firstIMPRESSIONS
from Senior Pastor Timothy Satryan

What would you say is the single, most outstanding attribute about God? What’s His most important characteristic? Some people would say it’s His power. Others, His holiness. But God Himself would give a different answer.

You can find that answer in Exodus 33. In verse 18, Moses says to God, “Please, show me Your glory.”

Now the word “glory” could literally be translated “heavy weight.” It refers to the heaviest, biggest, grandest thing about someone. It’s the sum total of their worth.

What Moses was actually saying was, “Lord, I want to see the weightiest thing about You. I want to know Your grandest attributes.” What did God say to him in response?

Exodus 34:6-7 tells us, “The Lord passed by before him, and proclaimed, The Lord, The Lord God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, Keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin.”

When Moses asked God to show him the most important thing about Himself, God showed him His mercy.

That means if you and I are to imitate God (Ephesians5:1), we must major in mercy too. Mercy, goodness, forgiveness and compassion must mark our behavior above all else.

Major on mercy! Write three names of a friend, family member and a foe today and show your mercy to those persons by phone, mail or in person. And they will see the glory of God in you!!

Here is your copy of firstIMPRESSIONS, Volume 7.20. Live for God, on purpose, demonstrating the grace and mercy of our Lord to all those around us.

by Jim Burns

Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age. – Matthew 28:19-20

In 1858 Mr. Kimbell, a Sunday school teacher, prayed with one of his students (a shoe salesman) to become a Christian. The salesman, Dwight L. Moody, became a great evangelist. In 1879 Moody was sharing the good news of Jesus and a young man, F. B. Meyer, met Christ; this young man became zealous for preaching the “good news.” While preaching on an American college campus, F. B. Meyer brought a student, J. Wilbur Chapman, to Christ. Chapman later employed an ex-baseball player, Billy Sunday, to do evangelistic work.

Billy Sunday became one of the greatest Christian preachers and evangelists in the early 1900s. Once after Billy Sunday preached in Charlotte, a group of local business-men were so enthusiastic, they decided to bring another man, Mordecai Hamm, to preach. In that revival meeting a young man, Billy Graham, yielded his life to Christ. Billy Graham has since preached to more people in person than any person in the world. And so, the story goes on and on.

It all started with a faithful Sunday school teacher: Mr. Kimbell. Few people will ever know his name but, in reality, look at how many people this one man’s witness has affected.

The world has yet to see what one man or woman can do for Christ if they are completely yielded to him. Will you be a person like Mr. Kimbell who was faithful in sharing the good news of Jesus? You never know what can happen. There is definitely another Billy Graham out there waiting to be converted.

Here’s what the Scripture says about those who share the good news: How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news, who proclaim peace, who bring good tidings, who proclaim salvation, who say to Zion, “Your God reigns!” Isaiah 52:7

as seen in “Today’s HomeWord,” a daily devotional with Jim Burns. Visit them online at www.homeword.com

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by Alan Smith

Two brothers, John and Richard, lived in the same town – John with his 12-year-old cat, Richard with their 88-year-old mother. John’s whole life was his cat. He never went anywhere without her. One day he was faced with a terrible decision. He had to go to England on business for his company and he couldn’t take the cat into England with having to quarantine her for 14 days. He wouldn’t do that so he was faced with either losing his job or leaving his cat. Finally he decided to trust his brother with the cat for the week he would be gone. He gave Richard detailed instructions, schedules, food, etc. He flew to London and called Richard every day to make sure Gracie the cat was OK.

On the fifth day when he called, John asked Richard how Gracie was and Richard told him. “Gracie is dead.” Well, as you can imagine, John nearly had a heart attack. When he recovered, he said to Richard, “That was the most cruel thing I ever heard. You know how much I loved that cat. Why couldn’t you have broken it to me gently? You could have something like, “Well, she’s OK, but she’s up on the roof.” And then when I called the next time, tell me, “Oh oh, bad news, she fell off the roof and she’s at the vet.” And then the next time break the news that she passed away. At least I would have been a little prepared for the bad news.”

“Yes, you are right John. I apologize for being so heartless.”

John accepted Richard’s apology for being so uncaring, and then said, “Oh, by the way, how’s Mother?”

Richard said, “Well, John, she’s OK, but she’s on the roof!”

