PROVOCATION

 

Christ Has Appeared

 

In Acts 26:12-18, we read of Saul – who we now know as the Apostle Paul – and his first encounter with Christ. In quite a miraculous way, Christ appeared to Saul, and He changed Saul’s life!

Just as Christ appeared to Saul, He wants to appear to you, and change YOUR life!

The text outlines for us three things that Christ did for Saul, and he will do them for you, too. Join us each Sunday morning in October as we discover how Christ’s appearance will change YOU!

Christ Has Appeared…

• To Appoint You! – October 7
• To Rescue You! – October 14
• To Send You! – October 21

You Can’t Leave Home Without Him

 

A famous consumer credit company’s advertising campaign, beginning in 1975, used the tagline, “Don’t Leave Home Without Them” for 25 years – referring to the company’s traveler’s checks. When the credit card replaced traveler’s checks, the phrase was changed slightly to say, “Don’t Leave Home Without It” – referring to the plastic credit card that replaced checks for travelers.

You might leave home today without a credit card in your pocket, but there is one thing you can never leave home without: the presence of God. The psalmist David wrote an entire psalm about the fact that God was always with Him. He said, “Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence?” (Psalm 139:7) And the prophet Jonah discovered he couldn’t escape God even when he tried.

If you can’t escape God’s presence, that means you can’t escape God’s love either – because God is love (1 John 4:8, 16). Some people think their sins or failings have put them far away from the reach of God and His love, but that is never true. God and His love are always with you.

God is no further from you on your worst day than He is on your best day. Just open your heart to receive Him and His love.

Opposing God’s Leadership

 

by Os Hillman

“The anger of the LORD burned against them, and he left them” – Numbers 12:9

Beware of trying to depose a leader that God has raised in your midst. Leaders are placed by God in business, government, churches – almost every place where leaders are required. When God places a person in position of authority, it is a grievous sin to go against that leadership. God Himself opposes those who come against His leadership.

God’s leaders are not perfect. They make mistakes. That is why following a leader can require a faith that goes beyond faith in the leader. Our faith lies in the God who elevated the leader to his or her position.

Miriam and Aaron, the older brother and sister of Moses, had a family dispute about Moses’ wife, who was an Ethiopian and Cushite. She most likely was a black woman. We do not know the nature of the dispute, but it was a typical family conflict.

However, the family conflict began to impact God’s agenda for a nation. They were now meddling in God’s business. And He did not like that in the least. God literally brought Aaron and Miriam into the switching house. He judged both Miriam and Aaron for their rebellion against His ordained leader. “Why then were you not afraid to speak against my servant Moses?” (Numbers 12:8).

Miriam was stricken with leprosy and had it not been for Moses’ appeal on her behalf, she would have been cast out for good. God gave her a second chance but it required being cast away from the camp for seven days. Miriam and Aaron repented for their rebellion.

If you struggle with a leader that God has over you, pray for that leader. If God wants to remove that leader, He can do it. Think twice about conspiring to remove a leader whom God has not chosen to remove yet.

A Wall of Protection

 

When God praised Job for his integrity, Satan replied, “You have always put a wall of protection around him… take away everything he has, and he will surely curse You.” (Job 1:20) So, God gave Satan permission to test Job, but He placed limits on how far he could go (Job 2:6).

There are times “…When the enemy comes in like a flood…” (Isaiah 59:19) to attack your mind, your marriage, your ministry, and anything that’s born of God in your life. When that happens, Isaiah says, “…The Spirit of the Lord will lift up a standard [shield] against him.” (Isaiah 59:19)

When you feel you’re at breaking point and can’t handle one more thing, the Holy Spirit lifts up the wall of the blood of Jesus and tells Satan, “This far and no further!” Paul says, “We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed.” (2 Corinthians 4:8-9) There’s a wall of protection around you!

There’s also a time for your deliverance. “…In the time of My favor I heard you, and in the day of salvation I helped you.” (2 Corinthians 6:2) God will step in and intervene. The Psalmist said, “…When my heart is faint; Lead me to the Rock that is higher than I.” (Psalm 61:2)

When your resources are depleted and you think you’re going under for the last time, God has provided a refuge that’s higher than your circumstances, a place where you’re under divine protection and the enemy has no jurisdiction. All you have to do is lift your eyes and heart toward Heaven.

Where Attitude Meets Opportunity

 

When threatened by the Assyrian army, Israel’s king turned to the prophet Elisha for help. Elisha told him to take some arrows and keep striking them on the ground. But the king did it only three times and stopped. (2 Kings 13:18) So Elisha was angry with him and said, “…You should have struck five or six times; then you would have struck Syria till you had destroyed it! But now you will strike Syria only three times.” (2 Kings 13:19)

This is a story of partial victory, of what might have been if the king had put more into it. You see, it’s not just the opportunity – it’s often the attitude that meets the opportunity that determines the outcome. God will give you chances to win, but it’s your commitment that determines the size of your victory.

Paul writes, “Serve wholeheartedly, as if you were serving the Lord, not men.” (Ephesians 6:7) The clock meant nothing to Paul because he was on a mission. “I consider my life worth nothing to me, if only I may …complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me…” (Acts 20:24) People of impact live with that mindset.

So here’s the question: “Is your heart in what you’re doing? Are you giving it your all?” When Paul Hogan, who portrayed the movie character Crocodile Dundee, was asked how he became successful, he answered, “The secret of my success is that I bit off more than I could chew, and chewed as fast as I could.” Vision doesn’t come cheap or easy. The bigger your vision, the bigger the price tag. The secret to fulfilling your vision is to just keep chewing!

The Rolls Royce

 

The great British automaker Rolls Royce takes great pride in the reliability of their handcrafted automobiles. An obviously wealthy owner of a Rolls took it to Europe on an extended trip. While traveling in France the car had some mechanical problem. He called the Rolls Royce factory and asked that they send out a mechanic immediately to fix the problem.

The company responded in royal fashion. They put a mechanic on a private jet with all of the necessary tools and flew him over to France to make the repairs. The owner was so wealthy that he wasn’t at all concerned about the cost, and he would not spare any expense to assure that his beloved Rolls Royce was properly repaired.

However, after several months he realized he had not received a bill for the repair. He directed his secretary to contact the Rolls Royce factory to inquire about the charges. He received a prompt reply from the Rolls Royce company. With typical British aplomb, it said simply, “We have no recollection or record of any Rolls Royce having ever had a breakdown or being in need of repair anywhere in France.”

When we repent and ask God to fix things that have resulted from sin in our lives, like Rolls Royce, he fixes it and doesn’t have any recollection of the problem, and he NEVER sends a bill.

“For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.” – Jeremiah 31:34

The Last Impression

 

Now, I realize that sometimes my sermons may be a bit lengthy. However, none of the following things are true at WFA!

Here are the “Top Ten Signs You Are In For A Long Sermon”!

