A New Perspective

I have written this to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know you have eternal life.
1 John 5:13

Our daily lives are so full of issues, decisions, drama, joys, excitements, etc, that somehow, as Christians, we lost sight that we are going to live forever. The Apostle John said that if we believe in the name of the Son of God, we will have eternal life, meaning that we are going to live forever. So if that is the case, then why is it so important that I have to have my way all the time? Why is it so important that every one does what I think they should do? Why is it so important that everything should be done when I think it should be done? We are going to live forever!!! All these things that we think are so important really don't matter at all when it comes to eternal life. We need to start getting a Kingdom perspective on life, and get our eyes off of ourselves and what makes me happy and what makes me feel good, and start looking through the eyes of Jesus. When we start getting a Kingdom perspective, its amazing how God takes care of the things we think are so important to us. In fact, and I've seen this happen to me, that when something is not going the way I think it should and I get ahold of myself and settle down and ask God to give me a Kingdom perspective, I focus on Him and that "thing" that I thought was SO important, no longer is really that important. How do we do that? 1) Stop thinking about yourself all the time, get your eyes off of you, 2) Look at every situation through the eyes of Jesus (which may mean getting into the Bible more and finding out how Jesus sees things), and 3) ask God to help you get His perspective on things.

Take Away...

Start looking through the eyes of Jesus and make a choice to start looking at life through a Kingdom perspective.

Reverence, what?

God said, “Do not approach any closer!  Take your sandals off your feet, for the place where you are standing is holy ground.”

Exodus 3:5

Reverence for God, we read it, we listen to it, and we like to think that when we think about God or read His word, that we have complete and 100% reverence for Him...at least that is what I thought. Just last night while driving to work, the Holy Spirit raised that question to me, and at first I thought, "sure, I have reverence for Him," but then I remembered that when the Holy Spirit asks you a question, there is a reason. The real reason behind the question was really a statement, and that statement was "no Kent, you don't always have reverence for God." That was like a knife going straight into my heart. And then He showed me where I lacked. We go to Him in times of trouble, we go to Him when we need something, we go to church, and we think that is reverence. But how many of us ignore Him and His word? How many times have you read His word, and because it was tough, or it didn't fit your own theology, that you blew off His word? How many times do we think that if we go to church on Sunday or whenever, that is revering Him? Reverence for God isn't about how many times we go to church, or how many times we give to the poor, or how many times we open the door for someone at the store, or how many times we chose not to flip off someone in traffic. Reverence to God is putting Him at the top of your life. Reverence is saying I don't care how I think about things, God is first...and when He says jump, I don't ask why, or grumble, but do it...AND do it with a good attitude! A lot of us, including myself, have made God out to be someone that if we don't like what they are saying, we just ignore him. We have got to have reverence for God in EVERYTHING and with a good attitude. He is the Creator of you and me, He is the Savior for you and me, He is the One we trust at all times.  If you realize that you have not been revering God, confess that to Him. He has already forgiven you, all you have to do is start showing Him reverence.

Take Away...

We need to show God reverence in everything we do, we need to listen to His word and treat His word with reverence and not just brush it off when we don't agree with it. 

Pick and Choose The Seasons

You will keep in perfect peace
all who trust in you,
all whose thoughts are fixed on you!

Isaiah 26:3

Yesterday started just like any other day, the hustle and bustle of Christmas, dealing with the crowds on the roads and at the shopping center, getting ready for the family gathering for the big Christmas dinner...you know, normal last few days before Christmas when we celebrate our Saviors birth. Then I get word that a friend of mine passed away. He was young, getting his life together, things seem to be looking up for him. I started thinking "Really? Right before Christmas? God, you're in control, couldn't you have picked a different day, a different time of the year? How can any of us celebrate Christmas now that someone we know is no longer with us just 3 days before Christmas!" God gave me two scriptures. The first was Ecclesiastes 3:1: there is a season for everything, and the second was Isaiah 26:3, todays verse I am using. We would like to think we get to choose when and how things happen, but we don't. That would make things very convenient for us, right?  But the reality is that we don't get to pick and choose when and how things happen...they just happen and we are left to deal with them.  The more important thing is HOW we deal with these events. Do we ignore God, get mad at God, refuse to acknowledge Him anymore, or do we do what Isaiah said, keep our minds and thoughts on Him? Isaiah said if we do, then He will keep us in peace. Yes, the death of my friend hurts, and at times I cried and probably will again. Yes this is Christmas but it won't seem like Christmas to his family...and that's okay because they need to mourn. Its okay to mourn our lost loved ones and we are suppose to, and at the same time we can still be comforted by God's peace as long as we keep our thoughts and minds on Him.

Take Away...

If you have lost anyone during this Christmas season, its okay to mourn, and at the same time, keep your mind on Him and He will comfort you with His peace.

To Throw a Fit or Not

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Against such things there is no law.

Galatians 5:22-23 (NET)

The last couple of days I've been talking about our behavior and how we, Christians, are to be the ones that make a difference in the world. I realized that when I was driving home last night from work, I found myself mouthing off at other drivers. Of course they couldn't hear me, but if they could, there would be no way they would associate me and my behavior with the way a Christian should behave as told by the Apostle Paul in Galatians 5:22-23...with joy, peace, patience...and the big one...SELF CONTROL! Yeah right, the Apostle Paul never had to deal with Christmas traffic in Atlanta! But there I was, in traffic sitting there watching several sequences of the traffic light go from red to green to yellow and back to red...and not moving a bit! While Paul never had to deal with traffic the way we do, he still had things in his day that he had to deal with. And even if he didn't, God is still God and His word is still His word, it doesn't change. The fruit of the Spirit doesn't change. We are still called to exhibit the fruit of the Spirit, and yes, it is a choice! You have the choice to show love, to walk in peace, to be patient and kind, and YES you can have self control...and I'll prove it to you. Every one of us has that moment at home when we are flying off the handle, wanting to throw something, yelling, basically having a fit, but if your boss or pastor knocks on the door you would straighten up in a second and greet them with a smile! Am I right???? The enemy would like for us to think we have no self control, but according to the word of God, we do...its a choice. 

Take Away...

Start making the choice to behave in a way that shows the fruits of the Spirit. And the next time you start throwing a fit, get a hold of yourself, stop what you are doing, settle down and just say "no, I'm not going to allow the enemy to win this one!"

Choosing a Behavior

DO NOT judge and criticize and condemn others, so that you may not be judged and criticized and condemned yourselves.

Matthew 7:1 (AMP)

What we think and say to others is extremely important to God. God is all about love, and 1 Corinthians 13, what we call the love chapter, explains what love is. If you read that you will discover that love is not a gushy feeling, love is not an emotion, but it is a behavior. It is a behavior that we choose to do. That all sounds good and everything, but how about putting that into practice...well that is another story all together. Part of the "love" walk is thinking the best of each other, or in other words, how do we treat other people. How do you treat others when they do things you would not do? How do you treat others when you are in a hurry and the clerk behind the counter is taking her time? How do you treat your kids when you are already 10 minutes late for work and they just spilled their bowl of cereal on the new hardwood floor that was installed the day before? How do you treat the person who has the body you want but you are not willing to do what they are doing to get it? It is so easy to criticize others and condemn others for whatever reason, but we are not called to do that. We are called to love and walk in love with each other. We, as Christians, are to be the ones who make a difference in someone else's life. Instead of criticizing someone because their hair is not as perfect as yours, or they are not moving as fast as you would move, or whatever, we need to show people love, show them compassion...EVEN if they don't deserve it! 

Take Away...

Make a choice to stop criticizing others for whatever reason, but choose to walk in love, be compassionate...no matter how much it hurts to do it!

The Show

It is not rude, it is not self-serving, it is not easily angered or resentful.

1 Corinthians 13:5

I was out yesterday Christmas shopping with my mom, and as we were walking down the sidewalk, I was hearing conversations going on among the people that we were passing. These conversations would lead me to believe that there was not a Christian around. Most of the conversations were very self-serving. What I mean by that is that people were talking about why the store didn't have what they wanted and they were complaining, people were getting mad at the other because someone took the parking space that they wanted, the line was too long at the store and the store should have more employees working because it was causing them to be delayed...and probably to another store where the line would be too long. You get my meaning, all of these and other conversations were really based on "I am not getting what I want and when I want it." We all have busy schedules and we all "need" to be at such and such place at a certain time. But you know, God's word is still God's word and it is still true today as it was 2000 years ago. We are still called to love people, we are still called not to be rude to other people, we are still called not to be selfish in our actions and thoughts and we are still called not to be easily angered. I challenge everyone reading this that before you go out to do your last minute Christmas shopping (and really this should be for every day), that before you even start the car engine, say to yourself "self, today I choose to love people and not be rude to people or to the business that I am going to. I choose to be kind, I choose to not be angered when someone takes the parking spot I want, I choose to show patience when the line is moving slower than what I think it should be moving, I choose to show the person behind the counter love instead of showing my impatience, I choose to show the love of Jesus instead of me wanting to get my way, no matter how much of a hurry I am in, or how much this is going to make me late for where I need to be." 

