I love the writings of Oswald Chambers and he addresses the topic of putting God first in our lives in MY UTMOST FOR HIS HIGHEST . . .

“Put trust in God first! Our Lord never put His trust in any person. Yet He was never suspicious, never bitter, and never lost hope for anyone, because He put His trust in God first. He trusted absolutely in what God’s grace could do for others. If I put my trust in human beings
first, the end result will be my despair and hopelessness toward everyone. I will become bitter because I have insisted that people be what no person can ever be — absolutely perfect and right. Never trust in yourself or in anyone else, except the grace of God.

Put God’s will first! ‘Behold I have come to do Your will, O God.’ (Hebrews 10:0) A person’s obedience is to what he sees to be a need — our Lord’s obedience was to the will of His Father. The rallying cry today is, ‘We must get to work! The heathen are dying without God. We
must go and tell them about Him!’ But we must first make sure that God’s ‘needs’ and His will in us personally are being met. Jesus said ‘. . . tarry . . . until you are endued with power from on high’ (Luke 24:29).

The purpose of our Christian training is to get us into the right relationship to the ‘needs’ of God and His will. Once God’s ‘needs’ in us has have been me, He will open the way for us to accomplish His will, meeting His ‘needs’ elsewhere.

Put God’s Son first. ‘Whoever receives one little child like this in My name receives me.’ (Matthew 18:5) God came as a baby, giving and entrusting Himself to me. He expects my personal life to be a ‘Bethlehem.’ Am I allowing my natural life to be slowly transformed by
the indwelling life of the Son of God? God’s ultimate purpose is that His Son might be exhibited in me.”

from MY UTMOST FOR HIS HIGHEST published by Discovery House.

So how are you doing, my friend, with your priorities? Good words to ponder today. God bless you.

“A young boy by the name of James had a desire to be the most manufacturer and salesman of cheese in the world. He planned on becoming rich and famous by making and selling cheese and began with a little buggy pulled by a pony named Paddy. After making his cheese, he would load his wagon, and he and Paddy would drive down the streets of Chicago to sell the cheese. As the months passed, the young boy began to despair because he was not making any money, in spite of his long hours and hard work.

One day he pulled his pony to a stop and began to talk to him. He said, ‘Paddy, there is something wrong. We are not doing it right. I am afraid we have things turned around and our priorities are not where they ought to be. Maybe we ought to serve God and place Him first in our lives.’ The boy drove home and made a covenant for the rest of his life he would first serve God and then would work as God directed.

Many years after this, this young boy, now a man, stood as a Sunday School Superintendent at North Shore Baptist Church in Chicago and said, ‘I would rather be a layman in North Shore Baptist Church than to head the greatest corporation in America. My first job is serving Jesus!’

So, every time you take a bite of Philadelphia Cream Cheese, sip a cup of Maxwell House, mix a quart of Kool-Aid, slice up a DiGiorno Pizza, cook a pot of Macaroni and Cheese, slurp down some Jell-O, spread so Grey Poupon, stir a bowl of Cream of Wheat, eat the cream out of the
middle of an Oreo cookie, or serve some Stove Top, remember a boy, his pony named Paddy, and the promise little James L. Kraft made to serve God and work as he directed.”

from LEADING WITH BILLY GRAHAM . . . The Leadership Principles and Life of T.W. Wilson written by Jay Dennis, soon to be published by Baker Book House

So how about your priorities this morning? Good words to ponder on this June 1, 2005.

“You, O Lord, are my might and my salvation.
You are my refuge and my strength.
No evil can befall me.
No foe can overcome me.
No disaster overtake me.
Though I am surrounded by dangers,
nothing really frightens me.
Though I am engulfed by uncertainty,
I am confident in Your presence.

I have one desire —
that I may live victoriously with You all the days of my life!
I want my eyes to look upon Your glory.
I want my steps to take me to Your presence.
I want to rest securely in Your holy dwelling place.
You shelter me from the sun and the storm;
You protect me from adversity;
You lift me up toward the high places,
where I look down on my enemies from a vantage point of strength
and security.

I want to sing YOUR praises, Lord.
I want to shout for joy.
I want to make music of adoration.
Hear me when I pray, O God.
Forgive me and heed my request.
I want to seek YOUR approval.
I want to know YOUR presence.
I want to experience YOUR approval.

Please, Lord, do not turn away from me.
Don’t be angry at my waywardness.
You are my constant help.
Stay with me, O Lord.
Accept my praise and love.
You are faithful.
Though everyone else in the world may abandon deserts and abandons
me,
YOU WILL STILL HOLD ME AND DRAW ME TO YOU.

Help me to know You as You are, O Lord.
Keep me on the straight and narrow path.
Don’t let me depart from Your will.
Don’t let the enemies of my soul prevail.
Don’t let falsehood and violence overpower me.

There is much I don’t know,
but I am confident of one thing —
I CAN TRUST MY PRESENT AND MY FUTURE TO YOU, O LORD!
You will bless me with long and satisfying life.
I will look EXPECTANTLY for what YOU will bring about, O Lord.
I will wait patiently for Your will to be done.

