WFA.org

Many believers are in the midst of a crisis of faith. They desperately desire to move forward in their Christian walk. But, instead, they continually feel as if they’re losing ground because of trials and setbacks. How can we move beyond the obstacles and genuinely embrace an active, moving faith?

First, we must understand the importance of assurance. This godly confidence gives us strength to look into the future and see how the Lord’s plans will be beneficial. Assurance calms our fears. It reminds us God is in charge and His purposes will be accomplished; no matter what challenges we face.

Second, we must live a life of anticipation. In other words, if we truly believe the heavenly Father will answer our Spirit-led prayers, then we should act as if we believe it! We need to wait expectantly for His answer and plan accordingly.

For example, let’s say you’re leaving for a wonderful vacation next week. You would no doubt be making preparations for the trip. You’d start to pack, finalize your travel plans, secure time off from work, and check travel magazines or the internet for interesting tourist attractions. In your mind, you’re already enjoying your vacation, even though you haven’t left yet!

The same thing should be true in your walk of faith. When you trust that God will faithfully and graciously respond to your petitions, you can rejoice. You’ll know He’ll make a way, even before you see the results.

This is the power of assurance and anticipation! And it can revolutionize your walk with Him!

Here is your copy of firstIMPRESSIONS, Volume 8.39. Live for God, on purpose, anticipating His leading and assured of His promises!

My Life’s Mission

Why are you here? What is the meaning of your life? Have you ever really considered just why you are on this planet?

Many people go through their entire life without ever thinking about anything other than simply their own pleasure and advancement. Others take a different path, and find some cause that interests them, and they then devote their lives toward the issues of that cause.

While each of us may have different interests, skills, and abilities, as devoted followers of Jesus Christ, we should all have a singular mission in life.

The apostle Paul recognized what his mission in life was. In Acts 20:24, The Bible records Paul’s departing words to the Ephesian believers. He tells them that his life is “worth nothing to me” except for one thing – his mission in life. He dedicated himself to “finishing the race and completing the task” given to him by Jesus – the task of testifying to the gospel of God’s grace.

For each of us, our mission should be the same as Paul’s. So, how do you act upon that call; how do you allow that task to become a reality in your life? This Sunday morning here at WFA, we will be answering that very question, as together we consider “My Life’s Mission.” You will be challenged and changed by this critical message! Don’t miss it!

How to Determine What
Matters Most

by Rick Warren

“There are three things that will endure – faith, hope, and love – and the greatest of these is love.” – (1 Corinthians 13:13 NLT)

The most important lesson God wants you to learn on earth is how to love. Here are three simple truths about love:

1. Life without love is really worthless.

We often act as if relationships are something to be squeezed into our schedule. We talk about finding time for our children or making time for people in our lives. That gives the impression that relationships are just a part of our lives along with many other tasks. But God says relationships are what life is all about.

Jesus summarized what matters most to God in two statements: love God and love people. He said, “You must love the Lord your God with all your heart... This is the first and greatest commandment. A second is equally important: Love your neighbor as yourself. All the other commandments and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments.” (Matthew 22:37-40 NLT).

The point of life is learning to love God and people. Life minus love equals zero.

2. Love will last forever.

Another reason God tells us to make love our top priority is that it is eternal: “These three things continue forever: faith, hope, and love. And the greatest of these is love.” (1 Corinthians 13:13 NCV).

Love leaves a legacy. Mother Teresa said, “It’s not what you do, but how much love you put into it that matters.” Love is the secret of a lasting heritage. In our final moments, we all realize that relationships are what life is all about. Wisdom is learning that truth sooner rather than later.

3. We will be evaluated on our love.

One way God measures spiritual maturity is by the quality of your relationships. In heaven God won’t say, “Tell me about your career, your bank account, and your hobbies.” Instead he will review how you treated other people, particularly those in need.

Jesus said the way to love him is to love his family and care for their practical needs: “Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me.” (Matthew 25:40 NRSV).

People need to understand that when you transfer into eternity, you will leave everything else behind. All you’re taking with you is your character. That’s why the Bible says, “The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love.” (Galatians 5:6 NIV).

