“… He gives everyone life, breath, and everything they have.” (Acts 17:25)

People have asked me “How do you make it through all the ’stuff’ you are going thru… and with a great attitude?” Well, first, I have to say that I do have bad days every now and then. Thankfully, I don’t stay down very long. LIFE is too short anyway so why waste our time in a deep depression. Plus, I don’t feel like I have finished my course, my assignment from God. So, I don’t have time to be depressed. 

OK, here we go… 

1. TRUST GOD.  And I mean total trust. You can’t “try” to trust. You are either trusting or you’re not. If you are worrying, then you are NOT trusting. TRUST means… “the firm belief in the reliability, truth, ability, or strength of someone or something.” The only way to ’trust’ God like that is to KNOW HIM. (By: His Word, prayer, and time alone in the Secret Place.) Without God I am nothing. But “NOTHING is impossible WITH God!” (Luke 1:37)    

2. BEWARE of our TONGUE.  Our tongue is used to swallow, to manipulate our food so we don’t choke, and most of all, to assist us when we talk. Soooo many people don’t realize that the WORDS we speak are the framework we live in. That means if we ‘choose’ to broadcast all of our ailments (or any other negative thing), day after day, after day, then we are creating an atmosphere for sickness, and anything else to thrive. Anyone can be a ‘reporter‘ broadcasting only what they SEE. But, I choose to ‘declare’ that which I CANNOT SEE… like my Heavenly Father does. Whether we like it or not, God ‘created humans in HIS image.’ And how did God create everything? He SAID… “let there be light.” Every thing God created was SPOKEN into existence. And since we are created in His image, that means we can do the same thing.

3. Don’t Be Afraid To Ask For Prayer. The Apostle Paul made a request of the people in Colossae, for PRAYER. Margie and I realize that if Paul needed prayer then so do we. Paul asked for them to… “… pray for us. Pray that God will give us an opportunity to speak the Word so that we may tell the mystery about Christ…… Pray that we make this mystery as clear as possible. This is what I have to do….”  (Colossians 4:3-4) So, don’t be the person that says, “Oh, I’m all right. God doesn’t have time for me and my problems.” Look at the verse below that says, ”He is NEVER far from any one of us.” He cares about us no matter how big or how small.  

4. LAUGH a LOT!

5. NEVER EVER QUIT.   

“He has done this so they would look for Him (God), somehow reach for Him, and find Him. In fact, He is NEVER far from any one of us. 28) Certainly, we live, move, and exist because of Him. As some of your poets have said, ‘We are God’s children.’”  (Acts 17:27-28)

I am reading in the book of Acts and I noticed something that YOU might find helpful. The Greek-speaking Jews claimed that the widows among them were neglected every day when food and other assistance was distributed.

The twelve apostles called all the disciples together and told them, “It’s not right for us to give up God’s Word in order to distribute food. So, brothers and sisters, choose seven men whom the people know are spiritually wise. We will put them in charge of this problem. However, we will devote ourselves to praying and to serving in ways that are related to the Word.” (Acts 6:1-4 GW) 

Notice the 12 apostles never lost their focus. They knew they could not “give up God’s Word in order to distribute food.” Why? Because that’s what God told them to do. They were not trying to say they were better than the others. They were just obeying God. They belonged… “devoting themselves to praying and to serving in ways that are related to the Word.” And obviously it worked because verse 7 said, “The Word of God continued to spread, and the number of disciples in Jerusalem grew very large. A large number of priests accepted the faith.“ (Acts 6:7) 

So….. how does this story fit into our lives? Well, first we are talking about people who are leaders (apostles). As a leader we sometimes think like, “I will do it myself because I don’t have time to mess with it.“  If we take that path we would end up doing everything… except what we were hired for. 

As a pastor (for 34 years) I’ve learned a thing or two about leadership. Years ago, I passionately loved God, and still do. But, I am also a task oriented person. I would get all excited in my relationship with the Lord, but when He would give me a project to do, I would pull my focus off Him and direct it to the project. I would give 100 percent to the project and totally forget about keeping the relationship with God intact. I found myself over-worked and under-nourished (spiritually). Unfortunately, I learned that lesson the hard way. 

The apostles showed us how to stay focused. And if you are someone who works in a ministry, make sure you… “devote yourselves to praying and to serving in ways that are related to the Word.” You will be glad you did. 

In Him, Pastor Kevin Kinchen 

John 16:33 – “I’ve told you this so that My peace will be with you. In the world you’ll have trouble. But cheer up! I have overcome the world.” (GW) 

If you are living in this world, you are going to experience trouble. Jesus knew that and He gave us a remedy… FIRST, He said, “My peace will be with you.” Did you get that? He did not say, YOUR peace will be with you. He said, HIS peace will be with us. When we are troubled we can picture all of the disciples freaking out in a boat during stormy weather. And where was Jesus?  Asleep in the boat…. enjoying HIS peace. He had peace because He knew that He also had authority over the stormy weather. When we have Jesus, we also have HIS peace available to us 24/7.

The SECOND part of the remedy when we are troubled is, “… CHEER UP!” Hmmmm, trouble and cheer, those two words don’t seem to go together. Jesus said, “… in the world we will have trouble… but I have overcome the world.” That means no matter what the world throws at us, whether it’s sickness, finances, relationships, addictions, or anything else that steals our peace or our cheer-y-ness. Jesus is our Overcomer.

However… WE must do our part. The first few words of John 16:33 are, “I’ve told you this so that … “ That means we have to find out what Jesus said before verse 33. I challenge you to find out what Jesus told us.

Have a great day!

In Him, Pastor Kevin Kinchen    

“He (Jesus) went to His own people, and His own people didn’t accept Him. However, He gave the right to become God’s children to EVERYONE WHO BELIEVED IN HIM.”  John 1:11-12 (GW)

I often hear people who want to build a case about, “How hard it is to become a Christian.” Well, according to the verses we just read, John 1:11-12, that isn’t possible. Way back in 1979, when I gave my life (I used my ‘right’ to become God’s child) to the Lord, it wasn’t hard at all. My prayer was “Jesus, I want You!” That’s all! Do you know who had the hard part? Margie (girlfriend), Katia Donowho Banfield and Tony Banfield Jr.. They are the ones who prayed for me and brought me to church. 

It wasn’t the long prayer that got me into God’s family, and it wasn’t anything that I did. All that God wanted from me was to BELIEVE. Believe in God and believe His love for us is so big that He sent His only Son, Jesus, to pay for our sins. How could anyone turn down an offer like that? 

So, what are you waiting for? It’s time to believe. 

In Him, Pastor Kevin Kinchen