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Well, I have returned from my week of vacation at my favorite destination – right here in Delaware at Bethany Beach! My family and I have been going there regularly now for decades. In fact – vacationing in Delaware is what first got me thinking about pastoring here!

We had a great time, although the weather was pretty cool, cloudy and rainy most of the time. On one of the few times we had good weather, Carolyn and I decided to take a nice long walk along the beach. When we returned, I sat down with my daughters and watched the waves roll in, while enjoying the warmth of the sun.

Now, I know I should know better... but, later that afternoon and evening, I discovered that in just a very short time, my face and arms had gotten fairly sunburned. And now, a week later, my skin is peeling and scaly! Everyone looks at me, and knows immediately that I have been in the sun!

What do people notice when they see you? Have you been in the sun? Or – more importantly – have you been with the Son?!

Spending time in the sun changed my complexion. I radiated from the presence of the sun! And, when you spend time with the Son – Jesus – He will change you even more than the sun! You will radiate from His divine presence! People will know when you have spent time with Jesus!

In Matthew 26, while afraid for his life, and scared, Peter denies Jesus – three times. But, the people around him knew that he had been with Jesus. One said, “This fellow was with Jesus of Nazareth.” Another said, “Surely you are one of them, for your accent gives you away.” Even the way Peter talked let people know he had been in the presence of Jesus.

Later, in Acts 4:13, as the people observed Peter and the other disciples, now filled with the Holy Spirit. And, the Bible says, “they took note that these men had been with Jesus.”

Have you spent time in the presence of the Son? Do people see Jesus when they see you? Maybe its time for all of us to get a good SONburn!

Here is your copy of firstIMPRESSIONS, Volume 9.26. Live for God, on purpose, staying in His presence each and every day!

Summer Revival with Dr. James Davis

To kick off our summer here at WFA, we are thrilled to have my good friend, Dr. James Davis, return for a special two-day revival! James will be with us for three meetings – this Sunday, June 28th for two services – 10:30 am and 6:00pm, and then on Monday evening, June 29th at 7:00pm.

I have known James and his wife Sheri since our days in Bible school together, and have engaged his evangelistic ministry at every location in which I have had led ministry. I consider him one of the finest expository preachers I have ever heard, as well as the greatest networker I have had the privilege of associating with.

Dr. James O. Davis is the founder of Cutting Edge International and Second Billion Network, a growing coalition of Christian ministries and denominations working together to build the premier community of pastors worldwide to facilitate a global thrust to plant five million new churches to lead one billion people to faith in Christ. There are more than 160,000 churches to date in this global network.

Davis‘ leadership includes overseeing the biannual Synergize! Pastors Conference, regional Synergize! Leadership Summits, plus the deployment of Best To The Rest Global Summits in all major world regions. In the last 6 years, more than 24,000 pastors have attended these conferences and summits.

Before helping launch the Second Billion Network, Dr. Davis served twelve years as the National Evangelists Representative for the General Council of the Assemblies of God, also serving on the A/G General Presbytery and as adjunct professor at the Assemblies of God Theological Seminary.

Dr. Davis is a well-respected preacher with gifted insight and a dynamic delivery and is known for providing straightforward Biblical solutions to difficult, contemporary problems. For 25 years, he and his wife, Sheri, have served together in evangelism and training ministry. Through their ministry, Cutting Edge International, Dr. Davis has traveled over 6,000,000 miles to more than 80 countries where the Bible’s answers are relatively unknown. While preaching overseas at tent meetings, open-air crusades, church revivals, conventions, and leadership conferences, he has led thousands of people to discover the value of Christ-centered living. Dr. Davis is equally dedicated to a stateside ministry that places the Church at the cutting edge of a spiritual awakening of America. He has been a featured guest speaker both at pastor's conferences and evangelism conferences. Every year he ministers face-to-face to nearly 100,000 people.

Dr. Davis earned his Doctorate in Ministry at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. He was awarded his Bachelor’s degree in Bible by Central Bible College and earned two master’s degrees at the Assemblies of God Theological Seminary. As an author and editor, he has provided: The Pastor’s Best Friend: The New Testament Evangelist; Living Like Jesus; The Preacher’s Summit: Reaching Your Maximum Potential; and co-authored with Dr. Bill Bright, Beyond All Limits: The Synergistic Church For A Planet In Crisis; as well as articles for numerous publications.

Dr. Davis resides in the Orlando area, with his wife Sheri and daughters, Olivia and Priscilla. They also have two children, Jennifer and James, who reside in heaven.

You will not want to miss a single service this coming Sunday and Monday! Invite your friends and neighbors, and come expecting to receive a great blessing!