Knowing this, I encourage you to pray this simple prayer every morning: “God, whether I get anything else done today, I want to make sure that I spend time loving you and loving other people – because that’s what life is all about. I don’t want to waste this day.”

© 2008 Purpose Driven Life. All rights reserved. Rick Warren is the founding pastor of Saddleback Church in Lake Forest, Calif., one of America’s largest and best-known churches. In addition, Rick is author of the New York Times bestseller The Purpose Driven Life and The Purpose Driven Church, which was named one of the 100 Christian books that changed the 20th Century. He is also founder of Pastors.com, a global Internet community for ministers.

Ten Commandments for
Church People

• DON’T IDEALIZE the church – it’s glorious, not because it’s perfect (after all, you’re in it!), but because it’s being redeemed.

• DON’T CRITICIZE your fellow-believers anytime or the pastor (especially never ever before or after a Sunday service: the Devil’s already doing that; don’t you help him).

• DON’T POLARIZE in church meetings or committees. ‘I don’t agree’ is very negative: try ‘Is there perhaps another way of looking at this?’

• DON’T OSTRACIZE people whose psychological ‘chemistry’ is different to yours, or who do not see things your way. Be Christian, and greet them warmly, and pray with them anyway.

• DON’T IDOLIZE the pastor or any other leader: we are all fellow- strugglers and we all have feet of clay.

• DON’T MONOPOLIZE conversations: be that kind of rare person who is an empathetic listener.

• DON’T ORGANIZE anything ‘off your own bat’. Initiative is good: initiative plus collaboration plus accountability is better.

• DON’T HOMOGENIZE. Talk to people who are not your cronies (even tax-collectors and sinners do that). Accept people who are not like you theologically. After all, God’s truth may include both your and their understandings!

• Above all, DON’T VERBALIZE your frustration or negativity about the church to others: it is sure to discourage them. Do it with the Lord, a spiritual director or counselor, and possibly, after much prayer, to a responsible leader. The devil is very clever: he puts words into our mouth like: ‘Would you (my friend) pray with me about the problem I have with...’

• Instead REALIZE that the Church is loved by Christ, so be patient with each other: the Lord hasn’t finished with any of us yet!

as seen in Rocky Henriques’ “The Timothy Report,” www.timothyreport.com, of September 22, 2008

No Excuse Sunday

To make it possible for everyone to attend church next Sunday, we are going to have a special “No Excuse Sunday”.

• Cots will be placed in the foyer for those who say, “Sunday is my only day to sleep in.”

• There will be a special section with lounge chairs who feel that our pews are too hard.

• Eye drops will be available for those with tired eyes from watching T.V. late Saturday night.

• We will have steel helmets for those who say “The roof would cave in if I ever came to church.”

• Blankets will be furnished for those who think the church is too cold and fans for those who say it is too hot.

• Score cards will be available for those who wish to list the hypocrites present.

• Relatives and friends will be in attendance for those who can’t go to church and cook dinner, too.

• We will distribute “Stamp Out Stewardship” buttons for those who feel that church is always asking for money.

• One section will be devoted to trees and grass for those who like to seek God in nature.

• Doctors and nurses will be in attendance for those who plan to be sick on Sunday.

• The sanctuary will be decorated with both Christmas poinsettias and Easter lilies for those who never have seen the church without them.

• We will provide hearing aids for those who can’t hear the preacher and cotton for those who say he is too loud.

The Loser Who Won... Big Time

Once upon a time there was a little boy named Sparky. At least that’s what his classmates called him. He was given the nickname in honor of a comic strip horse named Spark Plug. Sparky hated the name. But name-calling was the least of his worries.

School was tough for Sparky. His favorite subjects were recess and lunch. He failed every single subject in eighth grade. High school was no better. He flunked algebra, English, Latin, and physics. In fact, to this day he holds the record for the lowest physics marks in his school. Sports weren’t much of an improvement. He made the school’s golf team, but his poor play ended up costing his team the championship.