There are some pieces of information that we just shouldn’t even try to hold back. Talking about Jesus falls into that category. I think of Peter and John who were told to stop preaching about Christ and they said,

“We cannot keep quiet. We must speak about what we have seen and heard.” (Acts 4:20, NCV)

Paul said, “Woe is me if I do not preach the gospel!” (I Cor. 9:16b)

You can feel the urgency in their voices. I believe that we need to use tact in talking to people about Christ. But sometimes, we are so worried about offending people that we never get around to saying anything at all!

Break the news. And break it gently if you wish. Just be careful that your message is not so “gentle” that it’s of no value at all.

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

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by Bob Gass

“I am writing to you, little children, because your sins are forgiven you. I am writing to you, young men, because you have overcome the evil one. I am writing to you, fathers, because you know him who has been from the beginning.” – 1 John 2:12-14

Spiritual childhood
There are three stages to Spiritual growth. The first is childhood. “I am writing to you, little children, because your sins are forgiven you.” (1 John 2:12)

The Greek term ‘little children’ refers to toddlers. And if there’s one thing toddlers are good at – it’s tripping and falling. Until they learn to walk they need someone to pick them up, dry their tears, bandage their skinned knees, and reassure them that falling down doesn’t mean they’ll never walk or that they’re not part of the family.

There are two things a spiritual toddler needs to understand: first, the difference between their stage of growth and their standing before God. Don’t get these two things mixed up! Trusting in the finished work of Christ is the only thing that gives you right standing with God. From that moment on you are a fully accepted and redeemed child of His. That’s how He sees you. If you forget that you’ll be in trouble, because every time you fall the devil will make you doubt your salvation.

The forgiveness you receive at the new birth is a judicial act by God, making you a member of His family in good standing. But the forgiveness you receive on a daily basis is a relational act. Suppose you enter some wrong numbers into your calculator. What do you do? You have a little button called ‘clear entry’ which allows you to erase your error and start over. That’s what the blood of Christ does for you. Repentance allows you to override sin by triggering God’s forgiveness so that the flow of His grace continues. And when grace flows, growth follows. The important thing to remember about sin is, ‘always keep short accounts with God’.

Spiritual adolescence
The second stage in spiritual growth is adolescence. John writes, “Young men... you are strong, and the word of God abides in you, and you have overcome the evil one” (1 John 2:14 NAS). But if you’ve ever had teenagers, you know that the transition from adolescence into adulthood can be a bumpy ride. Teenagers clash with their parents and other authority figures because they’re moving from dependence to independence. They wrestle with conflicting feelings of wanting their freedom, yet not really wanting it – especially if mum and dad are still paying the bills. They chafe at observing curfews, particularly when their friends don’t have to. They don’t like getting approval for movies, dates, parties, dress codes, or using the family car. They especially hate hearing, ‘As long as you’re under my roof you’ll live by my rules. When you get your own family you can make up your own rules’.

The truth is, a spiritual adolescent doesn’t know as much as he or she thinks they know. They need guidance, support, and correction from more mature Christians so they can learn how to avoid falling into the enemy’s trap. They need instruction and training in God’s Word to make them strong and keep them battle-ready at all times. And they need opportunities to serve, discover and develop their gifts, and gain experience. So, how can you tell when you’ve outgrown your Spiritual adolescence and begun moving into adulthood? John answers, “You are strong... the Word of God abides in you, and you have overcome the evil one.”

Spiritual Adulthood
What makes you a spiritual adult? Knowing God; it’s that simple! But this raises a question. How can you know that you know God intimately? It’s like a good marriage: two people fall in love and become so close that each one knows what the other is thinking and feeling without a word being spoken.

But such intimacy is not developed overnight. It’s the product of time spent together – and commitment! Paul speaks about, “Things which eye has not seen and ear has not heard, and which have not entered the heart of man, all that God has prepared for those who love Him. For to us God revealed them through the Spirit” (1 Corinthians 2:9-10 NAS). The mature follower of Christ sees things the human eye can’t see and hears things the most acute ear can’t hear. And they have thoughts they didn’t originate on their own. That’s because God’s indwelling Spirit is helping them to think God’s thoughts. What an advantage!

You’ll know you are spiritually mature when God lets you pick up on thoughts and insights from His Word that go far beyond what someone told you, or what you heard in a sermon. That’s because the Holy Spirit is now free to send His message clearly and directly to you. In other words we will “know the things freely given to us by God” (1 Corinthians 2:12 NAS). But that means we have to be close enough to hear God speaking to us. Such intimacy doesn’t just happen. It’s not an afterthought. It must be your number one priority and the consuming passion of your life. Is it?

