JUST CELEBRATE

“Worship the Lord your God; it is he who will deliver you from the hand
of all your enemies.”
2 Kings 17:39

“Whenever we come to worship, we come to celebrate. Worship is not
intended to be a quiet, regal, dignified event where the Spirit of God
is kept locked up in our hearts. Rather, it is a joyful celebration of
God’s goodness and salvation.

All of us have some reason to celebrate something that God has done in
our lives. If may be a victory over defeatism or over spiritual shyness.
We may have been delivered from our enemies. Deliverance from poverty.
Deliverance from ignorance. Deliverance from frustration. Deliverance
from a failed marriage. Deliverance from substance abuse. Deliverance
from temptation. Deliverance from senseless spending habits. Deliverance
from fears and anxiety. Deliverance from venomous speech. But most of
all, each of us can celebrate being delivered from the hand of spiritual
and eternal death. OUR GOOD GOD HAS SET US FREE!

Therefore, when we gather for worship, it’s not a funeral! It’s not a
morbid gathering of morbid people, but a gathering of vibrant, animated,
dynamic, lively, spirited, intense, and red-hot people who understand
that it was God’s grace that woke them up in the morning. It was grace
that kept them all week long. It was grace that brought them to the
house of worship.

Worship is for celebrating the goodness and grace of God. It is for
celebrating what He has done in the past and what He is doing right now.
And if you want to shout, then shout. If you want to run, then run. If
you want to dance (uh oh!), then dance. If you want to cry, then cry. If
you want to hold up your hands, then hold them up. If you want to wave
your arms, then wave your arms. JUST CELEBRATE!”

From HOW GREAT THOU ART published by Multnomah

Good words as you prepare your heart for your worship CELEBRATION! Think
twice about the dance! 🙂 Have a great day in Christ!

Great Quote: During this Advent season as we celebrate the new
relationship between God and his people, may that be mirrored in our
renewed relationships with spouses, children, family and those near and
dear to us. May we speak tenderly to each other amidst all the rush of
the season and transform the shopping days till Christmas into the true
Advent of Christ. Casely Essamuah

THE EXCELLENCIES OF HIS BEING

“And the twenty-four elders, who were seated on their thrones before
God, fell on their faces and worshipped God, saying: “We give thanks to
you, Lord God Almighty, the One who is and who was, because you have
taken your great power and have begun to reign.” Revelation 11:16-17

Some thoughts as we prepare for the Lord’s Day tomorrow …

“Worship flows from love. Where love is meager, worship will be scant.
Where love is deep, worship will overflow. As Paul wrote his letters,
his contemplation of love and glory of God would spontaneously cause his
heart to overflow in worship and doxology.

But there can be an element of selfishness even in love. True, we
worship God for the great things He has down for us, but our worship
reaches a much higher level when we worship simply and solely for what
He is, for the excellencies and perfections of His being.

Thomas Goodwin, the Puritan, said, ‘I have known men who came to God for
nothing else but just to come to Him, they so loved Him. They scorned to
soil Him and themselves with any other errand than just purely to be
alone with Him in His presence.’ We might say with some justification
that that is a little extreme, but it suggests an intimacy with God and
desire for fellowship with Him that we might well covet.

Worship is the loving ascription of praise to God, for what He is in
Himself and in His providential dealings. It is the bowing of our
innermost spirit before Him in deepest humility and reverence.

David implored his soul: ‘My soul, wait in silence for God only’ (Psalm
62:5). The deepest feelings often cannot find adequate expression in
words. Between intimate friends there can be comfortable silences. There
are times when words are unnecessary, or even an intrusion. So it is in
our communication with God. Sometimes we are awed into silence in the
presence of the Eternal.” From the pen of J. Oswald Sanders – HOW GREAT
THOU ART-published by Multnomah.

Good words to ponder as we prepare our hearts for worship.

Great quote: The voice of the Father will be heard as He sets before us
a widely opened door and receives us into blessed fellowship with
Himself. When we pray for the Spirit’s help, it will no longer be in the
fear that prayer is too great an effort for us. Instead, we will simply
fall down at the Lord’s feet in our weakness. There we will find the
victory and power that comes from His love. — Andrew Murray

WHAT GOD CANNOT DO

“Behold I am the Lord, the God of all flesh. Is there anything too hard
for Me?” (Jeremiah 32:27).

