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Most people who are not Christians think that Christianity is a religion. They don't realize that it is a relationship. Like any other relationship, there are things we need to do to respond to the other person in order to make the relationship work. We say we want a relationship with God, but we never go to his house (church), we never share a meal with him (communion/Lord's supper), we never talk to him (prayer), we never read his letters (Bible), we refuse to associate with his friends and family (Christians), we never tell him we love him (worship/praise), we never do anything that he asks us to do (love him and love others). And there is the ultimate thing we do to squelch the relationship; we refuse to accept his beloved son (Jesus Christ).

Yet, in completely rejecting God, we still want to rely on him in a crisis (illness, loss of a loved one, breakup of a relationship, threat of death). Because the love of God cannot be changed or broken by our reaction to him, he still responds to us; he still reaches out to us; he still loves us. But since we have had little or no contact with him for years, we don't recognize his voice, and so we think that he is not there.

He is the one who initiates every relationship. He showers us with gifts, he talks to us, he comforts us, he gets us out of trouble, he brings people into our lives to love us, he actually goes so far as to die for us. The only thing he asks of us is to believe him, to trust him; and isn't that what we want out of our human relationships – that our friends will trust us and will respond to us in love. And what he asks us to believe is that his son is "the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the father except through him."

That is why, at the end of our lives, we are going to say, "but, Lord, I lived a good life, better than most. I didn't kill anyone, I only cheated a little, and told a few white lies; I never hurt anyone on purpose. Why won't you accept me?" And the Lord is going to have to answer and say, "my child, I am sorry, I never knew you." And we won't be able to deny it – we rejected him our whole lives, so we know it's true. He wanted us to get to know him, but we refused. Those who accepted God's son and got to know him are the only ones who have a relationship with him.

This is the essence of Christianity; it is a real relationship, not a religion or a set of rules to be followed.

Here is your copy of firstIMPRESSIONS, Volume 8.01. Live for God, on purpose, because you love Him, and you want to please Him.

Love Your Spouse and Family!

As we begin a new year, it hardly seems possible that we are now eight years into the twenty-first century! When you look at the current moral climate of America today, it makes a striking contrast to what the Bible says in Exodus 20:14, which says quite simply, "You shall not commit adultery." This seventh of God's ten commandments seems to run completely opposite the direction of today's society, where pre-marital and extra-marital encounters are, unfortunately, nearly an accepted part of life.

This violation of God's clear command has brought about devastating results. As people continue to wantonly ignore the moral commitment to their spouse, the family structure of our entire society erodes away in an alarming fashion. An entire generation of children is being raised to a large degree in fractured and non-traditional family situations. And, the condition of the health of the family unit is a clear indicator of the health of a nation.

As we continue our series of messages on "The Ultimate Top Ten List – God's Top Ten Important Principles For Living," this Sunday we will consider the real impact of the seventh command – to "Love Your Spouse and Family." Why is adultery wrong, what happens as a result of adultery, and – most importantly – what can be done to keep it from taking place. Be sure to join us this week for this very timely message.

Facing the New Year
with Courage!

"Be strong and courageous." – Deuteronomy 31:6

Without courage, you're not living, you're hiding! Courage is what moves you forward; it's the muscle that makes your faith work. Faith by itself can be nothing more than a set of beliefs. Courage is what activates those beliefs.

Every Promised Land has giant-sized problems, and you have to face them and defeat them before moving in and taking up residence. Notice three things in Deuteronomy 7 that God said to Israel about taking the Promised Land:

1. "Your God, who is among you, is a great and awesome God" (:21). Your God is greater than any opposition you are facing.

2. "Will drive out those nations before you" (:22). God will go ahead of you. He will do for you what you cannot do for yourself, but you've got to show up for the fight.

3. "Little by little" (:22). Whether it's conquering your Promised Land or your character flaws, you can't do it all at once, so God works with you in one area after another. Life is not one big battle, then you march in the victory parade. No, it's a series of small daily victories required to defeat the enemies of your spiritual growth.

Twenty-four chapters later, God is still telling Israel to be courageous (Deuteronomy 31:6). That's because courage is like oxygen; you can't survive without it. Courage is not the absence of fear, it's the conquest of it. Courage means doing it afraid – until you're no longer afraid. It means – tremble your way to confidence! God promised to go with them, and go before them. Who does God walk with and work with? Who does He go ahead of and arrange things for? The courageous!

When you try something for the first time, or something you've already failed at, you need courage. Remember learning to walk?

First you tried standing on shaky limbs, smiled in short-lived triumph, kept falling down, cried in frustration, and got back up until you mastered the art of standing. Something inside you told you that you were meant for more than just lying in a cot. Then came the next stage; walking. Sounds simple enough; but it wasn't. That's because wobbling always precedes walking.

