Stuff indeed does happen.
Stuff happens when we let our stuff run our lives.
"Stuff" in my opinion is anything that interferes with the work of Christ in our life.
It could be possessions that require too much energy to maintain, and therefore prevents us from praying, studying the Word, and worshiping like we should be.
It could be allowing subversive attitudes and habits to take control over what we know we should be practicing.
It could be laziness and sloth that dictates and takes command over the very things that would improve our lives.
In any event it is a surrender of what belongs to God over to whatever forces you have surrendered to.
It has been said that familiarity breeds contempt. Indeed it does. In this case what you are most familiar with breeds and strengthens contempt against either God or the sworn enemy of God.
For your sake it should not be God.
My heart breaks for those who continually make poor choices in their lives. I have seen the "successful" and the "failures" be subject to the very thing that will bring them down in the end.
When Christ is not the center of everything you are or hope to become then there is really only failure.
Luke 14:33 - "So therefore, any one of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple."
A horrible and tragic forfeiture if one chooses against Jesus.
It doesn't matter how nice a person you are, how much money you give, how much you pay lip service to God. If your actions and associated results of your actions do not bear witness or "fruit", then you are a failure.
Some of the epic failures I have ever known were the most energetic toward carnal (self, flesh) improvement. Health nuts, financial wizards, social advocates, etc. Not that those things alone are bad, but often they push out Jesus and lead to spiritual failure. Being the most caring, healthy, or richest person in hell is not an improvement. You're still in hell.
A spiritual failure bears rotten fruit. A spiritual failure puts their entire family at risk. A spiritual failure is renounced by God. Spiritual failures care only about themselves.
Spiritual failures pile up so much junk and stuff in front of Jesus that they are actually farther and farther away from Him as the days grow.
The spiritual failure becomes as vomit in the mouth of Christ.
Check yourself. What do you talk and think about more than Jesus? That "thing" will be your undoing.
Rev. 3:15-16 - "I know your works: you are neither cold nor hot. Would that you were either cold or hot! (16) So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth."
James 1:7-8 - "For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; (8) he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways."
The gospels say it. The epistles say it. Indeed all the Word of God says it.
There is only one cure.
James 4:7-8 - "Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. (8) Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you."
So, instead of making excuses start prioritizing what is of utmost importance.
Run toward everything that will strengthen your relationship with Christ. Feed your spiritual need instead of your carnal appetite. Turn your laziness into energy and hunger for His Word and Spirit.
Put aside your agenda and make worship, the study of His Word, and the fellowship of believers the utmost priority in your life. These are indeed the times where we should be looking up together with hope and joyfulness as the Holy Spirit prepares us.
Keepin' it Real,
Pastor Kevin <><
Monday, October 31, 2011
Friday, October 28, 2011
Willing?
John 5:40 - "And still you are not willing [but refuse] to come to Me, so that you might have life."
Who are the unwilling?
In this verse Jesus was speaking to the religious. In fact some were the religious leaders. The very ones we would expect to be among the eager and willing to receive Jesus.
We will find the unwilling in the most unexpected places.
The unwilling could be sitting in the pews of your church.
The unwilling could be preaching from your pulpits.
The unwilling could have seemingly successful media ministries.
The unwilling could be among the ones you would least suspect.
Unwillingness is a matter of the heart. The true purposes of the heart can be masked by outward actions and appearances.
We can be fooled. Jesus is never fooled.
It's never about what we do, what we say, even how we may act.
It's about what we have purposed in our heart.
Does your heart belong to Jesus? The very essence of your being? The center of who you are?
Have you been changed in your heart? Or are you just acting religious?
Does your church preach Jesus as the only way? Has He become your "all-in-all"?
Have you placed everything before Him? Have you learned to be satisfied with Jesus?
Do you place others before yourself? Are your prayers filled with what you want from God for you?
How you answer those diagnostic questions would indicate whether you are a disciple of Jesus Christ or simply religious.
Religion never saved anybody. Theology never saved anybody. Churches never saved anybody.
Jesus saves. Period.
