TEMPER CONTROL

“A gentle response defuses anger, but a sharp tongue kindles a
temper-fire.” Proverbs 15:1 (The Message)

“Anger is like the secondary valve on a pressure cooker, the one that
pops when the main one is clogged, in order to avoid an explosion.
‘Popping ones cork’ and ‘letting off steam’ are recognizable expressions
for the healthy process of an edger. The inner buildup can exist only so
long, and then it must be released. To keep it inside over a long period
of time is to invite a more dangerous situation, a possible mental
breakdown, or an irreparable event as drastic as suicide.

When a person is angry, he is apt to see things less objectively. For
that reason other heads should remain cool until the angry party’s
spleen has been vented and calm restored, for only then can the cause of
anger be dealt with in any satisfactory way.” (The Love Formula)

Remember: YOUR TEMPER IS ONE OF YOUR MORE VALUABLE POSSESSIONS — DON’T
LOSE IT.

I am writing this week from historic Williamsburg. Freedom Fighters may
be a little delayed since I am on vacation!

GOD’S PROTECTION

“The British express train raced through the night, its powerful
headlamp spearing the black darkness ahead. The train was carrying Queen
Victoria.

Suddenly the engineer saw a startling sight. Revealed in the beam of the
engine’s headlights was a weird figure in a black cloak standing in the
middle of the tracks and waving its arms. The engineer grabbed for the
brakes and brought the train to a grinding halt.

He and his fellow trainmen climbed out to see what had stopped them. But
they could find no trace of the strange figure. On a hunch, he walked a
few yards further up the tracks. Suddenly he stopped and stared into the
fog in horror. The bridge had been washed out in the middle and had
toppled into a swollen stream. If he had not heeded the ghostly figure,
the train would have plunged into the stream.

While the bridge and the tracks were being repaired, the crew made a
more intensive search for the strange flagman. But not until they got to
London, did they solve the mystery.

At the base of the engine’s lamp, the engineer discovered a huge dead
moth. He looked at it a moment, then on impulse wet its wings and pasted
it to the glass of the lamp/

Climbing back into his cab, he switched on the lamp and saw the
‘flagman’ in the beam. He knew the answer now: the moth had flown into
the beam, seconds before the train was due to reach the washed-out
bridge. In the fog, it appeared to be a phantom figure waving its arms.

When Queen Victoria was told of the strange happening she said, ‘I’m
sure it was no accident. It was God’s way of protecting us.'” from THE
ENCYCLOPEDIA of 15,000 Illustrations.

“The Lord, He is the one who goes BEFORE you. He will be with you, He
will not leave you nor forsake you.” (Deut. 31:8)

As you gather together to worship HIM this Lord’s day, let’s thank Him
and praise Him for His protective hand in our lives.

CALL UPON ME

A hypothetical scene . . .

“It seems that Moses had led the children of Israel out of Egypt — and
they now had Pharaoh and his armies in hot pursuit behind them and the
Red Sea in front of them. They were trapped. So Moses called his
generals and other tribal leaders together and reviewed with them the
desperate straits they were in. What to do? Did anyone have any
suggestions?

One of the engineering types suggested that it would be possible to
construct a pontoon bridge — but it was quickly noted that they didn’t
have time for that. All kinds of crazy ideas were suggest — but none of
them had any merit.

Finally, Moses asked, ‘What if I were to pray to Jehovah God and ask him
to send a mighty wind to sweep back the waters of the Red Sea so that
the dry land would appear beneath the sea? Then we could cross over on
dry land. And then when we’re safely on the other side the wind would
subside and the waters would rush back and drown the Egyptian army who
would be in hot pursuit? What do you think of that idea?”

