Jacob Kesling's Blog

Think on these things...

2009-09-03T13:07:00.000-07:00

Jeremiah is known as the weeping prophet. He served God faithfully yet saw no fruit of his labor. Can you imagine his sadness. How easy would it be to quit? How simple would it be to just walk away thinking that it is not your "calling"? What did Jeremiah do? After pouring out his sad heart and his circumstances he begins to do what we must all do, think on things that are true, praiseworthy, noble, of good report, etc.

Lamentations 3:21-32

"Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope: Because of the Lord's great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. I say to myself, 'The Lord is my portion; therefore I will wait for Him.' The Lord is good to those whose hope is in him, to the one who seeks him; it is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord. It is good for a man to bear the yoke while he is young. Let him sit alone in silence, for the Lord has laid it on him. Let him bury his face in the dust there may yet be hope. Let him offer his cheek to the one who would strike him, and let him be filled with disgrace. For men are no cast off by the Lord forever. Though he brings grief, he will show compassion, so great is his unfailing love.

Do we rest peacefully in the sovereignty of God? We live in a world that measures success by numbers and results. So we frantically try to create fabricated results to make us feel valuable and we don't realize that God is trying to create in you. We are not defined by results in God's eyes. He is the one who causes the increase. He is the one who saves. He is the one who holds all the money in His pocket.

What do we do? Well, as Jeremiah did, he began to understand and believe that God is still faithful and loving. He began to shift his "poor me" thinking to "Great is He" and that my friends is the right mindset if you want victory in these times.

Friends

2009-05-25T20:58:00.000-07:00

When I was 18 I went with my "friend" to a house in a bad part of town. We went inside and as I looked around I saw guns on the table, people sitting around staring at me strung out and a large dog in the kitchen. I knew we were not there to pick up a friend but to pick up some drugs. A teenager walks out with a shoebox and opens it and asks my "friend" how much he wanted. I hid my fear and kept my shoulders and head high. He gave the guy money and we were on our way out the door. I got in the car I realized that this guy was not a real friend. He was just trying to fulfill his need and did not really care about my safety. We all have people in our life that we call "friend" and they are not a friend at all. Not only that, I realized that many of the bad decisions I have made were with these "friends". I don't consider myself a follower, but all of us will be impacted by those we hang out with.

We HAVE to understand this. The quality and direction of our lives will strongly be impacted by those we hang out with. My experience with drugs would not have happened if I just chose to hang out with a different group of friends. I never drank beer alone. I was walking the path with these guys heading in the same direction. This guy (who I went to the house with) is now in prison. I am a Youth Pastor. I sat across the glass visiting him and I asked him this simple question, "how is it that we were both in the same place in our lives and today you are in prison and I am a Youth Pastor?" He shrugged his shoulders. I told him, "I just made the decision when I was 20 to take another path." You see, I did not just quit drugs and alcohol. I did not just stop having sex. I started hanging out with people who saw the best in me and encouraged me to become who God wants me to be. The friends we choose will affect the direction and quality of our lives!

In Proverbs 12:26 it says "A righteous man is cautious in friendship, but the way of the wicked leads them astray." The wicked are on a path to destruction and YOU do not want to walk that path with them. Yes, it may seem fun, but understand your life pastimes are pathways. You are walking a path that goes somewhere. Your "friend" is leading you down the wrong path if he is not pushing you closer to Christ. Understand this, if your friends are "not that bad" meaning that they don't do drugs, they don't drink, they don't...you fill in the blank, but they are not pushing you to a closer relationship with God, you are heading down a destructive path.

A true friend cares more about you than himself or herself. He cares about your spiritual walk with God. He cares about you honoring your parents. They care about your relationships with people. They will confront you in love. They will tell you difficult things that need to be heard about your life. They will love you when you say you hate them. They will be there at 2 a.m. when you need them. Unfortunately Christians don't act this way when they ought to. If you do not have friends like this, I want to challenge you to be a friend like this. Source your life from God and give life to others!

