There's peace, calm, serenity, and the general sense of well being that we all need and crave.
And then there comes a time when we need something bigger. Larger. Greater.
We need a great peace.
I sense that today.
I sense it in what I see going on around me.
I sense it in myself.
Something bigger than just "less stress" needs to prevail.
Philippians 4:6-7 (Amplified Bible)
(6) Do not fret or have any anxiety about anything, but in every circumstance and in everything, by prayer and petition (definite requests), with thanksgiving, continue to make your wants known to God.
(7) And God's peace [shall be yours, that tranquil state of a soul assured of its salvation through Christ, and so fearing nothing from God and being content with its earthly lot of whatever sort that is, that peace] which transcends all understanding shall garrison and mount guard over your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.
Yeah, that's it.
That tranquil state of the soul I mentioned the other day.
A complete absence of fear (calm enters when fear leaves).
Contentment in the midst of attack (big medicine there).
I need a "garrison of guards" surrounding my mind and heart (acknowledge the angels dispatched to you).
I need Jesus (Come to Me if you are heavy burdened, and I will give you rest).
You know the feeling. It sometimes come with disturbing news overload.
When corroboration comes in the form of others saying "Pastor, what's going on?"
An offensive mounted by enemy forces aimed at believers.
That's when the need for GREAT peace comes in.
I'm already feeling it. I have to let it wash over me, and start sending it out to others.
Paul says "God's peace shall be yours".
I want you to receive that today.
God's peace is yours today.
If you're in that place today where the scale is tilted a bit toward the downside, heavy laden with cares and woes, take joy and comfort that God's great peace is yours.
Be blessed. I am in it with you.
Jesus is in it with us together.
Keepin' it Real,
Pastor Kevin <><
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
"What's A Person Have to Do To Get Accepted Around here Anyway?" by Pastor Kevin Lynch
Acceptance.
Depends by whom.
You can do things to win affection and attention.
To get noticed by a supervisor or a person in charge, I suppose you have to do your job well.
To gain notoriety as an entertainer you need to perform well.
To be accepted into a circle of friends you have to become a good friend yourself.
How about by God?
What's it take to be acceptable in the eyes of God?
One would think that it would be the most difficult to accomplish.
Paul says quite the contrary.
Romans 14:18 - "Whoever thus serves Christ is acceptable to God and approved by men."
To be acceptable to God you must accept His Son Jesus Christ.
Everything that God finds in us that is acceptable and good, is filtered through Jesus.
If we have received Him as Lord and are serving Him, that's what God sees and accepts about us.
We have no righteousness in and of ourselves except self-righteousness, which conflicts with God.
Those of us who serve Christ have exchanged our self for Him, and that is what pleases God and makes Him look upon us with pleasure.
Pretty simple actually.
A lot less hoops to jump through to be acceptable then your boss might make you do.
Or your spouse.
Or your friends.
Or your church (some churches might impose more stringent qualifications to get into heaven than God does).
God just looks to see that Jesus is all over you.
So how about you today?
What does God see when He looks at you?
You?
Or Jesus?
Your alleged good deeds?
Or Jesus?
Your wealth?
Or Jesus?
Need I go on?
Feeling like your the odd person out today?
Don't fit in?
If you have Jesus in your life you are loved and accepted by God.
I hope you can feel that today.
Perhaps you need to get honest with yourself and with God if you're not.
I know it's been said to death, but Jesus really does have the answer.
Keepin' it Real,
Pastor Kevin <><
Depends by whom.
You can do things to win affection and attention.
To get noticed by a supervisor or a person in charge, I suppose you have to do your job well.
To gain notoriety as an entertainer you need to perform well.
To be accepted into a circle of friends you have to become a good friend yourself.
How about by God?
What's it take to be acceptable in the eyes of God?
One would think that it would be the most difficult to accomplish.
Paul says quite the contrary.
Romans 14:18 - "Whoever thus serves Christ is acceptable to God and approved by men."
To be acceptable to God you must accept His Son Jesus Christ.
Everything that God finds in us that is acceptable and good, is filtered through Jesus.
If we have received Him as Lord and are serving Him, that's what God sees and accepts about us.
We have no righteousness in and of ourselves except self-righteousness, which conflicts with God.
Those of us who serve Christ have exchanged our self for Him, and that is what pleases God and makes Him look upon us with pleasure.
Pretty simple actually.
A lot less hoops to jump through to be acceptable then your boss might make you do.
Or your spouse.
Or your friends.
