By

Kevin R Schultz

Is Crying Allowed?

3-5-26

Is crying allowed?

  Now I ask this question all the time. There are times I will hear a song that Karen 

listened to all the time, or a TV show would come on that we used to watch together, or other things that would remind me of her. I would just start crying for at least a good hour.

  There are times when it seems like this pain is not going to go away anytime soon. And that is when the waterworks start up again. It is at a point where I appreciate having a lot of doctor appts. to go to, keeps my mind occupied.

  I am going through a program with others at my church who are also dealing with the loss of a loved one. It will be a long road, the program is called Greifshare and I would recommend it to anyone who has suffered a loss.

  Now this program has helped out a great deal. I also have some good friends I can talk to which helps. Then I decided to look at what Jesus had to say about this when His good friend and someone He loved as a brother (Lazarus) had died. Let’s look at;

John 11:1-44 (NIV)

1 Now a man named Lazarus was sick. He was from Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. 2 (This Mary, whose brother Lazarus now lay sick, was the same one who poured perfume on the Lord and wiped his feet with her hair.) 3 So the sisters sent word to Jesus, “Lord, the one you love is sick.” 4 When he heard this, Jesus said, “This sickness will not end in death. No, it is for God’s glory so that God’s Son may be glorified through it.”

  Now one wonders how this can glorify Jesus? Well the answer is simple: Jesus Christ paid the price for all of our sins and Karen can enter into heaven because of it. While my wife’s body no longer exists her spirit does and now she is up worshiping with the Lord. So technically she did not die.

5 Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. 6 So when he heard that Lazarus was sick, he stayed where he was two more days, 

7 and then he said to his disciples, “Let us go back to Judea.” 8 “But Rabbi,” they said, “a short while ago the Jews there tried to stone you, and yet you are going back?” 9 Jesus answered, “Are there not twelve hours of daylight? Anyone who walks in the daytime will not stumble, for they see by this world’s light. 10 It is when a person walks at night that they stumble, for they have no light.” 11 After he had said this, he went on to tell them, “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep; but I am going there to wake him up.” 12 His disciples replied, “Lord, if he sleeps, he will get better.” 13 Jesus had been speaking of his death, but his disciples thought he meant natural sleep. 14 So then he told them plainly, “Lazarus is dead, 15 and for your sake I am glad I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him.” 16 Then Thomas (also known as Didymus ) said to the rest of the disciples, “Let us also go, that we may die with him.” 

  There are three points here…

1. We should always be walking in the Light of Jesus Christ, as hard as that can be at times. He will get us through whatever difficulties  we are having,
2. Jesus Christ is also going to show what the power of The Resurrection can do, with His disciples as witnesses.
3. Also what our faith in who Jesus Christ is produces.

17 On his arrival, Jesus found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb for four days. 18 Now Bethany was less than two miles from Jerusalem, 19 and many Jews had come to Martha and Mary to comfort them in the loss of their brother. 20 When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went out to meet him, but Mary stayed at home. 

21 “Lord,” Martha said to Jesus, “if you had been here, my brother would not have died. 22 But I know that even now God will give you whatever you ask.” 23 Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.” 24 Martha answered, “I know he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day.” 25 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; 26 and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?” 27 “Yes, Lord,” she replied, “I believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, who is to come into the world.” 

  Once again Jesus Christ is telling us that the only way into Heaven is through faith in who He is. Once again this is done in front of witnesses.

28 After she had said this, she went back and called her sister Mary aside. “The Teacher is here,” she said, “and is asking for you.” 29 When Mary heard this, she got up quickly and went to him. 30 Now Jesus had not yet entered the village, but was still at the place where Martha had met him. 31 When the Jews who had been with Mary in the house, comforting her, noticed how quickly she got up and went out, they followed her, supposing she was going to the tomb to mourn there. 32 When Mary reached the place where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet and said, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” 

33 When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come along with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in spirit and troubled. 34 “Where have you laid him?” he asked. “Come and see, Lord,” they replied. 35 Jesus wept. 

  Here we see where Jesus was moved by the spirit and troubled by everybodies mourning the passing of Lazarus. And the pain of Mary and Martha.

