Real Marriage: The Truth About Sex, Friendship, and Life Together
I just finished reading this book.
I have to say that when I saw another book on marriage was coming out, my first impression was to think: : “What is Mark and Grace Driscoll going to say that I haven’t heard before?” Honestly, in most cases, the concepts of friendship and how God views marriage is not new. In fact there are a lot of books out there that will tell you a lot of the same stuff.
What made it stand out for me was that the concepts presented weren’t from a “case study” point of view. This came from the story of their lives together. What they did wrong and what they work on doing right to make thier marriage stronger is what kept me reading. To top it all off, they were dealing with a lot of these issues while starting and pastoring a large church which takes the things they had to deal with and the ramifications if they couldn’t work things out to a whole nother level.
Another thing that stood out for me is how the Gospel is applied and scripture is exalted, not psychological techniques, to each area covered, which is something that you don’t see normally. Most books are “you-focused” its all about you: your behavior, your actions, your feelings, your desires, ect. This is where this book deviates from the conventional. It talks about how to be a servant to your spouse, how to forgive, how to choke the root of bitterness in your life, and recognize destructive patterns of behavior in your marriage that you inherited from your parents.
I also love the simplified way in which Mark and Grace explore the various ways we express our love sexually to our spouse and is it a way that is scripturally healthy and benefical as a married couple.
There are a lot more things I enjoyed but I think you need to go and get a copy for yourself and check it out. You won’t be disappointed.
Kevin
I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze®.com <http://BookSneeze®.com> book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 <http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_03/16cfr255_03.html> : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”
When Things Don’t Change
Image by the|G|™ via Flickr
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
Do You Think Your House in Order?
What a mess!! Right? Can you imagine someone coming into your house and completely trashing it? Can you imagine someone flipping tables over, ripping up your couch, and putting holes in your walls? Can you imagine someone taking your treasured photographs, gifts you received from your spouse, or awards for your achievements and tearing them up, mangling them, or smashing them to pieces? After all, why would anyone do that? Right? Well what if I told you God does this (in a manner of speaking)?
Well let’s take a look at some scripture:
1 Samuel 30:
1) Now when David and his men came to Ziklag on the third day, the Amalekites had made a raid against the Negeb and against Ziklag. They had overcome Ziklag and burned it with fire 2) and taken captive the women and all who were in it, both small and great. They killed no one, but carried them off and went their way. 3) And when David and his men came to the city, they found it burned with fire, and their wives and sons and daughters taken captive. 4) Then David and the people who were with him raised their voices and wept until they had no more strength to weep. 5) David’s two wives also had been taken captive, Ahinoam of Jezreel and Abigail the widow of Nabal of Carmel. 6) And David was greatly distressed, for the people spoke of stoning him, because all the people were bitter in soul, each for his sons and daughters.
This passage of scripture has lots of Gospel implications. I will try to stay on point here. Here is David, man after God’s own heart, chosen to be king of Israel after Saul, a man who could have killed Saul a number of times in his sleep, but chose to walk in integrity, for all intents and purposes, a man doing the right things with God’s protection and favor on his life. David comes back home only to find his home burned to the ground and his wife and the families of his men taken into captivity, and to top it off, his men are about ready to kill him because of all this. Doesn’t sound like a good situation for David does it? Obviously there was a lot of criticism of the way David ran things, since David decided to leave the city and their families unprotected while they went off to fight elsewhere. People would probably say that he didn’t have his ducks in a row.
In most circles today, people would say that “the devil must really hate David to attack him like this”. Or he would have faced a lot of bad media press and calls for David to be replaced with a more competent leader. A lot of times we see tragedy, trials, and tribulations as attacks of Satan or just stupidity on our part (and these do happen and the devil is real), but rarely do we see the hand of the Potter moving in our lives.
I was praying one day and I saw the inside of my house. It looked like someone had come in and flipped tables over and moved things around a bit. It was a mess. It took me a while, but I managed to clean up the mess and get everything put back in place and it even looked better than before the “vandals” got in and messed things up. I was very happy with the way it looked and I thought “man, I would love for people and come over and check out how nice it all looks”. Well, I was brought back to the doorway of my house again, and when I opened the door expecting to see the house looking pristine and orderly, I was in for a shock. Not only was furniture flipped, but the couches were ripped open and the stuffing was all over, pictures were smashed and ripped, chairs were broken beyond repair, holes in the walls, just like the picture above. It was ruined beyond my ability to clean or repair.
It was then I heard God speak to me: He showed me that the things I have tried so hard to fix in my life were not necessarily the things He wanted me to fix (not that I had the power to do so in the first place). The more I arranged my house the way I thought it should look, the more dramatic the destruction would be when He comes in and does what He wants to do in my life. He showed me my lack of faith and trust in Him to bring me where He wants me to be, not where I think I should be.
God is not asking us to fix ourselves. What He is asking is that we trust Him. He is asking that we go when He says to go. He is asking us to rest under the shadow of His wing and take refuge and find our strength in Him. Change will come, but change that will last will never come by the work of our hands. Only through the finished work that Jesus Christ did on the cross will we ever find security, hope, and our destiny.
The Power of a Wastebasket
Image by London Permaculture via Flickr
I order supplies for my department at work. This time when I made my order, I ordered new wastebaskets for everyone. The ones everyone had were so bad that the garbage bag in the wastebasket was holding the wastebasket together! We got the wastebaskets in today and as I passing them out and taking the old one out, everyone is talking about wastebaskets and you could sense an air of excitement and happiness as a result of getting the new wastebasket.
