God speaks.
Do you hear Him? Do you listen for Him?
Or is your life a quiet and desperate situation where you feel you are guessing on making your decisions?
No one is more alone than the person who is not hearing from God.
Even the oldest book in our bible addresses the issue.
Job 33:14
"For God [does reveal His will; He] speaks not only once, but more than once, even though men do not regard it [including you, Job]."
Including you (fill in name).
There it is.
God speaks.
So the problem is not on God's end.
The problem is in the hearing. The problem is in the listening.
Am I expecting audible sounds? No.
I expect people to stay close to the study of the Word of God and allow God to "speak" to them through the timeless passages He recorded expressly for that purpose.
It is shocking to find that the level of dedication to the study of God's Word, the very instrument of revelation between God and man, is not only treated lackadaisically, but often completely ignored.
And you say you're not hearing from God? Feeling estranged from God? Not getting what you need from God? Feeling abandoned by God?
There is an exchange of the study of His Word for just about any other "better thing to do".
I am a big supporter of being "impressed" in our spirit by the Holy Spirit. It is another way God has conversation with us, often in the midst of praying. I hear it so loudly sometimes that it almost sounds like a physical voice.
That's because I am never too far from prayer and the reading and study of His Word.
Prayer unfortunately, has also become somewhat a rarity except for when we realllllllly need something from God.
So in my estimation, from what I see and hear from the midst of the "sturm und drang", is that there is a critical stage outage in the Church of Jesus Christ as far as connectivity to God is concerned.
God is communicating but His Church is not receiving.
God reveals His will. He speaks and He speaks often.
He yearns to reveal His secrets of life to you. Yes...even you.
Life is only a mystery when we ignore the message from the Author.
Keepin' it Real,
Pastor Kevin <><
Friday, January 29, 2010
Thursday, January 28, 2010
"Very Revealing", by Pastor Kevin Lynch
I happen to own a certain coffee maker that uses individually sealed containers called "K-Cups". I am pleased with it more than any other coffee maker I ever owned. Not only does it provide the best tasting cup of coffee I ever had, but also a little something extra added.
I noticed on the side of the box that it says, "A Revelation In Every Cup!"
I wonder if that has been an effective marketing hook to attract consumers?
A revelation? Of what? Has caffeine now been found to contain supernatural qualities that aid in the revealing of the secrets of the universe?
I must have missed that episode on the Discovery Channel. I think it aired after "The Search For Jesus' Spacecraft."
It did however cause me to ponder the Word of God. I don't think that was the intention, but I won't argue with it. Cause and effect is often contained in strange packages.
Mark 4:22 (Amplified)
"[ Things are hidden temporarily only as a means to revelation.] For there is nothing hidden except to be revealed, nor is anything [temporarily] kept secret except in order that it may be made known."
There it is. Things are hidden from us for a time and eventually revealed at the moment the most beneficial to us.
In other words, God knows exactly what we need to know and when we need to know it.
Our task is to be open for the revelation. Our task is to be expectant.
God is the originator of the "Revelation In Every Cup".
Open the pages of your Bible this morning.
There is a revelation awaiting you.
It just might change your life.
Keepin' it Real,
Pastor Kevin <><
I noticed on the side of the box that it says, "A Revelation In Every Cup!"
I wonder if that has been an effective marketing hook to attract consumers?
A revelation? Of what? Has caffeine now been found to contain supernatural qualities that aid in the revealing of the secrets of the universe?
I must have missed that episode on the Discovery Channel. I think it aired after "The Search For Jesus' Spacecraft."
It did however cause me to ponder the Word of God. I don't think that was the intention, but I won't argue with it. Cause and effect is often contained in strange packages.
Mark 4:22 (Amplified)
"[ Things are hidden temporarily only as a means to revelation.] For there is nothing hidden except to be revealed, nor is anything [temporarily] kept secret except in order that it may be made known."
There it is. Things are hidden from us for a time and eventually revealed at the moment the most beneficial to us.
In other words, God knows exactly what we need to know and when we need to know it.
Our task is to be open for the revelation. Our task is to be expectant.
God is the originator of the "Revelation In Every Cup".
Open the pages of your Bible this morning.
There is a revelation awaiting you.
It just might change your life.
Keepin' it Real,
Pastor Kevin <><
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
"At The Core", by Pastor Kevin Lynch
On the top shelf of my desk is a small odd looking round ball. Its surface is rough and dimpled, it has a strange weight and texture to it, and at first glance would appear to have no useful purpose.
