Less Than A Man??

This post isn't going to be a Biblical post like most of mine are. This one is going to be more personal and transparent.

I keep seeing a lot of videos and articles about how are you aren't a man if you do or don't do "fill in the blank."

For example, I bought my Jeep because I thought that it looked cool. I've always wanted a Jeep, and when the opportunity came to buy one, I jumped on it. Once owning it, I found out it is really awesome and fun to drive. I love getting the ducks, and Jeep waves when they occur. I liked being able to personalize it with my own decals on the hood and spare tire cover. Showing it off makes me happy. Friends always comment on how clean it is, and how awesome it looks.

But here come the comments that because I don't want to take my Jeep off roading or 'rock climbing' I am all of a sudden a pavement princess. Excuse me, what??

After paying "X" amount of dollars for my Jeep, the last thing I want to do is take it off roading and tear it up. If I wanted to do that, I would have bought a beater one.

So if wanting my Jeep to be show worthy makes me less than a man, then so be it. Just annoys me how other people judge me on what I choose to do with it! 

Then I see videos of what men are supposed to act like. I know that these videos are generalizing, but still. Trying to make me feel less than a man because I do or don't do certain things.

One video shows a guy getting out of the shower. According to the video, a man gets out completely wet, and shakes like a dog, spraying water all over the bathroom. A manly mans action according to this videos creator. A less than a man dries off in the shower before getting out. That is what I do. I don't want the drying mat that both my wife and I use to be soaking wet. I don't need water to be dripping down the walls or mirror. I consider my better half as well. I am not the only one that lives here. It's called respect.

There are a few other things, but these are the two that really irritated me lately.

What is so wrong with a man being considerate? Nothing in my book. I guess I am in the minority, according to things that I see and read.

Philippians 2:3-4 Amplified Bible

3 Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit [through factional motives, or strife], but with [an attitude of] humility [being neither arrogant nor self-righteous], regard others as more important than yourselves. 4 Do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others.

1 Corinthians 10:24 Living Bible

24 Don’t think only of yourself. Try to think of the other fellow, too, and what is best for him.

Would you look at that. I managed to sneak some verses in after all!

God bless.

Rev. Kev.

Unmovable!

 

A friend of mine from church gave me this little Jesus figure. I thought that it was awesome. I placed it in my Jeep, on the dash with the little micro ducks. Every time I would look at it, I would be reminded that Jesus is with me in my Jeep. No matter where I drive or go, He is there, with me. Pretty cool I thought.

Last week I drove down to Peoria to volunteer at Winter Jam. A Christian music festival that tours through the winter months. The drive for me was about 2:15. As I was heading down the highway, I looked at the little Jesus figure, and it hadn't moved. At all. I placed it on the dash, and it has stayed where I put it, the whole time. As you can tell from the picture, the little micro ducks move and slide every which way. Never stay put. The little Jesus figure would vibrate and shake, but never move! 

So of course this got me thinking about the real Jesus in my life. How He is unmovable! Unshakeable! No matter what happens, Jesus stays put!

Proverbs 18:10 Living Bible

10 The Lord is a strong fortress. The godly run to him and are safe.

If He can calm the winds and waves during a storm, for the disciples without being shaken or worried , what can He protect you from? What kind of storms are you facing? Run to Jesus, He is our strong tower. Our refuge in times of trouble.

Psalm 46:1-2 Amplified Bible

46 God is our refuge and strength [mighty and impenetrable], A very present and well-proved help in trouble. 2  Therefore we will not fear, though the earth should change And though the mountains be shaken and slip into the heart of the seas,

We may be facing all kinds of situations. Things that we think that we cannot get through. That's true. We can't do it alone. We need help. 

Psalm 121:1-2 New Living Translation

1 I look up to the mountains— does my help come from there? 2 My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth!

So why not lean on, trust in and rely on The One who is never shaken. Never moved. The One who is always there? Things may look impossible for us, but not for God!

Matthew 19:26 Amplified Bible

26 But Jesus looked at them and said, “With people [as far as it depends on them] it is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”

So I encourage you this day. Trust in The Lord. The one who never changes, never backs down and is for you, always!

God bless.

Rev. Kev.

Subtle.

 I watch a lot of videos where there is a person giving either a first reaction to the song, or just a plain reaction, breaking down the song. Giving their opinion on what they think about the lyrics, guitar, drums, bass & vocals. Some are quite entertaining, some are frustrating. 

But I keep watching!

So I was watching one the other day, and the guy was breaking down a Stryper song. It was one of their newer ones, and he really liked what he was hearing, but.........He gave it a lower score because, take a guess? They sung about Jesus. The lyrics were all about Jesus, and directly from the Bible. The video had all kinds of Christian symbolism in it. Showing a Bible. The Cross. Jesus!

He said that he is not religious and doesn't have a problem with it, but he just wished that they would tone it down. He thought that the song and video were to much up in your face with Christ and The Gospel.

