Rules or Grace?

Why is it that churches filled with people who say they have been saved by grace can become such ungracious people?

Why is it if you ask someone outside the church what they associate with the word “Christian” (especially “evangelical”), they might mention a conservative political agenda or judgmentalism or self-righteousness but not grace-filled love? I think it has at least partly to do with pride.

This is a major theme in Scripture. The writers of Scripture tell us that “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” This is because only the humble want to receive it.

Ortberg, John (2010-05-11). Love Beyond Reason (p. 140). Zondervan. Kindle Edition.

The church has become filled with "do this" "don't do that" that we have forgotten about grace and God's love for us. If church has become more of a list of requirements, then we have really separated from what God truly intended when Jesus sacrificed Himself on the cross. Church is not about rules and regulations, it is not about a list of requirements for getting in the door. Church should be a place where people from every culture, background and race can come and receive God's love and His grace. We, as the church, have not done a good job at extending grace and love, but we have done a very good job at listing rules and regulations and requirements for getting in the door. We, the church, need to get back to extending grace and God's love to EVERYONE, not just those we think "fit in" in the church.

The Gift of "Me Too"

I was reading in my devotional this afternoon about getting past your past. I've heard messages like this one many times as I had to get past a lot of my past. Here is what she said...

I was given the gift of “Me too.” The gift of knowing that I am not alone.
You are not alone. I encourage you to break the silence. To be a voice for the child you once were. Be bold enough to share what you have been hiding with a safe person. When you do, I believe that you will invite a new level of healing to invade your life!

When you are going through something, you think you are the only one, at least that's how I thought...that no one has ever experienced what I am going through, that no one could possibly relate to what I am going through. The enemy wants us to think that. Why? Because, according to scripture, if we do talk about it to others, we will get our healing...and thats the last thing the enemy wants. But it is what GOD wants...He wants to heal you. And the first step toward your healing is confessing it. 

James 5:16 (NET)

So confess your sins to one another and pray for one another so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great effectiveness.

Yes, it can be scary. Yes, people may talk. But if you want to be healed, if you want to be rid of the pain and suffering, you must confess, because...and believe it or not...there ARE others who are going or who have gone through what you are experiencing. And through this God heals! 

I encourage you that if you have kept hidden something that is causing you pain and suffering, and you have been afraid to speak to someone about it...take the first step toward healing and confess it to someone...someone you trust, someone close to you. You may hear the words "me too!"

Rag Dolls

Over the years "the church" has painted a picture of God and of the church that is really not what God and the church is suppose to be like. The church is not a prim and proper place only welcoming perfect, upright, upstanding people. Unfortunately that is what the church has become. If we look back to the first century when Jesus was walking on the earth and when Paul was preaching, they always preached to the imperfect, the lepers, the prostitutes, the whatevers, the castaways of society, etc. The following is from the book Love Beyond Reason by John Ortberg...

This is the church the way it’s supposed to be. A group of rag dolls who have received love even though they know they didn’t deserve it, who then extend it to others because they refuse to allow raggedness to keep them from loving. Because love is God’s signature. And grace makes love strong.

The reality is everyone of us is a rag doll, a person with imperfections, a person who needs God's love. And what is awesome is that God is giving us His love...freely. We don't have to perform for it, we don't have to do everything right, we don't have to behave right, we don't have to speak right. In fact if you never ever changed, His love is still His gift to you and always will be! He already loved you SO much that before you were even a thought, God had already sent his Son to die for you! That's how much God loves you...

John 3:16 (NET Bible)
For this is the way God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.