Be sure you are alive in Him.
Keepin' it Real,
Pastor Kevin <><
Who are the unwilling?
In this verse Jesus was speaking to the religious. In fact some were the religious leaders. The very ones we would expect to be among the eager and willing to receive Jesus.
We will find the unwilling in the most unexpected places.
The unwilling could be sitting in the pews of your church.
The unwilling could be preaching from your pulpits.
The unwilling could have seemingly successful media ministries.
The unwilling could be among the ones you would least suspect.
Unwillingness is a matter of the heart. The true purposes of the heart can be masked by outward actions and appearances.
We can be fooled. Jesus is never fooled.
It's never about what we do, what we say, even how we may act.
It's about what we have purposed in our heart.
Does your heart belong to Jesus? The very essence of your being? The center of who you are?
Have you been changed in your heart? Or are you just acting religious?
Does your church preach Jesus as the only way? Has He become your "all-in-all"?
Have you placed everything before Him? Have you learned to be satisfied with Jesus?
Do you place others before yourself? Are your prayers filled with what you want from God for you?
How you answer those diagnostic questions would indicate whether you are a disciple of Jesus Christ or simply religious.
Religion never saved anybody. Theology never saved anybody. Churches never saved anybody.
Jesus saves. Period.
Be sure you are alive in Him.
Keepin' it Real,
Pastor Kevin <><
Thursday, October 27, 2011
"Help Someone To Come Forth"
In the eleventh chapter of the Gospel of John, there is an account of Jesus raising his friend Lazarus from the dead. He had already been entombed four days, and in the face of much wonder and disbelief Jesus miraculously gave him back his life and he walked out of that tomb still wearing the grave clothes he was wrapped with a few days earlier.
There are many factors and facets we can gain from this event. It shows us the power that Christ has over death itself. It shows us the compassion Jesus has toward people. It shows us an example of the resurrection of the body that is available for believers when Jesus comes to gather His Church.
However, for today's intentions, and as an example and encouragement for believers right now, we can look at the story as metaphorical.
Prior to knowing Jesus we were spiritually dead. We were as good as in our graves.
Upon giving our hearts to Christ we were spiritually joined with Him in His death and resurrection.
In essence we died to sin and were made alive to God.
We literally walked out of the tomb of our own sin and degradation, complete with the rags of our shattered and frayed lives falling off of us as we "resurrected" from our former deadness!
This is not just some dry, worn out, dead religious exercise.
This is taking advantage of shouting to the world around us, "Hey, this is what Jesus did for me!. It's what He can do for you too!"
Look at the Scripture for today:
John 5:28-29 (Amplified Bible) - "Do not be surprised and wonder at this, for the time is coming when all those who are in the tombs shall hear His voice,(29) And they shall come out--those who have practiced doing good [will come out] to the resurrection of [new] life, and those who have done evil will be raised for judgment [raised to meet their sentence]."
Wow! Yes indeed! This passage points to the day when the literal graves of those who have died in Christ physically will be opened and be raised in new glorified bodies to join Jesus in the air at the rapture of His Church.
But it also may be used to show what has happened to us first in our spirit.
For in order to take part in the grand resurrection of the body, we first have to have this happen to us in our spirit!
This is why it is important that we give our heart to Christ, and that we makes sure others have the opportunity as well.
This indeed a time for rejoicing in what Christ has done for us, and what He is still willing to do even today for those who are dead in their spiritual lives.
Tell someone today what Jesus has done for you!
Keepin' it Real,
Pastor Kevin <><
There are many factors and facets we can gain from this event. It shows us the power that Christ has over death itself. It shows us the compassion Jesus has toward people. It shows us an example of the resurrection of the body that is available for believers when Jesus comes to gather His Church.
However, for today's intentions, and as an example and encouragement for believers right now, we can look at the story as metaphorical.
Prior to knowing Jesus we were spiritually dead. We were as good as in our graves.
Upon giving our hearts to Christ we were spiritually joined with Him in His death and resurrection.
In essence we died to sin and were made alive to God.
