Scraping The Window.

One morning this week I had to scrape the windshield of my van before I could head to work. It is a rare occasion as I usually park in the garage. With our daughter being home from college, I let her park in the garage, and I park either out in the street, or in the drive. As I was scraping, I kept thinking 'I can't wait till I get back in the garage'. Then it hit me. If I'm back in the garage, it means that our daughter has gone back to college. I'm not quite ready for that just yet. So I said to myself, I'll scrape as much as I need and be happy about it. I want to cherish her being here, not to rush the time. It's already going by way to fast as it is. Psalm 127:3 New Living Translation (NLT)3 Children are a gift from the Lord; they are a reward from him. I thank God everyday for our daughter. She is a definitely a gift to us. So, I'm going to cherish the time that she is here, and keep scraping the windows.

The Greatest Gift.

I've been out Christmas shopping a couple of times this week. Watching people hustle and bustle in search of the perfect gift, I couldn't help but think about God and the perfect gift that He has already given us in His Son, Jesus Christ. John 3:16 New Living Translation (NLT)16 “For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. You see, God's gift will never wear out, rust, or shrink. His gift keeps on giving, for all eternity. The best thing about this gift is that you do not have to go out to the mall, or any shopping center to find it. You don't have to fight the crowds, or look for parking. You can receive this gift right where you are. At home, in your car, wherever you are, Jesus can meet you right there. I wish you a Merry Christmas, and if you haven't already, I pray that you receive the greatest gift ever known to mankind. Jesus Christ.

Transparent.

Well, I finally think that I might have worn out my welcome. People are tired of my blog posts. They aren't reading them anymore. The last post that I posted had a grand total of 10 readers. That's right 10. Wow! That is the lowest total since I started this several years ago. Not going to lie. I was (am) a little bummed. Then I read this. Galatians 1:10 New Living Translation (NLT)10 Obviously, I’m not trying to win the approval of people, but of God. If pleasing people were my goal, I would not be Christ’s servant. I started thinking. Am I writing this blog to please people and draw attention to myself? Or am I writing about what God puts on my heart to share with other people. I would like to always think the latter, but who am I fooling. I know that I have written stuff to be self serving. To say "hey, look at me and what cool stuff I am doing." I have t-shirts that have sayings on them as well, that I find that I'll wear in certain situations when I know people will be around. Just for them to look at my shirt and say "wow, how cool dude." It' a battle of the flesh. Luke 9:23 New Living Translation (NLT)23 Then he said to the crowd, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross daily, and follow me. This is what my intentions are for this blog. To give up my own words and what I want to say, and write what The Lord is telling me. I want it to be up lifting and encouraging. Not prideful and selfish. I need to die to myself daily. Pick up my cross and follow Christ! So if I have 1 visitor or 100 visitors to my blog, I am doing it all for the Glory of Jesus!

God & The Stryper Concert.