Take Away...

Make a choice today to show God's love when you walk out the door of your home. 

Worship Song of the Week...

How He Loves by John Mark McMillan

Ticked at the World

Peace I leave with you, my peace I give to you; I do not give it to you as the world does. Do not let your hearts be distressed or lacking in courage.

John 14:27

Did you ever wake up and instantly you were ticked at the world? And anything anyone said to you, well, you just really wanted to rip their heads off? Funny how that happens, and for me it usually happens when I don't get enough sleep, and then I wake up feeling all anxious, knowing that if I said anything to anyone, it wouldn't be good. I've come to recognize that for whatever reason, and usually it is the enemy stirring me up, raising up my insecurities or some selfish behavior, but whatever...I need to keep my mouth shut, get by myself for a few minutes, lift up my hands to the Lord and say "Jesus, settle my soul." There are times I will say this over and over for 5 minutes. And with each time I say that, I feel something like soothing ointment pour over my mind and I start to feel less anxious, less mad and more at peace. Now the anxiety may rise up again later in the day, and sometimes 5 minutes later, but all I have to do is say "Jesus, settle my soul." Jesus wants us to walk each day in His peace. If we have anything but peace, then that should be a red flag to us that something is not right and we need to go to the Lord and ask Him to settle us down. You may not have an opportunity to get away for 5 minutes, especially at work, and if that is the case, and that has happened to me, I close my eyes for a minute and ask Jesus to settle my soul. 

Take Away...

If you feel anything but peace, if you feel anxious, stirred up about something, you feel like you want to rip people's heads off...find a moment (and real soon), close your eyes and say "Jesus, settle my soul."

Worship Song of the Week...

 It Is Well by Bethel

Beyond Where You Are Now

Show me the right path, O lord;
point out the road for me to follow.

Psalm 25:4 (NLT)

Did you ever find yourself doing something that you never thought you would be doing...and liking it!? That's what happens when you ask God to guide you and to point out the road for you to follow. The caveat to this is that when you ask Him that, you need to remain open to whatever road He leads you on, even if it is something you never even thought of doing or something you don't think you would like. For example, growing up I was a musician, I took piano lessons for 11 years privately and 1 year in college, was in the church band for many years, had my own band and was in several other bands. So one could think that was where God wanted me. Well, it was...for a season, but He had other plans. I ask God, "God, show me the right path for my life, point out the road for me to follow." Several years later I started teaching in a small group, which led to teaching a couple college courses for a few years, which led to teaching my first message to a church, which has now led to me starting a church. The funny thing is, when I was growing up, I never ever ever saw myself teaching, but when I prayed that prayer, I had to make a choice. The choices were a) I could ask God to guide my life, but only in the direction I wanted to go; or b) I could ask God to guide my life in the direction where He wanted me to go with all options available. If you ask God to guide your life, but only in the way you want it to go, you'll never go beyond where you are now. But if you ask God to guide your life and say "I don't care where you lead me, just lead me because I know that Your way is the better way and You want nothing but good things for me." When you leave all options open, it shows a level of trust in Him...and that's a good place to be. Oh yeah, and hang on, because the road He guides you on will be full of learning, growing, some pain (but there's always going to some pain), and a lot of excitement and amazement!

Take Away: don't limit yourself to your current way of thinking, open yourself up to God's plan, and allow Him to guide you, even if it is in areas you never thought of or ever saw yourself doing.

Worship Song of the Week...

It Is Well by Bethel

Joining Him

“I am the vine; you are the branches. The one who remains in me – and I in him – bears much fruit, because apart from me you can accomplish nothing."

John 15:5 (NET)

God has given all of us abilities, talents, skills, etc, to accomplish His will through us. The key here is He will accomplish these things THROUGH us. We think that "well I have these skills, I went to college, I took piano lessons for 12 years, I don't need anyone, I can do this on my own" and then when we start running into that brick wall where nothing is happening we wonder "why God, why isn't this happening." If we think for one minute that we can do anything on our own, we are deceiving ourselves, we will continue to run into a brick wall and we will continue to get frustrated.  For example, God told my wife and I that we were to start a home church. For someone like me, I immediately start thinking about how we were going to do this, who was going to join us and help us in this, what days we were going to meet, where were we going to meet, blah blah blah...and all this time, Jesus was still way back there saying "uh, hey folks, did you forget something...like Me?" That's right, we left Jesus in the dust while we started running with what He told us to do, totally forgetting to include Him. What we needed to do, and what we eventually did, was ask Jesus, "okay, we hear You telling us You want us to start a home church, how can we join You in this?" When God tells us He wants us to do something, He is asking us to join Him, not the other way around where we think it is us asking Him to join us. We need to include Him in everything we do, we need to start asking Him "how can I we join you in this?"

Worship Song of the Week...

It is Well by Bethel

The Big Chill

One can devise many plans in one's mind, but ADONAI's plan will prevail.
Proverbs 19:21 (Complete Jewish Bible)

I am a planner. I plan things, and when I say I plan things, I plan a lot...and I mean A LOT! I plan details, and not just for later today, but for tomorrow, the next day, the next month, etc. I need to know where are we going tomorrow, what time, how are we going, how long will it take to get there, are we going to stop on the way, if we are going to stop on the way, where are we going to stop, how long are we going to stop, is anyone else going, if they are, where do they want to stop...you get the picture. That was me not long ago, but as God has worked on me to "not be a planner" I realized how being this detailed planner can have its pluses and its minuses. The pluses...you make sure things get done. The minuses...you drive the people around you crazy!!! Because now, when I get around a planner...it drives me crazy, and all I want to say is CHILL! So I can imagine that is what others were saying to me...I just didn't hear them...like Jesus. He was telling me to CHILL for a long time, I just wasn't hearing Him. But you know, God always makes a way to get His purpose through to you and me, and finally I did hear Jesus say "Chill Kent!!!!" When I finally chilled, I didn't feel any more pressure or anxiety or stress. I realized that I was finally able to enjoy the things that I was planning without being stressed to make sure they were getting done. When I stopped planning every detail and just chilled, something amazing happened...things still got accomplished! Yes, even though I wasn't planning every detail, things still got accomplished...and I was able to enjoy them! On top of everything...Jesus now has the freedom in my life to accomplish what, when and how He wants things done...not how, when and what Kent wants done, but what He wants done. Isn't that the whole goal? I'm not totally there yet, but I am a lot closer to being completely chill and doing things spontaneously than I was a few years ago.

Take Away: if you need to know and plan every detail of something, take a chill pill and let God have His way and let Him plan things. Believe it or not, things will still get done!

Worship Song of the Week...

It Is Well by Bethel

The Better Land

But as it is, they aspire to a better land, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore, God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them.

Hebrews 11:16 NET

One of the things that the "Men of Faith" did that kept them going forward was wanting what was better. They knew that if they returned Egypt, even though they would be fed and have a roof over their head, it would also put them back in slavery, or even worse. They knew God wanted something better for them, so instead of constantly thinking how much better things were in Egypt compared to their current situation (which was pretty bad at the time), they looked forward to what God wanted for them. Your current situation may not look so good, in fact it may seem down right aweful with no end in sight. That in its self could cause you to look back to how things where before they got bad. But God has a different plan than your past...He has a future for you! He has something better for you, he has a "better land" for you and if you will keep that hope alive in you, you will get closer and closer to the "better land." However, if you start thinking how bad things are now and how better they were before, your hope for the future will start to fade. You need to keep God's promise of a "better land" in the forefront of your mind. For example, if you are in a financial need, God's promise says He will provide all your needs (Phil 4:19). He knows exactly what you need and He will provide for that need. What you need to do during the time of waiting for Him to provide is to keep looking to Him and speaking out His promise. When those thoughts of gloom and despair rise up in you, push them back down with "God will provide all my needs!" 

