firstIMPRESSIONS
from Senior Pastor Timothy Satryan

The Great Barrier Reef stretches 1,800 miles from New Guinea to Australia. Tour guides regularly take visitors to view the reef. On one tour, the guide was asked an interesting question. “I notice that the lagoon side of the reef looks pale and lifeless, while the ocean side is vibrant and colorful,” a traveler observed. “Why is this?”

The guide gave an interesting answer: “The coral around the lagoon side is in still water, with no challenge for its survival. It dies early. The coral on the ocean side is constantly being tested by wind, waves, storms – surges of power. It has to fight for survival every day of its life. As it is challenged and tested it changes and adapts. It grows healthy. It grows strong. And it reproduces.” Then he added this telling note: “That’s the way it is with every living organism.”

That’s how it is with Christians! Challenged and tested, we come alive! Like coral pounded by the sea, we grow! Physical demands can cause us to grow stronger. Mental and emotional stress can produce tough-mindedness and resiliency. Spiritual testing can produce strength of character and faithfulness. So, when you have problems – no problem! Just tell yourself, “There I grow again!”

James 1:1-2, 12 tells us to “consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him.”

Here is your copy of firstIMPRESSIONS, Volume 7.37. Live for God, on purpose, growing stronger in Him each day through all that comes your way!

This weekend we are pleased to welcome Kristian and Shannon Walker to WFA for a dynamic time of music and teaching in their “Worship Encounter.” The Walkers use a balance of ministry in music, ministry through worship and ministry from the Word to invite the presence of the Lord and provide an atmosphere where people can experience God’s peace, healing and refreshing in their spirits.

The “Worship Encounter” weekend will begin tonight with a Night of Worship from 7:00 – 8:30pm. On Saturday, Kristian Walker will be teaching on topics such as:

• Spiritual Aspects of Worship
• What is Worship and What Does it Accomplish?
• Why We Worship
• Spiritual Warfare
• Beyond the worship service
• Worshippers to Lead Worshippers
• Practical Aspects of Worship

Saturday attendance will be limited to those registered for the seminar. If you would like to attend, but have not registered yet, you may be able to attend by contacting Pastor Krista Friend directly to see if there are any openings available.

Following the Saturday teaching session, the WFA Worship Choir and Band will have a special time of rehearsal with Kristian and Shannon in preparation for this Sunday’s morning worship service, where the Walkers will lead us in a time of worship, as well as bringing a special word from the Lord for all of us here at WFA.

Kristian and Shannon have been involved in full-time music ministry for the past 12 years, performing live worship concerts, conducting worship seminars and producing several worship CDs. Kristian also traveled with The Couriers, of which his father-in-law is an original member. A/G Gen. Superintendent Tom Trask recently promoted one of the Walkers’ worship CDs in a newsletter to Assemblies of God pastors and missionaries worldwide. The Walkers have also had the opportunity to share their music ministry in 25 foreign countries.

Come ready to be refreshed and renewed in the Lord’s presence! You can visit the Walker’s web site at www.KristianWalker.org

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“Humpty Dumpty sat on the wall. Humpty Dumpty had a great fall. All the king’s horses and all the king’s men couldn’t be Humpty together again.”

For many this well known nursery rhyme describes their lives or at least their understanding of their lives. They perceive themselves to be Humpty Dumpties. They are convinced that their life is in total absolute shamble, broken beyond repair with no one or way it can be put back together. They cannot even imagine that it is possible for their life to be whole, having meaning, significance or purpose.

These feelings are intensified with the victim mentality in our society. The obvious fact that our upbringing and life environment impacts who we are is unfortunately elevated to the belief that we are mere victims of these factors, forever shaped by them. There is nothing to do but make a heroic attempt to keep a few things under control and together.

Whether by a conscious decision or a fatalistic acceptance of this many believe their life is cast, unchangeable, irreversible. We have accepted we are who you are...

