FIVE BENEFITS IF YOU LEARN TO WAIT

My good friend, Dr “B,” president of INVEST IN A LIFE, sends me all kinds of encouraging notes throughout the year. She also has a resource equipping center (THE BEEHIVE) at Sandy Cove. Recently she sent me a bookmark that gives five principles of learning to wait.

SLOW ME DOWN, LORD . . .

1. Waiting is the key to PERCEPTION
“Show me your ways, O Lord; teach me your paths. Lead me in you truth and teach me for you are the God of my salvation; on you do I wait all the day.” — Psalm 25:4,5

2. Waiting results in PROTECTION
“My soul waits for the Lord; He is my help and shield. For my heart shall rejoice in Him because I have trusted in His holy name.” — Psalm 33:20-21

3. Waiting gives PERSPECTIVE
“Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for Him: Fret not yourself because of him who prospers in his way, because of the man who brings wicked devices.” — Psalm 37:7

4. Waiting sees God’s PROVISION
“The Lord is good to them that wait for Him, to the soul that seeks Him.” — Lamentations 3:25

5. Waiting results in POWER
“But they that wait on the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk and not faint.” — Isaiah 40:31

Good words for you to ponder today.

THOUGHT: God is looking for imperfect men and women who have learned to walk in moment-by-moment dependence on the Holy Spirit. Christians who have come to terms with their inadequacies, fears, and failures. Believers who have become discontent with ‘surviving’ and have taken the time to investigate everything God has to offer in this life. — Charles Stanley

Join us this Saturday for our Community Open House at America’s KESWICK from 11:00 AM – 3:00 PM. I’d love to see you! Games, great food, and helicopter rides! For information, visit our website (www.americaskeswick.org) or call 732-350-1187.

WHAT ARE YOU CRAVING?

Having three of our kids pregnant is going to get interesting. They are all have their unique cravings for food right now. And being that I am still on this journey with my weight, I still have cravings for several things. In fact, after four years of this, I still crave those dumb Pepperidge Farm Gold Fish! And right now, the thoughts of a “Chunky” candy bar could push me over the edge.

Webster defines craving as “an intense desire for.” What is it in your life that you crave? In my reading of Proverbs today (Amplified Bible) 21:21 (I am a day behind) jumped off the page: “He who earnestly seeks after and craves righteousness, mercy, and loving-kindness will find life in addition to righteousness (uprightness and right standing with God) and honor.”

The footnote for his verse led me to Matthew 5:6: “Blessed and fortunate and happy and spiritually prosperous (in that state in which the born-again child of God enjoys His favor and salvation) are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness (uprightness and right standing with God), for they shall be completely satisfied! Matthew 6:33: “But seek (aim at and strive after) first of all His Kingdom and His righteousness (His way of doing and being right), and then all these things taken together will be give you besides.”

If today you are IN CHRIST — you have been clothed in HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS and you are “right with God.” Your righteousness are described in Isaiah, as filthy rags. Because of what Christ did on the cross for you, when God the Father looks down at you, He does not see you — He sees Christ. Isn’t that an awesome truth. Because of Christ, we have a right standing with God the Father.

But as we are growing IN CHRIST, are desire is to live a life THROUGH CHRIST that is pleasing to Him. Where we once craved sin, we now crave a life of purity and integrity in our walk. We look at life from a different perspective. Our new identity IN CHRIST causes us to act, speak, and think, very differently. I need to step back and ask the question: WHAT AM I CRAVING TODAY? Is it the desires of the flesh or is it RIGHTEOUSNESS, MERCY, and LOVING-KINDNESS?

Here’s a suggestion: If you find yourself craving something today, take a moment to stop and talk to the Lord about it. Rather than seeking “it,” why not seek HIM!

Good inventory questions for us to ask as we begin this new week. My friend, what are you craving today?

