What Am I, Offensive? Part 3

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What Am I, Offensive? Part Three 

“And He said to his disciples, “Temptations to sin are sure to come, but woe to the one through whom they come! It would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck and he were cast into the sea than that he should cause one of these little ones to sin. Pay attention to yourselves! If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him, and if he sins against you seven times in the day, and turns to you seven times, saying, ‘I repent,’ you must forgive him.” Luke 17:1-4 (ESV) 

According to John Bevere’s book, “The Bait of Satan” there is one thing to keep in mind when we think of being offended is that we can group all of those offended people, to include ourselves, into two major categories: those who have been genuinely mistreated and those who think they have been mistreated but actually were not. I would like to look at those who have been genuinely mistreated category and will start off by asking this question: If you’ve been genuinely mistreated, do you have the right to be offended? Let’s see if that has any weight when we finally take a look at the Old Testament character of Jacob’s favorite son, Joseph. His story starts in Genesis 37 and goes on until the end in chapter 50.  By the time you have read the first four verses of Joseph’s story he has already offended his brothers…severely!  

When we look into the life of Joseph the first thing we need to do is to go back a few chapters to chapter 28 of Genesis rush through it and try to get a brief overview of the background story. So here we go…after Isaac (Joseph’s Granddad) actually calls Jacob (Joseph’s dad) to bless him, Jacob is sent out to Padan Aram to get a wife from Rebekah’s (Joseph’s Grandmom, Jacob’s Mom) brother, Laban. When Jacob arrives in the land he spots flocks of sheep with their shepherds and asks where he can find Laban. While he is speaking with the shepherds Rachel (Joseph’s mom) arrives with her father’s flock of sheep. Jacob is awestruck and he rolls away a stone that is covering the well that all the flocks are congregating at and then he gives Rachel a kiss, falls in front of her, weeps and tells her who he is. Then there is much rejoicing as Rachel goes running to her father.  

Laban and Jacob strike an understanding that Jacob is gonna work for one of Laban daughters as a wife but she will not be Jacobs first pick as Laban sends in Rachel’s sister Leah into Jacobs tent and once Jacob realizes that Laban has tricked him he goes and confronts Laban. So Laban and Jacob come to another understanding and then Jacob gets the wife he wanted, who would be Rachel. And as we breeze through the rest of Jacob’s tale Joseph is born and during the birth of Joseph’s brother, Benjamin, Rachel dies. Needless to say that once we have traversed the Scripture we can get the idea that Joseph will be Jacob’s favorite son because Jacob really wanted Rachel first and Joseph is the son of Jacob’s old age. And then as we read on in chapter 37 there are two dreams you find in Genesis 37:5-11.
Now if we are familiar with Joseph’s story we know what’s gonna be next. Joseph is sent out to see what the other brothers are up to and they plot to kill him. But due to the craftiness of Judah he is sold into slavery for twenty shekels of silver. Joseph had offended his brothers so much that they plotted together to betray him, taking away his inheritance and deliberately separating him from his family. Keep in mind that these are his brothers doing this to him. Same father, same flesh and blood. They blotted his name out and stripped him of his identity. I don’t think being born into slavery is a good thing but to be sold into it sends a clear and very ugly message. He may have been tempted at times to wish his brothers had killed him considering what they had done was evil and cruel. But this story doesn’t end here does it? No it doesn’t! 

Even looking into the lives of Joseph’s parents and grandparents we can see those moments of possible and probable offense. But the thing here to keep in mind is that no matter how offending the circumstances may have seemed to them, the will of God continued on whether anyone bothered to notice or not. So it is with our ever present daily comings and goings. The sun goes up and goes down all the while the tide comes in and then goes out, whether we pay any attention to it or not. I’ll wrap this up in my next Freedom Fighter. – Chris Hughes is a graduate of the Colony of Mercy and a frequent Freedom Fighter contributor

GPS – God’s Positioning System: 2 Samuel 16-18; Psalm 114; Proverbs 5

Compass Pointers: “When the heart is stung with a sense of wrong, injustice, misrepresentation and cruel hate, nothing but the very power of supernatural grace can enable us to love those who wrong us and bless those who hate.”     Walking in Love A.B. Simpson

Navigation Rules to Memorize: Level 1: Proverbs 18:10; Level 2: Proverbs 18:1-8

Anchored to the Rock: Prayer is the key of the morning and the bolt of the night.