It seems like such a simple thing, and most of the people didn’t think about the fact that their wastebasket falling apart, but were so happy to have the new one which only helped to show the dilapidated shape of the ones they had. It also gave people some hope, because we have had quite a few people laid off in our department and seeing that the company is still investing in our area gave some people hope that there is a future for them.
It’s kinda like what the gospel does. God takes the old life that we have made a mess of, that is falling apart, and barely holding together, and seems useless, and replaces it with something so much greater, and new and gives us focus and purpose for our lives. We don’t even realize how out of control and a mess we are until we get a grasp of the gospel and realize how lost we truly were without Him.
We carry that power of hope within us by His Holy Spirit, and we have the opportunity to share that with others. If giving someone a wastebasket can bring some joy, imagine the joy of a person who hears the gospel and believes!
The power is yours, what will you do with it?
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
Just Being
Image by foshie via Flickr
One thing I enjoy very much is dates with my wife. I enjoy being with her. It’s not necessarily what we are doing, it’s just being together. It’s during these times that I get to remind myself how wonderful she is and why I fell in love with her.
Why would this not be the same with our relationship with God? Sometimes we need to “just be” with Him.
Psalm 16:11 (English Standard Version)
11You make known to me the path of life;
in your presence there is fullness of joy;
at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.
If there is fullness of joy and pleasures forevermore, why would we not make the time to be with Him? What are we doing that is more important? There is a gospel balance in having relationship with Him and “serving Him”.
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.’
Jesus spoke some very important words here. He was explaining how important relationship is over works. The problem most of us run into is that we get so caught up trying to things for God, that we forget to “be with Him”. This passage shows that we can do things in His name and have God tell us that He never knew us. Most of us feel like if we are not doing something for Him, we are not loved by Him and it is because of our good deeds we are loved. The gospel teaches us that we ARE ALREADY LOVED and accepted by Him, before we knew Him,and it because of THAT love that we are free to love Him with no strings attached and no services we must render to deserve that love. So when I mess up with my wife or kids, or blow it some other way, HE LOVES ME NO LESS! His love is complete and unalterable, meaning it does not change, nor can it be changed!
That’s the gospel.
He’s waiting on you. Will you quiet the chaos that is your life for a little while and “just be” with Him? Enjoy His presence, and take the time to remember why you were drawn to Him in the first place. Find the joy that you have been looking for for so long. You will not miss whatever it is that you think is so much more inportant than spending time with Him.
Just Be
Kevin
1Samuel 15 (Part 4)
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We are continuing in our study in 1 Samuel 15:
12And Samuel rose early to meet Saul in the morning. And it was told Samuel, “Saul came to Carmel, and behold, he set up a monument for himself and turned and passed on and went down to Gilgal.”
I’ve been studying this passage out for a little bit, and it has some interesting lessons to learn. As we know from the previous scriptures we have looked over, Saul was commanded to completely annihilate the Amalekites. Reluctantly, and not completely, Saul goes out and after waiting for a time, attacks and puts a hurting on the Amalekites. He did not carry out the command to wipe out everyone including animals. Not only does he show off the spoils of “his victory”, he decides he is going to set up a monument to himself in the city of Carmel.
I looked up what the word Carmel means. It means: a garden planted with fruit trees, herbs, corn, ect; a fruitful place. In the context of what this means to you and me, we get a picture of when idols are created more often than not: in the fruitful times in our lives. Just like Saul was feeling pretty big in his britches, we tend to create our idols in the midst of our greatest triumphs and victories. We get to thinking we are all that and a bag of chips and start to think that somehow, someway we had something to do with why anything good happens in our lives.
‘”I worked hard for that promotion”~ You may have but the sciptures say that God raises up and casts down. So you working hard is good, but how many people have you seen that didn’t work hard that have received promotions and posiitons?
“I nailed that talk! Look at how the people are responding!”~ you may have delivered a fantastic talk but remember who has called you and anointed you. Remember outside of God’s grace we can do no good. The Holy Spirit draws those He calls to Himself, so you don’t know what circumstances had led someone to be there to hear you that day so you could say the right thing at the right time.
James 4
6But he gives more grace. Therefore it says, “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”
I have heard it many times and and it still holds true, that the time we need to guard our hearts the most is when God gives us a breakthrough or blessing or we are in a fruitful time of ministry. There are many men who God blessed their ministry tremendously but they setup monuments of their leadership and ability and God has brought them low. Many thought they could do whatever they wanted and God would bless them, just like Saul. A lot of those men are not in minstry anymore because they became their own god and though it was ok to disobey God’s word and make up their own rules, just like Adam and Eve. There are also great men of God who knew whom they belonged to. Men who knew that God was and is their source of grace and strength. Men who remained humble despite the fact that so many admired and respected and revered them. Men who were open about their struggle with sin and knew it was only by the grace of God that they even knew God. These type of men have legacies that have long outlasted their lives and people still admire them because God has chosen to exalt these men despite the fact they are no longer with us.
Will people remember you by things you did “for God” or by how you loved God with all your heart, mind, and strength?
Big difference.
To be continued…
Kevin
1 Samuel 15 (Part 2)
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This is a continuation of our study of 1 Samuel 15. Hope you got a lot out of the last post. Let’s dive right into the text:
4So Saul summoned the people and numbered them in Telaim, two hundred thousand men on foot, and ten thousand men of Judah. 5And Saul came to the city of Amalek and lay in wait in the valley. 6Then Saul said to the Kenites, “Go, depart; go down from among the Amalekites, lest I destroy you with them. For you showed kindness to all the people of Israel when they came up out of Egypt.” So the Kenites departed from among the Amalekites. 7 And Saul defeated the Amalekites from Havilah as far as Shur, which is east of Egypt. 8And he took Agag the king of the Amalekites alive and devoted to destruction all the people with the edge of the sword. 9 But Saul and the people spared Agag and the best of the sheep and of the oxen and of the fattened calves and the lambs, and all that was good, and would not utterly destroy them. All that was despised and worthless they devoted to destruction.
