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 Two men went
fishing. One man was an experienced fisherman, the other wasn’t.
Every time the experienced fisherman caught a big fish, he put it in his
ice chest to keep it fresh. Whenever the inexperienced fisherman caught a
big fish, he threw it back. The experienced fisherman watched this go on
all day and finally got tired of seeing this man waste good fish.
“Why do you keep throwing back all the big fish you catch?” he
asked.
The inexperienced fisherman replied, “I only have a small frying
pan.”
Sometimes, like that fisherman, we throw back the big plans, big dreams,
big jobs, and big opportunities that God gives us. Our faith is too small.
We laugh at that fisherman who didn’t figure out that all he needed
was a bigger frying pan; yet how ready are we to increase the size of our
faith?
Whether it’s a problem or a possibility, God will never give you
anything bigger than you can handle. That means we can confidently walk
into anything God brings our way.
Philippians 4:13 says that you can do all things through Christ –
He’ll give you the strength!
Nothing is too big for God. Stop telling God you’ve got big
problems, but instead tell your problems to a big God!
Here is your copy of firstIMPRESSIONS,
Volume 8.14. Live for God, on purpose, trusting
in Him as you walk by faith!
 The
Pathway of Persecution
The journey we take as we walk on Pentecostal Pathways is not always a
pleasant excursion. Some popular teaching today would have Christians to
believe that the Spirit-filled life should be one without any problems or
difficulties. However, that is simply not what the Bible tells us.
In 2 Timothy 3:12, the apostle Paul tells us that “everyone who
wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.” And
our Lord Himself says in Matthew 5:11 “Blessed are you when people
insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you
because of me.”
Last week we saw Peter and John walk the Pathway of Prayer, as their
prayers resulted in the healing of a crippled man. This man, now healed,
begins to walk and jump, and praise the Lord in the midst of the people in
the temple. This is followed by a wonderful message by Peter. But, this
also results in a significant amount of persecution for Peter and John.
Have you ever been persecuted for your faith? If not, then you will be
if you are walking in the power of God’s Holy Spirit! How will you
deal with the persecution? We can learn how we should live in those times
by learning from the example shown to us in Acts 4:1-22. Be sure to join us
this Sunday as we continue Walking on Pentecostal Pathways, this week
exploring “The Pathway of Persecution.”
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 What
Can You Learn from This Crisis?
“Do not think it strange concerning the fiery
trial which is to try you.” – 1 Peter 4:12 (NKJV)
Trouble never surprises God! Everyone He uses will tell you life is
pretty much one challenge after another. Listen to how Paul describes the
Christian life: “In everything we do, we show that we are true
ministers of God. We patiently endure troubles and hardships and calamities
of every kind. We have been beaten, been put in prison, faced angry mobs,
worked to exhaustion, endured sleepless nights, and gone without food. We
prove ourselves by our purity, our understanding, our patience, our
kindness, by the Holy Spirit within us, and by our sincere love. We
faithfully preach the truth. God’s power is working in us. We use the
weapons of righteousness in the right hand for attack and the left hand for
defense. We serve God whether people honor us or despise us, whether they
slander us or praise us. We are honest, but they call us imposters. We are
ignored, even though we are well known. We live close to death, but we are
still alive. We have been beaten, but we have not been killed. Our hearts
ache, but we always have joy. We are poor, but we give spiritual riches to
others. We own nothing, and yet we have everything” (2 Corinthians
6:4-10 NLT).
God never promised you that life would be a rose garden but did promise
never to leave you, to take you through your storm and use all things for
good in the end. When your faith is being tested it actually attracts
God’s power and brings His grace to your situation! Even Jesus
learned through the things He suffered (Hebrews 5:8). So cheer up,
you’re not losing; you’re learning!
from The Word for Today, January 28, 2008; www.thewordfortoday.com.au
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 Worth
It
There probably is nothing good in this life that comes free of charge.
Things of value often require sacrifice to obtain – but they are
worth the cost! The Christian life is no exception.
The trials you encounter from day to day may seem frustrating, but the reward
is great in the end. The only problem with the whole equation is that you
can’t see the end, so you’re not always sure where God is
taking you or what He is trying to accomplish in your life. That’s
where His grace and love come into play as He assures you of His guidance
and asks you to trust Him.
Who would you rather trust than God? He knows where your journey will
take you and where you should go, so listen to Him and trust His plans and
reasons.
