The Redemptive Story of Change

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men's sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. 2 Corinthians 5:17-19


Yesterday was a day of remembrance for me. About a year ago, my devotion discussed when it was good to be ‘that guy’ who was a humble servant of God. Yesterday, I found myself being excited to be a member of ‘that church’. Let me give you a picture of what it looks like. We had a service where all we did was hear testimonies both by baptism and stories of transformation. There were stories as short as a young child who was getting a baptized because his parents said so and as long as a man whose life went from being incarcerated to finding peace with Christ. There were people whose families followed God and influenced them all of their life. And there were others who just picked up the Bible and found salvation just through reading. Some people built closer relationships with God through their small groups, and others through deep prayer and reflection by themselves. It was a full range of emotions and experiences, and all spoke of God’s awesome power.

It was a reminder of a couple of fundamental truths about God. First, there is no one right path to God. There are many paths, and none are better than the other. No matter what your path was, know it was that way for a reason, and God will use that very path to not only guide you in your journey of faith but also help someone else. It is how God is able to reach so many. People who are lost can always find a story that is tailor made to fit them at a time that is optimal for their hearing. It is part of God’s perfection; being able to find the right message at the right time for that person. Second, God truly is the great and holy redeemer. No matter whom we are and how closely we have lived our lives in accordance to God’s law, all of us fall short of His glory. There is no way that we can fix or reconcile it on our own. However through Jesus Christ, we are given the gift of grace, which reconciles our level of sin and gets rid of our greatest barrier between us and God; guilt.

Our God truly transforms lives. No one or nothing is more personal in their relationship with us, and there is no greater influence of big change than God. If you question it, just ask a Christian you know “why.” Why did they choose Jesus? Why do they believe in Him? Make sure you ask for the long version. As you hear the stories of transformation and truth, you will soon begin to understand why our God is truly all knowing, and if you would allow yourself, be humbled by the sheer awesome experience of how one becomes God’s child and transformed. It can be a story of love, redemption, change, confirmation, dedication, verification, and a bunch of other things because God is everything. My prayer is that we embrace the true symbolism of God’s redemptive story of change. Amen.

Too Good to Be True

To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, "If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free." John 8:31-32


One of the most frustrating to me is ‘reading the fine print.’ A prime example of that was when I was in Best Buy purchasing a DVD player, and they asked me if I wanted to get 3 free issues of Sports Illustrated. “Sure! It’s an offer too good to be true,” I thought to myself. All I had to do was cancel it after the 3 issues were received. Or so I thought. Apparently, I had to cancel before my 3rd issue had arrived. It was of great surprise to me when I saw the $59.99 charge on my credit card just before I had received my final issue. Needless to say they did cancel it, but of course if I had read the fine print, I would have cancelled it as soon as I got home. Of course, the Best Buy employee had simply omitted this fact from the conversation we had. The bottom line was if she had told me the whole story, I probably would not have agreed to the offer in the first place.

In scripture, we will often hear of specific verses in the Bible only to find in reading them in context, it has an entirely different meaning. In looking at John 8:31-32, many of us know the 32nd verse (Then you will know the truth . . . ), which is what most people will recite when confronted by someone who they believe is not being above board. An individual will speak of the so called ‘truth’, and therefore they are soon to be liberated. However in studying this closer, ‘the ‘truth’ spoken of here is not about being truthful at all. ‘The Truth’ here speaks of God’s glory, and once revealed, it has ultimate power. Jesus is the light of the world, which He spoke of earlier in this same chapter (verse 12), and as is stated in today’s verse, He speaks of “the truth.” His truth is that of being God’s only son; the Son of Man, and to believe in this is to set us free from all sin. This is much more powerful than discussing whether we gain favor by being truthful or not. Thus by using this verse in reference to general truth, we are like that Best Buy employee not telling the full story. Again, the truth that sets us free is that Jesus Christ is God the Son, and that only through Him are we free from God’s condemnation of our sins. This is not to say that being untruthful is not sinful as stated in the ninth commandment. However by acknowledging what God’s true intent is here, we gain something greater (salvation) than what we will sometimes try to fit it into (freedom from the guilt of untruths).

God wants us to fully understand what His truth is. There is no greater truth than that this; through Jesus dying on the cross for our sins, we are indeed saved if we acknowledge Him as the savior and salvation in our lives. We must be dependent on reading the word fully to understand what God is truly saying and not fall into the traps of half truths or incomplete stories. My prayer is that we are always willing to dive into the full word of God for its truths and not be subject to an offer too good to be true. Amen.