10. There’s a case of bottled water beside the pulpit in a cooler.

9. The pews have camper hookups.

8. You overhear the pastor telling the sound man to have a few (dozen!) extra tapes on hand to record today’s sermon.

7. The preacher has brought a snack to the pulpit.

6. The preacher breaks for an intermission.

5. The bulletins have pizza delivery menus.

4. When the preacher asks the deacon to bring in his notes, he rolls in a filing cabinet.

3. The choir loft is furnished with La-Z-Boys.

2. Instead of taking off his watch and laying it on the pulpit, the preacher turns up a four-foot hour-glass.

And The Number One Sign You Are In For A Long Sermon

1. The minister says, “You’ll be out in time to watch the super bowl” but it’s only September!

Looking forward to sharing God’s Word with you this Sunday at WFA. And, you won’t need to bring a snack! Why not invite a friend and their family to join you in worship this week? They will be blessed, and you will be too!

Yours for HIM
Pastor Tim Satryan
Senior Pastor
WILMINGTON first assembly of God

• Christ Has Appeared
• You Can’t Leave Home Without Him
• Opposing God’s Leadership
• A Wall of Protection
• Where Attitude Meets Opportunity
• The Rolls Royce
• The Last Impression

o    Volume 12.40

o    Friday, October 5, 2012

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Where Are We Going?

Can you imagine heading out the door, getting in your vehicle, starting the car, and driving away without any idea where you were heading or what your destination was? Wouldn’t it be foolish to take a trip without knowing where you are going? You wouldn’t know how to prepare for the trip or what to pack for where you would end up.
But, in all reality, many Christians are doing that very thing! Every day, they continue on the trip of their life, without having any idea where they are going or what they should take with them. Oh, granted, they may believe as a Christian they are going to end up in heaven, but do they really know where they are going, or anything about what to take – or what they can take with them?!
In John 14, Jesus told the disciples about our future destination. He said He was going to prepare a place for them, and that He would come back to take them to be with him. Today, we are waiting along with all believers for Jesus to take us to the place He is preparing for us!
As we continue our “Focus on the Future” series this Sunday, we will be looking at the Bible and discover the answer to the question every believer needs to know – “Where Are We Going?” This is a message that you will want to invite all your friends to join with you in hearing!

Stuffed With Junk
by Ron Hutchcraft
The other day one of our team members shared a discovery she made during the remodeling of her kitchen. The counter top had been removed, and as she looked into this little 6″x8″ drawer by the sink, she saw that it was completely stuffed – with “stuff”! She realized that for 24 years she had been sticking things into that drawer – twist ties, rubber bands … you know, everything. There were some useful things in the back, but there were inaccessible because of all the “stuff.” Now, it had been a long time since the drawer had been opened very much – our friend just crammed things into it and occasionally pulled it open an inch or two to use something out of it. But looking down on it all from above, she was surprised to see what was in there. Almost everything in that drawer could be thrown away – but it was accumulating for years. And that drawer was much more useful now that it was emptied out.
You’ve got to wonder what God sees when He looks down on the contents of our life. The “top” is always off as far as His view of us is concerned. He sees directly into our heart, our motives, our every thought. And all too often, our life and our heart are cluttered with “stuff”… things we’ve filled our life with that are simply unnecessary to Him, useless to Him – actually limiting our usefulness to Him.
Some of us won’t realize how useless a lot of our life has been until it’s too late to do anything about it – we’ll wait until the Judgment Seat of Christ. Paul talks about it in 1 Corinthians 3, beginning with verse 11, our word for today from the Word of God. He says, “No one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ. If any man builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones (that’s filling your life with things that will last, that have eternal significance), wood, hay, or straw (things that are just “stuff”), his work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light … the fire will test the quality of each man’s work. If what he has built survives, he will receive his reward. If it is burned up, he will suffer loss; he himself will be saved, but only as one escaping through the flames.” You get one life. You can fill it with things that really matter or with things that really don’t. With things that will last forever or things that will be gone in a moment. And often what this world stresses as being important is really just “stuff” – and what Jesus says is important, our world thinks isn’t much.
So when the Lord looks down inside your life, is it crammed with a lot of “stuff” that just doesn’t mean much? A lot of time in front of a television, hours on the Internet, listening to music, talking on the phone, following sports, pouring yourself into causes and diversions that won’t matter much in eternity at all? It’s not that these things are necessarily bad. The problem is when “stuff” that should be peripheral becomes central in your life. That’s when it’s time to reevaluate your priorities. It’s time to see your life through God’s eyes, and clean out what’s not useful – the trivial pursuits.
When you do, you become so much more useful to your Lord. And the more you fall in love with Him, the less you’ll be stuffing your hours, your days, your mind and your heart with “stuff.” You’ll be about what Jesus is about. You’ll be “seeking first the Kingdom of God.” (Matthew 6:33)
As seen in Ron Hutchcraft’s “A Word With You.” Reprinted with permission. “A Word With You” is a radio outreach of Ron Hutchcraft Ministries, Inc.

Finish The Race
by Steve Troxel
Paul was returning to Jerusalem at the end of his third and final missionary journey. By this time in his ministry, Paul had been a Christian for nearly twenty years. Twenty years since Jesus called Paul, “My chosen instrument to carry My name before the Gentiles and their kings and before the people of Israel” (Acts 9:15). Twenty years of faithful service, and now… “In every city the Holy Spirit warns me that prison and hardships are facing me” (Acts 20:23).
Paul was returning home, but his life was not going to be easy. He knew there were many trials ahead, but his life had a purpose far beyond his immediate surroundings. Acts 20:24 says, “I consider my life worth nothing to me, if only I may finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me – the task of, testifying to the gospel of God’s grace.”
It was several more years before Paul wrote; “I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation” (Philippians 4:12); yet here, when facing certain hardship, Paul showed he had already learned the secret. The particular circumstances in Paul’s life had become of minor importance. He knew his contentment was not based on current events, but on bringing glory and honor to God. His life had a wonderful purpose even in the face of great adversity and harsh conditions.
We were all created for the same purpose as Paul – we were created to bring glory and honor to God! Our specific tasks may differ and change from time to time, but we each have the same unchanging purpose. Everything we do, say, and think should bring glory and honor to our Heavenly Father!
God’s race is run in the deepest part of our heart, not in the flurry of activity. Running well is not defined by doing more; rather, we run a “successful” race as we do every little task we are given with the complete and absolute devotion of our heart.
His race is long and often difficult. There are many distractions which seek to slow us down and even pull us from the track; and at times we may even wonder why we’re running. But being a participant in God’s eternal race is infinitely more rewarding than standing on the sidelines and simply watching! He has called us to run – and to run well!!
We must run the path God places before us with all the strength He provides, and within the sure and calming protection of His grace. Let’s run with the motivation of bringing Him glory and honor by loving Him with ALL our heart, soul, mind, and strength. Let’s continue to run well, and with a burning desire to finish the race.
As seen in the January 4, 2012 issue of Steve Troxel’s email devotional “God’s Daily Word Ministries”

