Author: America's Keswick

The purpose of America's Keswick is to model and teach Biblical victorious living in Christ Jesus, to provide an environment in which Biblical life transformation takes place and to foster active personal involvement in the local church.

I Wonder

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I Wonder

Then shall he answer them, saying , Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me. — Matthew 25:45

Sometimes we need to check ourselves when it comes to the matter of our service to the Lord. Too easily we can slip into the mindset of wanting others to notice what WE are doing and HOW we are serving. When we serve others, we are serving HIM not ourselves. When we serve HIM, it really doesn’t matter when or if we ever get the credit.

I came across this poem by Ruth Harms Calkin, which was a good reminder for me:

You know, Lord, how I serve you
With great emotional fervor
In the limelight.
You know how eagerly
I speak for you at ___________.
You know how I effervesce
when I promote
a fellowship group.
You know my genuine enthusiasm
at a Bible study.

But how would I react, I wonder,
If you pointed to a basin of water
And asked me to wash
the calloused feet
Of a bent and wrinkled old woman (man)
Day after day,
Month after month,
In a room where nobody saw
And nobody knew?

Wow. Important words to ponder for us today. Each year we have a group of volunteers from SOWERS: Servants on Wheels Ever Ready. At the conclusion of their daily devotional they stand in a circle holding hands and sing an old hymn, OUR BEST:

Hear ye the Master’s call, “Give Me thy best!”
For, be it great or small, that is His test.
Do then the best you can, not for reward,
Not for the praise of men, but for the Lord.

Refrain
Every work for Jesus will be blest,
But He asks from everyone his best.
Our talents may be few, these may be small,
But unto Him is due our best, our all.

Wait not for men to laud, heed not their slight;
Winning the smile of God brings its delight!
Aiding the good and true ne’er goes unblest,
All that we think or do, be it the best.

Who are you serving today? I wonder! — Bill Welte is President and CEO of America’s KESWICK

God’s WORD for YOU: Proverbs 21; Isaiah 62-64; 1 Timothy 1

Great Quote: I shall act as my own if I ever make use of any of my powers to do anything that is not to the glory of God, or to fail to make the glorifying of Him my whole and entire business. If I murmur in the least at afflictions; if I am in any way uncharitable; if I revenge my own case; if I do anything purely to please myself, or omit anything because it is a great denial; if I trust to myself; if I take any praise for any good which Christ does by me; or if I am in any way proud, I shall act as my own and not God’s. I purpose to be absolutely His. Jonathan Edwards

An Amazing Spiritual Giant

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An Amazing Spiritual Giant

“I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith.” 2 Timothy 4:6
Tonight I have the wonderful privilege and honor to play the piano for the memorial service of an amazing spiritual giant that went home to be with the Lord last week at 99 — she almost made 100!
Just so we are clear, the lady that I am about to tell you about is sitting in the chair — NOT standing. The lady in the chair is Peg Tomlin.
Most of you don’t have a clue who she is. She won’t be recorded in the world’s version of Whose WHO. But her name has been written down in the Lamb’s Book of Life and she was one of God’s choice servants.
Peg and Kale were our Youth Leaders when I was 13. Doing the math today was a little scary as we thought they were “old” then –but the reality that Peg was 57 and Kale was in his sixties. (Yikes they were really YOUNG! 🙂 But they had already been our parent’s youth directors when they were teens! They served in ministry well into their 70’s, and accomplished much for the Kingdom.
Those were the days — when Peg and Kale piled kids into their car to take them skiing, skating, fishing, camping. Took a boat load of kids in their car when there were no vans. I can’t tell you how many people they crammed in their cars- but they would have been fined today!
Peg and Kale never had any biological children. But they literally have thousands of spiritual kids, grand and great-great and beyond whose lives were impacted by their lives. They served without pay in their youth ministry at Fellowship Church in Philadelphia, PA. They were the overseers of the Old York Road Branch of Christian Endeavor for what seemed like forever. Under their leadership of OYRCE, they introduced kids to some of America’s Great Preachers: Dr. John Cawood, Dr. John Guest, Dr. Jimmy DeYoung, Dr. Dale Linebaugh, Dr. Ross Rhoads — and the whose who of great preachers goes on and on.
Peg worked tirelessly planning youth programs, publishing a weekly newspaper called Teen Times, writing notes of encouragement to her “kids.” She was an amazing prayer warrior, and even up until several weeks ago, would ask about all your kids even though her physical tent was wearing out quickly.
Only eternity will reveal the impact of her life. It will be a grand surprise for her to see how many lives she impacted for Jesus Christ. I guess her one regret is that she didn’t get to 100. Her husband, Kale, almost made 100. If you knew them, they were competitive! So I can hear Peg saying to Kale, “I almost beat you!” Thanks, Peg, for your faithfulness. You have fought a good fight! You have finished the course! You have kept the faith! And you have seen Jesus! Hallelujah! — Bill Welte is President and CEO of America’s KESWICK
God’s Word for You: Proverbs 20; Isaiah 59-61; 2 Thessalonians 2
Great Quote: “Ignorance of our own faults is the only cause that renders us unwilling to forgive our brethren.” — John Calvin “Being one of God’s saints does not put us above loving the unlovable; rather it must compel us to fulfill the debt of love we owe to others.” — R.C. Sproul