My brother and I went to see Stryper in concert this past September. My mom gave us the tickets as a Christmas gift. So we had to wait nine months to be able to use them. It was a really long nine months, let me tell you. As I opened the box that my ticket was in, I felt the urge to see if I could get into the venue before the show to pray for & with the band. That's it, just pray. Wasn't looking for autograph's, free tickets, photos or anything else. I had this feeling all the way up to the day of the show. I tried contacting the band. Nothing. I tried contacting their management. Again nothing. Reached out to the venue. You guessed it, nothing. So I'm like "alright God, if you want me to do this, You'll make a way." My brother and I made a plan for the day of the show. It was on a Saturday in St. Charles. Almost our backyard. We decided to get there really early and see what would happen. We walked right into the theater just to see what was going on, we were able to catch some of their sound check. Awesome. They finally kicked us out because they were setting up for the meet and greet. So we went to dinner at the pizza place right across the street. My brother was determined to meet them, in someway, anyway. We finished dinner and then decided to walk around to the back of the theater. There was a van waiting there with a driver-security dude, to take the band back to their hotel before the show. We waited and waited. Finally the band comes spilling out of the back door towards the van. We decide to make a move. We had to go by the van to get into the show anyway. So we started moving that way. As we walked in front of the van the lead singer was sitting in the front seat. He waves to us. We wave back and keep on walking. We get a little way past the van when I take a look back. The side doors are wide open and the guys are there, just chilling. The driver - security dude was nowhere to be found. I turned to keep walking up the sidewalk, when I heard God say "Keven, here is your chance." You wanted this moment, now here it is." So what do you think that I did? Of course I jumped at the chance. God couldn't have made it more perfect. I walk over to them and said hello. You could tell that they were expecting something completely different. An autograph? A picture perhaps? I told them that I am a pastor from just down the road and if I could, I would really like to pray for them. They were all about it. Excited even. I laid my hand on the lead singer, and started praying. I prayed for the band, the show, their guitarist who was ill at the time. I prayed that every note that was played and every word that was sung would point people to Jesus. That was it, simple and to the point. They were very grateful for the prayer. Told them goodbye and then I went on my way. No hidden agenda. Just pray for them and leave. The whole thing was like God saying to me, Isaiah 55:8-9 New Living Translation (NLT)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. I thought that there would be no way that this would ever happen, with nobody ever getting back to me about my inquiry. But God, He made a way! For that I am thankful, for God is good.
P.S. By the way, we caught a Stryper Bible. Gods way of putting an exclamation point on the night.

Lukewarm!

Everyday after work, I go for a 2ish mile walk. I walk around our neighborhood, listening to my Ipod and looking around at the scenery. This time of year is really beautiful with the changing colors of the leaves. Today I came across a tree that was still half green and half orange/redish. I looked at it and thought, "man this tree doesn't know what it wants to do. Stay green, or change colors like the rest." It was like it wasn't sure if it wanted to stay in summer mode, or change into fall mode. It made think about what Jesus said about being lukewarm. Revelation 3:15-16 Living Bible (TLB) 15 “I know you well—you are neither hot nor cold; I wish you were one or the other! 16 But since you are merely lukewarm, I will spit you out of my mouth!" Jesus wants us to be all in, or all out, but not somewhere in the middle. Kind of like some people. They call on The Lord all the time, for everything (HOT). Then you have people who don't call on The Lord at all, thinking that they can do everything themselves (COLD). Then there are the people who bounce back and forth between calling on The Lord only when they need Him, and then leaving Him out of their lives when they think that they don't (LUKEWARM). There are people who come to church occasionally for a few weeks in row, then you don't see them for months at a time. I call those people lukewarm. They're in and then they are out, and then the cycle continues. Jesus wants us to be either hot or cold. He will spit these people out because they are lukewarm. It's almost as if they can not decide if they want to be fully committed to God or not. Kind of like this tree. Half of it looked like it wanted to stay in summer mode, while the other half was getting ready for fall. Can't have it both ways. Same goes for us.

Cherish The Time!

I encountered a father and daughter playing catch softball while walking around our neighborhood tonight. The daughter threw a "wild" one to her dad and it came straight to me. I stopped it, picked it up and threw it back to the dad. That's when God said to me "cherish the moment." Not for me to cherish that moment of returning the softball, but to tell the dad to cherish the moment of playing catch with his daughter. I told the dad that I really miss that. Playing catch with my daughter. You see, she is a junior in college and is not at home any longer. My, how they grow up so quickly. So I started thinking about the things that we used to do together. I used to read to her before bed. The same book every night. I started to skip pages just so I could get through it quicker and be done. Cherish that moment of reading to your child. How I would love to go back and read to her again. No matter how many times she wanted to read the same book, and not skip pages this time. We would watch the same Disney movie over and over and over again. We had to buy the dvd versions because the vhs tapes were wearing out. I can not stand the movie 'Mary Poppins'. But to be able to watch it one more time with her, and not make stupid and dumb comments about it. It was a movie that she loved to watch. Cherish that moment of sitting there, watching your child (children) look at the screen and watch the movie. Oh to play games again, to go the park, push her on the swings, "higher daddy, higher." Chase her around, play hide and seek, or tag. Cherish these moments parents, they will be gone before you know it. Children are a gift from God. Not a nuisance or a bother. May we treat them that way.