36 Then the Jews said, “See how he loved him!” 37 But some of them said, “Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man have kept this man from dying?” 38 Jesus, once more deeply moved, came to the tomb. It was a cave with a stone laid across the entrance. 

39 “Take away the stone,” he said. “But, Lord,” said Martha, the sister of the dead man, “by this time there is a bad odor, for he has been there four days.” 40 Then Jesus said, “Did I not tell you that if you believe, you will see the glory of God?” 41 So they took away the stone. Then Jesus looked up and said, “Father, I thank you that you have heard me. 42 I knew that you always hear me, but I said this for the benefit of the people standing here, that they may believe that you sent me.” 43 When he had said this, Jesus called in a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” 44 The dead man came out, his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen, and a cloth around his face. Jesus said to them, “Take off the grave clothes and let him go.”

  Once again Jesus points out what can happen if we truly believe. Jesus also thanks God for hearing His prayer. And then we have the miracle of Lazarus’ resurrection.

  So if our Lord and Savior can cry for Lazarus’ death even though He knew He was going to resurrect him I think crying is allowed.

By

Kevin R Schultz

Edges 1

O2-11-26

  The edges that I am talking about are the rough edges I had before we got married. One of the edges she smoothed over was my drinking, the night I met her was the night I stopped drinking.

  When I met her that night I no longer felt a need for alcohol.

  She got me to be calmer when dealing with problems causeed by others, and or by me. She did this by calming my spirit so I could be more diplomatic when dealing with others.

  With Karen being at home with the Lord I sometimes feel the need for a drink, I even curb the feeling by saying I need a drink and then pouring myself a cup of coffee. I know and will stop using this phrase due to the fact it could lead me to start drinking again, which with my allergy to alcohol could be fatal, or lead to drunkeness.

  I have found myself responding more sarcasticly to some people who don’t realize that they need to stop talking.

  Then there are people who keep pushing not understanding that they really are not helping but making it worse. I just don’t want them to push me to the point where they could get a much darker response.

 What is helping me get through this is I have a good church that is supporting me. I have friends who are always praying for me.

  I have friends who will give me rides to my appointments if they can. I even have one , who if I start getting out of line threatens to take me to Starbucks.

  Well thats all for now. This one is a short one today I try to make up for it next time.1

Memories, Loneliness, Prayer

By

Kevin R Schultz

1-11-2026

Memories

  Can be a good thing or a sad thing. For instance, the first night saw Karen was when she and her friends walked into the bar I hug out at me and Karen saw each, that was an answer to a prayer I said earlier that day.

  Of course that is when God decided to show off His sense of humor. I was shooting a game of no-slop pool, the one where you had to call your shots. Well when Karen walked in I decided to sit down and talk to her, get to know her better. I tried to lose the game, but no matter what kind of shot I called, it worked. I finally had to give up the table so I talk to her.

  On Karen’s part, everytime I got up to take another shot she would move her closer to the one I was using, if she had moved any closer I would have ended up sitting on her lap.

  Then there was when she endeared herself to my mother. You see my mother would always make dinner for me and my brothers birthdays, we each had our favorites. Well my mother had got sick (cancer) Karen had decided she would do it for her, which touched my mothers heart. It also touched mine, my belly didn’t complain either. Then there is when my mother thanked Karen for cooking the meal for me. Then she also told Karen she was happy that I had finally met someone will be able to tame me. But my memory is a bit hazy on this.

  Then there was when I proposed to her, well that is not entirely accurate, let me explain. Karen and me were watching TV and talking on the couch. She  had a bad day at work and one of her bosses could her intimidate very easily.

  I chose that time to tell her that when we get married she would not have to deal with that anymore. Well when what I said finally sunk in she said yes and we had 45 years worth of blessings together.

 When Karen had her stroke I know some of her family were worried that I would leave her. I would always say the same thing, I married Karen for better or worse and that the worst had not happened yet. For you see the worse that could have happened was that she would have died.

Loneliness

  After 45 years of marriage and my wife is no longer here it really settles in.

When I am putzing on the puter at home I would hear a creak  coming from another part of the apartment. I would look expecting to see Karen coming into the home office, then realize that will not be happening anymore.