What Am I, Offensive? Part 2

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What Am I, Offensive? Part Two  

“And He said to his disciples, “Temptations to sin are sure to come, but woe to the one through whom they come! It would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck and he were cast into the sea than that he should cause one of these little ones to sin. Pay attention to yourselves! If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him, and if he sins against you seven times in the day, and turns to you seven times, saying, ‘I repent,’ you must forgive him.” Luke 17:1-4 (ESV) 

Ya know sometimes we can wake up in the morning, look at God’s Word and His creation, take a deep breath and say to ourselves, “It is real good”. Then we drink our coffee, get in our cars and by the time we arrive at our destination we can be saying, “This ain’t too good”. Something must have happened along the way and our position has shifted. Maybe on our walk to the car, driving it on the highway, heard something off note on the radio or while we were at the local convenience store to get that second cup of coffee. Maybe we have taken the bait and now we are none too happy. Hmm…So what can be gathered from the opening passage that I have taken from the Book of Luke? 

 Well the first thing I would like to do here is to take a look at the NKJV version of Luke 17:1, “Then He said to the disciples, “It is impossible that no offenses should come, but woe to him through whom they do come!” Can we understand that Jesus had to said this to His disciples (and to us as well) so that they could see their need for deep humility? You see, no matter to what degree of guilt in the offense or the amount of punishment there should have been for it, Jesus wanted them (and us) to understand that faith in His Fathers pardoning mercy will enable all of us to get over whatever offense would come our way and hinder our ability to forgive. Remember Jesus made it quite clear that it is impossible to go through this life and not have those moments to become offended and also remember that you have the tri-unity of a loving and merciful God to protect you when the snares of the devil seem to be all around you.  

And do we remember what Paul wrote to us in Romans 12:1-2, “I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.” (ESV) If we are holding this true in our lives then we need to understand that we cannot squirm off the altar, even though there will be times where we will. That in essence a dead man cannot be offended because we understand His mercy and it will be the Lord who will defend us because we should be immersed in His word and the discernment to know what His will is will be revealed to us though His Word.

Let’s see what David had to say about offense in Psalm 55:12-14, “For it is not an enemy who taunts me— then I could bear it; it is not an adversary who deals insolently with me— then I could hide from him. But it is you, a man, my equal, my companion, my familiar friend. We used to take sweet counsel together; within God’s house we walked in the throng.” It is suggested that the groundwork for this Psalm is found in the rebellion of Absalom and the treachery of Ahithophel, (a promise that you find in 2 Kings 15:12) both whom were sons of David, sons of a revered king who fell away because of sins that had their root in offense.  
Here is a question for you…Do you already have or can you create a list of people, either close to you or somewhat distant, that have offended you? And remember that the possibilities for offense could be just as long as that list of people. 

So no matter how simple they seem or as difficult as they can get this truth remains about offenses: the level of care or the height of expectation in you determines how much hurt you will feel when that level of care gets disrespected or the height of expectation is not met. The next Freedom Fighter we will get into that character who could have taken offense. In the meantime, I pray that your list has been a short one because I am certainly taking issue with my own. – Chris Hughes is a graduate of the Colony of Mercy and a frequent contributor to Freedom Fighter

GPS – God’s Positioning System: 2 Samuel 13-15; Psalm 113; Proverbs 4
Compass Pointers: What or whom we worship determines our behavior. John Murray
Navigation Rules to Memorize: Level 1: Proverbs 18:10; Level 2: Proverbs 18:1-8
Anchored to the Rock: Mountains can only be climbed with knees bent.

What Am I, Offensive? Part 1

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What Am I, Offensive? Part One 

“And He said to his disciples, “Temptations to sin are sure to come, but woe to the one through whom they come! It would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck and he were cast into the sea than that he should cause one of these little ones to sin. Pay attention to yourselves! If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him, and if he sins against you seven times in the day, and turns to you seven times, saying, ‘I repent,’ you must forgive him.” Luke 17:1-4 (ESV) 

So let’s start this off by asking a few questions. How many of us struggle with being offended? How many of us struggle with being offensive? And then for an added kicker, how many of us struggle with knowing the difference between the two? If we were to look up offend in Webster’s Dictionary it would define the word offend as: to arouse resentment, anger, or vexation in, to be displeasing, and to commit a sin. And then it defines offense as: The act of offending or the state of being offended, a breach of a social or moral code, a crime, the act of attacking. Or something that I wish the Philadelphia Eagles would remain constant in throughout a season. 

