SPARE NO INTEGRITY

“Then the Lord said to Satan, Have you considered My servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, one
who fears God and shuns evil?” Job 1:8

One of the things I’ve noticed while working in the secular world is the lack or absence of integrity. I was having a conversation with the head of our vinyl fence division when we began to discuss a potential new customer who asked for an elaborate fence display “just because” they were a potential new customer. The potential new customer has not been heard from since placing his request over three weeks ago. Of course, the display is ready to go.

I had mentioned that this could be a sign of bad integrity on his part since he insisted that we move quickly for completion. My boss turned and said “Integrity? Chris even I lack that.” What do you do with that?
After I picked my bottom jaw up, I most definitely felt the need to bring up the importance of integrity not only in the world but in God’s world.

My first response was to say how important integrity comes into play in my own life when it concerns my wife and children. Then I plainly stated that God holds the highest regard for integrity and that is what Jesus’
ministry was clearly about. I explain to him that there were Hebrew leaders who comprised Gods will and they wound up being sent to what is modern day Iraq.

Did anything I said that day make a dent? That I do not know but I’ll keep at it.

In eighteenth century England’s integrity got tossed out the window.
Drinking and gambling was at epidemic proportions. Public hangings were like T.V. commercials and one historian called it a “vast casino”. The church suffered as well as there was a purging of Puritan values. This set in motion “The Holy Club of Oxford” making the following mission statement. “We want to reform the nation, particularly the church, and to spread Scriptural Holiness over the land”.

What John and Charles Wesley, along with George Whitefield, did was begin an evangelistic movement that saved England from herself. Can that happen here in twenty-first century America? For me, I guess God would have me do it one fence customer at a time. But for the brethren around me, I would pray that if you hear that an unsaved man is thinking of allowing the values that make who you are in Christ to fall by the wayside, that God would shrug you in those moments and share the hope that only God provides. – Chris Hughes

Chris is a graduate of the Colony of Mercy and has attended the Keswick Institute of Biblical Studies. Our Winter semester begins next week.
Have you considered digging deeper into God’s WORD? It’s not too late to sign up. Check out the full color brochure on the website
(www.americaskeswick.org) or call today for information: 732-350-1187)

Great Quote: “Tragically, many men all across the country will come to Promise Keepers events and miss the point. They will think that somehow by association and osmosis-having a PK T-shirt, a PK hat, and a PK notebook-they are godly men. Let me be clear: Information is not transformation, and exposure is not experience.” Crawford Loritts

The Discipline of Prayer

The Lord Jesus told us in The Sermon on the Mount to go into our closet, close the door and talk to our Father. (Matthew 6:6) Jesus’ life modeled that principle of getting away and being alone in the presence of the Father. The discipline of prayer opens our lives to God for change.

As we spend time in prayer, God has the freedom to change our minds about the people and situations we experience in every day life. We’ll probably discover changes in our own lives during those extended times of prayer. I read of one person who regularly prays “Lord, shine your light on the dark corners of my heart.” When we’re really honest with ourselves, we know those dark corners exist and that we need change to get rid of them.

The discipline of prayer helps us learn to talk with God in different ways given the situations of our lives. We can spend time in private prayer, or we can say a quick word of prayer for someone who captures our attention in a store. We can pray silently in a meeting, asking God for wisdom when it’s time to make decisions. Many of us who are not used to praying think we must have some special words. God isn’t worried about the words; He just wants you to talk to Him and listen to Him.

Prayer needs to be more than a discipline, however. Dallas Willard writes, “It would…be a rather low-voltage spiritual life in which prayer was chiefly undertaken as a discipline….” Having said that, the practice of prayer is a learned discipline. Most of us know the experience of getting just past “Heavenly Father” when we pray before our minds begin to wander. The discipline involved in learning to pray brings us to a place of single-mindedness, a place where God really is the focus of our praying.

We’ll find ourselves distracted at times. Don’t give up! We will notice our minds wandering among the countless concerns of the day.
However, as we continue in the paths of prayer, our meanders will be shorter and less frequent. We’ll discover that God seems present more and more through our day, and we’ll carry on conversations with Him about all the things that come into our day. Remember 1 Timothy 4:7.
“. . . discipline yourself for the purpose of godliness . . . .”

Finally, don’t forget that prayer is a conversation, not a monologue.
Take time to listen for God’s voice in the midst of your praying. It’s good to just sit in His presence and tell Him that you’re listening.
Even if you don’t hear anything specific, you’ll benefit from living in His presence.

