Thursday, November 09, 2017

Choosing To Live Significantly

Read: John 15:5, John 15:16, 1 Corinthians 3:16, 2 Corinthians 5:17-21, Ephesians 2:6, Ephesians 2:10, Ephesians 3:12, Philippians 4:13

On some level, we all want to be significant. We want to feel valued which in and of itself, there’s nothing wrong with that as long as we don't pursue it or live it out in an unhealthy way.

With this, we can often struggle with feeling insignificant or unworthy, and more. You may struggle with feeling insignificant at times as well. You are not alone...the world is full of people searching for significance and struggling with the very same things.

Unfortunately, some confuse significance with fame or popularity which it is not. They identify their worth by what they do or accomplish. In addition, some want to seek fame …the next viral video or YouTube. Some feed on how many “likes” or followers they receive on social media platforms like Facebook or Instagram.

Some will also try to bring you down and make you feel that you aren’t important, worthy or worth something…but as for you...hold onto God's truth and don't believe the lies spoken to you or that you speak to yourself!

Tuesday, October 31, 2017

Reformation Day

Happy Reformation Day! 

During the 16th century a period in Church History known as The Protestant Reformation took place which we remember and celebrate today as Reformation Day. 

Martin Luther and other reformers, were convicted that the church had departed from many of the core teachings of Christianity which should be grounded in the Word of God and this was the catalyst for their actions to work to try and correct this. 

They came to this reality because sadly, they saw that the core teachings of God's Word was at times in stark contrast to what they saw the church teaching in that period of time. 

Because of this, The Reformers worked to realign Christianity to The Word of God.

Through this period of time five key phrases which helped summarize their convictions about the core teachings of Christianity surfaced. These are also known as the Five Solas as they were latin phrases. 

The Five Solas are:
Sola Scriptura: “Scripture alone” - God's Word alone is our highest authority.
Sola Fide: “faith alone” - Salvation is through faith in Jesus Christ alone.
Sola Gratia: “grace alone” - We are saved by the grace of God alone.
Solus Christus: “Christ alone” - Jesus Christ alone is our Lord, Savior, and King.  
Soli Deo Gloria: “to the glory of God alone” - We are to live for the glory of God alone.

It was with great cost, (some of The Reformers gave their lives during this time due the great opposition they faced) that we as follower's of Christ can enjoy studying God's Word and being instructed from God's Word in our Church meeting place as part of the body of Christ. 

I encourage you to study this important time within Church History and do your part to re-calibrate your faith daily to the core teachings of God's Word and live them out!

Sola Scriptura, Sola Fide, Sola Gratia, Solus Christus, and Soli Deo Gloria!

May God do a reformation in us through His continued transforming work renewing us heart, mind and soul!

In Christ Alone,

rlk




 
#faith #hope #truth #wisdom #life #bible #scripture #Godsword #ReformationDay reform #reformation #Jesus #HolySpirit #Christian #Christianity #heart #mind #soul #strength 

Monday, October 23, 2017

Experiencing Joy Through The Gift of Friendship


This may surprise some who read this but, God's purpose isn't to make us happy as some try to say...in other words the idea that "God just wants you to be happy" isn't true plus...happiness is subjective. What makes one person happy isn't the same for the next person.

Now joy on the other hand isn't subjective as joy is a gift from God and a fruit of The Spirit. 

God does want us to experience joy and The Word of God reminds us that the joy of the Lord is our strength. (See Nehemiah 8:10)

Thursday, October 05, 2017

Finding His Peace In Every Moment

Read: Philippians 4:7

Sometimes we buy into the idea that peace is only found in the absence of conflict but that isn't necessarily the case!

It may not make sense to us sometimes but if you're in Christ...As you abide in Christ you will be able to experience His peace all the more...even in the midst of troubling or tumultuous times!


His peace is supernatural and can be found and experienced in any moment including the storms of life.


You and I need to seek Him in those good or hard moments because no doubt...He will give you His steadfast peace, love and strength that will help sustain you through that time. 


The peace of God is truly beyond understanding...but it is available to us through His Holy Spirit.


May we seek and find His peace in every moment! 

I pray that we experience His peace through every season in Jesus name I pray, Amen. 

In Christ Alone,


rlk





#peace #rest #faith #hope #truth #wisdom #life #encourage #encouragement #inspire #inspiration  #Jesus #HolySpirit #Christian #Christianity #ChristFollower #bible #scripture #Godsword #heart #mind  #soul #strength #ashepherdsheart

Wednesday, September 06, 2017

Don't Just Say That You'll Pray...Actually Do It!


Read: 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18, Colossians 4:2-6

When you say you will pray for someone, do you say it as just a passing phrase or do you actually intend to pray for them?

