I LOVE AMERICA

I am proud to be an American and to live in this country. We are far from perfect and have strayed from God in so many ways as a nation. But in comparison to other countries throughout the world, we are so blessed as a nation.

I have been reading a powerful book by the new pastor of the late Adrian Rodgers church in Memphis, Tennessee. The chapter I read earlier this week highlights the revivals that broke our around the world that started in this great country. Revival came because God’s people prayed, turned from their sin and repented, and then the refreshing rains of revival broke out. And the ripple effect of those rivals were felt around the world.

Today we need revival in our land. Some have given up and said, “Impossible!” But I believe that we can experience it again if we follow the words from Scripture: “If My people, who are called by My name, shall humble themselves and pray, and seek MY face and turn from their wicked ways; then I will hear from heaven, forgive their sins and heal their land!” (2 Chronicles 7:14) God goes on to say in the next verse: “Now MY eyes shall be open and MY ears attentive to the prayer offered in this place.”

Thousands of men and women were willing to pay the cost of laying down their lives, shedding their blood to preserve and protect our freedom. Thousands of men and women are this day serving around the globe to protect, guard and defend us. We must never forget these precious patriots. They were and are willing to pay the cost to protect and defend America. But are we as men of the Cross willing to do due diligence with God and be on our knees to pray for revival to break out in our land? It can happen again today! It’s not too late for America! We can take God at His Word. Most of the revivals started out with one or two men who were willing to get on their faces before God – to cry out to Him for revival.

Maybe the man of the hour is you and me. Are you willing to pay the cost? Think about it!

My country, ’tis of thee,
Sweet land of liberty,
Of thee I sing.
Land where my father’s died,
Land of the pilgrim’s pride,
From every mountain side
Let freedom ring.

My native country, thee,
Land of the noble, free,
Thy name I love;
I love Thy rocks and rills,
Thy woods and templed hills;
My heart with rapture thrills
Like that above.

Let music swell the breeze,
And ring from all the trees
Sweet freedom’s song:
Let mortal tongues awake,
Let all that breathe partake,
Let rocks their silence break,
The sound prolong.

Our father’s God to thee,
Author of liberty,
To thee we sing:
Long may our land be bright
With freedom’s holy light;
Protect us by Thy might,
Great God, our King!

Happy Memorial Day!

I KNOW YOU!

“The Lord is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble; and He knows those who trust in Him.” Nahum 1:7; Jeremiah 33:11

I was at a viewing this week and when walking towards the door, a man stuck out his hand and said, “I know you. I slopped gravy on your picture today at the restaurant.” The next day I was meeting with a realtor and the owner of the property said after I told him I was from America’s KESWICK, “I know you – your picture was on the placemat in the restaurant I was eating at today!”

Now both of these individuals don’t KNOW me – the recognized my face from a placemat advertising our 2007 Community Open House. But GOD really KNOWS us – He is intimately acquainted with everything about me. He knows my name, my thoughts, where I am at any given moment. He knows the number of hairs on my head!

In my reading this morning, the passages of Scripture from the Daily Light reminded me that even in the midst of difficult times, HE KNOWS ME! He has NOT forgotten me. I love what Paul wrote to Timothy: “The solid foundation of God stands, having this seal: THE LORD KNOWS THOSE WHO ARE HIS!”

Well, this knowing thing works two ways. Have you ever looked at a baby and then at his parents and an amazing resemblance? Our granddaughter, Emma Grace, looks so much like her Dad, you can’t give her away. People are always saying, “She looks like Garrett in a dress.” The cool thing is that you KNOW she is Garrett’s daughter just by looking at her.

The point? Do people KNOW you are HIS just by looking at you? Are you so in tune with Jesus and so deeply in love with Him, that you reflect HIS image in your life? When they rub shoulders with you do they want to KNOW what you are all about? Think about it today as you have opportunity to worship HIM today.

Great Quote: The people of the Lord in humility are to lay themselves and their prayers, and all that they have, at the foot of their God, to be disposed of by him as he in his heavenly wisdom seeth best. Yet not doubting but God will answer the desire of his people that way that shall be most for their advantage and his glory. When the saints therefore do pray with submission to the will of God, it doth not argue that they are to doubt or question God’s love and kindness to them. But because they at all times are not so wise, but that sometimes Satan may get that advantage of them, as to tempt them to pray for that which, if they had it, would neither prove to God’s glory nor his people’s good. John Bunyan

Join us today for our Sunday afternoon concert with SIMPLE GRACE. The program starts at 2:30 AM in the Activity Center. See the website for details: http://www.americaskeswick.org/.