Debt Free & Indebted

Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for he who loves his fellowman has fulfilled the law. The commandments, "Do not commit adultery," "Do not murder," "Do not steal," "Do not covet," and whatever other commandment there may be, are summed up in this one rule: "Love your neighbor as yourself." Love does no harm to its neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law. Romans 13:8-10


One of the most wonderful joys of my life is that I have always been surrounded by people who are wonderful role models for how to love. My father had a huge heart and was always loving of others. My mother was someone who taught me at a very early age of how to be loving and respectful toward others particularly women. Then my wife has been a wonderful loving person who is fully driven by the adage that love truly does not fail, and has loved me both because and in spite of the person I am. Each of them has greatly helped me to show more love toward others.

However, I have to be constantly reminded that I need to watch my love for something else; Best Buy. I have learned to be more disciplined as I have grown older, but I use to always buy the latest technology not having a care for how much it costs and if I could afford it. This of course would lead to debt, which if I was not careful would cause greater harm than good.

Today’s verse has a dual purpose, and is a prime example of what we are to do as fellow Christians. It first discusses debt. Many of you know who Dave Ramsey is (Christian Financial advisor), and he constantly talks about how Christian it is for us to be responsible for our debt and live a debt free life. Being in debt is sometimes inevitable, but it is something not to be carried and leveraged against forever. God made us to be a free people both spiritually and financially. We are given freedom from our sins and guilt through Jesus Christ. We are thus entrusted to be debt free financially as well and manage ours debts accordingly.

This leads us to the one thing God does want us to be indebted to; love. If we are to live debt free, why would He ask that we are indebted to love? I once wrote that the lesson of Dr. Martin Luther King’s life is that no matter what your situation is, you can love your way out of it. Perhaps God intended love to be a symbol to others that we are Christians. Or maybe God knew that if everyone were indebted to love, fear or darkness would never exist. Another thought is that the only thing in life that is limitless is love. After all, the best things in life are free, and of these, the greatest is love (see 1 Corinthians 13:13). All of these statements are true, but Paul points out yet something more profound. Love for others is the fulfillment of the law, and it does so by both being the foundation for many of the commandments (Romans 13:9) and causing no harm to others (Romans 13:10).

The life of Jesus summarizes what today’s verses really mean to us and what we as Christians are to always remember. He paid our debt for our sins, and gave His life freely because He loved us so. As always, Jesus is our truth and light. As we continue to grow in our walk of faith, those things become clearer to us. My prayer is that we live both a debt free life and abundantly indebted one to love.

Who Trespass Against Us

If anyone has caused grief, he has not so much grieved me as he has grieved all of you, to some extent—not to put it too severely. The punishment inflicted on him by the majority is sufficient for him. Now instead, you ought to forgive and comfort him, so that he will not be overwhelmed by excessive sorrow. 2 Corinthians 2:5-7


(If you know the story about Armando Gallaraga, feel free to skip to paragraph 2)

Here is a story for the ages. If you had not heard, the world of baseball was about to have one of its most historic moments as Detroit Tigers pitcher Armando Gallaraga was completing something that had only happened twenty times in the 111 years and over hundred thousands of games in the history of baseball by throwing a perfect game, which means to not let anyone reach base for the entire game (27 straight people to be exact). To put it in perspective, you and your family almost have a better chance of winning the lottery than you would of seeing a perfect game. However, as he caught the ball and stepped on first base to record the final and historic out, the first base umpire, Jim Joyce, erroneously called the runner safe, which thus ended Armando’s dream and disappointing the many who were watching sports history. Or at least we would think. On one side, a childhood dream was wrongfully shattered. On the other, one’s nightmare (the umpire’s) was about to begin. A soon to be hometown hero was robbed of baseball immortality. A once favored and respected professional umpire was soon to be robbed of his credible reputation. And then the unexpected happened.

In the midst of something tragic, something noble and good was discovered. The nation and many in the world were about to witness one of the greatest modern day examples of both humility and grace we have ever seen. In a world as competitive as ever and where tolerance for mistakes are unmercifully punished, Gallaraga said to the press of the call made by Joyce with a smile on his face, “Everyone makes mistakes.” Who does that? Who is willing to show that level of mercy when they could have been put on a pedestal that few have ever reached? Gallaraga did, and as a result, he not only gained even greater accolades, but he may have saved someone else in the process; Jim Joyce. A man who humbly felt remorse was given a reprieve and an opportunity to continue on doing something he dearly loved. To me as a Christian, there can be no better lesson learned than that.