No, You Don't Know Everything

Both the apostles and the elders met together to deliberate about this matter.
Acts 15:6 (NET)

Just prior to this verse, some of the believers who were formerly pharisees said that the new gentile believers must be circumcised according to Jewish law. This was a new area for the apostles. They've never dealt with gentiles before, what were they to do? Like many of us, we encounter new areas that we have never experienced before, and sometimes when we venture out, we will make mistakes. In fact it is not a "will we make a mistake," it is more "when we make a mistake" because mistakes will happen. And yes, they will more than likely affect other people. As leaders when we encounter a "new" area, or an issue that rises up in the people that we lead, we need to take a note from the apostles and meet with key people to help decide what to do. As individuals we have got to face the fact that we do not know everything. I know this is going to hurt the pride of some people, but the reality is just because you are a leader doesn't mean that you know everything...because you don't. And if you think you know it all, you are deceiving yourself and you are deceiving God. When you humble yourself to hear the opinions of others in your leadership team, you will be able to hear from all sides and make a just decision. And even if you are not a leader, you still don't know everything. So when an issue comes up, find 1 or 2 people that you trust and seek their counsel.

Take Away...

When issues rise up either in your team or in your life, seek counsel. Don't think you know everything, because you don't...that's a fact!

Intentional Prayer

Elijah was a human being like us, and he prayed earnestly that it would not rain and there was no rain on the land for three years and six months! 5:18 Then he prayed again, and the sky gave rain and the land sprouted with a harvest.
James 5:17-18 (NET)

I was sitting in my room where I usually go to spend my time with God and I started praying for people. The Holy Spirit stopped me dead in my tracks. He said listen to what you are praying. So I did and realized I was praying an un-intentional prayer. What I mean by that is that I was praying one of those standard prayers, "Lord be with them" and "Lord continue to work in their lives." The Holy Spirit said "Really? You don't think I won't work in their lives if you don't pray that? I am already working with them, what do you want to see happen? That is what you need to pray." So I thought about it and realized that with every prayer I do want to see a specific outcome for whatever it is I'm praying for. For example, I was praying for a couple and I was saying "Lord be with them and work with them" when I should be intentional about what I was praying for and pray "Lord, I want to see them walk in peace, I want to see them not argue with each other but start learning how to accept each other and their faults. I ask You that they learn how to deflect the arrows that the enemy is shooting at them." Intentional prayer, just like Elijah! He was very specific in his prayer in James 5:17-18, and God honored that! But what if you don't know what to pray? If you dig deep down, there is a reason you are praying for a situation, pray for that reason, it is there! I'm not saying you are going to get or see whatever it is you are praying for, but at least you will be intentional about what you are praying about!

Take Away...

When you pray for someone or something, be intentional and pray for the outcome of whatever it is you are praying for.

Got Up and Went

Then an angel of the Lord said to Philip, “Get up and go south on the road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” (This is a desert road.) So he got up and went.
Acts 8:26–27 NET

The key phrase I want you to see is the last phrase, "So he got up and went." I can't tell you how many times I'd be going throughout my day and the Lord would tell me to do something, but I never "got up and went." Sad to say for most of my Christian walk, I didn't "got up and went." In fact instead of "got up and went," I would "rationalize and not do." It seems we can reason and rationalize our way out of anything and everything, but the truth of the matter is that when we do that we are saying one of two things, "God, you don't know what you are talking about" or "God, I just don't want to do it."  For example, I'd be walking through a store, and I'd see someone drop a piece of paper on the ground and I'd hear this little tiny whisper in my head, "go pick that up for that person." For the next hour I'd be telling God how that piece of paper was really nothing, and after that didn't work, then I'd go spiritual and say "God if it was really important, then You'd find a way to get that paper to them." He would eventually respond with "I am finding a way, and its YOU!" In all that time of arguing and rationalizing, in the matter of just a few seconds I could have been obedient to Him and picked that piece of paper up and given it to that person and walk away in peace. We need to be like Philip and start making our minds up that when God tell us to do something, we get up and go! 

Take Away...

Instead of arguing with God when He tells you to do something, make your mind up to do whatever He is telling you to do, and "get up and go!"

