Author: admin

June 28, 2019

“See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the elemental spiritual forces of this world rather than on Christ.” Colossians 2:8

The basic meaning of philosophy is the love of wisdom or the way of truth. It is a leaned system of thought as to what is true that someone imparted to us. That someone may have been our family, our community, a teacher or a preacher, etc.

Everyone lives by a philosophy, whether they realize it or not, that gives them a perspective on how they interpret everything they see, hear, smell, taste or touch. That perspective will then lead to what they do in any situation.

There is only one philosophy that is rooted in absolute truth. That truth is the very person and being of Jesus. He is the way, the truth and life. Truth literally means reality. Jesus and his kingdom are reality and will never pass away even though created things will one day pass away. Therefore, the true philosophy is to believe that God is good and that his love endures forever.

Authority is the right to do something. I grant authority to whatever I give agreement to. When I give agreement to philosophies that are not based in Jesus I give the spiritual forces and people behind those philosophies the right to control me by their hollow and deceptive thoughts.

I pray that the Holy Spirit, The Spirit of Truth, will bring light into my being that will expose whatever hollow and deceptive philosophies I have given agreement to. I pray also that I might then reject those philosophies and that I may embrace the only true philosophy that leads to the abundant life that Jesus came to give us.

Blessings,

Kevin

June 26, 2019

“And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.” Matthew 24:14

Eschatology is the study of what is called the end times. There are many conflicting views, both religious and secular, about the end times. I do not have closely held beliefs about the end times except the scripture above which was Jesus’ answer when he was asked about the end times. In addition I hold closely to the messianic prophecy of Isaiah 9 which speaks of the government of the kingdom of heaven resting upon the shoulders of Jesus and that there shall never be an end to the increase of his government.

That kingdom of heaven is a kingdom of righteousness, peace and joy in the power of the Holy Spirit and it is advancing daily. Darkness has no substance, it is the absence of light. In Jesus is life and that life is the light of the world and God our Father has anointed us be ministers of light in his kingdom.

When considering variously held views of the end times it helps me to look at those through the lens of hope. Does that view give hope to my grandchildren who will likely outlive me, depending on when Jesus returns? Romans 15:13 says “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.”

Blessings,

Kevin

June 23, 2019

“The LORD’S lovingkindnesses indeed never cease, For His compassions never fail. They are new every morning; Great is Your faithfulness.“The LORD is my portion,” says my soul “Therefore I have hope in Him.”” Lamentations 3:22-24

Jesus stated many times that he and his Father were one and that he only said and did what he heard and saw from his Father. That is how he worked to reveal the true nature of our Father to both the religious and the non-religious people who had a wrong understanding of God’s nature. The truth is that God our Father is the God of all comfort and the Father of compassion.

Jesus was and still is moved by the compassion of our Father as his response to the brokenness of humanity in all its various manifestations.

A man who was an expert in the Old Testament scriptures demonstrated his wrong understanding of God when he asked Jesus who was his neighbor in an effort to justify his self-righteousness. Jesus responded by telling what we call the parable of the Good Samaritan.

Sometimes I am moved by compassion but too many times I find that I respond to the brokenness of humanity the way the priest and the Levite did in the parable, by looking the other way and doing nothing. I want to be moved by compassion as Jesus is to do something about what I see. Not out of religious duty but out of experiencing the love of God my Father.

Blessings,

Kevin

June 22, 2019

“……We know that “We all possess knowledge.” But knowledge puffs up while love builds up.” 1 Corinthians 8:1

When I was in college one of my professors told me, “Because you chose to get an education you are now more aware of the problems in society. You are no longer ignorant and now you are obligated to do something to make things better. “ The significance of his words has stuck with me for over 40 years.

Education allowed me to gain knowledge I did not have before. My high school did not offer a physics course, therefore I did not have knowledge of the laws of physics that can explain how things work. I remember being in awe as I took my first physics course in college as I learned about those laws of which I previously had little knowledge. I have wondered if the professor saw me with my mouth open in awe and wondered “who is this country bumpkin?”. The things I learned explained many things I had pondered but did not understand. This set the course of my completing college with a degree in Electrical Engineering and a soon to end 41 year career of applying that knowledge.

You may be wondering what this has to do with the scripture quoted above. I have chosen in recent years to better understand racism and how I have been very ignorant of its effects on our society. I am stunned by what I did not know but am now learning about. But if I only gain knowledge it leads to me being puffed up in pride unless I am moved in love to do something about it.

I am choosing the way of love but will need a lot of light from the Holy Spirit to change my thinking, which will change my understanding of what I see, which will change what I do.

Blessings,

Kevin

June 15, 2019

“No one has ever seen God, but God the only Son, who is at the Father’s side has made him known. “ John 1:18 (NIV 1978 version)

I cut my spiritual eye teeth on the 1978 NIV Bible but over time have have come to see that I need to read multiple translations to get to the core of the nature of God as portrayed in the scriptures. The verse above is an example. The phrase “at the Father’s side” conveys a sense of being with God the Father but does not convey the intimacy that Jesus always has and always will have with his Father. The KJV more accurately translates this phrase as “is in the bosom of the Father”.

What is the bosom of the Father? The word bosom refers the upper part of the body where a loose fitting garment creates a pocket where a person could carry valuable items. It is a picture of a child being held in an embrace of love. In that embrace is safety and assurance of the Father’s love.