THE OTHER SIDE OF GOD

I am thankful this morning for the mercy and grace bestowed on me by a loving, gracious Heavenly Father. But today in my devotional reading, I was reminded that there the other side of God that I must remember. The writer refers to this as “the north side of God.” We need to be balanced in our view of God.“I will make no progress in my discipleship if I limit God to one side. He has two sides. One shows His infinite kindness and patience, the other His firmness and resolution, which the Puritans called ‘the stormy north side of Jesus Christ.’ Most of the teaching about God I have heard refers to His grace, love and kindness. I am seriously deficient in learning that He has a north side as well.

Too many people feel that God’s patience is limitless, His love is inured to pain, His discipline is soft and delayed, and anyway, Calvary, ‘covers it all!’ Such a distorted view of God leads us into all kinds of looseness, laxness, and sloppiness in discipleship. But God is no pushover. If I do not yield to His love, I must yield to His pressure.

Am I so hard of heart that it takes a blow to wake me up? Must I be slave-driven in order to appreciate the loveliness of His person? Or am I so tuned in to Him that the slightest movement of His finger will make me yield? Am I clay in His hands, soft and responsive, or a mass of hard, brittle parts?God reserves His stormy north side for the callously indifferent, but He is never unfeeling toward those who cry for mercy and help. What kind of God is He? ‘He delights in mercy.’ What will He do for us who come suppliant and contrite? ‘He will turn again, he will have compassion on us.” (Micah 7:18-19) Such a God is our God forever!” from DAILY WITH THE KING – Moody Press

Is your view of God balanced? Is there an area of your life that you are toying or playing with sin thinking you can bank on His mercy and grace? Then maybe today you need to be reminded of the “north side” of God.

Great quote: Sin is cosmic treason. R. C. Sproul

ENGAGE IN GOOD DEEDS – PRESSING NEEDS
“And let our people also learn to engage in good deeds to meet pressing needs, that they may not be unfruitful.” Titus 3:14

I can’t quite figure it out – but it seems that just when we think we can’t handle another thing, those interruptions and out-of-the-box situations seem to pop up. You know those situations when you might not say it, but you think it – or maybe mutter under your breath – “Oh no! You’ve got to be kidding. I don’t need this right now.”

Sometimes those “pressing needs” can become those opportunities for minister to people in ways that we can’t even imagine. God might very well be sending those interruptions as “divine appointments” that we could miss if we weren’t committed to engaging in good deeds.Yesterday morning right before our staff prayer time there was an accident on the highway outside our property.

It couldn’t have happened on a worse day as our staff were busy preparing for our Community Open House on Saturday.Traffic was backed up for miles and people obviously were frayed with the delay. The easiest thing would be to ignore the problem and say, “it isn’t our problem.” The interruption for our staff was dropping what they were doing to open our road to allow traffic to be diverted through our property.An interruption – absolutely! But who knows – one of those cars could have been a divine appointment in disguise. Brian Bitler, our Director of Marketing and IT used this interruption as an opportunity by handing out our Open House flyers to every car that came through. My guess is that there are some people who drove through our property who didn’t have a clue what we were.

My staff engaged in a good deed that I believe spoke volumes to many people yesterday. I was very proud of Al, Bill, Brian, Steve, Rob, Garrett, and Zach for jumping in to help us serve our community. We didn’t get to share the gospel one-on-one with anyone – but my guess is that somehow God will use that as an open door someday to do that. And they might just say – “I remember when you guys opened your road for me …”

Don’t miss an opportunity today to serve someone who has a pressing need. Do as Paul said – “Engage in good deeds.” God may just use that interruption in ways that you can’t even imagine!

GREAT QUOTE: “What do you believe when you say, ‘I believe in God the Father almighty, Creator of heaven and earth?’ That the eternal Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who out of nothing created heaven and earth and everything in them, and who still upholds and rules them by His eternal counsel and providence, is my God and Father. I trust Him so much that I do not doubt that He will provide whatever I need for body and soul, and will also turn to my good whatever adversity He sends me in this sad world. He is able to do this because He is almighty God and desires to do this because He is a faithful Father.” Heidelberg Catechism, # 26

GUIDANCE FROM BEHIND

“And I will lead the blind by a way that they do not know in paths they do not know I will guide them. I will make darkness into light before them and rugged places into plains.” Isaiah 42:16

Everyone of us faces times when we are trying to discern God’s will and need HIS guidance. I have several friends right now who are in the midst of trying to determine God’s will for their lives. One is looking for direction concerning a relationship he is in. He is trying to determine if this is the right girl for him. Another friend is trying to determine which college to attend. He is facing a tough decision because both colleges have offered him full scholarships. Another friend is trying to determine God’s will about some financial matters. As a ministry, we are seeking God’s will for the future residential women’s ministry.

