Blogging Thoughts
I started to write this post but I was reading over it and I wanted to plow my pen into my temple as I was reading it! LOL! It sucked! I have written posts that have never made it to be published and may never. I think you have to look at what you are writing and ask yourself “Is this something that I should use the ever fleeting moments of my life reading?”. I can’t say that I have asked that question every time but I do it more than not. There are a lot of people who write posts about how to write these things but I think it eats away at the creativity that God has given us. What works for one won’t always work for someone else. Have fun with it. Enjoy.
Kevin
Getting Down and Dirty
Matthew 8:1)When he came down from the mountain, great crowds followed him. 2) And behold, a leper came to him and knelt before him, saying, “Lord, if you will, you can make me clean.” 3)And Jesus stretched out his hand and touched him, saying, “I will; be clean.” And immediately his leprosy was cleansed. 4)And Jesus said to him, “See that you say nothing to anyone, but go, show yourself to the priest and offer the gift that Moses commanded, for a proof to them.”
When I study the Word, I try to put myself in the place of someone observing what is going on. The culture, the traditions are very different than those of today. You may look at this scripture and say “Ok. He touched Him and He was healed. So what?” You have to understand that in those days, lepers were considered cursed and unholy. They were not allowed in the temple to make sacrifice for their sins, they could not enter the synagouges either. They were unclean. Most people thought that leporsey was a curse from God because they or their parents did some sort of evil. It was against the law to even touch a place where a leper had sat, or ate, or anything, let alone touch one. You were instantly unclean yourself if you did.
Jesus had just got done preaching the most famous sermon to have ever been preached. The Sermon on the Mount. The scriptures said a great crowd of people was following Him. I’m sure people were marvelling at what they just heard come out of His mouth. Then all of a sudden, Jesus is approached by this unclean, unholy, unworthy man. I’m sure this leper must have been spat on, cursed, and threatened with all sorts of violence as He approached Jesus. I am taken back by this leper. We don’t even know if the leper even heard Jesus’ sermon but he knew that Jesus was more than just a teacher! He knew Jesus had the power to make him whole.
“Lord, if you will, you can make me clean.” 3)And Jesus stretched out his hand and touched him, saying, “I will; be clean.”
This part gets me the most. Not only did Jesus “will” it. He reached out and touched this unclean, unholy man! This man that had probably not felt the touch of another human being for God only knows how long! I believe there was a purpose in Him doing this. I believe Jesus felt compassion for this man, but I also believe that He did it for another reason. Jesus touched an unclean person! I am sure the news ran through the crowd like wildfire! I can imagine the people that left and went their own way after this. “After all, how can we follow a man who violates the law of Moses!” Jesus became just as unclean and disgusting as this man by touching him! Why would Jesus ruin His reputation by doing such a thing? It could even be reckoned that He was foreshadowing His taking of our sin, our uncleanliness, upon Himself when He died on the cross. He knew that only those who truly believed in Him would continue to follow Him. Jesus didn’t come to win “American Idol” He came to do the Father’s will. I have some other thoughts but go and read it and ask God to reveal His Word to you. Powerful stuff.
(This is a continuation of my study through the book of Matthew.)
Kevin
Life is Fleeting
My day began with my normal ride to work. Nothing out of the normal till I got near my place of employment. I saw what looked like an ordinary traffic incident. They had a lane blocked off. There was a vehicle in the area the police had blocked off. But I drove another 100 feet and there was the partially covered body of someone who was struck dead. It was gruesome. There was a puddle of blood next to the lifeless body. It was and still is, very disturbing. You try to think of what happened. You think of the family that has lost a loved one. You think of the driver that has to live with whatever mental and legal implications that come along with what happened. I thought about the fact that this person was probably going to the bustop nearby to go to work and probably never thought that today would be their last day. That when they left their home, they would never see their loved ones again. Sad.
I thought about this person’s soul. Did they know Christ? Did they die without knowing Him? Where was this person’s soul going to abide for eternity? Did anyone care?
My heart is heavy for this person. My heart is heavy cause there are so many people who live life like they a million years left. They think they have all the time in the world to make changes in their lives. Why risk it?
Remember, tomorrow is not promised to anyone.
Kevin
PS: I found an article about the incident. Here it is:
http://www2.tbo.com/content/2008/oct/27/tampa-pedestrian-hit-killed-crossing-roadway/news-breaking/
I Never Knew You
Matthew 7:21) “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 22) On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ 23) And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’
The religious may not admit it, but this is one of the most scariest scriptures to most Christ followers. This scripture actually hints at the fact that there may be those who do things in the name of Christ, yet God Himself tells them “I never knew you”. Imagine the Lord of Heaven and Earth telling you that He never knew you!
