“A man sits alone with a choice before his eyes,
No one else is present as he wrestles with his lies.
A fire smolders once again from deep within his soul.
He can fuel its growing heat or choose to leave it cold.

Passion begins to flow with a force against his will;
Scenes that grip his mind bring the promise of a thrill.
Emotions rage, needs unfold from a weak and lonely heart;
In this very private moment, will he stop or let it start?

A lovely wife, terrific kids have blessed his simple life;
His gracious God and prayerful friends stand by him in the strife.
But out of sight is out of mind in this moment of clear choice;
Even the indwelling Spirit speaks with ever-fading voice.

Images entice his spirit as their beauty pierce his reason;
Setting aside real joy and peace, he indulges for just a season.
More brief and empty now seems the thrill once it is done;
Regret and shame overwhelm as the lies again have won.

He walks away so dirty, feeling lost in his defeat;
Everything he really loves he chose again to cheat.
Full of remorse in this return to the filth of where he’s been
If only he knew how to stop this madness, before it starts again.

written by Pastor Daniel Henderson in his new book THINK BEFORE YOU LOOK published by Living Ink Books

“And Jabex cried to the Lord . . . keep me from evil that I may not cause pain.” I Chronicles 4:10 May you purpose in your heart today to THINK BEFORE YOU LOOK.

A prayer from the book THE VALLEY OF VISION published by Banner of Truth

O FOUNTAIN OF ALL GOOD,

Destroy in me every lofty thought,
Break pride to pieces and scatter it to the winds,
Annihilate each clinging shred of self-righteousness,
Implant in me lowliness of spirit,
Abase me to self-loathing and self-abhorrence,
Open me in a fount of penitential tears,
Break me, then bind me up’
Thus will my heart be a prepared dwelling for my God;
Then can the Father take up His abode in me,
Then can the blessed Jesus come with healing in His touch,
Then can the Holy Spirit descent in sanctifying grace;
O Holy Trinity, three Persons and one God,
Inhabit me, a temple consecrated to Your glory.
When You are present, evil cannot abide;
In Your fellowship is fullness of joy,
Beneath Your smile is peace of conscience,
By Your side no fear disturb,
no apprehensions banish rest of mind,
With You my heart shall bloom with fragrance;
Make me meet, through repentance, for Your indwelling.
Nothing exceeds Your power,
Nothing is too great for You to do,
Nothing is too good for You to give.
Infinite is Your might, boundless Your love,
limitless Your grace, glorious Your saving name.
Let angles sing for
SINNERS REPENTING,
PRODIGALS RESTORED,
BACKSLIDERS RECLAIMED,
SATAN’S CAPTIVES RELEASED,
BLIND EYES OPENED,
BROKEN HEARTS BOUND UP,
THE DESPONDENT CHEERED,
THE SELF-RIGHTEOUS STRIPPED,
THE FORMALIST DRIVEN FROM A REFUGE OF LIES,
THE IGNORANT ENLIGHTENED,
AND THE SAINTS BUILT UP IN THEIR HOLY FAITH!
I ask great things of a great God.

AMEN

Have a blessed Lord’s day!

“My dear friends, you must keep a tender, close walk with the Lord Jesus Christ. Many of us lose our peace by our careless walk; something or other gets between Christ and us and we fall into darkness. Something or other steals our hearts from God and grieves the Holy Spirit, who leaves us to ourselves. Let me, therefore, exhort you who have found peace with God, to take care that you do not lose this peace.

I have paid dearly for backsliding! Our hearts are so wicked that if you fail to keep a constant watch, your wicked heart will deceive you and draw you aside. How sad to come under the lash of a correcting Father! Recall the experiences of Job, David and other saints in the Scriptures.

I am grieved with the casual spiritual walk of some professing Christians. There is little difference between them and other people that I scarcely know which is the true Christian. Such Christians are afraid to speak for God; they run with the crowd and talk of the world as if they were in their element. This you did not do when you first discovered Christ’s love! When the candle of the Lord first shined upon your soul, you could talk forever of Christ’s love. There was a time when you had something to say for your dear Lord, but today, although you can speak of worldly things boldly enough, you are afraid of being laughed at if you speak for Jesus Christ.