Amazing Grace

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Amazing Grace

“For by GRACE you have been saved through faith …” Ephesians 2:8

We sing about. We teach about it. We read about it over and over again in the Bible. But do we FULLY grasp what GRACE really means?

Well listen to the description Dr. Paul David Tripp gives concerning grace in his newest book:

So grace is a … gift. It is God’s character and it is your hope. Grace is a transforming tool and a state of relationship. Grace is a theology and an invitation. Grace is an experience and a calling. Grace will turn your life upside down while giving you the rest you have never known. Grace will convince you of your unworthiness without making you feel unloved.

Grace will make you acknowledge that you cannot earn God’s favor, and it will remove your fear of not measuring up to His standards. Grace will confront you with the fact that you are much less than you thought you were, even as it assures you that you can be far more than you had ever imagined. Grace will put you in your place without ever putting you down.

Grace will enable you to face truths about yourself that you have hesitated to consider, while freeing you from being self-consciously introspective. Grace will confront you with profound weaknesses, and at the same time introduce you to new-found strength. Grace will tell you what you aren’t while welcoming you to what you can now be.

Grace will make you as uncomfortable as you have ever been, while offering you more comfort than you have ever known. Grace will drive you to the end of yourself, while it invites you to fresh starts and new beginnings. Grace will dash your hopes, but never leave you hopeless. Grace will decimate YOUR kingdom as it introduces you to a better King.

Grace will expose your blindness as it gives you eyes to see. Grace will make you sadder than you have ever been, while it gives you greater cause for celebration than you have ever known.
Grace enters your life in a moment and will occupy you for eternity. You simply cannot live a productive life in this broken-down world unless you have a practical grasp of the grace you have been given. Paul David Tripp, Broken Down House –Living Productively In A World Gone Bad (Wapwallopen, PA: Shepherd Press 2009)

Brothers: If that doesn’t light your fire … then your wood is really wet! Grace! Maybe that is why John Newton said — Amazing grace! — Bill Welte is President and CEO of America’s KESWICK

God’s WORD for YOU: Proverbs 19; Isaiah 56-58; 2 Thessalonians 2

Great Quote: God buries His workman and continues His work. — John Bunyan

Perfect Courtesy

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Perfect Courtesy

“To speak evil of no one, to avoid quarreling, to be gentle. and to show perfect courtesy toward all people.” Titus 3:2

You’ve been around them. They are the people that appear not only to be rude, but loud when they are being rude. The more people around them, the more they seem to enjoy humiliating the waitress, or someone the person who is providing a service to them.

Or they may be the one in the line at the grocery store, the bank, the post office that is loudly barking out their dissatisfaction about the slow service. Everyone knows they are frustrated.

They are the ones who see all the signs at the airport that clearly state that no water bottles can be in your possession when going through the security check. They ignore the sign, and when confronted go ballistic on the person that is trying to do their job.

We were visiting friends one evening at a retirement center, and they invited us for dinner. The servers were high school kids from the local community and they were really serving with excellence. For most of the meal, the man we were visiting complained, criticized, and was rude to the young man serving our table. This kid was really hustling and trying to do his best — but NOTHING pleased our friend.

