: Proverbs 28; Zechariah 5-8; Revelation 19

Dig This Quote: “Something has to fill their need. Something has to satiate their hunger and thirst for righteousness. Where truth, doctrine, and Scripture cannot fill, experience enters. The generation of superficial Christians then begins to measure their Christianity, not by what they believe but by how they feel. This is a profound error. Measuring your Christianity by your experience can lead to a myriad of related ailments. Without a true biblical marker and measurement, one is easily deceived into measuring by the amount of tears one cries or the sharpness of the tingle that transverses your spine. This condition is made worse when we realize that our culture measures truth by the same standards. Think about. These days, it is rare to find anyone use the phrase, “I believe.”

 Why Churches Die  Mac Brunson & Ergun Caner

Determined Digging: Level 1: Acts 1:8; Level 2: John 1:8-14

Determined Praying: Large asking and large expectation on our part honor God. – A. L. Stone

The Atheist Arguing Job -- Part 1

The Atheist Arguing Job.

Part One

“The Lord said to Satan, “From where have you come?” Satan answered the Lord and said, “From going to and fro on the earth, and from walking up and down on it.” And the Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, who fears God and turns away from evil?” Then Satan answered the Lord and said, “Does Job fear God for no reason?”                                                                                                                                 Job 1:7-9 (ESV)

It is not every Sunday that one would hear their pastor telling them to download something that does not reflect the Gospel of Christ but this has happened in my church. “If you have an i-pod, i-touch, i-pad or some other i-gadget you may want to go to the i-store on i-tunes and download the i-app titled “The Atheist Pocket Debater” and give it a read” my pastor said in a roundabout way. Not that I do everything he challenges me to do but this one? So I downloaded it on to my i-gizmo and it has made my eyeballs stand straight out.

This i-book is one of the top selling applications in the i-world, competing with the Bible, and they say it is like “an atheist Swiss army knife” all for only three dollars. This is a complication of arguments against the existence of God and has been put together by Jason Hagen. A professional musician and successful real estate business owner who just happens to believe that there is no God!! I have spent some time browsing through my download and I ain’t too happy with Jason. It’s not that I have a personal ax to grind with him, however Jesus will, but there is a part of this debater that I cannot let go of…and I only have had this application for an hour. So here is my problem.

In a part of the debater, titled “Anti-theist Sermons” the writer begins his argument by stating that many sermons have been based on the story of Job. The story is “a fantastically mythological” one and has a moral to it. But there are “glaring flaws” to it, such as “supernatural deities are placing bets on human suffering.” I am not too sure how many sermons the author has heard on Job but I do not recall the ones I’ve heard (which are very few) ever saying that this is a bet. To engage in a bet would have meant that God was taking a risk to gain something. That is not God at all. The Creator of the universe does not need to risk anything for anyone, Period.

As the introduction went on the author states, “Job was a righteous man. (How righteous was he?)” Well I guess since we live in a fallen world it would be for the unsaved to wonder about being righteous. Later on in the authors argument he criticized the animal sacrifices that God required to cover the sins of men. He calls Him the God of the Old Testament and that most humans find animal sacrifice repugnant and repulsive.  “Why is it that spilling the blood from a living creature, whether animal or human, is the action needed for God to grant forgiveness?” He accuses God of having “quite an ego” and that God is “very concerned with his vanity.” Oy vey!!

There is more to this ‘Anti-theist” argument and I will share that tomorrow but recognize that there are these kinds of views out there and that they are growing in popularity as time goes on. It is up to the Christians of this world to continue to stand up and take these arguments to task. Even if the mass media does what it can to shut down the Christian perspective, we need to press on. It is my prayer for the New Year that the Christian community remains dedicated to this purpose. Because when we stand in front of Him and we are asked, “What did you do with and for Jesus Christ?” we will have an answer worthy enough to enter the Kingdom. – Chris Hughes is a graduate of the Colony of Mercy and a regular contributor for Freedom Fighter e-votional

Digging Deeper: Proverbs 27; Zechariah 1-4; Revelation 18

Dig This Quote;

“While Job beheld the harmony and comforts of his sons with satisfaction, his knowledge of the human heart made him fearful for them. He sent and sanctified them, reminding them to examine themselves, to confess their sins, to seek forgiveness; and as one who hoped for acceptance with God through the promised Savior, he offered a burnt-offering for each. We perceive his care for their souls, his knowledge of the sinful state of man, his entire dependence on God's mercy in the way he had appointed.”

