Kevin Cushing

Kevin was a pastor’s kid, and quickly came to understand that loving God was the most important choice he could make in his life. As he got older he came to appreciate that a relationship with Jesus Christ was not only spiritually fulfilling, but intellectually and emotionally satisfying as well. Professionally, Kevin started off acting on stage and in media, and he wrote and directed some Christian films and documentaries when he was a young man.  He spent many years in motion picture and television development, and then as a marketing executive at a successful dotcom. Throughout his career, Kevin has maintained a close relationship and love for the local church and has been a sought-after speaker as well as writer of devotions and dramatic material used in worship.

A MESSAGE FROM KEVIN

“CONTENTMENT” “I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation.”  (Philippians 4:12) The Apostle Paul was not bragging when he made this statement.  He was making the point that real, lasting contentment is achievable for people in this world.  He was not saying that only he, the great apostle, was capable of reaching this state.  He was saying this is something that is possible for every believer in Jesus Christ. How many people have spent a fortune and traveled the world listening to gurus who pretended to know the secret to contentment and who offered to pass on this knowledge, but only if their disciples spent years in rigorous study, great expense and self-denial?  Yet Paul says that none of that is necessary.  He has found the secret.  Paul says that in his life, Christ had proven himself to be reliable, one who is sufficient for every need and situation. Christ is not a program.  Not a system of philosophy.  Christ is a person.  A real person with a mind and heart and thoughts and intentions for us.  Someone we can know and someone we can rely on.  Oh, and he happens to be God.  That’s what makes knowing him sufficient for every need.  That’s what Paul said was the secret.  Paul had the ability to do everything he needed to do because Christ always supplied the strength. In the Fall our activity ramps up.  In the Fall we often expect to see a harvest for the work we have been doing.  We get ready to celebrate the abundance God has provided.  We can also get down and depressed if life is not meeting our hopes and expectations.  It’s easy to focus on what we think we lack.  But Paul says we can see our way around that trap.  He did not see himself as lacking anything.  Because he was well supplied by the company and provision and acceptance he found in Christ. As we round the corner into this year’s fourth quarter, let’s not allow ourselves to be brought down by a sense of lack, whether emotionally, relationally, or materially.  Let us be supplied by Christ’s attentive abundance.  If we know Christ, then we know the way to the secret Paul had discovered.  We have the key to contentment.  So use it and unlock the door and let us come in to a season of contentment and celebration and gratitude.  Let’s celebrate the Fall together. I’ll see you in church! Kevin