Weapons of warfare

As we approach our Family and Friends: Binding up the Broken Hearted seminar this Saturday, we would like to give you just a taste of what lies ahead and to encourage you to consider joining us for a day of encouragement and renewal. It will be time well invested. You don’t need to be in relationship with an addicted person to benefit from this weekend’s seminar. If you are a parent, spouse, friend, leader, teacher, co-worker in which there are times of conflict or disagreement you will be blessed by attending this seminar.

Yes, it is geared towards family and friends of the addicted but I believe that the main sessions on enabling (especially for parents), forgiveness and looking at our own hearts apply to every one of us. The workshops on weapons of warfare, grief, enabling and sexual sin in some way touch each of our lives. I have been at America’s Keswick for 9 years and one of the pronounced struggles family members have when a loved one strays is the feeling of helplessness.

In one sense that is true. We do not control another’s behavior and have no power to make that person change-genuinely change. HOWEVER, that does not mean we are powerless. God says:Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, Ephesians 3:20 Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,’ Says the LORD of hosts. Zechariah 4:6 that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places Ephesians 1:18-20

How do we access that power on behalf of ourselves and our loved ones? In many ways, we are in a battle for the hearts of our children, for the very lives of our loved ones. What weapons do we have in our arsenal? How can we be most effective in battle and see amazing victories won? My friends, we are not powerless, we are not without hope, and we are not helpless!! For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ, and being ready to punish all disobedience when your obedience is fulfilled. 2 Corinthians 10:3-6 — Diane Hunt is the Director of Addiction Recovery Ministries at America’s KESWICK

UPCOMING EVENTDiane is one of the workshop speakers at our 3rd Annual Family and Friends Addiction Seminar: Binding Up the Broken Hearted. To learn more about Weapons of Warfare please join us for a day designed to provide practical help for individuals in relationship with an addicted person. It is our desire to give hope to the hopeless and to encourage the discouraged. Saturday, October 11th, 2008. 8:00 am -3:30 pm. Sponsored by America’s Keswick – Addiction Recovery Ministries. It will be held at an off-campus location: Whiting Bible Church, 95 Lacey Rd, Whiting, NJ 08759. $25.00 per person includes continental breakfast, lunch and materials. For more information see our brochure at www.americaskeswick.org Call today for reservations and directions 732.350.1187 x. 10.

Peace or not

We live in a world rapidly spinning towards destruction. Scientists are spending their life-work studying the “big bang” theory (their effort to explain creation apart from THE CREATOR). I would venture to guess, they haven’t seen anything yet. God promises to destroy the earth, as we know it. “But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up.” 2 Peter 3:10

With frightening intensity, almost daily we hear of countries at war, earthquakes and hurricanes, economies toppling, accidents and terroristic threats. How can a person have personal inner peace in the midst of such chaos? Few do. Anxiety is one of the leading mental health and counseling issues in the United States. How can we, as Children of the Most High God, be different? How can we stand apart from this frantic world and be at peace? How can we have genuine peace, not artificial peace that the world finds in a bottle or pill, but genuine, deep, abiding peace? “Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.” John 14:27

Genuine peace is not even possible apart from a saving faith in Jesus Christ. How can one have genuine peace who does not have peace with God or who does not have assurance of their eternal destination? Denial that God exists or of an afterlife doesn’t resolve this issue in the heart and life of a non-believer. They will not have genuine peace. “Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ…” Romans 5:1

Once a person has entered a personal saving faith relationship with Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit dwells within them and the fruit of His presence includes peace. “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.” Galatians 5:22-23Here’s the bottom line: Our peace, genuine, abiding peace is only possible in relationship with Jesus. It is IN HIM that we have peace. As we possess Christ, we possess peace. “These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace.” John 16:33 “For He Himself is our peace, who has made both one, and has broken down the middle wall of separation” Ephesians 2:14Peace is a work of God in our life as we abide IN CHRIST and yield moment-by-moment to Him, allowing Him to live His life through us in faith. “Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” Romans 15:13

May you know Christ today. May you know peace today. Diane Hunt is Director of Addiction Recovery Ministries at America’s KESWICK

UPCOMING EVENT: Diane is one of the workshop speakers at our 3rd Annual Family and Friends Addiction Seminar: Binding Up the Broken Hearted. Please join Diane, Stephanie, MaryAnn, Bill P. and Jim F. for a day designed to provide practical help for individuals in relationship with an addicted person. It is our desire to give hope to the hopeless and to encourage the discouraged. Saturday, October 11th, 2008. 8:00 am -3:30 pm Sponsored by America’s Keswick – Addiction Recovery Ministries. It will be held at an off-campus location: Whiting Bible Church, 95 Lacey Rd., Whiting, NJ 08759. $25.00 per person includes continental breakfast, lunch and materials. Call today for reservations and directions 732.350.1187 x. 10.