I did a word study on the word “knew”. It comes from the Greek word: ginōskō (1097)
1) to learn to know, come to know, get a knowledge of perceive, feel
a) to become known
2) to know, understand, perceive, have knowledge of
a) to understand
b) to know
3) Jewish idiom for sexual intercourse between a man and a woman
4) to become acquainted with, to know
Does He know you? I know He knows you, but does He know you? Do you have a relationship with Him? You can be doing the work of the ministry and Him not know you. Just because you are doing good things, doesn’t mean that He “knows” you. Just like relationships have to be nutured, so does our relationship with Christ. Don’t be mislead that cause you are busy doing things for your church that you are having a relationship with Him.
In the verses prior to the passage above, Jesus said you would know whether they were of Him by thier fruit. In Galatians 5 it talks about the fruits of the Spirit. These attitudes and attributes can only come out of a heart in communion with our heavenly Father.
Talents and abilities will only get you so far. They will falter under the pressures of the world. The facade of religion will always crack when faced by the fire of passion for a living God and not a dead routine.
Does He know you?
Kevin
Coming Soon! Maybe.
Hi,
I have started to read through the Book of Matthew again. I thought it might be cool to share some of my thoughts and things I am getting out of it. Maybe. Keep tuned.
Kevin
Some Random Thoughts 10/20/08
Friday night source group was great. We talked about the hope that is in us and how we need to be those beacons of hope in a world that is being turned upside down. Had some good breakfast eating too!
Had Connor’s friends over the whole weekend. Those boys can eat!
Ran around all day Saturday. It was nice to spend time with my sweetie for a few hours while the boys went canoing with the Refuge.
Yesterday was the last service as Church for all Nations. We had a packed house and it was a great day! Everyone was excited for the change.
Hung out with a new couple at our house and ate and had a great time of fellowship and getting to know each other. They are excited about what is happening at Journey Church and we are excited that they have decided to make our church their home.
Disappointing to see the the Rays lose game six. But AWESOME to see them win game seven!! First time to the World Series! Those guys showed a lot of heart and tenacity. Speaking of winning da Bucs won another game beating down the Seahawks! Yeah!!
Need to really bury myself in my bible. Been busy but no excuse. I probably cut myself the least amount of slack. Too much going on in the world to not be buried and consumed by His Word. People are looking for answers and we need to ready to show them who our trust and confidence is in.
Peace,
Kevin
Last Sunday!
I can’t believe that this is the last Sunday for Church for all Nations. I did a blog series not too long ago about my “Journey” during my CFAN days. It has been a very powerful and profound time in my life! I have learned what it means to serve and truly be a leader. I have learned that God has called me for a time like now to do great things. He has given me the opportunity to plant that truth in others so they know that God has called them to great things for Him and make a difference in the lives of thier family, friends, and coworkers. I am already seeing people grasp this and it is soooo exciting to see!
The best part is that this only the beginning of what God is going to do! I am excited about what God is going to do through Journey Church. Those who didn’t believe becoming believers, believers becoming disciples, disciples making other disciples, disciples becoming leaders, leaders mentoring other leaders. This is our future and I am glad to be a part of it! I can’t wait to look back at this time next year and reflect on what God has done!
Kevin
Friday Night Source Group 10-17-08
I am really excited about Friday night! We are still “Going Fishing”. We have covered a lot of great things the last few meetings. We have talked about how our view of people who don’t believe affects how we reach out as well as how people who don’t believe view Christians. We have talked about how our view of God affects how we share God with others. Last time Don shared on how we need to begin to take steps to grow in our walk with God so we can be effective in ministering to others.
What are we going to talk about Friday? You will have to come and find out! We are doing a breakfast theme so bring bring those breakfast goodies! Getting hungry just thinking about it! More later!
One of His( Kevin)
How Bad Do You Need Him?
The older I get, the more I realize I need Him. Leave me to do it my way, and I will mess it up in some way, shape, or form. I don’t say this so you will not have confidence in me. I say it because I know that I need Him like I need no other. I am not afraid to say it. I am not afraid of what you think. Cause I know the truth already. He has given me the life that I have for a reason. He has given you yours for a purpose. I am not prideful enough to believe that I don’t need His direction, protection, and provision. I would be a fool to think otherwise. In these times we live in, we need Him more than ever. We His children need to get a revelation of this in our hearts, cause there is a world that is looking for hope, peace and love. We need to learn to live this in our own lives so we can attest to the hope, love, peace that we have in the midst of all of our crap and all the stuff going on around us. I need Him today so much! Do you?
I need Thee every hour, most gracious Lord;
No tender voice like Thine can peace afford.
