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 My left hand is a
member of my body. And so is my right hand. The right hand cannot direct
the left hand and vice versa. But both hands can receive instruction from
the head.
If one hand is connected to the head and the other hand is connected to
the head, then it simply follows that our hands are going to submit one to
another. They’re not going to fight one another!
It should be the same way in the church – the body of Christ!
Romans 12:5 tells us that “in Christ, we who are many form one body,
and each member belongs to all the others.”
Who is the head of the body? The Lord Jesus Christ! Who are the members
of the body? You and I are. God put us in the church together that we might
have a spirit of submission in the fear of the Lord.
Is there someone in the church with whom you’re having
difficulties? Submit yourself to the Lord! And allow Him to give you grace
to submit to one to another!
Here is your copy of firstIMPRESSIONS,
Volume 8.21. Live for God, on purpose, submitting
to His leadership and lordship, as well as submitting to the fellowship and
follow-ship in the body of Christ!
 The
Pathway of Principle
Pentecostal. I am a Pentecostal Christian. WFA is a Pentecostal church.
We firmly believe that the Bible clearly tells us that the promise of the Father
to each and every believer is the Baptism in the Holy Spirit. This promise
is for ALL who believe – to as many as the Lord our God shall call!
The modern Pentecostal church is just about a century old. Since the
outpouring of the Holy Spirit in Topeka, Kansas and on Azusa Street in Los
Angeles, California, the Pentecostal church has grown from a small group of
believers to the fastest growing group of Christian churches in the world.
Unfortunately, there have been all too many examples of individuals
claiming to be Pentecostal, who have been anything but Spirit-filled.
Hypocrites who say one thing and do another. Money-hungry televangelists
who are living in sin. People who point fingers at others who don’t
live up to their own man-made rules, rather than pointing people to Jesus.
In short, there have been too many people who, while claiming to be
Pentecostal, have no principle at all.
The Pathway of Pentecost MUST be a Pathway of Principle! God has given
His people the gift of the Baptism in the Holy Spirit so that we can win
others to Christ. But, a people living without principle cannot influence
others for Christ.
In Acts 11:19-30, we see demonstrated by Barnabas and the other leaders
of the early church just exactly what biblical principle is. Be sure to
join us this Sunday here at WFA as we conclude our series of messages on
“The Pathway of Pentecost” with this most crucial message
– “The Pathway of Principle.”
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 Being
Different is the Difference
Rosa Parks, a lifelong member of the African Methodist Episcopal Church,
refused to give up her seat for a white man on a Montgomery, Alabama, city
bus in 1955. The bus driver ordered four African-American riders to give up
their seats for white riders who were standing. Three did, but Rosa decided
the day had come to be different. Her arrest, and the resulting Montgomery
Bus Boycott, set in motion the modern Civil Rights movement.
In order to make a difference, one has to be different. Three young
Hebrew men in Babylon made a difference by being different. They were the
only ones in Babylon who refused to bow down before a ninety-foot tall
image. As a result, they were thrown into a furnace of fire from which God
miraculously delivered them. The difference they made by being different
was that the king offered praise to “the God of Shadrach, Meshach,
and Abed-Nego” (Daniel 3:28) and established a nationwide ordinance
against defiling their God.
If you want to make a difference for Christ in your home, at your job or
school, or in your community, ask God to show you ways to be different for
Him.
Make a difference by daring to be different.
from Dr. David Jeremiah’s “Today’s Turning
Point” daily devotional. www.TurningPointOnline.org
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 Don’t
Be Absurd
Jack, a 15-pound, orange and white cat, took seriously his job of
guarding his owners’ backyard in New Jersey. He often scared small
animal intruders away, but the owners were surprised when one day they
found him sitting at the base of a tall tree, looking up at a large black
bear. Jack hissed at the bear as it wandered into the yard from the nearby
woods. The scared bear quickly climbed up a tree. How could a big black bear
be afraid of a little kitty? What was he thinking!
Even more absurd are our thoughts of worry and fear when we consider
that we have a powerful and good God who cares for us. Jesus told His
disciples, “Do not worry...” (Matthew 6:25, 31, 34). He said we
don’t have to be fearful or worried, because our heavenly Father
knows our needs, and we are valued by Him (vs. 26, 32). He is perfectly
willing and able to meet our needs.
When something concerns us, what’s our perspective? It’s not
what we see but how we see it that reveals our attitude. If we look at life
through the lens of our powerful and good God, we’ll trust Him
instead of fearfully worrying. When our perspective is right, we can see
God and His faithful provision.
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 Strength
Out of Weakness
In his book, Confidence, Alan Loy McGinnis talks about a famous study
entitled “Cradles of Eminence” by Victor and Mildred Goertzel,
in which the family backgrounds of 300 highly successful people were
studied.
Many of the names of those in the study were well-known to most of us
– including Franklin D. Roosevelt, Helen Keller, Winston Churchill,
Albert Schweitzer, Gandhi, and Einstein – all of whom were brilliant
in their field of expertise.
The results of this study are both surprising and encouraging for many
of us who came from a less than desirable home life. For example:
“Three-quarters of the children were troubled either by poverty, by a
broken home, or by rejecting, over-possessive or dominating parents.
“Seventy-four of 85 writers of fiction or drama and 16 of the 20
poets came from homes where, as children, they saw tense psychological
drama played out by their parents.
“Physical handicaps such as blindness, deafness, or crippled limbs
characterized over one-quarter of the sample.”
These people who had confidence in their abilities and put them to
creative use had more weaknesses and handicaps than many who have all of
their faculties intact and who had a reasonably good home life background.
