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jarius Jairus was a well-known, powerful, wealthy individual who was the head of the local synagogue. When his 12-year-old daughter, his only child, was in great need, he sought out Jesus to heal her.

We don’t know whether Jairus was a believer in Jesus. As the head of the synagogue, he would have been a religious man. He probably had heard about Jesus. Maybe he had already put his faith in Him. But Jairus believed that Jesus could save his daughter’s life. So he went and found the Lord and begged Him to heal his daughter. He placed his complete trust in Jesus.

But as they were on the way to his house the news came that his daughter had died. The reason they did not get to his daughter more quickly was because a woman in need of healing came along and touched Jesus, and He stopped and demanded to know who it was that touched Him.

Yet Jairus did not complain. Rather, he committed himself to Jesus, believing that God knew what He was doing. His faith was dramatic, especially because at this particular time in Jesus‘ ministry, He had not raised anyone from the dead. Granted, He had healed people. But there had been no resurrections.

Jairus had to wait. We have to wait!

A lot of us grow impatient with God. In our impatience, we can foolishly take things into our own hands and make them far worse. Know this – God’s delays are not necessarily His denials. We need to wait on the Lord. God’s timing is just as important as His will. He doesn’t ask for us to understand. He just asks us to trust.

Here is your copy of firstIMPRESSIONS, Volume 10.03. Live for God, on purpose, trusting Him and waiting for His perfect time.

take-courage Take Courage! Healing Can Be Yours!

The other day, while standing in the check-out line at the local grocery store, the individual in front of me gazed at each of the tabloid newspapers on display, and selected one of each to purchase along with her other selected items. I was once again amazed to see someone pay for those items. Have you ever noticed some of the headlines on those tabloids?

• “Osama Captured By Rednecks”

• “Vegan Vampire Attacks Trees”

• “Kitten Guilty Of Murder”

• “Hillary Clinton Adopts Alien Baby”

• “Dick Cheney Is A Robot”

• “Terrorist Plot To Blow Up Internet On 1-11”

It’s amazing what some folks will believe. But, its even more amazing at what many people don’t believe! In Mark 5, we read that a man named Jairus wanted to have Jesus pray for his daughter to be healed. But, while en route to see his daughter, Jairus‘ daughter died. Jairus‘ friends told him to stop bothering Jesus, because the girl was already deceased.

Jesus‘ response to these people is still His response to people today to those who desire to be healed – “Don’t be afraid – just believe!”

My friend, Evangelist Tiff Shuttlesworth, once said to me that if health care gets any more expensive, Pentecostals are going to have to start believing in divine healing again! Although said in humor, it emphasizes a simple truth – to receive a healing from God, you must believe that God is a healer!

This Sunday at WFA, we continue our series of messages built on the passages where Jesus tells his followers to “Take Courage!” In the parallel passages of Matthew 9 and Mark 5, we read of two healings – one interrupted by the other! The Lord encouraged one of the individuals healed, when He told her “Take courage! Your faith has made you well!” As we examine these passages of the two accounts of healing, we trust that you will be encouraged. Don’t miss our message – “Take Courage! Healing Can Be Yours!”

sing-understand Sing With the Understanding

by Alan Smith

I heard once about a woman who spent some months serving as a missionary in South Africa. On her final visit to a remote township she attended a medical clinic. As the Zulu women there began to sing together, she found herself deeply moved by their hauntingly beautiful harmonies. She wanted to always remember this moment and try to share it with friends when she arrived home. With tears flowing down her cheeks, she turned to her friend and asked, “Can you please tell me the translation of the words to this song?”

Her friend looked at her and solemnly replied... “If you boil the water, you won’t get dysentery.”

How many times have we been guilty of the same thing in our worship to God? Not of singing that particular song, but of singing without being aware of the meaning of the words we were singing.

It seems to me that singing songs of praise is like driving a car. If you drive, you’ve learned that if you follow the same route day after day, it is possible for you to make the trip without even thinking about what you’re doing. We’ve all had the scary feeling of arriving at a location realizing that we “zoned out” en route and made the trip while our mind was on “autopilot.”

Many of us have had the same experience in our worship. We sing all the songs (like we’ve done countless times before) but our mind is on “autopilot” and after we’ve finished, we don’t have a clue what we just sang about.

Paul said, “I will pray with the spirit, and I will also pray with the understanding. I will sing with the spirit, and I will also sing with the understanding.” (1 Corinthians 14:15)

For those of us who are easily distracted, it requires a bit more effort, but may we resolve to strive to pay attention to the words that we are singing. May the songs of praise we sing truly come from a heart that exalts God!

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

amazes-jesus What Amazes Jesus?

Apparently, we like to be amazed. I draw that conclusion from the myriad of television shows such as, “Amazing Rescues,” “Amazing Car Chases,” “Amazing Animal Stories,” and do you remember from a generation ago, “That’s Incredible.”

But now, have you ever wondered what amazes Jesus? What turns his head? If you haven’t, I’ll tell you...

“When Jesus heard these things, He marveled at him, and turned around and said to the crowd that followed Him, ‘I say to you, I have not found such great faith, not even in Israel!’“ (Luke 7:9).

Faith! That’s what amazes Jesus. The kind of faith possessed by a Roman solider. Jesus marveled! He was amazed! He said he had never seen anything like it, not even in Israel, among God’s people.

Friends, you may never make it on some “Amazing” television show. In fact, your life may seem quite ordinary to your friends and neighbors, but if you have faith; faith like this Roman soldier, you too will turn the Savior’s head, cause Him to marvel at you, and say, “Why, have you ever seen such a thing?”

P.S. – For those who are interested, here’s some additional information that helps to explain what was so amazing about this Roman soldier’s faith.