We literally walked out of the tomb of our own sin and degradation, complete with the rags of our shattered and frayed lives falling off of us as we "resurrected" from our former deadness!
This is not just some dry, worn out, dead religious exercise.
This is taking advantage of shouting to the world around us, "Hey, this is what Jesus did for me!. It's what He can do for you too!"
Look at the Scripture for today:
John 5:28-29 (Amplified Bible) - "Do not be surprised and wonder at this, for the time is coming when all those who are in the tombs shall hear His voice,(29) And they shall come out--those who have practiced doing good [will come out] to the resurrection of [new] life, and those who have done evil will be raised for judgment [raised to meet their sentence]."
Wow! Yes indeed! This passage points to the day when the literal graves of those who have died in Christ physically will be opened and be raised in new glorified bodies to join Jesus in the air at the rapture of His Church.
But it also may be used to show what has happened to us first in our spirit.
For in order to take part in the grand resurrection of the body, we first have to have this happen to us in our spirit!
This is why it is important that we give our heart to Christ, and that we makes sure others have the opportunity as well.
This indeed a time for rejoicing in what Christ has done for us, and what He is still willing to do even today for those who are dead in their spiritual lives.
Tell someone today what Jesus has done for you!
Keepin' it Real,
Pastor Kevin <><
Wednesday, October 26, 2011
All Guts, Little Glory
Imagine you had a talent that would attract great amounts of attention. Imagine your life ending up making a positive impact in the world so magnanimous that it would be remembered for over 2,000 years. Imagine not receiving any compensation for this great task other than a promise.
Imagine your only reward as being your own head severed from its body and served up on a platter for a king.
Not exactly a job many would apply for on Monster.com.
Tough job, but somebody had to do it.
I am speaking of John the Baptist. The last real prophet of the bible in the Old Testament sense of the word.
Perhaps the job description would go something like this:
*Wanted* - A person with a tenacious spirit willing to work hard for little wages. Must be outspoken and not shy and able to work with large crowds of people in extreme circumstances. Candidate should be an expert communicator who can be heard loudly and clearly. Very basic food and clothing needs will be provided. Job scope is narrow and person must be willing to see it through to completion which will in all likelihood culminate with imprisonment and death.
Line forms at the right. What, no takers?
God had the right man for the job.
Mark 1:1-2 - "The beginning of the Good News of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. (2) As it is written in the prophets, "Behold, I send my messenger before your face, who will prepare your way before you."
I'm not sure if John realized it or not, but he was a trendsetter. He was the first one to show us what it could be like being a disciple of Jesus Christ.
Few of us will be required to make the sacrifices John did, but the tension is always in the willingness.
There is something about doing great things for little earthly reward that is not natural.
We are not wired that way from birth. In fact we are the opposite. If we are going to promote anything vociferously it will generally be about something that will benefit us individually.
In other words, what's in it for me?
Could you be a John the Baptist? Could you adapt to that job description?
John had the attitude of "I must decrease so that He will increase."
He had built up a large personal fan base and turned them all over to Jesus.
Could you unselfishly, fearlessly, and exhaustingly tell the story of Jesus as often as possible for little if any tangible material reward, and never taking any credit for yourself?
Would you if the slightest chance of dying for the cause of Christ was possible?
Dietrich Bonhoeffer, a true 20th century martyr and preacher of the gospel, who was hanged in a Nazi concentration camp, wrote in his book "The Cost of Discipleship", "...when God calls a man He bids him come and die."
First and foremost it is to die to self and to live for Christ, but sometimes we will die physically as well.
What happens is not as important as what we are willing to have happen.
There is no more important a task on earth than expressing and exposing Jesus. It's starting to get to the place where it takes some guts again to be outspoken for Jesus.
If you're OK with all the glory going to Jesus then God has picked another winner.
Keepin' it Real,
Pastor Kevin <><
Imagine your only reward as being your own head severed from its body and served up on a platter for a king.
Not exactly a job many would apply for on Monster.com.
Tough job, but somebody had to do it.