Thought for today: “When God is your Father, He never stops being your Father. To put it in theological language, not only is your justification (being saved) by grace, your sanctification (becoming more like Christ) is by grace too. The trouble is that most Christians think they’re saved by grace but grow by sweat. Many of us believe that when we were saved, God took our slate filled with sin and rebellion and wiped it clean. That’s a lie…Listen! God took our slate and He broke it in pieces and threw it away. He does not deal with His family by keeping track on a slate of how we are doing. The slate is irrelevant because of the blood of Christ.” Steve Brown, When Being Good Isn’t Good Enough

This week on Keswick Today, Dr. Scott Turanksy and JoAnne Miller share insights into parenting from their new book PARENTING IS HEART WORK. Listen right from our website: http://www.americaskeswick.org.

ANSWERED PRAYER

“BEFORE HE HAD FINISHED PRAYING, Rebekah came out with her jar on her shoulder . . . Then the man bowed down and worshiped the Lord, saying, ‘Praise be to the Lord, . . . Who has not abandoned his kindness and faithfulness.'” Genesis 24:15, 26-27

“Every godly prayer is answered BEFORE the prayer itself is finished — ‘BEFORE he had finished praying . . .’ This is because Christ has pledged in His Word, ‘My Father will give you whatever you ask in my name’ (John 16:23). When you ask in faith and in Christ’s name — that is, in oneness with Him and His will — ‘it will be given you.’ (John 15:7)

Since God’s Word cannot fail, whenever we meet these simple conditions, the answer to our prayer has already been granted and is completed in heaven AS WE PRAY, even though it may not be revealed on earth until much later. Therefore it is wise to close every prayer with praise to God for the answer He has already given. ‘Praise be to the Lord, who has not abandoned His kindness and faithfulness.”

When we believe God for a blessing, we must have an attitude of faith and begin to act and pray as if the blessing were already ours. We should respond to God as if He has granted our request. This attitude of trust means leaning upon Him for what we have claimed and simply taking it for granted that He has given our request and will continue to give it.

When people get married, they immediately have a new perspective and begin to act accordingly. This is how it should be when we take Christ as our Savior, our Sanctifier, our Healer, or our Deliverer. He expects us to have a new perspective, in which we recognize Him in the capacity and the role we have trusted Him for, and in which we allow Him to be everything to us we have claimed by faith.” from Streams in the Desert

Good words to consider as we worship the Lord together on HIS DAY!

TRACTORS

Now is that an interesting title for a devotional? I just spent the last week with our grandson, Tanner, who is year and a half. He lives in Minnesota (soon to be New Hampshire) on the family farm. This little guy is obsessed with tractors. He has several videos/dvds about tractors, books, and of course, numerous toy tractors. For his age, he has a great vocabulary (proud grandpa, hey?) and one word that he says constantly is . . . You guessed it — TRACTOR.

Everywhere we went this week, that is all he talked about. He would see a tractor and just flip. He’d get the biggest smile on his face just talking about a tractor. And when he saw one, well forget it … he’d just about climb out of your arms to hop on board.

