Tag: Hope

From Overlooked to A Wonderful Life

~ jesusluvsall ~ 16 Comments

It has been almost fourteen years since I knocked on the door of her family. It was April 2009 and my father had just passed away. A few days after his funeral, I prayed about what to do with my free time after having so much tied up with end of life care for him. A brother and sister from Vietnam were in a beginning conversation class I taught at the time and I felt the Lord place them on my heart.

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I went to their apartment and knocked on the door. They opened and gladly welcomed me in. The sister had her daughter come join us. Her daughter had just turned 20 and had been in ELL, English Language Learners, for almost one year. I invited the daughter and her cousin to join the weekend group I had at the time for Vietnamese youth.

She came, along with her cousin. She was shy at first. Her father and paternal grandparents basically abandoned her. Her mom and maternal grandmother loved her though. She had much to overcome in life when I met her.

She came to my Sunday morning group as well for about five years. She came to know Jesus and he went to work in her life as well. She blossomed from a shy young woman who was overlooked by everyone except her mom and grandmother to becoming a university student. She graduated and was accepted into a Master’s Program in Architecture. She is an Architect now, married, and has a baby boy,

Her story is compelling and a wonderful example of how Jesus changes lives. I have been blessed to see it time and time again. Jesus can take a broken life and create a beautiful life full of meaning.

With Jesus, there is no one who is overlooked, forgotten, unloved, or hopeless. Jesus loves us so much that he receives and welcomes us with open arms just the way we are. But he loves us too much to leave us the way we are when we come to him.

My friend from Vietnam and so many other friends from many cultures are shining examples of what Jesus can do with a life given to him.

Thank you for reading. God Bless.

Least Likely

~ jesusluvsall ~ 23 Comments

If anyone were to look at my high school year book and talk with people who knew me when I was a teen, instead of most likely to succeed, they would hear something else. Especially if you were to tell them that I have a ministry for refugees/immigrants and teach for a college. They would have said I was least likely of everyone they knew to become a home missionary/teacher.

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Least likely explains how other perhaps viewed me at other points in life even after coming to know Jesus. My first ministry trip to Romania, the missionaries we went to serve with had their doubts because they remembered me from a few years before when due to being sick, I was the guy who talked slowly. They would have said I was least likely to used by God in Romania. Yet eight years later, I went twice in one year to preach the Easter and Christmas services for the church my church partnered with there.

Least likely explains how many thought when God led me to start a ministry of reaching out to refugees/immigrants in my city. When God led me to start a Saturday morning group, there were many doubters. But God worked and a few years later people were sharing their thoughts that I should stay in my city because of the ministry Jesus led me to.

There are so many other examples from my life of when I was what others thought was least likely. There is much to learn from a classic least likely in the bible.We read about it in 1st Samuel 16. God sent the prophet Samuel to Jesse of Bethlehem to anoint one of Jesse’s sons to be king to replace Saul. When Samuel thought it would be Eliab because he looked the part, God told Samuel in verse seven:

But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”

God led Samuel to David, a shepherd boy tending his father Jesse’s sheep, to anoint David. God chose David because he saw David’s heart. He saw David trust in him protecting the sheep. He saw David’s penchant for singing to the Lord. Everyone else would have thought David was least likely, but not God.

I love the saying that God doesn’t call the qualified, he qualifies the called.

Thank you for reading. God Bless.

Dealing with Anxiety-What God Teaches Us To Focus On

~ jesusluvsall ~ 18 Comments

Yesterday evening while having dinner with friends. one of my friends observed, :”that must have been scary last week when you were in the ER.” My response might surprise some. My response was, “yes it was but that is in the past now. It is not happening now.”

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Staying present in the moment is not a new concept. Jesus spoke about it over two thousand years ago when he said in Matthew 6:34:

Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

Jesus was teaching to focus on today, on the present here and now. Yes we make plans, but we do not live in tomorrow nor do we live in yesterday.

