Nov
28.
Wise or Simple
Category: Wisdom
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Proverbs 27:12
A prudent person foresees danger and takes precautions. The simpleton goes blindly on and suffers the consequences.

This verse reveals to us two kinds of people—the prudent and the simple.  Both are headed down the same path. Both “see danger” but they react differently.  And, because of this, they experiences two very different outcomes. In Proverbs, a prudent person is a wise person. Proverbs implies that a wise man or woman understands that all of life is connected. There is a cause-and-effect relationship between what he chooses today and what he experiences tomorrow. This is why wise people look as far down the road as possible when making decisions. Drawing upon the experiences of others or on their own experiences, they anticipate the future and choose wisely.

“…but the simple keep going and suffer for it.” (v.12)

Suffer for what? For turning a blind eye to the obvious. The simple suffer because they live as if there is no connection between the choices of today and the experiences of tomorrow. They overlook the fact that every decision is a path and every path has a destination. Like it or not, all decisions have consequences.

There is a point at which it becomes impossible to sidestep consequences.

If you were to ask a simple person if they believe there is connection between the choices they make today and what they will experience in the future, they would say yes. Again, it’s not that they don’t believe life is connected. The point is they don’t live as if it is. Every time you talk yourself out of exercising, you talk yourself out of a preferred future. Every time you light up a cigarette, lie to your spouse, spend money you don’t have, make the wrong people your friends and companions, you act as if today is in no way connected to tomorrow. You “see danger.” Yet instead of “taking refuge”, you “keep going.” We have all heard that experience is the best teacher.  But is it really? We have all said, “I’ll never do that again” about something. We knew what the outcome would be, but kept going anyway.

The primary difference between the wise and the simple is not what they see but how they respond to what they see. The wise see danger and take refuge.  The simple see danger and keep going. Pay attention to what’s out ahead of you. When you see trouble coming, take refuge. Change direction. Because it is the direction of your life that will determine your destination.

-PK

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Nov
22.
CHOOSE YOUR PATH WISELY
Category: Direction, Encouragement
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It’s funny really, but we all have a propensity for choosing paths that do not lead in the direction we want to go. Let me give you a few examples.

 

 

 
•  A single guy says, “I want a great sex life once I’m married”…but he “practices” with every girl he dates along the way.

•  A single girl says, “I want to meet and someday marry a great Christian guy who’s really got his act together” … but then she dates whoever asks her out, as long as he’s cute.

•  A married woman says, “I want to have a great relationship with my husband”… but she makes the children a priority over him.

•  A husband says, “I want my kids to respect me as they grow up” …and then he openly flirts with women he associates with on a daily basis.

•  A young Christian says, “I want to develop a deep and lasting intimacy with God” … so he gets up every morning early and reads Facebook.

•  A couple says, “We’d like our children to develop a personal relationship with God and choose friends who have done the same” … but then they skip church every weekend and do other things.

•  Newlyweds determine to be financially secure by the time the reach their parent’s age … then adopt a lifestyle sustained by debt and leveraged assets.

•  A high school freshman intends to graduate with a GPA that will afford him options as he selects a college … but neglects his studies.

Obviously, this list could go on and on but I think you get my point. The people my list represents have legitimate goals and oftentimes every good intention of reaching them. What is important to understand is that direction-not intentions, hopes, dreams, prayers, beliefs, intellect, or education-determines destination.

Direction—not intention—determines our destination.

Looking ahead we are often deceived into thinking that life is a series of unrelated decisions, and somehow we will end up where we want to be simply by force of will or luck. But the truth is, our good intentions, aspirations, and dreams do not have the ability to do an end run around the decisions we make on a daily basis. Simply put, you and I will win or lose in life by the paths we choose. If you stepped off the path, you can get back on. If you never were on the path or you’re not sure how to get on it, find someone who is on it and ask them how it is done. Remember, they path you are on today is leading somewhere and that somewhere is your future. You might try looking in the rear-view mirror and see where you have come from these past months or even years and then you will know for certain what direction you are headed.

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Nov
15.
The Most Important Thing in the World!
Category: Wisdom
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Solomon was the wisest man in the world. He was wise in every area of human knowledge. People would travel from miles and miles to hear his counsel and words of wisdom. There really wasn’t a topic that he was not an authority on. Knowing he was the wisest man is the world, we should take special note when Solomon makes a statement like he did in Proverbs 4: 23, “Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life.” Notice what he says, above all else! The wisest man in the world tells us above everything else that I have said, above all the knowledge that I can teach you, above every morsel of knowledge I can offer, GUARD YOUR HEART!

I want to encourage you today to guard your heart-life. We put priorities on so many things today like our jobs, hobbies, exercise, girlfriends or boyfriends, husbands or wives, but we neglect our heart. Solomon said our heart is above all else. I promise you this, if you will put monitoring your heart-life above everything else, all of these other concerns will fall into their proper place. GUARD YOUR HEART!

-PK

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Nov
14.
Living as a Helaer
Category: Podcast
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Everywhere we go, we are surrounded by people with needs. You may not be able to see it on the outside, but on the inside they are hurting. Your ministry may not be from the pulpit but we all have a ministry. I want to encourage you today to live as a healer.

