Have you contemplated recently how amazing it is that you and I can actually experience fellowship with God? It’s mind-boggling to me that the God of the universe allows us this opportunity, but He does! There’s a bit of a snag however: I’ve discovered that when we choose to sin, we lose that fellowship with God. Please stay with me: I’m not saying that when a Christian sins they lose their salvation. I don’t desire to be overly controversial, but I contend that a Christian can’t lose their salvation. However, I do believe when we choose to sin, we lose intimacy or closeness with God.
I liken this concept to a husband and wife relationship. If one spouse transgresses against the other in some way, the marriage is still intact. But their fellowship, their closeness, their intimacy has been damaged. The guilty party must come to the other and ask for forgiveness to restore that intimacy. It’s the same way in our relationship with the Lord.
My earnest hope for anyone who reads these words (myself included) is that we would highly value our fellowship with the Lord, and prize it for the incredible gift that it really is. Furthermore, the next time we are tempted to dabble in sin, I pray that we will remember that if we go down that road, the sweet intimacy with God will be negatively impacted.
Some of you might be saying, “Kevin, the truth is, I already have gone down the wrong road, but I want to experience that fellowship with God again.” If so, understand that the good news for all of us is that if we lose our fellowship with God (once again, not our salvation, that’s a separate issue) it can be regained through the confession of sin to God. 1 John 1:9 tells us if we confess our sins to God, He is faithful to forgive us and cleanse from all our wrongdoings. Praise the Lord!
Kevin
“God is faithful, who has called you into fellowship with His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord” - 1 Corinthians 1:9
Tuesday, November 29, 2011
Monday, November 28, 2011
Christmas time is here
Well, the Christmas season is now officially upon us! One of the staples of my Christmas season is watching “A Charlie Brown Christmas.” It always puts me in the Christmas spirit. My favorite scene of the movie is when Charlie Brown in desperation, cries out, “Isn’t there anyone who knows what Christmas is all about?” His friend Linus, responds, “Sure, Charlie Brown, I can tell you what Christmas is all about.” Then, verbatim Linus quotes Luke 2:8-13, which recounts how an angel proclaimed the birth of Jesus to a group of shepherds. “For today in the city of David,” the angel announced, “there has been born to you a Savior, Christ the Lord” (verse 11; NASB). After all this Linus concludes by saying, “That’s what Christmas is all about, Charlie Brown.”
I love what Linus did for Charlie Brown. He lifted his friend’s eyes upward to consider Jesus Christ. As you’ll recall, Charlie Brown was feeling discouraged about all the commercialism of the Christmas season. Quite frankly, that commercialism hasn’t subsided, it has gotten worse. To clarify, I’m not against the Christmas traditions by any means. In fact, let me just add as we enter this Christmas season, by all means decorate the tree, sing Christmas carols, do your Christmas shopping, watch Christmas movies (don’t forget “A Charlie Brown Christmas”), but in the midst of all that you do, please remember the reason that we celebrate Christmas in the first place: to commemorate the coming of Jesus Christ to this earth.
Kevin
I love what Linus did for Charlie Brown. He lifted his friend’s eyes upward to consider Jesus Christ. As you’ll recall, Charlie Brown was feeling discouraged about all the commercialism of the Christmas season. Quite frankly, that commercialism hasn’t subsided, it has gotten worse. To clarify, I’m not against the Christmas traditions by any means. In fact, let me just add as we enter this Christmas season, by all means decorate the tree, sing Christmas carols, do your Christmas shopping, watch Christmas movies (don’t forget “A Charlie Brown Christmas”), but in the midst of all that you do, please remember the reason that we celebrate Christmas in the first place: to commemorate the coming of Jesus Christ to this earth.
Kevin
Thursday, November 24, 2011
Happy Thanksgiving!
I want to wish everyone a very happy Thanksgiving. By the way, it’s not “turkey day” as some like to designate it. Yes, I understand that most of us will have turkey, and I'm sorry to quibble over this, but it’s just a pet peeve of mine for the holiday to be called by that name. After all, we don’t call Christmas “gift day” do we?
Anyway, in the midst of whatever you do today please remember to give thanks to God. The Lord, in His kindness, has provided all of us with so much. I’ll be candid: I can go about living my life and easily take for granted the blessings that God has given me. For instance, He’s provided me with a steady job, wonderful family and friends, a great church, and good health (something I don't take for granted, as you know if you've heard my story). That’s just scratching the surface; there are countless other blessings that God has given me. The truth of the matter is God has granted many gifts and blessings to you as well! So let’s remember to thank Him today because it’s all from His providential hand.
