I AM

Good morning! Hopefully you remembered to turn your clocks forward and
you are excited about the day before you. In just a few hours, many of
us will gather together with the body of Christ to worship, and many
will observe the Lord’s Supper.

For some, the focus of the morning service has become more about what WE
will get out of the service instead of focusing on WHO we are
worshipping. We get caught up in the style of music not being MY style
or there were too many announcements. The temp was quite right and the
Pastor, well we love him, but he went way too long.

Remember my friend, the body of Christ gathers not to concentrate on YOU
but on the One who told Moses I AM! I have been listening to a powerful
message given by Pastor Louie Giglio from an INJOY LIFE CLUB CD
available through Dr. John C. Maxwell’s ministry. Think about the I AM
who you are worshipping this morning . . .

You say, ‘I need an new idea.’ I AM.
Who could possibly be smart enough to figure this out? I AM.
I’m going under; somebody help me. I AM.
What works? I AM.
What’s the latest thing? I AM.
What’s the hippest thing? I AM.
Nothing’s real anymore. I AM.
Leaders are bailing out. Who’s going to last? I AM.
If we fail to get the job done, who’s going to do it? I AM.
This generation deserves more. I AM.
I’m pouring into others. Who pouring into me? I AM.
I’m not sure who’s on my team. I AM.
Nobody’s listening to me. I AM.
I can’t hold it together anymore. I AM.
Who can I trust? I AM.
I’ve got visions bigger than my resources. I AM.
I’ve given all I can but it’s never enough. I AM.
Somebody just hold me. I AM.

I AM the way, I AM the truth, I AM the life. I AM yesterday, I AM the
same today, I AM the same forever. I AM the solution, I AM the
sustainer, I AM the restorer, I AM the life-giver. I AM the beginning, I
AM the end, I AM the first, I AM the last; I AM God, and there is NO ONE
BESIDES ME. I AM the Lord, and there is NO other. I AM that I AM; that
is My name; that is MY memorial name to every generation. I AM GOD . . .
And all I AM looking for is a little man who’s thrilled to be I AM NOT,
because they know I AM!

That’s who you are worshipping this morning, my fellow Freedom Fighter
partner — you are worshipping the great I AM. Enjoy Him today.

THE GREAT GOD

As you prepare your heart for the Lord’s Day tomorrow, here is a Puritan
Prayer from THE VALLEY OF VISION:

O Fountain of All Good,
Destroy in me every lofty lofty,
Break pride to pieces and scatter it to the winds,
Annihilate each clinging shred of self-righteousness,
Implant in me true lowliness of spirit,
Abase me to self-loathing and self-abhorrence,
Open in me a fount of penitential tears,
Break me, then bind me up;
Thus will my heart be a prepared dwelling for my God;
Then can the Father take up His abode in me,
Then can the blessed Jesus come with healing in His touch,
Then can the Holy Spirit descend in sanctifying grace;
O Holy Trinity, three Persons and one God,
inhabit me, a temple consecrated to your glory.
When You are present, evil cannot abide;
In Your fellowship is fullness of joy.
Beneath Your smile is peace of conscience,
By Your side no fears disturb,
no apprehensions banish rest of mind,
With You my heart shall bloom with fragrance;
Make me meet, through repentance, for You indwelling.
Nothing exceeds Your power,
Nothing is too great for You to do,
Nothing too good for You to give.
Infinite is Your might, boundless Your love, limitless Your grace,
glorious Your saving name.
Let angels sing for SINNERS REPENTING, PRODIGALS RESTORED, BACKSLIDERS
RECLAIMED, SATAN’S CAPTIVES RELEASED, BLIND EYES OPENED, BROKEN HEARTS
BOUND UP, THE DESPONDENT CHEERED, THE SELF-RIGHTEOUS STRIPPED, THE
IGNORANT ENLIGHTENED, AND THE SAINTS BUILT UP IN THEIR HOLY FAITH.
I ask great things this morning of a GREAT GOD!

Good words to consider as we prepare to worship Him with brothers and
sisters of like-minded faith tomorrow. Have a great day.

AN ATTITUDE OF THANKSGIVING

We’ve talked about this before, but it is a good reminder —
Thanksgiving is not just a holiday we celebrate in November.
Thanksgiving needs to be a part of the very fabric on our lives. Someone
said that for the believer it is not thanksgiving — it’s THANKSLIVING.

