Reminiscing 2012

As I sit here on the last day of 2012, I reflect back on the past year and what God has done for me and my family.

January started off with my first ISOM class of the year. My "sophomore" year. Got to meet and hang out with a bunch of really awesome people.

Following that, my sister- in- law got married out in California. So my wife, daughter and myself along with all of her sisters flew out for the wedding. We were out there for  a week. What a beautiful bride. What a beautiful wedding. I was asked to participate in the ceremony. I was honored to do so. My new nickname for the family in Cali is Keven from Fortuna.

Early in Feburary I started a new job. The first time I had to get up and go to work in almost two years. It was doing assembly work on a assembly line. Work that I had never done before. Needless to say, it was a learning experience.

March I celebrated my 45th time around the sun. That's all I'll say about that.

In April, I began with a friend of mine to start coaching both of our daughters softball team. This would be the last year, as they would be to old for park district next year.

May thru July didn't really do much. Coaching softball, going to ISOM, meetings and church events.Nothing really exciting. Although I did have an interview to get my ministry credentials in July.

In August, my family and I took a family vacation out to see Mount Rushmore. We stopped in Sioux Falls to visit my wifes Grandma for a couple of days. We have some friends that live in Fargo, ND, We decided to take a ride up there to visit them on our way home. On the way to Fargo, we stopped in De Smet, SD to visit the Laura Ingalls Wilder museum and took a tour. My daughter is a huge Little House on the Prairie fan. Also in August, our daughter started her freshman year of high school.

October 11th, my wife and I celebrated our 4th wedding anniversary. Four years already, wow!

In November, I finally recieved my ministry credentials in the mail. I am a certified pastor now. Praise the Lord. God has been so good to me and my family.

Finally in December I took a trip with my mom, step-dad & nephew to South Carolina, to see my nephew graduate from college. We met my brother and his family down there. We were able to fly, while my brother had to drive. Praise the Lord my nephews graduation.

So now I am looking for an exciting 2013. I am excited to see what God has planned for me and my family! I hope that He has plans to use me in a mighty way! I am His, he can use me anyway He wants. My answer to Him is YES LORD!! God bless all of you!

Merry Christmas vs. Happy Holidays

Yes I know that it is the day after Christmas, but this still bothers me, just a little.

People keep on wanting to take God or Christ out of everything. They take Him out of the court room. They take Him out of the schools. They want to take Him off of our currency. The White House now refers to the Christmas trees as the holiday trees. Now they even want to take Christ out of Christmas. That's not right in my book. Actually none of it is right with me. We need Him more than ever, especially now in these times.

I went to a local resteraunt here in town to pick up a gift certificate for my nephew and his girlfriend for their Christmas present. I told the cashier how much I wanted on the card, she rang it up and then with a smile she said "Happy Holidays". I must tell you that this took place on Chirstmas Eve. I looked at her and smiled back and said "Merry Christmas". What I really wanted to say to her was, "what is today? That's right it's Christmas Eve. Not holiday eve. What is tomorrow? Ohhh, that's right, it's Christmas Day, not holiday day."

I can understand not wanting to offend anyone. Heaven forbid we offend the Muslims. Or the Aethiests, or the Jewish people, but the Christians, we are a different group.

I drove past a sign on one of our local churches that read. "Keep Christ in Christians all year round." Amen to that.

Assume

I made a pretty big blunder this past Thanksgiving weekend (2012). I logged onto Facebook and started checking out my news feed. The language that I have noticed the last few weeks had me on notice. Every curse word that I saw, I would automatically block that person. I wanted to delete them, but decided not to.

So I scroll down my page and I notice an old high school friend with a post that really made my blood boil. The post had both the 'f' word and Jesus in the same sentance. I immediately assumed that my friend had posted this, so I blocked them. Well in doing so, I alienated a friend. I replied with a post on my own page about this friend being a Christian and posting things like that, and attacking their denomination as well. A couple of mutual friends called me out on it. Asking my who am I to judge and said that I am a hypocrite. Wow, I could not believe it. How could they. How dare they!

