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As you fight the good fight of faith today, remember that your mind is where the battle will take place. Whatever you allow to captivate your mind will rule your life. The question is, will it be the Word of God or the lies of Satan? The decision is yours!

If you want the Word to reign, make up your mind now to resist the devil when he comes to plant doubts within you. Refuse to surrender to the circumstantial pressure he brings your way. Decide at the onset that you will not succumb to this trial. Dig your heels in and stand immovable upon the promises of God.

When thoughts come that are contrary to God's will, cast them down. And above all, don't worry. Worrying is meditating the thoughts of the enemy. When you recognize you are worrying, stop it immediately. Replace worried, fearful, and doubtful thoughts with the Word.

To be sure, Satan will continually try to tell you that your situation is hopeless. He will persistently peddle doubt, defeat, and discouragement. But if you won't allow him to sell you his goods, his commission will be zero. If you don't buy his lies, he can't cause them to come to pass in your life.

God has promised that He will always cause you to triumph in Christ. You are guaranteed victory over any adversity you face today. In 2 Corinthians 2:14 we read, "But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumphal procession in Christ and through us spreads everywhere the fragrance of the knowledge of him."

Make up your mind right now to be a winner and you'll spread the knowledge of victory in Christ everywhere you go.

Here is your copy of firstIMPRESSIONS, Volume 11.29. Live for God, on purpose, giving no place to the enemy!

For those who haven't been "initiated," one of the most popular games being played today is called "Words With Friends." Very similar to the traditional board game "Scrabble," anyone with an iPhone, iPod, iPad, or any of the Android phones can download the app for free and find someone to play with online. Since I am a long-time Scrabble player, picking up Words With Friends was an easy thing for me, and I have played scores of games. In fact, I have only ever lost four times – all four to the same person (they know who they are!). Since I am a person who enjoys words, I enjoy the game!

However, this is not the only kind of "Words With Friends" game that some people play. Long before the "Words With Friends" app was released, people were already playing with words with their friends. Sometimes people speak good words and bless their friends. Unfortunately, there are also times that some individuals speak harsh words, and cause grief and hardship.

Talking about the words we use, James 3:9-10 says that "with the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in God's likeness... My brothers, this should not be."

How should our "words with friends" be? Colossians 4:6 tells us to "let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone."

In my message this Sunday at WFA, I want to share some guidelines that can help to assure that our "Words With Friends" will follow this biblical admonition. You won't want to miss this practical application of God's Word!

Thankless Jobs

by Alan Smith

I heard recently about a stay-at-home Mom. One evening she went to a PTA meeting and her husband and her oldest daughter got together and decided they would clean up the kitchen for her. They put up all the food, wiped all the counters, washed all the pots and put them away, put the dishes in the dishwasher and ran it. They swept and mopped the floors and then sat down, and awaited her arrival.

Two hours later she returned from the meeting, took off her coat, hung it up, walked through the kitchen into the den, grabbed the remote control, and began watching television. They followed her over to her chair and stood by her side. Finally she felt them looking over her shoulder and looked up at them and said, ?What?"

Her husband said, "The kitchen."

"The kitchen. What?"

"The kitchen. We cleaned up the kitchen. Didn't you notice? It's sparkling clean. We cleaned it for you."

The woman replied, "Yes, I noticed. Thankless job, isn't it?"

It is so true that a lot of what our wives and mothers do goes unnoticed and unappreciated. Please don't let that happen in your home! But the same thing can happen at work or around the church. My guess is that there are many people around you who do important tasks but who go unnoticed and unappreciated.

For example, when is the last time you thanked one of your elders for the work that they do? These men have a very difficult job that involves a great deal of responsibility (and they likely don't get paid a dime for their efforts). They spend countless hours leading, guiding, shepherding the flock. Take a moment to let them know how much you appreciate their efforts.

Most churches give much thought to the teachers for their children's Bible classes (except when they're absent!). We just assume they'll just show up and do their job, without considering the hours of preparation each week, not to mention their willingness to deal with a room full of active (and sometimes unruly) children week after week. Take a moment to let your children's teachers know how much you appreciate them.

The list could go on and on because there are so many people around you who serve in so many ways, and many of them don't want the spotlight. They prefer to work behind the scenes. But, please don't take the efforts of others for granted. Keep your eyes open to the good work that others are doing and "Render therefore to all their due... honor to whom honor." (Romans 13:7). Thank you to all of you who serve in a variety of "thankless jobs."

Alan Smith is the Senior Pastor of the Helen Street Church of Christ in Fayetteville, North Carolina. You can visit his site at http://www.TFTD-online.com

Don't Strike The Rock

by Steve Troxel

Moses was chosen by God to lead the people of Israel out of Egypt. Through Moses, God demonstrated His awesome power and holiness. At the time, there was no one closer to God than Moses. However, even with this wonderfully close relationship, Moses still struggled at times with trusting God.

After being led out of Egypt, the people often brought their complaints to Moses. On one occasion, the people complained about their lack of drinking water; "Why did you bring us up out of Egypt to this terrible place?" (Numbers 20:5). When Moses entered the presence of God with this concern, he was given clear direction for solving the problem: "Gather the assembly together. Speak to that rock before their eyes and it will pour out its water" (Numbers 20:8).