Take care not to be conformed to the world! What have Christians to do with the world? You should be singularly good and bold for your Lord, so that everyone who sees you may take note that you have been with Jesus.” from the writings of the famed preacher, George Whitefield

Taken from HOW GREAT THOU ART . . . a daily devotional published by Multnomah.

Good words to ponder as you prepare your heart for the Lord’s Day.

Some of you are familiar with the powerful words of ONE SOLITARY LIFE . . . penned about our great Savior . . .

He was born in an obscure village, the child of a peasant woman. He worked in a carpentry shop until he was thirty, and then for three years he was an itinerant preacher. When the tide of popular opinion turned against him, his friends ran away. He was turned over to his enemies. He was tried and convicted.

He was nailed on a cross between two thieves. When he was dead, he was laid in a borrowed grave. He never wrote a book. He never held an office. He never owned a home. He never went to college. He never traveled more than two hundred miles from the place He was born. He never did one of the things that usually accompanies greatness. Yet all the armies that ever
marched, all the navies that ever set sail, and all the governments that ever sat, and all the kings that ever reigned, have not affected life upon this earth as powerfully as has that ONE SOLITARY LIFE.

I am reading a new book entitled LEADING WITH BILLY GRAHAM. Author Jay Dennis quotes historian Philip Schaff — “This Jesus of Nazareth, without money and arms, conquered more millions than Alexander, Caesar, Mohammed, and Napoleon; without science . . . he shed more light on things human and divine than all philosophers and scholars combined; without the eloquence of schools, he spoke such words of life as were never spoken before or since and
produced effects which lie beyond the reach of orator or poet; without writing a single line, he set more pens in motion and furnished themes for more sermons, orations, discussions,
learned volumes, works of art, and songs of praise than the whole army of great men of ancient and modern times.”

Pastor Dennis continues to write that “the impact of this one man can be seen in the hospitals that have been built, the schools and universities that have been started, and the compassionate organizations and programs to reach out to the poor, injured, hurting, and homeless that have been started in His name. He elevated womanhood to its highest level and inspired people to found orphanages for children who have no homes. The list could continue. When this JESUS
lives within us, His resurrection power allows us to have influence on others!”

Hallelujah! What a Savior. Now what about you? Have you shared Him with someone else? Good words to ponder on this Friday, June 3, 2005.

I love the writings of Oswald Chambers and he addresses the topic of putting God first in our lives in MY UTMOST FOR HIS HIGHEST . . .

“Put trust in God first! Our Lord never put His trust in any person. Yet He was never suspicious, never bitter, and never lost hope for anyone, because He put His trust in God first. He trusted absolutely in what God’s grace could do for others. If I put my trust in human beings
first, the end result will be my despair and hopelessness toward everyone. I will become bitter because I have insisted that people be what no person can ever be — absolutely perfect and right. Never trust in yourself or in anyone else, except the grace of God.

Put God’s will first! ‘Behold I have come to do Your will, O God.’ (Hebrews 10:0) A person’s obedience is to what he sees to be a need — our Lord’s obedience was to the will of His Father. The rallying cry today is, ‘We must get to work! The heathen are dying without God. We
must go and tell them about Him!’ But we must first make sure that God’s ‘needs’ and His will in us personally are being met. Jesus said ‘. . . tarry . . . until you are endued with power from on high’ (Luke 24:29).

The purpose of our Christian training is to get us into the right relationship to the ‘needs’ of God and His will. Once God’s ‘needs’ in us has have been me, He will open the way for us to accomplish His will, meeting His ‘needs’ elsewhere.

Put God’s Son first. ‘Whoever receives one little child like this in My name receives me.’ (Matthew 18:5) God came as a baby, giving and entrusting Himself to me. He expects my personal life to be a ‘Bethlehem.’ Am I allowing my natural life to be slowly transformed by
the indwelling life of the Son of God? God’s ultimate purpose is that His Son might be exhibited in me.”

from MY UTMOST FOR HIS HIGHEST published by Discovery House.