Take Away: When things look better in the past than they currently are now, keep looking forward to the "better land" that God has prepared for you, no matter what your current circumstances are. 

Tempting Thoughts

Temptation comes from our own desires, which entice us and drag us away. These desires give birth to sinful actions. And whn sin is allowed to grow, it gives birth to death.
James 1:14-15 NLT

Do you know that I've never been tempted to rob a bank? Nope, that was never a temptation to me. But there are certain things that are a temptation to me, like seeing a piece of new mountain bike equipment in a magazine that just gets me! It is dangerous for me to read one of my mountain bike mags or go to a bike shop and see a new bike or see a new piece of technology, because when I do, that is about all I can think about. And...if I think about it enough, I am looking it up on the internet...AND if I look at it enough on the internet, I will think about how I can buy it...AND once I saw how to buy it, ie credit card, then I am either on my way to the bike shop to buy it or I am buying it on the internet. That's how temptation works. First it comes as a thought, then that thought turns into ideas and eventually actions. God does not tempt us, but there are certain things in each of us that can be tempted which we know are not good for us. When we notice we are having a tempting thought (and it comes on us subtly at times), we need to grab a hold of that thought as quick as we can and counter it with what God has promised. For example, I see new bike, but I don't have the money for, nor do I need a new bike (forgive me my fellow bikers), the minute the thought of "Kent, you need that bike" I need to counter that thought either verbally or in my head (usually verbally for me), "God supplies all my needs, and if I need that bike, He will provide the way to get it, end of story." I may have to say that several times...in fact many times. You may say "well I sound silly for saying it many times," well that tempting thought sure doesn't stop at the first thought, it jumps on you over and over, so you have to counter it over and over.

Take Away: don't let tempting thoughts run wild, counter them with Gods word and keep at it.

It Is Well

Those who go down to Egypt for help are as good as dead,
those who rely on war horses,
and trust in Egypt’s many chariots
and in their many, many horsemen.
But they do not rely on the Holy One of Israel
and do not seek help from the Lord.

Isaiah 31:1 (NET)

At this time in Israel's history, they were under attack, but they had become so apathetic, they stopped trusting in God to deliver them. The God who brought them across dry land through the Red Sea, the God who brought them across the wilderness, fed them with manna, gave them drink out of a spring in the ground, the God who delivered them from their enemies as they went into the promised land, the God who did all these things and much much more, they stopped believing that He could deliver them and CHOSE to go to Egypt for help. Like many of you, I read this and thought, "well, they were stupid, didn't they see how God delivered them in the past, they got what they deserved then!" I call this, "I can't see the forest because of the trees." What I mean by that is we do exactly the same thing. Yes, really! How many times has God saved you from making a big mistake, how many times has God healed you, directed you to keep you from harm, but yet when push came to shove, you stopped going to Him and started going to your abilities, your friends, your work, your pastor, etc. You...and I...do everything except trust God. You may say "well Kent, you don't know my situation." That's true, but God is still the God of the past, the God of the present and the God of the future, what He did thousands of years ago, He is still doing today and will do in the future...we just have to do one thing...and that is trust Him. Trust Him that He will give you what you need when you need it. See, we all think we need what we think we need right now, at the present. But He is the God that sees the whole picture, He is the One the truly knows what we need and when we need it. Even if it is in the 11th hour (the last minute), we trust Him. Even if things look like they are getting worse, we trust Him. Even if the sickness is getting worse, we trust Him. Even if the bank account says there is no more money, we trust Him.

Take Away: no matter what the circumstance, no matter how bad things look, trust Him. If you truly trust Him, He will make a way!

Worship Song of the Week...

 It Is Well by Bethel

The Litmus Test

If anyone says “I love God” and yet hates his fellow Christian, he is a liar, because the one who does not love his fellow Christian whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen.

1 John 4:20

We all want to say "yes, I love God with my whole heart," but do we really? John says here that we can say we love God until we are blue in the face, but if we do not love our fellow Christian, then we are a liar. "Well bless God I love all my Christian brothers and sisters," which is what most of our first responses are when we hear this, but when it gets right down to the definition of love...the Godly definition of love, do we really? The Godly definition of love in 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 says love is patient, kind, not rude, thinks the best of people, not envious, not selfish, not easily angered. Now if we looked how we treat our Christian brothers and sisters, can we really say that we truly love these people? Can we really say to our Christian brother "even though you just made me angry, I'm going to love you and forgive you" or "even though I heard something really bad about you, I'm going to believe the best of you?" I'm not saying all this to get you down, I'm saying this so we can be truthful with ourselves and with our love toward God. The goal is to love God with our whole being (Mark 12:30), but I don't know of anyone who has achieved this except for Jesus. How do I know this? Look at the way you and I treat people! Do we treat people in Godly love as 1 Corinthians 13 says, or do we treat people bad because "I didn't get my way," or "I didn't get what I wanted," or "you got what I should've had," etc etc etc. How do we change? We spend time with God, we get to know Him more and more. And as we get to know Him more and more, we will want to spend more time with Him. As we do, we start showing His love to those around us. Yes, we can try to correct our behavior, and I would encourage that, but a true change comes from getting closer to God!

Take Away: As you get closer and closer to God, your behavior will start exhibiting His love toward the people around you.

Worship Song of the Week...

Touch the Sky by Hillsong

Recognize the Change

Look, I am about to do something new. Now it begins to happen! Do you not recognize it? Yes, I will make a road in the desert and paths in the wilderness.

Isaiah 43:19 (NET)

I can't tell you how many times in my life that I thought that I was so comfortable that I didn't want to change anything, my house, my job, my church, you know that if something changed, life wouldn't be as good as it is right now. You probably don't think this now, but that kind of thinking will get you stale and burned out. God will continue to make changes in your life so that you will grow and grow and grow to be more like Him and what He wants you to be. The key is recognizing when God is trying to make a change. For example, I had a band in North Dakota called Atone, and we were doing pretty good. Then suddenly I lost passion for my band. Now I could've done one of two things, continued on with my band...without passion...and it would have become a curse rather than the blessing that it had been. Or I could've recognized that God was getting me ready to make a change. I had enough experience with Him at that point in my life to know that He was getting me ready for a change, so instead of fighting Him, I chose to go with His flow. Five months later my house was up for sale and I was moving to Atlanta. We never know when God is going to start getting us ready to make a change in our lives, but we must always be ready and willing to go with His flow. To tell Him "no, I like it this way" will keep you in the same place...forever...with out any growth, and eventually what you are doing will become stale and a curse instead of a blessing.


Take Away...
Don't be so comfortable in life that you won't recognize when God is getting ready to make a change in your life. Be ready AND willing to make that change when you see it happening.

Worship Song of the Week...

Touch the Sky by Hillsong

Racing, Confusing and Rest

Take my yoke on you and learn from me, because I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.

Matthew 11:29 (NET)

I know I've talked about this before,but apparently I need to hear it again, and if I need to hear it again, some of you probably do, especially since we are approaching the holiday season which means dinner engagements, Christmas parties, New Years Eve gatherings, family to see, etc. Life just gets much much busier in December and you still have your normal routine to do each day as well. For Tammy and I, it is just not additional things to do along with our normal routine, but we are getting ready to start a church in January. So as you can imagine, my mind has been racing, and over the past few days it has been racing faster and faster. And as my mind has raced faster and faster, the sleep has become less and less, my mind is going in about a thousand different directions, all at the same time...yada yada yada CONFUSION! Jesus finally said, "Kent, stop it. Your mind is racing so much that now you have a hard time hearing My voice. You need to just stop...and rest in me." I then got this picture of Jesus sitting down, having a cup of coffee and just relaxing. Jesus wants to take all of our burdens, all of the "junk" we are going through so that we can rest in Him. That's what it means to rest in Him...give Him all your "stuff" you are mulling around in your mind thereby getting more and more confused and stressed...just give it to Him...and then rest! This means once you handyour "stuff" over to Him, you don't think about it any more, you don't try to make things happen so that you can accomplish a goal that you most likely set for yourself, you just stop, sit and rest trusting in Him that He is taking care of it. This is different than being passive or ignoring things. How? If you are passive about something or ignoring something, then it is still not being taken care of and the "thing" is still there when you are done resting, and honestly you aren't really resting. But when you give it to Jesus, He is taking care of it while you are resting so that when you are done resting, He has taken care of it! 