Charles Swindoll in his new daily devotional, GREAT DAYS WITH THE GREAT
LIVES– DAILY INSIGHT FROM GREAT LIVES OF THE BIBLE,
shares that the Apostle Paul “had an attitude of genuine thanksgiving:
‘Devote yourselves to prayer, keeping alert in it with an attitude of
thanksgiving, praying that at the same time for us as well, that God may
open up to us a door for the word, so that we may speak forth the
mystery of Christ, for which I have also been imprisoned; in order that
I might make it clear in the way I ought to speak’ (Colossians 4:2-4).

Here’s a man in his sixties who has been preaching for years asking for
prayers for a clearer delivery. There was no pretense with Paul. No
degree of success or number of years in the ministry gave him a false
sense of ultimate accomplishment. He knew he had not yet arrived. He was
convinced his preaching could be improved. And so with a genuinely
thankful heart, he entreated his fellow believers for their prayers. Can
you see the power of that kind of attitude? Very refreshing.

No wonder the man had such a lasting impact for Christ. His secret bled
through every one of his letters. He had learned to be content in all
things. But we can’t leave the ink of these truths to simply sit and dry
on the page. We must embrace the same secret for ourselves if we are to
have the same lasting impact . . .

Let’s turn the spotlight away from the many housed in Rome back then and
focus it on you and your life, wherever you find yourself right now. Are
you making a difference in the lives of those closest to you by the way
you respond to your circumstances? Are others inspired by your faith, or
are they discouraged by your fears? Are the attitudes of unselfish
humility, joyful acceptance, strong determination, and genuine
thanksgiving evident in the way you respond to circumstances? Maybe its
time to make some changes.

Start by refusing to let your situation determine your attitude. When
your attitude overshadows your situation, transformation really begins.
As we saw in Paul, the power to transform stubborn attitudes of fear and
bitterness, anger and defeat, comes from Christ. The Lord our God stands
ready to pour his strength in you. He alone has the power to deliver you
from those relentless foes and send you soaring. Keep an attitude of
thanksgiving.” GREAT DAYS WITH THE GREAT LIVES — DAILY INSIGHT FROM
GREAT LIVES OF THE BIBLE is available from the KESWICK ONLINE BOOKSTORE
— http://www.americaskeswick.org.

Good words for you to apply to your heart today. One last call for
FREEDOM FIGHTER DAY CD’S . . . Mark P. Fisher shares three pratical
sessions on how you can live victoriously in your sexual life. 3 CD’s
are yours at no cost. Simply respond to this email with your mailing
address.

YOUR LORD PROCEEDS YOU . . .

One of the traditions established by our founder, William Raws, many
years ago, is the use of Deuteronomy 31:8 as a benediction at the close
of our chapel services . . . “And the Lord, it is He that doth go before
you; He will be with you neither forsake you; fear not neither be
dismayed.”

Sometimes we face those times and situations where we FEEL like we are
all alone. Henry Blackaby in his daily devotional EXPERIENCING GOD DAY
BY DAY reminds us that: “God never sends you into a situation alone. He
always goes BEFORE His children, as He did with the children of Israel
when He led them with a cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night.

You do not serve as His advance troops in a foreign and hostile
situation. HE always proceeded YOU in any situation you encounter. God
is never caught by surprise by your experience; He has already been
there. He is prepared to meet your every need because He has gone before
you and knows exactly what you will need for your pilgrimage (Deut.
31:8)

Not only does God go BEFORE you, but He also stands BESIDE you and
BEHIND you, to provide protection and comfort (Psalm 139:7-12). Jesus
knew His disciples would be totally bewildered by His crucifixion, so He
assured them in advance that no matter what happened, not matter where
they went, they could go in confidence that He had already gone before
them. Paul, too, experienced this assurance (Acts 18:9; 23:11). In the
most bewildering circumstances, His Lord was there!

If you are going through a difficult or confusing time, know that your
Lord has gone BEFORE you and He is present with you. He is fully aware
of what you are facing, and He is actively responding to your need.
There is nowhere you can go that you will not find Christ waiting for
you to join Him. Even when you face death, you can be assured that He
has gone before you in triumph. As a child of God, rest in the knowledge
that your Savior PROCEEDED you, and He will walk WITH YOU through each
experience of your life.”

EXPERIENCING GOD DAY BY DAY is published by Broadman Holman and can be
ordered from the KESWICK ON-LINE BOOKSTORE (www.americaskeswick.org).

It’s not to late to request a complimentary set of the free FREEDOM
FIGHTER DAY CD’s. To order your copy, respond to this email.

RUN FOR YOUR LIFE!

