I have never understood why Christians are notoriously poor tippers in restaurants in light of 2 Corinthians 9:6, “Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously.” I know that, in context, this passage is specifically referring to the Apostle Paul’s appeal to the Corinthian Christians to provide a financial offering to advance God’s purpose. But, it seems to me that this statement from scripture is a universal axiom for living on planet earth. There is a smallness of life that characterizes those who are selfish hoarders of all they earn and own. It is impossible to escape the negative consequences of living such a life. On the other hand, there is a largeness of life that characterizes those who love to give their time, their energy and their resources to honor God and bless people. It is impossible to miss the positive rewards of living such a life.
So, maybe the next time we have an $8 check for lunch and a $10 bill in our wallet/purse, we could save ourselves a struggle over what to leave as a tip. Instead of spending 5 minutes doing the math and getting change to save $.50, maybe we should just go ahead and leave a $2 tip instead of $1.50? You could bless the waiter/waitress. It may not seem like much, but the message that goes along with it can mean the world to someone. It says, “Thanks, you did a good job. I appreciate your service. I value you as a person.” But, even if the message is lost on your server, you will still receive a blessing. You ‘sowed generously’ and so, you will ‘reap generously.’ Such small acts of kindness set the tone for our day. And each act of generosity strengthens this giving aspect of our character.
Pray with me… Gracious God, Your Word teaches that You are the Giver of every endowment and every perfect gift. May we follow your lead and be bighearted, openhanded children of God. In the name of Jesus… amen.
Blessings,
Pastor Ken
Monday, November 26, 2012
Tuesday, November 20, 2012
11/20/12
In order to have a grateful heart you must learn to be thankful for flawed people and imperfect gifts. Be grateful when your daughter helps set the table for Thanksgiving Day, even though she does it imperfectly. Be grateful when your son attempts to make his bed in the morning before school, even though he does it imperfectly. Be grateful for your spouse’s expression of affection, even if it is done in a way that you may not fully appreciate. Be grateful your body is responsive enough that you are able to get around, even if it is showing its age. Don’t postpone thankfulness. Just do it today, because a ‘grateful’ expression or act will lead to a ‘great-full’ feeling.
I Thessalonians 5:18 says, “Give thanks in all circumstances.” This is a command to be obeyed, not a feeling in the gizzard! It calls for a decision, an act of the will, not an emotional response. It’s why we American Christians call this upcoming holiday Thanksgiving – not thanks feeling! Paul writes in Ephesians 5:14, “Wake up, O sleeper, rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.” Every once in a while we do wake up. And when we do, what we sometimes wake up to is gratitude for the things we take for granted.
There are many positive spin-offs for us when we exercise our will by expressing thankfulness and appreciation for others. They will be attracted to us, because we all love to company with positive people. We will be lifted out of self-pity and negativism. Remember Debbie Boone’s big song, “You Light Up My Life?” This is the way others will feel about you if you are thankful for the flawed people and imperfect gifts in your life.
Pray with me… Father God, I pray for the self-discipline to give thanks in all circumstances… to wake up… to experience all the good you have for me and all I can do in the lives of others with my expressions of thankfulness. In the name of Jesus, amen.
Blessings,
Pastor Ken
I Thessalonians 5:18 says, “Give thanks in all circumstances.” This is a command to be obeyed, not a feeling in the gizzard! It calls for a decision, an act of the will, not an emotional response. It’s why we American Christians call this upcoming holiday Thanksgiving – not thanks feeling! Paul writes in Ephesians 5:14, “Wake up, O sleeper, rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.” Every once in a while we do wake up. And when we do, what we sometimes wake up to is gratitude for the things we take for granted.
There are many positive spin-offs for us when we exercise our will by expressing thankfulness and appreciation for others. They will be attracted to us, because we all love to company with positive people. We will be lifted out of self-pity and negativism. Remember Debbie Boone’s big song, “You Light Up My Life?” This is the way others will feel about you if you are thankful for the flawed people and imperfect gifts in your life.
Pray with me… Father God, I pray for the self-discipline to give thanks in all circumstances… to wake up… to experience all the good you have for me and all I can do in the lives of others with my expressions of thankfulness. In the name of Jesus, amen.
