How Can You Tell? #292

“1 John 3:23 And this is his command: to believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and to love one another as he commanded us. 24 The one who keeps God’s commands lives in him, and he in them. And this is how we know that he lives in us: We know it by the Spirit he gave us.”              John 14:16 I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper or Comforter, or Advocate (paraclete) that He may be with you forever; 17 that is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it does not see Him or know Him, but you know Him because He abides with you and will be in you. 18 “I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. 19 After a little while the world will no longer see Me, but you will see Me; because I live, you will live also. 20 In that day you will know that I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you.  

How can you tell that you are a born again Christian? How do you know that you are a child of God? What is your evidence that you are truly a believer? The Apostle John wrote not only the Gospel according to John, but also three letters that bear his name. He speaks often of the third person of the Godhead; The Holy Spirit.  He says you can know you are a believer because the Holy Spirit lives in you. The very presence of God in your life is IN YOU. He is the Spirit of Christ, the Holy Spirit. He testifies that you are a child of God as He lives in you.

John also says in the Gospel according to John that the Holy Spirit is the Helper or the Comforter that will not only live in us, but will be with us forever. Those who are not saved and have not received Jesus as their Savior, Lord and Life cannot receive the Holy Spirit. It is only those who believe or have faith in Jesus that the Holy Spirit  comes to live within. He will abide with you forever.

You cannot see the Spirit of God. Jesus said of the Spirit that it is like the wind. You cannot see the wind only the results. So it is of the Holy Spirit. You do not see Him but you will see the results of His presence in you. The Holy Spirit brings to your life the Fruit of the Holy Spirit, which includes; love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, gentleness, goodness, faithfulness and self control. You see the Holy Spirit working in your life through what He does through you.                                                     

__________________Today's personal note from Dennis


Greetings from Starbuck in beautiful Tempe, AZ

Sandy and I experienced a wonderful week end with the Grace Community Church camping group. I even had an opportunity to do a little fishing in Roosevelt Lake. I was not skunked due to one fish. 

The fellowship and food and worship were great. (See pics of worship on Sunday morning.) Richard Compton led the music. He is a member of First Baptist Church of Tempe also. His son, Seth, a cinematographer, took the pictures. Roger Ball, our pastor, saw the homecoming of his elderly mother this past Saturday. It was a time of grieving and rejoicing. She was a Godly woman who loved her family. They will miss her. My prayers and condolences go out for the entire family. 

I will be back preaching at the 9:30 Intersect Service at First Baptist Church of Tempe on March 30th. We will continue our study of Revelation. Join me in the LOFT, an upstairs or up elevator auditorium. Looking forward to seeing you. 

Sandy's brother, Sammy, will be visiting us over the week-end. We are eager to see him and he is eager to see all our grandkids.

His wife, Kathy, is a CPA. That explains why she isn't coming on this trip: Taxes, Taxes, Taxes.

I so appreciate your prayers. Last week I saw four different doctors. Each a specialist. All agreed that at this time nothing should be done. The cancer is growing with little that can help. I still do not have much of an appetite. I have lost 28 pounds since we were in Quartszite at the end of January. Not a diet I recommend. God continues to give me energy enough to do the things that need done. I am so grateful for the help from so many people. 

This past week was my birthday. I am so thankful for the cards, emails and phone calls that wished me a Happy Birthday. I received more recognition of my birthday than at any other birthday in my life. Thanks so much. Some of our good friends, Rich and Monie,  from our church in Wisconsin celebrated my birthday with us. 

I pray that today you may be blessed beyond measure. I pray that your deepest longings of your heart will be fulfilled. God bless you.   ~ DGW

You Cannot Lose! #291

Colossians 3:4 “And when Christ, who is your life, is revealed to the whole world, you will share in all his glory.” (NLT)

Philippians 1:21 “For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.”

Galatians 2:20 “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”

No doubt you have heard someone say, “We need to be living for Jesus.” Let’s look at what the Bible says about living. To live a Godly life apart from Christ is impossible. You really can’t live for Christ. Christ lives for you.