Moses gathered the people as he was told. But rather than simply speaking to the rock, Moses tried to accomplish God's work with a method of his own choosing. Numbers 20:10-11 says, "'Listen, you rebels, must we bring you water out of this rock?' Then Moses raised his arm and struck the rock twice with his staff. Water gushed out, and the community and their livestock drank."

Moses had seen God's power and knew how much He hated disobedience; yet, at this moment, Moses did not follow God's command. Moses may have become prideful while leading the Israelites through the desert; "Must WE (Aaron and I) bring you water out of this rock?" Or, he may have thought God needed help from the same staff used to turn the Nile River into blood and part the Red Sea. Either way, his disobedience stemmed from a lack of trust in God – trust is always related to obedience!

God still loved Moses and will fellowship with him for all eternity, but his failure to obey was severely punished; "Because you did not trust in Me enough to honor Me as holy in the sight of the Israelites, you will not bring this community into the land I give them" (Numbers 20:12). God's perfect plan for Moses clearly included a trip into the Promised land; but, even after 40 years of faithful leadership, Moses' lack of trust caused him to miss out on God's very best.

God knows our needs and has a detailed plan which is unfolding according to His perfect timing. Let's listen intently for His direction and then fully obey. Let's take the steps to ensure all we do in our ministry – all we do in our family and in every area of our life – is done to bring Him glory and honor. Let's trust Him and His ways with ALL our heart, and always remember... don't strike the rock!

as seen in Steve Troxel's email devotional, "God's Daily Word." http://www.gdwm.org/

What Are You Saying?

A man fell into a pit and couldn't get himself out...

A subjective person came along and said, "I feel for you down there."
An objective person came along and said, "It's logical that someone would fall down there."
A Pharisee came along and said, "Only bad people fall into pits."
A mathematician came along and calculated how deep the pit was.
A news reporter came along and asked for the exclusive story on the pit.
An IRS agent came along and asked if the man was paying taxes on the pit.
A self-pitying person came along and said, "You haven't seen anything until you've seen my pit."
A Christian Scientist came along and said, "The pit is just in your mind."
A psychologist came along and said, "Your mother and father are to blame for your being in the pit."
A self-esteem therapist came along and said, "Believe in yourself and you can get out of that pit."
An optimist came along and said, "Things could be worse."
A pessimist came along and said, "Things couldn't be worse."
A spiritual man came along, took the man by the hand, and lifted him out of the pit.

All We Really Need to Know We Learned from Noah's Ark

Plan ahead. It wasn't raining when Noah built the ark.
Stay fit. When you're 600 years old, someone might ask you to do something REALLY big.
Don't listen to critics – do what has to be done.
Build on high ground.
For safety's sake, travel in pairs.
Two heads are better than one.
Speed isn't always an advantage. The cheetahs were on board, but so were the snails.
If you can't fight or flee – float!
Take care of your animals as if they were the last ones on earth.
Don't forget that we're all in the same boat.
When the doo-doo gets really deep, don't sit there and complain – shovel!
Stay below deck during the storm.
Remember that the ark was built by amateurs and the Titanic was built by professionals.
If you have to start over, have a friend by your side.
Remember that the woodpeckers INSIDE are often a bigger threat than the storm outside.
Don't miss the boat.
No matter how bleak it looks, there's always a rainbow on the other side.
"Stop what you are doing, and do what God says!"

Hearing Problem

A concerned husband went to a doctor to talk about his wife. He says to the doctor, "Doctor, I think my wife is deaf because she never hears me the first time and I always have to repeat things."

"Well," the doctor replied, "Go home and tonight stand about 15 feet from her and say something to her. If she doesn't reply, move about 5 feet closer and say it again. Keep doing this so that we'll get an idea about the severity of her deafness."

Sure enough, the husband goes home and does exactly as instructed. He starts off about 15 feet from his wife in the kitchen as she is chopping some vegetables and says, "Honey, what's for dinner?" He hears no response. He moves about 5 feet closer and asks again. No reply. He moves 5 feet closer. Still no reply. He gets fed up and moves right behind her, about an inch away, and asks again, "Honey, what's for dinner?"

She replies, "For the fourth time, vegetable stew!"

The Last Impression

Three pastors were attending a denominational convention and decided to take a walk together. "People are always coming to us with their problems," one said, "but we have no one to go to with our own problems. Since we're all pastors, why don't we hear each other out right now?"

They agree that this is a good idea. The first pastor confesses, "I'm a compulsive shopper and deeply in debt, so I have sometimes taken money out of the church offering to pay my debts."

The second admits, "I have a drug problem that's out of control, and I frequently have to take days off just to get myself presentable to everyone again."

The third pastor said, "I know it's wrong, but no matter how hard I try, I just can't keep a secret."

The predicted temperature in Wilmington, Delaware today is 102º! If it reaches that high, it will be a new record here. Of course, when it is hot, we complain about the heat. When it is cold, snowy and icy, we complain about that. Here's the good news – whether it is hot and humid, or snowing and cold, the Lord changes not! He is still God no matter what the weather. In fact, He is the same yesterday, today, and yes, forever!

So, this Sunday, no matter what the weather – no matter what your situation or circumstances – let's gather together and worship the unchanging King and Kings and Lord of Lords! See you at WFA this Sunday!