This is the beginning of Memorial Day weekend - the traditional start of the summer season here in the United States. I remember back to my childhood, and my Grandma calling it a different name - Decoration Day. I recall spending time with my family, traveling to the cemetery, and decorating the grave sites of my departed family members. Perhaps this sounds a bit morbid to you, but I have such fond memories of those days. It meant family to me. And, it was an annual reminder of family members that as a young child, I had never met, but felt that I knew.

Be sure to spend time with your family this Memorial Day weekend. Make memories. Remember the past. And look forward to the future. Live for God - on purpose - each and every day!

Here is Volume 2.21 of firstIMPRESSIONS. Have a wonderful holiday weekend!

IN THIS ISSUE

Article 1 – When "Stuff" Happens!
Article 2 – Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid
Article 3 – Have You Been To The River?
Article 4 – Great Truths About Life ... That Little Children Have Learned
Article 5 – Evangelist Jimmy Davis Here for One Day Revival!
Article 6 – Pastor’s Weekly Computer Pointers
Article 7 – The Parachute
Article 8 – The Last Impression...

When "Stuff" Happens!

In recent weeks, many people have spoken to me, asking why certain difficult, life-altering things have happened to them, or to others they know and love. Some have mentioned the untimely death of a loved one. Others have spoken of an illness or a catastrophic event in their own life.

It's not just difficult things, but sometimes there are seemingly good things that take place that can change our life forever. When "stuff" happens, what do we do? How is our life affected when the uncontrollable events of this world shake and rock our own personal world?

As Christians, we know we are to live by faith. But, quite often, Christians forget the last letter of the word "faith," leaving off the "H," and end up living by fait... err... fate!

This Sunday morning, at WILMINGTON first assembly of God, we will look at John 9:1-12, and the account of the blind man that Jesus heals. The life of this blind man was altered for all time by this healing encounter with our Lord. Quite interestingly, though, Jesus' own disciples posed a question to Jesus regarding the status of this blind man, asking Jesus, "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?"

I believe that all too often, we ask that same question regarding events in our life, and in the lives of others around us.

My provocative message this Sunday is "Living by faith... or by fate?!" Be there!

Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid

A long number of years ago, actor/comedian Steve Martin starred in a presentation called "Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid." This was a comedy spoof, which I honestly don't recall much about. However, after having attended and conducted a seemingly countless number of funerals throughout my years in the ministry, I'm not so sure that I could agree that dead men don't wear plaid! I have been shocked quite often when I see just what some dead men do wear!

But, one thing is certain - although they may or may not wear plaid, "Dead Men Don't Sin!" This is the title of my special message for this Sunday evening, that I will share as a part of a wonderful water baptismal service.

I am excited as some twenty people will be obeying the command of the Lord to "bury the old man" and follow Him in water baptism. In water baptism, we say to all the world around us that the old man and his sinful nature is dead and buried, and we are now risen to new life in Christ Jesus!

You will discover some wonderful truths regarding this ordinance of the church this Sunday evening. It promises to be a joy-filled and exciting time together!

Have You Been To The River?

Perhaps you have known Jesus as your Lord and Savior for quite a while, but have never been baptized. Are you aware that water baptism is not an optional exercise for the Christian? It is a command of the Lord!

If you would like to be baptized, but have not yet spoken to me about it, if you let me know very soon, we can include you in our baptismal service this Sunday evening.

Many have asked me what the requirements are for water baptism. As nearly as I can tell, from the Scripture, the only requirement for baptism is being born again! If you are saved, then not only have you met the requirement, but you are also required to be baptized!

You don't have to be a member of WILMINGTON first assembly of God to be baptized, but you do have to be a member of the body of Christ. Some have asked me about age requirements. Once again, the Bible must be our guide, and it is silent on this issue. My personal belief is that if any individual is old enough to recognize they are a sinner, and old enough to have made a commitment to Jesus as their Lord and Savior, then they are also old enough to be baptized.

The fact is, in the early church, water baptism always followed immediately after a person committed their life to Christ. It is only because of our cultural limitations that we end up delaying baptism. Because our American church culture has created limited opportunities for a new born Christian to be baptized, we now have a situation where, all too frequently, many Christians see little need to be baptized, and delay or even forsake ever following this clear command of our Lord.