“The appeal of sensual lust works like a magnet, drawing two ‘sudden and
fierce’ forces toward each other — inner desire and an outer bait.
Let’s face it, you can’t escape the bait if you live in the real world.
In fact, even if you somehow manage to shut yourself away from the REAL
world, your MIND will not let you escape the outer bait. But keep in
mind that there is no sin in the bait. The sin is in the BITE.

When the lust of another TEMPTS you to give in to your OWN lust, so much
so that your resistance weakens, you have been enticed. You have given
in to the lure of temptation. The secret of victory is modeled
beautifully by Joseph. He REFUSED to weaken. He continued to resist.

Potiphar’s wife dropped the bait day after day after day. And each time
Joseph refused to take it. ‘No, no, no!’ he replied. Not only did he not
LISTEN to her, it got to where he did not even want to be near her. She
was not safe to be around. Joseph had rebuffed her time and time again,
refusing to yield to her advances. Finally, she set a trap for him.

Joseph had come into the house to do his work one day. He noticed that
the house was quiet. There were no servants nearby. She was alone with
Joseph in the house, and she again made her move. Only this time she
would not take no for an answer. She went beyond her verbal advances and
physically grabbed hold of Joseph. She held on so tightly that when he
jerked away from her and dashed out into the street, he left his outer
robe in her hands.

What a clear image! What a practical spotlight from Joseph’s life. What
strong biblical counsel. Whenever the New Testament lingers on the
subject of sensual temptation, it gives one command: RUN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
It does not tell us to REASON with it. It does not tell us to THINK
about it and claim verses. It tells us to FLEE!!! I have discovered you
CANNOT to sensuality if you are RUNNING away from it. So? Run for your
life! Get out of there! If you try to REASON with lust or play around
with sensual thoughts, you will finally yield. You can’t fight it.
That’s why the Spirit of God forcefully commands, ‘RUN!’

My question for you this morning — are you facing a situation in your
life where you need to RUN? Are you dabbling with temptation thinking
you won’t get burned? Then do what the Scripture says . . . RUN!

from Charles R. Swindoll’s new daily devotional “GREAT DAYS WITH THE
GREAT LIVES . . . Daily Insight from Great Lives of the Bible” published
by W. This book is available at the KESWICK ONLINE BOOKSTORE —
http://www.americaskeswick.org.

This week I am offering to you a complimentary set of the messages
presented at our March Freedom Fighter Day. To order a set, respond to
this email and please include your snail address. If the CD’s or this
ministry is a blessing to you and you would like to make a donation to
the Colony of Mercy, you can now make donations on-line by visiting our
website — http://www.americaskeswick.org. America’s KESWICK depends on
friends like you to support us with your gifts and prayers.

BOLD FAITH

“As soon as the priests who carry the ark of the Lord — the Lord of all
the earth — set foot IN THE JORDAN, its waters flowing downstream will
be cut off and stand up in a heap.” Joshua 3:13

Sometimes when God calls us to join Him in something exciting, it
requires I bold step of faith to step out into the deep with Him. In
this amazing account in the life of Joshua, the children of Israel were
instructed by God to cross the river. Their parents had done this once
before and God had demonstrated His power and glory — but where they
willing to trust God and His promises to do it again? God was about to
once again demonstrate HIS faithfulness and power, but they had to first
take the step of faith and put their feet in the water.

Listen to the words from today’s reading from STREAMS IN THE DESERT . .
. “Who can help but admire those brave Levites! They carried the ark of
the covenant right into the water, for the water was not divided UNTIL
THEIR FEET TOUCHED THE WATER’S EDGE (vs. 15). God had promised nothing
else.

God honors faith — stubborn faith — that sees HIS PROMISE and looks to
that alone. We can only imagine how bystanders today, watching these
holy men of God march on, would say, ‘You will never catch me running
that risk! The ark will be swept away!’ We must not overlook the fact
that faith on our part helps God to carry out His plans. Be willing to
come to the help of the Lord.

The ark of the covenant was equipped with poles so the priests could
raise it to their shoulders. So even the ark of God did not move by
itself but was carried. When God is the architect, men are the
bricklayers and laborers. Faith assists God. it can shut the mouths of
lions and quench the most destructive fire. Faith still honors God, and
God honors faith.

Oh, for the kind of faith that will move ahead, leaving God to fulfill
His promises when He sees fit! Fellow Levites, let us shoulder our load,
without looking as though we were carrying God’s coffin. It is the ark
of the living God! Sing as you march toward the flood!