Take Away: instead of allowing your mind to race, thinking on how to take care of a hundred things at one time, give it to Him...and then rest!

Worship Song of the Week...

Oceans (Where Feet May Fail) by Hillsong

Do It Scared

Now may the God of peace who by the blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead the great shepherd of the sheep, our Lord Jesus Christ, equip you with every good thing to do his will...

Hebrews 13:20-21

Okay, so you are sitting comfortable where you are, you have a nice home, good job, you play on the worship team at church, great friends around you, an incredible wife...life is good and comfortable. Then God says, "okay, its time to make a change, you are going to start a church." What is your first reaction? Is it, "oh, that can't be God, that must be the devil!" Is it, "that's impossible God, I don't have any of the skills to do that," or "right God, stop joking, You know I have a hard to speaking to my co-workers much less speaking to a group of people." Kind of sounds like Moses when God called Him out to lead the Israelites out of Egypt, but Moses finally said yes...and the rest is history. God doesn't care about your ability, He doesn't care if you have this degree or that degree, He doesn't care if you have experience in a particular area, what He is looking for is someone who will say "God, whatever it is You are asking me to do, I'll do it!" According to Hebrews, God will give you what you need to accomplish His will, all you have to do is have faith that He will do it, and then step out in faith as He directs you. If you are scared to do it, like I was, then do it scared. If God is telling you to do something, He will not tell you to do it just to have you fall flat on your face. He is telling you because He wants to accomplish His will through you...and that is an awesome thing!

Take Away...when God calls you to step out into something that is totally out of your comfort zone, respond to God with "God, I know I don't have the skills to do what You are calling me to do and I am a little scared, but You are God and You are so much bigger than me, so lets do it, even if I have to do it scared Lord, let go!"

Worship Song of the Week...

Oceans (Where Feet May Fail) by Hillsong

The Next Place

For we know in part, and we prophesy in part, but when what is perfect comes, the partial will be set aside.

1 Corinthians 13:9-10

Many years ago I was in a band called Atone and I thought that was my final calling. I could've bet my house on that at the time! But during those Atone years, God told me that Atone would be a small part of something very big in my life. Well, a lot of water has passed under that proverbial bridge, and looking back on the last 25 years, I can definitely see how my band was a small part of what God was calling me to. Sometimes we think that what we are doing now is it, its the final, its the "I've made it," but we are only seeing what is here and now. We are not seeing the big picture, and by doing so, we are limiting ourselves. What I mean by that is that when you are doing something that you think is the final call, your final ministry or whatever, and then God says, "okay, now lets move on to something different," we risk either not hearing His voice or we say "that can't be God, because what I am doing now is 'it'." You've got to take what you are doing now, enjoy that time, learn what you can during that time, and at the same time keep your mind open to hear where He is going to take you next...because He WILL take you to the next place, there's no question about that! You are never at your final ministry or calling, there is always "the next place" He wants to take you to!

Take Away: enjoy where you are at, but don't think it is "it." Be open and ready to move when God says, "okay, here is where we are going next."

Worship Song of the Week...

Oceans (where feet may fail) by Hillsong

What's It To You

Jesus replied, “If I want him to live until I come back,what concern is that of yours? You follow me!”

John 21:21

Have you ever prayed for something, and you have been praying and praying, and then one of your friends calls you up and says that he just got what you have been praying for? When I was a lot younger I prayed and prayed and prayed for a new car. I told God this is the type of car I want, a blue Monte Carlo SS.  I can't tell you how long I prayed for that car. Then out of the blue, a friend of mine called me up and said "you got to come over and see my new car." Yep, you guessed it, it was the car I had been praying for. Of course I said the Christian thing..."well praise God, God is certainly blessing you, that is awesome." But what I really wanted to say was "God!!!! That was suppose to be my car, not his!" After I had my little tantrum, God said "Me blessing him has nothing to do with you, its not about you Kent, its all about Me and Me wanting to bless him." After that sunk in, I realize how I was "me" centered and all concerned about me and me getting the blessing and making me happy...me Me ME! We don't see the big picture, but God does. We don't know the steps someone else has been walking, but God does. So when God does something in someone's life, it has nothing to do with us, it has everything to do with God blessing someone other than us. And if we get angry or upset or frustrated with God (or even the person that is getting blessed), that should be a red flag going up that something inside of us needs to be worked on. If that happens, you need to go to God and confess to Him your anger and frustration and ask Him to show you why you reacted that way. God doesn't bless someone else to make you angry, or to say ha ha, look what I did for someone and not you. That is not how God operates. He operates in love and He wants the best for everyone.

Take Away...don't be concerned with how God is blessing someone else because it has nothing to do with you. Be happy for the person and at the same time keep God as your focus.

Worship Song of the Week

Here With You by Hillsong

Second Chances

The Lord said to Jonah a second time

Jonah 3:1 (NET)

At this point in the story of Jonah, God had already told Jonah to go to Nineveh, but he refused, was swallowed by the fish, repented and the fish threw him up on the beach. Now we are at Jonah 3:1 where God tells Jonah...AGAIN...to go to Nineveh. I remember something similar to this when I was disobedient to God when I was in Orlando staying at a hotel. There was this guy at the concierge that drew my attention. On one evening I was sitting down in my room getting ready to watch TV and God said, "Go down and talk to that guy." I said, "but God, my favorite TV show is coming on in a few minutes." This went back and forth several times. Finally I said, "God, I know you are not going to give up, so I'm going to go down and talk to him." The end result was that this guy had just graduated from Bible college was going through a really rough time in his life, in fact he was going through what I had just been through. I was able to share how God brought me through it. When God tells us to do something, and we don't do it, that is disobedience, and there are consequences to that. In Jonah's case he was swallowed by a fish. Well I can't say I was swallowed by a fish, but my disobedience did produce a consequence. But did you notice in Jonah 3:1, God gave Jonah a second chance. God is a god of second, third, fourth, etc chances. If you think you have failed Him because you were disobedient and didn't do what He asked, God WILL give you another chance. His plan is still His plan, just because you were disobedient doesn't mean His plan has changed. His plan is still the same, what you need to do is repent of your disobedience and get on board with what He is telling you to do.

Take Away: God is a god of many chances. Don't despair and think you missed it because you said no the first, second, third, umteen times...repent and jump on board with His plan!

Worship Song of the Week...

Here With You by Hillsong 

What Are You Thinking?

We destroy every proud obstacle that keeps people from knowing God. We capture their rebellious thoughts and teach them to obey Christ.

2 Corinthians 10:5

Ever get thoughts inside your mind and wonder "where did that come from?" And you passively dismiss it. But it comes again, and then again and again until its at the front of just about everything you are thinking about? We need to be mindful of what these thoughts are because thoughts will eventually lead into action. Thats why the Apostle Paul said we need to take every thought we have and take it to Jesus. Whatever we are thinking about, we need to see if it lines up with the word of God. Thats why it is so important to know the word, to know God, to know Jesus, because when you do, you know if that thought is from God or not. If the thought is from God, then you should continue to think about it, pray about it, and see what God wants to do with it. However, if the thought you are thinking does not line up with God, then you need to dismiss it immediately, and don't do it nonchalantly. You need to be purposeful in dismissing that thought. For example, say you're heading to a meeting and you are already late, then on your way you are hitting every red traffic light. Then these thoughts start coming "you're going to miss the meeting, you're not really that important so they wont wait on you, why don't you just go home 'cause you're already late" and so on and so on. Now you have a choice, you could continue to think those thoughts while you sit in traffic and allow them to produce either frustration, anger, and eventually the act of going home and missing the meeting. OR you could say "No! I am not going to listen to these thoughts. My God says that ALL things work out for good for those who love Him, so bless God I am going to the meeting even if I am there for the last 5 minutes!" Never be passive about thoughts, take them to Jesus!

Take Away...thoughts will eventually produce action. Make sure you take every thought to Jesus, and if it is not from God, then rebuke it with His word.

Worship Song of the Week

Here With You by Hillsong

Moving Forward

In fact, if they had been thinking of the land that they had left, they would have had opportunity to return.