Does this mean that God will do anything you ask? Probably not.
God’s omnipotence is His ability to do all His character will permit Him
to do. You can be thankful there are some things God just won’t do
because they are out of harmony with His moral nature.
God will not look on your sin with approval. Habakkuk 1:12-13 says,
“Are You not from everlasting, O Lord my God, my Holy One? … You are
of purer eyes than to behold evil, and cannot look on wickedness.”
God’s power won’t approve of your sin because His character won’t permit
Him to do so.
Also, God will not be tempted to do evil Himself. James 1:13, “Let no
one say when he is tempted, ‘I am tempted by God’; for God cannot be
tempted by evil, nor does He Himself tempt anyone.” God doesn’t have
the power to be tempted to do evil. That’s why you can trust His
character. When you want God to do something that is out of character
for Him, He won’t do it, and that should encourage you.
Besides this, God cannot lie. To Titus the apostle Paul wrote that he
was an apostle “according to the faith of God’s elect and the
acknowledgement of the truth which accords with godliness, in hope of
eternal life which God, who cannot lie, promised before time began”
(Titus 1:1-2). That means you can trust God and His Word to always tell
you the truth. You may not like what He tells you, but you can be
certain it will always be true.
God is not hampered by inability but sometimes He is deterred by His
character. If He delays in solving your problems, it’s not because He
lacks the power to do something about them. Rather, it’s because He
possesses the wisdom to care for them in the right time and in the right
way, neither of which may be evident yet.
Rejoice that God is omnipotent, but be equally glad that He is
omniscient, all-knowing. Without the combination of the two, you would
have a God with strength but no character, power with no convictions.
Fortunately, our God has both. Thank Him for who He is today.

Dr. Woodrow Kroll

Scripture Reading: Daniel 3-4; 1 John 5

Today’s devotional is taken from REAL VICTORY FOR REAL LIFE – published
by CLC. We would sure love to have you join is this year as we study
God’s Word together. To order your copy, call today – 800-453-7942 ext.
31.

Great quote: “The Son is ‘given’ to us by dying for us and being buried
for us. That I take it is a miracle. If you are astonished and regard it
as incredible that a man must be born anew, this greater wonder must
amaze you still more. God loved a poor sinner so much that He gave him,
not an angel or a prophet but His only Son. The way of His giving was
that He might be crucified. This you must learn; and after you have
learned it and beheld these wonderful things, your heart will feel
constrained to say, ‘This is truly miraculous! How is it possible?’ But
if you can accept it and believe it, you will conclude, ‘After all, if
God’s Son is the cure and remedy for sin and death, why should I be
surprised since I know that God’s Son is greater than sin, the devil and
my death?” Martin Luther

WHAT GOD CAN DO

“Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, And to present you
faultless
Before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy, To God our
Savior, Who alone is wise, Be glory and majesty, Dominion and power,
Both now and forever. Amen.” (Jude 24-25)

While the power of God is unlimited, His power never operates
outside of His moral character or His perfect will. That is why there
are some things God simply will not do. But there are many things God
will do for us that we don’t have the power to do for ourselves. These
are the things that bring the greatest joy to our hearts. Let’s praise
God for some of them.
God is powerful enough to provide for us more than we ask. Ephesians
3:20-21, “Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all
that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, to Him be
glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and
ever. Amen.” While we often think in terms of asking too much of Him,
He often thinks of us in terms of asking too little. If we ask in His
will, He is able to super-abound in our behalf.
God is powerful enough to preserve us strong in His salvation. John
10:28-29, “And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish;
neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand. My Father, who has
given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them
out of My Father’s hand.” Many people struggle with their own security
because they have an inappropriate view of salvation.
Salvation is not God reaching out of heaven and our grabbing His hand,
holding on for dear life. In fact, it’s more like God reaching out of
heaven and holding onto to us with His omnipotent grasp. We are only as
safe as He is strong. That’s why He is powerful enough to preserve us
strong in His salvation.
God is powerful enough to present us blameless. It has always been
God’s goal to make us blameless. Ephesians 1:4 says He chose us before
the foundation of the world “that we should be holy and without blame
before Him.”
Read those delightful verses of Jude 24-25 and praise God that He can do
things for you that you can’t do for yourself. Spend some time in
praise of God’s omnipotent hand. Without it, where would you be?

Dr. Woodrow Kroll

Scripture Reading: Daniel 1-2; 1 John 4

Today’s devotional is from REAL VICTORY FOR REAL LIFE – 365 Meditations
in the Keswick Tradition published by CLC. Great present for family and
friends. Each day features a passage of Scripture to read and will take
you through the Bible in a year. Call today for your copy — $14.95 plus
shipping and handling – 732-350-1187 ext, 31.