He wants them to be more subtle, like Skillet. According to him, Skillet hints at Christianity, without fully saying it in their songs! 

I have heard this about Skillet myself. Don't get me wrong, I really like Skillet, but I have a friend who went to seem them live at a secular music festival. I asked her after, if they ever mentioned the name of Jesus, God or Holy Spirit. She told me no. Not one mention!

I told her I thought that was kind of ironic, because I have seen them perform at a Christian festival and they spoke about Jesus, God and The Holy Spirit throughout the whole show. But when they performed for a secular crowd, you know the ones that really need to hear the name of Jesus, nothing. Kind of changed their set, to blend in with the rest of the bands.

I always thought that Jesus wants us to be bold for Him?

Acts 4:29 New Living Translation

29 And now, O Lord, hear their threats, and give us, your servants, great boldness in preaching your word.

Then I thought that we are not supposed to be quiet about Jesus?

Psalm 107:2 The Message

107 2 All of you set free by God, tell the world! Tell how he freed you from oppression

Sounds like Stryper is doing it the right way, in my humble opinion. Some of the other "Christian" bands on the other hand, seems like they pick and choose when to speak about God.

I personally love what Stryper is doing with their music. I pray that they never change due to per pressure! Keep rockin' for Jesus!

Matthew 10:33 New Living Translation

33 But everyone who denies me here on earth, I will also deny before my Father in heaven.

God bless.

Rev. Kev.

P.S. This is not a knock on Skillet. I'm just reacting to the reactor's comments about them.

Disagree!

 With all the turmoil going on across the country with debates, protests and rioting about illegal immigration, I disagree with one thing.

People keep trying to say that Jesus was an immigrant. I disagree with that statement. This is Webster's dictionaries definition of immigrant vs. refugee. 

immigrant (noun)

i·​mi·​grant ˈi-mi-grant 

: a person who comes to a country to take up permanent residence

Refugee (noun)

: one that flees

especially : a person who flees to a foreign country or power to escape danger or persecution

Based on these two definitions, Jesus was a refugee, not an immigrant. Joseph, Mary and Jesus didn't migrate to Egypt, they fled there after a dream where an angel appeared to Joseph in a dream. They fled for the fear of King Herod trying to kill Jesus after He was born. Herod was notified that a new King of the Jews was born. Jesus' family fled to Egypt, to seek refuge out of Herod's jurisdiction. Where they knew they would be safe. (Matthew 2:13-15)

They fled, not migrated to Egypt. According to Websters dictionary as mentioned above, an immigrant moves to another country to stay permanently.

Joseph and Mary only stayed in Egypt until Herod's death, then they returned to Israel. So by definition, a refugee. At least the way that I understand the meaning.

I see church signs across the area that state that Jesus was an immigrant. To me they are just trying to appease the masses.

Well I say "hogwash" 

Like I said, just my two cents on the topic of Jesus being either an immigrant or a refugee. 

According to Websters dictionary, what He and His family were are crystal clear!

God bless.

Rev. Kev.

Just Let It Go.

 When thinking about the title of this blog, the song from 'Frozen' kept running through my mind. You know the one, "Let it go, let it go." Don't know why, but it did.

We are trained at work, that if you are moving a pallet, either with a forklift or pallet jack, if the load on the pallet you are moving starts to tip or fall over, you are supposed to just let it go! Don't be a hero and try to stop it from falling. Just let it go. Pick up the pieces after it's all done. No sense in risking an injury trying to stop something from falling.

I've seen people get hurt real badly doing this. A broken arm, hand or wrist. Broken leg or foot. Crushed! I've seen a forklift that was lifting to much weight and started to tip forward. A woman went and jumped on the back of the truck to help give it more weight in the back to try and even it out. The truck jerked and she fell off. The weight shifted and the forklift came right down on top of her, crushing her and killing her.

She thought that she was helping and it ended up costing her life! Not worth it to me. To die for something that doesn't really matter. I can testify myself about this kind of behavior. One time I drove off the edge of the loading ramp and started tipping towards the wall. Stupidly, I stuck out my arm to try and steady myself. Didn't work. Did I really think that I was strong enough to keep a 3,000# forklift from tipping?? Luckily I was not hurt, but could have been very badly. I think that it is human nature to try and protect anything from getting damaged. Not giving a second thought about ourselves possible getting hurt, or even worse!

I started thinking about Jesus. What does He want us to just let go of? 

Addiction, idolatry, lust, lying, stealing? He wants us to come to Him and lay this all down at the foot of the Cross, and leave it there.

Hebrews 12:1 New Living Translation

12 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us

But how many of us after leaving all our worldly stuff at the Cross, want to go and pick it back up. It is familiar to us. In our minds it gives us comfort. So we go and pickup what Jesus told us to lay down!