Many resources are available to help you learn how to pray. Read some books. Talk to your pastor. Look for some instruction in the internet from sources you trust. If you still have questions about how to pray, email Bill Welte. Either he can help you or put you in touch with me or someone else who can help you.

Pastor John Strain is Senior Pastor of First Baptist of Toms River and is our weekend Freedom Fighter contributor.

Great Quote: Since God offers to manage our affairs for us, let us once and for all hand them over to His infinite wisdom, in order to occupy ourselves only with Himself and what belongs to Him. Jean-Pierre de Caussade

“For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you and asking God to fill you with the knowledge of His will through all spiritual wisdom and understanding. And we pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of The Lord and please Him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, being strengthened with all power according to His glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, and joyfully, giving thanks to The Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light. For He has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son He loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.”
Colossians 1:9-14

Paul prayed for the new believers in Colosse to grow in Christ. He prayed ceaselessly for them to find their salvation through Jesus. He saw that if they continued to separate themselves from Jesus and put their faith in idols, angels and false doctrine they would perish.
There are so many things we can approach The Throne of Grace with, how many of us truly concern ourselves with the salvation of others? To ask for God’s blessing on our brethren should be routine. That others may grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior is vital. (2 Peter 3:18) To gain understanding and to learn the significance of allowing God’s will to come to pass through them is crucial. Striving to do good in all we do and living a life pleasing to The Lord is expected.

Being spiritually strengthened by God is to be equipped by His grace.
We cannot expect to accomplish anything on our own, to realize that
through Christ who strengthens us we can do anything. (Phil 4:13) Paul
emphatically states we can trust in Christ – we can trust His power – we can rely on Him to carry us through each day as it comes. That we must turn to Jesus and not to idols or rituals to endure through difficult seasons. For the glory of God as believers is The Power of God. To be absent of it would mean certain failure.

Through Christ Jesus, we have been adopted into His kingdom. Because of the sacrifice Our Savior made for us, His precious blood has qualified us to share in this inheritance. We should always be thankful to Our Lord God for sending His Only Son to die for us. It is only because of Jesus we are made spotless and without blemish in the eyes of God. For our salvation is hidden with Christ only by His enduring love for us.
He brought us out of darkness and into the light of the everlasting.
This unbelievable gift from God is not because of anything we have done or could do. It is by the sacrifices Our Redeemer made for us while we were yet sinners.

The body they may kill:

God’s truth abideth still,

His kingdom is forever. – Martin Luther

Chris Connors is a graduate of the Colony of Mercy and is our Director of Housekeeping. We praise God for the growth we have seen in Chris’
life.

Great Quote: The problem with prayer is heightened by the fact that people often succumb either to the extreme of all form and no freedom, or the opposite extreme of all freedom and no form. The first extreme leads to a rote or impersonal approach to prayer, while the second produces an unbalanced and undisciplined prayer life that can degenerate into a litany of one ‘gimme’ after another. Kenneth Boa

THE LORD’S PRAYER

“This, then, is how you should pray: “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name; your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. Forgive us our debts, as we also forgive our debtors, and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. For it you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.” Matthew 6:9-14

Two key parts of Matthew 6 are the words of this prayer outline, and the words that precede them. “This, then, is how you should pray.” Jesus gave these words as a structured outline of how all people should seek Our Lord God in prayer. How we are to esteem Him in hallowed reverence.
In our lives, thoughts and finally the words that come out of our mouth.
That everything we say shall be edifying and all our conversations will be holy and pleasing to Him. Our desire to have a relationship with God should pour out from our heart into our words.

God knows our desires and our needs. So when we petition Our Lord in prayer we must remove anything that offends Him out of our heart and allow Him to reign there supreme. God requires that we be specific, to list things and people by their names one by one. That we appeal to His sovereignty with a sense of urgency. To be in constant remembrance that He created us for His pleasure and not to let anything come between this divine communion.

One day Jesus was praying in a certain place. When He finished, one of His disciples said to Him, “Lord teach us to pray just as John taught His disciples.” (Luke 11:1) Because they had seen Jesus do this, they also wanted to. Jesus took their initial interest and gave them a model to follow. He shared with them spiritual principles on confession, praise, thanksgiving, intercession and petition. We follow these same principles today in our walk with God. We can waste a lot of precious time away from the presence of God. By getting ready to pray, finding the time, getting in the right frame of mind and then reading books on prayer. But sooner or later – WE MUST PRAY! We must humble ourselves and cry out to Our Lord for help, mercy and forgiveness.