While it looks useless for anything, its value and purpose is essential and mighty.
It is the inside of a baseball.
When we hold a regulation Major League baseball in our hand it fails to tell the whole story.
What we see is leather and stitching on the outside, but the entire picture is what is going on in the inside of this finely engineered dynamo.
I used to love to unravel old baseballs. It's actually very relaxing and somewhat therapeutic.
First you pick away at the stitching on the outside and peel away the leather cover. Next you find an endless mass of miles of elastic type threading which goes on forever. If you do it correctly you can get a bunch of it off in one continuous piece without breaking the thread.
Finally you get down to a composite material which must be cut away if you want to get to the very core and center, the actual power plant of the baseball, which is a very small and very hard rubber ball.
It's on my desk because I need to be reminded that it is what is at the core that provides my strength and power.
1 Peter 1:21
"Through Him (Jesus Christ) you believe in (adhere to, rely on) God, Who raised Him up from the dead and gave Him honor and glory, so that your faith and hope are [centered and rest] in God."
If it wasn't for that small hard rubber core at he heart of the baseball, it would never get too far out of the infield when hit with a bat. It would not have what's necessary to provide a fearsome fastball from the hand of a power pitcher.
What's at the core of the believer is the same principle. We may look somewhat impressive on the outside, but it is what is at the core of a person that counts, and if that core is not Jesus Christ then that person does not perform at the level God has designed.
Where are we, even in all of our splendor and successes, without faith and hope?
Success lasts a mere 70-80 years. Faith and hope bring us through eternity.
Any success I ever achieve is a result of my faith and hope in Christ.
When I am unraveled someday, all that will be found is Him.
Everything else will turn to dust.
Keepin' it Real,
Pastor Kevin <><
While it looks useless for anything, its value and purpose is essential and mighty.
It is the inside of a baseball.
When we hold a regulation Major League baseball in our hand it fails to tell the whole story.
What we see is leather and stitching on the outside, but the entire picture is what is going on in the inside of this finely engineered dynamo.
I used to love to unravel old baseballs. It's actually very relaxing and somewhat therapeutic.
First you pick away at the stitching on the outside and peel away the leather cover. Next you find an endless mass of miles of elastic type threading which goes on forever. If you do it correctly you can get a bunch of it off in one continuous piece without breaking the thread.
Finally you get down to a composite material which must be cut away if you want to get to the very core and center, the actual power plant of the baseball, which is a very small and very hard rubber ball.
It's on my desk because I need to be reminded that it is what is at the core that provides my strength and power.
1 Peter 1:21
"Through Him (Jesus Christ) you believe in (adhere to, rely on) God, Who raised Him up from the dead and gave Him honor and glory, so that your faith and hope are [centered and rest] in God."
If it wasn't for that small hard rubber core at he heart of the baseball, it would never get too far out of the infield when hit with a bat. It would not have what's necessary to provide a fearsome fastball from the hand of a power pitcher.
What's at the core of the believer is the same principle. We may look somewhat impressive on the outside, but it is what is at the core of a person that counts, and if that core is not Jesus Christ then that person does not perform at the level God has designed.
Where are we, even in all of our splendor and successes, without faith and hope?
Success lasts a mere 70-80 years. Faith and hope bring us through eternity.
Any success I ever achieve is a result of my faith and hope in Christ.
When I am unraveled someday, all that will be found is Him.
Everything else will turn to dust.
Keepin' it Real,
Pastor Kevin <><
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
"Humbled Not Humiliated", by Pastor Kevin Lynch
Woe to you if you mess up in this world. People will not simply say "I told you so", but they will go out of their way to ridicule and make an example of you. Humiliation is a a valid weapon and tool in the business world and is often used to ensure a competitor never makes it farther up the ladder than you do.
It's also used by those who suffer deep insecurities and need to make others look bad so they can feel good about themselves.
We don't find humiliation in the methods of God. Instead we find humility.
Humility is not humiliation. Humility is a tool for growth.
James 4:10 - “Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.”
Lift you up not knock you down.
Encourage you not squash your spirit.
God cannot accomplish His plan for you if you think more of yourself than you should. He cannot use you to boast upon His Son Jesus Christ if you are busy boasting about your accomplishments.
When Paul was in danger of his head swelling with accomplishments, God made sure he was humbled.
The verse says "humble yourself".
If we ignore the Word on this issue God will perform the task for us.
Humility does not mean wimpy. Humility does not mean doormat. Humility does not mean timid.