Make me strong, brave, stouthearted, courageous, and FAITHFUL.”

from Under His Wings by Ward Patterson published by Accent Books.

As one of my mentors would say . . . “that is a text that preaches!”
Good words for today.

Tomorrow is the premiere edition of VICTORY CALL — a Monday through
Friday email of encouragement for women. To sign up, visit our website:
http://www.americaskeswick.org

O beautiful for spacious skies, For amber waves of grain,
For purple mountain majesties above the fruited plain!
America! America! God shed His grace on thee,
And crown thy good with brotherhood from sea to shining sea.

O beautiful for pilgrim feet, whose sterned impassioned stress
A thoroughfare for freedom beat across the wilderness!
America! America! God mend thane every flaw,
Confirm thy soul in self-control, Thy liberty in law!

O beautiful for heroes proved in liberating strife,
Who more than self their country loved,
And mercy more than life!
America! America! May God thy gold refine,
Till all success be nobleness and every gain divine!

O beautiful for patriot dream that sees beyond the years
Thane alabaster cities gleam undimmed by human tears!
America! America! God shed His grace on thee,
And crown thy good with brotherhood from sea to shining sea!

Good words for this Memorial Day! May God bless America. Take time with
your family to remember and pray!

“Radical praise brings radical presence. Never underestimate the power of one moment in His presence. Thirty second in the manifest presence of God turned a murderer named Saul into a martyr named Paul.

Worship comes in many forms. It can touch him through the slightest brush of a finger against the hem of a garment. It can reach through the hoarse-voiced cry of the vocal cords, or it can traverse time and space without a sound as a silent scream of passionate desperation from a
broken heart.

In the city of Jericho, the hunger of a wealthy but rejected businessman, named Zacchaeus, dangling from a tree and the unashamed cries of worship from a heart of a desperate beggar in the dust captured Jesus’ heart. Desperate worship stops God in His tracks no matter what social strata it comes from. All are equal in His sight. If God would stop the parade of the universe long enough to change these two human destinies forever, what could He do for you?

I wish more of us in the church would get tired of standing on the sidewalk of spectator Christianity while the ‘Jesus parade’ goes by. Somebody needs to get hungry enough to cry out. Somebody needs to get desperate enough to arrest the attention of heaven and say, I’m not
going to let You pass me by, Lord. I thank You for what you HAVE done, but I am desperate for what you CAN do.'”

from Tommy Tenney THE GOD CATCHERS published by Thomas Nelson

Pass me not, O gentle Savior — Hear my humble cry!
While on others Thou are calling, Do not pass me by!

Let me at a throne of mercy find a sweet relief!
Kneeling there in deep contrition — help my unbelief!

Trusting only in Thy merit, would I seek Thy face;
Heal my wounded broken spirit, save me by Thy grace.

Thou the spring of all my comfort, more than life to me!
Whom have I on earth beside Thee? Whom in heav’n but Thee?

Savior, Savior, hear my humble cry!
While on others Thou art calling — Do not pass ME by.

“Attitude is a the determining factor of whether our failures make us or break us. The persistence of a person who encounters failure is one sign of a healthy attitude. Winners don’t quit! Conquerors don’t quit! Failure becomes devastating and causes our attitude to crash when we quit. To accept failure as final is to be finally a failure. In times of failure we need to look to God, our Creator and chief motivator.

WHEN IT LOOKS LIKE I HAVE FAILED . . .
Lord, are you trying to tell me something?
For . . .
Failure doesn’t mean I’m a failure;
It does mean I have not yet succeeded.
Failure does not mean I have accomplished nothing;
It does mean I have learned something.
Failure does not mean I have been a fool;
It does mean I had enough faith to experiment.
Failure does not mean I’ve been disgraced;
It does mean I dared to try.
Failure does not mean I don’t have it;
It does mean I have to do something in a different way.
Failure does not mean I am inferior;
It does mean I am not perfect.
Failure does not mean I’ve wasted my time;
It does not mean I have an excuse to start over.
Failure does not mean I should give up;
It does mean I must try harder.
Failure does not mean I’ll never make it;
It does mean I need more patience.
Failure does not mean YOU abandoned me;
It does mean YOU must have a better idea. Amen.”

from the pen of Dr. John C. Maxwell in his book THE WINNING ATTITUDE . .
. YOUR KEY TO SUCCESS

Someone needs to hear this today. I would be happy to hear your story. Have a blessed day. If you haven’t made plans to join us this weekend, our Memorial Day Conference is underway. Dr. Richard Allan Farmer will be sharing God’s Word at 9:30 AM followed by our Community Open House from 11:00 – 3:00. Tonight at 7:00 PM, Dr. Jim Jeffery, President of Baptist Bible College and Seminary, will be sharing God’s Word. Join us for this great weekend. For information, call 800-453-7942.

“Every pilot knows the value of communicating with knowledgeable men during times of trouble. The natural reaction when having difficulty in the sky is to radio for help. We do not always do this in our daily living.