Or your church (some churches might impose more stringent qualifications to get into heaven than God does).
God just looks to see that Jesus is all over you.
So how about you today?
What does God see when He looks at you?
You?
Or Jesus?
Your alleged good deeds?
Or Jesus?
Your wealth?
Or Jesus?
Need I go on?
Feeling like your the odd person out today?
Don't fit in?
If you have Jesus in your life you are loved and accepted by God.
I hope you can feel that today.
Perhaps you need to get honest with yourself and with God if you're not.
I know it's been said to death, but Jesus really does have the answer.
Keepin' it Real,
Pastor Kevin <><
Monday, September 28, 2009
"The No Excuse Zone" by Pastor Kevin Lynch
"I don't have my homework because the dog ate it."
"I'm late because I grabbed the Ben-Gay instead of the toothpaste."
"I wasn't sleeping, I was just just checking the inside of my eyelids for holes."
"I can't bear up and do the right thing because_________."
Excuses are like noses. Everyone has one.
We've trained for a lifetime to become adept at using them.
Many of us have left that craft behind in light of God's instructions.
Other people who are inclined to use them have become master level deceivers.
Adam used it. Eve used it. The devil uses it.
And to us, as He did to Adam and Eve, God essentially says:
We are without excuse.
God doesn't like it when we make excuses to get out of something, or to duck a responsibility. Or to twist the truth. Or to flat out lie.
Romans 1:18-20 (Amplified Bible)
(18) For God's [holy] wrath and indignation are revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who in their wickedness repress and hinder the truth and make it inoperative.
(19) For that which is known about God is evident to them and made plain in their inner consciousness, because God [Himself] has shown it to them.
(20) For ever since the creation of the world His invisible nature and attributes, that is, His eternal power and divinity, have been made intelligible and clearly discernible in and through the things that have been made (His handiworks). So [men] are without excuse [altogether without any defense or justification].
This is the "No Excuse Zone".
God's anger is kindled against those who know full well what to do and yet refuse to follow through.
The excuse makers.
People without any defense or justification for their unrighteous actions.
Particularly those who bring suffering and pain down upon those who are innocent and unsuspecting by their callous and selfish actions.
Ever notice how the most caring and trusting people are the most victimized by the philandering excuse maker?
No excuse means just that. NO excuse. None. Zilch. Zip. Nada.
How does bringing this to light serve our purpose today?
Well, it just might save your soul if you happen to be a chronic excuse making liar (By the way: excuses and lies often are intertwined).
It may serve as a warning for:
a). Our own selves should we be tempted to duck and run on what's right.
b). Serve to alert us to people of that persuasion using their "skills" against us or others we love.
c). Help us to discern and look out for "wolves in sheep's clothing."
I am glad that God has more patience than I do, although I have become pretty patient on this issue.
There are limits however, and that's when I have to be smarter than my first instincts and turn it over to God.
Do that today will you? Turn it over to God.
If you happen to be an excuse maker, turn it over to God and pledge to change.
If you know someone who is being taken advantage of by an excuse maker, turn it over to God and pray His direct intervention.
Remember. In issues of doing the right thing or the wrong thing, and when the wrong thing is clearly and actively being performed, and PARTICULARLY when it effects a brother or sister in the Lord, God says there is absolutely and positively no justification for it whatsoever, and that we have the responsibility to stand upon the clear spiritual and moral ground of interceding for the right thing to be accomplished.
God will take are of it. Just be willing to leave it with Him and let Him do His work in His time and His fashion.
This is the No Excuse Zone. Where excuses get swallowed up into the overwhelming presence of God.
Step outside of that Zone and you enter into the place where truth is hindered.
Out there you are a game bird. You are prey.
God's ways are clearly defined and able to be seen. It's why He says we are without excuse.
Be blessed today. Run it all past Jesus first!
Keepin' it Real,
Pastor Kevin <><
"I'm late because I grabbed the Ben-Gay instead of the toothpaste."
"I wasn't sleeping, I was just just checking the inside of my eyelids for holes."
"I can't bear up and do the right thing because_________."
Excuses are like noses. Everyone has one.
We've trained for a lifetime to become adept at using them.
Many of us have left that craft behind in light of God's instructions.
Other people who are inclined to use them have become master level deceivers.
Adam used it. Eve used it. The devil uses it.
And to us, as He did to Adam and Eve, God essentially says:
We are without excuse.
God doesn't like it when we make excuses to get out of something, or to duck a responsibility. Or to twist the truth. Or to flat out lie.
