KEEP PRESSIN’ ON

“Lift up the hands which hang down, and the feeble knees; And make straight paths for your feet, lest that which is lame be turned out of the way; but let it rather be healed.” (Hebrews 12:12-13)

This week is a significant week for us as a ministry as we will be meeting Thursday with an individual to talk about the residential women’s ministry and a property that he owns that could thrust us forward in an amazing way. There have been a number of us praying quite earnestly that God will swing open the door to move us forward.

The need is great. Just in the last three weeks we have been notified of three women who have committed suicide because of their addictions.

I love that GOD knows what we are going through and again this morning these words from Streams in the Desert, oh so timely:

“This verse (see above) is God’s Word of encouragement to us to lift the hands of faith and to fortify the knees of prayer. All too often our faith becomes tired, weak, and listless, and our prayers lose their power and effectiveness.

The Lord’s illustration here is quite compelling. He is pointing out to us that when we become so discouraged and fearful that even one little obstacle depresses and frightens us, we are tempted to walk around it. We would rather take the easy way than face it. Perhaps there is some physical ailment that God is ready to heal, but it requires exertion on our part. The temptation is to find help from someone else or to walk around the obstacle some other way.

We tend to find many ways of walking around emergencies instead of walking STRAIGHT THROUGH them. So often we are faced with something that frightens or overwhelms us and seek to evade the problem with the excuse: “I am not quite ready for that now.” It may require some sacrifice, or demand our obedience in some area. Perhaps there is some Jericho we are facing, or we are lacking the courage to help someone else and to pray through this concern with him. Perhaps we have a prayer that awaits completion, or a physical problem that is partially healed and we continue to walk around it.

God says, “LIFT UP THE HANDS THAT HANG DOWN.” March straight through the flood, and behold! The waters will divide, the Red Sea will open, the Jordan will part, and the Lord will lead you through to victory!

Do not allow your feet to “be turned out of the way,” but let your body “be healed,” and your faith strengthened. God straight ahead, leaving no Jericho unconquered behind you, and no place where Satan can boast of having overwhelmed you. This is a valuable lesson and is extremely practical! How often we find ourselves in this very situation!

Perhaps this is where YOU are today. Pay as little attention to the discouragement as possible. Plow ahead like a steamship, which moves forward whether facing rough or smooth seas, and in rain or shine. Remember, the goal is simply to carry the cargo and to make it to port.”
STREAMS IN THE DESERT (Zondervan)

I don’t know about you, but that reminder was a good one from His lips to my ears. Keep pressin’ on, my friend.

Great Quote: It is not that God is stingy and must be coaxed, for He “giveth liberally and upbraideth not.” It is that we ourselves are so shallow and sinful that we need to tarry before Him until our restless natures can be stilled and the clamor of outside voices be deadened so that we can hear His voice. Such a state is not easily reached, and the men God uses have paid a price in wrestlings and prevailing prayer. But it is such men who rise from their knees confident of His power and go forth to speak with authority. Vance Havner

HAPPY FATHER’S DAY
“The father of a righteous son will rejoice greatly, and one who father’s a wise son will delight in him. Let your father and mother have joy, and let her who gave birth to you rejoice. I have no greater joy than this: to hear that my children are walking in the truth.” (Proverbs 23:24-25; 3 John 4)

I used to dread Father’s Day … well at least for the past two decades.
My Dad has been with the Lord for twenty years and I still miss him today as much as I did the evening he went home to be with Jesus. This weekend we are at the shore visiting friends and the memories of his love for the shore have been very vivid in my mind.

I guess what has made this Father’s Day easier for me is the perspective of watching my three married kids in their roles as Dads. My son Josh has turned into a really cool Dad. He was never a “baby” person. In fact when our daughter Laura’s kids were born, he wasn’t real keen on even holding them as infants. That all changed the day Samuel was born. I find myself welling up with pride as I watch him holding and caring for his son.

Our two son-in-laws, Garrett and Jon, are great Dads too. Even though they are really just starting out on their journey of fathering, it has been fun to see them in this new role.