Keep a Sharp Eye Out

See to it that no one misses the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many. ~~Hebrews 12:15(NIV)1

Work at getting along with each other and with God. Otherwise you’ll never get so much as a glimpse of God. Make sure no one gets left out of God’s generosity. Keep a sharp eye out for weeds of bitter discontent. A thistle or two gone to seed can ruin a whole garden in no time. ~~Hebrews 12: 14-15 (The Message) 2

“The enemy of our souls has a very specific strategy to destroy relationships. Whether these relationships are in business, marriage, or friendships, the strategy is the same. A conflict arises, judgments are made, and feelings are hurt. What happens next is the defining point of whether the enemy gains a foothold, or the grace of God covers the wrong.”3”

A conflict arises, JUDGEMENTS ARE MADE, and feelings are hurt.” Dear sisters in the faith, this statement, which I repeated from the above quote can sum up a lot of the silliness and nonsense that occupies way, way, way too much of our collective energies and time.At least one time daily I say to myself, “Shut up girl…you aint all that!!!” I also find myself thinking -just as much- about others, “they think way too much of themselves.”The point is plain and simple -does the enemy have a foothold in you as it relates to a critical and judgmental spirit? Does he?! If he does OR if it’s simply the deeds of our sinful flesh, let’s get serious about putting it too death and 1000%, refusing to hold on to a single shred of it.

How many gardens of potential beauty have been, and are being, ruined because so many of us have all but forgotten the grace by which we ourselves have been, and are, saved?May we this week go to our knees in prayer: CONFESS AND REPENT. Let’s get out the pruning sheers, the weed wackers…the weed killing WORD OF GOD… and do whatever is necessary to cut back the thistles and weeds we have too long self-righteously cultivated. Selah…Selah…Selah……………………….. Stephanie Paul is Director of Women’s Addiction Recovery Ministries at America’s KESWICK

UPCOMING EVENTStephanie is one of the featured speakers at our 3rd Annual Family and Friends Addiction Seminar: Binding Up the Broken Hearted. Please join Diane, Stephanie, MaryAnn, Bill P. and Jim F. for a day designed to provide practical help for individuals in relationship with an addicted person. It is our desire to give hope to the hopeless and to encourage the discouraged. Saturday, October 11th, 2008. 8:00 am -3:30 pm Sponsored by America’s Keswick – Addiction Recovery Ministries. It will be held at an off-campus location: Whiting Bible Church, 95 Lacey Rd., Whiting, NJ 08759. $25.00 per person includes continental breakfast, lunch and materials. Call today for reservations and directions 732.350.1187 x. 10

.1 www.biblegateway.com
2 www.biblegateway.com
3 Today God is First by Os Hillman, a free devotional from Crosswalk.com

Jesus loved…so He stayed

John 11:3-6 “Therefore the sisters sent to Him, saying, “Lord, behold, he whom You love is sick.” When Jesus heard that, He said, “This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God may be glorified through it.” Now JESUS LOVED Martha and her sister and Lazarus. SO, when He heard that he was sick, HE STAYED TWO MORE DAYS in the place where He was.” (NKJV – Emphasis mine)

Being the Intake Coordinator for the Colony of Mercy is a great blessing to me. I have to say I love speaking with the men and women who call the office. I share the love and hope of Christ to those who feel all hope is gone. Even so, my heart can get very heavy at times when there is great desperation to get a bed either “today” or as soon as possible. While I would love to get everyone one in “immediately,” the pile of applications on my desk tells another story.

After a few days of desperate calls to the Intake Office and many men and families wanting to know just why there were no immediate beds, I was feeling a bit discouraged myself. Chaplain Jim Freed shared John 11 with me and pointed out a few words that I had certainly read many times but had never actually “heard” before.Jesus is some distance from His dear friends when he gets word that Lazarus is gravely ill. There is no mistaking the love that Jesus had for Mary, Martha and their brother Lazarus. The Scriptures make it very clear in verse five “Jesus loved” them. And without a doubt they loved Jesus and believed He could save Lazarus from imminent death.

