DIVINE PROMISES

“All the promises of God in Him are YES, and in Him Amen, to the glory
of God through us.” 2 Corinthians 1:20

I love the prayers of the Puritans and have one to share with you this
morning on the DIVINE PROMISES . . .

Glorious Jehovah, My Covenant God,
All Your promises in Christ Jesus are yea and amen, and all shall be
fulfilled.
You have spoken them, and they shall be done, commanded, and they shall
come to pass.
Yet I have often doubted You, have lived at times as if there were no
God.
Lord, forgive me that death in life, when I have found something apart
from You,
when I have been content with short-lived things.
But through Your grace I have repented; You have given me to read my
pardon in the wounds of Jesus,
and my soul trusts in Him, my God incarnate the ground of my life, the
spring of my hope.

Teach me to be resigned to Your will, to delight in Your law, to have
not will but Yours,
to believe that everything You do is for my good.
Help me to leave my concern in Your hands, for You have power over evil,
and bring from it an infinite progression of good,
until Your purposes are fulfilled.

Bless me with Abraham’s faith that staggers not at promises through
unbelief.
May I not instruct You in my troubles, but glorify You in my trials;
Grant me a distinct advance in the divine life;
May I reach a higher platform, leave the mists of doubt and fear in the
valley,
and climb to the hill-tops of eternal security in Christ by simply
believing he cannot lie,
or turn from His purpose.
Give me confidence I ought to have in Him who is worthy to be praised,
and who is blessed evermore. Amen.

From VALLEY OF VISION — PRAYERS OF THE PURITANS published by Banner of
Truth. This powerful devotional tool is available at the KESWICK ONLINE
BOOKSTORE (www.americaskeswick.org).

FREEDOM FIGHTER DAY — Did you miss the day? If you’d like a
complimentary set of the three messages that Mark Fisher shared with the
guys, respond to this email with your mailing address and we will get
them to you. It is our gift to our Freedom Fighter family.

Saturday begins DAYLIGHT SAVINGS TIME!!! Turn your clocks ahead.

DESIGNED FOR A PURPOSE

“And God said unto Abraham, You shall keep my covenant therefore, you,
and your seed after you in their generations.” Genesis 17:9

“We are surrounded throughout our lifetime by a multitude of things
designed for specific purposes. Without argument, most things are at
their best when they are fulfilling their purpose and design.

For instance, a piano is made with a specific purpose: to produce music.
However, I happen to know that someone once stood on a piano in order to
put a fastener of some kind in the ceiling . . . I have seen piano tops
that were cluttered filing cabinets or wide library shelves.

There is an intelligent design in the creation of a piano. The
manufacturer didn’t announce: ‘This is a good piano. It has nineteen
uses!’ No, the designer had only one thought in mind: ‘This piano will
have the purpose and potential of sounding forth beautiful music . . .
!’

Don’t miss the application of truth here. God said to Abraham, ‘You may
have some other idea about the design and purpose for your life, but you
are wrong! You were created in My image to worship Me and to glorify Me.
If you do not honor this purpose, your life will degenerate into
shallow, selfish, humanistic pursuits.” — A. W. Tozer from TOZER ON THE
ALMIGHTY GOD published by Christian Publications and available from the
KESWICK ONLINE BOOKSTORE (www.americaskeswick.org).

This morning as you gather with like-minded believers, remember YOU WERE
DESIGNED FOR A PURPOSE. You were created to worship HIM. Enjoy HIM
today!

LET EVERYTHING THAT HAS BREATH PRAISE THE LORD . . .

As you prepare your hearts for worship tomorrow, think about this from
the pen of Dr. Richard Swenson . . .

“Every breath we take contains 150 million molecules that were breathed
by Jesus. The exact same air molecules. It is one of the many ways He
shares life with us — intimately. Whenever we inhale, Jesus is there
with us sharing Himself minute-by-minute and molecule-by-molecule.
Daniel spoke of the God who holds in His hand your breath.

We breathe about 23,000 times per day and 630 million times over an
average lifespan. With each inhalation we breathe 10 molecules, more
than a billion trillion with each lungful.

Once the air is in the lungs, the next step is to get it into the
bloodstream. The lungs first divide the breath into smaller portions and
send each down a series of dividing wind tunnels. Finally, the air
arrives in different peripheral “rooms” where each molecule of oxygen
can receive individual attention.

