When Things Don’t Change
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In my 38 (almost 39)years on this Earth, I have seen so many things change. I have seen myself get older, my children transform before my eyes and become teens, and my career path change quite a few times. Change is inevitable.
The New Year has begun and for many it is a new start. It is a new opportunity to make some changes in our lives that maybe we didn’t have the gumption to do before. The types and quantity of resolutions are endless.
The problem is when things don’t change.
You’re still the same weight. Your marriage is still a mess. Your kids still hate your guts. Your finances are still a wreck. You still hate your job.
The blame game begins on the things that didn’t change. Despair and disappointment set in and you’re done.
The year comes to a close again, and you resolve to make “the next year”, the “year” everything changes, and the cycle continues on. The failure to see change continues.
The following reasons things don’t change sometimes are things that I have come to understand about myself and still walk through and wrestle with all the time. I don’t claim to have mastered them, but I believe they will help you.
1) We don’t see the change in the circumstances around us is because of our failure to see the change that needs to take place inside of us.
Many times things need to change inside of us in order for things to change before things can change in the outside world. We have attitudes, mindsets, and ways of thinking that need to change. Perhaps you are filled with pride or you lack mercy, or you lack character. If the way we think or see things doesn’t change, we would doom everything we want to accomplish. Left to our own devices, because of the sinful, fallen nature we have, we would mess it all up. We may see this as God torturing us or denying us what we want but this is His mercy on us that He doesn’t gives us what we want, when we want it. This is definitely a tough pill to swallow. No doubt.
2) We don’t see change because we are looking for something outside of Christ that can only be found in Him alone.
This one is huge. Many of the things we desire for ourselves are merely a substitute for something we can find in Christ alone. Whether it’s security, love, acceptance, or provision, God wants to fill all of these things in our lives. All too often we turn to our jobs, our spouses, our kids, or even doing good things to fill the longing of our hearts. The problem is that they never bring lasting joy to our lives. God is jealous for our hearts and He will not let anything bring true fulfillment outside of Him and what Jesus did on the cross.
I have no doubt that all of you wrestle with these things in varying degrees. There may some of you that this may be an eye-opener for you. My prayer for you (and me) is that we will have ears to hear, eyes to see, and teachable heart to allow God to reveal us those things we need to learn. That we would be able to look back on the previous year, and see how far God has brought us all.
The one thing I am grateful for that doesn’t change is how much Jesus loves you and me.
God bless your New Year
Kevin
Paying the Price
Haggai 1
1 In the second year of Darius the king, in the sixth month, on the first day of the month, the word of the LORD came by the hand of Haggai the prophet to Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest: 2“Thus says the LORD of hosts: These people say the time has not yet come to rebuild the house of the LORD.” 3Then the word of the LORD came by the hand of Haggai the prophet, 4 “Is it a time for you yourselves to dwell in your paneled houses, while this house lies in ruins? 5Now, therefore, thus says the LORD of hosts: Consider your ways. 6 You have sown much, and harvested little. You eat, but you never have enough; you drink, but you never have your fill. You clothe yourselves, but no one is warm. And he who earns wages does so to put them into a bag with holes.
7“Thus says the LORD of hosts: Consider your ways. 8Go up to the hills and bring wood and build the house, that I may take pleasure in it and that I may be glorified, says the LORD. 9 You looked for much, and behold, it came to little. And when you brought it home, I blew it away. Why? declares the LORD of hosts. Because of my house that lies in ruins, while each of you busies himself with his own house. 10Therefore the heavens above you have withheld the dew, and the earth has withheld its produce. 11And I have called for a drought on the land and the hills, on the grain, the new wine, the oil, on what the ground brings forth, on man and beast, and on all their labors.”
I was looking at this passage today and it kinda hit hard.
I know a lot of folks use this passage to talk about giving. I think we are missing a lot when we take a scripture and apply a label to it.
Read the passage again. God is talking about rebuilding the temple of God. In a New Testament context, the building of stone and wood has been replaced by a temple of flesh and blood.
1 Corinthians 6:19-20
19Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, 20 for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.
God is talking about how we devote so much to what returns so little. We build our houses (look to satisfy our desires) while we neglect the temple (our spirit man). I used to wonder why we don’t see the kind of miracles and wonders of the bible in this present day. The fact is we don’t want to pay the price that is required to see God do those kind of things in and through us.
Matthew 20:20-23
Then the mother of the sons of Zebedee came up to him with her sons, and kneeling before him she asked him for something. 21And he said to her, “What do you want?” She said to him, “Say that these two sons of mine are to sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your kingdom.” 22Jesus answered, “You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I am to drink?” They said to him, “We are able.” 23He said to them, “You will drink my cup, but to sit at my right hand and at my left is not mine to grant, but it is for those for whom it has been prepared by my Father.”
Its really bad how we want to see revival, we want to see people healed and transformed by the gospel, we want God to do so many things, but we don’t want to pay the price to see those things happen. We want everything handed to us on a silver platter and no sweat off our brow. We don’t want to study, we don’t want to pray, we don’t want to fast, we don’t want to volunteer “too much of our time”,we don’t want to take too much focus off ourselves for too long to see God do anything significant in our lives, our church, our community, our city, state, country, or world. As long as we are good in our own little world, we are content. This my friends, is not the gospel.
Those who make the biggest difference make the biggest sacrifices. The gospel will not be manifest in our lives until we deny ourselves, take up our cross and follow Him. The “cup’ He would have us drink is not kool-aid folks. It is hard. It is a sacrifice. It is a lot of self-denial. I was just told by my doctor a week ago that my blood sugar is way too high. I have had to make some changes in what and how I eat. Many things that I enjoyed are now things that I can no longer enjoy. It is hard to give up things that you enjoy. It has been a struggle for me at times, but I understand that if I do not make those changes, I may die or have serious health issues when I get older. Same thing with our spirit lives. If we neglect what our spirit needs to grow and develop, we produce lives deficient of fruit the of the Spirit. Many times we struggle with the same things in our lives because we neglect our spirit man.
Do you want a closer relationship with God?
Do you want to see others come to know the grace that God shown to you?
Do you want to know what God says the situations you are facing in your life?
Do you want to be free from addiction?
Do you want to be able to worship God with passion and reckless abandon?