I thought about Tanner’s enthusiasm for tractors and pray that one day he will have that same awe, wonder and enthusiasm for God. Think about it as we prepare our hearts for worship. We get obsessed with so many things. I did a quick search this morning using the word “obsessed” in THE MESSAGE. Here’s what I found:
Job 36:17 And here you are laden with the guilt of the wicked, obsessed with putting the blame on God!
Psalm 37:12 – Bad guys have it in for the good guys, obsessed with doing them in.
Psalm 64:1 – Listen and help, O God. I’m reduced to a whine And a whimper, obsessed with feelings of doomsday.
Ec. 9:3 – I find this outrageous – the worst thing about living on this earth – that everyone’s lumped together in one fate. Is it any wonder that so many people are obsessed with evil? Is it any wonder that people go crazy right and left? Life leads to death. That’s it.
Eze. 22:3 – Tell her, ‘This is what God, the Master, says: You’re a city murderous at the core, just asking for punishment. You’re a city obsessed with no-god idols, making yourself filthy.
Eze. 23:9 – “So I left her to her Assyrian lovers, for whom she was so obsessed with lust.
Hosea 12:1- Ephraim, obsessed with god-fantasies, chases ghosts and phantoms. He tells lies nonstop, soul-destroying lies. Both Ephraim and Judah made deals with Assyria and tried to get an inside track with Egypt.
Am. 6:6 – Woe to those addicted to feeling good – life without pain! those obsessed with looking good – life without wrinkles! They could not care less about their country going to ruin.
Luke 16:14 – When the Pharisees, a money-obsessed bunch, heard him say these things, they rolled their eyes, dismissing him as hopelessly out of touch.
Act. 22: 19 – “At first I objected: ‘Who has better credentials? They all know how obsessed I was with hunting out those who believed in you, beating them up in the meeting places and throwing them in jail.
Acts. 26:11 – I stormed through their meeting places, bullying them into cursing Jesus, a one-man terror obsessed with obliterating these people. And then I started on the towns outside Jerusalem.
Romans 8:5 – Those who think they can do it on their own end up obsessed with measuring their own moral muscle but never get around to exercising it in real life. Those who trust God’s action in them find that God’s Spirit is in them – living and breathing God!
Phil. 2:4 – Don’t be obsessed with getting your own advantage. Forget yourselves long enough to lend a helping hand.
2 Th 2:11 – And since they’re so obsessed with evil, God rubs their noses in it – gives them what they want.
1 Tim 5:11 – Don’t put young widows on this list. No sooner will they get on than they’ll want to get off, obsessed with wanting to get a husband rather than serving Christ in this way.
1 Tim 6:17 -Tell those rich in this world’s wealth to quit being so full of themselves and so obsessed with money, which is here today and gone tomorrow. Tell them to go after God, who piles on all the riches we could ever manage –
I want to do a deeper search, but what amazed me is that there is no references to someone being obsessed with God. We get obsessed with TV shows, sports, food, cars, computers, and all kinds of things — but there is ONE who desires that we become obsessed with Him and Him alone.

One thing for sure — it isn’t going to happen if we wait to Sunday to focus on HIM. Worship needs to be a part of the fabric of your life and mine each and every day. Kids do learn from us. The shoe is one the other foot though — Tanner is teaching me a good lesson — I want to be obsessed by God in the same way he is obsessed with tractors. Thanks, Tanner.
Now how about you?

GOD IS OUR FORTRESS

“My soul followeth hard after you, your right hand upholds me.” — Psalm 63:8

“We cannot escape the dangers of this world without the continual and constant help of God. We experience many trials and difficult situations daily. When our problems overwhelm us — when family, money, health, and work issues seem like they are going to crush us, this is when we must cling to God and put our trust in Him. God knows we cannot overcome these problems on our own. As Christians, God expects certain resolutions on our part. To depend wholly on Him and not on human beings or the material world is one of them.

No matter how strong we think out life in THE LORD is, He is the only one who can deliver us from evil. The trials God sends us are meant to make us, not break us. God demands us to look to Him for help in times of trouble. He removes all possible means of escape, save Him. He will teach us to lean on Him when we are at our weakest, if we let Him.

As Christians, we need to form a holy habit of appropriating Christ for our every need at every turn. In ourselves we are nothing; in Jesus we are everything. “Apart from Me, you can do nothing.” (John 15:5d) Our Lord does not say, apart from me things will be difficult, or apart from me you stand a 50% chance of succeeding. He tells us we can do NOTHING. In order to live a victorious Christian life, we must have the all-sufficient hand of God upon us. Everything else in life pales in comparison. Everyday is a new opportunity for our soul to seek out and find HIM! This must be in our constant thoughts of God. If we do not know this, we must learn it. Today is the day to proclaim: JESUS CHRIST IS ALL MY LIFE — THE HOLY SPIRIT IS ALL MY POWER.”

