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opening Archaeologists have discovered a city named Sepphoris, built by Herod the Great when Jesus was a boy. You could see it from a hillside on which His hometown of Nazareth was located. It housed a giant amphitheatre. The actors who put on plays there were called hypokrites. They wore masks so that the audience could identify the different characters each was intended to portray. At the end of the performance they would take off their masks and the audience would cheer and clap for them. So, practicing hypocrisy means wearing a mask designed to impress or deceive others. Ouch!

Jesus is the only person in the New Testament who used the word “hypocrite.” In fact, He uses the word three times in Matthew 6-7. Jesus talks about three specific areas in which we tend to practice hypocrisy:

Giving. “When you give...do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by men” (Matthew 6:2).

Praying. “When you pray, do not be like the hypocrites... go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you” (Matthew 6:5-6).

Judging. “In the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you... How can you say... ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,‘ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye” (Matthew 7:2-5).

Its time to take off the mask, and stop trying to deceive others, or impress people – don’t be a hypocrite!

Here is your copy of firstIMPRESSIONS, Volume 9.32. Live for God, on purpose, knowing that God sees the inner man, not looking on the “masks” we may wear!

Take Charge of Your Life!

Do you feel like you no longer control your own life? Like life’s running you instead of you running it? That’s because you’re in the passenger seat, conforming to people, events and circumstances. They’re in the driver seat, not you. No wonder your frustration level is high and your contentment level is low. “Don’t let the world... squeeze you into its own mould.” (Romans 12:2)

If you’re feeling “squeezed,” you’ve two options:

• Remain a conformer, or become a transformer. Either choose to stay in the passenger seat, or get behind the wheel. The Bible says, “Do not be conformed to this world” (Romans 12:2). Instead be transformed into the proactive, faith-driven person God meant you to be.

• Take charge of your life by “renewing your mind.” Instead of struggling to change the people and circumstances around you, change how you think and what you tell yourself. The Greek word for renewing means “to align your thoughts with God’s.” Abandon those self-defeating thoughts that tell you “you’re not, you can’t, and you’ll never be able to.” God says: “You are, you can, and you certainly will be able to,” because of His indwelling power! John writes, “This is the victory that conquers the world – our faith” (1 John 5:4 NCV).

Go to God’s Word! Discover what He says about the things that intimidate and control you, then pull the plug on them. “Don’t be afraid... I am your God. I will make you strong... I will support you” (Isaiah 41:10 NCV). Align your thoughts with God’s thoughts. Get into the driver seat and take charge of your life!

The Misunderstood Commandment

by Greg Laurie

A Roman Catholic priest who heard the confessions of some 2,000 people said he had heard people confess every conceivable sin, including murder, adultery, and much more. But never in all his years, he said, did anyone ever own up to committing the sin of coveting.

Coveting is probably the most misunderstood of the Ten Commandments, one that people often don’t even know they are breaking. It may not seem like that big of a deal, but it is. After all, if God put it on his Top Ten list, then we had better pay attention.

Coveting is not simply a matter of desiring something you don’t have. For example, if you are walking though the mall, see something in a store window, and think, “That is cool.” I would like to get that someday, it is not coveting; it is admiring.

To covet is different. It means to be devoured by a desire for something that is not yours and cannot be yours. The New Testament translates the Hebrew word for coveting with the Greek word for lust. That gives you an idea of what coveting really is. It is not just admiration; it is lusting after something. Think of a wolf going after its prey. When you see something and think, “I am going to get that.” That is going to be mine. I don’t care how I do it... I don’t care how I pull it off... I am going to have it, then that is coveting.

Let’s say that your friend just bought a new car. You like his car. But that is not coveting; it is admiring. Then let’s say that you go down to the dealership and buy a car just like the one your friend bought. That may be copying, but it still isn’t coveting. Coveting is when you look at your friend’s car, get into it, and drive off with it. That is coveting, which in turn has led to grand theft auto. You desired it and then basically decided it was going to be yours.

