As for God, his way is perfect: the word of the Lord is tried: he is a buckler to all those that trust in him. Psalms 18:30
All of us have had those times of great faith in our lives. You know the ones I mean. The times when you just know that God is on your side. It seems like everything is going your way and God is blessing right and left. We call these the mountaintops.
But then there are the valleys. These are the places where our faith doesn't seem to be as strong as it once was. Maybe the pressures of life have left us wondering if God is still around. Oh we know he still exists, but we wonder if he is hearing our prayers or not. I have known people who thought that God was mad at them when they were having a bad day. I don't believe God is that fickle.
God loves us with an everlasting love and he demonstrated it on the cross of Calvary. He watches over his children and protects them. He doesn't always keep us from going through trials but he does watch over us in the trials that we go through.
Psalm 18:30 tells us that God is a buckler to those who trust him. A buckler is a shield. Even when life seems to be throwing us curve balls, we need not fear. God is a shield to us. Corrie ten Boom, a holocaust survivor and famous Christian author, quoted her sister Betsie as saying, "There is no place safer than the center of God's will. Let us pray that we may always know it." If we obey God's word and try our best to live a life that glorifies him, He will be a shield to us. If you are facing a trial today, stand strong. Your God fights for you!
2/27/13
2/21/13
The Two Laws of Scripture
Galatians 4:4 - But when the fullness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son,
made of a woman, made under the law, to redeem them that
were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons.
Out of all
the many laws in the scripture there are two predominant laws that the word of
God is hinged upon. They are “The Law of Sin and Death” and “The Law of the
Spirit of Life in Christ Jesus.”
The law of
sin and death is simply this: the soul that sins will die. (Ezekiel 18:20) It
doesn’t matter what type of sin it is. If you sin, you will die. Now we
understand that God was merciful and allowed animals to be sacrificed in place
of humans but this only pushed the problem off for a little while. Eventually
everyone from Adam on down died. People still die today and it is a result of
this law. Adam sinned and we all must die because he passed the curse of his
disobedience down to us.
This would
be a sad reality if not for another law found in scripture. There is another law that is described to us in
the book of Romans, chapter 8, verse 2. It is “The Law of the Spirit of Life in
Christ Jesus.” The first law tells us that we must die for our sins. The second
law tells us that Jesus Christ condemned sin in the flesh. It tells us that we
no longer need walk under the condemnation of sin if we are in Him.
The second
law reverses the effects of the first. While it does not set us free from the
punishment of death, it says that we don’t have to stay dead. We can be buried
in a watery grave of baptism in Jesus name and rise to walk in newness of life.
It further promises that one day we will be resurrected with Jesus. The curse
of death is not final for a child of God.
I once heard
a man say that all fear can be traced back to the fear of death. Afraid of heights?
You’re afraid of falling to your death. Afraid of water? You’re afraid that you
will drown and die. All fear in man goes back to the fear of death. But in
Christ Jesus the strength of death is taken away. Paul said it like this: “O
death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory. The sting of death is sin; and the strength
of sin is the law.” In other words, we
are afraid to die because of sin. But when the fear of death has been taken
away, death has lost its sting.
If we are in
Jesus, we have no need to fear the law of sin and death. In fact the book of I
John tells us that perfect love casts out fear. (I John 4:18) Yes, all of us
must one day face death. It is inevitable. But it is not final. We which are in
Christ Jesus are promised a second birthday. Just as we are spiritually reborn,
so will we be literally reborn. When that final trumpet sounds we will be
caught out of the grave to meet Jesus in the air and we will be given a new
body.
Even though
death came upon all men by Adam, in Jesus Christ all men can be made alive
again. This is the hope of the believer. We will be made alive again,
Hallelujah! The Lord is coming soon. Amen!
2/8/13
God's Word - The Standard
The Standard
Ephesians 4:11-14
11 And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers;
12 For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:
13 Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ:
14 That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive;
I recently had some work done on my vehicle. We all know that vehicle repair can be costly. I'm sure many of us have wondered why it took a mechanic 30 minutes to change something and they charge us for four hours of work. The basic premise is that they use a guide book. Let's say that you need your starter changed like I did. The mechanic has a book that tells him how many hours it should take to change the starter. If it is two hours he can not charge you for four hours worth of labor. If he does it in 30 minutes because he didn't have any problems then he still gets paid for two hours. If it takes him five then he is just working overtime without extra pay. The labor guide protects the customer. Without it there would be no way to say how much a shop should charge and unethical people could take advantage of you.
The same is true with the word of God. Unfortunately there are many people who teach all kinds of things in the name of Christianity that are not Christian principles. We are humans and therfore we are subject to error. But thankfully there is a Guidebook. We all know it as the Holy Bible. It tells us what Jesus taught and what his apostles taught after him. If we are ever in doubt about any teaching then we can go to the book and find the answers that we need.
This book teaches us to respect authority. It teaches us to honour the king and reverence our pastors. Yet it also teaches us to try every spirit and doctrine to make sure it is in line with God's word. The one is not in conflict with the other. We just have to understand that God's word is always the final authority. In the everchanging world in which we live sometimes nothing seems secure. People we thought we could have faith in let us down. Factories close down and we find ourselves without a job. Loved ones pass on and we feel the loss.
Yet there is one thing that is secure. Psalm 119:89 says "Forever, oh Lord, thy word is settled in heaven." God's word is never changing. Jesus is always as close as the mention of his name. Do you need something solid in your life. Try Jesus- he will never change!