So, what made the difference? Probably by compensating for their weaknesses
they excelled in other areas.
One man reported, “What has influenced my life more than any other
single thing has been my stammer. Had I not stammered I would probably have
gone to Cambridge as my brothers did, perhaps have become a don and every
now and then published a dreary book about French literature.” The
speaker who stammered until his death was W. Somerset Maugham, as he looked
back on his life at age 86.
“By then he had become a world-renowned author of more than 20
books, 30 plays, and scores of essays and short stories.”
It’s not what we have or don’t have that matters in life but
what we do with what we have. All God expects of us is that we don’t
allow our past to determine our future and that with his help we use what
we have to the best of our ability.
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 High
Maintenance Relationships
In his book High Maintenance Relationships, Les Parrott asks these
questions and offers us the following advice:
1. Do you feel anxious when a particular person has called and left a message
for you to return?
2. Are you dealing with a relationship that drains you of energy and
enthusiasm?
3. Do you dread having to see or talk to a particular person at work or
in a social situation?
4. Do you always seek to give, but get nothing in return?
5. Do you keep second-guessing your own performance as a result of
interacting with this person?
6. Do you become more self-critical in their presence?
7. Is your creativity blocked or is your clarity of mind hampered by the
lingering discomfort of having to deal with them?
8. Do you try to calm yourself after being with this person by eating
more, biting your nails, or engaging in some other unhealthy habit?
9. Do you have imaginary conversations or mental arguments in which you
defend yourself or try to explain your side of a conflict?
10. Do you feel resentful that this person seems to treat other people
better than they treat you?
11. Do you wonder why this person singles you out for criticism but
rarely acknowledges what you do well?
If you answer yes, do something about it – “Bless those who
curse you and pray for those who spitefully use you.” (Luke 6:28).
Respond in an opposite spirit!
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 How
to Build
Strong Relationships
Here are key ingredients to work on if you want to build solid
relationships with others:
Enjoyment. In solid relationships, people
spend time together just for the joy of being together. What they do is not
of significance. Unfortunately the busyness of life causes us to forget
what a joy this can be.
Respect. How do you build respect? When you
don’t let obstacles or circumstances become more important to you
than the relationship. When the pressure is on and you still treat them
with patience and kindness. When the relationship is struggling and
you’re willing to work to preserve it.
Shared experiences. Helen Keller may have been
blind, but she had 20/20 vision when it came to relationships: “My
friends have made the story of my life. In a thousand ways they have turned
my limitations into beautiful privileges, and enabled me to walk serene and
happy in the shadow cast by my deprivation.”
Trust. Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote, “The
glory of friendship is not just in the outstretched hand nor the kindly
smile nor the joy of companionship; it is in the spiritual inspiration that
comes to one when he discovers that someone else believes in him and is
willing to trust him.” Paul writes, “Love never fails” (1
Corinthians 13:7-8).
Reciprocity. All relationships experience ebb
and flow. Sometimes one person is the primary giver, sometimes the other
is. But a solid relationship will always be two-sided. “Be kindly
affectionate to one another with brotherly love, in honor giving preference
to one another: not lagging in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the
Lord.” (Romans 12:10-11)
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 The
Last Impression
Seems there is a never-ending list of new books and materials on
“Church Growth.” Are you getting frustrated and tired of all
this church growth talk? Well then, how about a list of “25 Easy Ways
to Curb the Annoying Problem of Church Growth”!
1. Begin your message with the phrase, “You know what’s
wrong with you people...”
2. Place the student Sunday school space near the “Ruth
class” for ladies 70 and above.
3. Move business meetings to Sunday morning and open up the floor by
asking, “So does anybody have a beef?”
4. Begin that year-long sermon series on the 40 weeks of Daniel.
5. Place a polygraph machine on the front pew to be used during the
invitation time.
6. Place tire puncture strips in the parking lot for cars going the
wrong way before Sunday school.
7. Pick a NASCAR driver as your favorite and complain about all the
other drivers (this works best in Alabama).
8. Place the roller coaster “You must be this tall” sign at
the entrance of the worship center. (And make it stand about 5’ 8
1/2")
9. Keep the Christmas pageant livestock in the church choir room year
‘round.
10. Announce that on high attendance Sunday, if the goal is met,
everyone will kiss the pig!
11. If your auditorium slopes downward to the platform, give every kid
under 12 a handful of marbles before the service.
12. Give deacons the ability to “gong” the special music.
13. Place the outdoor welcome center tent a few feet from the septic
tank.
14. Replace the pictures of former pastors with pictures of Larry, Moe,
and Curly.
15. Start arranging marriages in the singles department.
16. Put a blank for “weight” on the membership information
forms.
17. Invite the “cops” crew along during hospital visits.
18. Demand mandatory drug tests for all senior adult excursions.
19. In order to feel relevant, say “Dude” 15 times from the
pulpit each Sunday.
20. Have the organist play hockey cheers at pivotal moments of the
sermon.
21. Place armed guards in front of the Sunday school supply closet.
22. Before the offertory hymn, have the worship leader scream, “Show
me the money!”
23. Charge tolls for the use of restrooms.
24. Illustrate all sermons or Sunday school lessons with scenes from
“Walker, Texas Ranger.”
25. Use the “American Idol” format for staff hirings.
 I promise
that none of those things will be found this week – or any other week
– here at WFA! But on this “Missions Sunday” we are
beginning a new feature – a “Skype” phone interview with
one of our missionaries, live from their mission field! I know you will be
encouraged as we hear first hand, live, from around the world of what the
Lord is doing in that location! Be sure to join us for an exciting time
together of Worship and Word!
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