THE WORD

This morning I want to share with you the Psalm that I read in my quiet
time. It speaks volumes. Someone needs to hear these powerful words from
THE WORD this morning . . .

Psalm 103:1-18

Bless the Lord, O my soul; And all that is within me, bless HIS holy
name.
Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget NONE of His benefits;
Who pardons ALL your iniquities;
Who heals ALL your diseases;
Who redeems your life from the pit;
Who crowns you with lovingkindness and compassion;
Who satisfies your years with good things, so that your youth is
renewed like the eagle.

The Lord performs righteous deeds, and judgments are for all who are
oppressed.
He made known His way to Moses, His acts to the sons of Israel.

The Lord is compassionate and gracious, SLOW to anger and ABOUNDING in
lovingkindness.
He will not always strive with us; nor will He keep His anger forever.
He has not dealt with us according to our sins, nor rewarded us
according to our iniquities.
For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is His
lovingkindness toward those who fear Him.
As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our
transgressions from us.
Just as a father has compassion on his children, so the Lord has
compassion on those who fear Him.
For He HIMSELF knows our frame; He is mindful that we are but dust.

As for man, his days are like grass; as a flower of the field, so he
flourishes.
When the wind has passed over it, it is no more; and its place
acknowledges it no longer.
BUT THE LOVINGKINDNESS OF THE LORD is from everlasting to everlasting on
those who fear Him,
And HIS righteousness to children’s children, to those who keep His
covenant, and who remember His precepts to do them.”

May God’s Word speak to YOUR heart today and transform YOUR life. Bless
the Lord with ALL your soul this morning and throughout the day.

It’s not too late to sign up your wife for our Spring Ladies Day with
our good friend Annie Chapman.
http://www.americaskeswick.org/conf/evspladday.shtml Bless your wife for
Mother’s Day. It will be a great gift! Call today and make her
reservation.

FAITH — NOT EMOTION . . .

This morning was one of those “whack-on-the-side-of-the-head” mornings.
Everything I read had the same message for my soul today. I love when
God does that — it is something that only HE can orchestrate. These are
“WOW” moments in helping build my faith. Oswald Chambers drove the final
nail in what I needed to hear this morning . . .

“We walk by faith, not by sight.” 2 Corinthians 5:7

“For a while, we are fully aware of God’s concern for us. But then, when
God begins to use us in His work, we begin to take on a pitiful look and
talk only of our trials and difficulties. And all the while God is
trying to make us do our work as hidden people who are not in the
spotlight. None of us would be hidden spiritually if we could help it.
Can we do our work when it seems that God has sealed up heaven? Some of
us always want to be brightly illuminated saints with golden halos and
with the continual glow of inspiration, and to have other saints of God
dealing with us all the time.

A self-assured saint is of no value to God. He is abnormal, unfit for
daily life, and completely unlike God. We are here, not as immature
angels, but as men and women, to do the work of this world. And we are
to do it an infinitely greater power to withstand the struggle because
we have been born from above.

If we continually try to bring back those exceptional moments of
inspiration, it is a sign that it is not God we want. We are becoming
obsessed with the moments when God did come and speak with us, and we
are insisting that He do it again. But what God wants us to do is to
‘walk by faith.’ How many of us have set ourselves aside as if to say,
‘I cannot do anything else until God appears to me’? He will never do
it. We will have to get up on our own, without any inspiration and
without any sudden touch from God. Then comes our surprise and we find
ourselves exclaiming, ‘Why, He was there all the time, and I never knew
it!’

Never live for those exceptional moments — they are surprises. God will
give us His touches of inspiration only when He sees that we are not in
danger of being led away by them. We must never consider our moments of
inspiration as the standard way of life — our work is our standard.”

Powerful words for my life, and hopefully they will bless yours today as
well.

This week on KESWICK TODAY radio, Dr. Les Ayars and Robert Hayes share
what will be happening at America’s KESWICK Memorial Day Weekend as we
count down the days to the official start of our summer season. Visit
our home page for details and listen to this weeks broadcasts.
http://www.americaskeswick.org/

I AM . . . i am not . . .