These rooms, called alveoli, are actually tiny air sacks. Perhaps you
can picture them like bubbles, miniature balloons, or clusters of hollow
grapes. The average diameter of these alveoli is only twice the
thickness of paper. Overall we have about three hundred million such
alveoli, greatly increasing the surface area available for the oxygen to
come into contact with. If you were to spread out all the alveolar
surface and lay it down on the floor, it would equal half the size of a
tennis court.

With the inhaled oxygen now closely approximated to the lining of the
alveoli, the red blood cells and hemoglobin within the capillaries can
attract the oxygen across the thin membrane and begin transporting it to
the various cells.

With increased exercise the muscles need more oxygen. Under strenuous
conditions, the muscle demand for oxygen may increase as much as ten
fold– a demand the pulmonary system can me because of a huge built-in
physiologic margin in our respiratory function.

Once again God has pulled off another display of His creative genius.
All He asks in return is ‘LET EVERYTHING THAT HAS BREATH PRAISE THE
LORD!”

Are you praising the Lord with the breath God has given to you? Good
words to ponder today from A MINUTE OF MARGIN — RESTORING BALANCE TO
BUSY LIVES and published by our friends at NavPress. This book is
available at the KESWICK ONLINE BOOKSTORE — http://www.americaskeswick.org

THE SURRENDERED REST

“When our bodies find rest, we feel refreshed. When our emotions find
rest, our countenance is lifted. Yet relaxed muscles and minds are of
little worth unless our souls also find rest in the acceptance of God.
Such a rest transcends the problems of our world and shelters us where
no injury can follow. His rest is ultimately the only dependable rest.

Sabbath rest is a rest He calls us to, but surrendered rest is a rest He
offers to us. Sabbath rest we enter our of obedience; surrendered rest
we enter out of our own need. Sabbath rest arise from the good and
perfect law of God; surrendered rest arises from the good and perfect
grace of God. Sabbath rest is remembrance; surrendered rest is meekness.

‘Come to ME, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you
rest,’ offered Jesus. ‘Take MY yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am
gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For
MY yoke is easy and my burden is light.’ These are attractive words to
weary people everywhere. Yet, as usual, Jesus leaves us scratching our
heads: What does He mean, to take His yoke? Does that really sound so
restful?

The answer lies in meekness. In this passage Christ calls Himself meek.
He came not to judge but to die. He came not to shout and defend the
honor of the Father but to die. He came not to fight but to die. No
persecution could disturb Him, for He came to suffer. Yet all the time
He as suffering, He knew He was winning. We, too, can suffer and win. We
can live with love even when others hate — all the time knowing that
Love wins. We can respond with grace when other surrender, knowing Grace
wins. When we come to Him and surrender, accepting HIS yoke, we accept
full vulnerability to the onslaught of the world. Yet at the same time
we are assured that NOTHING can separate us from the love of Christ.
This rest is a self-weakening unto God-strength. It is a self-emptying
unto God-fullness. It is the rest of surrender.

Even when I FEEL inferior, even when I have been victimized, even when
the pace and pressures of life bring me to the point of collapse, Christ
brings me to HIS rest. When my surrender is completed and HIS yoke is
accepted, then my soul will find rest.” from the pen of Dr. Richard
Swenson in his daily devotional A MINUTE OF MARGIN … RESTORING BALANCE
TO OUR BUSY LIVES.

Thot: Jesus calls us to His rest, and meekness is HIS method. The meek
man cares not at all who is greater than he, for he has long ago decided
the esteem of the world is not worth the effort.” — A. W. Tozer

Good words to ponder as we end this week and enter into the weekend. Has
Freedom Fighters been an encouragement to you? We’d love to hear from
you, and even better, encourage a friend to sign up. Visit our website
for up-to-date information about the ministries of America’s KESWICK —
http://www.americaskeswick.org.

GRATEFULNESS vs. MURMURING

I have been reading through the ONE YEAR BIBLE and for the past several
weeks the readings have been in Numbers. I have been amazed at how often
in that book, Moses talks about the murmuring and grumbling of the
children of Israel.

I found myself saying, “How could they be so stupid?” and then the Holy
Spirit places His hand on my shoulder and says, “And how can you? Don’t
you do the same thing?” Ouch!!!

Bill Gothard in his book THE POWER OF TRUE SUCCESS — HOW TO BUILD
CHARACTER IN YOUR LIFE suggests several principles about gratefulness:

1. Gratefulness is receiving all things from the sovereign hand of God
and finding the benefits in each one. (James 1:17)

2. Gratefulness depends on the ability to see or anticipate the benefits
of God’s bigger program.

3. Nothing holds back a heart from gratitude so much as holding on to
expectations. Are your expectations His? Are they unrealistic? (See
Psalm 62:5) “A proud man is seldom a grateful man; he never gets as much
as he deserves.” — Henry Ward Beecher

4. Thank God for what you DO have instead of murmuring about what you
DON’T have. Helen Keller said, “So much has been give to me, I have no
time to ponder over that which has been denied.”