But then there is a tiny two letter word that follows, “SO” then the words “He stayed.” Wait a minute….He loved them so much that He lagged behind?? Jesus knew what was going to happen. He knew that Lazarus would go though agony and then experience death. He knew that Mary and Martha’s hearts would be broken as they watched the suffering and death of their brother. He knew the feelings of helplessness they would go through. He knew the deep grief they would experience at Lazarus’s death…yet Jesus stayed. Can we understand this kind of love? Can we accept this kind of love? Only if we have faith and believe that God is sovereign in every situation and His timing is perfect even when we can’t understand it or perhaps even accept it.

Further in chapter 11 Jesus tells Martha in verse 40 “Didn’t I tell you that you would see God’s glory if you believe?” Jesus’ heart was so deeply grieved at all that had transpired that He wept at the tomb of His friend.We may never know the reasons Gods answers may be delayed or not answered in the manner we want or expect. But one thing is for certain…He loves His sheep and no matter how He answers, if we believe, we too will see God’s glory revealed when the Lord answers our prayers. Even in His divine timing for a bed at the Colony of Mercy. — Mary Ann is the Intake Coordinator for the Colony of Mercy.

UPCOMING EVENT: Mary Ann is one of the featured speakers at our 3rd Annual Family and Friends Addiction Seminar: Binding Up the Broken Hearted. Please join Diane, Stephanie, MaryAnn, Bill P. and Jim F. for a day designed to provide practical help for individuals in relationship with an addicted person. It is our desire to give hope to the hopeless and to encourage the discouraged. Saturday, October 11th, 2008. 8:00 am -3:30 pm Sponsored by America’s Keswick – Addiction Recovery Ministries. It will be held at an off-campus location: Whiting Bible Church, 95 Lacey Rd., Whiting, NJ 08759. $25.00 per person includes continental breakfast, lunch and materials. Call today for reservations and directions 732.350.1187 x. 10.

Press In To Grace

“Breaking Satan’s foothold requires at least one person to press into God’s grace. It cannot happen when either party ‘feels’ like it, for none of us will ever feel like forgiving. None of us feel like talking when we have been hurt. Our natural response is to withdraw or lash out at the offending party. It is only obedience that allows God’s grace to cover the wrongs incurred.”1

This quote, from an online devotional sent to me this morning by a brother in the faith, is so timely and without question, I know it’s sent to me, among many others, because God is all about refining us and ridding us of all our foolishness and pride.

Our Holy and Sovereign God is calling for and asking all of His children to grow up and out of kindergarten faith. He has pursued and called us and it is time for us to press hard into grace, making known to each other the truth and love that is firmly established by grace alone.

There have been quite a few moments these past few days and weeks where the Holy Spirit has quickened in me an awareness which has enabled me to catch myself in the act of “stinking thinking.” You know what? Like month-old garbage on a hot summer day, the aroma of some of my thinking has been extremely unpleasant…and I praise God all the more for grace, and for the reminder that grace, HIS GRACE, is sufficient.

So much of the small stuff that we sweat about is not worth the energy that we expend on it. Grace, marvelous grace has saved us and allows us to see and know that change needs to take place. Put another way, I need to press into the grace that saved me, lest I forget who I am, where I have come from and where I would be…WERE IT NOT FOR GRACE!!

Whether you have been saved a minute or a multitude of years, pressing into grace is not an option. We need the salve and the healing which grace accomplishes in our hearts and we need to never-no-never forget to extend grace -in all its forms- toward others. “

The next time you are hurt by someone, realize the gravity of the crossroads where you find yourself. Choose grace instead of______________________.”2″

And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth…and from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace.” John 1:14, 16 Selah…Stephanie Paul is Director of Women’s Addiction Recovery Ministries at America’s KESWICK

1 Today God is First by Os Hillman, a free devotional from Crosswalk.com2 ibid

But I said…

“But Peter explained it to them in order from the beginning, saying: I was in the city of Joppa praying; and in a trance I saw a vision, an object descending like a great sheet, let down from heaven by four corners; and it came to me. When I observed it intently and considered, I saw four-footed animals of the earth, wild beasts, creeping things, and birds of the air. And I heard a voice saying to me, ‘Rise, Peter; kill and eat.’ But I said, ‘Not so, Lord! For nothing common or unclean has at any time entered my mouth.'” Acts 11:4-8 (emphasis mine)

Peter was in a trance and saw a vision. He said, “When I observed it intently and considered…” I believe there are times that God wants to communicate to us but we don’t hesitate long enough to observe intently or consider. I’m no referring to visions and trances; I’m referring to the gentle and sometime not-so-gentle promptings of the Holy Spirit that we brush off. Peter said it was when he observed it intently and considered He saw and heard. He saw the particulars of the vision and then heard a voice saying – implying it was the very voice of God. I wonder how much we miss because we do not look intently or consider.