Coveting can cripple you spiritually and even destroy you. Think of Judas Iscariot who sold out Jesus for 30 pieces of silver. Money was so important to him that he sold out the Savior of the world. The Bible says, “The love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. And some people, craving money, have wandered from the true faith and pierced themselves with many sorrows” (1 Timothy 6:10 NLT). This isn’t saying that money is the root of all kinds of evil; rather, the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil.

It is not a sin to want to be successful in life. If you want to do well in your field of endeavor, that is not a sin; it is a virtue. You should try to be the best at whatever you go after. But if you want to be a success and you don’t care how you get there, whom you step on, or whether you have to steal, lie, or even murder to get there, then that is wrong. That is when coveting actually becomes idolatry, because whatever it is you are pursuing has become more important to you than God himself.

Coveting actually is idolatry, according the Bible: “Don’t be greedy, for a greedy person is an idolater, worshiping the things of this world” (Colossians 3:5 NLT). When you are lusting after someone or something, when you are obsessed with that person or thing and it begins to drive you, then coveting is out of control. That is why God says, “You must not covet...” (Exodus 20:17 NLT).

Coveting is a powerful and underestimated sin. In the life of King David we find a classic example of how destructive it can be. One night as he was hanging out at the palace and enjoying life, he saw the beautiful Bathsheba bathing herself. Then he coveted. He should have stopped there and confessed it as a sin, but David took action. First he coveted, and then he took Bathsheba from her husband Uriah and committed adultery with her. Then, instead of admitting his sin, he tried to cover it up and had Uriah sent to his death on the battlefield. It all started with David’s coveting something that was not his and not meant to be his, and it ultimately led to murder.

Prior to his conversion, Saul of Tarsus was a very religious man. He was a man who, to the best of his ability, tried to keep the law. But the one commandment that hung him up was coveting. Paul could pride himself on the fact that he didn’t steal, lie, commit adultery, murder, and so forth. The problem was that he could control his actions, but he couldn’t control his heart.

The Bible says that if you offend in one point of the law, you are guilty of all of it (see James 2:10). God’s commandments are like a moral mirror: they show us the truth. We may not always like what we see in a mirror, but the mirror shows us what we need to change. The mirror does us a favor.

In the same way, God’s commandments reveal to us who we really are. They are a reflection of truth so that, with God’s help, we will change.

greenlight Green Lights and God’s Will

by Ron Hutchcraft

There’s an island on the New Jersey Shore that our family loved to go to when we had a holiday weekend. After you cross the causeway from the mainland, you enter an island that is long and really narrow. In fact, at many points, you can drive down the long street that runs through the center of that island and you see the bay just to one side and the ocean just on the other side. I’ve driven that long street many, many times. Because it’s flat, you can see the traffic lights way ahead of you. Often, I would start off with a green light in front of me and I’d be looking at some red lights up ahead; maybe a long line of red lights. But as I approached them, those reds would turn green, and I kept going. You’ll be happy to know that when I came to a red light, I stopped – like the good boy I am. You knew that!

For some folks, when you just say those words “God’s will,” the fog starts rolling in, they hear mystical music, and their blood pressure goes up. This business of knowing what God’s will is seems so hard for so many of us. But, of course, God didn’t create a plan for your life to torture you with it. He wants you to know what He wants you to do, but in the way that will keep you closest to Him.

Now about those traffic lights on that long, straight street. They might actually help us visualize how a child of God knows and does the will of God. Let’s get some guidance first from our word for today from the Word of God in Psalm 37:23-24. “The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord, and he delights in his way. Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down; for the Lord upholds him with His hand.” Notice how God directs us; it’s our steps! He doesn’t show you the whole plan. You’d either run to it or you’d run from it and either way, you’d ruin it. You can only take one step at a time anyway, right? So He shows you the next step. God’s macro-will for your life is made up of thousands of micro-wills. It’s “take a step, see a step.”