“Weeping may last for the night, but a shout of
joy comes in the morning.” – Psalm 30:5
”...he said to me, “My grace is
sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.”
Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that
Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake,
I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in
difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” – 2
Corinthians 12:9-10 (NIV)
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 I
Found a Better Way
There is a story about an old fox hunter. He had been extremely
successful, but finally decided to retire and go south for the winter.
Before he left for his first winter in a warmer climate, an energetic
younger man came to him and asked how to become as successful as the old
hunter was. He offered to buy the old man’s cabin, his hunting
rights, and even his secrets for successfully hunting foxes. The old hunter
agreed; he sold the young man all his goods and carefully told him all the
secrets to his great hunting success.
When the old man returned in the spring, he looked for the young man and
asked how his first season as a fox hunter had gone. Discouraged, the young
man admitted that he had not caught a single fox. The old man pressed
further: had he followed the instructions given him? “Well,
no,” answered the young man. “I found a better way.”
Have you “found a better way” when it comes to running your
life? If you choose to follow it, rather than the Original Instructions, no
wonder you “haven’t caught any foxes”!
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 The
Cure of Anxiety
by Ray Stedman
A German pastor friend of mine gave me a treatise he wrote on the cure
of anxiety which I have found to be very helpful. In it is an illustration
I would like to borrow.
He says that Christians are like a pond in the woods on which the leaves
are constantly falling. These leaves fall one at a time, quietly, almost
silently, upon the surface of the pond. The leaves are the manifestation of
the old life. A little vanity, a little envy, a bit of prideful ambition,
some unkindness, a sharp unlovely word spoken to another, a lie, some
impurity, a bit of egotism; these are constantly falling upon the pond of
our life. We don’t think they are very important. We think they are
trivialities, mere passing things. They sink to the bottom and are
forgotten, but they are still there. That is the problem. They are still
there. There they lie and rot, and soon, in the deep subconscious part of
our life, there is a foulness, a fetidness, a rottenness that stops the
flow of the water and stagnates the pool.
This foulness becomes fertile soil for anxiety. Fears arise within us.
Nameless dreads and worries constantly throng us and bother us. In the
quiet moments of our lives we seem to be able to master these better. When
a pool of water is quiet, though the bottom is very dirty and foul, it
isn’t very apparent. But let something agitate the water, let something
bother us, some circumstance irritate us, and the water of our lives is
troubled and the dirt at the bottom whirls up and clouds our minds,
befuddles and confuses us, and we act in panic, a panic of anxiety.
But the Holy Spirit of God brings to our attention the things he is
lifting up out of the bottom of our lives, dredging out the foulness. One
by one these things are brought to our attention, and, if we name them, if
we say, “Yes Lord, that is what I have done, that is what I do. Thank
you for showing it to me,” then we can put it away. Bit by bit it
keeps coming up, all this foulness, until gradually the pool becomes clear
again, sunlit, sparkling, and open. We have nothing left to hide. We
don’t try to cover over and pretend that we are something else. Then
that pool, that pond that has been lying stagnant becomes a trickle of
living water growing into a river at last that flows out in blessing to
others.
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 Where
“U” are Needed...
“U” are needed in Bible ST_DY, but not in IGNORANCE.
“U” are needed in S_PPORT, but not in NEGLECT.
“U” are needed in _NITY, but not in DIVISION.
“U” are needed in D_TY, but not in IRRESPONSIBILITY.
“U” are needed in B_ILDING, but not in TEARING DOWN.
“U” are needed in CH__RCH!!
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 The
Last Impression
When the local doctor began attending church services the pastor was
delighted, and it wasn’t long before they were helping each other in
their work – the minister referring people to the doctor, and vice
versa.
One person who received a referral from the doctor called at the church
office with a note prescribing the pastor’s last four sermons. The
pastor was most pleased until he discovered that the patient’s
problem was insomnia.
I have spent this week in West Virginia as a member of the team of
facilitators, presenting at another Church Planting BootCamp. We were
joined this week by a group of pastors from Germany, who came to learn in
order to provide these same tools to those desiring to plant new churches
in their nation.
The goal of our BootCamps is the same as our goal at WFA – to
equip God’s people for works of service, to reach out and share the
life-changing news of the love and forgiveness of the Father through Jesus
Christ. I am looking forward to being back home in Wilmington and
worshiping with you this Lord’s Day!
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