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Whenever you find yourself going through times of testing, there is always a reason – a very good reason! In fact, there are several reasons. The apostle Paul talks about these "testing times" in Romans 5:3-5 when he says "we know how troubles can develop passionate patience in us, and how that patience in turn forges the tempered steel of virtue, keeping us alert for whatever God will do next." Testing times are to...

Uncover something – When God allows pressures and trials, it is so that you might uncover something in your life He wants to deal with. Hardships reveal areas of weakness and vulnerability. God wants to strengthen us in those very areas, and better equip us not only to stand strong in the storms ourselves, but also to be a shelter for others.

Recover something – God allows us to be tested so that we might recover something we've lost over the months and years. Perhaps it is our delight in the Word of God, a habit of daily prayer, or the delight of regular fellowship with those of like-precious faith. Trials may force us back to that "first love" walk with the Lord that has slipped away from us.

Discover something – Even though it's a test you may not like or enjoy, you discover that He's your God, you're His child, and that He loves you. He'll care for you and see you through.

I hear people talk about this trial and that trial, this test and that test. People will say, "Pray for me, I'm going through a trial in my marriage (or in my job or in my finances or in my relationships at home)." But in reality, those aren't the things being tested at all. What's being tested is our faith, whether we will really trust Him to work in and through our circumstances.

That's what's really at stake. When the heat's on; when the shadows fall; when disappointment rips through my heart – am I going to trust Him? Am I going to wait on Him, worship Him, and give my anxieties to Him? Or am I going to turn away from Him in my doubt and discouragement?

Here is your copy of firstIMPRESSIONS, Volume 10.29. Live for God, on purpose, knowing He causes all things to work together for those who love Him and are called according to His purpose!

Passion Killers

Remember the "tomagotchi"? How about Furbies and Pet Rocks? Remember CB radios? What do they all have in common? At one time or another, they were the hottest things to have! In fact, they were so popular that it was difficult to even find them available because they were always sold out! But now, the only place you will find them is in some collectors bin. What was once hot and popular is today an also-ran.

Unfortunately, for many folks, their Christianity falls into this same category. While they at one time were fervent about their faith, they have now grown distant and cold toward the things of the Lord.

This is nothing new. In Revelation 2, Jesus speaks to the church at Ephesus and commends them for their hard work and perseverance. But, He quickly tells them "Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken your first love." For the Ephesians, their once-vibrant walk in the Lord had become cold and dry. They had lost their passion.

How about you? Do you remember what things were like when you first came to know the Lord? Remember how exciting it was? Remember how fresh things were, and how you loved to worship Him and serve Him? Is it still that way for you, or has Jesus become yesterday's news to you?

If the passion is gone from your walk in the Lord, it hasn't happened by accident. There are specific reasons why you have become distant from God. One thing is certain – He surely hasn't moved! So, if He seems far away, then it's time to change things in your life, get closer to Him, and allow the passion to return!

What is the cause of a distant relationship with God? There are "passion killers" that, if not addressed, will extinguish the flame of your walk in the Lord. This Sunday at WFA we will identify those "Passion Killers," and discover how to rekindle the fire in your Christianity! Don't miss this life-changing message!

Love Letters

Imagine getting a letter from Jesus! How amazing would that be?

There you are, sitting in church. It's just like any other Sunday until there's an announcement – your church has received a letter directly from the Name Above All Names Himself. Wow! It starts off great. Jesus obviously knows what's happening and He seems pretty pleased with it all. Then the letter continues, "But I have this against you: You have left the love you had in the beginning." Your heart sinks! Your church has been so busy doing stuff, forgetting who they're doing it for! They've stopped loving Jesus!

Your immediate reaction is: What? You look around the congregation to see who's responsible; after all it couldn't possibly be your fault, right? But the letter continues: Jesus is holding you all responsible! He's disappointed with you all. Gutted! You think it's all over. But then you realize that Jesus is telling you how to fix the problem and there is hope.

That's pretty much what happened to the church in Ephesus (read all about it in Revelation 2). But, every day the same thing is happening in churches all over the world. We need to stop, listen and then ask Jesus to help us put right what we're doing wrong. We need to fix our eyes on Him once again and rediscover our first love for Him. After all, He promises, "...I will build My church..." (Matthew 16:18)

How Far is It to Heaven?

There is a story of a young minister who was going home late one evening from church. He passed a group of young toughs gathered around a street corner. Seeing the Bible under the minister's arm, they immediately began making sneering remarks about him.

These remarks kept up, and as the young minister passed, to the amusement of his companions one youth said, "Say, Mister, how far is it to heaven?"

What would a consecrated Christian do under such circumstances? Here is the cause of heaven to defend. Is it allowable to lose one's peace of heart, that precious possession, and blow one's top?

Of course, one way to answer is to keep silent, but then one feels he is failing the Master. This young minister, with a quiet dignity and with all gentleness, replied, "It is only a step; will you take it now?"

Where is God?

by Russ Lawson

How are you getting along in the world today? Many of us struggle with the seemingly constant negative input from the world around us. Things like the cost of living, the government, crime, illness, relationship problems, problems in our homes, problems at our work, and problems in our churches. All of these things cause us to wonder from time to time if life is really worth living, is God still there, does he still care, or has he abandoned us to our misery.

A friend wrote me these words in a recent note: "God is just not working in my life anymore; in fact, I am not really sure where he IS." I believe that many people have asked this same question through the years, some have discovered the answer, some have not.

If you are struggling with this question, let me suggest that God is just where he has always been. James makes this point in James 1:17, "Every good and true thing is given to us from heaven, coming from the Father of lights, with whom there is no change or any shade made by turning". The point of this verse is that God never changes, he remains the same, and he is constant in his love for us and his requirements to have a relationship with us and his willingness to be there for us!