We’re Expecting!
by Alan Smith
A young private sought permission from his Commanding Officer to leave camp the following weekend. “You see,” he explained, “my wife’s expecting.”
“Oh…” said the Officer, “I understand. Go ahead and tell your wife that I wish her luck.”
The following week the same soldier was back again with the same explanation: “My wife’s expecting.”
The Officer looked surprised. “Still expecting?” he said, “Well, well, my boy, you must be pretty bothered. Of course you can have the week-end off.”
When the same soldier appeared again the third week, however, the Officer lost his temper. “Don’t tell me your wife is still expecting!” he bellowed.
“Yes sir!” said the soldier resolutely, “She’s still expecting.”
“What in the world is she expecting?” cried the Officer.
“Me,” said the soldier simply.
Christians are a people who live in expectation. We’re expecting that someday all the wrongs of this world will be brought to justice. We’re expecting that the sufferings of this life will someday be replaced by joys beyond our imagination. But, most of all, we’re expecting our Lord to return for us and we are anxious for that day to come. Paul seems to indicate that all of creation is earnestly awaiting the same thing (Rom. 8:19).
“Now when [Jesus] had spoken these things, while [the apostles] watched, He was taken up, and a cloud received Him out of their sight. And while they looked steadfastly toward heaven as He went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel, who also said, ‘Men of Galilee, why do you stand gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will so come in like manner as you saw Him go into heaven.’ ” (Acts 1:9-11)
Are you expecting?
This article by Alan Smith, Senior Pastor of the Helen Street Church of Christ in Fayetteville, North Carolina. You can visit his site at http://www.TFTD-online.com

What If Church Was Not Just About Me?
by Ron Edmondson
“Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.” – Philippians 2:4
What if…
Instead of going to be encouraged… we went to encourage others…
Instead of hoping to sing my favorite song… we hoped to sing “their” favorite song…
Instead of looking to be served… we intentionally served others…
Instead of waiting to be welcomed… we welcomed others first…
Instead of asking to be prayed for… if we sought to pray for others…
Instead of going to receive a blessing… we went to be a blessing…
What difference would it make in our church experience?
Of course, church is ultimately not about either of us… it’s about Jesus…
But, church is also where people who want to make much of Jesus gather to grow, fellowship and worship Jesus…
So, I wonder how our church experience would be made different, if we approached it considering the interest of others…
Just wondering…
as seen at http://www.ronedmondson.com/2011/07/what-if-church.html

The Many Names of Christ
To the ARTIST He is the One Altogether Lovely.
To the ARCHITECT He is the Chief Corner Stone.
To the BAKER He is the Living Bread.
To the BANKER He is the Hidden Treasure.
To the BIOLOGIST He is the Life.
To the BUILDER He is the Sure Foundation.
To the CARPENTER He is the Door.
To the DOCTOR He is the Great Physician.
To the EDUCATOR He is the Great Teacher.
To the ENGINEER He is the New and Living Way.
To the FLORIST He is the Rose of Sharon and the Lily of the Valley.
To the GEOLOGIST He is the Rock of Ages.
To the HORTICULTURIST He is the True Vine.
To the JUDGE He is the Righteous Judge, Judge of All Men.
To the JEWELER He is the Pearl of Great Price.
To the LAWYER He is the Counselor, the Lawgiver, the Advocate.
To the NEWSPAPER He is the Good Tidings of Great Joy.
To the OCULIST He is the Light of the Eyes.
To the PHILANTHROPIST He is the Unspeakable Gift.
To the PHILOSOPHER He is the Wisdom of God.
To the PREACHER He is the Word of God.
To the SCULPTOR He is the Living Stone.
To the SERVANT He is the Good Master.
To the STATESMAN He is the Desire of All Nations.
To the STUDENT He is the Incarnate Truth.
To the THEOLOGIAN He is the Author and Finisher of our Faith.
To the TOILER He is the Giver of Rest.
To the SINNER He is the Lamb of God that taketh away the sins of the World.
To the CHRISTIAN He is the Son of the Living God, the Savior, the Redeemer and the Lord.

The Last Impression

An American businessman went to Japan on a business trip, but he hated Japanese food, so he asked the concierge at his hotel if there was any place around where he could get American food.
The concierge told him he was in luck, there’s a pizza place that just opened, and they deliver. The concierge gave the businessman the phone number, and he went back to his room to order a pizza.
Thirty minutes later, the delivery guy showed up at the door with the pizza.
The businessman took the pizza, and immediately began to sneeze uncontrollably. He asked the delivery man, “What on earth did you put on this pizza?”
The delivery man bowed deeply and said, “We put on the pizza what you ordered – pepper only.”

Since you received firstIMPRESSIONS in your email, chances are you are a believer in Jesus Christ. But, let me ask you this. If you have accepted Christ as your Savior, will you be found in church this Sunday? You need to! Why? Because you will be encouraged in your faith, and you will also encourage someone else! Hebrews 10:25 tells us to “not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another – and all the more as you see the Day approaching.” I believe that “Day” – the day that Christ returns – is coming soon! So – let’s gather together and encourage each other this Sunday! See you at WFA!

Yours for HIM
Pastor Tim Satryan
Senior Pastor
WILMINGTON first assembly of God

SCRATCH THE POLITICAL ITCH
By Morris Clopton

First let me state that I borrowed most of these ideas from a visiting preacher, Guy Jolin. The expounding on each thought is mine.

Supreme Court
God – What has the Supreme Court said about God during its history? There are at least 136 oral arguments concerning God viewable on the Supreme Court website.
Constitution- How does the constitution fare on the Supreme Court?
“The republic endures and this is the symbol of its faith.”
CHIEF JUSTICE CHARLES EVANS HUGHES

“EQUAL JUSTICE UNDER LAW”-These words, written above the main entrance to the Supreme Court Building, express the ultimate responsibility of the Supreme Court of the United States. The Court is the highest tribunal in the Nation for all cases and controversies arising under the Constitution or the laws of the United States. As the final arbiter of the law, the Court is charged with ensuring the American people the promise of equal justice under law and, thereby, also functions as guardian and interpreter of the Constitution.
The Supreme Court is “distinctly American in concept and function,” as Chief Justice Charles Evans Hughes observed. Few other courts in the world have the same authority of constitutional interpretation and none have exercised it for as long or with as much influence. A century and a half ago, the French political observer Alexis de Tocqueville noted the unique position of the Supreme Court in the history of nations and of jurisprudence. “The representative system of government has been adopted in several states of Europe,” he remarked, “but I am unaware that any nation of the globe has hitherto organized a judicial power in the same manner as the Americans. . . . A more imposing judicial power was never constituted by any people.”
The unique position of the Supreme Court stems, in large part, from the deep commitment of the American people to the Rule of Law and to constitutional government. The United States has demonstrated an unprecedented determination to preserve and protect its written Constitution, thereby providing the American “experiment in democracy” with the oldest written Constitution still in force…
Cornerstone Address – Supreme Court Building

