What is he thinking?

Photo by Sarah Hughson
Sunday, June 28, 2009

I realize my son is in this picture, but I hope you would agree that this is an incredible photo! Wow, what a perspective. And to know what was going through his head.

He's my little associate pastor...you just have to be there to understand it.

Be blessed and enjoy!

"Daddy" K

My Jesus is "Faithful and True"

"The way to see by faith is to shut the eye of reason." - Benjamin Franklin

I have no context to the above quote, but it sure caught my attention. Today at Pleasant Union, we talked about being true and faithful. We are the bride of Christ, and in finishing our series on Relationships, we modeled our marriage relationships after the covenant between Christ and the church.

In Ephesians chapter five, God gives the order and structure for the marital relationship, reminding us how we treat our spouse should mirror how Christ loves the church and gave himself for it. There is no doubt we are called to be faithful and true to one another, and to him.

This brought us Sunday night to the final four chapters of Revelation. We took a quick run through the scriptures, reading all of chapters 19, 21 and 22. Three times, John was reminded to write for "these words are true and faithful." But that phrase was also mentioned a fourth time in scripture: it was the proper name "Faithful and True" attributed to Jesus as he appears riding the white horse and ready to conquer evil for all time.

Reason causes us to think, and that is a good thing. But be careful that our faith is not so constrained by philosophical reason that we lose the essence and the power of what faith really is: faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. Can I prove everything the Bible says about God? No, but that is the power of my faith. It is my choice, my belief and my testimony. I have the right, responsibility and privilege of telling my story and being faithful and true to what God has done for me. But how I perceive God is based solely on matching my life experiences with His Word and trusting Him to fulfill His promises. That is faith, and when I see His promises come to pass, I can know that they are true.

I shut the eye of reason with faith when I see God keep His Word. When He tells us to "test Me in this, and see if I will not open the windows of Heaven and pour out a blessing, so that there will not be room enough to receive it," He is issuing a challenge to our faith, stewardship and obedience. And God always comes through. Tonight, he came through 30-fold for me. Thirty-fold! A simple offering of faith, he multiplied in return to me by 30 times, from an unexpected and unassuming source, no doubt! Praise the Lord!

I shut the eye of reason with faith when I see God act in His Word. When He tells us to "bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ," He challenges us to help others through life's toughest battles. I see people rise to the opportunity and do things beyond their reach and outside their means, but God by His grace provides and blesses both the burdened and the one who bears it.

I shut the eye of reason with faith when I see God heal with His Word. When He tells us "I am the God that heals you" and "by His stripes are we healed," He challenges us to call on Him in our time of deepest need. I see God release addiction, break bondage of sin (and what a spiritual sickness it is) and set people free who are captive to chains of poor health that doctors have no key. This is the power of a Mighty God who alters reports, confounds the wisest of physicians and heals the harshest of disease all in a blink of His eye that cost Him no effort. And I see my faith strengthened when families and friends pray and it appears God doesn't hear because the disease never parts on earth, but in Revelation 21 He promises a healing so great that death, pain and sorrow will never come again.

I shut the eye of reason with faith when I see children believe in Him greater than adults ever could. When I hear my daughter singing in the car on the way home, I hear the power of the Holy Spirit coming through in her simple words - words she is making up to the tune of FFH's "Fly Away." And then I read Revelation 19 and realize every word she said, God promised to do.

I am not interested in arguing about reason. I have heard all the philosophical and scientific arguments to cast doubt on the validity of scripture and its infallibility in today's modern world. But He told John, "write, for these words are true and faithful." And I believe that, every word, even the mysteries of scripture I cannot explain, the tough translational phrasing I can't comprehend and the powerful promises I have yet to see.

"For the preaching of the cross is foolishness to those who perish, but unto us which are saved, it is the power of God."

I kind of like that, and I believe it.

Be true to Him, and He will be true to you. He does, because He is faithful.

It's OK if you don't believe in my Jesus - as long as you understand that while you are searching for answers, He still believes in you.

Be blessed!

Pastor K

Sometimes, people make big mistakes

Good morning,

This morning I woke up to a scary, nasty set of messages through my inbox called "your payment has been returned." Immediately, all the signals went off in my head. Was there an error? Did someone steal my identity? Did someone steal my money? Did my wife write a bunch of bad checks to buy shoes (OK, that one's a joke).

The truth was, we recently began the process of changing banks and through our new institution, received checks with new account and routing numbers. The problem was, however, that the new checks had someone else's closed account number on them and not ours. Being a new account, we didn't know that until it was too late and by then, at least two checks and one online payment had been returned unpaid.

Later this evening after work, I will get my first introduction to the bad check department at the nation's largest retailer. With a new check in hand (corrected) and a letter from the corporate office of the bank, I'm praying to be removed from the list of bad check writers which are rejected by their system. Needless to say, I am a little embarrassed and also tempted to be pretty angry at the same time.