Ephesians 4:11-14
11 And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers;
12 For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:
13 Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ:
14 That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive;
I recently had some work done on my vehicle. We all know that vehicle repair can be costly. I'm sure many of us have wondered why it took a mechanic 30 minutes to change something and they charge us for four hours of work. The basic premise is that they use a guide book. Let's say that you need your starter changed like I did. The mechanic has a book that tells him how many hours it should take to change the starter. If it is two hours he can not charge you for four hours worth of labor. If he does it in 30 minutes because he didn't have any problems then he still gets paid for two hours. If it takes him five then he is just working overtime without extra pay. The labor guide protects the customer. Without it there would be no way to say how much a shop should charge and unethical people could take advantage of you.
The same is true with the word of God. Unfortunately there are many people who teach all kinds of things in the name of Christianity that are not Christian principles. We are humans and therfore we are subject to error. But thankfully there is a Guidebook. We all know it as the Holy Bible. It tells us what Jesus taught and what his apostles taught after him. If we are ever in doubt about any teaching then we can go to the book and find the answers that we need.
This book teaches us to respect authority. It teaches us to honour the king and reverence our pastors. Yet it also teaches us to try every spirit and doctrine to make sure it is in line with God's word. The one is not in conflict with the other. We just have to understand that God's word is always the final authority. In the everchanging world in which we live sometimes nothing seems secure. People we thought we could have faith in let us down. Factories close down and we find ourselves without a job. Loved ones pass on and we feel the loss.
Yet there is one thing that is secure. Psalm 119:89 says "Forever, oh Lord, thy word is settled in heaven." God's word is never changing. Jesus is always as close as the mention of his name. Do you need something solid in your life. Try Jesus- he will never change!
2/1/13
Faith
There is a plaque on the wall in my living room that says "Have faith in God." It has a story to tell because when I see it I am reminded of how God's faithfulness. It is a story of God's miraculous intervention and most of all it reminds me of how much he loves me.
Several years ago my wife and I were in need of a vehicle. We were driving a borrowed car that was on its last leg. We were in the process of moving from Wiggins to Jackson and knew that we could not move until we had another vehicle. We were hesistant to make a note we couldn't afford and although we had looked at several vehicles, each time we seemed to hear God say "wait."
One day I was walking through the Dollar General store on Siwell Road in Jackson and my eyes fell on this plaque. Immediately I felt the Lord impress me to buy it and put it in our living room. I felt that it was an expression of faith that God was going to take care of us. We were literally counting our last few dollars to buy a few groceries and I had to ask my wife if there was enough to buy the plaque. I spent my last 8 dollars on that plaque but I left the store with peace knowing that God was in control.
The next week the Lord provided enough money for us to get on to our next preaching engagement which was in my home town in south Louisiana. I was scheduled to preach Sunday morning and Sunday night at Beam of Life Tabernacle for Pastor Frank Manguno. After Sunday morning service we ate lunch with the pastor at his home. During the meal he asked me about our vehicle but said nothing more. That night after I preached, Pastor Frank came to the pulpit and said God had spoken to him. He then explained our need for a vehicle to the congregation.
What happened next is still one of the most amazing things I have ever witnessed. In a matter of a few mintues, as my wife and I sat in shock, wiping tears, he took a ten thousand dollar offering to buy us a vehicle. There were not 50 people in that church that night but the ones who were there apparently were givers.
After church Pastor Frank told us to go that week and find the vehicle we wanted. On Thursday his wife drove to meet us with the offering and by Friday we were the owners of a shiny red Nissan Xterra. When I looked back later I was so thankful that I had not gone out and made a car note I couldn't afford. God provided in his own good time. Now when I see that plaque I am reminded that I can depend on him.
Trusting in His Care,
Rev. Sullivan Jones
Several years ago my wife and I were in need of a vehicle. We were driving a borrowed car that was on its last leg. We were in the process of moving from Wiggins to Jackson and knew that we could not move until we had another vehicle. We were hesistant to make a note we couldn't afford and although we had looked at several vehicles, each time we seemed to hear God say "wait."
One day I was walking through the Dollar General store on Siwell Road in Jackson and my eyes fell on this plaque. Immediately I felt the Lord impress me to buy it and put it in our living room. I felt that it was an expression of faith that God was going to take care of us. We were literally counting our last few dollars to buy a few groceries and I had to ask my wife if there was enough to buy the plaque. I spent my last 8 dollars on that plaque but I left the store with peace knowing that God was in control.
The next week the Lord provided enough money for us to get on to our next preaching engagement which was in my home town in south Louisiana. I was scheduled to preach Sunday morning and Sunday night at Beam of Life Tabernacle for Pastor Frank Manguno. After Sunday morning service we ate lunch with the pastor at his home. During the meal he asked me about our vehicle but said nothing more. That night after I preached, Pastor Frank came to the pulpit and said God had spoken to him. He then explained our need for a vehicle to the congregation.
What happened next is still one of the most amazing things I have ever witnessed. In a matter of a few mintues, as my wife and I sat in shock, wiping tears, he took a ten thousand dollar offering to buy us a vehicle. There were not 50 people in that church that night but the ones who were there apparently were givers.
After church Pastor Frank told us to go that week and find the vehicle we wanted. On Thursday his wife drove to meet us with the offering and by Friday we were the owners of a shiny red Nissan Xterra. When I looked back later I was so thankful that I had not gone out and made a car note I couldn't afford. God provided in his own good time. Now when I see that plaque I am reminded that I can depend on him.
Trusting in His Care,
Rev. Sullivan Jones
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