I am an avid reader and this weekend I finished a new book by one of my favorite authors, Jack Cavanaugh. Jack teamed up with the late Dr. Bill Bright to write a series of historical fiction books based on the revivals in America known as the Great Awakening. The second book in the
series is called FIRE. It is based on the preaching ministry of Jonathan Edwards and George Whitefield.

The main character of the story is Pastor Josiah Rush and he has recorded in his journal insight into the “soul sickness” he observed in the lives of the people of his town. He describes six distinct stages of soul sickness that are worth considering today:

1. INSENSITIVITY — there is a cooling of spiritual zeal. Worship becomes routine. Bible reading and prayer are neglected. The things of the world take on greater importance than the things of the kingdom. God is thought to be distant, and thus is no longer feared. Men’s spirits
become calloused.

2. INITIAL PAIN — one becomes dissatisfied with life. Things that once were pleasurable become ordinary, even despised. There is no satisfaction in work. Family members are taken for granted or ignored. Food and drink lose their ability to cheer. There is a general feeling
of anxiety about life.

3. INCREASED PAIN — Depression sets in, as does bitterness and resentment. Dissatisfaction turns to anger. Those infected are quick to blame others and quick to find fault. There is a loss of sleep and a loss of appetite. At this stage relationships cause more pain than joy. People are defensive and quick to anger.

4. UNCHARACTERISTIC BEHAVIOR PATTERNS EMERGE — there is a noticeable change in personality. There are premeditated acts of revenge and hate that never would have been associated with the person previously. Camaraderie and wicked joy is found in promoting acts of party spirit. (At this stage, Christians often realize that what they are doing is wrong, but they find themselves unable to stop.) The cycle of guilt starts.

5. INCREASE IN DESTRUCTIVE BEHAVIOR — shameful, hurtful, divisive acts are rationalized as being justified. The infected persons are blinded to the consequences of their actions. A prideful martyr spirit grows to such extent that the persons infected not only believe they are
justified in their sinful acts, they take pride in their sin.

6. THE SPIRIT DIES — All guilt is gone. A person sins without fear of impunity. Corruption, immorality, blasphemy, rage, drunkenness, orgies, factions, and idolatry are accepted and at times embraced as part of being human. Acts of sin are viewed as empowering. Violence is enjoyed. Self-destructive behavior results. The person lives as an antichrist.

Interesting observations for our consideration from 1740! Does it sound familiar? Check out YOUR heart today. I recommend this series to you. Available in the KESWICK BOOKSTORE:
FIRE by Jack Cavanaugh published by Howard Publishing.

Two years ago our facility was approved by the American Red Cross as a site that could be used to service our community in the event of a natural disaster or God forbid, a terror attack due to our proximity to two military bases as well as nuclear reactor. We went through a series of emergency procedures and talked about the “what-if” scenarios. On Tuesday evening there was an accident a Keswick Pines, the lifecare retirement facility next to our property. A maintenance man was working on a boiler that exploded and the elderly residents, except for the medical patients needed to be evacuated.

With the assistance of the Manchester Township Fire and Police and the American Red Cross, the Activity Center of America’s KESWICK was turned into a “temporary hotel” for over 210 senior citizens. The staff from Keswick Pines and America’s KESWICK did a phenomenal job in helping these precious people through a very traumatic event in their lives. Most of them had already been in bed — dressed in the pj’s!

The following morning I was walking through the Activity Center moving from cot to cot welcoming them to our facility and trying to help the other staff adjust to their new environment. As I looked into their faces you could sense gratefulness that they had temporary housing, but apprehension over how long they would be displaced. Some of them just
needed a hug, a handshake and a smile to settle them down to let them know it would be alright.

As I watched our staff in action, my mind raced back to the Scriptures. What would Jesus have done in this situation? I could see Him moving through the crowd calming the storm with His presence. I saw touching them with his hands that provided calmness and peace to a difficult
situation. I then realized that this is the privilege we have as his disciples and followers in 2005. We have the privilege of being his hands and heart as we have opportunity to serve in His name with those who come across our paths.