Christ was humble and He is the strongest character we have in all of human history.
Be blessed today! Stay humble.
Keepin' it Real,
Pastor Kevin <><
It's also used by those who suffer deep insecurities and need to make others look bad so they can feel good about themselves.
We don't find humiliation in the methods of God. Instead we find humility.
Humility is not humiliation. Humility is a tool for growth.
James 4:10 - “Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.”
Lift you up not knock you down.
Encourage you not squash your spirit.
God cannot accomplish His plan for you if you think more of yourself than you should. He cannot use you to boast upon His Son Jesus Christ if you are busy boasting about your accomplishments.
When Paul was in danger of his head swelling with accomplishments, God made sure he was humbled.
The verse says "humble yourself".
If we ignore the Word on this issue God will perform the task for us.
Humility does not mean wimpy. Humility does not mean doormat. Humility does not mean timid.
Christ was humble and He is the strongest character we have in all of human history.
Be blessed today! Stay humble.
Keepin' it Real,
Pastor Kevin <><
Monday, January 25, 2010
"Missed Opportunities", by Pastor Kevin Lynch
How many opportunities have you passed over in the course of your life? Perhaps it was a job change, a position that would have made you more money, or a move to a completely different locale. Maybe it was a chance to serve God in a unique fashion.
I remember back in 1991, and the decision for Joan and me to sell our home, for me to quit my well paying job of 17 years, and to pack up the four kids and move across the country to Colorado to attend bible college. When we left the house hadn't even sold yet, and the moving van was less than a week behind us. We had no place to live and no jobs lined up. We just trusted God and went.
It's a decision I never regretted. It was an opportunity, and even though it posed some real concerns, we trusted God and followed the lead of the Holy Spirit.
We were rewarded in many ways by that choice. We stayed with another student for a weekend while we looked for a home. We found one within several days, and shortly after that Joan found a great job. Our home church back in New York even called one evening to let us know that the church board voted to pay the cost of my entire education.
That's God. By seizing the opportunity provided by Him we grew in our faith by leaps and bounds.
How about the opportunities we never test? How many things have gone less than the way they should have because we allowed fear and trepidation to control our lives?
It can all go so terribly wrong.
Take for example this passage from Paul:
Acts 13:46
"And Paul and Barnabas spoke out plainly and boldly, saying, It was necessary that God's message [concerning salvation through Christ] should be spoken to you first. But since you thrust it from you, you pass this judgment on yourselves that you are unworthy of eternal life and out of your own mouth you will be judged. [Now] behold, we turn to the Gentiles (the heathen)."
Paul was speaking of the Jews response to the message of salvation in Christ. Their decision to reject the gospel would result in a catastrophe that has followed them through the centuries. The very salvation which had been engineered by God Himself for them was rejected and subsequently presented to the Gentile and heathen.
One group of people's missed opportunity resulted in opportunity for others.
It still happens on a smaller scale today. Every day people are faced with the opportunity to accept Christ into their life and reject and refuse to do so.
Every day lived apart from Jesus is a missed opportunity for many things. Peace, joy, happiness, love, and ultimately eternal life, is all by the boards at the end of a life lived.
It's sad. Downright heartbreaking really.
Why forfeit everything? Why allow fear or ignorance to dictate our life path?
We can have a good life here and an even better one later.
It's all in Him. Live the adventure. Seize the moment. Dare to do things that you never considered simply because you can.
The possibilities are endless when we are guided and protected by the hand of God.
Be blessed today!
Keepin' it Real,
Pastor Kevin <><
I remember back in 1991, and the decision for Joan and me to sell our home, for me to quit my well paying job of 17 years, and to pack up the four kids and move across the country to Colorado to attend bible college. When we left the house hadn't even sold yet, and the moving van was less than a week behind us. We had no place to live and no jobs lined up. We just trusted God and went.
It's a decision I never regretted. It was an opportunity, and even though it posed some real concerns, we trusted God and followed the lead of the Holy Spirit.
We were rewarded in many ways by that choice. We stayed with another student for a weekend while we looked for a home. We found one within several days, and shortly after that Joan found a great job. Our home church back in New York even called one evening to let us know that the church board voted to pay the cost of my entire education.
That's God. By seizing the opportunity provided by Him we grew in our faith by leaps and bounds.
How about the opportunities we never test? How many things have gone less than the way they should have because we allowed fear and trepidation to control our lives?
It can all go so terribly wrong.
