"Our Toxic Environment", by Pastor Kevin Lynch

Your earth suit is compromised.

What we breathe and what we consume is killing us.

I'm not overly concerned about that however. This jar of clay turns to dust in the long run anyway. My goals in life have changed from worrying about staying alive as long as I can, to ensuring my spirit is secure for the long haul.

Eternity is the long haul. Not the mere 75-80 years we might be "lucky" enough to survive on this spinning marble.

We are essentially spirit beings, yet we neglect taking care of our spirit.

It's as spiritually a toxic environment as it is physical.

Or haven't you been paying attention?

Just watching what was once an innocent form of entertainment like a music awards program, has degenerated into a social statement promoting every conceivable form of toxic spiritual perversion.

How's that you may ask?

Because there is some truth to the old adage that "the eyes are the window to your soul."

What you see will affect your mind and spirit.

Scenes of male homosexual bondage during the prime time hour may not shake your foundation, but are your children watching?

How about a compromised partially attached to the Vine "Christian"?

If you are not affected, if you are not "wounded" in your soul when you witness such perversions, then something is amiss.

Paul knew what it would take, and that there was work ahead for the born-again Christan.

He says:

Romans 12:1-2:

"I APPEAL to you therefore, brethren, and beg of you in view of [all] the mercies of God, to make a decisive dedication of your bodies [presenting all your members and faculties] as a living sacrifice, holy (devoted, consecrated) and well pleasing to God, which is your reasonable (rational, intelligent) service and spiritual worship."

All of your "members and faculties", which is the entire trichotomy of your being, spirit, soul, AND body.

Verse 2: "Do not be conformed to this world (this age), [fashioned after and adapted to its external, superficial customs], but be transformed (changed) by the [entire] renewal of your mind [by its new ideals and its new attitude], so that you may prove [for yourselves] what is the good and acceptable and perfect will of God, even the thing which is good and acceptable and perfect [in His sight for you]."

If you have been born-again you have been changed. However, only your spirit is born-again. You have to make provision for the rest of yourself to catch up with what Christ did in your spirit.

You need to align your thinking with how Christ thinks. Your mind (soul) needs to be renewed. Notice Paul is laying that obligation upon you, not Jesus. Yes, YOU have a part in this as well! You have a great responsibility. We have not become spiritual robots.

We are children of God who need to learn how to obey our Father.

We are charged with knowing and understanding the perfect will of God.

Too tough?

Not if you follow it closely. First the submission to His will. Then the renewal of the mind.

Jesus is really laying it all out as to which side of the fence are we going to stand on.

Unfortunately for many there is no straddling position.

You can't watch American "Idol" Adam Lambert lead a man around on a leash like a dog and enjoy it, and think that God is pleased about that. Or take pleasure in "Lady GaGa" parading around in a flesh colored body suit with a male appendage sewn into it.

The lines are getting blurry again. It's Sodom and Gomorrah blurry. It's build an Ark blurry.

I hear the hoofbeats in the clouds. They may be a ways off yet, but I'm hearing a rustling in the heavens.

Come quickly, Lord Jesus.

Keepin' it Real,

Pastor Kevin <><

"When The World Hates You", by Pastor Kevin Lynch

Did you think when you came into this relationship with Jesus Christ that you would be able to keep the status quo and just add Jesus to the mix?

Did you think it would be business as usual and Jesus was going to be along for the ride? That perhaps He was basically just fire insurance?

Or did you weigh the full consequences of following not only the most beloved character to ever grace the world stage, but also the most hated?

Did you consider that you would become just as hated as Jesus, perhaps even more, just for being associated with Him?

It's all there in the Word. You have to love Jesus for His honesty and straightforwardness if not for anything else. He laid it all out there plain as day. He didn't flower it up. He didn't mince words.

Jesus has let us know exactly what we are in for as the price for following Him.

John 15:18-21 - "If the world hates you, know that it hated Me before it hated you. (19) If you belonged to the world, the world would treat you with affection and would love you as its own. But because you are not of the world [no longer one with it], but I have chosen (selected) you out of the world, the world hates (detests) you. (20) Remember that I told you, A servant is not greater than his master [is not superior to him]. If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you; if they kept My word and obeyed My teachings, they will also keep and obey yours. (21) But they will do all this to you [inflict all this suffering on you] because of [your bearing] My name and on My account, for they do not know or understand the One Who sent Me."

Detested. Persecuted. Hated. Afflicted.

Did you really expect that when you signed on with Jesus?