The sinful nature that you were born with led you to follow with a choice of sinning. You were condemned for your sin by a Holy God. His standard of living not only was based upon the commandments, but on “Be holy as I am holy.” Both are impossible for you or anyone else to accomplish. So what do you do to live?

The apostle Paul in his writings to the Colossians, Philippians, Galatians said it well. He came to understand through God’s revelation that the impossible was possible with Jesus Christ living His life in and through him. He said it: “FOR TO ME” to live is Christ. “Christ who is your life.” He did not say to live for Christ, but to allow Christ to live in you. The real life of a Christian is not the effort or energy or trying that is attempted by human means. The Christian life is one in which Christ lives in you. He is your source of life.

The only way possible to allow Christ to live in you is to accept your crucifixion with and in Him when He was crucified and to receive His resurrected life in you. One of Paul’s favorite terms was, “IN CHRIST.”  Your life is lived by faith in the Christ who lives in you. That life is lived by FAITH.

The Bible not only says that to live is Christ, but to die is gain. When you are IN CHRIST, you cannot lose. Living is Christ and dying is gain. Eternal life is the Christ life. It is the joy of knowing that you can’t, but He already has. He lives in you and you are living in victory. Why not surrender to the Christ who lives in you to live your life for you instead of you living for Christ.

___________________Today's personal note from Dennis

Greetings from Starbucks in beautiful Tempe, AZ

Sorry I was unable to write The Encourager last week, but I spent another week in the hospital. The same issues: pain, fever and cholangitis (infection in the bile ducts of the liver. I am doing well now. Thanks for your continuous prayers. I missed preaching at Northpointe Church on Sunday. If the Lord is willing I will be preaching at the Grace Community Church's camping trip this week end. I will be back preaching the Intersect Service in the LOFT at First Baptist Church of Tempe the 30th. Really looking forward to both. 

Burke and Bennett are on Spring Break trips. Bennett is in Europe and Burke is in Boston. They are having a great time. They both had band concerts two weeks ago. I recently looked at a lot of our photos and realized how few of them I was in. That was due to the fact that I was the photographer. So here I am with both boys. 

Collin starts this week with the Tempe Youth Wind Symphony. He is doing well with his trumpet. His concert is April 1st at 7:30PM at the Tempe Center for the Arts in downtown Tempe. Join us. Collin had Spring Break while I was in the hospital. Sandy and I had planned a short trip to the Biosphere 2 near Tucson. I got out of the hospital and decided I felt well enough to go. We had a great time. Check out the Biosphere 2 on the web. Very incredible place. 

We celebrated Johnny's third birthday two weeks ago. He started with a  Bunny Rabbit Piñata. He beat on it with the ball bat with no luck. Big cousin Burke helped him and the candy flew out. He had not only Sandy and I as grandparents present, but also his Great Grandpa John Koleszar I and Grandpa John Koleszar 2, and his Great Grand Mother Ann Koleszar. His Uncle Roger and Aunt Jennifer, Aunt Susan, Great Aunt Irma, cousins Bennett, Burke and Collin, and His little Brov Justin along with friends shared in the festivities. Of course Mom and Dad, Mandy and John were beaming with joy over him. Justin liked the ball bat. 

Sandy has 17 Young Moms in her Bible study. She is so thrilled with their spiritual growth and their interest in the study. She is teaching the Book of Esther every Tuesday morning. 

Thanks so much for your prayers during this past 6 weeks. Spending a total of 13 days in the hospital and struggling with pain and fever has not been fun, but I know you were praying. God is Good!!

             

Blessings to you, your family, and your church. May God shower his grace on you. 

I have become more aware of the Apostle Paul's words, "For me to live is Christ and to die is gain." 

