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It would seem that the more a person makes, the easier it would be to give. But that is not the case!

Possessions have a way of possessing. A wealthy person may give a larger dollar amount, but a proportionately smaller amount than a poor person.

God looks at the proportion, not the amount. It is within the grasp of every person to please God with their giving because He weighs the gift not in dollars but in sacrifice.

Jesus saw among those bringing their gifts to the temple a widow. Her offering was “two very small copper coins", worth very little. Yet she is the one He commended. She did not give a pittance out of her excess, but gave excess out of her pittance!

Jesus is interested in the heart that gives, not the hands that have. He did not commend the rich for the size of their gifts, but the widow for the size of her heart.

With prosperity comes a peril. A person no longer has things, but things have a person.

Do a heart exam on yourself. Is it a heart that Jesus would commend... or condemn?

Here is your copy of firstIMPRESSIONS, Volume 8.36. Live for God, on purpose, guarding your heart, and giving from your heart.

The Process of Change

In this year of presidential election here in America, there is a word that we repeatedly hear, from both party’s candidates – change. It seems that they have keyed in on a belief that the American public at large is interested in one overwhelming factor – they want things to change. They are tired of the way things are, they are upset with the current conditions, and they are demanding that something... anything... even everything be changed.

Often, I hear people say the same things about themselves personally. They want to change. They wish they could change. They have some bad habit, or negative lifestyle, and they just can’t seem to change.

In both situations, for our nation as well as in their personal lives, what people are really wanting is for someone to be able to simply wave some magic wand, and all things will have changed. And that just doesn’t happen.

I can’t really speak about what changes are needed for our nation. But, we can surely speak about the changes needed in our personal lives. While we may want change in our life, it won’t happen just because we want it. Change is a process. And, unless we are willing to patiently and deliberately go through the process, no change will occur.

The apostle Paul expressed the same sentiment in Romans 7:15-19 when he says “I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do... for I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do-this I keep on doing.”

In order for us to change, we need to discover and walk through “The Process of Change.” What is that process? That is exactly what we will be sharing this Sunday morning here at WFA! Be sure to join us for this life-changing message!

Witness: Noun or Verb?

“Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.” — Matthew 5:16

Albert Mehrabian is professor emeritus of psychology at UCLA and is best known as the originator of the “7-38-55” rule of communication. This rule says that seven percent of communication is verbal, 38 percent is based on tone of voice, and 55 percent is non-verbal (based on body language). He calls these three aspects of communication the “three Vs": Verbal, Vocal, and Visual.

Applying the “three Vs” to communicating the good news of the Gospel, how do you measure up? All three dimensions are mentioned in Scripture: the unsaved can’t hear without a preacher (verbal; Romans 10:14); love determines whether what we say is heard or not (vocal; 1 Corinthians 13:1); and good works paint a picture of the God we profess to love (visual; Matthew 5:16). The essence of Mehrabian’s “three Vs” is that we are communicating all the time, just in three different ways. Therefore, we are a witness to Christ whether we intend to be or not.

Too many Christians are afraid of witnessing (verb) without realizing they are a witness (noun)-either verbally, vocally, or visually. The challenge is to be a witness who tells the truth.

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

How Can I Pray
More Effectively?

by Dr. James C. Denison

Blaise Pascal, the mathematical and spiritual genius, believed that “all the troubles of life come upon us because we refuse to sit quietly for a while each day in our rooms.” Oswald Chambers agreed: “Prayer is the way the life of God is nourished. We look upon prayer as a means of getting things for ourselves; the Bible’s idea of prayer is that we may get to know God himself.” How can we know our Father more fully, by praying more effectively?

Jesus’ instructions on prayer are so simple we can all follow them: “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you” (Matthew 7:7). With this promise: “everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened” (v. 8). There is no such thing as “unanswered prayer,” if only we will ask, seek, and knock.

