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What a day we live in! What do you think is going to happen next year, next week, or even the next hour from now? Many people waste their time worrying about what might happen in the future.

The Bible gives us a wonderful promise. In Jeremiah 29:11 God says, "I know the plans I have for you, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future."

Can we know the future? No, we can't. But, we can face the future with confidence when we know that God is in control and that He is working for our good. (Romans 8:28) No matter what circumstances come our way we know He's there for us.

When I read the newspapers or see the evening news, I don't always feel optimistic about the future. But, I don't become pessimistic about the days to come. Rather than that, I am realistic about my earthly and eternal life.

When I put my trust in God, I know that He is in complete control; I have hope for tomorrow and strength for living each and every day. Be encouraged by the words of Romans 15:13 – "Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing..."

Here is your copy of firstIMPRESSIONS, Volume 10.23. Live for God, on purpose, keeping your eyes on Jesus rather than on the things of this world!

Secrets of a Blessed Life

Do you remember Joe Btfsplk? Probably not. And, you surely can't pronounce his name! But, Joe Btfsplk was a character in a comic strip of years ago, called "Li'l Abner." Joe was a well-meaning guy, but he was the world's worst jinx, bringing disastrous misfortune to everyone around him. Not only was Joe Btfsplk a little guy, but there was also a small, dark rain cloud perpetually hovering over his head to symbolize his bad luck. Joe Btfsplk and his ever-present cloud became one of the most iconic images in Li'l Abner.

Joe Btfsplk was, of course, a fictional character in a comic strip. But, interestingly, I have known many people who share much in common with Joe! And, many of those people are born-again Christians! Although they know Christ as their savior, it seems that they are always walking around with a figurative cloud over their head. They go through life seemingly venturing from one bad experience to another.

Nobody should have to live in that sort of existence, most particular Christians! The Bible tells us in Deuteronomy 28:2 that "all these blessings will come upon you and accompany you if you obey the LORD your God!" And there is the key – to walk in His blessings, you must walk in His obedience!

Do you want to be "Btfsplk" or would you rather be "Blessed?!"

This Sunday morning, we are going to tell you how you can live a blessed life in the Lord! My message is "Secrets of a Blessed Life!" Don't miss this life-changing word for YOU! This Sunday at WFA!

No More with Me

"I'm sorry. Please forgive me! I don't mean to hold you up," he said as he struggled to get off the escalator.

I'll admit to it. There have been times when walking or driving behind an older person I've gotten impatient and upset. I've huffed and zoomed around them because I was in a hurry to get nowhere. Perhaps I'm more aware of it now because I see myself there one day soon. Today I saw myself in this old man's shoes and it caused me to slow down, stop and ask for his forgiveness.

He was about five or six people ahead of me. I was in a hurry and saw him as an obstacle. I've seen people get off the end of an escalator and stop dead in their tracks, gather their things and suddenly there's a pile up of angry people behind them. You can't stop an escalator full of people behind you. Like the Energizer bunny, they keep on goin'.

This man was well aware of the challenge. He tried desperately to step aside. Fumbling with his small packages, struggling to gain his footing, you could see how troubling this was for him. "I'm sorry. Please forgive me! I don't mean to hold you up," he said as he struggled to get off the escalator.

I suddenly saw this in a whole new light. It was like I was watching my future. I felt sorry for him. I felt sick to my stomach because this man was apologizing to everyone, when we should have been helping him and calming his fears.

One by one, people zipped around him. I heard a few angry comments whispered as one lady passed by him.

I saw me.

By the time I got to him he was just about steady on his feet.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't know there was more," he said.

"No, sir. No more with me," I said. This really hit me hard. I realized right then how sad it was that the world was in such a hurry. That, of course, included me. But... no more with me. Count me out.

This wonderful man paid his dues. For whatever time he had spent on this earth, he most likely walked many rough roads and too many important miles. Now he should be apologizing for moving slower?

My heart ached as I looked into his eyes. I wished that I could see what he had seen all those years. His face weathered from life itself, was creased and wrinkled. The small soft pockets under his eyes and the gentle lines that curved up and around them told me he had many happy moments, too. Those were traces left behind from laughter and a smiling, happy man.

"My friend, can I help you with those things?" I asked.

Hesitant at first, he finally said, "Well, yes, thank you!"

I placed my hand under his left arm and walked with him a safe distance away from the rush of people.

"So what are you shopping for, sir?"

"Oh, just a little something for my neighbor. She's a young mother raising kids on her own. She's always so nice to me. I thought a box of candy for Mother's Day..." he said, stopping suddenly as he searched his inside pocket of his sport coat.

"Do you need something?" I asked.

"Oh, no. Here. I think I have it right here. I always carry them with me," he said. Then pulling out a hand full of papers he shuffled through them and handed me a business card that read:

"John A. Pomicter
Friend to all...enemy to no one!
I said a prayer today and you were the answer.
Thank you!"

"That's for you," he said. "Thanks for stopping to help an old man."

"My friend, you helped me. I discovered that I was unhappy with the world and I was part of the problem. Now I'll be part of the solution. No more with me!"

"Then this was meant to be," he said smiling.

"You know God sends me gifts every day and always at least one special person. You were my gift for today! Let's go get some chocolates, my friend."

No Time

I knelt to pray but not for long,
I had too much to do.
I had to hurry and get to work
For bills would soon be due.

So I knelt and said a hurried prayer,
And jumped up off my knees.
My Christian duty was now done
My soul could rest at ease.