In any sense of the root word, offend, there seems to be an opposite and equal reaction. And that would be something else we can have issue with and that is to defend or to be defensive. Something else I wish said football team would remain constant in throughout a season. Now there are a few ways we can view the idea of offend and defend when these two action words come into play in our lives. We are called to put on the armor and prepare ourselves to go on the defensive against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers this present darkness, against forces of evil in the heavenly places. So let’s take a look at the armor we are to wear for a moment.

“Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication.” (Ephesians 6:14-18 ESV) 

Now when we take a look at the armor it is all in front of us isn’t it. It is meant to protect you in as much to take a stand as it is meant to go on the attack and when I say attack I mean in those times when we find ourselves defending the truth in our daily walk. And take notice that there is nothing in this passage of Scripture that says you need to put anything on your back. The only thing you have is the tri-unity of a loving and merciful God. Pretty cool, huh? But unfortunately the view often taken in the way we apply these two action words to our daily walk is really rooted in pride and selfishness. And where we told to produce the fruits of the Spirit, (love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control) we can waste time and effort producing the fruits of offense and the fruits of defense.   

The fruits produced by offense are things like hurt, anger, outrage, jealousy, resentment, strife, bitterness, hatred and envy. The fruits produced by defense are things like spewing insults, going on the attack either physically or emotionally, a wanting to continue wounding, creating division, maintain separation, breaking relationships, betrayals and the justification to backsliding. In either case, of being offended or being defensive, if we find that these are the only fruits from either list that we are producing in our daily lives…we fallen into a trap and have been captured by the bait of Satan. 

I would like to continue this conversation with you all in the next few Freedom Fighters. It will end with some young guy who, when back in the Old Testament days, had almost every man-made right to get and be offended by those who he thought loved or at least respected him. But I ask you to go back and take a look at the list of the fruits of offense and defense. See if there are any of these traits on those list’s that seem to have worked their way into your life. Keep in mind that if they are there, they are produced to kill your joy in Christ and something even bigger to keep minded about…there are produced by you. – Chris Hughes is a graduate of the Colony of Mercy and serves on the Families for Christ ministry team 

GPS – God’s Positioning System: 1 Chronicles 20; Psalm 112; Proverbs 3
Compass Pointers: “Jesus said our ability to see correctly is another key to being freed from deception. Often when we are offended we see ourselves as victims and blame those who have hurt us. We justify our bitterness, unforgiveness, anger, envy, and resentment as they surface. Sometimes we even resent those who remind us of others who have hurt us. For this reason Jesus counseled, “Anoint your eyes with eye salve, that you may see” (Rev. 3:18). See what? Your true condition! That’s the only way we can “be zealous and repent” as Jesus commanded next. You’ll only repent when you stop blaming other people.” The Bait of Satan  John Bevere

Navigation Rules to Memorize: Level 1: Proverbs 18:10; Level 2: Proverbs 18:1-8
Anchored to the Rock: If your troubles are deep-seated or long-standing, try kneeling.

Don’t Dress Your Girls Like Tramps

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Don’t Dress Your Girls Like Tramps
I have made a covenant with my eyes; Why then should I look upon a young woman? Job 31:1
Well I am sure for some of you the title of today’s Freedom Fighter raised an eyebrow or caused you to panic. Good — because it is a topic worth addressing.
I am writing this Freedom Fighter at the end of April before Easter. I have been trying to write ahead because of a bus trip we are hosting at the end of the month.

On Easter Sunday, after we eat with our family which includes eating with the men of the Colony of Mercy, we will trek over to Point Pleasant to walk the Boardwalk with our kids. Last year it was a incredibly gorgeous day, very warm temperatures, and the Boardwalk was as crowded as it would have been at the height of the summer season.