Weeping!

This past weekend, my wife and I went down to visit our daughter. On Sunday we were able to attend church with her. From the very first chords of the song 'Holy Spirit' to the last chords of 'The Great I Am', I was weeping the whole time. See, the week before we left for our visit, God did some amazing things in our lives. I mean He is always working in us and through us, but this week was extra blessed. So when the worship band started playing 'The Great I Am', I couldn't help but think back to the previous week and be grateful and thankful for what God had done for us. I have heard this song many times before, in fact it is one of my favorites, but on Sunday, the lyrics really spoke to me and so did God. He kept telling me that "I am the great I AM." I AM your provider. James 1:17 New King James Version (NKJV) 17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning. We had bought a newer car for our daughter and were delivering it too her. God provided all of the financing, gas and food for our trip. Then He said "I AM your comforter." Philippians 4:19 New King James Version (NKJV)19 And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus. He knew that we needed this car, and He gave us comfort that we did the right thing by buying it. "I AM your protector." Psalm 18:2 Good News Translation (GNT)2 The Lord is my protector; he is my strong fortress.My God is my protection,and with him I am safe.He protects me like a shield; he defends me and keeps me safe. A couple of times on our trip, I was almost run off the road by semi-trucks that would swerve into my lane. Thanks be to God, I avoided them every time. Then on the way home we ran into a monsoon. It was raining so hard that we could hardly see. Again, The LORD protected us, and kept us safe. Thank You Jesus! I could go on and on about Him being the Great I AM. No doubt about it. He is greater than anything that I'll (we'll) ever face. He has no equal. He has no rival. He is THE GREAT I AM!!

Corner of the Table.

I was following a friends two year old child out of a room one day at church. She walked out the door and came precariously close to the sharp, pointy edge of a table just outside the door. My friend told me that she knows how to come very close and yet not get hurt. That got me to thinking about people and sinning. How close can they dance on the edge of sin, without really sinning. My thought was, why would you even want to be close to that line. The gray area as it's called. One misstep, or stumble and next thing you know, you are in sin. Why play around? Get as far away as possible. Two steps towards God, are two steps away from sin. The closer you get to God, the farther away you get from sin.

I know the Bible says in Romans 3:23 New King James Version (NKJV)23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.

Romans 6:23 New Living Translation (NLT)23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord. I don't know about you, but I want to be in the glory of God.

Ephesians 2:4-5 New Living Translation (NLT)4 But God is so rich in mercy, and he loved us so much, 5 that even though we were dead because of our sins, he gave us life when he raised Christ from the dead. (It is only by God’s grace that you have been saved!)

Thank The Lord for His mercy. For giving us life even when we don't deserve it. So why would you still want to walk that close to sin? Where you can die, be removed from God's presence, I choose to walk closer with my God and get further away from sin and all it's consequences. So thank you for the lesson little one. Even though I doubt you even know what you did. God Bless!!

Ode To My Mom!

My mom has always supported me. From the time I was born 51 years ago, till right now, as a grown adult. Everything I have ever done in my life (well most things) my mom has supported me. I have made some pretty dumb decisions or choices I'm sure that she would/did not like. For the most part she has supported me and my brothers. From buying us our first baseball gloves, so we could play catch together. To attending all of our little league games. All of our concerts, plays and whatever else in grade school, she was always there. As we moved up in our baseball system and started traveling to different towns to play ball in, she was there. She had to work, but yet she always found time to make it to our games. She taught me how to drive and then provided a car for me to drive. Playing high school football, she was there. Even though I never played, she would still come and sit there anyway. She would always take on the arduous task of having to wash my grass stained uniform pants. She would listen as I started telling her about girls that I liked, and wanted to ask out. Then listen to me lament about my heartbreak about being turned down by said girls. As I grew into adulthood, she supported me there as well. As I told her I was getting married for the first time, she supported that decision. She even had the wedding at her house, in the basement. As I was going through my divorce, her support was unwavering. She told me that whatever I needed, she would do her best to help me out. Then when I met another woman, and was about to propose, my mom was the first call I made to let her know what I was about to do. Guess what? She supported that as well. Then a few years later, I decided to go ministry school. We all went out for dinner the night I told my mom of my plans. At first she wasn't so sure, but she supported my choice anyway. Her support has always been 100%. Always unwavering and strong. Never judging me or my choices.