This will not happen doing the same ole thing you are used to doing. This will only happen when you step out of your comfort zone, deny yourself, volunteer to do something in your church, make time for His Word and prayer, and when you mess up, get up and keep going.
Will you pay the price?
Kevin
Taking a Shot
Image by Clover_1 via Flickr
I remember when I was a kid, my big brother used to punch the mess out me. Thats what boys do. They wrestle, play slaps, arm wrestle, bloody knuckles, you name it. Playing these games would get you bruised up and occasionally bloody, but they were a right-of-passage and showed you how tough you were and how you gained respect by the other boys.
As we move into adulthood, the shots we take are much less physical, take on other forms, and can be a lot more serious. Whether it’s a crazy co-worker that hasn’t had their coffee, or it could be a bad diagnosis from a doctor. The way we take these shots reveals our character and in whom in we trust. Check out what Paul went though:
2 Corinthians 11:24-28
24Five times I received at the hands of the Jews the forty lashes less one. 25Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned. Three times I was shipwrecked; a night and a day I was adrift at sea; 26on frequent journeys, in danger from rivers, danger from robbers, danger from my own people, danger from Gentiles, danger in the city, danger in the wilderness, danger at sea, danger from false brothers; 27 in toil and hardship, through many a sleepless night, in hunger and thirst, often without food, in cold and exposure. 28And, apart from other things, there is the daily pressure on me of my anxiety for all the churches.
As Christ-Followers, we are going to take shots. We are going to get bad news, we are going to have disagreements with our spouses, we are going to experience various trials and tribulations. Some things are just going to bust you right in the chops.
As a Christ-Follower, can you take a hit? Can you turn your cheek when your co-worker tries to run you down to your boss? Can you declare the Lord is your healer when you are diagnosed with some disease? Do you rest on His strong right arm when it seems there is no way out of your circumstance?
The Bible declares that we will have trials, tribulations and turmoil. Will you take the shot and keep moving forward or will you shrink back? Will you walk in faith or will you allow the enemy and this world to run all over you and steal your joy and peace? It’s time to move forward in faith in Christ. It’s time to start preaching the gospel to yourself and to your circumstances instead of listening to them and allowing them to dictate how much joy and happiness you experience in your life.
2 Corinthians 4:7-11
7But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us. 8We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; 9persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; 10 always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies. 11For we who live are always being given over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh.
Are you ready to take a shot?
Kevin
Lessons From the Philippines II
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I don’t like to fly.
Yes, I will fly and I have flown, and will fly again but it doesn’t mean I like it.
Let me take it to another level: There are a lot of times I don’t even like to be a passenger in a car!
While in the midst of a pretty turbulent flight, I really came to realize how much I hate not being in control. It’s kind of stupid cause I don’t know how to fly a plane, but I would have loved to be in the cockpit with those experienced pilots so I could see the calm on their faces, or even hear the pilots come on the PA system and say “It’s going to be alright. It will be over soon.”
Sometimes we are in the midst of the trials of life, there is noone who is going to say “it’s going to be alright”. There are a lot of times we feel like we are not in control and it seems we are battered around by the things of life. Many times we fight for control of the very things that God wants to be in control of in our lives. Sometimes He wants us to be still and trust. When we are in the midst of the turbulence that can be hard. On a flight of about 16 hours, I probably only slept 3 hours. By the time I got to the Philippines, I was totally exhausted.
Our fears and anxieties and worries will sap the life out of us if we let it. God never meant for us to live life exhausted and drained. He should be our source of life, peace, and joy, yet we choose to hold onto the armrests of our seat on the plane of life with a death grip. We think if we can just “hold on” we will make it. The whole time we need to let go.
I wish I could say I was courageous and bold the whole time I was flying. I wish I had 3 points to overcoming fear and anxiety. I wish I could write the book, and create a 5 DVD set on how to live completely free from fears. I would make millions. I am a work-in-progress, just like you.
God gave us His Word and the Holy Spirit to guide us, to comfort us, to change us into the image of His Son. Our answers reside in His Word, if we will simply ask and believe. I don’t know how long the process will take, but if we will be allowed to be guided by His Word and His Spirit, we will experience true freedom. He will give us the strength to let go and trust a God that loves us more than we can ever comprehend.
Will you join me on the plane?
Kevin
Walking in Truth
My writing has been a lot more sporadic lately. I’ve gone weeks without a post. For those of you who keep checking in, I am so very grateful for it. There is definitely a method to my madness which I kind of hope to explain. Not to explain why in an apologetic slant, but in a way to make you step back and think about motives and condition of the heart.
God has revealed Himself to me in so many ways I don’t know if this blog could hold them all. He is so good and the depth and breadth of who is cannot be measured. He has opened up scriptures to me and shown me that there is so much depth to them that you could spend a lifetime reading them and still find something new that you have never seen before.
Something He has shown me is that some truths can’t be explained or taught, some have to be walked out. We can speak the truth, but are we walking in the truth? Are we walking in the truth that God has revealed to us or are we learning about the truth for sake of saying we know it?
James 1:26-27 (English Standard Version)
26)If anyone thinks he is religious and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his heart, this person’s religion is worthless. 27) Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world.
I think we can be a lot better at telling people how to live than living the Truth and we need to shut up and live it. That’s what I get from this scripture. That’s my message to you and me.
Some truth is meant to be revealed, some is meant to be walked through, wrestled with, and toiled in.
Are you walking in the Truth?
Kevin
Lost Touch?
Everyone has people that they knew for a long time and have lost touch. We were close to know thier quirks, habits, likes and dislikes. We remember the good and bad times shared together. We were close to those people, but somehow, we just lost touch.
I wonder as Christ-Followers if we have lost touch with our “old-selves” or the person we were before Christ found us. I think it is critical to ”keep in touch”. You may wonder why we should want to remember our “old-selves”. Let me ask you a few questions:
Are you moved to compassion when you hear someone else’s struggles?
Do you feel empathy or disgust when someone shares a weakness you once posessed in your “old life”?
Is your first reaction when someone confesses a hidden sin to you that you are glad “you don’t have that problem”?
When someone asks you for help is the first thing you do is figure out how you can pawn it off on someone else?
Are you emotionally unavailable to those closest to you?
If you answered yes to any of these questions, you have lost touch.