So then I considered how the Lord would want me to handle this. Have I ever made a mistake? Absolutely, all of us have. Someone at the corporate headquarters made a terrible error in printing these checks. The local branch has the right account number and they are both apologetic and regretful, but it was truthfully out of their hands.

My favorite book of the Bible is Luke. He was a physician and his writing about the poor and suffering proves he had an incredible compassion for those in need. He also reminded us of the direct words of Jesus in Luke 6:37: "Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven."

Those words refused to leave my mind this morning as I read all those terrible messages and heard a helpless bank employee apologize to me for something she didn't do. The money is there, the account numbers will be corrected and they have written letters to ensure each of the businesses I paid do not hold me responsible.

But if I hold unforgiveness or maintain sinful anger and resentment against them, am I really any better than the person who made a mistake? No, in fact, I'm worse. Maybe I would feel different if they cost me thousands of dollars or destroyed my credit. But even then, though the test might be tougher, the same principle still applies. People make mistakes and when it's made right, we need to forgive.

This is called grace: Merit for something we do not deserve. A second chance when we haven't earned it. Another opportunity when we mess up the first one. I guess I could call all my buddies, bad mouth the bank, report them to the BBB, complain and write nasty things online, or I could simply say "someone messed up, and let them fix it and make it right."

That seems so much easier.

And now I just pray that the bad check police don't come and whisk me away the next time I check out at the big supercenter which shall not be named. Jesus would forgive them, I must forgive the bank and hopefully with the letter, they will forgive me.

That's what Jesus would do. Of course, they'd probably take a check from him without asking any questions...

Have a blessed day...and forgive others!

Pastor K

The Real Deal

Good afternoon,

I've met a lot of disingenuous people. In fact, you and I deal with them every day no matter what we do. But when this happens in ministry, it's really discouraging to think that people who represent the body of Christ could act or behave in such a way that is contrary to Jesus.

But rather than be dragged down by those who mess it up, let me focus on those who do it right. Over four years ago, I met a man in ministry who has now become a best friend, a mentor, a right-hand man, and a prayer partner - all because he chose to be genuine, and do it the right way. To love people like Jesus called us to, that is the true call.

Pastor Garry Mitchell was preaching a revival in Smiths Grove, KY. I'll never forget going by that afternoon with my friend Pastor Jimmie to Garry's home - the infamous "Barndominium" in Oakland, KY. There he was, unassuming, sitting barefooted in the swing reading his Bible. We had a short conversation and prayed and then I visited Jimmie's church that night for an awesome service. The power of the Holy Spirit to minister to my needs that night was miraculous and remarkable, and it began a great friendship.

Over the past five years, I have spoken to, studied with, argued with, prayed with, brainstormed, aggravated, bounced ideas off, picked apart, been accountable and completely revolutionized the way I think about ministry with this man for about five days a week. As a minister, you drive a lot, so when he was driving his truck and I was on the way to the hospital, it was an easy thing to pick up the phone.

And THANK GOD FOR SHARED MINUTES or I would have had to take out a second mortgage with AT&T.

But here's what's amazing. He always had time. The guy has like 472 pastors in his phone directory (or so it seems). And he never once cared any more about one or the other to invest in their ministry. Like my greatest college professor, he challenged me to think, to act and not react, to love people and to revolutionize the way I interact with those who need to know Jesus. He's genuine.

I often would ask myself when I first met him...why does he care that much about me and the ministry that God has for me? There has to be a catch. This dude has to have a hitch. Something, surely, is going to change later. But it didn't. He's transparent, he's real and let me tell you, far from perfect and not afraid to admit it.

So for all the pastors out there, let me offer you a challenge. Never under any circumstances be disingenuous to those people who lean upon you for spiritual guidance, friendship, trust and ministry. There's way too much competition in our field and not near enough compassion, care and cooperation. Be REAL to people and don't underestimate how you represent Jesus to your peers.

Why did I write this today? Because now I'm on the other side of the fence. Pastor Garry recently had open heart surgery and is recovering and we're praying by the mighty hand of God, he will be all better soon. I've been given the opportunity to speak to his small group for the past three weeks on Monday night and sit in his chair. What a humbling experience. And it's amazing to watch all these people whom he has invested in, give their full attention, respect and trust to me as we lead the group and pray together.

Why? Because he taught them that respect for God's Word and God's man is of the utmost importance. And however you should treat him, is exactly the way you should treat everyone else.

It's really simple. Just kind of act like Jesus. You'll be amazed how well it works and people respond to it.

Get well soon, Reverend. We're praying for you!

Pastor K

P.S. Check out his own blog at http://www.garrymitchellministries.com/