Great quote: Let’s approach Christmas with an expectant hush, rather
than a last-minute rush.

THE VALUE OF DEFEAT

“O sing to the Lord a new song! For He has done marvelous things; His
right hand and His holy arm have gained the victory.” Psalm 98:1

“Paul tried to do the right thing, but, like us, sometimes he failed. In
his letter to the Romans, Paul seemed to agonize over his inability to
triumph over sin at every confrontation in his life. Don’t we all feel
like Paul at times? We want to do what’s right, but our actions don’t
always represent our true desires.

However, Paul learned that failure shouldn’t be condemning – in fact, it
taught him an invaluable lesson about victory: Christ’s strength could
shine through any situation, no matter how weak that situation may have
made Paul. (2 Corinthians 12:10)

Here are some things to remember about defeat:

1. Defeat is often engineered by God. God isn’t after
self-improvement. He is after death – death to our flesh, which leads to
life in Him.
2. Defeat is often essential for God to fulfill His purposes in our
lives. When we are broken to the point that the only place we can look
is up, and see Him, then we begin to see the purposes and plans He has
for our lives.
3. Defeat exposes our weaknesses and inadequacies. Our best efforts
never match what God can – and wants to – do in us and through us.

Defeat in our lives doesn’t mean we are defeated. It is merely
God’s way of pointing us to ultimate victory!” adapted from PATHWAYS TO
HIS PRESENCE by Dr. Charles F. Stanley

Great Quote: The reason why many fail in battle is because they wait
until the hour of battle. The reason why others succeed is because they
have gained their victory on their knees long before the battle
came…Anticipate your battles; fight them on your knees before
temptation comes, and you will always have victory. (Reuben Archer) R.
A. Torrey

Don’t forget our FAMILY AND FRIENDS seminar this Saturday, December 9th.
If you have a loved one in your family struggling with addiction, this
seminar is for you. Call today for reservations, or visit our website
for information: http://www.americaskeswick.org.

CONTROL OF YOUR BODY – THE TEMPLE OF THE HOLY SPIRIT

We deal every day with men and women who are struggling with issues from
addictions to substances to sexual issues. We will often hear the
phrase, “but I can’t control what I am doing!” or “I keep trying to not
do these things.”

I loved the words penned by Oswald Chambers today in MY UTMOST FOR HIS
HIGHEST … “I am accountable to God for the way I control my body under
His authority. Paul said he did not ‘set aside the grace of God’ – make
it ineffective (Galatians 2:21). The grace of God is absolute and
limitless, and the work of salvation through Jesus Christ is complete
and finished FOREVER.

I am not BEING saved – I am saved. Salvation is as eternal as God’s
throne, but I must put to work what God has placed within me. To ‘work
out my own salvation’ (Philippians 2:12) means that I am responsible for
using what He has given me. It also means that I must exhibit in my own
body the life of the Lord Jesus Christ, not mysteriously or secretly,
but openly and boldly. ‘I discipline my body and bring it into
subjection…’ (1 Corinthians 9:27).

Every Christian can have his body under absolute control for God. God
has given us the responsibility to rule over all ‘the temple of the Holy
Spirit,’ including our thoughts and desires (1 Corinthians 6:19). We are
responsible for these, and we must never give way to improper ones. But
most of us are much more severe in our judgment of others that we are in
judging ourselves. We make excuses for things in ourselves, while we
condemn things in the lives of others simply because we are not
naturally inclined to do them.

Paul said, ‘I beseech you … that you present YOUR bodies as a living
sacrifice …’ (Romans 12:1) What I must decide is whether or not I will
agree with my Lord and Master that my body will indeed be His temple.
Once I agree, all the rules, regulations, and requirements of the law
concerning the body are summed up for me in this revealed truth – MY
BODY IS THE TEMPLE OF THE HOLY SPIRIT!”

Powerful words this morning.

Great Quote: “Once you are rooted in reality, NOTHING can shake you. If
your faith is in experiences, anything that happens is likely to upset
that faith. But NOTHING can ever change God or the reality of
redemption. Base your faith on that, and you are as eternally secure as
God Himself.” – Oswald Chambers

Check out today’s THINK VICTORY! Memory verse on the website:
http://www.americaskeswick.org.