She is the best mom in the world. You will never see me go on Jerry Springer, or any of those other trash talk shows complaining about my parents, childhood, or how I grew up. I love my mom and absolutely loved, loved, loved my childhood. We never went hungry. We always had clothes. Always had a roof over our heads and beds to sleep on. We never went without. My mom would sacrifice to make sure that didn't happen.

Deuteronomy 5:16 New Living Translation (NLT)16 “Honor your father and mother, as the Lord your God commanded you.

Mom, I sure hope that I have honored you with the way that I have lived my life. I hope that I have made you proud of the person that I am today. You have loved me un-conditionally all my life. I could not have asked for a better mother. I love you mom!!

God bless you mom!

Little Flashing Lights.

On our docks at work, we have what's called a dock lock. It is a mechanism that will hold the trailer to the dock with a hook. It curves around the trailers bumper to keep it from moving away from the dock. You activate it from inside the building. You push the lock button and a green light will start to flash, letting you know it is okay to enter the trailer. When you push un-lock, a red light will flash indicating do not enter the trailer. If the hook doesn't sense that there is anything there when you push the lock button, and alarm will go off and then you have to push the override button. The trailer is still hooked to the dock, but with both lights flashing, instead of just the green or the red.

So today as we were loading a trailer, I started to stare at the green and red lights flashing on the control board. According to the panel the trailer was both locked and unlocked at the same time. That got me to thinking about God and what He has said about the world. To be in it, but not to be of it.

1 John 2:15 New Living Translation (NLT)Do Not Love This World 15 Do not love this world nor the things it offers you, for when you love the world, you do not have the love of the Father in you.

The green light flashing reminded me that I am in the world. Green means go, and be part of the world and take part in its wickedness and sinfulness. The red light means stop. Do not go any farther. Reminding me that I am not supposed to be of the world. God has called me out of the world. To be different than.

Matthew 6:24 New Living Translation (NLT)24 “No one can serve two masters. For you will hate one and love the other; you will be devoted to one and despise the other.

The red and green lights flashing simultaneously had me thinking about the above verse. I cannot be both locked and unlocked at the same exact time. For I will hate one (locked) and love the other (unlocked). I would rather be unlocked and free for Christ who died for me and gave me life, than locked into they ways of the world, that lead to death and destruction.

I don't want to have to push the override button to choose Jesus. If there is ever a conflict, Jesus is my choice ALWAYS!!

Being Watched!

Christian, you are being watched! You are being watched in every aspect of your life, by the non believer. Every thing you say and do is being scrutinized. Everything and I mean everything is being monitored whether you know it or not. They are waiting for you to stumble or fall. To say or do something un-Christ like. They cannot wait to point a finger at us, and tell us that wasn't very Christ like. We are not perfect. We are still human, so we are still going to mess up. God is still working on us. The people that I work with are no different. They know me and what I stand for. They know that I am a Christian and also a pastor. Because of that, I think that I am being watched even more so than usual. It wasn't more evident than this past week at work. As many of you know or may not know, I wear Christian t-shirts to work, almost everyday. Co-workers comment on them all the time. What a cool shirt. What a good word or message being portrayed. Well, I have one shirt that was given to me as a Christmas present. I asked for it, and got it. It is a Marvel comic hero. They have made a t.v. show about him on Netflix. I really enjoyed watching the show, but it's not for everyone. It is very violent and bloody. So anyway, I wear this shirt to work. My Christian shirts get a few comments here and there. I wear this super hero shirt, and everybody loses their minds. Since Christmas I have only worn it two times to work. When I wear it, everybody comes out of the woodwork to make a comment on it. Some like it, some don't. Most point out, that it is directly opposite of the other shirts that I wear. So that is what I mean when I say we are being watched. When I wear my Christian t-shirts, only a few people seem to notice. But when I wear the other shirt, everyone notices. People are paying attention. I have received more comments on the super hero shirt than I ever have on my Christian shirts. So no mater how much you strive to show and do good, people are going to point out that one thing.