Matthew Henry Concise

Determined Digging: Level 1: Acts 1:8; Level 2: John 1:8-14

Determined Praying: Believing supplications are forecasts of the future. – C. H. Spurgeon

Joy to the World! The Lord Is Come

JOY TO THE WORLD! THE LORD IS COME!

“For unto you is born this day … a Savior!” Luke 2:11

On this Lord’s day after Christmas, I want to encourage you to REJOICE! The Lord has come! Now that the presents are all unwrapped, and you have time to catch your breath from all the preparations, you can take this day to wonder, ponder and glorify HIM for He has come!

Joy to the world! The Lord is come: Let earth receive her King;
Let every heart prepare Him room, and heaven and nature sing

And heaven and nature sing.

Joy to the world! The Savior reigns: Let men their songs employ;

While fields and floods, rocks, hills and plains repeat the sounding joy,

Repeat, repeat the sounding joy.

No more let sin and sorrow grow, nor thorns infest the ground;

He comes to make His blessings flow, far as the curse is found,

Far as the curse is found.

He rules the world with truth and grace, and makes the nations prove

The glories of His righteousness, and the wonders of His love,

And the wonders of His love.

Today take some time to wonder, ponder and glorify God! Joy to the world! The Lord has come! – Bill Welte is President and CEO of America’s Keswick

Digging Deeper: Proverbs 26; Haggai 1-2; Revelation 17

Dig This Quote: What self denial! What self abasement! What self emptying! He, whom no infinitudes can hold, is contained within infant’s age, and infant’s form. Can it be, that the great ‘I AM THAT I AM’ shrinks into our flesh? Henry Law

Determined Digging: Level 1: Acts 16:31; Level:  John1:8-14

Determined Praying: Dear Lord, never let me be afraid of the impossible. Dorothy Shellenberger

Joy to the World

JOY TO THE WORLD! THE LORD IS COME!

“For unto you is born this day … a Savior!” Luke 2:11

On this Lord’s day after Christmas, I want to encourage you to REJOICE! The Lord has come! Now that the presents are all unwrapped, and you have time to catch your breath from all the preparations, you can take this day to wonder, ponder and glorify HIM for He has come!

Joy to the world! The Lord is come: Let earth receive her King;
Let every heart prepare Him room, and heaven and nature sing

And heaven and nature sing.

Joy to the world! The Savior reigns: Let men their songs employ;

While fields and floods, rocks, hills and plains repeat the sounding joy,

Repeat, repeat the sounding joy.

No more let sin and sorrow grow, nor thorns infest the ground;

He comes to make His blessings flow, far as the curse is found,

Far as the curse is found.

He rules the world with truth and grace, and makes the nations prove

The glories of His righteousness, and the wonders of His love,

And the wonders of His love.

Today take some time to wonder, ponder and glorify God! Joy to the world! The Lord has come! – Bill Welte is President and CEO of America’s Keswick

Digging Deeper: Proverbs 26; Haggai 1-2; Revelation 17

Dig This Quote: What self denial! What self abasement! What self emptying! He, whom no infinitudes can hold, is contained within infant’s age, and infant’s form. Can it be, that the great ‘I AM THAT I AM’ shrinks into our flesh? Henry Law

Determined Digging: Level 1: Acts 16:31; Level:  John1:8-14

Determined Praying: Dear Lord, never let me be afraid of the impossible. Dorothy Shellenberger

Merry Christmas and God Bless You

On behalf of the Board of Trustees, staff of America's KESWICK, and our Freedom Fighter team (Chris Hughes, John Strain, George VanSandt, George Hutchison and Jason Walsh), and my entire family,

MERRY CHRISTMAS and GOD BLESS YOU.

"Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift." 2 Corinthians 9:15

Tools For Your Quiet Time (Part 2)

Tools for Your Quiet Time (Part 2)

“I will meditate on Your precepts and think about Your ways. I will delight in Your statutes; I will not forget Your word.” Psalm 119:15-16

Do you struggle with having a consistent time alone with the Lord each day? Are you ever late for work? Do you ever miss a dental or doctor appointment? Are you ever late or miss a scheduled racquet ball or golf game?

There is an old saying, “We do want we want to do.” And that is so true if we are really honest with ourselves. If you really want to have a daily time with God, you have to treat it with importance.