When we tell our children or our teens to wait to be baptized until a later date, what we have really communicated to them is that baptism is optional, and not urgent. My friend, the Bible tells us that new converts were baptized "straightway" - meaning, immediately.

As many reading this newsletter in foreign countries can testify, it is the tradition of many churches in the UK to conduct a water baptism service every week. I have often thought of having a filter system installed on the baptismal tank, and keeping it filled continuously! Dream with me about the excitement of new converts testifying and being baptized every week!

We will get a taste of that this Sunday evening! And, if you haven't yet been baptized, you can still be a part of it! "Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins." (Acts 2:38)

Great Truths About Life...
That Little Children Have Learned

1. No matter how hard you try, you can't baptize cats.
2. When your mom is mad at your dad, don't let her brush your hair.
3. If your sister hits you, don't hit back. They always catch the second person.
4. Never ask your 3 year-old brother to hold a tomato.
5. You can't trust dogs to watch your food.
6. Reading what people write on desks can teach you a lot.
7. Don't sneeze when someone is cutting your hair.
8. Puppies still have bad breath even after eating a breath mint.
9. Never hold a vacuum and a cat at the same time.
10. School lunches stick to the wall.
11. You can't hide a piece of broccoli in a glass of milk.

Evangelist Jimmy Davis Here for One Day Revival

On Sunday, June 16th, one of my personal friends, Dr. Jimmy Davis, will be ministering with us here at WILMINGTON first assembly of God. Brother Davis is the National Evangelists Representative for the General Council of the Assemblies of God. He has traveled around the world, conducting evangelistic crusades.

I have known Jimmy and his wife Sheri since we were students together at Central Bible College. He is one of my absolute favorite preachers, and I know you will be blessed!

To read more about Brother Davis and his ministry, Cutting Edge International, click here.

Pastor’s Weekly Computer Pointers

Does your computer seem to be running slower and slower every day? When you open your email program or your web browser, do you need to go and get a cup of coffee while you wait for it to pop up on your screen? If so, I have a few ideas that may help you out! Some ideas will cost you some money, and some are totally free! If you a few dollars, one of the best things you can do is add more memory to your computer. Memory chips are now cheaper than ever before. I easily remember when memory cost over $100 per MB! At this present time, you can purchase a 256 MB memory chip for about the same amount!

For this article, let me share some free things you can do! First, and most simple, is rebooting your computer regularly. By that, I mean shut it off completely, wait a minute or so, and then turn it back on. This is particularly true if you are running any version of Windows prior to Windows XP. Earlier versions of Windows dealt with memory issues in different ways than XP. Without getting too technical, let's just say that with some programs, when memory was used up, it would be unavailable again even after closing the program, until you reboot the computer. So, first thing - reboot!

Next, take a look at your "task bar" - that's the little area found by your clock, usually on the bottom right side of your screen. Are there so many icons (little pictures) there that it is beginning to look like a Christmas tree? Well, each of those icons represents a program that is running - and using up memory - on your computer. Each of these will slow things down, little by little. If you don't need them running, then close them! Just right click on each one, and select "close".

To these "behind the scenes" programs from starting automatically when you turn on your computer, you will need to remove them from your "Startup" group. If you click on your Start button (lower left corner) then select "Programs," you will see the Startup group in there. To delete any of them, just right click on the specific program, and select "delete." Be aware that you are not removing the program from your computer - you are only removing the "short cut" to it in the Startup group. Doing this will keep it from starting with your computer when you turn it on. A little trick I have done is to create a new group/folder in Programs called "Startup Parking," and instead of deleting things from Startup, just moving them into my new parking folder. They are still easily found that way, should you want to quickly run them.

There is another place in Windows that launches programs automatically when your computer boots up, but it is a little more difficult to get at. Once again, click on Start, but this time, click on Run. A window will come up, and in the space provided, type this - MSCONFIG - and click on OK. This will launch a little known, but very valuable program already installed on your computer called "Microsoft System Configuration Utility." Click on the "Startup" tab. In the window that appears, you will see the name of every program that launches when you start Windows! For most people, this is a dizzying array of programs! On the left side, you will see check-mark boxes. Any box unchecked, the corresponding program will not start on your next reboot. You can always go back to this utility and re-check any program, should you discover you want it to run.