Kevin
P.S. In the spirit of the holiday I want to publicly thank you for reading this blog. It is a great honor to me and an incredible blessing from the Lord that you choose to take time out of your day to read the musings that are on my heart. I love and appreciate you all!
"For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be the glory forever! Amen” - Romans 11:36
Anyway, in the midst of whatever you do today please remember to give thanks to God. The Lord, in His kindness, has provided all of us with so much. I’ll be candid: I can go about living my life and easily take for granted the blessings that God has given me. For instance, He’s provided me with a steady job, wonderful family and friends, a great church, and good health (something I don't take for granted, as you know if you've heard my story). That’s just scratching the surface; there are countless other blessings that God has given me. The truth of the matter is God has granted many gifts and blessings to you as well! So let’s remember to thank Him today because it’s all from His providential hand.
Kevin
P.S. In the spirit of the holiday I want to publicly thank you for reading this blog. It is a great honor to me and an incredible blessing from the Lord that you choose to take time out of your day to read the musings that are on my heart. I love and appreciate you all!
"For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be the glory forever! Amen” - Romans 11:36
Saturday, November 19, 2011
Reflecting on the Broncos and Tim Tebow
At one point last month, the Broncos were sitting at 1- 4 and at the bottom of their division. They decided to switch quarterbacks from Kyle Orton to Tim Tebow. Under Tebow, the Broncos have only lost once! They are 4 - 1 with him as the starter. Denver, almost miraculously, is a five hundred team as they now stand at 5 - 5, coming off another exciting victory this time over the Jets on Thursday night. Somehow, Denver could possibly go to the playoffs thanks to a weak AFC West division this year - they are only a half-game out of first place behind the Raiders.
As an NFL fan and as a Broncos fan, it has certainly been fun to watch. But I have to bring up that since I’m a big Tim Tebow fan it has made this Broncos season even more personal than it usually is for me, thus it’s quite gratifying to see the success that the team has achieved. By the way, notice that I did say “team.” It is silly to think that the Broncos won these games exclusively because of Tim, even though he’s getting a lot of media attention. Every win in football is always a team effort.
I came across a very interesting article written by Doug Farrar. Check this out, there’s a lot of great stuff in this link, ranging from a great picture of Tebow giving thanks to God, to Tim's quote about how he wants to be a role model to others, and show that while he isn’t perfect, he is trying to honor God and do the right thing in his life.
http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/blog/shutdown_corner/post/Tebow-believes-in-miracles-and-maybe-he-s-right;_ylt=ApqWrhmNXQu1wVc.U8PpNpvSrYZ4?urn=nfl-wp12079
Kevin
“Whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ” - Philippians 1:27
As an NFL fan and as a Broncos fan, it has certainly been fun to watch. But I have to bring up that since I’m a big Tim Tebow fan it has made this Broncos season even more personal than it usually is for me, thus it’s quite gratifying to see the success that the team has achieved. By the way, notice that I did say “team.” It is silly to think that the Broncos won these games exclusively because of Tim, even though he’s getting a lot of media attention. Every win in football is always a team effort.
I came across a very interesting article written by Doug Farrar. Check this out, there’s a lot of great stuff in this link, ranging from a great picture of Tebow giving thanks to God, to Tim's quote about how he wants to be a role model to others, and show that while he isn’t perfect, he is trying to honor God and do the right thing in his life.
http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/blog/shutdown_corner/post/Tebow-believes-in-miracles-and-maybe-he-s-right;_ylt=ApqWrhmNXQu1wVc.U8PpNpvSrYZ4?urn=nfl-wp12079
Kevin
“Whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ” - Philippians 1:27
Thursday, November 17, 2011
Some more words on the subject of choice
For some reason, I have been into watching video games online lately (on the website You Tube.com). I guess it’s because of the high quality of the games today; I really feel like I’m watching a movie not a simple video game.
One of the games that I watched was “Spider-Man: Web of Shadows.” This game is fascinating because at different junctures in the game, the player can choose to do the right thing or the wrong thing. There are actually several different endings based on what the player has chosen throughout the game. It’s intriguing to see the end results of what happens if the player chooses to go down the path of making certain wrong choices.
