Servant-hood

Psalm 84:10 - For a day in thy courts is better than a thousand. I had rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God, than to dwell in the tents of wickedness.

There has been some speculation over what David meant when he used the word "doorkeeper" in the above verse. One thing is certain, however we look at it, a doorkeeper was not a lofty position; It was a position of servant-hood. A doorkeeper was not in a position to give orders but to take them. 

No doubt David knew what it was to take orders. He had been ordered around his whole life. He had seven older brothers to tell him what to do in addition to his parents. He was the one who was sent to the fields to keep the sheep. In that culture he wasn't even considered a son because he was number eight. He may as well to have been born a servant. I can just imagine him wondering what it must be like to "dwell in the tents" with the rest of his family rather than to be out in the field like a servant. 

It may have seemed like an unlikely place from which to choose a king but God knew what he was doing. The previous king, Saul, had decided that he could rule Israel himself without the help of God. Because of this God took him from the throne and promoted David. God wanted a man on the throne who knew what it was like to take orders. You see, God was Israel's real king and He wasn't going to let anyone forget it. 

All of us can find a parallel with David's life. Whether we are in the field or the palace we must remember that God put us there. Are we waiting on a promotion? We must serve diligently where we are and learn what we need to learn in our present state. Have we already been promoted? We must always remember that it was God who gave us everything that we have and He can take it away again. 

The concept of servant-hood is certainly not popular in today's world, especially as Americans. We are all very proud of the concept of freedom from tyrants and taskmasters. Yet we must all remember that we are called to be servants. Each of us is a servant of the Lord God Almighty and by extension a servant to our fellow man. Although it doesn't fit our comfort zones, there is no higher calling than to be a servant of God, willing to do whatever he asks us to do. And many times that service takes the form of helping another human being. 

Whatever God asks me to do, I want to be willing. When we are submitted to God we have a peace that nothing else can bring. David surely knew this peace. For only a God given peace can cause a man to say thus: I would rather be a servant and know my conscience is right with God than to be a wealthy man that has attained all he has through unrighteous means. 

Contentedness is of one of life's greatest blessings. Lord, help me to be content with where you have placed me and help me to take every opportunity I can to be of service to my fellow humans. For I know that in doing so I am serving you. Amen! 

A missing leg

Many of you know that my wife has been through two knee replacement surgeries in the last year.  In the last few years we have truly learned all the adjustments that it takes to live with a handicap. One of the most frustrating things at times has been trying to find a parking space. It seems that most people don't think about handicapped parking. I understand because until I had to deal with it, I didn't give it much thought either.

The other day my wife and I were pulling into a Dollar General Store. I was headed towards a handicap spot right near the front entrance when a sporty little car pulled into the spot ahead of us. I saw that the car didn't have a handicap tag. My first thought was that the person probably didn't need the spot. I know this wasn't a nice thought but I can't tell you how many times I have known people to pull into a handicap spot and just "take the chance" that they wouldn't get a ticket. Imagine how I felt when the lady got out wearing a prosthesis. Her right leg was gone from about midway between her hip and knee.

I don't know if the lady was a veteran, accident victim, or what but it made me thankful for my wife's artificial knees. She is walking better everyday and hopefully one day soon she will not need the handicap tag. I realized when I saw the lady with a missing leg how much worse it could have been. It is so easy for us to complain about what we do not have. But the old adage is true; there is always someone worse off than we are. I must tell you that I had to ask God to forgive me right there in the car. He has been so good to me and I am often unthankful.

Lord, help me not to be too quick to judge a situation before I have all the facts. And help me to remember how much I have to be thankful for.

Thankfully,

Sullivan Jones

Unrealistic Expectations

Job 14:1 - Man that is born of woman is of few days and full of trouble. 

Sometimes we read about the characters in the Bible and think of them as if they are not human.  Yet the characters that we often call "saints" had their fair share of discouragement, anger, temptations, and failure. We do ourselves and them a great disservice when we fail to realize that they were as imperfect as we are. Many of the most beautiful passages of scripture were written in times of great distress.The above verse fits the bill. The statement that Job makes here seems almost to be pessimistic, yet I don't believe it is intended as so. I believe it is more a statement of reality than complaint. Allow me to explain.

We live in a fallen world that is no longer perfect because of sin. Yet from some where, maybe as a small child, the ideas begins to form in the minds of some that life should be perfect or what we call fair. Of course it isn't. Life is full of troubles. We get flat tires, sometimes we don't feel well, and the list goes one. These things are not signs that God doesn't love us or that we are not praying enough. They are just part of life in this world.

Yesterday I had a debilitating headache that just wouldn't quit. I had to go home and lie down before church. My wife prayed for me and it didn't instantly go away although I did feel better after a time. I had a lot to do at work and had a business meeting that night at church. I didn't ask God why He let me have a headache on such a busy day. It wasn't God's fault. It is just a part of life.

Many times our young people have unrealistic expectations when they enter the work force; they believe that they should start at the top. They don't value the experience of growing and learning and being under someone else's authority. In the same way, we can all have unrealistic expectations when it comes to the kingdom of God. We are all growing and learning. It is unrealistic to expect everyday to be wonderful and stress free. It is unrealistic to expect to always feel good and never had a headache. I am not being pessimistic but realistic. Many times the reason people get discouraged is because of unrealistic expectations.

The sooner we realize that this life is never going to be perfect the better off we will be. We make the most out of the good and the bad. If we are always looking at the bad and complaining about it we will never be happy. But if we find the good and thank God for it we will learn the meaning of contentment.