The Way Out

And God is faithful: He will not let you be tried beyond what you are able to bear, but with the trial will also provide a way out so that you may be able to endure it.
1 Corinthians 10:13

I've written about temptation before, however I really felt the Holy Spirit wanted me to speak on this again. We are all tempted in some way just about every day of our lives. Not everyone is tempted by the same thing, but we are all tempted to do something, either good or bad. And its really not the good things we are tempted by that are the problem, it is the bad things that give us problems. I can't tell you how many times I've been tempted by the same thing over and over and over, and I fall into the temptation over and over and over, and it seems I keep going around that same proverbial mountain constantly. I cry out to God, "when is this thing going to be over." Then I read in Corinthians that God provides a way out and I say to God "where is this way out, because I sure don't see it." He said it is there, it is always there, you just are looking for it. So I took a step back and realize that I was looking for the way out after I did the actual action of what I was being tempted to do. You won't see the way out while you are doing the action of whatever it is you are being tempted to do. You see the way out WHILE you are being tempted and before it turns into an action. Every temptation starts as a feeling, which will then turn into a thought...and if you entertain that thought long enough it WILL turn into an action. The "way out" the Apostle Paul was talking about is seen during the feeling and thought part of temptation. "Well Kent, I can't help what I think about." That's true, you cannot control what thoughts pop into your mind...HOWEVER you can control what you do with them. When you are in the "thought" part of temptation, that is where you start saying "NO!" But that isn't enough. You MUST apply God's word to that temptation...the way out! Look at what happened with Jesus in the wilderness. Every time He was tempted He spoke the word of God to that temptation. That is what we need to do. You know the areas in your life where you are tempted, I encourage you to find the scriptures that speak to that temptation, and then speak those words when you are tempted.

Take Away...

Don't let your thoughts run you when you are tempted, God gave you the way out...His Word! Speak His word to your thoughts when you are being tempted to do something you know you shouldn't be doing.

Waiting on Tables

So the twelve called the whole group of the disciples together and said, “It is not right for us to neglect the word of God to wait on tables.
Acts 6:2 (NET)

The whole context of this scripture was that the disciples were tending to EVERYTHING! They were tending to prayer, teaching, waiting on people, etc. They fell into the trap that Moses fell into. It took Moses' father-in-law to speak up and say "Dude, you can't do it all!" The disciples realized this too and said "Bros, we can't do everything because it is taking away from the task we are called to do." This doesn't mean that "waiting on tables" was less important than teaching and prayer, it meant that they could no longer do what God was telling them to do. In fact in verse 4 they said the "waiting on tables" was a necessary task. As humans, we are limited in what we can do. We are also limited to 24 hours in a day. Us perfectionist (and those with pride...yep, I said that) think we can do everything AND we can do it better. But we perfectionist (and prideful people and you know who you are) have to lay down that thinking and come to the reality that we can't do everything and that we need to do only what we are called to do. Another way of looking at it is this...if you are trying to do everything when other people are called to do what you think you need to be doing when you are suppose to be doing something else, you are robbing the other people of what God has called them to do. In other words, I am called to teach and that is what I am doing. But if I think "well bless God I should be running the children's ministry and playing on the worship team and greeting" then I am robbing those that ARE called to do those things. 

Take Away...

Don't think you can do everything, because you can't. Do what you are called to do, and let others do what they are called to do.

Nothing is Impossible

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)

There are many things in life that God has given us wisdom to do that we really don't need to ask for help. Its not that we don't need Him, its just that He already has given us what we need for many things. And then there are things that seem so daunting that we think there is no way we can do them. For example, many years ago I had a conflict with someone that I thought there was going to be no way for me to forgive this person. I would go through that roller coaster of "yes, Lord I forgive them" and then a couple days later I'd be back to being angry with them because I remembered what they did. I knew the right thing was to forgive them, but it was so hard and seemed impossible. Jesus is right, apart from Him, I can't do it. Apart from Jesus, there was no way my mind was going to let me forgive that person. So I said "Lord, you have to help me, otherwise I'm going to keep on this rollercoaster and go crazy." It took some time, but He helped me. He showed me things inside of me that were keeping me from forgiving.  We addressed them and I was eventually able to truly forgive that person. Without His help, I would never have known what to do. If we think we can do anything on our own, we are fooling ourselves. Jesus is not a liar, it is true that apart from Him we can accomplish nothing, we need His help, everyday. It is really a good place to be when you realize you can't do it on your own, it humbles us and allows Jesus to do His job.