And that's the difference between adults and infants. As an infant you weren't image-conscious. You just saw arms outstretched toward you and heard a loving voice saying, "Come on, you can do it!" And you've been walking ever since! That's why God says to anyone stepping into unknown territory, 'Be strong and courageous'.

The word "be" really means "become." Courage is a quality you grow into, like filling bigger shoes. The more you walk in them, the more comfortable they get. It's not like a computer software program where you simply enter your password and "hey presto," you're courageous! Courage comes from spending time with God, seeing His arms outstretched toward you and hearing Him say, "Come on, you can do it, I'm with you!"

At the end of 1939, King George VI read these wonderful words to the British people: "I said to the man who stood at the gate of the year, 'Give me a light that I may tread safely into the unknown,' and he replied, 'Go out into the darkness and put your hand into the hand of God. That shall be to you better than light and safer than a known way!'"

Dr John Maxwell writes, "When I began my career, I was very ineffective as a leader. My problem was that I wanted to please everybody. Making people happy was the most important thing to me. The bottom line was, I lacked the courage to make right but unpopular decisions. How did I turn things around? By making small decisions that were difficult. With each one, I gained more confidence and more courage, and I began to change. The process took me four years. At the end of that time I felt I had learned many valuable lessons, and I wrote the following to help me cement what I had learned:

Courageous leadership simply means I've developed:

1. Convictions that are stronger than my fears.
2. Vision that is clearer than my doubts.
3. Spiritual sensitivity that is louder than popular opinion.
4. Self-esteem that is deeper than self-protection.
5. Appreciation for discipline that is greater than my desire for leisure.
6. Dissatisfaction that is more forceful than the status quo.
7. Poise that is more unshakeable than panic.
8. Risk-taking that is stronger than safety-keeping.
9. Actions that are more robust than rationalization.
10. A desire to see potential reached more than to see people pleased.

If people-pleasing is your problem, you might want to go back and re-read those ten things. You don't have to be great to become a person of courage. You just have to want to fulfill God's plan and purpose for your life – and be willing to trade what seems good in the moment for what's best for your future! And that's something you can do this year, regardless of your level of natural talent.

Eight Life Principles for 2008

by Tom Barnard

I searched the Internet recently for some thoughts on "time management" and discovered that about half of the English-speaking world had already written on the subject. And everyone has their own ideas about the time management. I found little consensus on the subject. Perhaps that is because everyone who has written on the subject has something of their own to sell! So, I decided to start with a list of six principles and add two of my own. (And I don't have anything to sell). Here is my list of eight.

Be Thoughtful
This means more than "to think." Everyone thinks. Being thoughtful means thinking about someone other than yourself. It means creating a balance in your thought processes. It means taking time to consider others.

Be Thorough
This principle implies that in every assignment-either given or created-there are guidelines to follow. It means that we should start at the beginning of a project and end at the ending, not the other way around. To complete what we start is a principle that works in any endeavor.

Be Orderly
How can we expect to excel in something through disorganization? Some people apparently believe they can. At least, that is the way they run their lives. Nothing organized. Nothing planned. I call this the "Whatever will be, will be" lifestyle. Doris Day made a mint on the song, but we cannot.

Be Realistic
Everyone is smart about something! This principle says, "Use your smarts to make sensible choices." This is not rocket science. It is life science! We already know our limits (or we should know them). Live within them!

Be Reliable
People should be able to trust your word. If you say you will do something at a given time and place, follow through on it. Trust is the key word here.

Be Kind
Kindness is a fruit of the Spirit listed in Galatians, chapter 5. Being kind is rarely commanded in the Bible, but Paul left us a good one in Ephesians 4:32. Look it up! It should be on your "to-do" list for 2008.

Be Accountable
To plan is to promise to do something. Fulfilling our promises is a principle that works where we live and work. Spiritual accountability means that God expects us to answer to those in authority over us.

Be Yourself
It is foolish to try to be someone other than yourself. People recognize phony people by their phony behavior. Begin with yourself. Manage that. Then you can manage others.

The following prose was read at the funeral of Her Majesty the Queen Mother on April 2, 2002. Her husband, King George VI, began his Christmas address to the nation in 1939 with the reading as well. The piece by M. Louise Haskins is widely quoted in religious writings at the beginning of each year:

I said to the man who stood at the gate of the year, "Give me a light that I may tread safely into the unknown." And he replied, "Go out into the darkness and put your hand in the hand of God. That shall be to you better than the light and safer than a known way." So, I went forth and finding the hand of God trod gladly into the night. And he led me toward the hills and the breaking of day....

as seen in Dr. Tom Barnard's "Tuesday Morning" for January 1, 2008. To subscribe to this free publication, send your name and email address to Dr. Tom Barnard at barnard22@cox.net. Back copies are archived at www.snu.edu and www.emfsprayerandpraise.com.