The People of God failing to stand up for the teaching of Jesus cause undeniable damage to the moral consistency of our great nation. If Christ followers fail to stand for the teaching of Jesus are they really Christ followers.
John Adams stated that the Bible is a law book, which would advance a perfect world if followed.
“Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.”
― John Adams
“The happiness of society is the end of government.”
― John Adams
Roe and Wade – 70’s, there are over 300 references to Roe and Wade on the Supreme Court website. How did Christ followers sit by and pretend that politics is dirty and we are the silent majority we cannot get involved. What is the church doing to help young mothers with their problems of sexual promiscuity and child bearing?
San Francisco’s Homosexuals and their detestable practices causing an ever-increasing AIDS problem. Yet honest God-fearing people bombarded with, force-fed practices among humans that animals do not practiced in the animal kingdom as being an acceptable alternate life style. Stand for what is Right!
Jesus is tough on sin but tender toward sinners in every situation that occurs during His ministry on earth.
Welfare-Societal problem generational, whole societies are on the “dole” and know nothing of self-worth, pride in accomplishment, unable to produce, waiting for the next Government hand out.
The church must stand for right
National day of prayer- George Washington instituted a special day to give thanks to God for saving our great Nation. Today our government ignores God and the morally correct ideas that built this country, substituting instead foreign ideas that are destroying the very moral fiber of America.
Voice of the church must be heard, Talk the talk and walk the walk.
Rosa Parks – remember the individual who had the strength of her convictions and refused to waver in standing up for what she knew to be right.
Malignant press – when a problem is recognized by a few that few must take action to change. The press must be questioned, do not idly stand by when you know the facts and the media blatantly misrepresents the truth. Do the necessary research on your own find the facts and expend all the energy you can to spread the TRUTH about misrepresentation by the media.
Christians must vote. Let our voices be heard through the ballot box
John preached a simple sermon repent and be baptized.
Christians should not only be Christian activist but political activist as well. God used heathen rulers through out history to punish His people. “We the People” elect our rulers hold them accountable.
Take America back one heart at a time.
We are a long distance from 1776 to the moral sewer of 2011.
Founding Fathers were God centered people they had everything to lose. Signed with ink paid with blood, families in hiding, property lost. The price they paid for liberty and freedom is beyond understanding.
What are you doing today while the state takes children from Christians?
How far will we be pushed before we respond- Stand up for Right!
Benjamin Franklin – called on Continental Congress to fall on their knees to seek guidance.
Edward Gibbons – Rise and Fall of the Roman Empire.
Five reasons for the fall of the great dynasty.
• First: Rapid increase of divorce, with the undermining of the sanctity of the home, which is the basis of society.
• Second: Higher and higher taxes; the spending of money for bread and celebrations.
• Third: The mad craze for pleasure, sports becoming every year more exciting and more brutal.
• Fourth: The building of gigantic armaments, when the real enemy was within; the decadence of the people.
• Fifth: The decay of religion; faith fading into mere form, losing touch with life, and becoming impotent to guide it.
“Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a reproach to any people.” (Proverbs 14:34)

“Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord…” (Psalms 33:12)

“Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap.” (Galatians 6:7)

Two hundred years average life of a nation through history.
Get involved – Spend time in prayer, seek God’s guidance.
America today is like Sodom and Gomorrah.

God seeks only our repentance and service.
2 Chronicles 7:14 says:
2 Chronicles 7:14(ASV)
14if my people, who are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.

Are you an Ostrich sticking your head in the sand, or an Eagle high in the sky seeing everything?

Use the power of the ballot box to express your wishes and concerns.

First Impressions
From Senior Pastor Timothy Satryan

A story is told about a man who was imprisoned during Napoleon’s reign. While sulking in his dungeon one day, he etched on the wall the words: “Nobody Cares!” A few weeks later, through a crack in the dungeon floor, a little green shoot sprang forth, reaching toward the tiny ray of sunlight that came from his small prison cell window.

The prisoner began giving a portion of his daily water to the little shoot and it began to grow. One morning the man awoke to a beautiful flower. A tear rolling down his face, he crossed out the words, “Nobody Cares!” and replaced them with “God Cares!”

The story goes on to tell that His devotion to the flower was reported to the Empress Josephine. She was so very moved that she convinced Napoleon to set the man free.

How many times do we feel like nobody cares?

God has planted little shoots of hope in each and every one of our difficult circumstances. Do you know that? Perhaps we’re stepping on them, not even noticing they exist. Perhaps we’re pulling the shoots before they spring forth into beautiful flowers. God wants us to be released from our prisons of despair.

Romans 15:13 says “Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost.” Know this day that there is a God who knows your need, and cares deeply about you!

Here is your copy of firstIMPRESSIONS, Volume 11.19. Live for God, on purpose, trusting in Him and holding onto His hand each and every day!

——————————————————————————–

Making Godly Decisions

It begins the moment we wake up in the morning. And every moment of every day, we are continually in the process. Sometimes they are seemingly minor and of little significance. Other times they appear to be life-changing. But, make no doubt about it, there is rarely a moment that goes by in which you are not making a decision about something in your life.

Whether the decision seems big or small, your life to a great degree is the sum total of the result of the decisions you have made each and every moment of every day.

If this is true, and I certainly believe it is, then as followers of Jesus Christ, the question that must be asked is how can we assure ourselves of making Godly decisions along life’s way.

Are there any principles to help us in this process? And, is there an example to which we can look that can speak to us today as we face the ever-growing complexity of the decisions we must make?

The answer to both questions is a resounding yes! In God’s Word we find the principles to guide us in our decision making. And, among others, we can look at the prophet Daniel, as he was a prisoner in a foreign land, for an example of how to make Godly decisions. In Daniel 1:8, we read that “Daniel resolved not to defile himself.” (NIV) The KJV says it this way – “Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself.”

What have you “purposed in your heart?” What have you resolved to do? How do you go about “Making Godly Decisions”? Don’t miss my message this Sunday morning at WFA! Make a purposeful decision now to join us!

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200 Pounds of Trash

by Alan Smith

Fred Craddock tells the story of a missionary family in China who was forced to leave the country sometime after the communists took over.

One day a band of soldiers knocked on the door and told this missionary, his wife, and children that they had two hours to pack up before these troops would escort them to the train station. They would be permitted to take with them only two hundred pounds of stuff.

Thus began two hours of family wrangling and bickering – what should they take? What about this vase? It’s a family heirloom, so we’ve got to take the vase. Well, maybe so, but this typewriter is brand new and we’re not about to leave that behind. What about some books? Got to take a few of them along. On and on it went, putting stuff on the bathroom scale and taking it off until finally they had a pile of possessions that totaled two hundred pounds on the dot.

At the appointed hour, the soldiers returned. “Are you ready?” they asked. “Yes.” “Did you weigh your stuff?” “Yes, we did.” “Two hundred pounds?” “Yes, two hundred pounds on the dot.” “Did you weigh the kids?” “Um, …no.” “Weigh the kids!”

And in an instant the vase, the typewriter, and the books all became trash. Trash! None of it meant anything compared to the surpassing value of the children.

If only it were that easy for us. If we had to make a physical choice, the choice would be easy. What’s worth more – your child or a computer? If you could only take one with you, which would it be? That’s easy; it’s a no-brainer. But seldom does the choice come wrapped in such easy-to-open paper.

Too often, it sounds more like this: What’s more important – spending time with your family or staying at work a couple of extra hours to get caught up? “Don’t ask me to make that choice! My family is important to me. It’s just that I really need to get this done! After all, I’m only doing it for provide for them.” Still, there are times when the question won’t go away: Which is more important?