As seen in the May 9-11, 2007 issues of “The Word for Today” by Bob Gass. You can visit The Word For Today website at www.thewordfortoday.com.au

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by Rubel Shelly

Everyone suffers an occasional rejection. Some high school seniors don’t get into their college of choice. Many a college graduate doesn’t get the dream job he or she had counted on. Suitors are turned down. Social slights abound.

Some people so internalize the rejections they encounter that they become paralyzed by life. They abandon their dreams. They settle for less than God intended with their lives. They give up and resign themselves to mediocrity. They allow the judgments other people pass on them to define them. What a shame!

Imagine the difference that would have been made in our world if certain people had accepted others’ rejection of them as the final word on their worth. Beethoven’s music teacher said he was “hopeless” at composing. The Wright brothers were ridiculed for their dream of a flying machine. Albert Einstein was feared to be mentally retarded as a child. Martin Luther King was born to a culture that had institutionalized racism to make people like him “stay in their place.”

You’ve no doubt seen pictures of Michelangelo’s David. Maybe you’ve stood in front of it and marveled at its flawless lines. Many judge it to be the world’s most perfect piece of sculpture. The torso of the biblical hero who went from shepherd boy to King of Israel is rendered in exquisite detail. Down to the muscle contraction etched on his forehead, it seems almost ready to come alive.

The masterpiece that is David was carved from a single block of marble that two other artists had already discarded for its imperfections! And so it might have been with the historical figure himself. When God sent his prophet to anoint the next king for Israel, neither Samuel nor the family patriarch to whom God had sent him considered David to be in the running. He wasn’t even invited in from the fields to meet the visiting holy man. He was, after all, just a boy tending sheep.

The David story contains this marvelous line: “The Lord does not see as mortals see; they look on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart” (1 Samuel 16:7). Just as Michelangelo would later see possibilities for a flawed block of marble others had discarded, God saw possibilities for a raw young man for whom others appear not to have forecast greatness.

A rejected marble block in Michelangelo’s hands yielded artistic brilliance. A slighted youth in God’s hands became the legendary King of Israel. So why should you let life’s slights and rejections define you? In the hands of The Master, you still have infinite possibilities before you to prove the critics wrong.

Rubel Shelly is a Preaching Minister at the Woodmont Hills Church of Christ. This article is from his “The FAX of Life,” weekly message, found at http://www.rubelshelly.com.

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by Jon Walker

“You meant evil against me, but God meant it for good in order to bring about this present result.” – Genesis 50:20 (NIV)

Joseph’s life was anything but peaceful. It was complicated by youthful folly, broken dreams, and the mean-spirited actions of others. Sold into slavery by jealous brothers. Thrown into prison on false charges. Yet he remained a man remarkable for his lack of bitterness or regret, always seeing God as the “Great Engineer” behind even the worst of circumstances.

In a final confrontation with his brothers, he graciously noted, “You meant it for bad; God meant it for good.”

The theology packed in that statement is astounding. “God meant it for good” means:

You can accept the past – No sin, no action, no choice on your part is too big for God to handle – or too big to be worked for the good of those who love him and are called according to his purpose. (Romans 8:28) Just ask Joseph! Better yet, ask his fearful and famished brothers, who were forced to rely on him for survival.

You can embrace the present – There’s no need to play the “what if” game. The past is gone, and no energy you expend will ever change it. The future is in God’s omnipotent hands, so you’re free to focus on the present. Your job is to love God with all your heart, soul, and mind, trusting him to forgive the past and transform the future. Martyred missionary Jim Eliot once wrote, “Wherever you are, be all there” – not living in the past and not fantasizing about the future. God wants you in the present because that’s where his grace will flow.

You can look expectantly toward the future – Even if you make mistakes today, God still controls your future. Walking in the Spirit, you can live life to the fullest, unafraid of making mistakes and unconcerned that you may stumble into some terrible circumstance that takes you out of God’s control. Even when things appear to be terrible, you can trust that God is working out some divine plan through you.

So what?

No matter how bad things get – God is still able to bring good out of it. Today, thank God that nothing – no disaster, no delay – is bigger that his ability to turn it into something good and godly.

Thank God and let go – Thank God that he is sovereign over your past, your present, and your future.

• Give God the circumstances, disasters, hindrances, hurts, and sins from your past.

• Give God your current situation, your disasters, hindrances, hurts, and sins of today.