Living Like a Citizen of
God's Kingdom

"Your Kingdom come, Your Will be done." – Matthew 6:10

Before the colonialists imposed national boundaries on Southeast Asia, the kings of Laos and Vietnam had already reached an agreement about who was Laotian and who was Vietnamese. Those who ate short-grain rice, built their houses on stilts, and decorated their homes with Indian-style serpents were considered Laotians. Those who ate long-grain rice, built their houses on the ground, and decorated their homes with Chinese-style dragons were Vietnamese. The kings taxed the people accordingly; hence they had no need for boundaries. It was simple; each person belonged to the kingdom whose values they shared and whose king they honored!

Understand this: you can only live by the principles, practices and power of one of two kingdoms: the kingdom of darkness or the Kingdom of light. Which have you chosen?

Each time the will of God is done in your life, the Kingdom of God is demonstrated through you. When you adopt His values, live by His standards and obey His commandments, Christ's prayer is answered, 'Your Kingdom come, Your will be done in earth ... as it is in Heaven.'

You ask, "But how do citizens of His Kingdom act?" In the Beatitudes (which are what our attitudes should be) Jesus says (1) they are humble; (2) they are submitted to God's will; (3) they hunger and thirst for more of God; (4) they show mercy to others; (5) they have a pure heart; (6) they are peacemakers; (7) they rejoice, even in hard times; (8) they know their reward is waiting for them (see Matthew 5:3-12).

What the world knows about the Kingdom of God – is what it sees displayed in our lives! And that's a big responsibility!

from The Word for Today, January 3, 2008; www.thewordfortoday.com.au

God Meant It for Good

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

The life of Joseph was anything but peaceful. It was filled with youthful folly, broken dreams, and the mean-spirited actions of others. 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 name. 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 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.

What does this mean?

• 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 in his ability and his willingness to transform the bad into godly good. God is not limited by people's motives. In other words, it does not matter why someone hurt you; God can still 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 who, as far as you can tell, "meant it 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.

My 10 Resolutions for 2008

This coming year, I have decided that with God's help, I shall:

Give up complaining... focus on gratitude.
Give up harsh judgments... think kind thoughts.
Give up worry... trust divine providence.
Give up discouragement... be full of hope.
Give up bitterness... turn to forgiveness.
Give up hatred... return good for evil.
Give up anger... practice patience.
Give up pettiness... put on maturity.
Give up gloom... enjoy the beauty that is around me.
Give up gossiping... control my tongue.

Year of Confusion

by David Jeremiah

Sometimes there aren't enough minutes in a day – or days in a year – for all our work. Well, then, how would you like to have a 445-day year? It happened once. The early Romans established their calendar on a lunar model, and their year had only 355 days. In 46 B.C., Julius Caesar mandated a new solar calendar, making the year 365 days long. To bring the new calendar on track, he added two extra months to that year, sticking them between November and December, and he also squeezed three extra weeks between February and March. The result was a one-time-only year of 445 days, which became known as the "Year of Confusion."

Sometimes every year seems like a year of confusion.

But the secret to getting all your work done isn't adding days to the year, it's doing only what the heavenly Father has ordained for you. When Jesus ascended to heaven, there was still much work to be done, yet He said, "I have finished the work which You have given Me to do" (John 17:4).

Ask God for His agenda each day, and don't let the urgent usurp the important. Make sure to finish the work He gives you day by day.

from Dr. David Jeremiah's "Today's Turning Point" daily devotional. www.TurningPointOnline.org

The Last Impression

Most people assume WWJD is the acronym for "What would Jesus do?" But the initials really might stand for "What Would Jesus Drive?"

One theory is that Jesus would tool around in an old Plymouth because the Bible says, "God drove Adam and Eve out of the Garden of Eden in a Fury."

In Psalm 83, the Almighty clearly owns a Pontiac and a Geo. The passage urges the Lord to "pursue your enemies with your Tempest and terrify them with your Storm."

Possibly God favors Dodge pickup trucks because Moses' followers are warned not to go up a mountain "until the Ram's horn sounds a long blast."

Meanwhile, Moses rode a British motorcycle, as evidenced by a Bible passage declaring that "the roar of Moses' Triumph is heard in the hills."

Joshua no doubt drove a Triumph with an aftermarket slip-on muffler because: "Joshua's Triumph was heard throughout the land."

And, following the Master's lead, the Apostles car pooled in, you got it, a Honda: "The Apostles were in one Accord."

Be sure to start off the new year in the best way possible – worshipping the Lord together with His people! We are looking forward to a dynamic time together this Lord's Day here at WFA! Make your plans now to join us!