Fear Factor! #147

2 Timothy 1:7 For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline.

Ever feel afraid? Not the kind brought about by snakes, spiders, and high places, but the fear of failure, the unknown, rejection. Fear can be debilitating and cripple your ability to think, make decisions, relate to other people, and cause major worry and even health issues.

The Bible has a lot to say about fear, but the words to the young Pastor Timothy from his mentor, the Apostle Paul, may say it best. Fear and timidity do not come from God. They are from the enemy whose desire it is to steel, kill, and destroy. Your spiritual, emotional and physical health is greatly influenced by fear. Truth can nullify fear. “You shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free.” John 8:32.

The truth is that God not only does not give you fear and timidity; He gives you something to replace it. God is the author of power, love and self-discipline. Some translations say ‘sound mind’ instead of self-discipline.

What do you believe? Do you look at a situation or circumstance and shudder with fear and back away in timidity, or do you accept God’s truth that you have power, love and a sound mind? The Bible says, “Perfect love casts out fear.” 1 John 4:18. You have power over fear because God gives it to you. You have love instead of fear because God gives it to you. You have a sound mind instead of fear because God gives it to you.

How would you like to make a trade? Trade your fear and timidity for what God can give you. Trust His word not how you feel about your life, situation, or circumstance. God is far greater than any fear you will ever encounter.

Never forget that it is God’s desires to change the way you think. He wants you to know and experience truth. Trust Him today instead of the fear that the enemy throws into your mind. The battle is in your mind. It is truth versus the lies of the enemy. God loves you and wants you to move from fear to faith.

_____________________Today's personal note from Dennis

Greetings from the Wood home,

I have already been to have a CT scan done this morning. (TR) Everything went well. I will get the results of labs that were taken last week and CT scan when I see

the oncologist next Friday June 3.

Mentioning June 3. It is my Dad's 86th birthday. He is in a nursing home in MO and doing well. One day this week he sat in the hall way with the other residents as the

tornado sirens blared over Eldon, MO. He said he got tired sitting and was really glad when it was over.

Sandy has relatives in Joplin. They had windows blown out of their cars and some limbs down but were all ok.

Sandy and I had the privilege of going to our grandson Bennett's band and choir concerts this week. He loves music and is quite good, even if I am a bit prejudice.

Johnny went to the Dr. for a check up this week. He is up to 9 lbs 2.5 oz. It is so great to see him doing so well.

Susan and Collin are in Florida at Disney World this week. They call with reports daily of all the fun they are having.

Please continue to pray for these needs:

People in Joplin, MO.

Good results of CT scan and labs.

Ministry opportunities for me and Sandy.

Summer vacations and travel for all.

Church camps for Burke, Collin and Bennett.

I will be speaking at the Family Camping trip for Grace Community Church the last week of June.

I love all of you and appreciate your prayers and concern. ~ DGW

What Directions? #146

John 21:19-22 19 Now this He said, signifying by what kind of death he would glorify God. And when He had spoken this, He said to him, "Follow me!" 20 Peter, turning around, saw the disciple whom Jesus loved following them; the one who also had leaned back on His breast at the supper, and said, "Lord, who is the one who betrays You?" 21 Petertherefore seeing him said to Jesus, "Lord, and what about this man?" 22 Jesus said to him, "If I want him to remain until I come, what is that to you? You follow Me!" (NAS)

When all else fails read the directions. Great advice; but maybe it should read, “When all else fails; follow the directions.” How often have you received instructions only to ignore them? Most everyone has at some time read the instructions only to proceed to ‘do it your way.’ Whether it was a school assignment or putting together the Christmas gift that simply said, “Some assembly required” you did it your way and ended up with a mess. Usually that “some assembly required” meant a degree in engineering was required; you still ignored the instructions and jumped full speed ahead into the project without heeding any guidance.