Shortly after he had blasted this kid, he made a statement, “We are having a very hard time keeping young people working at our facility.” It was almost to comical to hear him say this, but I couldn’t miss the opportunity to gently say, “Well, __________ if the folks here treat the servers like you treat them, I can see why you can’t keep the help.”

We live in a world where gentleness and courtesy seem to have been thrown out the window. We have become so ME oriented, that even we Christians have developed a mentality of entitlement.

Show a little bit of courtesy to people and you will be amazed at the impact it can have. Dr. John C. Maxwell and Zig Ziglar, two of my leadership mentors, suggest that we become salt and light by expressing to people our appreciation for the unnoticed tasks.

I was at a ballgame in Baltimore and had to use the rest room. I have never been to a stadium where the rest rooms are so immaculate. There was a young man cleaning the restroom who was really doing his job with excellence. I went over to him and thanked him for serving us by keeping the rest room so clean and neat. For a moment, he looked at me like I had four heads. Then he broke into a huge smile and said, “Thank you. No one has ever said that to me!”

One more suggestion for courtesy — Christians should be known for being the greatest tippers rather than be the biggest cheap skates. One of my pet peeves is Christians who expect and demand good service in restaurants, and then leave, sometimes just leaving a gospel tract or a tip that isn’t even 10%.

We attended our national CCCA (Christian Camps and Conference Association) convention. Hundreds of our camp personnel from across the country attend this event. We were in two restaurants, and being served with excellence by the Waite staff. We were blown away at how many of our camping friends got up from the table and didn’t have the courtesy to even leave a tip. These are the same folks who serve people every weekend and get upset when their guests don’t leave tips for the employees.

You can really make an impact on a life — in fact, you can open up doors for sharing the gospel by simply doing what Paul commands — Be gentle, and show perfect courtesy toward all people. Note that Paul doesn’t say mediocre or minimal courtesy. He nails it be saying “perfect.”

This little verse has given me much to think about. How about you? — Bill Welte is President and CEO of America’s KESWICK

God’s WORD for YOU: Proverbs 18; Isaiah 53-55; 2 Thessalonians 1

Great Quote: I claim no right to myself – no right to this understanding, this will, these affections that are in me; neither do I have any right to this body or its members – no right to this tongue, to these hands, feet, ears, or eyes. I have given myself clear away and not retained anything of my own. I have been to God this morning and told Him I have given myself wholly to Him. I have given every power, so that for the future I claim no right to myself in any respect. I have expressly promised Him, for by His grace I will not fail. I take Him as my whole portion and felicity, looking upon nothing else as any part of my happiness. Jonathan Edwards

Avoid Quarreling

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Don’t Quarrel

“To speak evil of no one, to avoid quarreling, to be gentle, and to show perfect courtesy toward all people.” Titus 3:2

Someone has said that you can really find out what people are made of when it comes to church business meetings and when someone dies and you are a part of their estate!

Whenever I hear the world quarreling I think about the church business meetings growing up in my home church. I loved the church were we grew up, but as a teen, we dreaded our church business meetings. Some of the most wonderful people that we loved and respected often turned into really ugly people at church business meetings. Even though it has been 40 years since we were a part of the ministry, I can bring up not only names, but remember some of the “hot” times in living color.

I knew a family that was bonded together like the Walton’s. Loving, caring — just a great family to be around. All that went down the tubes when the father and mother died. There was a significant piece of real estate in a prime area — and the one who got the house was not he sibling that expected to get it. And for many years this family that once was so loving and kind have been quarrelling and fighting ever since.

Some people are like that. They love to quarrel. If everyone else says its black, you can count on them to say its white. Its not that their opinion doesn’t matter. Its not that they can’t express their opinion, but no matter what the subject, you can count on them to make a issue out of something if not everything.

Webster defines the word “quarrel” this way: to disagree angrily; squabble; wrangle; to end a friendship as a result of a disagreement; to make a complaint; find fault.

Someone who likes to quarrel brings division and strife to the table. A quarrelsome person repels people rather than drawing others to them. You find yourself tiptoeing around certain subjects when you are around them because you know if you hit a hot button there is going to be a battle.

For the believer, we need to heed Paul’s admonition, not just from this verse, but from others in the New Testament. We who claim to be children of God should not have a quarrelsome manner about us.

