Brave, Strong.

 These are the words The Lord brought to me recently. Not really sure what He meant for me with these words at the time. Slowly, in His timing He revealed what He meant with each one!

                                                                      Brave: 

When I first became a Christian, I was hungry for more of Jesus and His word, The Bible. A pastor friend of mine knew this about me and asked me if I would want to take some courses to get a Bible certificate. I was interested, very much. It required going to classes on a Friday night and all day Saturday once a month. Taking a test and doing the homework. I applied, paid the fee and was accepted for the classes. I felt very nervous before I started the classes. I hadn't been in a classroom since I graduated high school. How would I do? How would I respond? Would it be worth my time?

I could sense The Holy Spirit saying to me, "Be Brave, I've got you."

Joshua 1:9 New Living Translation

9 This is my command—be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid or discouraged. For the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”

I felt like I was having a moment like Peter did when Jesus called him out of the boat. As long as he kept his focus on Jesus, he stayed above the water. The moment he took his eyes off of Jesus, he began to sink. (Matthew 14:29-31)

I felt that as long as I let Jesus lead the way with these classes, everything would be okay. Not only did they turn out okay, He lead me to take twelve more and become a pastor. Mind blown. I set out to get a Bible certificate and Jesus turned that into becoming a pastor!

Jeremiah 29:11 Living Bible

11 For I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord. They are plans for good and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.

                                                                   Strong:

I really felt Him telling me to be strong when both of my parents passed away. Dad in 2011, Mom in 2019. I really needed His strength to get through both. I knew where they both were going and would see them again. That was comforting to me. But still, they were gone! What do I do now? 

Ephesians 6:10 New Living Translation

10 A final word: Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power.

I leaned on God. He was my strength and comforter during this time. He was always there. Through every tear and sad moment. I didn't know what was next for me or my family. You think you know, but you don't. Turns your world upside down!

Proverbs 3:5-6 New Living Translation

5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. 6 Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take.

So God showed me how to be brave and strong through very different circumstances. When God gives you a word or two, He will give you a meaning of each one. What it means for you. I know these events all happened years ago, but I think that God was giving me a reminder of who He is, and what He has done. He can do the same for you.

God bless.
Rev. Kev.

Cleaning (Yourself) Up?

 I watched a video the other day about if you need to clean yourself up once you become a Christian. The new Christian was asking a pastor if he needed to stop smoking pot since he is now a Christian? The pastor pretty much said to him that it was between him and Jesus. 

It reminded me of when I became a Christian. I heard of the new life, the old is gone. I was a different person now. Didn't really feel like one at first. But I knew there were things that I needed to stop doing.

2 Corinthians 5:17 Amplified Bible

17 Therefore if anyone is in Christ [that is, grafted in, joined to Him by faith in Him as Savior], he is a new creature [reborn and renewed by the Holy Spirit]; the old things [the previous moral and spiritual condition] have passed away. Behold, new things have come [because spiritual awakening brings a new life].

I asked my g/f at the time (now wife) about one of my favorite bands AC/DC. Do I have to stop listening to them now that I am a Christian? Can I not buy their music anymore? Go see them in concert? Of all the bands and music that I listened to, apparently AC/DC were the only one I was worried about. She kind of chuckled at the question that I asked. Just like the pastor mentioned above, she told me that it was between me and Jesus. What He wants me to listen to, purchase and attend. Only He can tell.

So, I prayed a new baby Christian prayer about my music and concert habits. Today, as I sit here typing this, I have very little secular music in my collection. I still have some, but not near as much as I used to. God had me get rid of the music that He wanted me to. And if He tells me to get rid of more, I will. No questions. Yes & Amen!

So I have been asked this question a lot lately. 

Do I need to clean myself up before coming to Jesus? 

The saying that we Christians like to use "come as you are". There is no scripture that specifically says that. But the Bible does give some answers about coming to Jesus.

Joel 2:32 New Living Translation

32 But everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved,

This passage says that "everyone" who calls on the name of The Lord will be saved. Not just a clean and well dressed person. Everyone from rich to poor. GQ to Skid Row. Mansion to homeless. If you call on the name of The Lord, you will be saved.

We think that we need to stop sinning and live a cleaned up life to even approach Jesus. That is simply not true. We can never achieve such a life this side of Heaven.

Isaiah 1:18 New Living Translation

18 “Come now, let’s settle this,” says the Lord. “Though your sins are like scarlet, I will make them as white as snow. Though they are red like crimson, I will make them as white as wool.

See, we have a sin stained life. Nothing we can do to clean ourselves up. Not enough bleach or cleaner in the world to do that. Only Jesus can! He takes our stains of scarlet and makes them as white as snow. He is the ultimate stain (sin) remover!

Because Jesus is the cleaner of our lives, we should show it. Live like we are changed.

Romans 13:13 New Living Translation

13 Because we belong to the day, we must live decent lives for all to see. Don’t participate in the darkness of wild parties and drunkenness, or in sexual promiscuity and immoral living, or in quarreling and jealousy.

That is our old life. We now live for a greater purpose. We are free to live a life for Jesus! He has set us free from our former lives. Thank God! 

