Valentine’s Day — Love Demonstrated

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Valentine’s Day
Love Demonstrated
            Hallmark Card Company has caused us to celebrate Valentine’s Day by asking others to love us. I have never seen a card declaring our love freely towards another.
In school, the teacher often allowed us, in the lower grades, to pass out paper cards that asked another to become our valentine. I always waited with great dread for someone to ask me or give me one of those little heart candies. How happy I would become with even one card.
            Love is an interesting thing. Someone must start the cycle. One must take the risk of loving another. Only then can another love the one who starts the circle.
Romans 5:8 But God demonstrate his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
Too many people are looking for someone to love them (even to love unconditionally) but they do not seem to be looking for someone for them to love.
If we respond to His Great Love by first receiving it and then returning it from our own hearts we will find our love for Him growing. First from our hearts then our souls with our mind and strength following.
Mark 12:30  Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. If you have a time of loneliness, try giving, since love always expresses itself in giving.
            Thank you. Lord, for loving us
                        And giving us your greatest gift
            Just the very thought of it
                        Gives our hearts a lift
            May I risk loving others
                        As you risked loving me
Until they can find, as I found
            A love that sets one free. – Pastor Van is a friend of the ministry of America’s Keswick and still actively doing pulpit supply in his “retirement” years
           
GPS – God’s Positioning System: Leviticus 5-7; Psalm 41; Proverbs 14
Compass Pointers: God isn’t angry at His people and won’t be angry at anyone who comes to Him. Our sin is big…and God’s grace is bigger. It’s okay to trust God because He never makes mistakes. You can laugh and sing and be free, because the Son makes you free. You don’t become faithful in order to get loved and get free…you are already free and loved and that is why it’s possible to be faithful. Steve Brown

Navigation Rules to Memorize: Level 1: Proverbs 7:1-2; Level 2: Proverbs 7:1-6
Anchored to the Rock: The sin of failing to come to God in prayer is one of the most common offences a Christian commits. Simon J. Kistermaker

The Love of God

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The Love of God
“I have loved you with an everlasting love.” Jeremiah 31:3
As you celebrate the Lord’s Day, HE really is our TRUE valentine:
The love of God is greater far than tongue or pen can ever tell;
It goes beyond the highest star, And reaches to the lowest hell;
The guilty pair, bowed down with care, God gave His Son to win;
His erring child He reconciled, And pardoned from his sin.
When years of time shall pass away and earthly thrones and kingdom fall,
When men who here refuse to pray, on rocks and hills and mountain call,
God’s love so sure shall still endure, All measureless and strong;
Redeeming grace to Adam’s race—the saints’ and angels’ song.
Could we with ink the ocean fill and were the skies of parchment made,
Were every stalk on earth a quill and every man a scribe by trade,
To write the love of God above would drain the ocean dry;
Nor could the scroll contain the whole, Tho’ stretched from sky to sky.
Refrain
O love of God, how rich and pure! How measureless and strong!
It shall forever more endure – The saints’ and angels’ song!
Have you recently told HIM that you love HIM? Take some time to do that today. – Bill Welte is President and CEO
GPS – God’s Positioning System: Leviticus 1-4; Psalm 40; Proverbs 13
Compass Pointers: I want passionate feelings to characterize my relationship with the Lord Jesus. Of course, I want to be perfectly obedient to the Lord, but I want the obedience to spring out of a passionate love for him. I want to obey Jesus not simply out of discipline of duty, or because of some reward or fear of punishment. I want to serve Him simply for the joy of being able to please the one I love so much. If discipline is what ultimately drives us in our pursuit of Jesus, eventually we will give up that pursuit. But a man in love, or a woman in love will never quit. That is the nature of love (Song of Solomon 8:6-7) I want my life to be characterized by an unrestrained affection for the Son of God. Jack Deere

Navigation Rules to Memorize:  Level 1: Proverbs 7:1-2; Level 2: Proverbs 7:1-6
Anchored to the Rock: Prayer is when you talk to God; meditation is when you listen to God.   