When I first came to America’s KESWICK one of the teams in the ministry was fractured an divided. They were so divided that they couldn’t even look at each other to discuss issues that needed to be addressed. Most of the team were gifted quarrelers. One of the things I begged them to do over the years was to meet to pray each morning with each other.

It took them a long time to finally do it — but once they did — look out! God took a team of people who had the same heart for the ministry yet couldn’t get along, and He has turned that team into a united front that is out there fighting for the right things, and they are one the same page. Their unity is obvious to all!

We can disagree without being disagreeable. We can have an opinion, yet be Christ-like in how we talk and interact with each other. We can speak the truth — in love. Paul says, “avoid quarreling …” For some of us that is easy. If you struggle with a quarrelsome spirit, take a step back. Talk to the Lord about it. And purpose in your heart that you will yield this area of weakness to the Spirit of God and allow Him to control you in this area of your life. — Bill Welte is President and CEO of America’s KESWICK

God’s WORD for YOU: Proverbs 17; Isaiah 50-52; 1 Thessalonians 5

Great Quote: No one has received so small a measure that he may not be justly accounted rich; for the smallest drop of the Spirit … resembles an over-flowing fountain, which never dries up. — John Calvin

A Zinger From Paul (Part 3)

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A Zinger from Paul (Part 3)

“To speak evil of no one, to avoid quarreling, to be gentle, and to show perfect courtesy toward all people.” Titus 3:2

Some of you are familiar with the Puritan preacher, Jonathan Edwards. Edwards had a list of 70 resolutions that he wrote that he read daily. Twenty of the resolutions had to do with the use of the tongue and his speech.

Dr. Sinclair B. Ferguson contributed to a chapter in THE POWER OF THE WORD and THE WONDER OF GOD (Crossway) and assigned Scripture to each one. I want to encourage you to ponder these resolutions, and look up the appropriate Scripture. I believe it will help to give us a godly perspective as to way Paul wrote: “speak evil of no one.”

1. Resolved: To ask God for wisdom to speak and to do so with a single mind. — James 1:5-8
2. Resolved: To boast only in my exultation in Christ or my humiliation in the world. — James 1:9-10)
3. Resolved: To set a watch over my mouth. — James 1:3
4. Resolved: To be constantly quick to hear, slow to speak. — James 1:19
5. Resolved: To learn the gospel way of speaking to the poor and the rich. — James 2:1-4
6. Resolved: To speak in the consciousness of the final judgment. — James 2:12
7. Resolved: To never stand on anyone’s face with words that demean, despise, or cause despair. — James 2:15-16
8. Resolved: To never claim a reality I do not experience. — James 3:14
9. Resolved: To resist quarrelsome words as marks of a bad heart. — James 4:1
10. Resolved: To never speak evil of another. — James 4:11
11. Resolved: To never boast in what I will accomplish. — James 4:13
12. Resolved: To always speak as one who is subject to the providence’s of God. — James 4:15
13. Resolved: To never grumble, knowing that the Judge is at the door. — James 5:9
14. Resolved: To never allow anything but total integrity in my speech. — James 5:12
15. Resolved: To speak to God in prayer whenever I suffer. — James 5:13
16. Resolved: To sing loud praises to God whenever I am cheerful. — James 5:13
17. Resolved: To ask for the prayers of others when I am sick. — James 5:14
18. Resolved: To confess whenever I have failed. — James 5:16
19. Resolved: To pray for one another when I am together with others in need. — James 5:16
20. Resolved: To speak words of restoration when I see another wander. — James 5:19-20

Twenty out of 70 resolutions that this man disciplined himself to renounce on a daily basis. No wonder he had such an impact for the Kingdom. Would that I could apply 5 of these … and work my way through the twenty for the rest of my life. What a difference it would make in how I speak. May God help us as brothers in Christ today to “speak evil of no one.” — Bill Welte is President and CEO of America’s KESWICK

God’s WORD for YOU: Proverbs 16; Isaiah 47-49; 1 Thessalonians 4

Great Quote: Surely what a man does when he is taken off his guard is the best evidence for what sort of man he is. If there are rats in a cellar, you are most likely to see them if you go in very suddenly. But the suddenness does not create the rats; it only prevents them from hiding. In the same way, the suddenness of the provocation does not make me ill-tempered; it only shows me what an ill-tempered man I am. C. S. Lewis

Check out this week’s Stewardship Insight from George: http://keswickgeorge.blogspot.com/

A Zinger From Paul (Part 2)

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A Zinger from Paul (Part 2)

“To speak evil of no one, to avoid quarreling, to be gentle, and to show perfect courtesy toward all people.” Titus 3:2

Several years ago I read a great book on leadership. One of the exercises that was recommended for the leadership team was to establish a code of conduct that would be signed off by each member of the team.