What struck me that day was how much skin was already showing! My man radar was on high alert and I realized how easy it is for my eyes to wander. I had to quickly practice the art of diverting my eyes – but unless I was willing to look at my feet and risk walking into a post, this was going to be difficult.
The title for today’s Freedom Fighter actually was the title of an article written by a CNN correspondent who was really fired up about seeing how an 8 year old girl was dressed at an airport. He described her as “the sexiest girl in the terminal, and she’s not even in middle school yet.”
He goes on in his article to challenge parents to think about how they are allowing their daughters to dress, and because of the way advertisers are enticing girls to look like their peers, we have an even younger group of gals dressing way too provocatively.
As I read the article, the thought that crossed my mind is that even in the area of dress, behavior is modeled. What I find is that more and more Christian women have crossed the line when it comes to dress. Do we realize what we are doing?

At a recent Christian event, one of the women in attendance was dressed VERY provocatively. She was not wearing a bra and pretty brazen about how she was walking throughout the crowd. Guess what … she was the topic of conversation of both the men and women who were around me. It was like the spotlight was on her and she had commanded the attention of just about every man whom she walked by.

The thought struck me – would I be wanting every man gawking at my wife and commenting on her body – talking about what she was or was not wearing? But take that one step further – how would you feel if your daughter was walking through a crowd scantily dressed and every guy was thinking to himself – “wow, she’s hot!” If 50% of the men in the church are doing battle with pornography, and tied in with porn is the lust to have what you can’t have, would we really want our wives and daughters being the object of another man’s lust and desire?
Now don’t get spiritual on me. And don’t put your blinders on. This is real life today, brothers, and you know it. I remember the words of one 90 year old pastor when the topic of lust was being discussed. A young preacher said it must be nice to be in your 90’s and not have to deal with this issue. The 90-year old preacher rebuked him with these words: “I may be old, but I am not dead!”
Maybe it’s time for us to step up to the plate and lovingly guide our daughters, and yes, even our wives – dress appropriately! – Bill Welte is President and CEO of America’s Keswick
GPS – God’s Positioning System: 2 Samuel 11-12; Psalm 111; Proverbs 2
Compass Pointers: To love at all is to be vulnerable. Love anything, and your heart will certainly be wrung and possibly broken. If you want to make sure of keeping it intact, you must give your heart to no one, not even to an animal. Wrap it carefully round with hobbies and little luxuries, avoiding all entanglements; lock it up safe in the coffin of your selfishness. But in that casket; safe, dark, motionless, airless- it will change. It will not be broken; it will become unbreakable, impenetrable, irredeemable. C.S. Lewis

Navigation Rules to Memorize: Level 1: Proverbs 18:10; Level 2: Proverbs 18:1-8
Anchored to the Rock: We have forgotten that what Christ built His church; He built a prayer meeting. – Armin  Gesswein

I’m Redeemed

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I’m Redeemed

You were redeemed with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb! 1 Peter 1:18-19
This is the first Sunday after Easter and I don’t know why, but all week this old hymn by Fanny Crosby has been going through my head:

Redeemed, how I love to proclaim it!
Redeemed by the blood of the Lamb;
Redeemed thro’ His infinite mercy,
His child, and forever, I am!

Redeemed and so happy in Jesus,
No language my rapture can tell;
I know that the light of His presence
With me doth continually dwell.


I think of my blessed Redeemer,
I think of Him all the day long;
I sing, for I cannot be silent;
His love is the theme of my song!

I know I shall see in His beauty
The King in whose law I delight;
Who lovingly guardeth my footsteps,
And giveth me songs in the night!

Refrain
Redeemed, redeemed, Redeemed by the blood of the Lamb;
Redeemed, redeemed, His child, and FOREVER I am!

You and I have been redeemed! That ought to make us jump up and down and shout, Hallelujah! (Well depending on your church – maybe you should just stand and whisper, Hallelujah!)  Enjoy this wonderful Lord’s day. – Bill Welte is President and CEO of America’s Keswick

GPS – God’s Positioning System: 1 Chronicles 19; Psalm 110; Proverbs 1

Compass Pointers: “The Incarnation, the life and the death of Jesus, answers once and for all the question, ‘What is God’s heart towards me?’ This is why Paul says in Romans 5, ‘Look here at the Cross. Here is the demonstration of God’s heart. At the point of our deepest betrayal, when we had run our farthest from Him and gotten so lost in the woods we could never find our way home, God came and died to rescue us.’ We don’t have to wait for the Incarnation to see God as a character in the story and learn something of His motives. But after the Incarnation there can be no doubt…What is God like? Is His heart good? We know He is the initiator from first to last….God is pursuing us.” John Eldredge & Brent Curtis
Navigation Rules to Memorize: Level 1: Proverbs 18:10; Level 2: Proverbs 18:1-8

Anchored to the Rock: Nothing I can do will please Christ more than my joining with Him in daily prayer. And when I do, something happens in the world that could not happen through any other means. Dick Eastman

Just Do It

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“Just Do It!”