In my quiet time this morning, this issues was addressed in the devotional, DAILY WITH THE KING: “I must get used to the idea that God is not always in FRONT of me, but sometimes He guides me from BEHIND! ‘Your ears will hear a word BEHIND you, ‘This is the way, walk in it!’ (Isaiah 30:21) Strange guidance, indeed, from behind!

In Argentina I watched a shepherd girl lead her flock of sheep. How did she do it? Sometimes in front, sometimes on the side, and sometimes from behind. The psalmist says, “He LEADETH me” (Psalm 23:2); that is guidance from the front. But verse 3 says, “He DRIVETH me in the paths” – That is guidance from behind.

Guidance from behind means one of two things: either there is trouble ahead and I need to be forced through it; or my resolve is getting weak and God has to use a little muscle persuasion to get me moving along the road.

God has led me more with “behind guidance” than with “before guidance.” When God is in front He is easily seen and I slack my trust a little. But when He is behind I have got to rely on His commands without seeing Him; therefore, I am more vulnerable to failure and mistakes unless my faith is strong. My very vulnerability is the school in which God teaches my faith to be strong.

If I am trusting God, He will never let me make a wrong move. But all the same, He will allow me to suffer the anxiety of a POSSIBLE wrong move, just to keep my faith in fighting trim. That anxiety is painful, but not half as painful as reaping the results of a REAL wrong move. God carefully monitors my anxiety level and will not allow it to overflow. “I will tell the next generation that this God IS my God, He will be my guide, even unto death.” (Psalm 48:13-14).” (from Daily with the King – Moody Press)

How about you? Are you facing a decision? Trying to determine God’s will? He might be leading you from behind! Watch and wait for Him.

GREAT QUOTE: I have cried, says the Psalmist, because thou hast heard me. One would think he should have said contrariwise; thou hast heard me because I have cried; yet, he says, I have cried because thou hast heard me; to show that crying doth not always go before hearing with God, as it doth with us; but that God will not only hear our cry, but also hear us before we cry, and will help us. Thomas Playfere

DEALING WITH TEMPTATION BIBLICALLY – Part 3

“No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man; and God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but WITH the temptation will provide a WAY OF ESCAPE also, that you may be able to endure it.” 1 Corinthians 10:13

During my ten years of ministry at America’s KESWICK, I have talked with hundreds of men who have graduated from the Colony of Mercy and have left and within hours, days or weeks, fallen back into their patterns of addiction. When I have an opportunity to talk with them I always ask the question, “What happened?” They will tell their story and somehow in the conversation I will ask the question, “Was God faithful to you?” They will look at me with that puzzled look and then I probe with this question. “When you faced your temptation did God provide a way of escape for you?”

The answer is always, “YES!” My friend, God will always provide an escape route strategically planned just for you. You can count on it because He IS faithful to His Word!

A number of years ago I struggled with panic attacks. I had difficulties driving, going in an elevator, or being in large crowds. One of the things I found myself doing was looking for an escape route. If driving, I always had a plan where I knew I could stop someplace and get help (this was before cell phones). When having to be in a room that I knew there would be lots of people, I always checked for the exit doors so I could escape.

The word escape means “to walk out, as to walk out of a difficult place; to walk out of a trap; to walk out of a place that isn’t good for you.”
Think about the last time you encountered temptation. Did God not provide a way of escape?

Here are several escape routes that God makes possible that really are quite simple. In fact, they may be so simple that you’ve missed them:

1. When facing temptation – FLEE!!! Run!!! Get out there!!! Remember Joseph and the encounter with Potipher’s wife? (Genesis 39:12) Someone has said, “Negotiating with sin usually leads to falling into it rather than conquering it, so it’s better for us to just get up and get away from the situation as quickly as we can!” The very next verse after 1 Corinthians 10:13 says – FLEE!!! Check out 1 Corinthians 6:18; 1 Corinthians 10:14; 1 Timothy 6:11; 2 Timothy 2:22. When you find yourself someplace you KNOW is wrong – don’t linger – get out of there!