There were a number of statements in this code, but one in particular jumped off the page. It basically said this: You will be safe with us even when you are absent. This statement was a “no-matter-what” principle — when you aren’t in the room, not on the property, on vacation — we aren’t going to talk about you behind your back — you will be safe with us even when you are absent.

Maybe it just something that leaders go through, but I always find it comical how staff react when I am walking down the hallway or enter a room where two or three of them are gathered. It amazes me how often the conversation quickly changes or how quiet people get. I wonder if the thought ever crosses their minds: I wonder if he knows what we are talking about?

Now I hope I am not that hung up on myself that I think that they are always talking about me or something I said or did. But there are times when I wonder — am I really safe? What do they say when they are out of my presence? If I am not careful, paranoia can set in.

The problem with speaking evil about someone is that often what you say doesn’t stay with the person(s) you are talking with. Some of you may have had the experience of saying something evil about someone only to have your words delivered to the person to whom you were speaking about. You remember how horrible you felt when you were confronted with the words that seemed to flow so freely from your lips. Having them played back sure isn’t fun.

I remember a situation where people we speaking evil of an individual not realizing that a relative of the man they were discussing was in the room with them. After the fiery arrows had been wielded, a member of the group said, “By the way, let me introduce you to ____ — he’s _____ brother!

This phrase from Titus 3, like most passages of Scripture, doesn’t leave much wiggle room. It doesn’t appear to give loop holes for when we can speak evil of someone. It appears to be pretty clear. Tomorrow I want to share with you how the famous Puritan preacher, Jonathan Edwards viewed this verse. — Bill Welte is President and CEO of America’s KESWICK

God’s WORD for YOU: Proverbs 15; Isaiah 45-46; 1 Thessalonians 3

Great Quote: Let us, as followers of the Lord who was slandered unjustly, refuse to participate in speaking evil of other people. May we be the first to object when rumors and innuendo are spread, and may we also not air the dirty laundry of other people. In this way we protect others from harm. — Table Talk Magazine (October 8, 2009)

Praying for Your Shepherd (Part 2)

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Praying for Your Shepherd (Part 2)

“To speak evil of no one, to avoid quarreling, to be gentle, and to show perfect courtesy toward all people.” Titus 3:2

We have been unpacking this little but powerful verse from Titus 3. Yesterday I shared with you three ways to pray for your shepherd (Pastor). These are not mine, but come from Pastor Mark Driscoll in a new book by John Piper — The Power of Words and The Wonder of God (Crossway).

Here are three additional ways to pray for your shepherd, rather than criticize him:

4. Pray that your shepherd would have a tender heart. One of the primary duties of a shepherd is to see and deal with sin, folly, and horror in the lives of people they love. It is brutal. If you are not a shepherd, imagine spending much of every week visiting the sick and dying in the hospital, preaching funerals, mending the broken marriages, serving addicts of various ills, and weeping with victims of molestation and rape. The needs are overwhelming, the shepherd feels woefully unfit for the work, and there is no end in sight. Pray that his heart would remain tender toward God and his flock, because that requires a miracle of grace.

5. Pray that your shepherd would have a humble disposition. Simply put, pride is the root that nourished the fruit of all sin and is akin to picking a fight with God. But God promises to give grace to the humble. Nothing breaks a church like pride, and nothing builds it like humility. Jesus the Chief Shepherd is the most perfectly humble person who has or will ever live …

Without this humility, a proud shepherd contributes to a church culture of rivalry, conceit, competition, and selfish ambition, and a lack of teachability, submission to godly authority, and repentance.

Pray that as a result of humility he would follow the truth wherever it leads, invite and pursue correction from fellow shepherds, have the courage to lead boldly despite the personal cost, learn from everyone, repent quickly and thoroughly, seek and celebrate God’s grace at work in the lives of other Christians and churches, have a spirit of thankfulness, listen to Scripture more than himself, and sleep like a Calvinist, even if he is Armenian!!!

