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firstIMPRESSIONS
Moses was busy with his flocks at Horeb. My friend, does this tell you something about thinking we are too busy to do God’s work? Here is your copy of firstIMPRESSIONS, Volume 7.02. Live for God, on purpose, no matter how busy you may think you are! |
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 If My People... Part 2
Many years ago, while I was yet in Bible college, arrangements had been made for my wife and me to travel from Springfield, Missouri, to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to interview for my first ministry position. The meeting was all arranged, the airline tickets were purchased, our bags were all packed, and all the details were taken care of. However, in a weekend that I will never forget, we never made that trip to Pittsburgh. As we were waiting at the door to leave, and a friend was ready to take us to the airport, the snow came down. And it kept coming down. Springfield received over a foot of snow that day, and all flights were cancelled. I was quite upset, as you can imagine. But, not only did it continue to snow, I began to run a fever. That weekend, I had one of the worst cases of the flu that I have ever experienced. I was burning up with fever, and with all the aches, I ended up lying in bed for the entire weekend. And while I was in bed, the snow kept falling. It fell so fast and so deep, that it covered the stove pipe on the roof of our mobile home, causing the furnace to go out, and us to have no heat. Our neighbor, who had been prepared to drive us to the airport, instead ended up climbing onto our roof to clear the snow, and re-light our furnace! On that particular weekend, the conditions were certainly not right for me to have a job interview! Thankfully, the interview was rescheduled for a few weeks later, and all went well, with my accepting my first ministry position. Just as the conditions needed to be correct in order for my interview to take place, there are certain conditions that need to be correct in order for our praying to be effective. This week we continue our three part preaching series, “If My People...” with the message “The Conditions of Effective Prayer.” This message can be the key to you having an effective prayer life in this new year! Don’t miss it! (top)  Let the Church...
by Dick Innes Give and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.” (Luke 6:38) The story is told about an old fashioned preacher who was preaching up a storm as he proclaimed with great enthusiasm, “Let the church walk!” An old-timer sitting on the front pew was equally enthusiastic. He blurted out for all to hear, “Amen, Preacher! Let the church walk!” With even greater enthusiasm the preacher responded, “Let the church run!” “Amen!” responded the brother on the front pew, “Let the church run!” Being greatly encouraged, the preacher cried out even more enthusiastically, “Let the church fly!” “Amen,” hollered back the man on the front pew, “Let the church fly!” “But,” said the preacher, “It takes money to make the church fly!” “AMEN,” shouted the old timer again, “Let the church walk!” People all around us are lost. Vast numbers are headed for a lost eternity, without Jesus and without hope, to the place the Bible calls “hell.” Whatever and wherever hell is, of one thing we can be sure and that is that hell is forever! The reality is that it takes money to do God’s work on earth – to rescue people from hell. So many of us, at least in the West, have unbelievable resources compared to so much of the rest of the world and it has been said that less than 5% of us tithe of our income! God has given us so much. He gave his Son, Jesus, to die on the cross for us to give us the gift of eternal life. And in the West, at least, he has given us incredible resources. And why has God given us these resources? For selfish ends? No. So we would be equipped to do God’s work around the world. It has been said that God’s work done in God’s way will not lack God’s provision. However, God’s way is to fund his work through the tithes and offerings of His people. But if the givers don’t give, the doers can’t do, and the laborers in the field can’t sow or reap! If every Christian tithed there would be sufficient funds to do all of God’s work around the world. Our check book stubs are a pretty good indication of how grateful we are to God for all that he has done for us and an accurate indication of where our hearts are. God is calling every one of us to give and to give wisely to what God is doing in the world today! “For,” as Jesus said, “with the measure you use, it will be measured to you,” and “the Lord loves a cheerful giver!” Dear God, please give me a thankful heart for all that you have done for me. Help me to be a generous giver and not just a taker. Forgive me if in any way I have robbed you of your tithes and offerings that you have entrusted to me. I choose today to put you first in my giving. Help me always to remember that “the tithe” (10% at least) is yours. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus’ name, amen. © Copyright 2007 ACTS International. Visit them online at http://www.actsweb.org (top)  Be a Friend Who Prays