The account is Acts, which was written by Dr. Luke, records this interaction as in the first person and Peter’s account of his response to God’s voice was: But I said…BUT I SAID. Does that stop you in your tracks? When God communicates with us, if we recount “But I said…” we have just disagreed with the Creator, Sustainer, Almighty One Who governs the universe. The word “but” implies that everything that preceded the “but”, has been called into question.

How about you? How are you living your day to day life Coram Deo – before the face of God? Are you responding to God with a “but I say”? I’m sure I have responded just like Peter, more often that I care to admit.

Lord, teach me to look intently into your word, to consider Your truth. Give me eyes to see, ears to hear and a heart that responds “yes, Lord” rather than “But I say”. — Diane Hunt is Director of Addiction Recovery Ministries at America’s KESWICK

The Tabernacle

God dwells among His people. We can see the thread of relationship from the Old Testament to the New, Genesis right through Revelation. God desires relationship with us. “God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.”1

In the Old Testament, God dwelt among His people in the Tabernacle. “You shall put the mercy seat on top of the ark, and in the ark you shall put the Testimony that I will give you. And there I will meet with you, and I will speak with you from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubim which are on the ark of the Testimony, about everything which I will give you in commandment to the children of Israel.”2

In the New Testament, God dwelt among His people in the Person of Jesus Christ. “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.”3 “Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,” which is translated, “God with us.”4

In the current age, God dwells among His people by dwelling IN His people. We are the tabernacle. “Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? “5 “I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.”6 “…that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith… “7 “To them God willed to make known what are the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles: which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.”8

In the age to come, in heaven, God will dwell among His people. “And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, ‘Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God.'”9Some day heaven. Are you looking forward to that day?– Diane Hunt is Director of Addiction Recovery Ministries at America’s KESWICK

1 1 Corinthians 1:9 2 Exodus 25:21-223 John 1:144 Matthew 1:235 1 Corinthians 6:19 6 Galatians 2:207 Ephesians 3:178 Colossians 1:279 Revelation 21:3

Salvation Outweighs Suffering

Habakkuk has come full circle. He has come to a place of trust in the sovereignty of God in all of his circumstances. He may be watching his world fall apart. He doesn’t have the answers he would have hoped for. He may not see a quick resolution to life’s problems. As a matter of fact, he may think they will get worse. YET he declares his choice to rejoice in the Lord and to joy in the God of his salvation. He chooses worship over worry. He chooses to remember and joy in the simple fact that God is his salvation. He chooses to trust that the Lord will be his strength in the days ahead and that the outcome will be a greater confidence in God. He trusts that where He leads will be good.

You and I have choices to make when we see things beginning to crumble or when things come out of nowhere and knock us off our feet. No one desires to suffer, but how we will suffer can be something we prepare for. Habakkuk is preparing for the unknown. “Though the fig tree may not blossom nor fruit be on the vines; though the labor of the olive may fail and the fields yield no food; though the flock may be cut off from the fold and there be no herd in the stalls” (Habakkuk 3:18,19). These are the things that may or may not happen. He doesn’t know for sure. What he does know for sure is that regardless of what is to come he has made up his mind- YET I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation.”

Regardless of the unknowns you and I face, may we choose to worship and choose to rejoice that we are His! We can have joy because no matter what, God is our salvation!

C.J. Mahaney in “Living The Cross Centered Life” says, “He (Habakkuk) turned his attention away from suffering and fixed it upon the more vital issue of salvation. In your own times of severe distress which are you more aware of- your suffering or your salvation?”

The Puritan Thomas Watson says, “Your sufferings are not so great as your salvation. Put these two in the balances and see which weighs heaviest.”