Standing on the Promises (Part 2)

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Standing on the Promises
Yesterday we talked about the promises of God and I want to share a couple more that Stormie Omartian addresses in her book, The Power of a Praying Life (Harvest House):

A promise when we need wisdom: “The Lord gives wisdom; from His mouth come knowledge and understanding; He stores up sound wisdom for the upright; He is a shield to those who walk uprightly.” Proverbs 2:6-7
A promise of great things ahead: “Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him.” 1 Corinthians 2:9
A promise in time of trouble: “Though I walk in the midst of trouble, You will revive me; You will stretch out Your hand against the wrath of mine enemies and Your right hand will save me.” Psalm 138:7
A promise when you feel weak: “He gives power to the weak, and to those who have no might He increases strength.” Isaiah 40:29
A promise when you need courage: “Be of good cheer, and He shall strengthen Your heart, and all you who hope in the Lord.” Psalm 31:24
A promise when you feel threatened: “’No weapon formed against you shall prosper, and every tongue which rises in you in judgment, You shall condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, and their righteousness is from Me,’ says the Lord. Isaiah 54:17
A promise when you need help: God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, even though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea.” Psalm 46:1-2
There are hundreds of promises waiting for you to claim them. Open your Bible and look for them! They will be a great help to you in these ever crazy, changing times. – Bill Welte is President and CEO of America’s Keswick
GPS – God’s Positioning System: Exodus 39-40; Psalm 39; Proverbs 12
Compass Pointers: Victory over all the circumstances of life comes not by might, nor by power, but by a practical confidence in God and by allowing His Spirit to dwell in our hearts and control our actions and emotions. Learn in the days of ease and comfort so that when the days of hardship come you will be fully prepared and equipped to meet them. Eric Liddell

Navigation Rules to Memorize: Level 1: Proverbs 6:23; Level 2: Proverbs 6:12-19

Anchored to the Rock: It is not PRAYING that is condemned … but much SPEAKING; the danger of this error is when we only SAY our prayers, not when we PRAY them.  Matthew Henry

Standing on the Promises

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Standing on God’s Promises
“For as many as may be the promises of God, in Him they are yes; wherefore also by Him is our Amen to the glory of God through us.” 2 Corinthians 1:20
We live in a world where so often promises are made but never fulfilled. Infomercials, politicians, and yes, even you and I can be guilty of making promises that we don’t or can’t fulfill = broken promises.
The promises that GOD makes are ones that we can rely on totally and completely. He NEVER breaks a promise. His promises are SURE and could easily come with a “money back guarantee that is for real.

In her book, THE POWER OF A PRAYING LIFE (Harvest House), Stormie Omartian reminds us of some of these amazing promises:

A promise if you obey God: “You shall walk in all the ways which the Lord your god has commanded you, that you may live and that it may be well with you, and that you will prolong your days in the land which you shall possess.” Deut. 5:33
A promise when you seek God’s counsel: “Nevertheless I am continually with you; You hold me by my right hand, You will guide me with Your counsel, and afterward receive me to glory.” Psalm 73:23-24
A promise of protection: “The Lord will preserve you for all evil; He shall preserve your soul. The Lord shall preserve your going out and your coming in from this time forth, and even forevermore. Psalm 121:7-8
A promise that God will hear your prayer: “You will call upon Me and go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you.” Jeremiah 29:12
A promise when your heart is broken: “The Lord is near to those who have a broken heart, and saves such as have a contrite heart.” Psalm 34:18
A promise to deliver you in time of need: “He will deliver the needy when he cries, the poor also, and him how has no helper.” Psalm 72:12
I will share some more tomorrow, but you get the point. You can count on HIS promises! Take your Bible and highlight the promises as you read through the Word. You will be amazed at what He has promised YOU! – Bill Welte is President and CEO of America’s Keswick.
GPS – God’s Positioning System: Exodus 36-38; Psalm 38; Proverbs 11
Compass Pointers: Oh, when we are journeying through the murky night and the dark woods of affliction and sorrow, it is something to find here and there a spray broken, or a leafy stem bent down with the tread of His foot, and the brush of His hand as He passed; and to remember that the path He trod He has hallowed, and thus to find lingering fragrance and hidden strength in the remembrance of Him as “in all points tempted like as we are,” bearing grief for us, bearing grief with us, bearing grief like us. Alexander MacLaren

