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 What a wonderful
privilege I had last week to lay hands upon our youth pastor, Rev. Steve
Miller, to ordain him into the ministry. Each year at our annual
Pennsylvania-Delaware District Council, the MinistrieSummit concludes with
this dynamic event, as members of the Presbytery recognize the call of God
upon a select group of ministers who have proven their call into the
ministry through their years as a licensed minister.
I still vividly recall the night twenty-five years ago when I was
ordained in Carlisle, PA. It was a very special moment for me when Rev. D.
Ronald Bailey, my presbyter then, laid his hands upon me. Now, as a member
of the Presbytery, I continue this biblical tradition of conferring
ordination upon others.
We are very proud of Pastor Steve. I met him many years ago as he was on
the staff of the Christian Publications Bookstore in Camp Hill, PA. He
married the former Debbie Sproull, one of the daughters of my good friend,
Pastor Dennis Sproull, who served in the district office with me for a
number of years. The Millers recognized their call into the ministry, and
moved to Springfield, Missouri, where, like my wife and I, were married
students at Central Bible College. Following graduation from CBC, Pastor
Steve joined the pastoral staff at Walnut Grove Assembly of God outside of
Pittsburgh, PA, and was also became a licensed minister of the Assemblies
of God. Last year, they joined the pastoral staff here at WFA.
 The Millers have
diligently pursued their call, and have faithfully followed the will of the
Lord. Through times of difficulty as well as times of victory, the Lord has
confirmed His call upon them time after time. Last week’s ordination
service was a time where we acknowledged what the Lord has done and His anointing
upon their life and ministry.
In 1 Timothy 4:14, the apostle Paul tells his son in the faith, Timothy,
“Do not neglect your gift, which was given you through a prophetic
message when the body of elders laid their hands on you.” This same
word was communicated to Pastor Steve during the ordination service.
And, it is a word for each of us today! Perhaps you have not been called
into a full-time preaching ministry. But, God has nonetheless called you
into full-time ministry! You are gifted by Him, and called by Him! Do not
neglect the gift that He has given you!
Here is your copy of firstIMPRESSIONS,
Volume 8.20. Live for God, on purpose, serving
Him each and every day, being used in the gifts and calling of God upon
your life!
 Overcoming
Bad Habits
Have you ever tried to throw away an old bad habit or a self-defeating
addiction?
Someone said that the best way to break a bad habit is to drop it. If we
don’t break that bad habit or addiction it will have a way of
breaking us! So how do we break that bad habit and/or a self-defeating
addiction?
First, we need to admit that we have a problem
and that it has us beaten. The only person God or anyone else can ever help
is the one who admits, “I have a problem. I need help,” and
genuinely means it and is prepared to do something about it. Bad habits and
addictions rarely, if ever, leave us without a battle.
Second, we need to avoid playing the
blame-game at all costs, and accept full responsibility for our actions and
our recovery. We need to realize that bad habits and especially addictions
are a means to medicate some inner problem or pain that we have never
faced, dealt with and resolved. Bad habits and addictions are almost always
the “fruit of a deeper root.”
Third, we need to ask for qualified help. It
may be a support group or a qualified counselor, or an accountability
partner. We need this support in order to keep us accountable and to help
us stop acting out our addiction and thereby medicating (deadening) the
pain. To heal it we need to feel it. Medicating it stops us from facing and
resolving it.
Fourth, we need to allow God to handle the
root cause. Many people beg God to deliver them from their destructive
symptoms but never think to realize that they need to pray that God will
confront them with the reality of the cause or causes that drives them to
act out in destructive habits and/or addictions. It is only as we face and
confront the truth behind our destructive habits that we have any chance of
recovery.
When we are hiding a deeper sin or fault we tend to confess a lesser one
all the more vigorously. That is; instead of confessing the cause of our
behavior, we get obsessed with and confess only the symptom. This tends to
reinforce the addiction rather than overcome it because whatever the mind dwells
on, the body acts on.
When we pray for truth and genuinely mean it, God always answers. Once
we see the truth (cause) of our problem, we usually know what we need to do
about resolving it. As God’s Word says, “The LORD is near to
all who call on Him, to all who call on Him in truth.”
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 Practicing
the Golden Rule
by Alan Smith
I read recently about one of the most touching moments in sports
I’ve ever heard about. It took place at a women’s softball game
on April 26. Central Washington and Western Oregon faced off against each
other, with the winner to receive a bid to the NCAA’s Division II
playoffs.