Note the progression. A child asks for his mother’s help. But he cannot find her, so he seeks her. He still cannot find her, so he knocks at her bedroom door until she opens and answers. So with us. We ask, but when it seems he does not hear, we seek him. When it seems he is not to be found, we knock. It may seem that the door is closed, but it is not. Your Father will always be open to you: “The Lord longs to be gracious to you; he rises to show you compassion. For the Lord is a God of justice. Blessed are all who wait for him!” (Isaiah 30:18). He wants to hear your prayer even more than you want to pray it.

So pray with urgency. Jesus’ words are imperatives, not options, but commands. Charles Spurgeon advised: “He who prays without fervency does not pray at all. We cannot commune with God, who is a consuming fire, if there is no fire in our prayers.” So pray urgently, and continually. Jesus’ words are in the present tense: pray and keep on praying.

Giving Your Best

by Rick Ezell

“People were overwhelmed with amazement, ‘He (Jesus) has done everything well,’ they said. ‘He even makes the deaf hear and the mute speak’”
— Mark 7:37

People living significant lives pursue excellence. They lead their organizations, their families, their businesses, and, in fact, their very lives striving for their best. Whether they want to win games, to make an impact on their children, or to win their share of the market, the thread of excellence runs through the fabric of their lives.

Jesus was committed to excellence. The New Testament writer Mark reminds us that God gave his very best-his Son. And his Son gave his very best-his life. His followers should do no less. Less than our best is inadequate considering the fact that God has given us his very best. In view of all the Lord has done for us, less than our best is less than adequate.

Martin Luther King, Jr. said, “If a man is called to be a street sweeper, he should sweep streets even as Michelangelo painted, or Beethoven composed music, or Shakespeare wrote poetry.” Whatever our role, our position, our organization, or our lot in life, we should strive for the best. The measure of our success should not be attached to our particular career or what we earn, but on our character and what we give.

Excellence does not mean being the best, but being your best. Understanding that variation makes all the difference in the world.

Excellence is not success. Success is being the best. Success means being better than everyone else is. Excellence is being better than you were yesterday. Success means exceeding the achievement of other people. Excellence means matching your practice with your potential.

Excellence is not perfectionism. Perfectionism means doing everything perfect. Excellence is doing the best you can with what you have.

Excellence is not being “good enough.” Just “good enough” is a cop-out attitude that is negative and defeating. Excellence is going the extra mile. Excellence knows that good enough is not good enough.

Excellence is not arrival. Arrival says, “I’ve mastered it. I’ve done it. I have arrived.” Excellence is found in the journey, not in the destination. Excellence is a process, the long-term pursuit of quality.

Being our best comes easier when we are in the right place using our gifts and talents for something we care deeply about.

Discover your niche. Excellence requires finding what we do well then doing it. When we discover our niche it helps us exercise our spiritual gifts and natural talents. Consequently, it helps us to prioritize our time, finances, and other resources. It aids us in saying no to the many demands, comparisons, and comments that might sidetrack us.

Give attention to detail. The difference between something good and something great is the attention to detail. In the end people will never know how long it takes one to do something. They will only know how well it is done.

A commitment to work. Long ago an ancient Greek wrote, “The gates of excellence are always surrounded by a sea of sweat.” It takes work to achieve excellence. There are no shortcuts. God plays an important role in that process. And we play an important role, too.

John Gardner, writes in his book, Excellence, “Some people have greatness thrust upon them. Very few have excellence thrust upon them. . . . They achieve it. They do not achieve it unwittingly by ’doing what comes naturally’ and they don’t stumble into it in the course of amusing themselves. All excellence involves discipline and tenacity of purpose.”

Focus your mind. Your mind needs to stay in the present in order to pay complete attention to the task at hand. You can go anywhere their mind can imagine, at any time. Unfortunately, errors occur when you are distracted. You must focus your mind to remain firmly planted in the here and now.

In my pursuit of excellence I have discovered that champions are more willing to give than to get. They go the extra mile. They move beyond expectations. They strive for higher standards.

as seen in Rick Ezell’s “One Minute Uplift” weekly email devotional of August 28, 2008. Dr. Ezell is pastor of First Baptist Church in Greer, South Carolina.