Then I started thinking. Wow, they are right. I wasn't showing Jesus to my friend. I was showing a wordly attitude instead. I was being judemental and hypocritical. They made me see the situation from a different perspective. I thank them for that. I found out that my friends account had been hacked and the post taken down. If I hadn't blocked so quickly, I would have known this.

I checked a little while later in my friends list to see if they had un-friended me. They had. I understand why. It just makes me sad. This situation just makes me look at everything and check things out before assuming. You know what happens when you assume, right! Nothing good!

Forgive me Lord, for my poor representation of you this time! I am still a work in progress, and thank You for still working on me, in me and through me.

My Credentialing.

This is the story of my credentialing process to get my ministry certificate.

I had to have my application in by the end of January, along with all of the fees and other stuff. I did that, and waited. I waited for my interview and test. And I waited, and waited, and waited some more. Finally in July, I recieved the date for my interview and test. Great news!

So the day finally came for the inteview and test. I passed both with flying colors. So I started to expect that my certificate would come in the mail. I waited, waited and waited some more. Nothing came. Then I recieved an email, stating that my wife and I had to attend another meeting to further along the process. So my wife and I attended the meeting, and got the go ahead for my certificate. Then I started expecting something in the mail again. Again, nothing came.

Then another email asking about a question that I left blank on my test. I replied back with my answer, and thought "what next". So one Saturday night, after a long day out, my wife and I arrive home. I walk out to get the mail and I see a letter from the Illinois District Assembly of God. I thought "what do they want now?"  I walk into my garage for better lighting, and I notice that the envelope is addressed to Rev. Keven Foulk. Hallelujah, praise the Lord. I finally recieved my credentials! I am a pastor now. So after so many months and almost actually quitting the process, I received my credentials! The big question is:

Now what do I do with it???

I can not wait to see what God has in store for me and my family. I expect that He is going to do great things with us. All I can say is " here I am Lord, use me".

Left to Go Right.

I was watching a televangelist on tv this morning, and he was talking about how God has people going left, to get them to end up right. He was going on and on about things and then he hit right where I am at in my life. It was like he looked right at the camera and said "Keven, this is for you." He had my attention, that's for sure.

He started to talk about if you are at a job that you don't feel it is a right fit for you, that is God taking you on a left turn, to get you prepared for the right turn.  When you are left, God is preparing an even greater thing for you, than where you are at right now. In fact I just posted this on my facebook page the other day, about "God, I sure hope you something better for me than this." I was talking about my job.

The job that closed down and sent me to un-employment paid over $22.00 an hour. As my un-employment was running out, I didn't have much choice in jobs, so I had to take one that was offered to me for $10.00/hour. Less than half of what I had been making. I made more on un-employment.

I am very grateful to have this job. It is local (Sycamore), it's first shift, and I am able to get Friday's off for ISOM. The pay is the only thing that stunk about this. But I had a job, thank You Jesus!

So I have been there nine months now, and I have been hired full time. But, and there is always a but, I am really tired of the long hours each and everyday. On top of that, they expect you to just work them. Excuse me, but I have a life. I have a family and friends that I would like to see and spend time with. I don't live to work here. So last week, I was down in spirit about this place and crying out to God, "there has to be something more for me than this."

That's when this televagelist comes into play. He was preaching about the job situation and staying there until God moves you onto something bigger and better. And believe me, there is going to be something bigger and better. So right now, God has me on a left turn, and I am trying to be patient until He moves me to the right turn. I know that He has something more for me, I can just feel it. So while I wait, I will worship and praise Him! To God goes all of the glory. He gets everything from me, the good and the bad! I lay it at His feet and let go. Thank You Jesus!

I Want to do Better!

They last few weeks I have been looking back on where I have been, and where God has me going. I would like a little more revelation from Him, but I will be patient, or at least try to be. I the meantime I will worship Him!