  There are TV shows I no longer watch because they were shows me and Karen would always watch together. We used to play cards all the time, but the worse her health got that happened less and less.

  Karen was like a carpenter working on a piece of, getting all the rough edges smooth as silk and that is one of the things Karen would do for me, smooth my rough edges.

  Well without Karen being there to apply the sandpaper I feel some of my edges starting to splinter. However I go to scripture whenever I feel myself getting a splinter. There are several verses in both the O.T. and N.T. you can look up. You can check out my Loneliness blog, if not at least look up verses… Phil. 4:13; 2 Thess. 3:3; 1 Corinthians 1:9; Matt. 5:37.

  I would also go to prayer myself, and also have others pray for me.

Prayer

  My prayer is…

Lord Father please guide me, show me what you want me to do. I want to be a workman unto you. I want to do your will and not my own, I want to show the light of Jesus who is living in my heart. I want you to take my will and bend it to yours.

  I am praying that this blog helps others who are going through the same things I am.

Amen  

Death The Final Frontier

Or Is It?

By

Kevin R Schultz

08-14-2025

  This morning I received the call that my wife had passed. Now this was sad news for me and it will be difficult for me in the coming months. After 45 years there is going to be a huge hole in my heart.

  Now some people’s feelings might get hurt by this but please do not keep saying things like she’s in a better place, she is no longer suffering, the good Lord has taken her home. Then there is, she will be looking down, watching over and protecting me. All you need to say is you have my condolences, if you want to talk just call, but if you make those kinds of statements you make sure I have your number so I can call you if the need aise. 

 Now so you understand, I know that when you say those things it is because you really don’t know what to say to me at a time like this. Also talk about some of the interactions you have had with said person. You would be surprised at how much it helps me to know how many lives that my wife has touched.

  And now for the title…

Death the Final Frontier

Or Is It?

  With these pages we are going to take a long and deep look at this question.

  Now we are going to be breaking this down into three sections.

1. The Gospel of Jesus Christ.
2. The Gospel of Satan.
3. Summary.

The Gospel of Jesus Christ

Webster’s Dictionary of 1828 American English

GOS’PEL, n. [L. evangelium, a good or joyful message.]

 The history of the birth, life, actions, death, resurrection, ascension and doctrines of Jesus Christ; or a revelation of the grace of God to fallen man through a mediator, including the character, actions, and doctrines of Christ, with the whole scheme of salvation, as revealed by Christ and his apostles. This gospel is said to have been preached to Abraham, by the promise, “in thee shall all nations be blessed.” Gal 3:8.

 It is called the gospel of God. Rom 1:1.

 It is called the gospel of Christ. Rom 1:16.

 It is called the gospel of salvation. Eph 1:13.

 1. God’s word.

 2. Divinity; theology.1

  Now this is a very important Gospel, it tells us what God has done for us. Without what Jesus Christ did for us, paying the price for our sins by dying on the cross and His Resurrection. This includes past, present, and future sins. Now Christ Jesus had to die for all our sins otherwise no one would be going home to be with the Father, or even getting down from the cross.

Now let us look at what the scripture has to say on this.

  Before Jesus Christ could start His ministry he had to be baptised to receive the Holy Spirit. He could not start His ministry without the Holy Spirit in Him. Mark 1: 8.

Mark 1:6-8 (NKJV)

6 Now John was clothed with camel’s hair and with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey. 7 And he preached, saying,

 3:11; John Matthew 1:27; Acts 13:25

“There comes One after me who is mightier than I, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to stoop down and loose. John 1:15, 3:30; Luke 3:16; Acts 13:23-25; Revelations 18:8

 8 “I indeed baptized you with water,

Acts 1:5, 11:16

 but He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.” Isaiah 44:3; John 20:22; Acts 2:4, 10:45; 1 Corinthians 12:13

John 1:26,1:33, 1:31; Acts 8:36; Joel 2:28; Acts 19:4-6; Matthew 3:11;Acts 11:15,19:4 

  When Jesus Christ receives the Holy Spirit is when His Gospel starts. (Matthew 3:13-14)

13 Then Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan to be baptized by him. 14 And John tried to prevent Him, saying, “I need to be baptized by You, and are You coming to me?”

