About Kent
“I am what all Christians are: flawed and always growing. I am not immune to failure, and I don’t always do the right things, but I learn from my mistakes, and always show love to all who I know. Furthermore, through Christ I have joy knowing I have His grace even though I didn’t deserve it and His love even as I can’t imagine it. I have written devotion for the past 14 years using my life’s experiences both before and after being born again and focusing on its relevance to Biblical teachings and today’s culture.”
~Kent
22
Dec '18
Unbelievable!
22
Dec '18
As Goliath moved closer to attack, David quickly ran out to meet him. Reaching into his shepherd’s bag and taking out a stone, he hurled it with his sling and hit the Philistine in the forehead. The stone sank in, and Goliath stumbled and fell face down on the ground. So David triumphed over the Philistine with only a sling and a stone, for he had no sword. 1 Samuel 17:48-50
They say in broadcasting that the great call of the announcer becomes part of the actual event, and when a truly historic event happens, the great call becomes as iconic as the moment itself. Yesterday, I had an opportunity to appreciate one such moment.
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15
Dec '18
Heart Smart
15
Dec '18
“Don’t store up treasures here on earth, where moths eat them and rust destroys them, and where thieves break in and steal. Store your treasures in heaven, where moths and rust cannot destroy, and thieves do not break in and steal. Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be.” Matthew 6:19-21
One of my challenges as a Christian is taking God’s word too literally. I am not here saying that what is written is not true nor that it should not be followed. What I am saying is that we must always be careful not to take the words of God outside of their context and be prudent
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08
Dec '18
Grace like Loretta
08
Dec '18
If I wanted to boast, I would be no fool in doing so, because I would be telling the truth. But I won’t do it, because I don’t want anyone to give me credit beyond what they can see in my life or hear in my message, even though I have received such wonderful revelations from God. So to keep me from becoming proud, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger from Satan
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01
Dec '18
Love and Fellowship
01
Dec '18
“Dear children, let’s not merely say that we love each other; let us show the truth by our actions. Our actions will show that we belong to the truth, so we will be confident when we stand before God. Even if we feel guilty, God is greater than our feelings, and He knows everything.”
1 John 3:18-20
Recently, I felt like something was missing in my life, and found that I had not been connecting with my spiritual friends. So, I was able to unbury myself from my day to day work rituals, and make time to reconnect with one of them. We had lunch, and it was such a wonderful reminder of how God works in all of us. You see, I believe we are at our best when we are connected with others. Additionally, the bond between our friends are made stronger
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24
Nov '18
Love and Prayers
24
Nov '18
Come and listen, all you who fear God,
and I will tell you what He did for me.
For I cried out to Him for help,
praising Him as I spoke.
If I had not confessed the sin in my heart,
the Lord would not have listened.
But God did listen!
He paid attention to my prayer.
Praise God, who did not ignore my prayer
or withdraw His unfailing love from me. Psalms 66:16-20
and I will tell you what He did for me.
For I cried out to Him for help,
praising Him as I spoke.
If I had not confessed the sin in my heart,
the Lord would not have listened.
But God did listen!
He paid attention to my prayer.
Praise God, who did not ignore my prayer
or withdraw His unfailing love from me. Psalms 66:16-20
Lately, I have been in an unusually thankful mood. It is not because the world has become a more certain place. It has not. It is not because I have no feelings of anxiety and concern in
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17
Nov '18
Starbucks is a Love Language
17
Nov '18
Remember this—a farmer who plants only a few seeds will get a small crop. But the one who plants
generously will get a generous crop. You must each decide in your heart how much to give. And don’t
give reluctantly or in response to pressure. “For God loves a person who gives cheerfully.” And God
will generously provide all you need. Then you will always have everything you need and plenty left
over to share with others.
generously will get a generous crop. You must each decide in your heart how much to give. And don’t
give reluctantly or in response to pressure. “For God loves a person who gives cheerfully.” And God
will generously provide all you need. Then you will always have everything you need and plenty left
over to share with others.
So, a funny conversation occurred at my church over of all things … coffee. A young lady made a
Facebook post about how her wonderful fiancé had surprised her in the morning with a cup of Starbucks
before heading off on a business trip. I had to laugh at it because strangely the picture appeared to
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10
Nov '18
Enough!
10
Nov '18
Then Amnon said to Tamar, “Bring the food here into my bedroom so I may eat from your hand.” And Tamar took the bread she had prepared and brought it to her brother Amnon in his bedroom. But when she took it to him to eat, he grabbed her and said, “Come to bed with me, my sister.”
“No, my brother!” she said to him. “Don’t force me! Such a thing should not be done in Israel! Don’t do this wicked thing. What about me? Where could I get rid of my disgrace? And what about you? You would be like one of the wicked fools in Israel. Please speak to the king; he will not keep me from being married to you.” But he refused to listen to her, and since he was stronger than she, he raped her.
Then Amnon hated her with intense hatred. In fact, he hated her more than he had loved her. Amnon said to her, “Get up and get out!” “No!” she said to him. “Sending me away would be a greater wrong than what you have already done to me.”
