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Is there really a God? The Bible says in Psalm 14:1 that “The fool has said in his heart, There is no God. They are corrupt, they have done abominable works, there is none that does good.”

Most of us would never dream this verse could apply to us. After all, we’re believers! We’d never say that there is no God.

But, maybe we should think again. It’s true that with our mouths we would never say something like that... but what about with our actions?

Do we say it by sinning just a little here and there and thinking it won’t matter? Do we go to an immoral movie or have a gossip session about a servant of God, ignoring God’s command to the contrary? With our actions are we saying “There is no God!”

Psalm 14:1 connects that kind of thing to corruption. Whether he realizes it or not, the more a person acts that way, the more corrupt he’s going to become.

Don’t make the foolish mistake of publicly proclaiming Jesus as your Lord, and then privately denying Him with one little action at a time.

Use wisdom in everything you do, so that both your heart and your life shout loudly “My God reigns!”

Here is your copy of firstIMPRESSIONS, Volume 8.11. Live for God, on purpose, carefully watching our walk and our words!

Three Times

In our western culture, some people consider it wrong for a man to express much emotion – particularly the shedding of tears. “Real men,” they say, “don’t cry.” In fact, little boys are taught from a young age not to cry. They are commanded to “suck it up” and to “be a man.” So, as boys grow into men, they have been culturally conditioned to not show emotion.

With this in mind, it may be of interest to note that in our English Bibles, the smallest verse, found in John 11:35, contains just two simple words – “Jesus wept.” Yes, our savior shed tears. Hebrews 5:7 tells us that “during the days of Jesus’ life on earth, He offered up prayers and petitions with loud cries and tears to the One who could save him from death, and He was heard because of His reverent submission.”

Although the Bible tells us that Jesus cried, quite interestingly there are only three mentions of His actually doing so. And, all three of these incidents took place within the time period that we are now recognizing – the week preceding Christ’s crucifixion.

This Sunday is Palm Sunday, and here at WFA our drama team will share the “Triumphant Entry” portion of its “Portraits of His Passion” presentation. Then, we will explore the three times our Savior shed tears that week, in our message “He Cried Three Times.” This will be a service that you will want to bring your friends to, and which you will most surely not want to miss! See you then!

But Jesus...

• We take pride in birth and rank, but it’s said of Jesus, He was a carpenter’s son.

• We take pride in possessions, but it’s said of Jesus, “The Son of man hath no place to lay His head.”

• We take pride in our respectability, but it’s said of Jesus, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?”

• We take pride in our personal appearance, but it’s said of Jesus, “He hath no form nor comeliness.”

• We take pride in our reputation, but it’s said of Jesus, “Behold a man gluttonous and a winebibber.”

• We take pride in our friendships, but it’s said of Jesus, “He was a friend of publicans and sinners.”

• We take pride in our independence, but Jesus gave himself to people and had the woman at the well draw water for him.

• We take pride in our degrees and learning, but Jesus never went to college and it’s said of Him, “How knows this man letters having never learned to read?”

• We take pride in our position, but Jesus said, “I am among you as one who serves.”

• We take pride in our success, but it’s said of Jesus, “His own did not receive Him or believe on Him. He was despised and rejected.”

• We take pride in our self-reliance, but it’s said of Jesus, “He went down to Nazareth and was subject to His parents.”

• We take pride in our abilities, but Jesus said, “I can of mine own self do nothing.”

• We take pride in our self-will, but Jesus said, “I seek not my own will but the Father’s.” And “If thou be willing, remove this cup from me, nevertheless not my will but thine be done.”

• We take pride in our intellect, but Jesus said, “As the Father has taught me, I speak these things.”

• We take pride in our resentment and justifiable pride, but Jesus said, “Father, forgive them.”

• We take pride in our holiness, but it’s said of Jesus, “He receiveth sinners and eateth with them.”

• We take pride in the fact we’re the righteousness of God, but it’s said of Jesus, “He who knew no sin became sin on our behalf in order that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.”

as seen in Rocky Henriques’ The Timothy Report, www.timothyreport.com, on March 3, 2008. From an entry by R.J. Morgan (2000) in Nelson’s complete book of stories, illustrations, and quotes (electronic ed.) (636). Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers.

Checking the Day

by Edgar Guest

“I had a full day in my purse
When I arose, and now it’s gone!
I wonder if I can rehearse
The squandered hours, one by one,
And count the minutes as I do
The pennies and the dimes I’ve spent.
I’ve had a day, once bright and new,
But, oh, for what few things it went!

There were twelve hours when I began,
Good hours worth sixty minutes each,
Yet some of them so swiftly ran
I had no time for thought or speech.
Eight of them to my task I gave,
Glad that it did not ask for more.
Part of the day I tried to save,
But now I cannot say what for.

An hour I spent for idle chat,
Gossip and scandal I confess;
No better off am I for that,
Would I had talked a little less.
I watched steel workers bolt a beam,
What time that cost I don’t recall.
How very short the minutes seem
When they are spent on trifles small.