Romans 1:18-20 (Amplified Bible)
(18) For God's [holy] wrath and indignation are revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who in their wickedness repress and hinder the truth and make it inoperative.
(19) For that which is known about God is evident to them and made plain in their inner consciousness, because God [Himself] has shown it to them.
(20) For ever since the creation of the world His invisible nature and attributes, that is, His eternal power and divinity, have been made intelligible and clearly discernible in and through the things that have been made (His handiworks). So [men] are without excuse [altogether without any defense or justification].
This is the "No Excuse Zone".
God's anger is kindled against those who know full well what to do and yet refuse to follow through.
The excuse makers.
People without any defense or justification for their unrighteous actions.
Particularly those who bring suffering and pain down upon those who are innocent and unsuspecting by their callous and selfish actions.
Ever notice how the most caring and trusting people are the most victimized by the philandering excuse maker?
No excuse means just that. NO excuse. None. Zilch. Zip. Nada.
How does bringing this to light serve our purpose today?
Well, it just might save your soul if you happen to be a chronic excuse making liar (By the way: excuses and lies often are intertwined).
It may serve as a warning for:
a). Our own selves should we be tempted to duck and run on what's right.
b). Serve to alert us to people of that persuasion using their "skills" against us or others we love.
c). Help us to discern and look out for "wolves in sheep's clothing."
I am glad that God has more patience than I do, although I have become pretty patient on this issue.
There are limits however, and that's when I have to be smarter than my first instincts and turn it over to God.
Do that today will you? Turn it over to God.
If you happen to be an excuse maker, turn it over to God and pledge to change.
If you know someone who is being taken advantage of by an excuse maker, turn it over to God and pray His direct intervention.
Remember. In issues of doing the right thing or the wrong thing, and when the wrong thing is clearly and actively being performed, and PARTICULARLY when it effects a brother or sister in the Lord, God says there is absolutely and positively no justification for it whatsoever, and that we have the responsibility to stand upon the clear spiritual and moral ground of interceding for the right thing to be accomplished.
God will take are of it. Just be willing to leave it with Him and let Him do His work in His time and His fashion.
This is the No Excuse Zone. Where excuses get swallowed up into the overwhelming presence of God.
Step outside of that Zone and you enter into the place where truth is hindered.
Out there you are a game bird. You are prey.
God's ways are clearly defined and able to be seen. It's why He says we are without excuse.
Be blessed today. Run it all past Jesus first!
Keepin' it Real,
Pastor Kevin <><
Sunday, September 27, 2009
Sunday Morning Scripture
Sunday Morning Scripture
Hebrews 13:1 (AMP)
"LET LOVE for your fellow believers continue and be a fixed practice with you [never let it fail]."
I have that for you all today, and pray we all have it for each other!
Be blessed today wherever you worship.
Pray for your pastors today!
Pray for the Jackson family and especially little Zoe who arrived yesterday afternoon!
Keepin' it Real,
Pastor Kevin <><
Hebrews 13:1 (AMP)
"LET LOVE for your fellow believers continue and be a fixed practice with you [never let it fail]."
I have that for you all today, and pray we all have it for each other!
Be blessed today wherever you worship.
Pray for your pastors today!
Pray for the Jackson family and especially little Zoe who arrived yesterday afternoon!
Keepin' it Real,
Pastor Kevin <><
Saturday, September 26, 2009
"The Tranquil State Of A Soul", by Pastor Kevin Lynch (Weekend Edition)
**Special request: Please keep Grayson and Wayne Jackson in prayer today as Grayson reports she is in labor. We have been waiting for Zoe to make an appearance, and today just might be the day!**
Philippians 4:7 (Amplified Bible)
"And God's peace [shall be yours, that tranquil state of a soul assured of its salvation through Christ, and so fearing nothing from God and being content with its earthly lot of whatever sort that is, that peace] which transcends all understanding shall garrison and mount guard over your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus."
God's peace is the tranquil state of the soul.
Man is comprised of a trichotomy: spirit, soul, and body.
The spirit is what gets born again, the body is what carries around man's spirit, and the soul is the seat of thoughts, emotions, and personality.
The body turns to dust eventually after death, the spirit and soul return to God for final disposition.
The soul (mind) is the battlefield for the spirit of man.
Everything that effects us spiritually, mentally, and physically, begins as it is processed through the mind (soul).
All of our choices, good or bad, began in our mind as a suggestion, or a temptation, or a ponderance.
Who we are, or what we will be, has been or is decided upon first in our mind before we act upon it (or not).
