The Azusa Pacific Blog

Jesus said that no one comes to God except through Him. One way, not many.  And that means two really important things:  That proximity to God is the whole purpose of our lives.  It is in proximity to God that we become truly whole, fulfilled, complete, and what we were created to be. It also means that trusting Jesus will automatically put us into closeness with God.   Trusting Jesus simply means relating to Him like you would a trusted friend – that He’ll help you make good decisions, watch your back, advise you for the future; and mostly, to help you live fully today.

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And if you have prayer requests, send them to me and we will pray for you!

Blessings,

Kevin

We make choices for life every day. It’s not a matter of saving someone’s life or of extending our own it’s a matter of making choices that incrementally lead to a greater measure of God’s life in you.  It happens subtly.  With small decisions you make each day at work or school or at home.  When you choose not to respond to someone with cynicism, or choose not to close the possibility of reconciliation with someone else, you allow for life to grow.  When you uplift others with your words, when you dignify another with your attitude, when you affirm the image of God in another person, you are choosing life.  You have opportunity to do that each day.  It is a reflection of how Christ treats others.  Something inside of you thrives every time you make a choice for life.  That is Christ in you!

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Send me any prayer requests and our Prayer Partners will pray for you.

Blessings,

Kevin

The first thing you think of when somebody tells you they are seeking the truth is that they are looking for information that is correct.  Your mind assumes that truth is simply a piece of data, or a belief, or theory that is correct.  But then along comes Jesus saying, “…I am the truth.”  It sounds odd.  It doesn’t fit your assumption about what truth is. But it does affect how you approach the idea of truth.  Is it a piece of information, or is it a person?

Generally we get to know information using our analytical and cognitive ability to decide whether it is correct or not.   And we start from a skeptical mindset.  But when presented with a person, we start from a very different place.  We want to know them; we spend time with them; we hang out; we inquire.  All in an effort to know them in a relational way.  Jesus’ claim to be the truth sets the frame of reference of anyone who pursues knowing truth.  It is a relationship with a person, not an analytical skepticism about a piece of information.  Knowing Jesus opens the world of information to meaning and understanding.

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And if you have requests, just reply to this message and I’ll invite our Prayer Partners pray.

Blessings,

Kevin

So many times in the Bible, Jesus uses the words “I am” to refer to himself. “I am the gate,” “I am the way,” “I am the life.”  Of course that’s reminiscent of when God called Moses, remember?  God said, “tell them ‘I am’ has sent you.”  Always the present tense.  God is not bound by time.  Those who walk with Christ are also not bound by the constraints of time…well, at least not in respect to embracing the fullness of life.  You still have to plan for the future, and you still have to live with consequences of the past.  But walking with Jesus gives you the ability to embrace the present.  Living in the past will invariably cause a deep sense of guilt – over what you did or should have done.  Living in the future will easily result in anxiety – worrying about what may happen and whether you’ll perform properly.  BUT, living in the present brings fullness of life, because God is in the present.  Embracing the moment may mean facing the pain, or seeing the joy; it may mean appreciating mercy and grace, or being thankful for salvation.  Whatever the present circumstance is, you can be sure that Christ is in it with you – because God is present, “I am.”

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Embrace the moment,

Kevin