6. Pray that your shepherd would have a supportive family. Between the accusations of Satan, stings of critics, and discouraging awareness of his personal shortcomings and inadequacies, a shepherd is greatly served by an encouraging wife and a home in which the Holy Spirit’s work is evident. Pray for the shepherd’s wife, because she is often put under great demands to be friends with women in the church she does not enjoy, reveal details from her personal life with people she does not trust, attend parties with people she does not know, share her marriage and family with people she does not feel appreciated by, endure gossip from people she has not met, and lovingly serve people who are not thankful.

Pray for the shepherds children. If they are struggling with sin and faith, there is great pressure to hide it so that their father retains the respect of the sheep and so that the swine do not have an opportunity to gloat and call their father a hypocrite, the wolves do not have an opportunity to attack their father, and the dogs do not have an opportunity to bark at their father.

7. Pray that your shepherd would have an evangelistic devotion. People are dying and going to hell without Jesus. It is easy in light of the needs of the sheep, folly of the swine, dangers of the wolves, and threats of the dogs for the shepherd to become so consumed with his flock that he does not seek the conversion of lost people.

Pray for your shepherd that he would have a heart for lost people and make time in his schedule to labor for their salvation.

Over the years people have come to me to seek advice about their church and Pastor. I was thinking yesterday and today — the best way to see change in your church is ” to speak evil of no one.” The only way to facilitate REAL change is to pray. But be careful — in the process, HE might want to change YOU! — Bill Welte is President and CEO of America’s KESWICK

Your feedback is a great encouragement. If Freedom Fighter is ministering to you, take some time to write us.

God’s WORD for YOU: Proverbs 14; Isaiah 43-44; 1 Thessalonians 2

Great Quote: The remaining presence of sin in our lives means that we sometimes find it difficult to receive the teaching of God’s WORD. We would do well, then, to do everything we can to prepare for the authoritative teaching and preaching of Scripture. We can pray that the Lord would make our hearts receptive to HIS message. We can study the Bible in order that we might recognize aberrant teaching. (Table Talk Magazine –October 2009)

Praying for Your Shepherd

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Praying for Your Shepherd

“To speak evil of no one, to avoid quarreling, to be gentle, and to show perfect courtesy toward all people.” Titus 3:2

Yesterday we started to unpack this little zinger from the Apostle Paul. I made a comment about encouraging your Pastor, and I am sure it wasn’t a coincidence, I am reading a new book compiled by Dr. John Piper — The Power of Words and the Wonder of God. It is published by Crossway, and I will be sure to get it on the Keswick Bookstore site.

In a chapter written by Pastor Mark Driscoll, he exhorts us to pray for our shepherds. Here is what Mark shares:

Sheep need to be fed, swine need to be rebuked, wolves need to be shot and dogs need to be beaten. Most of this work is to be done by the shepherds. So the shepherds need prayer.

If you are a shepherd, you know that you need prayer. If you are a sheep, please do pray for your shepherd so that your heart would be tender toward him, and his heart would be tender toward God and God’s sheep. It would be most helpful to your shepherd if, before you rush to criticize him, you would spend time in prayer for him. In fact, you should pray for your shepherd more than you criticize him.

Seven Ways to Pray for Your Shepherd

1. Pray that God would give your shepherd a discerning mind. Your shepherd need to discern who the sheep, swine, wolves and dogs are so that he know how he and the church should respond.

2. Pray that God would give your shepherd thick skin. Critics can be merciless, and Judas-like friends can be even crueler. Your shepherd receives mean-spirited emails from the people he cares for, suffers from constant gossip and rumors about him and his family, and spends hours every day simply turning the other cheek. When he fails, he is criticized for being a poor leader. And when he succeeds, he is criticized by those who are jealous. When he is young,m he is criticized for being inexperienced and arrogant. And when he is old, he is criticized for not being as energetic, passionate, and innovative as when he was young. Pray that your shepherd would have thick skin and selective hearing to ignore people and comments he should — and yet to receive the people and comment he should.

3. Pray that your shepherd would have a good sense of humor. With a good sense of humor, shepherds will be overcome with anxiety and stress and will miss wonderful opportunities to laugh deeply from the gut as an act of faith. Shepherds are imperfect as are their individual sheep (sorry, but it’s true!) and their collective flock.