The state of your soul, be it tranquil or agitated, is dependent upon what you spending your time entertaining. What do you watch, what do you read, what do you do, how do you act?
Paul suggests that if we are entertaining Jesus and things of Jesus and His Word, we will be at peace (or tranquil).
God's peace (tranquility) guards our hearts and minds "in Christ".
Christ is the essential factor.
Remember what I said the other day?
"Know Jesus...Know peace, No Jesus...No Peace".
Truer words were never spoken.
What's going to carry you through life?
Hey...what's going to get you even through this weekend?
What's your attempt at serenity and tranquility?
Beer? Pills? Sex?
Or are you going to just sit there and "bleed"?
All the bloodshed (physically, psychologically, or spiritually) that ever needs to be shed has already been done on our behalf by Jesus.
This is why He is qualified to be our peace.
Not religion, not statues, not beads, not incense, not candles, not ANYTHING.
Not Buddah, not Mohammed, not Confucius, not Brahma, not NOBODY.
Just Jesus. He has paid the ultimate price.
Just for me. Just for you. Just for us.
Teetering on the brink today? It's Saturday but you're already fretting about work on Monday?
Peace. Serenity. Tranquility.
Jesus has it for you today.
Keepin' it Real,
Pastor Kevin <><
Philippians 4:7 (Amplified Bible)
"And God's peace [shall be yours, that tranquil state of a soul assured of its salvation through Christ, and so fearing nothing from God and being content with its earthly lot of whatever sort that is, that peace] which transcends all understanding shall garrison and mount guard over your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus."
God's peace is the tranquil state of the soul.
Man is comprised of a trichotomy: spirit, soul, and body.
The spirit is what gets born again, the body is what carries around man's spirit, and the soul is the seat of thoughts, emotions, and personality.
The body turns to dust eventually after death, the spirit and soul return to God for final disposition.
The soul (mind) is the battlefield for the spirit of man.
Everything that effects us spiritually, mentally, and physically, begins as it is processed through the mind (soul).
All of our choices, good or bad, began in our mind as a suggestion, or a temptation, or a ponderance.
Who we are, or what we will be, has been or is decided upon first in our mind before we act upon it (or not).
The state of your soul, be it tranquil or agitated, is dependent upon what you spending your time entertaining. What do you watch, what do you read, what do you do, how do you act?
Paul suggests that if we are entertaining Jesus and things of Jesus and His Word, we will be at peace (or tranquil).
God's peace (tranquility) guards our hearts and minds "in Christ".
Christ is the essential factor.
Remember what I said the other day?
"Know Jesus...Know peace, No Jesus...No Peace".
Truer words were never spoken.
What's going to carry you through life?
Hey...what's going to get you even through this weekend?
What's your attempt at serenity and tranquility?
Beer? Pills? Sex?
Or are you going to just sit there and "bleed"?
All the bloodshed (physically, psychologically, or spiritually) that ever needs to be shed has already been done on our behalf by Jesus.
This is why He is qualified to be our peace.
Not religion, not statues, not beads, not incense, not candles, not ANYTHING.
Not Buddah, not Mohammed, not Confucius, not Brahma, not NOBODY.
Just Jesus. He has paid the ultimate price.
Just for me. Just for you. Just for us.
Teetering on the brink today? It's Saturday but you're already fretting about work on Monday?
Peace. Serenity. Tranquility.
Jesus has it for you today.
Keepin' it Real,
Pastor Kevin <><
Friday, September 25, 2009
"When Love Confounds", by Pastor Kevin Lynch
Jesus loved Susan Atkins. In all the 40 years she spent in prison for the heinous crimes she committed as part of the Manson Family, Jesus still loved her.
The first news story I read this morning as I turned on my computer, was the report of her death from brain cancer.
The story also mentioned that she was a born-again Christian.
Even though society rejected her continuous pleas for mercy and release, even up to the early part of this month, she remained apologetic and remorseful for her actions 40 years ago.
Her final words to the parole board were, "My God is an amazing God."
Yes He is.
He has to be amazing to have loved the likes of her.
And Charlie.
And me.
And, oh yes...you.
Only God knows if Susan Atkins was sincere in her embracing of Jesus Christ, but if she was she is face to face with Him today in glory.
It stuns me to contemplate the question that suppose she made it to heaven and some of her victims did not?
That's part of the amazing.
We don't have to sensationalize it. The example doesn't have to be people of notoriety.
Start with yourself.