Take for example this passage from Paul:
Acts 13:46
"And Paul and Barnabas spoke out plainly and boldly, saying, It was necessary that God's message [concerning salvation through Christ] should be spoken to you first. But since you thrust it from you, you pass this judgment on yourselves that you are unworthy of eternal life and out of your own mouth you will be judged. [Now] behold, we turn to the Gentiles (the heathen)."
Paul was speaking of the Jews response to the message of salvation in Christ. Their decision to reject the gospel would result in a catastrophe that has followed them through the centuries. The very salvation which had been engineered by God Himself for them was rejected and subsequently presented to the Gentile and heathen.
One group of people's missed opportunity resulted in opportunity for others.
It still happens on a smaller scale today. Every day people are faced with the opportunity to accept Christ into their life and reject and refuse to do so.
Every day lived apart from Jesus is a missed opportunity for many things. Peace, joy, happiness, love, and ultimately eternal life, is all by the boards at the end of a life lived.
It's sad. Downright heartbreaking really.
Why forfeit everything? Why allow fear or ignorance to dictate our life path?
We can have a good life here and an even better one later.
It's all in Him. Live the adventure. Seize the moment. Dare to do things that you never considered simply because you can.
The possibilities are endless when we are guided and protected by the hand of God.
Be blessed today!
Keepin' it Real,
Pastor Kevin <><
Thursday, January 21, 2010
"The Beautiful People", by Pastor Kevin Lynch
Star watchers. I'm not speaking of people interested in astronomy. I'm talking about people interested in people. The "Beautiful" people.
I exaggerate. Often, the so called upper crust of society and the arts are the most out of control train wrecks a human being could ever be forced to witness. There really is nothing beautiful about them other than perhaps their surgically enhanced physiques which get paraded daily in front of the media and then our eyes for perusal.
I would like to read a paper without the headline story of who is in the hospital with pneumonia, who's husband is legally restrained from seeing her because he tried to knife her, and now how he "heroically" shows up to visit her in the hospital...blah...blah...blah.
The story always stays basically the same. Just the characters change.
I have to admit, that when you put that alongside the unfolding story in Haiti, it's a tough call.
Uhh...riiiight.
Most of us will never gain that sort of status and attention. I hope most of us never want to.
However, there is a basic human need to be recognized.
Many people live long years in quiet desperation and will depart this planet without so much as a wink and a nod.
There should be some sort of reward for any person who has ever lived and died.
Well, there is. For some of us anyway.
Matt. 25:21 - "His master replied, 'Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master's happiness!' "
That's Jesus explaining the end of the line in a parable.
It's the great reward. It's what we who have attached ourselves to the Vine have looked forward to our entire life with Jesus.
Living is easier when you know what awaits in the next transition.
Hope beyond the grave. Acknowledgement of a life lived.
The ability to see the groveling after superficial and short lasting accolades as futile and folly in light of the eternal reward that even the great Hollywood cinematographers could not come close to.
I am sad for anyone who doesn't know Jesus. They have built their own little "bio dome" of self security. Job, family, Rotary Club, Little League...
What's left when the job says buh-bye? Or the spouse passes on? Or the children leave the nest?
Who will tell you the much needed "I love you"? Or, "Great job"!
For some...no one sadly.
For others? Jesus.
He's always there. He always has been there. He always will be there.
He's the lover of your soul.
Keepin' it Real,
Pastor Kevin <><
I exaggerate. Often, the so called upper crust of society and the arts are the most out of control train wrecks a human being could ever be forced to witness. There really is nothing beautiful about them other than perhaps their surgically enhanced physiques which get paraded daily in front of the media and then our eyes for perusal.
I would like to read a paper without the headline story of who is in the hospital with pneumonia, who's husband is legally restrained from seeing her because he tried to knife her, and now how he "heroically" shows up to visit her in the hospital...blah...blah...blah.
The story always stays basically the same. Just the characters change.
I have to admit, that when you put that alongside the unfolding story in Haiti, it's a tough call.
Uhh...riiiight.
Most of us will never gain that sort of status and attention. I hope most of us never want to.
However, there is a basic human need to be recognized.
Many people live long years in quiet desperation and will depart this planet without so much as a wink and a nod.
There should be some sort of reward for any person who has ever lived and died.
Well, there is. For some of us anyway.
Matt. 25:21 - "His master replied, 'Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master's happiness!' "
That's Jesus explaining the end of the line in a parable.
It's the great reward. It's what we who have attached ourselves to the Vine have looked forward to our entire life with Jesus.
