It Is What It Is
Sep 13 - Oct 18, 2015
Do It For The Lord
October 18, 2015 • Dr Charles Kyker
How are you enjoying your work these days—do you hate your job, or do you love what you do? Work was designed by God to be a good thing, not a bad thing or nec- essary evil. In the beginning man was given the job of “governing” the earth God created, and the Lord told Adam specifically “to tend and watch over” the beautiful Garden of Eden (see Genesis 1:28, 2:15). God shared the workload with Adam and gave him the task of naming each animal. Adam “gave names to all the livestock, all the birds of the sky, and all the wild animals"
Relationships
October 11, 2015 • Dr Charles Kyker
Throughout the pages of Scripture are images of God longing to be a true Husband for His people, a metaphor of the most intimate of relationships. In the marriage union, a husband and wife share things no other person is privileged to know—the deepest level of love, sexual intimacy as a most sacred trust—where two hearts (and physical bodies) become one. When God made human beings in His image He creat- ed them male and female, one to compliment the other. There is a magnetic draw that the Lord put in Adam’s heart for Eve: “’At last!’ The man exclaimed. ‘This one is bone from my bone, and flesh from my flesh!’ ... This explains why a man leaves his father and mother and is joined to his wife, and the two are united into one”
Going Vertical
October 4, 2015 • Dr Charles Kyker
What if entrance into heaven could be purchased—bought, worked for, earned— awarded to individuals as a result of their own human strength? Sounds strange, but this seems to be where the rich young ruler was headed as he asked Jesus: “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” Interestingly, the Lord im- mediately responds to the man’s question with a question of His own: “Why do you call me good? http://...only God is truly good.”
From Desperation to Inspiration
September 27, 2015 • Dr Charles Kyker
“Will I always be broke?” Many of us ask this question, and because we know our- selves all too well, resign to the mindset: “It is what it is—I have too little money, and too many bills. I buy too much on credit, because I keep pulling out that credit card. I’m stuck in this vicious cycle. I’m in a mountain of debt and I cannot see my way out. So yes, I will probably always be broke.” But the truth is you and I do not have to live this way. There is a way out of the downward debt spiral. First, we must be willing to ask for help; second, to be obedient; and third, ready to shut the door on destructive behavior. In the Old Testament, there is a widow facing a mountain of debt. In fact, this wom- an owes so much money that her creditor comes knocking at the door, threatening to take her two sons as slaves in order to pay off the amount. What is she to do? Her late husband had been studying in one of schools of prophets (sort of like semi- nary in Old Testament times), and the leader (mentor, teacher) of this group of prophets quickly comes to mind. The woman thinks, “This man knew my late hus- band. He knows my husband was a true servant and feared the Lord.” And so, in desperation, she asks the prophet Elisha for help.
Heal The Hurts
September 20, 2015 • Dr Charles Kyker
Have you ever done or said something you later regretted? Sadly, the ones we hurt the most are usually the ones we love the most, the people who are closest to us. There are probably numerous things many of us would do-over if given the chance— the angry words spoken in haste, the ultimatum declared out of hurt. But because we are ashamed to let go, or perhaps because we are still hurting, we risk losing the joy of some of the most precious relationships around us. And in defeat, we con- clude that because we did the stupid thing or made the unkind remark, “It is what it is.” This thing can never be fixed. Or can it?
"Well, It Is What It Is"
September 13, 2015 • Dr Charles Kyker
Most of us have either said or heard the expression: “Well, it is what it is.” To be fair, we may have arrived at this mindset in an attempt to accept certain circum- stances (or people) at work or home—we learn to adjust to what we think cannot be changed. The danger is that complying with negativity and dysfunction overtime is unhealthy. If we settle for what is and never what can be, we lose hope and a part of our passion dies. We get stuck and may find ourselves doubting God’s ability to change our situation, the people around us, ourselves, or anything for that matter.