I am speaking of John the Baptist. The last real prophet of the bible in the Old Testament sense of the word.
Perhaps the job description would go something like this:
*Wanted* - A person with a tenacious spirit willing to work hard for little wages. Must be outspoken and not shy and able to work with large crowds of people in extreme circumstances. Candidate should be an expert communicator who can be heard loudly and clearly. Very basic food and clothing needs will be provided. Job scope is narrow and person must be willing to see it through to completion which will in all likelihood culminate with imprisonment and death.
Line forms at the right. What, no takers?
God had the right man for the job.
Mark 1:1-2 - "The beginning of the Good News of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. (2) As it is written in the prophets, "Behold, I send my messenger before your face, who will prepare your way before you."
I'm not sure if John realized it or not, but he was a trendsetter. He was the first one to show us what it could be like being a disciple of Jesus Christ.
Few of us will be required to make the sacrifices John did, but the tension is always in the willingness.
There is something about doing great things for little earthly reward that is not natural.
We are not wired that way from birth. In fact we are the opposite. If we are going to promote anything vociferously it will generally be about something that will benefit us individually.
In other words, what's in it for me?
Could you be a John the Baptist? Could you adapt to that job description?
John had the attitude of "I must decrease so that He will increase."
He had built up a large personal fan base and turned them all over to Jesus.
Could you unselfishly, fearlessly, and exhaustingly tell the story of Jesus as often as possible for little if any tangible material reward, and never taking any credit for yourself?
Would you if the slightest chance of dying for the cause of Christ was possible?
Dietrich Bonhoeffer, a true 20th century martyr and preacher of the gospel, who was hanged in a Nazi concentration camp, wrote in his book "The Cost of Discipleship", "...when God calls a man He bids him come and die."
First and foremost it is to die to self and to live for Christ, but sometimes we will die physically as well.
What happens is not as important as what we are willing to have happen.
There is no more important a task on earth than expressing and exposing Jesus. It's starting to get to the place where it takes some guts again to be outspoken for Jesus.
If you're OK with all the glory going to Jesus then God has picked another winner.
Keepin' it Real,
Pastor Kevin <><
Tuesday, October 25, 2011
Do You Know Him, Or Just Know Of Him?
Have you contemplated who you are? Where you have come from? Where you are headed?
Is your view of life strictly confined by your own human point of view?
We are certainly all human. However, we are also supernatural. We have bodies that will eventually turn back to dust, but we have spirits and souls which will live forever.
Each of us are creations of God. Our finite bodies will pretty much stay the way they are save for aging, weight gain or loss, sickness, etc. They serve the purposes of God which is to carry around our infinite spirit and soul (mind).
The finite and the infinite. We are walking talking paradoxes.
So, what and how we think effect our view of Jesus Christ.
How do you understand Jesus today? From a finite human viewpoint, or a supernatural infinite viewpoint.
I submit to you this morning that you cannot really ever get to know Jesus until you get out of the flesh way of thinking and into the supernatural spirit way of thinking.
Read what Paul says about knowing Jesus:
1 Cor.5:16 - "Consequently, from now on we estimate and regard no one from a [purely] human point of view [in terms of natural standards of value]. [No] even though we once did estimate Christ from a human viewpoint and as a man, yet now [we have such knowledge of Him that] we know Him no longer [in terms of the flesh]."
Powerful, life changing stuff right there in front of you.
I strongly suggest that you read and then re-read that verse as many times as needed to ensure you get it deep down in your spirit.
How you view and understand Christ effects every part of your daily existence.
You have to train yourself to see everything through the supernatural side of your born-again life. Resist strictly seeing things through your sensory oriented carnal (flesh, human) side.
Practice living and walking in the supernatural spirit side of who you are, which is essentially the real you.
The body is a transport vehicle. Your eternal infinite soul and spirit is who you are and that is going to live forever.
For an intimate relationship with Christ you have to get past "estimating" Him in your human finite way.
You have to move to "contemplating" Him in the spirit.
That's essentially what Paul is saying. We once only knew Jesus in a historical context.
