Where is Jesus?

A cruise ship is a bit like the UN on a boat.  On a recent trip to Alaska, I met folks from the Philipines, Croatia, Serbia, Mexico, Russia, New Zealand, China, Japan, and that exotic country that is so mysterious to us Americans- Canada.

Second, I marvel at the sheer genius of the people who invented “the cruise.”  They charge you thousands of dollars to get on their ship, and once your on board, they sail out to sea so you can’t leave.  But not to worry.  Conveniently, they have thought of every possible senario and have planned for all your basic needs, at a price equivalent to the gross national product of Australia.  If you forget your watch, they have an entire watch shop to offer you a variety of timepieces priced from $500 to $67,000. (Never mind your stuck on a cruise ship and you can eat anytime you want, so you don’t even need a watch.)  Third, there are massive quantities of alcohol available to the thristy sailor, and the opportunities to purchase said spirits are promoted on the TV in your roon, by your waiters at every meal, by servants at the movies and shows you attend, and in the newsletters they place in your room while you are out shopping for the watch you forgot.

The boat was decorated with all sorts of art and knick-knacks, some pretty classy and others just plain tacky.  And it seems that the same geniuses who thought up “the cruise” had also counted on the diversity of cultural backgrounds that would be represented on their voyages.  They had therefore decorated the boat with that in mind.  In one of the bars, there was a mural of ancient Egypt, complete with a pharoh, pyramids,ankhs, and religious symbols of the old Egyptian belief of the afterworld and underworld.  In the atrium there was a small wall dedicated to American patriotism, complete withe the Statue of Liberty and a flowing American flag.   I had just one question:  Where was Jesus?  There was no hint at all of the Christian symbolism on the boat, even though Christianity is the world’s largest religion.  Jesus cannot be slapped unthinkingly onto a mural of cultural trinkets.  I was glad I didn’t see Jesus sandwiched in between King Tut and Winston Churchill, because Jesus Christ is Lord of the universe.  I would have actually felt sad if Jesus had been sitting on that perch by the pool instead of Buddha.  What difference does it make to put Jesus on public display if he’s not on the private throne of your heart?  What is the big deal about Jesus?  He won’t settle for being equal with all other faiths or founders, or even a notch or two above.  He claims authority by His death and resurrection over the entire universe and its inhabitants.  This world is His.  Jesus is Lord over gravity and air.  He wins.  He is a big deal because He is God, and nobody else is.  Any other claims to that position are wrong.  And so, giving Jesus a place among all the other icons on a cruise ship would be a stupid joke – especially when He made the ocean the ship floats upon.

Amazing Encounters with God – Clayton King -

So I ask you where is Jesus in your life?  Is Jesus just one of the many leaders of history that we tend to recognize but ignore?  Do we take the time to revere Him as creator of all things and the only one who changed the course of history.  He openly invites all to know Him as Lord.  God bless.

Kirk

A Father Who Will Not Fail You

I magine right this moment that Jesus walks in the door, comes up to you, looks you squarely in the eye and calls you by one word.  What is that word?  What is the word that God knows you by, that is the entire sum of God’s knowledge of you and relationship to you.  It will define your whole being.  Is it a condemnatory word, a judging word, a congratulatory, a word of affection?  “To those who prove to be victorious I will give….a white stone – a stone with a new name written om it, know only to the man who recieves it.” (Revelation 2:17)   Now imagine that the human person who loves you and knows you better than anyone else in the world does the same thing.  This person is known to you by the constancy of his or her relationship to you.  Through thick and thin, he or she has stuck by you, though this faithfulness has often been tested.  When that person says the word by which he or she knows you, what is it?

I do not think we are truly ourselves or truly whole until we have hear that word from another himan being.  For most of us, deaf and full of preconceptions  about ourselves, the word must be spoken repeatedly before we finally hear it.  It penetrates only when we are absolutely convinced that it is being said by so,eone who knows us throughly…It even makes God happy because another person has heard and accepted the (the love He has for us)…That word is the sweetest sound we will ever hear.

In exchange, God has given us His own Name so that we will know Him also.  Jesus has revealed the name of God to be Abba, a daddy whose fatherhood extends to all who believe in His Son.