“When a believing person prays, great things happen.” – James 5:16 (NCV) Mark records: “Four men arrived carrying a paralyzed man on a mat. They couldn’t get to Jesus through the crowd, so they dug through the clay roof above his head... they lowered the sick man on his mat, right down in front of Jesus. Seeing their faith, Jesus said to the paralyzed man, My child, your sins are forgiven” (Mark 2:3-5 NLT). The word prayer doesn’t show up once in this paragraph. But look closely and you’ll see it in action; four men lowering their sick friend through the roof into the presence of Jesus. He stops preaching, looks at the man and then announces, “My child, your sins are forgiven.” What stirred Jesus? Mark answers, “Seeing their faith.” The faith of four friends triggered Christ’s power on his behalf. Notice, he has no movement, no treatment, no answers, and no hope. But what he does have is friends who know how to lift him into the presence of Christ. The paralytic might be gulping ("don’t drop me!"). The homeowner might be groaning (de-roofing is decidedly antisocial). But Christ? He’s smiling! Their faith stirs His strength. He heals the man. The paralytic leaves the house with a clean soul and strong body. Faithful friends carry those they love in prayer, into God’s presence. And when they do God responds. How? When? The four men didn’t know. And we don’t know either, but we know this: “When a believing person prays, great things happen.” So be that kind of friend. Go ahead, carry your loved ones into the presence of Jesus, then watch what happens! as seen in “The Word for Today” at www.thewordfortoday.com.au (top)  Most Likely to Fail Awards
by Phil Callaway If they gave out “Most Likely to Fail” awards in high school, Doug Nichols would have been handed his even before the vote. Born in 1942-the same year his father left home for another woman-Doug was raised by his mother and grandfather. Before long he was known as a troublemaker, something that earned him a high school diploma six months earlier than his classmates. “Hey Doug,” said the principal one day, “have I got a deal for you!” The tall skinny teen stood before his superior uneasily, wondering if the deal included a firing squad. “You promise not to come back after Christmas, and I’ll give you your diploma now.” Doug smiled. Laughed. And eagerly accepted. By the time he entered college, Doug was majoring in two subjects: women and alcohol. His late-night exploits were well known, his reputation widespread. You want fun, talk to Nichols. Whatever he does, he holds nothing back. One night during finals week, he returned to his room from a night on the town. With the help of both walls he stumbled down a long and shifting hallway. There stood a classmate, Hank Jaegers. “Hey, Doug,” said Hank, “how about some coffee?” Inside Jaegers’s room, between long sips of very thick liquid, Nichols listened as his new friend told him an old, old story. The story of Someone who would rather die than live without him. The coffee sobered Doug. The story changed his life. He sat in a folding chair, shaking his head. Jesus loves me? At 4:30 in the morning in a small dorm room in California, Doug got on his knees and asked God to change him for good. “I was full of coffee,” he recalls, “but I understood that Jesus died so I could live with Him, so I trusted Christ.” For the first time in his life, Doug had a Father. The adventure had just begun. The next morning, the new convert to Christianity armed himself with a huge black Thompson Chain-Reference Bible, but soon discovered a problem. His marks had been slipping ever since kindergarten, and he couldn’t read a paragraph. One year later a letter arrived from Hank Jaegers. He was studying at Prairie Bible College in Canada. “Why don’t you join me?” Asked Hank. But Jaegers had no idea what it would cost his friend. “By that time I was engaged to be married,” says Nichols, “and my fiancée’s father told me to make a choice. I could stay in California and have a brand-new Cadillac, a fancy house, and a prosperous business. Or I could go to Bible College up with the polar bears.” When Doug decided on the latter, his fiancée turned her back and dumped him. “That Cadillac’s in a junkyard somewhere,” he laughs. “And I don’t know about the girl.” His poor reading and writing skills nearly did him in at Bible college. But in 1966 he somehow made it to graduation, set his determined face toward the mission field, and ran smack into a major barrier. His soiled past and poor marks in school caused thirty mission agencies to turn him down. Finally one called Operation Mobilization said yes. “OM accepts anyone,” jokes Nichols. While learning the Tagalog language, the frustration continued. “Doug,” said a teacher after hours of frustration, “do you know what `walang utak’ means?” “No.” “I didn’t think so. It means `no brains’!” But Doug was smart enough not to quit. During twenty years in the Philippines, together with his Bible college sweetheart, he learned a new language, started churches, and founded a new mission, Action International. Today its 130 missionaries feed, clothe, and love thousands of street children around the world, and Doug is on the front line in the fight against AIDS in Africa. One day Doug was preaching in India and he began to cough. Diagnosed with acute tuberculosis, he was sent to a sanatorium to recuperate. Surrounded by starving and dying patients, he wondered how this could ever turn out for the good. Meanwhile, back in Canada, students at Prairie passed a hat around a room, collected about three hundred dollars, and sent it to Doug in an envelope. Nichols sneaked out of the sanatorium with the money and bought as much food as a shop owner could fit into his truck. Then Doug asked the man to back the truck up to the door of the sanatorium, and Nichols watched in delight as the patients hungrily devoured bread and jam and fruit. But when he offered them gospel booklets, they refused. Dejected, the young preacher began to despair. One night as he lay awake, unable to sleep because of a raspy cough, he noticed an old man trying to leave his bed, only to fall back, exhausted and crying. The stench from the old man’s bed the next morning brought loud insults from fellow patients. He had been unsuccessful in trying to get up and go to the restroom. Nurses roughly changed his bedding. One slapped him. Nichols watched as the old man curled up in a ball and wept. The next morning about 2:00 A.M., Doug awoke again. The