I think we're all guilty sometimes of saying we'll "pray", (kind of like "how are you doing" but not really wanting the answer sometimes...just a passing phrase) and not following through with prayer and...we need to change this! 

The fact is that prayer is a fundamental tool God has gifted us with.
"When you say you will pray for someone, actually pray for them!"
We're to be people of prayer and commit to praying for one another.

So, let me encourage and challenge you to be a man or woman of your word and The Word...and make every effort to follow through and pray when you say you will do so.

I pray that God will help us take prayer all the more seriously.

Prayerfully,

rlk






#pray #prayer #faith #hope #truth #wisdom #life #encourage #integrity #encouragement #inspire #inspiration #inspirational #Jesus #HolySpirit #bible #scripture #Godsword #heart #mind #soul #strength #christian #Christianity #christfollower #ashepherdsheart

Monday, August 21, 2017

A Worthy Walk


Read: Proverbs 10:9 and Ephesians 4:1

As a follower of Christ...one who has been redeemed at a great and ultimate price, (thanks to the saving work of Jesus) you are called to live your life in a worthy manner. 
 
A life marked by traits such as integrity, honesty, love, grace, hospitality, unity, honor, forgiveness and much more.
 
Your life should also bear the fruit of the Spirit of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness and self control with the help of The Holy Spirit. 

Your life should not be driven by hate, anger, racism, greed, holding grudges, self-centeredness, lying, stealing, character maligning and more.

In a world that is full of negativity as well as negative and destructive behavior...you and I need to shine His light all the more in the darkness!

Let's pray for each other that we will walk a worthy walk for His kingdom, glory as we are His ambassadors and need to point others to Christ Who is our only true hope!

Watch the brief video above (or via the links below) and then #1 walk a worthy walk and #2 pass this message on! 

Wednesday, August 09, 2017

The Fine Art of Allowing God To Be Your Defender.


Read: Exodus 14:14, Romans 8:31, Romans 12:19, Joshua 1:9, Deuteronomy 3:22, Mark 14:61, James 1:19 

It's not our natural inclination to be silent sometimes. 

This is especially true when someone is being rude, abusive in speech, wrongly accusing us, trying to malign our character, misrepresent the truth or a multitude of other things.

We're all growing in grace and in those moments, we are most likely quick to try to defend ourselves, however, we have to be careful to no not rely on our emotions in those moments as often times we can make things worse by our response. 

We need to immediately seek the Lord and ask for His wisdom and help to know how to respond which in the moment may be difficult...however, all it takes is a real "in the moment" silent or spoken prayer that will truly help you and I!  

We also should remember that there were times when Jesus, even though He had all the authority and facts to do so, He didn't defend Himself when accused.

Wednesday, August 02, 2017

God is still writing your story!

Read: 2 Corinthians 5:17, Psalm 139:16, Proverbs 3:1-8, Romans 5:1-5

I'm reminded of many conversations and experiences I've had over the years with people. 

I've experienced, observed or heard a retelling of a series of events or a single event that took place that didn't go as planned and then feelings of "defeat", "failure", "life is over" and etc begin to crept in. 

In our weakness as human beings, its pretty normal to feel that way but if you are in Christ then you are a new creation and those feelings should not last as you turn from your feelings and what you see to faith instead. 


Wednesday, July 26, 2017

The Importance of Making His Name Great


Read: John 21:15-25, John 3:30

God calls Pastors/Elders/Shepherds to seek to be faithful shepherds of The Flock...He does not call the same to seek after fame and celebrity status. Popularity may happen but staying grounded and faithful in the calling God has placed on your life as a Pastor/Elder/Shepherd and grounded in His Word is vital.

My observation of many of today's "Modern" church "leaders" is that they often get this wrong and it flows down to everything they do from communicating and teaching God's Word on down to the flock that they are to shepherd...wrong attitudes and motives. They simply seem to have this backwards! 

Wednesday, July 19, 2017

The Source of Your Identity


Dear Friend, 

I wanted to take a moment to simply remind you that if you are in Christ, you are a new creation and your identity in Him is what matters plain and simple!

No one's opinions defines you nor does your past!

"When we finally understand and are confident and secure in our identity in Christ, our past as well as the opinions of others regarding us will not shake or define us!" -Randolph Koch

To learn more about your identity in Christ, Dive into God's Word and abide in Christ and you will discover your true identity!

True security and identity will only be found in Him! He is truly the source of who you are!

For further encouragement from God's Word, Please check out this post and pass along the Truth of God's Word about who you are in Christ: http://www.ashepherdsheart.org/2012/03/who-you-are-in-christ.html

In Christ Alone,
Your brother and servant,

rlk

PS: Check out this new page on A Shepherd's Heart: 
http://www.ashepherdsheart.org/p/ministry-service-offerings.html which is a growing basic list of areas where I may be able to serve you!


