Next Stop...Willoughby!

"This is Gart Williams, age thirty-eight, a man protected by a suit of armor all held together by one bolt. Just a moment ago, someone removed the bolt, and Mr. Williams' protection fell away from him and left him a naked target. He's been cannonaded this afternoon by all the enemies of his life. His insecurity has shelled him, his sensitivity has straddled him with humiliation, his deep-rooted disquiet about his own worth has zeroed in on him, landed on target, and blown him apart. Mr. Gart Williams, ad agency exec, who in just a moment will move into the Twilight Zone— in a desperate search for survival."

Any die hard Twilight Zone fan would recognize that classic Rod Serling intro to one of the most famous episodes ever: "A Stop At Willoughby".

Remember? The burned out ad exec who keeps waking from his nap on the commuter train to envision a simpler, less stressful life outside the train window in a town called Willoughby?

The conductor tells him there is no such place or stop, but the man is convinced. He decides that the next time he wakes from his nap and sees it, he is going to get off the train. Well, he does, and he enters into this place called Willoughby, a "peaceful, restful place, where a man can slow down to a walk and live his life full measure."

Back on the train we find that at the moment the man decided to get off the train, it was actually his demise, as he fell and was crushed under its wheels. The camera shows him being loaded into a hearse belonging to...yup...Willoughby & Son Funeral Home. (insert Twilight Zone theme here)

Great stuff late 50's and early 60's sci-fi. It always seemed to teeter between truth and fantasy.

I think this episode is probably more pertinent today than it was back then.

How many people in armor suits do you know "held together by one bolt"?

I know plenty. You probably do too.

Maybe you're one of them.

"Willoughby! Next stop, Willoughby!"

Who doesn't need Willoughby? Who wouldn't appreciate Willoughby?

Brother, you would be surprised.

That Twilight Zone episode is less like the Twilight Zone and more like life than we might care to ponder.

Certainly the pressure cooker existence is real.

But what of Willoughby?

Ok, there is no such Eden or Nirvana lost paradise we can hop a train to...

...but... what if we could transform where we are now, our own place, our own little world, our own private existence, into a better place?

Well, isn't that what Jesus promised? No, really, isn't it?

John 10:10 - "I came that they may have and enjoy life, and have it in abundance (to the full, till it overflows)."

This Twilight Zone character...Gart Williams...saw something he wanted, which contained the elements of joy and peace and comfort. It was life out of the pressure cooker. It was a less stressful environment where the frog could jump out of the kettle.

You know about the frog and the kettle, right?

Put a frog in a cold kettle on the stove and turn the heat up and he will not detect the gradual changes in temperature until it's too late.

That's what stress and being overwhelmed by life does. It slowly cooks us until by the time we realize we are in trouble....well...we just never heeded the signs along the way. Kaput.

If you don't believe the Word from Jesus today, well, I guess there is nothing I can do about that.

You can gaze off on life's train, napping and awakening from a fantasy vision of life perhaps getting better "someday", and hold onto that until the grave. Hopefully you're in "Willoughby" when you wake up. Unfortunately, today's Willoughby is a winning Powerball ticket. Or a pill bottle. Or a bottle of Jack...or...

Or...you can recognize the fact, as many of you do, that Jesus' words are true and efficacious for your life right now.

Jesus...Powerball...Jesus...drug induced Willoughby...Jesus..............

It's a fairly safe conclusion that out of all the people who will read this devotional today none of them will ever win a large lottery. Amazing isn't it? That's how the odds are stacked against you. That's why they call it "gambling".

Yet the one safe venture on a life changing course will be ignored while the search continues for Willoughby.

I hope it's Jesus for you today. I really do. I couldn't tell you any of this with a clear conscience if it hasn't been the greatest decision I ever made in my life.

I love you all today, and praying for you! Willoughby is not real. Jesus lives. He is Real.

Keepin' it Real,

Pastor Kevin <>< 

www.reallifect.com

Accept No Substitutes

I made a joke recently during one of my live messages about a particular butter substitute that defies me to tell the difference between it and real butter. 

I said I can believe it's NOT butter.