I need Thee, O I need Thee;
Every hour I need Thee;
O bless me now, my Savior,
I come to Thee.
One of His (Kevin)
Have We Made God Too Small?
I want to confess something: I have made God too small. I have allowed many things to be greater than Him. I have made Him too small to do a lot at many times in my life. Unbelief clouds our view more than anything. It’s like the clouds that obscure our view of the majesty and heights of the mountains. It steals our strength before we even start the ascent.
There have been many things that if I didn’t at least try, I would have been walking 10 miles to work and back. I would be sweating my butt off in a house with a broken AC. I sure wouldn’t be leading a source group or sharing the Word of God with anyone.
The hardest step is the first. When I lost my mom to cancer, I didn’t think I would ever stop hurting. When I went through a divorce, I never thought I would find someone would really love me for me. What I found out is that each day it got a little easier to not break out in a puddle of tears. I found out that there is someone who does love me for me.
As a leader, some of our ways of thinking and doing church can get jacked up or just plain stiffened up. We get happy to see the same folks every Sunday and forget that there is a community that needs Christ. We think if we get too big the pastor may not have time for us. We think what’s wrong with the amount of people that are going to our churches?
If you are honest with yourself, and you admit that you have thought this way, YOU have made God too small. We all have done this in some area of our lives. What I challenge you and myself to do is imagine the possibilities. (I know, it sounds like a credit card commercial) Pastor challenges us with this question all the time: If money was no concern, what would you do for God? Let’s make it a little more personal for you the reader: If you believed God could do anything for you, what would it be?
One of His (Kevin)
Thank God!
There are a few things and people this weekend that I would like to thank God for:
1) Don Frazier- He really got me fired up about being a Source Group leader. The talk he gave was encouraging to me as a leader and challenging to me as a Christ-Follower. Thanks Don, you rock!
2) Danny Guillemette- Dude, you saved me a lot of $$ !! I would’ve still had my van sitting in my driveway. Thank you so much for your help in getting our van running! I appreciate your time that you gave to help out a lousy excuse of a do-it-yourselfer.
3) My Wife Dawn- To the woman who puts up with all my short-comings and failures. The woman who sees my potential and abilities and pushes me to do my best. I love you.
4) The Greatest of All my Savior Jesus Christ- The One who paid the highest price so I could have a relationship with God. The one who has been with me my whole life and has kept me in His hand! I love you Lord!
One of His (Kevin)
Friday Night Shout Out
Pastor Michael does a Monday morning shout out on his blog. I just wanted to do a Friday night shout out tonight.
I want to give my source group a shout. They are an incredible group of people that I have the privilege to serve as their source group leader. I am proud to see them become more and more disciples of Christ! Don you knocked it out of the park tonight with your challenge to all of us dude! I am stoked to have new friends come tonight! I can’t wait to see them connect more and form relationships.
This is what our groups are all about at CFAN (soon to be Journey Church in a couple of weeks). Creating a safe environment where people can bring their friends and connect with others while learning about God and His purpose for our lives. So simple, but so powerful.
Thanks guys. You made my week!
One of His (Kevin)
Frustration
I had a really thought-provoking dialog with some other church leaders last week. I’ve been mulling it over in my brain and letting God move it from my brain into my heart.
As leaders and Christ-Followers we want to see everyone to have a growing love for God and others. There are many people that you can see that they have experienced a life changing event when they knew in their heart that Jesus loves and died for them. Others, to coin a phrase “Not so much”. There are many thoughts about how to handle those who just don’t seem to “get it”. I have seen some folks that seem to “get it” and “lose it” just as fast as they “got it”. I knew a guy at a church I went to when I was a teen that was into some bad stuff. He would turn to God and he would get really excited about God and make some really positive changes in his life. Then as quickly as he made a positive change, he would turn around and go back to being with the people and doing things that were ruining his life. I saw this happen at least a half a dozen times. Last I heard, he is still in this pattern of behavior today.
So the question is this: How long do you keep trying to help those who don’t want your help? How long do you continue to challenge those who refuse to be challenged? How much effort do you put into those whom you have helped over and over and over only to see them go right back down the same stupid path?
When I get frustrated, I have to look at myself. How many gray hairs have I given my mom and dad? I’m sure my mom would probably punch me in the throat a few times if she could from heaven. After I look at myself, I have to look to Jesus. He never gave up on me. No matter how stupid I have acted or still act. I look to the One who was beaten and murdered unjustly so that I can have a new life with God. Who am I to give up on anyone? We are one choice away from disaster ourselves. Frustrated sometimes? Heck yeah! Give up? Never.
One of His (Kevin)
