Your Valentine Loves You

According to the ancient legends, Valentine was a young Christian priest who lived in ancient Rome. His was an age when young Roman men were not overly eager to leave home and hearth to fight in the emperor's unpopular and seemingly unceasing wars.

According to the story, the emperor placed a ban on marriage for all of Rome's young men, for men without a love connection to wife and family would more readily march away to distant lands. Valentine felt sorry for the unhappy Christian men and their sweethearts, so he secretly performed a large number of Christian marriages. Eventually his compassion placed him in prison.

Outside Valentine's cell window was a cluster of violets. Valentine picked some of the heart-shaped leaves and painstakingly spelled "Remember, your Valentine loves you." Then he would drop those leaves carrying the reflected message of Jesus' love to the streets below.

Eventually, Valentine was put to death because of his faith in the Savior. Valentine died knowing that in the Bethlehem manger, God, in the person of His Son, our Savior, had sent humanity, and him, a message saying, "I love you." On the cross of Calvary as His Son carried our sins, God sent a message which said, "I love you." In the open and empty tomb, the Lord gives us the promise that His love cannot be confined to our days on earth, but continues on from this world even into heaven.

Sadly, still today there are many who, in spite of the Savior's life of sacrifice, feel unloved, unappreciated, uncared for, lost, or lonely. If you are among those who believe you are forlorn and friendless, know that God's gracious love is there for all who have faith in Jesus.

With Jesus as your ever-living Savior, you are given a wonderful, lasting friend who will never forget you. And if you are already part of Jesus' family of faith, hold fast to Him, who is proof of God's love. Believe that no matter how others may treat you, in Jesus you have God's unending, all-encompassing love.

Your Valentine loves you!

By Pastor Timothy Satryan.

Here is your copy of firstIMPRESSIONS, Volume 11.06. Live for God, on purpose, remembering on Valentine's Day, God IS Love!

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Some Fun With Hymns

Dentist's Hymn............................Crown Him with Many Crowns
Weatherman's Hymn.....................There Shall Be Showers of Blessings
Contractor's Hymn........................The Church's One Foundation
The Tailor's Hymn.........................Holy, Holy, Holy
The Golfer's Hymn........................There's a Green Hill Far Away
The Politician's Hymn..................Standing on the Promises
Optometrist's Hymn......................Open My Eyes That I Might See
The IRS Agent's Hymn.................I Surrender All
The Gossip's Hymn......................Pass It On
The Electrician's Hymn................Send The Light
The Shopper's Hymn....................Sweet Bye and Bye
The Realtor's Hymn......................I've Got a Mansion, Just Over the Hilltop
The Massage Therapists Hymn....He Touched Me
The Doctor's Hymn......................The Great Physician

AND for those who speed on the highway - a few hymns:
45mph....................God Will Take Care of You
65mph....................Nearer My God To Thee
85mph....................This World Is Not My Home
95mph....................Lord, I'm Coming Home
100mph..................Precious Memories

Give me a sense of humor, Lord,
Give me the grace to see a joke,
To get some humor out of life,
And pass it on to other folk.

Window Through Which We Look

Window Through
Which We Look

A young couple moved into a new neighborhood. The next morning while they were eating breakfast, the young woman watched her neighbor hanging wash outside. "That laundry is not very clean," she said. "She doesn't know how to wash correctly. Perhaps she needs better laundry soap."

Her husband looked on, but remained silent.

Every time her neighbor would hang her wash to dry, the young woman would make the same comments.

About one month later, the woman was surprised to see a nice clean wash on the line and said to her husband,

"Look, she has learned how to wash correctly. I wonder who taught her this."

The husband said, "I got up early this morning and cleaned our windows."

And so it is with life. What we see when watching others may depend on the purity of the window through which we look.

The Visitor

The Visitor

One day, a man went to visit a church. He arrived early, parked his car, and got out. Another car pulled up near him, and the driver told him, "I always park there. You took my place!"

The visitor went inside for Sunday School, found an empty seat, and sat down. A young lady from the church approached him and stated, "That's my seat! You took my place!" The visitor was somewhat distressed by this rude welcome, but said nothing.

After Sunday School, the visitor went into the church sanctuary and sat down. Another member walked up to him and said, "That's where I always sit. You took my place!" The visitor was even more troubled by this treatment, but still said nothing.