Some people are never happy in their church because they expect the pastor to be perfect. If he makes a mistake they are looking for somewhere else to go. Some are never content to stay in a job. They are always looking for better pay and a better position. They fail to realize that they will never get better pay and a better position if they are not faithful to the position they have now. Unrealistic expectations.

Now life is not perfect but we do have a perfect God who helps us through our infirmities (troubles). In John 16:7 Jesus said that when he went away he would send us a helper. The King James says comforter. The Greek word is "parakletos" which can also be translated as helper.  Jesus was promising that when the Holy Ghost came he would be our helper. The Holy Ghost comes alongside the believer and helps through his troubles. When I find myself in a bad situation I can ask the Holy Ghost (who by the way is the spirit of Jesus himself) to be my helper.

Life is hard but I don't have to face life's difficulties alone. I have a helper who lives inside of me and is with me in every situation. When I need wisdom He is there. When I need strength He is there. When I need advice or direction He is there. I must throw out the idea that life is perfect; It will never be so in this life. Expecting every day to be carefree is like looking through rose colored glasses. I don't fear and look for trouble. But I can't let it discourage me when it comes. I understand that it is part of the imperfect world we live in. When the trouble seems to great to handle I just reach for my Helper. He is always there. When I speak the name Jesus He runs to my rescue.

And I look forward everyday with joy knowing that there is a perfect life coming. It is waiting as the reward for every child of God who has been faithful to the Master, Jesus Christ. Let us run with patience the race that is set before, looking unto Jesus ....(Hebrews 12:1)

Sincerely,

Sullivan Jones

Life is Difficult Without Prayer

Romans 8:14 - For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.

I have heard it said that life is difficult without prayer. I would add to that statement by saying that the Christian life is impossible without prayer. We simply can not know how God thinks, feels, and what He wants us to do without talking to Him on a regular basis.

The concept of being a Christian has become somewhat distorted in our world. A Christian is not someone who believes in Jesus but a Christian is someone who represents Jesus. The Bible tells us in Acts 11:26 that the disciples were first called Christians in the city of Antioch in what is now Turkey. It makes one wonder what inspired others to refer to them as Christians. I believe I know:  Acts 4:13 says of Peter and John "they took note of them that they had been with Jesus." They disciples lifestyles imitated Jesus so much that people began to call them Christians. This was most certainly not intended as a compliment among ethnic Jews but as a statement of fact. It could even have been intended as ridicule.

The disciples had spent so much time with Jesus that they began to act like he acted even to healing a lame man which is what sparked this statement. You and I do not have the privilege of physically walking alongside Jesus everyday. That was limited to a handful of chosen men during his brief earthly ministry. Despite claims to the contrary, we do not know what Jesus looked like. We can only guess as to the color of his hair, the color of his eyes, his height and his weight. We don't know if He had a beard  or how he combed his hair. Yet we can know him.

We can know Him through the teachings he left us. We can read about the miracles He did and the lessons he taught in the four gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. We can read about the instructions he left to the early church through Peter, Paul and James in the epistles. But even more so we can hear directly from Him every day through prayer.

We need never wonder again what God thinks about something. He left detailed instructions. And if we don't quite get the instructions we can simply ask. Many times I have puzzled over the meaning of a verse until I realized I could pray about it. Sometimes the answer the answer didn't come for weeks or even months. But then I would hear a message that opened my understanding. At other times I would have another verse come to mind that went hand in hand with the puzzling one. However it happened God would open my understanding to the verse I had asked him about.

We need not be troubled about what God requires of us. If take him at his word, we can ask. His answer may come in an assortment of ways but it will come. Prayer is the key to unlocking the mind of God. Try it today! It is free and there is a 100% success rate. Just don't be upset if you don't get the answer you wanted. If God is anything, He is honest. Try Him and see!

Trusting Him Daily,

Sullivan Jones 

Children of the Light

John 1: 4-5
In him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.

The Bible tells us here in the Apostle John's version of the gospel that Jesus Christ is the life and light of the world. He came into the world for two reasons: to bring life and light. He came to reverse the curse of sin and death and restore spiritual life to the world. Because men were blinded by their sin he also had to be the light. His words, actions, and very countenance were filled with light.

The Bible tells us that the people who were confronted with Jesus light did not understand it. It was not something to be understood with the natural mind. Jesus' teachings then and now can only be understood with the spiritual mind.

Sometimes Christians wonder why they don't feel comfortable in certain environments or around certain people. We try so hard at times to show people that we are as normal as the rest of the world.  But the truth is, we are not normal. We have been filled with the light of God's word and Spirit. We are striving to walk in communion with Jesus Christ. This is not the norm in our world.

We must understand that as Christians we are truly not at home in this world. We believe in being good citizens. The Bible teaches us that we must be. We believe in being kind and showing God's love to everyone we meet. We believe in taking care of what God has given us which includes the planet we live on. But we are not at home in this world and truthfully many people will never understand us. The sooner we quit trying to be understood the happier we will be.

The people of Jesus day did not understand him. The disciple is not above his Lord so since they didn't understand Jesus it is a good sign that we will be misunderstood as well. We must learn not to get frustrated or angry when unsaved family members don't understand why we make the choices we make.

Let us fall in love with the light of God's word and be happy to be the children of the light. When others see that we are happy in the life we life they will be drawn to Him through us. Let us be children of the light - the world needs us.

Walking in the Light,

Sullivan Jones