Tell All

Psalm 38:18 “I confess my iniquity; I am troubled by my sin.”Hosea 14:2 “Take words with you and return to the LORD. Say to him: ‘Forgive all our sins and receive us graciously, that we may offer the fruit of our lips.'”

What do you do after the Lord has convicted you of sin? When the Word has penetrated your heart and shown you an area that needs to be cut out? The Word of God tells me it’s not enough to be convicted of sin in my life…the next step is to confess it.

It can be argued that…well… I’ve been convicted of sin and I have acknowledged it in my life, isn’t that enough? Why do I also have to confess it to God? Scripture is filled with verses that tell me I must confess my sin to God. It is His requirement.

In the book of Hosea we are told to “take words” with us when we come to the Lord in confession. The Lord wants to hear how deeply sorry I am for my sin. I am acknowledging that I have sinned against a holy God and that His Son Jesus paid the price of my sin. It is very humbling to stand before a righteous and holy God and confess my sin. There is something that happens when you begin to “take words” with you to the throne of God, there’s an unburdening that takes place that can’t happen any other way.

Along with confession is repentance. If I have truly confessed and repented there will be a change that will happen in me. I can’t remain the same…it’s impossible. And change is never easy but impossible in my own strength.

Repentance is a turning away from sin and going 180 degrees in the opposite direction. Today, for me, this means Jesus will be a part of my conversation…intentionally… when I speak with lost family and friends. What if they reject me? Well, I should expect it…Jesus was rejected by family and friends first. Sharing Jesus with those I love, sowing seeds of faith, outweigh the possibility of rejection…their very souls may depend on it. Mary Ann Kiernan is the Intake Manager at the Colony of Mercy

The counsel of peers

I have heard many ministers tell the story from John 8 of the woman caught in adultery. They quote Christ, “If any one of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her.” They follow with verse 9, “At this, those who heard began to go away one at a time, the older ones first, until only Jesus was left, with the woman still standing there.”

Most speakers make the obvious point of the parable that we should not judge others but we should tend to our own sin. However, there is a phrase in verse 9, that I have never heard discussed. “The older ones first.” The older ones were the first to realize they were not without sin. The youngest ones were the slowest to leave. Perhaps they were looking to their peers rather than their elders for guidance. In “Emotional Purity,” the author quotes author Christopher Schlect as asking why, as a society, we have this idea of “separation of generational influence.” ‘

Grandville Stanley Hall taught that each generation is, or should be, superior to the previous one, and therefore needs to break free from those which precede it.’ Schlect writes. “G. Stanley Hall was a pupil of Horace Mann, an evolutionist. Years later we can see how that has played out in all spectrums of life. Most people believe they can gain more insight from their peers than from their old-fashioned parents or grandparents. Because most of us believe this idea that Hall presented, we have looked to our peers, and not our parents, for spiritual growth and emotional guidance.” 1

The Old Testament tells of many young kings who failed because they were looking to their peers for advice rather than seeking guidance from their father’s advisors. If we only get guidance from our peers, we do not have a trustworthy measuring stick. We are most likely all in the same boat of needing someone to lead us, to guide us.”Listen to your father, who gave you life, and don’t despise your mother’s experience when she is old” (Proverbs 23:22, TLB).

Marilyn W. Heavilin is a speaker, author and summer Counselor-inResidence at America’s KESWICK
\1Emotional Purity: an Affair of the Heart by Heather Arnel Paul

Be sure and join us today via the internet for our concluding services of this week. 9:30 AM — Dr. Roger Willmore, and please note 6:30 PM with Dr. Bob Alderman — www.americaskeswick.org

Accessory or Necessity?

I did it again! I changed my hairstyle! I have seen television shows where women are put on the spot to change their hair after 25 years. I will never be one of them! Hair is just an accessory!

Unfortunately, over the past years rock stars, celebrities, fashion designers have made an accessory out of the Cross. What is the cross to you?The Cross of Christ is not an accessory. It isn’t shiny; it is stained with the blood of Christ. It isn’t studded with diamonds; it was pierced where Jesus had nails driven in his hands and feet. It isn’t beautiful (as we may think beautiful); it is where all our sins in all their ugliness were paid for. (Surely, we have the beauty of God’s limitless love and grace because of the Cross!)