Solomon couldn’t have said it better when he said that the father of a “righteous son will rejoice greatly.” I have been blessed as a Dad with four sons (forget the son-in-law stuff). And I rejoice today that all four young men have accepted Jesus as their Savior and are growing in their walk with Him. In fact, Zach just celebrated a spiritual birthday last week!

I get to hear lots of sad stories from other Dad’s about their kids and the problems they are dealing with. Makes me even more thankful for my “men” this morning. And there is a funny thing that has happened … Jan and I have discovered that our married kids have taken on a different role – we see them not just as kids – we count them as our best friends.

Josh, Zach, Garrett and Jon – this Dad is very proud of you on this Father’s Day! And someday, Zach, Garrett and Jon will get to meet my Dad. Somehow I think he is very proud of you too!

If you have a Dad today, pick up the phone and give him a call! You’ll make his day.

Great quote: One father is more than a hundred schoolmasters. George Herbert

UNADORNED WORSHIP

“And what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God.” Micah 6:8

This morning during my quiet time this one really spoke to my heart and one not to gloss over:

“I must make my spiritual life as simple as possible. God is the most complex being in the universe; yet when it comes to His relationship to people, He wants utter simplicity. The altar the Israelites were to build for God was to be on unhewn stones, with no tool or cutting instrument used upon it. (Exodus 20:25)

The message is clear. God knows man’s tendency to adorn, to artify, to decorate a thing until MAN’S talent overshadows the instrument itself. Medieval art is an example of that. God wants to make Himself so available, so disposable to man that He wants no hindrance to a hungry, seeking heart. That means no rules or conditions to keep people from God.

The Laodicean church was the model of organization and regulation – but it was DEAD! I can become so structured, so habitualized, so regular that my devotional life becomes a self-centered worship of RULES rather than GOD. My life with God must be spontaneous. God reserves the right to break in, change habits, start new directions, and otherwise keep me on tiptoe expectation. God is not finicky, but He understands human nature and He does not want us majoring on things that do not count.

I must not become upset if someone interferes with my schedule, interrupts my ‘quiet time,’ or tampers with my routine. God may be in that very interruption, calling me to HIMSELF instead of to the scaffolding I have built around Him. I must be a Nathanael in worship as well as in life, a person without twists or deviousness, but openhearted and direct in my communion with God. The ‘blessed’ ones of the Beatitudes (Matthew 5:1-11) are those with qualities of utter simplicity and transparency; they carry away enormous bundles of the blessings of God.” Adapted from DAILY WITH THE KING – Moody Press

Good devotional to ponder as we prepare our hearts for the Lord’s Day. Do you have a hungry, seeking heart?

Great quote: We must quit bending the Word to suit our situation. It is we who must be bent to that Word, our necks that must bow under the yoke. Elisabeth Elliot

GET MOVING

“Abide in Me …” John 15:4

I am always amazed, and shouldn’t be, how often God gives me JUST WHAT I NEED when I meet with Him in the morning. Your time alone with God each morning, men, must become a non-negotiable time on your daily agenda. We guard so many things in our schedules, but so often this time alone with HIM becomes something we put off until a later time. Sadly, most of us know, that unless we guard it militantly, putting it off means not doing it at all.

Oswald Chambers, one of my favorite devotional authors, has a way of cutting right to the quick with his insights. I read this yesterday and it was just too good to pass up sharing with you:

“Abide in Me in the matter of determination. The Spirit of Jesus is put into me by way of the atonement by the Cross of Christ. I then have to build my thinking patiently to bring it into perfect harmony with my Lord. God will not MAKE me think like Jesus – I have to do it myself. I have to bring “every thought into captivity to do it myself.” (2 Corinthians 10:5) “Abide in Me” – in intellectual matters, in money matters, in every one of the matters that make human life what it is. Our lives are not made up of only one neat confined area.