And there are times when we are forced to admit that we’ve been gathering hundreds of pounds of “trash” while neglecting that which is of greatest importance.

“But what things were gain to me, these I have counted loss for Christ. Yet indeed I count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ.” (Philippians 3:7-8)

But God bless each one of you with the wisdom to choose that which is of greatest value.

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Have You Been “Burned”

Have you been “burned” by people? You’re not alone, we all have. But instead of being consumed by it, God tells you to forgive it and let it go. Hebrews 12:15 says to “…watch out that no bitter root… grows up among you…” When you deny your feelings and stew under the surface, you give the devil the advantage over you (2 Corinthians 2:11). But by dealing scripturally with the situation your painful experiences can make you better, not bitter.

If you’re struggling with bitterness today do these three things. First, forgive. Forgiveness isn’t based on an emotion. Don’t wait until you “feel” like it – decide today to let the offense go. When you do, God’s Spirit will calm your emotions and help you overcome the urge to retaliate. Jesus said, “Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.” (Matthew 5:7 NKJV) Since you yourself will always need to make withdrawals, God calls you to keep making “mercy deposits.”

Secondly, pray about it. The moment you sense resentment, turn to God and He will give you the strength to act in love rather than react in anger. When you commit to living this way He promises to give you “…power to keep [yourself] calm in the days of adversity…” (Psalm 94:13 AMP)

Thirdly, think scripturally. Look up every verse you can find on showing forgiveness and meditate on them. Remember, each time you choose to do the right thing, a little more of the old you dies and the new you develops. That’s how God prepares you for greater blessing. But you must be in position to receive it. So decide now that although you’ve been “burned,” you won’t become bitter.

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It Happens to the Best of Us!

A pastor was building a fence while the neighbor’s 12-year-old son watched. The pastor smiled and said, “Are you interested in carpentry?” “No,” the boy replied. “I just want to hear what a preacher says when he hits his thumb with a hammer!”

You are the only Bible some people will ever read, and they’re watching to see how your life lines up with what you profess. Some are hoping for confirmation of the life-changing power of Jesus; others for a chance to say, “See, Christians are all hypocrites!” We want to set a good example, but sometimes we fall short. And as humbling as it is to mess up, God uses those failures to “…make it clear that our…power is from Him, not…ourselves.” (2 Corinthians 4:7 NLT)

God doesn’t gloss over the shortcomings of even the most notable saints. They’re “examples… written down as warnings for us…” (1 Corinthians 10:11) Abraham, the “friend of God,” lied about Sarah being his wife (Genesis 12:10-20). Moses, the mighty leader, got angry and disobeyed God. David, a man after God’s heart, committed adultery and then tried to cover his tracks with murder (2 Samuel 11:15). Peter, head of the church, denied Jesus not once but three times (Luke 22:54-62), and John Mark gave up and went home during a missionary trip (Acts 15:38). They’re all in there, warts and all, and Paul says, “If you think you are standing strong, be careful, for you, too, may fall into the same sin.” (1 Corinthians 10:12)

So don’t get discouraged when you stumble. Get up, admit your mistake, apologize to the people involved, ask God for forgiveness, forgive yourself, learn from what happened, and move on.

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Spiritual Heartbeat

What is the heart? Most simply, it is the organ that pumps blood through the body. I read recently that physiologically each person’s heartbeat has its own unique pattern. Just as there are no two people exactly alike, no two hearts keep the exact same rhythm. The Bible refers to the heart as the driving will or innermost being. Proverbs 4:23 says, “Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life.”

Just as there are no two identical physiological heartbeats, so it is with how God made our spiritual hearts. Your spiritual heart possesses a unique emotional heartbeat that races when you encounter different causes, activities, subjects or circumstances. Instinctively, it seems there are some things we care deeply about and other things that don’t even turn our heads. Understanding this spiritual heartbeat is a part of the journey God has for us; it helps us understand God’s intention for our lives.

The Bible is full of stories that show how passion stirred calling. Solomon had a heart to be a wise ruler. Moses had a heart for his people. Nehemiah had a heart for Jerusalem. These are simply a few examples among many. What is your passion?

I believe God has given each of us a passion no matter how small or large the scale may seem. Many moms are following their heartbeat to stay at home and sacrifice their careers to raise their children. Other people are figuring out how they can use their passion and skills in the workplace to make a difference. Some are teaching Sunday school to fulfill their passion that the next generation would come to know Jesus.

What gets you excited? What powerful emotion or enthusiasm has the Lord placed on your heart? Not sure yet? Keep looking. For when you find that passion, you will have a better understanding of God’s call on your life.

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Chocolate Chip Cookies

As the elderly man lay dying in his bed, death’s agony was suddenly pushed aside as he smelled the aroma of his favorite homemade chocolate chip cookies wafting up the stairs.

Gathering his remaining strength, he lifted himself from the bed. Leaning against the wall, he slowly made his way out of the bedroom, and with intense concentration, supported himself down the stairs, gripping the railing with both hands. In labored breath, he leaned against the doorframe, gazing wide-eyed into the kitchen. There, spread out on the kitchen table, were literally hundreds of his favorite chocolate chip cookies! Was it heaven or was it one final act of heroic love from his devoted wife, seeing to it that he left this world a happy man?

Mustering one great final effort, he threw himself toward the table, landing on his knees in a rumpled posture, one hand on the edge of the table. The aged and withered hand quiveringly made its way to a cookie near the edge of the table; feeling the warm soft dough actually made the pain of his bones subside for a moment. His parched lips parted; the wondrous taste of the cookie was already in his mouth, seemingly bringing him back to life.

All at once he felt a sting on his hand. He looked up to see his wife, still holding the spatula she had just used to smack his hand, saying: “Stay out of those! They’re for the funeral.”

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The Last Impression

An elderly woman walked into the local country church. The friendly usher greeted her at the door and helped her up the flight of steps. “Where would you like to sit?” he asked politely.

“The front row please,” she answered.

“You really don’t want to do that,” the usher said. “The pastor is really boring.”

“Do you happen to know who I am?” the woman inquired.

“No,” he said.

“I’m the pastor’s mother,” she replied indignantly.

“Do you know who I am?” he asked.

“No,” she said.

“Good,” he answered, “Let me show you the front pew.”

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I thought of this week’s “Last Impression” after a guest at WFA last Sunday asked Jean Duerr, who sits in our front row, if she was my mother! It was all the more amusing because, it being Mother’s Day, I mentioned in the service that my mother was in Pittsburgh.

We have truly been experiencing a great presence of the Lord each Sunday morning here at WFA. If you are in north Delaware this Sunday, please consider this your invitation to join with us this week to worship the Lord and be encouraged from His Word. You will be blessed!

In this Issue
Volume 11.19
Friday, May 13, 2011

Making Godly Decisions

200 Pounds of Trash

Have You Been “Burned”

It Happens to the Best of Us!