Sparky was a loser when it came to friendships, too. No one seemed to notice him. He was astonished if a classmate said hello. Afraid of rejection, he never asked a girl out. Instead, he devoted himself to the one thing he really enjoyed: drawing cartoons. No one thought they were any good, but that didn’t stop him. He practiced on binders and scribblers, and by the time he was a senior in high school, he got up the nerve to submit some cartoons to the yearbook staff.

They were rejected.

After graduating from high school, Sparky wrote a letter to Walt Disney Studios inquiring about job opportunities. He received a form letter requesting samples of his artwork. The letter asked him to draw a funny cartoon of “a man repairing a clock by shoveling the springs and gears back inside it.” Sparky drew the cartoon and mailed it off with his fingers crossed. He waited anxiously for a reply. Finally it came. Another form letter spelling out rejection.

Sparky was disappointed but not surprised. He had always been a loser. This was just one more loss. Looking in the mirror one day, he smiled with the realization that in a weird sort of way, his life was funny. Almost like a cartoon character. Then a thought hit him. Why not tell his own story? Why not draw cartoons of the misadventures of a little boy loser, a chronic underachiever? He had no idea where his idea would take him.

This boy who failed the eighth grade, the young artist whose work was rejected by his own yearbook, was Charles Monroe “Sparky” Schultz – creator of the Peanuts comic strip and the little boy whose kite never quite flies.

You know him as Charlie Brown.

Where Do Pets Come From?

A newly discovered chapter in the Book of Genesis has provided the answer to “Where do pets come from?”

Adam and Eve said, “Lord, when we were in the garden, you walked with us every day. Now we do not see you anymore. We are lonesome here and it is difficult for us to remember how much you love us.”

And God said, “No problem! I will create a companion for you that will be with you forever and who will be a reflection of my love for you, so that you will love me even when you cannot see me. Regardless of how selfish or childish or unlovable you may be, this new companion will accept you as you are and will love you as I do, in spite of yourselves.”

And God created a new animal to be a companion for Adam and Eve.
And it was a good animal.
And God was pleased.
And the new animal was pleased to be with Adam and Eve and he wagged his tail.

And Adam said, “Lord, I have already named all the animals in the Kingdom and I cannot think of a name for this new animal.”

And God said, “No problem. Because I have created this new animal to be a reflection of my love for you, his name will be a reflection of my own name, and you will call him DOG.”

And Dog lived with Adam and Eve and was a companion to them and loved them.
And they were comforted.
And God was pleased.
And dog was content and wagged his tail.

After a while, it came to pass that an angel came to the Lord and said, “Lord, Adam and Eve have become filled with pride. They strut and preen like peacocks and they believe they are worthy of adoration. Dog has indeed taught them that they are loved, but perhaps too well.”

And God said, “No problem! I will create for them a companion who will be with them forever and who will see them as they are. The companion will remind them of their limitations, so they will know that they are not always worthy of adoration.”

And God created CAT to be a companion to Adam and Eve.
And Cat would not obey them.
And when Adam and Eve gazed into Cat’s eyes, they were reminded that they were not the supreme beings.
And Adam and Eve learned humility.

And they were greatly improved.
And God was pleased.
And Dog was happy.
And Cat didn’t care one way or the other.

The Last Impression

This may come as a surprise to those not living in Las Vegas, but it is a very spiritual city, with more Catholic churches than casinos!

Not surprisingly, some worshipers at Sunday services will give casino chips rather than cash when the donation tray is passed.

Since they get chips from many different casinos, the churches have devised a method of turning the chips into cash.

They send all their collected chips to a nearby Franciscan monastery, where the patient and detail-oriented men sort and count the chips. The chips are then taken to the casinos of origin and cashed in.

This is done by the chip monks.

You didn’t even see it coming, did you?

If you don’t happen to find yourself in Las Vegas this Sunday, we would love to have you worship together with us in Wilmington, Delaware here at WFA! Don’t bother bringing any chips with you, but bring a friend and be prepared to have a most wonderful experience in the Lord!