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 How wonderful it is to
receive an answer to prayer! But there is something even more wonderful
– to be an answer to prayer.
Have you been an answer to prayer lately? Joseph was! In Psalm 105:17 we
read, “He sent a man before them – Joseph – who was sold
as a slave.” At the time, Joseph could not see what God was doing.
But God was preparing him to be an answer to prayer. He was going to use
Joseph to protect the people of Israel. If Joseph had not done this, the
nation might have perished. If the nation had perished, we wouldn’t
have a Bible, and we wouldn’t have a Savior.
God plans His work. We never have to worry about what is going on,
because God knows. He is never caught off guard, and He is never surprised.
God never says, “How did that happen?”
He chose Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and Jacob’s sons to
accomplish some great purposes in this world – to bear witness of the
true and living God, to give us the Bible and the Savior. God also works
His plan. He uses people to accomplish His purposes.
We don’t always know what God is doing. He didn’t send an
angel down to prison to explain to Joseph all of His plans. Joseph worked
and walked by faith. He went through trials and dishonor, but he ultimately
triumphed. From trial to triumph, from bondage to blessing, Joseph was an
answer to prayer.
You may be wondering today why you are going through this experience.
Why doesn’t God make life easier for you? Remember Joseph. God chose
him, prepared him and used him as an answer to prayer. Let God prepare you
for what He has prepared for you! He designs them for your good and His
glory.
Perhaps you are going through difficulties and trials today. God
doesn’t waste your trials. He might be planning to use you as an
answer to prayer.
Here is your copy of firstIMPRESSIONS,
Volume 8.19. Live for God, on purpose, as He
works His good will out in your life!
 The
Pathway of Power
Does the Bible tell us that when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, you
will speak in tongues? When the Holy Spirit comes upon you, you will fall
over? How about, when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, you will laugh, run
around, or swing from chandeliers? Of course, this isn’t what the
Bible says. Acts 1:8 says ”...you will receive power when the Holy
Spirit comes on you!” The greatest characteristic of being a
Pentecostal Christian should be power! But, unfortunately, many people have
identified being Pentecostal with any number of other things, including
those we previously mentioned!
As we continue our preaching series “Walking on Pentecostal
Pathways,” we will focus this week on what must be the identifying
characteristic of anyone that claims to be Pentecostal – power!
As a Pentecostal believer, I do want to go on record as believing in
speaking in other tongues. And, I believe that this is the initial physical
sign that one has indeed received the baptism in the Holy Spirit. But,
tongues is NOT any indicator that one continues to live a life full of the
Spirit of the living God! Acts 1:8 not only says that we will receive power
when the Holy Spirit comes upon us, but also that we will be His witnesses
to the very ends of the earth!
This week, we will look at the next part of the Pentecostal pathway
– “The Pathway of Power.” Be sure to join us as we learn
from Peter’s experiences in Acts 9:32-43.
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 The
King Has Another Move!
This week, we enjoyed the PennDel MinistrieSummit, our
annual district council for the Pennsylvania-Delaware District. The speaker
for our concluding service was Rev. Zollie Smith, the Executive Director of
US Missions for the Assemblies of God. In his message, he shared this
story, which has been told by Christian speakers as far back as 1955 when
Billy Graham told a variation of it early in his ministry. I trust you will
be as blessed as we were when we heard it!
Two men are standing in front of a painting called Checkmate in an art
gallery. In the painting, a man is playing chess with the devil. The devil
is grinning ear-to-ear because he has the man cornered. The title of the
painting, Checkmate, indicates that the game is over. The devil has won.
His opponent has no more moves.
The first man looking at the painting wants to move on to other
paintings in the gallery. But the second man, an international chess champion,
wants to look at the painting longer, so he waves his friend on and tells
him he will catch up later. The chess champion stares and stares at the
chess board, then suddenly he steps back, flabbergasted. “It’s
wrong!” he exclaims. “There’s one more move.” He
runs to his friend and together they look at the painting. “We have
to contact the painter,” the chess champion says. “It’s
not checkmate. The king has one more move.”
When you look at Scripture, you will see that all through history, the
devil has had God’s people in what seemed like
“checkmate.” But God had another move.
In Exodus 14, with the Egyptians relentlessly chasing them, the
Israelites, finally released to journey to the Promised Land, came to the
shores of the Red Sea. They could see the dust from approaching Egyptian
chariots on the horizon and hear the war cries of their pursuers. They had
nowhere to turn. Their families would be killed; their possessions would be
taken. Checkmate, right?