During the early years of ministry at First Baptist, several retired pastors/preachers made FBC their home.  At times it was pretty intimidating, but each of those men became a good friend and encourager.
One of them, Dr. Roy Watson, would comment on a message simply by saying, “Good word this morning.”  That was about as good as it got.  He wasn’t prone to gushy compliments.  I heard Roy say that so often, that I find myself saying it when I think someone has preached well or said something worthwhile.
I tell you the story to remind us all of the “really good Word,” God’s Word.  From the earliest days of the Christian church, reading the Scriptures became a core practice of those who follow Jesus.  The early church leaders knew the power of the Scriptures.  They knew the transforming capabilities of God’s Word, and they encouraged those new believers to grasp its importance in their lives.
Richard Foster, who wrote Celebration of Discipline, in another of his books, speaks of the “streams of Christianity.”  He describes the various traditions within the Christian faith.  In his thinking, evangelicalism is a “word-centered” tradition, and I affirm that thinking.  Part of the richness of the evangelical tradition is its commitment to Scripture and the teaching of God’s Word.
Consider the words of Paul, the Apostle.  All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work. (2 Timothy 3:16-17 ESV)
The benefits of Scripture are listed for us in two short verses.  Those benefits help us become “competent, equipped for every good work.”  They teach us.  They reprove us.  They provide correction.  They train us in righteousness.
So . . . how do we get this practice rooted in our lives?  Bible-reading plans abound.  You can read from a Bible in your hand or on your computer or on your phone.  You can read from one familiar translation, or you can discover fresh insights by reading from a less familiar translation.  Perhaps the line from the old Nike ad campaign is the best advice: Just Do It!

Every traveler needs food for his journey.  God’s Word is that food for the Jesus-follower.  Let it become a practice that stays with you for as long as the journey continues.
Let’s “Do It!” – Pastor John Strain is Senior Pastor at First Baptist Toms River and is a frequent contributor to Freedom Fighter
GPS – God’s Positioning System: 2 Samuel 10; Psalm 109; Proverbs 30
Compass Pointers: Mark 14:36 He said,“Abba, Father, for you all things are possible; remove this cup from me; yet, not what I want, but what you want.” Gethsemane is where He died; the cross is only the evidence.

Navigation Rules to Memorize: Level 1: Proverbs 17:28; Level 2: Proverbs 17:1-6
Anchored to the Rock: To pray is to change. Prayer is the central avenue God uses to transform us … real prayer is life creating and life changing! Richard Foster

Mercy … Me?

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OK GUYS … The ladies who subscribe to Victory Call have raised $5800 towards our Family Freedom Walk. I checked in with my secretary, and we have raised NADA — NOTHING. We can’t let the girls beat us. Your gift is important. You can give on-line: http://www.americaskeswick.org or call 800-453-7942. Tell them your gift is coming from a Freedom Fighter subscriber. Thanks!!!