Why? Because IT'S NOT BUTTER! Sheesh.

I have used enough butter in my life so that I can tell by the taste, consistency, and color, the difference between the two.

Those of us who accept that it tastes like butter do so probably because we have simply accepted it do to a lack of comparison.

In other words, we haven't had real butter for so long that we have forgotten what it looks and tastes like.

We have accepted less. We have accepted a substitute.

It's as if our taste buds have become "dumbed down"!

It never works when we accept less of what we are accustomed to.

Remember the 1994 Major League Baseball strike?

Remember how pathetic it was watching a game with "replacement" players?

How about the recent replacement refs for the NFL?

It's just not the same.

It's not the same when we are less than we need to be to others.

It's not the same when we are less than what God has created.

He designed us to be His handiwork.

We in turn end up as a cheap knockoff.

Often the world looks at the precious gift of His Son Jesus Christ and replaces Him with a false idol.

Even some factions of the church transform Him from a mighty Savior of the world, into a cheap pimp for their own interests.

I think that we have been bombarded so thoroughly in every facet of our lives with cheap imitations, from politics, to sports, to religion, that we struggle with what is real.

This is why it is important for us who follow Christ to make sure we do not get our noses turned upwind at the first whiff of a better "savior".

The person who coined the phrase "build a better mousetrap and the world will beat a path to your door" knew what he was talking about.

We are a fickle and conniving people, and left to our own carnal desires, we will run after what even remotely resembles a better deal.

People will trade their very soul for a leg up on the next guy.

Even Jesus is for sale or trade on the open market.

This is why it is important to stay connected.

Staying connected to the church, the hearing and reading of the Word of God, spending time in prayer and fellowship with other believers, discussing the events of the world with each other through a Christ-like perspective.

Remember. Religion says to be a follower of Christ you HAVE to go to church, read your bible, pray, and act right.

That's the watered down substitute.

Jesus says you will do those things BECAUSE you are His followers.

John says:

2 John 1:9 - "Anyone who runs on ahead [of God] and does not abide in the doctrine of Christ [who is not content with what He taught] does not have God; but he who continues to live in the doctrine (teaching) of Christ [does have God], he has both the Father and the Son."

There's the danger. Are you running ahead of God today?

Are you not abiding?

Are you living IN the doctrine of Christ?

You don't get this by acting religiously.

You get it by being His disciple.

Disciples want to be around Jesus and other disciples as often as they can.

The hunger and thirsting for righteousness becomes insatiable.

Accept no substitute today!

Run it all past Jesus first.

Keepin' it Real,

Pastor Kevin <><

www.reallifect.com

Does It Have To Be Called "The Fall"?

"Fall is the place where Summer goes to die." (not sure if I just made that up, or it's been rattling around in my head with other useless info...lol!)

Either way, the end of Summer definitely harshes some peoples lifestyle.

Fall. Interesting enough, it's my favorite season.

However, did you ever contemplate the name?

I mean, why "The Fall"?

Someone told me once that it's because the leaves "fall".

I personally find irony in the name.

Stuff dies in The Fall.

And it happens on the heels of the joys and fun of Summer.

The irony is in the reminder of a dark time in man's history called "The Fall".

Adam and Eve were living a lifetime of summers. Carefree. Off the fat of the land.

Eve took what she thought might be a better deal from the Serpent, in turn convinced Adam to do the same, and "Summer" ended.

Enter "The Fall".

Genesis 3:23-24 - (23) "Therefore the Lord God sent him forth from the Garden of Eden to till the ground from which he was taken. (24) So [God] drove out the man; and He placed at the east of the Garden of Eden the cherubim and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep and guard the way to the tree of life."

Stuff died.

Innocence died. Trust died. Summer died. The spirit of man died. All generations to follow were born into spiritual death. "All inclined to be sinful and that continually."

I suspect that at that moment the fruit trees shriveled. The grass turned brown. The lion began to see the lamb as food. Fresh water stagnated. Mosquito bites. Bee stings. The entire Eden habitat became hostile.

The snow globe burst.

Fall. Stuff died.

There's the irony for me. Right at the height, the very zenith of what could be called the most beautiful season, when the trees are vivid with bright colors and the temperatures are perfect...it all starts to die.