Remember the words of Jesus: ” . . . For I was hungry, and you gave Me something to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me something to drink; I was a stranger, and you invited Me in; naked and you clothed Me; sick and in prison, and you visited Me . . . Truly I say to you, to the
extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me!” (Mattew 25:35-40)

God may surprise you with an opportunity to be His hands this weekend. Maybe it will be a co-worker who is struggling and needs a word of encouragement from you. It may be a total stranger that you meet in the grocery store, at the gas station — open your wide eyes to
opportunities to serve others this weekend. When you are serving others — you are doing it for His glory.

“Pride is the great enemy of the Christian. Pride is an overly high opinion of yourself. It motivates you to do things that you know are not Christlike, and it hinders you from doing what brings glory to God. Pride influenced Adam and Eve to try to become like God (Genesis 3:5). Pride motivated Cain to murder his brother (Genesis 4:5). Pride provoked Joseph’s brothers to sell him into slavery (Genesis 37:8). Pride caused King Saul to resent David so deeply that tried to murder him (1 Samuel 18:8). Pride led King Hezekiah to foolishly reveal his nation’s wealth
to his enemies (Isaiah 39:2). Pride was at the root of the Pharisees’ anger toward Jesus. Pride was the reason the disciples argued over rank in the kingdom (Luke 9:46).

Pride is the relentless enemy. If you succumb to its influence, there will be consequences. You may know that you have offended someone, but pride holds you back from asking forgiveness. You may realize you need to reconcile a broken relationship, but pride will lead you to deny that
need. The Spirit may convict you that you are living a sinful lifestyle, but pride will discourage your admitting it. Pride will convince you that you deserve better treatment. Pride will impede your serving others. Instead, pride will have you striving for places of prominence. Pride will have you listen to flatterers and ignore honest counselors. Pride will lead you to isolate yourself so that you are not accountable to others.

Humility, on the other hand, is pleasing to God and places your life in a position where God will honor you. If pride has crept into some area of your life, ask God to give you victory over it before it robs you of God’s will for you.” from Experiencing God — A Daily Devotional by Dr.
Henry Blackaby, published by Thomas Nelson.

Good words to ponder on this Thursday, August 4, 2005.

I apologize that this Freedom Fighter is so late. Last night around 11:30 PM there was a accident at KESWICK PINES, our friends from the retirement village next to our property. A number of our staff were up through the night working around the clock to care for the over 250 guests that were brought on our grounds to sleep and be fed. The Red Cross provided cots, blankets and pillows for the residents and KESWICK PINES served their residents well with medical care and meals.

This was “GO GOD” day for us as it gave us many opportunities to share Christ with not only the residents, but their loved ones who came to check on their care and safety. The media were given a bird’s eye view into what we do on a daily basis. We are praying that we will have opened up many doors to serve these precious seniors in the days ahead.

I will write more tomorrow. Again, I apologize to our Freedom Fighter family for the delay.

“…we are more than conquerors ….”

(Romans 8:37)

We have in another place considered the “more” nature of God. He is always “more.” He always provides “more.” He always does “more.” That is just the way He is. Now it is good for us to see and know how His “more” affects us in a more personal way.

God’s “more” is personal for US. He is not “more” just for Himself. He is “more” on OUR behalf. He knows WE need His “more.” We see that in so many of His assurances. He manifested it in His declaration that He had come in order that WE may have “life… more abundantly.” (John 10:10) We see it in the promise that His grace is sufficient for US for his strength is made perfect in weakness. (2 Corinthians 12:9)

That is why our Bible tells us that “WE (emphasis added) are more than conquerors….” We are not merely more than the ordinary. We are not in the category of those who “barely make it” in our efforts to overcome the problems of this life. We certainly are not those who are held captive by desires and circumstances. Neither are we captive to the pressures of peers. Corrupted culture holds no claim over us.

Neither are we the ones who merely study about the conquerors. True, those stories of conquerors are exciting. They raise some hope and excite some discipline in those who would like to join the ranks of the victorious. They encourage other conquerors that share the victory. But the promise to us is that WE are the conquerors. In fact WE are the ones who are “more than conquerors.” We are the ones who wear the crown, occupy the throne and hold the victor’s sword. Are you now saying that such is not the case in your life? Are you saying that your struggle for such victory continues? Are you wondering why this victory has not replaced your defeat?Why should we ask? The answer to victory is so obvious. For “we are more than conquerors THROUGH HIM THAT LOVED US.”