Am I preventing God from doing things in my circumstances by saying that it will only serve to hinder my fellowship with Him? How irrelevant and disrespectful that is! It does not matter what my circumstances are. I can be as much assured of abiding in Jesus in any one of them as I am in any prayer meeting. It is unnecessary to change and arrange my circumstances myself. Our Lord’s inner abiding was pure and unblemished. He was at home with God wherever His body was. He never chose His own circumstances, but was meek, submitting to His Father’s plans and directions for Him. Just think how amazingly relaxed our Lord’s life was! But we tend to keep God at a fever pitch in our lives. We have none of the serenity of life which is ‘hidden with Christ in God.’ (Colossians 3:3)

Think of the things that take you out of the position of abiding in Christ. You say, ‘Yes, Lord, just a minute – I still have to do this or that to do. Yes, I will abide as soon as this is finished, or as soon as this week is over. It will be all right, Lord. I will abide then!’ GET MOVING – ABIDE NOW! In the initial stages it will be a CONTINUAL effort to abide, but as you continue, it will become a part of your life that you abide in Him without any conscious effort. Make the determination to abide in Jesus WHEREVER you are now or wherever you may be placed in the future.” – MY UTMOST FOR HIS HIGHEST

How about you, brother? Are you abiding today in Christ? Don’t put it off. Do it today!

Great quote: “I must realize that my obedience in the SMALLEST details of life has all of the omnipotent power of the grace of God behind it.
If I will do my duty, not for duty’s sake but because I believe God is engineering my circumstances, then at the very point of my obedience all of the magnificent grace of God is mine through the glorious atonement by the Cross of Christ.” – Oswald Chambers

THE RAZOR EDGE OF FAILURE

“Now then let the fear of the Lord be upon you; be very careful what you do, for the Lord our God will have no part in unrighteousness.” 2 Chronicles 19:7

Some fifteen years ago when I was serving as Vice President of Ministries at Sandy Cove, we had several staff members who were going through some difficult times because of bad choices they had made. I was sitting in my bosses’ office and remember looking him in the eye and saying, “Don’t you mess up! You better never do that to me!” In other words – I was telling him – FINISH WELL!

We last we he was our speaker for our Senior’s Week. He sent me an email at the end of the week with these poignant words: “Now I have a word for you: You’d better not do that to your wife, your family, your ministry, your Lord and to me. But I want to extend it. You have every reason to be proud. You’ve done a great job. You have reason to let it go to your head. Don’t. “Pride cometh before the fall.” Be thankful for the personality, gifts and opportunities God has given you. Don’t screw up because you think you can handle it with that alone. Continue to look to Him. I hope to be living 10 years from now when it becomes retirement age for you (or however long). I want to point my finger at you and say, “You finished well.” And don’t you forget it.”

That was a powerful reminder for me. Each of us must be intentional in remembering that we are one step away from blowing it. Our spiritual pride can be dangerous. We can pride ourselves into thinking that because we can “do all things through Christ” we will never blow it. Or because we have “security” in Christ – there is no way I could ever …. Well, you fill in the blanks.

I read this today: “The best way for me to live is on the razor edge of failure. I must be insecure enough to cling to the everlasting arms. If God blesses me as He did the Israelites, I must immediately assume that these blessings are a preparation against future problems, not guarantees of perpetual bliss. I must appreciate my blessings and use them correctly, but never grow maudlin over them.

I must get rid of my security complex. Success has a way of dimming my spiritual eye and slackening my spiritual hand. Being IN CHRIST is no assurance whatever that I will be immune from the lashings of Satan, the tantalizing of the world, or the rigors of God’s disciplinary grace. I will be safe only as I run scared, scared enough to be baby-like in my total dependence on God, for the man who makes His trust is blessed and will not go astray. (Psalm 40:4) from Daily with the King – published by Moody Press

Powerful reminder for me. My total dependence for finishing well MUST be on Him! How about you? Is there something in your life that is going to hinder you from finishing well? Is the Holy Spirit tapping you on the shoulder and reminding you of something in your life that you must look at this morning? Listen to His voice and purpose to run scared this morning. Scared to be “baby-like” in total dependence on God.

PEACE

“My peace I give you.” John 14:27

I am in process. Haven’t arrived yet. Put my pants on just like you – one leg at a time. And like many of you, sometimes the stuff gets overwhelming. In fact, right now, it is one of those overwhelming times – so little time and so much to do.

So many of my friends are going through stuff right now too. One brother’s wife is facing surgery today. She was hit in the face with a softball and has major issues. His wife is diabetic which raises the complication level. Another friend in ministry is facing challenges because of a staff member who is making life difficult. And another friend is facing a crisis with his kids.