Dr. Ron Blue, professor at Dallas Seminary and popular Keswick speaker, says we should put our appointment with God in our Daytimer and then treat it like any other appointment that we cannot miss! Good advice. Has worked for me for years!

It’s not to late to get started. Here are some additional tools I can recommend to you:

Daily with the King – Glynn Evans – I started using this before I ever had My Utmost for His Highest. My copy is so marked up with highlights and notes. Dr. Evans was a teacher at Wheaton, and a classmate of Pastor Bill Raws. Very practical and powerful insights for daily Christian living.

Holiness – Jerry Bridges – Powerful devotional thoughts on how to live holy in an unholy world. Jerry Bridges served with the Navigators for many years. I have really enjoyed using his devotional this year.

Streams in the Desert – L. B. Cowman – I have been using this devotional since I was a kid. My mom would read out of this devotional before my brother and I went to school each day. It has become a valuable treasure in my devotional life. Make sure you get the updated version by Jim Reimann.

The J. I. Packer Classic Collection – I just received this several weeks ago and I love it. J. I. Packer is the author of KNOWING GOD, and his insights are really powerful. I know I am going to enjoy this tool in 2011.

Voices From the Past – Puritan Devotional Readings – I purchased this in June and has become a cherished volume in my devotional library. This is a must use tool. It has really spoken to my heart. I highly recommend this devotional.

Now if you order from Amazon today, you might even get your books right after Christmas. Tip: Don’t wait until January 1 to get started. Start right now. Today. And I would love to hear what tools you use in your daily time with the Lord. – Bill Welte is President and CEO of America’s Keswick

Digging Deeper: Proverbs 24; Habakkuk 1-3; Revelation 15

Dig This Quote: It is good to be children sometimes, and never better than at Christmas, when its mighty founder was a child himself. Charles Dickens

Determined Digging: Level 1: Acts 1:8; Level 2: John 1:1-7

Determined Praying: A saint is to put forth his faith in prayer, and after-wards follow his prayer with faith. – Vavasor Powell

Tools for Your Quiet Time (Part 1)

Tools for Your Quiet Time (Part 1)

“Teach me, Lord, the meaning of Your statutes, and I will always keep them. Help me understand Your instruction, and I will obey it and follow it with all of my heart. Help me stay on the path of Your commands, for I take pleasure in it.” Psalm 119:33-35

I am often asked about what I do when I have my personal quiet time with the Lord. I want to share today and tomorrow some of the tools that I have used and will be using in 2011 when I get together with the Lord each morning.

Daily Light on the Daily Path – I have been using this powerful little tool since 1999. It is the one tool that I use most consistently. Each day there are morning and evening readings. I read both since they are very short. For each day all you have is Scripture – no commentary. I have been amazed at how many times the verses are right on for what I need for that particular day. I put dates and even some comments in the margins, and it is fun to see how year after year certain events, situations, people issues have surfaced at just the same time. Some of my struggles/temptations I have found are cyclical. This tool is available in KJV/NKJV/NASB/ESV. The link I gave you is for the leather bound version from Amazon.

Checque Book of the Bank of Faith – I ordered this one and already have started it. It is a simple devotional written by Charles Haddon Spurgeon, writings taken from his work, God’s Checkbook. I love it. It is also in leather and fits in your pocket or brief case.

His Battle – God’s Plan for Victory – is a undated devotional that has been such a blessing in my life this past year. Each day you have a verse, and then a prayer written on a topic related to walking in victory. I have been amazed at how timely each day has been for me.

The Pursuit of God – The Pursuit of Man – Devotional Readings – This book is currently out-of-stock from Amazon, and I didn’t check CBD. It is a collection of devotionals written by A. W. Tozer. My copy is so marked up. This also is a pocket leather-bound book, and worth every penny.

Morning and Evening  is written by Charles Haddon Spurgeon. Very practical and insightful. I read both morning and evening at once. Great stuff.

My Utmost for His Highest – I have been using this tool since 1996. I have often joked that I have a love-hate relationship with Mr. Chambers. He is so right on some days I want to scream! God has used this devotional so many times to whack me on the side of the head.

I will share this again tomorrow, but I also take a few minutes at the end of my quiet time to journal what God has been teaching me. Some days I write a paragraph. Some days I write more – and those are the thots you get from  me for Freedom Fighters.