Answer the question of whether you think your sins are more forgivable than Susan Atkins.
I betcha you at least briefly consider that they were.
"Hey, I never killed anyone!"
No, but if you slandered someone, stole something, swore against God, and even smeared the Sabbath day, you are as equally guilty in God's eyes.
Not fair? Well, it's not about fairness across the board.
You're not really judged by the content and weight of your sins, but rather the root cause of why you sinned in the first place.
The stinging, dreaded words that will reverberate throughout the universe will be "Depart from Me, I did not even know you! (Matt. 25:41)
That's what determines heaven and hell.
Did you know Jesus? At the end of the day did you know and embrace the Savior from your sins?
The fact that Jesus had pursued us all the way through our sinfulness, no wait, the fact that He died for us when we were up to our nostrils in our sins, is the confounding nature of God's love.
Romans 5:8 - "But God shows and clearly proves His [own] love for us by the fact that while we were still sinners, Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed One) died for us."
We don't know how to process that in the flesh.
It's hard for us to accept if Susan Atkins made it to heaven.
It can't be done in the flesh. Our flesh will feel a sense of gratification as we entertain the possibility of "final justice."
But God's love confounds that, and thank God for it, because we all have to get to that place where we will hear "Come, you blessed of My Father [you favored of God and appointed to eternal salvation], inherit (receive as your own) the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world" (Matt. 25:34).
Here's the thing. We should all be rejoicing at the prospect that Susan Atkins is in the presence of her Savior this morning, because assuming she has fulfilled the requirements of salvation (which is simply accepting, receiving and confessing Christ as her Savior), then that is good news for us, because if Susan Atkins doesn't make it neither do we.
Yes, I know. It confounds.
Amazing isn't it? He is truly an amazing God.
Get in touch with Him today won't you?
Keepin' it Real,
Pastor Kevin <><
The first news story I read this morning as I turned on my computer, was the report of her death from brain cancer.
The story also mentioned that she was a born-again Christian.
Even though society rejected her continuous pleas for mercy and release, even up to the early part of this month, she remained apologetic and remorseful for her actions 40 years ago.
Her final words to the parole board were, "My God is an amazing God."
Yes He is.
He has to be amazing to have loved the likes of her.
And Charlie.
And me.
And, oh yes...you.
Only God knows if Susan Atkins was sincere in her embracing of Jesus Christ, but if she was she is face to face with Him today in glory.
It stuns me to contemplate the question that suppose she made it to heaven and some of her victims did not?
That's part of the amazing.
We don't have to sensationalize it. The example doesn't have to be people of notoriety.
Start with yourself.
Answer the question of whether you think your sins are more forgivable than Susan Atkins.
I betcha you at least briefly consider that they were.
"Hey, I never killed anyone!"
No, but if you slandered someone, stole something, swore against God, and even smeared the Sabbath day, you are as equally guilty in God's eyes.
Not fair? Well, it's not about fairness across the board.
You're not really judged by the content and weight of your sins, but rather the root cause of why you sinned in the first place.
The stinging, dreaded words that will reverberate throughout the universe will be "Depart from Me, I did not even know you! (Matt. 25:41)
That's what determines heaven and hell.
Did you know Jesus? At the end of the day did you know and embrace the Savior from your sins?
The fact that Jesus had pursued us all the way through our sinfulness, no wait, the fact that He died for us when we were up to our nostrils in our sins, is the confounding nature of God's love.
Romans 5:8 - "But God shows and clearly proves His [own] love for us by the fact that while we were still sinners, Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed One) died for us."
We don't know how to process that in the flesh.
It's hard for us to accept if Susan Atkins made it to heaven.
It can't be done in the flesh. Our flesh will feel a sense of gratification as we entertain the possibility of "final justice."
But God's love confounds that, and thank God for it, because we all have to get to that place where we will hear "Come, you blessed of My Father [you favored of God and appointed to eternal salvation], inherit (receive as your own) the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world" (Matt. 25:34).
Here's the thing. We should all be rejoicing at the prospect that Susan Atkins is in the presence of her Savior this morning, because assuming she has fulfilled the requirements of salvation (which is simply accepting, receiving and confessing Christ as her Savior), then that is good news for us, because if Susan Atkins doesn't make it neither do we.
Yes, I know. It confounds.
Amazing isn't it? He is truly an amazing God.
Get in touch with Him today won't you?
Keepin' it Real,
Pastor Kevin <><
Thursday, September 24, 2009
"Know Your Peacemaker" by Pastor Kevin Lynch
Moammar Kadafi dominated the afternoon news yesterday with coverage of his address to the U.N. General Assembly.
