God is Awesome!

Take a moment and think of the wealthiest person that you know. Think of the vast amount of material things that they may have. Clothes, cars, houses, friends, family and money are just a few things they may have accumulated. What do you think they would do if they lost one car? They would just go and buy another one. No problem, they can afford it, they’d probably either have it fixed of sell it and start from scratch with another one. What if a friend or say a family member disappointed them, squandered their money, or even tried to take their life because of a deep hatred for them? I would say that most people you know with that type of situation would want to surround themselves with those who did love them, those they could trust and those who did not bring them such heartache. They would cut their losses, even if it hurt and move on.

God has the universe. He also has tens of thousands of children; thousands who have willing died for Him in order to honor His Name and bring Him glory. Some enduring incredible pain and loss in order to be obedient and not cause Him pain. The Universe is at His feet.

Spending time dealing with an ungrateful, thoughtless, disobedient, reckless child is not something that He needs to do or that he would owe to anyone. More than that, what if this person giving all of this trouble and heartache were not even His child? Remember, I said, God is Awesome. Well here’s one reason why. With all that God has, He looks and sees a wandering sinner who is not even His child and has no interest in Him and actively pursues him or her. God leaves the comfort of the love and warmth of all His creation worshipping Him and pursues the one sinner who is running in the other direction. God is awesome because while I was yet a sinner, while you were yet a sinner, He sent Christ to die for us.

(Romans 5:6-8) He is awesome because He did not passively wait for us to come to Him, rather He actively, passionately sought us out as we ran the other way and hid from His face. God is awesome because He is not willing that you or I should perish. Do you know Him today? If not, my friend, please know that He is calling you by name, “come home!” If you do know Him today, take a moment in the midst of your worship and say, “Thank you!”

Pastor MJ

Falling at His Feet

At this I fell at his feet to worship him. But he said to me,

"Do not do it… Worship God!” (Rev 19:10 NIV)

As John was caught up with what he was seeing in heaven he was so overcome with the culture of praise and worship and being in the presence of the Almighty that he began to worship the messenger of God rather than the God of the message. The angel reminded him that there is only one who is worthy to be worshipped and that is God Almighty! We are created to be worshippers. Every created being is made with the ability and the drive to worship, to give worth to something, someone higher than themselves.

The problem comes when the object of our worship is wrong. Since the beginning of time people have been worshipping “out of focus”. This happens when we see incredible things coming from something that has been created and we become so focused on the beauty, the talent, the power, the love, the comfort, or the provision that we forget where those things ultimately originated from.

Lest we think that only those who worship trees, the sun, feet, or animals are the only ones off course, consider some of the things even many Christians can fall into the trap of worshipping and by doing so, ascribe more worth to the creation than to the Creator:

Financial stability – instead of worshipping the One who provides.

A loved one – instead of worshipping the One

who brought the loved one into our lives.

A sports hero – instead of worshipping the one

who gave them their talents and abilities.

The tools of worship – instead of worshipping the
Object of our worship.

Physical beauty – instead of worshipping the One

who fashioned the beautiful one.

God is the only One worthy to receive our worship. Today, ask the Lord to reveal in your life where this may be true. Is it your finances, your family or even your religion? Talk to Him about it today and make the journey back to the place where He receives the worship that He is worthy of. Be sure to thank Him for the gift, but never allow your thankfulness for the gift to get in the way of your worship of the Giver.

Pastor MJ

Fear

From the time we are children, there are many things that cause us fear. I remember being in the house on a dark stormy evening with the winds howling, the thunder clapping and the lightening flashing. I would often run to my parent’s room where I felt safe. Fear came in many forms, people, neighborhoods, movies, the unknown, dentists (sorry Dr. Brad), needles, etc. However, in all of those situations, home was a place of refuge; my parents and the reality of their presence gave a sense of safety that no matter what came my way, knowing that they were there, in a sense, made everything okay.

There was another aspect of fear, however, that was coupled with sense of safety. I had a healthy “fear” of my parents. I knew the rules and boundaries of what it meant to be a Jones and stepping out of those boundaries and the consequences of doing so put a healthy sense of fear into me. (along with the spankings) That fear was not me being afraid of my parents, it was a biblical foundation that was laid from birth that set parameters around me that unveiled the conviction of the Holy Spirit in my life when I thought or acted in the direction that went contrary to what the Bible teaches.

So, fear was in essence a comfort and a protector.

I have found that to be the case in my walk with the Lord, over the years. When I have been afraid I have been able to say like the Psalmist, in Psalm 56:3, “When I am afraid, I put my trust in you.” God provides refuge and safety from the things that cause my heart to fear.

However, along with running to God with our fears, we are also to, fear Him. “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction.” Proverbs 1:7 Fearing God is healthy. Realizing His power, sovereignty and power; Realizing that as Scripture tells us: “Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell.” Matthew 10:28 Fearing God is a good thing. It is a protection, a comfort, a guide.

