firstIMPRESSIONS
from Senior Pastor Timothy Satryan

One man who impacted his nation for Christ is more often associated with green beer and leprechauns than the proclamation of the gospel – Patrick of Ireland.

Kidnapped by pirates as a teenager, Patrick was taken from his well-to-do home in Roman-Britain in A.D. 405, transported to Ireland, sold to a farmer, and given responsibility for the man’s sheep.

Patrick had grown up in a Christian home; his father was a deacon in the church, his grandfather an elder. But the faith had not been real to him until one day, tending sheep in the barren hills of Ireland; he encountered the Great Shepherd and purposed to follow him.

Eventually, Patrick escaped from slavery and returned to Britain, where he became a priest. Then in a dream, he heard an Irish voice pleading with him: “Holy boy, we are asking you to come home and walk among us again.”

Return to the land of his servitude? An unlikely mission. But Patrick was a slave to Christ now, and the Lord gave him a sense of compassion for the Irish. “I was struck to the heart,” he wrote later.

Patrick returned to primarily pagan Ireland, determined to bring the gospel to people enslaved by superstition and Druid worship. Traveling throughout the land, he baptized thousands of new converts and discipled new believers, trained church leaders, ordained pastors, exerted discipline on unrepentant church members, and commissioned more evangelists. He started scores of churches and witnessed to kings and their courts, farmers and peasants. He also forcefully protested injustices against the common people. By the time he died, about A.D. 461, he had started a movement of the church that transformed ancient Ireland.

It’s been said that Christianity is one generation away from extinction. We are not responsible for the past generation or the future generation. We are responsible for this generation. We cannot do everything to reach our nation, but we can do something. The greatest danger to reaching our nation is not ignorance, but apathy. Patrick did not turn a deaf ear to the voice of the Spirit and the gospel spread through Ireland. Patrick heard a voice – the still small voice of God prompting him to action. And, he went to the people of Ireland. To whom is the still quiet voice of God prompting you to go?

Here is your copy of firstIMPRESSIONS, Volume 6.11. Live for God, on purpose, doing all that you can to reach the people around you with the message of Christ!

Our society has changed so much in the last few decades. When I was a boy, my father ALWAYS drove a Ford. Never a Chevy. When it came time to trade in the car, there was never any question – we just went to “Three Rivers Ford” and looked at their autos. Today, there is very little “brand loyalty” out there.

I grew up in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, so I have always followed the Pirates baseball team. I can still tell you to this day who played at every position on the team when I was a boy. When a player was on a team, he generally stayed with that team throughout his career. Today, free agency and salary caps have changed everything, and players move from team to team with great regularity. With few exceptions, I couldn’t begin to tell you who will play any particular position for this year’s Pirates (and, yes, I still follow the Bucs!).

Forty years ago, couples fell in love and got married. And in most cases, they stayed married. Today, couples fall in and out of love, and will opt to “co-habit” rather than get married. Or, if they marry, they will have “starter marriages” as they anticipate the reality that they will obviously divorce at some point in time.

This same trending has spilled over into the church as well. So many Christians will visit a church, make a decision to stay at a church and worship there, but always leaving the door open to pick up and move to another church when certain situations arise.

I believe in church membership! Anyone is welcome to attend WFA, to worship there, and to become involved in the many ministries of WFA. But, there is something special about becoming a member. When a person “signs on the dotted line” of the membership application, they are making a public statement that they are committed to and linking together with the mission and the ministry of the church. They are identifying themselves with that local church. For them, its no longer a choice of convenience, but a commitment of relationship and responsibility.

For that reason, I am thrilled that this Sunday, we will once again be receiving new members into WFA! These folks are committing themselves to the ministries of WFA, and are stepping forward to publicly proclaim their commitment!

As the old commercial once stated, “Membership has its privileges!” That is true with church membership! And, that is the title of the message I will preach just before we receive these committed individuals into full membership at WFA! You will be encouraged with this message as you continue your walk in the Lord!

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The dinner guests were sitting around the table discussing life. Tom, a CEO, decided to explain the problem with education. He argued: “What’s a kid going to learn from someone who decided his best option in life was to become a teacher?” He reminded the other dinner guests that it’s true what they say about teachers: “Those who can: do. Those who can’t: teach.”

To corroborate, he said to another guest: “You’re a teacher, Susan,” he said. “Be honest. What do you make?”

Susan, who had a reputation of honesty and frankness, replied, “You want to know what I make? I make kids work harder than they ever thought they could. I can make a C+ student feel like he won the Congressional Medal of Honor, and an A- student feel like a slap in the face if the student did not do their very best. I can make kids sit through 40 minutes of study hall in absolute silence. I can make parents tremble in fear when I call home.

