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If you've asked Christ to be your Savior, but battle with times you doubt your salvation, then your whole life can be thrown off balance. Key areas of faith begin to crumble, and you limit the Holy Spirit's work in your life.

It's impossible to live an effective, empowered life if you're always facing doubts about your salvation. Why do believers doubt? Here are five key reasons:

First, disobedience! Sin hurts our prayers and spiritual understanding. So it's understandable how sin can confuse our understanding of salvation.

Second, deception! False teachings. If you've been taught that salvation is dependent upon good works, then you've been misled. Read the Bible! Christian books, and CDs, and listening to the sermon at church are all good – but they are no substitute for personal Bible study!

Third, distractions! When you allow yourself to focus more on the things around you than on the things of the Lord, you can be distracted from what the Lord is saying to you. Also, if you depend upon your emotions or feelings, you will be distracted. This leads many people to doubt their salvation during times of life's natural "emotional lows."

Fourth, disbelief! Acts 16:31 clearly states, "Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved." If you've made this saving confession, then you're saved. When you doubt the truth of this statement, you fail to take God at His word.

Fifth, the devil! Demonic attacks. The Enemy's goal is to alienate us from God. One of his most effective tactics is to cause us to question our standing with the Lord.

If you doubt your salvation, prayerfully examine your heart. Are any of these five deceptions corroding your faith? If so then allow the Lord to comfort you with His love and the truth of your salvation.

Here is your copy of firstIMPRESSIONS, Volume 10.22. Live for God, on purpose, standing secure in the salvation God has provided you through our Lord Jesus Christ!

Phone Tag

I love phone technology. I'm not talking about today's smart phones, but I'm talking about simpler features like caller ID and voice mail. They are great! If someone calls me and either I don't want to talk to them, don't recognize the number, or simply don't have time to talk, I can silence my ringer and send them straight to voicemail and hear what they have to say later. Then, when I call others back, they can do the same to me. I think my longest game of phone tag lasted almost three months...

Despite my love for technology, I am so thankful that with the Lord, there is no phone tag, no voicemail, and no need for caller ID. When we cry out to the Lord, He knows who is calling and in fact He is waiting for us to do just that. I love the praise song, "He Knows My Name." The chorus goes like this: He knows my name, he knows my every thought. He sees each tear that falls and He hears me when I call. God answers every time. There is no three-month wait, no deciding He doesn't feel like talking to us, no secretary screening calls, and no deciding He doesn't have the time.

For me, there are times I wish God would let my call roll into His voice mail... especially when I need to confess my sins. And, there are a variety of things that hold us back from calling out to Him. Maybe you're embarrassed because you haven't been making the right decisions, or perhaps you haven't talked to Him in a while, or feel like you only call to Him when you need something, or maybe you just aren't sure where to start.

Psalm 139:1-4 says, "O Lord, you have searched me and you know me. You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar. You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways. Before a word is on my tongue you know it completely, O Lord."

Know this – He knows your name. He has searched you inside and out and knows everything about you; nothing you say will surprise Him. And what's even better is that the Bible tells us there is nothing that can separate us from God's love. Nothing. So you don't need to worry that He doesn't love you anymore and doesn't want to hear from you. He's waiting.

No Excuse Sunday

To make it possible for everyone to attend church next Sunday, we are going to have a special "No Excuse Sunday."

• Cots will be placed in the foyer for those who say, "Sunday is my only day to sleep in."

• There will be a special section with lounge chairs for those who feel that our seats are too hard.

• Eye drops will be available for those with tired eyes from watching T.V. late Saturday night.

• We will have steel helmets for those who say, "The roof would cave in if I ever came to church."

• Blankets will be furnished for those who think the church is too cold and fans for those who say it is too hot.

• Scorecards will be available for those who wish to list the hypocrites present.

• Relatives and friends will be in attendance for those who can't go to church and cook dinner, too.

• We will distribute "Stamp Out Stewardship" buttons for those who feel that church is always asking for money.

• One section will be devoted to trees and grass for those who like to seek God in nature.

• Doctors and nurses will be in attendance for those who plan to be sick on Sunday.

• The sanctuary will be decorated with both Christmas poinsettias and Easter lilies for those who never have seen the church without them.

• We will provide hearing aids for those who can't hear the preacher and cotton for those who say he is to loud.

27 Indications That We Need Revival

1. When we do not love Him as we once did.

2. When earthly interests and occupations are more important to us than eternal ones.

3. When we would rather watch TV and read secular books and magazines than read the Bible and pray.

4. When we have little or no desire for prayer.

5. When we would rather make money than give money.

6. When our Christianity is joyless and passionless.

7. When we know truth in our heads that we are not practicing in our lives.

8. When we make little effort to witness to the lost.

9. When we have time for sports, recreation, and entertainment, but not for Bible study and prayer.

10. When we do not tremble at the Word of God.

11. When we seldom think thoughts of eternity.

12. When we are more concerned about our jobs and careers than about the Kingdom of Christ and the salvation of the lost.