LAAH

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Nov
10.
Wars: With Each Other, with Ourselves, and with God
Category: Podcast
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In this message we will look at the book of James chapter 4. James discusses the wars that take place within the life of a believer. James offers great wisdom on how believers are deal with wars with each other, wars with ourselves, and wars with God himself.

warswithin

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Nov
07.
God’s Way or My Way?
Category: Podcast
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Every believer must face the same question, “Will I do things my way or God’s way?” In this message we will look at King Balak and God’s stubborn prophet Balaam.

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Oct
31.
A Life of Excellence
Category: Podcast, Uncategorized
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For many people a life of mediocrity has become the norm. Yet, for the believer, God has called us to a life of excellence. In this podcast you will be encouraged to move beyond what is average into what is above and beyond! Discover the rewards of a life of excellence!

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Oct
27.
HOW’S YOUR SALT?
Category: Witnessing
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“It’s not the atheist shaking his fist towards the heavens that is a threat to Christianity; by far more dangerous is the Christian, who despite his outward appearance, is a verifiable stranger to the character of Christ he claims to serve. For most of the church’s two thousand year history, Christians understood that faith and Biblical principles infused every aspect of life and existence. No one compartmentalized his life in such a way as to create a “private” sphere for his faith and a Christless “public” sphere for his work and hobbies. Jesus was all, and was in all.  It is all too common to be a Christian that believes in Word that is not personally known, a power that is not personally walked in, and a relationship that is void of relating personally.” -Culturally Incorrect by Rod Parsley

Jesus said in Matthew 5:13, “You are the salt of the earth. But what good is salt if it has lost its flavor? Can you make it salty again? It will be thrown out and trampled underfoot as worthless.” My question I have for you is simple, “How’s Your Salt?” Have you kept yourself salty by living pure and sharing Christ with those you encounter daily? I encourage you to be BOLD! Be Courageous! Be Daring! Dare to step outside your comfort zone and share the love of God with someone today. Let them know God sees them and He longs for them to know Him. As far as that goes, He longs to know you too. Are you spending adequate time with the Lord daily? He longs for you too.

I encourage you to remember why you are on the planet and what Jesus said our mission was. Go into the world making disciples and teaching what Christ taught. Are you making disciples? Are you teaching others how to follow Christ and teaching them how to teach others to follow Christ? This is your mission. This must be our priority no matter what we do for a living.

Live the Life!

-PK

 

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Jul
28.
Keeping It Real!
Category: Power
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I would rather see a sermon than to hear one any day
I would rather that you lead than merely point the way
The eye is a more eager pupil than ever was the ear
Advice is often confusing but example is always clear.

The Apostle Paul said in his letter to the Corinthians, “They can see that you are a letter from Christ, written by us. It is not a letter written with pen and ink, but by the Spirit of the living God; not one carved on stone, but in human hearts.

How important it is for us to walk out what we profess. I encourage you today to live the LIFE! Remember, what you say is important, but what you do will give you the right to say it.

Prayer: Father God, help us to live a life worthy of your calling. Help us to represent you in ALL we do. Forgive us of our sins and short-comings. Empower us with your holy Spirit as we pray, meditate your Word, and worship you.

-PK

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Jul
26.
A One Size Fits All God
Category: Truth
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Error does not become Truth because it is widely accepted;
Truth does not become error, even when it stands alone!
[Unknown]

Ah yes. The famous quote “Everybody is doing it”.

It is almost comical how we as human beings are constantly trying to justify our sin by measuring ourselves against other human beings who also have the disease of sin. It’s like a leper saying to another leper, “There is nothing wrong with me, for I look just like you”. The scripture makes it clear that is a dangerous thing to measure ourselves by ourselves or to make another human being the standard by which we measure our morality, ethics, and character. When the believer removes the constant reading and meditating of the scripture from his life, he immediately becomes a law unto himself. He replaces God’s Law with cultural and societal law. We become as holy or unholy as those with whom we are acquainted.

-A Distorted Image of the Lord-

In the book of Exodus we see God calling Moses to come up to the top of Mt. Sinai to meet with him. Yet, the rest of the Israelites stayed at the bottom of the mountain and over time, without Moses as their guide, the people went astray. The scripture says, “When Moses failed to come back down the mountain right away, the people went to Aaron.”Look,” they said, “make us some gods who can lead us. This man Moses, who brought us here from Egypt, has disappeared. We don’t know what has happened to him.” So Aaron said, “Tell your wives and sons and daughters to take off their gold earrings, and then bring them to me.”

Exodus 32:1-2 NLT

So Aaron built the golden calf. “When Aaron saw how excited the people were about it, he built an altar in front of the calf and announced, Tomorrow there will be a festival to the LORD!”

Ex 32:5 NLT

Notice Aaron called the golden calf LORD. So basically what Aaron and the children of Israel did was mold a calf, point at it and say, “Behold Yahweh, the one true GOD”. Notice they didn’t say, “Behold Baal, the one true God.” They called this calf GOD. So here is what happened: they were not blatantly denying God, rather they reduced His glory to the level of the image of this formed calf. They were deceived in their knowledge of Him. And you will notice today that people will acknowledge God and call on Him and worship Him but they gravitate towards fleshly appetites. They profess knowing Him, call on His Name, and believe He approves of their behavior. They fashion a god to fit their desires and lifestyles and call that god, GOD.

This truth is evident; idols in our lives will always take the place that God deserves. Idols serve as your source of happiness, comfort, peace, even your religion.

“You shall not make idols for yourselves”.  Lev 26:1 NLT

Be careful who you spend your time with, be careful what you meditate on, and be careful to stay connected to GOD’S WORD.

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