My Mom!

I have no idea on where to start with this. My mom passed away on December 1, 2019. We had her funeral services over the weekend of December 6th & 7th. The day that she passed, my world forever changed. I lost a cheerleader, my number one fan, after my wife. She was always there for me, no matter what. From of course birth but so much more. Surgeries, birth of my daughter, divorce, moves, my pastoral credentialing, everything! Even when laying in the hospital she would try to help me. That is a real funny story, but I'll tell you in person if you see me. She would be the first person to like my blog post that I made. Or a Facebook post that I would make. She encouraged me in everything that I did. She simply was the best! I've always said that you will never see me going on Jerry Springer complaining about my mom or the way that she raised me or my brothers.

Proverbs 6:20-22 (NLT)

²⁰ My son, obey your father’s commands,
    and don’t neglect your mother’s instruction.
²¹ Keep their words always in your heart.
    Tie them around your neck.
²² When you walk, their counsel will lead you.
    When you sleep, they will protect you.
    When you wake up, they will advise you.

 

I will always remember what my mom taught me growing up. I have always treasured her wisdom, even though I didn't like it sometimes. She always spoke the truth. Even into adulthood I would call her and ask her advice on things. I told someone at the visitation the other night, that since I could no longer do that, I guess I would have to grow up. We had a good chuckle! She taught me and my brothers how to work hard. She had the best work ethic and passed it on to her three sons. She taught us how to drive, how to love, how to laugh, how to enjoy life. Most of all, how to be a good parent. If I could be half the parent to my daughter that she was to me and my brothers, I would be doing okay!

 

She will be missed by me and my family for sure. But if her visitation and funeral were any indication, she will be missed by a whole community of extended family and friends as well. The stories and memories that were shared with us, taught us even more about her and her love for everyone!

 

The best news out of all of this, her hospitalization, surgery and subsequent death, is that she accepted Jesus as her Lord and Savior. So we know that we will see her again, for all eternity.

 

Romans 10:13(NLT)

¹³ For “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”

 

So we are all mourning mom, grandma, great grandma, sister, aunt, friend. God's word gives us this promise,

 

Matthew 5:4(NLT)

⁴ God blesses those who mourn,
    for they will be comforted.

 

It hurts right now, but God will comfort us and give us peace. I give Him thanks for that.

 

Much love to all who loved my mom!

 

Keven

 

 

 

 

 

Truck Dock.

As you may or may not know, I work in our shipping/receiving department at work. This means that I load/unload trucks all day. The dock is well lit, but the trailers are not. We have lights on our forklifts, but rarely use them. Last week in the middle of loading a truck, God revealed this to me. He does this to me all the time at work. As I'm driving into the trailer, I notice that it is getting darker the further that I get in. The light from the building starts to fade and I'm almost in total darkness. Then as I put the forklift into reverse and start to back out of the trailer, it starts to get lighter as I am heading toward the building and the lights. I'm not sure how many trailers I have loaded/unloaded over my career. 1000's probably, but never ever thought of it this way.

I started thinking about what if it's this way when we sin against God. Every sin we commit, or anything not pleasing to God is like going into the trailer and away from the light. It gets darker and darker the deeper we get into our sin. Every foot we drive towards the darkness, is a foot away from the light. But there is good news. Just like we can change direction in the trailer, to drive back towards the light, we too can turn around and reverse our direction and head back towards the light.

Acts 26:18 New Living Translation (NLT)
¹⁸ to open their eyes, so they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God. Then they will receive forgiveness for their sins and be given a place among God’s people, who are set apart by faith in me.’

Every step we take towards Jesus, is a step away from the evil one and his wicked ways. As we get closer and closer to Jesus, His light shines brightly on us.

John 8:12 New Living Translation (NLT)¹² Jesus spoke to the people once more and said, “I am the light of the world. If you follow me, you won’t have to walk in darkness, because you will have the light that leads to life.”

As I kept driving in and out of the trailer, from light to dark and back again. I kept thinking about Israel in the Old Testament. They would follow God, then abandon God, then repent and follow God again. A cycle that unfortunately still exists in today's world. We do things are own way, and then when they go wrong, we want God to help us. Then when He does, we go back to our old ways again.

 Once I start to follow God, I don't want to do a return trip back the other way. I want to keep seeking after God, and what He has for me.

Jeremiah 29:11 New Living Translation (NLT)¹¹ For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.

 

Transformation.