Ministry is pressure, and humors is a good release valve that helps to relieve the pressure. Without the release valve of humor, the pressure on a shepherd increases until he simply breaks. This break will be spiritual, emotional, mental, or physical depending upon the weakest cracks in his life. Too many shepherd break. Some leave ministry altogether, while others limp along as their outlook grows bleaker, darker and more somber.

I will share the four additional ways you should pray for your shepherd tomorrow. — Bill Welte is President and CEO of America’s KESWICK
God’s WORD for YOU: Proverbs 13; Isaiah 41-42; 1 Thessalonians 1
Great Quote: What’s in it for me?” man says about obeying God. In this context how selfish and sinful that question is. The living God has spoken, and that is enough. The Saviour who shed his blood to save us from hell has told us how we should live, and that is enough. The loving Holy Spirit who made us alive has moved holy men to speak a word to us, and that is enough. We obey God because that glorifies God and there is nothing more than that. Geoff Thomas
Join us Thursday night for Men’s Fellowship Night. Call today for your reservation: 732-350-1187

Another Zinger from Paul

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Another Zinger from Paul

“To speak evil of no one, to avoid quarreling, to be gentle, and to show perfect courtesy toward all people.” Titus 3:2

Don’t you just love it when the Holy Spirit throws something your way. He is always the perfect gentleman — never forcing His way on you. He just lays it out there in a way that there can be no confusion or waffling around trying to figure out what He is really trying to say.

That is how I felt this morning reading this verse from Titus. Ouch! Putting this one into practice really shouldn’t be that difficult. But it can make a huge difference in our lives if we begin to do so if we allow Christ to live His life through me, and to put this into practice.

Let’s take a couple of days and tear this one apart …

To speak evil of no one. Wow. Paul makes it pretty clear, and leaves no room for misinterpretation: this means NO ONE? Did you ever stop and think how easy it is to gossip? How easy it is to get engaged in conversation with someone about someone else — and before we know it, we are ripping someone to shreds. How easy it is to share information that can be harmful, and we sometimes couch it in “spiritual terms” — “Can I share a prayer request about so and so!”

Yesterday was the Lord’s day, and my guess is that someone out there is not happy with their pastor or someone else in ministry. My heart breaks for the way people are taking pot shots of their spiritual leaders, and how they are tearing them to shreds when they should be praying for and building them up. These guys need encouragement!

Facebook is an interesting tool. I have found myself getting more and more frustrated how we are using this tool to vent our frustrations, speak ill about friends and family, and even more sadly for Christians, how we are tearing down our President. While I certainly don’t agree with most of what our President is doing, should we be speaking evil of him, or participating in discussions that are malicious in such a public forum?

Years ago, my mentor and friend, Pastor Newton Conant, shared four questions to ask about sharing information: 1. Is it true? 2. Is it kind? 3. Is it necessary? 4. Does it bring glory to God? Those four questions may very well be ones to plaster on the forefront of our minds. Tape ’em to your laptop or post them them on your screen saver. These four questions might very well help us to trust and yield in this area of our lives. Think about it! — Bill Welte is President and CEO of America’s KESWICK

God’s WORD for YOU: Proverbs 12; Isaiah 39-40; Colossians 4

Great Quote: You, too, are called to be an open letter, as Paul puts it, written by Christ’s own hand, showing those round about you what things Christ can do. We are to go into the world and so to live our ordinary lives that, all unconsciously to us, those among whom we move will look at us again, and will begin to say, You know I used to doubt if there was much in Christianity save talk. But I have revised my opinion. There’s So-and-so (that’s you, you understand), that is a man in whom the thing is obviously working out. He used to be so touchy, so opinionative, so mean and shabby in his views, so dully ordinary. Yet now, undoubtedly, the man has won to self-control and a large generous mind, and – yea, I know it’s a queer thing to say – but he has won to something more, something that somehow (though he never speaks about those things) makes you remember Jesus Christ! Arthur John (A. J.) Gossip

MEN’S FELLOWSHIP NIGHT begins this Thursday. Come join us as we begin this new season of great food, practical teaching from God’s WORD, and great fun and fellowship at the Activity Center. Dinner starts at 6:15 PM. Call today and make your reservation. Why not bring a friend? — 732-350-1187