2. When facing temptation – JUST SAY NO! Titus 2:11-12 tells us that God’s grace is teaching us to “say no!” Don’t play with it. Don’t touch it. Say no. Martin Luther said that “playing with temptation is like thinking you can play with and handle fire and not expect to be burned.

3. When facing temptation – RUN TO GOD’S WORD. Jesus encountered temptation in Matthew 4. How did he handle it? He used Scripture: IT IS WRITTEN. That’s why hiding God’s Word in our hearts is so important.

4. When facing temptation, CRY OUT TO GOD! We can cry out to the One who is “Able to aid those who are tempted.” (Hebrews 2:18) Check out Psalm 107.

5. When facing temptation, reach out for help from another brother. Let him come alongside and help you by praying for you, quoting Scripture to you, and being there for you.

Speaker and author Rick Jenner says, “If you say “Yes” to the Lord, He will show you how to deal with temptation biblically. You can evade, dodge, elude, get out of it, and break away from every temptation. You have the power to make the choice!” So what about it? Are you willing to deal with temptation biblically? You have the “HOW TO” from the Word of God in 1 Corinthians 10:13. Start today by committing that verse to memory. Then apply the truth of God’s Word to whatever temptation you are facing – and in the words of NIKE … “Just do it!”

GREAT QUOTE: God walks with us. He scoops us up in His arms or simply sits with us in silent strength until we cannot avoid the awesome recognition that yes, even now, He is there. Gloria Gaither

DEALING WITH TEMPTATION BIBLICALLY Part 2

“No temptation has overtaken you, but such as is common to man; and God IS faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted BEYOND what you are able, but with the temptation will provide a way of escape also, that you may be able to endure it.” 1 Corinthians 10:13

When we are facing temptation, we need to remind ourselves that we have a God who is faithful. I like the fact that Paul in his letter to the church at Corinth doesn’t say “He was faithful.” That is true. We can recall in our minds that times that God has proven Himself to be faithful in our lives. But we need to remind ourselves that today if/when we face temptation He is faithful for this moment as well.

Our faithful God knows exactly what you and I can handle and will not allow us to be tempted BEYOND what we are able to bear. I am thankful for that promise, aren’t you? This morning I read these words: “He knows our frame; He remembers we are dust. A bruised reed He will not break, and a smoking flax He will not quench.” (Psalm 103:14; Isaiah 42:3)

The enemy of your soul is a deceiver, conniver, and is on a mission to rob, kill, and destroy (John 10:10) He isn’t all-knowing, all-powerful, ever-present, but he and his creepy helpers are very much mindful of our weakness. We need to identify in our lives the times when temptation is the greatest so that we can be keyed into the enemy’s plan. Be aware – He watches for the right timing:

1. Times of temptation can come in cycles. If you track it, you will notice that it tends to happen at certain times of the year or after major events in our lives. For many years I have been recording in my devotionals dates, situations, issues I am facing, staff issues and have now noticed a pattern. There are certain times of the year that I seem to be more vulnerable. I shared this in a message I preached on Sunday, and today in my quiet time, I noted in my Chambers devotional that for three years in a row I was having a pity-party at this time of the year.

We have been working hard to raise some funds from several foundations and each one has turned us down. The most promising one met on Saturday and we were very optimistic about the grant. Yesterday I received word that our gift was deferred to the fall due to the lack of funds. I found myself having a pity-party! Then I read the Word this morning and my devotional literature and was whacked on the side of the head!

2. We often face our greatest temptations after an emotional high or mountaintop experience. I find that my greatest times of temptation occur right after a weekend or conference where we have seen God at work in people’s hearts. Some of you have been on a retreat and God worked in your hearts. You made a commitment to obey God or follow Him in an area of your life, and even on the way home, you experienced temptation.

3. The enemy will often wait to hit us when we are tired, weary exasperated. This is when we need to be on our guard!!!

4. He will wait until our guard is down. The preceding verse says, “Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall.” Our spiritual pride can be a time to drop our guard. We need to be on our toes at all times.

Are you facing a time of temptation in your life? Don’t yield to it. Get on your knees today and thank God that He IS faithful. He won’t let you be tempted BEYOND what you are able to bear. Can you identify your greatest times of temptation? Think about it.