What I have noticed is that in my mind I have failed at all or at least some of these things lately. So I want to do better.

I want to be a better husband. I want to be a better father. I want to be a better son. I want to be a better brother. A better uncle, a better friend, a better co-worker, a better witness for my Savior Jesus Christ. I want the Holy Spirit to help me do all of this.

My prayer is that God will help me become the man that He wants me to be. My job is to be patient and be still and let Him be God! I know the desires of my heart, but I want more of God and less of me. I want what God wants first and foremost, not what Keven wants. I want to hear His voice and answer His call. I don't want to be to busy to hear God. I want to be busy about the Father's buisness. I want to be working with and for God.

I know I can do better. I WANT TO DO BETTER!!

Keep on pursuing God!

A pastor friend of mine gave an awesome devotion the other night, that really hit home with me. It was from 1 Samuel 30.
⁷ Then he said to Abiathar the priest, “Bring me the ephod!” So Abiathar brought it. ⁸ Then David asked the Lord, “Should I chase after this band of raiders? Will I catch them?”
And the Lord told him, “Yes, go after them. You will surely recover everything that was taken from you!”
⁹ So David and his 600 men set out, and they came to the brook Besor. ¹⁰ But 200 of the men were too exhausted to cross the brook, so David continued the pursuit with 400 men.

The pastor told us that sometimes in life you are going to come to a brook, or an obstacle that will be in your way of your pursuit of God. He told us to keep going. God has called you into the ministry and for you to persevere in that calling. Seek God, pursue God with all your heart, mind and soul. So I asked that question of God. "Do You want me to keep on pursuing this ministry thing?"

About a month ago, I was ready to quit going to ISOM. Things were not happening as fast as I would have liked. I wasn't being interviewed or tested for my credentials. I thought that God was closing that door to me and I was ready to give up. God told me to be like the 400 men in the story above who kept on pursuing. Pursue me, seek My face, don't quit and don't give up. I wanted to be obedient to the Lord, but I just didn't feel it.

About a week later, my pastor let me know that we were going to interview and test, later on that next week. I was excited. I sent my payment in for my next class. Got all of my rooming taken care of, and started studying.

The testing day came and went. I passed the test and the interview. Thank You Jesus! Thank You for giving me the strength to hang in there. To not give up and throw in the towel. The door was not being closed, it was being pushed wide open. I intend to walk through that door. I don't know what God is calling me to, but I do know that He wanted me to continue with my ISOM studies. Praise the LORD!!

Disturbed

My family and I watched a movie the other night, that really disturbed me. The movie was titled 'Joyful Noise'. It supposed to be about a church choir singing in a competition between churches.

The movie was filled with all kinds of things that I found offensive. Pre-marital sex between a choir member and a random dude. Teenage kissing between a choir member and some other kid. The performing of secular songs in church. I mean really, if this is the way that the world sees us Christians, they really missed the boat.

If I were to attend a church service where all of this was going on, it would be my last at that church. To me, this movie portrays us Christains as a bunch of hypocrites. To me, to be a memeber of the choir, you need to old yourself up to some higher standards. Not worldly standards. We are to be in the world but not of the world.

I know that this isn't a Christian film, but seriously, they got it all wrong in my book. I don't know what kind of church they went to, to research this, but rest assured it wasn't my church!

Once again, this is just my opinion about this movie.

My Daughter

My daughter just finished 8th grade. This has caused me to reflect back on what has happened in her life so far. Here comes the nostalgia.

Thank You God for her birth. She was born five weeks early and had to spend the first nine days of her life in the hospital. Her lungs were not full developed and had to be watched 24/7. She was transfered from Mercy in Aurora to Lutheran General in Park Ridge. Not being able to hold your own child for the first nine days, very painful.