#faith #hope #truth #wisdom #life #Jesus #identity #whoyouareinChrist#believe #christfollower #christian #Christianity #bible #scripture #Godsword#heart #mind #soul #strength #ashepherdsheart 

Wednesday, July 05, 2017

Endor and The God of Impossibilities!


Read: Isaiah 55:8-11, Matthew 19:26

As part of a family road trip vacation we had the opportunity to drive to northern California to see some of the giant Redwood Trees in part of the Jedediah Smith Redwoods which spans many miles. It was truly incredible!


We spent several hours enjoying hiking through a very small section of the forest. Everywhere stepped we were surrounded by massive trees. When I say massive, it's very true because some have grown to 37 feet wide and hundreds of feet tall and  have been there for hundreds of years too!

Humorously and maybe a bit nerdy-like, it almost reminded me or made me "feel" like I'd traveled to the "Planet Endor" in one of the Star Wars movies of my childhood...but, of course to my disappointment I had not. LOL...Ok, just kidding I'm not out of touch with reality but maybe just a little bit of my inner kid wished it was really Endor!...But I digress...


Monday, June 26, 2017

Rightly Approach God and His Word


Read: 2 Timothy 2:15

Praying and believing Biblically in faith is very important, however, many today, whether unknowingly or knowingly, teach or believe false doctrines about God's Word. 

To some, this may sound harsh but it's unfortunately very true and we see evidence of this from others decisions and we may also recall times we fell into this wrong thinking ourselves. 

Friday, June 16, 2017

A Father's Day Reflection: Praising God for Being The Perfect and Loving Father


Read: 1 John 1:9, Colossians 1:13-14, Psalm 103:12, John 3:16, Romans 5:8, Psalm 86:15, John 13:34-35, 1 John 4:18-19, 1 Chronicles 16:34, Ephesians 1:4-6, Galatians 4:4-5, Romans 8:15, John 15:15, Romans 5:1, 1 Corinthians 12:27, Romans 8:1-2, Romans 8:31-39, 2 Timothy 1:7,  John 15:16, 1 Corinthians 3:16,Ephesians 2:10, 1 John 3:1

BOOM....there it is again. The feeling of pain, grief, loss, brokenness and potentially a multitude of other feelings that may flood one's heart, mind and emotions. 
All is well for a period of time and then something such as a holiday or other memory sparks the before mentioned emotions.

No matter how it came about, this is often what it is like for those who largely grew up without a father and or mother. 

Tuesday, May 23, 2017

Putting Your Faith In God's Timing.

Read: Proverbs 3

Do you find yourself putting your faith in your own timing and plans or other shifting or temporal things? 

So, let me ask you, how's that working out for you? ;-)

Or, do you strive to put your faith, trust and hope in God's perfect timing, purpose, will and plans?

No matter what, as you daily abide in and walk with Him, let me encourage and challenge you to seek Him first...seek His wisdom and direction.

Seek His perfect timing, purpose, will and plan rather than your own as with His wisdom, direction, power and strength...you will find a clearer pathway as you trust in His timing.

Let's pray for each other that we will do this each day no matter what we face!

Wednesday, April 26, 2017

Not My Will, But Yours Be Done!



Read: Romans 12:2, Jeremiah 29:11, Hebrews 13:20-21, James 4:17, James 1:5, Proverbs 3:5-6, Matthew 6:5-15, Hebrews 10:36, Psalm 119:105

Do you ever find yourself speeding along with "your" plans and then you get down the road a ways and realize you haven't started right by consulting the Lord first? You're not alone! 
Then we wonder why we keep facing road block after road block?!

Do we really expect God to bless what we don't include Him in? 

Too many people want God to bless their plans without consideration of whether or not it's His will in the first place!

Let me encourage you to start first with seeking God's will and Word as you plan your plans. It will be a much better starting point if you do because guess what, God knows what He's doing and He has a purpose, will and plan for you already! 

Start with Him and make sure that you don't repeat the huge mistake of consulting Him as an afterthought. 

Remind yourself, "Not my will, but yours be done!" 

As for me, I literally have to remind myself of the very same thing often by speaking these words. 

Let's pray for one another that we will seek to do His will at all times and not our own! 


In Christ Alone,

rlk

P.S. For further edification, here's a practical article on How To Know God's Will: https://www.gotquestions.org/know-God-will.html


#foodforthought #hiswillbedone #GodIsGood #faith #hope #truth #wisdom #life #encourage #encouragement #inspire #inspiration #inspirational #inspirationalquotes #quote #quotes #christian #Christianity #christfollower #bible #scripture #Godsword #heart #mind #soul #strength #ashepherdsheart 

Monday, April 10, 2017

Stay Close To The Good Shepherd


Read: John 10:1-18 

Sheep are essentially helpless and as domesticated animals go, sheep are honestly pretty much the most helpless. 