Galatians 5:13 New Living Translation

13 For you have been called to live in freedom, my brothers and sisters. But don’t use your freedom to satisfy your sinful nature. Instead, use your freedom to serve one another in love.

To answer the question about cleaning themselves up after becoming a Christian, I say to them. Do you clean up before you get in the shower? Or do you let the shower do the job that it is designed to do? Come to Jesus and He will take care of the rest!

God bless.

Rev. Kev.

How God Sees Things!

 Isn't it crazy how God sees things so much differently than we do? We tend to  see things from our human eyes and perspective. He is all knowing and sees things before they even happen.

Proverbs 15:3 New Living Translation

3 The Lord is watching everywhere, keeping his eye on both the evil and the good.

Even before we were born, God saw us and knew us.

Psalm 139:16 The Voice

16 You see all things; You saw me growing, changing in my mother’s womb; Every detail of my life was already written in Your book; You established the length of my life before I ever tasted the sweetness of it.

I pray every day that God will give me His eyes. To see things how He sees them. Whether its a person or an event. I want to see people the way that He sees them. Give me eyes to see the broken and down trodden. The lost and lonely. When I see these people, I want to see them as a person. Not as an addict, alcoholic, whatever. I want to see them as a person made in Gods image!

Genesis 1:27 Amplified Bible

27 So God created man in His own image, in the image and likeness of God He created him; male and female He created them.

 When something happens to me, I want Gods eyes to see the end result. Why did this happen? For what reason? What good can come out of this. If I look at it through Gods lens instead of my own, I will get a better understanding of why this happened. 

Romans 8:28 New Living Translation

28 And we know that God causes everything to work together[a] for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.

When we saw the Cross, He saw the empty tomb. When we read about the ninety nine, He saw the one. I see my past, He sees my future. I see my sin, He sees a renewed life.

 With our human eyes, we see things differently than God does.

God is the Alpha and Omega. He sees the beginning and the end. He knows how I started, He knows how I'll finish. I'm forever grateful for His mercy and grace!

Job 34:21 New Living Translation

21 “For God watches how people live; he sees everything they do.

So I encourage you tonight, that no matter what happens to you, if God shall bring someone across your path, or some event happens, try to look at it from Gods perspective. It is a much better view.

God bless.

Rev. Kev.

Loud, Peace, Quiet.

Like the KISS song says "I Love It Loud". I love loud heavy metal concerts. I have been front row for some of the loudest, heaviest bands. Slayer, Motorhead, Iron Maiden. Getting my ears blown out for the sake of metal! I love loud music in the car. Nothing better than driving with the windows down and the music cranked up. I love loud action movies. Bombs, guns, car chases. Oh yeah! I love the loud booming fireworks. You know the ones that go up and it looks like a flash and then "BOOM"! Yeah, that's what I'm talking about. So as you can see, I like things loud, to a certain point.

I don't like loud restaurants. People talking loudly, tv's blaring, sports, news, whatever. Just don't care for it. When I'm at work, I want peace and quiet on my breaks and lunch. Some people talk on speaker phone, loudly. Don't really care to hear your conversation. This is a time for quiet. To rest from the chaotic world that awaits when we get back out in the factory. There is enough noise out there to drive people insane. Forklift drivers honking horns, just to be obnoxious. Slamming doors, clicking pens, whatever. Noise that is just not needed.

See, I can go and join in with thousands of friends listening to my favorite bands at concert level. But away from that, I like peace and quiet.

I had a co-worker come over from our other facility to help me one day. She wanted to know where she could put her jacket, keys and phone. I told her she could put them in my office. She didn't know I had an office. I showed her were it was and we went inside. We sat down and started to chat a bit. After a few minutes, she made a keen observation. She told me that she liked my office. It was calm & peaceful. I told her that is the environment that I was trying to create. I have worship music streaming on my computer. I have a Christian flag hanging on the wall. She could tell right away that she felt comforted in there. There was no stress. She felt at peace sitting in there. I told her that what she was feeling was the peace that Jesus gives. It was a real and tangible to her.

James 3:17 New Living Translation

17 But the wisdom from above is first of all pure. It is also peace loving, gentle at all times, and willing to yield to others. It is full of mercy and the fruit of good deeds. It shows no favoritism and is always sincere.

While walking down to the dock to unload the truck, she told me that she really likes working with me. There is a calmness about me. Things didn't seem to bother me. Taking things in stride. It hasn't always been like this I told her. I am a work in progress. Jesus is still chipping away at the "old" Keven. 

She also said that she likes the way that I encourage her. Never rushing her, or pressuring her to go faster. Always complimenting her on a job well. done. There is to much negativity in the world. I want to lift up and encourage people.

 Romans 14:19 Amplified Bible

19 So then, let us pursue [with enthusiasm] the things which make for peace and the building up of one another.

So I encourage you to seek peace. Peace in your personal life. Peace in your work life. Where ever you find yourself.

Romans 12:18 New Living Translation

18 Do all that you can to live in peace with everyone.

God bless.

Rev. Kev.