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