Blessings,
Pastor Ken
Tuesday, November 13, 2012
11/13/12
We are hearing a lot these days about the looming ‘fiscal cliff,’ which portends the possibility of another recession before the end of the calendar year… the potential negative economic impact of the elimination of past tax cuts… effectively triggering an increase in taxes. There is also concern about what this ‘fiscal cliff’ will do to our national unemployment figures.
All this to say, Psalm 37:25, “I was young and now I am old, yet I have never seen the righteous forsaken or their children begging bread.” Has God ever failed you? No, and he won’t now. Joel 2:26, “You will have plenty to eat, until you are full, and you will praise the name of the Lord your God, who has worked wonders for you.” We like to figure everything out ahead of time. Instead we should lean on God. Psalm 37:3-5, “Trust in the Lord, and do good; so shall you dwell in the land, and you shall be fed. Delight yourself also in the Lord; and he will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord; trust also in him and he shall bring it to pass.” Just keep doing what God has told you to do. Don’t be anxious; God won’t fail you. Matthew 6:31-33, “Do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’… Your Heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” We have only begun to review the promises of God to his faithful people. There is so much more. So just relax… He is Jehovah Jireh, “The Lord will provide!” His name constitutes a promise of provision for all who belong to him.
Pray with me… Great and gracious God, we Your people have entrusted ourselves to You and we trust You… to protect us, too provide for us and to preserve us for Your purpose now and Your possession in the greater life. In the Name of Jesus we pray, amen.
Blessings,
Pastor Ken
All this to say, Psalm 37:25, “I was young and now I am old, yet I have never seen the righteous forsaken or their children begging bread.” Has God ever failed you? No, and he won’t now. Joel 2:26, “You will have plenty to eat, until you are full, and you will praise the name of the Lord your God, who has worked wonders for you.” We like to figure everything out ahead of time. Instead we should lean on God. Psalm 37:3-5, “Trust in the Lord, and do good; so shall you dwell in the land, and you shall be fed. Delight yourself also in the Lord; and he will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord; trust also in him and he shall bring it to pass.” Just keep doing what God has told you to do. Don’t be anxious; God won’t fail you. Matthew 6:31-33, “Do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’… Your Heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” We have only begun to review the promises of God to his faithful people. There is so much more. So just relax… He is Jehovah Jireh, “The Lord will provide!” His name constitutes a promise of provision for all who belong to him.
Pray with me… Great and gracious God, we Your people have entrusted ourselves to You and we trust You… to protect us, too provide for us and to preserve us for Your purpose now and Your possession in the greater life. In the Name of Jesus we pray, amen.
Blessings,
Pastor Ken
Tuesday, November 6, 2012
11/5/12
I am sure it is partially because I graduated from high school in 1965, the peak year for the draft of 18-year old young men for service in the Viet Nam War, that I feel a special debt of gratitude to our military veterans. They went into harm’s way in my place. Consequently, I did not have to go. [Am I speaking/writing for some of you who are reading these words right now?] My feelings of deep gratefulness extend to many other veterans as well. Because of WWII veterans, I do not have to learn to speak German or Japanese or Korean to get along in life. Because of the Viet Nam War veterans, I was able to stay in the states and focus my attention on Bible College and Seminary education to prepare for a lifetime of Christian leadership…. marry and start a family. Because of the Iraq and Afghanistan War veterans, I do not have elevated anxiety about being victimized by acts of terrorism like 9/11. How in the world do I adequately express the breadth and depth of my heartfelt thanks for such blessings of security, peace and joy for my children and grandchildren now and into the future? These are sacrificial gifts that were purchased by the personal sacrifices of veterans…. Their physical injuries or disabilities, their mental health or, in too many cases, their life’s blood.
I do not have it in me to be detached, preoccupied or distracted when it comes to praising God and honoring our military veterans. Opportunities like our ‘Freedom Isn’t Free’ event at Crossroads this coming Saturday from 8:30 – 1:00 PM, don’t present themselves often enough for me. I hope you will vote twice this week. Once on Tuesday, November 6th with your ballot at your polling place and once on Saturday, November 10th with your body at the Crossroads Worship Center.
Pray with me…. Father, we praise you for our freedom as Americans because of the sacrifices of others and we praise you that we are free indeed because of the sacrifice of your Son and our Savior Jesus. In His name, amen.
