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Sooner or later in everyone’s life, there comes a situation and a time when you simply cannot do it on your own, and you must “cross over the line” and begin to trust the Lord rather than yourself. God has drawn a line in the sand, so to speak, that we must cross in reaching Him to declare our dependence on Him.

This “faith line” is what you need when you want God to do the “impossible” in your life. It’s what you need when you want to be firm in your faith and yet you keep wavering back and forth between your circumstances and God’s promises, believing first one, then the other.

Abraham had natural facts to deal with just like we do. He knew there was no natural way for God’s promise to him to come true. Yet the Word says Abraham considered not his own body. In other words, Abraham ignored the natural evidence around him and believed only God’s promise.

Somewhere he stepped across the line of faith. He made an irreversible decision to go with the Word of God. He made a final commitment. He chose to step past the point of no return. Romans 4:19-20 says “And being not weak in faith, [Abraham] considered not his own body now dead, when he was about an hundred years old, neither yet the deadness of Sarah’s womb: He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God.”

If you and I are ever going to see God do the impossible in our lives, we’re going to have to do the same thing! How do you step across that faith line? Begin with the Word! Search the promises of God and purposely believe what He has said, and is saying, about your need. Meditate on those promises until faith rises and rests in your heart.

Then take that step! Cross that line of faith! Do it in your mind and heart. Step over it in your prayer room. Say, “In the presence of God, in the presence of all the angels in this room, and in the devils face, I am stepping across the line of faith. From this moment on, I consider this matter done. From this day forward, I give God the praise and the glory in the Name of Jesus, Amen!”

From that moment on, speak only as if your miracle has already happened. Turn your back on the problems, on the doubts, and turn your face toward Jesus! God will do the impossible in your life! Dare to step across the faith line!

Here is your copy of firstIMPRESSIONS, Volume 8.27. Live for God, on purpose, stepping out in faith in His eternal Word!

Independent Christians

Today is July 4, 2008. Some two-hundred thirty-two years ago, a group of representatives of the thirteen original colonies in America placed their signatures upon a document that formally established a brand new nation – the United States of America. This document, which we refer to as the “Declaration of Independence,” listed the reasons why these people believed they could no longer allow themselves to come under the rule of the British government. They declared themselves to be totally independent, and no longer accountable to or dependent upon the King of England.

We Americans take pride in our freedom! And, as followers of Jesus Christ, we likewise declare our freedom, for in John 8:36 the Bible tells us that “if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.” We are no longer slaves to sin, for “through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death.” (Romans 8:2)

While we certainly may celebrate our freedom as Americans, and likewise recognize our freedom from sin through the shed blood of Christ, we must never see ourselves as “independent.”

We are surely not independent, for we need each other! And, even more than that, we need God! As Christians, it would be well for us to make a declaration of dependence upon our God!

This Sunday morning we will be looking at Joshua 24 as a prime example of the principles of this kind of thought. Joshua places a challenge in front of the people in verse 15 as he says “choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve!” He follows that command with a statement that each of us must likewise make – a “Declaration of Dependence” if you will. “But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD!” Join us this Lord’s Day, and affirm your personal “Declaration of Dependence!”

The Declaration of Dependence

When in the course of human events it becomes necessary for people to declare their dependence on Almighty God, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to this decision.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men and women are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain undeniable gifts, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of the Kingdom of God.

We declare an end to our spiritual autonomy from the God who loves us, and join our voices with that of Mary, who said, “I am the Lord’s servant; may it be to me as you have said.” (Luke 1:38)

And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred honor

Have You Sharpened Your Axe?

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!

Jesus Help Me and to
God be the Glory

by Jim Liebelt

“Surely God is my help; the Lord is the one who sustains me.” – Psalm 54:4

Recently, I was searching on a website devoted to Johann Sebastian Bach Frequently Asked Questions (www.bachfaq.org), when I found something interesting. It seems that Bach often wrote the letters “JJ” at the beginning of his scores and the letters “SDG” at the end. What did these letters mean? JJ stood for the Latin Jesu Juva, which means “Help o Jesus”. So, it seems that at the beginning of creating his music, Bach was requesting Divine help. SDG stood for the Latin Soli Deo Gloria, which means, “To God alone glory”. It seems that at the end of creating his music, Bach gave thanks to God.

For myself, I know that I don’t have any talent on the level of Bach’s abilities to create musical compositions. Most likely this can be said for the vast majority of us. Still, Bach’s habit of asking for Jesus’ help as he began his work and then giving thanks to God when he was finished, plants within me the desire to be more intentional about including God in my day.

I would think that it would be easy for a person of Bach’s talent and giftedness to take God’s role in their life for granted – to begin to rely on self and to take some time to pat oneself on the back for a job well done! If a person of Bach’s talent and giftedness made it a habit to ask for God’s help and to give God thanks, how much more should we do the same?

In the end, it is to our benefit to be reminded that we are all dependent upon the Lord for everything. We really do need His help! We also benefit from giving thanks to God. It gives us needed perspective to understand that all we accomplish is from God’s gracious hand.

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

Recipe for Miracles

Ingredients:

1 part of knowing who you are
1 part of knowing who you aren’t
1 part of knowing what you want
1 part of knowing who you wish to be
1 part of knowing what you already have
1 part of choosing wisely from what you have
1 part of loving and thanking God for ALL you have

Instructions:

• Combine ingredients together gently and carefully, using faith and vision.
• Mix together with strong belief of the outcome, blending with prayer.
• Use thoughts, words and actions for best results.
• Bake until Blessed.
• Give thanks again.

Yield: Unlimited service

Dry Years

In their book, “Why Me?", Pesach Krauss and Morrie Goldfisher tell a story about two men who cut down an aged hardwood...

The woodcutter’s observations about the inner rings within the old tree are compelling:

”...I sometimes tell patients the parable about the two wood choppers who had taken down a tree that was over one hundred years old. Looking at the growth rings to determine the tree’s age, the younger man noticed that there were five very narrow rings. He concluded that there had been a five-year-drought, during which the tree had shown very little growth. However, the other lumberman, a wise, old man with a philosophical bent, had a different viewpoint. He contended that the dry years actually were the most significant in the tree’s history. His reason: Because of the drought, the tree had to force its roots down further to get the water and the minerals it needed. With a strengthened root system, it was able to grow faster and taller when conditions improved”

Observations:

1. All of us inevitably experience “dry years” at some juncture in our lives. “For we do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, of our trouble which came to us in Asia: that we were burdened beyond measure, above strength, so that we despaired even of life” (2 Corinthians 1:8; cf. 2 Corinthians 11:23-28). Like the apostle Paul, we can identify with those occasional periods of trouble and burden; they are an inescapable part of the human condition (cf. Job 14:1; 2 Corinthians 12:7).

2. “Dry years” tend to be intense, but limited in duration. “In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials, that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ” (1 Peter 1:6-7). “For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory” (2 Corinthians 4:17; cf. Romans 8:18). In a manner of speaking, a part of what I hear Peter and Paul saying is that while a five-year drought is harsh and difficult to tolerate, it eventually comes to an end.

from Pesach Krauss and Morrie Goldfisher’s “A Time of Trouble Is a Time To Grow,” WHY ME? — Coping with Grief, Loss, and Change, 71. As seen in Mike Benson’s email devotional “KneEmail.” at: http://www.forthright.net/

The Last Impression

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.”

Hope you are having a great 4th of July holiday weekend! Thank God for the freedom we have as Americans to worship together! As we gather together this coming Sunday, sharing in the Lord’s Supper, recognize that there are many people in other nations who do not have this freedom that we so often take for granted. May God bless America – and – may America bless God!