Thank You God for getting her through her heart surgery when she was a year old. She had a hole in her heart that should have closed by itself by the age of six months. It did not. So she had to have surgery. Thank You Jesus for answering our prayers, even when we weren't walking with you. I did not know You at the time, but yet You still kept Your hand on the situation. Looking at her today, you would never know that she had these problems in her first year of life.

Thank You God for her very first day of school in kindergarden. Her class would line up outside and then all go in together. She went in the building but somehow got seperated from her class. So she came back outside crying that she was lost. Good thing I didn't leave right away. I got her straightened around and she made it through her first day.

Thank You God for every parent/teacher confrence that I ever went to was a positive one. Every teacher from kindergarden all the way to her eighth grade, gushed about her. How helpful she was in class. How she did everything they asked her to do. Her awesome grades. Even when she changed schools, the teachers could not tell that she was a transfer. She adapted so easily. Thank You Jesus.

I thank You God for her musical and acting abilities. She recieved the highest score on her solo ensamble in sixth grade. She won an award for that. She sang the song "I Can Only Imagine" by Mercy Me. Made us all cry! She has tried out for and was awarded roles in every play from the sixth grade to the eighth. Not afraid to be on stage.

Thank You God for her softball ability. She is a really good player and understands the game well! I love being able to go out and play catch with her. Every Dad's dream right. To play catch with their kid.

Thank You God for her being a Cardinals fan and for loving the game of baseball. She actually wants to get a score book and keep score of games we watch on tv. Awesome! Her school went on a field trip last week up to Milwaukee to watch the Brewers play. Her friend wanted to walk around, but my daughter said that she came to watch the game! She would ask questions and give answers to her friend. I was so proud of her!!

Thank You God for blessing me with my daugher! I don't know what I did to deserve her, but thank You!

Crickets!

About a month ago or so, I was asked to give my testimony to our youth group at church. How I have been saved and for how long. Then I was asked to do a little Bible study along with it. I said sure I would do it. I was very excited for this oppurtunity.

So I researched and came up with some scipture that would go along with what I was going to talk about. My Bible study was going to be about what it means to be a new person in Christ. How your old life has died and you have a new life in Jesus.

So I read Romans 12:2, 2 Corinthians 5:17, Galatians 2:20 and finally pulled it together with 1 Peter 4:4-5.

 In my mind I was going to speak for the full hour. I anticipated group interaction and a lot of questions. In reality, it lasted only about 10 minutes and was met with silence. Like in the movies when you hear crickets chirping when something boring happens.

 I praise God for the oppurtunity to even speak in front of them. I praise God for giving me the courage to do so.

What it means to be Christian

What it means to be a Christian. My definition and your definition are probably different, but hopefully some of the points will be the same. To me being a Christian is to believe that the Bible is God inspired and the Word is true! To live out your Christian walk everday, not just on Sunday.

Recently President Obama made a statement regarding same sex marriages. He thinks that they should be legal. He has been quoted as saying that he calls himself a Christian. If he is a Christian, then he can not believe in this. The Bible says in Mark 10: 6-9
⁶ But ‘God made them male and female’^[a] from the beginning of creation. ⁷ ‘This explains why a man leaves his father and mother and is joined to his wife,^{[b] 8} and the two are united into one.’^[c] Since they are no longer two but one, ⁹ let no one split apart what God has joined together.”

The Bible is full of all kinds of things that we are not supposed to do. I try to follow it as closely as I can, but I am far from perfect.

 Ephesians 5:18

¹⁸ Don’t be drunk with wine, because that will ruin your life. Instead, be filled with the Holy Spirit.

I have not had a drink since 2003. I just choose not to. The Bible tells me not to get drunk, so I don't.

Ephesians 4:29

²⁹ Don’t use foul or abusive language. Let everything you say be good and helpful, so that your words will be an encouragement to those who hear them. 

The first part of this was a hard one for me to change. I worked on a shipping dock, with truck drivers around all the time. So changing my speech was very difficult for me. The Bible says not to use foul or abusive language, so I stopped. The second part of that passage is easy for me. I am always encouraging people, lifting them up. I always try to see the best in everyone. It's not always easy, I still struggle with this.