As I said in the last blog, there are many times in life when we are presented with following the path of the righteous or following the path of the unrighteous. I for one want to follow the path of the righteous. Some might wonder, “Why not just choose to sow some wild oats?” Two reasons: Number 1: because when we choose unrighteousness, it is dishonoring to God. My life’s ambition is simply to honor and glorify God; it’s why I was born. To choose sin is never glorifying to God.
The second reason is because when we make the wrong choice, it has inevitable consequences in our lives. For instance, our sex-saturated culture sends us the message that it’s perfectly acceptable to have sex with whoever you want. But the fact is, there are inevitable consequences to going down the road of sexual promiscuity. Such as sexually transmitted diseases, the possibility of getting pregnant, feelings of guilt and shame, and losing a sense of closeness with God, to name just a few.
One last thought: some of you might be saying, “Not every wrong choice is as severe as the example you gave of sexual impurity.” Fair enough. I can concede that point. “Web of Shadows” actually highlights this point as well. At some junctions in the game, the decision to do wrong didn’t really produce anything dire; the results were actually fairly inconsequential. That said, big or small, we should always choose to do right. We are creatures of habit, thus if we habitually choose to do the right thing, whenever the big choices do come up, it will be easier to decide to go with the righteous choice, because we will be in the habit.
Kevin
“Do not offer the parts of your body to sin, as instruments of wickedness, but rather…offer the parts of your body to him as instruments of righteousness” - Romans 6:13
One of the games that I watched was “Spider-Man: Web of Shadows.” This game is fascinating because at different junctures in the game, the player can choose to do the right thing or the wrong thing. There are actually several different endings based on what the player has chosen throughout the game. It’s intriguing to see the end results of what happens if the player chooses to go down the path of making certain wrong choices.
As I said in the last blog, there are many times in life when we are presented with following the path of the righteous or following the path of the unrighteous. I for one want to follow the path of the righteous. Some might wonder, “Why not just choose to sow some wild oats?” Two reasons: Number 1: because when we choose unrighteousness, it is dishonoring to God. My life’s ambition is simply to honor and glorify God; it’s why I was born. To choose sin is never glorifying to God.
The second reason is because when we make the wrong choice, it has inevitable consequences in our lives. For instance, our sex-saturated culture sends us the message that it’s perfectly acceptable to have sex with whoever you want. But the fact is, there are inevitable consequences to going down the road of sexual promiscuity. Such as sexually transmitted diseases, the possibility of getting pregnant, feelings of guilt and shame, and losing a sense of closeness with God, to name just a few.
One last thought: some of you might be saying, “Not every wrong choice is as severe as the example you gave of sexual impurity.” Fair enough. I can concede that point. “Web of Shadows” actually highlights this point as well. At some junctions in the game, the decision to do wrong didn’t really produce anything dire; the results were actually fairly inconsequential. That said, big or small, we should always choose to do right. We are creatures of habit, thus if we habitually choose to do the right thing, whenever the big choices do come up, it will be easier to decide to go with the righteous choice, because we will be in the habit.
Kevin
“Do not offer the parts of your body to sin, as instruments of wickedness, but rather…offer the parts of your body to him as instruments of righteousness” - Romans 6:13
Tuesday, November 15, 2011
We have a choice to make
I’ve been reading Louie Giglio’s fantastic book “The Air I Breathe: Worship as a Way of Life” lately. In a nutshell, the book explains how everyone on the planet worships. Some might claim they don't worship, but Giglio eloquently contends that everyone worships something. Louie presents us with compelling information to help us discover just who it is (or perhaps what it is) that we worship. I would highly recommend this book for anyone!
There’s so much incredible material in Giglio’s work, but one statement in particular really grabbed my attention. He writes, “When we do the right thing, God is worshiped. Even if no one notices or cares….Even if we’re penalized for our honesty, God is honored by our sacrifice." They say repetition aids learning, so let me cite the beginning of that quote again: “When we do the right thing, God is worshiped.” Stop and think about that for a moment.
The truth is, every day we have a choice to make. Will we do the right thing or the wrong thing in our lives? We answer this question a million times throughout our day. Let’s be real here: sometimes we choose to do the wrong thing – I certainly can vouch for that in my own life. But at the same time, I can also declare to you that I genuinely want to do the right thing. Furthermore, reading Louie Giglio’s words helped me to commit once again to honoring God with the choices that I make. How about you?