One of the distinguishing marks of the Holy Spirit in the New Testament
church was the spirit of BOLDNESS. One of the great essentials of the
kind of faith that will attempt great things FOR God and expect great
things FROM God is holy boldness and daring. When dealing with a
supernatural Being and taking things from Him that are HUMANLY
impossible, it is actually easier for us to take a lot than it is to
take a little. And it is easier to stand in a place of bold trust than
in a place where we cautiously and timidly cling to the shore.

Like wise sailors living a life of faith, let us launch out our ships
into the deep. We will find that ALL THINGS are ‘possible with God’
(Luke 18:27), and ‘everything is possible for him who believes.’ (Mark
9:23). Today let us attempt great things for God, taking His faith to
believe great things and taking HIS strength to accomplish them!”

Are you willing to be bold today in your faith? I’d love to know how God
is working out this truth in your life. Let me hear from you today.

Missed our Freedom Fighter Day? I would be happy to send you FREE — the
three messages that Mark P. Fisher shared on living in sexual freedom.
Respond to this email with your address.

DIVINE PROMISES

“All the promises of God in Him are YES, and in Him Amen, to the glory
of God through us.” 2 Corinthians 1:20

I love the prayers of the Puritans and have one to share with you this
morning on the DIVINE PROMISES . . .

Glorious Jehovah, My Covenant God,
All Your promises in Christ Jesus are yea and amen, and all shall be
fulfilled.
You have spoken them, and they shall be done, commanded, and they shall
come to pass.
Yet I have often doubted You, have lived at times as if there were no
God.
Lord, forgive me that death in life, when I have found something apart
from You,
when I have been content with short-lived things.
But through Your grace I have repented; You have given me to read my
pardon in the wounds of Jesus,
and my soul trusts in Him, my God incarnate the ground of my life, the
spring of my hope.

Teach me to be resigned to Your will, to delight in Your law, to have
not will but Yours,
to believe that everything You do is for my good.
Help me to leave my concern in Your hands, for You have power over evil,
and bring from it an infinite progression of good,
until Your purposes are fulfilled.

Bless me with Abraham’s faith that staggers not at promises through
unbelief.
May I not instruct You in my troubles, but glorify You in my trials;
Grant me a distinct advance in the divine life;
May I reach a higher platform, leave the mists of doubt and fear in the
valley,
and climb to the hill-tops of eternal security in Christ by simply
believing he cannot lie,
or turn from His purpose.
Give me confidence I ought to have in Him who is worthy to be praised,
and who is blessed evermore. Amen.

From VALLEY OF VISION — PRAYERS OF THE PURITANS published by Banner of
Truth. This powerful devotional tool is available at the KESWICK ONLINE
BOOKSTORE (www.americaskeswick.org).

FREEDOM FIGHTER DAY — Did you miss the day? If you’d like a
complimentary set of the three messages that Mark Fisher shared with the
guys, respond to this email with your mailing address and we will get
them to you. It is our gift to our Freedom Fighter family.

Saturday begins DAYLIGHT SAVINGS TIME!!! Turn your clocks ahead.

DESIGNED FOR A PURPOSE

“And God said unto Abraham, You shall keep my covenant therefore, you,
and your seed after you in their generations.” Genesis 17:9

“We are surrounded throughout our lifetime by a multitude of things
designed for specific purposes. Without argument, most things are at
their best when they are fulfilling their purpose and design.

For instance, a piano is made with a specific purpose: to produce music.
However, I happen to know that someone once stood on a piano in order to
put a fastener of some kind in the ceiling . . . I have seen piano tops
that were cluttered filing cabinets or wide library shelves.

There is an intelligent design in the creation of a piano. The
manufacturer didn’t announce: ‘This is a good piano. It has nineteen
uses!’ No, the designer had only one thought in mind: ‘This piano will
have the purpose and potential of sounding forth beautiful music . . .
!’

Don’t miss the application of truth here. God said to Abraham, ‘You may
have some other idea about the design and purpose for your life, but you
are wrong! You were created in My image to worship Me and to glorify Me.
If you do not honor this purpose, your life will degenerate into
shallow, selfish, humanistic pursuits.” — A. W. Tozer from TOZER ON THE
ALMIGHTY GOD published by Christian Publications and available from the
KESWICK ONLINE BOOKSTORE (www.americaskeswick.org).

This morning as you gather with like-minded believers, remember YOU WERE
DESIGNED FOR A PURPOSE. You were created to worship HIM. Enjoy HIM
today!

LET EVERYTHING THAT HAS BREATH PRAISE THE LORD . . .

As you prepare your hearts for worship tomorrow, think about this from
the pen of Dr. Richard Swenson . . .