We can look at this story and see in it our relationship with God as clear as day. The only difference is we do not just make a mistake once or twice. We do it at times daily, weekly, and/or monthly. We are that umpire who blew the call, and yet like that pitcher, our God shows us grace and forgiveness. As today’s verses illustrate, we too as Christians are called on to be the forgiving and comforting person to one who the world persecutes and punishes. That is what walking the Christian walk is all about; showing love to others because God through Jesus Christ first showed love for us. As the umpire and pitcher met at home plate the following day, we knew that is how the picture of forgiveness looks like. My prayer is that we can remember ask to forgive us of our trespasses and we forgive those who trespass against us. Amen.

The Heart to Change

For I wrote you out of great distress and anguish of heart and with many tears, not to grieve you but to let you know the depth of my love for you. 2 Corinthians 2:4


Change often comes through a revelation that a path traveled was a wrong one. However, there are times forces of status quo and false teaching can cloud which path is a righteous one. Something that can clear our vision to see is not just revealed in our mind. It is often when the path toward righteousness overwhelms our heart and spirit.

A friend and I were reminiscing about the Civil Rights movement, and we took a look at it from a historical perspective. While we knew there were many moving pieces to the struggle, we spent time determining what the turning point was. As we dived into the subject further, I told him of a revelation of sorts. Many who knew the history when asked what the turning point of the Civil Rights movement was might say that it was Martin Luther King’s “I have a dream” speech. Others would mention it was the successful Montgomery Bus Boycott. Some might even point out the burning of the churches down south. However as I analyzed all of the various events and marches, there was one event that was so powerful in its vivid imagery and so clear in its distinct example of blatant racial injustice that it was impossible for anyone righteous to ignore.

I remembered March 7, 1965, when a march was planned from Selma to Montgomery, AL. On this day, which is officially marked as “Bloody Sunday,” peaceful marchers were attacked by Alabama State and Selma local police forces using billy clubs and tear gas. It was indeed a dark day in our country’s history. However as we have learned in scripture, it is often through darkness that God shows His light to all who follow. We are grateful to many of our mothers, fathers, grandmothers and grandfathers, who looked at the images of men and women being senselessly attacked and abused and said with a unified voice, “No more!” No more will we allow the injustice of discrimination to cloud the judgment of this nation. No more will we tolerate a country that would dare say we hold these truths to be self evident that all men are created equal and then say it only applied if you had a particular skin color. No more would we say that the unalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness was allowable only in selected inner circles. Thus change came boldly and swiftly to our nation, and today we are better because of it.

When God sees wrongdoing, He will always provide vision into the injustice so that it may be corrected. In today’s verse, Paul speaks of wrongdoing amongst the churches in Corinth, and the depth his love for all of their people. Note the feelings here; distress, anguish, with many tears. These are the signs of pain and struggle much like you would envision many of the marchers, but for a growing Christian, these are also the signs of growth, strengthen, and enlightenment. Is it any wonder that the saying goes, “That which does not kill you can only make you stronger.” It is with that in mind that Paul noted that his writing was not to cause grief. They were to show depth of love. It is through his love for the people that healing was to begin. Sometimes God will address it within one’s heart to speak of change as Paul. Other times, it is through evidence of wrongdoing that overwhelms the worldly view in our hearts and tears down its structure to erect a view obedient to His will and that of the Holy Spirit. This is very much evident in the change of our nation that fateful day. The bottom line is whether through one or many, God can make a way for us to move what the world might view to be immovable mountains.

God wants both our minds and hearts to be obedient to Him. At times, we can be oblivious to this because our focus can be worldly. While the word of God is an absolute necessity, we should always sensitive to God’s movement in the world, and when He does, our hearts are stirred in such a way that we must act with both passion and conviction for His purpose. My prayer is that through our relationship with Jesus Christ we have solidly built a heart willing to change. Amen.

Spiritual GPS

Trust in the LORD with all your heart

and lean not on your own understanding;


in all your ways acknowledge him,
and he will make your paths straight. Proverbs 3:5-6

I was looking at my GPS and realized how much easier it has made driving for me. Whenever I am lost, need to find an ATM, or am curious of which route is the fastest, I simply need to push a few buttons, and the GPS answers every question how to get from point A to point B in a fast an efficient manner. This is so much more efficient than my old way, which was pulling out my road atlas that I purchased every year, and then methodically spending the night before plotting out my way, which often time had a detour that I could neither anticipate nor navigate efficiently through to get back to the correct route.

I was reading a book about how we are naturally analytical about problems. It could be as simple as which brand of green beans to buy, or something as complex as what kind of car to purchase. The more complex the decision becomes, the more we are likely to spend time weighing all the options. Sometimes, we weigh those options so much that we end up being paralyzed to make a decision and become stuck in a rut. This deals most likely with something that we are trying to change. Maybe we’re trying to figure out the best way to lose weight or how to get our children to behave differently. What it says is that sometimes our problem is not motivation. It can be our natural tendency analyze because our own natural tendencies to just see the problem. Our minds are stuck in the same old beliefs that insist that we are not capable of or too resistant to change.  This deals most likely with something that we are trying to change, and in these cases, we need some kind of direction to make a decision.