  It is only after Jesus Christ is baptized does His ministry on earth start. Now on to the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

  We are saved by Grace through Faith in who Jesus Christ is.

Webster’s Dictionary of 1828 American English

GRACE, 

 2. Appropriately, the free unmerited love and favor of God, the spring and source of all the benefits men receive from him.

 And if by grace,then it is no more of works. Rom 11.

 3. Favorable influence of God; divine influence or the influence of the spirit, in renewing the heart and restraining from sin.

 My grace is sufficient for thee. 2 Cor 12.

 4. The application of Christ’s righteousness to the sinner.

 Where sin abounded, grace did much more abound. Rom 5.

 5. A state of reconciliation to God. Rom 5:2.

  Okay the simplest way to describe the Gospel of Jesus Christ is…

We are saved by Grace, through Faith in who Jesus Christ is, our Lord and Savior, and through repentance invite Him into our hearts. Jesus then enters and resides in our hearts, in the form of the Holy Spirit.

  Here are some of the benefits of Salvation…

1. The forgiveness of sins.

Acts 5:31, Acts 13:38 and

Acts 26:18, Ephesians 1:7, Colossians 1:14

2. The gift of the Holy Spirit.

Matthew 3:11; Luke 3:22;;  John 14:26, 20:21-22; Acts 9:31, 10:38, 11:16. 

3. Being reconciled with God and spending eternity in heaven.

Matthew 5:24; Romans 5:10; 2 Corinthians 5:18-21; Colossians 1:22

Now this is where the baptism comes in…

I say this is because our ministries can’t even start until we have been baptised with the Holy Spirit.  

  Even Jesus Christ had to be baptised before He could start His ministry,

With that said we can only start and do the works that God has assigned to us with the Holy Spirit.

The Gospel of Satan

I still have some time.

Actually we don’t because we do not know when our time here on earth is up, only God knows this. When our time is up and we pass from here it will be too late to ask for forgiveness and enter into heaven.

  And at that time we will be cast into the lake of fire.  Here are some verses to look at…

Matthew 8:5-12

Verses 5-9 is where the centurion was asking Jesus for His help and that he believed and had faith in who Jesus Christ was, and He healed the servant right there.

Verses 10-11 He tells the centurion and those around him that they would be going to heaven because of their faith in who He was.

In verse 12 He is telling us what will happen to the unbelievers.

Here are some more verses to look at…

Matthew 13:36-43, Matthew 13:47-50; Luke 13:23-28

Now for those who still think there is still time look at these verses.

Matthew 24:36-37, 48-51. Also some friends have told me that they know people that will be in hell so they would not be alone, however the problem with that thinking is that the separation of God from your soul is going to be so painful that you will not be able to see or know anyone else is there.

The Summary

  Now I know I am going with the Gospel of Jesus Christ and not that of Satan. I am looking forward to the time God calls me home, until that call comes I will do the very best I can. 

  Of course I will do better whenever I allow the Holy Spirit to guide me.

Whenever I need a spiritual boost I read the bible, talk to my friends again I keep coming back to Luke 13:22-28.

  Verses 22-25 are talking about Jesus Christ being the only way into heaven and once He closes the door that is it.

  Verses 26-28 tells us the results of our lack of belief.    

Koffee’s Faith Journey

By

Kevin R Schultz

Helpless

07-30-2025

  I am going to talk about how being helpless is gnawing at me two different ways. And here they are.

1. Feeling helpless because I can’t provide the level of physical care that she needs now.
2. Feeling helpless because I know that soon I will lose the second light of my life.

 Feeling helpless because I can’t provide the level of physical care that she needs.

  I have been married to my wife for 45 years and taking care of her needs. After two years she had a stroke (complication from surgery). Her needs changed, so did my skill set. I learned how to help her with her therapy. At times I prepared her plate, cut the meat into bite size portions that she could eat and swallow easily. Made a lot of soft dishes.

  We used to watch T.V. or movies together. Go to the theaters to see first run movies, restaurants for date nights. The older we got the more help she needed and the more I helped  her. If she needed help going to the living room, I was there, if she wanted to go to church, I took her and used a wheelchair to do it. ( good thing she had a pushy husband)

 Then her health got worse, along with mine and I could no longer do anything for her. Now how do I deal with this turn of events? I turned to God to help me understand and get us through this. 

