When You Need A Great Peace

There's peace, calm, serenity, and the general sense of well being that we all need and crave.

And then there comes a time when we need something bigger. Larger. Greater.

We need a great peace.

I sense that today.

I sense it in what I see going on around me.

I sense it in myself.

Something bigger than just "less stress" needs to prevail.

Philippians 4:6-7 (Amplified Bible) "Do not fret or have any anxiety about anything, but in every circumstance and in everything, by prayer and petition (definite requests), with thanksgiving, continue to make your wants known to God. (7) And God's peace [shall be yours, that tranquil state of a soul assured of its salvation through Christ, and so fearing nothing from God and being content with its earthly lot of whatever sort that is, that peace] which transcends all understanding shall garrison and mount guard over your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus."

Yeah, that's it.

That tranquil state of the soul at rest in Jesus.

A complete absence of fear (calm enters when fear leaves).

Contentment in the midst of attack (big medicine there).

I need a "garrison of guards" surrounding my mind and heart (acknowledge the angels dispatched to you).

I need Jesus (Come to Me if you are heavy burdened, and I will give you rest).

You know the feeling. It sometimes come with disturbing news overload.

When corroboration comes in the form of others saying "Pastor, what's going on?"

An offensive mounted by enemy forces aimed at believers.

That's when the need for GREAT peace comes in.

I'm already feeling it. I have to let it wash over me, and start sending it out to others.

Paul says "God's peace shall be yours".

I want you to receive that today.

God's peace is yours today.

If you're in that place today where the scale is tilted a bit toward the downside, heavy laden with cares and woes, take joy and comfort that God's great peace is yours.

Be blessed. I am in it with you. 

Jesus is in it with us together.

Keepin' it Real,

Pastor Kevin <><

~SoZo~

Next Stop...?

"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 <>< 

~SoZo~

Where Summer Goes To Die

Fall Is The place where Summer goes to die.

It's coming. Soon. It 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 - "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 Edenic 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, ...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 <><

~SoZo~

Sometimes You Have To Back Off

Matthew 11:28 (AMP) - Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy-laden and overburdened, and I will cause you to rest. [I will ease and relieve and refresh your souls.]

Jesus as the Cause of everything. From the subatomic building block of life to the vastness of the universe.

Creator. Savior.

He will cause you to rest.

Get that? CAUSE you to rest.

He is Rest. When we come to Him we join His rest.

Can't shut down?

Mind just spins all night when you should be sleeping?

Can't back off that project?

We all need relief and refreshment that is from outside our meager sources.

We need it from the inside. Jesus as the Source.

Supernatural refreshment and relief.

Peace and rest that sustains.

Yours today just for asking.

Jesus delivers. Always. He never fails.

Keepin' it Real,

Pastor Kevin <><

~SoZo~

Running Ahead Of God

I made a joke once 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 of 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?

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 <><

~SoZo~

Crash

What's the first thing that comes to your mind when you hear the word?

I think of a car wreck.

Lots of negatives.

1929.  Crash.

2006. High times on Wall Street, tough times on Main Street. Crash.

The best I can think of is the fact that my drum kit has two "crash" cymbals.

Some folks may not think that's such a great thing either.

Yesterday I thought of the day the twin towers collapsed.

Crash.

Not good.

How about when people's lives crash?

Happens everyday. Exponentially. People crash.

Sometimes it is so profound that I can hear it.

I can hear it in the sobbing of their loved ones.

Crash.

Jesus has instructed us in the gospels to heed His advice and be wise as we build our lives.

He likens our life construction as the very wise builder who built his home on bedrock, and not on sand.

He said that when the great storms come that house on bedrock would be able to withstand the rains and winds and remain standing. (Matt.7:24-25)

He also warned us of the contrary.

If we are to be a careless or ignorant builder and build that home on sand, when the storms come the sand would shift underneath and the house would...

Crash. (Matt.7:26-27)

One common thread that runs through both scenarios.

The storms will come.

It's during those moments that we start to assess our life decisions and the errors and mistakes come rushing to the forefront.

"Everything is crashing down around me because I made a poor life decision and I am weakened because of it and I cannot withstand."

Crash.

Jesus has a simple solution.

Yes, I said simple.

Jesus said in the beginning of verse 24, "Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man... ."

Hear His words. Put them into practice.

There's my prayer.

Hear His words.

Put them into practice.

Avoid the crash.

Save your life. Save your marriage. Save your health. Save your finances. 

Save your life.

Run it all past Jesus first today!

Keepin' it Real,

Pastor Kevin <>

~SoZo~

Join my blog: http://keepinitrealpastorkevin.blogspot.com/

I Don't Have A Bucket List

No, I don't have a "bucket" list, or things I want to do before I "kick the bucket".

I've thought about this to some extent.

I think from someone else's perspective this might come off as being dull or unexciting.

I've never felt the desire to jump out of an airplane.

I don't even like getting into an airplane.

I've never wanted to run with the bulls in Spain.

I wouldn't run to the corner for a paper.

I've never wanted to climb Mt. Everest.

You can't get me on a ladder to change a light bulb.

I'm just pretty content with my unassuming quietly led life.

Yes, content. Contented.

How many can say that this morning?

I am content.

I didn't say everything is perfect.

I said content.

Content, in my opinion, means that one does not have to search far and wide for the joy in their life.

They already have it. And they know that they have it.

Having it and knowing you have it.

Content.

No need or desire to look any further.

You have the right spouse. The right family. The right job. The right church.

Whatever you have...it's just...right.

Content with the content. Ah...that confusing English language.

Matt. 6:31, 33 - "Therefore do not worry and be anxious, saying, What are we going to have to eat? or, What are we going to have to drink? or, What are we going to have to wear?"

(33) But seek (aim at and strive after) first of all His kingdom and His righteousness (His way of doing and being right), and then all these things taken together will be given you besides."

I believe (and you can feel free to disagree with me if you want) that I have found contentment because I have Jesus Christ in my life. 

I didn't read the above passage BEFORE I came to know Jesus.

I discovered it afterword and was amazed at how true it was for myself.

I found my entire life, fully, holistically if you will, in Jesus Christ and His Kingdom.

I am a better person physically, mentally, spiritually, because of Him.

No question about it in my understanding.

I sought first the Kingdom of God, and everything I had been lacking my entire life was given to me and then some.

I didn't become rich by the world's standard. My teeth didn't straighten or receive gold fillings.

I did however, become delivered from my drug and cigarette habit, which in my opinion saved my physical life.

The signs of aging are upon me. 

Yet, I cannot think of a single solitary thing that I lack which would make my life more fulfilled.

I am content. And it's because of Jesus Christ.

If you are discontented, He may just be the answer you have been hoping for.

I do know this much. Sitting around wallowing in discontent is the fast track to an early grave. Or at the least a very unhappy looooong life.

If you were to trust me on anything, trust me on this. Jesus has answers for you.

I pray today that those in the season of discontent would first seek the Kingdom of God so that Jesus could add all the things you need to be content in your life.

If you have a bucket list today, let Jesus be the first thing on it.

Run it all past Jesus first!

Keepin' it Real,

Pastor Kevin <><

~SoZo~

Join my blog at: http://keepinitrealpastorkevin.blogspot.com/