I am a creature of God, and He has an undoubted right
To do with me as seems good in His sight,
I rejoice that I am in His hand — that He is everywhere
Present and can protect me in one place as well as in another. — A. H. Judson

Today’s FREEDOM FIGHTER was written by one of our recent Colony grads, Chris Conners, who is now in our Discipleship program. Chris trusted Christ during his 120-day stay at the Colony of Mercy and has had no “church” background. It is a great reminded of how Christ works in a life — transforming us from glory to glory!

PRESSURE

“We were under great pressure … so that we despaired even of life … this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead.” 2 Corinthians 1:8-9

Pressed beyond measure; yes, pressed to great length;
Pressed so intensely, beyond our own strength;
Pressed in my body and pressed in my soul,
Pressed in my mind till the dark surges roll.
Pressure from foes, and pressure from dear friends.
Pressure on pressure, till life nearly ends.
Pressed into knowing no helper but God;
Pressed into loving His staff and His rod;
Pressed into liberty where nothing clings;
Pressed into faith for impossible things.
Pressed into living my life for the Lord,
Pressed into living a Christ-life outpoured.

“The pressure of difficult times makes us value life. Every time our life is spared and given back to us after a trail, it is like a new beginning. We better understand its value and thereby apply ourselves more effectively for God and for humankind. And the pressure we endure helps us to understand the trials of others, equipping us for to help them and to sympathize with them.

Some people have a shallowness about them. With their superficial nature, they lightly take hold of a theory or promise and then carelessly tell of their distrust of those who retreat from every trial. Yet a man or a woman who has experienced great suffering will never do this. They are very tender and gentle, and understand what suffering really means.

Trials and difficult times are needed to press us forward. They work in a way the fire in the hold of a mighty steamship provides the energy that moves the pistons, turn the engine, and propels the great vessel across the sea, even when facing the wind and the waves.” from STREAMS IN THE DESERT

Good word for today. Trust that it will encourage your heart if you are feeling PRESSED today.

AM I TOO BUSY?

Here are some additional thoughts on the verse I shared with you yesterday from Proverbs 16:3 — “Roll your works on the Lord [commit and trust them wholly to Him; He will cause your thoughts to become agreeable to His will, and] so shall your plans be established and succeed.”

One of the problems in our society is that we are way too busy. Sometimes our busyness keeps us from staying connected to the right SOURCE. Instead we are connected to sources that drain us and cause the T.I.R.E.D. Syndrome vs. living a life of resting and trusting the way God has designed us to live.

John Gordon in his book THE 10-MINUTE ENERGY SOLUTION says that the T.I.R.E.D. Syndrome “is a condition in which you feel worse and worse the more you use your computer, your cell phone, and the multitude of electronic gadgets that are supposed to make your life easier. Symptoms include feelings of increased stress, fatigue, depression, anxiety, isolation, and sleep deprivation. T.I. R. E. D. stands for TECHNOLOGY AND INFORMATION RELATED ENERGY DEPLETION.”

Gordon goes on to say that “it seems every facet of our life is being replaced by electronic substitutes. Instead of exercising we’re searching, responding to emails, playing on-line games, and watching TV. About 60 percent of adults don’t get enough physical activity, and 25 percent don’t get any at all. Our physical activity is declining — and the average American spent about 1,669 hours (or 70 days) watching TV in 2004, according to USA TODAY. And instead of getting together with family and friends, we are spending more time on our cell phones and online. Studies now show that the average American spends 619 minutes a month on the cell phone and 3 hours a day on-line.

Our lives are always on and connected. Whether it’s by phone line, cable modem, cell phone, or PDA, we are always connected to technology information. We’re always plugged in, and instead of drawing power we are expending it, giving it away, or having it sucked from us — costing us our health and our energy.”