Mercy . . . Me?
I still have the first Bible I received after becoming a Christian in 1962.  It was the old edition of the Scofield Reference Bible, and just about everyone in the independent Baptist church I called home used one.  Like many believers of the day, I used the blank pages at the front and back of the Bible to write down various quotations from messages I heard.
One of those quotations has remained in my mind.  I have no idea how to give credit to whomever originated the saying, but I’m grateful to him or her.  It goes like this:
Jesus
Others
You
The acronym using the word joy offers at least one person’s suggestion about how to know true joy.  The acronym also speaks to one practice that is central to our walk with the Lord Jesus.  It’s the practice of mercy, or acts of compassion. 
Choosing to follow Jesus places demands upon our lives.  Jesus must come first.  In His own words, Jesus told us that He did not come to be served but to serve.  He focused on serving, usually those who were in the most need.  He taught and modeled a humility that included putting others before Himself.  That sounds very much like the acronym for JOY.
Compassion, acts of mercy, didn’t start with Jesus.  It’s as old as the Law of Moses, and it was always a big deal with God.  Micah may have put it in focus better than any of the prophets when he said,
He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the LORD require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?  (Micah 6:8 ESV)
The word kindness in Micah 6:8 is often translated mercy.  Both words have the same idea: love doing gracious things for others, especially those who most need grace.  God clearly expects us to invest our lives in acts of mercy, compassion, and grace.
The early church leaders may have seen two benefits of doing acts of mercy.  First, they saw the need for new believers to live selflessly, to walk humbly with God.  They may have also realized that learning to live with a “mercy mindset” reflected the heart and mind of Jesus.  Learning to love kindness is learning to walk like Jesus.
We’ve seen the billboards urging us to do “Random acts of kindness.”  That’s not a new thing.  God thought of it several millennia ago.  Our impetus for loving kindness doesn’t come off a billboard.  It comes right from the heart of God.
What act of mercy might God want you or me to offer today in His name? – John Strain is Senior Pastor of First Baptist Toms River and a frequent Freedom Fighter contributor
GPS – God’s Positioning System: 1 Chronicles 18; Psalm 108; Proverbs 29
Compass Pointers: In my twenty-seventh year, while riding the metro in Leningrad (now Petersburg) I was overcome with a despair so great that life seemed to stop at once, preempting the future entirely, let alone any meaning. Suddenly, all by itself, a phrase astonished: ‘Without God life makes no sense.’ Repeating it in astonishment, I rode the phrase up like a moving staircase, got out of the metro and walked into God’s light. Adrei Bitov
Navigation Rules to Memorize:  Level 1: Proverbs 17:28; Level 2: Proverbs 17:1-6
Anchored to the Rock: God will do nothing on earth except in answer to believing prayer. – John Wesley

When People Deny Hell

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When People Deny Hell
          “A Good God will not send people to Hell!”
In speech class at Temple University we were assigned to speak to a hostile audience.  I complained to the instructor, he replied, “Do you believe in Hell?”  My response was that I did. He said, “Then you have a hostile audience.”
          I began my speech with a story that I had read of a modern public building which opened without even one “restroom”. My question to the class was what city planner would you hire if he did not plan for a “City Dump” or garbage disposal.
          When God began His creation he planned for a place to put broken things. All contagious disease must be quarantined. Sin is a very contagious disease. God planned to quarantine sin in a place called hell.
          You may ask, “why would a good God send people to hell?’ I would answer, “He doesn’t” It is because He is good that people go to Hell. To keep them in the general population would be evil for it would spread the disease of sin thus polluting and defeating God’s will.
          He does not need to send them there. Psalm 9:17 indicates that people who want to get away from God begin to stampede so that all God does is turn them in the direction where God is not worshipped. He did not prepare hell for man but he prepared it as a prison for the devil and his followers.*
To not choose God is to choose His enemy. Today choose to make the Lord Jesus you savior and serve Him.
          In that day when men shall flee
                   Just to get away from Thee
          May I be found near Your Throne
                   To be with Thee and Thee alone.
Psalm 9:17 (King James Version) 17The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God.
Matthew 25:41
Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels:*(The class had no questions to ask when I had finished)    — Pastor Van is a frequent contributor to Freedom Fighter and will serve again this summer as Campus Pastor at America’s Keswick           
GPS – God’s Positioning System: 2 Samuel 8-9; Psalm 107:23-43; Proverbs 28

Compass Pointers: Be on the lookout for mercies. The more we look for them, the more of them we will see. Blessings brighten when we count them. Maltbie Davenport (Mattie D) Babcock

Navigation Rules to Memorize: Level 1: Proverbs 17:28; Level 2: Proverbs 17:1-6

Anchored to the Rock: Give me one hundred preachers who fear nothing but sin, and desire nothing but God, and I care not a straw whether they be clergymen or laymen; such alone will shake the gates of Hell and set up the Kingdom of Heaven on earth.”

Where Were You 37 Years Ago Today?