  I asked God for the strength and wisdom to get through this stage in life. And in my weakness God answered my prayer. 

  For you see on our own we are weak and with God’s strength we can accomplish much.

Phil 4:13 NKJV)

I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.

Also see 2 Corinthians 12:9; 1 Corinthians 2:3-5

Feeling helpless because I know that soon I will be losing the second light of my life.

  Now let me explain this statement, I called my wife my second light because Jesus Christ is my first light.

  This helpless feeling is coming from the man’s way of thinking, that we should always be able to fix or improve on everything but we can’t. My wife and I have been together for 45 years. That is a lot of time spent together, we have fallen deeper in love over the years and she will be severly missed.

 My wife is dying and I cannot fix this, only God can. Just putting this down in print does make it final and my heart really feels the pain and emptiness knowing she will be leaving soon.
 

  There will be a hole or empty spot in my heart that will need to be filled. It will be filled only by God, and it will be filled the way He wants it done.

  Now going through the scriptures looking for the correct ones to use, God speaking to me and teaching me, God taught me that I was not as helpless as I thought. There is prayer, I had a lot of people praying for my wife and me. The church I am a member of, they are praying all the time, the Men’s Ministry, and church leadership.

  My sister-in-law’s church. My other sister-in-law, other friends of ours.

  And now the big one there is God and the scripture He guided me to. Let us see where He took me. Once again there is Philippians 4:13, then there are these…

Ephesians 3:16; Colossians 1:11; 1 Timothy 1:12; 2 Timothy 2:1   

  Now here are some more verses that I am going to take a closer look at.

2 Corinthians 5:1-8 (NKJV)

1 For we know that if our earthly house, this tent, is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. 2 For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed with our habitation which is from heaven, 3 if indeed, having been clothed, we shall not be found naked. 4 For we who are in this tent groan, being burdened, not because we want to be unclothed, but further clothed, that mortality may be swallowed up by life. 5 Now He who has prepared us for this very thing is God, who also has given us the Spirit as a guarantee. 6 So we are always confident, knowing that while we are at home in the body we are absent from the Lord. 7 For we walk by faith, not by sight. 8 We are confident, yes, well pleased rather to be absent from the body and to be present with the Lord.

Point One

  Here God is saying that when our earthly body (house or tent) dies we have a new one waiting for us in heaven, one He has made, which will never decay.

Point Two

  For us christians this is a good thing,for we know that we have eternal life with our Lord and savior Jesus Christ.

Point Three

  The best part is that God has guaranteed this with the gift of the Holy Spirit

Point Four

  We do not need to worry about our bodies when we die because it will turn to dust, but our spirit will immediately be with the Lord.

John 14:1-3 (NKJV)

1 “Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. 2 “In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. 3 “And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also.

John 14:27 (NKJV)

1 “Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.

  We are told that when calls us home that Jesus will come and receive us Himself. He also gives us His peace and with it we may still grieve but it will be easier to deal with.

  So as you see with all this that has given to me by God I am not ever been helpless, maybe hapless but never helpless.

By

Kevin R. Schultz

At Peace

07-30-2024

  I have had several people asked me, how can I be at peace with Karen in Hospice and then me watching her slowly going down hill medically?

  Well the answer quite simply is God. He has been with us from the beginning of this journey. He brought Psalms 23 to my attention in the start of this journey. Today we will look at other verses of scripture that talk about God’s peace.

  Well let ‘s start on our journey of peace. I am going to take another look at Psalm 23:1

Ps 23:1 (NIV)

The LORD is my shepherd, I lack nothing.

  With God as my shepherd I will be able to be at peace because He is the one guiding me and watching over me. He will take care of all my needs, even the ones I don’t know I have. Because of this I will never be lacking.

  Now let us break this verse down further shall we.

Ps 23:1 (NIV)

1 a The LORD is my shepherd, – Psalm 28:7-9, John 10:7-11

  Verse 28:7 that God is my strength and my shield, that tells me that God is going to get Karen and me through this trial we are navigating, it also tells me that He is going be there with me when Karen goes home to be with the Lord.