This can go on and on. I am just trying to say is that saying you are a Christian, you have to line up with what the Bible says. You can't believe what the Bible says and then go out and say or do something different. Like I said in the opening, this is just my thoughts on what it means to be a Christian. I love everyone the same. I may not like their lifestyle choice, but that is between them and God!

Golden Child

I was reminded earlier this week of a conversation I had with a co-worker a few years ago. We worked at a manufacturing company in the shipping department. I had only been there about two years, my co-worker had been there about twenty four years. So quite the distance in time between us in years of service. Since I still considered myself a "new" employee, I would do whatever needed to get the job done. Come in early, stay late, whatever. He was a forty hour a week guy and out the door. So he started calling me the "golden child". He told me that according to our boss, I could never do any wrong. He kept making fun of me about this.

I asked him what he meant by calling me the golden child? Did he mean that because I would do what the boss would ask me without complaining. Did he mean put in the extra time, again without complaining. Did he mean never calling in sick or missing time. I told him I did what was expected of me. My boss expected me to be there everyday. He expected me to do my job. So apparently I was making my co-worker look bad by doing all that.

I told him that I wasn't working for my boss or even the company. I was working for Jesus. Just like the book of  Colossians says,

Colossians 3:23

New Living Translation (NLT)

²³ Work willingly at whatever you do, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people.

So I urge everyone that is working at a job. Do it willingly. You may not like it, but God has you there for a reason. I know this first hand! Praise the Lord for my job!

Misguided Thinking

So the other night at our park district girls softball practice, the subject of being gay came up in conversation. Amongst the girls, not me. They were talking about the tv show Glee and how some of the characters are gay. One girl started saying how it is ok with God to be gay. That's when I got involved. I told her that it is NOT ok with God. Homosexuality is a sin, and if you practice it you will not inherit the Kingdom of God. I told her that as Christians, we love the sinner and hate the sin. Then she proceded to tell me that it says in the Bible that it is ok to be gay. Really? Tell me where. It is not in there anywhere. I asked her when the last time that she read her Bible was. She couldn't tell me. I told her I could come up with a couple of Scripture passages that show that God is against this sin.

1 Corinthians 6:⁹ Don’t you realize that those who do wrong will not inherit the Kingdom of God? Don’t fool yourselves. Those who indulge in sexual sin, or who worship idols, or commit adultery, or are male prostitutes, or practice homosexuality, ¹⁰ or are thieves, or greedy people, or drunkards, or are abusive, or cheat people—none of these will inherit the Kingdom of God.

Then 1 Timothy 1:8-11.

Then she wanted to know how come God made them gay. I told her that God didn't make anyone a homosexual. He gives us free choice. We can either choose to live for Him, or not for Him. He let's us choose.

She kept wanting to argue, but I just said enough was enough and continued practice. I feel for this younger generation. They are lost and need to hear the Truth. Not worldly lies.

You Never Know Who is Watching!

I received a text message earlier this week from my niece, asking me a question I didn't see coming. It was an awesome question and one that I was very eager to answer.

Let me set the stage for you. The back story if you will.

My niece is a starting varsity pitcher for our local high school girls softball team. She is very good and very  talented! She told me a little while ago that when she pitches she recites a Bible verse before every pitch. How awesome is that! A high school softball player reciting a Bible verse while pitching in a game. I was blown away!

So now for the question. She texted me and told me that for the last two years she had been reciting the same verse, and now she wanted a new one. One that had to deal with strength. She wanted to know if I knew of one. Wow! I was beside my self. Of course I knew of some. I emailed her two or three of them and I gave her my favorite one. Philippians 4:13 "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me."

