When I think about why I gave my life to Jesus when I was 8 years old, I realize that it's a lot different from the reasons I continue to give my life to Him daily.

I asked Jesus to forgive me, repented of my sins, and committed my life to him because a.)  I wanted to avoid hell b.)  I felt really bad about the things I'd done when I realized those things had put Jesus on the cross c.) I felt unexplainably like it was the right thing to do.

Sometimes, what an 8 year old kid can perceive about God is incredibly profound and beyond what the tainted adult mind can understand...but that doesn't mean we don't get deeper into how God desires for us to see Him.

I continue to surrender because I'm convinced the cross wasn't a simple combination of wood, nails, and death.  The more I dwell on what happened there at Golgotha, the more I ask questions like, "Did He see my face in His mind's eye during the crucifixion?  Did He think about how I would react when the cruel reality of this cross finally settled in my mind?  How grateful, ashamed, and overwhelmed by grace I would be?"

I keep giving my life over to Him because I want to count on the only thing that really counts:  the grace of God.  And when the strong voice of the enemy whispers that it certainly can't be true that just one truth can exist, that this is closed-minded and narrow, I try to remember that Jesus was all about the narrow way.  Narrow is good.

I am submitting to the authority of Jesus in my life because HONOR still means something to me.  It means that I am under the authority of another, and not only am I okay with it, I welcome it.  It means that when I look at me and look at Him, He deserves HONOR from me.  So i try to give it.

It's good to look back and see how've you grown in your understanding of how you relate to God.  Give it a try!

 

Til the whole world knows,

 

Pastor Kevin



 
 

You know what I realized this week?  If you want to have a really cool blog that people read all the time, you have to be a really interesting person!  That's a tough one for me.  Sure, I can write stuff...that's not the issue.  But will it be "blog worthy".  As the great prophet Noah Oldham would say, "This is the dilemma of the 'blauthor'".  I'm not sure he would say that exactly...but he did invent the word "blauthor".  Kudos, Noah (no...I did not invent the word kudos).

So I was watching a bit of the debate last night on TV after an amazing night at the 705.  It's pretty gut wrenching to know that this is perhaps the most important election in our nation's history, and yet so many of us feel so uncertain about it.  As I listened to Sen. Barack Obama say that he opposes partial birth abortion as long as there is an exception for the health of the mother, I was disturbed by the inevitable circumstance this will create.  Every pro-abortion doctor in the United States will be making a case for the health of the mother built on the flimsiest of evidence.  Why?  Because the exception that Sen. Obama is proposing will not provide or institute any accountabilitty or force of investigation for these instances. 

Sen. Obama also says that no one knows better than a mother the right thing to do in such a situation.  Aside from how my faith guides my beliefs on this issue, can I remind us all of the hundreds of thousands of abortions that are performed every year simply because a mother/father doesn't want the inconvenience of a newborn child?  Are these the mothers you're talking about, Sen. Obama?

I know I'm on my stump here, and I'll stop now.  If you're not praying for the future of this great place that we live in, please spend a few minutes doing just that.

On a lighter note, an afro-headed young man named Jason Straussman preached at The 705 last night.  God gave him a message for our generation:  Don't waste your life!  Thanks, Jason for your willingness to speak out on behalf of Jesus for our generation.  It was great.

 

Til the whole world knows,

Pastor Kevin

 
 

Alright...this is my second attempt at this blog post.  The first one got totally erased before I could publish it, so maybe this one will be a better, more concise version of it.

Crystal and I are coming up on our 10 year anniversary.  Nearly 10 years ago, on November 10th, we started a dating relationship.  That's so crazy, I can hardly believe it.

One of the things that has been a constant in our relationship over the past decade is that we have kept a commitment together to tithe to our church.  Even then we believed strongly that God had not only commanded us to to give back just 10 percent of what He had given to us, but also that He would reward us in return.

Now, alot of people would look at my life and say that we have wasted a lot of money over the past 10 years.  Most would say that we certainly are not living the American Dream.  We live in a modest, fifth floor condo (glorified apartment, let's be honest), my wife carts 3 boys around in the cheapest SUV money could buy in 2004, and I drive a car that I often refer to as "a dog with one eye and two legs" (i call him Lucky).  At home, we eat anything that can be microwaved or came frozen in a box.  On Sunday afternoons, we try to eat a fast food lunch as a family for less than $10 (yes...that means we share!)  Not what people would describe as the American Dream.  Who wants to grow up and a drive a beat up 1998 Dodge Neon?  Anyone? No?

 

I am happier now than I ever could have imagined being at any point in my life.

 

My wife and I are living ministry in one of the hardest places to live in the U.S.  People say that it is impossible for a young family to really survive here in South Florida.  Well, we are doing more than surviving.  Did I mention we bought our home in 2005, at the peak of the SoFla housing market?