“You want to know what else I make? I make kids wonder. I make them question. I make them criticize. I make them apologize and mean it. I make them write. I make them read, read, read. I make them spell ’definitely’ and ‘beautiful’ over and over again, until they will never misspell either one of those words again. I make them show all their work in math and hide it all on their final drafts in English.

“I elevate them to experience music and art and joy in the performance, so their lives are rich, full of kindness and culture, and they take pride in themselves and their accomplishments. I make them understand that if you have the brains, then follow your heart — and if someone ever tries to judge you by what you make, you pay them no attention.

“I make a difference, Tom. And what do you make?”

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by John Fischer

It’s been statistically proven that out of the 162 Major League baseball games that make up a full season of play, every team will win at least 60 games and lose at least 60 games. In other words, the worst team will still manage to win 60 games, and the best team will still manage to lose 60. It’s what happens with the other 42 that makes or breaks a season. It’s an interesting way to think about a baseball season and another reason why I think baseball is a lot like life.

Winning teams experience a lot of losses. Losing teams experience a significant amount of wins. For 120 games out of 162, everybody looks the same. That’s almost 75% of the season. It’s what happens with the remaining 25% that makes the difference between a champion and a cellar-dweller.

Life is all about ups and downs. We’re all going to have good days and bad days. Winners don’t win all the time; losers don’t lose all the time. In fact, most of the time, it’s hard to tell the difference. You can’t make one’s experience the judge of everything. Pretty much all of sports tells us that winning is only a slight edge.

So what’s the point of this for us? Experience isn’t everything. If you’re having a hard day, be patient, things are about to change. If you are cruising on top of things, enjoy it, because things are about to change. Change is the one constant for all of us, and those who are best prepared for it will have the best experience. If you expect things to always go well and get upset when they don’t, you’re in for making tough times tougher. If you are simply grateful for what each day brings, you will fare much better in the long run.

Paul revealed the secret for making it through his “season” of life. “I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do everything through Him who gives me strength” (Philippians 4:12-13).

It is a way to live that evens out the wins and the losses. It even leaves the wins and losses up to God. Don’t you remember that coach who taught you as a kid that it’s not all about winning or losing, but how you play the game that counts?

“Teach us to number our days aright, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.” (Psalm 90:12)

as seen in the March 13, 2006 issue of “Purpose Driven Life Daily Devotional”. www.purposedrivenlife.com

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Cyrus McCormick, who invented the reaper and founded the company that became International Harvester, was a generous contributor to Chicago’s Presbyterian Theological School. Because of that fact, the school later changed its name to McCormick Theological Seminary. Faculty and students have quipped that death is never referred to as “The Grim Reaper” at McCormick, but always as “The International Harvester.”

“Grim” is not a word which describes the experience of many people who find themselves nearing life’s end. Like Dr. Abraham Maslow commented after a heart attack which made him realize that his own death was not far away: “Death, and its ever-present possibility makes love, passionate love, more possible. I wonder if we could love passionately, if ecstasy would be possible at all, if we knew we’d never die.”

Likewise, psychiatrist Irvin Yalom, who worked with terminally ill cancer patients, reported that “grimness” was far from their attitudes about passing on. In Dr. Chris Thurman’s book, The Truths We Must Believe (Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1991), Yalom tells us that once his patients accepted the fact that their lives were rapidly drawing to an end, positive and exciting changes occurred:

• They felt a sense of freedom to do what they wanted to do.

• They lived in, and enjoyed, the present.

• They learned to vividly appreciate the world around them.

• They joyously anticipated holidays.

• They communicated deeper with loved ones.

• They feared less and risked more.

Because these people knew they were dying, they figured out how to live! Nothing grim here. They came alive in ways never before possible.

Oh, maybe you don’t want to volunteer to leave this life today, but we’ll each set off on that journey soon enough. And it promises to be an exciting adventure. But in the meantime, what if you set out to live every moment as if your short days here were truly numbered? When “The International Harvester” someday reaps your life, may it have been joyful, fearless and well-lived.

from Steve Goodier’s PRESCRIPTION FOR PEACE

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by Dr. David Jeremiah

Open my eyes, that I may see wondrous things from Your law. – Psalm 119:18

A well-known Old Testament scholar spent the summer in Jerusalem as part of a team of scholars working on a new translation of the Bible. When he returned to the classroom in September, he told his students it had been a carnal, spiritually dry summer.

His students were shocked. Weren’t they studying God’s Word all day? He replied, “It became a project instead of a passion. We became so familiar with the intricacies of the text that we stopped seeing its grandeur.”