PARADOXES

If you haven’t noticed, the Christian life is filled with many
paradoxes. Webster defines a paradox as:
“a statement or proposition that seems self-contradictory or
absurd but in reality expresses a possible truth; an opinion or
statement contrary to commonly accepted opinion.”

Dr. Henry Blackaby in his book THE MAN GOD USES says that “Christ often
uses ordinary situations to teach spiritual truth. Of his parables
contain paradoxes – statements that seem to contradict themselves. For
example, Jesus said if you want to save your life you must lose it (Mark
8:35); to be the ruler of all you must be the servant of all (Matthew
20:27); and to live you must die (John 11:25)”

He goes on to say that “spiritual truths often contradict what we accept
as reality as Christ demonstrated lordship by washing his disciples
feet. In the world today, to be the owner or boss is to rule and control
by directives.”

The following list shows the paradox between what the world says vs.
what the kingdom says:

What the World Says What the Kingdom
Says

Pride is important. Humility is
essential.
Hitch your wagon to a star. Jesus is Lord.
Success Obedience
Professionalism Servanthood
Competition Service
Maintain your rights. Give all your
rights to God.
Negotiate for the best deal. Obey God’s
commands.
Excellence
Christlikeness
Save your life. Lose your
life for my sake.
Affirm yourself Deny self.
Accomplishments Character
You don’t have to take that. Take up your
cross.
Live to die. Die to
live.
Rule and be served. Serve in order
to rule.
Things will make you happy. Godly character
brings joy.
Walk by sight. Walk by
faith.
Set long-range goals. God reveals
the future.
Take the initiative. Let God
take the initiative.
Get revenge. Do good to
your persecutors.
Eat, drink, and be merry. Seek first the
kingdom of God.

So the question this morning is this – are you living by what the world
says or by the kingdom? Good thoughts to ponder as we start this new
week.

(Adapted from THE MAN GOD USES by Drs. Henry and Tom Blackaby – Broadman
& Holman)

Its not too late to purchase your ticket for our Christmas dinner
concert with violinist, Jamie Jorge, for this Thursday, December 7,
2006. Call today for your reservation. It will be a great date night for
you and your spouse. 732-350-1187.

THE OLD CROSS AND THE NEW CROSS

Many of us will be celebrating and observing the Lord’s Table today.
Here is a power word about the Cross that is worth reading this morning
as you prepare your heart.

“All unannounced and mostly undetected there has come in modern times a
new cross into popular evangelical circles. It is like the old cross,
but different: the likenesses are superficial; the differences,
fundamental.

From this new cross has sprung a new philosophy of the Christian life,
and from that new philosophy has come a new evangelical technique – a
new type of meeting and new kind of preaching. This new evangelism
employs the same language as the old, but its content is not the same
and its emphasis is not as before.

The new cross is not opposed to the human race; rather, it is a friendly
pal and, if understood aright, it is the source of oceans of good clean
fun and innocent enjoyment. It lets Adam live without interference. His
life motivation still lives for his own pleasure, only know he takes
delight in singing choruses and watching religious movies instead of
singing bawdy songs and drinking hard liquor. The accent is still on the
enjoyment, though the fun is now on a high plane morally if not
intellectually.

The new cross encourages a new and entirely different evangelistic
approach. The evangelist does not demand forsaking the old life before a
new life can be received. He preaches not contrasts but similarities. He
seeks to key into public interest by showing that Christianity makes no
unpleasant demands; rather it offers the same thing the world does, only
on a higher level. Whatever the sin-mad world happens to be clamoring
after at the moment is cleverly shown to be the very thing the gospel
offers, only the religious ‘product’ is better.

The new cross does not slay the sinner, it redirects him. It gears him
into a cleaner and jollier way of living and saves his self-respect. To
the self-assertive it says, ‘Come and assert yourself for Christ.’ To
the egotist is says, ‘Come and do your boasting in the Lord.’ To the
thrill-seeker it says, ‘Come and enjoy the thrill of Christian
fellowship.’ The Christian message is slanted in the direction of the
current vogue in order to make it acceptable to the public.

The old cross is a symbol of death. It stands for the abrupt, violent
end of a human being. The man in Roman times who took us his cross and
started down the road had already said goodbye to his friends. He was
not coming back. He was going out to have it ended. The cross made no
compromise, modified nothing, spared nothing; it slew all of the man,
completely and for good. It did not try to keep on good terms with its
victim. It struck cruel and hard, and when it had finished its work, the
man was no more.