Great Quote: The things we are going through are either making us sweeter, better, nobler men and women, or they are making us more critical and fault-finding, and more insistent on our own way. The things that happen either make us evil, or they make us more saintly, depending entirely on our relationship with God and its level of intimacy … When we understand God’s purpose, we will not become small-minded and cynical.” Oswald Chambers

DEALING WITH TEMPTATION BIBLICALLY

“No temptation has OVERTAKEN you but such as is common to man; and God is FAITHFUL, who will not allow you to be tempted BEYOND what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of ESCAPE also, that you may be able to endure it.” 1 Corinthians 10:13

I’d like to unpack this verse over the next several days because everyone of us faces temptation. But for men who want to THINK VICTORY! – we can have victory over temptation.Working with men who are bound in addiction, we see the power of temptation sometimes on a grander scale. They are being pulled by the enemy of a daily basis to go back into their sinful lifestyles that brought them to the Colony of Mercy. But every one of us faces temptations. No one is exempt.

What is temptation? Rick Jenner in his book on word studies, Sparkling Gems, says that temptation is “any outside source that appeals to a weakness in your flesh. The appel pulls us like a magnet; it lures us mentally, emotionally, and sensually; it fascinates the imagination; it entices the flesh to take a closer peek. If you don’t stop this process, it will set it’s hook in your soul and haul you right smack in the middle of some kind of sin.”

Temptation is a trick of the enemy that goes right back to the beginning in Genesis 3:6 “When the woman saw that the tree was good for food (the lust of the flesh), and that is was a delight to the eyes (the lust of the eyes), and that the tree was desirable to make one wise (the pride of life) …

I knew a godly man in his 90’s whose life was so immersed by his walk with Christ that you felt like you were in God’s presence when you were with him. He helped a good friend of mine in ministry through a difficult separation that resulted in a divorce. The day after my friend resigned from his church, the three of us were having breakfast. Pastor Conant asked this young preacher if he had faced sexual tempation during the separation. My friend shared that he never faced those issues during the three year period. Pastor smiled and said, “Matt, I prayed such a hedge of protection around you that you couldn’t have gotten your pants down if you tried!”But I will never forget the next comments. Matt said, “Pastor, it must be nice to be at this age when you no longer face these temptations in your life.” This godly man, in his late 80’s responded, “Matthew, I maybe old, but I am not dead!”

Friend, everyone faces temptation. Even Jesus faced it (see Matthew 4)! In fact, that is why He is there, ready to help you live victoriously so that you can overcome temptation. He knows. He understands. He’s been there – done that! – “For since He Himself was tempted in that which He has suffered, He is able to come to the aid of those who are tempted.” (Hebrews 2:18)We all face it. Tomorrow we will look at how to overcome it and live in victory.

Great Quote: Just as worship begins in holy expectancy, it ends in holy obedience. If worship does not propel us into greater obedience, it has not been worship. To stand before the Holy One of eternity is to change. Resentments cannot be held with the same tenacity when we enter his gracious light. As Jesus says, we need to leave our gift at the altar and go set the matter straight (Matthew 5:23, 24). In worship an increased power steals its way into the heart sanctuary, an increased compassion grows in the soul. To worship is to change. Richard J. Foster

Join us this weekend for our Memorial Day Weekend conference which begins on Friday evening. Dr. Richard Allen Farmer will be speaking in the evenings, and Dr. Jim Jeffrey, will speak in the mornings. JAARS will be on campus to talk about mission opportunities as well as offering helicopter rides for our guests on Friday, Saturday and Monday. Check out the website for details: www.americaskeswick.org For information, call 732-350-1187.

LESSON’S FROM THE LIFE OF PETER

“So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall!” 1 Corinthians 10:12

Our pride, even spiritual pride, can get us into trouble if we are not careful. We see someone stumble, fall, and make a stupid mistake, and while we may not say it out loud, have you found yourself saying, “I’d never do anything that stupid!”

I was serving at a large church in Bucks County when the Jimmy Swaggart saga hit the Christian world. I was getting ready to begin a choir rehearsal when one of the men in the choir started to criticize and attack Swaggart. He made the statement, “How could anyone be so stupid?” I remember making this statement: “What he did was wrong. Dead wrong.
But there go I but by the grace of God. Rather than criticize him we should be praying for him.