The same Kadafi who has been the leader of Libya for 40 years.
The same Kadafi who vociferously supported terrorism and who was personally behind the downing of the Lockerbie Pan Am flight 103, the deaths of American victims of the 1986 Berlin discotheque bombing, and also American victims of the 1989 UTA Flight 772 bombing.
People were applauding him from the floor of the Assembly.
Now he's a nice guy. A regular humanitarian.
Sheesh. Let's give him a Nobel. Hey why not, they gave one to the mass murderer Arafat in 1994.
John 14:27 - "Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid."
The peace the world gives is a tainted, perverted peace. It's rife with conditions. It's turned on and off like a faucet.
The peace Jesus gives us is a lasting peace. A peace in spite of what surrounds us. A peace that confounds what tries to tinker with it.
The world's peace is a troubling peace and it is sometimes proffered by troublesome people. Today's friends are tomorrow's enemies, and vice versa (remember Saddam?).
Oh, those starry eyed peaceniks. Gotta love 'em. Gotta love those poor misguided souls.
Even our Mr. President, God bless his heart, has that optimism that can just be magnetic to a world that is tired of bloodshed, and I say well and good...
But let's be "real" here. There is no peace apart from Jesus.
Know Jesus - Know Peace.....No Jesus - No Peace.
They cowered from Kadafi 20 years ago.
Today they applaud and receive him.
They killed the Peacemaker 2,000 years ago.
They praise the killer today.
Nothing's changed. Not in 2,000 years. Nothing has changed.
Jesus is still the Rock of Offense, "A Stone that will cause stumbling and a Rock that will give [men] offense; they stumble because they disobey and disbelieve [God's] Word." (1 Peter 2:8)
Lean on Him or trip over Him.
Either way you will HAVE to deal with Him!
Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God!
Well, the guy that dominated the news yesterday is no son of God. He is an anti-Christ.
Those of us who promote the ways of the Prince of Peace are the peacemakers and are known as God's children.
The peace is in Christ. His peace has been given to you.
Know your Peacemaker!
Be not afraid or troubled in spite of what you see and hear. Nothing gets past Jesus.
Be blessed today. I love you all!
Keepin' it Real,
Pastor Kevin <><
The same Kadafi who has been the leader of Libya for 40 years.
The same Kadafi who vociferously supported terrorism and who was personally behind the downing of the Lockerbie Pan Am flight 103, the deaths of American victims of the 1986 Berlin discotheque bombing, and also American victims of the 1989 UTA Flight 772 bombing.
People were applauding him from the floor of the Assembly.
Now he's a nice guy. A regular humanitarian.
Sheesh. Let's give him a Nobel. Hey why not, they gave one to the mass murderer Arafat in 1994.
John 14:27 - "Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid."
The peace the world gives is a tainted, perverted peace. It's rife with conditions. It's turned on and off like a faucet.
The peace Jesus gives us is a lasting peace. A peace in spite of what surrounds us. A peace that confounds what tries to tinker with it.
The world's peace is a troubling peace and it is sometimes proffered by troublesome people. Today's friends are tomorrow's enemies, and vice versa (remember Saddam?).
Oh, those starry eyed peaceniks. Gotta love 'em. Gotta love those poor misguided souls.
Even our Mr. President, God bless his heart, has that optimism that can just be magnetic to a world that is tired of bloodshed, and I say well and good...
But let's be "real" here. There is no peace apart from Jesus.
Know Jesus - Know Peace.....No Jesus - No Peace.
They cowered from Kadafi 20 years ago.
Today they applaud and receive him.
They killed the Peacemaker 2,000 years ago.
They praise the killer today.
Nothing's changed. Not in 2,000 years. Nothing has changed.
Jesus is still the Rock of Offense, "A Stone that will cause stumbling and a Rock that will give [men] offense; they stumble because they disobey and disbelieve [God's] Word." (1 Peter 2:8)
Lean on Him or trip over Him.
Either way you will HAVE to deal with Him!
Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God!
Well, the guy that dominated the news yesterday is no son of God. He is an anti-Christ.
Those of us who promote the ways of the Prince of Peace are the peacemakers and are known as God's children.
The peace is in Christ. His peace has been given to you.
Know your Peacemaker!
Be not afraid or troubled in spite of what you see and hear. Nothing gets past Jesus.
Be blessed today. I love you all!
Keepin' it Real,
Pastor Kevin <><
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