Are you going to hold or fold?

It's not going to get better. It never has. Not from the very beginning to the present. It won't in the future.

Not until Jesus returns.

My question today is, can you hang in there?

Things can be expected to even ratchet up a bit. It might even get worse.

Some people in the world are being killed just for being a Christian.

Or perhaps you are scratching your head at all of this and thinking "I'm not experiencing anything like that. Life is great! I go to church and live my life. Everything is fine. I don't know what you are talking about."

If that is the case then I advise you reevaluate and check the solidity of your relationship with Christ.

You may find that you are more of a friend of the world then a friend of Jesus.

Verse 19: "If you belonged to the world, the world would treat you with affection and would love you as its own."

So there it is. Perhaps as cold water in face.

Who loves ya baby?

Jesus does.

Who do you love?

If the world is treating you well there should be way more concern than if you are suffering some persecution for your faith.

As for me, I'm stickin'. I'll take whatever the world dishes out in hatred and persecution and do so with a smile. I'll do it because I know that Jesus took worse for me.

I'm in with Jesus. I'm all the way in. I'm all the way in until the end.

Be blessed today and know that I am praying for you.

Keepin' it Real,

Pastor Kevin <><

"Ignorance Is Not Bliss", by Pastor Kevin Lynch

Ignorance is dangerous. Ignorance will kill the soul, and may even kill the body at times.

I have discovered there are at least two types of ignorance.

There is the dull, bewildered, unaware type of ignorance where some people just really don't realize what is going on spiritually.

Then there is the smug, intelligent, purposeful ignorance that sets a person steadfastly against God. This type of ignorance is punishable and hellbound.

This is what Paul is speaking about in the following passage:

Romans 10:3 (Amplified Bible)

"For being ignorant of the righteousness that God ascribes [which makes one acceptable to Him in word, thought, and deed] and seeking to establish a righteousness (a means of salvation) of their own, they did not obey or submit themselves to God's righteousness."

The difficulty is in the "establishing of a righteousness of their own", and where they do not "submit themselves to God's righteousness".

That insinuates a calculated, well though out, premeditated plan that is contrary to God's.

"Claiming to be wise, they became fools [professing to be smart, they made simpletons of themselves]." (Romans 1:22)

Some of the statements by simpletons professing to be wise in things concerning God wold be downright hysterical if not so downright sad and tragic.

Friends, stay true to the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Remember this from Paul:

2 Cor. 2:13-14 - (13) "And we are setting these truths forth in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the [Holy] Spirit, combining and interpreting spiritual truths with spiritual language [to those who possess the Holy Spirit]. (14) But the natural, nonspiritual man does not accept or welcome or admit into his heart the gifts and teachings and revelations of the Spirit of God, for they are folly (meaningless nonsense) to him; and he is incapable of knowing them [of progressively recognizing, understanding, and becoming better acquainted with them] because they are spiritually discerned and estimated and appreciated."

You who are filled with the Holy Spirit have an enlightenment others do not. It makes the difference between wise and being a simpleton. Even if one claims to know the bible backwards and forwards, it means nothing if they have not read it with the guidance of the Holy Spirit. They might as well be reading "Gone With The Wind." The "understanding" they will receive by their own interpretation will be incomplete, even perverted.

They are literally incapable of achieving anything from the Word without the Holy Spirit.

You who have the Holy Spirit on the other hand, will continue to be amazed at the things He brings forth into your mind and out of your mouth during the moments you need them.

Be blessed today in all you do! Go with the Holy Spirit today, and run it all past Jesus first!

Keepin' it Real,

Pastor Kevin <><

"Pillar Of Strength, Or Pillar Of Salt?", by Pastor Kevin Lynch

Which one are you?

Interesting concept about the "Pillar of Salt". The Bible says it is what happened to Lot's wife as their family fled the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah.

I think it has been often misinterpreted as to what that exactly means.

First of all, there is no mention that Lot's wife was the victim of some sort of personal judgment by God just because she turned around to catch a glimpse of the destruction. I mean it wasn't like "Zap! You are now a pillar of salt".

However, it does appear that she most definitely suffered her fate because she paused and looked back.

She paused and looked back. Most probably long enough for the ash, brimstone and particles from the large salt quarries that were known to be in the area rained down upon her and buried her where she stood.

From then on she has been known as Lot's Wife: The woman who stopped to look back.

When we head out from the past destruction of our previous lives before knowing Christ we are to keep going in that direction.

