Being Humbled!

I have two t-shirts that have sayings printed on them. One is printed on the front, the other is printed on the back. They read "Pastor, because devil stomping ninja isn't an official job title." I wear them quite often because I think that they are cool and get some conversations started. Well, a couple of weekends ago, my wife and I volunteered for a community event, Feed My Starving Children. We were going to be volunteering with about 360 other people for the shift that we were on. I thought about what to wear that night. Then I thought to myself "hmm, I'll wear one of those pastor shirts." "I'll wear the one with the printing on the back." I was thinking to myself that by wearing the one with the printing on the back, people would notice the shirt, notice me and hopefully make some comments about it. My plan was to work in an area were my back would be to everybody, so they could all see my shirt. Well, God had other plans. He reminded me of this scripture, Matthew 20:28 New Living Translation(NLT)28 For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve others. I translated it to be "your not here for people to look at you and notice your clothes. Your here to serve My starving children around the world, by packing meals for two hours." So what did God do to humble me you may ask? He placed me on the far side of the floor, my back up against a wall (so no one could see me or my shirt), doing a job that I absolutely hated. I worked that job for the two hour shift, because that is what God wanted from me. Towards the end of the shift, I finally got it through my thick skull what God was saying to me. It's not about you my child, not tonight. Tonight it's about serving others, being my hands and feet to the world. So my answer was yes Lord, whatever You want. Your will be done. Isaiah 55:8-9 New Living Translation 8 “My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts,” says the Lord“And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine.9 For just as the heavens are higher than the earth,so my ways are higher than your ways and my thoughts higher than your thoughts." For that lesson in humility, I am grateful! We volunteered again the next night for two shifts. Guess what I wore? A less conspicuous shirt!

I've Got To Do Better!

This may be my most transparent/vulnerable post yet. I've have had a lot of thoughts swirling around in my head for the last several months. Work, family, church. Some good, some bad. But thoughts none the less. Our pastor has been doing sermon series the last couple of months that have challenged me. I watched a movie tonight that challenged me. How are these things challenging me you may ask? I've got to do better. I need to be a better employee. Need to stop complaining about my job (Philippians 2:14), and just embrace where God has me right now. Just because things are not going the way that I would like them to go. It's not about me, it's about what God wants from me. That's to be obedient! He has placed me in this company for a reason. To shine His light to everyone there. I am doing my best to do just that. I need to be a better husband (Ephesians 4:32). To be the man that my wife needs me to be. To help out more around the house. I work a lot of hours, but you know what? So does my wife! I've got to do better! I need to be a better father. Show my daughter how a Christian man is supposed to be. Show her how a man is supposed to love a woman. Be supportive of her when she calls home from college with an issue that may seem trivial to me, but is a big deal to her (Psalm 103:13). I've got to do better. A better family member to my family. Both immediate and extended ( 1 Timothy 5:8). I've got to do better! To be a better leader at the church that I attend. I've been on the elder board for the last couple of years. I've got to do better. I pray that God will change some things (okay a lot of things) but if not, I will do what He wants me to do. For His glory.For His praise. I may not like it or want to do it, but His ways are higher than mine. His thoughts are greater than mine (Isaiah 55:8-9). This is the word that The Lord gave me tonight as I was driving home from Rockford. I've got to do better. You know what? I can do better. I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength (Philippians 4:13). I just need to trust Him more. Lean on and cling to the Rock! He is my everything. The beginning and the end. The Alpha and Omega. I pray Lord, that you use me in a mighty way. Wherever you want me. Might not be where I want to be, but You're in charge, and for that I am thankful!

Witness Wear!

I wear what I call "witness wear". What is that you may ask. Well, let me tell you. It is usually a t-shirt or hat that has a Christian theme, saying or message on it. To me it tells whomever sees it that I am a Christian. I have several of these shirts and hats. I am not ashamed to wear them anywhere. Disney World, check. Ballgames, check. I think that you get the idea. I have had several conversations started about these items of clothing. Usually someone agreeing with me about what my shirt or hat say. Others, trying to discuss their beliefs about the Gospel. Sometimes people flat out disagree completely and let me know about it. All are welcome. It gets a conversation started about God, Jesus and the Gospel. Hence the name witness wear. I get to witness to all kinds of different people. Thank You Lord! Recently this Christian apparel that I wear has had a different effect on me. The job that I work at gets very stressful and gets me very angry sometimes. I start to get heated up and my anger is getting ready to boil over, when I stop and think about what I am wearing. I am wearing one of my witness wear shirts. I can not proclaim the gospel of Jesus and the peace that He gives or the love that He shows, by screaming and yelling at someone while wearing one of these t-shirts. How hypocritical would that be! The t-shirt says that you love Jesus, but here you are yelling, screaming and stomping around like a madman. That will not win anyone to Christ. It will not show that Christians are different from the world. The Bible tells us that we should be in the world, but not of the world. I thank Jesus for these clothes that I wear (witness wear), for the dual things that they are accomplishing. All the glory to God!