13. When Christian husbands and wives are not praying together.

14. When our children are growing up to adopt worldly values, secular philosophies and ungodly lifestyles.

15. When we watch things on TV and movies that we would not show in church.

16. When our prayers lack fervency.

17. When our hearts are cold and our eyes are dry.

18. When our singing is half-hearted and our worship lifeless.

19. When we aren't seeing regular evidence of the supernatural power of God.

20. When we are bored with worship.

21. When we are more concerned about what others think about us than what God thinks about us.

22. When we are making little or no difference in the secular world around us.

23. When we are unmoved by the thought of our neighbors, business associates and acquaintances going to hell.

24. When we have ceased to weep and mourn and grieve over our sin.

25. When we aren't exercising faith and believing God for the impossible.

26. When the fire has gone out in our hearts, our marriages and our church.

27. When we are blind to the extent of our need and don't think we need revival.

The Hand That Holds You

A pencil maker told the pencil 5 important lessons that every Christian should learn!

• Everything you do will always leave a mark.

• You can always correct the mistakes you make.

• What is important is what is inside of you.

• In life, you will undergo painful sharpenings, but they will make you a better person.

• To be the best pencil, you must allow yourself to be held and guided by the hand that holds you.

Living Your Life Without Sin

There was a little girl, whose father was a pastor. One day, she came to her father and said, "Daddy, can a person go their whole life without sinning?"

The father answered, "No, honey, I'm sorry, but that's just not possible."

"What about a year, daddy? Can a person go a whole year without sinning?" she continued.

"No, I don't think that's possible either."

"What about a day, can a person go a day without sinning once?"

"It's very unlikely, no, I don't think they can."

"What about one moment, daddy, can a person go one moment without sinning?"

"Yes, that is possible."

"Then daddy, I want to live my life, moment by moment."

Isn't that how we should live our lives. Not looking ahead to our whole lives, or distant plans. But live moment by moment, as if this moment where your last one before you reach eternity.

Money

Money will buy you a bed but not sleep, books but not brains, food but not an appetite, a house but not a home, medicine but not health, luxuries but not happiness, image but not character and religion but not salvation.

You say, "Does that mean God doesn't want me to have money?" No, He will actually trust you with more money when you demonstrate that your trust is not in your money, but in Him alone. (1 Timothy 6:17)

The Bible teaches three things about money:

1. When you become a good steward of what you have, God will entrust you with more. "...Then he sent for the servants to whom he had given the money, in order to find out what they had gained with it. The first one came and said, ‘...Sir, your mina has earned ten more.‘ ‘Well done, my good servant!...‘ his master replied. ‘...Because you have been trustworthy in a very small matter, take charge of ten cities.'‘ (Luke 19:15-17 NIV)

2. When your focus is on serving others, God will entrust you with more. When Job took the focus off himself and began to pray for others, "...The Lord...gave him twice as much as he had before." (Job 42:10 NIV)

3. When you can walk away from material things to do God's will, God will entrust you with more. Abraham left the security of his home to fulfill God's plan, and he ended up one of the world's wealthiest men. On the other hand, the rich young ruler said "no" to following Christ because the cost was too high. (See Mark 10:17-22.)

You ask, "What was the cost?" Everything!

The Last Impression

A man left for work one Friday afternoon. But it was payday, so instead of going home, he stayed out the entire weekend partying with the boys and spending his entire paycheck.

When he finally appeared at home on Sunday night, he was confronted by his angry wife and was barraged for nearly two hours with a tirade befitting his actions. Finally his wife stopped the nagging and said to him, "How would you like it if you didn't see me for two or three days?"

He replied, "That would be fine with me."

Monday went by and he didn't see his wife. Tuesday and Wednesday came and went with the same results. But on Thursday, the swelling went down just enough where he could see her a little out of the corner of his left eye.

This will be a bittersweet Sunday at WFA, as Pastor Steve and Debbie Miller, who have been with us for the past three and a half years, conclude their ministry as our youth pastors. But, it's a day of rejoicing as the Millers continue on our team, becoming the new lead pastors of our daughter church, Milltown Community Church (MC2) in June. We are glad they are still on our pastoral team, and we are thrilled and excited about what the Lord is going to do in this new chapter at MC2!

Don't miss this Sunday here at WFA as Pastor Steve shares a special message, and we honor the Millers with a fellowship following our morning worship service.