So how are you doing, my friend, with your priorities? Good words to ponder today. God bless you.

“A young boy by the name of James had a desire to be the most manufacturer and salesman of cheese in the world. He planned on becoming rich and famous by making and selling cheese and began with a little buggy pulled by a pony named Paddy. After making his cheese, he would load his wagon, and he and Paddy would drive down the streets of Chicago to sell the cheese. As the months passed, the young boy began to despair because he was not making any money, in spite of his long hours and hard work.

One day he pulled his pony to a stop and began to talk to him. He said, ‘Paddy, there is something wrong. We are not doing it right. I am afraid we have things turned around and our priorities are not where they ought to be. Maybe we ought to serve God and place Him first in our lives.’ The boy drove home and made a covenant for the rest of his life he would first serve God and then would work as God directed.

Many years after this, this young boy, now a man, stood as a Sunday School Superintendent at North Shore Baptist Church in Chicago and said, ‘I would rather be a layman in North Shore Baptist Church than to head the greatest corporation in America. My first job is serving Jesus!’

So, every time you take a bite of Philadelphia Cream Cheese, sip a cup of Maxwell House, mix a quart of Kool-Aid, slice up a DiGiorno Pizza, cook a pot of Macaroni and Cheese, slurp down some Jell-O, spread so Grey Poupon, stir a bowl of Cream of Wheat, eat the cream out of the
middle of an Oreo cookie, or serve some Stove Top, remember a boy, his pony named Paddy, and the promise little James L. Kraft made to serve God and work as he directed.”

from LEADING WITH BILLY GRAHAM . . . The Leadership Principles and Life of T.W. Wilson written by Jay Dennis, soon to be published by Baker Book House

So how about your priorities this morning? Good words to ponder on this June 1, 2005.

“You, O Lord, are my might and my salvation.
You are my refuge and my strength.
No evil can befall me.
No foe can overcome me.
No disaster overtake me.
Though I am surrounded by dangers,
nothing really frightens me.
Though I am engulfed by uncertainty,
I am confident in Your presence.

I have one desire —
that I may live victoriously with You all the days of my life!
I want my eyes to look upon Your glory.
I want my steps to take me to Your presence.
I want to rest securely in Your holy dwelling place.
You shelter me from the sun and the storm;
You protect me from adversity;
You lift me up toward the high places,
where I look down on my enemies from a vantage point of strength
and security.

I want to sing YOUR praises, Lord.
I want to shout for joy.
I want to make music of adoration.
Hear me when I pray, O God.
Forgive me and heed my request.
I want to seek YOUR approval.
I want to know YOUR presence.
I want to experience YOUR approval.

Please, Lord, do not turn away from me.
Don’t be angry at my waywardness.
You are my constant help.
Stay with me, O Lord.
Accept my praise and love.
You are faithful.
Though everyone else in the world may abandon deserts and abandons
me,
YOU WILL STILL HOLD ME AND DRAW ME TO YOU.

Help me to know You as You are, O Lord.
Keep me on the straight and narrow path.
Don’t let me depart from Your will.
Don’t let the enemies of my soul prevail.
Don’t let falsehood and violence overpower me.

There is much I don’t know,
but I am confident of one thing —
I CAN TRUST MY PRESENT AND MY FUTURE TO YOU, O LORD!
You will bless me with long and satisfying life.
I will look EXPECTANTLY for what YOU will bring about, O Lord.
I will wait patiently for Your will to be done.

Make me strong, brave, stouthearted, courageous, and FAITHFUL.”

from Under His Wings by Ward Patterson published by Accent Books.

As one of my mentors would say . . . “that is a text that preaches!”
Good words for today.

Tomorrow is the premiere edition of VICTORY CALL — a Monday through
Friday email of encouragement for women. To sign up, visit our website:
http://www.americaskeswick.org

O beautiful for spacious skies, For amber waves of grain,
For purple mountain majesties above the fruited plain!
America! America! God shed His grace on thee,
And crown thy good with brotherhood from sea to shining sea.

O beautiful for pilgrim feet, whose sterned impassioned stress
A thoroughfare for freedom beat across the wilderness!
America! America! God mend thane every flaw,
Confirm thy soul in self-control, Thy liberty in law!