What you have gone through, where you have failed, the pain you suffered, the wounds you have received, the wounds you are still healing from, are not a thing of just the past.
God allowed you and I to experience these things for a purpose. Not as things we need to forget, or hide, or as a self-righteous “before and after” picture. Just as we are healed by the wounds Christ bore upon His body, so our wounds are ordained for the healing of others. Our failures should help keep us and others from slipping into self-righteousness. The pain we suffered should move us to compassion to show the love and mercy of Christ. They were not meant to be discarded or concealed.
We are broken people who have been drawn to the arms of love, healing, and mercy. We have the ability, with one decision, to wreck our whole lives! We are not so righteous that we can forget that we have an old nature that is at constant war the nature of Christ that compels us to sin?
We can hide our weaknesses, we can cover our wounds with religion. We can cover those things with a number of things that may seem good, admirable, even righteous, but in doing so, we cut off those things that drove us into His arms to begin with and into the bed of self-righteousness and cold dead religion.
Have you lost touch?
Does it matter to you?
Kevin
Almost Saved?
In my life I wrestled with this, and sometimes still do to an extent. Being raised in the church, I learned a lot about “what not to do”.
Don’t drink
Don’t smoke
Don’t do drugs
Don’t have sex (ever)
Don’t ever mess up, cause “you never know when Christ will return and you will be left behind”.
Don’t see “R” movies
I also learned about the things I “should do”.
Read your bible
Pray
Go to church
Give your tithe
Serve in some area of the church
I lived a miserable life. If I wasn’t happy cause I couldn’t do anything “cause I was a Christian”, I was unhappy cause I struggled constantly with the things I was supposed to do that I was not doing. I didn’t make a good sinner or saint! That depressed me too!!
It finally sank in my thick skull that I was totally guilty (100% sinner) and totally lost, no matter how much “good” I did, and I realized Christ received the punishment for every sin, every hurt I caused someone, every time I disobeyed Him, every time I fell short of what I or anyone else thought I “should” be doing, that I was able to experience the freedom and the joy that I longed for so much!
The idea of being loved with no stipulations, no catches, no God waiting to zap me if I fail, still boggles my fallen fleshly brain. It fills me with so much peace to know that I am saved, not “almost saved” depending on certain conditions that I must fulfill. His grace was freely given before I had a clue about what grace even was!
That love is so powerful, it compels us to do even greater things than we tried to do in our own strength to gain His approval! His radical love compells us to action for the sake of love, not obligation or religion. It goes beyond our “self” to the end that we lay down our lives if necessary.
That is the gospel for church folk like me. It is even more amazing than the day I accepted Him into my heart.
Kevin
Digging Deep
5 Why are you cast down, O my soul,
and why are you in turmoil within me?
Hope in God; for I shall again praise him,
my salvation 6and my God.
My soul is cast down within me;
therefore I remember you
from the land of Jordan and of Hermon,
from Mount Mizar.
7Deep calls to deep 
at the roar of your waterfalls;
all your breakers and your waves
have gone over me.
8By day the LORD commands his steadfast love,
and at night his song is with me,
a prayer to the God of my life.
9I say to God, my rock:
”Why have you forgotten me?
Why do I go mourning
because of the oppression of the enemy?”
10As with a deadly wound in my bones,
my adversaries taunt me,
while they say to me all the day long,
”Where is your God?”
11 Why are you cast down, O my soul,
and why are you in turmoil within me?
Hope in God; for I shall again praise him,
my salvation and my God.
Sometimes life can be tough. Real tough. From families losing loved ones, people losing jobs or facing the possibility, or those facing life threatening physical conditions. These can be hard situations to deal with. Sometimes the unknown of what is going to happen can leave people feeling very lost and alone. Maybe there are those who are reading this right now, and you don’t know what you are going to do and the circumstances present a “no-win scenerio”.
David went through more than one of these situations as well as many of you out there. The words of David hold many keys to dealing with hard times and suffering. In my own life, I am facing some pretty steep odds that are not in my favor. I am a pretty smart guy, but even with all the intellect and intelligence I have, my ability to reason, and plan, and figure out things is of no use. It is when we are at the end of ourselves is where we find God. It is where we must trust Him, completely, cause there is no other way or option.
I look at David and I see a guy who isn’t afraid of a fight. I see a real man, a man’s man. A guy who overcame overwhelming odds who in the end made it to where he was destined. once you start reading the Psalms, that perception quickly fades. You see a guy who faced despair, depression, times of lack, and times when he was corrected. You see a guy who learned that his strength was not in his fighting prowess and skill, but it was in the art of surrender.
I’m not going to lie to you. It’s not the place where I want to be, nor I’m sure, most of you. Having to trust God goes against everything we are taught growing up. It goes against logic to simply wait on the Lord. If you are a go-getter and an achievement oriented type person, surrender is never an option. ”There’s always a way” you think, but sometimes there really isn’t and our own lack of surrender is what is holding back our greatest victory.
I was watching an episode of “Band of Brothers” not too long ago. These soldiers were in the woods, and they had dug foxholes. The commander in charge was constantly telling them to stay in or near their foxholes. All of a sudden, the German troops would open fire on these woods with artillery and the soldiers would jump into their foxholes, and most of the time they were safe. There were guys who wandered around to talk to guys in other foxholes, but didn’t stay in their own, and when the shelling started, most of those guys met their deaths.
Sometimes you have to dig deep and stay where you are. Sometimes there is no comfort in the mouths of others. Surrender requires absolute submission. When to go and when to stay are no longer your choice. It is the choice of the One you are submitted to. The desire to run is not an option. This option will lead to greater hurt, greater pain, and even death. Surrender is not a option, it is the only option.
David talks about how God’s love is steadfast and His song is with him in the night. While those who would destroy him ask “where is his God?”, he tells God what they are saying and allows God to answer in His might and power. God did not fail Him, and he was delivered from his enemies. How much more, we His children, heirs of salvation and eternal life will we overcome? It will come when we surrender. When, like Jesus, we stand in our garden of Gethsemane declare “not my will, but Yours be done. It was after this we see the angel of the Lord came to Jesus and ministered to Him. He was completely surrendered to the will of the Father. There at the point of complete surrender. There at the place of death to our self, He will meet us there. He will deliver. He will heal. He will be our strength and our salvation, but not until then.