In our spiritual growth, it is the trust in our Heavenly Father that allows for change in our lives that is transforming. If we lean on our own understanding, we only know of what others or we would say. You are this type of person, and you will always be that person. While many of these things may be true of the person you have been, trusting and acknowledging Him will lead to being a brand new person. People today will look at you as the person you once were, but through continual prayer and habitual acknowledgment of Jesus Christ as the leader of our lives, we become reborn not just in word but also in deeds. We become filled with the fruits of the spirit, and the old self slowly becomes a part of our past. Bitterness becomes kindness. Anxiety becomes patience. We become the embodiment of 1 Corinthians 13 (the chapter of Love).

Change is possible, but true life transformational change is not possible without some direction. God is the one partner we have in our lives who is true, just, and without fail. He gives us the necessary direction that is essential for spiritual growth, and our only need is to follow that direction. My prayer is that we remember to trust God to provide us with direction for our spiritual growth.  Amen.

Understanding Submission

Moreover, we have all had human fathers who disciplined us and we respected them for it. How much more should we submit to the Father of our spirits and live! Our fathers disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, that we may share in his holiness. Hebrews 12:9-10


God cannot be understood by logical reasoning but only by submission. – Tolstoy

(This is the first installment in a series called ‘Quotes of Faith’ – great quotes from great individuals on Faith)

Sometimes people can be hypocritical not knowingly but just out of sheer blindness. I have been rather upset with my daughter over something she had recently done. Yes, she knew it was not a wise choice, and it had created some distance between us. When my wife and I talked about it, my anger and frustration grew. The more I reflected on it, the worse it became. There was one point where I began to question whether I had begun to question if I had taught her the right things or was not clear in her upbringing. It was then that I came across this quote from Tolstoy. Yes, my concern was still there, but my perspective had changed. In remembering many of my writings on forgiveness, here I was threatening to hold my daughter hostage to the spirit of anger that had overcome me. I had certainly done far worse in my life that my Heavenly Father had forgiven me for, and here I was showing the very lack of mercy that had been shown me in restoring my relationship with God himself. Realizing this, a calm set over me, and suddenly my anger, frustration, and bitterness soon disappeared. By submission, God took over and replaced my anger with natural and parental love for my daughter.

Submission is one of those things that we all know about, but in the heat of the moment can be so easily forgotten. When that car cuts us off unexpectedly, we might have that feeling of anger and resentment. Perhaps we feel hurt because of something another person did to us or someone we know. Perhaps we have found an enemy, and the enemy is us! We may be struggling with something in our lives that distances us from God, and feel a level of shame and guilt. In all of these cases, we are in some form or another not in submission to God’s will. Whereas our initial reaction to the car is with anger, submission wills us to respond with understanding. When our hurt drives us to avenge, submission requires us to show love and forgiveness. And when we are struggling with sin, submission pushes us to rebuke and discipline ourselves to move forward and grow in our faith.

Tolstoy clearly had a keen insights on God’s will, and put it in such a way that its meaning challenges not only those who are not believers but also those of us who are fully fledged Christ followers. God‘s asking may not be the most logical thing from our perspective, but we know He is just and righteous. He is perfect in all things, and it is through our submission to His will that we gain true knowledge of not only His presence in our lives but also His divine wisdom. No one said it would be easy, but anything worthwhile rarely is. Let us rejoice in realizing that God neither expects us to be perfect nor does He expect us to understand everything. He only asks us to submit, and in submission as Tolstoy said, we will find understanding. Amen.

My Father's Child

How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him. Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when he appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. 1 John 3:1-2



Every year when the Super Bowl is on, I always think of my Dad, who like me was a huge football fan. When I was growing up, it was pretty well known that I was my father’s child. I looked a bit like him and at times acted like him. In fact, it was pretty safe to say that I as many young boys wanted to be like my Dad. To the outside world, he was well liked, respected, and a good man, but those who truly knew him describe him even better. He was warm and caring. He stood for righteousness, and was a man of deep rooted Christian values. He was also the last person you ever wanted to get in trouble with. How many of us remember the days where our mother would say, “You just wait until your father gets home?” My mother never said that to me. She did not have to. Besides the fact she was tough in her own right, my siblings and I never wanted to even come close to where she might even hint of saying that phrase. My father commanded that much respect from not only us but also the neighbors’ children as well. “Mr. Williams does not play,” and, whenever someone said, “That’s Kent’s Dad,” an abrupt silence came about the room.


