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

Keep What Ya' Got By Giving It All Away

That's the title of a song by ex-Stone Roses singer, Ian Brown.

It's also a really good song.

But I particularly like the title.

I'm not sure if Ian Brown knows it or not, but Jesus said the same thing.

People didn't get it when Jesus said it.

They still don't get it today.

Our minds don't seem to naturally bend in that direction.

When Ian Brown sings it we hear it. But hey, it's just a rock song. Who cares what it means.

When the Church says it, it riles folks up and makes them secure all their stuff and complain that all the Church wants is their money.

There's a whole neat story in three of the gospels, where Jesus encounters a very, very rich young man, who has a bunch of money, servants, possessions, etc. 

The young man initiates the conversation and wants to know how to receive eternal life.

(What do you get the man who has everything?) lol!

Jesus makes the statement: "You know the commandments", and he replied that he had kept them faithfully since he was a boy. (It really wasn't a question, but we rarely listen that intently to God).

The next thing Jesus told him, as recorded in Luke 18, is curious:

"(22) And when Jesus heard it, He said to him, One thing you still lack. Sell everything that you have and divide [the money] among the poor, and you will have [rich] treasure in heaven; and come back [and] follow Me [become My disciple, join My party, and accompany Me]."

In the flesh it's a losing proposition. In the Spirit it's a win.

The young man's response?

"(23) But when he heard this, he became distressed and very sorrowful, for he was rich--exceedingly so."

He saw it totally in the flesh.

Now, there's a lot of speculation about this passage. 

It causes some to get their shorts all bunched up. 

I don't get caught up in all of that stuff. 

I see this confrontation at a point in history as biblically and spiritually significant, and not dumbed down into dollars and cents.

Jesus was really saying that the young fellow needed to put to good use the fortune he had and that he would gain by that. Not lose.

He was sort of saying, "Keep what ya' got by giving it all away."

You'll never lose or become less for following Jesus. Things may change. But you won't lose.

If you understand that like I do this morning, then you are in a very select minority. 

We should establish a society or something.

Remedially it can be explained as "paradoxical".

Jesus is a paradox, so it stands to reason that He will teach paradoxically.

Jesus is not interested in subtraction and division, but addition and multiplication.

He wants us to add and multiply as well. 

We see giving away as subtraction because we don't understand the principles of Jesus.

He sees giving away as a means of us becoming more. Addition. Multiplication.

We are so afraid to trust Jesus. We are afraid to give it away because we think we will be left as beggars.

Never be afraid to give it all away. Your wealth is not contained in your material. 

Your wealth is in Jesus, and He will increase your life and make you rich in areas that you never dreamed.

My prayer today is that there would be unparalleled trust in Jesus Christ with all that you have and all that you are. There is freedom in release. It takes an incredible leap of faith to get to where you can trust Jesus with everything. And I mean everything. Yourself, your family, your finances, your possessions, your home. Could you place it in His hands today? Or will you walk away dejected like the Rich Young Man did? These are the watershed moments of our lives. These are the moments that shape not only who we are, but who we will be.

Be blessed in all you do today!

Keepin' it Real,

Pastor Kevin <><

www.reallifect.com

The Tombstone Territory

My all time favorite Western is Tombstone, which features a pretty decent attempt by Hollywood to portray the days of Wyatt Earp, the OK Corral, and life in Tombstone, Arizona with some historical accuracy.

I look for a deeper existential relationship between the characters and me as the audience. 

This movie was chock full of examples.

For instance:

Wyatt Earp: "What makes a man like Ringo, Doc? What makes him do the things he does?"  

Doc Holliday: "A man like Ringo has got a great big hole, right in the middle of him. He can never kill enough, or steal enough, or inflict enough pain to ever fill it."  

Wyatt Earp: "What does he need?"  

Doc Holliday: "Revenge."  

Wyatt Earp: "For what?"  

Doc Holliday: "Bein' born."

Deep.

Gunslinger theology.

The hole that can't be filled. Insatiable lust of the flesh. Kill. Steal. Mayhem.

All the elements needed to paint a grim picture of the human condition.

Thank goodness I wasn't that bad.

Yeah, that's what everybody thinks.

We're never as bad as the worst person we can think of.

But, if we really want to take that dog for a walk the discovery might be less than palpable. 

Basically... in a nutshell...a hole is a hole.

The hole is bad. What you stuff it with is worse.

The hole is emptiness. For lack of a better explanation, it's the center of a person. Where the heart and soul of man should be. What makes him tick. The lack of emotions and personality. 

Deadman walking.

Ever meet a "soulless" person?

I have. 

It creates a chill. It makes small hairs stand on end. It causes goosebumps. It's plain unnerving.

Looking into eyes that don't look back.

A spiritual black hole. Sucking in everything that surrounds it.

Nothing can fill it. It just keeps inhaling everything that it fancies. It's voracious.

The emptiness of man is not always filled by murder and mayhem. 

Sometimes it's filled by carnal appetites.

Overeating. Binge drinking. Drugs. Sex. Porn. Power. Money. Manipulation.

Sometimes it's filled by Jesus. Jesus plus.... well... just you.

Our church sign says "You + Jesus = Real Life".

Once Jesus fills you stay filled. The appetite is satiated.

Rom.15:13 - "May the God of hope fill you...".

What's filling you today?

Is it Jesus?

... or...?

My prayer for you today is that it is Jesus who fills you, and that you are so filled with peace and joy and happiness and prosperity and love and... everything else that's wonderful and beautiful and good, that there would be no room for anything else! Be blessed in Him today!