Have you not claimed your crown, your throne and your Victor’s sword? Have you not claimed your victory in Christ?

Robert L. Alderman

Scripture Reading: Genesis 1-3; Matthew 1

Today’s Freedom Fighter is from REAL VICTORY FOR REAL LIFE — 365 Daily Meditations on Victorious Christian Living.

“The heart must have in it the grace of prayer to sing the praise of God. Spiritual singing is not be be done by musical taste or talent, but by the grace of God in the heart. The conscious presence of God inspires song.

The angels in heaven don’t need conductors to lead them, nor do they care for paid choirs to chime in with their heaving doxologies of praise and worship. They are not dependent of singing schools to teach them the notes and scales of singing. Their singing involuntarily breaks forth
from the heart.

God is immediately present in the heavenly assemblies of the angels and the spirits of men made perfect. His glorious presence creates the song, teaches the singing, and impregnates their notes of praise. It is so on earth. God’s presence begets singing and thanksgiving, while the absence of God from our congregations is the death of song, or, which amounts to the same, makes the singing lifeless, cold and formal. His conscious presence in our churches would bring back the days of praise and would restore the full chorus of song.

Where grace abounds, song abounds. When God is in the heart, heaven is present and melody is there, and the lips overflow out of the abundance of the heart. This is as true in the private life if the believer as it is so in the congregations of the saints. The decay of singing, the dying down and out of the spirit of praise in song, means the decline of grace in the heart and the absence of God’s presence from the people.

The main design of all singing is for God’s ear and to attract HIS attention and to please HIM. It is ‘to the Lord,’ for HIS glory and to his honor.” written by E. M. Bounds

(from MAGNIFICENT PRAYER — 366 Devotions to Deepen Your Prayer Experience published by Zondervan)

“Come, let us sing for joy to the LORD; let us shout aloud to the Rock of our salvation. Let us come before Him with thanksgiving and extol Him with music and song.” (Psalm 95:1-2)

My reading this weekend was interesting in that the two books I have been reading brought to my mind and heart the SUPREMACY OF CHRIST. Here are some thoughts from Dr. John Piper as we celebrate this Lord’s day, 2005:

* The supremacy of his deity: equal with God the Father in all his attributes — the radiance of his glory and the exact imprint of his nature, infinite, boundless in all his excellencies
* The supremacy of his eternality that makes the mind of man explode with unsearchable thought that Christ never had a beginning, but simply always was; sheer, absolute reality while all the universe is fragile, contingent, like a shadow by comparison to his all-defining, ever-existing substance
* The supremacy of his never-changing constancy in all his virtues and all his character and all his commitments — the same yesterday, today, and forever
* The supremacy of his knowledge that makes the Library of Congress look like a matchbox, and all the information on the Internet look like a little 1940’s almanac
* The supremacy of his word that moment by moment upholds the universe and holds in being all the molecules and atoms and subatomic world we have never dreamed of
* The supremacy of his power to walk on water, cleanse lepers and heal the lame, open the eyes of the blind, cause the deaf to hear and the storms to cease and the dead to rise, with a single word, or even a thought
* The supremacy of his purity never to sin or to have one milli-second of a bad attitude or an evil, lustful thought
* The supremacy of his trustworthiness never to break his word or let one promise fall to the ground

THAT’S WHO WE WORSHIP TODAY! MAY YOUR HEART BE OVERFLOWING WITH
CEASELESS PRAISE!

The book of Hebrews “summarizes so succinctly and penetratingly how appropriate it is that Jesus Himself — His worship, His praise and His glorious honoring — should become the focus and essence of everything we think about, plan, prepare for, arrange, produce, program, and DO
when we we worship. His honor and glory must be the ultimate object of all we pursue as worshippers, whether we lead or follow. His ultimacy is revealed clearly in the Word of God: All worship must flow from that fountain of revelation so as to maintain a full and worthily glorifying
perspective on Him.