All day long I had no time
To spread a word of cheer.
No time to speak of Christ to friends,
They'd laugh at me I'd fear.

No time, no time, too much to do,
That was my constant cry,
No time to give to souls in need
But at last the time to die.

I went before the Lord,
I came, I stood with downcast eyes.
For in His hands God held a book;
It was the Book of Life.

God looked into his book and said
"Your name I cannot find.
I once was going to write it down . . .
But never found the time"

Ten Differences Between Living and Dead Churches

• Live churches are filled with folk with Bibles in hand; dead churches are not.

• Live churches are intense and earnest about praise; dead churches are not.

• Live churches have parking problems; dead churches do not.

• Live churches have lots of "noisy" youth; dead churches do not.

• Live churches move by faith; dead churches inch along by sight.

• Live churches support missions very heavily; dead churches keep all their money "at home."

• Live churches focus on people; dead churches focus on problems.

• Live churches are filled with tithers; dead churches are filled with tippers.

• Live churches have the fresh wind of love blowing; dead churches are given to bickering.

• Live churches evangelize; dead churches fossilize.

Be Yourself!

He wanted to conduct, but his styles didn't work. During soft passages he'd crouch extremely low. For loud sections he'd leap into the air, even shouting to the orchestra.

His memory was poor. Once he forgot he'd instructed the orchestra not to repeat a section of music. During the performance, when he went back to repeat that section, they went forward, so he stopped the piece, shouting, "Stop! Wrong! That will not do! Again! Again!"

For his own piano concerto, he tried conducting from the piano bench. At one point he jumped from the bench, thumping the candles off the piano. At another concert he knocked over a choirboy. During one long, delicate passage he jumped high to cue a loud entrance, but nothing happened because he'd lost count and signaled the orchestra too soon.

As his hearing worsened, musicians tried to ignore his conducting and get their cues from the first violinist. Finally they pleaded with him to go home and give up conducting, which he did.

Who was he? Ludwig van Beethoven. The man many consider to be the greatest composer of all time learned that nobody can be the master of all trades. The Bible says, "We have different gifts, according to the grace [divine enablement] given us." (Romans 12:6)

So, recognize and develop your gift. That can be intimidating, especially if you've spent your life looking for approval from people who've none to give you. Stop making your life an ongoing struggle to be something you weren't meant to be. God made you who you are; when you try to be somebody else, the best you can ever be is number two. So be yourself; after all, who's more qualified?!

Making Important Decisions

There are three considerations to bear in mind when making important decisions.

1. Beware of "people pressure." Facing 30,000 Philistine chariots, and Samuel the prophet not around to offer the required sacrifice to God ensuring their victory, King Saul decided to usurp the prophet's office and offer his own sacrifice instead. When Samuel showed up just as he was finishing and demanded an explanation, Saul said "The Philistines will now come down on me... I felt compelled..." (1 Samuel 13:12) He gave in to "people pressure." Samuel said to Saul, "You have done foolishly... now your kingdom shall not continue..." (1 Samuel 13:13-14) God's will must be done God's way, so wait for His instructions and don't rush ahead of Him.

2. Make sure the timing is right. God says, "...I have set before you an open door, and no one can shut it..." (Revelation 3:8) When you open a door you have to work to keep it open, but when God opens it, "no one can shut it." You don't have to manipulate anybody or anything – you can just walk in.

3. Remember the "restraint and release" principle. Paul's missionary team tried to go to two different cities, "...but the Spirit did not permit them." (Acts 16:7) Have you ever tried to teach a teenager to drive? What's the first thing you teach them about – the accelerator or the brakes? The brakes! If they're not interested, take your car keys back; they're obviously not ready to drive. As you get to know God better you'll discover that He guides by the "restraint and release" principle: the brakes and the accelerator. That's how it works when your steps are directed by the Lord.

The Last Impression

Jesus and Satan were having an argument about who was better on the computer. They had been going at it for days, and frankly God was tired of hearing all the bickering.

Finally fed up, God said, "THAT'S IT! I have had enough. I am going to set up a test that will run for two hours, and from those results, I will judge who does the better job."

Satan and Jesus sat down at the keyboards and typed away.

They moused. They faxed. They e-mailed. They e-mailed with attachments. They downloaded. They did spreadsheets. They wrote reports. They created labels and cards. They created charts and graphs. They did some genealogy reports. They did every job known to man.

Jesus worked with heavenly efficiency, and Satan was very fast.

Then, 10 minutes before their time was up, lightning suddenly flashed across the sky, thunder rolled, rain poured, and, of course, the power went off. Satan stared at his blank screen and screamed every curse word known in the underworld. Jesus just sighed.

Finally the electricity came back on, and they both restarted their computers. Satan started searching frantically, screaming: "It's gone! It's all GONE! I lost everything when the power went out!"

Meanwhile, Jesus quietly started printing out all of his files from the past two hours of work.

Satan observed this and became irate. "Wait!" he screamed. "That's not fair! He cheated! How come he has all his work and I don't have any?"

God just shrugged and said, "Jesus saves."

This Sunday morning will be special here at WFA as we honor our graduates of 2010. We have graduates from high school, college, and graduate school, and more! Let's honor these folks who have studied and are ready for the next stage in their life's calling.

Above all, we will give glory and honor to our Lord Jesus Christ as we worship Him together in Spirit and in Truth! It's going to be a great day in the House of the Lord! See you Sunday here at WFA!