Another thing you can - and should do fairly often is "defrag" your hard drive. Your computer's hard disk becomes quickly fragmented - meaning that files you need to run everything on your computer are scattered all over the disk. Every time you open a program, or open a document, your computer must search all over the entire drive to find pieces of the program it needs. The longer you go without "defragging," the longer it will take for your computer to find what it needs. I am sure that many of you reading this have never defragged! If you open a program, and you can hear your hard drive spinning and spinning, and the light for your hard drive is always a solid color, rarely flashing, then you need to defrag.

Fortunately, it's easy to do, and Windows comes with a built in program that will defrag your drive. Go to Start, Programs, then click on Accessories, and then System Tools. In that group, you should see "Disk Defragmenter." Just follow the directions there, and it will defrag your hard drive for you. Be fore-warned that this process, although simple, can take a considerable length of time, especially if your drive is severely fragmented. You can start the program before you go to bed, and let it run all night long. It just may need all night to finish!

There are other things you can do to help speed up your computer, but these should get you up and moving a little quicker! Any questions, feel free to drop me a line or give me a call!

The Parachute

Charles Plumb was a U.S. Navy jet pilot in Vietnam. After 75 combat missions, his plane was destroyed by a surface-to-air missile. Plumb ejected and parachuted into enemy hands. He was captured and spent 6 years in a communist Vietnamese prison. He survived the ordeal and now lectures on lessons learned from that experience.

One day, when Plumb and his wife were sitting in a restaurant, a man at another table came up and said, "You're Plumb! You flew jet fighters in Vietnam from the aircraft carrier Kitty Hawk. You were shot down!"

"How in the world did you know that?" asked Plumb.

"I packed your parachute," the man replied.

Plumb gasped in surprise and gratitude.

The man pumped his hand and said, "I guess it worked! Plumb assured him, "It sure did. If your chute hadn't worked, I wouldn't be here today."

Plumb couldn't sleep that night, thinking about that man. Plumb says, "I kept wondering what he might have looked like in a Navy uniform: a white hat, a bib in the back, and bell-bottom trousers. I wonder how many times I might have seen him and not even said 'Good morning, how are you?' or anything because, you see, I was a fighter pilot and he was just a sailor."

Plumb thought of the many hours the sailor had spent on a long wooden table in the bowels of the ship, carefully weaving the shrouds and folding the silks of each chute, holding in his hands each time the fate of someone he didn't know.

Now, Plumb asks his audience, "Who's packing your parachute?" Everyone has someone who provides what they need to make it through the day. Plumb also points out that he needed many kinds of parachutes when his plane was shot down over enemy territory - he needed his physical parachute, his mental parachute, his emotional parachute, and his spiritual parachute. He called on all these supports before reaching safety.

Sometimes in the daily challenges that life gives us, we miss what is really important. We may fail to say hello, please, or thank you, congratulate someone on something wonderful that has happened to them, give a compliment, or just do something nice for no reason.

As you go through this week, this month, this year, recognize people who pack your parachute.

I am including this article in this issue of firstIMPRESSIONS as one little way of thanking you for your part in packing my parachute!!!

The Last Impression...

Couldn't resist this parting thought, on this Memorial Day weekend!

A group of senior citizens were talking at the breakfast table in a nursing home. "My arms are so weak I can hardly lift this cup of coffee," said one.

"Yes, I know. My cataracts are so bad I can barely even see my cup of coffee," replied another.

"I can't turn my head because of arthritis in my neck," said a third, to which all nodded weakly.

"My blood pressure pills make me dizzy," another continued. "I guess that's the price we pay for getting old."

They all nodded in agreement. Then there was a short moment of silence.

"Well, it could be worse," said one old woman with resolute cheerfulness.

"Thank God we all can still drive."

So, on this holiday weekend, watch yourself on the roads! Have a safe and enjoyable weekend! If you aren't traveling away from Wilmington, be sure to join us this Lord's day at WILMINGTON first assembly of God! I know that the Lord will be there, and His Holy Spirit will be moving, as we magnify the Lord Jesus Christ!

Thanks to those who dropped me a line this past week. Your encouraging words bless me! Do you know that firstIMPRESSIONS, in just the short time it has been going, now has nearly 200 subscribers, and well over that number of readers every week!

Hope you have enjoyed this week's issue! Feel free to drop me a line any time. And, keep sending me your "goodies!" You just may see them in a future issue!