Upon these sands Jesus comes walking along, stopping looking us in the eye and with uncompromising compassion and grace-filled power invites us to: “Follow me and I will make you become...” (Mark 1:17 – see 16-20)

We are startled at first. We are not sure we have really heard Him correctly. His words are powerful and creative. They speak hope and possibility. They are creative words denoting the re-creating of our broken shattered lives into beautiful poetry or a works of art. The words are woven together literally speaking momentary work along with a continue process. The words and possibility ring in our ears: “Follow me and you will be my work of art; I will re-create you and make you become...” (paraphrase of verse 17).

Can it be that there is someone who can put Humpty Dumpty back together again? Can it be that our lives can be made whole, useful, worthwhile having significance and purpose? Can it be that we can be holy? The words reverberate again; “follow me and I will make you become...” Yes there is someone who can re-create Humpty Dumpty. Not simply put him back together again, but re-create him into a new person. He can be a “new creation, the old done away, all becomes new” (2 Corinthians 5:17), “God’s workmanship [God’s work of art], created in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 2:10). Jesus’ words reaffirmingly proclaim “good news to the poor, freedom for the prisoners, sight for the blind, release for the oppressed” (Luke 4:18). He is inviting, beckoning, compassionately commanding; “follow me and I will make you become...” He will pattern us after the Father’s will, making us holy, complete and in His imagine – the image we were originally created to have. We can trust Him for He will make us what we are to be. Our true self is found only in Him.

If we are to experience such re-creation we must follow Him, but what does that involve? Simply stated it involves faith; a faith that reveals itself through action.

To follow Jesus we must release the past. Let go of the family nets. Drop the unnecessary hurtful factors as well as the good wholesome events into His hands. Allow Him to make the restrictive and destructive things in our lives into tools for His handiwork. Walk with Him allowing Him to teach and transform us by the renewing of our minds (Romans 12:2). We leave it all to follow Him. We daily choose Him and by His grace refuse to allow anything other than Him determine who and what we are. We allow Him to be the potter (Jeremiah 18:1-6).

Richard Foster states it well; “Any gospel that fails to lead us into that experience by which our lives are increasingly taken over by love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control is half a gospel. Any gospel that so focuses upon the future heaven that it leaves people firmly rooted in harshness, bitterness, and despair is half a gospel.” Jesus did not proclaim such a gospel – “follow me and I will make you become...”

as seen in Gerald Whetstone’s weekly email devotional, “Pause to Ponder.”

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A Holy man was having a conversation with the Lord one day and said, “Lord, I would like to know what Heaven and Hell are like.”

The Lord led the holy man to two doors.

He opened one of the doors and the holy man looked in. In the middle of the room was a large round table. In the middle of the table was a large pot of stew, which smelled delicious and made the holy man’s mouth water.

The people sitting around the table were thin and sickly. They appeared to be famished. They were holding spoons with very long handles that were strapped to their arms and each found it possible to reach into the pot of stew and take a spoonful.

But because the handle was longer than their arms, they could not get the spoons back into their mouths.

The holy man shuddered at the sight of their misery and suffering.

The Lord said, “You have seen Hell.”

They went to the next room and opened the door. It was exactly the same as the first one. There was the large round table with the large pot of stew which made the holy man’s mouth water. The people were equipped with the same long-handled spoons, but here the people were well nourished and plump, laughing and talking. The holy man said, “I don’t understand.”

It is simple,” said the Lord. “It requires but one skill. You see they have learned to feed each other, while the greedy think only of themselves.”

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A freshman at Eagle Rock Junior High won first prize at the Greater Idaho Falls Science Fair. He was attempting to show how conditioned we have become to the alarmists practicing junk science and spreading fear of everything in our environment.

In his project he urged people to sign a petition demanding strict control or total elimination of the chemical “dihydrogen monoxide.”

And for plenty of good reasons, since it can:

1. Cause excessive sweating and vomiting.
2. It is a major component in acid rain.
3. It can cause severe burns in its gaseous state.
4. Accidental inhalation can kill you.
5. It contributes to erosion.
6. It decreases effectiveness of automobile brakes.
7. It has been found in tumors of terminal cancer patients.
8. When it comes in contact with other materials it can initiate a chemical reaction,
9. It meets three of the EPA requirements for classification as a hazardous material.

He asked 50 people if they supported a ban of the chemical.

Forty-three said yes.