We are never to look back in wonderment of whether we made the right choice. We are never to mourn the "old life".

When or if we do, there is a good chance that it will "catch up to us" and bury us in our past.

There may be no coming back out again. It would be is as if we have been turned into a stone monument of our sins.

What does Jesus say?

He says in Luke 17:32 - "Remember Lot's wife!"

Not as as a question, but as an emphatic exclamation!

"Remember what happened to Lot's Wife!"

Don't go there! Stay the course!

Be a Pillar of Strength, not a Pillar of Salt!

When does Jesus bring up the remembrance of Lot's wife? During his message on the day He will appear to us again.

He says in the previous verse 31: "On that day let him who is on the housetop, with his belongings in the house, not come down [and go inside] to carry them away; and likewise let him who is in the field not turn back."

Be alert. His return is imminent. There will be no time to gather up your stuff or to make up your mind. Once you are on the road with Him there is no room for looking back.

There never has been. There never will be.

We are either all in, or we are all out. We cannot straddle the fence. There is no gray area. No DMZ.

Matthew 12:30 - "He who is not with Me [definitely on My side] is against Me."

Lot's wife wasn't sure.

You need to be sure.

Today and every day.

Be assured that you are in my prayers today.

Keepin' it Real,

Pastor Kevin <><

"The Shadow People", by Pastor Kevin Lynch

Psalm 39:6 (Amplified Bible)

"Surely every man walks to and fro--like a shadow in a pantomime; surely for futility and emptiness he is in turmoil; each one heaps up riches, not knowing who will gather them."

There's a portrait of a life that needs to change.

Shadow People. Living life as a pantomime of reality.

Filled with emptiness. How's that for a paradox? A true oxymoron.

An exercise in futility. Always in some sort of turmoil.

Some people live their entire lives in that fashion.

It's the life of self-control.

How can you tell if someone has not given themselves over completely to Christ?

Simply look at the outward signs.

How one lives is how one is.

How a person prioritizes their life is a big clue for me.

Hey let's face it, everybody has their difficulties. Christians are not immune.

It's when those difficulties are self inflicted because of a simple misalignment of priorities that cause some to walk among the shadows mimicking life instead of living life.

Did you catch that? I said some mimic life rather than living life.

Order your life.

God ALWAYS comes first. In everything.

Blow off this simple advice (and I have seen it firsthand), and watch how life dissolves from a tangible solid into a shadowy, vacuous mist.

Shadow People are selfish and therefore are oblivious until it's too late when (or if) they realize that they have sucked everything and everyone around them into their black hole of nothingness.

The children do not need Shadow People for parents. With no direction and Godly example, they will become Shadow People too.

Dad's what are you doing to your children by choosing against God?

Mom's what example do you set with your unhappiness and self-anesthetizing?

Shadow People need to step out of the ethereal darkness and materialize as Children of God.

There is a lot more at stake than what most think.

Future generations are relying upon you to take your place and be counted among the brethren.

Bound in the dark shadows of a living tomb, Jesus says today, "Come forth!"

Know that I am praying for all of you.

Run everything past Jesus first!

Keepin' it Real,

Pastor Kevin <><

"Friends Don't Let Friends Go To Hell", by Pastor Kevin Lynch

If there is one major disturbing factor in the "post modern Church era" (whatever that really means), it's the casual indifference to the truth of God.

It's as if the "fire insurance" has been paid, so people feel they can breathe easier.

Unfortunately that's not the way God has set it up.

God has intended that we care for each other during our time on this planet.

It makes perfect sense.

Contemplate this for a moment:

WE are "The Body of Christ". That is what the Church is. The Body of Christ. Literally.

We are the hands, eyes, feet, voice, of Jesus Christ.

Since He physically sits in His present (resurrected) physical body at the right hand of God, then He is not making regular commutes from the Throne to Earth.

He is spiritually present through the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit in each living stone (us) which is placed in the foundation of the Church.

Following me so far?

Jesus has endowed us with power through the Holy Spirit and the use of His Name. Think of it as us having power of attorney through His name to conduct His business here on earth. He has told us we can (in fact should) evangelize and heal people, cast out demons, etc., all through His mighty name.

So, it is without question, from both the OT and the NT, that we have an accountability and a responsibility to carry on the work of God here on earth.

The most chilling moment I ever had was when I first found this out early in my Christian experience.


Ezekiel 3:18 - "If I say to the wicked, You shall surely die, and you do not give him warning or speak to warn the wicked to turn from his wicked way, to save his life, the same wicked man shall die in his iniquity, but his blood will I require at your hand."

