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opening Joseph’s life was anything but peaceful. It was complicated by youthful folly, broken dreams, and the mean-spirited actions of others. He was sold into slavery by jealous brothers. He was thrown into prison on false charges. Yet he remained a man remarkable for his lack of bitterness or regret, always seeing God as the “Great Engineer” behind even the worst of circumstances.

In a final confrontation with his brothers, he graciously noted, “You meant it for bad; God meant it for good.” The theology packed in that statement is astounding! “God meant it for good” means...

You can accept the past! No sin, no action, no choice on your part is too big for God to handle, or too big to be worked for the good of those who love him and are called according to his purpose. (Romans 8:28) Ask his fearful and famished brothers, who were forced to rely on him for survival.

You can embrace the present! There’s no need to play the “what if” game. The past is gone, and no energy you expend will ever change it. The future is in God’s omnipotent hands, so you’re free to focus on the present. Your job is to love God with all your heart, soul, and mind, trusting him to forgive the past and transform the future. Jim Eliot once wrote, “Wherever you are, be all there!” – not living in the past and not fantasizing about the future. God wants you in the present because that’s where his grace will flow.

You can look expectantly toward the future! Even if you make mistakes today, God still controls your future. Walking in the Spirit, you can live life to the fullest, unafraid of making mistakes and unconcerned that you may stumble into some terrible circumstance that takes you out of God’s control. Even when things appear to be terrible, you can trust that God is working out some divine plan through you.

So what? No matter how bad things get, God is still able to bring good out of it. Today, thank God that nothing – no disaster, no delay – is bigger that his ability to turn it into something good and godly. Thank God and let go! Thank God that He is sovereign over your past, your present, and your future. Give God the circumstances, disasters, hindrances, hurts, and sins from your past. Give God your current situation, your disasters, hindrances, hurts, and sins of today.

Praise God that he can work anything in your future for godly good, that you can walk in confidence that there is nothing anyone can do to you, or anything you can do that will be beyond the reach of God’s grace and redemption. Look for God’s hand. Walking by faith means you see God’s hand even in the most difficult of circumstances. You trust His ability and his willingness to transform the bad into godly good.

God is not limited by people’s motives. In other words, it doesn’t matter why someone hurt you, God still can transform a deliberate, mean-spirited situation into something for His good.

Here is your copy of firstIMPRESSIONS, Volume 10.05. Live for God, on purpose, trusting Him in all things.

courage Take Courage! Your Sins are Forgiven!

Perspective. How you see or perceive things in relationship to other things. Perspective is the ability to perceive things in their actual interrelations or comparative importance. Perspective is the technique artists rely upon to represent three-dimensional objects and depth relationships on a two-dimensional surface. Perspective is someone’s ability to properly understand their current circumstances in light of past events and potential future situations.

Facing financial difficulties? Relationship problems? Trouble on the job? Having some health issues? Most everyone would say that at least one of those things fits their current situation. And, most certainly, Christians are not immune to the problems and issues of this life. But, how does the believer see their situation? Proper perspective is necessary!

In Matthew 8, as well as in Mark 2, we read about a man who was paralyzed. He was unable to move anywhere on his own. A difficult problem, for sure. The man had friends who were so concerned about him and his paralysis, that they were willing to put him on a mat, carry him to the roof, cut a hole in the roof, and lower him through the hole, in order for him to meet Jesus.

You would think that this man’s most pressing problem, and his greatest need, was the paralysis that plagued his body. That certainly is what his friends believed. And, hearing that Jesus healed people, they did all they could do to bring their friend to Jesus.

What were Jesus‘ first words to this man? “Take courage! Yours sins are forgiven!” You see, Jesus put things in the proper perspective. The man’s greatest need was not physical – it was spiritual. The physical paralysis meant little in comparison to the spiritual freedom that he was to have in Christ!

Yes, we will all face problems. We all have many concerns. But, we all need to have proper perspective. All of our seemingly large “problems” have “come to pass.” We need to take courage! Our sins have been forgiven through Christ!