Ten Dumb Things Smart Christians Believe

When I asked Christ to be my personal Savior, He saved me – all of me – from the top of my head to the soles of my feet. And, that included my brain.

It has always astounded me to find well-meaning, otherwise intelligent Christians who seem believe that being a believer in Jesus Christ somehow implies that you no longer have any need to think or actually use your brain. There is, in some Christians, a mind-set that if you use your head and think, that you are actually going against being a person of faith.

So, when I recently came across the book by Larry Osborne, “10 Dumb Things Smart Christians Believe,” it caught my attention for obvious reasons. Just the title alone is intriguing enough to make you want to pick up the book and read it!

Well, we are going to do more than that! This summer will mark the third year that we will transition our regular Wednesday night services into “Hot Topics for Hot Summer Nights!” In previous years, we hand-selected a different topic to discuss each week. This year, we are going to use Larry Osborne’s book as the basis for our weekly meetings! It promises to be a great time!

Here is a look at the schedule:

July 1 – Faith Can Fix Anything
July 8 – Forgiving Means Forgetting
July 15 – A Godly Home Guarantees Godly Kids
July 22 – God Has a Blueprint for My Life
July 29 – Christians Shouldn’t Judge
August 5 – Everything Happens for a Reason
August 12 – Let Your Conscience Be Your Guide
August 19 – God Brings Good Luck
August 26 – A Valley Means a Wrong Turn
September 2 – Dead People Go to a Better Place

Feel like your spiritual sacred cow just got skewered?! Then you won’t want to miss out on a single week’s discussion!

And, once again this year, dinner will be ready for everyone at 6:00pm! For just a donation of $4 per person (kids 2 and under are free) you will have a great meal and great fellowship before the Hot Topics begins sometime around 7pm!

This is going to be a great summer for Hot Topics! Don’t be dumb – be smart and be here!

Bad Luck, Good Luck

An ancient Chinese story goes something like this...

A farmer had one old horse that he used for tilling his fields. One day the horse escaped into the hills and when all the farmer's neighbors heard about it, they sympathized with the old man over his bad luck. "Bad luck? Good luck? Who knows?" said the farmer.

A week later, the horse returned with a herd of wild horses from the hills and this time the neighbors congratulated the farmer on his good luck. "Good luck? Bad luck? Who knows?" said the farmer.

Then, when the farmer's son was attempting to tame one of the wild horses, he fell off its back and broke his leg. Everyone agreed that this was very bad luck. Not the farmer, who replied, "Bad Luck? Good luck? Who knows?"

Some weeks later, the army marched into the village and forced every able-bodied young man to go fight in a bloody war. When they saw that the farmer's son had a broken leg, they let him stay. Everyone was very happy at the farmer's good luck.

"Good luck? Bad luck? Who knows?"

Life is a lot like that. Sometimes it seems like things are going well, and at other times, things seem to be going badly. And we let those things dictate our feelings and our outlook on life. When things are going well, we're happy and we think God is with us. If they are going badly, we get discouraged and think that God must have abandoned us. We end up being tossed around by our circumstances.

But the apostle Paul wrote in Philippians 4 that he had learned to be content, even happy, in all circumstances. He was happy when things were bad (he was in jail at the time), and he was happy when things were going good as well. That's the great thing about being part of God's family. We really don't have to worry in our circumstances, because no matter what, we have hope in Christ. "We know that in everything, God works for the good of those who love him (Romans 8:28).

Life Is An Echo

A son and his father were walking in the mountains. Suddenly, his son falls, hurts himself and screams. "AAAhhhhhhhhhhh!!!" To his surprise, hears the voice repeating, somewhere in the mountain, "AAAhhhhhhhhhhh!!!"

Curious, he yells, "Who are you?" He receives the answer, "Who are you?"

Angered at the response, he screams, "Coward!" He receives the answer, "Coward!"

He looks to his father and asks, "What's going on?"

The father smiles and says, "My son, pay attention." And then he screams to the mountain, "I admire you!" The voice answers, "I admire you!"

Again the man screams, "You are a champion!" The voice answers, "You are a champion!"

The boy is surprised, but does not understand. Then the father explains.

"People call this echo, but really this is life. It gives you back everything you say or do. Our life is simply a reflection of our actions. If you want more love in the world, create more love in your heart. If you want more competence in your team, improve your competence.

This relationship applies to everything, in all aspect of life; life will give you back everything you have given to it."

Actions Speak Louder than Words

by Leslie Snyder

“Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue, but with actions and in truth.” – 1 John 3:18

The early church father St. Francis of Assisi said, “Preach the Gospel at all times, and when necessary, use words.” The following story communicates how actions often communicate more than words.

