Awake and Angry

Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on the cause of your anger. Do not give the devil an opportunity
Ephesians 4:26–27 (NET)

I find it interesting that the emotion of anger is specifically addressed by the Apostle Paul. Why? Anger has many facets, and one of those facets is that anger, if not controlled, spreads like a heat rash in the south! Paul didn't say anger is wrong, what he did say is that we should address it IMMEDIATELY! Have you ever noticed that when you are angry with someone and you don't address it right away, you stay up all night, thinking of how that person wronged you...and as the night progresses, you are still awake and you start developing scenarios in which this person starts taking on characteristics that are totally unrealistic of that person, that they are out to get you and make you feel even worse! Next thing you know its time to wake up and go to work and you haven't had any sleep. Then while you are awake you start daydreaming the whole thing all over again! Anger will spread and start infecting areas of your life that seem totally unrelated. Anger will also affect you physically with upset stomach, irritability, unable to concentrate, insomnia, etc. However, if you address the anger right away and talk to that person that made you angry, you wont have to go through all of that, in fact, in most cases, whatever that person did to make you angry, they really didn't mean it at all. But, as Paul said, the devil will take any opportunity he can, and if there is anger to capitalize on, he will!

Take Away...if someone makes you angry, talk to them right away (in a calm way of course, not full of emotions), don't give the devil an opportunity!

Special Brownies

Clean out the old yeast so that you may be a new batch of dough—you are, in fact, without yeast. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed.
1 Corinthians 5:7 (NET)

There is a story that went around several years ago about a mother, in an attempt to make a point, made "special" brownies for her daughters. She added a "special" ingredient but didn't tell her daughters until she was about to serve them. When they all sat down to eat, the girls were excited and couldn't wait to eat the special brownies. The mother said "I just need to tell you about the special ingredient. It isn't very much, in fact very little of this 'special' ingredient went into the batter. The 'special' ingredient is dog poop. I just put very little, you won't even be able to taste it." As you can image the daughters were disgusted and wouldn't eat it. The mother said "it is only a little, not much." The girls still wouldn't eat it. Why is it that we can't eat a brownie with a little dog poop in it, but we sure can justify doing something we know is wrong, even if we do it "just a little bit." Y'all know what I'm saying! We seem to justify anything, but the truth is we know what we should and shouldn't be doing. We need to just stop doing what we know we shouldn't do because if we keep doing what we shouldn't be doing, it is going to spread to other areas in our lives. We need to take a regular inventory of our lives and do what Paul says, clean out the "old yeast"...the things in our lives we shouldn't be doing. 

Take Away...stop eating the "dog poop," and take an inventory of your life on a regular basis and get rid of the "old yeast," the things in your life that you know you shouldn't be doing. Ask God to strengthen you and give you help.

Talk and Walk

So also faith, if it does not have works, is dead being by itself.
James 2:17 (NET)

Have you ever met someone who talked a lot of talk but had very little, if any, action that supported their talk? After being on stage when I was on the worship team and now being a pastor, I've come across many people who would talk the "Christian-ese" talk, you know, they know the right words to say, they would talk about all these wonderful things they were doing and they would throw in a "praise Jesus" every few words or so. The problem is their "walk" wasn't there. They would talk the talk, but their actions would be quite different. James said it perfectly, your walk, your actions, the way you behave will show if you have faith. If you really and genuinely have faith in God, faith in Jesus and call Him Lord of your life, your actions will follow what you say.  I challenge each of us, myself included, that we take a look at ourselves on a regular basis and see if what we are saying is being followed up by the same actions. If not, then a change is needed in your life.

Take Away...don't just talk the talk, follow your talk with actions that support your talk.

Plans for 2016

For I know what I have planned for you,’ says the Lord. ‘I have plans to prosper you, not to harm you. I have plans to give you a future filled with hope.

Jeremiah 29:11 (NET)

I have a journal that I write in everyday during my time with God...my "Coffee in the Cave" time. I journal what I believe God is speaking to me, how He helped me, how He instructed me, disciplined me, etc. I was reading through my entries in January 2015, and one thing struck me. Not once in all of January was even a thought that God would have Tammy and I start a church. We didn't even have a clue back in January 2015 that one year later, we would be starting a church. I like to think I know whats going to happen over the next few months and years, and its good to have plans, it gives us something to work toward. But one thing we absolutely MUST do is check with God before pursuing those plans. Why? Because He has plans also! He has plans for me that take priority over my plans. Yes, He will let me do my own thing for a while, until the plans fail, and yes they will fail, and it is usually at that point that He gets me back on to His plan. Some would think, "well, isn't that controlling?" Maybe it is, maybe it isn't, but I look at what His plans do for me, they "prosper me, not harm me, they give me a future filled with hope." I don't call that controlling, I call that "plans I want to follow" plans! The whole point of this is to say, you never know what the future holds for you. You may think you do, but the reality is you don't. But we have God who knows the future! We have a God who has plans for each of us for the future...and they are not just any plans, they are plans that are going to prosper us and not harm us. They are plans that give us a future filled with hope and not dread! Make a choice that for 2016, you are going to be open to whatever God is leading you to do, you may be surprised at what you will be doing come December 2016!

Take Away...

Write down what you see yourself doing in 2016 and put it away for safe keeping. Then on January 1, 2017, look at it and see where God has taken you, you may be astonished at where He has lead you!

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

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

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

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