WFA.org

doors We need to learn to praise the Lord as much for a closed door as we do an open door. The reason God closes doors is because He has not prepared anything over there for us. If he didn’t close the wrong door, we would never find the right door.

God directs our path through the closing and opening of doors. Once a door closes, it forces you to change your course. Another door closes, it forces you to change your course again. Then, finally, you find the open door and you walk right into your blessing.

The Lord directs our paths through the opening and closing of doors, but instead of praising him for the closed door (which keeps us out of trouble); we get upset because we “judge by the appearances.”

You have an ever-present help in the time of trouble that is always standing guard. Because He walks ahead of you, He can spot trouble down the road and set up a roadblock or detour accordingly. But through our lack of wisdom, we try to tear down the roadblocks or push aside the detour sign. Then the minute we get into trouble, we start crying, “Lord, how could You have done this to me?”

We have got to realize that the closed door can be a blessing. Didn’t He say that no good thing would He withhold from them that love Him? If you get terminated from your job, praise God for the new opportunities that will manifest themselves: it might be another job, it might be school. If that man or woman won’t return your call, it might not be them, it might be the Lord setting up a roadblock (just let it go).

We can sometimes trap ourselves in doubt and discouragement through judging by appearances... Be grateful for the many times our Father has closed doors to us just to open them in the most unexpected places.

The Lord won’t always say in spoken words, “Go to the left, now to the right.” Sometimes He will just close the doors that are wrong for you.

Here is your copy of firstIMPRESSIONS, Volume 10.04. Live for God, on purpose, praising Him for open doors – and for the closed doors!

Fill Your Prescription

One day, after not feeling well for some time, a man went to see a doctor. The illness was nothing serious, but the doctor felt that the man needed to take some medication in order to address the problem. The doctor wrote a prescription for the medicine and gave it to the man. The man went home, and tacked the prescription on his bulletin board where he could see it anytime he wanted. He never filled the prescription – and his illness never went away.

You would never do what the sick man did, would you? Of course not! Looking at a prescription for medicine can’t help anyone get better. One must have the prescription filled at a pharmacy and then actually take the medicine – for it to do the job it is supposed to do.

Still, how often do we treat our life as Christ-followers in a similar way? The Bible provides us with God’s “medicine” for living spiritually healthy lives. It shows us how to live. It provides us with the ultimate framework for living out God’s will. But, we’ll never know if we are doing the will of God, if we don’t know what it is. So too often, we cut corners in this one very important aspect of spiritual life – letting our time in reading, studying and meditating on the Bible – become reduced for any number of reasons.

By spending time in God’s Word on a regular basis, we take action to make sure we’re filling the prescription and taking the medicine that will make us whole.

Romans 12:2 says, “Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is – his good, pleasing and perfect will.”

Do you want to live a more fulfilling life as you follow Christ? Do you want to live more confidently by having a greater understanding of God’s will for your life? It’s all in the Word! Bring it into your life today!

Terrorist in the Church

Latest news reports are that five terrorist cell groups have been operating in many of our churches. They have been identified as: Bin Sleepin, Bin Arguin, Bin Fightin, Bin Complainin, and Bin Missin. Their leader, Lucifer Bin Workin, trained these groups to destroy the Body of Christ. The plan is to come into the church disguised as Christians and to work within the church to discourage, disrupt, and destroy.

However, there have been reports of a sixth group. A tiny cell known by the name Bin Prayin is actually the only effective counter terrorism force in the church. Unlike other terrorist cells, the Bin Prayin team does not blend in with whoever and whatever comes along.

Bin Prayin does whatever is needed to uplift and encourage the Body of Christ. We have noticed that the Bin Prayin cell group has different characteristics than the others. They have Bin Watchin, Bin Waitin, Bin Fastin, and Bin Longin for their Master, Jesus Christ to return.

NO CHURCH IS EXEMPT!

(However, you can spot them if you bin lookin and bin goin.)

eyes Open Our Eyes

The king of Aram was at war with Israel; but every time he moved his army, the prophet Elisha would inform the Israelites. The king concluded the only way to win the war was to first eliminate Elisha: “‘Go, find out where he is,‘ the king ordered, ‘so I can send men and capture him’“ (2 Kings 6:13).

When the king found where Elisha was staying, he sent his army to surround the city. When Elisha’s servant woke and saw the army, he became very frightened; “Oh, my lord, what shall we do?” (2 Kings 6:15). But Elisha comforted his servant by helping him see the real battle.

“‘Don’t be afraid,‘ the prophet answered. ‘Those who are with us are more than those who are with them.‘ And Elisha prayed, ‘O Lord, open his eyes so he may see.‘ Then the Lord opened the servant’s eyes, and he looked and saw the hills full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.” (2 Kings 6:16-17)

Our false perception is the biggest cause of fear and frustration; in fact, I might boldly say it’s the only cause! If we live without faith, our perception is restricted to what we see with our eyes and hear with our ears. With this limited input, it’s no wonder so many live in fear – it’s no wonder so many become frustrated and discouraged with their day to day life. But as our faith and understanding of God increase, we are able to trust in what we cannot physically see or hear. We can live in peace, knowing that “the One who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world” (1 John 4:4).

Battles occur in and around us every day, battles which cause us to become heavily burdened. We desire to walk down God’s path, but the pulls and attacks of the world seem relentless. We need to remember that His plan and provision is always perfect – always working toward the good. Somehow we must understand that the battle we see with our physical eyes and analyze with our mind is never the real battle; “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood” (Ephesians 6:12).

Our spouse, parents, children or co-workers are not the enemy – neither is our church, the government, the economy or our health. These temporal things are not the true cause of our pain nor should they ever become the source of our joy. The real battles are always spiritual...and we’re NEVER alone!