Death.....

Death. Death has happened very frequently as of late in my life. Family, friends, co-workers. Since the beginning of the year, it has seemed to be non stop. Some were expected, due to health issues and such. Many have passed away suddenly and unexpectedly. While reflecting on some of these passing's, especially the ones that were unexpected, I started thinking about their walk with Jesus. Did they even have one? Did they know Him or not? Did they have a relationship with Him? The reason I was thinking about this, is this. 1 Thessalonians 5:2 New Living Translation (NLT)2 For you know quite well that the day of the Lord’s return will come unexpectedly, like a thief in the night. If they didn't know Jesus or accept Him as their personal savior before they passed, they would not live in eternity with Him. We need to accept Him today because tomorrow just might be to late. Matthew 24:36 The Message (MSG)36 “But the exact day and hour? No one knows that, not even heaven’s angels, not even the Son. Only the Father knows. This is a reminder that we need to be prepared for his return at all times. Matthew 25:1-13 tells us a story of ten virgins waiting for the bridegroom to arrive. Five had enough oil for their lamps and five were unprepared with enough oil for His arrival. When the bridegroom finally arrived, the five that were unprepared had gone out to buy some more oil for their lamps. When they returned the door had been locked and they were left out. I don't know about you, but I don't want to be left out. I want the door to be swung open wide for me and to spend eternity with Jesus! I want to live my life how Jesus wants me to live it, so that when it comes my time, my family and friends will not have to wonder as to where I am going. They will know!

God Said No!

I work for a company on the shipping and receiving team. All of our inbound/outbound are scheduled appointments. One day a driver showed up well past his appointment time. When that happens we push them to the back of the line and we get to them when we can. This was driver was so upset that we were not going to put him in a dock right away and start unloading him. He started being a real jerk about it. Raising a big fuss. I stated several times that we were sorry but we would get to him when we could. He went back out to his truck and called our company complaining about the whole situation. The person in the office came down to see what in the world was going on. We explained the situation and they understood. One of my co-workers finally went out to tell this driver to back into one of our docks, so he did. It was my job that day to unload him. While I am unloading the truck, I kept thinking about the way he had acted earlier. I kept getting angrier and angrier. I finally finished unloading him, signed his paperwork and started towards the door, to head out and give it to him. In my mind I was going to give this guy as much attitude as he gave me. I was going to let him have it. Boy was I mad!! Well, I was about halfway between the dock and the cab of the truck when The Lord spoke to me. He told me no. No, I was not to repay evil with evil. 1 Peter 3:9New Living Translation (NLT)9 Don’t repay evil for evil. Don’t retaliate with insults when people insult you. Instead, pay them back with a blessing. That is what God has called you to do, and he will grant you his blessing. Ok, Lord. I'm hearing you. Then The Lord told me no again. No, don't go out there angry, I was to treat him with mercy and grace. So by the time that I reached the drivers door, I was at a complete peace. In fact while dealing with the driver at the end, we were both relaxed and much better towards each other. In fact I asked him if he would like some samples that our company provides of the product that we make. He was more than grateful for that, since it happened to be a little after lunch time. I wish that I could say that this was the only time that this has happened, but alas it is not. The Lord has made me a more patient person in the last few years, but I am not all the way there yet. Things still happen that make my blood boil and my anger to rise. But God has always told me no! Do not take that anger out on anyone. Give it to Me and let Me deal with it. And that is exactly what I have done. It's The Lord's battle, not mine. In Him I place my trust. When God tells me no, it's for my benefit. He is protecting me, and for that I am grateful. Praise His holy name. Rev. Kev.

Praise You In This Storm.