Sara Tucholsky, a Western Oregon player, came to the plate in the second
inning with the score tied 0-0 and two runners on base. Sara had never hit
a home run in her lifetime. However, things were about to change. She
connected on a pitch and hit the ball over the center field fence. Due to
her excitement, she missed first base. So she stopped and turned to go back
to the base. But when she made the sudden stop and turn, she collapsed to
the ground, having torn her ACL.
Her first base coach wanted to run out and help her, but if she touched
Sara, she would have been counted out. As Sara lay on the ground, umpires
conferred and determined that the best thing to do was to allow Western
Oregon to substitute a pinch runner at first base (which would have
canceled the home run).
The coach prepared to make the substitution when she heard a voice:
“Excuse me, would it be OK if we carried her around and she touched
each bag?’” You see, in softball, a teammate can’t touch
a player while running the bases, but there’s no rule that says the
opponents can’t touch her. So Mallory Holtman and Liz Wallace, two
players on the opposing team offered to carry Sara around the bases so that
her home run would not be counted as a single. These two players gently
picked up Sara, and carried her around the bases, allowing her to tap each
base along the way. After reaching home plate, these two girls handed Sara
off to her own teammates.
When asked later why she did it, Mallory Holtman said, “Honestly,
it’s one of those things that I hope anyone would do it for
me...” In other words, she was practicing the “Golden
Rule” – “Do unto others as you would have them do unto
you.”
There’s not much I can add to a touching story like that. May it
serve as an inspiration to find ways in your own life to look for people
who could use a hand. When we are less concerned about
“winning” than we are about helping others, we can truly begin
to reflect Jesus Christ in our lives.
“Therefore, whatever you want men to do for you, do also to them,
for this is the Law and the Prophets.” (Matthew 7:12)
This article by Alan Smith, Senior Pastor of the Helen
Street Church of Christ in Fayetteville, North Carolina. You can visit his
site at http://www.TFTD-online.com
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 There
are No “Small” Acts of Kindness
The author wishes to remain anonymous, edited by Shmuel Greenbaum
Since I founded DoOneNiceThing.com, many people write to me about nice
things they do for others or are done for them. I have come to the
conclusion that there is no such thing as a “small” act of
kindness. Some actions might be less dramatic than others, but each one has
the potential to make a big impact on someone. We never know:
• A man in Missouri told me that his 10-year-old daughter had the
idea to give some of her books to a little friend who loved to read but had
no books. The father readily agreed to help his daughter assemble some
books to give away. But he said she must not give the books to the girl at
school. Instead, he dropped them off on the doorstep of the
classmate’s home to avoid embarrassing her or her family. Is giving
away a few used books a small thing? Not to a poor student who is hungry to
read, and not to a father who is proud of his young daughter’s desire
to help others.
• A fellow in Wyoming called me about a nice thing that his friend
did: They carpool together in a truck, and on their way to and from work
each day, the men noticed another man walking down a long road –
everyday. One day the friend put his old but decent bicycle in the back of
the truck, and when they saw the man walking, the friend jumped out and
gave him the bicycle. The man was surprised and very grateful. Is giving
away an old bike a small thing? Not to a person who can now save hours and
avoid pain by riding instead of walking. And not to the giver’s
friend who is inspired by his friend’s kindness.
• A woman in New York told me that she buys a sandwich for lunch
almost every day. When she does, she eats half and asks the waiter to wrap
up the other half and put it into a bag. When she leaves the restaurant she
finds a homeless person to give the leftover sandwich to. Is giving away a
leftover sandwich a small thing? Not to a person who is starving.
• A man I know takes a walk every morning in his California
neighborhood, and when he does he carries a package of cookies with him. He
hands a cookie to anyone he sees – neighbors, gardeners, repair
crews, delivery people – and wishes them a heart-felt “Good
morning!” When they see him they call out, “Cookie Man!” and
wave and smile. Is giving someone a cookie and a smile small thing? Not to
the recipient who is filled with joy by a simple act of generosity.
• A marathon runner wrote to me to praise the people who help her
train. She is blind, and sighted runners allow themselves to be tethered to
her by a loose rope so she can follow the course. She said she has never
had a problem finding another runner to help her – someone always
offers, and she is deeply grateful to them. Is wearing a loose rope around
your waist a small thing? Not to a woman who can now fulfill her dream of
competing alongside others.
Every act of kindness matters, no matter how small it might seem to us.