“Every breath we take contains 150 million molecules that were breathed
by Jesus. The exact same air molecules. It is one of the many ways He
shares life with us — intimately. Whenever we inhale, Jesus is there
with us sharing Himself minute-by-minute and molecule-by-molecule.
Daniel spoke of the God who holds in His hand your breath.

We breathe about 23,000 times per day and 630 million times over an
average lifespan. With each inhalation we breathe 10 molecules, more
than a billion trillion with each lungful.

Once the air is in the lungs, the next step is to get it into the
bloodstream. The lungs first divide the breath into smaller portions and
send each down a series of dividing wind tunnels. Finally, the air
arrives in different peripheral “rooms” where each molecule of oxygen
can receive individual attention.

These rooms, called alveoli, are actually tiny air sacks. Perhaps you
can picture them like bubbles, miniature balloons, or clusters of hollow
grapes. The average diameter of these alveoli is only twice the
thickness of paper. Overall we have about three hundred million such
alveoli, greatly increasing the surface area available for the oxygen to
come into contact with. If you were to spread out all the alveolar
surface and lay it down on the floor, it would equal half the size of a
tennis court.

With the inhaled oxygen now closely approximated to the lining of the
alveoli, the red blood cells and hemoglobin within the capillaries can
attract the oxygen across the thin membrane and begin transporting it to
the various cells.

With increased exercise the muscles need more oxygen. Under strenuous
conditions, the muscle demand for oxygen may increase as much as ten
fold– a demand the pulmonary system can me because of a huge built-in
physiologic margin in our respiratory function.

Once again God has pulled off another display of His creative genius.
All He asks in return is ‘LET EVERYTHING THAT HAS BREATH PRAISE THE
LORD!”

Are you praising the Lord with the breath God has given to you? Good
words to ponder today from A MINUTE OF MARGIN — RESTORING BALANCE TO
BUSY LIVES and published by our friends at NavPress. This book is
available at the KESWICK ONLINE BOOKSTORE — http://www.americaskeswick.org

THE SURRENDERED REST

“When our bodies find rest, we feel refreshed. When our emotions find
rest, our countenance is lifted. Yet relaxed muscles and minds are of
little worth unless our souls also find rest in the acceptance of God.
Such a rest transcends the problems of our world and shelters us where
no injury can follow. His rest is ultimately the only dependable rest.

Sabbath rest is a rest He calls us to, but surrendered rest is a rest He
offers to us. Sabbath rest we enter our of obedience; surrendered rest
we enter out of our own need. Sabbath rest arise from the good and
perfect law of God; surrendered rest arises from the good and perfect
grace of God. Sabbath rest is remembrance; surrendered rest is meekness.

‘Come to ME, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you
rest,’ offered Jesus. ‘Take MY yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am
gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For
MY yoke is easy and my burden is light.’ These are attractive words to
weary people everywhere. Yet, as usual, Jesus leaves us scratching our
heads: What does He mean, to take His yoke? Does that really sound so
restful?

The answer lies in meekness. In this passage Christ calls Himself meek.
He came not to judge but to die. He came not to shout and defend the
honor of the Father but to die. He came not to fight but to die. No
persecution could disturb Him, for He came to suffer. Yet all the time
He as suffering, He knew He was winning. We, too, can suffer and win. We
can live with love even when others hate — all the time knowing that
Love wins. We can respond with grace when other surrender, knowing Grace
wins. When we come to Him and surrender, accepting HIS yoke, we accept
full vulnerability to the onslaught of the world. Yet at the same time
we are assured that NOTHING can separate us from the love of Christ.
This rest is a self-weakening unto God-strength. It is a self-emptying
unto God-fullness. It is the rest of surrender.

Even when I FEEL inferior, even when I have been victimized, even when
the pace and pressures of life bring me to the point of collapse, Christ
brings me to HIS rest. When my surrender is completed and HIS yoke is
accepted, then my soul will find rest.” from the pen of Dr. Richard
Swenson in his daily devotional A MINUTE OF MARGIN … RESTORING BALANCE
TO OUR BUSY LIVES.

Thot: Jesus calls us to His rest, and meekness is HIS method. The meek
man cares not at all who is greater than he, for he has long ago decided
the esteem of the world is not worth the effort.” — A. W. Tozer

Good words to ponder as we end this week and enter into the weekend. Has
Freedom Fighters been an encouragement to you? We’d love to hear from
you, and even better, encourage a friend to sign up. Visit our website
for up-to-date information about the ministries of America’s KESWICK —
http://www.americaskeswick.org.