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opening Psalm 138:7 says, “Though I walk in the midst of trouble, You will revive me.” In the original Hebrew, the passage literally says, “go on in the center of trouble.” What descriptive words!

We have called on God in the day of trouble. We have pleaded His promise of deliverance. But no deliverance has been given. The enemy has continued oppressing until we were in the very thick of the fight, in the center of trouble.

Why then trouble the Master any further? Martha said, "Lord, if You had been here my brother had not died." Our Lord met her lack of hope with His further promise: "Thy brother shall rise again."

And when we walk "in the center of trouble" and are tempted to think like Martha that the time of deliverance is past, He meets us too with a promise from His Word. "Though I walk in the midst of trouble, You will revive me." Though His answer has seemed to be delayed for so long, we must still continue to "go on" in the midst of trouble, for we will find "the center of trouble" is the place where He revives.

When in the hopeless place, the continued hopeless place is the very time when He will stretch forth His hand against the wrath of our enemies and perfect that which concerns us. It is the very time when He will make the attack to cease and fail and come to an end.

Why should we be frustrated and fainting? He will revive us in the center of trouble!

Here is your copy of firstIMPRESSIONS, Volume 9.29. Live for God, on purpose, even when all around you seems hopeless and helpless!

hurting Are You Hurting? Here’s Hope!

Doesn’t it seem like when you are hurting that time just slows down? Clocks don’t run fast enough. The calendar date changes far too slowly. Minutes pass like hours. Hours seem like days. Days become as long in your mind as a week. Each week is like a month, and months last... well, it just seems like forever.

In the midst of hurting, you feel uneasy. You want to do something – anything – to make things change for the better. And, yet, all too often, there is precious little you can do.

When you are hurting, it’s so easy to feel helpless – and hopeless.

In 1 Corinthians 13, we read that faith, hope and love will endure. We have faith. And we know that God loves us. But – what about that thing called hope? Well, God has hope for you! In Romans 5:5 we read that “hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit!”

One of the best passages of scripture to look at when you are hurting is Psalm 30. This Sunday here at WFA we want to encourage you from this short Psalm with special words of “Hope for the Hurting.” If you have ever been hurt, if you are hurting now, or if you know someone who is hurting, you won’t want to miss this message! Be sure to invite a friend for this special message from God’s Word for you!

gods-stimulus God's Stimulus Plan

by Pamela Perry Blaine

Have you heard about the Stimulus Plan? There's a lot of fear and uncertainty in our land these days. Our country has serious concerns about the economy, healthcare, employment, and security.

The dictionary defines the word "stimulus" as "Something causing or regarded as causing a response; An agent, action; Something that incites or rouses to action; An incentive." I have a Stimulus Plan and I am guessing a lot of Americans have one around their house too. My Stimulus Plan is kept neatly inside of a black cover. It's called The Holy Bible. In other words, we have the Stimulus Plan that really works. Perhaps if the people of America began to seriously follow God's Stimulus Plan, we would find some real change happening in our lives and in our country.

A Sampling of God's Stimulus Plan:

Economy:
• Jeremiah 32:27 – "Behold, I am the Lord, the God of all flesh; Is anything to difficult for Me?"

• Psalm 50:10 – "Every beast of the forest is Mine, and the cattle on a thousand hills."

• Luke 18:27 – "The things impossible with men are possible with God."

• Philippians 4:19 – "And my God shall supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus."

• Psalm 37:5 – "Commit your way to the Lord, trust also in Him, and He shall bring it to pass."

Healthcare:
• 2 Chronicles 7:14 – If my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land."

• Exodus 15:26 – "...For I, the LORD am your healer."

• Psalm 147:3 – "He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds."

• James 5:16 – "Confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another, so that you may be healed..."

• John 16:33 – In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world."

Employment:
• Exodus 20: 9-10 – "Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath of the LORD your God; in it you shall not do any work..."

• 1 Corinthians 3:8 – "...Each will receive his own reward according to his own labor."

• 1 Corinthians 4:12 – "And we toil, working with our own hands..."

• Ephesians 4:28 – "...Steal no longer: but rather let him labor..."

• 2 Thessalonians 3:10 – "...If any will not work, neither let him eat."

Security/Defense:

• Romans 8:31 – "...If God be for us, who can be against us?"

• Romans 8:37 – "Yet in all these things, we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us."

• Hebrews 13:5 – "...For He Himself has said, I will never leave you nor forsake you."

• Philippians 4:6 – "Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God."

• 1 John 4:4 – "...(You) have overcome them, because greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world."

Bailout:
Best of all, God even has a bailout plan. The dictionary defines bailout as: to rescue, assist, save, or come to someone's aid:

• Psalm 34:6 – "This poor man cried, and the LORD heard him, and saved him out of all his troubles."

• Psalm 3:8 – "Salvation belongs to the LORD..."

• Acts 6:31 – "...Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you shall be saved..."

• Proverbs 3:5-6 – "Trust in the LORD with all your heart; and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight."

I hope all Americans will take some time to look into God's Stimulus Plan!

the-jars The Jars

The preacher placed two identical jars on the table next to the pulpit. He quoted 1 Samuel 16:7 – “The Lord does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”

“These jars came from the same factory, were made of the same materials, and can hold the same amount. But they are different,” he explained. Then he upset one and it oozed out honey. He turned over the other, and vinegar spilled out.