1 Peter 2:12 New Living Translation (NLT)12 Be careful to live properly among your unbelieving neighbors. Then even if they accuse you of doing wrong, they will see your honorable behavior, and they will give honor to God when he judges the world.

2 Corinthians 6:3 New Living Translation (NLT)3 We live in such a way that no one will stumble because of us, and no one will find fault with our ministry.

So if wearing this shirt to work might cause someone to stumble, then I may have to think twice about wearing it.

Desire Of My Heart.

Psalm 37:4 New Living Translation (NLT) 4 Take delight in the Lord,and he will give you your heart’s desires. I am taking a class at work every Tuesday night. This past Tuesday, when we got out of class, it was still daylight out. On my way home I felt the Holy Spirit prompting me to go for a walk. It was about 32-33 degrees that night. I don't normally go for a walk when it is that chilly. I told my wife that I wanted to go for a walk, and to see if she wanted to go with me. She said that she would like to join me. We walked for a little over a mile and started to head home. In the nighttime sky there was a crescent moon. While I was admiring it I noticed a very bright light close to the moon. I asked my wife if it might be a planet. She said no, it is probably a satellite or something because it was blinking. Then she pointed out that I have a pair of binoculars at home that I could get out and take a "closer" look (my binoculars are good, but not telescope good). I agreed, and we continued walking, looking at the sky. In the backyard of our house, we have an owl that hoots all night long and into the morning. I have always wanted to see an owl, but never have been able to. To just see one flying, or sitting, or anything, but alas, nothing. We have lived in two houses in Sycamore and both of them have had owls in our backyards. When I would hear them hooting, I would go get a flashlight and run out into the backyard, only to be disappointed. So anyway, back to the walk and the moon. We get home and go inside. I go and grab my binoculars head out onto the deck to take a look at the moon and bright light. I could see the moon clearly, but the bright light, was still just a bright light. Could not make anything out, except that it was not blinking. I panned back over to the moon, looking at it in amazement, then pan back over to the bright light. Just as I panned, an owl came flying right into my view through the binoculars. It's wings spread wide, just gliding effortlessly. Then it landed on top of a tree a few houses down from us, and just sat there looking around. I was beside myself. I could not believe it. After all these years, it finally happened. It was like God was reminding me that He is still here. That He still loves me, and wants to give me the desire of my heart. I was delighting in His creation of the moon, and He produced an owl for me to see. It was really cool to see how He set this all up. From the prompting to take a walk even when it was chilly. To pointing us in the right direction to even notice the bright light next to the moon. To having a set of binoculars to look through. He set everything in motion for this to happen, and for that I am thankful. Thank You Lord for loving me and caring about me. Even in the small things, such as being able to see an owl, God is faithful! He loves us. Unconditionally. Psalm 136:26 New Living Translation(NLT)26 Give thanks to the God of heaven. His faithful love endures forever. Thank You Lord! Amen!

Volunteering @ Winter Jam.