Keepin' it Real,

Pastor Kevin <><

www.reallifect.com

High Noon

One of the great classic westerns of all time has to be "High Noon", starring Gary Cooper as a beleaguered town sheriff who all alone has to face a gang of outlaws out to kill him.

The entire town had deserted him. Even his wife.

Maybe that's why the movie theme song, "The Ballad of High Noon" contained the words, "Do not forsake me oh my darling."

Well, in the end she didn't. She came back to actually save her husbands life. 

It's the stuff a good Hollywood oater was made of.

It's also the stuff real life is made up of.

In real life we need someone who is not going to desert us in times of need and peril. We need someone who will save our life. We need someone who will love us unconditionally.

If we are fortunate we will find a partner in life who will provide all of that and more.

If we are more than fortunate we will recognize the ultimate Provider that we have in God.

David saw it. Even in the midst of all his difficulty.

In fact, he had written a song about it a few thousand years ago that contained the same basic element of the High Noon ballad.

David wrote the words "Do Not Forsake Me Oh My Lord."

Psalm (or song) 38:21 - "Do not forsake me, Oh Lord! O my God, be not far from me!"

Marshal Will Kane's wife Amy got on the train out of town with the intention of deserting her husband. Will Kane never felt more alone. He never felt more loved either when she returned to help him.

How often have you felt alone?

I mean really alone.

More alone than when a spouse or parent or friend deserts you.

Desolate. Abandoned. Marooned.

That's the feeling we get when we can't feel the presence of God.

David felt it and cried out. Again and again and again.

David was resigned to one thing however.

In verse 15 he says, "But for You, O Lord, do I wait; it is You, O Lord my God, Who will answer."

David, even with all his problems and shortcomings, knew what side of his bread the butter was on.

He was willing to wait.

I have had to wait. You have had to wait. All God's children must wait.

When we learn to do that. When we learn that waiting on God does not mean abandonment by God. When we can get to the place of hope not hopelessness. We grow.

I have found that waiting on God is well worth it.

Even when the circumstances seemed dire, I waited. And waited. And waited.

Suddenly there comes the breakthrough as vivid and majestic as a sunrise after not having seen the sun for weeks.

You just know it's God.

The wait is over.

The reward is sweet.

Waiting for a sweet reward today?

It's coming.

It is you O Lord my God who will answer!

Do you know that today?

If you do the reward will be sweeter when it comes.

My prayer today is for you in the midst of the struggle. If you are feeling alone. Deserted. Abandoned. High Noon has come and gone and there is no relief in sight. It's a dry and lonely place, but God has not deserted you. He is waiting with you. The right time is just around the corner and the reward will be sweet! Hold on. He will never leave you nor forsake you! He is in the fire with you today and will soon lead you into a glorious place. Wait. Trust and wait. Most of all, expect!

Be blessed in your day today!

Keepin' it Real,

Pastor Kevin <><

www.reallifect.com

How Deep Is Deep?

How deep should we go? I'm talking about with God.

This is not a question easily answered.

Lot's of variables.

If God's in it, as deep as He is willing to take us.

If God's not in it? 

Shallow waters.

Sadly, way too much of the Church moves in shallow waters.

Religious ritual is often mistaken as "going deep" in the Word and Wonder of God.

I know. I lived it.

When I fist became a disciple of Jesus Christ I was one of those people who hungered and thirsted for God.

That may have been true in the beginning, but it eventually changed into chasing after religious favor.

I fell in love more with being a Christian than being in love with Christ. There's a difference.

My family of six at the time were at the church every time the doors were unlocked. Two, sometimes even three services on Sunday, including coming back at night for the 6:30 service. Every bible study, every class, every event. I volunteered for everything. Eventually I even crowded my schedule further by enrolling in preparatory classes to enter the ministry.

It appeared that I was going deep, but I was for the most part in shallow waters.

What ends up happening if we are not careful, is that we start projecting our shallow expectations on others, and when they do not measure up to our ideal, we start to look at them through a jaundiced eye, and not the way God sees them.

The Church can produce that in people. Especially pastors.

Some folks are never going to get too deep. They just don't crave that depth with God.

Skin deep.

Some are like batteries. 

Die Hards.

Most I fear just struggle along on the waves and try to squeeze God in between the rest of the days activities.

Floaters.

Jesus made this observation:

Matthew 5:6 (Amplified Bible) - "Blessed and fortunate and happy and spiritually prosperous (in that state in which the born-again child of God enjoys His favor and salvation) are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness (uprightness and right standing with God), for they shall be completely satisfied!"

Note the adjectives.

Fortunate. Happy. Spiritually prosperous.

My favorite: "completely satisfied".

Who in their right mind, being aware of the alternatives, would not want to be completely satisfied?

No one. Unless they are not in their right mind.

What then is the right mind? I know a lot of people who aren't completely satisfied in life, and they seem pretty much sane to me.

The right mind is the mind of Christ. The mind that seeks to be upright and upstanding before God.

It's not contingent upon religious observation, but on a heart turned over to Christ.

It's not how many events or classes you attend. It's not based in trying to impress the pastor or the congregation. 

It's not the size of your tithe check.

It's about your hunger and thirst for the heart of Jesus Christ.

You're being cheated if you are being taught anything less.

Let me say that again. 

You're being cheated if you are being taught anything less.

How's your life in Christ today?

Shallow? 

Or deep?

Sink. Float. Swim. Which one are you doing?

My prayer for you today is that you would be completely satisfied. Jesus wants nothing less for you today. He wants you to be completely satisfied. Anything less is unsatisfactory. Anything less is unacceptable. Anything less and you are cheating yourself. You can find it in Christ today.

Be blessed!

Keepin' it real,

Pastor Kevin <><

www.reallifect.com