What does the Cross mean to you? Do you view it as an accessory? Just some component of Christianity? Do you go by the Cross quickly or have you ever lingered there? Do you only visit at Easter? Do you know the ending but have never given consideration to the process of what was done there? “If you think for a moment that the truth of the cross is something you’ve already adequately understood- if you suspect your life is already cross-centered- allow me to bring to your attention some symptoms that arise from not being cross-centered.

Do any of the following describe you?
1. You often lack joy.
2. You’re not consistently growing in spiritual maturity.
3. Your love for God lacks passion.
4. You’re always looking for some new technique, some “new truth,” or new experience to pull all the pieces of your faith together.” 1

“Too many of us have moved on from that glorious plan. (The Gospel of Jesus Christ and him crucified.) In our never-ending desire to move forward and make sure that everything we think, say and do is relevant to modern living, too many of us have stopped concentrating on the wonders of Jesus crucified.”2

Again, I ask you, has the Cross become an accessory or is it a necessity?

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.

Redepmtion

When we think of redemption we immediately think of our salvation and God’s saving grace that has rescued us from well-earned, well-deserved eternal damnation.

Yet there are so many other works of redemption in our daily lives of which we need to stop and take notice. Redemption is to buy back, to get or win back, to free from what distresses or harms, to change for the better; to offset the bad effect of; to make worthwhile.1 When we consider this definition it is easier to see how that which we consider bad actually can have redemptive value.

For example, suffering in which God’s purposes are accomplished by further conforming us to the image of Jesus Christ, “offsets the bad effect and makes the ‘suffering ‘ worthwhile.” Being pushed beyond our personal limit can be redemptive when it causes us to cease trying and start trusting God. Not being able see the big picture can be redemptive when it causes us to walk by faith rather than sight.

Sharing our story of struggle and sin can be redemptive when it provides us the opportunity to share with others the transforming grace of God in our lives. Our own history of pain and hurt can be redemptive when we share God’s comfort and encouragement which we experienced with others that are hurting. Conflict can be redemptive when it causes us to look at the sinfulness of our own hearts and compels us to run to the cross.

There is nothing beyond the redemptive power of Jesus Christ. ABSOLUTELY NOTHING. So no matter how desperate your situation looks today, you are not without hope because God can redeem anything. Diane Hunt is Director of Addiction Recovery Ministries at America’s KESWICK

1www.merriamwebster.com accessed 7 7 08

You Are Not Alone

Someone I dearly love is in pain today. Once again her heart has been broken and discarded as if it had no value or worth. Once again she sheds tears of grief as she feels the loss of another dream crushed under the weight of sin.What is she to think or feel? What does she do? She does the one thing she knows will make the difference between life and death. She falls on her already calloused knees and through weeping eyes she looks toward heaven, reaches out her arms and cries out for Abaa Father.”

Daddy, hold me,” she cries. “Father, help me to resist the tempation to turn my pain and suffering into bitter hate.” This is her prayer, her heart’s deepest desire for the preservation of her soul and spirit. It is here, in His Presence that she is reminded, and where she knows that she is not alone.

You see, she has been the other way. She has taken the seemingly easier path and turned her back on this One True Love in her life and felt the ensuing separation.What are you doing today with your pain? Are you reaching up and out to the Perfect One? He alone is able to see you through and preserve you. He collects your tears. He bears your sorrows. He knows your inmost parts and He has you safe and secure under the shadow of His wing. He has given us a Comforter who testifies to our hearts and reminds us that we are not ever alone.

“You’ve kept track of my every toss and turn through the sleepless nights, each tear entered in your ledger, each ache written in your book.” ~~ Psalm 56:8″

Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows…” ~~Isaiah 53:4″

And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever- the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you. I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you.” ~~John 14:16-18″

Be merciful to me, O God, be merciful to me!For my soul trusts in You; And in the shadow of Your wings I will make my refuge…” Psalm 57:1a

Dear one, go to Him. He alone is able. He is the one who will never, no never, ever, let you down. Allow Him to take up residence and fill every crack and crevice and lead you onward and upward toward visible victory.