Hebrews 11:15 (NET)

Changes happen every day of our lives, some are pretty small and we don't even notice them. But then there are the big changes, like a change of jobs, a change of location, a change of church, a change in the family dynamics...ie getting married or a death in the family. If we don't embrace these changes and we continue to live in the past, we will get stuck in the past and won't be able to make the right decisions that God wants us to make so that we can move forward in our lives. I had a good position with my job in Bismarck, North Dakota for many years, I had many friends, a band that was just beginning to be successful, suffice to say I had a lot going for me there. Then God said I want you to move. Now I could have said God, my band is just beginning to get successful and NOW you want me to move, and God, don't you know I have friends up here that I love and care about, don't you see this!!!!! Honestly there may have been a time or two I not only thought that, but may have said it as well. But in the end, I chose to trust God, stop thinking about how good things are where I am, and said, "God, where do you want me to go?" In just a few months, I was moving to Atlanta, Georgia. Now if I had chose to continue to think about how great things were where I was, I would never have moved to Atlanta, I would never have learned all that I learned that God wanted me to learn, and I would never be where I am at now so that God can move me to where He wants me to be. God is not stupid, in fact it is us who are short sighted. We see only whats going on around us, where God see the entire picture. We've got to trust Him to the point that when He wants to move us into a new job, new location, new this, new that, we've got to say, "I know where I am it is nice, but God, I choose what You are getting ready to do in my life, lets go!"

Take Away...when you hear God saying its time to make a change, embrace that change and move forward. Its okay to remember the past with fond memories, but its not okay to live in the past with fond memories...that will keep you from moving forward.

Worship Song of the Week...

The Other Person

Instead of being motivated by selfish ambition or vanity, each of you should, in humility, be moved to treat one another as more important than yourself.

Philippians 2:3 (NET)

Today's culture sure has changed over the very recent years. Some might say this change has been taking place for a few decades, but we are really just seeing the manifestation of what has been happening over the years. We are living in a culture that is focused on ME, what is good for ME, how are you going to make ME happy, what can you do for ME, how is this going to affect ME...ME, ME, ME! God showed Joyce Meyers that we look like little robots going around saying "what about me, what about me, what about me." Even the commercials we see on television support the "what about me" society. This whole way of thinking is contrary to the way God wants us to think. He does not want us to think about ourselves, but of the other person. Yes, we have needs and wants, but He already said He would take care of them (Philippians 4:19), so why do I have to go around and be concerned about me when God already said He would take care of me? He wants us to be concerned for the other person, our friends, our colleagues at work, the person behind the counter processing your order, the person on the other end of the phone when a telemarketer calls (I know I just struck a nerve there), the policeman who is placing his life on the line for you...we are to be concern with them and in addition treat them as more important than yourself. I'll say it again, we are to treat others as more important than ourself! Yep, this is a total contradiction to our current culture, but if we want to see changes in our lives, we have got to get rid of our selfishness and focus on what God wants, and He wants us to treat others as more important than ourself. 

Take Away: when you encounter someone, anyone, the person behind the cash register at Walmart, the driver in front of you, your best friend, your spouse, your pastor...make a change and start thinking of them as more important than yourself. 

Worship Song of the Week...

Here Now by Hillsong

Decisions with Many Options

Direct my steps by your word!
Do not let any sin dominate me!

Psalm 119:133 (NET)

Several times over my life I've had to make some major decisions, which I'm sure all of you have had to do the same thing. Sometimes the decisions are easy, but others, well, not so easy. It seems that I have more of those type of decisions to make than the easy ones. When I have to make a difficult decision, I hear in my mind about every option possible as to what to decision to make. I will think about it during the day, and man, what a distraction, eh? Then just when I'm laying down to go to bed, my head hits the pillow and then every possible scenario plays in my mind over and over and over...and the next thing I know, 3 hours have passed by and I now have only 3 hours before I have to wake up. One thing I have learned is that God is always there, wanting to direct me in the right path. King David even told God to direct his steps by His word. That is what we need to do in those situations. We need to stop what we are doing, tell God "God, I am driving myself crazy trying to figure out what to do, I need You to guide me!" Then you stop thinking! Yes, you stop thinking and start letting God guide you, and you know how He does this? By guiding you by His word, which says "the peace of God will guard your heart "(Philippians 4:7). When I have to make a decision and there are many options to choose from, I ask God to guide me down the right path. Then I wait for the proverbial "dust to settle" and for me, that can be anywhere from a couple of days to a couple of weeks. The decision that brings peace over me is the decision that God is wanting me to make. We can't make decisions when our emotions are all over the place. We've got to settle down and allow God's peace to direct us.

Take Away: don't make rash decisions, allow the dust to settle and follow the peace of God. 

Worship Song of the Week

Take a Moment by Will Reagan

Its All About Him

But above all pursue his kingdom and righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.

Matthew 6:33

When Jesus said "above all," He didn't mean only when it is convenient. He also didn't mean above most or a few things. He said above ALL things. All things is everything, all things is ALL things. We all have wants and desires. We all have what we think are needs and stuff that we think we have to have. But Jesus negated all of those wants and needs by saying pursue Him. "But Kent, you don't know whats going on in my life, I have things that have to get done, I have to pay my mortgage, put food on the table, take the kids to soccer practice. I have this and that." You know, we must think God is stupid. We must think that God doesn't now whats going on in our lives. You say, "How dare He say seek Him first, doesn't He know all the things I have to deal with." In the verses preceding verse 33, Jesus is telling us that He knows all our needs, He is fully aware of whats going on in our lives. That's why in verse 33 He says if you pursue Jesus (His kingdom), all those things, the needs and etc will be given to you...but you MUST pursue Him first! When you do that, the way He fulfills your needs is so much better than if you do it yourself...AND there is no worry and stress involved in it. To pursue Jesus and His kingdom is to pursue everything that Jesus is. That means you pursue joy, peace, patience, kindness, and you put down your selfish desires. It means that when someone wrongs you, you don't turn around and wrong them. It means that when someone is rude to you, you show them love. It means that when you see someone who is in need of something, you go over and help them and not turn and look the other way. This is pursuing Him and His kingdom!

Take Away...if you will seek Jesus first in your life and put down your wants and needs, He will take care of everything! Start pursuing Him today, let it be a day that is all about Jesus and not about you!

Worship Song of the Week...

Take A Moment by Will Reagon

What Do You Really Believe?

For she kept saying to herself, “If only I touch his cloak, I will be healed.”

Matthew 9:21

What do you really believe about Jesus? If your back was against the wall, what would you believe that God could do to help you? If you were facing a giant of a problem, what would be your response to God? I think we would all like to think that we would say "God, You're awesome! God, You're almighty! God, You can do anything!" But what would our actions be right after we said that? The woman who had been bleeding for years believed that Jesus could heal her. She had absolutely no doubt about this, and she believed that Jesus could heal her so much that she thought that if only she'd touch His clothes, that would be enough for Him to heal her. I have faced many giants in my life, many brick walls, obstacles if you will, that seemed to just swallow me up if I let them. I have to admit there were times I would look at a situation in front of me and say, God I know You are almighty, but I just can't do this! Then, when I would find myself right back at that situation (and that will always happen), I would call out to God again and say "God, I know this situation is bigger than I am. I know this situation goes well beyond what I can do, but I know You are bigger than anything. You are the One Who parted the Red Sea, You are the One Who brought down the walls of Jericho, You are the One Who raised Jesus from the dead, and if you can do all of those things and more, then you can bring down this wall thats in front of me." Sometimes it took many times saying that, but I did not give up, I kept at it and in the end, God WAS and IS almighty! We think that if we don't get the result we want right away, that God wasn't there helping us. In reality He was, it is just that He knew where our faith was, it was us who just didn't know...but we found out!

Take Away: what you do, your actions, will reveal where your faith is. If you find you are lacking in faith, ask God to strengthen your faith, ask Him to reveal more of Himself to you. If you ask, He will respond!

Worship Song of the Week...

Take a Moment by Will Reagan

God is Holy, really?

but, like the Holy One who called you, become holy yourselves in all of your conduct

1 Peter 1:15

We sing it, we repeat, we read it, but in all the singing, repeating and reading, do we really understand what it means when we say God is Holy? I think if we really knew what "God is Holy" means, our whole behavior would change. Each day we go about our business, making decisions, thinking thoughts, acting a certain way, responding to situations without giving one thought to God being Holy. What does "God being Holy" mean? It means that He can not stand sin in His presence, it means that He is pure, it means He is perfect in every way. In essence, it means that He demands respect for who He is. Now remember that you are the temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Cor 6:19), so the Holy One is living inside of you. Knowing this, how are you going to start thinking about what you are thinking about? How are you going to start conducting your life and the way you respond to situations? You're probably saying "Kent, this is a real downer?" Sometimes we need a wake up call because we get complacent about who God is in our lives. We've got to remember we have the Holy One living in us, and that He is Holy. When we really understand this, we will start conducting ourselves in a manner that is in line with the word of God. For example, knowing that the Holy One is living in you and that He is Holy, how are you going to respond the next time someone cuts you off in traffic, or the next time someone is rude to you on the phone, or one of your children has been screaming for the past hour? When we respect God for who He is in our lives, we can start living the life He wants us to live.