Our daily tendency is often to try and make it on our own. We admire the rugged. independent individual who ‘pulled himself up by his bootstraps.’ That is the American way. At times we are all a little like Frank Sinatra’s belting out for all to hear, ‘I did it my way.’

Jesus sings another song. Its words speak about fullness of joy and fruitfulness. The thesis of His song states, ‘Apart from Me you can do nothing’ (John 15:5). The title of His song is ‘Abide in Me and I in You’, or more modernly stated, ‘You’ll Be Fine If You’re Connected to the Vine.’

Stanza 1 says, ‘Abide in Me, and I in you. As the the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me.’ (John 15:4)

Stanza 2 says, ‘I am the Vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me, and I in him, he bears much fruit; for apart from Me you can do nothing.’ (John 15:5)

Stanza 3 says, ‘If anyone does not abide in Me, he is thrown away as a branch, and dries up; and they gather them and cast them into the fire, and they are burned.’ (John 15:6)

Stanza 4 says, “If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it shall be done for you.’ (John 15:7)”

from the writings of Dr. John C. Maxwell in THE WINNING ATTITUDE published by Thomas Nelson

What are you facing today? I am reminded of the the bumper sticker I have seen from time to time — “God doesn’t need a co-pilot!” Are you in contact with the control tower today?
Good words to contemplate on this beautiful Friday, May 27, 2005.

The world needs men who cannot be bought;
Whose word is their bond;
Who put character above wealth;
who possess opinions and a will;
who are larger than their vocations;
who do not hesitate to take chances;
who will not lose their individuality in a crowd;
who will be as honest in small things as in great things;
who will make no compromise with wrong;
whose ambitions are not confined to their own selfish desires;
who will not say they do it “because everybody else does it”;
who are true to their friends through good report and evil report, in adversity as well as in prosperity;
who do not believe that shrewdness, cunning and hardheadedness are the best qualities for winning success;
who are not ashamed or afraid to stand for the truth when it is unpopular;
who say “no” with emphasis, although the rest of the world can say “yes.”

from Ted Engstrom, The Making of a Christian Leader

“God can’t stand deceivers, but oh how he relishes integrity.” Proverbs 11:20

Good words for you to contemplate today. Have a blessed day “IN CHRIST.”

“Many of us prefer to stay at the entrance to the Christian life instead of going on to create and build our soul in accordance with the new life God has placed within us. We fail because we are ignorant of the way God has made us, and we blame things on the devil that are actually the result of our own undisciplined natures. Just think what we could be when we are awakened to the truth!
There are certain things in life that we need not pray about — moods, for instance. We will never get rid of our moodiness by praying, but we will by kicking it out of our lives! (Ouch!) Moods nearly always are rooted in some physical circumstance, not in our own true inner self. It is a continual struggle not to listen to the moods which arise as a result of our physical condition, but we must never submit to them for a second. We have to pick ourselves up by the back of the neck and shake ourselves; then we will find that we can do what we believed we were unable to do. The problem that most of us are cursed with is simply that we WON’T. The Christian life is one of spiritual courage and determination lived out in our flesh!”
Good words to contemplate on this Wednesday, May 25, 2005
Join us at America’s KESWICK for our COMMUNITY OPEN HOUSE . . . this Saturday, May 28, 2005 from 11:00 – 3:00! Games, food, helicopter rides, pony rides, and lots of great fellowship. For information . . . call
800-453-7942 or visit our website — www.americaskeswick.org.

We had the privilege of having Dennis Jernigan at America’s KESWICK for an evening concert. This song is the theme song of the ministry of America’s KESWICK. Please do duplicate these words. May they encourage your heart!

THIS IS MY DESTINY
All I was I lay aside now dead to sin,
To God alive! Born again into a new identity!
Once asleep to God in sin,
now wakened by the blood and cleansed!
Born again to be who he called me to be!
All I have I lay aside, run the race to gain the prize For the sake of knowing Jesus Christ in me!
I cannot yet fully see all I’m truly called to be, Knowing Christ reveals my hope and destiny!
He calls me child! He calls me to His side eternally!
He calls what once was lost now found, once bound to sin — now free!
He calls me holy! Calls me righteousness! By the blood redeemed!
He calls me overcomer, crowned with victory!
This is my destiny!
What once bound me is no more! What was stolen is restored by the resurrection power of the King!
What was all old has been made new; lies and doubts replaced by truth!
What was silent now resounds, “I am redeemed!
He calls me servant, calls me warrior;
Calls me royalty!
He calls me resurrected one! He calls me His redeemed!
He calls me higher, calls me far beyond my wildest dream!
He calls my heart to come and be all he can see!
This is my destiny!
He calls me chosen! New creation! Trophy of His grace!
He gives me strength to fight the fight and run to win the race!
He tells me he delights in me while singing over me, Accepting me as his beloved bride-to-be! This is my destiny!
THIS IS MY DESTINY!
Shepherds Heart Music, Inc.
>From the Dennis Jernigan CD THIS IS MY DESTINY!