Later, as the congregation was praying for Christ to dwell among them, the visitor stood, and his appearance began to change. Horrible scars became visible on his hands and on his sandaled feet. Someone from the congregation noticed him and called out, "What happened to you?"

The visitor replied, "I took your place."

The Fence

The Fence

There was a little boy with a bad temper. His father gave him a bag of nails and told him that every time he lost his temper, to hammer a nail in the back fence. The first day the boy had driven 37 nails into the fence. Then it gradually dwindled down. He discovered it was easier to hold his temper than to drive those nails into the fence.

Finally the day came when the boy didn't lose his temper at all. He told his father about it and the father suggested that the boy now pull out one nail for each day that he was able to hold his temper. The days passed and the young boy was finally able to tell his father that all the nails were gone. The father took his son by the hand and led him to the fence. He said, "You have done well, my son, but look at the holes in the fence. The fence will never be the same. When you say things in anger, they leave a scar just like this one. You can put a knife in a man and draw it out.

It won't matter how many times you say I'm sorry, the wound is still there. A verbal wound is as bad as a physical one. Friends are a very rare jewel, indeed. They make you smile and encourage you to succeed. They lend an ear, they share a word of praise, and they always want to open their hearts to us.

But your best friend of all should be Jesus. Show your friends how much you care. Be like Jesus.

The Silversmith

The Silversmith

Some time ago, a few ladies met in a certain city to study the scriptures. While reading the third chapter of Malachi, they came upon a remarkable expression in the third verse: "And He shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver (Malachi 3:3)"

One lady proposed to visit a silversmith, and report to them on what he said about the subject. She went accordingly, and without telling the object of her errand, begged the silversmith to tell her about the process of refining silver.

As she watched the silversmith, he held a piece of silver over the fire and let it heat up. He explained that in refining silver, one needed to hold the silver in the middle of the fire where the flames were hottest as to burn away all the impurities.

The woman thought about God holding us in such a hot spot; then she thought again about the verse that says, "He sits as a refiner and purifier of silver." (Malachi 3:3) She asked the silversmith if it was true that he had to sit there in front of the fire the whole time the silver was being refined. "Oh, yes madam," replied the silversmith; "I must sit with my eyes steadily fixed on the furnace, for if the time necessary for refining be exceeded in the slightest degree, the silver will be injured."

Before she left, the lady asked one final question, "When do you know the process is complete?"

"Why, that is quite simple," replied the silversmith. "When I can see my own image in the silver, the refining process is finished."

How to Recognize God's Voice

How can we recognize the voice of God? Can we hear from God? This question has been asked by countless people throughout the ages.

Samuel heard the voice of God, but did not recognize it until he was instructed by Eli. (1 Samuel 3:1-10) Gideon had a physical revelation from God, and he still doubted what he had heard to the point of asking for a sign, not once, but three times. (Judges 6:17-22, 36-40)

When we are listening for God's voice, how can we know that He is the one speaking?

First of all, read. We have something that Gideon and Samuel did not. We have the complete Bible, the inspired Word of God, to read, study, and meditate on. "All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work."
(2 Timothy 3:16-17)

When we have a question about a certain topic or decision in our lives, we should see what the Bible has to say about it.

God will never lead us or direct us contrary to what He has taught or promised in His Word. (Titus 1:2)

Second, recognize. To hear God's voice we must recognize it. Jesus said, "My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me." (John 10:27)

Those who hear God's voice are those who belong to Him, those who have been saved by His grace through faith in the Lord Jesus. These are the sheep who hear and recognize His voice, because they know Him as their Shepherd and they know His voice. If we are to recognize God's voice, we must belong to Him, and we must follow Him.

Third, relate. We hear His voice when we spend time in prayer, Bible study, and quiet contemplation of His Word. The more time we spend intimately with God and His Word, the easier it is to recognize His voice and His leading in our lives.

Employees at a bank are trained to recognize counterfeits by studying genuine money so closely that it is easy to spot a fake. We should be so familiar with God's Word that when God does speak to us or lead us, it is clear that it is God.

God speaks to us so that we may understand truth. While God can speak audibly to people, He speaks primarily through His Word, and sometimes through the Holy Spirit to our consciences, through circumstances, and through other people.

By applying what we hear to the truth of Scripture we can learn to recognize His voice!

by Pastor Timothy Satryan

Here is your copy of firstIMPRESSIONS, Volume 11.03. Live for God, on purpose, listening to His voice for His direction each and every day.

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