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Where Were You 37 Years Ago Today?
Dates have great significance in our lives, don’t they. Think about it. Where were you the day that President John F. Kennedy was assassinated? Where were you the day that the Apollo Space craft blew up? Where were you on September 11th.
Today is April 27th and today we are heading to North Carolina with a bus load of our Keswick friends to visit a number of key places including the Billy Graham Training Center, The Billy Graham Library, the headquarters of JAARS, and the town of Mayberry.
Where were you on April 27th, 1974? Well you may not have a clue, but I know where I was 37 years ago today.
37 years ago today I married my best friend, Jan Carol Toms. We met where we were 5 years old at Fellowship Church in Philadelphia, PA. Ours wasn’t an arranged marriage, but my Dad told Jan that he had been praying ever since we met that she would be his daughter-in-law.
Years later while serving on the staff at Sandy Cove, Jan and I were sitting at the table with fellow staff members, Steve and Janice Deichert. After we discovered we were married on the same day, we asked them where they spent their honeymoon. Guess what? They were at the same resort where we stayed – Birchwood in the Poconos—and their chalet was two down from ours! Small world!
We have had 37 wonderful years? Perfect? By no means – neither has yours! But I love Jan more today than I did when I first laid eyes on her back in the Beginner Department at Fellowship Church.

Happy anniversary, Jan. I love you with all my heart. Thanks for 37 wonderful years, and for giving me four amazing kids! – Bill Welte is President and CEO of America’s Keswick

GPS – God’s Positioning System: 1 Chronicles 17; Psalm 107:1-22; Proverbs 27
Compass Pointers: When we get into difficult circumstances, we impoverish His ministry by saying, “Of course, He can’t do anything about this.” We struggle to reach the bottom of our own well, trying to get water for ourselves. Beware of sitting back, and saying, “It can’t be done.” You will know it can be done if you will look to Jesus. The well of your incompleteness runs deep, but make the effort to look away from yourself and to look toward Him. Oswald Chambers

Navigation Rules to Memorize: Level 1: Proverbs 17:28; Level 2: Proverbs 17:1-6
Anchored to the Rock: God tells us to burden Him with whatever burdens us. 

Thinking

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Thinking

The Sermon on the Mount, as recorded in Matthew’s Gospel, is probably my favorite section of Scripture.  It captures my attention and challenges my thinking each time I read it.  Jesus’ words teach me what life in His kingdom looks like.  They teach me how to think about life as He thinks about life.  That teaching almost always challenges me to change my mind if I want to think as He does.
Repentance—at least one definition of it—is a “change of mind.”  While it is more than that, whatever else repentance asks of us begins with us changing our minds about some thought or behavior.
Jesus asks His listeners to change their minds six times in Matthew 5.  He says, “You have heard it said, but I say to you . . .” He tells us that we must change how we think about issues like anger and lust and divorce and our enemies.  To live in His kingdom is to change our minds about most of life.
Our journey with Jesus calls us to think about how we think.  Do we agree with Jesus in our thinking?  Or, have we allowed our culture to mold our thought life in ways that don’t agree with Jesus?  Living the Christian life is, in part, a work of the mind.  It may require that we change our minds, bringing them into conformity with the thinking of Jesus.
I wonder what that looks like in reality.  The Apostle Paul gives us one clue in Philippians 2 when he says, “Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the from of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men.”  (Philippians 2:5-7 ESV)
Paul calls us to share the mind of Jesus in ways that make us servants, humble and available.  Living, as we do, in a world of entitlement, thinking as a servant may require a “change of mind.  That’s repentance.
Now consider another piece of Paul’s teaching in Philippians.  “Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.”  (Philippians 4:8 ESV)
Paul gives us another clue about thinking like Jesus.  It has to do with focus.  Maybe we think too much of ourselves.  Maybe we think too much of our world.  Doing the good work of reflection may show us that we think about the wrong things, things that don’t help us become like Jesus.  We discover the need for a “change of mind.”  That’s repentance.
May God’s Spirit be our director today, showing us where we need a “change of mind.” John Strain is Senior Pastor of First Baptist Toms River and contributes regularly to Freedom Fighter 
GPS – God’s Positioning System: 2 Samuel 7; Psalm 106:24-48; Proverbs 26
Compass Pointers: “In our presentation of the Gospel we often focus on what Jesus can do for us. Now don’t get me wrong. Jesus does a lot for us. He forgives us, reconciles us with God, gives us meaning and eternal life. But the most important thing about Jesus is He gives us Himself. We have so emphasized the rewards of following Christ that we have forgotten that following Him, being with Him, knowing Him, and calling Him ‘Friend’ and ‘Elder Brother’ are far more wonderful and important than anything else.” Steve Brown

Navigation Rules to Memorize: Level 1: Proverbs 17:28;  Level 2: Proverbs 17:1-6
Anchored to the Rock: Kneel before you leap. George H. Allen