I texted her this past Wednesday to see which one if any she had decided to use, and which one had she used in the past. She told me that for the last two years she had been using John 3:16, but she wanted one more relevant to her situation. She told me that she has them all written down on a piece of paper and puts them in her back pocket while she is playing. The one that she recites is the one from Philippians. AWESOME!! I am moved beyond belief that she reached out to me for scripture verses. That just goes to show...Live and act like Jesus at all times. You never know who is watching you.
God bless my niece!

South Carolina

My mom called me last Wednesday to see if I would be interested in going on a road trip with her and my brother to South Carolina to see my nephew play baseball. He plays college baseball at North Greenville University, in Greenville, South Carolina. I told her to give me the details and I would let her know.

They planned on leaving Thursday night, driving all the way through. And then leaving on Saturday night, driving all the way through. I thought about it and decided to go. How often to I ever get alone time with both my mom and brother? Never! So my brother picked me up and then we went to meet my mom. We headed out about 8:00 Thursday night. The trip down was about twelve hours.

We watched his game on Friday, which they won by the way. We went out to dinner and then walked downtown Greenville. If you have never been, you need to go. That place is awesome! The only good night sleep we got was on Friday night. We spent the night in a hotel. We got up on Saturday and watched two more of their games, which they won also. A three game sweep. Awesome. My brother who lives in Virginia came down and meet us all on Saturday also. Praise the Lord. We all went out to dinner with my nephew and his girlfriend. We headed for home about 10:40 pm. We arrived home at 11:00 am. So all in all, twenty four and a half hours of driving. Three baseball games. A real good sunburn. Lots of laughs and fellowship with my family! PRICELESS!! I thank GOD for these times! They don't come around very often, so when they do, I cherish them. Cherish every moment you have with your family, you never know when it might be the last. God bless my family! Every single one of them.

What Get's You Through?

As some of you may or may not know, I started a new job on February 6, 2012. I am working at The Suter Company as an assembler. I work on an assembly line and it moves VERY fast. The job is very labor intensive. I don't know if it's because I have been off for over a year and a half and I am not used to it. Or if it really is that intense. We work ten hours a day for four days. With an occasional Friday mixed in when neccesary.

I worked a different line this week than I usually do. I worked with a much younger guy and he asked me this question. "What get's you through?" "Everybody has something to get them through the day, what's your thing?" I thought for a moment and then replied "dude, I pray all day." He didn't believe me. He could not believe that someone would pray all day at a job.

I pray that God will give me the strength to do the job. I pray that He will make me fast and accurate (which hasn't worked out so well as of yet.) I pray that He'll give me the ability and the wisdom to do the job.

Then I give thanks. Thank You God for giving me the strength. Thank You for my back holding up. Thank You for my arms and legs to be able to withstand the beating they take throughout  the long day! Thank Your for giving me a job! Thank You for healing my body everynight, so that when I wake up I don't feel as sore as when I went to bed! Lord I thank You and praise You for every single thing that You do for me while I am at work.

All Praise and Glory to God forever and ever!! AMEN!!

Coming To An End!

My volunteer time at my local hospital came to an end today. Not because I wanted it to, but because I have been offered a full time job. I will be working full time Monday thru Friday. It is kind of bitter sweet for me. Praise the Lord that I have a full time job for the first time in over twenty months. I am very sad to be leaving the hospital. It had been very rewarding to me in so many ways. I have no doubt that God had me there for a reason. To shine His light among the many visitors and patients that I came in contact with. Hopefully I was a blessing to someone else. I tried my best to work hard for Jesus. Spread the Gospel, and talk about Him with others. Praise the Lord that I was able to talk about Him in public at a public place. I am not ashamed of the Gospel.

Matthew 5:16
In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven. (ESV)

My favorite part of volunteering there was taking the cardio-rehab patients up to the rehab center. What a joyful, fun bunch of people. They were like a family. It's only fitting that my final act as a volunteer, was to take a wheel chair up to rehab and give a patient a ride down.