Now we need to know Him intimately and personally and it must be done in the spirit.
I think that's where people get hung up. They are trying to forge a typical human relationship with Someone who is not typical.
The very next verse explains why that is:
17 - "Therefore if any person is [ingrafted] in Christ (the Messiah) he is a new creation (a new creature altogether); the old [previous moral and spiritual condition] has passed away. Behold, the fresh and new has come!"
We who have accepted Jesus have become changed. We are a brand new (not reconstituted) creation.
Since that is the truth it stands to reason that we must act according to our new spiritual nature.
In other words, you are changed. Act like it.
Maybe this is too deep for you today. That's okay. Start slow. Meditate on the verse prayerfully. Contemplate quietly the possibilities. Act upon the revealed knowledge that the Holy Spirit gives you.
Do this and I personally guarantee you will step to a higher level of living with Jesus Christ!
Be blessed!
Keepin' it Real,
Pastor Kevin <><
Is your view of life strictly confined by your own human point of view?
We are certainly all human. However, we are also supernatural. We have bodies that will eventually turn back to dust, but we have spirits and souls which will live forever.
Each of us are creations of God. Our finite bodies will pretty much stay the way they are save for aging, weight gain or loss, sickness, etc. They serve the purposes of God which is to carry around our infinite spirit and soul (mind).
The finite and the infinite. We are walking talking paradoxes.
So, what and how we think effect our view of Jesus Christ.
How do you understand Jesus today? From a finite human viewpoint, or a supernatural infinite viewpoint.
I submit to you this morning that you cannot really ever get to know Jesus until you get out of the flesh way of thinking and into the supernatural spirit way of thinking.
Read what Paul says about knowing Jesus:
1 Cor.5:16 - "Consequently, from now on we estimate and regard no one from a [purely] human point of view [in terms of natural standards of value]. [No] even though we once did estimate Christ from a human viewpoint and as a man, yet now [we have such knowledge of Him that] we know Him no longer [in terms of the flesh]."
Powerful, life changing stuff right there in front of you.
I strongly suggest that you read and then re-read that verse as many times as needed to ensure you get it deep down in your spirit.
How you view and understand Christ effects every part of your daily existence.
You have to train yourself to see everything through the supernatural side of your born-again life. Resist strictly seeing things through your sensory oriented carnal (flesh, human) side.
Practice living and walking in the supernatural spirit side of who you are, which is essentially the real you.
The body is a transport vehicle. Your eternal infinite soul and spirit is who you are and that is going to live forever.
For an intimate relationship with Christ you have to get past "estimating" Him in your human finite way.
You have to move to "contemplating" Him in the spirit.
That's essentially what Paul is saying. We once only knew Jesus in a historical context.
Now we need to know Him intimately and personally and it must be done in the spirit.
I think that's where people get hung up. They are trying to forge a typical human relationship with Someone who is not typical.
The very next verse explains why that is:
17 - "Therefore if any person is [ingrafted] in Christ (the Messiah) he is a new creation (a new creature altogether); the old [previous moral and spiritual condition] has passed away. Behold, the fresh and new has come!"
We who have accepted Jesus have become changed. We are a brand new (not reconstituted) creation.
Since that is the truth it stands to reason that we must act according to our new spiritual nature.
In other words, you are changed. Act like it.
Maybe this is too deep for you today. That's okay. Start slow. Meditate on the verse prayerfully. Contemplate quietly the possibilities. Act upon the revealed knowledge that the Holy Spirit gives you.
Do this and I personally guarantee you will step to a higher level of living with Jesus Christ!
Be blessed!
Keepin' it Real,
Pastor Kevin <><
Monday, October 24, 2011
Lost And Found
Luke 15:32 - "But it was fitting to make merry, to revel and feast and rejoice, for this brother of yours was dead and is alive again! He was lost and is found!"
There's a different kind of reveling going on here.
This is not the riotous living the prodigal experienced when he blew everything he had.
This is a reveling on earth and in heaven.