  Since God made these promises (and God cannot lie) I can trust in Him with a joyous heart, and song in my heart. I would sing out loud but then I would scare everybody else away.

  Here is what it says in The Biblical Illustrator…

 The Lord is my strength and my shield.

A sacred solo

Note in the three sentences-there is in each that which is inward and that which is outward. “The Lord is my strength”–that is inward; “My shield”–that is outward. “My heart trusted in Him–inward; “I am helped”–outward. “My heart greatly rejoiceth”–inward; “With my song will I praise Him”–outward. It teaches us that truth and beauty of form are to be linked together: to be holy we need not to be uncouth.

It also asks these four questions

1. Now as you walk around the walls of your own soul, have you got God as a shield?

2. You, young fellow, are you shielded by God?

3. Is God your shield?

4. Have you covenanted with Jehovah?

  Verse 28:8

The LORD is the strength of his people, a fortress of salvation for his anointed one.

 With God as my strength and shield and the gift of salvation building a fortress around my soul that not even Satan can get through, gives me a peace in my heart.

  Verse 28:9

Save your people and bless your inheritance; be their shepherd and carry them forever.

  Now what I am getting from this is…

1. Get out the message of the Gospel to the unsaved.

2. Be a blessing to them, guide them.

3. To be there for them, do not give them the Gospel and once they except Jesus Christ do not abandon them. Always be there for them with answers for their questions, or just to listen to them or pray with them.

  Verses John 10:7-11

  Verse 7

Therefore Jesus said again, “Very truly I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep.

  Here we are being told that Jesus Christ is the gate, the only way into Heaven and the sheep are the lost souls, searching for what the are missing.

  Verse 8

All who have come before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep have not listened to them.

  Here He is talking about false teachers leading people down the wrong path, which leads to spiritual death(separation from God).This is why those that reach out and teach others have to make sure we teach the Gospel of Jesus Christ for we will judged more harshly then others if we teach the wrong thing.

  Those called thieves and robbers are the false teachers, and those that listen to them and go by what they teach will never make it into Heaven.

  Those that listen and do not follow what the thieves and robbers (false teachers) are teaching are the sheep, who will hear the true Gospel and will follow Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. The sheep will be residing in Heaven with the Lord.

  Verse 9-10

9 I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. They will come in and go out, and find pasture. 10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.

  Here Jesus is telling us that He is the only way to the Father, we will find peace in Him, our stength will come from Him, the answers will come from Him. We will have a full life. As long as what we do or ask for is in God’s will He will provide for us.

  Please also look at these verses…

John 14:6; Ephesians 2:18

  Verse 11

“I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.

  Not only is Jesus the only way to the Father, but He also paid the price for our sins by dying on the cross, thus making it possible for us to enter into the Kingdom of Heaven.

1 b I lack nothing.

  How can I not be at peace knowing God is going to be there with me. Knowing God knows what my needs are and taking care of them. Giving me the wisdom to understand the difference between wants and needs.

  I mean what other God loves His creations so much that He set up our plan of salvation before He even created us? Well since there are no other gods except our Father in Heaven

  Also look up these verses

Psalm 84:11, Psalm 107:9; Philippians 4:19

By

Kevin R Schultz

Loneliness Part 1

5-8-2024

  You know when I decided to do this particular post I did not realize there were so many ways to feel so alone. I will go over some of them the best I can, these thoughts will be based on biblical principals. If this offends you, you do not have to read on, just remember that these biblical principles do work in the secular world as well.

  There are three areas of Loneliness that come to mind right away and they are…

1. The loneliness of asking for help and seemly no one responds.

2. The loneliness of depression.

And the worst of all…

3. The loneliness of feeling God is not there with you or helping you with whatever trial you are going through.

  Let us look at the first one. (The loneliness of asking for help and seemly no one responds)

  There have been times when I have felt this. It seemed everybody I called could not talk to me. I felt and started to think they did not want to help or talk to me.

  I started to feel so alone, but then I had to realize that as much as they might want to help me at that time. I had to remember that I was not as important as any family member they would need to help. Their families needs should always come (if they are Christians Jesus Christ is always first.) before me. Now one of my friends runs the Men’s Ministry and they have a big event coming up that keeps him very busy

with prep and set up.