This Sunday, we will conclude this month’s series of messages on the theme of “Take Courage!” Don’t miss this very encouraging time together this week at WFA!

willing-pay-price Willing to Pay the Price

by Alan Smith

Though skeptical of his teenage son’s newfound determination to build bulging muscles, one father followed his teenager to the store’s weight-lifting department, where they admired a set of weights.

“Please, Dad,” pleaded the teen, “I promise I’ll use ‘em every day.”

“I don’t know, Michael. It’s really a commitment on your part,” the father said.

“Please, Dad?”

“They’re not cheap either,” the father said.

“I’ll use ‘em, Dad, I promise. You’ll see.”

Finally won over, the father paid for the equipment and headed for the door. After a few steps, he heard his son behind him say, “What! You mean I have to carry them to the car?”

The comparison to our Christian lives is all too obvious. We can be told how much commitment is involved in being a Christian. We can be told how much will be required of us when we become a Christian. We say that we understand all that is involved and we are still willing to give our “all” to Christ. But, often, we are barely dried off from our baptism before we are complaining about what is expected of us — “Surely you don’t expect me to spend that much time, that much money, that much effort!”

The truth is, those of us who are Christians rarely see Christianity as much of a struggle. Christianity is an easy way of living for most of us. Perhaps too easy. I think there’s enough in scripture to label Christianity as a struggle for our faith. In Luke 13:24, Jesus said, “Strive to enter through the narrow gate, for many, I say to you, will seek to enter and will not be able.” We don’t just walk through the narrow gate; we have to strive to get through. That word suggests there is to be a great deal of effort on our part.

In Ephesians 6:12, Paul describes the Christian life in this way: “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.” The picture Paul paints for us is a picture of struggling, a picture of constant battle.

The Hebrew writer constantly alludes to the fact that we need to put a great deal of effort into our Christian lives. The word diligent is frequently used. “Let us therefore be diligent to enter that rest.” (Hebrews 4:11).

It has been said that our favorite hypocrisy is to make a choice and then to refuse to pay for it. We have a word for that in this country – it’s called credit! Thanks to credit, I can go to the store and pick out something I want, and then not have to pay for it now. In fact, some stores go so far as to say, “Come in and buy our furniture and make no payments until January 2010!” But how many people do you suppose have gotten themselves into severe financial difficulty because they made a choice that they were not really willing to pay for?

But that truth applies to far more than just financial matters; it applies to all of life. Rudyard Kipling once said that if anyone did not get from life what they really wanted, it was because either he didn’t really want it or because he began to quibble about the price. That may be a bit of an overstatement, but I do think there’s a great deal of truth there. We must be willing to pay the price for what we want.

The price for the Christian life is high, and Jesus wants us to count that cost as part of our decision to follow him.

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

most-of-your-time Making the Most of Your Time

“‘...teach us to number our days...’“
— Psalm 90:12 NKJV

Our days are like identical suitcases, but some people pack more into them than others. That’s because they know what to pack. Everybody gets twenty-four hours, but not everybody gets the same return on them.

The truth is, you don’t manage your time, you manage your life. Time cannot be controlled; it marches on no matter what you do. Nobody – no matter how shrewd – can save minutes from one day to spend in another. No scientist is capable of creating new minutes. With all his wealth, Warren Buffett can’t buy additional hours for his day.

People talk about trying to ‘find time’, but they need to quit looking; there isn’t any extra lying around. Twenty-four hours is the best any of us is going to get.

Wise people understand that time is their most precious commodity. As a result, they know where their time goes. They continually analyze how they are using their time and ask themselves, “Am I getting the best use out of my time?”

In his book, “What To Do Between Birth and Death: The Art of Growing Up,” Charles Spezzano writes: “You don’t really pay for things with money, you pay for them with time. We say, ‘In five years, I’ll have enough money put away for that vacation house we want. Then I’ll slow down.‘ That means the house will cost you five years – one-twelfth of your adult life. Translate the dollar value of the house, car, or anything else into time, and then see if it’s still worth it.”

on-bended-knee On Bended Knee

Have you ever watched a bird sleeping on its perch and never falling off? How does it manage to do this?