I worked with the best group of people. The way that we all got along was incredible. From the older volunteers all the way down to the younger ones. Our diverse backgrounds didn't hinder our performance at all. We all got along famously. I am going to miss the people there. The camaraderie. Sharing our stories. Getting to know one another.

Colossians 3:23 Work willingly at whatever you do, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people

Clearing Your Temple!

Nehemiah 13:⁷ When I arrived back in Jerusalem, I learned about Eliashib’s evil deed in providing Tobiah with a room in the courtyards of the Temple of God. ⁸ I became very upset and threw all of Tobiah’s belongings out of the room. ⁹ Then I demanded that the rooms be purified, and I brought back the articles for God’s Temple, the grain offerings, and the frankincense. (NLT)

I read this verse in Nehemiah the other day and it got me to thinking. What do I need to clean out of the rooms of my storehouse? My body is God's temple, and I consider my mind as His storehouse. What did I need to clear out to make room for Jesus? All the negative thoughts and doubts obviously had to go. I wanted to start being an upbeat, positive person. Instead of tearing people down, I wanted to encourage them. All the hurts and pain that occupied my thoughts. I still remember things that were said to me back in grade school. Even middle school, that cut me deeply. I needed to remove them to make room for the love of Jesus. It is still a work in process. I don't think that it will ever really be complete until I meet Jesus face to face. Like the song says "there will be a day, no more pain, no more suffering."

2 Corinthians 5:¹⁷ This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!(NLT)

I am trying to shake off, get rid of old things that I used to hang on to. I want to be a new person in Jesus. I want to live for Him and not things of the world. It is hard to let go of worldly things that I have held onto for so many years. Piece by piece, Jesus is knocking these things off of me. Removing things from my mind (storehouse), making me a new creation in Christ. Here I am Jesus, use me. Fill me with more of You and less of me. Praise the LORD!!

Would We Really?

Had a challenge issued last night at church, when taken at face value I did not think that we would have a problem with. Upon deeper thought,

Would we really......

Would we really welcome those that are considered less desirable by society? You know the type, tatoo's all over their bodies. Long hair, unkept beards. Dirty or worn out clothes. Smells of b/o or worse. Would we really wrap our arms around them, embrace them and welcome them in. Would we put our best foot forward and go  up to them and introduce ourselves. Or, would we turn and go a different direction? Avoid them all together? Hmmmmm, interesting, to say the least. I would love to think that our church would welcome them with open arms. Come on in and have a seat. Great the congregation, be friendly with each other. Great to see you, glad that you are here. You are welcome anytime, this is a safe place.

I believe that GOD is working on this very thing with me right now. I never thought that I was that way, until last night. I felt very convicted of what I was like in my past. Even up to the past year or so. I believe that GOD has placed me at the hospital and at the front desk for this very reason. My job at the front desk is to great every single person that comes through that door, no matter what race, size, shape, male, female, three piece suit or holes in their clothes.All are to be greeted the same. I'll have to be honest. This really humbled me. There are people that I greet, that a year ago I would not have given the time of day to. I would have avoided them at all cost. Cross to the other side of the street. Turn around and go a different direction. GOD is teaching me by saying "How is that showing the love of Jesus?" You are supposed to be a Christian, a GODLY man. He showed me that I was being a hypocrite. OUCH!! His work is not completed in me yet, but I am much better off now than a year ago. Praise GOD!

1 John 3:¹⁸ Dear children, let’s not merely say that we love each other; let us show the truth by our actions. ¹⁹ Our actions will show that we belong to the truth, so we will be confident when we stand before God. ²⁰ Even if we feel guilty, God is greater than our feelings, and he knows everything.
 ²¹ Dear friends, if we don’t feel guilty, we can come to God with bold confidence. ²² And we will receive from him whatever we ask because we obey him and do the things that please him.
 ²³ And this is his commandment: We must believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and love one another, just as he commanded us. ²⁴ Those who obey God’s commandments remain in fellowship with him, and he with them. And we know he lives in us because the Spirit he gave us lives in us. (NLT)