Our Father has given all power unto His Son and if we ask in the name of Jesus, He will give it. We must pray in Jesus’ name – as standing in His place – fully identified with Him – asking by virtue of our very union with Him. When we truly ask in the name of Christ, He is the real petitioner. When we plead before God the merits of His Blessed Son, He looks past us and sees His Son as the true recipient. When we pray like this we demonstrate our total dependence and confidence in God. There are many places in the New Testament Jesus shows us that constant prayer is mandatory in order to live a victorious Christian life. Paul exhorts us to “pray continually.” (I Thess. 5:17) Peter declares he gave himself over “continually to prayer.” (Acts 6:4) Jesus teaches us that in order for our prayers to be effective, we must be diligent, fixing our eyes on Christ, so that all our prayers begin with, are directed by, and received by God alone.

When all they mercies, O my God,

My rising soul surveys,

Transported with the view, I’m lost

In wonder, love and praise – Joseph Addison

Today’s Freedom Fighter was written by Chris Connors, a graduate of the Colony of Mercy and our Director of Housekeeping.

Great Quote: “I don’t have a hard time believing the Gospel is true…for you. God loves you and accepts you and wants to do good to you. The problem is, I have such a hard time believing it’s true for me. Luther nailed it when he said that we are born with an inborn suspicion that God is not for us. Like a bass note in a terrific song, I battle almost daily the constant thumping that because of my failures, sins, and selfishness, I do not have God’s favor. He seems to be never satisfied. So what is the answer? How do I keep on keeping on? The life and death of Jesus tells me that the lie is just that, a lie. God is satisfied because He was satisfied with Jesus; and I am in Him and He is in me. That’s the antidote to the inborn suspicion-the Father is for me, because of the cross of Jesus. So daily, it’s a fight of faith; to believe the Gospel is true for me.” Tom Wood

YESTERDAY

“Then Samuel took a stone and set it between Mizpah and Shen, and named it Ebenezer, saying, ‘Thus far the Lord has helped us.” 1 Samuel 7:12

Monday I wrote about ANTICIPATION. Yesterday we talked about the word TODAY. Today I’d like to dialog about the word YESTERDAY … I know – I am backwards … sorry!

I have often heard messages on Paul’s instructions “forgetting those things which are behind …” and while there is great value in forgetting many things about our lives in the past, there is a certain sense where it is good for us to REMEMBER what God has done for us.
Pastor Jim Cymbala says that some of us “remember what we should forget, and forget what we should remember.”

For a man or woman struggling in addiction, they need to forget about their past life of sin. They need to stop dwelling on those things that remind them of the places where they should not be – people they should not be hanging around with . It’s that old illustration of don’t think about pink elephants. Seriously, don’t even allow your mind to drift into thinking about pink elephants. And I bet right now you are thinking about pink elephants.

Some of us remember past hurts that have taken place 10, 15, 20 years ago. It’s time to forget those and remember the what God has done for us in the past. That’s what the children of Israel did throughout the Old Testament. How many times have your read chapters where they are rehearsing how God brought them out of Egypt (bondage) and retraced the goodness of God in their lives.

In this passage in 1 Samuel 7, the ark has been returned to the Israelites and the Philistines are defeated after the people cry out to God with Samuel, repent of their sin, and take God at His Word. Samuel takes a stone and sets it up as a reminder to the people of what God has done for them. He calls the stone “Ebenezer” – which literally means “THUS FAR THE LORD HAS HELPED US.”

Are you in the pits having a pity party and you are the only invited guest? Then I recommend to you that you take some time to reflect, rehearse, recount the hundreds, maybe even thousands of ways that the Lord helped you during your brief time on this planet. Think of the Ebenezer’s that could be put in place – stones of remembrance – that point back to God’s goodness even in the midst of difficult circumstance. It’s a good exercise, my brother, and one that will be a blessing in your life!

I shared a message from this passage for our January Super Senior Day.
If you’d like a copy, respond to this email and I will send you a copy of the message on CD.

Great Quote: A church that sets out to win over the world is tempted to divest itself of everything that might offend the world, to promise forgiveness without confession and renewal without repentance. It markets joy without awe and love without accountability for justice.
Some compromise is inevitable, but a congregation needs to be aware of the point at which its compromises begin it serve itself more than God.
— Daniel Frankforter

Want to dig deeper into God’s Word? Why not join us for our winter semester of the KESWICK INSTITUTE OF BIBLICAL STUDIES. Check out the full color brochure on our website: www.americaskeswick.org or call Lynne Jahns today for information: 732-350-1187.