I am thankful this morning that God knows what we need to hear from Him.
He spoke to my heart again this morning through His Word and through Streams in the Desert:

“Two painters were once asked to paint a picture illustrating his own idea of rest. The first chose for his scene a quiet, lonely lake, nestled among mountains far away. The second, using swift, broad strokes on canvas, painted a thundering waterfall. Beneath the falls grew a fragile birch tree, bending over the foam. On its branches, nearly wet with the spray form the falls, sat a robin on its nest.

The first painting was simply a picture of stagnation and inactivity. The second, however, depicted REST.

Outwardly, Christ endured one of the most troubled lives ever lived.
Storms and turmoil, turmoil and storms – wave after wave broke over Him until His worn body was laid in the tomb. Yet His INNER LIFE was a smooth as a sea of glass, and a great calm was always there.

Anyone could have gone to Him at any time and found rest. Even as the human bloodhounds were dogging Him in the streets of Jerusalem, He turned to His disciples, offering them a final legacy: ‘MY PEACE!”

Rest is not some holy feeling that comes upon us in church. It is a state of calm rising from a heart deeply and firmly established in God.

My peace I give in times of deepest grief, Imparting calm and trust and My relief.

My peace I give when prayer seems lost, unheard; Know that My promises are ever in My Word.

My peace I give when you are left alone – The nightingale at night has sweetest tone.

My peace I give in times of utter loss,
The way of glory leads right to the cross.

My peace I give when enemies will blame, Your fellowship is sweet through cruel shame.

My peace I give in agony and sweat,
For My own brow with bloody drops was wet.

My peace I give when nearest friend betrays – Peace that is merged in love, and for them prays.

My peace I give when there’s but death for thee – The gateway is the cross to get to Me.

From STREAMS IN THE DESERT by Mrs. Cowman – Zondervan

Are you in need of HIS PEACE today? I pray that today we would experience HIS perfect peace!

Great quote: The great people of the earth today are the people who pray. I do not mean those who talk about prayer, nor those who say they believe in prayer, nor yet those who can explain about prayer; but I mean these people who take time and pray. They have not time. It must be taken from something else. This something else is important, very important, and pressing, but still less important and less pressing than prayer. There are people that put prayer first, and group the other items in life’s schedule around and after prayer. S. D. Gordon

Spiritual Heart Trouble

“My heart is steadfast, O God, my heart is steadfast; I will sing, yes, I will sing praises! Awake, my glory; awake my harp and lyre, I will awaken the dawn.” Psalm 57:7-8

I spent some time yesterday with a staff member who is much younger than me and he shared that for several weeks he has been struggling with constant chest pain. When you are 53 and your Dad had his first heart attack at age 50 – heart trouble is a huge concern.

Many people are concerned about their “physical” heart – but what about our “spiritual” heart? I read these powerful thoughts this morning in the daily devotional “Daily with the King” published by Moody Press:

“The stress of modern living is increasing the risk of heart trouble, but heart trouble has always been a risk for a disciple of Jesus Christ.
My heart is my citadel and I must keep it strong if I hope to triumph.

I must not ‘err in my heart’ (Psalm 95:10). It is bad enough to err in my ways or in my mind, but if I err in my heart I will begin to sow seeds of ultimate defeat. To err in the heart is to be unpersuaded, unconvinced from God’s Word (Hebrews 3:8-10). It means that God speaks in vain and His words carry no weight; He might as well have remained silent. If I ignore God’s message, before long I will become a firm unbeliever, which in turn will lead to hardness of heart (Hebrews 4:7).

Peter erred in his WAYS; once repentant, he found restoration with his Lord. But Judas erred in his heart; he ignored the teachings of Jesus and developed a resistance to the forgiveness Jesus offered.

I cannot presume that because I am saved I am in no danger of developing heart trouble. The many New Testament warnings were not uttered for the empty air but to make me a disciple with a CLEAN HEART, to keep me from regarding God’s words as trivia, and to make me realize every message from God is of the highest worth.