The secret is the tendons of the bird’s legs. They are so constructed that when the leg is bent at the knee, the claws contract and grip like a steel trap. The claws refuse to let go until the knees are unbent again. The bended knee gives the bird the ability to hold on to his perch so tightly.

From sleeping birds we can learn the secret of holding things which are most precious to us – honesty, purity, thoughtfulness, honor, character. That secret is the knee bent in prayer, seeking to get a firmer grip on those values which make life worth living. In Ephesians 3:14 we read, “For this reason, I kneel before the Father.” When we hold firmly to God in prayer, we can rest assured he will hold tightly to us.

hand-in-prayer Your Hand in Prayer

1. Your thumb is nearest to you. So begin your prayers by praying for those closest to you. They are the easiest to ones to remember. To pray for our loved ones is, as C.S. Lewis once said, a “sweet duty.”

2. The next finger is the pointing finger. Pray for those who teach, instruct and heal. This includes teachers, doctors, and ministers. They need support and wisdom for pointing others in the right direction. Keep them in your prayers.

3. The next finger is the tallest finger. It reminds us of our leaders. Pray for the president, leaders in business and industry, and administrators. These people shape our nation and guide public opinion. They need God’s guidance.

4. The fourth finger is our ring finger. Surprising to many is the fact that this is our weakest finger; as any piano teacher will testify. It should remind us to pray for those who are weak, in trouble or in pain. They need your prayers day and night. You cannot pray too much for them.

5. And lastly comes our little finger, the smallest finger of all, which is where we should place ourselves in relation to God and others. As the Bible says, “The least shall be the greatest among you.” Your pinkie should remind you to pray for yourself. By the time you have prayed for the other four groups, your own needs will be put into proper perspective and you will be able to pray for yourself more effectively.

When you find it hard to get to sleep tonight, just remember the homeless family who has no bed to lie in.

When you find yourself stuck in traffic, don’t despair. There are people in this world for whom driving is an unheard of privilege.

When you have a bad day at work, think of the man who has been out of work for the last three months.

When you despair over a relationship gone bad, think of the person who has never known what it’s like to love and be loved in return.

When you grieve the passing of another weekend, think of the woman in dire straits, working twelve hours a day, seven days a week, for $15 to feed her family.

When your car breaks down, leaving you miles away from assistance, think of the paraplegic who would love the opportunity to take that walk.

When you notice a new gray hair in the mirror, think of the cancer patient in chemo who wishes she had hair to examine.

When you find yourself at a loss, and pondering what is life all about, what is my purpose, be thankful. There are those who didn’t live long enough to get the opportunity.

When you find yourself the victim of other people’s bitterness, ignorance, smallness or insecurities, remember, things could be worse. You could be them.

judging-book Judging a Book

An interesting number of antique leather-bound books are being purchased for their covers and not their content.

Interior designers buy them by the linear yard and use them to create a warm, old-world atmosphere in the homes of affluent clients. Of prime importance is whether they match a room’s decor. One wealthy businessman purchased 13,000 antique books he will never read just to create a library look in his renovated home. Those books are just for show.

Focusing on outward appearances can be a pleasing way to decorate a house, but it’s a dangerous way to live. Jesus reprimanded many religious leaders of His day because they did not practice what they preached. “But all their works they do to be seen by men...” (Matthew 23:5a) They were addicted to receiving praise and feeling self-important.

We are to be people of inner substance, not just outward appearance. Our content is far more important than our cover. We are here for more than show.

last The Last Impression

A pastor, known for his lengthy sermons, noticed a man get up and leave during the middle of his message. The man returned just before the conclusion of the service.

Afterward the pastor asked the man where he had gone. “I went to get a haircut,” was the reply.

“But,” said the pastor, “why didn’t you do that before the service started?”

“Because,” the gentleman said, “I didn’t need one then.”

Barbers and hairstylists are most welcome this Sunday at WFA... but they won’t need to bring the tools of their trade! I am looking forward to worshipping together, and to sharing the concluding message in the “Take Courage!” series. February is just around the corner, where here at WFA we will be featuring our World Missions Convention. It’s going to be great!