But he refused to listen to her. He called his personal servant and said, “Get this woman out of my sight and bolt the door after her.” 2 Samuel 13:10-17
“What’s wrong with you,” said my mother with clear disdain in her voice. “What’s wrong, mom,” I replied. She says, “Didn’t I teach you better than that? Don’t you ever go through a door without opening it for the woman,” she said. “Yes, mom,” I replied without hesitation. As I grew older, there would be one day where a woman would look at me and become upset for my opening the door for them. “Don’t you think I can open the door on my own,” she would ask. “Yes, but I was just being polite as I would to anyone else,” I replied. If you live in the Midwest, opening doors for each other is almost like standard operating procedure. But you see, that never would have started if it were not for the first lady in my life: my mother. You see, I open doors for men because it’s the courteous thing to do, and I open them for women because it’s the right thing to do. You see, my mother taught me to have a higher bar of respect for the opposite sex.
My heart is deeply troubled by the state of our nation in lieu of the treatment of women as of late, and to be honest, I have had enough of it. In today’s world, we fight over who to believe when there is any act of misconduct. Women who have been abused speak up, and we want to fall into the ‘he said/ she said’ line. We somehow decided to blur the line as to who to believe strictly because it is expedient to ‘what we want to believe.’ The mistake I work hard to avoid is not to jump to a political, gender specific, or even personal view. Instead, I focus on a Godly one. Why do we need to tear her story down so much? Do we believe the other side is up to some ulterior motive? Is our team’s record at stake? Do we not realize just how wrong that thinking is? What does it say to the women in our lives? Here’s the thing. To those who wish to make this a political issue, I will just say this. It comes back to one simple thing. All women are to be respected whether we believe them or not. If I am ever accused of wrongdoing, my confidence has always been that my actions reflect what my mother taught me, and that and God would handle the rest.
God expects better than us. Somewhere along the line, decency got lost. I do not look to a side to blame because it is all of us. We have somehow substituted doing the right thing for ‘they did it, and so I can do it’ mentality. Well another thing my mother used to say is if everyone jumped off a cliff, you should too? God does not want to hear your excuse. He wants you to submit to His way of doing things. In a discussion with a friend, we centered on the word ‘integrity.’ Our actions must be above reproach. We have no control over what the world does to us. We do have control of how we show love and reverence to God. I was not comfortable writing this. Not one bit. But God made me uncomfortable to the point I had to because I am tired of women living in fear and us as men (and in many cases women) ignoring it like we had no stake in the game. I love the women in my life far too much to let this lie any further. If a woman comes forward regardless of your belief, stop tearing her down! Period! This must end immediately!
Women must always be respected and heard regardless of their motive. I look at my wife, and I think of Ephesians where it says:
Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave Himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to Himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless. In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. (Ephesians 5:25-28)
While this only applies to my wife, it is the standard that I pray we uphold of all women. I want to be clear. There are zero acceptable excuses for disrespecting a woman making an accusation of abuse. If you sense yourself looking for one, focus on Jesus saying, “But I say, do not resist an evil person! If someone slaps you on the cheek, offer the other cheek also.” (Matthew 5:39) How will you respond the next time a woman claims abuse? How can you be more respectful of women as a whole? My prayer is that God has prompted your heart to simply and unequivocally say, “Enough!” Amen.
Kent
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03
Nov '18
My Dr. Phil Gift
03
Nov '18
God has given each of you a gift from His great variety of spiritual gifts. Use them well to serve one another. Do you have the gift of speaking? Then speak as though God himself were speaking through you. Do you have the gift of helping others? Do it with all the strength and energy that God supplies. Then everything you do will bring glory to God through Jesus Christ. All glory and power to Him forever and ever! Amen. 1 Peter 4:10-11
Lately, my life has been inundated with a wave of sadness, tragedy, and heartbreak. The thing is none of it is directly relating to me. It is as if somehow God has given me this ‘Dr. Phil’ gift. Some of you know exactly what that means. People seemingly come to you because in their
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27
Oct '18
Filling the Gap
27
Oct '18
Be good to your servant,
that I may live and obey Your word.
Open my eyes to see
the wonderful truths in Your instructions.
I am only a foreigner in the land.
Don’t hide Your commands from me!
I am always overwhelmed
with a desire for Your regulations. Psalms 119: 17-20
that I may live and obey Your word.
Open my eyes to see
the wonderful truths in Your instructions.
I am only a foreigner in the land.
Don’t hide Your commands from me!
I am always overwhelmed
with a desire for Your regulations. Psalms 119: 17-20
One of the first things I tried to do when I became born again was give up something for lent. The funny thing was I was never successful. I would slip up somewhere along the line, and eat the chocolate cake, or I would have that night out where the cheesecake looked too good. Eventually, I would give in. Then one year, I put it all together and found success! There was so much joy in my heart that I enjoyed cheesecake that year much more! In retrospect, each passing year where I failed, I also learned something from my failures. I realized to avoid certain places, or had greater will power to never ‘give up.’ I was
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20
Oct '18
Just Walk
20
Oct '18
Shortly before dawn Jesus went out to them, walking on the lake. When the disciples saw Him walking on the lake, they were terrified. “It’s a ghost,” they said, and cried out in fear.
But Jesus immediately said to them: “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.” “Lord, if it’s you,” Peter replied, “tell me to come to You on the water.” “Come,” He said.
Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and,
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