Kevin
“All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us what is right” - 2 Timothy 3:16 (NLT)
There’s so much incredible material in Giglio’s work, but one statement in particular really grabbed my attention. He writes, “When we do the right thing, God is worshiped. Even if no one notices or cares….Even if we’re penalized for our honesty, God is honored by our sacrifice." They say repetition aids learning, so let me cite the beginning of that quote again: “When we do the right thing, God is worshiped.” Stop and think about that for a moment.
The truth is, every day we have a choice to make. Will we do the right thing or the wrong thing in our lives? We answer this question a million times throughout our day. Let’s be real here: sometimes we choose to do the wrong thing – I certainly can vouch for that in my own life. But at the same time, I can also declare to you that I genuinely want to do the right thing. Furthermore, reading Louie Giglio’s words helped me to commit once again to honoring God with the choices that I make. How about you?
Kevin
“All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us what is right” - 2 Timothy 3:16 (NLT)
Saturday, November 12, 2011
"Always be a first-rate version of yourself"
Have you ever noticed how Batman is typically portrayed as intense, humorless, and serious; while Spider-Man on the other hand, is usually glib, sarcastic, and funny? I’ve been trying to contemplate a Batman that goes up to Alfred or Robin and starts telling jokes to break the tension of a situation. My mind rejects such a notion. Similarly, a Spider-Man who doesn’t deliver his share of jokes (no matter how corny they are sometimes) also doesn’t compute in my brain. Just as I can’t imagine a humorless Spider-Man or a wisecracking Batman, you and I just need to be ourselves and not force ourselves to be someone that we are not.
Let me expound on this by sharing an example from my own life. To be candid, I’m somewhat hesitant to share this, but I’m going to do so because I love you all and I want to help you. It’s not a big secret that my intrinsic personality is more along the lines of Batman. I’m not what you’d call the class clown.
Having said that, I must admit there was a time, many years ago, when I acted out of character. For a season, I put on a facade of being a wacky guy who was the life of the party. In actuality, I’m rather quiet and shy. I did this as a crutch for the pain of rejection I was feeling at the time. I have subsequently been healed from this pain, through the power of forgiveness. But the main point here is my false guise didn’t go over well. You can’t put a square peg in a circular hole, so to speak.
From that experience, I learned not to act outside of the innate personality that God gave me. I learned that I have to be the person that God created me to be, not act like someone else. According to my Internet research, from the year 2000 to 2002, Dr. Pepper had this slogan: “Be you.” That’s the bottom line for today's blog: “Be you.”
Kevin
“Always be a first-rate version of yourself, instead of a second-rate version of somebody else” - Judy Garland
Let me expound on this by sharing an example from my own life. To be candid, I’m somewhat hesitant to share this, but I’m going to do so because I love you all and I want to help you. It’s not a big secret that my intrinsic personality is more along the lines of Batman. I’m not what you’d call the class clown.
Having said that, I must admit there was a time, many years ago, when I acted out of character. For a season, I put on a facade of being a wacky guy who was the life of the party. In actuality, I’m rather quiet and shy. I did this as a crutch for the pain of rejection I was feeling at the time. I have subsequently been healed from this pain, through the power of forgiveness. But the main point here is my false guise didn’t go over well. You can’t put a square peg in a circular hole, so to speak.
From that experience, I learned not to act outside of the innate personality that God gave me. I learned that I have to be the person that God created me to be, not act like someone else. According to my Internet research, from the year 2000 to 2002, Dr. Pepper had this slogan: “Be you.” That’s the bottom line for today's blog: “Be you.”
Kevin
“Always be a first-rate version of yourself, instead of a second-rate version of somebody else” - Judy Garland
Monday, November 7, 2011
Don't forget Thanksgiving!
A few days ago, I was at a Christian bookstore and they were actually playing Christmas music. I love Christmas, but in my opinion, it is much too early to be playing Christmas songs. Furthermore, I think it’s best to focus on Thanksgiving first, and then Christmas. The fact of the matter is Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays of the year.
Have you ever noticed all the times that the Bible tells us to give thanks to God and to be thankful? Do a study on the topic sometime, it is informative. For example, Psalm 100:4 says, “Enter into his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name.” Psalm 136:1: “Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good. His loves endures forever.” Colossians 3:15 tells us, “Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts…and be thankful.” Philippians 4:6 encourages us, “do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.”
I want to challenge you (and please note that I’m also saying this to myself) as Thanksgiving approaches, don’t forget to stop periodically in the midst of all that you are doing and choose to recite all the gifts and blessings that you have, and remember to thank God for them. Remember ultimately He’s the one who gave you all those gifts and blessings. We should always be thankful, but as Thanksgiving looms closer, it’s certainly a good time of the year to express our sincere gratitude to God.