This has been the most upsetting, difficult, frustrating week. As many of you know or may not know, we were supposed to close on the house we are selling and on the house that we are buying and then move that afternoon. We are all packed up and ready to go, when we get a call from our lawyer stating that the people buying our house do not have "clear to close". Great! Now what? They are hoping for next week, but even that is up in the air. Who knows if it will really happen at this point. Anyone's guess. Then on top of that, my debit card was hacked, to the tune of $86.00. That is not really a large sum of money, but when you are getting ready to close on two houses, any amount is huge. So I had to go the bank to get this straightened out. So nothing seems to be going right for us this week, to say the least. So what are we going to do about? Stomp up and down? Scream, yell, curse? Throw a tantrum? Yeah, I don't think so. What we are going to do is.....Praise Jesus while going through this storm. I keep thinking of the Casting Crowns song of the same title. Jesus says it best in John 16:33 New Living Translation (NLT)33 I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world.” You may be asking yourself "how can you praise Jesus in all of this trouble you are having?" Well let me tell you. I praise Him because we still have a house to live in. Yes everything is in boxes and a pain to have to find and re-open, but they are still here, in the house. Not loaded on a truck somewhere, sitting, waiting. I praise Him for the debit card issue, because I was able to get to the bank right away and get things taken care of, before any more damage was done. The were able to refund all of the charges and make things right. For that, I am thankful and grateful for His provision and protection. So I encourage you that no matter what you are going through, trust in, put your hope in, and praise Jesus for the storm. He will bring you out on the other side! Keep your eyes on Jesus. Once you take your eyes off of Jesus, you will sink. Just like Peter did when he got out of the boat.

Getting Fired!

Let me make myself clear. I have not been fired nor do I think that I am in danger of being fired. But who knows, any ones guess at this point. I had a conversation recently with someone about sharing my faith, and Jesus at work. I have been very lucky the last ten years of my life. I accepted Jesus into my life and heart on July 22, 2007. So from 2007 till 2010 when they shut down our distribution center, I was able to share my faith and the Gospel without any threat of discipline. From there I went on to volunteer at Kish Hospital for a year and a half. Same thing. Using my position to share the Gospel and tell people about Jesus, without fear of retribution. Now, I work for a company who's president is a Christian. It's not a Christian company per se, but he runs it with a biblical mindset. So now I am really able to talk about Jesus, the Gospel and share, share, share my testimony. What God has done for me. So back to the conversation about sharing my faith and Jesus at work. The woman asked me if I was or ever had been afraid of being fired for talking about those things at work. I told her no, I have never been afraid of that. If they wanted to fire me for talking about Jesus, I was more than prepared for that. I told her that if Jesus would be willing to die for me, I more than certainly would be willing to get fired for Him. He has provided every job that I ever had, so I told her that if that were to happen, He would open up a door to something better. Nobody or no one will ever stop me from talking about Jesus at work. I say His name boldly and loudly. Everyone there knows that I am a Christian, and where I stand. I wear what I call 'witness wear.' T-shirts with Jesus' name on the front, back, all over. I have had more conversations started about Jesus because of this 'witness wear.' I always use this verse when I am at work talking about Jesus. Or actually anywhere really. Luke 12:8-9 The Message (MSG) 8-9 “Stand up for me among the people you meet and the Son of Man will stand up for you before all God’s angels. But if you pretend you don’t know me, do you think I’ll defend you before God’s angels? I don't want to be like John and deny Jesus three times. I don't want to deny Him any time at all. Thank You Holy Spirit for giving me the boldness to speak louder than ever before about Jesus! Amen!!

Donald Trump.

Donald Trump. No matter how you feel about him. Love him or hate him. Like him or loathe him. He is our new president. There isn't anything anyone can do about it. So all the protesting, crying, having temper tantrums, violence, burning cars and looting are not going to change this fact. He is President. You know what I am going to do for Donald and his family? I am going to pray for them. It says in Gods word that we are supposed to do that. 1 Timothy 2:2 New Living Translation (NLT) 2 Pray this way for kings and all who are in authority so that we can live peaceful and quiet lives marked by godliness and dignity. I'm not trusting in Donald for anything, but I am trusting that God will use him to change things. Bring people together. Erase the racial divide, bring the country back to God once again. To us it all seems impossible, but to God all things are possible. Matthew 19:26 New Living Translation (NLT)26 Jesus looked at them intently and said, “Humanly speaking, it is impossible. But with God everything is possible.” We are entering a new era. An era of uncertainty and chaos. The world is more out of control than ever before. Jesus gives us this hope in John 16. John 16:33 New Living Translation (NLT)33 I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world.” We have never had a President like this before in the history of our nation, therefore we are facing at least four years of uncertainty. So trust me, we will have trial and tribulations, but I also know that Jesus has overcome all these things and so shall we. Donald will be President for the next four years, but we have Jesus who is the beginning and the end. The Alpha and the Omega. King of Kings and Lord of Lords. Jesus is eternal. I pray that Donald will lean on Him for guidance and direction to lead and make this country great again.