A critical view of Saul could be that after receiving the Word of the Lord he numbered his troops, showing his faith in the strength of men rather than faith that no matter how many men he had, God would give them victory. I won’t go there right now.
This is some conjecture on my part but you can almost see Sauls hesitation to obey the voice of God in verse 5 :
5And Saul came to the city of Amalek and lay in wait in the valley.
God commanded Saul to kill all the Amalekites, not just some of them, including the animals. We see that the Kenites were dwelling with Amalekites, yet he gave them the opportunity to leave, even though they were living with and supporting the enemies of Israel. It would seem that Saul kinda hung around a little bit, perhaps hesitating. You can begin to see a string of compromise in Saul. The thing that really stands out is verse 9:
9 But Saul and the people spared Agag and the best of the sheep and of the oxen and of the fattened calves and the lambs, and all that was good, and would not utterly destroy them.
When it says “all that was good” it’s talking through the eyes of Saul, not God. This is a principle for you and me as Christ-Followers: Not everything that looks good is a God thing. Saul decided to disobey God’s commandment and spare Agag and “all that was good”. There are things we can value that are good, but when they are not put in their rightful place, they become idols and take the place of God in our lives. Example, I am called to love my wife and children, that is a good thing. If I allow my wife to persuede me to not take my family to church to spend more family time on a regular basis, that is placing your family as god.(If you are not spending any time with your family, you are out of balance as well) Our first service is to God. If we allow any other thing to take His place, as preeminent in our lives, everything else in our lives will be out of balance. A job is a great, but if you put your career before your relationship with God, it makes that great thing evil because anything that brings us more joy or fulfillment than Christ alone is an idol.
When we reinterpret God’s word to us to suit ourselves, we are on a very slippery slope. We risk setting up a different religion in our own image and likeness. When look at things in our lives through our eyes, we can easily decieve ourselves into believing a lie. We no longer see the things we think are good as enemies of God’s work in our lives. We embrace the deception as truth and live in a religious system that we have created and built for ourselves. When we embrace God’s Word and His truth that He is trying to speak to us, He gives us so much more than we ever would have had serving our idols and doing what is good in our own eyes.
This is why it is so hard for us to change. We don’t allow God’s truth to reveal the idols in our lives. We fight and struggle with God rather than letting Him do the work He is trying to do in our lives. Sometimes we struggle for years with the same thing because we refuse to accept His word as truth and choose to go on decieving ourselves.
Lord, help us to see your truth and walk in it. Let us not deceive ourselves, but give us the strength to let go of those things that we value more than you. Tear down the religions we have made with our own hands and might. Let them crumble before a God that has so much better for us than we could ever create in and of ourselves. Amen
To Be Continued…
Kevin
Just a Glimpse of His Plan
Luke 5:16
17
On one of those days, as he was teaching, Pharisees and teachers of the law were sitting there, who had come from every village of Galilee and Judea and from Jerusalem. And the power of the Lord was with him to heal.18 And behold, some men were bringing on a bed a man who was paralyzed, and they were seeking to bring him in and lay him before Jesus,19 but finding no way to bring him in, because of the crowd, they went up on the roof and let him down with his bed through the tiles into the midst before Jesus.20 And when he saw their faith, he said, Man, your sins are forgiven you.21 And the scribes and the Pharisees began to question, saying, Who is this who speaks blasphemies? Who can forgive sins but God alone?22 When Jesus perceived their thoughts, he answered them, Why do you question in your hearts?23 Which is easier, to say, Your sins are forgiven you, or to say, Rise and walk?24 But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins–he said to the man who was paralyzed–I say to you, rise, pick up your bed and go home.25 And immediately he rose up before them and picked up what he had been lying on and went home, glorifying God.26 And amazement seized them all, and they glorified God and were filled with awe, saying, We have seen extraordinary things today.
This is a fascinating piece of scripture. I remember reading about this story many times as a child. As an adult, I caught a glimpse of the power of the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Many times we see the actions of Jesus, but fail to see the over-arching theme of God’s ultimate plan to redeem all creation. In this story, we find Jesus teaching in someone’s house and there is a great crowd in and around the house trying to hear the words Jesus is speaking. The story takes an unusual turn when 4 guys show up carrying a man who is paralyzed. The “selfless” people that were in the house obviously would not move to allow this man in the house to be healed by Jesus. This obviously did not deter the men that were carrying this paralyzed man.
When I think of this paralyzed man, I think of myself. I think of a man paralyzed, lost in sin. Someone just like you who has no more power to raise a wing on a gnat than to possibly save himself. A man that has tried everything, including religion to be, “saved” only to find myself in the same lost, desperately hopeless state. I also think of God’s grace that drew me and carried me back to Him when I was lost in my sin, just like the 4 men that carried the paralyzed man. We never hear anything about these men, or whether these men were followers of Christ or not, but they were agents who helped bring the paralyzed man, just like the Holy Spirit draws us to Himself.
The thing that blows me away is once the paralyzed man has been lowered through the roof before Jesus, anyone reading would have assumed that He would have just said be healed, end of story. No, Jesus said to this man: “Your sins are forgiven”. This was so much more powerful than Jesus simply healing the man. Through these 4 words we get a glimpse into God’s ultimate plan to restore all things unto Himself just like Paul mentions in Colossians:
Colossians 1:19-20
19 For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell,20 and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.