Take Away: Knowing that God IS Holy and that He is living in you, you can conduct yourselves in a manner that is in line with the Word of God and living the life that God has for you.

Worship Song of the Week...

Take A Moment by Will Regan

People Can Change

But Ananias replied, “Lord, I have heard from many people about this man, how much harm he has done to your saints in Jerusalem

Acts 9:13 (NET)

The Apostle Paul, before he was Apostle Paul, was Saul who had a loathing for people that followed Jesus. However on the road to Damascus, Saul had an encounter with Jesus that changed his life forever. In fact after this encounter, he was called Paul and went on to write nearly two thirds of the New Testament. Why am I writing this? Look at what Ananias said to God. Ananias heard about Saul's reputation, but fortunately for Ananias, Ananias believed God could change people. Ananias believed people can change. I hear a lot of people commenting about others that "oh, they'll never change" or "people don't change." Well, if I believed that, then I wouldn't believe in what Jesus could and did do in my own life. Jesus changed me, and if you are reading this, Jesus has changed you as well. So if Jesus can change me and if He can change you, don't you think He can change others? Jesus is STILL changing me, He is renewing my mind, and He is changing my behavior. I am not the same person I was 20 years ago, 10 years ago, even 1 year ago because the changing continues. The same goes for others. Just because someone acted a certain way 10 years ago, 5 years ago, even yesterday, doesn't mean they can't change. Now you can't change that person, no more than I or anyone else can change a person, but God can! Give people the benefit of change and give them a second, third, forth chance. God has given you and I many chances, we need to extend that grace to others.

Take Away: just because someone acted a certain way years ago, believe the God can change them, and then give them another chance!

Worship Song of the Week...

Take a Moment - Will Reagan

The Right Reason

It is dangerous to be concerned with what others think of you, but if you trust the Lord, you are safe.

Proverbs 29:25 (GNT)

It seems I go around this mountain way too many times. I am one of those who had (and sometimes still do have) a performance based behavior. I will get into that mode where I feel that if I do something good or if I look a certain way or I dress a certain way, then people will like me. I've been going to the gym for over 10 years and when I first started I was going for health reasons. Then I started seeing results, I.E. muscle, and I started to like what I was seeing. But somehow, over the course of the 10 years my reasons for going to the gym changed to where I was going because I wanted to grow more muscle BECAUSE I wanted people to be impressed with me. The more muscle I would see, the more I would want to build more muscle, and yes, some people were impressed. But you know, that is not the reason I should go to the gym. In fact if you or I do anything with the purpose to gain the approval or acceptance or respect of others, then we have crossed over into a performance based behavior and into a dangerous area. Why? Because if we do gain their approval and acceptance, then we have to continue whatever we are doing forever in order to maintain their approval and acceptance...and over time that will wear us out. The writer of Proverbs 29:25 knew where we should look for acceptance and approval, and that is the Lord. It doesn't matter what we do, His approval and acceptance is always there and it will never end. I'm not saying to stop doing things, but you should do those things because you want to do them, not because you are trying to impress someone. God is already impressed with you, you don't have to perform for Him to accept you...He already has!

Take Away: Stop trying to gain people's respect and approval. Look to God for your acceptance and approval and Him alone. Ask Him to help you get out of that performance based behavior.

Worship Song of the Week...

End of Days by Hillsong Young and Free

Things Are Always What They Seem

But when he saw the strong wind he became afraid. And starting to sink, he cried out, “Lord, save me!”

Matthew 14:30 (NET)

We would all like to say we see every thing the way it really is. What I mean by that is that when we are looking at a situation, we think we are seeing the whole story through God's perspective. But what usually happens is that we see a situation through our perspective which is tainted with hurts from the past, experiences we have been through and a method of thinking that our brain uses. This twists the situation whereby we come out looking like we are right, and everyone else is wrong...or we are the victim and everyone should apologize to us. This has happened to me many times because of my own insecurities. I would walk into a situation where I would think the whole world is against me and that I am the victim. God finally got a hold on me and said "look Kent, you are looking through your own insecurities and not through My eyes." What really had happened is that I got my eyes off of Jesus and on to my circumstances. You see, circumstances will try to dictate reality, but in essence you are only seeing part of what is really going on. When we keep our eyes on Jesus, we let go of our insecurities and our hurts, and let Him deal with the situation. Now He may tell you that your thinking is wrong (which many times is the case for me), and in that case you have to change your way of thinking. We need to keep our eyes on Jesus and look at reality through His eyes and not our own. Circumstances may try to get your eyes off of Jesus, but don't let this happen. Keep your eyes fixed on Him.

Take Away: whatever the circumstances may seem to dictate, stop looking at your circumstances, and look to Jesus. He will take care of your hurts and pain.

Worship Song of the Week...

When God is Silent

O God, whom I praise, don’t stand silent and aloof

Psalm 109:1 (NLT)

Have you ever asked God something and all you got was silence? Its happened to me on several occasions. I would ask God "should I do this, or should I do that," and all I would get was silence. Back in the late 90s I was dating this woman and after several months I asked God "should I ask her to marry me?" Silence, nothing but silence. I asked several times...and silence. So in my logical mind I concluded that the next logical step would be to get engaged and then get married. So I asked her to marry me and she said yes. From that moment I felt life start to leave me and over the next month my life just got more empty and empty. After a month we ended our engagement and I asked God why did You let this happen. He said "I never told you to get engaged." When I look back, I could see how God had been talking to me about not pursuing that relationship, but I ignored Him. God really wasn't being silent when I asked Him about me marrying that woman, He had been talking to me for the previous several months, I just ignored Him. When you ask God for something and you get silence, go back in your memory and see where God WAS talking to you. He will be talking to your through other people, through circumstances, through your own heart, through church...but He is talking to you. Now, when I get silence, I go back and see where He has been talking to me. It is then when I know the answer without having to ask Him again.

Take Away...God really isn't silent, He has been talking to you the whole time. So when you think you are getting silence, think back and see where He has been talking to you. It is then that you have your answer.

Worship Song of the Week...

The Appointed Time

For everything there is an appointed time,
and an appropriate time for every activity on earth

Ecclesiastes 3:1 (NET)

Many years ago God told me that I was going to be in a band. I got so excited about this because I had been praying for this for several years, and I thought Wow! It's finally going to happen! Days started to go by with no band, then weeks started passing, then months had started passing and still no band. So I made the decision to start a band on my own. I even prayed about who is to be in the band but all I got from God was silence. So when I found someone who played an instrument, I asked them if they wanted to be in the band. I went to several musicians asking this and eventually, over time (and I would say several months) I had a band. We then started rehearsals which went every way but smooth. I had members who wouldn't show up, ideas clashed constantly...it was something that I could certainly say wasn't of God! Eventually the band broke up. When it did, I asked God "what happened, You told me I was to be in a band, I got in a band, why didn't it work?" At that point the silence broke and God told me "now wasn't the time for the band, I will tell you when." It wasn't for another 7 years that the band God told me about happened. When God tells you something that you are to do, or something that is going to happen, He is telling you for a reason, and not that it is going to happen tomorrow. There is a "preparation time" that you need to go through before whatever it is happens. During that preparation time, you need to be patient, listen to God about the steps you need to take which may include work on your heart and work on your mind. If you are patient and do what God tells you to do, whatever it is He told you are to do will happen flawlessly and without any effort on your own. He will do it!

Take Away: There is an appointed time for everything God tells us. When God tells you something that you are to do or something that is going to happen in the future, be patient as you go through the "preparation time."

Worship Song of the Week...

Ernest Angely and High School

“Do not judge, and you will not be judged; do not condemn, and you will not be condemned; forgive, and you will be forgiven."