A member of a certain church, who previously had been attending services regularly, stopped going. After a few weeks, the pastor decided to visit him.

It was a chilly evening and the pastor found the man at home alone, sitting before a blazing fire. Guessing the reason for his pastor’s visit, the man welcomed him, led him to a comfortable chair near the fireplace and sat down. The pastor made himself at home, but said nothing. In the grave silence, he contemplated the dance of the flames around the burning logs. After some time, the pastor took the fire tongs, carefully picked up a brightly burning ember and placed it to one side of the hearth all alone. Then he sat back in his chair, still silent. The host watched all this in quiet contemplation. As the one lone ember's flame flickered and diminished, there was a momentary glow and then its fire was no more. Soon it was cold and dead.

Not a word had been spoken since the initial greeting. The pastor glanced at his watch and realized it was time to leave. He slowly stood up, picked up the cold, dead ember and placed it back in the middle of the fire. Immediately it began to glow once more with the light and warmth of the burning coals around it.

As the pastor reached the door to leave, his host said with a tear running down his cheek, "Thank you so much for your visit and especially for the fiery sermon. I shall be back in church next Sunday."

Today, spend a few moments considering what your life communicates to others.

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

The Reflection

There was a king who presented his daughter with a beautiful diamond necklace. The necklace was stolen and his people in the kingdom searched everywhere but could not find it. The king then asked them all to search for it and put a reward for $50,000 for anyone who found it.

One day, a clerk was walking home along a river next to an industrial area. This river was completely polluted and filthy and smelly. As he was walking, the clerk saw a shimmering in the river and when he looked, he saw the diamond necklace. He decided to try and catch it so that he could get the $50,000 reward.

He put his hand in the filthy, dirty river and grabbed at the necklace, but some how missed it and didn't catch it. He took his hand out and looked again and the necklace was still there. He tried again. This time he walked in the river and dirtied his pants in the filthy river and put his whole arm in to catch the necklace.

But strangely, he still missed the necklace! He came out and started walking away, feeling depressed. Then again, he saw the necklace, right there. This time he was determined to get it, no matter what. He decided to plunge into the river. Although it was disgusting, he plunged in and searched everywhere for the necklace. Yet one more time, he failed. This time he was really bewildered and came out feeling very depressed that he could not get the necklace that would get him $50,000.

Just then, a saint who was walking by, saw him, and asked him what was the matter. The clerk didn't want to share the secret with the saint, thinking he might take the necklace for himself, so he refused to tell him anything.

The saint could see this man was troubled. Being compassionate, he again asked the clerk to tell him the problem and promised that he would not tell anyone about it. The clerk mustered some courage and decided to put some faith in the saint. He told him about the necklace and how he tried and tried to catch it, but kept failing.

The saint then told him that perhaps he should try looking upward, toward the branches of the tree, instead of in the filthy river. The clerk looked up and true enough, the necklace was dangling on the branch of a tree. He had been trying to capture a mere reflection of the real necklace all this time.

Material happiness is just like the filthy, polluted river; because it is a mere reflection of the TRUE happiness in the spiritual world. We don't achieve the happiness we are looking for, no matter how hard we endeavor in the material life. Instead we must look upwards, toward God, who is the true source of real happiness, and stop chasing after the "reflection" of this happiness in the material world. This spiritual happiness is the only thing that can satisfy us completely.

“If you are risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sits on the right hand of God. Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth.” – Colossians 3:1-2

The Last Impression

Arthur is 90 years old. He's played golf every day since his retirement 25 years ago. One day he arrives home looking downcast.

"That's it," he tells his wife. "I'm giving up golf. My eyesight has gotten so bad that once I've hit the ball, I can't see where it went."

His wife sympathizes and makes him a cup of tea. As they sit down, she says, "Why don't you take my brother with you and give it one more try."

"That's no good," sighs Arthur. "Your brother's a hundred and three. He can't help."

"He may be a hundred and three," says the wife, "but his eyesight is perfect."

So the next day, Arthur heads off to the golf course with his brother-in-law. He tees up, takes an almighty swing, and squints down the fairway.

He turns to the brother-in-law. "Did you see the ball?"

"Of course I did!" replies the brother-in-law. "I have perfect eyesight."

"Where did it go?" asks Arthur.

"I don't remember."

Summer is officially here, and that – hopefully – will bring with it more sunshine and warm days and less rain and clouds! As you enjoy all of the many outdoor activities of the season, be sure to include worshipping the Lord! What a great way to kick off the summer than with our great Summer Revival this Sunday and Monday with evangelist Jimmy Davis here at WFA! Don’t miss it!