The King had another move. God says to Moses, “Why are you crying
out to me? Tell the people to get moving! Pick up your staff and raise your
hand over the sea. Divide the water so the Israelites can walk through the
middle of the sea on dry ground” (Exodus 14:15-16). We know the rest
of the story. The Israelites get to the other side; the Egyptians drown
when God closes the water alley.
In 1 Samuel 17, the Israelites and their leader, Saul, were terrified.
The nine-foot-tall Philistine giant, Goliath, was taunting them and making
fun of their God. The Israelites were in checkmate.
But the King had one more move. An insignificant little boy too small to
fit into Saul’s armor knocked off Goliath and delivered the
Israelites. David, who knew a thing or two about being in checkmate, shows his
deep faith when he says, “The Lord who rescued me from the claws of
the lion and the bear with will rescue me from this Philistine!” (1
Samuel 17:37).
In Daniel 6:1-28, King Darius threw Daniel into a lions’ den
because Daniel ignored the new law to pray to King Darius and instead
prayed to God. In imagery reminiscent of the tomb of Jesus, a stone was
rolled over the mouth of the lions’ den and Daniel was left to be
torn apart. You can’t get much more “checkmate” than that
situation!
But the King had another move. He sends an angel to close the
lions’ mouths. When King Darius finds Daniel safe, he says: “I
decree that everyone throughout my kingdom should tremble with fear before
the God of Daniel. For he is the living God and he will endure forever. His
kingdom will never be destroyed, and his rule will never end” (Daniel
7:26).
Perhaps you feel like you are in checkmate in your life. You are in
debt. You’ve lost your job. Your marriage is in trouble. Someone you
love is dying. You have an addiction that is eating you with shame.
Whatever your situation, you have to remember that God always has
another move in your life. He can get you out of whatever you’re in.
He raised his own Son from death! Pray to Him. His love for you is
unconditional, and he never turns his back on you. You have another move.
Even if your pain keeps you from finding the words to pray, the Holy
Spirit will pray for you. Paul says in Romans 8:26: “And the Holy
Spirit helps us in our weakness. For example, we don’t know what God
wants us to pray for. But the Holy Spirit prays for us with groanings that
cannot be expressed in words.”
When it seems as if you can’t move to the next square on the
calendar, remember, the King always has another move!
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 The
Twenty Cans of Success
Christian author Neil Anderson wrote a list he called The Twenty Cans of
Success. These are based on what the New Testament says is true of
Christians. These are promises, claimed by believers through the centuries.
Allow God to speak to you through these assurances.
1. Why should I say I can’t when the Bible says I can do all
things through Christ who gives me strength (Philippians 4:13)?
2. Why should I lack when I know that God shall supply all my needs
according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus (Philippians 4:19)?
3. Why should I fear when the Bible says God has not given me a spirit
of fear, but of power, love and a sound mind (2 Timothy 1:7)?
4. Why should I lack faith to fulfill my calling knowing that God as
allotted to me a measure of faith (Romans 12:3)?
5. Why should I be weak when the Bible says that the Lord is the
strength of my life and that I will display strength and take action
because I know God (Psalm 27:1; Daniel 11:32)?
6. Why should I allow Satan supremacy over my life when He that is in me
is greater than he that is in the world (1 John 4:4)?
7. Why should I accept defeat when the Bible says that God always leads
me in triumph (2 Corinthians 2:14)?
8. Why should I lack wisdom when Christ became wisdom to me from God and
God gives wisdom to me generously when I ask Him for it (1 Corinthians
1:30; James 1:5)?
9. Why should I be depressed when I can recall to mind God’s
lovingkindness, compassion, and faithfulness and have hope (Lamentations
3:21-23)?
10. Why should I worry and fret when I can cast all my anxiety on Christ
who cares for me (1 Peter 5:7)?
11. Why should I ever be in bondage knowing that there is liberty where
the Spirit of the Lord is (2 Corinthians 3:17)?
12. Why should I feel condemned when the Bible says I am not condemned
because I am in Christ (Romans 8:1)?
13. Why should I feel alone when Jesus said He is with me always and He
will never leave me nor forsake me (Matthew 28:20; Hebrews 13:5)?
14. Why should I feel accursed or that I am the victim of bad luck when
the Bible says that Christ redeemed me from the curse of the law that I
might receive His Spirit (Galatians 3:13-14)?
15. Why should I be discontented when I, like Paul, can learn to be
content in all my circumstances (Philippians 4:11)?
16. Why should I feel worthless when Christ became sin on my behalf that
I might become the righteousness of God in Him (2 Corinthians 5:21)?