But Gordon hasn’t touched on the major issue. We are so connected to the wrong source because of our crazy lifestyles that we don’t have time to spend with Him. We don’t even think of “rolling our works on the Lord” because we have crowded HIM out of our lives. If we are too busy for HIM — we are way too busy and need to make a major adjustment in our lives. When we spend time alone with Him, He replaces the stress and strain of life with HIS rest. That is when we are restored.

How about it . . . Are you too busy this morning to spend time with the Lord? Maybe you are way too connected to the wrong source. Why not give Him 10 minutes each day for the next week. Some of you will say, “Just 10?” Well my guess is that if you haven’t given Him ANY time, ten minutes is a good start. Don’t wait until tomorrow. Start today! God bless you.

YOUR PLANS AND MINE

Our 2006 summer conference season is weeks away from beginning, and quite frankly, it has been discouraging to me to see the lack of interest in people registering for this summer. We worked hard at getting our brochure printed earlier, mailed out earlier, and in fact, even did a second mailing this year. The net gain has been incremental, and quite frankly, discouraging.

Yesterday I talked with a good friend who is a consultant with the Christian Camp and Conference Association, and while his news was not good, it was a help. The bottom line is that camps and conference centers are all experiencing low registrations this summer and they are trying to figure out what is going on.

Today’s verses for me from Proverbs were “just what the doctor ordered” but came from the GREAT PHYSICIAN who knows exactly how to diagnose what is going on with my life:

” The plans of the mind and orderly thinking belong to man, but from the LORD comes the [wise] answer of the tongue. All the ways of a man are pure in his own eyes, but the Lord weighs the spirits (the thoughts and intents of the heart). Roll your works upon the Lord [commit and trust them WHOLLY to Him; He will cause your thoughts to become agreeable with HIS will, and] so shall your plans be established and succeed.” — Proverbs 16:1-3

I love the word pictures presented in these verses. We had a systematic plan this summer. Brian Bitler, our Director of Marketing and Technology prepared a beautiful brochure (www.americaskeswick.org). From the “world’s” point of view, it should “sell” our summer season. And yet for some reason, it hasn’t produced the results “WE” have expected. So panic sets in and I begin to ask the question — “What are WE going to do?”

Then the Holy Spirit this morning hit me over the head with the holy “two-by-four” — the living, powerful, active, relevant Word of God: “ROLL YOU’RE YOUR WORKS UPON THE LORD SO YOUR PLANS WILL BE ESTABLISHED.” The Holy Spirit reminded me that there are times that I have my plans and thoughts and they just don’t work. All the marketing techniques and the things that are supposed to work are thrown out the window — I need to “roll my works onto HIM” and allow Him to line up my thoughts with His will . . . THEN “my plans will be established and succeed.”

Bottom line — it is another example of this whole concept of “I am not, but I know I AM.” It isn’t all about me — IT’S ALL ABOUT HIM.” “Lord, I don’t know how to ‘fix” the summer season . . . So I am rolling my burden, concerns, works onto you . . . Without you, apart from you — I can’t do anything! Show me YOUR plans and purposes for this summer.”

What are you struggling with today, my friend? Roll your plans on HIM. I will be praying for YOU today!

If Freedom Fighters bless your heart, why not invite a friend to join our growing family. You can sign up them up right from the homepage: http://www.americaskeswick.org. God bless you.

WILL I EVER GET IT?

“Kind words heal and help; cutting words wound and maim.” — Proverbs 15:4 THE MESSAGE

Sometimes I wonder if I will ever get it. I know one day I will — and that gives me hope. But until then, I need to constantly remind myself that my tongue is a powerful weapon. Too often I find myself speaking first and then thinking about what I said.