TODAY

For God says, “At just the right time, I heard you. On the day of salvation, I helped you.” Indeed, God is ready to help you right now.
Today is the day of salvation. 2 Corinthians 6:2

I am really not quite sure how many people receive Freedom Fighters on a daily basis. We have the actual number of men who we know get it from our list, but last week I received a comment from a friend in Texas who received one as a forward.

All that to say, while I know many of you, there are many of you that I have never met. Believe it or not, there are some things that we all have in common.

One thing that we have in common is TODAY! Most of us had a yesterday, and right now we have today. There are no guarantees for tomorrow.

One of the topics I read about is time management. Because my schedule is always full, I am always looking for ways to better manage my time.
Each one of us has the same amount of time in a given day – the same number of available hours and minutes. HOW we use our time and WHAT we do with it is important because once a day is done, it is gone.

Take an interesting journey and use your concordance to look at what the Bible says about the word “day” and “today.” You can use a great concordance tool on the computer – visit www.crosswalk.com)

The most important thing you need to know about today is that if you have never come to the place of trusting in Jesus Christ as your personal Savior, TODAY is the day of salvation. Most of us are procrastinators in some area of our lives. We find ourselves saying, “I’ll do that tomorrow!”

Well my friend, Ralph Carmichael, now 83, wrote a musical many years ago called “Tell It Like It Is” and one of the songs says, “Yesterday has come and gone – sorry about that! Tomorrow may never come – sorry about that!”

If you are reading today’s Freedom Fighter and you have not experienced the joy of salvation – God’s free gift offered through Jesus Christ – I beg you – consider this – TODAY is the day of salvation. I’d love to share how you can KNOW that you are a part of God’s forever family, not just for eternity, but TODAY! Drop me a line if you need help. Your decision TODAY will affect everyone of your TOMORROWS or as someone else said – “Your decision today will determine your destiny!”

Bill Welte is the President and CEO of America’s KESWICK and is the editor of Freedom Fighters.

Great Quote: Before we look at how we make Jesus Lord, we need to see what it is we mean when we talk about lordship. To make Jesus Lord of our life means to surrender control of every area of our life to Him. We come under His authority. His authority is supreme over our authority.
We start taking orders from Him – we do what He tells us to do. That’s what lordship is — Christ reigning as supreme authority over our life.
Making Jesus Lord of our life is not something passive. It’s not a state of being, it’s a state of doing. Those whom Jesus recognizes as His own are those who do the will of His Father in heaven. Keith Green

ANTICIPATION

” … looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ …” Titus 2:13

I can’t believe that in just a few weeks we will have the opportunity to see our fifth grandson for the very first time. It seems like years since Julie and Garrett announced that she was pregnant … well for someone with my personality, nine months seems like years!

During these nine months of preparation we heard that he was coming in the month of February. The doctors were able to calculate and predict the approximate date for his coming, but up until last week, there was no actual day set for his coming – we just knew it was imminent!

There has been much preparation for his coming. One of the rooms was prepared for Caleb (yeah, we know his name!) with fresh paint, new crib, clothes and curtains. It is a time of great anticipation and expectation. As the countdown continues, it is getting really exciting.

That is how it should be for us. The Lord is coming back again. We don’t know the “time or the season, “the day or the hour,” but we do know this
– we need to be ready for his imminent return.

Growing up we would have a prophecy week at our church and most of the teens would dread it. We’d hear all these horrible things about the rapture and the tribulation, and for teens whose whole lives are before them – well, the thought of “looking for the blessed hope” was not something on the radar screen.

Maybe it is something that happens when you get older – or maybe it has to do with where are world is – but I find myself saying, “Maybe today, Lord?” or even echo the words of John, the author of Revelation, “Even so, come, Lord Jesus!”

Are you “looking for that blessed hope?” I can’t tell you WHEN it will be, but I can tell you this – it is closer today than it was yesterday!
Anticipating His return should impact how we live today! Think about it!

Bill Welte is President and CEO of America’s KESWICK, home of America’s oldest residential addiction recovery center for men – the Colony of Mercy. (www.americaskeswick.org)

Great Quote: “If you woke up this morning and you are still here – God obviously still has a plan for your life!” – Dr. Adrian Rogers

Have you ever considered attending Bible College? Interested in digging deeper into God’s Word? You can do so by attending the KESWICK INSTITUTE OF BIBLICAL STUDIES. Join us for our eight week semester that begins shortly. Check out the brochure on our homepage:
www.americaskeswick.org. or call Lynne Jahns today for information:
732-350-1187.

The Discipline of Study

Our theme for the January weekend Freedom Fighters comes from 1 Timothy
4:7 (NASB): “. . . discipline yourself for the purpose of godliness . .
. .” The New King James Version translates the verse like this: “and exercise yourself toward godliness.” That translation seems to fit with the discipline I want us to consider today.