Let’s draw ever nearer to God until we gain a true understanding of how much He loves us – and how much He is fighting for us; “Those who are with us are more than those who are with them.” Jesus Christ has already won the ultimate battle! We must now trust Him and give Him more of our heart.

what What If...?

What if...?
God decided to stop leading us tomorrow because we didn’t follow Him today...

What if...?
God didn’t bless us today because we failed to thank Him yesterday...

What if...?
We never saw another flower bloom because we grumbled when God sent the rain...

What if...?
God didn’t walk with us today because we failed to recognize it as His day?

What if...?
God stopped loving and caring for us because we failed to love and care for others...

What if...?
God took away the Bible tomorrow, because we would not read it today...

What If...?
God took away his message because we failed to listen to His messenger...

What if...?
God didn’t send His only begotten Son because He wanted us to be prepared to pay the price of sin...

What if...?
The door to the church was closed because we did not open the door of our hearts...

What if...?
God would not hear us today because we would not listen to Him yesterday...

What if...?
God answered our prayers the way we answer His call to service...

What if...?
God met our needs the way we give Him our lives...

Aren’t you glad that God does not give us our due wages?

He is so merciful and loving, but he is also a jealous God, and wants all of our heart, mind, soul, and spirit.

His spirit will not always deal with the heart of man, and if we neglect his call in this life, he will neglect us in the next.

How to Overcome in
Troubled Times

Jesus said, “My peace I leave with you... Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.” (John 14:27 NKJV) Underline the words, “Let not.” You can’t control what goes on around you, but Jesus said you can control what goes on inside you. How? By doing two things:

First, fill your mind with God’s Word.

Jesus said, “These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33 NKJV) Rearrange your priorities and take time to read God’s Word each day. Process it, apply it to each circumstance, and stand on it in times of difficulty. You’ll be amazed at the results!

Second, pray about the situation, then leave it confidently in God’s hands.

Here’s a prayer to help you do that: “Lord, everything seems to be falling apart around me. Everybody wants a piece of me. There’s far too much to do and never enough time to do it. My head is clogged with all kinds of junk and my heart is ready to break. Lord, where are You? I feel like the disciples in the storm, the waves are too big for me. My cry is the same as theirs, ‘Somebody go and get Jesus – I’m about to drown out here!‘ Prince of Peace I need you. Father, who never slumbers nor sleeps; take charge. Let me find in You a quiet place, a place where I can pillow my head on Your chest, hear Your loving heartbeat and feel secure knowing You’ll work things out for me. This I pray, believing, in Jesus‘ name. Amen.”

coping Coping with Stress

A lecturer, when explaining stress management to an audience, raised a glass of water and asked, “How heavy is this glass of water?” Answers called out ranged from 20g to 500g.

The lecturer replied, “The absolute weight doesn’t matter. It depends on how long you try to hold it.

If I hold it for a minute, that’s not a problem.

If I hold it for an hour, I’ll have an ache in my right arm.

If I hold it for a day, you’ll have to call an ambulance.

In each case, it’s the same weight, but the longer I hold it, the heavier it becomes.”

He continued, “And that’s the way it is with stress management. If we carry our burdens all the time, sooner or later, as the burden becomes increasingly heavy, we won’t be able to carry on.”

“As with the glass of water, you have to put it down for a while and rest before holding it again. When we’re refreshed, we can carry on with the burden.”

“So, before you return home tonight, put the burden of work down. Don’t carry it home. You can pick it up tomorrow. Whatever burdens you’re carrying now, let them down for a moment if you can.”

So, my friend, put down anything that may be a burden to you right now.

Don’t pick it up again until after you’ve rested a while.

Here are some great ways of dealing with the burdens of life:

• Accept that some days you’re the pigeon, and some days you’re the statue.

• Always keep your words soft and sweet, just in case you have to eat them.

• Always read stuff that will make you look good if you die in the middle of it.

• Drive carefully. It’s not only cars that can be recalled by their maker.

• If you can’t be kind, at least have the decency to be vague.

• If you lend someone $20 and never see that person again, it was probably worth it.

• It may be that your sole purpose in life is simply to be kind to others.

• Never put both feet in your mouth at the same time, because then you won’t have a leg to stand on.

• Nobody cares if you can’t dance well. Just get up and dance.

• Since it’s the early worm that gets eaten by the bird, sleep late.

• The second mouse gets the cheese.

• When everything’s coming your way, you’re in the wrong lane.

• Birthdays are good for you. The more you have, the longer you live.

• You may be only one person in the world, but you may also be the world to one person.

• Some mistakes are too much fun to only make once.

• We could learn a lot from crayons... Some are sharp, some are pretty and some are dull. Some have weird names, and all are different colors, but they all have to live in the same box.

• A truly happy person is one who can enjoy the scenery on a detour.

last The Last Impression

The phone rang. It was a salesman from a mortgage refinance company. He asked, “Do you have a second mortgage on your home?”

“No,” she replied.

Continuing his pitch, he asked, “Would you like to consolidate all your debts?”

“I really don’t have any,” she said.

Undaunted, he asked once more, “How about freeing up cash for home improvements?”

She quickly said, “I don’t need any. I just recently had some done and paid cash.”

There was a brief silence, and then he asked, “Are you looking for a husband?”

paul God has promised in His Word to supply all our need according to His riches in glory. But, He has also called us to be good stewards with all that He has provided. Being a good steward involves proper handling of what we have now, as well as preparing for what we will need in the future. To help us with those areas, Rev. Paul Coran from Assemblies of God Financial Solutions will be with us at WFA this weekend for a special seminar on “Planning With Purpose.” Join us this Sunday for this valuable ministry!