James gives an amazing word picture in James 3 about the power of this little member that could be classified as a weapon of mass destruction:

“A bit in the mouth of a horse controls the whole horse. A small rudder on a huge ship in the hands of a skilled captain sets a course in the face of the strongest winds. A word of our your mouth may seem of no account, but it can accomplish anything — or destroy it! It only takes a SPARK, remember to set off a forest fire. A careless or wrongly placed word out of your mouth can do that. By our speech we can ruin the world, turn harmony to chaos, throw mud on a reputation, send the whole world up in smoke and go up in smoke with it, smoke right from the pit of hell. This is scary: You can tame a tiger, but you can’t tame a tongue — it’s never been done. The tongue runs wild, a wanton killer. With our tongues we bless God our Father; with the same tongues we curse the very men and women he made in his image. Curses and blessings out of the same mouth.” (from The MESSAGE)

How often my words have been a weapon of mass-destruction. Have you ever been there? It’s like dropping the atomic bomb — before you have a chance to think about what you’ve said, your word(s) have caused catastrophic destruction. I’m not proud to say that I have done that with my wife, my kids, my staff. I’ve seen that look in their eyes — I drop the bomb and the hurt is there.

I need to prayerfully consider my words before I speak them. Play the tape to the final conclusion. I can understand now the cry of King David’s heart: “Let the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be acceptable in Your sight, O Lord, my FIRM, IMPENETRABLE ROCK and my REDEEMER.” Psalm 19:14 from the Amplified Bible. My prayer today is that my words will bringing healing and help not wound or maim.

Steve and Annie Chapman will be sharing about MARRIED LOVERS AND FRIENDS on this week’s KESWICK TODAY broadcasts. Steve and Annie will be speaking at our June Couple’s Weekend. Check out the broadcast right from the Keswick homepage: http://www.americaskeswick.org.

MOTHER’S DAY

Today is the day we honor those special ladies in our lives — our Mothers! One of the things that grieves my spirit is how many folks I meet who have absolutely no relationship with their Mothers. It is a hard thing for me to understand. My Mom was by no means the perfect Mom — but our Dad adored her and from my earliest recollections, he made sure that my brother and me honored, respected and loved her.

When my Mom died, she didn’t leave us anything of substantial monetary value. But what she left us was a legacy of what it means to love Jesus. She loved Jesus with all her heart. What she did leave me was a Bible filled with notes and dates of how God was at work in her life. She also left several very worn devotional books that contained notations of things that were taking place in her daily walk with God.

One of her favorites was a devotional written by Millie Stamm, BE STILL AND KNOW. Most of the pages are missing and I didn’t know why until months after she died. My Mom had a very aggressive form of cancer and lived out her last weeks and days at the Cancer Treatment Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma. She was unable to do much communicating verbally because her the cancer had affected her throat and voice box. But she was still able to radiate the love of Christ to those who cared for her. She communicated by writing notes to the nurses and doctors. When it was hard to even write, she would pull out the pages of her devotional book and give them to her caregivers.

Several months after she went home to be with Jesus, we received a note from a nurse who was touched by her life. This nurse was having a particularly tough time personally and my Mom was very sensitive to her need. What she pulled out of that worn and tattered devotional book, was just what God wanted this nurse to hear. This lady was touched by the love and concern of my Mom.

It’s days like today that I really miss my Mom. We talked on the phone for a few minutes every day up until the day before she died. I miss hearing her voice. I miss chatting with her. But as I read her devotional books each morning, she still speaks to my heart. I’d love to be able to pick up the phone today and tell her that she has three grandbabies on the way! She would be so happy and proud of her granddaughters, Laura and Julie, and the daughter-in-law she never met, Jenny. Thanks, Mom, for the legacy you left us — may my new grandbabies come to love Jesus the same way you did.

“The woman to be admired and praised is the woman who lives in the fear-of-God. Festoon her life with praises!” — Proverbs 31 from THE MESSAGE

Guys — if you are not going to be with your special Mom today — pick up the phone and call her. Tell her you love her. You won’t have her on this side of heaven forever. Don’t spend a life of regret wishing you had made that call!