Living is easier when you know what awaits in the next transition.
Hope beyond the grave. Acknowledgement of a life lived.
The ability to see the groveling after superficial and short lasting accolades as futile and folly in light of the eternal reward that even the great Hollywood cinematographers could not come close to.
I am sad for anyone who doesn't know Jesus. They have built their own little "bio dome" of self security. Job, family, Rotary Club, Little League...
What's left when the job says buh-bye? Or the spouse passes on? Or the children leave the nest?
Who will tell you the much needed "I love you"? Or, "Great job"!
For some...no one sadly.
For others? Jesus.
He's always there. He always has been there. He always will be there.
He's the lover of your soul.
Keepin' it Real,
Pastor Kevin <><
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
"How Is It Really Going?", by Pastor Kevin Lynch
From an individual to an entire nation. When it doesn't go well with God nothing works well.
It's just the way it is. God smooths things over.
If we allow Him.
Look at this passage from The Message paraphrase:
Isaiah 1:5-9
"Why bother even trying to do anything with you
when you just keep to your bullheaded ways?
You keep beating your heads against brick walls.
Everything within you protests against you.
From the bottom of your feet to the top of your head,
nothing's working right.
Wounds and bruises and running sores—
untended, unwashed, unbandaged.
Your country is laid waste,
your cities burned down.
Your land is destroyed by outsiders while you watch,
reduced to rubble by barbarians.
Daughter Zion is deserted—
like a tumbledown shack on a dead-end street,
Like a tarpaper shanty on the wrong side of the tracks,
like a sinking ship abandoned by the rats.
If God-of-the-Angel-Armies hadn't left us a few survivors,
we'd be as desolate as Sodom, doomed just like Gomorrah."
From all the descriptive terms used in that passage, the one that jumps out at me is...
"...nothing's working right."
I'm not a fan of the angry God theories that crop up whenever there is a world catastrophe.
I do however believe that there comes a point where the grace of God becomes so blocked by our own obstinacy and disobedience that it just doesn't get through anymore.
Let's face it friends, without the grace of God we are open to every negative and disastrous event that Hell can conjure up.
It must be tough to watch if you're God. Especially when being blamed for it all.
How about you today? Everything working right for you?
Probably not, but it's a tough expectation for EVERYTHING to work out perfectly.
It's when NOTHING is going right that grinds us down to a stub.
What God is saying today is that trying to go the distance without Him is like beating our head against a brick wall.
My friend, that wall isn't going anywhere and you will live with a perpetual headache.
Why not just step away from the wall, lay your head upon the shoulder of Jesus Christ and let Him walk you through your difficulties?
Keepin' it Real,
Pastor Kevin <><
It's just the way it is. God smooths things over.
If we allow Him.
Look at this passage from The Message paraphrase:
Isaiah 1:5-9
"Why bother even trying to do anything with you
when you just keep to your bullheaded ways?
You keep beating your heads against brick walls.
Everything within you protests against you.
From the bottom of your feet to the top of your head,
nothing's working right.
Wounds and bruises and running sores—
untended, unwashed, unbandaged.
Your country is laid waste,
your cities burned down.
Your land is destroyed by outsiders while you watch,
reduced to rubble by barbarians.
Daughter Zion is deserted—
like a tumbledown shack on a dead-end street,
Like a tarpaper shanty on the wrong side of the tracks,
like a sinking ship abandoned by the rats.
If God-of-the-Angel-Armies hadn't left us a few survivors,
we'd be as desolate as Sodom, doomed just like Gomorrah."
From all the descriptive terms used in that passage, the one that jumps out at me is...
"...nothing's working right."
I'm not a fan of the angry God theories that crop up whenever there is a world catastrophe.
I do however believe that there comes a point where the grace of God becomes so blocked by our own obstinacy and disobedience that it just doesn't get through anymore.
Let's face it friends, without the grace of God we are open to every negative and disastrous event that Hell can conjure up.
It must be tough to watch if you're God. Especially when being blamed for it all.
How about you today? Everything working right for you?
Probably not, but it's a tough expectation for EVERYTHING to work out perfectly.
It's when NOTHING is going right that grinds us down to a stub.
What God is saying today is that trying to go the distance without Him is like beating our head against a brick wall.
My friend, that wall isn't going anywhere and you will live with a perpetual headache.
Why not just step away from the wall, lay your head upon the shoulder of Jesus Christ and let Him walk you through your difficulties?
Keepin' it Real,
Pastor Kevin <><
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