Robert Jeffress - Second Chance, Second Act: Turning Your Messes into Successes

F IRST B APTIST C HURCH of Wichita Falls, Texas, is an evangelical Christian church whose mission is to spread the good news of Jesus Christ and lead people to become obedient and reproducing disciples of Jesus Christ, as He commanded in Matthew 28:18-20.

The church conducts many ministries, from small-group Bible studies (LIFE GroupsLearning, Involving, Fellowshiping, and Evangelizing) and prayer and recovery groups, to community outreach, to women's and teen ministries. Learn more about the church online at the First Baptist Church Web site: www.fbcwf.org.

To tune into the teaching ministry of Dr. Robert Jeffress, check out Pathway to Victory, a nationally broadcast program currently seen on Faith TV on Saturday nights at 6 p.m. (CST), on Family Net TV on Sundays at noon (CST), and on the Daystar Network on Sunday afternoons at 1:30 p.m. (CST). To order tapes from the Pathway archive, call toll-free 1-800-348-TAPE. You may listen to the daily radio broadcast at www.ptv.org.

Designed to provide insight on the truth found in God's Word, Pathway to Victory aims to give viewers and listeners practical application of God s Word for everyday life through clear, biblical teaching. To download free messages or subscribe to the free monthly newsletter, Path Lights, log on to www.ptv.org.

To Hollis and Donna Sullivan

Thank you for your faithful stewardship of the resources
God has entrusted to you
as you help us spread the message of Christ around the world.
You are an incomparable encouragement to your pastor.

Messed Up,
Not
Washed Up

W aiting anxiously for my flight to be called so I could return home, I decided to make one final stop in the rest room. I was washing my hands when I glanced over and saw a woman entering the bathroom. She froze in her tracks upon seeing me at the sink and began to apologize profusely.

I'm so sorry, she said.

That's all right. It happens to me all the time, I replied, trying to alleviate her obvious embarrassment.

I finished drying my hands, brushed my hair, and straightened my tie before leaving. For some reason I glanced back and noticed an unexpected image to the side of the rest-room door I'd just exited: a feminine stick figure accompanied by the word Women.

I was the one who had been in the wrong rest room the entire time!

We all make mistakes almost every hour of every day I'm sure you have a number of embarrassing moments you could share as well.

However, I imagine the reason you picked up this book is not because of some minor mishap, like entering the wrong rest room. More likely, in your distant or immediate past is one whopper of a mistake that haunts you.

An innocent friendship that turned into a torrid affair.

A poor financial decision that threatens your future security.

An opportunity you squandered because of sheer laziness.

A choice to invest more time in your career than in your family

A decision to end a relationship you should have stayed in.

A decision to stay in a relationship you should have ended.

Your mistake, with its accompanying and unending regrets, raises all kinds of questions in your mind.

Can my mistake ever be forgiven?

Even if I'm forgiven of my mistake, will I still spend the rest of my life paying for it?

If God planned every detail of my life before I was born, did His plan include the mistake I made?

Can I totally recover from my mistake?

As the old joke begins, I have good news and bad news. The bad news is that you can't rewrite history. You can't really start over because life has no Rewind button. The good news is that your mistake can actually be a steppingstone to greater success in life.