5. Grateful people appreciate WHAT they have; murmurers don’t want what
they are given. (See Exodus 16:8)

6. Gratefulness is defined by God as a sacrifice because it means
surrendering our NATURAL tendency to murmur. (See Psalm 116:17).

“Think not on what you lack as much as on what you have.” — Greek
Proverb

Are you grateful this morning our are you a murmurer? Good thought to
ponder today.

HOW ARE YOU DOING WITH THIS THING CALLED LOVE?

A number of years ago our Board mapped our our ministry core values. We
established a list of 10 non-negotiables that must never change at
America’s KESWICK. They are benchmarks to guide us into the future years
of ministry.

A list of core values are of no value if you never review them. For me,
as the Executive Director, I must go back to them almost weekly to see
how we are doing. In a sense, they are a part of my “report card” (now
for some of you those two words send shivers up your spine!). The review
process is good.

Today’s passage from 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 is one of the CORE VALUES for
all us — LOVE. Paul gives a pretty strong statement on what love looks
like — how we should love our spouses, our kids, and others for that
matter. Eugene Peterson in his paraphrase, THE MESSAGE, lays it out this
way:

Love NEVER gives up.
Love cares more for OTHERS than for self.
Love doesn’t want what it doesn’t have.
Love doesn’t strut.
Doesn’t have a swelled head.
Doesn’t force itself on others.
Isn’t always “me first,”
Doesn’t fly off the handle,
Doesn’t keep score of the sins of others,
Doesn’t revel when others grovel,
Takes pleasure in the flowering of truth,
Puts up with anything
Trusts God always,
Always looks for the best,
Never looks back,
But keeps going to the end!

So how are you doing today? Would you pass the test? Allow Christ to
love THROUGH you today. This would be a great portion of Scripture to
commit to memory and meditate on daily. I know that I need some work on
this today.

COLONY GRADS: We are building a “Grad Web Album” on our website and
would like to include your picture along with a couple lines about when
you graduated and what you’re doing. You can email your pictures to:
bwelte@americaskeswick.org

LIVE WELL, LIVE WISELY

From the Book of James (The Message)

“Do you want to be counted wise, to build a reputation for wisdom?
Here’s what you do: Live well, live wisely, live humbly! It’s the way
you LIVE, not the way you TALK, that counts.

Mean-spirited ambition isn’t wisdom. Boasting that you are wise isn’t
wisdom. Twisting the truth to make yourself sound wise isn’t wisdom.
It’s the furthest thing from wisdom — it’s animal cunning, devilish
conniving. Whenever you’re trying to LOOK better than other or get the
better of others, things fall apart and everyone ends up at the other’s
throats.

Real wisdom, GOD’S wisdom, begins with a holy life and is characterized
by getting along with others. It is gentle and reasonable, overflowing
with mercy and blessings, not hot one day and cold the next, not
two-faced.

You can develop a healthy, robust community that lives right with God
and enjoy its results ONLY if you do the hard work of getting along with
each other, treating each other with dignity and honor.” (James 3:13-17)

Good words from THE WORD for you to meditate on this morning and
throughout the day.

MORNING PRAYER

“Compassionate Lord, Your mercies brought me to the dawn of another day,
Vain will be its gift unless I grow in grace, increase in knowledge,
ripen for spiritual harvest.
Let me this day know You as You are, love You supremely, serve You
wholly, admire You fully.
Through grace let my will respond to You, knowing that power to obey is
not in me, but that Your free love alone enables me to serve You.
Here then is my empty heart, overflow it with Your choicest gifts;
Here is my blind understanding, chase away its mists of ignorance.
O ever watchful Shepherd, lead, guide, tend me this day;
Without Your restraining rod I err and stray;
Hedge up my path lest I wander into unwholesome pleasure, and drink its
poisonous streams;
Direct my feet that I be not entangled in Satan’s secret snares, nor
fall into his hidden traps.
Defend me from assailing foes, from evil circumstances, from myself.
My adversaries are part and parcel of my nature;
They cling to me as my very skin;
I cannot escape their contact.
In my rising up and sitting down they barnacle me;
They entice with constant baits;
My enemy is within the citadel;
Come with almighty power and cast him out, pierce him to death, and
abolish in my every particle of carnal life this day.” from VALLEY OF
VISION — Prayers of the Puritan

Great prayer as we begin this new week and the first day of Spring.