Navigation Rules to Memorize: Level 1: Proverbs 6:23; Level 2: Proverbs 6:12-19
Anchored to the Rock: Satan rocks the cradle when we sleep at our devotions. J. Hamilton

How to Stand Strong in Tough Times

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How to Stand Strong in Tough Times

“But know this: difficult times will come in the last days …” 2 Timothy 3:1

I have said this before and it bears repeating … I am not a “date setter” in terms of predicting when the Rapture of the church will occur. [My conviction is that the Rapture of the church is the next event to take place on the prophetic calendar.] I don’t know about you, but it sure seems like in every area the events unfolding around us would indicate that we could be fast approaching the “last days.”

Paul wrote to Timothy that in the “last days” difficult times WILL come! Sometimes I think that in believing that the church will be Raptured gets us off the hook in terms of how we should live in these difficult days.

Stormie Omartian, in her book “The Power of a Praying Life” [Harvest House] shares eleven ways that as believers we can stand strong in the midst of unsettling and tough times:

1. Stand in what you KNOW is true of the Lord. “We must give the more earnest heed t the things we have heard, lest we drift away.” Hebrews 2:1
2. Stand on God’s Word. “Princes persecute me without a cause, but my heart stands in awe of Your word.” Psalm 119:161
3. Stand in obedience. “The righteous will come through trouble.” Proverbs 12:13
4. Stand knowing you could fall. “Let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall.” 1 Corinthians 10:12
5. Stand by being in God’s will. “Epaphras, who is one of you … greets you, always laboring fervently for you in prayers, that you may stand perfect and complete in all the will of God.” Colossians 4:12
6. Stand by giving yourself away. “A generous man devises generous things, and by generosity he shall stand.” Isaiah 32:8
7. Stand in the traditions you know are of the Lord. “Stand fast and hold the traditions which you were taught, whether by word or our epistle.” 2 Thessalonians 2:15
8. Stand courageous in your faith. “Watch, stand fast in the faith, be brave, be strong. Let all that you do be done with love.” 1 Corinthians 16:13-14
9. Stand making sure your house is not divided. “If a house is divided against itself, that house cannot stand.” 1 Corinthians 16:13-14
10. Stand in the awesome counsel of God and what He has spoken to your hearts. “My counsel shall stand, and I will do all My pleasure.” Isaiah 46:10
Good reminders. Or as the songwriter wrote it … “When all around my soul gives way, He then is all my hope and stay. On Christ, the solid rock I stand; All other ground is sinking sand, All other ground is sinking sand.
You too can stand tough even in the midst of difficult circumstances.  – Bill Welte is President and CEO of America’s Keswick
GPS – God’s Positioning System: Exodus 33-35; Psalm 37:23-40; Proverbs 10
Compass Pointers: Some Christians try to go to heaven alone, in solitude. But believers are not compared to bears or lions or other animals that wander alone. Those who belong to Christ are sheep in this respect, that they love to get together. Sheep go in flocks, and so do God’s people. Charles Haddon Spurgeon

Navigation Rules to Memorize: Level 1 – Proverbs 6:23; Level 2: Proverbs 6:12-19
Anchored to the Rock: Prayer is NEVER an excuse for laziness. Gerald B. Griffiths

Don’t Forsake Your First Love Part 2

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Don’t Forsake Your First Love! Part Two 
“Therefore take heed to yourselves and to all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood. For I know this, that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock. Also from among yourselves men will rise up, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after themselves. Therefore watch, and remember that for three years I did not cease to warn everyone night and day with tears.” Acts 20:28-31 (NKJV) 

In the first part of this writing we took a look at the “great mystery” of marriage that was revealed to the church in Ephesus by the apostle Paul. Today I would like to finish on that but I start with a passage from Acts to bring us to a warning. You see along a road to catch the next boat out of Ephesus, Paul encounters and charges the Ephesian Elders to remind the flock that they are saved by grace no matter how bad they once were. They were on level ground with the Jews concerning the things of God. He encouraged them to preserve in their walk and to walk in a way that reflected their profession of their faith. But Paul knew that this church was to be challenged by the wicked world that surrounded it.  