  Others had health issues they had to take care of first, other family members they had to take care of.

  These things they have to take care of and concentrate on first, God wants us to take care of first. Take care of our church duties first. I do not have the right to force my needs on others, even if I wanted to. I have to remember that I am not the only one with problems.

  And most importantly there is prayer. We can ask God for His guidance, His comfort, and most importantly His will in what ever trail we are going through.

  Just remember in the poem Footprints when the person in poem asked God when he was going through his trials where he (God) was because he only saw one set of footprints instead the usual two, God’s answer was there was only one set because that was when God was carrying him. (Okay so I paraphrased it.)

  Now let us look at the second one. (The loneliness of depression)

  The only thing I can say about this is that, do not try to overcome depression by yourself, it will not work. I know from experience that it only makes it worse. You need to talk to professionals who specialize in the treatment of depression. There are good doctors and counselors that deal with depression.

  Find someone you feel you can trust to help you. Make sure they have your best interest in mind.

  Now let us take a look at the third one, which is the worst one of all from a Christians point of view. The loneliness of feeling God is not there with you or helping you with whatever trail you are going through.

  Three Dog Night had a hit song called One, it started with a verse that said one is the lonelist number. This is so true especially when you don’t feel like God is there with you. To this day I can get that feeling if I let life get the best of me. What do I do when I feel life is about to run me over, I talk to friends, people I trust who can lead to the right passages in the bible to guide and lead me through the rough times, and most important praying and reading scripture.

  Here some scriptures that have helped me. I will list them and break them down with supporting verses.

Philippians 4:13 (NIV)

13 I can do all this through him who gives me strength.

  Look up and read these verses of scripture…

2 Corinthians 12:9; Ephesians 3:16; Colosians 1:11; 1 Timothy 1:12; 2 Timothy 4:17

2Thess 3:3 (NIV)

But the Lord is faithful, and he will strengthen you and protect you from the evil one.

But the Lord is faithful,

1 Corinthians 1:9

and he will strengthen you and protect you from the evil one.

Matthew 5:37

  The Lord will be faithful to us if we follow His will for us. As long as we stay faithful to our Lord Jesus Christ will always be faithful to us and he will protect us from the evil one. By staying true to God and ourselves God will keep Satan away.

1Pet 5:7 NIV Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.

Cast all your anxiety on him

Psalms 37:5; Matthew 6:25

because he cares for you.

Psalms 55:22; Hebrews 13:5

  Now I am going to do this one a little bit differently, I want you to actually look up these verses and see how much both the Old Testament and the New Testament give the same message of strength and how much God loves us.

Jer 31:3 NIV The LORD appeared to us in the past, saying: “I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with unfailing kindness.

The LORD appeared to us in the past, saying: “I have loved

Deuteronomy 4:37

 you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with unfailing kindness.

Hosea 11:4; John 6:44

  Again I want you to look these supporting verses and let God speak to you.

  Now in writing this blog God has showed me that Karen and I are not alone, that God is truly with us. He has told us in His word that He will always be there for us, even when it seems like He is not.

  We can always talk to God in prayer and if what we are asking for is in His will He will answer it.

By

Kevin R Schultz

Random Thoughts that God

Turned into Guidance

6-19-2024

  Now that I have been a guest in the hospital for just under a week, I have a lot of random thoughts running throught my mind. Thoughts like…

1. Why is this happening to me?
2. What does all this mean?
3. Am I listening to God, or am trying to handle everything on my own?
4. What happens when you let God lead.

(John 3:16-17 [NIV2])

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. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.

(John 3:16 [NIV2])

For God so loved

Romans 5:8; Ephesians 2:4; 1 John 4:9-10

 the world that he gave

Isaiah 9:6; Romans 8:32

 his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him

John 3:15

 shall not perish but have eternal life.

John 3:36, John 6:29, 6:40, 11:225-26, 3:17

(John 3:17 [NIV2])

For God did not send his Son into the world

John 6:29, 6:57, 10:36, 11:42, 17:8, 17:21, 20:21

 to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.