Blessings,
Pastor Ken
I do not have it in me to be detached, preoccupied or distracted when it comes to praising God and honoring our military veterans. Opportunities like our ‘Freedom Isn’t Free’ event at Crossroads this coming Saturday from 8:30 – 1:00 PM, don’t present themselves often enough for me. I hope you will vote twice this week. Once on Tuesday, November 6th with your ballot at your polling place and once on Saturday, November 10th with your body at the Crossroads Worship Center.
Pray with me…. Father, we praise you for our freedom as Americans because of the sacrifices of others and we praise you that we are free indeed because of the sacrifice of your Son and our Savior Jesus. In His name, amen.
Blessings,
Pastor Ken
Tuesday, October 30, 2012
10/30/12
Not so long ago we were all celebrating a great economy. My, don’t times change? Skyrocketing fuel prices have us carpooling, parking our gas-guzzlers and riding the bus. We’d never heard of a ‘sub-prime mortgage crisis;’ now the equity in some of our homes has flat disappeared, or we are ‘upside down’ on our houses, or they are being auctioned off on the courthouse steps. Tsunamis hit Japan and Hawaii. Earthquakes hit Chile and California. Tornadoes hit Alabama and Joplin, MO. Wild fires rage in Colorado. And today we are anxiously awaiting reports on Hurricane Sandy’s impact on the eastern seaboard. It seems that our security blanket has been stripped away and our comfort zone has shrunk dramatically.
But there’s a groundswell. If you listen you’ll hear it: “It’s time to seek God, to repent, to change the way we’re living.” It’s an old message for a new generation. II Chronicles 7:14, “If My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.” You say, “The people around me aren’t saying that.” Then you might want to examine the company you’re consistently keeping! We don’t need a majority to turn things around. God told Abraham that just 10 people with a heart for righteousness could save Sodom. The question is, will you be one of them?
Pray with me… Our Creator and Lord, we come to you in humility, seeking your grace, praying for your mercy to fall on our people, many of whom are in rebellion against your law of love and liberty. As we move ever closer to our national elections, now just days away, give us wisdom and discernment… to vote for what is right and true… to vote for Biblical values in this generation when many call the truth a lie. Give us hope in the midst of all the bad stuff that is happening around us. We pray in the name of Jesus, amen.
Blessings,
Pastor Ken
But there’s a groundswell. If you listen you’ll hear it: “It’s time to seek God, to repent, to change the way we’re living.” It’s an old message for a new generation. II Chronicles 7:14, “If My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.” You say, “The people around me aren’t saying that.” Then you might want to examine the company you’re consistently keeping! We don’t need a majority to turn things around. God told Abraham that just 10 people with a heart for righteousness could save Sodom. The question is, will you be one of them?
Pray with me… Our Creator and Lord, we come to you in humility, seeking your grace, praying for your mercy to fall on our people, many of whom are in rebellion against your law of love and liberty. As we move ever closer to our national elections, now just days away, give us wisdom and discernment… to vote for what is right and true… to vote for Biblical values in this generation when many call the truth a lie. Give us hope in the midst of all the bad stuff that is happening around us. We pray in the name of Jesus, amen.
Blessings,
Pastor Ken
Tuesday, October 23, 2012
10/23/12
When you get a card in the mail, what means the most to you? Is it the beautiful poem written by a professional, or the little handwritten note scribbled by your family member or friend at the bottom? For most of us it is the handwritten note, even though it may not be as articulate or eloquent. We appreciate it more because it is personal and heartfelt.
Likewise, Jesus said, “When you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words.” He taught that chanting the same words over and over was not a prayer that God would honor. He taught that droning on and on has no merit. He taught that when prayer is rote and ritualistic, it may be therapeutic for the person praying, but the God of heaven is not attentive. Instead Jesus said, “When you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.”
As children, our prayers often consist of a memorized verse or series of verses… “Now I lay me down to sleep…” or “God is great, God is good. Let us thank Him for our food…” But, as we mature, both in age and faith, our prayers should change. They are not to be a memorized recitation, a fingering of beads, or even repeating the Lord’s Prayer without thinking about it. Prayer should be an authentic expression of what is in our hearts and on our minds… a personal conversation with our Heavenly Father.
Pray with me… Dear Father, we want to be focused and thoughtful as mature children of God when we pray. Forgive us when we revert to the practice of saying a prayer instead of truly praying. In Jesus’ dear Name we pray, amen.