Leave it all Behind

2009-05-11T22:08:00.000-07:00

I was reading through Acts 3 because I was asked to teach in my father-in-law's Sunday School class. I read something that really hit me. I was reminded of the life I left behind when Christ came into my life. I was reminded of the things I frantically pursued to fill the void in my life. I remember how totally empty I felt each morning and how frustrated I felt that the next thing was not the answer to the unquenchable thirst I tried to quench. This story brought me back and challenged me!

In Acts 3, Peter and John were heading to the temple to pray. I can imagine their excitement as thousands have already repented and put their faith in Jesus Christ. On their way through the temple gate called Beautiful and a lame man who was lame since birth asked Peter and John for money. Let's stop there. The only significance this man had was the money he brought home each day. The bowl or can the lame man held each day held what this man thought life was all about. Money is where he sourced his life. Each day he would return for more, and each day he would go home excited or sad about his earnings but still remained a longing in his soul. Don't we feel this way? Isn't the American dream to have more and be more? Is it working? 41% of America is affected by the plagues of depression. Sounds like the American dream is not a dream at all! This man just did what he knew to do, ask for money.

I love it! Peter said "Look at us." I can imagine them wearing old clothes and shoes and having great joy. They then said "Silver or gold I do not have..." WE DONT HAVE ANY MONEY!!! Two things, first is that they are showing them that he is chasing the wrong dream. Second, he is showing that joy is not found in stuff or money. Man, it would be great if we just believed that too! You see, what they did have was something much better!

Peter said, "What I have I give to you, in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk." Now understand that walking is not the great gift. You see this man put his faith in Jesus (Acts 3:16) this was the gift. God also healed this man. We too are lame at birth being separated from God at birth in a prison of sin. God also set us free. This man got up jumping and running praising God! Don't you remember those days of rejoicing in your salvation? Remember the life we left behind that God set us free from? What happened to that? The lame man took Peter's hand. I imagine to take Peter's hand, he let go of the can that held all his money. To find true life in Christ, we must be willing to release those things we consider life to be!

Verse 11 says "while the beggar held on to Peter and John..." You see, he let go of the can, the money that he so long chased after and began to hold on to what was true living. He was holding on to the truth of the Word of God. He was holding on the Apostles! Repentance is leaving something behind and chasing after something new. This beggar left his old life for it was not life at all! He found new life in Christ.

Now, I went through this time myself. I left a life full of alcohol, drugs, women, and everything else the world has to offer. When Christ came into my life, I no longer needed all of these things. It was not that it was all sinful, it was that I realized those things are all in a path of dead ends. I let go and clung to Christ.

It is still difficult in my journey of faith as I struggle with the lusts of my youth. Those things I was set free from are often the things I find myself running back to. What a shame! Have you put your faith in Christ? If so, do you source your life from Him? We can know if we do by watching our lives in difficult times. If Christ is our life then circumstances will not shake us. If money is our source of life, then times as these when the economy is unstable will ruin our world and attitudes. If our children are our source of life then their actions will affect us. God is the same yesterday, today, and forever. He is sovereign! He is in control and He loves us! Let us be like the beggar and leave those things we left behind and cling to Jesus who is our life!

Difficult times can create doubt...

2009-03-07T20:47:00.000-08:00

I wonder today as I watch people fall away from Jesus in doubt. They doubt if God is really out there. They wonder if the Bible is true or real. They doubt that this thing we call Christianity is just a hoax trying to bind us from the "fun" of the world. I believe that doubt happens when we have a wrong belief of who God really is! When He does not do what WE believe He should do we all the sudden doubt. Let me say this, God remains the same. He reveals Himself to us so we may know Him, and not have doubt. Let me encourage you by sharing a story in the Bible.