The leaves shrivel and the trees become unadorned and divest of their beauty.

The cold winds start to blow. The sky turns gray...everything turns gray...

...and then...Winter. Hibernation. Like the soul does sometimes.

Spring of course is right around the corner! The seasonal Resurrection of life!

Stuff starts to grow...the bleakness disappears...and then..YES! Summer!

All is restored. We can really let it all hang out and live it up in the...Summer.

I think God planned it this way as a reminder for us.

He wants us to see how man has been given everything, and how we have mistreated it...disregarded it...even to the point of our own demise...but that God has made a way of restoration...has saved us from our destructiveness by providing a Savior in Jesus Christ!

God lets us enjoy the beauty of the planet for three seasons and then suffer through the darkness of Winter. He lets us see the planet thrive, die, become depressed, and then live again.

The seasons of this planet reveal to us the spiritual seasons of mankind. Where we have come from, and where we are headed.

Had Adam not traded off his legacy of planet earth for a cheap imitation, there would only be one season on earth, and also only one "season" for man spiritually.

I suppose we could say it would always be "Summer". There would be no death, no pain, no sickness, no poverty, no ravages and fears of life whatsoever. Spiritual Eden. What I refer to as the "Snow Globe". Perfect. Protected.

Well, Jesus brings us back to that. Paul called Him the "Second Adam", the One who has come to "reverse the curse." And He has.

One by one people have had the curse of Eden overturned in their life and have come alive spiritually, and are on a continuous path to the place where it will all be perfect once again!

Be blessed today my friends. I love each one of you. We are on this path together, and come what may in this life, we will see each other someday in the next. Yes...it's true...

...Jesus is preparing our place.

So, run everything past Him first and you will never be taken by surprise!

Keepin' it Real,

Pastor Kevin <><
www.reallifect.com

Casual Or Casualty?

The weightier matters of the counsel of God.

Things that are never considered, or if by chance they are, are quickly dismissed and relegated to the dark recesses of the heart where they become shut up in the futile effort to hide them from man and God.
Write a check under some false assumption of absolution.
Light a candle.
Shoot up a blurb which one loosely considers a prayer.
Target some obscure religious icon to invoke protection from.
Consider God only as the very last resort as the weight of daily living threatens to squeeze out every drop of life.
Finally appeal to God as the snow globe bursts, and then quickly abandon Him when the provision is secured.
Gather in His house because of religious obligation.
Gather in His house when there is nothing else going on.
I hope God has an insulated heart.
I hope He is not like me.
I wonder if He has to battle the negative feelings that arise when He sees His Church neglected?
Jesus was so incensed at the mishandling of God's house that He picked up a whip and went to town on some religious heinies.
He went to visit a temple and instead He found a flea market.
Matt. 23:23: "For you tithe mint and dill and cumin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness. These you ought to have done, without neglecting the others."
Things we ought to do.
Things we neglect.
Soothing our guilt by doing one thing and using it as an excuse to not do another.
Casual Christianity.
The enemy advances inch by inch.
Rarely are there sweeping decisive victories by the enemy over the Christian.
More like small, incremental and subtle wins which add up.
The Kingdom of God becomes smaller and smaller in the rear view mirror.
"Lost" is not just a TV drama.
Casual sounds way too close to casualty for me.
My heart breaks when I see poor choices being made.
The road to heaven is paved with the bleached bones of those who dropped out of the race.
Matthew 7:13: "Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many."
Always remember this very simple and direct teaching by Jesus.
Never take the easy way out when it comes to spiritual matters.
It will kill your soul.
But you will have lots of company.
Casual leads to casualty.
Enter the heartbreak.
*sigh*
Keepin' it Real,
Pastor Kevin <><  www.reallifect.com

The Best Laid Plans

The great poet Robert Burns once wrote in his ode "To A Mouse", "The best laid schemes of mice and men Go often askew."

Ain't that the truth.

Our news media counts on it.

If not for the gleeful daily reporting of the dismal failures of the human race, there would be no ratings and we would be doomed to a steady diet of infomercials and reality shows.