Our response to Jesus Christ will be total the day we experience how total is his love for us.  Instead of our self-conscious efforts to be good, we should allow ourselves the luxury of letting ourselves be loved by God.  And much of his love for us will be expressed through the medium of our friends’ love for us.  How else could he reveal it in a way that is tangible?  “You are my friends if you do what I command… This is my command: Love each other.  (John 15:14,17)

Experience Him -give it a try

Moses had an encounter with God where God revealed a personal name.  When Moses was at the burning bush, he ask God, “Indeed, when I come to the children of Israel and say to them, ‘The God has sent me to you’ and they say to me, ‘What is His name?’  what shall I say to them?’ (Exodus 3:13)  God responded, “I AM WHO I AM.” He was saying, “I am the eternal one. I will be what I will be.  He was saying, “I am everything you will need.”  During the next forty years, Moses came to know God experientially as Jehovah or Yahweh, the Great I AM.  God was everything Moses and Israel needed Him to be. – Experiencing God – Henry T. Blackaby -

Today be reminded of some of the other ways we come to know and experience God and call Him by name:

• my witness (Job 16:19)
• bread of life (John 6:35)
• Comforter in sorrow (Jeremiah 8:18)
• my hope (Psalm 71:5)
• Wonderful Counselor (Isaiah 68:5)
• the strength of my salvation (Psalm 140:7)
• Faithful and True (Revelation 19:11)
• our Father (Isaiah 64:8)
• a sure foundation (Isaiah 28:16)
• our guide (Psalm 48:14)
• my friend (Job 16:20)
• Almighty God (Gen. 17:1)
• God who saves me (Psalm 51:14)

This isn’t homework but if you have the time a great encouragement to the truth that God is all we need.

Blessings,

Kirk

Love Not the World

Show the world the fruits of Christianity, and it will applaud; but show the world Christianity and it will oppose it vigorously.  The so-called Christian nations ( my insight is the phrase “so-called Christian nation” includes the USA) are the outcome of a futile attempt to reconcile the world and Christ.  Religious people attempt to overcome the world by removing themselves from it. Christians overcome the world by being other-worldly.  There was a time when the church rejected the world’s ways.  Now she not only uses these ways, but she also abuses them.  The Christian way to solve the problem of loving the world is not by removing worldly things, but by delivering the heart from the grip of worldly things.

Give yourself to God; live for Him wholly and utterly. Why? Because “the world passes away, and the lust thereof, but he that does the will of God will abide with Him for ever. (1 John 2:17)

-from the writings of Watchman Nee -

My prayer for each of my reader’s and also for myself is that we give ourselves wholly to God.  I can’t help but think of how many times I give God what he wants me to do when it is convenient  for me or fits best in my weekly schedule.  Does this sound familiar to you…can you relate?  Well, when it comes down to it and we are completely honest with who we are and who God has created us to be, we fail the test time and time again.  It’s amazing that God is an infinite and eternal King and His love for you and me endures forever.  Even when we mess up God whispers to us and says, “I am a Father that loves you unconditionally, I created you in my own image and I am with you always.”   Believers it is time for us not to go to church just to” sit, soak and sour.”  It’s time for us to have a greater desire to know God to draw closer to God and to daily be renewed and transformed to be just like our Savior.  The challenge is today “is we need to give ourselves wholly to God.”  That baby that was born of the Virgin Mary certainly wasn’t ordinary.  Jesus Christ came born as a baby to die for the sins of all humankind.  He came to seek and save the lost… God our Father gave his only son Jesus to be crucified on our behalf.  What a gift and today give our all to God.

Blessings,

Kirk

The Road Less Traveled

The road Jesus walked was not an easy one. There was no yellow brick road for him, nor any solutions given Him by the great and mighty Oz.  So what Jesus offers us on this journey is not a free pass.  There is no detour from which we can escape the real challenges and even painful realities of life.  What Jesus does offer is a way to true greatness.  He promises that if you and I follow Him, we will become like Him at journey’s end.  Rather than safety and comfort, He promises adventure and risk.  More important than any earthly benefits, like wealth and success, He assures us that our greatest treasure will be the undeniable of Christ in us, the hope of glory.  He ask,  “What good is it for a man gains the w hole world, yet forfiets his soul?”  Matt 16:26

On this voyage our progress is not measured by the standard of this world, but the quality of our character.  This is an inward trek than has undeniable outward effect.  You cannot follow Jesus and remain the same.  The journey itself will change you forever – not only your priorities, but your passions.  It alters not only your direction but your desires.  It makes you just like Christ and unlike anyone else.  It is nothing less than leaving the fake for the real.  There is a great risk in abandoning the artifical in pursuit of the authentic.  Yet if we have never know the real thing, it is easy to understand why we are mesmerized with the best versions of the imitation. 

Erwin McManus – Uprising

The last sentence is our responsibility as the body of Christ, to show others Jesus….go into the workplace, community and world and share that Jesus is the way, the truth and the life…. Will you go?

Blessings,

Kirk

Integrity anyone?