Several weeks ago I shared with you some thoughts from Louie Giglio’s
message on Moses’. I was so blessed by the message that I tracked down
his book . . . i am not but I know I AM — Welcome to the Story of God,
published by our good friends at Multnomah.

As we prepare to worship this morning, I remind you that we are
worshipping the great I AM — worship is not about you and me — it is
about HIM. When God called Moses from the burning bush, Moses asked who
he was talking to, to which God responded ‘I AM!” Listen to what Louie
says about this great I AM . . .

“In English, the name I AM translates into the very TO BE. Or simply BE.
Therefore, God’s name is BE. I AM = I BE. Not great grammar, but
powerful theology. God knew it was imperative for Moses to know who He
was — that He was I AM. I AM is present tense, active form of the verb
TO BE. As God’s name, it declares that He is unchanging, constant,
unending, always present, always God.

God was telling Moses:
I AM the center of everything.
I AM running the show.
I AM the same every day, forever.
I AM the owner of everything.
I AM the Lord.
I AM the Creator and Sustainer of Life.
I AM the Savior.
I AM more than enough.
I AM inexhaustible and immeasurable.
I AM God.

In a heartbeat, Moses knew God’s name — and something more. He finally
knew his. For if God’s name is I AM, Moses’ name must be i am not.

I am not the center of everything.
I am not in control.
I am not the solution.
I am not all-powerful.
I am not calling the shots.
I am not the owner of everything.
I am not the Lord.

And that’s your name and mine name too . . .

I am not running anything.
I am not the ahead of anything.
I am not in charge of anything.
I am not the maker.
I am not the savior.
I am not holding it all together.
I am not all-knowing.
I am not God.

And God’s name is still I AM.”

“We will glorify the KING OF KINGS.
We will glorify the Lamb.
We will glorify the Lord of Lords,
HE IS the great I AM!”

Rejoice in HIM this morning, and for all your days.

HOW BIG IS GOD?

As you prepare your hearts for worship tomorrow, I share some thoughts
of the bigness of our awesome God from Louie Giglio’s powerful book, “i
am not but I know I AM — Welcome to the Story of God” published by
Multnomah.

Ponder these thoughts with me . . .

“And God said, ‘Let there be light!’ . . .

“The warmth you feel on your face when you walk outside one a sunny
afternoon is light that left the surface of the sun eight minutes ago.
If you wanted to repeat the 93-million-mile-journey and return to the
sun (not a good idea given that the temperature at the sun’s surface is
ten thousand degrees Fahrenheit, and it would vaporize you long before
your arrival), the trip would take you seventeen years flying nonstop,
twenty-four hours a day, in our fastest jet.

I don’t know about you, but a beam of light covering 93 million miles in
eight minutes is pretty hard for me to comprehend. Much less the news
that a team of astrophysicists recently discovered what is believed to
be the farthest object from earth, a tiny galaxy that is 13 billion
light years away.

If you want to put that distance in perspective, consider that a light
year (how far light travels in 365 days) is equal to 5.88 trillion
miles. If it helps, that number again is 5,880,000,000,000 miles. That’s
a lot of zeros, and frankly, a number too large to really mean anything
of significance to most of us . . .

The folks at the California Institute of Technology are fairly certain
their newly discovered galaxy is 13,000,000,000 times 5,880,000,000,000
miles away. That qualifies us as the oldest visible light in all
Creation, and the farthest thing from earth our eyes have ever seen.
Actually, since a light year is more about TIME than distance, when we
gaze at this most-distant-yet galaxy, we’re looking at light that left
there 13 billion years ago. That means we’re actually looking back
across time, deep into the past.

But let’s bring things closer to home — our galactic neighborhood, the
Milky Way. Our cozy little corner of space, the Milky Way Galaxy, is
somewhere between 100,000 and 130,000 light years across. So to get from
one end of our neighborhood to the other, all you have to do is zoom at
186,000 miles per SECOND for 100,000 plus years. Our galaxy is home to
hundred of billions of stars, only one of which is our sun. Our solar
system — whose star is the sun — is located about twenty-five thousand
light years from the center of the Milky Way. And just as the planets in
our solar system orbit the sun, so our sun and all the other hundreds of
billions of other stars in the Milky Way orbit around its center — a
galactic revolution that takes our sun 250 million earth years to
complete.