Kevin
The Escapism Mentality
escapism 1. the state of having wandering and imaginative thoughts in order to escape from reality. — escapist, n., adj.
2. the practice of engaging in activities that enable one to avoid having to deal with reality, as the persistent attendance at science-fiction films, reading of fantasy literature, etc.
Life can be tough sometimes. No doubt.
Life can be unfair. Yes, this is true.
Sometimes we need a break, a sabbath time of rest from our labors where we can recharge our mental, physical, and spiritual batteries.
People have come up with a myriad of ways to escape from the constant stresses and struggles of everyday life. Some folks go mountain biking, some play games online, some veg out in front of the tv. Everyone has their “thing”. All these things can be beneficial when done in moderation.
This is not the kind of escapism I want to talk about today. I’m not even talking about the excesses that many indulge in today. The kind of escapism I am talking about is one of a different kind. A “spiritual” kind. This one can be just as dangerous as any other excess that people are involved in.
Please follow me closely, cause I do not want to misunderstood here.
In times of trouble, (hopefully when things are good too) we draw closer to God. As God’s children, we should draw near to Him because we want relationship with Him. This is good.
The problem is when we get ourselves in a bad situation and we have the escapism mentality that God will pull our butts out of the fire.
I know the scriptures you may quote at me about God delivering people out of various situations in the Bible. I believe He still delivers us out of situations of our own making. The problem is when we expect there to be no consequences for our actions. We treat God like our “get out of jail free” card in the board game Monopoly. We throw down the “god” card and everything will be ok. We coat some Jesus over our problems and act like they don’t exist. This is escapism at it’s most dangerous.
God set forth the law of sowing and reaping ( Galatians 6:3-10). If you sow kindness, you will reap kindness. If you sow seeds of unforgiveness, you will reap bitterness. If you give, it will be given back to you. So on and so forth.
I have reaped the fruit of a lot of bad decisions in my life. He has delivered me from some situations that seemed impossible, but certainly not all of them. Does that make God bad? Heck no!! Does it mean He doesn’t love me? If you think that way, then you don’t know God at all and you need to read your Bible.
Did God heal David and Bath-Sheba’s baby even though David repented of adultery? No. Did Moses get to enter the promised land even though he did everything right except one act of disobedience? No, he didn’t get to enter. Was this harsh of God to act in this way? No. This was the law of sowing and reaping. When you sow seeds of sin or folly, they will return to you.
God may not deliver you so you are forced to make changes that you never would have made if God bailed you out.
Whether God delivers you or not, our hearts should constantly be drawn to Him. Not because we want God to help us, but so we might have the grace and strength to face whatever life throws at us, or we throw at ourselves because of our bad choices. He is always good. Always.
Kevin
Body of Christ
I found some interesting facts today that I wanted to share with you:
-The kidneys can only survive outside the body for 48-72 hours.
-The pancreas can survive outside the body for 12-24 hours.
-The heart and lungs, the suppliers of nutrients and oxygen to the body, can only survive 4-6 hours outside the body!
A question for you:
How can people who claim to be followers of Christ, flourish spiritually, outside a local body of believers?
The answer is you can’t. To believe you can is folly. I have never known, and this includes myself, ANYONE who has been able to grow and flourish spiritually, or make an impact for the kingdom of God, while not being connected to a local church body.
1 Corinthians 12:
21)The eye cannot say to the hand, “I have no need of you,” nor again the head to the feet, “I have no need of you.” 22)On the contrary, the parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, 23)and on those parts of the body that we think less honorable we bestow the greater honor, and our unpresentable parts are treated with greater modesty, 24)which our more presentable parts do not require. But God has so composed the body, giving greater honor to the part that lacked it, 25)that there may be no division in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another. 26)If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together.
27)Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it. 28)And God has appointed in the church first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healing, helping, administrating, and various kinds of tongues. 29)Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles? 30)Do all possess gifts of healing? Do all speak with tongues? Do all interpret? 31)But earnestly desire the higher gifts.
If you are not pulgged into a local church and claim to be a child of God, I strongly encourage you to find a local church and become a part of it, not just an attender. You will find yourself growing in your relationship with God and you will form meaningful relationships that will last for a lifetime.
It’s like Pastor Michael always says: “Your best friend could be sitting in this room”.
Kevin
What You Need
I was praying in my car on the way to work this morning, and I was asking God to help me with some things that I felt like I need help with. He began to speak to me and led me to Acts 3:
Acts 3
1)Now Peter and John were going up to the temple at the hour of prayer, the ninth hour. 2)And a man lame from birth was being carried, whom they laid daily at the gate of the temple that is called the Beautiful Gate to ask alms of those entering the temple. 3Seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple, he asked to receive alms. 4)And Peter directed his gaze at him, as did John, and said, “Look at us.” 5)And he fixed his attention on them, expecting to receive something from them. 6)But Peter said, “I have no silver and gold, but what I do have I give to you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk!” 7And he took him by the right hand and raised him up, and immediately his feet and ankles were made strong. 8)And leaping up he stood and began to walk, and entered the temple with them, walking and leaping and praising God. 9)And all the people saw him walking and praising God, 10)and recognized him as the one who sat at the Beautiful Gate of the temple, asking for alms. And they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him.
The beggar asked for what he felt like he needed. God gave him what he truly needed. There could be a countless amount of reasons that God decided to heal him at that moment but God gave him what he needed; the ability to walk. Why at this point? That’s something we can all ask Him one day.
After I pondered this story, He said: “My grace is sufficient. My mercies are new every morning. I will give you what you need when you need it.”
I think that sometimes if we get what we need too soon, it can easily turn to pride.
I look back on how many times I have asked God to back me up on what I thought was what I was supposed to do. I have fallen on my face so many times and I blamed God and would say “I thought you told me to do this! Why are you doing this to me?!” He was giving me what I needed. I needed to fall on my face. I needed to humbled. I needed to realize that God truly gives us what we need, when we need it, and how we need it. We must accept Him as our Lord and not just our Savior and truly put our trust in Him that no matter what, He provides everything we truly need.
Trust Him today. His grace is sufficient. He makes all things work together for your good.
Kevin
What I Am Thankful For In 09
Just a few things I am thankful for this year.