Take Away...

When something seems too daunting, that there's no way you can do it...ask Jesus to help you and believe that with Jesus, nothing is impossible!

The Learning Phase of Contentment

I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content in any circumstance.
Philippians 4:11 (NET)

A lot of people think that the Apostle Paul was this super human, that he was able to do things no other human could because he was different. I can't argue that he was different, but not in the way most people think. The Apostle Paul was different in the respect that he learned to trust God so much that it didn't matter what his circumstances were, he was content. The key word here is "learned." He didn't get contentment overnight. It probably took several years before he was able to have so much trust in God to be content no matter what was going on. I mean, look at what he endured in his years of ministry, imprisoned several times, ridiculed, slandered, who knows what else, but in all of that he learned to be content. He was going to have to go through those things anyway, so instead of being upset and angry and grumbling the entire time, he chose to trust God that He would take care of him and therefore he was content. This is something I am still learning. Yes, I'm in that learning phase, I haven't found contentment in every situation...but I getting closer. I can't tell you how many times I caught myself getting frustrated with traffic that I was grumbling, getting anxious, and angry..."what don't the lights turn faster, why can't the car ahead of me speed up, blah blah blah!" I am learning that when those things happen, I need to say "hey, I'm in traffic, I'm going to be in traffic, so it doesn't matter if I get upset or not I'm still going to be in traffic. Me being upset isn't going to get me through traffic any faster. So Kent, get over yourself and choose to be content, and I ask you Jesus to settle me down!" Yep, contentment doesn't flood me right away, but each time I say it, I feel a little less anxiety and frustration...and a little more at peace. You're going to have to go through your day in whatever circumstance you are in anyway, so why not choose to go through it content? It makes going through your day much easier!

Take Away...

When you find yourself getting worked up because of your circumstances, ask God to settle you down and do a little self-talking and choose contentment.

New Years Resolutions

I am grateful to the one who has strengthened me, Christ Jesus our Lord, because he considered me faithful in putting me into ministry, even though I was formerly a blasphemer and a persecutor, and an arrogant man.
1 Timothy 1:12-13 (NET)

Yes, I know its January 2, but can we go back one day to January 1? You know, the day we all make New Years Resolutions (NYR), the day we say we are going to turn a new leaf and exercise more, or eat less, or be more patient, or whatever. But somehow those NYRs never seem to last, do they? I definitely notice this at the gym. The first two weeks of the new year and that gym is packed, by the beginning of February, the population at the gym has dropped by at least 25%, and by March it is back to what is was on December 31. We do this all the time to ourselves, and then when we don't fulfill our NYR, we start beating ourselves up..."see, you couldn't even do this!" or "if you can't do this, what makes you think you can do that?" or "see, you're just a loser, they all said you'd never last." Those words bite to the very core of our being...and the funny thing is, we allow it! We allow those words to eat at us, infect us, deprive us of sleep, make us agitated, etc. The Apostle Paul had every reason to think those same things and more, I mean the man killed Christians before he became one. From our point of view he had every right to be down on himself. But that isn't what he did. He chose to believe that Jesus cleaned the slate in his life, he chose to believe that Jesus really did die for him and that he now has new life! Paul, instead of beating himself up over past mistakes, chose life and went on to write two thirds of the New Testament. We have a choice. We can either continue to put ourselves down, and basically choosing death, OR we can choose life...choose the life Jesus died for. Yes we all made mistakes, you and I, and yes we will continue to make mistakes, and yes some of them may be whoppers, but Jesus died for it all so you don't have to continue to beat yourself up.

Take Away...

When you fall short of that NYR you made, instead of beating yourself up over it, say "yes, I didn't make this one, but that's okay, I'm no less a person of that, in fact I'm a better person because Jesus loves me!"

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.

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. 

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 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

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