DGW

Facing Your Giants #290

I Samuel 17:45 Then David said to the Philistine, “You come to me with a sword, a spear, and a javelin, but I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have taunted. 46 This day the Lord will deliver you up into my hands, and I will strike you down and remove your head from you. And I will give the dead bodies of the army of the Philistines this day to the birds of the sky and the wild beasts of the earth, that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel, 47 and that all this assembly may know that the Lord does not deliver by sword or by spear; for the battle is the Lord’s and He will give you into our hands.”

Do you have a giant taunting you? Are you discouraged and feeling defeated? Does the giant seem insurmountable? Take a good look at how God deals with giants. Your giant may be a spiritual issue; you feel God is far away, sin keeps knocking at your door and you see no victory; faith eludes you. Maybe your giant is financial. There seems to be no end to the debts, the overdue bills and the lack of provisions for your needs. It could be you are facing the giant of broken relationships with family members; your spouse, a friendship that has gone south and reconciliation has evaded you. Are you facing a physical giant? Your health has failed, the pain and devastation to your body is unbearable and you don’t know where to turn.

David found himself facing the giant Goliath. No one in Israel was willing to face him. He poked fun at the whole nation and the response was fear. David takes the challenge to go head to head with him. David’s answer was based upon the recognition that the battle was not between him and the giant, but between the giant and God. Your giant is frustrating, discouraging and defeating you, but don’t ever forget that God is on your side. Romans 8:31 “What shall we say about such wonderful things as these? If God is for us, who can ever be against us?” (NLT) Romans 8:37 But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us. (NAS)

God defeated Goliath, but David’s part was faith. Trust God with whatever giant you are facing today. “Faith is the victory.” I John 5:4 (my paraphrase)

__________________Today's personal note from Dennis

Greeting from Starbucks in beautiful Tempe, AZ

Band concerts, music concerts, Bass Pro Shop, birthday party preparation, preaching and teaching, doctors appointments, medical tests, and back to church are all keeping Sandy and I busy. We love it. 

Johnny will be three years old on Saturday
the 8th. I again want to thank all of you who prayed for him when he was born at 29 weeks. We were not sure that he would survive. He has and is a very typical three year old. He helped his Grammie plant flowers this week. He stayed with her for two hours with his little bucket of dirt and his gloves putting petunias in the pots. 

Justin tried to do his part: pulling the plants back out of the ground and watering everything. (see pic) We took both boys to Bass Pro Shop on Monday. They loved it. Justin was especially excited about the big animals. Johnny liked the fish. 

Burke and Bennett are headed out of town for Spring Break. Burke is headed to Boston and Bennett to Europe. I am so glad they have such great opportunities with their school. We had dinner with them at Culvers to talk to them about the trip. 

Collin's two bands played on Tuesday night. He plays trumpet and percussion in two separate bands. Always a great time for me and Sandy. I have to say that he is good. 

He begins this next week playing in the Tempe Wind Symphony. Their concert will be in the Tempe Center for the Arts. The Symphony is a select group of Tempe students. Real proud of him. 

I am doing better every day. Still seeing doctors to find out the result of my tests. I have received some already. The CT scan of the liver denotes more tumors and major growth of the existing ones. Needless to say that is not good. Really appreciate your prayers. 

If the Lord is willing I will be preaching at Northpointe Baptist Church in Chandler, AZ on the 16th. The pastor is a close friend who used to be in our church at First Baptist. I have preached many times at Northpointe and looking forward to being with them again. Join me at 10:30 on the 16th. Sandy and I plan to go camping with Grace Community Church at Roosevelt Lake on the 20th-22nd. I will be speaking at the morning worship service at the Lake. 

Sandy continues to teach her Young Mom's Bible study at First Baptist Church of Tempe. She enjoys her ministry and really loves her young Moms. 

Thanks for your prayers during this past month. It has been a difficult time. I am so glad the majority of the pain is past and that I am recovering well. You will never know how much I appreciate your prayers, emails, cards, phone calls and love you have sent to me and Sandy. Love you all.

May God bless you as you face your Giants!! See the devotional for today. 

~ DGW