1) I am thankful for the gift of salvation through Jesus Christ my Lord. That He chose me from my mother’s womb to lavishly pour out His grace and Mercy while I was yet a sinner.
2) I am thankful for a wonderful wife and great children. I am truly blessed to be married to my best friend and such a beautiful friend indeed! :) I am also thankful for children who constantly keep me grounded and remind me of what is most important in my life.
3) I am thankful for my church family who has in most cases been closer to me than my own blood. They are a constant source of encouragement and love in my life. I am so glad to be on this journey of life with them. I never laughed so much or felt so loved than I have with those that God has brought into my life.
4) I am thankful for my source group that has helped me draw closer to God than I have been in a very looooong time. I am always encouraged to see the growth in everyone’s lives and I can’t wait to see what God is going to do in and through them. I have seen those who needed encouragement turn into sources of encouragement and those who needed teaching and leadership become teachers and leaders. Just awesome!
5) I am thankful for the eldership candidacy process I have been in for almost a year now. It has been very tough and challenging for me. I appreciate the accountability and the covering that the eldership of Journey has been in my family’s life. I look forward to the day that I will join the eldership team of Journey.
6) I am thankful for my pastor. Pastor Michael has been incredible leader to serve under. I have learned so much about what a leader is and what it is not. It is awesome to serve with someone who is passionate about the equipping of the saints and not in exalting himself. I am thankful for the time we have spent together on the trail just enjoying life and having fun.
7) I am thankful for my friends. I have a few guys that I can call my friends. I have gone a long time where I could not say that. I am extremely thankful for having these guys in my life to talk to, watch UFC with, and just hang out and joke and have fun.
8) I am thankful for my job. Not everyone can say they have one of those today. I am thankful for favor with my employers. No job is perfect and we work with imperfect people, but I am glad to have them in my life to help me to grow in leadership, patience, knowledge, and wisdom.
9) I am thankful for each day I get to wake up with my wife and breath in another breath in my lungs and feel the beating of my heart in my chest.
10) I am thankful for the security of knowing one day I will see my God face to face and will never know another moment of sadness or stress and I will see my mother again.
Thank you God and thank you to all of you who are a blessing in my life. Way too many to list.
I am also thankful to you who read these posts. They come straight from my heart and you honor me by your readership.
Thankfully Yours Til He Returns
Kevin
Complaining
We live in tough times. For a lot of folks, that would be an understatement. With all the things going on today in the world and economy, it’s easy to focus on the things that are not going right. Lack is a huge enemy that most face these days. Not enough money to do this or buy that, or pay this bill, or take care of this or that need.
I think if we were all honest, we have all complained about not having enough, or wished we had something someone else has had. This is wrong. You wonder why God hasn’t given you the things you so desperately have asked for. When you covet what someone else has, you are sinning. God has given you everything you need. He did not promise you a BMW, but He did promise that He will supply your needs according to His riches and glory. He didn’t promise that He would give you the money to go to Disney, but He did say that if He takes care of the ravens, that He would take care of you!
When we complain about what God has given us, we close the door to God’s blessing in our lives. When we can’t take care of what He has given, we can’t expect more. Complaining is proclaiming that God is not who He said He was and He is a fraud, a sham. Just cause you don’t come out and say it, doesn’t change what you are saying out of the abundance of your heart.
We who are in America are so spoiled and have such an entitlement mentality. We need to shut our mouths and start praising Him for His many blessings. Most, if not all of the people reading this post currently have a roof over their head. Most of you have a job to make money, even if it doesn’t get you what you want and just what you need. God doesn’t deserve to hear a bunch of snivelling, whiny, children complaining like the children of Israel in the wilderness. Thier complaining cost them 40 years of wandering in the desert. What is your complaining costing you spiritually?
Next time you want to complain. Think before you open your mouth. It’ s not worth it. Lift your voice in praise to the God who is more than enough! Let thankfulness fill your heart and break these wicked mindsets that are holding you back. He is good, no matter what you think you are “entitled” to. Let our gratefulness be the thing that stands out like a light in a dark, dark, world.
Kevin
Loved by God Part I
For a long time, I was a “captive of God and Church.” Let me explain. As a child, I was told about Jesus and how He died for my sins, but I was also told how if I didn’t “accept His love”, I would be doomed to an everlasting, burning, eternity in the lake of fire. Being a fairly intelligent child, I knew that was not something that just didn’t sound “fun”, so I accepted Christ. That was a no-brainer to me. I was supposed to go to church, and pray and read my bible cause that’s what God wanted me to do so I would not go to hell. As I started getting older, the fear of hell was there, but there were desires to do things I was told I shouldn’t do. I felt like I was in a constant war with my desires and what I knew was the “right” thing.
It wasn’t until I reached my late teens that God revealed to me His love that freed me from the fear of hell and propelled me into the loving arms of my savior! I not only understood that He didn’t want me to go to hell, but that He wanted to have a relationship with me! This was the beginning of a relationship that will continue till my last breath and into eternity! However, I was still finding that the tight-rope changed from doing the right things so I wouldn’t go to hell, to doing the right things so I could be loved by God. As I made mistakes (which we are going to do because we sinful creatures, prone to sin) I felt less loved by Him, not realizing at the time I was buying into a non-truth that the enemy was speaking into my brain. The burden of “maintaining my salvation” was overwhelming for me, cause I so wanted to please Him and be loved by Him, but I always felt like my faults and shortcomings were keeping me from Him. I was falling into despair in my walk with God and I had no hope.
But God had other plans……
Stay tuned,
Kevin
Don’t Forget
Psalm 103:1-3 (English Standard Version)
1) Bless the LORD, O my soul,
and all that is within me,
bless his holy name!
2) Bless the LORD, O my soul,
and forget not all his benefits,
3) who forgives all your iniquity,
who heals all your diseases,
I sat at my desk today, reflecting on what God has been doing at Journey Church as of late, and I can’t help but be excited. God is healing, providing jobs, and filling people’s hearts with a great sense of purpose. Folks who sat on the fence in their relationships with God are being challenged to make a choice to get off and get into the fight, and yes it is a fight for the souls of men we are fighting for!