At this point Moses’ publicity man jumped up enthusiastically and said,
‘Moses Baby, if you can pull that one off — I guarantee I can get you
two full pages in the Bible!'” (see Exodus 14)

Friend are you facing what seems to be insurmountable obstacles? Facing
a huge crisis and not sure what to do? Why not do what Jeremiah
suggests: “Call to ME, and I WILL answer you, and I will tell you great
and mighty things, which you do not know.” (Jeremiah 33:3)

“When a man is at his wit’s end it is not a cowardly thing to pray — it
is the ONLY way he can get in touch with REALITY! ‘O that I knew where I
could get in touch with the Reality that explains things!’ There is only
one way, and that is the way of prayer.” Oswald Chambers

Good words for this Saturday, January 14, 2006

PEACE, PEACE, WONDERFUL PEACE

Listening to the 10 O’clock news is not always the most healthy thing to
do before going to bed. It is bad enough that we are seeing the moral
decay of our country, but add to that the threats that we see happening
on the global scale with Iran and the potential for an all out war that
has prophetic implications, one could easily become fearful and anxious.

This morning as I opened the Word — the words from the Scriptures took
on new meaning. I share with you verses from THE DAILY LIGHT ON THE
DAILY PATH for your consideration this morning:

“You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You,
because He trusts in You. Cast your burden on the Lord, and He shall
sustain you; He shall never permit the righteous to be moved. I will
trust and not be afraid; for YAH, the Lord, is my strength and my song;
He also has become my salvation. Why are you fearful, O you of little
faith? Be anxious for nothing, but in everything with prayer and
supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God;
and the peace of God which surpasses all understanding, will guard your
hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. In quietness and confidence shall
be your strength.

The work of righteousness will be peace, and the effect of
righteousness, quietness and assurance forever. Peace I leave with you,
My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not
your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. Peace from Him who is
and who was and who is to come.” (Isaiah 26:3; Psalm 55:22; Isaiah
12:2; Matthew 8:26; Philippians 4:6-7; Isaiah 30:15; Isaiah 32:17; John
14:27; Rev. 1:4)

I could write many things this morning — but THE WORD speaks for
itself. Aren’t you glad this morning for HIS PEACE — a peace that the
world doesn’t understand or take away. He is the God of peace, Himself!
Thank Him this morning for HIS peace even in the midst of difficult
circumstances that you might be facing right now in your world.

Good words for today.

THE GUY IN THE GLASS

This morning during my morning walk, I was listening to a CD by Dr. John
C. Maxwell. He shared this poem which was quite powerful:

“When you get what you want in your struggle for self,
And the world makes you King for a day,
Then go to the mirror and look at yourself,
And see what that guy has to say.

For it isn’t your Father, or Mother, or Wife,
Whose judgment upon you must pass.
The feller whose verdict counts most in your life
Is the guy staring back from the glass.

He’s the feller to please, never mind all the rest,
For he’s with you clear to the end,
And you’ve passed your most dangerous. difficult test
If the guy in the glass is your friend.

You make be like Jack Horner and ‘chisel’ a plum,
And think you’re a wonderful guy,
But the man in the glass says you’re only a bum
If you can’t look him straight in the eye.

You can fool the whole world down the pathway of years,
And get pats on the back as you pass,
But your final reward will be heartaches and tears
If you cheated the guy in the glass.
— Dale Wimbrow

Taken today from an INJOY LIFE CLUB lesson presented by Dr. John C.
Maxwell

Good words to consider on this Thursday, January 12, 2006

STUFF

“A life devoted to THINGS [stuff] is a dead life, a stump; a God-shaped
life is a flourishing tree.” Proverbs 11:28 (The Message)

The older I am getting the more I have realized how much STUFF I have.
Living in this Seniors community we get to see what happens when a
person dies and the family has to handle the disposition of all the
stuff. We clean out our closets, desk drawers, garages and attics
periodically to get rid of STUFF to make room for more STUFF. In fact,
we will often visit the flea markets in our community and chuckle at the
seniors who are selling their STUFF and then walk around buying more
STUFF!

Some of us fall into the trap of being consumed by and being devoted to
STUFF — we aren’t content with what we have — we need a better camera.
Someone else gets a new and better computer and we begin to drool and
covet and then map out a plan as to how we can get one that’s even
better. Some of us end up working extra jobs and hours so that we can
live a better life and get more stuff. We end up exhausted, burned out,
mad at the kids, frustrated with our spouses — and quite frankly being
miserable. We buy into the lie from the enemy that MORE STUFF =
Happiness and contentment.