I trust you will make it a determined goal in 2011 to spend time with the Lord each day. Not because you HAVE to, but because you WANT to. – Bill Welte is President and CEO of America’s Keswick

Digging Deeper: Proverbs 23; Nahum 1-3; Revelation 14

Dig This Quote: The incarnation was a necessary means to an end, and the end was putting away of the sin of the world by offing of the body of Christ. – Thomas Hewitt

Determined Digging: Level 1: Acts 1:8; Level 2: John 1:1-7

Determined Praying: God may turn his ears from prattling prayers, or preaching prayers, but never from penitent prayers. – William S. Plumer

Navigating Life Biblically

Navigating Life Biblically

“Your word is a lamp unto my feet and a light on my path.” Psalm 119:105

We are counting down the days till Christmas, and in fact, we are close to ending 2010. Many of you joined us on our DIGGING DEEPER adventure, and I trust that you have enjoyed your time in God’s Word.

Our theme for 2011 is NAVIGATING LIFE BIBLICALLY … Using God’s Word as the Compass for Your Life. You will begin to see the new logo banner as we begin the new year.

Our new 2011 Bible Reading Guide is now available for you to download (http://www.americaskeswick.org/614219.ihtml) or you can call the office (732-350-1187) or email me (bwelte@americaskeswick.org) to request a copy.

This year our reading guide will have you read a chapter in Proverbs each day. By the end of 2011 you will have read through Proverbs 12 times. You will also read through Psalms twice, and then read through the Bible chronologically. If you have never read the Bible through this way, you will really enjoy doing so this year.

We also plan to have a Facebook page where you can share with others what God has been teaching you as you read His Word. I trust you will visit the page often and share what God is teaching you. I will alert you when the page is up and running.

Since Christmas is a great time to think about gifts, I want to share the next two days some of the great devotional tools that are available. I often am asked what tools I use in my quiet time, so I will be sharing information with you. All of the resources are available from CBD.com or Amazon.com. Both CBD and Amazon have good bargains, and if you are not necessarily looking to buy new, most Amazon titles have “slightly” used books available at greatly reduced prices.

If the ministry of Freedom Fighter is an encouragement to you, I would encourage you to share it with a friend, and then invite them to join us on our daily adventure.

Thanks for joining me on the journey. I value and appreciate you, brothers. And I do love to hear from you, so from time to time, please drop me a note. God bless you. – Bill Welte is President and CEO of America’s Keswick

Digging Deeper: Proverbs 22; Micah 6-7; Revelation 13

Dig This Quote: The way to Christmas lies through an ancient gate....It is a little gate, child-high, child-wide, and there is a password: "Peace on earth to men of good will." May you, this Christmas, become as a little child again and enter into His kingdom. Angelo Patri

Determined Digging: Level 1: John 15:16; Level 2: Matthew 7:7-11

Determined Praying: What an excellent ground of hope and confidence we have when we reflect upon these three things in prayer – the Father’s love, the Son’s merit and the Spirit’s power. – Thomas Manton

Just Give Me Jesus -- Jesus Makes Heaven Available

Just Give Me Jesus – Jesus Makes Heaven Available

Today concludes the thoughts I have been sharing from Anne Graham Lotz’s book, JUST GIVE ME JESUS. I would encourage you to order it either from CBD or Amazon.com. The study is very fascinating and will give you much to think about.

I think it interesting time that the last description is that JESUS MAKES HEAVEN AVAILABLE. The message could not be more timely as we get ready to celebrate the birth of Jesus – Immanuel – God with us!

The God of the universe sent His Son Jesus, to be born in a lowly manger with the purpose of “saving His people from their sins” and to make heaven (eternal life) available for all who would trust Him as their Messiah – their Savior.

He had not predecessor,

And He will have no successor.

He is the Lion and He is the Lamb.

He is God and He is man. He is the seven-way King.

He is the King of the Jews  … that’s a racial King.

He is the King of Israel … that’s a national King.

He is the King of righteousness … that’s a moral King.

He is the King of the ages … that’s an eternal King.

He is the King of heaven  … that’s a universal King.

He is the King of glory … that’s a celestial King.

HE IS THE KING OF KINGS AND THE LORD OF LORDS!

Just give me Jesus! He makes heaven available!