EMERGENCY PHONE NUMBERS

Counseling ‘Phone Numbers”
By A Anonymous

All calls are free of charge. Isn’t that great!

EMERGENCY PHONE NUMBERS:

When in sorrow, …………………………………… call John 14.
When men fail you, ……………………………….. call Lamentations 3:17-26.
If you want to be fruitful, ………………………….call John 15.
When you have sinned, ………………………….. call Psalm 51.
When you worry, …………………………………. call Matthew 6:19-34.
When you are in danger, ………………………… call Psalm 91.
When God seems far away, ……………………. call Psalm 139.
When your faith needs stirring, ………………… call Hebrews 11.
When you are lonely and fearful, ……………… call Psalm 23.
When you grow bitter and critical, ……………. call 1st Corinthians 13.
For Paul’s secret to happiness,…………………. call Colossians 3:12-17.
For understanding of Christianity, …………….. call II Corinthians 5:15-21.
When you feel down and out, ………………….. call Romans 8:31-39.
When you want peace and rest, ……………….. call Matthew 11:25-30.
When the world seems bigger than God, ……. call Psalm 90.
When you want Christian assurance, …………. call Romans 8:1-30.
When you leave home for labor or travel, …… call Psalm 121.
When your prayers grow narrow or selfish, … call Psalm 67.
For a great opportunity, ………………………….. call Isaiah 55.
When you want courage for a task, …………….call Joshua 1.
For how to get along with fellow men, ……….. call Romans 12.
When you think of investments and returns,…. call Mark 10.
If you are depressed, ……………………………… call Psalm 27.
If your pocketbook is empty, …………………… call Psalm 37.
If you are losing confidence in people, ……….. call 1st Corinthians 13.
If people seem unkind, ……………………………. call John 15.
If discouraged about your work, ………………. call Psalm 126.

If you find the world growing small and yourself great, ……..call Psalm 9.

Alternate numbers:

For dealing with fear, …………………………….. call Psalm 34:7.
For security, ………………………………………… call Hebrews 6:13-20
For assurance, …………………………………….. call 1 John 5:9-15.
For reassurance, ………………………………….. call Psalm 145:18.

Emergency numbers may be dialed direct. No operator assistance is
necessary. All lines to Heaven are open 24 hours a day!

Have a blessed Lord’s day. Enjoy HIM today.

A LOOK IN THE MIRROR

“And the tax collector, standing afar off, would not so much as raise
his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me
a sinner!'” (Luke 18:13)

If you’ve ever wondered how far God would go to show His
love, look in the mirror and wonder no more. We need not look any
further than ourselves to find the most shocking and amazing displays of
God’s grace. If we think otherwise, it is only because we have not seen
ourselves as we truly are.

It has been said and sung many times: “There but for the
grace of God go I.” At first this sounds grateful, but such sentiment
masks a dangerous pride. It is actually not unlike the statement of a
religious leader in Jesus’ day as he looked upon a sinner on his knees
crying out for God’s mercy. “Lord I thank you that I am not like that
sinner over there,” the Pharisee prayed. It is a view that focuses on
someone else’s misfortune. Someone else is worse than I am. Much better
to be thinking and praying, “Here, because of the grace of God, and for
no other reason, am I.” I am the only person I truly know about when it
comes to sin. I am the authority on the subject.

The Pharisee hasn’t a clue about the sinner-who he is or
what he has done. Nor does he have any business making the assumption
that the sinner is lot is any worse than his. The only prayer any of us
can pray on the subject of sin is: “Lord, have mercy on me, a sinner.”
This is the only prayer that sends heaven scurrying.

It is best to steer completely clear of the comparison game.
Any attempt to better oneself at the mercy of someone else’s failure
will always bring a twisted view of both ourselves and others.

The immensity of God’s mercy is not displayed in what He did
for the world, or for someone else. Nor is it discovered through some
theological understanding of the many nuances of His grace. The
immensity of God’s mercy is revealed finally-and only-in the incredible
realization that, lo and behold, it found out the worst of the lot. It
looked from heaven and found out me!

John Fischer

Scripture Reading: Genesis 29-30; Matthew 9:1-17

Today’s devotional comes from REAL VICTORY FOR REAL LIFE — a 365 daily
devotional published by America’s KESWICK. Currently out-of-print, a new
edition will be released in June published by Christian Literature
Crusade. Singer-songrwiter, John Fischer, is a member of the Board of
Reference of America’s KESWICK.