Christ was revealing this in the case of this man. Christ came to reconcile to Himself all things to Himself. When Christ forgave this man, the same power that forgave this man of his sin not only restored this man’s spirit and soul, but also restored this man’s body! The power of reconciliation restored everything back to this man. This is the power of the gospel. A plan to not just save souls, but to restore all of fallen creation.
2 Corinthians 5:18-21
18 All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation;19 that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation.20 Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.21 For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
We have been given a great responsibility. That power of reconciliation has been imparted to us. The same power that restored this man’s soul, restored his spirit, and his also His body is ours!
What will we (me included) do with this information?
Kevin
Lots of Downloading Lately
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Been soaking in a lot of gospel teaching lately. I can feel the things I was taught becoming clearer and more grounded than ever in my life.
I have found much more stability in my life as a Christ Follower, Husband, and Father.
Things that bothered me a lot about other people doesn’t do so as much as I remember the grace that has been and is continually poured out on me in my life.
Gospel perspective has helped me see my wickedness and how much I deserately need the power of the cross of Christ working in my life.
It fills me with peace that I am totally accepted and loved by Him before I was born.
My praise and worship is so much more deeper and richer and fulfilling as I think of His goodness.
My mind is still blown away by the fact that its not my good deeds or religious service that moves the hand of God but His undeserved favor and mercy.
Meditating on the gospel has been a life changing experience.
I will try to share more on these things soon. There are a lot of books and blogs that are sharing the gospel message. I am certainly not a pioneer. We are all commissioned by Christ to share the gospel, so I definitely want to do that through every medium He allows me use.
Let me leave this passage with you:
I Cor 15: 3-7
3) For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, 4) that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, 5) and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. 6) Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep. 7) Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. 8) Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me. 9) For I am the least of the apostles, unworthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. 10) But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me. 11) Whether then it was I or they, so we preach and so you believed.
Kevin
What I Need
Image by stevendepolo via Flickr
Proverbs 30:7-9
7) Two things I ask of you;
deny them not to me before I die:
8) Remove far from me falsehood and lying;
give me neither poverty nor riches;
feed me with the food that is needful for me,
9) lest I be full and deny you
and say, “Who is the LORD?”
or lest I be poor and steal
and profane the name of my God
“Feed me with the food that is needful for me”
We are in need. Whether we realize it or not.
The irreligious, the unregenerate, the rebellious, are in need of God’s saving grace. They need to see their spiritual poverty and surrender to a loving, merciful, forgiving God.
The religious, self-righteous, ”the redeemed” need to see their good deeds and works and all the things they think win God’s approval are nothing more than filthy rags before a God who is righteousness incarnate.
Whatever end of the spectrum we are on (and you can claim to be saved and still be irreligious) we need God’s grace..
We don’t need another party, or medication, or sexual partner, or bible study, or podcast, or the newest trendiest book on how to get God to do what you want Him to do. We need an encounter with a life changing, heart pursuing God.
What I Need
“Feed me with the food that is needful for me”.
Not what is comfortable or easy to swallow, I don’t need my butt patted.
“Feed me with food that is needful for me”.
Conviction to grieve my self righteous, idol worshipping heart.
“Feed me with the food that is needful for me”.
Forgiveness for the places in my heart that my brain wants to think You could ever love or forgive.
“Feed me with the food that is needful for me”.
Joy in the mundane things of life and the understanding that Your love and grace doesn’t depend on my actions.
“Feed me with the food that is needful for me”.
Grace to see others and myself through Your eyes God.
Kevin
Book Review:The Grace of God by Andy Stanley
This review is long overdue. I have read Andy’s leadership books and listened to his leadership podcasts, but I haven’t had an opportunity to delve into the theological side of Andy Stanley. Wasn’t quite sure what I was going to hear. I was not disappointed.
I remember always hearing about the “age of grace” before the law of Moses and the “age of the law” after God gave the Israelites the law of Moses and then we go back into an “age of grace” after Christ died, rose, and ascended. I think Andy does a great job walking through much of the old testament showing God’s grace working despite the fact the law of Moses was in effect. It shows that God’s grace is without limit and able to reach out to whomever He decides to pour it out to, as many times as He chooses.
I was glad I did not hear about a sloppy grace that is taught these days. A grace that allows us to keep on sinning and does not demand life change. It is a grace that pursues our heart until we can’t help but change because of our love for Him.
If you want to do a study on grace through the bible this book will be a big help in that study.
Thank God for His grace that He shows us every day!
Kevin
- Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Thomas Nelson Publishers as part of their Book Review Blogger program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”
Testing…Testing….
Proverbs 27:21 (English Standard Version)
21 The crucible is for silver, and the furnace is for gold,
and a man is tested by his praise.
I have been having a really good time reading through Pslams and Proverbs. During today’s reading, this scripture stood out to me more than any other.
I have said it many times and many others have said it too: How you react during times of testing and adversity will reveal your character. How you act in your moments of weakness will show you a lot of things about yourself.
Praise is a by-product of His unimaginable grace and love and forgiveness. Praise is not singing a fast song, or our volume, or anything to do with our ability to sing. The Bible says that out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks (Luke 6:45). Proverbs says that we are tested by our praise. Our praise has to do with the condition of our heart. We are (our heart) tested by our praise.
Can you praise Him when it seems like you are losing everything?
Can you praise Him when God doesn’t do what you want Him to do?
Are you carrying bitterness or unforgiveness?
Does the thought of your sinful condition cause you to draw nearer to God? Or pull away?