This is conveyed in the parable that Jesus spoke about the lost son (see Luke 15:11-31) which he told in response to the religious leaders criticizing him for associating with sinners. In that story the Father embraces his prodigal son with compassion when he returns in all his brokenness from previously turning away from his Father to go do his own thing. Don’t miss the point of Jesus’ parable. He came from the bosom of the Father in order that he might bring us all into the bosom of the Father! This is what my soul needs and longs for. It is already a reality but I must believe it in my heart and abide in the bosom of our Father where I am loved, accepted and desired no matter what I do. This is good news!

Blessing,

Kevin

June 14, 2019

“That, however, is not the way of life you learned when you heard about Christ and were taught in him in accordance with the truth that is in Jesus. You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.” Ephesians 4:20-24

I have come to realize that when I experience anxiety it is rooted in my fear of other people’s opinions about me which leads to me doing or not doing certain things so that I will be thought well of that day.

I once had an experience that gave some meaning to the phrase “ the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.” I was cutting up a fallen tree limb when I clearly heard in my spirit “How precious is the doing that comes out of being”. This is the opposite of “doing to be thought well of”.

My true being is that I have been born again and given a new self that is created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness. It is a gift to be received but my mind must also be made new for me to believe it and live in it.

Please join me in receiving and abiding in our true selves that are created to be like God that we may go and live in true righteousness and holiness rather than doing to try to be righteous and holy.

Blessings,

Kevin

June 13, 2019

“For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 8:38-39.

I must admit that there are times that my heart feels so far away from Jesus. At those times I must turn my heart and mind to believing what Jesus has declared to be true – “On that day you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you”, “never will I leave you or forsake you”.

The literal meaning of sin is to the miss the mark. What is the mark that I have missed? Is it that I think my performance of what God expects is lacking? If everything that does not come from faith is sin, then sin must be the result of not believing what God has spoken. Satan is always looking for ways to get me to think that “I am not…..” such that I will feel distant from Jesus. My sin is from not believing that Jesus has included me in his fellowship with his Father. That is where the feeling of separation comes from. It is not from Jesus. Will you join me believing what he has said that nothing shall separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus?

Blessings,

Kevin

June 8, 2019

“Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. Whoever sows to please their flesh, from the flesh will reap destruction; whoever sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life. Galatians 6:7-8

I deceive myself whenever I give agreement to thoughts and words that do not come by the Holy Spirit. My agreement with such things grants authority to the spiritual forces behind those thoughts. Those thoughts will produce fruit of the same kind, I will reap what I have sown.

Self-deception is like being inside a box that keeps me from seeing what is real and true. The danger of self-deception is that once I enter that box I do not recognize it.

My only hope is that by the conviction of the Holy Spirit I will recognize the symptoms of the walls of self-deception that are confining me. Some of those symptoms are: devaluing others; overvaluing myself; blaming others; and rationalizing my thoughts and actions.

“Abba Father, I pray for the light of your presence to break into the box of self-deception when I deceive myself by believing the lies of Satan and his spiritual forces under his control that cause me to see people and myself in ways that are not from you. Help me see no man according to the flesh any longer. “

Blessings,

Kevin

June 8, 2019

“…..do you show contempt for the riches of his kindness, forbearance and patience, not realizing that God’s kindness is intended to lead you to repentance?” Romans 2:4

The Greek word translated as contempt means literally, “think down”. It refers to holding someone in contempt, deeming them unworthy and hence despised because I see myself higher than they are on whatever measure I am using at the moment.

Examples are “they are obese and I am not”, “they smoke and I do not”, “they go to that liberal church and I do not”, “they support Planned Parenthood and I do not.” The list of such things that I find myself thinking that devalues people seems to be endless. This does not please me me and I fight it daily. These thoughts are rooted in the brokenness of humanity that we all have to some degree. None of us are totally free from such thoughts even if we think we are. That is one reason of many, why I need to be around people who are different from me so that when the thoughts of contempt occur that I may take them captive by the power of the Holy Spirit and bring them into submission to Jesus Christ.

We give authority to spiritual forces by agreeing with them. Jesus told his disciples, “You do not know what kind of spirit you are of” when they asked if they should call down fire from heaven to consume those they disagreed with about who Jesus was. They were upset because some people did not see him as they did, but they did not recognize they were speaking words that were not from the heart of Jesus or God his Father.

“Abba Father, I pray that I will be sensitive to the conviction of the Holy Spirit today when I think less of people than you do and that I will quickly repent and embrace the high value you have for every person. May I honor others above myself and seek understanding so that I will not think more highly of myself than I ought. Thank you for your kindness that leads me to repentance.”

Blessings,

Kevin

June 5, 2019

“All the peoples of the earth shall be blessed through you.” This is what God spoke to Abraham when he called him into an intimate relationship of walking with him. This is ultimately fulfilled in the coming of Jesus. This is stated in Ephesians 1:3-6, “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will— to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves.”
To bless means to think and speak well of. If that is God’s response to the brokenness of humanity then what does that say about my own heart when I do not think and speak well of other people? God speaks “of what as not as though it existed” or “he calls into existence that which does not exist.” Every word he speaks is to call into existence that which he desires in his heart. My desire is that I would do likewise when I interact with people who are different from me.

“Lord, I know every person is an image bearer of the God I worship. Therefore, please empower me to joyfully extend my love to every person regardless of color, culture, gender or ethnicity.
Whether in my home, my school, my community or my church, I need your help, God, to promote a culture that values and celebrates diversity.
And by your grace, Jesus, I will follow your lead and dedicate myself to a lifestyle of honor, radical love, humility and action!
In Jesus name, Amen! “

Blessings,

Kevin