The Word On The Street

The "word on the street". Things we "hear" and often act upon or believe.

For instance.

You have heard it said that Craigslist is a great way to sell stuff.

But I tell you that over 2/3's of the responses you get are scams and you have to be very careful.

I don't know but I've been told, living in an igloo sure is cold.

In reality I have also heard that they are actually quite warm.

Jesus addressed the word on the street, and countered with the Word of Truth.

Matt. 5:21: "You have heard that it was said to the men of old, You shall not kill, and whoever kills shall be liable to and unable to escape the punishment imposed by the court."

Sounds reasonable. Who wouldn't believe that?

In essence it's the truth. However, sometimes what we know as the truth is superseded by a greater truth.

Many things we "have heard" is the truth, but it doesn't mean we shouldn't heed the greater truth.

Listen to Jesus' response to the issue of murder.

Vs. 22: "But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, 'You fool!' will be liable to the hell of fire."

Notice how Jesus tweaks it a bit?

He's not disputing that killing someone is bad, and deserving of punishment, but He takes it up a notch.

He raises the stakes. He holds our feet to the fire. He insinuates that we murder in our thoughts and words, and in our attitude towards others.

If we do not act out of the purified center of the transformed heart, we are liable to judgment as sure as if we plunged a knife into our fellow man.

Matthew 5 is full of those "You have heard... but I tell you."

Here's one a little more down to earth and more relative to a greater number of people.

vs. 27: "You have heard that it was said, 'You shall not commit adultery'."

vs.28: "But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart."

Yikes. 

See what I mean?

We thought we were off the hook as long as we didn't do the dirty deed.

Jesus comes along and while not denying the previous truth reinforces and cranks it up a bit.

Thinking about committing adultery with someone is as bad as actually committing adultery.

*Gulp*

Swallow hard only if you have no intention of believing and adhering to the truth, which in actuality is really all contained in believing and adhering to Jesus.

No checklists to keep. No zillion laws to worry about breaking.

Jesus says in Matt. 5:17: "Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them."

Jesus is the fulfillment of the Law. Keep Jesus, keep the Law.

No more guess work. In Jesus you are washed by His sacrifice. Purified. Regenerated. Given a new nature (2 Cor. 5:17). In the eyes of Jesus we are what is called "justified".

Get in touch with that today will you?

You'd be surprised how many Christians are living under bondage to their old ways and to the O.T. Law, not realizing they have been freed from that.

It's like being thin and always seeing yourself as obese.

It's the disease of not seeing yourself as you really are.

If you are a disciple of Christ today then see yourself as Jesus sees you.

He sees you as the object of His affection. He is the Lover of your soul.

Be blessed! Run everything past Him first!

Keepin' it Real,

Pastor Kevin <><

www.reallifect.com

What's A Person Have to Do To Get Accepted Around Here Anyway?

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 <><

www.reallifect.com

Jesus Or Nothing

John 14:6 (Amplified Bible) - "Jesus said to him, I am the Way and the Truth and the Life; no one comes to the Father except by (through) Me."

There are some people who are just not going to get there from where they are right now.

They are not going to get there using their road map.

Their TomTom needs a tuneup. Their Garmin is garbage. Their NorthStar needs to be replaced by the Morning Star.

That saddens me more than anyone but Jesus could ever know.

It shatters me. It leaves me in pieces.

I'm not sure I can measure up to Jesus in searching for the one lost sheep.

That's because it's never just one.

It's those who can't say "Jesus or nothing."

There's too much "Something else and maybe Jesus."

There is really nothing besides Jesus.

It's a constant.

Remove Jesus from the equation and there is much less than zero.

There it is.

All - Jesus = << 0 (double "less than" sign signifies "Double less than zero")

What's your equation for life today?

Whatever + Jesus = Maybe?

We at Real Life Church say, "You + Jesus = Real Life".

"Real Life" not being church membership, but real living because Jesus is a part of you.

Are you "all in" as far as Jesus is concerned?

Or is He just an ideal? A philosophy? An after summer replacement?

It's THE question of the ages my friends. There is no more important one.

It begs to be answered today.

Luke 11:23 (Amplified Bible) Jesus speaks..."He who is not with Me [siding and believing with Me] is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me [engage in My interest], scatters."

Who are you gathering with today? What are you gathering today?

Keepin' it Real,

Pastor Kevin <>< 

www.reallifect.com

Next Stop...Willoughby!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

I know plenty. You probably do too.

Maybe you're one of them.

"Willoughby! Next stop, Willoughby!"

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

Brother, you would be surprised.

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

Certainly the pressure cooker existence is real.

But what of Willoughby?

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

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

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

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

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

You know about the frog and the kettle, right?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Keepin' it Real,

Pastor Kevin <>< 

www.reallifect.com

Accept No Substitutes

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

I said I can believe it's NOT butter.

Why? Because IT'S NOT BUTTER! Sheesh.

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

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

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

We have accepted less. We have accepted a substitute.

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

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

Remember the 1994 Major League Baseball strike?

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

How about the recent replacement refs for the NFL?

It's just not the same.

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

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

He designed us to be His handiwork.

We in turn end up as a cheap knockoff.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

This is why it is important to stay connected.

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

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

That's the watered down substitute.

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

John says:

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

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

Are you not abiding?

Are you living IN the doctrine of Christ?

You don't get this by acting religiously.

You get it by being His disciple.

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

The hunger and thirsting for righteousness becomes insatiable.

Accept no substitute today!

Run it all past Jesus first.

Keepin' it Real,

Pastor Kevin <><

www.reallifect.com

Does It Have To Be Called "The Fall"?

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

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

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

However, did you ever contemplate the name?

I mean, why "The Fall"?

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

I personally find irony in the name.

Stuff dies in The Fall.

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

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

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

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

Enter "The Fall".

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

Stuff died.

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

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

The snow globe burst.

Fall. Stuff died.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

...Jesus is preparing our place.

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

Keepin' it Real,

Pastor Kevin <><
www.reallifect.com

Casual Or Casualty?

The weightier matters of the counsel of God.

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