This past Thursday, I had the opportunity to volunteer at Winter Jam. Winter Jam is a huge touring Christian music festival that runs from November through April. A radio station that I listen to and follow on Facebook (WBGL) posted through their volunteer page on Facebook that they needed volunteers for Winter Jam in Peoria. I thought about it, a lot! It was on a Thursday night. Then it dawned on me...it would be the Thursday before Good Friday. I have Good Friday off of work. Bonus! Peoria is only a two hour drive (I love road trips), double bonus! So I contacted the person that was organizing the volunteers and said "sure, sign me up." I took a half day off of work, went home, changed and headed down to Peoria. Now if anyone knows me at all, knows that I am early to events. Especially one like this. So I arrived at 3:20. The line of people to get into the show was already almost wrapped around half of the building. I thought to myself "glad I don't have to stand in that line." I found the volunteer entry door, but was not allowed to enter just yet. A guy greeted me and asked if I was a volunteer. Told him I was, and he informed that I was at the right location. This guy was a big biker looking dude. Bald head, long goatee, leather jacket on. Nicest guy you could ever meet. We talked and exchanged stories about concerts and things that we had been to in the past. We checked in, and that's the last I saw of him. Bummer. I meet some really cool people that were also volunteering that night. As the leader lead us down the hall, I just assumed that I would be working the WCIC booth. No, we were to work in the actual artists merch booth. The ones that were performing that night. We were to sell their t-shirts, cd's, patches, necklaces, whatever. We were teamed up with an actual person that was responsible for that particular booth. So I met the guy that was in charge of the one I was working. Ken was his name. Super nice and super awesome guy. I knew there was a reason that I didn't raise my hand for other booths. God wanted me at this one. We hit it off right away. For the rest of the night, we traded 'dad jokes' with each other. So the evening started, and let me tell you, I was in my element. Meeting and greeting people. Talking with, praying with, ministering to, being blessed by them, as I hope that I was being a blessing to them. I heard story after story. The people just needed someone to listen to them, and listen I did. A woman came by the booth and she noticed one of the shirts that we were selling. It had on the front "Faith, Not Fear" She looked at it, and kept on going. A few minutes later she came back by and said that she would take one, because she had a lot of fear in her life at the moment. She told me that she had some stuff going on and the saying on the shirt really spoke to her. As she was walking away, The Holy Spirit told me to pray for her. By the time that I realized what He was telling me, she was gone in the sea of people. I thought to myself "man, I just blew that opportunity didn't I?" Then I started praying and talking with The Lord. I said "alright Lord, if this is from you, then You will bring her around again." Guess what? She came back, albeit a few hours later, after the show was over, but she still came back. I started thanking The Lord for this third opportunity to minister to her. I told her that The Holy Spirit wanted me to pray for her after she bought the shirt. So I asked her if it was alright to pray for her. She agreed. I prayed for strength and boldness for her, not fear and anxiousness. After I was done praying, she told me that she felt something break off of her. She felt different that when I started. I praised Jesus for that. After that we said goodbye to each other. As I found my way to the van, I was thanking God for answered prayer. I prayed that when I left home that afternoon, that He would use me in a mighty way. That He would use me to make a difference to someone that night. To use me to be His hands and feet! I think that He came through, BIG TIME!! Hallelujah!

Pick and Choose!

My wife and I moved from outside of town last year to a neighborhood in town. My drive time to work has been reduced a tad. So in the time that I have been driving through the neighborhood I started to observe things. Like peoples driving habits. I have noticed that people drive all kinds of different ways around here. Some will do the speed limit but not use a turn signal. Or use the turn signal but speed. Pass other cars while they are turning in an intersection. Not pull over for emergency vehicles. Talk on their cell phones while driving. They'll run a stop sign or red light, but stop for the pedestrian in the cross walk. While watching this all happen over the last few months, I started thinking "wow, these people think that they can pick and choose what traffic laws they are going to obey or break." To me, if you are going to follow one, you should follow all. So like I always do, I started comparing this to the Bible. Everything to me comes back to the Bible. People seem to do the same with God's word. They pick and choose what scripture or verse to believe and ignore the rest. Or they believe some things are sinful, but others are not. They believe that murder, stealing and adultery are wrong, but believe that homosexuality is ok. Lying is ok. Blaspheming God is ok. None of it is ok. All are sin according to God's word. There is not one sin greater than another. All are equal in God's eyes. So we must not pick and choose which we are going to follow. Either we believe that the Bible is 100% inerrant and infallible, or it's not. If you don't believe that its all true, then none of it is true. 2 Timothy 3:16-17 New Living Translation (NLT)16 All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right. 17 God uses it to prepare and equip his people to do every good work. 1 Thessalonians 2:13 New Living Translation (NLT)13 Therefore, we never stop thanking God that when you received his message from us, you didn’t think of our words as mere human ideas. You accepted what we said as the very word of God—which, of course, it is. And this word continues to work in you who believe. Amen!