The bottom line is that instead of desiring STUFF and being devoted to
it, we need to SEEK HIM! Oswald Chambers says: “As long as I have
something from God which I possess, I have not got God. God gives us
possessions in order to draw us to Himself, and when we get GOD we are
no longer conscious of our possessions, but conscious only of God. What
possesses me in a yielded life to God is God Himself.”

Jesus said it this way — “Seek first his kingdom and his righteous, and
all these things will be given to you as well.” (Matthew 6:34 NIV).

Question? Are you seeking HIM today or are you trapped in the
STUFF-MODE? “But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the
sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to
the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake
I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ
and be found in him . . .” — Philippians 3:7-8.

Good question to answer today!

Join us tomorrow evening for our first Men’s Fellowship of the New Year!
Dinner is at 6:15 PM! Call today and make your reservation —
800-453-7942. Why not bring a friend!

WHAT ARE YOU LISTENING TOO?

We live in a world that bombards us with sound. Think about it — where
can you go today and find quiet? The malls, supermarkets, elevators,
doctor’s offices — there is always something playing or someone
speaking. My daughter-in-law received an IPOD for Christmas — it can
hold 70,000 songs. Now I love music — but how in the world could you
ever listen to 70,000 songs! And think of the time it would take to
download all that.

As a leader, I am bombarded with stuff to listen to — from donors to
staff to guests that want to chat and share what’s on their hearts. I
have to weigh and listen to lots of words. Sometimes it is a bit
overwhelming even for someone like me who thrives on people.

My associate and friend, Jim Kennedy, often encourages me to be careful
what I listen to. People love to tell you STUFF. Some is necessary,
often it isn’t. I find myself having to test what I hear and evaluate
what is profitable and what I need to simply ignore. If I acted on
everything everyone told me, I would really got nuts (no comments from
the peanut gallery!).

I have shared with you before that we are raising chickens. To have good
eggs you need a rooster. This morning at 4:00 AM I was ready to forget
the eggs and have roast rooster! He has been crowing for over and hour.
What we recently found out is that a rooster can hear sounds up to four
miles away — our goofy rooster is most likely responding to another
rooster that he is hearing. I wonder if they sell ear plugs for
roosters?

Some of us are like that — we are so tuned into listening to junk that
we can hear it up to four miles away. We listen to music that is not
pleasing to the Father. We listen to gossip, false reports about our
co-workers, dirty stories — well you name it.

We need to develop ears that will please the Father. We need to guard
what is coming into our ears. Do you have a plan for that? Take some
time and develop a listening plan. Start with reading through the book
of Proverbs. It’s filled with godly wisdom for godly ears!

“Does not the ear test words, as the palate tastes food?” — Job 12:10

Good words for today!

Our spring semester of the Keswick Institute of Biblical Studies begins
in just a few weeks. Have you considered working on your Bible College
Education? We have partnered with Lancaster Bible College to make
affordable and time-friendly Bible college education available to people
of all ages. Our semester is an 8 week commitment of 2 hours on a
Tuesday or Thursday evening. For details and registration information,
visit our website — http://www.americaskeswick.org.

LETTING GO

“You must let go of your restlessness, your excessive curiosity, your
longing for success and your habit of collecting things that stroke your
ego. The best way to let go of these things is to cultivate an inner
silence where you may come to experience your Lord’s presence. If you do
this every day of your life, you will make real progress in denying
yourself.