Paul touched on not living in yesterday when he wrote in Philippians 3:13:

But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead

Don’t get me wrong. I struggle as much as anyone with the practice of beating myself up about the past and anxiety about something coming in the future like having to go to the doctor. My response to my friend’s insight surprised me as well. But that fear that was gripping me last Wednesday is not with me anymore. The problem that brought to the ER is not a problem for me today. It is in the past and it can stay there, 🙂

But what would God want us to remember from the past?

1 Chronicles 16:12 says:


Remember the wonders he has done, his miracles, and the judgments he pronounced,

Remember the things God has done for us. This helps us when we face current difficulties. It helps us to remember how God came through for us.

We leave the negative stuff behind, remember God working in our lives, focus on today, and have hope for tomorrow knowing that Jesus is always with us.

Thank you for reading. God Bless.

Music Mondays- I Will Carry You by Ellie Holcomb

~ jesusluvsall ~ 8 Comments

So many times Jesus has carried me through dark times. I did not always see it at the time but after making it through a rough time, looking back I could see it so clearly.

Jesus will never leave us. He stays with us through it all and in the end welcomes us home with open arms. Whatever we experience in this life, we can be sure of one thing. Jesus is with us-ALWAYS.

Thank you for reading. God Bless.

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Story Time- Wishing I Could Move

~ jesusluvsall ~ 17 Comments

Yesterday in my afternoon class, I asked the students if they prefer winter or summer. When they asked me, my reply was that in late July and August I prefer winter because I am tired of the heat and in late January and February I prefer summer because I am tired of the cold.

Where I live, we can have extreme winters and extreme summers. It is not every year, but they do happen. In the summer we can have heat waves with over three weeks of 100 f/38c every day.

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In the summer of 2010, it was one of those summers that every day from June through August was miserable. We had not only the heat but also high humidity. So when I got off the plane in San Diego California on my way to Ensenada Mexico for a ministry trip, and felt the perfect 72f/22c weather with no humidity, you can understand why I wondered if they needed teachers there. San Diego has beautiful weather all year.

When I returned to my city, I Googled apartment rentals in San Diego and quickly realized I could not afford to live there on a teacher’s salary. Too bad, so sad lol.

Regardless of where we live, we long for a place that does not have the problems of daily living. We will never find such a place in this life, but there is such a place to look forward to. Hebrews 11:16 says:

“Instead, they were longing for a better country—a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them.”

God has a heavenly city prepared for us. In heaven there are no problems, no heat waves, no artic cold fronts. no crime, no pollution, no corruption. The glory of God permeates heaven.

I still wish I could afford San Diego in this life though. 🙂

Thank you for reading. God Bless.

Each Day A New Day with God

~ jesusluvsall ~ 17 Comments

As I was scraping the frost from my windshield yesterday, I thought about how the first few times I have frost on my windshield in the fall, it is a joyful occasion because it means the end of fall allergies. But by November, having frost on the windshield has gotten tedious and means just one more thing to do before work.

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The first hot day of summer has the same feeling for me. I enjoy the heat on my arthritic body, but by July the summer heat is something I look forward to not having.

Anytime I buy something electronic, the newness of it brings me happiness. But after a few weeks, it has become old hat and not a source of excitement.

Fortunately the goodness, mercy, and compassion of Jesus are fresh every morning. They never cease to amaze me.Lamentations 3:22-24 says:

“Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed,
    for his compassions never fail.
They are new every morning;
    great is your faithfulness.
I say to myself, “The Lord is my portion;
    therefore I will wait for him.”

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The love of God, his compassion/mercy, are new every morning. God is eternal and creative. He has new ways to get our attention that are custom made to get our attention. May you experience that today.

Thank you for reading. God Bless.

Music Mondays- Who You Say I Am by Hillsong

~ jesusluvsall ~ 10 Comments

No matter what is in our background, no matter what mistakes we have made, no matter what turmoil we have been in, our identity for those who know Jesus is-Child of God.