Isaiah 53:11; Matthew 1:21; Luke 2:11, 19:10; John 1:29, 12:47; Romans 11:14; 1 Timothy 1:15, 2:5-6; 1 John 2:2, 35

(Phil 4:13 [NIV2])

I can do all this through him who gives me strength.

2 Corinthians 12:9; Ephesians 3:16; Colossians 1:11; 1 Timothy 1:12; 2 Timothy 4:17

* Some versions say “I can do all things through Christ who stregnthens me”

  Through all these random thoughts God has shown me that He will…

  1. That God will be there to guide us.

  2. That He will carry us when we falter.

  3. That He will get us through whatever trials we are going through.

  With those three points made we see that God’s promise to never leave us or forsake us holds true. No matter what we are going through He will be there for us.

By Kevin R Schultz

Forgiveness

3-28-2024

  Now when I decided on this subject I thought it would be a simple little post. Then I started looking at all the information on this subject. I knew it would be a rather large post. We will look at both the secular and spiritual aspects of forgiveness. 

  First we will look at what forgiveness means in the secular world. 

  We mere humans can and do forgive & forget like we should, however when it comes to the forgetting part a lot of times we don’t forget, we just file it away for later use. Usually with very bad results, like ruined relationships, hurt feelings, and enemies for a lifetime.

  We can’t seem to get past our bruised egos. We get set in our ways and thoughts and cannot see or understand that by not forgiving the hurts someone else has done to us can harden our hearts. The unforgiveness locks in the pain and anger within ourselves. This leads to these things happening…

1. Makes it hard for us to trust others, it’s like waiting for the other shoe to drop. Wondering if you can trust this person, asking is he/she going to break my heart or not.
2. The stress of keeping all that pain, anger, and wondering what that person is up to can cause some serious health issues.
3. It can also change your personality from a pleasant, kind hearted, always wanting to help others to a mean spirited person who only wants to chase others away. Which is a very sad and lonely way to live.

  We must realize that by filing away the hurt that was caused us, we are not forgiving the person/persons. I have forgiven many who have caused me hurt and still have a good relationship with them. Then there are others who I have forgiven but due to the problems and hurt they have caused me I could never trust them again.

  Now how can I say I forgave them and still not trust them. Well knowing how they are I go by these set of rules…

1. Is helping them in God’s will. – If this is what God wants me to do, I am all for it.

2. Are they the only ones to get anything out of it? – If they are the only ones to gain anything from helping them (they are doing this for themselves and claiming it is for God) then I will not help them.

3. There must be others that are being helped, other than the one asking for help.

4. Before doing anything, whatever the situation is I need to take it to God in prayer.

  Now for Christians we are commanded to forgive. We are also commanded to do God’s will in everything we do.

  Read Matthew 6:10, then read Matthew 6:12, then read Matthew 6:14-15. In verse 10 we are being told to  do God’s will in everything we do. In verse 12 we are told to forgive those who have sinned against us, so God can forgive our sins.     Verses 14 -15 are more specific instructions on this topic for us to follow…

Matthew 6:14-15 (NKJV) *Some bibles use trespasses and others use the sins.

14  “For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 15  But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses. 

  You see God does tell us to forgive those that trespass or sin against us. So how can God show us understanding or mercy when we don’t show it towards those that have sinned against us? 

  Now I know this is not always easy to do, from personal experience. There are times this is very easy to do when I get more information on what was said and why it was said. It could be just a simple misunderstanding. Then there are the times when it takes you totally by surprise and don’t understand why. 

  These are the times you take it and give it to God in prayer. Ask God for understanding what happened, strength and wisdom in dealing with it. And more importantly ask God for the strength in forgiving whatever the sin was.

  Now let us look and see what we gain when we can forgive those who have caused us hurt…

1. We have a piece of mind, a calmness of the spirit.
2. An ability to possibly heal a wounded heart.
3. Repair a broken relationship. 
4. And most importantly any blessings from God, by being able to forgive God can now forgive us.

  Now out all these #4 is the most important. I do not want to miss out on any blessings that God wants to send my way. I know this sounds a bit greedy, but these blessings will only come my way if I am doing God’s will in my life.