Sitting in your Lord’s presence will calm you, soften your temper,
humble your know-it-all attitude, and restrain your impatience. You will
be made aware of your Lord, and the needs of your neighbor. God has
bless you in making you so sensitive. Things that would hardly bother
other people touch you to the core. You are troubled or pleased by
nothing halfway! But I warn you to guard yourself against your likes and
dislikes since they are so passionately expressed.” — from FENELON —
THE SEEKING HEART

“What I am trying to do here is to get you to relax, to not be so
preoccupied with GETTING, so you can respond to God’s giving. People who
don’t know God and the way he works fuss over these things, but you know
both God and how we works. Steep your life in God-reality,
God-initiative, God-provisions. Don’t worry about missing out. You’ll
find all your everyday human concerns will be met.

Give your entire attention to what God is doing right now, and don’t get
worked up about what may or may not happen tomorrow. God will help you
deal with whatever hard things come up when the time comes.” The words
of JESUS from the SERMON ON THE MOUNT — Matthew 6 (from The Message)

Join us this Thursday night for our monthly MEN’S FELLOWSHIP NIGHT at
America’s KESWICK. Pastor Larry Green, Senior Pastor of Shawnee Baptist
Church, will be our speaker. Dinner is at 6:15 PM followed by an evening
of praise, testimony and God’s Word. After the session, enjoy the
Activity Center for a swim, game of basketball, volleyball or the hot
tub! Call for reservations — 732-350-1187. See you there!!!

AND NEVER A BREAK IN STEP . . .

“It started at the end of a Sunday morning in an Ontario Church. The
choir began the recessional, singing as they marched in perfect unison
up the center aisle to the back of the church. The first young lady in
the women’s section was wearing a new pair of shoes with needle heels —
heels that are so slender they slip through any grating. And in the
aisle was grating that covered the hot air register.

Without a thought for her fancy heels, the young woman sang and marched.
And the heel of one shoe sank right through the holes in the register
grate. Instantly she realized her predicament. She knew she couldn’t
hold up the whole recessional while she back-stepped to pull our her
heel. So she did the next best thing in this emergency. Without missing
a step she slipped her foot out of her shoe and continued up the aisle.
There wasn’t a break in the recessional. Everything moved like
clock-work.

The first man following that young woman noted the situation and,
without loosing a beat, reached down and picked up her shoe. The entire
grate came with it. Startled but still singing, the man continued up the
aisle bearing in his hand one grate attached to one shoe.

Never a break in the recessional. Everybody singing. Everything moving
like clockwork. And then in tune and in time to the beat, the next man
stepped into the open register.”

What a great illustration of our worship. Some of us wait until Sunday’s
to worship and the hustle and bustle of life leave us empty or on
overload. We arrive at church frustrated and unprepared for our time in
HIS presence. In order for SUNDAY worship to be meaningful, worship
needs to be happening in our lives on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday,
Thursday, Friday and Saturday — then we will arrive on Sunday never
taking a break in our step — Worship needs to be a part of the very
fabric of our lives.

Purpose in this new year to be a worshipper each day of the week! Have a
blessed Lord’s Day!

STEADINESS

“Do not let your faults discourage you. Be patient with yourself as well
as with your neighbor. Thinking too much will exhaust you and cause you
to make a lot of mistakes. Learn to pray in ALL your daily situations.
Speak, act, and walk as if you were in prayer. This is how you should
live anyway.

Do everything without becoming too excited. As soon as you start to feel
yourself getting too eager, quiet yourself before the Lord. Listen to
HIM as He prompts you inwardly, then do only as He directs. If you do
this, your words will be fewer and more effective. You will be calm, and
good will be accomplished in greater measure.

I am not talking about continually trying to reason things out. Simply
ask the Lord what HE wants of you. The simple and short asking is better
than your long-winded debates.

Turn toward God and it will be much easier to turn away from your strong
natural feelings. Depend on the Lord within you. Your life will
eventually become a prayer. You may suffer, but it will be in peace.”
from the writings of FENELON in THE SEEKING HEART (Available from the
Keswick Online Bookstore … http://www.americaskeswick.org ).

In your heart God has excavated an immense space where he has placed a
precious treasure. From now on you have the twofold duty of receiving
and giving: sharing the treasure of the kingdom you bear within you and
stretching the area of your tent for those around you. Anonymous

Good words for this Saturday, January 7, 2006.