As I was thanking God for His goodness, He spoke the above scripture to me. He said “Forget not His benefits”. It’s easy when God gives us a victory to stop pressing the attack, to stop moving forward. My encouragement to you today is don’t forget what He has done for you! Let what He has done be a testimony you constantly share with others. Tell them about His goodness and grace to you! Encourage others who are still going through a tough time to continue to press in and seek His face.
Don’t be the man who looks into the mirror and turns away and forgets what he looks like. Let His praise be in your mouth and let the abundance of His joy be in your hearts.
Rejoice, but remember, as good as He has been to you,the best is yet to come!
Kevin
Wait
Wait……………………………………………………………..
We have all heard this word before. It is one of the most hated words in the dictionary. Colonoscopy is a more positive word than “wait” in many people’s minds. It is related with denial, rejection , injustice, delayed gratification, hatred, cruelty, and sadism. For a child, this word stings more than the word “no”. They know whatever it is, is going to happen, but they have no idea when. If we have to wait too long for our food at a restaurant, we feel like we have suffered a great offense. For many this word is to blame for us not fulfilling our hopes and dreams.
I know so many people waiting for so many things. People waiting for their dream jobs, their dream spouse, some people are waiting till they are a certain age, some are waiting for different circumstances in their lives to change. The things that people are waiting for are absolutely endless! At any given time in our lives, we are waiting for something.
I doubt this one blog post will change your mind about the word “wait”. The point of this post is to drag your mind, if only for a brief moment, out of now, and bring it into place of perspective for but a moment. I don’t promise that you will like it. I honestly don’t believe you will, but truth combined with the power of the Holy Spirit will bring revelation and change. I just want to share a few points about the positive side of the word “wait”, and we will both try to convince ourselves that it is a good thing. :)
Waiting can bring maturity.- If God had fulfilled His calling on my life when He called me, I would have blown it so big. I had things I needed to learn and attitudes worked out of me that would have hurt me and others. Time is agreater test of your character than any written assessment. Life will reveal what kind of person you really are. If you think you are spiritually mature, you probably aren’t. You probably need to repent of pride and wear your hats a little looser. (Just sayin)
Waiting makes you appreciate what you have achieved. – Rome wasn’t built in a day. All good things come to him who waits. You’ve heard the cliches. I always encourage my children to save their money to get the things they want. It makes them vlaue what they bought. It cost them more than money. It cost them time. I remember when I was a kid. I would get a toy that I really wanted. I was so excited! Then, a friend of mine on the same street would see that I had toy he didn’t and would go and ask his grandmother to get him the toy and she would. It cost him nothing so he never valued what he had. No amount of toys was ever enough. I valued what I had cause I could not get it right away. Time is a precious commodity because we are here on this planet for a brief time. Instant gratification feeds selfishness, imparts a spirit of entitlement, and leads to unhealthy stewardship and poverty in lots of cases.
Waiting reveals a life submitted to God.-
Psalm 39:6-8 (English Standard Version)
6Surely a man goes about as a shadow!
Surely for nothing they are in turmoil;
man heaps up wealth and does not know who will gather!
7“And now, O Lord, for what do I wait?
My hope is in you.
8Deliver me from all my transgressions.
Do not make me the scorn of the fool!
Psalm 62:1-2 (English Standard Version)
1For God alone my soul waits in silence;
from him comes my salvation.
2 He only is my rock and my salvation,
my fortress; I shall not be greatly shaken
Waiting on God shows our submissiveness to God. We are declaring that His will is supreme when we stop complaining, fretting, worrying about what God said He would do. This is not easy always. I have failed this test many times. There are times when God will reveal to you just a glimpse of what He wants to do in your life. It is just enough to drive you nuts sometimes! It is not to torture those He loves. It is to provoke you, to stir your faith, to raise your level of thinking. It is to provoke us to seek Him all the more, to desire to be near Him more. There is a purpose in everything He does, even if we don’t understand. What He wants to know is if we will trust Him with the desires of our heart. He never disappoints if we will wait.
I pray that God would lift our way of thinking higher than our circumstances dictate. I pray that the word wait would take on a new meaning for you.
Kevin
What I am Learning From Mountain Biking IV
4) Pace Yourself- One thing you learn when you start riding quickly is that you are not as fit as some of the guys that do it all the time. Many of these guys have hit the trail for a while and can go faster, and handle things that you starting out can’t do. If you as a newbie start out hauling butt down some trails, you will be asking for oxygen within 5 mins, if not sooner. There is a level of fitness and experience you have to get to, in order to be successful in completing the trail strong or at least without breaking your neck! Even after a few months, there are still things I am learning and my body is getting where it needs to be to handle some of the harder areas of the trail.
There are many people who receive God’s gift of salvation or have received it and they are excited and want to change the world now! Unfortunately, situations in life test us and our zeal can grow cold and cynicism can replace the joy and excitement we felt when got saved or had an incredible encounter with God. Many don’t realize there is a process to get from point “A” to point “B”. Sometimes the process takes a lot of change on our part, and change doesn’t take place instantaneously in most cases. Life and the world have a way of taking the wind out of your sails. Bills, disagreements with your spouse, kids that are not living up to the potential you see in them, and the cares of life will attempt to sap the life out of you.
We are all susceptable to letting these things steal our joy and energy but there are a few things that I have learned, not necessarily mastered yet, that I’m still working on, that help me keep perspective:
a) I have to accept that I am not where I want to be. This is that frustration we feel when we want to be further in our walk with God, ministry, family, ect. We can channel that frustration toward God and get angry or we can use it to attack those areas in our life that are hindering us. Our choice.
b) I need other’s help. While on the trail you can get frustrated in some areas. You try to get some momentum and you hit a root or some other object on the trail that just slows you right down, which means you have to work that much harder to get your momentum going again, and ultimately begins to sap your strength. This is why it’s important to listen to people that have been where you are going. They can tell you about things that you might have found out the harder way. They can offer encouragement cause they were where you are now. We were never meant to ride this trail alone. We need others.
c) There will be season in my walk with God. Keeping this in mind helps me pace myself better. I know there will be seasons in life that will blow my mind with the amazing things that God will do. I also know that there will be times that I will not feel a warm fuzzy or it will “feel” like God is nowhere to be seen. Feelings are very deceiving. Feelings don’t determine fact. Just cause I don’t “feel” God, doesn’t mean He is not there. It’s during those times that I must peddle that much harder. My lungs develop more during the uphill climbs than speeding downhill. We can grow or shrink in our spiritual growth by how we respond in these times. Will we despair or worship? Will we complain or praise?