The most restless, discontented people are not the poor or overworked; they are the hard of heart. To be strong in heart I must let God convince me, and keep convincing me as long as life flows on …
Whenever we ascribe goodness to God’s Word, it is a sign that God has convinced us and therefore our hearts are tender and pliant in His hands.”

How about you? How is your heart today, brother? If you had an EKG of your spiritual heart, what would the Great Physician discover? Something good to think about today.

Great Quote: Who a man is is not important; What he knows does not matter but what he is to the inscrutable God is what matters. If we displease God, does it matter whom we please? If please Him, does it matter whom we displease? Leonard Ravenhill

Have you registered your son or Dad for our Father Son Night this Thursday? Call today for information: 732-250-1187.

BLESS OTHERS – IT’S WORTH IT

“The world of the generous gets larger and larger; the world of the stingy gets smaller and smaller. The one who blesses others is abundantly blessed; those who help others are blessed.” Proverbs 11:24-25

I am a sucker for good kid’s movies. I guess having a ten-year-old helps. Most of you have probably seen FINDING NEMO. There is a scene where Nemo runs into a group of seagulls that are looking for a meal and you will remember that the flock of seagulls break out into crying out, “MINE! MINE! MINE!”

These two verses jumped out at me today from Proverbs and reminded me of something that has happened in our lives over the years. My mother-in-law used to tell us, “You can’t out give God.” And you know what, over the years that truth has been proven over and over again in our lives.

Several years ago a friend of the ministry gave each of our staff a $50 bonus. One of my staff members was away the day the bonuses were given out and came into see me on Friday to find out how they could get their envelope. Our CFO was off for the day so I told them that they would have to wait until the Monday. He left my office and I sensed in my heart that he was really in need. It was like the Lord said, “Bill, give him your $50.”

I called him back into my office and gave him the $50 from my envelope. As he was leaving my office, he told me that he would pay me back on Monday when he got his envelope from our CFO. I thanked him and sent him on his way. While sitting in my office the Holy Spirit spoke clearly to my heart and said, “He needs the $50 more than you do – don’t make him pay it back.” I called him on the phone and said, “Don’t worry about the $50. I know you have some needs. Merry Christmas.” And indeed the extra $100 was a big help to them at this time in their lives.

Within the next 48 hours, God blessed me in a very unusual way. A Christmas card came from a friend who wanted to encourage me and tucked in the card was a piece of paper wrapped around a check for $50. Within 24 hours the Holy Spirit prompted me to once again give away the $50 to another person in need, and within a few days, the Lord replaced the $50.

It has become a fun thing for Jan and me. I wish I could tell you how God has multiplied that $50 over the past several years. I keep saying I should write it all down as it would make an interesting story. When we are willing to bless others, not to get a pat on the back from others, but out of the sincerity of our hearts, God blesses us in ways that are far and above what we can think.

Remember the name Corrie ten Boom? Corrie and her sister were together in a concentration camp. They had a bottle of liquid vitamins that help sustain them through their horrible experience. After several days of using the liquid vitamins, several other women in that camp started asking for help. Corrie and her sister could have been stingy and just kept it for themselves. They weren’t stingy – they blessed others by sharing. And as Corrie shared her story – that bottle of vitamins miraculously lasted until they were released.

How about you today? Is your life characterized by blessing others or are you stingy? Do you give just to give or do you give because you want to impress others by your giving? Something to think about today! Look around you – is there a way you can bless someone who comes across your path today. Don ‘t be stingy.

PS – I’d love to hear your stories too!

Great quote: Too many of us have a Christian vocabulary rather than a Christian experience. We think we are doing our duty when we’re only talking about it. Charles F. Banning

SEEK AND YOU WILL FIND

” …seek, and you will find.” Luke 11:9

God loves it when we seek Him and come to Him in prayer expecting Him to answer our prayers in HIS way. So often we pray once then give up.
Chambers says: “Seek if you have not found. ‘You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss…’ (James 4:3) If you ask for things from life instead of from God, ‘you ask amiss’; that is, you ask our of YOUR desire for self-fulfillment. THE MORE YOU FULFILL YOURSELF THE LESS YOU WILL SEEK GOD.