Peter was the disciple that Jesus renamed, “the Rock.” He is the one that made a critical error after he made the bold statement to the Lord, “Everyone else, Lord, but not me.” And you know the rest of the story.
Peter ends up denying Christ in the garden. Ray Pritchard, in his new book, STEALTH ATTACK – PROTECTING YOURSELF AGAINST SATAN’S PLAN TO DESTORY YOUR LIFE (MOODY), suggests that Peter made a number of mistakes that night:

1. He talked when he should have been listening. At the Last Supper, when Jesus said that all His disciples would desert Him, Peter impulsively blurted out, “Even if everyone else deserts you, I will never desert you.” Within six hours Peter would come to regret those brave words.

2. He didn’t appreciate HIS own weakness.

3. He ignored Jesus’ warning.

4. He followed afar off. He followed Jesus, but at a distance, when he should have been His elbow. In this case, following Jesus afar off only got him into more trouble.

5. He warmed himself by the wrong fire. Peter had no business warming himself in the company of the enemies of the Lord. By consorting with those who arrested Jesus, Peter was placing himself in a position where he would almost certainly be exposed. Peter warmed himself by the wrong fire until things got too hot for him.

6. He was unprepared when the attack came.

7. He compounded his sin by first deceiving, then denying, and finally swearing. But this was inevitable. Peter set himself up for a fall, and when it came, it was a big one. ‘O what a tangled web we weave, when first we practice to deceive.’ It is interesting to note that Peter fooled only himself. The others never really believed him. They sensed he was lying. Something in his face and the tone of his voice gave him away.”

How about you? Is there an area of spiritual pride in your heart? Are you really listening to what HE wants to say to you when you read His WORD? Are you warming yourself by the wrong fire? Is so, today is the day to make it right. Don’t ignore it – DEAL WITH IT! Learn from the life of Peter.

Great quote: “Keeping the joy of heaven always before you will help you run the race with patience. It will help you endure your scuffles with temptation and affliction. What is more, it will make you reckon also that these afflictions ‘are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.'” (Romans 8:18) – William Gurnall

OUT OF THE WRECK I RISE …

“Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?” Romans 8:35

This morning as you turn on your computer to read Freedom Fighters, I am aware of several men and their families that are facing enormous trials and difficulties in their lives. These words are for you this morning, not just from the pen of one of Christianity’s godly devotional writers, but a message from God Himself. May these words of comfort burn into your hearts and minds today:

“God does not keep His child immune from trouble; He promises, ‘I will be with him IN trouble …’ (Psalm 91:15) It doesn’t matter how real or intense the adversities may be; NOTHING can ever separate him from his relationship to God. ‘In all these things we are more than conquerors …’ (Romans 8:37)

Paul was not referring here to IMAGINARY things, but to things that are dangerously REAL. And he said we are ‘super-victors’ in the midst of then, not because of our own ingenuity, nor because of OUR courage, but because none of them affects our essential relationship with God in Jesus Christ. I feel sorry for the Christian who doesn’t have something in the circumstances of his life that he wishes was not there.

‘Shall TRIBULATION …?’ Tribulation is never a grand, highly welcomed event; but whatever it may be – whether exhausting, irritating, or simply causing some weakness – it is not able to ‘separate us from the love of Christ.’ Never allow tribulations or the ‘cares of this world’
to separate you from remembering that God loves you (Matthew 13:22).

‘Shall DISTRESS …?’ Can God’s love continue to hold fast, even when everyone and everything around us seems to be saying that His love is a lie, and that there is no such thing as justice?

“Shall FAMINE …?’ Can we not only believe in the love of God but also be ‘MORE THAN conquerors,’ even while we are being starved?

Either Jesus Christ is a deceiver, having deceived even Paul, or else some extraordinary thing happens to someone who holds on to the love of God when the odds are totally against him. Logic is silenced in the face of each of these things which come against him. Only one thing can account for it – the LOVE OF GOD IN CHRIST JESUS. ‘Out of the wreck I rise’ every time.” Oswald Chambers – My Utmost for His Highest

I trust these words this morning will bring comfort to your heart if you are in the midst “of the wreck.” May bring peace and comfort to your hurting hearts.

Great quote: “For your eternal comfort, Christian, you can look forward to a day when there will be a full and final decision in the quarrel between you and Satan. You will see your enemy’s camp completely scattered, with not a weapon left in his hand to use against you. You will tread upon every fortress from which he fired so many shots. You will see them dismantled and demolished until there is not one corruption left standing in your heart for the devil to hide himself in. On that glorious day, the enemy who has made you tremble will be trampled under your feet.” William Gurnall