We have no idea just how big the universe is, but it’s so big we have to
use a ruler that’s 5.88 trillion miles long to measure stuff. The ruler
is called a light year. The farthest thing we have measured so far with
the help of a mighty telescope is 13 billion light years away. Somewhere
in the midst of it all is a spiral galaxy call the Milky Way, which is
made up of hundreds of billions of stars.

One of those stars is our sun, rotating around the center of the Milky
Way every 250 million years. One of the planets circling our sun is
Planet Earth. And two of the more than six billion people on this planet
are you and me . . . Along with you and me, there are six billion other
human beings dotting this minute ball we call earth, which is orbiting
an average star in a tiny solar system that’s hovering on the outskirts
of the Milky Way, one of billions of galaxies in the known universe, the
size of which exponentially expands out latest measurements every time
we manage to build a more powerful telescope . . . “

And the God who created this universe — created YOU and me, and died
for YOU and ME! As I contemplated Louie’s words, I was reminded of one
of the worship songs that Robert and Joyce Hayes have been teaching us:

How Great Is Our God
——Chris Tomlin

The splendor of a King, clothed in majesty
Let all the earth rejoice
All the earth rejoice

He wraps himself in Light, and darkness tries to hide
And trembles at His voice
Trembles at His voice

How great is our God, sing with me
How great is our God, and all will see
How great, how great is our God

Age to age He stands
And time is in His hands
Beginning and the end
Beginning and the end

The Godhead Three in One
Father Spirit Son
The Lion and the Lamb
The Lion and the Lamb

How great is our God, sing with me
How great is our God, and all will see
How great, how great is our God

Name above all names
Worthy of all praise
My heart will sing
How great is our God (x2)

How great is our God, sing with me
How great is our God, and all will see
How great, how great is our God (x3)

Sorry for the length of today’s Freedom Fighter. I thought it was worth
the “time and space!” God bless you.

HE SPEAKS . . . DO I LISTEN?

I have been reading through the Old Testament this year from the ONE
YEAR BIBLE and have thoroughly enjoyed reviewing stories that I learned
as a kid. One of the things that has stood out is how many time the Lord
spoke to His people and their leaders. I don’t know about you, but
sometimes I have found myself saying, “If only I could hear the voice of
the Lord directly on this or that . . . “

For many of us prayer is a one-side proposition. Think about it . . . we
pray and we expect HIM to listen. Sometimes, well maybe more often than
I want to admit, I don’t even take the time to fellowship and praise Him
— I barge right into the throne room with my list of things I expect
Him to do without taking the time to enjoy Him. There are hundreds of
verses in the Psalms that confirm that HE HEARS our prayers: “I love the
Lord, because He has heard my voice and my supplications. Because He has
inclined His ear to me, therefore I will call upon Him as long as I
live. (Psalm 116:1-2)

All through elementary school, I had the same comments written on the
back of my report cards . . . those words have been written on the
hard-drive of my mind . . . “Billy (I hated that name) would be such a
good student if he would just stop talking . . . ” Yikes! God wants to
speak to us but often we are too busy to hear Him. Some of my friends
are strong enough to say that God doesn’t speak in an audible voice any
more like He did in days gone by. Well don’t shoot me — but that is
probably true. But I do know this — if He wanted to, He could and
would. I am not about to limit how God desires to deliver what He wants
to say.

For me, He speaks to me through His Word. There have been times during
my prayer times that I have cried out to the Lord. I have the confidence
that HE HEARS me because He tells me that in His Word. And He listens
with BOTH ears! Sometimes when we are finished praying, He wants us to
be still and listen for His voice. Try it sometime — after you are done
praying, sit still and listen! My dear friend, Marilyn Heavilin has
written a wonderful book entitled, “I’M LISTENING, LORD” that is a good
resource on this subject.

Sometimes during the night when I cannot sleep, I rehearse in my mind
Scriptures that I have memorized. When I do that, often I fall back to
sleep. But every so often, this is the time HE speaks to my heart. The
other night was one of those times when I was wrestling out something in
my soul. I was searching for an answer and praying for instruction. I
did not hear an AUDIBLE voice, but I believe the Holy Spirit spoke to my
heart and clearly gave me the answer I needed! It was cool! He gave me
exactly what I needed to do in a tough situation.