Used with permission of http://www.PartnersInKindness.org. Kind Words is a free
weekly e-mail distributed by Partners In Kindness. Although the content of
this e-mail contains copyrighted material, Partners in Kindness allows
users who register at our website to reprint them in print, on a website,
or on an e-mail distribution list at no cost. If you have permission to
reprint this e-mail, please ensure that you reprint the entire e-mail
(including this notice). Kindness is like music, art, sports or any other
discipline – it can only be mastered with practice, training, and
lots and lots of encouragement. That is what PartnersInKindness.org is trying to promote.
For further information, please visit their website at http://www.PartnersInKindness.org, or e-mail them at in...@PartnersInKindness.org
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 Envying
Mozart
Remember the story of Mozart’s life told from the perspective of
Antonio Salieri. The play and the film were both called Amadeus. Salieri
was the court musician in Vienna. He worked hard at his craft, writing
melodies that were nice and choral pieces that were fine and instrumental
works that were good. He knew that God had blessed him.
As a young man he had prayed fervently to God, “Let me make music
that will glorify you, Father. Help me lift the hearts of people to heaven.
Let me serve you through my music.”
Then came the boy wonder, the child prodigy, young Mozart. He dazzled
the crowds, playing music as if it was second nature to him. Complex
melodies came from his dancing fingers. His melodies were complex and fun
all at the same time, songs that soared till they seemed to bring heaven
right down to earth.
Here’s the catch: Mozart was such an obvious sinner. He was
immature, vulgar, and obscene. He made off with the ladies every chance he
could get. Salieri grew green with envy. How could life be so unfair. He
was the servant of God. Why should Mozart be blessed with such talents?
Salieri lived a pious and obedient life. Why should Mozart traffic in all
these worldly pleasures and still get ahead? Salieri spent a lifetime of
hard and tedious work. Why should it all come so easily for youthful
Mozart?
The story continues until Mozart dies a mysterious death.
Salieri’s eyes gleam. And in the dramatic climax, Salieri sits in an
insane asylum, where he curses God for denying him the kind of talent that
blessed young Mozart. Envy lurks on the path of the crushed spirit.
From Wayne Brouwer’s “Taming the Beast,”
Preaching Today, Tape No. 118. As seen in Norman Lawrence’s “A
Dose of Inspiration.” Subscribe by sending any email to
adoseofinspira...@yahoogroups.com
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He is Everywhere!
God spoke the universe into existence. Everything is made for His glory,
including us.
 At the far edges of
the universe, about as far as we can see, is the Whirlpool Galaxy (M51).
It’s 23 million light years away. Here’s a photo from the Hubble
telescope. This is actually what is seen inside the core of the galaxy:
 One of the
tiniest, wee things we can see is laminin, a structure of polypeptide
chains that are an integral part of holding nearly all animal tissue
together. Here’s what it looks like:
A visual reminder that Jesus gave His life for us, and no matter where
we go, there He is.
Colossians 1:17 tells us “He is before all things, and in him all
things hold together.”
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 Give
It All to God
At a church meeting a very wealthy man rose to tell the rest of those
present about his Christian faith. “I’m a millionaire,”
he said, “and I attribute it all to the rich blessings of God in my
life. I remember that turning point in my faith. I had just earned my first
dollar and I went to a church meeting that night. The speaker was a
missionary who told about his work.
“I knew that I only had a dollar bill and had to either give it
all to God’s work or nothing at all. So at that moment I decided to
give my whole dollar to God. I believe that God blessed that decision, and
that is why I am a rich man today.”
He finished and there was an awed silence at his testimony as he moved
toward his seat.
As he sat down a little old lady sitting in the same pew leaned over and
said to him “I dare you to do it again.”
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 The
Last Impression
Over the years, I have usually managed to decode the cute, but confusing
gender signs sometimes put on restaurants’ restroom doors. But every
so often, I get stumped.
Recently, I wandered off in search of the men’s room and found
myself confronted by two marked doors. One was labeled “Bronco”
and the other was designated “Cactus.”
Completely baffled, I stopped a waiter. “Excuse me, I need to use
the restroom.” Gesturing toward the doors, I said, “Which one
should I use?”
“Actually, we would prefer you to go there,” the waiter
said, pointing to a door down the hall marked “Men.” “Bronco
and Cactus,” he explained, “are private dining rooms.”
 No mixing up where
you need to be this Sunday! The sign above the doors says “Let us
exalt His name together – Psalm 34:5” Looking forward to
gathering together with you this Sunday to worship our Lord and Savior,
Jesus Christ! See you here at WFA!
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