Then he departed for Jerusalem never to be seen by those Elders again. And then they receive a letter from an imprisoned Paul that has been used as a great source of encouragement and instruction to this day. As time went on a Gnostic sect (the Nicolaitans) worked their way into the church and complacency must have set in. And because of this we read in the book of Revelation 2:1-7 the church in Ephesus is the first in line to be told that Christ has something against them. It has become the “Loveless Church” in His eyes and they need to get back to where they once were, “or else I (Jesus) will come to you quickly and remove your lampstand from its place.” Not good at all!!! 

Now the church of Ephesus is being commended for their diligence in their Christian duty as we hope we are and Christ keeps an account of every hour’s work His servants do for Him, and their labor shall not be in vain in the Lord. But it is not enough that we are diligent; there must be a bearing patience, and there must be a waiting patience. Though we must show all meekness to all men, we must also show a just zeal against their sins. The sin Christ charged this church with, is not forsaking the object of love, but having lost the fervent degree of it when it first appeared. Christ is displeased with His people when he sees them grow negligent and cold toward Him.  

I believe we need to see this in the same light in our marriages. Yes we are doing the right things by working a job day to day, maintaining the house and yard as well as helping in the raising of our children. But if we are just doing these because we are splitting the family duties with our wives then what are we doing it for? If we are not approaching our marriages in “that first love” in mind then we do need to make our way back. God used us men as the first sacrifice to create women. Remember, Adam said: “This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man. And Paul enforces this by saying no man has ever hated his own body; no he cherishes and nourishes it. 

These mentioning’s in Scripture, of Christian men loving their wives and of all of us who forsake our “first love”, serves to rebuke those of us who speak of such things with carelessness and try to excuse this indifference in themselves or others? Jesus considers this behavior as sin, period. In Revelation 2, even though He is speaking to the Loveless Church, Jesus gives clear direction to repent from this, be grieved of it and then confess it in the sight of God the Father. I want to reinforce to you this morning to re-examine that first love (Jesus Christ) and remember that it will govern your second love (your wives and children, you are third brother, sorry). If you are not in a right relationship with the Son he cannot intercede for you with the Father and that will ultimately reflect on the wife and children. Look at what was written in Revelation not as that will only happen in the future but look at it in a very today warning for your daily living. – Chris Hughes is a regular Freedom Fighter contributor and a grad of the Colony of Mercy 

GPS – God’s Positioning System: Exodus 30-32; Psalm 37:1-22; Proverbs 9
Compass Pointers: “In our local assemblies we are part of the church founded by the Lord Jesus Christ and perpetuated by the mystery of the new birth. Therefore our assembly is that of Christian believers gathered unto a Name to worship and adore that Presence. Ig this true—and everything within me witnesses that it is—all the strain is gone. I mean the strain is gone even about traditional religious—the pressures that we must sing certain songs, recite certain prayers and creeds, follow accepted patterns in ministerial leadership and service. All of these begin to pale in importance as we function in faith as the people of God who glorify the Name that is above every name and honor His Presence!” The Quotable Tozer II  A.W. Tozer

Navigation Rules: Level 1: Proverbs 6:23; Level 2: Proverbs 6:12-19
Anchored to the Rock: Leave not off praying to God; for either praying will make thee leave of sinning, or continuing in sin will make thee desist from praying. Thomas Fuller

Don’t Forsake Your First Love Part 1

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Don’t Forsake Your First Love! Part One 

“Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her, that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word, that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish. So husbands ought to love their own wives as their own bodies; he who loves his wife loves himself.”   Eph 5:25-28 (NKJV) 

Are you approaching Valentine’s Day with an “ah, it ain’t no big deal” attitude? How about the “this is just another phony holiday created by florists and card companies to make money” attitude.  Or as I have heard some men say, “I don’t need one day to show her I love her.  She should see my love for her by seeing how hard I work to provide for her and the kids every day.” Well in reality, as Christian men, none of these attitudes should be in our hearts because we are the head of her in the same way that Christ is the head of His church. Further reading into today’s passage of Scripture goes, “For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as the Lord does the church.”  

When we look at this verse we should see that when a husband realizes that his wife is truly his own flesh he will treat her with love and care. Unless you have some sort of issue, like an addiction or an aversion to showering, most of us treat ourselves pretty well. And as we go along we find that in verse 31 Paul quotes what we find in Genesis 2:24, “For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.” This verse teaches that the special union between husband and wife supersedes the original family ties. For some of you out there this means goodbye to the apron strings and mama’s home cooking. (Deal with it) 

But take a look at what Paul writes in Ephesians 5:32, “This is a great mystery, but I speak concerning Christ and the church.” I am going to split this into two parts. The first is “This is a great mystery”…When Paul says that this is a great mystery, he doesn’t mean that we need to get deep into looking for evidence for explanation, he is stating that the implications of the truth are tremendous. The mystery that was once hidden in God in previous times is now revealed and its purpose is to call out of the nation a people to become the Body and Bride of Jesus Christ. The mystery, a sacred secret revealed, is that Christian marriage parallels the union that exists spiritually between Christ and His bride, the church.  

And now to look at the second part…” but I speak concerning Christ and the church.”
It is in a very real way that Christ gave Himself for the church so that He might sanctify it in this world and glorify it in the next.  Jesus wants to bestow on all his members a principle of holiness, deliver them from the guilt, the pollution, and the dominion of sin that plagues this world by the influence of the Holy Spirit. But we still need to understand that the church and its believers will not be without spot or wrinkle till they come to glory. But those only who are sanctified now, shall be glorified later. 
In an e-devotional sent out last month by The Institute of Creation Research titled “Adam’s Rib” was something very interesting. They made reference to Genesis 2:21-22 and how it may not have been an actual “rib” that God used. The Hebrew word used may be translated as “side chamber” and when I looked into this it may have been said as “a portion of his side or side chamber”. So since “the life of the flesh is in the blood” this would have meant that Eve got a primeval blood transfusion from Adam to give her life. The deep sleep that first Adam was put under is representative of the deep sleep of death that the last Adam would enter into. In the same way Adam sacrifice gave life to his bride, Eve, is the same way that Christ’s sacrifice gave life to his bride, the church. 

There is another part of this to go. But before I close I will leave you with this quote from that e-devotional, “As Eve thenceforth shared Adam’s very life, so do we believers today constitute Christ’s beloved bride, and we are “hid with Christ in God,” so that Christ Himself is “our life”. (Col 3:34) – Chris Hughes is a graduate of the Colony of Mercy and a regular Freedom Fighter Contributor

This Thursday night is our monthly Men’s Fellowship Night. Pastor Mike Woods will be our guest speaker. Pastor Mike serves at a church in Hamilton Township New Jersey and served for ten years at the Colony of Mercy. Come and bring and friend. Dinner is at 6:15 PM followed by the program. For reservations, please call: 732-350-1187 

GPS – God’s Positioning System: Exodus 28-29; Psalm 36; Proverbs 8
Compass Pointers: “The Gospel of Christ crucified for our sins is the foundation of our lives. Marriage exists to display it. And when marriage breaks down, the Gospel is there to forgive and heal and sustain until He comes, or until he calls.” This Momentary Marriage   John Piper

Navigation Rules: Level 1: Proverbs 6:23; Level 2: Proverbs 6:12-19
Anchored to the Rock: Prayer as a means to affect a private end is theft and meanness. Ralph Waldo Emerson

Preferences, Convictions, Absolutes

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Preferences, Convictions, Absolutes

“Therefore, do not let your good be slandered, for the kingdom of God is not eating or drinking, but righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit.” Romans 14:17

Yesterday our Pastor gave a really cool exposition from Romans 14. He reminded us that as believers we need to be NUTS! The church ought to be filled with NUTS! Imagine your church sign reading: NUTS RESIDE HERE!