Luke 6:37 (NET)

When I was in high school and had just rededicated my life to Christ, I read this verse and really didn't give it much thought. Meanwhile, there was this evangelist on television named Ernest Angely. He spoke with a "different" accent (yes he was an American), he acted different than what most people would call normal. He was quite wide known at the time and a bunch of us in school would were always making fun of him, mimicking the way he talked and so on. Interesting that after I read that verse, I noticed that whenever I would make fun of Ernest Angely, something bad would happen to me. And it wasn't just once or twice, it was every time I made fun of him. The Holy Spirit spoke to me and told me that although he may sound and act different gives you no right to judge and criticize him. Every one has a past that has dictated the way people think, act, talk, whatever, including you and me. To judge and criticize people because they think and behave differently than you or I do is really saying we are better than they are. In reality we are no better than the other person, we just have different histories and pasts. We, as Christians, as the body of Christ, need to be flowing in more mercy and in more forgiveness and in more understanding towards other people. God didn't say its alright to criticize if they are doing something really bad, He never says that! What He does say is to love them, pray for them, and forgive them.

Take Away: instead of criticizing and judging people, ask God to help you show mercy and understanding toward others, no matter how different they talk or act.

Worship Song of the Week...

Truth or Feelings?

And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.

John 8:32 NET

Interesting thing about our past experiences, they all have a bias. Yep, each one of our experiences is biased, and the further we get in time from when that experience happened, the more biased it is toward our perceptions of the event. What I mean by that is that when we think of something that happened to us in the past, our thoughts become biased to where we look the best, or where we look like the victim. Unfortunately we bring those distorted views of our experiences to present day and apply that to a current circumstance. The result is that we end up being the victim all over again and we get hurt all over again. What we need to do is bring Jesus to the current circumstance. Jesus said that He will show us the truth, and this truth will set us free. That means that whenever you are in a circumstance where you are feeling hurt, or are re-living a past experience or starting to experience feelings that you had from a past event, instead of diving into those feelings, go to Jesus, ask Him to reveal truth to you. Feelings will lie to you, past events and your memories are distorted to the point that they will lie to you, but Jesus will not lie. He will bring truth to you and to the situation. Now you must be ready for what He tells you, because believe your not, you may be the one who is wrong. But whatever He tells you, He will be telling you the truth, and it will set you free!

Take Away: In every situation you find yourself in, don't rely on past experience and feelings to dictate the outcome, ask Jesus to reveal truth to you!

Worship Song of the Week...

When It Gets Tough, Stand in Faith

David said to his son Solomon: “Be strong and brave! Do it! Don’t be afraid and don’t panic! For the Lord God, my God, is with you. He will not leave you or abandon you before all the work for the service of the Lord’s temple is finished.
1 Chronicles 28:20

Has this ever happened to you...you've been praying for God to give you a purpose or a calling, or even a job to do, and then right after He shows you, you get all excited and you can't wait to get started. Then when you get started, and it starts to get tough and difficult, you ask yourself or God "what did you get me into?" And then you give up. Yep, right here! I can't tell you how many times God has given me something to do, then I would start it, it would get difficult, then I would say, "well, it must not be God," and then I would quit. Over the years I've missed out on a lot because I stopped and didn't allow God to be God. You see, whenever God gives you something to do, its not based on your abilities, but your willingness to do something. He will do the work through you, He will give you what you need when you need it, such as strength, money, supplies, He will supply them all for you, you and I just need to REMAIN willing and not quit. God is a big God, much bigger than what we give Him credit for, so press on in faith, knowing that He will not abandon you before your work is finished.

Take Away: the next time God gives you something to do, don't give up when it gets tough, but go at it with the confidence that He will do the work through you, give you what you need when you need, and He will see you to the finish!

Worship Song of the Week...

Habits and Freedom

For freedom Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not be subject again to the yoke of slavery.
Galatians 5:1

Have you ever had a habit of doing something that you really don't want to do, but you keep doing it anyway? I think we can all raise our hand to that, I know I sure can! Fortunately Jesus, when He died and rose again, did something for us that takes care of that, and that is He gave us freedom! He gave us a freedom where we never have to suffer from those things again. Now I know exactly what you are going to say. "Kent, if Jesus gave me freedom, then why I am still doing what I don't want to do." Jesus did give us freedom, however it is up to us to receive that gift and hold on to it. Notice what Paul was saying here, "stand firm and do not be subject again." This means we have to do something. This means that when we are being tempted to do that which we don't want to do, that we have to stand our ground and say with all our being "NO!" It means that whenever we have an opportunity to do that which we don't want to do or even think about that thing (and may I had think pleasurable thoughts about that thing), that we do whatever we need to do to change our thoughts and turn our back on that thing. It took you and I a long time, years sometimes, to get into the mess and behavior pattern that we are currently in. It is going to take some time to stand firm and consistently stand firm before you start seeing that bad habit fade away. And if you slide back into that habit, that's okay, as long as you are consistently standing firm against it and consistently turning you back and changing your thoughts on that thing.

Take Away: if you consistently stand firm and consistently stop putting yourself in a situation where you will no longer go back to that "bad" habit, you will eventually reap the reward of freedom. The key is "consistently!"

The Smallest of Details

If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it.
John 14:14

It seems a lot of people have problems just going to God and praying. We think He is too busy to be concerned with our own daily lives that we only go to Him for the really big things, like praying for someone who needs healing, or praying for a job, etc. But in reality, God is very concerned about our daily lives right down to the smallest details. We think God doesn't care how I landscape my yard, or God doesn't care whether I get a 42 inch TV or a 50 inch TV, or which road should I take this morning...we think those are too small because "God is only concerned with the large things in life." Take a look at the first part of John 14:14, it says if you ask Me ANYTHING. Anything means just that, anything, from the largest of things in life to the smallest of things like which belt am I going to wear today or what road should I take to get to work this morning or what should I fix for dinner tonight. God cares! He wants to be part of your daily life, He wants to be involved in your daily routine. Start today by asking Him for the input into the small details of your life. Then watch and listen to Him!

Take Away: God is not only concerned about the large details of life, but also the small ones. Start praying for God's input into your daily life, even if you think God doesn't care. That's a lie because He does care!

The Cyclist and the Car

So then, whenever we have an opportunity, let us do good to all people, and especially to those who belong to the family of faith.
Galatians 6:10

I was watching a video of a motorcyclist starting to pass a vehicle, and then suddenly the vehicle that the motorcyclist was getting ready to pass swerved, hit the cyclist and drove off (but later stopped). The motorcyclist was alright, banged up but alright. Unfortunately at the time of the posting of the video his wife that was on the cycle with him was still in ICU. When they found the driver of the car, he said he purposely swerved to hit him and didn't care that he hit the cyclist. What has happened to our society? What has happened that human life means nothing to people anymore? Now I could definitely start venting, but that won't help. What will help is what Paul is saying to us in Galatians 6:10...do good to all people. It is easy to do good to those we know and like, but it gets a little more difficult to do good to those that we don't know, or don't like, or that cut us off in traffic, or are mean to us on the phone at the office. But look at that verse again, it says do good to ALL people, that means everyone, the nice people and the people that, well, aren't nice. Hey, we are not always nice either, but we expect people to extend grace to us, right? If we expect people to extend grace to us, then we better be able to do the same for others. More importantly though, God wants us to be nice to all people, and in this way we are truly witnesses to for Him.

Take Away: let's be the salt of the earth, let's be the ones who make the change to at least those around us...when you have the opportunity to be nice and do good to those that are not particularly good to you, choose to do good...we are the ones that can make the change!

The Rhema Word

After the earthquake, there was a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. After the fire,there was a soft whisper.

1 Kings 19:12 NET

In my last post I talked about hearing God speak through His logos word. Today I am going to talk about God speaking to us through His rhema word. Rhema literally means "utterance" or "thing said." This is how God speaks a specific word that is directed at you. When God speaks to us through His rhema word, the Holy Spirit is actually talking to our spirit. Now some of you may be saying, Kent, that's sounding a bit spooky. Well, hear me out before you diss me. Look at 1 Kings 19:12. Elijah was probably looking for God in the fire, the windstorm and the earthquake, but he didn't find God. Then finally there was a small whisper. I'm not saying God will never have this thunderous voice, but it is very clear in this scripture that God's voice, the Holy Spirit's voice is a small whisper. Some people, myself included, come to know this as the sixth sense or that "knowing" where you just know something. Other people will hear that "whisper" in a picture, in nature, however the Holy Spirit chooses, He will speak to us in a whisper. You may say Kent, I hear voices in my head all the time, how do I know which is the Holy Spirit and which is everything else? Very easy to tell. The Holy Spirit's voice will never bring you confusion, anger, resentment, frustration, etc. The Holy Spirit's voice will always bring you peace. And if you're still not sure, then wait a day or two when the "voices" have settled and then ask the Holy Spirit to repeat what He said. It takes practice hearing God's rhema word, so don't give up. 