• It crossed barriers. He was a Gentile, but he had come to have faith in God.

• It involved him in the work of God. He put his faith in action and built the Jews a synagogue.

• It worked for the good of others. He was concerned about a servant, who under Roman laws was simply viewed as a living tool.

• It was humble. He felt unworthy before Jesus.

• It acknowledged that nothing was too hard for God. He believed Jesus could do what he was unable to do.

choose I Choose

It’s quiet. It’s early. My coffee is hot. The sky is still black. The world is still asleep. The day is coming. In a few moments the day will arrive. It will roar down the track with the rising of the sun. The stillness of the dawn will be exchanged for the noise of the day. The calm of solitude will be invaded by decisions to be made and deadlines to be met. For the next twelve hours I will be exposed to the day’s demands. It is now that I must make a choice. Because of Calvary, I’m free to choose. And so I choose...

I CHOOSE LOVE... No occasion justifies hatred; no injustice warrants bitterness. I choose love. Today I will love God and what God loves.

I CHOOSE JOY... I will invite my God to be the God of circumstances. I will refuse the temptation to be cynical... the tool of the lazy thinker. I will refuse to see people as anything less than human beings created by God. I will refuse to see any problem as anything less than an opportunity to see God.

I CHOOSE PEACE... I will live forgiven. I will forgive so that I may live.

I CHOOSE PATIENCE... I will overlook the inconveniences of the world. Instead of cursing the one who takes my place, I’ll invite him to do so. Rather than complain that the wait is too long, I will thank God for a moment to pray. Instead of clenching my fist at new assignments, I will face them with joy and courage.

I CHOOSE KINDNESS... I will be kind to the poor, for they are alone. Kind to the rich, for they are afraid. And kind to the unkind, for such is how God has treated me.

I CHOOSE GOODNESS... I will go without a dollar before I take a dishonest one. I will be overlooked before I will boast. I will confess before I will accuse.

I CHOOSE FAITHFULNESS... Today I will keep my promises. My debtors will not regret their trust. My associates will not question my word. My wife will not question my love. And my children will never fear that their father will not come home.

I CHOOSE GENTLENESS... Nothing is won by force. I choose to be gentle. If I raise my voice may it be only in praise. If I clench my fist, may it be only in prayer. If I make a demand, may it be only of myself.

I CHOOSE SELF-CONTROL... I am a spiritual being. After this body is dead, my spirit will soar. I refuse to let what will not, rule the eternal. I will be drunk only by joy. I will be impassioned only by my faith. I will be influenced only by God. I will be taught only by Christ.

Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control – Galatians 5:22,23

To these I commit my day. If I succeed, I will give thanks. If I fail, I will seek His grace. And then, when this day is done, I will place my head on my pillow and rest with the peace that passes all understanding.

red-thread The Red Thread

A missionary was traveling in the Far East when he came across a booth in a market place. It was a tapestry maker’s booth. As he walked by he saw a strange sight. A man was standing in the booth shouting at his loom on the other side of the booth. As he shouted threads appeared in the tapestry almost by magic. The missionary asked his guide for an explanation.

“The man you see,” said the guide, “Is a master weaver. He is speaking to his apprentice behind the loom telling him what color thread to use and where to put it. Only the weaver knows the entire design, so it is vital that the apprentice do exactly as the master commands.”

“Does the apprentice ever make a mistake?” asked the missionary.

“Of course. But the weaver is a very kind man in this case and he will rarely have the boy take out the thread. Instead, being a great artist, he simply works the mistake into the design.”

How much that is like God. We cannot see the pattern of the tapestry God is weaving. We are on the other side of the loom looking at knotted threads placed seemingly without purpose. Occasionally we can catch a glimpse of the design, but then as soon as we think we have it pegged the master calls for a thread which changes every thing. So, we have to trust the master weaver that he knows what he is doing.

And like the apprentice, we, too make our mistakes. We put in a red thread instead of a violet one. We knot it in the wrong place or place it crookedly. And God in his mercy doesn’t upbraid us but takes our own mistakes and make them part of the design.

brutal Brutal Honesty

After 20 years two college rivals bumped into each other. “Do you remember how I used to be so fat and flabby?‘ asked the first. “Well, I’ve been on an exercise program for a few years, and now I run marathons.”

“That’s great!” replied the other man.

“And,” the first man continued, “Do you remember how I used to be shy and a poor student? Well, I took a course in public speaking, and now I make hundreds of thousands of dollars a year on the lecture circuit”

“That’s great!” came the reply.

“Oh, and how about you?” the first man asked. “Have you changed at all?”

“Well, yes I have”, replied the second man. “Remember how brutally honest I used to be, and how when someone said something uninteresting, I would reply, “I couldn’t care less?” Well now I just say, “That’s great!”

last The Last Impression

On a sunny morning, William’s mother came into her son’s room and said, “William, it’s Sunday. Time to get up! Time to get up and go to church! Get up!”

From under the covers came mumbles, “I don’t want to go!”

“What do you mean?” she said. “That’s silly! Now get up and get dressed and go to church!”

“No!” he shot back. “I’ll give you two reasons. I don’t like them and they don’t like me!”

“Nonsense,” she told him. “I’ll give YOU two reasons to go. First, you are 42 years old, and second, you are the PASTOR!”

I will be getting out of bed and getting dressed to worship with you this Sunday at WFA! There is a special blessing for everyone when we gather together and lift up the name of the Lord. The Bible tells us that He inhabits the praises of His people. I am trusting that the Lord will indeed dwell among us, draw us close to Him, and direct us by the leading of His Holy Spirit. Don’t miss being in the presence of God this week!