Are you able to sing today, “Joy to the world the Lord is come! Let earth receive her King? Is he YOUR King today? – Bill Welte is President and CEO of America’s Keswick

Digging Deeper: Proverbs 21; Micah 4-5; Revelation 12

Dig This Quote: It was to save sinners that Christ Jesus came into the world. He did not come to help them to save themselves, nor to induce them to save themselves, nor even to enable them to save themselves. He came to save them! – William Hendriksen

Determined Digging: Level 1: Acts 1:8; Level 2: John 1:1-7

Determined Praying: We lie to God in prayer if we do not rely on Him afterwards. Robert Leighton

Just Give Me Jesus -- Jesus Makes Sin Forgivable

Just Give Me Jesus – Jesus Makes Sins Forgivable

“She [Mary} will bear a Son, and you shall call His name Jesus [the Greek form of the Hebrew Joshua, which means Savior], for He will save His people from their sins.” Matthew 1:21 – The Amplified Bible

I am thankful this Monday morning that Jesus saves! He saves completely! He paid for my sins and yours with His own precious blood. He forgives my sins past, present and future. He didn’t pay for some of my sin or most of my sin – He paid for all my sin.

Horatio Spafford in his awesome hymn, IT IS WELL WITH MY SOUL, wrote these precious words: “My sin, O the bliss of this glorious thot – my sin, not in part but the WHOLE – is nailed to the cross and I bear it not more – praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul!”

As Anne Graham Lotz reminds us, Jesus makes sins forgivable …

His office is manifold,

And His promise is sure.

His life is matchless,

And His goodness is limitless.

His mercy is enough,

And His grace is sufficient.

His reign is righteous, His yoke is easy,

And His burden is light.

He is indestructible. He is indescribable.

He is incomprehensible. He is in escapable.

He is invincible. He is irresistible. He is irrefutable.

I can’t got Him out of my mind …

And I can’t get Him out of my heart.

I can’t live outlive Him …

And I can’t live without Him.

The Pharisees couldn’t stand Him

But they found they couldn’t stop Him.

Satan tried to tempt Him,

But he found he couldn’t trip Him.

Pilot examined Him on trial

But found he couldn’t fault Him.

The Romans crucified Him

But found they couldn’t take His life.

Death couldn’t handle Him,

And the grace couldn’t hold Him.
Just give me Jesus! He makes sin forgivable!

Brother, there is no sin that you have committed that HE cannot forgive. It could be life dominating bondage to addiction or maybe you have been ensnared in some sexual sin. I don’t know what it is – You do! So today, run to the cross and confess your sin. It was paid for with HIS precious blood. Call on Him today. – Bill Welte is President and CEO of America’s Keswick

Digging Deeper: Proverbs 20; Micah 1-3; Revelation 11

Dig This Quote: Christmas without Christ is a mess. Jose B. Cabajar

Determined Digging: Level 1: Acts 1:8; John 1:1-7

Determined Praying:  Many a person is praying for rain with his tub the wrong side up! – Sam Jones

Not I, But Christ

Not, I But Christ

“I have been crucified with Christ; and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the flesh, I live by the faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.” Galatians 2:20

On Friday, Jan and I were honored to attend the Memorial Service of Dorothy Crichton. Dorothy’s husband, Dr. Eric Crichton was the Senior Pastor of Calvary Church in Lancaster for many years, has been a popular conference speaker, a Board member of America’s Keswick, and a dear friend and mentor to me personally.

Dorothy went home to be with Jesus last Saturday evening at age 90. She was a remarkable woman of God, and the theme of her service, which she planned, was Not I, But Christ! It was an amazing service.

Printed in the memorial program was this hymn text written in the early 1900’s by Ada. A. Whiddington. The original music was penned by the late Albert B. Simpson. There is not commentary needed for this powerful text. I want to commit this hymn text to memory, but more importantly, I want it to be the theme of my life:

1. Not I but Christ, be honored, loved, exalted;
Not I, but Christ, be seen, be known, be heard;
Not I, but Christ, in ev’ry look and action,
Not I, but Christ, in ev’ry tho’t and word.

Chorus:
O to be saved from myself, dear Lord,
O to be lost in Thee,
O that it might be no more I, but Christ that lives in me.


2. Not I but Christ, to gently soothe in sorrow;
Not I, but Christ to wipe the falling tear;
Not I, but Christ, to lift the weary burden;
Not I, but Christ, to hush away all fear.