I would suggest that if there is a change in the relationship, in the satisfaction or feelings of security we have with God, then it is not he that has changed. There is an old story about a husband and wife that are driving down the road in an automobile, each seated on "their side" of the front seat. The wife looks at the husband behind the steering wheel and says, "You know when we were first married we used to sit next to each other." To which the husband replied, "I never moved."

Now there are any number of reasons which seem valid, to move from the center of the seat to the side of the seat and put some distance between you and your husband. In the same way, there are many reasons which seem valid for the changes that take place between where you once were and where you now are in your relationship to God. No matter how valid those reasons may seem, the fact remains that it is you who have moved and not God!

I've tried to think of a nicer, kinder, a more gentle way to say it, but I just can't seem to find one. If there has been a change in your relationship and you are asking, "Where is God when I need him?" I'll tell you where he is, God is exactly where he has always been, where you left him; waiting for you to move back over beside him.

Satan is good at what he does. He knows how to drive wedges between us and those we love or some time slip dividers in a little at a time which separate us from the one we really would like to be with. He stops communication, he breaks down relationships, and he puts up barriers to keep us from trusting and believing that God is there for us and wants only the best for us. The writer of Hebrews tells us in Hebrews 13:5b, "for He (God) has said, I will never leave you, nor forsake you".

There are people who "drop out of church", just stop attending with the Saints. They stop worshipping God, stop praying to God, stop singing his praises, because they feel hopeless or they feel abandoned. The question I need for you to think about today is, "if you are getting nothing out of your relationship to God, nothing out of your local church, who changed? If it's you then perhaps it is time for you to move back. God said it this way through his Apostle John in Revelation 2:4-5, "But I have this against you, that you are turned away from your first love. So keep in mind where you were at first, and be changed in heart and do the first works; or I will come to you, and will take away your light from its place, if your hearts are not changed."

as seen in Russ Lawson's "Messages From the Heart" at http://www.mfth.net

Go Back to Where You Met Him

Following the resurrection of Jesus, Peter said to the other disciples, "I am going fishing" (John 21:3). When Peter decided to go fishing that night, he may have been making a decision to get away from everything and go back to where he first met the Lord. That's a good move! When you get discouraged you'll either go back to the One who can save, keep and satisfy, or you'll go back to whatever was going on in your life before you met Him. That's not a good move! Peter fished all that night and caught nothing. There's a lesson there for you.

God said to the church in Revelation, "You have persevered... and have labored for My name's sake and... not become weary. Nevertheless I have this against you, that you have left your first love. Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent and do the first works" (Revelation 2:3-5 NKJV). Has your love for God grown cold? If so, you need to go back to where you first met Him, to seek Him again like you did before you'd heard so much and seen so much, before the pressures of life had worn you down. "But I'm busy doing the work of the Lord," you say. Busyness and barrenness go hand in hand together. It's possible to look like a saint in the courts of Babylon, yet be a backslider in the courts of Zion.

Three times Jesus asked Peter, "Do you love Me?" Finally Peter said, "Lord, You know all things; You know [the extent to which] I love You" (John 21:17 NKJV). Oswald Chambers said, "Beware of anything that competes with your loyalty to Jesus Christ. The greatest competitor of devotion to Jesus is service to Him." Think about it.

Back to the Basics

In the James A. Haley Veterans Hospital in Tampa, Florida there is one of the few therapy centers of its kind in the world: a place for wounded American soldiers to relearn the basics of independent living. Troops who have suffered serious physical impairments, along with brain trauma, have to be coached through the steps needed to live on their own: grocery shopping, washing clothes, preparing meals, paying bills, and all the rest. Relearning the basics qualifies them for future success.

One New Testament Church was reprimanded for having forgotten the basics: "You have left your first love" (Revelation 2:4). The church at Ephesus occupies a primary place in the New Testament story (Acts 19; 20:13-38; Ephesians). But by the end of the first century they had lost sight of Jesus, the very reason for their existence. His counsel to the church: "Repent and do the first works" or face discipline.

Jesus told us in Luke 10:27 that to have eternal life, "You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind."

Every Christian should consider, "I wonder if Jesus thinks I've left my first love; the love I displayed for Him when first I was saved." If we think the answer is "Yes," or even "Perhaps," we need to return to the basics—renewing our love for Jesus.

The Last Impression

Grandma and Grandpa were sitting in their porch rockers watching the beautiful sunset and reminiscing about "the good old days," when Grandma turned to Grandpa and said, "Honey, do you remember when we first started dating and you used to casually reach over and take my hand?"

Grandpa looked over at her, smiled and obligingly took her aged hand in his.

With a wry little smile, Grandma pressed a little farther, "Honey, do you remember how after we were engaged, you'd sometimes lean over and suddenly kiss me on the cheek?"

Grandpa leaned slowly toward Grandma and gave her a lingering kiss on her wrinkled cheek.

Growing bolder still, Grandma said, "Honey, do you remember how, after we were first married, you'd kind of nibble on my ear?"

Grandpa slowly got up from his rocker and headed into the house.

Alarmed, Grandma said, "Honey, where are you going?"

Grandpa replied, "To get my teeth!"

We are in heat wave #5 of the summer here in Wilmington, Delaware! Temperatures are soaring into the upper 90's again each day – in fact, last week there were two days in the 100's! With all this heat, it's hard to remember that less than six months ago, we were in the midst of the snowiest winter ever, with three blizzards each bringing over a foot of snowfall! This is a year of extremes!

You want another extreme? Join us this Sunday for a time of extreme worship, thanking God for the extreme love He demonstrated to us through the extreme sacrifice of His son, our Lord Jesus Christ!

I am extremely looking forward to worshiping together with you this week at WFA! See you here!