EXCUSES!

My good friend, Mark Fisher, shared this at our Freedom Fighter day on
Saturday, and I thought it was worth sharing with you this morning . . .
Next time you THINK you have an excuse as to why God CANNOT use you,
think of these:

Noah got drunk
Abraham was too old
Sarah had stopped ovulating
Isaac was a daydreamer
Leah was ugly
Judah committed incest
Joseph was abused
Moses murdered (so did David and Paul)
Moses stuttered, tended sheep and died too you
Deborah was a woman
Gideon was afraid
Samson had long hair
Hosea’s wife was a prostitute
Rahab WAS a prostitute
David was too you (so were Jeremiah and Timothy)
David had a nervous breakdown and an affair
Elijah was suicidal
Jeremiah was depressive
Isaiah had to preach in the mud
Daniel was torched
Jonah ran away
Naomi was a widow
Job was attacked by Satan
John the Baptist ate bugs
Peter had a temper
John was self-righteous
The disciples fell asleep
Matthew was a thief
Simon was fanatical
Nathaniel was cynical
Martha was a worry wart
Mary was lazy
Mary Magdalene was demon-possessed
The little boy only had five loaves and 2 fish
The Samaritan woman had been sleeping around
Zaccheus was too short
Paul was a prisoner and a poor speaker
Philip disappeared
Mark quit
Timothy had ulcers
And Lazarus . . . was dead.

Now what’s your excuse? God does not use us because of WHO we are, but
in spite of who we are … Good words for today.

A number of our Freedom Fighter family are graduates of the Colony of
Mercy. I wanted to let you know that Nell “MOM” Morrison went home to
glory yesterday afternoon. Tentatively, the plan is to have a Memorial
Service on Wednesday at 11:00 AM at the Colony Chapel. Check the website
later today for details.

A PRAYER OF PREPARATION

As you prepare your heart for worship, here is a prayer of one of the
Puritans from THE VALLEY OF VISION . . .

O God,
Praise waits for You, and to render it is my noblest exercise;
This is You due from all Your creatures,
for all You works display Your attributes and fulfill Your designs;
The sea, dry land, winter cold, summer heat, morning light, evening
shade are full of You,
and You give me them richly to enjoy.
You are King of kings and Lord of lords;
At Your pleasure empires rise and fall;
All Your works praise You and Your saints bless You;
Let me be numbered with Your holy ones,
resemble them in character and condition, sit with them at Jesus’ feet.
May my religion be always firmly rooted in Your Word,
my understanding divinely informed,
my affections holy and heavenly,
my motives pure and simple,
and my heart never wrong with You.
Deliver me from the natural darkness of my own mind,
from the corruptions of my heart,
from the temptations to which I am exposed,
from the daily snares that attend me.
I am in constant danger while I am in this life;
Let Your watchful eye ever be upon me for my defense,
Save me from the power of my worldly and spiritual enemies
and from all painful evils to which I have exposed myself.
Until the day of life dawns above let there be unrestrained fellowship
with Jesus;
Until fruition comes, may I enjoy the earnest of my inheritance and the
firstfruits of the Spirit;
Until I finish my course with joy may I pursue it with diligence,
in every part display the resources of the Christian, and adorn the
doctrine of You my God in all things.
Amen

Powerful prayer as we together prepare our hearts to worship Him — not
just today, but every day!

FREEDOM FIGHTER DAY

Today is our FREEDOM FIGHTER day at America’s KESWICK and we are praying
that there will be many men that will be SET FREE to live victoriously.
As I was waking this morning, the words to a powerful song that the
Brooklyn Choir sings came to my mind. In fact, we are going to be using
this as the signature song for our KESWICK TODAY radio program. I
encourage you to read the lyrics and allow them to bless your heart this
morning.