I have had to ask myself these questions and more at times in my life. Especially when I did not feel like praising Him. The conclusion I normally came to was there was something I was dealing with, such as bitterness, rejection, disappointment. These things will corrupt your heart and shut down your praise more than anything else. This is why we must constantly come back to the cross and repent. Repentance brings us back into right standing with God and shows us His everlasting love, forgiveness and deliverance. Repentance will wash away unforgiveness because we know we are forgiven much. He is not disappointed because He loved us before we knew Him; and because of Jesus’ sacrifice we are not rejected but we are accepted! Thank you God!
You may be in the midst of a test today. You may be dealing with more than one thing at a time. You may be in a situation you see no way out. Others may be watching to see what you are going to do. How will you react?
This is a test of your praise. Testing……Testing……
Will you?
Kevin
Dangerous Prayers
The more God has been dealing with me lately, the more I find myself praying more dangerous prayers. You ask “what are dangerous prayers?” Let me share.
I have seen more books on prayer than you can count. Books that have the “key” of getting God to do what YOU want him to do. The whole Prayer of Jabez thing back a few years ago is just a great example of this. If you pray this prayer, God will bless you, and prosper you, and make life free of care and worry. As if we have the power to manipulate the God of the universe who sees every intention in your heart and knows your motives before a word can be uttered from our lips.
Bless me, take care of me, help me at my job, bless my food. There is nothing dangerous about these prayers. There isn’t a whole lot of risk or sacrifice in these prayers. I have even been convicted when we pray before our worship practice to not ask Him to bless our efforts, but to glorify Himself through us in whatever way He sees fit. This is a dangerous prayer. This means that He can take our plans and chuck them out the window and do something else.
The most dangerous prayers are the ones that we lay our agendas and plans down and ask Him to have His way. The most dangerous prayer I ever prayed was “God, change me. Mold me into the image of your Son Jesus.” He has been working on me ever since. The molding process is painful sometimes. Asking Him to change you is very dangerous. He has allowed me to experience the pain of my attitudes and selfishness over and over until I finally surrender to Him allow His Spirit to work in me, to change those things that my selfish heart doesn’t want to change.
What dangerous prayers are burning to come out of your lips?
What is God laying on your heart that you are resisting to ask for?
What are you afraid it will cost you?
Let’s pray some things that take a faith beyond ourselves. Let’s believe for things that seem impossible. Let’s step out in faith to pray for God to do what seems impossible.
Will you pray with me?
Kevin
Lessons From the Philippines I
Well, I just got back to my hotel from saying goodbye to some great people. I figure I would start sharing some things that are on my heart. Some things I got from my trip to the Philippines. This is the first part of a series. I don’t think that you can go to another country and not get some things that you learn from being there, and taking part in another culture. This series of posts is a result of not only my trip but what I learned and was reminded of before I went anywhere, so hang with me.
My friends came to the U.S. a little over 3 months ago to learn some of our jobs cause the company I work for is moving some jobs to the Philippines. Not everyone in the U.S. is that gracious when folks come to take your job. It’s not an easy thing to train your replacements. I don’t think anyone really likes it, but that’s just a reality in the world we are living in these days. I am thankful that I am keeping my job with the company, but I have had to say bye to some of my co-workers. That’s not an easy thing and there was a while I wondered if I would keep my job.
Lesson 1) Uncertainty is Certain
The only thing certain is that change is inevitable. We live in a world that is constantly changing, moving, spinning. Think about it, we live on a planet that is always spinning and orbiting the sun. The tectonic plates in which the continents are constantly moving, rubbing up against each other (earthquakes), spewing hot liquid rock and metal (volcanos). The oceans are always rising and falling (tides). The wind blows across the water and ground in constant movement, causing clouds to form, and rain, and plants animals and people to be affected by it. Even our hearts beat every second of our lives so we are in constant movement till the day we die.
If this is the case, why should we think that things in life won’t? Let’s look back in Ecclesiastes for a second:
Ecclesiastes 3
A Time for Everything
1For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven:
2a time to be born, and a time to die;a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted; 3a time to kill, and a time to heal;a time to break down, and a time to build up; 4a time to weep, and a time to laugh;a time to mourn, and a time to dance; 5a time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together;a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing; 6a time to seek, and a time to lose;a time to keep, and a time to cast away; 7a time to tear, and a time to sew;a time to keep silence, and a time to speak; 8a time to love, and a time to hate;a time for war, and a time for peace.
So many of us are tossed to and fro on the waves of our emotions, circumstances, and situations. One minute we are happy, another moment we are sad. One minute we thank God for His blessings, the next we are complaining about what He has given us. One minute we are happy about the church we attend, the next we are visiting another. One minute we are in love with our spouse, the next we are contemplating divorce.
Just because life is so uncertain, doesn’t require that we be so uncertain. There are things we can as Christians, can “hang our hat on” so to speak:
God loves us unconditionally
Romans 5:7-8
7For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die— 8but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
Tough times will come
John 16:32-33
32Behold, the hour is coming, indeed it has come, when you will be scattered, each to his own home, and will leave me alone. Yet I am not alone, for the Father is with me. 33I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”
He did not leave us to fend for ourselves
John 16
13When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. 14He will glorify me, for he will take what is mine and declare it to you.
Remember, change is inevitable. How we respond to change when we have an opportunity to show our maturity, or a an opportunity for God to show us where we need to mature so we can move toward our destiny in Him.
Kevin
Book Review: Plan B
The name of the book is :
Plan B: What Do You Do When God Doesn’t Show Up the Way You Thought He Would?
I could definitely relate to this book. There have been many times in my life when things did not go the way I thought they would. Some things were more tragic than other things, but how we react in those times can affect the course of our lives for years to come.