Be patient. Be humble. Be teachable, and you will be everything that God has promised.
Kevin
What I am Learning From Mountain Biking III
3) Trust Your Equipment- You can have the best bike with all the best parts money can buy, but if you don’t trust that it will do what it was designed to do it is just a useless and worthless piece of metal, rubber, and plastic.
We live in a time in history when we have some of the greatest biblical minds alive to learn, listen, and glean from. Revelation is flowing like a river, revealing a simplicity and a depth to the scripture we have not seen before. We have resources of early church fathers that we can glean from as well. Lifetimes of biblical and life experiences at our fingertips or a click of a mouse.
All this knowledge, and we still have people who have been in church for years that their lives are the same as the day they accepted Christ as their Savior. Please notice I did not say “Lord and Savior”. When we make someone or some people or something our lord, we submit to them. We are entrusting our well-being, safety, security, and our future to someone or a group of people that we believe has the ability to do be entrusted with these things. We believe that they have our best interests at heart and will act in those best interests.
In the words of Billy Joel: “It’s a matter of trust”. In relating God to the bike, we look at the bike, we study the bike, we even say how good the bike is, but we won’t get on the bike and see what the bike can do. We don’t trust it to give us the results we say we say with our mouths it can produce. We can trust He has saved our soul, but we can’t trust that He can take care of us. He provided for others, but He can’t provide for us. We can’t trust that God truly has our best interests, therefore He is not the Lord of our lives!
I don’t have a pat religious cliched answer on how to trust God. It’s a matter of trust. It’s a matter between you and God. What is He asking you to do that you can’t trust Him to take care of? Are you afraid of making a mistake? Your listening to a guy who has made his share and more. God has brought me to a point that it is more painful to think of what I might be able to do and not do it, then to go for it and make a mistake. Put your trust in Him. Let Him be the Lord of your life and see what He will do.
His Love Never Fails
Kevin
What I am Learning From Mountain Biking II
2) You Have to be Equipped Properly. It is very important that you have the right equipment when you are mountain biking. Just because someone lists to sell a bike as a mountain bike, doesn’t mean it’s a mountain bike. Just because it is a Trek, or a Cannondale, or a Specialized brand bike doesn’t make it a mountain bike. They make more than mountain bikes. It’s important that you are equipped properly for the task at hand or you can go out and get hurt pretty bad. You may want to invest in a hydration pack (especially in Florida) so you can stay hydrated and endure the heat and don’t have to be carried off the trail because of heat stroke.
This is an issue sometimes for Christians who feel called to do different things. The problem is that they have never done what they feel called to do before, or they did it for a while somewhere else and had a measure of success elsewhere, and think they know how it should be done somewhere else.
I wanted to address empowerment and equipping for a moment. Jesus said in Acts 1:8 that the Holy Spirit would come upon His disciples to empower them to become witnesses. Many would take that scripture and run with it saying that God has empowered me to do what He has called me to do. This is true, but I think most forget at this point that Jesus spent 3 years teaching the disciples the things they needed to know, equipping them for what they were called to do. Doing what you are called to do could be the most disasterous thing that could ever happen to you if you haven’t been equipped.
There are others (like myself) that we have done certain things in the past who think we know how everything ought to happen and be done. We are a pain in the butt sometimes for new, innovative leaders . Yoda in “The Empire Strikes Back” said something that has really been sticking with me for a while now. He said “You must unlearn what you have learned.” This is what people like myself that have been raised in church need to do. By default, when we don’t know what to do, we will go back to doing things that we used to do cause they are familiar and safe. This isn’t 100% percent bad, but if it’s stuff you did 10 years ago, then you need to be reequipped to face today’s challenges in a new and fresh way. The church has changed in the last 10 years. What worked before isn’t necessarily going to work or be relevant to today’s culture. We have to get a fresh revelation of who He is and what He wants to do in our communities so we can be effective to do what He has called us to do.
Being called by God to do something is incredible! Remember that patience and wisdom will put you in what God has for you at the right time and equipped properly for the trail He has for you to ride.
Kevin
What I am Learning From Mountain Biking I
I have been mountain biking for a couple months now. It has been so much fun! It has been challenging both physically and mentally (mostly physically, Lol!). I have learned a lot about myself since I’ve started. I thought I would share a few thoughts and principles we can all apply to our lives:
1) You have to commit to take on and face whatever the trail throws at you. Most trails are one way, which means you cannot turn around and go back. You have to commit to go forward, no matter what. You have to purpose in your mind that no matter what you face, you are going forward. You will face rough terrain. You will face roots, sand, rocks, drops just like in life. Noone is going to go out and pave the trail you are on and make it smooth. The Bible says you will face tough situations and difficult people. It’s just the way it is. We must commit to move forward in whatever God has called us to be.
Will we be scared? Maybe. There’s a good possibility you could get hurt, possibly pretty bad. How many of us sit at the entrance of the trail that God has designed for our lives and look into the trees scared of what we might face and stay at the entrance. You might wonder what the payoff of going down your trail is and you are frozen in fear of what could happen.
Something I have been learning is that a healthy dose of fear is good. Sometimes we just have to do something just to see if we can do it. Check out what Sampson did:
Judges 16:2
The Gazites were told, “Samson has come here.” And they surrounded the place and set an ambush for him all night at the gate of the city. They kept quiet all night, saying, “Let us wait till the light of the morning; then we will kill him.” 3)But Samson lay till midnight, and at midnight he arose and took hold of the doors of the gate of the city and the two posts, and pulled them up, bar and all, and put them on his shoulders and carried them to the top of the hill that is in front of Hebron.
He could have snuck out. That would have been a lot safer approach than to rip the gates of the city and carry them 30-40 miles up a 2000 foot mountain. What if he wasn’t strong enough? What if he failed? I don’t see Samson as the most cerebral person. He committed himself to do it and God gave him the strength. We talk ourselves out of lot of things.
What could you do if you were fully committed to God, and His purpose for your life and was willing to do whatever He asked you to do? What couldn’t we do?