Read through the Psalms and read how God did this for David. In Psalm
16:7 David wrote: “I will bless the Lord who has counseled me; Indeed my
mind instructs me in the night.” Maybe He chooses to speak to me during
the night because that is when He has MY undivided attention. He wants
to speak to our hearts — are we ready to listen?

“And He walks with me, and He talks with me; and He tells me I am His
own. And the joy we share as we tarry there — none other has ever
known.”

THOT: “God has no use for the prayers of the people who won’t listen to
Him.” Proverbs 28:9 (The Message)

PRIDE VS. HUMILITY

One of the greatest hindrances in all of our relationships is pride.
Gary and Betsy Ricucci call it — “self-confident, self-exalting,
self-protecting pride. It is the most deceptive, pervasive and
multifaceted for form of sin, and it plays a central role in virtually
all sin.”

Listen to their description of pride vs.. humility:

Pride loves to talk, reveling in every self-exalting form of
self-expression.
Pride is quite content with what it already knows.
Pride assumes I already understand everything I need to.
Pride assumes I don’t need help.
Pride simply judges others by assuming they will respond negatively or
unhelpfully if I am open.
Pride uses conversation as broadcast time.
Pride denies what the gospel reveals about our seriously sinful
condition. (Proverbs 10:19; Galatians 5:17)

Humility yearns to learn, because it recognizes its deficiencies
(Proverbs 12:15).
Humility asks questions and loves dialogue.
Humility has never found someone it couldn’t learn something from.
Humility assumes there is always more to learn about everything.
Humility assumes I need others.
Humility would rather be open and vulnerable than closed and
independent.
Humility uses conversations to explore new worlds.
Humility puts energy and effort into listening.
Humility treats a spouse as a fellow traveler on the road to biblical
wisdom.
Humility that leads to intimacy takes an interest in one’s spouse as a
gift from God.
Humility believes what the gospel says about our desperate need for God
and his grace — AFTER we’re saved as well as before.”

Good thoughts for your consideration from LOVE THAT LASTS . . . WHEN
MARRIAGE MEETS GRACE published by Crossway.

CONTENTMENT

Do you ever find yourself envious of others? Not satisfied with what you
have? Some gets a new car, a newer, bigger TV and the juices of envy and
jealousy begin to flow? Someone’s house is bigger and better — you want
a Jacuzzi because someone else has a brand new pool?

Paul writes in Philippians 4:11 “Not that I speak from want; for I have
learned to be content win WHATEVER circumstances I am in.” Henry
Blackaby, in his devotional, EXPERIENCING GOD DAY BY DAY writes: “Our
world promotes dissatisfaction with our lives. We are constantly
bombarded with newer and better things that will make our lives more
complete if only we would obtain them! If we listen to the world, we
will always be comparing the lifestyles and possessions of others with
our own, and we will always be dissatisfied. If our contentment comes
from possessions, activities, or other people, these can be altered or
removed. If our contentment comes from our relationship with Christ,
there is absolutely NOTHING that can take that away.

Paul had enjoyed power and status among his people. He had also been
imprisoned and bound in stocks in the depths of a jail cell. He had
stood before a king and been stoned almost to death by an angry mob.
Paul had enjoyed the benefits and pleasures of life, yet he could give
them all up and still be filled with the joy of the Lord. His
contentment did not depend on his environment but on his relationship
with Christ.

Contentment frees you to enjoy EVERY good thing God has given you.
Contentment demonstrates your belief that God loves you and has your
best interest in mind. Discontent stems from the sins of ingratitude and
a lack of faith that God loves you enough to provide for all that you
need. Strive to be grateful for all that God has given you. A grateful
heart has no room for envy.”