Spiritual Heartbeat

Chocolate Chip Cookies

The Last Impression…

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12 August 2010

Where has the American Dream gone?
By Morris Clopton

Growing up the challenge to improve myself through study and hard work consistently drove me to seek to improve. Opportunities lost returned when thought, time and effort coupled with acquiring skills and knowledge provided open doors. The sixty-seven years that God is providing for me enabled a vast array of educational and school of hard knocks experiences. Like steel that is hardened and tempered by the application of intense heat and sudden cooling, life nurtures physical, mental, and spiritual maturity with experiences.

Today I am aware of an increasingly large portion of our population that rather than participate in the growth and prosperity of our nation chooses to take from those who generate income. The entitlement mentality spawns generations of individuals with no incentive to produce wealth. These individuals choose to demand that the government take care of them rather than build upon an educations, skills and knowledge acquired. The innate desire to consume rather than produce spreads like cancer through our nation crippling job production, product creation, and new inventions all with the skewed thought process of let someone else do it.

Our government seeks to foster this entitlement mentality, because such mentality provides office holders with power by creating a population, which is obligated to the office holder. The sad result the recipients of government entitlements are too ignorant to realize that the office holder providing the miniscule entitlement is raping those same individuals to increase his or her own wealth. Our politicians berate the rich while stuffing their pockets with millions seeking to elevate their personal wealth and well-being at the expense of the people that elected them. How intelligent people listen to the diatribe coming out of Washington about how the Democrats are going to tax the rich or take from the rich and re-distribute wealth and not realize that the office holder is extremely wealthy himself is mind boggling. Do what I say not what I do seems to be the order of the day for politicians. They want you and I to believe it is ok for them to be rolling in wealth as long as they pretend to care about you.

The ruling Left would have us believe that their actions no matter how macabre they may be are reasonable and just. Consider for a moment the consistent beating of political drums by the Left that prohibits any hint of offering thanks to the God who created all that is; in any form or fashion in any avenue of our society today. However, it is perfectly ok according to the left to take your tax dollars and spend them to promote Islam at the expense of Christianity. Where is the separation of State and Church here?
EDITORIAL: Tax dollars to build mosques
U.S. underwrites fundraising tour for Islamic shrine at Ground Zero

By THE WASHINGTON TIMES
The Washington Times
7:46 p.m., Tuesday, August 10, 2010
The State Department is sending Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf – the mastermind of the Ground Zero Mosque – on a trip through the Middle East to foster “greater understanding” about Islam and Muslim communities in the United States. However, important questions are being raised about whether this is simply a taxpayer-funded fundraising jaunt to underwrite his reviled project, which is moving ahead in Lower Manhattan.

Mr. Rauf is scheduled to go to Saudi Arabia, Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Bahrain and Qatar, the usual stops for Gulf-based fundraising. The State Department defends the five-country tour saying that Mr. Rauf is “a distinguished Muslim cleric,” but surely the government could find another such figure in the United States who is not seeking millions of dollars to fund a construction project that has so strongly divided America…

Further expenditures of our tax dollars to rebuild mosque in foreign countries: Where is the separation of Church and State here?
Comments: EDITORIAL: Tax dollars to build mosques – Washington Times
Aug 10, 2010 … In NYS we had tax payer money accumulated in excess of our awful tax … Why should we spend a penny rebuilding some dilapidated mosque …

https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2010/…/tax…mosques/comments/…

In Montana, a Fight Over Separation of Church and Fairgrounds
By Tess Civantos
Published August 11, 2010
FoxNews.com

Our government controlled judicial system continues to destroy the moral fiber of out great nation by over ruling the voice of 7 million voters:

WISDOM: Marriage over the rainbow
Ruling would make traditional believers enemies of the state

By Alan F.H. Wisdom

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The Washington Times

6:32 p.m., Wednesday, August 11, 2010

U.S. District Judge Vaughn R. Walker’s Aug. 4 ruling striking down California’s Proposition 8 asserted far more than was necessary to redefine marriage as being between any two persons. Judge Walker’s decision included controversial “findings of fact” that amounted to a massive new salvo in the culture wars over sexuality.

Drawing up his judicial robes, Judge Walker rejected “stereotypes and misinformation” that “have resulted in social and legal disadvantages for gays and lesbians.” He denied that there is “any rational basis” for distinguishing the marriage of man and woman from same-sex relationships. For example, Judge Walker found no reason why the state should prefer that a child grow up with his or her mother and father. “The genetic relationship between a parent and a child is not related to a child’s adjustment outcomes,” he declared as “fact.”

Having dismissed the stated motives of Proposition 8 supporters, the judge claimed to have “uncloak[ed]” their true motives: “The evidence shows conclusively that moral and religious views form the only basis for a belief that same-sex couples are different from opposite-sex couples.”…

KNIGHT: Marriage ruling is only a ‘ban’ on truth
Intelligentsia morph language to disguise immorality

By Robert Knight
The Washington Times

6:32 p.m., Wednesday, August 11, 2010
The word “ban” is negative. Like “taboo,” the term offends modern sensibilities trained to be ever more accepting of any envelope-pushing behavior.

That’s why the media describe California’s Proposition 8 constitutional marriage law as a “ban,” not the codification of something positive and timeless. The Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) has been misreported for years as the “federal ban on gay marriage.” So when “smarter than God” federal Judge Joseph L. Tauro in Massachusetts dispatched DOMA on July 9, the media thundered as one: “Judge Strikes Down Gay Marriage Ban.”

Similarly, in California, federal Judge Vaughn R. Walker was widely reported to have struck down the state’s “ban on gay marriage” in his Aug. 4 ruling. The New York Times put it this way: “Court Rejects Same-Sex Marriage Ban in California.” Actually, Judge Walker took his activist ax to the meaning of marriage itself and the meaning of representative democracy in a free republic…

Our government seeks to deny entrepreneurship, destroying private enterprise by race and politics.

EDITORIAL: Engineered by Obama Motors
Automakers run on race-based political calculations

By THE WASHINGTON TIMES

The Washington Times

7:46 p.m., Tuesday, August 10, 2010
A report by the Troubled Asset Relief Program’s inspector general, Neil M. Barofsky, underscores the danger of handing control of private enterprise to government bureaucrats. In running General Motors and Chrysler, the Obama administration’s Auto Team made decisions based on what its members know best: race and politics.

After taking over the bankrupt carmakers, the administration ordered the immediate termination of one-quarter of existing dealerships – but not for business reasons. “Key members of the Auto Team … stated that they did not consider cost savings to be a factor in determining the need for dealership closures,” Mr. Barofsky wrote in his July 19 report. “Nevertheless, GM officials stated that they developed the cost-savings estimate … after being ‘pressed’ during meetings with congressional representatives to explain the cost savings that would result from the dealership terminations.”

These after-the-fact justifications were needed after Congress learned that closing 2,243 dealerships would cost nearly 100,000 jobs. GM invented a savings estimate of $2.6 billion, and Chrysler said its closings would save $35.9 million. Insiders reported the numbers were little more than a “math exercise” based on highly questionable assumptions, with one GM official admitting the hasty closure plan “might even cost GM money.”