Left In The Dust.

Have you ever done something nice for someone, help them get back on their feet, only to be left in the dust when they get back up? Yeah, me too. Several times in fact. People keep saying to me that I am to nice of a person. I have a hard time saying no, especially to those in need. I don't do kind things for people to get repaid, it's just who I am. I try to be like Jesus. In my daily Bible reading this week, I came across this story which kind of reminds me of things that have happened in my life. It's one of the stories of Joseph in Genesis. The story can be found in Genesis 40 and continues into chapter 41. He interpreted dreams for two of Pharaoh's officials who were put into prison because they had made him angry. Three days later, the officials were released and put back into their places of prominence. Forgetting all about Joseph and what he had done for them. Yep, this sounds familiar. Stick your neck out for people, help repair their reputation, whatever, and so on. Then their like "who are you?" as they take off again, leaving you in the dust. It took two full years for the one official to finally remember that Joseph was still in prison. That only happened because Pharaoh had dreams that he needed interpreted. The official remembered that Joseph had interpreted his dreams two years ago, so he let Pharaoh know about Joseph, and what he had done for the two officials in prison. Joseph was summoned immediately and interpreted Pharaoh's dreams. When Pharaoh heard the interpretation, he accepted it and then placed Joseph in charge, over of all of Egypt. It wasn't Joseph who accomplished all of this. It was because God was with him. Leading him and directing him. Giving him the wisdom to interpret dreams. The Spirit was fully on him and his life. Even though he was in prison, Joseph never stopped doing the right thing. He never grew tired of doing the right thing. Read the story for yourselves and see. I know a lot of people who would have given up and said forget it. I'm done. In the New Testament comes this powerful verse. Galatians 6:9 New Living Translation (NLT)9 So let’s not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don’t give up. I think that Joseph was living this out well before Paul wrote it. So my prayer is that no matter what happens to us, keep on doing good and never grow tired of doing the right thing. We will reap a harvest of blessing if we can just hold on. I believe that it is possible because God's word tells us so. Philippians 4:13 New Living Translation (NLT)13 For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength. So my brothers and sisters, keep the faith, hold on and never tire of doing good! God bless you all!

Sprouts!

My wife and I have a married couple as friends from our last job. They are great people to hangout with. Very nice, kind and generous. Their kids are pretty cool as well. We all get along fabulously. The one catch is, they are not believers. I may even go as far to say that the husband is either an atheist or agnostic. His wife I'm not sure about and the kids just fall inline with their parents. They know that we are Christian and that I am a Christian Pastor. We walk the talk, and live out our faith. They see this every time that we are around them. Let's back up ten years, when we planted our seed of faith with them when my wife and I were married. They attended our very Christian wedding. Where the vows and words said pointed to Jesus and who He is in our lives. He is the center. The ceremony meant more to us than the reception that followed. We wanted our family and friends to feel the presence of our Lord and Savior during the ceremony. Fast forward to 2011. I had been attending ISOM (Illinois School of Ministry) classes, to become a credentialed minister. In 2012 I received my license from The Assembly of God, Illinois District. My wife threw me a surprise party at our church. This couple were in attendance. They even bought me a Christian gift. So now fast forward to present day. We get together with each other a few times a year. Sometimes they come to our house, and sometimes we go to their house. Sometimes we just go out to eat someplace. When we meet at our house, we always pray for the meal and for the night that is planned. They know this and expect it. Whenever we go to their house, I go by their house rules. If they don't want to pray for the meal, then that's up to them. I am not going to push myself and my faith on somebody in their own house. That isn't a good witness for Christ. So a couple of weeks ago, we were invited to our friends house for dinner. We show up and everyone is there. Husband, wife and the kids. Were all at the table just about ready to eat when the husband says "would Keven like to say a prayer?" I said sure I would love to, if that's what they wanted. He said yes, that's what they wanted, so I did. So ten years after planting the seed, watering it and nurturing it, we are starting to see sprouts. 1 Corinthians 3:6-9 New Living Translation (NLT) 6 I planted the seed in your hearts, and Apollos watered it, but it was God who made it grow. 7 It’s not important who does the planting, or who does the watering. What’s important is that God makes the seed grow. 8 The one who plants and the one who waters work together with the same purpose. And both will be rewarded for their own hard work. 9 For we are both God’s workers. And you are God’s field. You are God’s building. Thank You Lord for these friends. Thank You for Your word being made alive by the way that we live our lives.