That means we are set free to live as children of God. We are who Jesus says we are. What others say we are does not matter in Jesus’s eyes.

When God looks at us, he sees his child. When Jesus looks at us, he sees someone he loves so much that he died for us. That is our identity and nothing can change it. Nothing, no one, can take our identity in Jesus away from us.

I love this song-Who You Say I Am. When I listen to it, what comes to mind is God saying-“Remember whose child you are.”

Thank you for reading. God Bless.

Happy 90th Birthday in Heaven to My Earthly Father

~ jesusluvsall ~ 25 Comments

January 6th is my earthly father’s birthday. He passed away fourteen years ago, so he is celebrating it in heaven. The fact that I can say he is celebrating it in heaven is a testimony to the grace and love of Jesus. I shared in my post Forgiveness From Me Led To My Father Receiving Forgiveness From God about how my earthly father came to know Jesus in his final months of this life.

After he came to know Jesus while in a hospital bed, each time I would visit he would point to my bible indicating he wanted me to read to him from the bible and then he would put his hand up for me to hold his hand while we prayed. Basically I was his pastor during his final months in this life. I was with him while he was dying reading the bible to him.

His funeral was a Christian funeral with my pastor doing the ceremony. That was a minor miracle in and of itself. I never thought that would happen until the final months of his earthly life. When my earthly father came to know Jesus, the old labels of associated with him being an alcoholic were changed to child of God.

My earthly father’s story is a great example of it is never too late and not giving up hope for those we are praying for.

Happy 90th Birthday in heaven to Gary Kohrell.

Thank you for reading. God Bless.

Voices- Which One Will We Pay Attention to?

~ jesusluvsall ~ 21 Comments

I watched a movie over the weekend, which was Violet starring Olivia Munn. In the movie she plays the part of a woman dealing with negative voices in her mind always tearing her down as a result of growing up with a verbally abusive mother. As someone who grew up in a family with two abusive parents, I could so relate to the character she played.

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There are voices competing for our attention, our own inner voices, voices of others, and even the voice of the deceiver Satan. Darkness loves to jump on people to drag them further down.

Jesus talked about his voice and those who follow him. In John 10:3-65we read:

“The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice.  But they will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognize a stranger’s voice.”

It is so important to learn to listen to his voice. His voice guides us and gives us life. In John 10:10 Jesus said:

:The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.”

There are voices that seek to destroy us like a death of a thousand cuts slowly and repeatedly over time. By contrast, Jesus’s motivation is to give us life to the full. He brings healing to our lives. He gives our lives new meaning and purpose.

We can learn to listen to Jesus’s voice by spending time reading the bible, listening to worship music, spending time in prayer, and having friends we trust who will speak truth into our lives. It can also help to meet with a therapist or a pastor to sort things out.

Choosing which voice to pay attention to is a continual battle, but well worth it if we choose the voice of our Savior Jesus who loves us.

Thank you for reading. God Bless.

Music Mondays- I Will Not Fear by Adrienne Acosta

~ jesusluvsall ~ 10 Comments

Isaiah 41:10-So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.

God does not say do not fear. He says do not fear for I am your God. Gods lets us know that he has our back. He is by our side. Jesus promised he will always be with us. There is no situation that we face alone.

I have been thinking about these truths recently. We never know what a new year will bring. My Ukrainian friends did not know last year at this time that they would come to my city as refugees. In January 2020, no one had an idea that we would go through two years of a pandemic causing chaos. Whatever we face, we do not face it alone. Jesus is always with us.

I will try to remember that this Thursday when I have a follow up with my cardiologist. Send me to another country and I am happy. Send me to a new group of people from a culture no one knows and I am happy. Send me to a doctor and I would rather crawl across glass sometimes. Figure of speech of course.

May this sweet simple song help us remember that God is with us.

Thank you for reading. God Bless.