God offers life, but not an IMPROVED life. The life God offers is life
out of death. How can this theology be translated into life? Simply, he
must repent and believe. He must forsake his sins and then go own and
forsake himself. Let him cover nothing, defend nothing, excuse nothing.
Let him seek to make terms with God, but let him bow his head before the
stroke of God’s stern displeasure and acknowledge himself worthy to die.

Having done this, let him gaze with simple trust upon the risen Savior,
and from Him will come life and rebirth and cleansing power. The cross
that ended the life of Jesus now puts an end to the sinner; and the
power that raised Christ from the dead now raises him to a new life
along with Christ.”

Adapted from MAN: THE DEWELLING PLACE OF GOD by A. W. Tozer.

Great quote: “The cross always stands ready, and everywhere awaits you.
You cannot escape it, wherever you flee, for wherever you go, you bear
yourself, and always find yourself. Look up or down, without you or
within, and everywhere you will find the cross.” Thomas a Kempis

REASONS TO TRUST GOD

Did you ever find yourself saying to someone, “Just trust me!” and not
wanting to give reasons? It may be to your kids, your spouse, your
employees, or your congregation. Well we read throughout the Bible
“Trust me” in reference to God. Are there reasons why we can trust God?

Dr. Charles Stanley suggests six reasons why you can trust God:

1. He is the one, true God (2 Samuel 7:21-22). From the beginning
of time, those who seek God have found Him. No other god revealed
himself to man in this way.
2. He is the essence of truth (Hebrews 6:17-18). God cannot lie,
and He will never lead you astray. However, He has told us that there is
one who deceives us, and that is Satan. Jesus called him the ‘father of
lies” and rightly so. (John 8:44)
3. He is absolutely faithful (Lamentations 3:23). When was the last
time God let you down? He never has, and He never will. No matter what
you are facing, God knows about it, and He is near to show you how to
resolve your dilemma.
4. He has all power (Matthew 28:18). Henry Thiessen writes, “God
can do what He wills to do, but he does not necessarily will to do
anything … To the Christian the omnipotence of God is a great source
of great comfort and joy.
5. He loves you unconditionally (John 15:9). God will never stop
loving you. Even when you are unlovely, He loves you. And it is His love
that draws you away from sin and into His arms of infinite care.
6. He never changes (Hebrews 13:8). God is immutable. Thiessen
writes: ‘He is exalted above all causes and above even the possibility
of change.

Adapted from PATHWAYS TO HIS PRESENCE by Dr. Charles F. Stanley
– Nelson Publishing

Great quote: “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not
unto your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He
will direct your paths.” Proverbs 3:5-6

TESTING YOUR SPIRITUAL GROWTH

Growing up I hated tests. How about you? Now looking back, I realize
that they were not so bad. Tests are a gauge of how we are grasping the
subject we are studying. Dr. Charles Stanley shares 13 ways that you can
determine if you are maturing in your relationship with Jesus Christ:

1. You are becoming increasingly aware of your sinfulness and
weaknesses.
2. Your response to sin is quick and followed by genuine
repentance.
3. Your spiritual battles are becoming more fierce, and yet you
still rejoice.
4. You begin to see trials and temptations as opportunities for
growth: ‘Lord, what are you trying to teach me?’
5. You view your service to Him as an honor not a burden.
6. You view everything as coming from God. He is sovereign, so He
either brought it or allowed it.
7. You sense your faith growing stronger. It takes more to ruffle
you.
8. You desire to spend more time in praise and worship. You are in
love with the Lord and want to show it.
9. Your desire to obey Him becomes more intense, and sin becomes
less attractive.
10.You are eager to share with others what Christ is doing in
your life.
11.You experience more awareness of His presence at all times,
not just in places like church on Sundays.
12. You jealously guard your quiet times of prayer and Bible
study.
13. You prefer to spend time with Him above all others. The more
time you spend with Him, the more you become like Him.

Adapted from PATHWAY TO HIS PRESENCE by Dr. Charles F. Stanley

So how are you doing? Good things to ponder on this 30th day of
November.

Join us for a wonderful evening of great food, fellowship and worship –
Christmas Dinner Concert with violinist, Jamie Jorge. Thursday, December
7th. Reservations required. Call today or visit our website for
information: http://www.americaskeswick.org

Great Quote: “There is only one relationship that really matters, and
that is your personal relationship to your personal Redeemer and Lord.
If you maintain that at all costs, letting everything else go, God will
fulfill His purpose through your life. One individual life may be of
priceless value to God’s purposes, and yours may be that life!” Oswald
Chambers