• Praise God that he can work anything in your future for godly good, that you can walk in confidence that there is nothing anyone can do to you, or anything you can do that will be beyond the reach of God’s grace and redemption.

Look for God’s hand – Walking by faith means you see God’s hand even in the most difficult of circumstances. You trust his ability and his willingness to transform the bad into godly good. God is not limited by people’s motives. In other words, it doesn’t matter why someone hurt you, God still can transform a deliberate, mean-spirited situation into something for his good.

What will you allow God to change? – There it is: some situation, or event, or person in your life that, as far as you can tell, was “meant for bad.” How do you think God meant it for good? Ask God what he wants you to do with this situation (event or person). When he answers, do it. We’re praying for you now.

as seen in the Purpose Driven Life daily devotional. To subscribe, go to http://www.purposedrivenlife.com/devotional.aspx. This article © 2007 Jon Walker. All rights reserved. Jon Walker is a pastor-advocate living in Southern California and the former pastor of communications at Saddleback Church

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“This ’telephone’ has too many shortcomings to be seriously considered as a means of communication. The device is inherently of no value to us.” – Western Union internal memo, 1876

“The wireless music box has no imaginable commercial value. Who would pay for a message sent to nobody in particular?” – David Sarnoff’s associates in response to his urgings for investment in the radio in the 1920s

“The concept is interesting and well-formed, but in order to earn better than a ‘C,’ the idea must be feasible.” – A Yale University management professor in response to Fred Smith’s paper proposing reliable overnight delivery service. (Smith went on to found Federal Express Corp.)

“Who... wants to hear actors talk?” – H.M. Warner, Warner Brothers, 1927.

“I’m just glad it’ll be Clark Gable who’s falling on his face and not Gary Cooper.” Gary Cooper on his decision not to take the leading role in “Gone with the Wind”

“There is no reason anyone would want a computer in their home.” – Ken Olson, president, chairman and founder of Digital Equipment Corp., 1977

“We don’t like their sound, and guitar music is on the way out.” – Decca Recording Co. rejecting the Beatles, 1962

“Heavier-than-air flying machines are impossible.” – Lord Kelvin, president, Royal Society, 1895

“So we went to Atari and said, ‘Hey, we’ve got this amazing thing, even built with some of your parts, and what do you think about funding us? Or we’ll give it to you. We just want to do it. Pay our salary; we’ll come work for you.’ And they said, ’no.’ So then we went to Hewlett-Packard, and they said, ‘Hey, we don’t need you. You haven’t got through college yet.’” – Apple Computer Inc. founder Steve Jobs on attempts to get Atari and H-P interested in his and Steve Wozniak’s personal computer

“Drill for oil? You mean drill into the ground to try and find oil? You’re crazy.” – Drillers who Edwin L. Drake tried to enlist to his project to drill for oil in 1859

“Stocks have reached what looks like a permanently high plateau.” – Irving Fisher, Professor of Economics, Yale University, 1929

“Airplanes are interesting toys but of no military value.” – Marechal Ferdinand Foch, Professor of Strategy, Ecole Superieure de Guerre

“Everything that can be invented has been invented.” – Charles H. Duel

“Louis Pasteur’s theory of germs is ridiculous fiction.” – Pierre Pachet, Professor of Physiology at Toulouse, 1872

“640K ought to be enough for anybody.” – Bill Gates, 1981

“Computers in the future may weigh no more than 1.5 tons.” – Popular Mechanics, forecasting the relentless march of science, 1949

“I think there is a world market for maybe five computers.” – Thomas Watson, chairman of IBM, 1943

“I have traveled the length and breadth of this country and talked with the best people, and I can assure you that data processing is a fad that won’t last out the year.” – The editor in charge of business books for Prentice Hall, 1957

Cited on http://www.interweavers.com/brett/humor/cantdo.html

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by Dr. Joe McKeever

Tell a child you have a secret and you have his undivided attention. All of us children – big and little, young and old – love secrets; love to hear them, love to tell them. Today, I am opening the vault and revealing four of the best-kept secrets in the Kingdom of God.

Secret #1 – God has big plans for you.
Jeremiah 29:11 says it best. “I know the plans I have for you: plans for your welfare and not for calamity, to give you a future and a hope.” His plans for us fall into two categories—-earthly and heavenly.

Secret #2 – He is not going to tell you what they are.
In His compassion, God makes big plans for us. In His wisdom, He does not tell us what they are. He protects us from knowledge of the future for two reasons.