I am a board member at our local pregnancy resource center here in town. Every year we hold a banquet to raise funds to cover operating expenses and other things that we provide for our clients throughout the year. A local church let's us use their sanctuary to hold the banquet. We have back to back nights of the banquet. Thursday and Friday nights. So on Wednesday night we get a group of people together to transform the sanctuary into a banquet hall. We remove almost all of the chairs from inside the room, and then we bring in the tables, set them up and place chairs all around them. From the beginning of set up, to the final placement of the chairs, the transformation from one kind of room to another is incredible.

As I was preparing to leave Wednesday night after set up, I turned around and looked at the room. The tables, the chairs, all set up in perfect order. From what I saw, to what it was when I first arrived that night was nothing short of amazing. That got me to thinking about the transforming power of Jesus. When we accept Him, we became a different person.

2 Corinthians 5:17(TLB)
¹⁷ When someone becomes a Christian, he becomes a brand new person inside. He is not the same anymore. A new life has begun!

You see, that room was being changed from the inside out. Just like moving the chairs out of the room, to make room for the tables, Jesus is cleaning the junk from the inside of us, to make room for Himself and His Holy Spirit. Just like the room was now a "new" room, we are a new person. Our old life is gone. We now have a new life in Jesus!

Galatians 2:20(NLT)²⁰ My old self has been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So I live in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

Unlike the banquet hall having to be transformed back into a sanctuary at the end of the second evening. I am not going back to my old life. My old life is gone. There is no going back. I am a new creation with Christ Jesus.

Ezekiel 36:26(NLT)
²⁶ And I will give you a new heart, and I will put a new spirit in you. I will take out your stony, stubborn heart and give you a tender, responsive heart.

Thank You Lord, for Your transforming Spirit. Thank You for making me a new person in You! Amen!

Window Sticker!

I saw something tonight that just made me stop dead in my tracks. I volunteer with our local food bank handing out food to people who are in need. They order online and then on the designated date they come and pick it up at a specified location. They just drive up and we load it up for them, and off they go. Well tonight I saw something that I could not believe. I stood there and stared in disbelief at what I was seeing. A car pulled up with a couple of young ladies in it. As it pulled into position to get loaded, and I pushed the cart towards their trunk, I noticed a sticker in the back window. It wasn't large or obnoxious, but what it said was disturbing, at least to me. It said that "Satan Loves Me." I could not believe it. My first instinct was to go over there and tear it off, but that would be kind of frowned upon. I thought to myself, "my dear girl." "If you only knew the truth." Satan doesn't really love you. He is a liar. In fact he is the father of lies.

John 8:44 New Living Translation (NLT)
⁴⁴ For you are the children of your father the devil, and you love to do the evil things he does. He was a murderer from the beginning. He has always hated the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, it is consistent with his character; for he is a liar and the father of lies.

Satan's job is to steal, kill and destroy. Not to love. The only thing that he loves is to get us further away from Jesus.

John 10:10 New Living Translation (NLT)
¹⁰ The thief’s purpose is to steal and kill and destroy.

I prayed a quick prayer for her. If she only knew how much God loved her, that she might know the truth. He wants her to live and have an abundant life.

John 10:10 New Living Translation (NLT)
¹⁰ My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life.

He loves us so much, that He sent His only Son to die for us. So that we might have eternal life.

John 3:16 New International Version (NIV)
¹⁶ For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

He loves us so much that He is patient with us. Waiting for us to believe in Him and His truth. He wants to spend eternity with us.

2 Peter 3:9 The Message (MSG)
^8-9 Don’t overlook the obvious here, friends. With God, one day is as good as a thousand years, a thousand years as a day. God isn’t late with his promise as some measure lateness. He is restraining himself on account of you, holding back the End because he doesn’t want anyone lost. He’s giving everyone space and time to change.

I pray that one day, in a moment of  time, God will soften this young women's heart and she will seek Jesus' love. Not Satan's. I pray that the next time that I see her vehicle, that sticker would be gone.
 

Getting Into Heaven!

I had a conversation the other day with a friend of mine about getting into heaven. He was telling me about a friend of his who was in my friends opinion a "saint". There is no way that his friend was not getting into heaven because of the kind of person he was. My friend was telling me about how hard his friend worked. Provided for his family. Helped out at church and was very generous in their giving, of both money and time. As he was talking, I stood there shaking my head a little at what I was hearing. He finally asked my why I was shaking my head. I told him "dude, it doesn't work that way." "You can't work or give your way into heaven." I told him that you can do everything right according to our human way, but this is what God's word says.

Romans 3:23 New Living Translation (NLT)
²³ For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard.

That's right. We are all still sinners. Until we get to heaven to spend eternity with our Lord and Savior, we will still sin and fall short of God's standard for us.

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.