Not only have we made it just fine here for 3 years, but we also feel that God has called us to raise our boys a certain way, which requires that my wife be a stay at home mom.

By the grace of God, my wife stays home every day with my boys, teaching them and raising them up to be men of God.

Let me just tell you how God has provided for us just in the past 2 weeks.

1.  We received a random, anonymous envelope full of cash last week.  God had apparently moved in the hearts of some people in our church and they took up a collection to bless us.

2.  We're at McDonalds a few days ago and a young girl comes to our table, puts $20 on the table, and says she just wants to help and walks away.

3.  A great man of God in our church just yesterday slipped me $40 and encouraged me to take my wife out on a date.

I could truly go on for quite a while with stories from MY OWN LIFE of how God has provided when we needed Him most.

For most of us, this is the time when we need provision the most.  Times are hard.  From my experience, I can tell you that God will honor the one who obeys and gives back.  This isn't a plea from a pastor for the church body to start helping us pay the light bill or insurance premiums on our buildings.  It's just me telling You what God has done in our lives.

I think I'll take the blessing of seeing how God provides in crazy ways over the pressure and letdown of pursuing the American Dream any day of the week.

 

Til the whole world knows,

 

Pastor Kevin

 
 

We are living in difficult times.


When I was a kid, I never thought I would see anything like what my great grandparents saw in the 1930’s during the recession.  I thought the people running our country were certainly too smart now to let something like that happen.  The Great Depression had to have been a result of poor leadership and lack of understanding about how the economy worked.  I thought for sure my kids would never see that kind of thing happen, mostly because I thought for sure our country had learned from its past mistakes.  I was wrong.


There aren’t many calling what we’re going through right now a recession.  I’m certainly not calling it that.  But, I do believe it’s coming.  We’ve allowed greed and the pursuit of the American dream to overtake common sense and foresight.  As a Christian, I feel partly to blame because I didn’t really say much or care much until it became apparent that our country would doubtless suffer from it.  I even took part in the madness, purchasing a home with an interest-only loan.  


I think we’re foolish if we approach the issue as if God is not a part of what’s going on.  America has the greatest opportunity and resources to proclaim the gospel to the entire world in a historic way…and yet we have decided (the Church included) to horde what we have, want desperately what we don’t have, and throw out aimlessly what we don’t want.

 These are difficult times.

 Because I’m guilty of asking questions like, “How in the world can our country survive this?” and “What happens if my retirement disappears?” I think it’s time for some encouragement.  Our current economic and political situation in the United States is certainly not the worst the world has ever seen.  God gave us His Word in part for times like these.

 1 Timothy 6:12

"Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called."
When things are hard, when money is tight, when people are resistant to the gospel…we tend to stop fighting.  When life is hitting us hard, we lie down and take it.  
Those are the times when people perceive their need for something bigger than themselves the most.  A heavyweight boxer looks for that one opportunity in the fight to make his move.  All it takes is one opportunity.  As Christians, we need to see today as that one opportunity to declare the saving grace of Jesu s.
John 14:27

Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.


Jesus is our ultimate authority and source of truth when life is full of uncertainty.  Jesus has known every temptation we have faced and in his earthly ministry experienced persecution beyond anything you and I will ever face.  When Jesus tells us not to let trouble into our hearts, we should act on that.  When Jesus says don’t be afraid, we should act on that.
Jesus is speaking to His people when He says “I am leaving my peace with you.  I’m giving it to you.  And I don’t give like the world gives.”  We forget that pretty easily, because God, being a gentleman, will not force it on us.  It’s like a gift under the Christmas tree…Mom and Dad won’t ever force you to open it.  They expect that you will want to open it.  Are we taking advantage of the peace that Jesus has given us?  Are we operating with peace in our hearts or trouble in our hearts?
Mark 10:29

I tell you the truth, no one who has left home or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields for me and the gospel will fail to receive a hundred times as much in this present age…and in the age to come, eternal life

 Doug Fields, who is the Student Pastor at Saddleback Church says that sacrifice is the investment to greatness.
In difficult times, resist the temptation to hang on tight to things instead of sacrificing for Jesus.  When Jesus says that we’ll be rewarded 100X, I think He means it.

When the world is ridiculously hard to live in, we have to remember that we weren't made to live in it, that it isn't our home.  When we don't have solutions for how we make ends meet, we have to remember that we weren't created to provide, but that we have a Great Provider.  

 We act as if God is not a part of what is going on in our world, but He is.  This is just the opening act to a great eternity.  That's the plan...and it's a good one.

 

Til the whole world knows,

 Pastor Kevin