Now back then, I did not know how to describe those attributes, but today I easily could. My children have told me similar stories of me that I once told of my father. The thing is now that he has passed away, I wish that I could tell him those things today, and yet a part of me knows that although I did not tell him, he always knew. This was because as a father, you can see things in your children that they themselves cannot see. They understand who you are and why you act as you do. Furthermore, they nurture and teach not in the same way as a mother but just as important. Sometimes it’s to just love, and other times it is just to set boundaries (i.e. ‘Wait until your father gets home). It’s a honor to be called my father’s child.


Our Heavenly Father is just as my father was and more. Just as my father claimed me and most likely your parents claimed you, God has already claimed us before even we came into being. We came into the world with the breath of His Holy spirit. He knows us inside and out, and he understands who we are even as we do not understand ourselves. He sets boundaries, and can either overtly or subtly bounces us back to the righteous path when we try to venture outside of those boundaries. He loves, and cares for us. He is our deliverer as well as our provider. God is everything our earthly father should be and more, and He blesses us with His presence even when we do not acknowledge Him.


We serve such an amazing and awesome God who in His wisdom sent His son to die for our salvation. To show such love toward anyone is both heartwarming and humbling, and can only be described as a perfect love. That is what a Father does, and we as His children should aspire to reach the values and teachings He has given us. To love and serve God is a wonderful opportunity that we have been given. My prayer is that each of us can continue to grow spiritually, and say, “I am my Father’s child!” Amen.

The Art of Forgiveness

Then came Peter to him, and said, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven times? Jesus saith unto him, “I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven.” Matthew 18:21-22 (KJV)

One of the things that I did when I was younger was hold grudges. How long did I hold a grudge? Take this extreme example. The first girl I ever kissed was a girl named Yvette, and I kissed her on the playground in first grade. After I kissed her, she smacked me right on the cheek. As all six year olds are when they are embarrassed, I cried in shame, but then I vowed my revenge. Pretty Shakespearian for a six year old you might say, huh? So I waited, and waited. And then when the perfect opportunity came, I walked right up to her and returned the favor! Yes, that was terribly wrong, and I know that.

However that was only half the story. The other half was how long it was between slaps, which was three whole years!  The thing is she had no idea it was coming, and here I was holding in all these feelings that truly were unwarranted.  Looking back, I see how silly it was to hold in that type of anger and bitterness. Fortunately today, my spiritual maturity has finally helped me become much more a forgiving person because I have learned through the grace that has been given me through Jesus Christ. The new Kent probably takes that slap, and says, “Yeah, I deserved that one.” At least I think I would 

The incident reminded me of a broadcast about forgiveness, it brought up Jesus’ teachings about forgiving others. Much like a number of his teachings, there is more to it than just reading the verses. We must first understand that forgiveness is expected from all of us even for the worst of sins. In reading the verses above, Paul questions to what degree should we forgive (seven times?). Let’s say we are asked to forgive a murderer. If it is someone we do not know, it may only take minutes. However, what if it was your mother or father? What if it were your sibling or spouse? The pain and trauma from such a death would be devastating, and the level of grief would be at times overwhelming. Surely we would not be expected to forgive such a sin, right?

Jesus’ answer speaks to a deeper understanding of our true plight and capability to forgive. Jesus in his infinite wisdom made His bold statement in verse 22 saying seventy times seven times. It is important to note that this is not translated in the New International version, which stated seventy-seven times but instead the King James version, which in this case is truly at the heart of what Jesus’ true intent was. Taking this to mean seventy times seven, this would equal 490. If we forgive one who has sinned against us once a day, it would mean we would forgive them for roughly a year and 4 months. Imagine day after day for that long of time forgiving one for their transgressions. Through those first few months, we are still angered and feeling bitterness toward that person. However as the process continues and we continue to devote ourselves to Jesus’ teaching each and every day through prayer, our hearts are filled more with the Holy Spirit less by the pain. By the time we are at that first year mark, perhaps we might begin to feel the true level of forgiveness that Jesus expected of us, and by the time we have reached that 490th day, we would truly forgive that person.

Jesus Christ truly loves and understands us! He knew who we truly before we would ever come into existence, and like the wonderful Lord he is, He knew what we may endure. Furthermore, He went a step further, and served to be a shining example of what is asked of all of us taking on our sins as an act of forgiveness. As the Lord’s Prayer says, “Forgive us of our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.” It was God who first forgave us of our sins. It is my prayer that we learn the true art of forgiveness. Amen.