Kevin
“I will praise God’s name in song and glorify him in thanksgiving” - Psalm 69:30
Have you ever noticed all the times that the Bible tells us to give thanks to God and to be thankful? Do a study on the topic sometime, it is informative. For example, Psalm 100:4 says, “Enter into his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name.” Psalm 136:1: “Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good. His loves endures forever.” Colossians 3:15 tells us, “Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts…and be thankful.” Philippians 4:6 encourages us, “do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.”
I want to challenge you (and please note that I’m also saying this to myself) as Thanksgiving approaches, don’t forget to stop periodically in the midst of all that you are doing and choose to recite all the gifts and blessings that you have, and remember to thank God for them. Remember ultimately He’s the one who gave you all those gifts and blessings. We should always be thankful, but as Thanksgiving looms closer, it’s certainly a good time of the year to express our sincere gratitude to God.
Kevin
“I will praise God’s name in song and glorify him in thanksgiving” - Psalm 69:30
Tuesday, November 1, 2011
"Put on humility"
I was watching an older cartoon series called “Tiny Toons” on DVD today. There was one scene that I found quite interesting: one of the characters was being presented with an award. His response: “I’d like to thank myself; I couldn’t have done it without me.” I don’t think this statement was meant to be a joke. It was actually meant to show the audience just how incredibly arrogant he was (and, by the way, he did get a bite of humble pie later in the episode).
The fact is this conceited declaration is not too far off from how many in our culture act today. It’s true that they might not say it, but with their actions they express the message, “I couldn’t have done it without me.” I thought about giving an example, but that’s not necessary because it’s so widespread. Just do some Internet research like I did in preparation for this blog and you’ll see lists of arrogant people ranging from Hollywood actors, to the world of sports, to TV preachers.
The Bible presents us with a different idea than this offensive self-centeredness. “Let him who boasts boast in the Lord” (1 Corinthians 1:31). Jesus declared, “Apart from me, you can do nothing” (John 15:5). Paul states in no uncertain terms “those who live should no longer live for themselves, but for him who died for them and rose again” (2 Corinthians 5:15). Colossians 3:12 says, “as the elect of God…put on…humility” (there’s where I got my blog title for today). The Word of God repeatedly condemns having a proud, haughty attitude. By the way, if you want to read a great book on this subject matter, I would highly recommend “It’s Not About Me” by Max Lucado.
Some of you are saying, “I would never go around and say such an arrogant statement as “I would like to thank me.” What kind of takeaway is there for me today?” The way this subject matter hit me was this: as Christians, I think most of us can honestly admit that while we see the dangers of pride, there are still pockets of it in specific compartments of our lives (I know I can certainly admit that). Thus we should pray for God’s Spirit to show us where those pockets of pride reside within us so that we can get rid of it; for His glory.
Kevin
“Haughty eyes and a proud heart…produce sin” - Proverbs 21:4
The fact is this conceited declaration is not too far off from how many in our culture act today. It’s true that they might not say it, but with their actions they express the message, “I couldn’t have done it without me.” I thought about giving an example, but that’s not necessary because it’s so widespread. Just do some Internet research like I did in preparation for this blog and you’ll see lists of arrogant people ranging from Hollywood actors, to the world of sports, to TV preachers.
The Bible presents us with a different idea than this offensive self-centeredness. “Let him who boasts boast in the Lord” (1 Corinthians 1:31). Jesus declared, “Apart from me, you can do nothing” (John 15:5). Paul states in no uncertain terms “those who live should no longer live for themselves, but for him who died for them and rose again” (2 Corinthians 5:15). Colossians 3:12 says, “as the elect of God…put on…humility” (there’s where I got my blog title for today). The Word of God repeatedly condemns having a proud, haughty attitude. By the way, if you want to read a great book on this subject matter, I would highly recommend “It’s Not About Me” by Max Lucado.
Some of you are saying, “I would never go around and say such an arrogant statement as “I would like to thank me.” What kind of takeaway is there for me today?” The way this subject matter hit me was this: as Christians, I think most of us can honestly admit that while we see the dangers of pride, there are still pockets of it in specific compartments of our lives (I know I can certainly admit that). Thus we should pray for God’s Spirit to show us where those pockets of pride reside within us so that we can get rid of it; for His glory.
Kevin
“Haughty eyes and a proud heart…produce sin” - Proverbs 21:4
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