I have shared with you prayers of the puritans. Here is one on
contentment:

Heavenly Father,
If I should suffer need, and go unclothed, and be in poverty,
make my heart prize Your love,
know it, be constrained by it,
though I be denied all blessings.
It is Your mercy to afflict and try me with wants,
for by these trials I see my sins,
and desire severance from them.
Let me willingly accept misery, sorrows, temptations,
if I can thereby feel sin as the greatest evil,
and be delivered from it with gratitude to You,
acknowledging this as the highest testimony of Your love.
When the Son, Jesus came into my soul
instead of sin, he became more dear to me than sin had formerly
been;
his kindly rule replaced sin’s tyranny.
Teach me to believe that if ever I would have any sin subdued
I must not only labor to overcome it,
but must invite Christ to abide in the place of it,
and he must become to me more than vile lust had been;
that his sweetness, power, life may be there.
Thus I must seek a grace from him contrary to sin,
but must not claim it apart from himself.
When I am afraid of evils to come,
comfort me by showing me
that in myself I am a dying, condemned wretch,
but IN CHRIST I am reconciled and live;
that in my self I find insufficiency and no rest,
but in Christ there is no satisfaction and peace;
that in myself I am feeble and unable to do good,
but in Christ I have ability to do all things.
from THE VALLEY OF VISION

So how about you? Can you say with Paul this morning: “for I have
learned to be content in WHATEVER circumstances?” That’s my prayer for
me and you today.

THE GOSPEL AND MY MARRIAGE

Most of us believe the gospel and think that the gospel is for salvation
only. But the truth is that the gospel is on-going in our Christian
experience.

The gospel is for you today! The gospel that saves you is the gospel
that keeps you. It has powerful implications for you TODAY! It can
impact your marriage.

Listen to these marvelous truths as outlined for us in LOVE THAT LASTS
— WHEN MARRIAGE MEETS GRACE by Gary & Betsy Ricucci:

1. Because of the gospel, Christians have become new creations (2
Corinthians 5:17). Therefore, in our marriage, our past does not define
us, confine us, or determine our future.

2. Because of the gospel, we are forgiven (Ephesians 1:17). We can live
free of ALL guilt and condemnation for EVERY sin, and we can trust that
God, in his mercy, will be gracious to us.

3. Because of the gospel, we can forgive, just as Christ forgave us
(Ephesians 4:32). NOTHING done against us compares to our sin against
God. Therefore all offenses, hostility, and bitterness between
Christians can be completely forgiven and removed.

4. Because of the gospel, we are accepted by God (Romans 15:7).
Therefore we are not dependent on a spouse for WHO we are or WHAT we
need.

5. Because of the gospel, sin’s ruling power over us is broken (Romans
6:6, 14). Therefore we can truly obey ALL that God calls us to do in our
marriage, regardless of any circumstance or situation.

6. Because of the gospel, we have access to God THROUGH Christ (Hebrews
4:14-16). Therefore we can at any time take any need in our marriage to
the ONE who can do all things.

7. Because of the gospel, we have hope (Romans 5:1-4). There we can
endure ANY marital difficulty, hardship, or suffering with the assurance
that God is working all to our greatest good (Romans 8:28).

8. Because of the gospel, Christ dwells in us by His Holy Spirit
(Galatians 3:13-14). Therefore we are confident that God is always with
us and is always at work in our marriage, even when progress is
imperceptible (1 Thessalonians 5:23-24).

9. Because of the gospel, we have power to fight and overcome remaining
sin, which continues to dwell and war within us (Romans 7:19, 21, 24-25;
Galatians 5:16-17).

Ricucci’s conclude that “when we grasp the depth of God’s love for us
revealed in the gospel, when we rest in the joy of God’s forgiveness
toward us in the gospel, when we experience God’s transforming power in
us through the gospel, and when we begin to emulate the pattern of
humility and obedience we see in the gospel what a wonderful difference
this will make in our lives and marriages!”

Powerful words from LOVE THAT LASTS — WHEN MARRIAGE MEETS GRACE,
published by Crossway and available at the KESWICK ONLINE BOOKSTORE @
http://www.americaskeswick.org.

EXPECTANT FAITH

I shared with you last week that we are in one of those tight spots
right now at America’s KESWICK with our finances. Over the past 108
years we have been there many times and God has always proven Himself
faithful. Today’s reading from STREAMS IN THE DESERT was one of those
“whack-in-the-head” messages to me from the Lord . . . I pray it will
encourage your heart as together we wait on Him EXPECTANTLY . . .