His acronym for NUTS = Never underestimate the Spirit! I like that. That is the way we should live our lives. But we do get hung up on some pretty weird stuff. You’ve heard this quote: “In essentials, unity; in non-essentials liberty; in all things, love.” It’s true. Except that for many of us we have it all backwards.

We tend to make our PREFERENCES our CONVICTIONS and our CONVICTIONS our ABSOLUTES. That isn’t biblical Christianity. Let me illustrate what I believe to be ABSOLUTES: the inerrancy of Scripture, the virgin birth, salvation through Christ and His finished work on the cross. Those are just a few of the many ABSOLUTES (essentials) of the Christian life.

CONVICTIONS: Water-baptism by immersion vs. sprinkling and differing views on eschatology (End times theology) are just two examples. There have been great scholars on both sides of these issues. Based on your convictions (non-essentials) is how you interpret positions like this.

PREFERENCES (non-essesentials): Styles of worship. Dress style for church. Translations. Those are just a few to get your juices flowing.

The first church I served in as a Worship Leader (Choir Director), I also served as a Deacon. We had to take turns preparing communion. My first Sunday to serve communion, I came wearing a blue sport coat and tan slacks. I used store brand grape juice and matzo. I found out very quickly that you can only serve communion if you were a black suit, white shirt and red tie. I committed the unpardonable sin by not using Welch’s grape juice!

There is NOTHING in the Bible that says what you are to wear to serve communion, and certainly nothing that sets Welch’s grape juice as the authorized version of communion juice … in fact, the founder didn’t start making his product until 1869! Somehow he missed the Last Supper! This church tried to make an absolute out of a preference. Preference? Absolutely!  Conviction? If that is what they wanted to set as their standard, I’ll buy that. But certainly not an ABSOLUTE.

Pastor Dave reminded us that I can certainly have fellowship with those who don’t hold to my convictions and preferences. They are non-essentials, and in all things, we are reminded to have love, even for those with whom we have disagreement.

What are those areas of your thinking that you have turned preferences into convictions and convictions into absolutes? Take some time today and work through Romans 14. It will be good for you and for me to help us understand how we should be living today. – Bill Welte is President and CEO of America’s Keswick

GPS – God’s Positioning System: Exodus 25-27; Psalm 35; Proverbs 7
Compass Pointers: Christianity is the total commitment of all I know of me to all I know of Jesus Christ. William Temple
Navigation Rules: Level 1: Proverbs 6:23; Level 2: Proverbs 6:12-19
Anchored to the Rock: Cold prayers, like cold suitors, are seldom effective in their aims. Jim Elliot

Worship and Fear

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Worship and Fear
“You shall worship the Lord, your God, and HIM only you shall serve.” Luke 4:8
Pastor, author and teacher, Tullian Tchividjian (grandson of Billy Graham) writes in his commentary on the book of Jonah that all of us are worshippers – of SOMETHING.

Being human is to be a worshipper. We’re created, designed, and wired for worship. It’s one of the biggest distinctions that mark was a human beings in this universe filled with living creatures … Worship is a posture of the heart. It is an attitude of loyalty and trust toward something – someone – in your life that you believe makes life worth living.

Ultimately worship defines you, makes your life meaningful, and gives you security. Thus, we all worship something or someone. This true whether you consider yourself to be religious or not, spiritual or not, Christian or not. They’re who you’re depending on to give your life meaning. Typically, whatever we worship is our “nonnegotiable.” It is that one thing, should we lose it or part with it, which would bring both devastation and hopelessness.