Is it possible to study the Bible in a carnal fashion? Apparently so. Maybe when you read the professor’s testimony, you said to yourself, “That’s happened to me.” You don’t have to be a scholar or translator to lose sight of the inestimable privilege of reading God’s Word. It can happen when you become so faithful with your quiet time that it becomes a routine – something to check off your “to-do” list for the day.

The nation of Israel once had eyes to see and ears to hear God, but she grew carnal. As a result, she failed to hear and see the living Word of God standing in her midst. Don’t let that happen to you.

Pray today and ask God to open your eyes and show you fresh and wonderful things from His Word.

as seen in the March 9 edition of David Jeremiah’s Turning Point Daily Devotional. www.turningpointonline.org

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Life is a Theatre... Invite Your Audience Carefully.

Not everyone is healthy enough to have a front row seat in your life. There are some people in your life who need to be loved from a DISTANCE. It is amazing what you can accomplish when you let go of – or minimize your time with – those draining, negative, incompatible, ’not-going- anywhere’ relationships or friendships.

Observe the relationships around you. Pay close attention...

Which ones lift, and which ones lean?

Which ones encourage, and which ones discourage?

Which ones are on a path of growth uphill, and which ones are going downhill?

When you leave certain people, do you feel better or feel worse?

Which ones always have drama, or don’t really understand, know or appreciate you and the gifts that lie within you?

Remember that the people you have around you will have an impact on your life, your values and your income. So, be careful when choosing the people you hang out with, as well as the information with which you will feed your mind. We should not share our dreams with negative people, nor feed our minds with negative thoughts.

The more you seek quality, respect, growth, peace of mind, love and truth around you... the easier it will become for you to decide who gets to sit in the FRONT ROW, and who should be moved to the balcony of your life.

Ask your God for wisdom and discernment, and choose wisely the people who will sit in the front row of your life.

You cannot change the people around you....but you CAN change the people you choose to be around!

...WHO IS IN YOUR FRONT ROW?

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The story is told of an old man who lived on a farm in the mountains of eastern Kentucky with his young grandson. Each morning, Grandpa was up early sitting at the kitchen table reading from his old worn-out Bible. His grandson wanted to be just like him and tried to imitate him in any way he could.

One day the grandson asked, “Papa, I try to read the Bible just like you but I don’t understand it, and what I do understand I forget as soon as I close the book. What good does reading the Bible do?”

The Grandfather quietly turned from putting coal in the stove and said, “Take this coal basket down to the river and bring back a basket of water.”

The boy did as he was told, even though all the water leaked out before he could get back to the house.

The grandfather laughed and said, “You will have to move a little faster next time,” and sent him back to the river with the basket to try again.

This time the boy ran faster, but again the basket was empty before he returned home. Out of breath, he told his grandfather that it was “impossible to carry water in a basket,” and he went to get a bucket instead.

The old man said, “I don’t want a bucket of water; I want a basket of water. You can do this. You’re just not trying hard enough,” and he went out the door to watch the boy try again.

At this point, the boy knew it was impossible, but he wanted to show his grandfather that even if he ran as fast as he could, the water would leak out before he got far at all. The boy scooped the water and ran hard, but when he reached his grandfather the basket was again empty.

Out of breath, he said, “See Papa, it’s useless!”

“So you think it is useless?” The old man said, “Look at the basket”

The boy looked at the basket and for the first time he realized that the basket looked different. Instead of a dirty old coal basket, it was clean.

“Son, that’s what happens when you read the Bible. You might not understand or remember everything, but when you read it, it will change you from the inside out.

That is the work of God in our lives. To change us from the inside out and to slowly transform us into the image of His son.

Take time to read a portion of God’s word each day, and remind a friend by sharing this email.

For God so loved the world that He sent His Son for me! And because I believe in Him I will live eternally!

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The room was full of pregnant women and their husbands, and the class was in full swing. The instructor was teaching the women how to breathe properly, along with informing the men how to give the necessary assurances at this stage of the plan.

The teacher then announced, “Ladies, exercise is good for you. Walking is especially beneficial. And gentlemen, it wouldn’t hurt you to take the time to go walking with your wives!”

The room really got quiet. Finally, a man in the middle of the group raised his hand. “Yes?” replied the teacher.

“Is it all right if she carries a golf bag while we walk?”

Spring arrives next week! As the weather begins to turn from the cold of winter to the warmth of spring, let it remind you of the new life we have in Christ! We were cold and dead in our sins, but as we live in Him, His Spirit warms us and brings new life! Looking forward to worshipping with you this Lord’s Day at WFA!

Yours for HIM,
Timothy Satryan
Senior Pastor
WILMINGTON first assembly of God

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