Blessings,
Pastor Ken
Likewise, Jesus said, “When you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words.” He taught that chanting the same words over and over was not a prayer that God would honor. He taught that droning on and on has no merit. He taught that when prayer is rote and ritualistic, it may be therapeutic for the person praying, but the God of heaven is not attentive. Instead Jesus said, “When you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.”
As children, our prayers often consist of a memorized verse or series of verses… “Now I lay me down to sleep…” or “God is great, God is good. Let us thank Him for our food…” But, as we mature, both in age and faith, our prayers should change. They are not to be a memorized recitation, a fingering of beads, or even repeating the Lord’s Prayer without thinking about it. Prayer should be an authentic expression of what is in our hearts and on our minds… a personal conversation with our Heavenly Father.
Pray with me… Dear Father, we want to be focused and thoughtful as mature children of God when we pray. Forgive us when we revert to the practice of saying a prayer instead of truly praying. In Jesus’ dear Name we pray, amen.
Blessings,
Pastor Ken
Monday, October 15, 2012
10/15/12
“9/11” is a day that will live in infamy. That day 3,497 people died. 1609 people lost a spouse and 3051 children lost one or both parents. That day is at least a scar, if not still an open festering wound, in the psyche of millions of Americans. You know don’t you, that on those airplanes and in those towers and at the Pentagon, there were desperate ‘9/11 prayers’ screamed and spoken and whispered as men and women and children realized they would not survive the ordeal? For some of them, that prayer moment would have been like the peaceful words of Jesus from the cross, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.” For others, that prayer was likely more of a panicked exclamation of a dramatic reality they never expected they would have to face.
A man named Jonah prayed such a prayer of desperation. He found himself being digested in the stomach of a great fish. His fate of an unsavory death seemed certain. We read about it in Jonah 2:1, “From inside the fish Jonah prayed to the Lord his God.” And, in this passage we can actually read the prayer Jonah offered up in his 9/11 hour.
And many have a prayer life that could well be identified by a sign saying, “Use only in case of emergency!” Such prayers are offered in an hour of extremity, when there is no other viable alternative but to look to heaven and cry out for help. In His mercy, God often answers, providing a temporary solution to an immediate problem. But, the Lord wants us to enter another level of experience with him. This is why Jesus said that when we pray, we should close ourselves off in a quiet place [Matthew 6:6]. Christ visualized a time of intimacy with the Father in which the objective of our prayer would be life transformation, the enjoyment of a relationship with Him. In our best moments, this is the prayer life we want to cultivate, the prayer path we want to walk.
Pray with me… Our Father and God, once we have known the joy of your presence, the peace of your presence, the overpowering love we experience in your presence, we will never be able to settle for a ‘9/11’ prayer life again. So, meet us at the point of our need as we pray and impress on us by the Holy Spirit the difference between religion and a relationship, formality and fellowship, duty and delight in the beauty of your presence. In the name of Jesus, who taught us to pray, we pray… amen.
Blessings,
Pastor Ken
A man named Jonah prayed such a prayer of desperation. He found himself being digested in the stomach of a great fish. His fate of an unsavory death seemed certain. We read about it in Jonah 2:1, “From inside the fish Jonah prayed to the Lord his God.” And, in this passage we can actually read the prayer Jonah offered up in his 9/11 hour.
And many have a prayer life that could well be identified by a sign saying, “Use only in case of emergency!” Such prayers are offered in an hour of extremity, when there is no other viable alternative but to look to heaven and cry out for help. In His mercy, God often answers, providing a temporary solution to an immediate problem. But, the Lord wants us to enter another level of experience with him. This is why Jesus said that when we pray, we should close ourselves off in a quiet place [Matthew 6:6]. Christ visualized a time of intimacy with the Father in which the objective of our prayer would be life transformation, the enjoyment of a relationship with Him. In our best moments, this is the prayer life we want to cultivate, the prayer path we want to walk.
Pray with me… Our Father and God, once we have known the joy of your presence, the peace of your presence, the overpowering love we experience in your presence, we will never be able to settle for a ‘9/11’ prayer life again. So, meet us at the point of our need as we pray and impress on us by the Holy Spirit the difference between religion and a relationship, formality and fellowship, duty and delight in the beauty of your presence. In the name of Jesus, who taught us to pray, we pray… amen.
Blessings,
Pastor Ken
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