Remember that four of the disciplines we’ll review fall into the category of “abstinence” disciplines. The other four are disciplines of “engagement.” Let’s think today about one of the engagement
disciplines: study. Both the Old and New Testaments give us ample instruction about the importance of learning the Word of God and applying it our lives.

The discipline of study sets us on a path of learning Scripture. It will almost certainly involve memorizing Scripture, investing time in reading and studying God’s Word and exposing ourselves to good Bible teaching. The goal of the discipline isn’t “just” the acquiring of knowledge. Rather, the goal is the transformation of our hearts and minds. Disciplining ourselves to the study of God’s Word is choosing to do the hard work of “exercising ourselves toward godliness.”

The Psalmist said, “Your word I have hidden in my heart, that I might not sin against you.” Engaging in regular study of God’s Word prepares us for a life of righteousness; it will protect us from temptation when we know it and apply it to our lives. On the contrary, without this discipline of study, we’re fair game for anything the enemy of our souls wants to throw our way.

Take some time to read Deuteronomy 6:4-9. God made it very clear through Moses that this discipline of study must address every area of our lives. If you follow on in Deuteronomy 6, you’ll see why God
thought it so important. It was His Word that God knew would protect
the children of Israel from disobedience when they moved into the Promised Land. All the people currently living in the land were pagan idol worshipers. Only through the consistent application of God’s Word to their lives would His people avoid the sins of their enemies.

Remember Dallas Willard’s definition of the spiritual disciplines: “any activity within our power that we engage in to enable us to do what we
cannot do by direct effort.” Living a godly life in an ungodly world
qualifies as one of those things we cannot do by direct effort. We can engage in the discipline of study as an “exercise for godliness.” We have incredible tools available to us for studying God’s Word. Let’s choose to discipline ourselves to use them. (Pastor John Strain, Senior Pastor of First Baptist Toms River, is writer for our weekend Freedom
Fighters)

Great Quote: Human fellowship can go to great lengths, but not all the way. Fellowship with God can go to all lengths. Oswald Chambers

Defender of the Faith

“You therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus.
And the things that you have heard from me among many witnesses, commit these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also. You therefore must endure hardship as a good solider of Jesus Christ.”
2 Timothy 2:1-3

How many of you went out into the world during the month of December shouting, “Jesus is the reason for the season” or “Put Christ back in Christmas”? Okay, now put your hands down. Out of those of you who raised their hands, how many of you practice that same zeal year ’round?

I was wondering about my zeal while my son, nephew and I were taking the outside Christmas lights down (and with my wife’s suggestion, we cleaned the gutters around our home). I had been one of those who spent time to defend the faith this past month and got a little beat up doing it. And although I am called to make a stand, it was hard hearing “Santa Scrooge” when asked what I planned to give as presents to some of the folks around me. All I wanted to do was give as much Jesus as I could.

In 98 A.D. people were shouting “Great is Diana of the Ephesians!” in Ephesus. The people were celebrating the feast of Catagogion. It was major money making feast. And even though Timothy tried to avoid the merriment he wound up right in front of its procession. He made a stand and was called a blasphemer. He was beaten and died of wounds a few days later. That is true defense of faith. That is true zeal.

In front of the crowd, Timothy was quoted as saying, “Do as you please!
And what if pleases you is a trap? What if it is a bond that will take your life from you before you have even lived and chain you to regret and dissatisfaction? Jesus came that you might have life and life abundantly! Why accept the chains of sin when you can live free in His Spirit!”

Paul’s charge to Timothy was clear. And Timothy followed to the end. I do not believe that I should make a stand once in awhile but all the while. I pray that our loving and gracious Father can forgive me in my shortcoming this past month and in those times where I did not even recognize my charge to defend my faith in Christ. I pray that you too will make your stand when it is your time.

Here’s a good quote from Jesus Freaks Vol II

“There is a time to be quiet, but there is also a time to speak out. If a friend is not looking and about to trip out over something in his path, isn’t it only natural for us to shout out and warn him before he hurts himself? How much more should we yell if he is casually on his way to hell and has no idea that there is something better?”

Chris Hughes graduated from the Colony of Mercy in 2003. Chris, and his wife Cathy, attend First Baptist Church in Little Egg Harbor, NJ. Chris is also a student at the KESWICK INSTITUTE OF BIBLICAL STUDIES. Check information for the January semester at www.americaskeswick.org

Great quote: It is possible to be so active in the service of Christ as to forget to love him. P. T. Forsyth