Revelation.

I work on a shipping/receiving dock. Everyday it is constant chaos around the docks. People walking around, pulling pallet jacks back and forth with finished product and raw material. I'm not talking about one or two people. No, I'm talking about several people walking about. Whenever we were unloading a truck, we always have to stop for someone walking behind us. It's crazy. It's amazing to me that anything was accomplished with all of this going on. I really struggle with all of this chaos. It really drives me crazy, day after day. One day last week, God gave me a revelation on why I struggle so mightily with this. He directed me to His word. 1 Corinthians 14:33 New Living Translation (NLT)33 "For God is not a God of disorder but of peace". If God is a God of order, and Jesus is God's son, and The Holy Spirit is part of the Trinity and lives inside of me, then I am also not of disorder, but of order and peace. That was it! I was at odds with the chaos going on around me. It was total disorder and definitely not peaceful. So I would pray that God would give me the peace and grace that I needed to get through my day. I think that He revealed this to me, so that I would learn to trust Him more in the mundane day to day stuff at work. To give me peace in the midst of chaos. I still get angry sometimes when I have to stop and wait for people to get out of the way, but God gives me grace so that I can extend His grace to others. Thank You Lord!

Doing What God Commands!

I want to compare the story of Noah and the flood, from the book of Genesis, to today's modern world. Can you imagine being Noah? God spoke to him and told him to build a boat, because He was about to destroy the world and every living thing on it with a flood. He told Noah that it's going to rain for forty days and forty nights. Noah could have said "What? What are you talking about? It has never rained a drop before." "Are you sure Lord?" He could have questioned God about the whole thing. In Genesis 6:22 he did this instead. 22 "So Noah did everything exactly as God had commanded him." Noah did exactly what God wanted him to do. He followed all of His rules for building the boat. The exact height, width and length. Then The Lord told him to gather every kind of animal, both female and male and load them into the boat along with all of his family. Again, he could have questioned The Lord. "Are You sure Lord?" "The smell is going to be terrible." "It's going to be very uncomfortable for my family to be in close proximity to wild animals." Once again Noah did this. Genesis 7:5 "So Noah did everything as the Lord commanded him." Two things that God wanted Noah to do that took him and his family out of their comfort zone, that didn't make any sense to him. Make a very large boat and fill it with his family and animals. He could have questioned God and voiced his opinion, but he did them without complaining or questioning. Two verses in two different chapters tell us that Noah did EXACTLY what God had commanded him. It says in Philippians 2:14 Do everything without complaining and arguing. Can you imagine what this world would be like if everyone just did exactly what God commanded? Without grumbling or complaining about what God is asking or telling us to do. I'm sure it would be a much different place. A much better place. I pray that You give us ears to hear, heart to receive and feet to respond, to do what you are calling us to do. Without griping or arguing with You. To just be obedient. I pray that we continue to have a hunger, a thirst for You. To do things that don't make sense to us. To pull us out of our comfort zone. Deuteronomy 31:8New Living Translation (NLT)8 Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the Lord will personally go ahead of you. He will be with you; he will neither fail you nor abandon you.” Thank You Lord!