Take Away: God still speaks to you and I, and He will speak to you using His logos and rhema words. Take the next month and seek to hear His voice. Ask Him to talk to you specifically through His logos and His rhema words.

The 4 Letter Word

“if you obey the LORD your God and keep his commandments and statutes that are written in this scroll of the law. But you must turn to him with your whole mind and being.”

Deuteronomy 30:10 NET

In my last post I talked about how God is still speaking to us and that He uses His logos word and also His rhema word. Today I am going to talk about his LOGOS word. Logos is Greek and means sayings of God, decree, moral precepts, instruction, etc. That is the Bible, the sayings of God, the decrees and moral precepts of God, the instructions of God. From Genesis to Revelation God is speaking to you and me. In order for you and I to know what God is speaking to us, we've got to do this one thing I am about to tell you, and its a very important thing. Its a thing that involves only 4 letters. When you hear this word it is going to be a huge revelation to many of you. Are you ready, here is it. When it comes to God speaking to us through His LOGOS word (the Bible), we've got to READ the Bible! A lot of people count on other people to read it to them because they dont understand what they are reading, or they are reading a version that has to many thees and thous and thines, the old English way of speaking. Here is what you do if you find it difficult to read and understand the Bible. Find a version of the Bible that you can understand such as the New Living Translation or the New English Translation. Next, before you open the Bible, pray and ask the Holy Spirit to help you understand and to reveal truths to you. Then open the Logos Word and start reading. If you don't understand what you are reading the first few times, that's all right, keep reading, the Holy Spirit will eventually reveal truth to you!

Take Away: The logos way of God speaking to us is through His written word, the Bible. If you haven't opened it up lately (and you can tell by the amount of dust on it), pick it up, read it and ask the Holy Spirit to reveal new truths to you.

God Still Speaks To Us

My sheep listen to my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.
John 10:27 NET

Yep, it's true, God still speaks to us. "But Kent," you say, "I've never heard His voice, and why would God want to speak to me, who am I that the Creator of the Universe would have an interest in me?" In John 10:27 Jesus is telling us that yes, He still speaks to us...and He WANTS to speak to us! I have yet to read anywhere in scripture that says God no longer speaks to His children. In fact, if God didn't speak to His people, we would be in a terrible situation. We would essentially be doing what we thought was right, and you see how well that worked out for Israel and Judah back in the Old Testament. They did what was right in their eyes, ignored what God was speaking through the prophets, and both countries ended up being abolished by the Assyrians (Israel) and the Babylonians (Judah). God speaks to us in two different ways, through His "logos" word which is scripture, and He speaks through us through His "rhema" word, which is a direct personal word from the Holy Spirit to you. Over the next couple of days I will talk about how we hear through logos and through rhema and how to apply them to our lives today.

Take Away: God still speaks to you and to me and He WANTS to speak to you and me, but before we can go further, this must become an underlying truth in our lives.

Reaping From Your Decisions

Do not be deceived. God will not be made a fool. For a person will reap what he sows,
Galatians 6:7

Did you ever do something that you knew better not to do, but you did it anyway? Then when it wouldn't work out, even though you knew not to do it, you wanted God to fix it. I can raise my hand to that...over and over. Yes, I don't think it matters how long you have been walking with the Lord, there are times when we get all full of ourselves and we think we know better, even when God says "no." We think that since God loves us, He will rescue us and fix us from the results of our actions, but that is not the case. Right here in Galatians 6:7 He is saying you reap what you sow. What that means is that we have to bear the consequences of our actions. For many years I built up a large amount of debt on my credit cards. I knew better than to spend money I didn't have, but I did it anyway. Then when the bills came due and money got tight, I asked God to fix it. You know what He told me, He said "you got yourself into this mess, you are going to get yourself out of the mess...but I will show you how to get out of this mess and I will teach you so that you will not get into this mess again." That's the cool thing about God, although we must bear the consequences of our actions, He will always be there to love us and to teach us. God didn't pay my bills for me, but He showed me how to budget and get my spending under control.

Take Away: don't think God will fix the messes you got yourself into, but ask Him to show you how to get out of your mess and He will teach you so that you will not get into that situation again.

Extending Grace

“And the commandment we have from him is this: that the one who loves God should love his fellow Christian too.”

1 John 4:21 NET

It is so easy to love everyone on Sunday at church, isn't it? We raise our hands in worship singing "glorly to you God, I love you Lord," we give each other hugs, we hear a message about God's love and how we are to love each other where we are saying "Amen" several times. Then we walk out of the building and across the parking lot...and words that we would never say in church start coming out of our mouths, sometimes at people we don't even know! Or we start thinking thoughts like, "if I walk into work tomorrow morning and there is a stack of papers on my desk, then heads are going to roll!" You may have never said those exact words, but don't say you never thought along those lines. I've done it, and sometimes I still do it. So where is God's love in all of that??? When it comes down to it, we do love God, the problem is we are still reacting to issues inside of us as are the people all around us. When we go to God, we know He is going to forgive us and help us, and we need to be giving that same kind of grace to our fellow Christian brothers and sisters as well. When we get into a situation where we feel our emotions rising up, we need to take a deep breath, and put the cross of Jesus as the back drop of the situation. When we do this, we bring the grace of God into the situation and in doing so we bring the "right thing to do" into the situation. We need to realize that we are not perfect and neither is our neighbor. We need to extend the grace that God gave us to our fellow Christian when they aren't acting so great. We need to extend the grace that God gave us to our wife, husband, children, friends, pastors, etc with the same grace that we expect God to give us.

Take Away: start looking at every situation you encounter with God's love. See the situation with the cross of Jesus as the backdrop and extend grace to those around you.

Being Used and Not Knowing It

“But Jesus said, “Someone touched me, for I know that power has gone out from me.””

Luke 8:46 NET

For many years I used to think that I had to get all prayed up, worship for a couple hours, you know, get myself to where I thought I was really holy before I thought God would use me. I would work myself up singing and dancing, reading scripture, all the time thinking that "man, God is really going to use me today, I'm going to touch people and they will be healed, I'm going to prophecy to people, God is REALLY going to move through me today." Well, as you probably could guess, I didn't see mighty moves of God in my life that day. But for some reason, on days that I wouldn't do all that, where I was just being me, God would move through me to touch other people. Funny thing is, I would not know He was doing it until days later when someone would come up to me and say "what you said really meant something to me the other day." Honestly I wouldn't even remember saying it. When we think that we have to get all "holy" before God can move in our lives, then we have tied God's hands to where we only allow Him to use us whenever we think we are perfect. God is not a God who waits until we are what we would call "perfect." God moves in our everyday life, most of the time without us even knowing it. Jesus felt the power move out of Him and into that lady that touched His robe, but He never had to work Himself up, He was just being Himself. If you are a believer, that same Jesus is living in you...and everything else that goes along with Jesus, including His power. We need to stop thinking that we have to be all "holy" before God can use us and allow Him to use us in everyday life while we are just being ourselves.

Take Away: God can use you just the way you are, you don't have to have perfect behavior or a perfect attitude. Allow yourself to be you, and let God move through you. You may never know when He is using you, but He will do it!

Questions and Reactions

“Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.”

Proverbs 16:18 NET

Like you, I have read and heard this scripture time and time again. We all like to think we are not prideful. We all would like to think that we are humble. But truth is we all have some pride in our hearts to deal with. Now, if you are saying "Bless God, Kent I don't have any pride," well that should be a red flag going up saying uhhh, I think you do! Here is a good test of whether you have pride in your heart or not...how easy is it for you to say I failed at something? How easy is it for you to accept criticism WITHOUT getting upset? How easy is it for you to watch someone else get an award at work for the exact same thing you did, but no one noticed? If your answers to the previous questions make you uncomfortable, or if it is NOT easy for you to say I failed, or accept criticism or watch someone else get an award you thought you should have gotten, then you have some pride to deal with. But this isn't a bad thing, in fact this is a good thing because God is shedding light on areas of your life He wants to work on. Open up your heart and let God work on areas of your life that He wants to clean up. It may be tough in the beginning (and it probably will be tough), but the pay off is tremendous!

Take Away: Ask God to show you areas that you are prideful, and then open up your heart and allow Him to work on those areas.