John the Baptist while in Elizabeth's womb leapt when he was in the presence of God. When Elizabeth met Mary who was pregnant with Jesus, there was a supernatural thing that happened. Such movement was not an elbow or a knee scooting across Elizabeth's belly. He leapt! John knew he was in the presence of God. Later, John was baptizing and saw Jesus coming toward him in the distance. He said "behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world." John knew this was the messiah they have been waiting for even before Jesus introduces Himself. Then John baptized Jesus and when He came out of the water the Spirit hovered over Him like a dove. They heard "this is my son whom I am well pleased." Now what other verification does John need? He knew Jesus was the messiah! There was no doubt.

It was in Matthew 11 John sends a few of his disciples to Jesus to ask Him an interesting question. He asked "are you the one who was to come, or should we expect someone else?" What happened to his understanding? What happened to his faith? It is much easier to understand if we understand where he was. John was in Jail. John decided to confront Herod about his relationship with his sister-in-law. He was in Jail. John never imagined that this messiah would allow this to happen. I mean, was not Jesus going to raise up an army and over throw the Roman Government that they were under? That was the expectation of many! John began to doubt because he had wrong thinking of God. He believed something in his mind that was not true about God. Jesus came to pay for the sin of the world. The Kingdom of Heaven was at hand, but differently than John and others expected. John had doubt about Jesus and who He was because he had wrong thinking of God.

Don't we do the same thing? We think that if we become a Christian we will be healthy. We believe that we are going to be blessed financially if we give. We believe that God will not ever let anything happen to our family. We believe that we will have an easy life. If we believe that, we are setting ourselves up to doubt God when life faces challenges. We are setting ourselves up to doubt when a loved one dies. God has allowed us to know Him in His word so that we may have faith in who He is! Let's put away our selfish thinking of who God is and KNOW who He reveals Himself to be in His word! If we are doubting, lets find out if there is a root of bad thinking somewhere. God will be who He says He will be! Believe what He says, and doubt will not come easily! Know Him!

Do feelings matter?

2008-01-09T19:37:00.000-08:00

How am I feeling today? Well, I feel a little sadness. I have shipped my family 14 hours from Columbus Ohio to Baton Rouge, Louisiana to become Youth Pastor at a church of about 200 people. A month after living here I had a feeling and commitment in my heart that I wanted to go back. I never voiced my feelings for fear of Sheila (my wife) feeling insecure in our circumstances and the church body doubting my loyalty. My feelings, however affected everything I did. I began to withdraw from creating relationships because I knew that I was leaving. I was not putting 100 percent into building the youth ministry into what it should become because in my heart, I was not going to be here long. Do these feelings matter?

I think we need to understand what we are feeling and why! The question for me is am I detaching from here because I am afraid of failure? I have been given the task of being a youth pastor here and building something from scratch with nearly unlimited resources which give me no excuse of failing. What if I fail? The answer to that will be because of ME? I realized that I may be finding my identity in my successes. I mean, who does not want to climb the corporate ladder and look at the world and say "look at me"! Do I find value in being successful? Does God really care if you build a youth ministry from 20 to 100? Does He simply ask for us to be faithful? I believe He does. I believe that I will never find value or identity in being successful, that is exactly why people always want that next thing. We never will have enough, we will never attain it from the world. Our identity is only found in God.

Tonight I told the board what I was feeling. This was following a meeting discussing the future of the church. I really feel that this church is on the brink of breaking free and becoming what God really wants it to be. A church that cares and loves people and who are growing, making disciples, and serving the community! Me leaving the church at such a time as this could be hurtful to what God is doing. Does my feelings matter? I mean Israel after being released from Egypt when facing some somewhat difficult times wanted to return back to Egypt into bondage. Is that what I am doing? God places hardships in our lives to make us trust Him. His will for my life is for me to be sanctified or become more like Jesus Christ. It has nothing about geographical location. Are my feelings deceiving me? What do they mean?

Any thoughts?