This is the rejoicing of a soul coming home to the Father.
There is a grand party in heaven when a person returns to God.
I was lost. You were lost. Perhaps you are reading this and are still out there apart from God.
Lost.
The good news is that I was found! Many of you were found! If not, the greatest news you will ever hear is that you don't have to remain lost either.
God wants you back!
John Newton was so excited that he wrote a song about it:
Amazing grace! How sweet the sound
That saved a wretch like me.
I once was lost, but now am found,
Was blind but now I see.
Lost and found.
The Soul Recycling Center Of The Universe.
The return deposit is the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ.
Bought and paid for by Jesus.
Amazing grace.
Keepin' it Real,
Pastor Kevin <><
There's a different kind of reveling going on here.
This is not the riotous living the prodigal experienced when he blew everything he had.
This is a reveling on earth and in heaven.
This is the rejoicing of a soul coming home to the Father.
There is a grand party in heaven when a person returns to God.
I was lost. You were lost. Perhaps you are reading this and are still out there apart from God.
Lost.
The good news is that I was found! Many of you were found! If not, the greatest news you will ever hear is that you don't have to remain lost either.
God wants you back!
John Newton was so excited that he wrote a song about it:
Amazing grace! How sweet the sound
That saved a wretch like me.
I once was lost, but now am found,
Was blind but now I see.
Lost and found.
The Soul Recycling Center Of The Universe.
The return deposit is the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ.
Bought and paid for by Jesus.
Amazing grace.
Keepin' it Real,
Pastor Kevin <><
Wednesday, October 19, 2011
Your Plan "A" Was Never Going To Work
Luke 15:18 - "I will get up and go to my father, and I will say to him, Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight."
Good plan. Excellent strategy. You've screwed your life up and now you want to make it right.
Straight from the pig sty of failed schemes and plans.
I will get up and go to God. I will tell Him how sorry I am and how I have come to recognize my faults. I will recognize how I have forced Him to grieve over a diminished wretch.
I will simply present myself as an object in need of His grace and forgiveness.
And I shall receive it.
That might be the most important part. Know that you shall receive it.
"If we [freely] admit that we have sinned and confess our sins, He is faithful and just (true to His own nature and promises) and will forgive our sins [dismiss our lawlessness] and [continuously] cleanse us from all unrighteousness [everything not in conformity to His will in purpose, thought, and action]." (1 John 1:9)
There's a lot of freedom in that verse. Perhaps the greatest passage in the bible. Certainly up there in the Top 10.
What happens in the sty stays in the sty. That is until we decide to change. No one crawls out of the slime until they say "Enough!".
Freely admit. Of your own will and accord.
We first have to break free from our own nature of sin and evil and God will then be true to His nature.
We need forgiveness. He will forgive.
How's that for simple?
Now, mix in your desire to change and the process is complete.
Keepin' it Real,
Pastor Kevin <><
Good plan. Excellent strategy. You've screwed your life up and now you want to make it right.
Straight from the pig sty of failed schemes and plans.
I will get up and go to God. I will tell Him how sorry I am and how I have come to recognize my faults. I will recognize how I have forced Him to grieve over a diminished wretch.
I will simply present myself as an object in need of His grace and forgiveness.
And I shall receive it.
That might be the most important part. Know that you shall receive it.
"If we [freely] admit that we have sinned and confess our sins, He is faithful and just (true to His own nature and promises) and will forgive our sins [dismiss our lawlessness] and [continuously] cleanse us from all unrighteousness [everything not in conformity to His will in purpose, thought, and action]." (1 John 1:9)
There's a lot of freedom in that verse. Perhaps the greatest passage in the bible. Certainly up there in the Top 10.
What happens in the sty stays in the sty. That is until we decide to change. No one crawls out of the slime until they say "Enough!".
Freely admit. Of your own will and accord.
We first have to break free from our own nature of sin and evil and God will then be true to His nature.
We need forgiveness. He will forgive.
How's that for simple?
Now, mix in your desire to change and the process is complete.
Keepin' it Real,
Pastor Kevin <><
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