The opening three verses of Hebrews 1 make seven statements about our Lord Jesus Christ. Each should be explored as they might be elsewhere in Scripture, for an inexhaustible mine of truth waits to be found in each statement. It is impossible to spend time with passages like this and not be conditioned to keep our perspective when we worship!

The PERSON we worship is:
* predestined Heir of all things (1:2)
* the avenue of God’s power by whom the world was made (1:2)
* the radiant Representative of God’s glory shown to humankind (1:3)
* the ultimate expression of the ultimate reality (1:3)
* the Sustainer of all that exists in the universe (1:3)
* the Savior from sin and Redeemer of sinful humankind (1:3)
* the exalted and ascended Lord — His Majesty on high (1:3)

This is the One to whom we come with our praise and thanksgiving. He is the One whose love and grace prompt our rejoicing and laudation. His Father, our Creator, is the exceedingly glorious One who gave us this Jesus. His commissioned Comforter, the Holy Spirit, is the One sent to us to overflow us with enabling power and give us the capacity to glorify Him — Jesus, our Lord! (from MANIFEST PRESENCE by Dr. Jack Hayford, published by Revell)

Take some time today to read through Hebrews 1 as you prepare your heart for the Lord’s day! Good words to consider.

As you prepare your heart for the Lord’s day, here are some thoughts on worship from the pen of the composer of the marvelous praise song, MAJESTY:

“True worship takes place when you declare the Lord’s worth:

* When we come before Him to honor His character, not parade our music or ministry talent
* When we come before Him with humility, not protecting ourselves from the penetrating power of His Spirit
* When we open as children to the truth of His Word, rather than smugly defending our narrow-minded, doctrinaire attitudes that produce more division than unity in the body of Christ’s Body.

The weight of His glory, exalted in worshipping the Father and magnifying His Son in the power of the Holy Spirit, impacts, reshapes and alters our character and conduct. It liberates, releases and loosens us from the hold of sin and self and unleashes the ministry life of Jesus Christ to course through our daily lives. ‘From glory to glory’ is the Word’s description of a life being progressively transformed to walk in the fellowship and blessings that were always God’s intent for us.”

from MANIFEST PRESENCE — Expecting a Visitation of God’s Grace Through Worship by Dr. Jack Hayford — published by Revell

Take some time these next two days to get alone with God to prepare your heart for the Lord’s Day. Worship is not just for Sunday — It needs to be a daily part of the fabric of our lives!

Dr. Ron Cline, Chairman of the Board of HCJB, has been our Adventure Week speaker and his series is called “WALKING WITH JESUS.” Last night we celebrated by remembering “GO GOD” moments in our lives — those situations where we God shows up and does His thing — things that are only explainable by God! David wrote: “Oh give thanks to the Lord. Call upon His name. Make known HIS deeds among the peoples! Sing to Him, sing psalms to Him. TALK OF ALL HIS WONDROUS WORKS! Glory in HIS name. Let the hearts of those who rejoice seek the Lord.” (Psalm 105:1-3)

I want to encourage you to do just that. Have you had “Go GOD” moments in your life? If so, write them down in your journal. In fact, I want to encourage you to send one to me so that I can share them with the rest of the Freedom Fighter family as an encouragement of God’s faithfulness.

Last year at this time we were praying for the funds to repair the roof on our Activity Center. Initial quotes on the job were $175,000 and more. Through a series of “Go God” moments, the price was lowered to $125,000. I wrote an appeal letter on Monday morning that would be sent
to our Keswick friends and gave it to our Director of Marketing. Our in-house printing press broke and that meant we would have to outsource the job to a local printer. The letter would not be printed for another 5 days!

On Thursday morning, a donor came into my office and shared that he and his wife wanted to write the check for $125,000 for the roof project. Wow! Now I know why the press broke down! But the story gets better. Our Director of Maintenance call the next morning to order the materials and the man who was helping us with the materials looked at the quote in
amazement. Had we waited another day to order the materials, the costs would have gone up another 30%!!! God’s timing in all of this was AMAZING! It was a “GO GOD!” moment.

Well what about you? How about sharing your story with us. Look today for Him to work in your life. Then do what David said — TALK OF ALL HIS WONDROUS WORKS!

Consider it!