This Is How It Feels To Be Free

Performed by Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir

Words and Music by Shawn Craig, Dave Clark & Don Koch

There’s a wall that has been standing since the day that Adam fell
Sin is where it started, sin is why it held
Speaking as a prisoner who was there and lived to tell
I remember how it felt
I could hear the sound of freedom like a distant voice it called
And beckoned me to follow where I had never gone
Though myheart was willing, I just stood there at the wall
Praying somehow it would fall
But in a cross I found a doorway and a hand that held the key
When the chains fell at my feet, for the first time I could see

Chorus:
This is how it feels to be free
This is what it means to know that I am forgiven
This is how it feels to be free
To see that life can be more than I imagined
This is how it feels to be free, this is how it feels to be free

There are days when I’m reminded of the prison I was in
Like a living nightmare burning from within
I can feel the voice of evil, I can hear the call of sin
But I won’t go back again
Once I tasted freedom then the walls could bing no more
Since mercy gave me wings to fly, like an eagle I can soar

Somewhere there’s a prison where the chains still bind
There but for the grace of God those walls could still be mine
So for all the captives I say

My friend, if you are struggling, PLEASE allow Christ to transform your
life.

FAITH VS. FEELINGS

“Often our feelings and emotions are mistakenly substituted for faith.
Pleasurable emotions and deep, satisfying experiences are part of the
Christian life, but they are not the essence of it. Trials, conflicts,
battles, and testing’s lie along the way and are to be counted not as
misfortunes but rather as part of our necessary discipline.

In all of these various experiences, we are to rely on the indwelling of
Christ in our hearts, regardless of our feelings, as we walk obediently
before Him. And this is where many Christians get into trouble. They try
to walk by feelings rather than by faith.

Trust God’s Word and His power more than you trust your own FEELINGS and
experiences. Remember, your Rock is Christ, and it is the sea that ebbs
and flows with the tides, not Him. Keep your eyes firmly fixed on the
infinite greatness of Christ’s finished work and His righteousness. Look
to Jesus and believe– look to Jesus and live! In fact, as you look to
Him, unfurl your sails and bravely face the raging storms on the sea of
life. Do not exhibit your distrust by staying in the security of the
calm harbor or by sleeping comfortably through your life of ease. Do not
allow your life and emotions to be tossed back and forth against each
other like ships idly moored at port. The Christian life is not one of
listless brooding over our emotions or slowly drifting our keel of faith
through shallow water. Nor is it one of dragging our anchor of hope
through the settling mud of the bay, as if we were afraid of
encountering a healthy breeze.

Sail away! Spread your sail toward the storm and trust in Him who rules
the raging sea! A brightly colored bird is safest when in flight. If its
nest is near the ground or if it flies too low it exposes itself to the
hunter’s net or trap. In the same way, if we cower in the lowlands of
feelings and emotions, we will find ourselves entangled in a thousand
nets of doubt, despair, temptation, and unbelief. PUT YOUR HOPE IN GOD
(Psalm 42:5). When I cannot FEEL the faith of assurance, I live by the
FACT of God’s faithfulness.”

Good words today from STREAMS IN THE DESERT, published by our friends at
Zondervan and available at the KESWICK ONLINE BOOKSTORE.

Tomorrow is our FREEDOM FIGHTER DAY. Men are struggling in the area of
sexual sin. If you are there, don’t stay away. This day is for YOU! It
can mean the difference between death and life for you. Come find out
how you and live in freedom vs.. bondage. Mark P. Fisher, Sandy Cove’s
new President, will be sharing his story and from God’s Word. To may a
reservation, call 800-453-7942. I look forward to seeing you tomorrow!!!

THE SURRENDERED LIFE

“I have been crucified with Christ . . . ” — Galatians 2:20

“To become one with Jesus Christ, a person my be willing not only to
give up sin, but also to surrender his whole way of looking at things.
Being born by the Spirit of God means that we must first be willing to
let go before we can grasp something else. The first thing we must
surrender is all of our pretense or deceit. What our Lord wants us to
present to Him is not our goodness, honesty, or our efforts to do
better, but real solid sin. Actually, that is all He can take from us.
And what HE gives in EXCHANGE for our sin is real solid righteousness.
But we must surrender all pretense that we are anything, and give up all
our claims of even being worthy of God’s consideration.