Six were undecided.

Only one knew that the chemical was water (H2O).

The title of his prize winning project was : “How Gullible Are We?”

He feels the conclusion is obvious.

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A few years ago, an unemployed cleaning woman in St. Louis, Missouri noticed a few bees buzzing around the attic of her home...

Since there were only a few, she made no effort to deal with them. Over the summer the bees continued to fly in and out the attic vent while the woman remained unconcerned, unaware of the growing number of bees.

Soon the whole attic became a hive, and the ceiling of the second-floor bedroom finally caved in under the weight of hundreds of pounds of honey and thousands of angry bees. While the woman escaped serious injury, she was unable to repair the damage of her accumulated neglect.

We must not get so busy that we neglect the really important matters in our lives. Accumulated neglect can wreak havoc in the spiritual realm. Are YOU too busy?

Hebrews 2:3 tells us “How shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation, which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed to us by those who heard Him.”

as seen in Mike Benson’s KneEmail email devotional from September 11, 2007.

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A young man approached the foreman of a logging crew and asked for a job. “That depends,” replied the foreman. “Let’s see you fell this tree.” The young man stepped forward and skillfully felled a great tree. Impressed, the foreman exclaimed, “You can start Monday.”

Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday rolled by. Thursday afternoon the foreman approached the young man and said, “You can pick up your paycheck on the way out today.”

Startled, the young man replied, “I thought you paid on Friday.”

“Normally we do,” said the foreman. “But we’re letting you go today because you’ve fallen behind. Our daily felling charts show that you’ve dropped from first place on Monday to last place today.”

“But I’m a hard worker,” the young man objected. “I arrive first, leave last and even have worked through my coffee breaks!”

The foreman, sensing the young man’s integrity, thought for a minute and then asked, “Have you been sharpening your axe?”

The young man replied, “No sir, I’ve been working too hard to take time for that!”

Our lives are like that. We sometimes get so busy that we don’t take time to “sharpen the ax.” In today’s world, it seems that everyone is busier than ever but less happy than ever. Why is that? Could it be that we have forgotten how to stay sharp?

There’s nothing wrong with activity and hard work. But God doesn’t want us to get so busy that we neglect the truly important things in life, like taking time to pray, to read and study scripture or to listen to “the still small voice of God.”

We all need time to relax, to think and meditate, to learn and grow. If we don’t take time to sharpen the axe, we will become dull and lose our effectiveness. Take time today to sharpen your axe!

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Not long ago I heard a story about a young man and an old preacher.

The young man had lost his job and didn’t know which way to turn. So he went to see the old preacher.

Pacing about the preacher’s study, the young man ranted about his problem. Finally he clenched his fist and shouted, “I’ve begged God to say something to help me, preacher, why doesn’t God answer?”

The old preacher, who sat across the room, spoke something in reply, something so hushed it was indistinguishable. The young man stepped across the room. “What did you say?” he asked. The preacher repeated himself, but again in a tone as soft as a whisper. So the young man moved closer until he was leaning on the preacher’s chair.

“Sorry,” he said. “I still didn’t hear you.” With their heads bent together, the old preacher spoke once more. “God sometimes whispers,” he said, “So we will move closer to hear him.” This time the young man heard and he understood.

We all want God’s voice to thunder through the air with the answer to our problem. But God’s is the still, small voice... the gentle whisper. Perhaps there’s a reason.

Nothing draws human focus quite like a whisper. God’s whisper means I must stop my ranting and move close to Him, until my head is bent together with His. And then, as I listen, I will find my answer. Better still, I find myself closer to God.

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After a very long and boring sermon the parishioners filed out of the church saying nothing to the preacher. Towards the end of the line was a thoughtful person who always commented on the sermons. “Pastor, today your sermon reminded me of the peace and love of God.”

The pastor was thrilled. “Nobody has ever said anything like that about my preaching before. Tell me why.”

“Because it endured forever.”

What a great weekend we have lined up here at WFA! The Bible tells us that the Lord inhabits the praises of His people – and we are going to be praising and worshiping Him all weekend long! Be sure to join us for this dynamic Worship Seminar! You will be blessed!