Quite empty is my purse to-night
Which held at dawn a twelve-hour day,
For all of it has taken flight-
Part wisely spent, part thrown away.
I did my task and earned its gain,
But checking deeds with what they cost,
Two missing hours I can’t explain,
They must be charges as lost.”

Sincerity

“Be sincere... until the day of Christ.”
– Philippians 1:10 (NAS)

The word sincere comes from a Latin word meaning “without wax”. In the original Greek it means “sun-tested”. In Bible times merchants sold very fine porcelain that was greatly valued and therefore expensive. Sometimes when it was fired in the kiln tiny cracks would appear. Dishonest merchants would smear pearly-white wax over these cracks, which would pass for unblemished porcelain – unless it was held up to the light of the sun. Honest merchants marked their wares sine cera – “without wax”. That’s a picture of genuine sincerity. No sham, no hypocrisy, no hidden cracks to be covered over.

You say, “How can I live this way?” By keeping your eyes on Christ, not Christians! Paul writes, “As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received” (Eph 4:1 NIV). When Paul wrote this he was under house arrest in Rome, yet he didn’t regard himself as a prisoner of the Romans. No, he was a prisoner of Jesus, a voluntary slave, totally in subjection to the Lord. There’s a metaphorical meaning to this word “prisoner”. It can mean “binding as with a spell”. Paul was literally captivated by Jesus Christ! He thought and talked about nothing else. He got up every morning determined to please Him. Some days he didn’t do too well. We all have those days. But the next morning he was up and at it again, more determined and more committed than ever.

Paul’s sincerity wasn’t based on keeping certain religious rules or trying to look good. It was based on a deep love relationship with Christ: “Whatever we do, it is... because Christ’s love controls us” (2 Corinthians 5:14 TLB).

from The Word for Today, February 5, 2008; www.thewordfortoday.com.au

Signs of Christ’s Life

When we go to the doctor and our vital signs are checked, we don’t command our body to have a pulse, to perform respiration by breathing, or to have a 98.6º temperature. The signs of good health in the human body are natural manifestations of a body that is alive and well.

The same is true of the signs of spiritual health. True manifestations of spiritual vitality are not so much about what we do but about what Christ does in and through us. As the apostle Paul wrote, the life we now live in Christ is not our life, but Christ’s life in us. Indeed, one of the purposes of Christ saving and indwelling numerous individuals on earth is so that all of us together might do greater works than He could have done as one person (John 14:12). Do we not have the freedom to yield to the presence of Christ (His Spirit) in us, or resist His work? Yes, and we can even perform good works in our own strength. But only that which is done by faith will last and be acknowledged (1 Corinthians 3:11-15).

Whatever you are doing for Christ, make sure your signs of life are signs of His life in you.

Whatever you are doing, in company or alone, do it all to the glory of God. Otherwise, it is unacceptable to God.

from Dr. David Jeremiah’s “Today’s Turning Point” daily devotional. www.TurningPointOnline.org

The Good News in Japanese

by Glenn Howard White Jr.

Some years ago, I read a book in which the premise was that God has spoken the message of the gospel into every culture. Think of it, the good news is available to everyone in every culture. This is pretty profound stuff.

For example, Japanese is a language where pictograms are used to represent words. The Japanese word for “holy” is a pictogram with three symbols representing “ear", “mouth", and “king”. The word “holy” in Japanese literally means “putting your ear next to the mouth of the king”.

When I first read that, I thought, “Wow!” Being holy isn’t about cutting or not cutting your hair in a certain way, wearing particular kinds of clothes, or performing various rituals. Being holy is simply a matter of listening to God. I could see that God truly does speak the good news into the Japanese culture. But that isn’t all.

The Japanese word for “king” is composed of three parallel lines. The top line represents heaven, the bottom line represents earth, and there is a middle line representing man. Then a vertical line is drawn from the top line to the bottom line, cutting right through the middle line. The result is an image of a cross. But wait, it gets better. The literal translation of the word “king” is, “a man suspended between heaven and earth.”

We have a King by the name of Jesus, a man suspended between heaven and earth for the sins of the world, who has left the message of Good News for all men to read and understand. That is good news to really think about.

as seen at www.writetoinspire.com, by Glenn Howard White Jr.

The Last Impression

A song leader at a church in New Hampshire was preparing for the Sunday morning worship service. She had planned on playing her guitar, but her electronic tuner was missing. “Maybe I left it in the car,” she thought.

Heading out to the garage, she passed her husband in the living room, watching TV. “Please pray that I find my tuner,” she mentioned out loud, and then asked God to help her find it.

As she searched through the car, she didn’t find anything in the back seat, but then reached under the front seat, and pulled out a can of tuna.

Her husband heard her laughter from all the way in the house and came out to the garage. “Honey,” she chuckled, “the Lord sure answered that prayer – New England accent and all!”

We are going to be experiencing a most wonderful time together this week here at WFA. This is Palm Sunday. Let’s be sure to take advantage of this opportunity to gather together, and sing our “Hosannas” to the King of Kings and Lord of Lords! Bring your friends and neighbors, and come ready to be touched by His holy presence!