Get to work. Narrow your focus and interests to this one thing. Have you ever sought God with your WHOLE heart, or have you simply given Him a feeble cry after some emotionally painful experience? “… seek (focus) and you will find …’

“Ho! Everyone who thirsts, come to the waters …” (Isaiah 55:1) Are you thirsty, or complacent and indifferent – so satisfied with YOUR OWN experience that you want NOTHING more than God? Experience is a doorway, not a final goal. Beware of building your faith on EXPERIENCE, or your life will not ring true and will only sound the note of a critical spirit. Remember that you can never give another person what YOU have found, but you can cause him to have a DESIRE for it.

” … knock, and it will be opened to you” (Luke 11:9) “Draw near to God …” (James 4:8) Knock – the door is closed and your heart races as it knocks. “Cleanse YOUR hands …” (James 4:8) Knock a bit louder – you begin to find that you are dirty. “…purify YOUR hearts” (James 4:8) It is becoming even more personal – you are desperate and serious now – you will do ANYTHING. “Lament …” (James 4:9) Have you ever lamented, expressing sorrow before God for the condition of your inner life? There is NO thread of self-pity left, only the heart-rendering difficulty and amazement which comes from seeing what kind of person you really are.

“Humble yourselves …” (James 4:10). It is a humbling experience to knock at GOD’S door – you have to knock with the crucified thief. ” …
to him who knocks it will be opened.” Luke 11:10″ (My Utmost from His Highest

Are you willing today to do whatever it takes to seek and lay hold of Him? Are you willing to draw near to God? Go through the cleansing process? Purify your wicked heart? Lament? And deal with your pride so that you can humble yourself before Him? Think about it on this Lord’s day.

Great quote: It is not what WE do for God, but what HE does through us.
Judy Sexton

READ THE GOOD BOOK

“All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.” 2 Timothy 3:16-17

I am amazed (not really) at how hungry people are for the truth of God’s Word. I really don’t get it – but it seems that more and more people are buying into the lie that God’s Word is not relevant today to reach our culture. Preaching has been replaced by story-telling because God’s Word somehow stopped doing its job. The Holy Spirit has become ineffective in
doing His role of “teaching” and illuminating Scripture.

Our churches have become filled with people who are biblically illiterate and I believe this is one of the reasons why we see addiction so rampant in the church. David said, “Your WORD is a lamp unto my feet that I might not sin against You.”

Now hear me out – I am not saying that illustrations are not useful in helping communicate the truth. But I believe we are on thin ice when our messages are filled with more stories that the truth of God’s WORD!

We recently met a dear lady whose husband pastor a very liberal church. She grew up in a very sound church where God’s Word has faithful proclaimed and taught. For 30 years, she sat under her husband’s ministry.

She has been a widow for a number of years and started coming to Keswick where she trusted Christ over 65 years ago. I wish you could hear her story first hand. She cries through every message. She recently said, “My husband was a good ‘speaker’ and told great stories, but Bill, he never taught the truth of God’s Word.’ She is soaking up truth like a
sponge and growing leaps and bounds at age 80.

In his new book, TAKING BACK THE GOOD BOOK, Dr. Woodrow Kroll gives ten reasons to read your Bible.

Reason 10: Reading the Bible gives you confidence.

Reason 9: Reading the Bible insulates you against Satan’s attacks.

Reason 8: Reading your Bible helps you to think Christianly.

Reason 7: Reading your Bible helps you define morality.

Reason 6: Reading your Bible enables you to discover hope.

Reason 5: Reading your Bible identifies the “Center” in your life.

Reason 4: Reading your Bible helps you discover who you are.

Reason 3: Reading your Bible guide you to intimacy with God.

Reason 2: Reading your Bible helps make you special.

Reason 1: Reading your Bible helps you change your world.

When was the last time you cracked open THE BOOK? Reading Freedom Fighters is an encouragement to me, brothers, but don’t let IT replace THE GOOD BOOK. That’s what will TRANSFORM your life.

Great Quote: “It’s not a matter of memorizing information, it’s a matter of knowing God. As we know Him and are intimate with Him, then the information we have ABOUT Him is going to be an indicator of what are level is with Him.” Barry Schafer