Stephanie Paul is the Director of Women’s Addiction Recovery Ministries at America’s KESWICK

You can now enjoy the conference services at America’s KESWICK right from your own home. Join us for our daily webcasts 9:30 AM and 7:00 PM. Go to www.americaskeswick.org and allow God to speak to your heart and transform your life!

Gotcha!

Hebrews 4:12, “For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart”

Ouch! There are times when you hear a message from the Word of God and you can feel the sharpness of the sword as it cuts into your heart. The double-edged sword doesn’t haphazardly enter your heart and begin to hack away at it with the purpose of destruction. God’s Word is designed to work as precise as a surgeon’s scalpel and go to the area that needs to be cut out.

Have you felt the Surgeon’s knife? I have and last night at the Colony of Mercy Chapel, Chaplain Jim Freed delivered a message from God’s Word straight into my heart. His message was from Acts 16 called “The Night the Jailhouse Rocked.”1

I always pray for my lost friends and family and I pray for opportunities to share the Gospel with them. But if I am really honest, I hope others will do the job for me. Truth be known, just as Jim said, I’m afraid of being rejected by them and so I hope someone else might do the witnessing for me. Chaplain Jim’s challenge was to look to Paul and Silas and follow their example. There in the midst of unjust imprisonment, beating and humiliation, they sang their hearts out while shackled in chains in a dark and cold jail cell. They rocked that jailhouse!

It took great courage for these men to continue to sing their hearts out for Jesus. It also took hearts of great compassion for the lost and dying in the jail who didn’t know Jesus. The result of their courage and compassion was the conversion, not only of the prisoners, but also the jailer and his family!

Where is my courage? Where is my compassion for those that are without Jesus today? I say I love them, but it seems my own fears outweigh my compassion. Lord, cut away and do through me what I can’t do in my own power and strength!!!

God’s Word is sharper than any double-edged sword and I need to open my heart willingly and continually to allow His scalpel to cut where it needs to. Even though messages like this one are difficult to hear because they are very convicting, my heart longs for more of them. Although there is pain when that sword penetrates my heart, it IS the only way to grow in faith…to grow more and more into the image of Christ.

Mary Ann Kiernan is the Colony of Mercy Intake Manager. Her son, Dan, is a graduate of the Colony of Mercy

1 “The Night the Jailhouse Rocked,” Jim Freed, message given at the Colony of Mercy Chapel, Whiting, NJ, July 13, 2007.

Who will you follow?

“Find someone whose product you like and follow them.” This advice was given to my husband and me when we were still in college. It is great advice.

Many of us find ourselves thrust into the middle of raising a family, working with a spouse, and trying to be successful in a profession with very little hands-on training.When Glen and I were teachers of a young couples’ Sunday school class, we asked the couples to write down what they hoped to learn in the class.

I expected the answers to include the books of the Bible they wanted to study. Instead, the women shared, “I don’t know how to cook or prepare for company. Can you help me?” The men stated, “Should I have a will for my family? I’m not sure how to set up a budget. Can you teach me how to trim my shrubs?”On Saturdays, I invited the ladies to come to my house, and I taught them how to prepare recipes for company. On Sunday evenings, the couples came over to enjoy the food we had prepared. We often invited someone to speak, such as a financial planner or an estate planner.

As Christians we should be ready to teach our children and others the Christian way as well as teaching them skills for general living. My dear friend Eva Brandt was willing to help me become the Christian mother I wanted to be. She even stayed with my children from time to time and often left me encouraging notes. She encouraged me and urged me not to be weary in well doing. I have had several Christian mentors: Marva, Florence, Eva, Henry, Cedric and John have taught me much about raising children, studying God’s word, and becoming God’s woman.

Are you willing to find someone whose product you like so that you can learn from them? Are you willing to invest in someone else by transmitting what God has taught you on to them?”Likewise, teach the older women …..to teach the younger women” (Titus 2:3) “And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable men who will also be qualified to teach others.” (2 Timothy 2:2) Marilyn Heavilin is an author, speaker, and counselor-in-residence at America’s KESWICK

My Ways, My Thoughts, My Preferences

“Judge not, that you be not judged. For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you.” ~~ Matthew 7:2

Why are our ideas and plans, the way we see and plan them, the only way we think a thing can be? Why do we persist in only seeing and processing the world as we ourselves are? I grow weary of this very human trait as I see it in myself and as I see it in others. In fact, on a daily basis life affords me numerous opportunities to observe and judge this in others. Thereby, providing many opportunities to see how that “thing” lies in me.