Confirmation.

One act of obedience. Providing a ride to church for a couple of people, and God opened up the floodgate. I have been given the opportunity to minister to my fellow co-workers these past three days. I've always had the opportunity to do so, but this week has been different. There have been a few deaths in co-workers families the past week. One lost a nephew. Another lost a mom, and one lost a grandson. Lots of sadness going around at work. People I work with know that I am a Christian, and I am a Christian pastor. So, one by one each of these people sought me out, and began to confide in me, telling me all about their loved one and the pain that they were going through. Did not matter what I was doing at the time, I would stop and listen and offer support and comfort. They would cry, then laugh. Struggle to get the words out. Ask for prayer. Ask for advice. As I am looking back on the last few days, I thought there it is. Confirmation that God was using me in a more mighty way than I could have ever imagined. He gave me the task of giving a ride, now He was giving me the task of listening. To encourage and lift up. I made myself available to them whenever they needed it. I thank God for all of this. For giving me ears to hear, a heart to receive and feet to respond. Thank You Lord for the gifts that you have given me. I pray that I use them for Your glory!

Used In a Mighty Way.

I was lying in bed the other night when The LORD spoke to me. He told me that He is using me in a might way. I'm just not seeing it from His perspective. You see, one of my prayers every morning is to be used in a mighty way by God. I tell God that here I am. Use me, send me, do something mighty with me today. And then the phone rings. It is a woman from church who is telling me that she is sick and will not be able to make it to church on Sunday. She asked me if I could pick up the two ladies that she usually picks up for her. I told her that I could absolutely do that for her. So I started to mentally make plans on what time I had to leave in the morning to pick up the two extra riders. That's when God spoke to me. He said "I am using you in a mighty way. You are picking up these two ladies and bringing them to church." My response was like, "umm Lord, that's not what I had in mind." You see in my mind He had me preaching to large groups of people. Leading prayer at some big event. You know, something huge, something God worthy. While all He wants is for me to give someone a ride to church. You see it says in His word that His ways are not my ways. His thoughts are not my thoughts. Both of His ways are higher than mine. (Isaiah 55:8-9) It says in Luke 16:10 (NLT)10 “If you are faithful in little things, you will be faithful in large ones. But if you are dishonest in little things, you won’t be honest with greater responsibilities. It's like God is telling me, "if you'll be faithful in picking up these two ladies and bring them to church, I will give you something larger to do later." So, who am I to say that my mighty way is better than God's! Lord, I give you all the praise and glory in the big stuff and the little stuff. You are in it all! Amen!

Dry Skin.

Somewhere between the first of October and sometime either in April or May I have what I call my dry skin season. My hands dry out and fingers start to crack and split open. Sometimes,no actually most of the time it is very painful. The cracks and splits are at the most in-opportune places all the time. On the side, in the middle of my index finger. Makes it hard to put on my socks and shoes, and then to tie them, oh my! The corners of my thumbs, right by the nail. The tops of my pinky knuckle. I'm talking deep splits when straight, and then if you bend your finger it gets even worse. Mine get so bad that they will even start to bleed. Yeah, I love this season. So I am very thankful that God has used people to create lotions, or skin softeners, to help with this problem area. So I usually apply it right before I lay down for bed. I lather up pretty good, and the start to rub it in. And then the stinging starts, when the lotion gets into the cracks. Stinging and burning. Not pleasant at all. I'm like "what did I do?" Then guess what? How do I make it stop? I start to pray! Now you may think that it is silly to pray for this but, nothing is to small or to big for God right. So as I lay there, my fingers and hands stinging like crazy, I pray! I pray for God to help my hands to stop from stinging and burning. For them to be healed from the cracks and splitting over night. To feel much better the next morning. You know what? They do, because He does. He hears my prayer, and within a couple of minutes the stinging and burning go away. I am able to fall asleep. (Thank You LORD) The next morning they do feel much better. Not completely healed, but much better none the less. I am thankful that my God doesn't just focus and act on the big time prayers. He hears the small ones too. They all matter to Him! All the praise and glory to Jesus, Amen!!