This book really hit me cause I am in the middle of a Plan B type of situation. You think things were going one way and they don’t always end up the way you thought. Plan B really helps reiterate that that we serve a good God, even when things don’t seem good or they don’t end up the way you thought they would.
I recommend this book to everyone who is going through a Plan B type situation in their lives. It doesn’t give you three steps to turning everything around, but it puts things in perspective. Pete Wilson does an excellent job sharing some of his own Plan B moments, and you could relate to his examples.
You won’t regret buying this book, even if things are going great in your life.
Kevin
The Most Important Thing
1 Corinthians 15 (English Standard Version)
1) Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, 2)and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you— unless you believed in vain.
3)For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures,…….
We live in an information age. If you have a question on almost anything, you can plug it into Google or any other search engine and get an answer. In the Christian world, there are millions of sites and blogs (like this one) where you can find teaching on more topics than you could ever study out in a lifetime.
The issue with so much information available, it is so easy to get swept away by the deluge of information that we forget the most important thing.
When Paul wrote to the Corinthian church, he reminded them to hold fast to the things that Paul taught them. He knew that there were so many things people would be distracted by, that would draw their attention away from the most important thing.
“For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures,…….”
The gospel is the most important thing! Paul didn’t say “that Christ died so I could speak in tongues” or “that Christ died that I may prophesy”. He said “that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the scriptures…”. Prophesy and speaking in Tongues are not bad in and of themselves, but when they become the focus, we are no longer preaching the gospel.
John 3:16
16)“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.
As a young person growing up in church, I heard many people say “that message wasn’t deep enough for me” and “we need to move on from the cross and get into deeper things.”
The Father showed His ultimate act of love by sending His only Son to die for us. His heart was revealed and displayed for the whole world to see. When we “move past the cross” we move away from His heart. When we move away from His heart, we are no longer preaching the gospel.
The gospel is what our lives should be centered around. It should be the determining factor that every decision should be based on. Imagine with me for one second, how the world and the church would look if we made every decision centered around the gospel of Jesus Christ? How would our workplaces, our families, or schools look? How would we look at our finances? The things we spend our money on? The things we do with our “free” time? Think about that.
Let’s not forget the most important thing.
Kevin
Controlled by His Love
1 Corinthians 5:13) For if we are beside ourselves, it is for God; if we are in our right mind, it is for you. 14) For the love of Christ controls us, because we have concluded this: that one has died for all, therefore all have died; 15) and he died for all, that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised.
This passage of scripture has challenged me a lot in the past few days. I was getting ready to leave the house on Sunday to go to pre-service practice, and God brought me to this scripture.
God asked me “are you controlled by My love this morning, or are you going through “the motions”.
Are your motivations pure?
Do you love Me so much that you are truly willing to do anything I may ask you to do today?
You don’t have to preach, or lead worship, or teach a Sunday school class to answer this question. We face it everyday. In our cars, our jobs, our homes we have the opportunity to surrender our lives to Him. The opportunity to have His life pour in us, and through us, till it overflows and touches the lives of others.
I know more often than not we choose the latter, but I’m not here today to beat you up. I am here to show you the opportunity that God has placed before all of us today. We have the opportunity to proclaim the gospel of Christ to others. We may not stand on a street corner and preach, but our actions will preach more to people than anything.
Even if you answered “no” to all the questions, grace gives us the opportunity to change. We no longer have to live for ourselves. We are free to live the life that God has given us to the fullest for Him. His death gave us a life that all the pleasures of this life couldn’t hold a candle to.
Let His love come into your hearts and fill you till you are so consumed by His love, you are forced to do something about it.
Kevin
Coming Off the Mountain
Luke 9:
28) Now about eight days after these sayings he took with him Peter and John and James and went up on the mountain to pray. 29) And as he was praying, the appearance of his face was altered, and his clothing became dazzling white. 30) And behold, two men were talking with him, Moses and Elijah, 31) who appeared in glory and spoke of his departure, which he was about to accomplish at Jerusalem. 32) Now Peter and those who were with him were heavy with sleep, but when they became fully awake they saw his glory and the two men who stood with him. 33) And as the men were parting from him, Peter said to Jesus, “Master, it is good that we are here. Let us make three tents, one for you and one for Moses and one for Elijah”— not knowing what he said. 34) As he was saying these things, a cloud came and overshadowed them, and they were afraid as they entered the cloud. 35) And a voice came out of the cloud, saying, “This is my Son, my Chosen One; listen to him!” 36) And when the voice had spoken, Jesus was found alone. And they kept silent and told no one in those days anything of what they had seen.
When God manifests Himself to us, there’s nothing better. To have a mystery of God revealed or have a piece of God’s character become real and made alive is a wonderful and powerful thing. When He reveals Himself to us, He draws us closer to Him and we feel closer to Him.
What happened on the Mount of Transfiguration was one of the most dramatic revealing of Jesus’ true glory, power, authority, and relationship to the Father while here on Earth. Can you imagine seeing the Son of Man call upon Moses and Elijah to have a powow with? To see His glory manifest itself like the sun even through His Earthly body? This is a wonderful and dangerous situation. So dangerous that God the Father Himself intervened. You say “Dangerous? How?’ Let me explain.
When God wants to manifest Himself to us or brings illumination of scripture, or an incredible worship experience, it is an awesome thing. The problem is when we don’t want to come off the mountain. We want to pitch our tents when in all reality our destiny lies on a rotting, bloodstained cross.
Moses went up to the top of Mt. Sinai and for 40 days, God gave him the commandments, but he had to go back down the mountain. There he faced one of the greatest challenges of his life, leadership, and relationship to God. He received the greatest revelation of God to be revealed for hundreds of years. He was faced with God Himself offering to wipe out the people of Israel and start fresh, just Him and God. Moses chose to lay his life down, if necessary for those people. He had a choice to stay on the mountain or go to the cross.