“Faith is being . . . certain of what we do not see.” — Hebrews 11:1

“Genuine faith puts its letter in the mailbox and lets go. Distrust,
however, holds on to a corner of the envelope and then wonders why the
answer never arrives. There are some letters on my desk that I wrote
weeks ago, but I have yet to mail them because of my uncertainty over
the address or the contents. Those letters have not done any good for me
or anyone else at this point. And they never will accomplish anything
until I let go of them, trusting them to the postal service.

It is the same with genuine faith. It hands its circumstance over to
God, allowing HIM to work. Psalm 37:5 is a great confirmation of this:
‘Commit your way to the Lord; trust also in Him and he will do this.’ He
will never work until we COMMIT. Faith is RECEIVING — or even more,
actually appropriating — the gifts God offers us. We may believe in
Him, come to Him, commit to Him, and rest in Him, but we will never
fully realize all our blessings until we begin to receive from Him and
come to Him having the spirit of abiding and appropriating.

Dr. Payson, while still a very young man, once wrote to an elderly
mother who was worried and burdened over the condition of her son. He
wrote:

‘You are worrying too much about him. Once you have prayed for him, as
you have done, and committed him to God, you should not continue to be
anxious. God’s command, ‘Do not be anxious about anything’ (Philippians
4:6), is unlimited, and so is the verse, ‘Cast ALL your anxiety on Him’
(1 Peter 5:7). If we truly have cast our burdens upon another, can they
continue to pressure us? If we carry them with us FROM the throne of
grace, it is obvious we have not left them there. In my own life I test
my prayers in this way: after committing something to God, if I can come
away, like Hannah did, with no more sadness, pain, or anxiety in my
heart, I see it as proof that I have prayed the prayer of faith. But if
I pray and STILL carry my burden, I conclude that my faith was not
exercised.'” STREAMS IN THE DESERT (Cowman/Zondervan)

So what about you this morning? I shared my burden with you — today I
leave it at the mercy seat! Is there something weighing you down? A
relationship? A problem? “Commit your way to the Lord; trust in Him and
he will do this!”

Good word for today.

GUYS: Good Mother’s Day gift for your wife. Why not send her to our
Spring Ladies Day on Wednesday, May 10th. Annie Chapman is our keynote
speaker. Call today and make reservations for your special lady —
800-453-7942.

This week on KESWICK TODAY, our Guest Services Team talk about the value
of a retreat at America’s KESWICK. You can listen to the broadcasts
right from our homepage: http://www.americaskeswick.org.

MY ALL KNOWING FATHER

One of the grand disconnects of life is that we forget that we have a
Heavenly Father who IS ALL-KNOWING. There is absolutely NOTHING that
your Father doesn’t know about you. I did a quick search in my
concordance and pulled out just a few gems for your consideration as you
prepare for the Lord’s Day:

“But HE knows the WAY I take; when He has tried me, I shall come forth
as gold.” — Job 23:10

“The Lord knows the DAYS of the blameless . . . ” — Psalm 37:18

“Would not God find this out? For He knows the SECRETS of the heart.” —
Psalm 44:21

“The Lord knows the THOUGHTS of a man, that they are a mere breath.” —
Psalm 94:11

“For I know the PLANS I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans for a
welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope.” —
Jeremiah 29:11

“And God, who knows the HEART . . . ” — Acts 15:8

“The Lord knows the REASONING of the wise . . .” — I Corinthians 3:20

“Nevertheless, the firm foundation of God stands, having this seal, ‘THE
LORD KNOWS THOSE WHO ARE HIS . . .” — 2 Timothy 2:19

“The Lord knows how to rescue the godly from temptation, and to keep the
unrighteous under punishment for the day of judgment.” — 2 Peter 2:9

” . . . for God is greater than our heart, and knows ALL things.” — I
John 3: 20

God KNOWS EVERYTHING about you and me! What an awesome God. Is there
something in your life that you think has gone unnoticed? Keeping you
from true fellowship with your Father? Purpose today to surrender that
to Him. HE ALREADY KNOWS ALL ABOUT IT!