The choice is ours. How will you and I choose to suffer? — Kathy Withers is on staff full-time at the Keswick Book and Gift Shop. She is married to her husband, Dave, and has two adult children. Kathy is active in her local church. Her passion is the Word of God and encouraging women to dig deeper into the truths of the Bible.

Living By Faith

Habakkuk asked questions, received answers he would not have chosen, and then he is instructed to live by faith(Habakkuk 2:4). God’s instruction to Habakkuk contrasts the way of the proud Babylonian king with the just that shall live by faith (or more literally- by his faith the just shall live). God continues to list for Habakkuk the sins of the Chaldeans. Drunkenness, pride, ill-gotten gain, inhumanity, murder, corruption of other nations, and idol worship. Sound familiar? Do we not face these in our world today? Do we find some of these in the smaller “worlds” we live in? Is there one struggling with addiction in your world? Is pride rearing its ugly head? Do you see injustice at your child’s school or at your workplace? Is there an idol in your life that seems too large to overcome? The answer for us today remains the same- by faith the just shall live. That means we may not have all the answers we want or get them when we want them. It means regardless of the answer we will live by faith. We will know God and understand His sovereignty, our trust is in Him and we will wait for Him though it seems He tarries too long at times.

Recently I had a prayer answered regarding one of my children. I had initially expressed gratitude for this answer but then later caught myself wishing for more evidence of God’s working in her life. My question was – “How much longer, Oh God?” As I repented of my short-lived gratitude and quickness to point out my lack of satisfaction for what He had done, I was reminded to wait and watch and walk by faith. This is not how to live until you have the answer you want. It is not the way to live only when facing the most urgent of circumstances but the way to live moment by moment, every day.

Habakkuk got this way of living by faith. By verse 17 of chapter 3 Habakkuk declares, “Though the fig tree may not blossom, Nor the fruit be on the vines; Though the labor of the olive may fail, and the fields yield no food; Though the flock may be cut off from the fold, And there be no herd in the stalls- YET I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation.” (NKJV)

Again we learn that the most important thing is our relationship to God and who He is, regardless of our circumstances. After all his wrestling Habakkuk knew God more intimately, trusted God in a deeper way and learned to live by faith.

Today will you and I choose to know God, trust Him, submit to Him and make living by faith a way of life? — Kathy Withers is on staff full-time at the Keswick Book and Gift Shop. She is married to her husband, Dave, and has two adult children. Kathy is active in her local church. Her passion is the Word of God and encouraging women to dig deeper into the truths of the Bible.

Receiving the Answers

I hope you asked God some questions! Now we need to prepare to hear the answers. Most commonly we have heard that God answers us in three ways- Yes, no and wait! In a recent teaching by Erwin Lutzer, he used these words to describe some answers to our prayers- “Sometimes the answer is disguised, sometimes the answer disappoints, sometimes the answer is a disaster and at times the answer is denied.” Ouch!

Habakkuk asked the questions and now in chapter 1 verses 5-11 he gets a response. God tells him “Yes, Habakkuk, I have seen the sin, the trouble and the utter chaos going on. Yes, I have a plan and I am up to something.” Sounds good so far! Then God reveals His plan. God is going to use the Chaldeans, a nation more unrighteous then Judah, to rise up and punish the evil of the land. Can you picture Habakkuk with his fingers in his ears at this point? But he listens and he responds differently. He still asks “why” a few times but we start to see a change of attitude. In Habakkuk 2:1 we find that Habakkuk has changed from his initial time of questioning to a time of determination. “I will stand my watch, and set myself on the rampart (tower) and watch to see what He will say to me, and what I will answer when I am corrected.” He becomes determined to stand watch and continue to seek God. He will set himself in the tower to hear what God will say. He gets alone to listen to God’s voice. He becomes expectant knowing God has more to say to him. Habakkuk becomes submissive and we see Habakkuk’s will fade and God’s will prevail.

Has your answer come in a disguise? Left you disappointed? Facing a disaster? Was the answer denied? This is not the time to crumble. This is the time to stand firm, get alone with God, and submit your will to His.

“God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in times of trouble… Cease striving and know that I am God.” Psalm 46:1, 10 (NASB) Take a moment and read Psalm 46 in its entirety. No matter the answer He will get you through!–Kathy Withers is on staff full-time at the Keswick Book and Gift Shop. She is married to her husband, Dave, and has two adult children. Kathy is active in her local church. Her passion is the Word of God and encouraging women to dig deeper into the truths of the Bible