The Apostle Peter had been following Jesus three years by this time. He had witnessed miracles, heard Jesus teach and had himself denied that he knew Jesus three times. After a miraculous fishing trip Jesus spoke to Peter about his future. He told Peter to follow Him and Peter responded by asking about John. “What about him?” The instructions to Peter were clear, “follow me.” Peter appeared determined to take attention off of the instructions he had received and make sure John followed his instructions.

Jesus merely responded that what I request of John is between me and John and not your business. Peter’s instruction was clear and simple; follow Jesus.

You may ignore your instructions, do it your way, try to get someone else to follow your directions, or do as you are instructed. The choice is yours. Today is decision day.

_______________________Today's personal note from Dennis

Greetings fom Starbucks,

It has been a great week. Sandy and enjoyed our time with the Golden Valley

Baptist Church this past week-end. God gave me the strength to preach three times. The church is a wonderful loving fellowship. We both were encouraged by their love for one another. Pastor Steve was in a men's retreat, but his wife, Julie, took great care of us. We are talking of a marriage retreat with them in the fall.

This week I signed up the 999th person to receive The Encourager. Send me some one's name and email to receive it and we will hit the 1000 mark. I am so grateful to write words of encouragement each week to so many. I also enjoy hearing back from you.

Collin had his last choir performance of the year. (see attach) His school is closing as part of the budget cuts in our Tempe Elementary School district so he will attend a new school next year. It is still close to where Susan and he live. It will take some

adjustments so pray for him.

Sandy had her tests performed yesterday to determine if the cancer had returned. She was clear for which we praise God. She has an Ultra Sound next week as one more test. The doctor does

not expect to find anything. Again we praise the Lord.

I will have labs done today (19th). The CT scan will be in two weeks. I will get results on June 3 when I see the oncologist. Pray for a good report.

Thanks for your prayers and love. It means a great deal to us. I pray that God will bless you today with an assignment that will bring glory to Him. Please continue to pray for ministry opportunities for both me and Sandy.

God bless you. ~ DGW

Coincidence? #145

Exodus 2:the child grew, and she brought him to Pharaoh's daughter, and he became her son. And she named him Moses, and said, "Because I drew him out of the water. (NAS)

Of all the great men who have walked on this earth Moses was obviously one of them. He is recognized as the leader of Israel who delivered them from Egyptian slavery; the one who re- ceived the Ten Commandments; and the one who is an obvious type of Christ. But how did he come to this place in history? He was born to an Israelite woman named Jochebed and adopted into the house of the Pharaoh by Bithia, the Pharaoh’s daughter. It was from that position that God used his life to free Israel from slavery.

Just a set of coincidences you might say. He just happened to be in a wicker basket placed in the Nile where Pharaoh’s daughter found him. He just happened to be nursed by his birth mother, Jochebed, who was paid for nursing her own child. He just happened to be raised in the home of Pharaoh where he received the finest of everything in order to prepare him for the task ahead.

Could it be that God was actually in charge of it all? He is after all God. He is sovereign. He knows ahead of time what is to happen. He has foreknowledge. He is also a God of provi- dence. He provides ahead of time for your needs. Because He is sovereign, a God of fore- knowledge and a God of providence He is never surprised nor does He panic. He has your life in His hands. You may not see it, but rest assured He sees and knows. He provides far in ad- vance of your need. Israel was in Egypt 400 years before God delivered them from slavery. God prepared ahead of time (providence) for the nation of Israel to eventually return to their homeland through the selection of Moses as their leader 400 years in advance.

God is at work in your life today in order to provide for you not only now but for your future. He is a sovereign God, a God of foreknowledge and a God of providence. You may not know what the future holds, but rest assured you can know who holds the future.

_____________________________Today's personal note from Dennis

Greetings from Starbucks in beautiful Tempe, AZ,

Home at last. Sandy and I had a wonderful time in Missouri. The flooding was amazing. No fishing, but we had the opportunity of visiting several people.