Aren't you glad that God doesn't give us what we deserve, but He gives us grace, which is enough!

Ephesians 2:8-9 New Living Translation (NLT)
⁸ God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. ⁹ Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it.

We can't earn our salvation. It is a free gift from God. All we have to do is accept it. People will try to talk a good game to get on the good side of The Lord but,

Matthew 7:21 Living Bible (TLB)
²¹ “Not all who sound religious are really godly people. They may refer to me as ‘Lord,’ but still won’t get to heaven. For the decisive question is whether they obey my Father in heaven.

Jesus wants us to repent and turn from our sins. Accept Him as our personal savior.

Mark 1:15 New Living Translation (NLT)
¹⁵ “The time promised by God has come at last!” he announced. “The Kingdom of God is near! Repent of your sins and believe the Good News!”

So I explained all of this to my friend. Telling him there is only one way to get to heaven and none of it involves what he does on his own.

Focused Relationship.

A group that I volunteer with, recently held a focus study for the people that we serve. They were asked what they liked/didn't like about the service being provided. They said that the one thing that they really liked was that it is always the same people working when they came to the pick up site. With the same people working nearly every week, they/we can build a relationship with each other. We get to know them by name and vice versa. The same goes for the volunteers. The more that we work together, the more that we get to know how each of us works. Our mannerisms. The way that we do things, and start feeding off of each other. If I grab something and I  am working with a certain volunteer, than I know that he/she will grab the next thing, and so on. We have really great volunteers and we work really well together as a team.

Well, if you know anything about me, you know that this got me to thinking about Jesus, and His relationship with me. I love having my own personal relationship with Jesus. He knows everything about me.

Psalm 139:13-16 New Living Translation (NLT)

¹³ You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body
    and knit me together in my mother’s womb.
¹⁴ Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex!
    Your workmanship is marvelous—how well I know it.
¹⁵ You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion,
    as I was woven together in the dark of the womb.
¹⁶ You saw me before I was born.
    Every day of my life was recorded in your book.
Every moment was laid out
    before a single day had passed.

 

If this is not knowing somebody, then I don't know what is. He created me, and knows everything about me.

 

Matthew 10:30-31 The Voice (VOICE)

^30-31 You, beloved, are worth so much more than a whole flock of sparrows. God knows everything about you, even the number of hairs on your head. So do not fear.

 

So as much as I want to serve my volunteer opportunity with excellence, and serve our community with compassion and love. How much more do I want to serve my Living God. Jesus came to serve, not to be served. I want to follow His example of servant hood. I want to continue to be used by The Lord. Everyway possible.

 

Hebrews 6:10 New International Version (NIV)

¹⁰ God is not unjust; he will not forget your work and the love you have shown him as you have helped his people and continue to help them.

 

That is what I keep telling people who ask me about this. We are here to help each other out. To lift each other up and encourage. If we are not doing this, then why are we here.

 

1 Corinthians 16:14 English Standard Version (ESV)

¹⁴ Let all that you do be done in love.

 

That's what I want to happen for myself. To love others, just as Jesus loves me.

 

BLOOD!

Blood. That one simple word can cause such drastic and different responses from people. Some can simply donate or have some drawn and have no issues. Others on the other hand can simply see blood, either their own or someone else's and pass out or faint. I have seen this on many occasions, unfortunately. I have no problem with it. I can see my blood being drawn. I can see a cut or an abrasion and it does nothing to me.

I donated some blood last week, and it got me thinking about the blood of Jesus. If the same blood that I am donating is compatible with another persons blood, and we are two different people, and can save their life, what more can the blood of Jesus do? His blood covered all of our sins!

Romans 5:9 The Voice (VOICE)
⁹ As a result, the blood of Jesus has made us right with God now, and certainly we will be rescued by Him from God’s wrath in the future.

Leviticus 17:11 The Voice (VOICE)

¹¹ You see, the life of the body is in the blood, and I have directed that you are to take blood and offer it on the altar to atone for your lives and cover your sins. It is the life flowing in the blood that atones for you and covers you.

 

So by donating blood the other day, I was picturing what Jesus had done for me/us. He laid down His life for us. He shed His blood for us. So that we may live.

 

Mark 12:31 The Voice (VOICE)

³¹ The second great commandment is this: “Love others in the same way you love yourself.”^[a] There are no commandments more important than these.

 

What better way to show love to our brothers and sisters than donate blood. It literally can save someone's life.

 

John 15:13 The Voice (VOICE)

¹³ There is no greater way to love than to give your life for your friends.

 

I want to imitate Jesus. Be His hands and feet, when ever I can. Amen!