2 Peter 2:22 Living Bible

22 There is an old saying that “A dog comes back to what he has vomited, and a pig is washed only to come back and wallow in the mud again.” That is the way it is with those who turn again to their sin.

I know that I have repeated habits over and over again after accepting Christ as my Savior. It kills me every time that I do it. I keep asking God "Why? Why do I keep doing this?"

He tells me that I am a work in progress. He is not finished working on me yet. 

Philippians 1:6 Amplified Bible

6 I am convinced and confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will [continue to] perfect and complete it until the day of Christ Jesus [the time of His return].

So I encourage you tonight, that if you lay something down at Jesus' feet, leave it there. Don't try to pick it up again. Easier said than done, I know.

God bless.

Rev. Kev.

The Edge!

Something happened at work last week that reminded me of the title of the Lita Ford album 'Dancing On The Edge.' We have an aisle at work that is used by both forklifts and pedestrians. There is a guard rail up for a short bit of said aisle. Then it is open for someone to walk out into forklift traffic.

This woman who has worked there for a very long time and knows about the traffic and forklifts was standing right on the edge of the aisle. So close that is she were to take one more step out, she could have gotten hit by a forklift.

The question in my mind was "why stand so close to something dangerous, when you don't have to?" She knew what the consequences could have been, but yet she decided to stand there. That is what got me to thinking about the title of Lita Ford album. 

I started thinking about other things that people do that are right on the edge of tragedy. I thought about the motorcycle riders who ride (in my mind) to close to the center line. To me, someone could be doing the same with their car and hit them with their mirror, or worse!

People who drive right behind semi-trucks. Claiming they are drifting off of the truck. All you are doing is playing Russian roulette with it. 

People who pull up to the line at traffic lights, or railroad crossings. They get so far past the line that is a dot to them. Why do you have to get so close to danger? If a car turns to sharp, your in an accident. I keep thinking about the train situation. If those cars were to derail, you'd never be able to get out of the way, because you are so close. 

I just don't get it. Death wish? Thrill seeker? 

Then I started thinking about Christians and the line that we try to walk between the world and Jesus. How close can we get without sinning. Toe the line, but as long as we don't cross it, we are good. If we are toeing that line, it could be very easy for us to stumble and fall right back into sin. We think that we are strong enough to hold the line, but that is wrong thinking.

Romans 6:2 New Living Translation

2 Since we have died to sin, how can we continue to live in it?

Jesus tells us to flee from sin. To not even entertain the thoughts. 

1 Peter 2:11 Living Bible

11 Dear brothers, you are only visitors here. Since your real home is in heaven, I beg you to keep away from the evil pleasures of this world; they are not for you, for they fight against your very souls.

Every step we take towards Jesus is two steps away from the evil one and his destructive nature. The enemy comes to destroy us. So why even try and walk that line? Why even flirt with that. Get away from him as far as possible. I want to be so far past that line, that it is a dot to me.

James 4:7 Amplified Bible

7 So submit to [the authority of] God. Resist the devil [stand firm against him] and he will flee from you.

So I encourage you, that if something comes up and it goes against God, don't even toe that line. Run the other direction. Run to the One who gives life! Jesus Christ!

God bless.

Rev. Kev.

Goals.

 What are your goals for this year? Do you aspire to do something different? Try something new? Something you have never done before?

I know this year I want to be more like God. To try and live more like Him, the best of my ability. I want to abandon everything that isn't of Him. I have been blessed in my life. There have been some mountain top moments for sure. There have also been some valleys. Some deeper than others, but valleys none the less.

No matter where I am at in life, I want to give all glory to God. Top, bottom, middle. He is there through it all. 

What are you chasing this year? Promotions at work? Are you chasing self promotion? Saying to the world "hey, look at me." "Look what I have done." Are you trying to keep with the Jones'? Being jealous of a neighbors new car? House, pool, whatever?

According to King Solomon, chasing all of the world has to offer is meaningless. 

Ecclesiastes 1:2 New Living Translation

2 “Everything is meaningless,” says the Teacher, “completely meaningless!”

What does he mean by this. You can chase fame, fortune, a higher place in society, houses, cars, jobs, etc. In the end, it's all meaningless. After all of this, you cannot take it with you. You work hard to achieve this and when you pass, someone else will get what you worked for, that they haven't lifted a finger for.

So that is why this year, I want to chase after God like never before. He is the only one that matters at the end. We can achieve all that we want, but when we are gone what will we be remembered for? How many clicks and likes that we got on our social media posts. Or will we be remembered for chasing God and living for and serving Him.

Galatians 1:10 New Living Translation

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 want to please God, not people. When I go to work, I am working for The Lord. Of course I want to please my boss, but only because I am a servant of The Lord Jesus Christ.

Colossians 3:23 New Living Translation

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

So I encourage you today. Let's make 2026 my (your) best year for chasing after God! Let everything else come in second place after God!

God bless.

Rev. Kev.