(1) We could not handle it.

(2) We would mess it up.

Suppose you found out that your brothers were going to fake your death and sell you into slavery, and that you would end up forgotten and forsaken in a foreign prison for years. Who could handle such news? Most of us would grieve over such a future and grow bitter toward our brothers and angry at God. In the Old Testament book of Genesis, Joseph experiences precisely such a fate.

Suppose the Lord told you that one day you would become the king’s second-in-command and live in power and luxury for the rest of your life. Who could handle news like that without becoming distracted? This too is the story of Joseph in Genesis.

Scripture promises the Lord will not put more on us than we can bear. One way He does that is by withholding details about our future. The burdens would rob us of our joy and threaten to destroy us in advance, while the blessings would distract us from our responsibilities of the moment.

Secret #3 – God is working on His plans this very moment.
He is getting you ready for the future and getting the future ready for you. Jesus said, “I go to prepare a place for you. If I go away, I will come again and receive you unto myself, that where I am, there you may be also.” (John 14:1-6)  He is getting Heaven ready for us. He is getting us ready for Heaven.

One way God prepares us for future challenges is by giving us difficulties and hardships. He strengthens us the same way a personal trainer builds our muscles: by laying on stress. “It is good for me that I was afflicted,” the psalmist said, “that I might learn thy statutes.” (Psalm 119:71) That’s how it works.

Secret #4 — Your job is to be faithful today
Bloom where you are planted, as the saying goes. The way to be ready for tomorrow’s opportunities is to do our job today, no matter how insignificant or routine.

Writing in the Spring 2003 issue of “Columns,” the alumni magazine of Louisiana College, Curt Iles pays tribute to science professor Charles Cavanaugh. Early in Curt’s sophomore year, he paid Cavanaugh a visit to tell him he planned to drop chemistry.

“Prof,” said the 19-year-old, “I thought it was God’s will for me to become a science teacher. I enjoyed the biology classes you taught last year. But chemistry is killing me. That little rural high school I attended did not prepare me for this. I failed the test yesterday and I am not going to be able to pass this course. So, I plan to drop chemistry. Maybe God will have something else for me since I can’t be a science teacher. I need to find His will.”

Suddenly, the professor cut him off. “God’s will? God’s will? Son, I’ll tell you what God’s will is for you! Get in there, go to work, and pass chemistry. That’s what God’s will is for you!” And he stormed out of the office. Curt sat there in shock. Finally, realizing the professor was not returning, he went back to his dormitory. That night, he studied chemistry, and the next day, made a D on the test. At least, it was passing.

“That day,” Curt Iles writes, “I decided that nothing was going to stop me from achieving my goal of teaching. I was going to pass this course or die trying.” A month later, the chemistry professor said, “Iles, what’s happened to you?” He was a student with a purpose.

Before leaving the disciples, Jesus began to prepare them for the future. Peter listened, absorbed all he could, then turned to the apostle John. “Lord,” he said, “what about him?” Jesus said, “What is that to you? You follow me.” (John 21:22)

God has big plans for you. He is mercifully not going to tell you what they are. At this moment, He is at work getting you ready for them and them ready for you. Your job is to do the work He has put on your plate today.

as seen in “Joe’s List” at www.JoeMcKeever.com. Dr. Joe McKeever is Director of Missions for the 135 churches and missions that make up the Baptist Association of Greater New Orleans. He pastored for 42 years (including the First Baptist Churches of Columbus, MS, Charlotte, NC, and Kenner, LA) and came to this position in May, 2004.

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Bill was short of money and was out looking for a job. Pastor Nelson offered Bill $500 to buy paint and paint the church. Bill went out bought some paint and started painting the church.

He discovered that he was using more paint than he expected, so the added some thinner to the paint. It is still covered, but not as well as it did at first. As he continued, he still was using more paint than he wanted to use, so he added still more thinner to the paint. Even though the paint was too thin cover well, Bill still kept on painting.

But, as he painted, dark clouds formed above him, and it suddenly began to pour down rain. The rain caused the already poor paint job to streak and wash off the walls.

And just then, there was a bolt of lightning and a loud voice from the sky proclaimed... “Repaint and thin no more.”

Trust that you have had a wonderful week in the Lord, and haven’t “thinned”! As the springtime weather grows more and more summer-like every day, be sure to enjoy the wonders of God’s creation! And, don’t forget to continue to praise and serve Him in everything you do!