Ministry Opportunities: Mother's Day I spoke at the Northpointe Baptist Church. The gist of the message is in this week's devotional.Saturday and Sunday this week we will be in Golden Valley, AR to preach at Golden Valley Baptist Church. Pray for all three services. I have not attempted that in along

time. June 24-26 Sandy and I will be with the Grace Community Church of Tempe at their All Church Family Camp Out. I will be speaking at the worship service on Sunday in the beautiful Wood's Canyon Campground.I would really appreciate your prayers for these and for other opportunities to "tell what the Lord has done."

Family Activities: Sandy and I arrived back home to a busy schedule. Burke and Bennett had a piano concert on Saturday. Johnny is doing well. He now is over seven pounds. He does have a problem with the shape of his head and will have to wear a helmet for a couple of months. Pray for him and for Mandy and John. Sandy and I missed Collin's school musical. (Thus no pic) He had the lead. Both Collin and Susan are enjoying their new home.

Prayer Needs: Sandy will be tested next week for her bladder cancer. Join us in praying that it has not recurred. I will have tests on my liver in a couple of weeks to see the status of the cancer. Pray that no growth has occurred in the past three months since the last tests. There is no way to express to all of you

how blessed we are due to your prayers. Please continue to pray. Thank

you again.

I know and believe that God will bless you as a result of your faithfulness to Him and to your consistent prayers. May God pour out on you blessings beyond your possible imagination. My prayer for you today is found in Ephesians.

Ephesians 3:20-21
20 Now to Him who is able to do exceeding abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us,
21 to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. Amen. (NAS)

~ DGW

Love and Be Loved #144

1 John 4:7-8
To you who are loved, be loving in retur, for the power to be loving is from God; and everyone who is loving is born of God and knows god. If you are not loving you do not know God for God is loving. (My paraphrase)

1 Corinthians 13:3
But now faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love. (NAS)

The greatest virtue in the world is love, because it is the expresion of God; because He is Love. The Bible presents the three great virtues of faith, hope and love and declares love to be the greatest. Jesus taught you the way to love. He simply says;

John 13:34
"A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another." (NAS)

The qualification of your love for another is "as Jesus loved you." Jesus goes so far as to say the way people will know if you are truly a disciple of Jesus is that you love others.

John 13:35
"By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another." (NAS)

Two scriptures will give you insight into what love means.

Romans 15:7
"Wherefore, accept one another, just as Christ also accepted us to the glory of God." (NAS)

Ephesians 4:32b
"forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you." (NAS)

The Bible teaches clearly that to be loving is to be accepting and forgiving. Jesus did both for you. He accepted you and received you as His child. He also forgave you of your sin and gave you a new life. Praise the name of Jesus for His love and in return be a loving person by accepting and forgiving others.

____________________Today's personal note from Dennis

Greetings from Starbucks in Springfield, MO.

Sandy and I have had a wonderful time visiting in MO. We had a couple of days with my Dad in Eldon. My Dad is doing very well. It was great to visit with him.

I was able to preach at First Baptist Church in Crane, MO on Sunday. We also spent some time with our friends, the Dempseys in Cape Fair, MO. Now we are at Sandy's brother's home in Springfield. We have had the opportunity of seeing some friend here also.

It had been my plan to fish at Table Rock Lake in Branson while here, but the lake is twelve feet above flood stage and we couldn't even get to the paring lot at the marina. The flooding in this part of the country has been devastating. Many people have lost property and homes. The tornadoes have cost hundreds of lives.

I will be preaching at Northpointe Baptist Church in Chandler, AZ on Sunday. Looking forward to being back at that wonderful church. The following weekend Sandy and I will be in Golden Valley, AZ. They have a Saturday night service and two Sunday services. Golden Valley is near Kingman, AZ.

I pray that God will bless your life today. Trust Him with something you are struggling with in your life and allow Him to meet your need. God is great, loving and desires to show His love to you. Learn to be a receiver of His love.

May God bless you this week with His gift of Love. ~ DGW