When I’m driving that island highway, I don’t wait until every light I can see turns green. I go when the one right in front of me turns green, and I keep driving toward the next light. As long as the lights are green when I get to them, I keep going. When I get to one that’s red, I stop. What God is asking you to do is start moving in the direction of the green light that He’s put right in front of you. You don’t know where this is going to take you, but, by faith, you start following the light God has given you. Like those ancient Jews who discovered that the waters part when you step into them, not vice versa.

God will give you a green light often by Scripture that seems to have your name on it, strengthened by other verses that come your way at that time. He’ll give you this strong compulsion in one direction during the times that you’re praying, and He’ll give you a sense of peace about that direction. He’ll open and close doors circumstantially to confirm what He’s been saying to your heart. So, move when the light is green. Keep moving that direction as long as the lights keep turn green. But don’t blow past God’s red light. Stop when the green light isn’t there.

God’s will for my life seems so huge, it’s just beyond my grasp. But that’s OK. It’s God’s will for my next step that’s the real issue anyway. Let your Lord order your steps; He’ll make those obedient steps into His grand and glorious will for your life. Don’t wait for all the lights to turn green – for all the questions to be answered. They won’t turn green until you start moving past the green light that’s right in front of you.

making-hapy Making Everybody Happy

by Alan Smith

The following is reported to be a true story regarding Berkeley, CA:

In 1990, the Berkeley City Council passed a law changing the name of Columbus Day to Native American Day because Columbus wasn’t nice to the Indians. Of course, no Indians were asked if they wanted the holiday’s name changed or even if they wanted to be called Native Americans.

In 1991, a politically-correct group argued that Indians are not native to America but to Asia, so calling them Native Americans might be insulting to Asians. So the Berkeley City Council changed the name again, to “Indigenous People Day.” Of course, neither the Indian nor the Asian communities were consulted about this.

In 1992, the Italian American Anti-Defamation League gave the City of Berkeley their Insensitivity Award. The Italian-American group said that they agreed that Indians haven’t been treated well, but that the Italians weren’t the ones who did it, so why take away their holiday? Nobody asked the Italian-American community at large how they felt about renaming Columbus Day.

In 1994, the Berkeley City Council finally changed the holiday back to “Columbus Day.”

In 1995, representatives of the Winnamucca Indian Tribe protested at City Council meetings. They argued that Indians had never asked that Columbus Day be renamed to honor Indians, but since it had been, the City Council couldn’t take it back, lest they become “indigenous-people-givers.”

In 1996, the City Council again changed the name to “Indigenous Peoples/Columbus Day.” It was felt that this name was a compromise which would end any and all protests from the diverse, interested parties.

Currently, the Berkeley City Council is besieged by a group lobbying to rename the holiday “Animal Rights Day.”

You can’t please everyone, can you? In fact, trying to do so will only frustrate you. I’m not saying we shouldn’t give consideration to the desires of others, because we should. But, ultimately, in our Christian lives, we should seek to please only one person.

“For do I now persuade men, or God? Or do I seek to please men? For if I still pleased men, I would not be a bondservant of Christ.” (Gal. 1:10)

Take comfort in knowing that even Jesus Christ didn’t please everyone throughout his life. But he always sought to please God. May that be your goal this day and every day!

This article by Alan Smith, Senior Pastor of the Helen Street Church of Christ in Fayetteville, North Carolina. You can visit his site at http://www.TFTD-online.com

the-risk The Risk of Faith

by Steve Troxel

At the beginning of Elijah’s ministry, God sent him to stay with a widow and her son. When he first arrived, Elijah asked the widow for some bread. The woman sadly said she only had enough for one final meal: “I don’t have any bread – only a handful of flour in a jar and a little oil in a jug. I am gathering a few sticks to take home and make a meal for myself and my son, that we may eat it – and die” (1 Kings 17:12). [Let’s remember those in the world today with this same feeling of hopelessness.]