old man was trying to get out of bed. This time, without thinking, Doug left his bed, lifted the frail patient and carried him to the bathroom. When he had finished, Doug carried him back to bed. Jabbering in a language Doug did not understand, the old man smiled profusely, then kissed him gently on the cheek. In the morning, Doug awakened to a steaming cup of tea served to him by another patient who spoke no English. After serving the tea, the patient motioned to Doug that he would like a booklet. “Throughout the day,” says Doug, “people came to me, asking for gospel booklets.” There were nurses. Doctors. Hospital interns. Over the next few days, several came ‘by to tell Doug that they had made the same decision he had one coffee-soaked night in California. “I simply took an old man to the bathroom,” smiles Doug. “Anyone can do that.” as seen at www.answers2prayer.org, from Phil Callaway’s, “Laughing Matters” (Oregon: Multnomah Publishers, 2005) (top) What Do You See? by Alan Smith
Later, when Edith and Archie and talking, she says in her whiny voice, “Archie, ain’t Buck a beautiful person.” Archie looks at her with a disgusted expression and says: “You’re a pip, Edith. You know that. You and I look at the same guy and you see a beautiful person and I see a blimp.” Edith gets a puzzled expression on her face and says something unknowingly profound, “Yeah, ain’t it too bad.” One of the things that stands out as you read through the gospels is that when Jesus looked at people, he saw something beautiful that no one else saw. He didn’t just see a woman who had been married five times and was living in fornication (John 4); he saw someone with a desire to learn about the Messiah. He didn’t just see tax collectors and prostitutes (Luke 15; Matthew 21); he saw people longing for a deeper relationship with God. He didn’t just see lepers and people with various physical ailments; he saw the deeper needs of the heart.
Father, please forgive me of my blindness and help me to see people the way you see them. To consider them with the same value that you place on them. To extend the same kind of love that you extend. To focus more on the inside than the outside. In Jesus’ name, amen. “But the Lord said to Samuel, ’do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The Lord does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.’” (I Samuel 16:7) 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 (top)  Be a Gap Filler
Ok. You want to move and do things for God and good things for your community, church, country, and world. Awesome! Keep reading. How do you start? Well can I suggest that a good thing to do is pray, seek God, read His word, and also start moving – by being a gap filler. What is a gap filler? A gap filler is someone who fills a gap. Look and see if something needs to be done. Make yourself available. Use what you currently have to make an impact. There may be something that needs doing and it may not be your favorite task, but if it needs doing – do it. Nothing wrong with moving and starting small... as the key word is MOVING. Some may say “that’s not what I want to end up doing” well let me remind you that this is not the end, in fact this is just the beginning. It is a lot easier to get a job or a better job, if you already have one or have some experience. You may not end up doing the thing that you start doing... we have to think bigger and be willing to take one step at a time. Don’t think for one minute that you can’t learn from that task/experience and that people/projects won’t be blessed from your efforts. Check out these two great verses: Luke 16:10 – “Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much... ” Matthew 25:23 – ”...well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful with a few things: I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness.” As I have mentioned before it is easier to start a moving car rather than a stationary one. Be willing, be willing to be used. as seen at www.Bunburyvineyard.org, by Akita Olsen, Youth Leader, Bunbury Vineyard Church, Bunbury, WA 6231 Australia (top)  The Last Impression...
In the middle of the soloist’s number at church, little Billy tugged on his grandmother’s sleeve and whispered, “She can’t sing very well, can she?” Knowing the woman had a deep love for the Lord, his grandmother said, “Billy, she sings from her heart. That’s what makes it good.” He nodded thoughtfully. Several days later as Billy and his grandmother were singing along with the car radio, Billy stopped and said, “Nana, you sing from your heart, don’t you?” This Sunday, we will all have the opportunity to sing from our heart! It’s always a great blessing when we join our voices together to worship the Lord. I am looking forward to worshiping with you this Lord’s Day! See you then! |
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Yours for HIM, |
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God never goes to the lazy or the idle when He needs men for His service. When God wants a worker He calls a worker. When He has work to be done, He goes to those already at work. When God wants a good servant, He calls a busy man. Scripture attests to this truth.
In one of the All in the Family episodes that aired some years ago Edith and Archie are attending Edith’s high school class reunion. Edith encounters an old classmate by the name of Buck who, unlike his earlier days, had now become excessively obese. Edith and Buck have a delightful conversation about old times and the things that they did together, but remarkably Edith doesn’t seem to notice how extremely heavy Buck has become.
I feel a bit like Archie Bunker. I find myself saying to God, “You and I both look at the same person, and you see a beautiful person on the inside while I see the flaws on the outside.” And I can picture God saying, “Yeah, ain’t it too bad.”