GM set up a scoring system to determine the most valuable dealerships, but affirmative action was used to pick which survived. “Other dealerships were retained because they … were minority- or woman-owned dealerships,” Mr. Barofsky explained. The administration also pressured GM to cut rural dealerships. Mr. Barofsky’s office interviewed independent experts who confirmed that domestic automakers “had an advantage over their import competitors” in rural markets and that cutting dealerships in those areas would harm domestic sales. The O Force’s disdain for red states and their tendency to “cling to guns or religion” can’t be coincidental…

Our challenge today is clear, we must continue to educate ourselves, stand up for what is right, challenge our elected government, and VOTE!

Becoming involved in local, county, state and national politics is more important than ever before in our short history as a nation. Do not let a group of self-serving politicians destroy the greatest nation in the world. Each individual is responsible do not depend on someone else to do for you what you must do for yourselves.

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I Choose

It’s quiet. It’s early. My coffee is hot. The sky is still black. The world is still asleep. The day is coming. In a few moments the day will arrive. It will roar down the track with the rising of the sun. The stillness of the dawn will be exchanged for the noise of the day. The calm of solitude will be invaded by decisions to be made and deadlines to be met. For the next twelve hours I will be exposed to the day’s demands. It is now that I must make a choice. Because of Calvary, I’m free to choose. And so I choose…

I CHOOSE LOVE… No occasion justifies hatred; no injustice warrants bitterness. I choose love. Today I will love God and what God loves.

I CHOOSE JOY… I will invite my God to be the God of circumstances. I will refuse the temptation to be cynical… the tool of the lazy thinker. I will refuse to see people as anything less than human beings created by God. I will refuse to see any problem as anything less than an opportunity to see God.

I CHOOSE PEACE… I will live forgiven. I will forgive so that I may live.

I CHOOSE PATIENCE… I will overlook the inconveniences of the world. Instead of cursing the one who takes my place, I’ll invite him to do so. Rather than complain that the wait is too long, I will thank God for a moment to pray. Instead of clenching my fist at new assignments, I will face them with joy and courage.

I CHOOSE KINDNESS… I will be kind to the poor, for they are alone. Kind to the rich, for they are afraid. And kind to the unkind, for such is how God has treated me.

I CHOOSE GOODNESS… I will go without a dollar before I take a dishonest one. I will be overlooked before I will boast. I will confess before I will accuse.

I CHOOSE FAITHFULNESS… Today I will keep my promises. My debtors will not regret their trust. My associates will not question my word. My wife will not question my love. And my children will never fear that their father will not come home.

I CHOOSE GENTLENESS… Nothing is won by force. I choose to be gentle. If I raise my voice may it be only in praise. If I clench my fist, may it be only in prayer. If I make a demand, may it be only of myself.

I CHOOSE SELF-CONTROL… I am a spiritual being. After this body is dead, my spirit will soar. I refuse to let what will not, rule the eternal. I will be drunk only by joy. I will be impassioned only by my faith. I will be influenced only by God. I will be taught only by Christ.

Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control – Galatians 5:22,23

To these I commit my day. If I succeed, I will give thanks. If I fail, I will seek His grace. And then, when this day is done, I will place my head on my pillow and rest with the peace that passes all understanding.

What are You Talking About?

“Those who are careful about what they say protect their lives.” – Proverbs 13:3 NCV

After failing in business, Paul Galvin attended an auction for his own company. He was ‘down‘ but he wasn’t ‘out’! With the last of his money he bought back the department which later became – Motorola! How’s that for a comeback story?

The Bible says, “In… prosperity be joyful, but in… adversity consider [examine it and see what you can learn]… God has appointed the one as well as the other” (Ecclesiastes 7:14 NKJV). Whenever we face new challenges, like changing careers, going back to school or starting a new relationship, our old programming kicks in and tells us we’re not equal to the task. Look out! The Bible says, “Those who are careful about what they say protect their lives …whoever speaks without thinking will be ruined” (Proverbs 13:3 NCV).

The wonderful thing about being the person God created you to be, is that He pre-programmed you to handle new situations, to change and to grow. Don’t build a case against yourself by listening to old voices without or within, or speaking words that undermine your confidence. Doing something you’ve never done before usually involves an anxiety-induced learning curve that follows along these lines: “There’s no way I can do this… I suppose I can try… I’m doing it, but not very well… I’m still doing it but I’m scared… I’m doing better… Oops, I made a mistake, guess I can’t do this after all… Maybe I’ll try again… I’m not doing much better this time… I’ll give it one more shot… Hey, I’m doing pretty good… I can do this!”

The Bible says you’ll “be rewarded for… how [you] speak” (Proverbs 18:20 NCV), so turn all those “I can’ts” into “I cans” and get your self-talk lined up with the Scriptures.

It must be said, that like the breaking of a great dam, the American decent into Marxism is happening with breath taking speed, against the back drop of a passive, hapless sheeple, excuse me, I meant people.

True, the situation has been well prepared on and off for the past century, especially the past twenty years. The initial testing grounds was conducted upon our Holy Russia and a bloody test it was. But we Russians would not just roll over and give up our freedoms and our souls, no matter how much money Wall Street poured into the fists of the Marxists.

Those lessons were taken and used to properly prepare the American populace for the surrender of their freedoms and souls, to the whims of their elites and betters.

First, the population was dumbed down through a politicized and substandard education system based on pop culture, rather then the classics. Americans know more about their favorite TV dramas than the drama in DC that directly affects their lives. They care more for their “right” to choke down a McDonalds burger or a Burger King burger than for their constitutional rights. Then they turn around and lecture us about our rights and about our “democracy”. Pride blind the foolish.

Then their faith in God was destroyed, until their churches, all tens of thousands of different “branches and denominations” were for the most part little more then Sunday circuses and their televangelists and top protestant mega preachers were more than happy to sell out their souls and flocks to be on the “winning” side of one pseudo Marxist politician or another. Their flocks may complain, but when explained that they would be on the “winning” side, their flocks were ever so quick to reject Christ in hopes for earthly power. Even our Holy Orthodox churches are scandalously liberalized in America.

The final collapse has come with the election of Barack Obama. His speed in the past three months has been truly impressive. His spending and money printing has been a record setting, not just in America’s short history but in the world. If this keeps up for more than another
year, and there is no sign that it will not, America at best will resemble the Wiemar Republic and at worst Zimbabwe.

These past two weeks have been the most breath taking of all. First came the announcement of a planned redesign of the American Byzantine tax system, by the very thieves who used it to bankroll their thefts, loses and swindles of hundreds of billions of dollars. These make our Russian oligarchs look little more then ordinary street thugs, in comparison. Yes, the Americans have beat our own thieves in the shear volumes. Should we congratulate them?
 
These men, of course, are not an elected panel but made up of appointees picked from the very financial oligarchs and their henchmen who are now gorging themselves on trillions of American dollars, in one bailout after another. They are also usurping the rights, duties and powers of the American congress (parliament). Again, congress has put up little more then a whimper to their masters.
 
Then came Barack Obama’s command that GM’s (General Motor) president step down from leadership of his company. That is correct, dear reader, in the land of “pure” free markets, the American president now has the power, the self given power, to fire CEOs and we can assume other employees of private companies, at will. Come hither, go dither, the centurion commands his minions.