(20) "Again, if a righteous man turns from his righteousness (right doing and right standing with God) and some gift or providence which I lay before him he perverts into an occasion to sin and he commits iniquity, he shall die; because you have not given him warning, he shall die in his sin and his righteous deeds which he has done shall not be remembered, but his blood will I require at your hand."

Wow. Or "Yikes" might be a better term.

I really am my brothers keeper.

See, that's where Cain went wrong. He never thought he was (Am I my brother's keeper?).

He was out for himself, and it is obvious that there is no room in Kingdom living for such a person.

Cain was banished for his murderous action, but I think it was more of his callous indifference to humanity that was what God saw in his heart.

Word of advice: it's often not what we do that is the threat against our right standing with God, but what we fail to do.

God doesn't like it when people drive themselves up to the gates of hell. He doesn't like it for numerous reasons, but one reason is that He realizes they had help getting there.

What's going on around you today? How many people do you know are short circuited in their faith? How many do you know that you used to see in Church on Sunday and you are wondering about where they went? How's your neighbor? Your co-worker? Your own spouse?

Well, God understands that we all have our own free will, so for every scary charge in those two previous verses, there is a coexisting verse that is converse to it. In other words, when we have done what is required and they still choose against God, it is not held against us if we have warned them.

Simply put, tell someone about Jesus. Let them know that God requires us to acknowledge and accept what Jesus has done for us.

Friends don't let friends go to hell.

Keepin' it Real,

Pastor Kevin <><

"The Pilgrim's Regress", by Pastor Kevin Lynch

Bunyan's great allegorical work from 1678 has proven to be a timeless classic. "The Pilgrim's Progress From This World To That Which Is To Come."

The protagonist character is "Christian", who begins his journey from "The City of Destruction" (this world), to the "Celestial City" (heaven). The burden he carries is the weight of the awareness of his own sin.

Along the way he meets "Evangelist" who points him toward salvation, and immediately he leaves his own wife and children to venture to attain it.

This book, where once revered and a staple in any Christian library, would be at the least ignored today. It would be banished as irrelevant.

It's clear message straight from the Word of God is easier to rebuke and refute without fear.

People don't like to come right out and debunk the Bible because they fear it if not anything else.

They won't pay heed to it, but they'll fear it.

Peripheral oxymoron.

I'm finding it harder and harder for people to be convinced about their life in Christ.

Oh, they jump at Christ fast enough. They just don't want to live like Him.

I have to be reminded of the mentoring of Paul to a young Timothy:

"I can’t impress this on you too strongly. God is looking over your shoulder. Christ himself is the Judge, with the final say on everyone, living and dead. He is about to break into the open with his rule, so proclaim the Message with intensity; keep on your watch. Challenge, warn, and urge your people. Don’t ever quit. Just keep it simple. You’re going to find that there will be times when people will have no stomach for solid teaching, but will fill up on spiritual junk food -- catchy opinions that tickle their fancy. They’ll turn their backs on truths and chase mirages. But keep your eye on what you’re doing; accept the hard times along with the good; keep the Message alive; do a thorough job as God’s servant." (2 Timothy 3:14-4:5, The Message)

Wow. Spiritual junk food. Catchy options. Chasing mirages.

It's unraveling right before my very eyes.

The "options" for a Christan today are so many. They are shiny and pretty and inviting.

But they are a mirage as far as being fulfilling in one's life.

Here today. Gone tomorrow.

For goodness sake, Jesus is being swapped off on any given Sunday for "appointments" and "other commitments".

Bunyan would be amazed. Christian doesn't just fall into the Slough of Despond anymore. He swan dives into it.

The By-Ends have formed a party and are gaining strength.

Good Lord, we are finding more pillars of salt along the way than we are crosses.

I am starting to understand Jesus' fearful parable of the wide and narrow gates more thoroughly as I go.

So many have one foot in the Kingdom and the other in the grievous losing of their past sinful life that it is sometimes horrifying to me.

When one considers the stakes...and the way some so carelessly, even ignorantly place themselves and their family at risk...

Fight people. Fight for your self. Fight for your spouse and family. Fight for your church.

This is not the time to start pondering whether you had it better in the old life.

This is the time to run full speed toward Jesus. This is the time to chase the demons from inside your brain and embrace what you KNOW is right.

Be blessed today my friends and know that I am praying for all of you.

Keepin' it Real,

Pastor Kevin <><