What Iron Man and Batman Say About Us

by Dan Johnson

“He has showed you, Oh man, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.” — Micah 6:8

Two summer blockbusters tell us more about ourselves than we realize. The first movie, Iron Man, is an adaptation of Marvel Comic’s series about billionaire weapons maker Tony Stark who dons a suit of armor to fight those who use his technology to hurt others. The irony is that Stark’s product is weaponry, which always kills and destroys regardless of the intentions or ideologies of the user. Stark (Robert Downey, Jr.) is forced to overcome his own self-indulgence and lack of concern for others when thrown – literally, blown – into a world of realistic suffering.

The second movie is The Dark Knight. In the new Batman movie, we witness an all-too-human hero (Christian Bale) whose fight against evil is really a reflection of his internal struggle for a healthy heart and mind after personal tragedy. In The Dark Knight, as in all Batman movies, crime plagues the city and an evil nemesis shows up to wreak havoc, to test and tempt the heart of the superhero before the final fight begins.

Iron Man and Batman have two obvious similarities: both have “man” in their names; “man” is the last three letters of HUMAN. We all struggle with a dark side and have to get up each day and overcome it with God’s help. Like these two heroes, the only hope we have is by putting on a suit of armor (see Ephesians 6:13) which gives us the attitude, the mindset and the internal power of the Holy Spirit to generate supernatural living.

Like our superheroes, we want to see justice in the world. The thought that we could do something about world hunger, child abuse and exploitation, and AIDS makes our hearts beat fast. Good people are angered by the pain and despair of others. Watching movies about superheroes and loving mercy may cause us to think, but we must move on to doing justice.

Are you like Batman, praying to overcome the dark side in your own life so you’ll be ready to fight the good fight when called upon? Are you like Tony Stark before the change of heart, focused on your wants and desires? Or, perhaps you are already on a mission to do as much good and help as many people as you can. Today is a great day to put down the popcorn, suit up and start living before the movie is over.

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

An E-Mail Blessing

Peace be unto you, your computer, and the email you receive this day.

May the mail you receive not require you to multiply it tenfold or return it within a limited time frame.

May the mail you receive not require you to take action in order to prove your love, friendship, or concern for the welfare of the sender.

May the mail you receive not start with “Fw: Fw: Fw:” in the Subject line.

May the spammers who know your address all go on holiday at the same time.

May the mail you receive not require you to carry a steel plate on which to sit upon in theaters, motels, and other public places.

May the calls to action your mail encourages be real, true, forthright, and honest.

May your inaction to mail you receive not cause the death of monks, missionaries, mothers, or those who are misguided.

Above all of this, may peace and harmony be yours until tomorrow.

The Last Impression

An efficiency expert was delivering a seminar on time management for a company’s junior executives. He concluded the session with a disclaimer: “Don’t attempt these task-organizing tips at home,” he said.

“Why not?” he was asked.

“Well, I did a study of my wife’s routine of fixing breakfast,” he replied, a little embarrassed. “I noticed she made a lot of trips between the refrigerator and the stove, the table and the cabinets, each time carrying only one item. So I asked her, ‘Honey, I notice that you make a lot of trips back and forth carrying one item at a time. If you would try carrying several things at once you would be much more efficient.’”

He paused.

“Did that save time?” one of the executives asked.

“Actually, yes,” the expert answered, “It used to take her twenty minutes to fix my breakfast. Now I get my own in seven minutes.”

Enjoying the toast I made for my breakfast this morning as I write this... and looking forward to our great time of worship coming up this Sunday here at WFA! It’s “Promotion Sunday” for our Christian Education classes, and it’s “Communion Sunday” as we begin the month of September.

September always feels more like the beginning of the year to me than January, with the return to regular schedules and kids back in school. So – start this “new year” off the best way, and re-commit yourself to serving the Lord in every aspect of your daily life!

Hope to see you Sunday!