O beautiful for heroes proved in liberating strife,
Who more than self their country loved,
And mercy more than life!
America! America! May God thy gold refine,
Till all success be nobleness and every gain divine!

O beautiful for patriot dream that sees beyond the years
Thane alabaster cities gleam undimmed by human tears!
America! America! God shed His grace on thee,
And crown thy good with brotherhood from sea to shining sea!

Good words for this Memorial Day! May God bless America. Take time with
your family to remember and pray!

“Radical praise brings radical presence. Never underestimate the power of one moment in His presence. Thirty second in the manifest presence of God turned a murderer named Saul into a martyr named Paul.

Worship comes in many forms. It can touch him through the slightest brush of a finger against the hem of a garment. It can reach through the hoarse-voiced cry of the vocal cords, or it can traverse time and space without a sound as a silent scream of passionate desperation from a
broken heart.

In the city of Jericho, the hunger of a wealthy but rejected businessman, named Zacchaeus, dangling from a tree and the unashamed cries of worship from a heart of a desperate beggar in the dust captured Jesus’ heart. Desperate worship stops God in His tracks no matter what social strata it comes from. All are equal in His sight. If God would stop the parade of the universe long enough to change these two human destinies forever, what could He do for you?

I wish more of us in the church would get tired of standing on the sidewalk of spectator Christianity while the ‘Jesus parade’ goes by. Somebody needs to get hungry enough to cry out. Somebody needs to get desperate enough to arrest the attention of heaven and say, I’m not
going to let You pass me by, Lord. I thank You for what you HAVE done, but I am desperate for what you CAN do.'”

from Tommy Tenney THE GOD CATCHERS published by Thomas Nelson

Pass me not, O gentle Savior — Hear my humble cry!
While on others Thou are calling, Do not pass me by!

Let me at a throne of mercy find a sweet relief!
Kneeling there in deep contrition — help my unbelief!

Trusting only in Thy merit, would I seek Thy face;
Heal my wounded broken spirit, save me by Thy grace.

Thou the spring of all my comfort, more than life to me!
Whom have I on earth beside Thee? Whom in heav’n but Thee?

Savior, Savior, hear my humble cry!
While on others Thou art calling — Do not pass ME by.

“Attitude is a the determining factor of whether our failures make us or break us. The persistence of a person who encounters failure is one sign of a healthy attitude. Winners don’t quit! Conquerors don’t quit! Failure becomes devastating and causes our attitude to crash when we quit. To accept failure as final is to be finally a failure. In times of failure we need to look to God, our Creator and chief motivator.

WHEN IT LOOKS LIKE I HAVE FAILED . . .
Lord, are you trying to tell me something?
For . . .
Failure doesn’t mean I’m a failure;
It does mean I have not yet succeeded.
Failure does not mean I have accomplished nothing;
It does mean I have learned something.
Failure does not mean I have been a fool;
It does mean I had enough faith to experiment.
Failure does not mean I’ve been disgraced;
It does mean I dared to try.
Failure does not mean I don’t have it;
It does mean I have to do something in a different way.
Failure does not mean I am inferior;
It does mean I am not perfect.
Failure does not mean I’ve wasted my time;
It does not mean I have an excuse to start over.
Failure does not mean I should give up;
It does mean I must try harder.
Failure does not mean I’ll never make it;
It does mean I need more patience.
Failure does not mean YOU abandoned me;
It does mean YOU must have a better idea. Amen.”

from the pen of Dr. John C. Maxwell in his book THE WINNING ATTITUDE . .
. YOUR KEY TO SUCCESS

Someone needs to hear this today. I would be happy to hear your story. Have a blessed day. If you haven’t made plans to join us this weekend, our Memorial Day Conference is underway. Dr. Richard Allan Farmer will be sharing God’s Word at 9:30 AM followed by our Community Open House from 11:00 – 3:00. Tonight at 7:00 PM, Dr. Jim Jeffery, President of Baptist Bible College and Seminary, will be sharing God’s Word. Join us for this great weekend. For information, call 800-453-7942.