Once we have done that, the Spirit of God will show us what we need to
surrender next. Along each step of this process, we will have to give up
our claims to our rights to ourselves. Are we willing to surrender our
grasp on all that we possess, our desires, and everything else in our
lives? Are we ready to be identified with the death of Jesus Christ?

We will suffer a sharp painful disillusionment before we totally
surrender. When people really see themselves as the Lord see them, it is
not the terribly offensive sins of the flesh that shock them, but the
awful nature of the pride of their own hearts opposing Jesus Christ.
When they see themselves in the light of the Lord, the shame, horror,
and desperate conviction hit home for them.

If you are faced with the question of whether or not to surrender, make
a determination to go on through the crisis, surrendering all that you
have and all that you are to Him. And God will then equip you to do all
that He requires of you.” from the pen of Oswald Chambers — MY UTMOST
FOR HIS HIGHEST — available at the KESWICK ONLINE BOOKSTORE —
http://www.americaskeswick.org
There must be a constant and increasing appreciation that though sin
still remains it does not have the mastery. There is a total difference
between surviving sin and reigning sin, the regenerate in conflict with
sin and the unregenerate complacent to sin. It is one thing for sin to
live in us: it is another for us to live in sin. It is of paramount
concern for the Christian and for the interests of his sanctification
that he should know that sin does not have the dominion over him, that
the forces of redeeming, regenerative, and sanctifying grace have been
brought to bear upon him in that which is central in his moral and
spiritual being, that he is the habitation of God through the Spirit,
and that Christ has been formed in him the hope of glory. — Eric
Liddell

Good words for your consideration this morning.

THE OTHER SIDE OF THE SIN ISSUE

Last week I shared with you some thoughts about the grip of sin and one
of my staff members said, “You are going to share the other side of the
coin . . .” Well as I was reading this morning, here are some WORDS FROM
THE WORD that will encourage you this morning:

“You have cast all my sins behind Your back. Who is a God like You,
pardoning iniquities and passing over the transgression of the remnant
of His heritage? He does not retain His anger forever, because He
DELIGHTS in mercy. He will have compassion on all of us, and will subdue
our iniquities. You will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea.”

“For a moment I have forsaken you, but with great mercy I will gather
you. With a little wrath I hid My face from you for a moment; but with
everlasting kindness I will have mercy on you,”says the Lord, your
Redeemer. I will forgive their iniquity and their sin I will remember no
more.

Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered.
Blessed is the man to whom the Lord does not impute iniquity, and in
whose spirit there is no deceit. The blood of Jesus Christ His Son
cleanses us from all sin.”

(Isaiah 38:17; Micah 7:18-19; Isaiah 54:7-8; Jeremiah 31:34; Psalm
32:1-2; 1 John 1:7) Taken this morning from THE DAILY LIGHT

Grace remits sin and peace quiets the conscience. Sin and conscience
torment us, but Christ has overcome these fiends now and forever. Only
Christians possess this victorious knowledge given from above. These two
terms, grace and peace, constitute Christianity. Grace involves the
remission of sins, peace and a happy conscience. Sin is not canceled by
lawful living, for no person is able to live up to the law…the fact is
the more a person seeks credit for himself by his own efforts, the
deeper he goes into debt. Nothing can take away sin except the grace of
God. In actual living, however it is not so easy to persuade oneself
that by grace alone, in opposition to every other means, we obtain the
forgiveness of our sins and peace with God.

Martin Luther

Good thoughts for you to ponder today. Men’s Day is coming quickly. Have
you registered for our Freedom Fighter Day — Saturday, March 11th? Call
to today.