For instance, sheep can spend their entire day grazing in the pasture, going from place to place, never looking up causing them to often become lost. 

In contrast, if you have a cat or dog that gets out of the house, what do they typically do? (besides run around) They typically eventually try to find their way home.

Sheep on the other hand don’t have this instinct like other animals do. They are totally incapable of finding their way to their sheep pen / fold even when it is in plain sight.

Sheep are also very susceptible to injury and cannot defend themselves against predators such as wolves. In ancient times and even today, wolves were/are the main predators of flocks of sheep. 

Another interesting fact is that if different flocks of sheep somehow get mixed together at a watering hole or somewhere, the only way to separate the flock would be for a shepherd to call out to his sheep. Then, even as helpless and inattentive they are as animals, they would hear and recognize the shepherd's voice and follow him out amongst the other flocks. 

The sheep knew the voice of the shepherd and the shepherd knew his sheep. 

The shepherd was their safety and a true shepherd would go to great lengths to protect them when faced with danger, even giving their lives for the sake of the flock. 

Shepherds were the providers, guides and protectors of the sheep and the sheep were completely dependent on the shepherd. 

Tuesday, March 28, 2017

The Fruit of The Spirit - Patience

Read: Galatians 5:22-24, Romans 2:4, 2 Peter 3:9, 1 Timothy 1:15-17, Ecclesiastes 7:8, Romans 12:12, Galatians 6:9, Proverbs 14:29, Ephesians 4:2, Genesis 6:9-9:17, Psalm 145:8

They say patience is a virtue but if we’re honest, it’s not a virtue that many have or are working to develop. It’s definitely an area of growth!

1 Corinthians 13 says that love is patience but we have to ask ourselves… is our love patient?

We have to remember that we serve a God who is very patient with us and in turn through His example, we can learn to be more patient too as it is one of the Fruit of The Spirit that He wants to grow in and through us! 

Here are a few examples of how He’s patient with us:

Friday, March 03, 2017

2-4-6-8 Who Do We Appreciate!?


I remember the childhood appreciation shout that went...2-4-6-8 who do we appreciate!?

APPRECIATION. It seems to be a dying quality sometimes in an often negative world / environment.

The truth is that taking time to appreciate the people who God has placed in our lives is so important!

Whether it's a loved one, friend or coworker, we need to take time to simply appreciate...people.

A kind word of thanks or words of encouragement or affirmation can speak volumes to the receiver!

It doesn't Matter what personality type you think you are or whether you are a "people person" or not or even if you've never received appreciation or not, while these things may be tough and make it more challenging for us, you and I need to appreciate, value and even cherish the people around us... Especially true of the good people...because sometimes they can really be hard to to come by in this life...however you and I should be part of the "good people" category as we have the strength of, power of, wisdom of and relationship with The One who gave us life! Jesus Himself!

So, in turn...let us speak life giving words of appreciation and also do life giving actions of appreciation as well! You and I have the ability to do this... 
So.... Let's regularly do this my friend!

Get R' Done! :)

In Christ,

rlk



#appreciation #hope #faith #joy #peace #truth #wisdom #life #inspiration #inspirational #inspire #inspiration #encourage #encouragement #Godsword #scripture #Bible #heart #mind #soul #strength #christian #Christianity #christfollower #ashepherdsheart

Monday, February 13, 2017

Seeking Wisdom and Discernment.


Read: 2 Corinthians 5:7, James 1:5, Matthew 10:16

As the old saying goes: "If it looks too good to be true...it probably is!"

In a day and age where fake news, rumors, false advertising and more seem to be rampant, we need wisdom and discernment from God all the more. This applies to every area of our lives!

On the surface, sometimes things and people can look good, honest, inviting, worthwhile or worthy of our time and attention. However, after you and I move past the surface we often find the that "not everything that glitters is gold" as they say or you grab the real or proverbial sugar container only to find that it was filled with salt instead. 

Wisdom and discernment are vital as things are not always as they seem and we need God's wisdom to separate the "salt" from "sugar"... They may look the same at first glance but they definitely are NOT the same!
If you don't believe me, replace the sugar in your favorite baked dessert recipe with the same amount of salt and see what results you get. :-)

Wednesday, February 08, 2017

Reject Perfection...Strive for Holiness Instead!

Read:  1 Peter 1:14-16, Hebrews 12:14, 2 Peter 3:18, 1 Corinthians 12:12, Romans 12:4


There is often a spirit of perfection that has influenced and infiltrated The Church today whether in the area of appearance, who is up front on a given Sunday (allowed to be there), in the area of worship etc.  

This may have also infiltrated our regular day-to-day existence at times as we try to achieve a standard that's not attainable.

Maybe you've experienced this too?