The Father knew that Jesus’ destiny was the cross, and He would not allow anything to come between His Son and His destiny. It blows me away that the Father chose in that moment in time to personally intervene in the situation. The only other time in the New Testament that God the Father chose to reveal Himself was when the Holy Spirit came upon Jesus Christ and He declared Christ as His Son. Wow!
It is easy to bask in His presence and glory but not so “glorious” to be stripped(humbled), beaten(face correction or persecution), or die (to our desires and self). Our flesh wants to be glorified, but its ultimate destiny is the cross. We must come down from the mountain. We must walk through the valley of the shadow of death if we are to ever know His life! Our destiny lies on the old rugged cross. The power of His resurrection lies there as well! His ultimate plan, His glory is truly manifested when we die to ourselves and the shadows fade away and we are truly one with Christ in all things!
Kevin
Imagery in Prayer and Worship
One of the greatest untapped resources that God has given us is our imagination. Think of the imagination it took to make all creation. From the largest galaxies, to the atom, molecules, the strange underwater creatures that glow that after thousand of years we are just now discovering. This took imagination on a scale beyond our imagination. So, if God gave us the gift of creativity and specifically our imagination, why would we not use it to glorify Him, to grow closer to Him, and help others to do the same?
I think there are many who pray to and worship a nameless, faceless God. This was never meant to be the case since God had fellowship with Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. Our sin brought a separation between us and God. Where man once walked and talked to Him like we are here, we no longer have that type of interaction but God did not leave us with nothing. Has anyone of you ever a relationship with someone you have never seen before? I’ve talked to people online before but once I knew what they looked like; it helped me connect with them better. It brought a new dynamic. God gave us a picture too. He gave us two things: His Word and our imagination. Let’s look at an example:
Psalm 18
1I love you, O LORD, my strength. 2The LORD is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer,
my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge,
my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.
3I call upon the LORD, who is (D) worthy to be praised,
and I am saved from my enemies.
4(E) The cords of death encompassed me;
(F) the torrents of destruction assailed me;[a]
5(G) the cords of Sheol entangled me;
the snares of death confronted me.
6(H) In my distress I called upon the LORD;
to my God I cried for help.
From his (me) temple he heard my voice,
and my cry to him reached his ears.
7Then the earth (J) reeled and rocked;
the foundations also of the mountains trembled
and quaked, because he was angry.
8Smoke went up from his nostrils, [b]
and devouring (K) fire from his mouth;
glowing coals flamed forth from him.
9He (L) bowed the heavens and (M) came down;
(N) thick darkness was under his feet.
10He rode on a cherub and flew;
he came swiftly on (O) the wings of the wind.
11He made darkness his covering, his (P) canopy around him,
thick clouds (Q) dark with water.
12Out of the brightness before him
(R) hailstones and coals of fire broke through his clouds.
13The LORD also(S) thundered in the heavens,
and the Most High uttered his (T) voice,
hailstones and coals of fire.
14And he sent out his(U) arrows and scattered them;
he flashed forth lightnings and(V) routed them.
15Then(W) the channels of the sea were seen,
and the foundations of the world were laid bare
at your(X) rebuke, O LORD,
at the blast of(Y) the breath of your nostrils.
16He(Z) sent from on high, he took me;
he(AA) drew me out of(AB) many waters.
17He rescued me from my strong enemy
and from those who hated me,
for they were(AC) too mighty for me.
18They confronted me in the day of my calamity,
but the LORD was my support.
19He brought me out into(AD) a broad place;
he rescued me, because he(AE) delighted in me.
20The LORD dealt with me(AF) according to my righteousness;
according to(AG) the cleanness of my hands he rewarded
Can you see the imagery taking place here? This is how David saw God moving on His behalf in the circumstances he was in. He saw God in this way. God allowed this imagery to be placed in the scriptures so we could understand different aspects of who He is. The scriptures give us an image of Him that we can trust of who He is. We should be careful to stay within the context of the scriptures cause I have heard some really far fetched stuff, including people being intimate with Jesus and things of this nature so we do have to be sure that the way see Him doesn’t go outside of scriptural contexts. When I pray or I am in the midst of worship, I picture in my mind that I am standing before Him worshipping or talking or being hugged or comforted by God. All these things are scriptural, and they allow us to see the charcter, the greatness, and the love of God and therefore helps us to have a greater connection with Him.
So I want to challenge you during your prayer, and your personal and corporate worship time to use the scriptures to draw on a picture of God. His scriptures were given to reveal Himself and His plan for your life. If you have never done that before, it might seem a little weird at first but I believe that it will bring a whole new dynamic to your relationship with Him.
Afraid of Worship? (The Peception Factor I)
As a worship leader, it is our responsibility to not just lead some songs, not to lead you where you want to go, but it is lead you to places that you need to go. Sometimes there are certain arguments have to be overcome to help you accept the path. Some can be explained through teaching and preaching, other times it may take the Holy Spirit speaking to you and revealing the truth to you.
Perceptions can be formed over a few minutes, or over a lifetime. They can affect the decisions we make and how we see things. As followers of Christ, these perceptions that we have built in our minds can affect how, if and why we worship.
Abuse
I know of people that have been mistreated by their earthly father in terrible ways, and therefore have a problem with accepting God as their heavenly Father. It can greatly affect how they pray and worship. These kind of hurts may take professional counseling in some cases. If you feel that your relationship with God is impeded by this type of abuse and mistreatment caused by someone close to you like a father, I would recommend that you go see a counselor and possibly get involved in a support group to help bring restoration to that part of your life that was scarred. While you are seeking healing for your soul, listening to songs that talk about God being our healer and the restorer of our souls will also help to change our perception of who God is. We must attack the lie that we are always going to struggle in our relationship with God and our worship of Him because you were abused.