A modern day lyricist, Billy Corgan, says, "Despite all my rage I am still just a rat in a cage."

Michael Jackson needed sleep so his doctor put him to sleep permanently. It was a plan that failed.

Jasmine Fiore thinks she finds her perfect man in Ryan Jenkins. He kills her, commits heinous acts to cover up the murder, and is foiled by serial numbers found on her breast implants. He flees to Canada and commits suicide. Several plans that looked good failed miserably.

A mouse builds its home in the middle of a plows path. The plow passes over and destroys the nest.

Robert Burns sees it as a parallel to life in general.

We may do things that look good at the moment, but suffer the pain and humiliation of dismal failure.

No matter how good they seemed at the time.

"The BEST laid plans of mice AND men...".

It's not exactly an original thought.

God said it a really long time ago.

"There is a way that seems right to a man and appears straight before him, but at the end of it is the way of death." (Proverbs 16:25)

"Seemed like a good idea at the time." What a sweet touch of Americana that one is.

My longstanding challenge to my congregation is still in effect.

I have been saying for years that there is not one single sin that man commits that is not rooted in selfishness. I occasionally resurrect the challenge to prove that statement wrong.

I probably wasn't entirely sure that I believed that myself when I said it.

I'm entirely sure today.

Our best laid plans done apart from the counsel of God is at best a selfish rebelliousness that is doomed to fail from the earliest conceptual stages.

What can I add to that except .........*sigh*.

...and some good biblical exhortation...

Hosea 10:12 (Amplified Bible) - "Sow for yourselves according to righteousness (uprightness and right standing with God); reap according to mercy and loving-kindness. Break up your uncultivated ground, for it is time to seek the Lord... ."

I pray today that we would always seek to do the right thing and continually receive the loving mercy of Christ, and that we would break up the uncultivated, fallow ground of our hearts and make it a rich soil for the planting of God's perfect plan for us.

Be blessed today and run everything past Jesus first!

Keepin' it Real,

Pastor Kevin <><
www.reallifect.com

The Death Of George Bailey

This just in: 

(RP) "Beloved ficticious Hollywood movie character George Bailey is dead. No time or place of death was reported, other than that it appears to have coincided with the recent colossal failure of the American banking, insurance, and savings and loan system. Since there was no actual body found, it is assumed that Bailey simply dissolved along with the rest of the hopes, ideals, and dreams of the once great nation he loved so dearly. Bailey was known for being the iconic role played in the classic Christmas film, "It's A Wonderful Life", by the beloved late American actor, James Stewart. Known for not being a failure his entire life simply because he had friends, there was no one else to contact for a statement other than a "Mr. Potter", who while being old and very sick, issued the statement: "Bailey was always a fool, and remained a fool until he died. His biggest problem was that he trusted people. In the end it was the people and system that failed him."

Lord, Lord, they cut George Bailey down.

Lord, Lord they laid him in the ground. (Adapted from the song "George Jackson, by Bob Dylan)

"No man is a failure as long as he has friends".

Ah, I'm going to miss that guy.

George Bailey. American icon.

The standard of decency created during a time of recovery for post WW II America.

The great payoff for five years of sacrificial living.

America had taken it on the chin, even on the heels of a crushing and debilitating Great Depression, it bounced back and weathered the storm of war and loss.

America survived, and we have people like George Bailey to thank.

Oh sure, Bailey was a fictional character, but we all knew a George Bailey in real life.  Those folks who hold to a deep faith. Some who even talk to angels.

People of unswerving optimism. Folks that said "we can do it!", and were the first ones to lead the way.

It's just not the same anymore. Mom, the flag, and apple pie just doesn't cut it anymore.

No friends, I'm afraid George Bailey is dead. 

And there ain't no resurrection forthcoming.

This doesn't bother me so much.

Maybe it's time for Bailey to die.

There really wasn't much he could do for us except encourage us anyway.

But he did remind me of Another.

Is it accidental that his film has become the most beloved Christmas movie of all time?

George Bailey pointed us toward Jesus.

And now he has stepped out of the way. 

Thanks anyway George Bailey, for all you have done for the American Dream.