When a jar is upset, whatever is in it comes out. Until the jars were upset, they looked alike. The difference was within, and could not be seen. When they were upset, their contents were revealed.

Until we are upset we put on a good front. But when we are upset, we reveal our innermost thoughts and attitudes, for “out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.” (Luke 6:45)

What if someone tipped you over today? What would flow out? Would you reveal the "honey" of grace and patience, or the "vinegar" of anger and sarcasm?

"Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins" (1 Peter 4:8)

Have a terrific day knowing that the one who upsets you may be just looking for some honey!

simple-bible A Simple Bible

"I'm not supposed to give these away," the young man said, handing me a display Bible, "but I sense you should have this." I shrugged and absently tucked it away. We had a Bible at home. I'd only stopped by the Gideon's table because nothing else at the Iowa State Fair was set up.

A few days later I was walking to town when a car pulled up beside me. "Get in," the driver snarled, pointing a gun at me. I did as he said. Soon he pulled over, grabbed me and tried to force me down on the seat. I struggled with all my strength. Finally he ordered me out of the car.

Before both my feet were on the ground, I heard a shot and felt a sharp pain in my side. I collapsed, and the man came around the car. He picked up my purse, took out my wallet then threw the purse on my head and shot it. I felt a dreadful impact. Still conscious, I lay silent, hoping he would think I was dead. I heard the car drive away, and I stumbled to a nearby farmhouse. A woman called for help, and the police were closing in on the drug-crazed driver based on the description I'd given them.

At the hospital, just before I went into surgery to remove the bullet in my side, my sister came to see me. "Do you know what saved your life, Mavis?" she asked. She handed me the Bible that had been in my purse. A bullet was lodged inside, its tip stopping exactly at Psalm 37:14-15: "The wicked draw the sword, and bend the bow...to slay those whose ways are upright. But their swords will pierce their own hearts, and their bows will be broken."

This is what it means to know the voice of God. The young man wasn't supposed to give away the Bibles, but he "sensed" that God wanted him to give the Bible away to this lady. He probably thought that she would open the Bible and read something that would turn her life around, or bring her closer to the reality of God. But the sword came first, and then certainly a peace that only comes from God; the reality of His protection made manifest by those who "sense" His will.

waves Waves of Worry

Several years ago a submarine was being tested and had to remain submerged for many hours. When it returned to the harbor, the captain was asked, "How did the terrible storm last night affect you?" The officer looked at him in surprise and exclaimed, "Storm? We didn't even know there was one!" The sub had been so far beneath the surface that it had reached the area known to sailors as "the cushion of the sea." Although the ocean may be whipped into huge waves by high winds, the waters below are never stirred.

This, I believe, is a perfect picture of the peace that comes from Christ's Spirit. The waves of worry, of fear, of heartbreak, cannot touch those resting in Christ. Sheltered by His grace and encouraged by His Spirit, the believer is given the perfect tranquility that only Christ can provide.

ovecoming Overcoming the Obstacles

How would you describe somebody who was an accomplished pianist at ten, a professional organist at 11, had compositions published at 13, and was a member of the royal court musical staff at 14? Privileged? Born with a silver spoon in his mouth? Hardly!

Ludwig van Beethoven was a black-haired, swarthy-complexioned, pockmarked boy who endured taunts and name calling in his hometown along the Rhine River, an area of mostly blond, fair-skinned children. His alcoholic father decided that Ludwig would support him, so he made him a slave to the keyboard. Looking back, Beethoven couldn't recall a single moment of childhood happiness. His life was comprised of work, tears, beatings and angry tirades.

In his twenties he encountered another more insidious enemy: deafness. When he could no longer play publicly he put all his energies into composing. His years of deafness were his most prolific. Although at the time his works weren't well received, he influenced many of the great composers like Brahms, Wagner and Schubert. Nearing death and recognizing that the world had never fully understood or appreciated him and his music, he said with a smile, "I shall hear in Heaven."

When life knocks you down don't stay down, bounce back! Everybody stumbles or gets knocked off their feet from time to time; the winners are just the ones who keep getting back up! That's what Paul meant when he said, "In all these things we are more than conquerors." (Romans 8:37) If you pray and look hard enough, you'll find the seed of good in every adversity (See Genesis 50:20). The difference between winners and losers is their ability to turn stumbling blocks into stepping stones.

last-impress The Last Impression

While waiting in line to check out at a Christian bookstore, a man in front of me asked the clerk about a display of hats with the letters WWJD on them. The clerk explained that WWJD stands for "What would Jesus do?" and that the idea is to get people to consider this question when making decisions.

The man pondered a moment, then replied, "I don't think He'd pay $17.95 for that hat."

I pray that this issue of firstIMPRESSIONS has been an encouragement to you. You are important to God – He loves you, and desires to rescue you, restore you, and redeem you. Let me encourage you to forward this issue to your friends who may need to read these messages of hope and encouragement. And, if you are in the north Delaware area this weekend, let me personally invite you to worship together with us here at WFA. Just check our website (www.wfa.org) for more information and directions.