Betrayal
This is another issue that plagues believers and their worship experience and that is the issue of betrayal. In paticular, a betrayal by someone in the church. This ranges from a betrayal of a friend in the church to in a lot of cases, someone in leadership. I could get into the topic of whether or not a person has truly experienced betrayal or just heard something they didn’t want to, but that is for another post. Wounds of a friend or person you trusted or admired greatly are tough to get over, but not impossible. The thing that brings separation between you and God is unforgiveness. It will hinder your prayers and your worship. It will keep you stuck. Many church folk are stuck in no-man’s land because they have allowed the unforgiveness of past hurts to plant their roots deep into their hearts. Jesus, in His first prayer that He taught His disciples, made sure that He talked about this topic:
Matthew 6:9
“Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. 10) Your kingdom come, your will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
11) Give us this day our daily bread, 12)and forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.
13And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
14) For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, 15) but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.
Powerful words of Christ. He understood that unforgiveness brings separation and hinders our relationship with God. The reason you have held on to your unforgiveness is because you don’t have a true understanding of Christ’s forgiveness for you. When you grasp a revelation of his forgiveness, and what He has forgiven you of, it becomes almost impossible to hold on to your unforgiveness. Understanding His forgiveness gives us the freedom to forgive.
Confess your unforgiveness to someone you can trust that will hold you accountable. Begin to saturate your heart on music that glorifies His forgiveness. Meditate on scriptures that talk about men like David who sinned big but understood that he was forgiven big.
I am not saying that forgiveness is always easy, but you have to make a decision whether it is worth your relationship with Him or not.
(to be continued)
Kevin
Latest Update from Pastor Michael in Haiti
Here is the newest blog post from Pastor Michael in Haiti:
http://michaelkyker.com/2010/02/25/the-low-down/
Kevin
Afraid of Worship?
I have had the privilige of leading worship for Journey Church (www.journeychurchnow.com) for the past few months. It has been an incredible experience so far. It had been a very, very long time since I had done so, but when we are obedient to God He equips and qualifies us for what He has called us to do. I never cease to be amazed at how He uses the weak things of this world to glorify Himself and make His name great!
When I made a decision that I was going to serve God, I had a really hard time worshipping God. I think I need to define that for everyone. I used to love singing fast, loud, songs about His goodness, His power to save, how He set me free and so on. There were songs that were great talking ABOUT Jesus but when it came to singing songs TO Him, it felt kinda weird and uncomfortable.
Some of this is because of the songs we sing. I have heard some songs that would still make me feel uncomfortable. We are not taking Jesus on a date, ok? Jesus is a friend that sticks closer than a brother, and God is our Father, but I am not putting on a dress and kissing Him like I’m going on a prom date. When you are looking at a song, sometimes you need to see who wrote it. God is many things to many people. People who write songs write from their perception of God. If the song is written by a woman, they may see Jesus as a father, husband, or mysterious love interest. Men can tend to see Him as a father, king, or a mighty warrior. Perception can fuel our views of how see Him.
The problem is when our perceptions have been tainted or twisted by past hurts, abusive parents, betrayal, or a perceived “lack of interest” on God’s part to intervene in certain times of our lives when we feel like He should have.
In the next few posts, I would like to address some of these perceptions and give some practical things you can do to break through these perceptions and gain some freedom in your worship. Things may not change overnight for you, freedom from a lifetime of mispreceptions of God can be, but are not always conquered in a day. We will also look at some other things to help you in your worship experience as well. So stay tuned!
Kevin
Jonah VIII
Jonah 1
5) Then the mariners were afraid, and each cried out to his god. And they hurled the cargo that was in the ship into the sea to lighten it for them. But Jonah had gone down into the inner part of the ship and had lain down and was fast asleep.
It would be nice to say that the Lord had given Jonah such peace that he was able to sleep even in the midst of the tempest, but this is not that kind of slumber.
Have you ever tried to wake a teenager before? I have a son that could sleep through a tornado! The hardest thing to get him to do is wake up most of the time. You can move him around, pour water on him, yell in his ear to wake up, and he doesn’t flinch.
God has been trying to get His church in America to pay attention, but it has fallen asleep. He has allowed us to go through 9-11, economic crisises, terrorist plots and war and these things have failed to awaken the church. Of course they have provided some end-time preachers and opportunity to write another book, but none of these things have caused His church to rise from its slumber. We are an apathetic, lazy, and undiscplined people. We would rather sit around and make excuses and blame others as to why we do nothing. We see sin, but we say nothing so we can say we are “seeker-friendly”. We watch our brothers and sisters that are excited and passionate for god and say “They will chill out one of these days”.”Wait till they’ve been in church a while.”
We ask for God to bless our plans and efforts yet we never pursue HIS heart, HIS will, HIS glory. We base success on how many people attending our churches, while many of them still do not have a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. We have those that have been in church who are as spiritually dead as those who do not believe, who have no fruit produced in their lives to show they are saved. We have those who have fooled themselves into thinking that you can have a great relationship with God without ever being a part of the body of Christ. Tell me, when was the last time you saw a body organ that worked long after it was removed from the body?
I am afraid…..
I am ashamed…..
I am working a lot….
I am trying to figure things out…..
I have a good enough relationship with God…..
I don’t need church….
I’m tired of trying….
I can’t do this anymore…..
These are all things I have heard out of the mouth of those who ”believe” in Christ.
We all need to repent.
Kevin