Kevin
Relentless
It is a great truth, wonderful as it is undeniable, that all our happiness–temporal, spiritual and eternal–consists in one thing; namely, in resigning ourselves to God, and in leaving ourselves with Him, to do with us and in us just as He pleases. – Madame Guyon
Something God has been showing me is that He is relentless. He is not satisfied until the smallest piece of our heart that we try to withhold from Him is His. If there is one area that He is not Lord in our lives, He will not rest till it surrendered to Him. He is a jealous God.
Song of Solomon 8:6-7
6)Set me as a seal upon your heart,
as a seal upon your arm,
for love is strong as death,
jealousy is fierce as the grave.
Its flashes are flashes of fire,
the very flame of the LORD.
7Many waters cannot quench love,
neither can floods drown it………
He will not share your heart with other gods. He will not be a passing thought in your mind! He will not settle for being an “important part of your life”! He wants to be your life! He wants to be the center of your universe! He will not be your co-pilot! He will be Lord of every area of your heart and your life and He will not stop till He is!
This is all driven by a love that we can scarce understand. This comes from a love that was willing to lay down His own life that we may have relationship with our Heavenly Father. This love is not requited by half-hearted worship or lives that are not fully devoted to Him. He will go after those areas in our lives that we refuse to give to Him, not because He is some control freak! He is our loving Heavenly Father! How many times have we accused our own parents of trying to control our lives, when the whole basis of that control was love?
God, please help us to give those things that we have put in front of You to You. Help us to know and understand that Your ways are so much better and higher than anything we can fathom. Help us to love You with a fully devoted heart!
Kevin
Sovereignty of God
I was reading a posting from John Piper today titled “Don’t Waste Your Cancer” . It just blows my mind the trust that he has in Christ despite the fact that he has cancer, and that God allowed him to have it for God’s purpose and plan.
My brain has a hard time wrapping itself around that thought sometimes. I was raised with the Good God Bad Devil point of view. God doesn’t cause bad things to happen, that’s just Satan. When my mother was diagnosed with cancer, everyone said it was the devil trying to “take her out”.
I went along with this line of thinking till I had prayed all I could pray, I did all I knew to do, I rebuked satan as many times as I could, and she still was not getting better. There was a point where I had to concede that God had no plan on saving her life and for some reason, He saw it fit that she had to go through what she went through. It was ultimately His will!
We have been fed a load of crap from men with good intentions that have no clue (not that I have the corner on God or claim to understand His ways) about what His sovereign will is all about. Jesus came to save us, He did not necessarily come to give you lots of money, (not that that is a bad thing) or give you a life without trials and tribulation. He did not come to make “everything better”. He came because you were lost in your sin. You needed a Savior. Jesus came and suffered. He even told His disciples that they would face various trials and tribulations. He said you will suffer for My namesake. You will be beaten, persecuted, mocked, and killed. He also said that He would be with us as we are in the middle of these things. A far cry from the your blessing is right around the corner teaching that has gone around. Do I think He wants to bless us? Listen, He has already blessed us with the most precious gift. He has bestowed on us every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places. The work is done. You are blessed! You are His child! He is your Father! Your fate is eternally sealed with Him!
Obey His Word and you will be blessed, but don’t obey to be blessed. You may need to read that a couple more times to get it.
Ultimately, I chose to believe that she was predestined to go through the things she went through to show the unbelieving that in the midst of suffering and pain, one’s faith can be just as strong, if not stronger then when everything is hunky dory. She was a shining example of faith in the face of impossible odds.
Let us worship Him with our lives as we conform ourselves to His will and His plan for our lives. Let us not waste our lives pursuing blessings, but let us allow Him to shine within us as we obey Him, no matter where we are, or what place He has put us.
Kevin
Focus
I don’t know about you, but I am a multi-tasker. I can do 3 to 5 different things at one time. I can talk on the phone, I can search for information on my computer, listen to music in the other ear, and check my blackberry email, all at the same time! It is a skill I have had to learn due to the demands of my job, which can go from slow to off the chain busy in a matter of seconds!
I don’t recommend doing too many things at one time. The quality of what you do can be adversely affected by how many things you are trying to do at one time. Some of the best ideas, innovations, and improvements have come when I could focus my attention on one thing. On the other hand, some of my worst mistakes have occured when I tried to do too many things at one time, or I got distracted by something while doing something that was very important.
It can be so easy to lose our focus. We can be in one place, and before we know it, we are somewhere and we don’t know how we even got there. This happens in many different areas in life. Our marriage, and our kids are areas that if we lose focus, it can have terrible ramifications involved.
Jesus must be in the center of our focus. If we make Him the center of our marriage, and our families, we will make decisions based upon what Christ would do if He was facing this or that situation. The whole “What Would Jesus Do” idea was an awesome concept, the problem is that we are fallible. We make mistakes and blow it all the time due to our sinful, corrupted nature. We are going to mess up, but if Christ is our focus, He is there to help us get up and keep going, not keep us in the same ole mess! Our problems come when we take our focus off of Him and focus on our problems.
Don’t lose your focus. Keep your focus on Christ.
Kevin
Are You Challenged by What You Preach?
I have listened to thousands of sermons. Some I have felt like “did this person who is preaching listen to their own message?” “Was it real to them personally?” “What experiences did they go through to come to that conclusion?”
To be honest, there are many messages I have heard in my lifetime that did not feel like the messenger was challenged by their own message. I have delivered messages that didn’t challenge me personally. I must say that the one’s I remember the most are the ones that have challenged me as well! In preparation for Journey’s upcoming Men’s Retreat, I have been personally challenged in areas that God wants me to change as a father, husband, and as a man. It has been rough going for a few months as God is refining His message on my heart and not just on paper.
As communicators we should “walk the talk” before we do a “talk on the walk.” Are you being challenged by what you are communicating? Does the Word bring conviction to your heart? Do you feel the pull of God’s Spirit challenging you to set your minds on things above, not on earthly things (Col 3:2)? Will we accept the challenge to worship the Father in spirit and truth(John 4:23)? Will we not allow ourselves to be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind (Romans 12:2)? Talking about these things are needed, but how much powerful will that message be when it is being experienced first hand by the person communicating?
Let us allow God to move us from a knowledge of what we are preaching, to a life-changing experience of God’s power to change in our own lives!
Kevin