 
What you choose to attribute ultimate worth to –what you choose to worship – depends on what you fear the most. If you feel loneliness, you worship relationships. You depend on them to save you from a meaningless life. If you fear not being accepted or esteemed, you worship your social network, the way you look, the car you drive, or the amount of money you make. You depend on these things to validate your existence. If you fear insignificance, you end up worshipping your career or your accomplishments.
Behind everything we worship is some fear that, without this person or thing, we’d be lost. Life wouldn’t be worth living. Your fears cause you to attribute ultimate worth either to things such as success, reputation, family, relationships, or to God. Either you believe your life would be meaningless without your friends, or your career achievement, or your children, or your possessions, or your social status, or whatever, or you believe your life wouldn’t be worth living without God because you know He alone can provide everything you need (and, in fact, long for) – justification, love, mercy, grace, cleansing, a new beginning, eternal approval and acceptance, righteousness, and rescue. We’re all worshippers – but God is the ONLY reliable object of worship because NOTHING and NO ONE extends these things like God does in the person and work of Jesus Christ.

On this Lord’s day, it is a good time to reflect on WHO or WHAT you are really worshipping. Take some time before you leave for church today to examine your heart. – Bill Welte is President and CEO of America’s Keswick

GPS – God’s Positioning System: Exodus 22-24; Psalm 34; Proverbs 6
Compass Pointers: Worship is to Christian living what the mainspring is to a watch. Lawrence  R. Axelson
Navigation Rules: Level 1: Proverbs 6:23; Level 2: Proverbs 6:12-19
Anchored to the Rock: Many pray with their lips for that which their hearts have no desire. Jonathan Edwards

God’s Promises

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God’s Promises
“Do as You have said.” 2 Samuel 7:25
A number of our Keswick partners are reading Spurgeon’s MORNING AND EVENING devotional with me this year. Spurgeon, the “prince of preachers” is so practical and yet so rich in his writings. I loved this reading from the morning of January 15th:
God’s promises were never meant to be thrown aside as waste paper; He intended that they should be used. God’s gold is not miser’s money, but is minted to be traded with. Nothing pleases our Lord better than to see His promises put in circulation; He loves to see His children bringing them up to Him, and say, “Lord, do as You have said.”

We glorify God when we plead His promises. Do you think that God will be any the poorer for giving you the riches He has promised? Do you dream that He will be any less than holy for giving holiness to you? Do you imagine He will be any less than pure for washing you from your sins? …

Faith lays hold upon the promise of pardon, and does not delay, saying, “This is a precious promise, I wonder if it is true?” but it goes straight to the throne and it pleads, “Lord, here is the promise, Do as You have said.” Our Lord replies, “Be it unto you even as you will.”

When a Christian grasps a promise, if he does not take it to God, he dishonors Him; but when he hastens to the throne of grace, and cries, “Lord, I have nothing to recommend me but this: ‘You have said it,” then his desire shall be granted.


Our heavenly Banker delights to cash His own notes. Never let that promise rust. Draw the word of promise out of its scabbard, and use it with holy violence. Think not that God will be troubled by your importunately reminding Him of His promises. He loves to hear the loud outcries of needy souls. It is His delight to bestow favors. He is more ready to hear than you are to ask. The sun is not weary of shining, nor the fountain of flowing. It is God’s nature to keep His promises; therefore go at once to the throne with, “Do as YOU have said.”

Wow. Is there a promise that you need to cling to today? You certainly won’t know what they are unless you are a man of “The Book!” Feed your soul today on the promises of God. – Bill Welte is President and CEO of America’s Keswick
GPS – God’s Positioning System: Exodus 19-21; Psalm 33; Proverbs 5
Compass Pointers: When God would have us die to self, he always touches the tenderest spot…
Francois Fenelon

Navigation Rules: Level 1: Proverbs  5:21; Level 2: Proverbs 5:15-23
Anchored to the Rock: If you seek your own advantage or blessing through God you are not seeking God at all. Meister Eckhart