When Len Climber became president of Holiday Inn International, he wanted one thing; for people who heard or saw the name “Holiday Inn” to instantly think “Good, wholesome, family fun.” Climber did everything in his power not to sell the company image but to shape a culture worthy of that image. And in just four years Holiday Inn became the fastest growing, largest hotel chain in the country.
Then Climber resigned. Why? His board decided to connect a Holiday Inn to an Atlantic City casino. They violated his code his code for the company. They overran his conscience. Climber’s resignation cost him millions. An interviewer ask him why he left Holiday Inn. “It was very,very easy,” he replied. “It had to do with my integrity.”
Integrity is defined as to possess a genuine heart, sound and unimpaired.” Just like Climber, they said, “This is what I believe, and this is what I stand for and it will not change.” It’s time for men to become more than just average. We need to pray and be transformed by God to become men of standard, example and influence. To obey God is evidence of our love for God and others.
Dietrich Bonhoeffer said, ” A righteous man is one who lives for the next generation.” That is integrity and that is life changing influence.
Will you be that man?
Will you lead and teacher your children?
Will you love you wife?

Step out men.
Stand up.
Rise up.
Speak up and don’t shut up.
“I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ Jesus, for it is the power for all that believe.”

Be humble and lay your pride aside

Our humility allows God’s intervention.  The word humble comes from humus, meaning or is translated as “earth/dirt.”  Humility is about coming to grips with our humanity.  The Scriptures describe a proud person as one who is “puffed up.”  Pride is a determination to be seen as bigger than we really are.  When we are humble, we are down to earth.  No energy is wasted on pretension.  A humble man can be taken at face value.  It is ironic that the imagery of being humble is one where we lower ourselves.  It is in this position that God finds delight in reserving the order.  When we lower ourselves, God is eager to lift us up.  Only for the humble is there a promise from God of being exalted.  Only to the lowly will God leave a legacy of greatness.   Erwin Raphael McManus “Uprising”

May God bless each of you today  remember the Scripture also says, “Those who are exalted will be humbled, and those who are humble will be exalted.  Would love to hear from you and please contact me… would love to hear from my readers.

Kirk

February 2010 – 2 Corinthians 8:1-8 Give God your Best

Hello everyone -
It has been a long time since I have blogged on my website. Just an update with me, I was married in July 2009! It has been a blessing to be married but we have been very busy!
Ok, God has given me the oppurtunity to preach at First Free Will Baptist Church in Tarboro, NC! (2-21-2010) Please pray for the youth of this church that their hearts will be open to giving with a grateful heart. Thank you for your prayers….shortly you will be able to hear my message online so stay in touch.
Just a thought:
What should our attitude toward giving be?
If we are not giving to God for what He has done for us are we completely living for God?
First, giving is an act of worship. Worship comes from the word worthy. Giving is an act of having a grateful attitude and recognizing what God the Father as given (his only Son Jesus) the greatest gift of all salvation and eternal life.
For God so loved the world that HE GAVE his only Son that whoever believes in him will not perish but have everlasting life.
John 3:16

Give God your Best
Give your All
Praise God in the storms of Life
Bless the Lord at All Times

All to Jesus I surrender, All to him I freely give.
God bless you all.

July 25th 2009 “Wedding Day”

Well, I must ask you who read my blog to forgive me for not blogging in such a long time.  If you didn’t read the title of this blog or need to make an appointment to see the eye doctor (just kidding)  I am getting married this Saturday.  I am so blessed to have my fiance (Wende) as my help mate and also my best friend. Wende and I shortly after we got engaged decided (although we had many knock out discussion on where we would start out) that we start out in Rocky Mount which is home for me.  So we put her home up for sale in Februry, praying that it would sell quickly inspite of the economy and job cuts.  I had thought I had learned this lesson with my faith from experiences in the past.  The months past and Wende’s hose had no offer’s.. doubt set in and we were still working on Wende getting a position to teach for the upcoming school year.  Needless to say, we were planning the wedding all the details and so forth.  I ask myself “My God do I doubt you?”  Well, good news Wende, has sold her home and she interviewed with several schools in the school system within two weeks.  God is good and He is provider even when we doubt Him and feel things will not work out as we planned.  It really has nothing to do with our plans for when we completely trust God we know and have confidence in the truth of God’s Word that says, “All things work for the good who love Him, and are called according to His purpose.”  Romans 8:28

May God bless each of my readers and may God be with you and your family as we continue to daily trust in Jesus.  Great is His Faithfulness!

 

Kirk

Following after God

The man who has God as his treasure has all in One.  Many ordinary treasures may be denied him, or he is not allowed to have them, the enjoyment of them will be so tempered that they will never be neccessary to his happiness.  Or if he must see them go, one after one, he will scarcely feel a sense of loss, for having the Sourceof all things he has in One all satisfaction, all pleasure, all delight.  Whatever he may lose he has actually lost nothing, for he now has it all in One, and he has it purely, legitimately and forever.

A.W. Tozer -The Pursuit of God