Today someone sent me an email with the following encouragememt:”Jesus is concerned that we not have a critical spirit toward others, especially about their motives as to why they did something. We can’t assume to know another person’s heart; only God can. When we are unfairly critical, overly harsh, or unduly judgmental, we need to remember that God will use that same standard on us. I don’t know about you, but I need grace. So do those I love. I’m going to try very hard to be as gracious toward others as I’m trusting that God is going to be gracious with me.” (Source unknown)

I need grace! You need grace! We all need grace! Everyone we look at to judge, criticize or disdain for some untoward deed done, etc., etc., etc., needs grace. I may prefer or like Christian contemporary-southern-gospel-praise and worship music with a jazzy twist, while you prefer music which is more classical in nature. What I like may hurt your ears and make you cringe inside. Your particular preference might make me yawn. Is it possible that God’s grace is big enough to remind us of the bigger picture? I believe so…I know so! Therefore, may it lead us to extend the grace we have received to one another ALL THE TIME!

“Marvelous grace of our loving Lord,
Grace that exceeds our sin and our guilt!
Yonder on Calvary’s mount outpoured,
There where the blood of the Lamb was spilled.
Grace, grace, God’s grace,
Grace that will pardon and cleanse within;
Grace, grace, God’s grace, Grace that is greater than all our sin.”

Stephanie Paul is Director of Women’s Addiction Recovery Ministries
1 http://www.cyberhymnal.org/htm/g/g/ggreater.htm

Criticism

Criticism is the act of finding fault with… Oswald Chambers: “The average Christian is the most penetratingly critical individual. Criticism is a part of the ordinary faculty of man; but in the spiritual domain nothing is accomplished by criticism. The effect of criticism is a dividing up of the power of the one criticized; the Holy Ghost is the only One in the true position to criticize, He alone is able to show what is wrong without hurting and wounding.”1

The dividing up of the powers of the one criticized. This is a powerful word picture. Basically, we are “cutting a person into pieces” by criticizing. Criticism overflows from a haughty heart. How can I say that? When I criticize another person, I am saying “I know better than you do.” “I think so highly of myself that I must tell you how and why you are wrong.” I know of what I speak, because by nature I can be very critical. I am learning to be less critical, but I have a long way to go. I still have a critical spirit even if I’m keeping it more to myself. The best cure for a critical spirit is a good dose of humility. “Before destruction the heart of a man is haughty, and before honor is humility.” Proverbs 18:12

If criticism serves to divide one’s powers, then Biblical encouragement should serve to strengthen them. Rather than criticizing others, let us choose to encourage them. “Therefore encourage one another daily, as longs as it is called today…” Hebrews 3:13 — Diane Hunt is the Director of Addiction Recovery Ministries at America’s KESWICK

Do all things without complaining and disputing… Philippians 2:14

Complain: to express grief, pain, or discontent. 1

When we complain are we not expressing discontentment with a situation in our life? In a functional sense, are we not denying the truths in Philippians 4:19: “And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus” and 2 Peter 1:3-4 “as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue, by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust? Isn’t complaining an expression of unbelief?

Isn’t complaining a statement of doubting the sovereignty and sufficiency of God? If complaining is evidence of a discontented, unbelieving heart, how do we pursue godliness with contentment because it is great gain? (1 Timothy 6:6)

Three quick thoughts:

1. Meditate on Christ: Psalm 36:8 They are abundantly satisfied with the fullness of Your house, And You give them drink from the river of Your pleasures.

2. Practice gratitude: Psalm 63:5 My soul shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness, And my mouth shall praise You with joyful lips.

3. You can CHOOSE to not be a complainer.Will you choose today to take God at His word? Believe in His sovereignty. Believe in His sufficiency. Today, at every opportunity, put off grumbling and complaining and put on gratitude and graciousness. Diane Hunt is the Director of Addiction Recovery Ministries at America’s KESWICK