3. Christ, only Christ, no idol ever falling;
Christ, only Christ, no needless bustling sound;
Christ, only Christ, no self-important bearing;
Christ, only Christ, no trace of “I” be found.

4. Not I but Christ, my ev’ry need supplying;
Not I, but Christ, my strength and health to be;
Christ, only Christ, for body, soul, and spirit;
Christ, only Christ, live then Thy life in me.

5. Christ, only Christ, ere long will fill my vision;
Glory excelling soon, full soon I’ll see—
Christ, only Christ, my ev’ry wish fulfilling—
Christ, only Christ, my all in all to be.

Thanks, Dorothy Crichton, for living this text throughout your life. May all who come behind you be faithful to do the same. – Bill Welte is President and CEO of America’s Keswick

Digging Deeper: Proverbs 19; Jonah 1-4; Revelation 10

Dig This Quote: The Son of God became the Son of Man in order that the sons of men might become the sons of God. – John Blanchard

Determined Digging: Level 1: Acts 1:8; Level 2: John 1:1-17

Determined Praying: (cont. from yesterday) Here is the great secret of success, my Christian reader. Work with all your might, but never trust in your work. Pray with all your might for the blessing in God, but work at the same time with all diligence, with all patience, with all perseverance. Pray, then. And so on, all the days of your life. The result will surely be abundant blessing. Whether you see much fruit or little fruit, such kind of service will be blessed. George Muller

Maybe I Should Have Turned Around

Maybe I Should Have Turned Around

“But the thing displeased Samuel when they said, “Give us a king to judge us.” And Samuel prayed to the Lord. And the Lord said to Samuel, “Obey the voice of the people in all that they say to you, for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected me from being king over them. According to all the deeds that they have done, from the day I brought them up out of Egypt even to this day, forsaking me and serving other gods, so they are also doing to you.”  1 Samuel 8:6-8 (ESV)

I know that some of you may be experiencing the unpleasantness of Christmas shopping. Whether you are going after work or on the weekend, I am sure that the crowds along with the amount of money you could be spending has you feeling pretty beat up. I drive by the malls in my area I find that I sit in my truck and wait as I try to get from one town to another. And for those of you who may have to park the car at the local malls, you stand a good chance of making that hard turn into an available space to only find that there is a shopping cart ditched out of view in the space. And I can also let you in on something that I have recently found out…the real terror of shopping in the malls happens during the day.

I was browsing around an infamous store just the other day and was just taken back by a scene that has gotten me steamed. While going down the book aisle I had almost tripped over a display that was right in front of section where the Bible is sold. It was a display containing a series of books based on a popular vampire and werewolf television show which I believe has now gone into movie theaters. Made me shake my head and wonder what this store is trying to shove down the throats of its customers during the Christmas shopping season. And then it got me wondering about the customers of this store.

Do they really understand what this season really is about? Don’t they understand that Jesus Christ, the only one who can save them from this kind of evil, was born on the day that someone plans on giving one of these books to a loved one as a Christmas present? Hmm…It reminded me about a time where Samuel wasn’t being listened to by the nation of Israel. I imagined a crowd of people chanting…”We want a king…we want a king…we want a king.” I know this wasn’t the case, Samuel’s own sons chose not to walk in the same way their father did and it gave a foothold for compromise. That compromise came from watching the sons conduct themselves with a heart of perverted justice and greed so why not approach the prophet of God with an ultimatum, one that changes the nation of Israel forever.

 Samuel has to tell God that His people want a king because they won’t listen to him any more and God says it is not you but Me they don’t want to listen to so let them have a king. Then God instructs Samuel to tell the nation of Israel you are getting your king and here is what he will take from you. Saul is privately anointed king then has his moment of incomplete obedience by not killing the king of the Amalekites and when all is said and done the Lord repented that he had made Saul king over Israel. But it doesn’t end there does it? A little shepherd boy comes unto the scene and he takes on a bear, a lion then proclaims that this uncircumcised Philistine shall be as one of them because he has defied the armies of the living God. David goes on to become the most revered king that Israel has ever had, a man after God’s own heart.

So as I walk away from this book display I gaze out at the store and look into the crowd and wonder if this is what they really want? A very fictional reality that can only led to destruction? At that moment I hear “Excuse me” and I move on. I do not look back to see if I was in the way of the display or just blocking the aisle but this moment has reinforced to me that Jesus is always the reason for any season and that I really don’t need to look at one day to acknowledge Him.