THE SOURCE OF ABUNDANT JOY

“In all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved
us . . .” (Romans 8:37)

“Paul was speaking here of the things that might SEEM likely to separate
a saint from the love of God. But the remarkable thing is that NOTHING
can come between the love of God and a saint. The things Paul mentioned
in this passage can and do disrupt the close fellowship of our soul with
God and separate our natural life from Him. But NONE OF THEM is able to
come between the love of God and the soul of a saint on a spiritual
level. The underlying foundation of the Christian faith is the
underserved, limitless miracle of Calvary; a love that is not earned and
can never be. Paul said this is the reason that “in all these things we
are more than conquerors.” We are super-victors with a joy that comes
from experiencing the very things which look as if they are going to
OVERWHELM us.

Huge waves that would frighten an ordinary swimmer produce a tremendous
thrill for the surfer who has ridden them. Let’s apply that to our own
circumstances. The things we try to avoid and fight against —
tribulation, suffering and persecution — are the very things that
produce ABUNDANT JOY in us. “We are more than conquerors through Him”
“in all these things”; not in spite of them, BUT IN THE MIDST OF THEM. A
saint doesn’t know the joy of the Lord in spite of tribulation, but
BECAUSE of it. Paul said, “I am EXCEEDINGLY joyful in all our
tribulation” (2 Corinthians 7:4).

The undiminished radiance, which is the result of abundant joy, is
nothing built on anything passing, but on the love of God that nothing
can change. And the experiences of life, whether they are everyday
events or terrifying ones, are powerless to “separate us from the love
of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:39).”

Good words this morning from MY UTMOST FOR HIS HIGHEST written by Oswald
Chambers — available at the KESWICK ONLINE Bookstore
(www.americaskeswick.org) or by calling the Keswick Bookstore
(732-350-1187 ext 31).

If the statistics are accurate, and I believe they are, there are guys
who enjoy Freedom Fighters who are struggling with porn on the internet.
The cycle of bondage has you in its grip. The good news is that you can
be SET FREE. I want to encourage you to join us this Saturday for our
special FREEDOM FIGHTER day with Mark P. Fisher, Sandy Cove’s new
President. Mark struggled in this area and will be sharing how he was
SET FREE through Christ to live a life of victory. So that we can plan
properly for the day (your great food and snacks), please call in your
reservation — 800-453-7942. And why not bring a friend! See you there.

FAITH IN GOD NOT IN YOUR PRAYERS

Here are some thoughts on prayer from one of the great Bible conference
speakers of the past, Vance Havner. Though he was small in stature, he
was a giant of the faith.

“Many have prayed earnestly for some definite blessing and then, when it
failed to come, have grown bitter and even cynical. And one hears from
such disappointed hearts the frequent refrain, ‘I have lost faith in
prayer.’

The very phrasing of that statement reveals a misunderstanding of the
the right ATTITUDE toward prayer. Faith in prayer is one thing. PRAYER
IN FAITH is another.

The Christian who starts out with faith in prayer puts too much emphasis
upon prayer and not enough upon the GOD to WHOM he prays. He uses prayer
as a sort of magic talisman, an ‘open sesame; to the things he wants, a
quick way of getting things he wants from God. Then, when he doesn’t get
what he asks for, he gives up prayer as the heathen beats his fetish
when he gets into trouble. Prayer is really his god. Instead of being
pious, he is, in a sense, idolatrous. Faith in prayer may be a very
childish and inadequate attitude.

The OBJECT of our faith should be GOD rather than prayer. Then, prayer
in such faith will not fail. We ought first utterly commit all we are
and have into His hands and leave them in His keeping. We ought to
realize that while we can see only a tiny segment of life at a time, God
sees the length and breadth of it with all its complications and
intricacies. That being true, what we THINK we want man not, in His
sight, be our need at all. So, when we pray IN FAITH, faith in God, we
first recognize that ALL things are in HIS hands and that HE has
promised to supply our needs . . .

Faith in prayer may be a cheap thing, bordering on superstition, like
knocking on wood. But prayer in faith, FAITH IN GOD, is a sturdy, rugged
confidence that presents humbly, yet boldly, its claims and leaves the
rest with God.” — Vance Havner as quoted in MAGNIFICENT PRAYER — 366
Devotions to Deepen Your Prayer Experience by Nick Harrison, published
by Zondervan

SMALL PRAYERS WILL ACCOMPLISH MUCH IF THEY’RE DIRECTED TO OUR VERY LARGE
GOD.

