God and Dee Snider

Hello again. It's been a year and a half since my last post. I've had quite some distraction from writing during that time.
I can't and won't go into all the details, but the reason for my long absence is that I went through a very painful divorce. It was not something that I wanted nor even thought was going to happen, but it did. Of all the hurtful and painful things I have experienced in my life, this was the most devastating.
Mainly I guess, because of my two precious baby girls. Having to leave them with the knowledge that I wouldn't be there to see them everyday nearly killed me, literally.
My ex-wife and I are both to blame. I wouldn't know how to explain it other than we never got on the same page with each other. Anyway, as I said, I can't nor will go into all the details. Just know that divorce in any aspect is a horrid, devastating thing.
Now, on to what I want to say. Having gone through the most darkest time in my life, I surely would not be writing this now if not for God.
I screamed at Him and cursed at Him for not stopping the divorce from happening. I wanted to walk away from everything. I didn't want to walk away from God, because I new if I did that, I would always know I was wrong and I was afraid of actually walking too far. I was however walking away from ministry and even church. I had not yet physically left church, but it would have come. The things that saved me, I believe, were men of WOC-FUEL. The men's ministry of my church, my friends and my brothers. Their strong words, their soft words, their listening ears and their crying eyes. Most of all their prayers. I believe God had actually set me up. He wasn't surprised by the divorce as I was. He knew it was coming and He surrounded me with people who cared and loved me. He also had my family, my brother and my sister. My siblings and I became closer than we had ever been and for that I am thankful.
Through this all I wanted was for it to be over and me to be over it and happy again. No such luck. God has His plans and His purposes and He knows what they are better than we do and is not predisposed to tell us at all. That's why it's called faith. My faith had been wounded and until I made the decision to put my trust (faith) back in Him, I wasn't going anywhere but deeper and darker.
I am also a believer that God can use whatever or whomever He can or wants to and that whatever or whomever doesn't need the worlds (the Christian world) stamp of approval to do so. God had put in me a deep sense of faith. I said it was wounded not destroyed. Nothing can destroy your faith in God but you. Through out the whole thing I knew God was the only one who could bring me out of it.
Not being involved with ministry so much, I was allowing myself some much needed enjoyments such as reading books that I was interested in. One of these books was an memoir by heavy metal legend Dee Snider. He is the lead singer for the band Twisted Sister.
When I entered high school, I was sorta taken in by the local metal heads. With this group I felt I fit in and heavy metal became my style of music. One of the guys gave me my first copies of some heavy metal music and one of those was Twisted Sister, so I have been a pseudo fan ever since.
Dee Snider's memoir was truly inspirational. He gives his account of going after his dream of being a rock star and the years of failures and struggles it took to make it to the apex of that dream and then the decent into losing everything he had worked for, yet never stopping or never giving up. In a way, I could relate his story to my life. I already had this deep sense of not giving up (despite wanting to and even actually doing it to an extent) and reading Dee Snider's book helped sharpen that and strengthen that in a way no one else could.
Here's what I think you need to know from that. God can use anyone or anything. You have be discerning and God seeking to know what or who he is using and who he is not.
As I said, I knew God was and is the only person who could see me totally through this hell and He is the only one who can see you totally through whatever you may be facing. My path was with God and Dee Snider.

In Christ,
Kevin

Custom Creator

Have you ever customized something?  I'm sure you have. You probably have and don't even realize it.  Think about it, to customize something means to take it and make it unique or to be what you like or want it to be. How about your house, or your room if you don't have a house, your clothing style or your car or truck?  What about getting a tattoo? That's an extreme form of personal customization. 

As we have moved into our new house, I now have my own office room.  I can decorate it anyway I want to.  I already have a few things in place.  These are things that I like and that inspire me in writing and ministry.  I used to watch the show Orange County Choppers.  They custom built choppers with specific themes.

Did you know that God gave us the power to customize the earth?  In a way, so to speak. In Genesis 1: 26-28 God gave Adam dominion and told him to subdue the earth. I know that is more of authority than customizing, but in a way Adam could customize the planet.

Almost anything and everything on this earth both man made and natural can be changed and customized to look and be whatever anyone wants it to be.

The crazy thing is that in our carnality and arrogance, we try to customize the one who customized us, God.  People everywhere, everyday, try to customize God to fit their image and their likeness instead of conforming to fit and be in His image and likeness the way He intended and purposed.

What? No way. Yep, everyday. You see, as man has read and interpreted scripture over the years, Satan has done what he has done since the garden of Eden. Twisted the word of God in peoples minds.  Satan started out with Eve saying "Hath God said ?", putting a question in Eve's mind about God's commands.

Hath God said you shouldn't look at that? Hath God said you shouldn't act that way? Hath God said they don't deserve it? Hath God said you should do this or do that even if it contradicts anything else God has already said? Hath God said you should look out for you and only you? I could go on and on.

"And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me."  Luke 9:23

I don't think most of us fully grasp the simplicity of that scripture. I don't think most of us want to grasp the simplicity of that scripture. Jesus said if we are to follow him then we have to deny ourselves. Deny what we want. Deny our self love, pride, and wants.

Some people miss the deception that happens. Does God want us to be happy? Yes. Does God want us prosper? Yes. Does God want me to excel in all that I do? Yes.

Being a minister and a teacher, one thing that (just being honest) infuriates me with people is when they try to use God or His word to justify to themselves and to others, their own selfish wants. They say things like " God told me to do this " or they find a scripture they think justifies it when they no more heard God or read the word in it's truth than a man sitting on the moon eating cheese.

Now, don't get me wrong. I know people hear God and receive direction from Him and even are given scriptures from Him as confirmation to them of what He is directing them to do. However, there are those that it doesn't take a lot of spiritual sense to know they are fooling themselves and trying to fool you.

One thing I think could even be more wrong is when someone counsels another person based on their experiences which is often bad. They have not only customized their lives but that of someone else's.

My whole point is this. Become the man or woman that God intends for you to be by following Him. By listening to His voice. By reading the Word and discerning what it is saying to you. By being man enough and woman enough to admit when you aren't sure of or don't know the answer and be willing to seek Godly counsel. I may interject that just because a person is/claims to be a Christian doesn't mean they have Godly counsel.

When we grow up and learn how to eat spiritual meat along with drinking our spiritual milk and get self out of the way of what God wants to do with us and in us and allow Him to customize us then we will not make the mistake of trying to make Him our Custom Creator.

In Christ,
Kevin