The widow had completely given up on life. She believed she was preparing her last meal, but Elijah told her to trust God and make him something to eat out of the remaining flour. Elijah said it was God’s plan to provide for all her needs...but she must believe.

1 Kings 17:14
“For this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘The jar of flour will not be used up and the jug of oil will not run dry until the day the Lord gives rain on the land.’”

The widow could have used the remaining food to feed herself and her son, but she risked all she had and did as Elijah requested. Even though she couldn’t see the extra food or understand how it would arrive, she had faith in God’s Word and took action based on her faith. “Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see” (Hebrews 11:1).

The risk was great, but God’s promise and provision were even greater: “So there was food every day for Elijah and for the woman and her family. For the jar of flour was not used up and the jug of oil did not run dry, in keeping with the Word of the Lord spoken by Elijah” (1 Kings 17:15-16).

Taking a step of faith ALWAYS requires risk – always requires stepping into the unknown. If we could see every detail about where God was leading and how He would provide, we wouldn’t need faith. But if there is any “success” to be had in the Christian walk, it will only come as we daily live by faith – as we live each and every moment by listening intently for the call of God and then trusting Him, even through our fear, as we step into what we cannot see. This is where the true blessings of God reside.

When God calls us to a place where we must be “certain of what we do not see,” we must boldly step. We must overcome our fears with a faith grounded in the promises of His Word and trust Him with all our heart to never leave our side. We can be sure of the hope found in Jesus Christ! Let’s share this message of faithful hope all around the world.

If we are careful to listen, we most certainly will hear the call of God. He is faithful and will never lead us astray. So when we hear His call, let’s be prepared to step and take the risk of faith.

as seen in Steve Troxel’s “God’s Daily Word” devotional. www.gdwm.org

in-the-fire In the Fire

“Then the king promoted Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego...” – Daniel 3:30

We can learn a few things from those guys in the fiery furnace:

• Obeying God doesn’t mean you’ll never have trouble. Don’t expect the world to always get you – sometimes, it’ll be hard work for you

• You’re not alone, God is with you in your trouble. If you’ve ever seen the Veggietales “Rack, Shack and Benny,” you’ll remember that when King Neb threw them in the fire, suddenly there were “four men, and one was reeeaaal shiny!” (check out the whole story in Daniel 3:19 – 27). The fire didn’t kill them, because Jesus was there too. So be encouraged. It may feel like you’re stuck in the flames, but God is with you – He’ll bring you out of this victorious.

• Your trouble will become your testimony. Your friends are watching. When what they’re trusting in doesn’t work, they’ll look to see if what you’re trusting in does. Your faithfulness to God and His to you, will challenge them in ways nothing else can. Everybody in Babylon knew what Rack, Shack and Benny believed, but they wanted to know if it worked when the heat was on (literally!). It did, and lives changed!

• On the other side of your trouble, there’s great blessing. This is a Scriptural principle: when you’re faithful in a tough place, God can trust you in a high place.

last-impress The Last Impression

On Sunday, the new young pastor arrived at church and found only an old farmer had shown up.

After waiting a while, the disappointed the pastor remarked to the old farmer, “Well, it appears no one else is coming, so we should probably cancel service today”

The farmer, dressed in his Sunday best, looked at the young preacher and said, “Well pastor, I don’t know much ‘bout preachin’, but I do know something bout farmin‘ and if I went out in the field and found only one cow, I’d still feed ‘em”

This excited the young preacher who preached for the next 45 minutes a fierce fire and brimstone sermon. Afterwards the pastor asked the old farmer what he thought.

The old farmer remarked, “Well pastor, I don’t know much bout preachin’, but I do know somethin‘ ‘bout farmin‘ and if I went out in the field and found only one cow, I wouldn’t give ‘em the whole bale.”

It’s my prayer that each issue of firstIMPRESSIONS is a blessing to you, and will encourage you in your daily walk in the Lord. Perhaps you will be able to use some illustration or devotional in your own ministry. Be blessed and have a fantastic day as you serve the Lord!