Good words for today. This powerful resource is available online at the
KESWICK BOOKSTORE — http://www.americaskeswick.org.

A PRAYER OF WORSHIP

Glorious God,
It is a flame of my life to worship You,
the crown and glory of my soul to adore You,
heavenly pleasure to approach You.
Give me power by Your Spirit to help me
worship now,
that I may forget the world,
be brought into fullness of life,
be refreshed, comforted, blessed.
Give me knowledge of Your goodness
that I might not be over-awed by Your greatness;
Give me Jesus, Son of Man, Son of God,
that I might not be terrified,
but be drawn near with filial love,
with holy boldness;
He is my Mediator, Brother, Interpreter,
Branch, Daysman, Lamb;
him I glorify,
In Him I am set on high.
Crowns to give I have none,
but what You have given I return,
content to feel that everything is mine
when it is Yours,
and the more fully mine when I have yielded it to You.
Let me live wholly to my Savior,
free from distractions,
from carking [burdening] care,
from hindrances to the pursuit
of the narrow way.
I am pardoned through the blood of Jesus —
give me a new sense of it,
continue to pardon me by it,
may I come every day to the fountain
and every day be washed anew,
that I may worship You always in spirit and truth.

From THE VALLEY OF VISION — Prayers of the Puritan — available from
the KESWICK ONLINE BOOKSTORE

Have you registered for FREEDOM FIGHTER DAY — Saturday, March 11, 2006
with Mark Fisher, the new President of Sandy Cove Ministries. Call today
to register. Come and bring a friend. 800-453-7942.

GOD UPHOLDS ALL THINGS

“A human mechanic may leave the machine he has constructed to work with
his personal supervision, because when he leaves it, God’s laws take it
up; and, by their aid, the materials of which the machine is made retain
their solidity — the steel continues to be elastic, the vapor keeps its
expansive power.

But, when God has constructed His machine of the universe, he cannot so
leave it, or any the minutest part of it, in its immensity and intricacy
of movement, to itself; for, if he retires, there is no second God to
take care of this machine. Not a single atom of matter can He for a
moment withdraw his supervision and support. Each successive moment, all
over the world, the act of creation must be repeated. The existence of
the world witnesses the perpetuity of creating influence. Active
omnipotence must flood the universe, or its machinery stops, and its
very existence terminates.

The signs of an all-pervading supernatural energy meet us wherever we
turn. Every lead waves in it, every plant in all its organic processes
lives in it; it rolls round the clouds, else they would not move; it
fires the sunbeam, else it would not shine; and there is not a wave that
restlessly rises and sinks, nor a whisper of the wanton wind that ‘blows
where it listeth,’ but speaks the immediate intervention of God.”

And my friend, the God of the universe who upholds all things by the
word of His power (Hebrews 1:3) is the God who is intimately acquainted
with YOU and loves YOU with His everlasting love. As you prepare your
heart for HIS day tomorrow, reflect on these words:

I sing the mighty pow’r of God,
That made the mountains rise;
That spread the flowing seas abroad,
And built the lofty skies.
I sing the wisdom that ordained
The sun to rule the day;
The moon shines full at His command,
And all the stars obey.

I sing the goodness of the Lord,
That filled the earth with food;
He formed the creatures with His Word,
And then pronounced them good.
Lord, how Thy wonders are displayed,
Where e’re I turn my eye:
If I survey the ground I tread,
Or gaze upon the sky!

There’s not a plant or flower below,
But makes Thy glories known:
And clouds arise, and tempests blow,
By order of Thy throne;
While all that borrows life from Thee
Is ever in Thy care.
And every where that man can be,
Thou, God, art present there.

Isaac Watts (1674-1748)

Good words to ponder. Have a great day.