It's time for us to move out of Dreamland now, and step into a much darker, much more insidious and uninviting place called reality.

We need a real Savior.

Fantasy Hollywood land used to be a comforting place we could get lost in, but alas, even it has gotten darker and seedier and threatening.

We really need a place to turn.

Enter stage right.

Hebrews 13:5 - "...I will not in any way fail you nor give you up nor leave you without support. [I will] not, [I will] not, [I will] not in any degree leave you helpless nor forsake nor let [you] down (relax My hold on you)! [Assuredly not!]

Thank you Jesus. We need you more than ever. Our country. Our world. It's all being torn apart.

We are a dying junkie in need of an intervention. We are sick and don't realize it.

Help us who see where our hope lies. Help us to help others to have hope.

Help. Hope.

This is an S.O.S. Lord.

My prayer this morning is that we will not fall into despair. In the face of mounting failure by our leaders, in the face of people losing hope in their country, in themselves, and maybe even in You Lord, we need a miracle of hope. We need help. Your help. It's a storm that cannot, will not, be weathered without You. We seek Your face today Lord, and we hold to Your promise of healing our nation.

With God all things are possible. Jesus is our Blessed Hope today!

Keepin' it Real,

Pastor Kevin <><

www.reallifect.com

Where Is My Mind?

With your feet on the air and your head on the ground 

Try this trick and spin it,

yeah Your head will collapse if there's nothing in it

And you'll ask yourself 

Where is my mind?

Where is my mind?

Where is my mind? 

Way out in the water, see it swimming 

~ The Pixies ~

A popular joke from the nineteenth century says:

"What’s the matter? Never mind. What is mind? No matter." 

I pretty much never really concerned myself with my mind. It was "no matter".

For at least the first 33 years anyway.

In my post conversion experience I suddenly became aware of it.

Sometimes we don't know that things were wrong until we look back on them. 

I suppose that could be deemed a blessing of sorts.

I never realized just how dysfunctional I was.

My mind was riddled with rampant narcissism, sleeplessness, anxiety, fear.

I was in trauma. I was very fortunate that Jesus came along.

Where was my mind?

It was in the clutches of what was normal for me.

Normal was just being a living being without Jesus.

We don't see it while we are in it.

This is why there is such a great gulf, or gap, between believers and non-believers.

We never know what we really are until we are exposed. We never knew we were living in darkness until the Light shined.

Paul says we were exchanging truth for lies. We were fools professing wisdom. Worshiping the creature and not he Creator. Exchanging the natural for the unnatural.

It was a great exchange, and we got shortchanged.

Romans 1:22-23 - "Because when they knew and recognized Him as God, they did not honor and glorify Him as God or give Him thanks. But instead they became futile and godless in their thinking [with vain imaginings, foolish reasoning, and stupid speculations] and their senseless minds were darkened. (22) Claiming to be wise, they became fools [professing to be smart, they made simpletons of themselves]."

I had lost my mind.

I found it in Christ.

What's scary to me is how many believers are willing to go back there again.

At the root of most Christians who are in turmoil in their lives is this insidious desire to get caught up with vain imaginings, foolish reasoning, and stupid speculations.

The willingness to enter into flat out sinful relationships for instance is staggering.

It's an exchange of carnal desire for the will of God.

It won't work. It will cause anxiety. Physical problems. Unsettledness.

When our desire is not in line with God's will it will throw everything out of synch.

You will be asking...

Where is my mind?

You were once smart, but now you have made a complete simpleton out of yourself.

Yes, it was that easy.

You made a simple exchange.

Maybe you did what you wanted to do even though you knew it would offend God.

You cannot even feign ignorance.

You knew. You know.

Where is your mind?

My prayer is for those who are struggling in life today. You have lost your way. You may even think you are losing your mind. You made an exchange that left you on the short end, and now it's all just a jumbled mess. You can make it right. Go back to the source. Regain the ground you have lost. Let me give you this today. Jesus says: "If you abide in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine; and you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free" (John 8:31-32).

I hope today is the most blessed day of your life!

Keepin' it Real,

Pastor Kevin <><

www.reallifect.com