 Christmas is for everyone and it will be up to people like us, Christian, to tell the world what will happen to them when they lose sight of what it really took place on that night when a star appeared in the sky to guide the shepherds to a manger that held the true reality that they are looking for. Maybe I should have turned around. – Chris Hughes is a regular contributor to Freedom Fighter and a graduate of the Colony of Mercy

Digging Deeper: Proverbs 18; Obadiah; Revelation 9

Dig This Quote: “When outward distractions and a wayward imagination hinder you from having a peaceful inner life, then you must, by an act of will, bring yourself before God. Not that you can force yourself into God’s presence, but even the desire to come into God’s presence is, in itself, a powerful aid to your spirit. Cultivate a pure and upright intention toward God.” The Seeking Heart    Fenlon

Determined Digging: Level 1: John 15:16; Level 2: Matthew 7:7-11

Determined Praying: (continued from yesterday) Those who are disciples of the Lord Jesus should labor with all their might in the work of God as if everything depended upon their own endeavors. Yet, having done so, they should not in the least trust in their labor and efforts, nor in the means that they use for the spread of the truth, but in God alone; and they should with all earnestness seek the blessing of God in persevering, patient, and believing prayer. (continued tomorrow) George Muller

Just Give Me Jesus -- Jesus Makes Amply Supply

Just Give Me Jesus – Jesus Makes Resources Ample

“But when the Helper [Counselor] comes, that is the Spirit of Truth, who comes from the Father and whom I myself will send to you from the Father, he will speak plainly about me.” John 15:26 [Phillip’s Translation]

I remember that first time I ever sang the chorus “Glorify Thy Name.” If you remember the little praise song, it says, “Father, I love You, I worship and adore You, glorify Your name in all the earth …” There are three stanzas to the chorus – Father, we love You, Jesus, we love You, and Spirit, we love you.

What baffled me was how many places sang that chorus and just used the first and second stanza. I got bold one day and asked the Pastor why just 1 and 2 and not 3. His response both baffled and grieved me. “We don’t want to give too much emphasis to the Holy Spirit!” Huh? What? Duh? “Do you believe in the Trinity?” “Yes,” “So when does three in One become two in One and still be a Trinity?”

The Holy Spirit IS a part of the God-head. He was sent to us by God the Father and God the Son. He is more than just our Counselor, but He is THE Counselor.

Anne Graham Lotz shares that the Amplified Bible give six other names for this One called the Holy Spirit and then defines the word from good old Webster:

Counselor – One Whose profession is to give advice and manage cures.

Comforter – One Who relieves another of mental distress.

Helper – One Who furnishes relief or support. One Who is of use and waits upon another.

Intercessor – One Who acts between two parties to reconcile differences.

Advocate – One Who pleads the cause of another.

Strengthener – One Who causes another to grow, become stronger, endure, and resist attacks.

Standby – One Who can be relied upon either for regular use or in emergencies.

So …

Are you distressed today? Then you need the COMFORTER!

Are you facing major decisions? They you need the COUNSELOR!

Do you need relief from, our in support in, your responsibilities? Then you need the HELPER!

Do you have a broken relationship? Then you need the INTERCESSOR!

Are you being criticized, falsely accused misunderstood? Then you need the ADVOCATE!

Are you constantly defeated by habits of sin? Then you need the STRENGTHENER!

Are you unprepared for an emergency? Then you need the STANDBY!

The Holy Spirit is fabulous! He’s EVERYTHING that Jesus is!

Wow! The Holy Spirit is there for YOU today. From the list above, how is He ministering to you today? – Bill Welte is President and CEO of America’s Keswick

Digging Deeper: Proverbs 17; Amos 7-9; Revelation 8

Dig This Quote: Christ became what we are that He might make us what He is. -- Anthanasius

Determined Digging: Level 1: John 15:16; Matthew 7:7-11

Determined Praying: It is not enough for the believer to begin to pray, nor to pray correctly; nor is it enough to continue for a time to pray. We must patiently, believingly continue in prayer until we obtain an answer. Further, we have not only to continue in prayer until the end, but we have also to believe that God does hear us and will answer our prayers. Most frequently we fail in not continuing in prayer until the blessing is obtained, and in not expecting the blessing. (continued tomorrow) George Muller