This week I had some fears that I was faced with, and this was and is a reminder to me that the One to whom I run to for comfort from my fears is the same One who I should desire to please with my response to fearful situations realizing that He is in control and Sovereign over all.

Accept the Will of God

“To accept the will of God never leads to the miserable feeling

that it is useless to strive anymore.

God does not ask for the dull, weak, sleepy acquiescence of indolence.

He asks for something vivid and strong.

He asks us to cooperate with him, actively willing what he wills,

our only aim his glory. (Amy Carmichael)

Do you ever feel like it’s really difficult to follow the Lord’s commands? I mean on a daily basis. Think about the things that God gives us as instructions as how to live the lives that He has for us. He tells us not to worry. He tells us to trust him completely. He tells us to love Him with all of our hearts, souls and strength. He tells us to love our neighbors as our selves. He tells us not to worry about tomorrow, because tomorrow will care for it self. He tells us to trust Him completely and in doing so be led by Him down His path for our lives. He tells us not to fear but that He will take care of our every need. He tells us that if our ways please Him that He will make even our enemies be at peace with us. He tells us that if we train up our children His way that when they are old they will not depart from it. There are hundreds of other things that the Lord tells us to do that provide for us the way to experience life at it’s full. Do we take Him at His word?

Out of the many things that our God tells us to do in order to have the life that He’s created us for, there are other things that He tells us not to do in order to receive the same. It’s been that way since the beginning. Adam and Eve were told to do many things, but one thing that they were told not to do, they did and it changed history forever and the penalty was severe. How would things be different if they had only obeyed? Remember Achan in Joshua 7. Earlier he had been told not to keep the things devoted to the Lord, but he did it anyway. God was not pleased and Achan and all he had was destroyed. If only he had obeyed and waited. We see in chapter 8 that all Achan desired, worldly treasures, were already in God’s plan to give him, but due to his lack of trust, expressed through disobedience he never got to partake of God’s bounty.

How many things have we, will we miss out on that God has planned for us because of our impatience, fear, bitterness, unforgiveness, etc. all which when boiled down equal lack of trust. Father is not one who gives commands just for the sake of giving them, he does so with a much bigger picture in mind. Obedience opens the door to multiplied blessings that He is waiting to give to those who take the “risk” to trust in Him with all their hearts with the aim to bring Him honor and glory.

“Let the morning bring me word of your unfailing love, for I have put my trust in you.
Show me the way I should go, for to you I lift up my soul.”
Psalm 143:8 (NIV)

Pastor MJ

PAID IN FULL

“For Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God.

He was put to death in the body but made alive by the Spirit.” 1 Peter 3:18 (NIV)

One of the biggest financial “chains” that a person can have on them is a mortgage. Although, for many financial gurus a mortgage falls into the category of “good-debt”, it is something that holds many in bondage. Just think, you have to make a payment to a company every month for at least 15 years and for most 30 years. To top that, many people refinance and or take on second mortgages. For some, the day of sending in the last payment for their mortgage materializes only in a dream.

Imagine this, you wake up tomorrow morning and you get an email, from a very credible source informing you that your entire mortgage has been PAID IN FULL. And not only that, but if you decide that you want to move, every subsequent home that you live in will be mortgage free. Well, beside the hour that you spend ROFL (rolling on the floor laughing), what if you found out that this was a serious email and that your mortgage debts were from this day forth PAID IN FULL. What would you do?

What would you think of a person who after finding this out, month after month still sent in a payment towards their mortgage? They have the deed in hand, but regardless they still send in the payment. Sound crazy? Why would someone do this?

There are several reasons; Fear-they may be thinking, “I can’t believe this. This is just too big. What if someone is just really messing around with me and I get caught down the road in the biggest scheme of all history?” Maybe it’s Doubt. They might be thinking, “Did this benefactor’s check really clear? What if they changed their mind? Did they really mean the whole mortgage?” For some it might be Guilt. They may be burdened with the thoughts that there is no way that they could ever deserve this kind of blessing; they’ve been late and or missed too many payments. And yet for some, it could be Ignorance, because they never check their email and for years, they’ve missed the message that their debt has been PAID IN FULL.

Sound like a wild story? It’s not really. Jesus Christ has paid an even bigger debt for you and for me. He wrote it in a book filled with many letters describing in many different ways that your sin debt is PAID IN FULL. But for many, fear caused by disbelief, doubt wondering how could this be, guilt weighed down by the past and or ignorance due to just not listening have caused them to continue to work for their “Salvation”. As you worship today, be thankful that “He paid a debt He did not owe for a debt that you and I could never pay.” It is PAID IN FULL! Live and worship Him in the reality of that today!

(And as a body, give extra praise for the gift God has given to us

as we celebrate a paid off mortgage today!)