So it should be no surprise, that the American president has followed this up with a “bold” move of declaring that he and another group of unelected, chosen stooges will now redesign the entire automotive industry and will even be the guarantee of automobile policies. I am sure that if given the chance, they would happily try and redesign it for the whole of the world, too. Prime Minister Putin, less then two months ago, warned Obama and UK’s Blair, not to follow the path to Marxism, it only leads to disaster. Apparently, even though we suffered 70 years of this Western sponsored horror show, we know nothing, as foolish, drunken Russians, so let our “wise” Anglo-Saxon fools find out the folly of their own pride.

Again, the American public has taken this with barely a whimper…but a “freeman” whimper.

So, should it be any surprise to discover that the Democratically controlled Congress of America is working on passing a new regulation that would give the American Treasury department the power to set “fair” maximum salaries, evaluate performance and control how private companies give out pay raises and bonuses? Senator Barney Frank, a social pervert basking in his homosexuality (of course, amongst the modern, enlightened American societal norm, as well as that of the general West, homosexuality is not only not a looked down upon life choice, but is often praised as a virtue) and his Marxist enlightenment, has led this effort. He stresses that this only affects companies that receive government monies, but it is retroactive and taken to a logical extreme, this would include any company or industry that has ever received a tax break or incentive.

The Russian owners of American companies and industries should look thoughtfully at this and the option of closing their facilities down and fleeing the land of the Red as fast as possible. In other words, divest while there is still value left.

The proud American will go down into his slavery without a fight, beating his chest and proclaiming to the world, how free he really is. The world will only snicker.

Stanislav Mishin

The article has been reprinted with the kind permission from the author and originally appears on his blog, Mat Rodina

This doesn’t require any comment from me except perhaps to answer the question the Brit asks at the end of his commentary. The reason Obama hates America so badly is because it represents everything that he opposes. Freedom, liberty, capitalism, prosperity.

This Englishman has hit the nail on the head. Seems like people overseas have a better sense of what is going on in the White House than most Americans have. As I have said over and over again. “May GOD have mercy on America”.

If al-Qaeda, the Taliban and the rest of the Looney Tunes brigade want to kick America to death, they had better move in quickly and grab a piece of the action before Barack Obama finishes the job himself. Never in the history of the United States has a president worked so actively against the interests of his own people – not even Jimmy Carter.

Obama’s problem is that he does not know who the enemy is. To him, the enemy does not squat in caves in Waziristan, clutching automatic weapons and reciting the more militant verses from the Koran: instead, it sits around at tea parties in Kentucky quoting from the US Constitution. Obama is not at war with terrorists, but with his Republican fellow citizens. He has never abandoned the campaign trail.

That is why he opened Pandora’s Box by publishing the Justice Department’s legal opinions on waterboarding and other hardline interrogation techniques. He cynically subordinated the national interest to his partisan desire to embarrass the Republicans. Then he had to rush to Langley , Virginia to try to reassure a demoralised CIA that had just discovered the President of the United States was an even more formidable foe than al-Qaeda.

“Don’t be discouraged by what’s happened the last few weeks,” he told intelligence officers. Is he kidding? Thanks to him, al-Qaeda knows the private interrogation techniques available to the US intelligence agencies and can train its operatives to withstand them – or would do so, if they had not already been outlawed.

So, next time a senior al-Qaeda hood is captured, all the CIA can do is ask him nicely if he would care to reveal when a major population centre is due to be hit by a terror spectacular, or which American city is about to be irradiated by a dirty bomb. Your view of this situation will be dictated by one simple criterion: whether or not you watched the people jumping from the twin towers…

President Pantywaist’s recent world tour, cosying up to all the bad guys, excited the ambitions of America ‘S enemies. Here, they realised, is a sucker they can really take to the cleaners. His only enemies are fellow Americans.

Which prompts the question: why does President Pantywaist hate America so badly?

Living the Story of God

Connecting both the sermon and small group to God’s big story.

J. Scott Duvall | posted 5/01/2009

 

Most church leaders have a deep desire for people to experience life change. We feel the burden Dallas Willard expresses in Spirit of the Disciplines: “If the faithful devotees to our ministries are not transformed in the substance of their lives to the full range of Christlikeness, they are being failed by what we are teaching them.” But how do we serve them best? Specifically, how do we structure teaching times, select curriculum, and create an environment in which people can truly grow?

Spiritual growth is dynamic and complex, but I am convinced that six realities are essential to authentic spiritual transformation:

                               The work of the Holy Spirit

                               Life situations and experiences, especially trials

                               Time—spiritual growth is a process

                               A biblical belief system/set of convictions/worldview

                               Consistent human examples/mentors/leaders who incarnate this way of life

                               A community with whom to journey together

We have very limited control over the first three elements. However, we can influence the last three. At Fellowship Church, we do that by focusing our ministries on the grand story of Scripture and coordinating learning at the individual, corporate, and small group levels.

Connecting to the Big Story

The grand story of Scripture is vital, because if we lose touch with the biblical story, we lose touch with God. Unfortunately, most spiritual formation resources simply don’t make this connection. They typically challenge people to get God into their lives through a prescribed set of spiritual disciplines, but simply adding more of God to our lives often misses the point. We are called to link our lives to God’s life, to line up our smaller story with his grand story.

For this reason, we teach people the grand story of the Bible (believing) and help them see how what we do (behaving) and who we are (becoming) integrate into each part of the story. For example, our belief that God is both great and good draws us into praise, gratitude, and obedience—a behavior called Christian worship. Together this belief and behavior cultivate in us the character quality of purity as we realize that worship is not reserved for Sunday services but is a lifestyle.

Connecting sermon and small groups

To reinforce the connection between Sunday morning and everyday life, we use an integrated teaching approach that focuses everyone on the same passage each week, as opposed to numbing people with five or six different studies in our various mid-week programs and ministries. We encourage everyone to complete a brief interactive lesson on their own during the week. Then on Sunday we preach an inspirational sermon on the focal passage for that lesson.

We try to address the other two “controllable” elements—consistent human examples and community—through small groups. The group leaders serve as the human examples and mentors who incarnate the biblical story. There is no substitute for mature small group leaders.

Connecting with each other

The small group members become the community with whom we live out God’s story. Groups of 10–20 people gather once a week to eat a meal together, share life, pray, and encourage each other to live out God’s story. In our time together, we discuss the insights we had as we studied alone during the week, how those insights were influenced or altered by the sermon, and how we might put these lessons into action in our daily lives. Because the entire group has been engaged in the same biblical passage, has heard the same sermon, and is working through the same material during the week, the process results in a corporate, not merely individual, recalibration to the biblical story.

As we have moved beyond skimming bits and pieces of the Bible to connecting to God’s grand story in what we believe, how we behave, and who we are becoming, we have seen life change. It hasn’t been flashy or fast, but we are seeing God do a deep and powerful work among his people.

J. Scott Duvall is professor of New Testament at Ouachita Baptist University and a pastor of Fellowship Church in Arkadelphia, Arkansas. The curriculum discussed above has been published as Experiencing God’s Story of Life and Hope.

Copyright © 2009 by the author or Christianity Today International/Leadership Journal.