17. Why should I have a persecution complex knowing that nobody can be
against me when God is for me (Romans 8:31)?
18. Why should I be confused when God is the author of peace and He
gives me knowledge through His indwelling Spirit (1 Corinthians 14:33;
2:12)?
19. Why should I feel like a failure when I am a conqueror in all things
through Christ (Romans 8:37)?
20. Why should I let the pressures of life bother me when I can take
courage knowing that Jesus has overcome the world and its tribulations
(John 16:33)?
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 The
Highest Priority
Have you ever been in a hurry and buttoned up a long overcoat with lots
of buttons and when you were done, found out that the coat was uneven? What
went wrong? I’ll tell you what went wrong. When you don’t get
the first button in the right hole, all the rest are out of sequence too,
right?!
That’s a parable about life. Jesus said it this way in the Sermon
on the Mount: “Seek ye first the kingdom of God and his
righteousness, and all these things will be added unto you.” (Matthew
6:33) If the Lord is not the high priority in your life, then, like the
overcoat, so many other things in life will be out of whack as well.
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 Ode
to Mom
by Wayne F. Winters
My mom was always there for us through good times or bad.
Anything we needed she made sure that we had.
For Halloween she’d dress us up like a pirate or a ghoul
For Easter she would hide those eggs and chocolate bunnies too.
Our birthday cake always home baked and decorated too
The frosting spread with loving strokes as only she could do.
Each flower and each letter had to be put on just so
A masterpiece with candles lit, “Make a wish and blow.”
Doctor Mom was ready for each cut and every sprain.
And somehow just a kiss from mom would get rid of the pain.
She didn’t need a white lab coat her housedress did just fine
And when you left her “office” you felt better every time.
For Christmas and Thanksgiving you could count on quite a treat.
Roast turkey or a baked ham and of course some homemade sweets.
She’d be in the kitchen for hours on those days
To show how much she loved us in every single way.
So here’s to mom on mother’s day,
I wrote this so you’d know
How much I love you every day, even if it doesn’t show.
I look back on my childhood and thank the stars above.
For everything you gave me, but mostly for your love.
About the Author: Wayne F. Winters, Riverside, California,
USA, http://www.freewebs.com/faithheals Writer is a retired
jewelry manager who retired early due to health reasons. Hobbies include
writing, guitar and photography. Resides in southern California.
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 Lifespan
Explained
On the first day, God created the dog and said, “Sit all day by
the door of your house and bark at anyone who comes in or walks past. For
this, I will give you a life span of twenty years.” The dog said,
“That’s a long time to be barking. How about only ten years and
I’ll give you back the other ten?” So God agreed.
On the second day, God created the monkey and said, “Entertain
people, do tricks, and make them laugh. For this, I’ll give you a
twenty-year life span.” The monkey said, “Monkey tricks for
twenty years? That’s a pretty long time to perform. How about I give
you back ten like the Dog did?” And God agreed.
On the third day, God created the cow and said, “You must go into
the field with the farmer all day long and suffer under the sun, have
calves and give milk to support the farmer’s family. For this, I will
give you a life span of sixty years.” The cow said,
“That’s kind of a tough life you want me to live for sixty
years. How about twenty and I’ll give back the other forty?”
And God agreed again.
On the fourth day, God created man and said, “Eat, sleep, play,
marry and enjoy your life. For this, I’ll give you twenty
years.” But man said, “Only twenty years? Could you possibly
give me my twenty, the forty the cow gave back, the ten the monkey gave
back, and the ten the dog gave back; that makes eighty, okay?”
“Okay,” said God, “You asked for it.”
So that is why for our first twenty years we eat, sleep, play and enjoy
ourselves. For the next forty years we slave in the sun to support our
family. For the next ten years we do monkey tricks to entertain the
grandchildren. And for the last ten years we sit on the front porch and
bark at everyone.
Life has now been explained to you. There is no need to thank me for
this valuable information. I’m doing it as a public service.
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 The
Last Impression
A newly widowed man stood at the cemetery next to his wife’s
casket. When the graveside service had no more than terminated, there was a
tremendous burst of thunder accompanied by a distant lightning bolt and
more rumbling thunder.
The little old man looked at the pastor and calmly said, “Well,
she’s there.
This is going to be a great Sunday here at WFA! It’s
Mothers’ Day, and we have a special gift for every mom! It’s
also Pentecost Sunday – and God has already given every believer a
special gift – the promise of the Father, the empowerment that comes
from receiving the baptism in the Holy Spirit. Come worship the living God
with us this Sunday!
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