A Servant in God's House

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. Psalm 84:10

These words of the great King David have captured our imagination for centuries. It is not everyday that a king would admit to be willing to change places with a servant yet that is what David says in this verse. There have man many attempts to define what the psalmist meant by doorkeeper; let's suffice it to say that he meant servant.  Being a servant in the house of God might sound poetic in this line of scripture but in reality it was everything but picturesque. Servant's cooked meals and washed clothes for the priesthood. Servant's carried water and firewood; servant's emptied the remains of an animal after a sacrifice. You get the picture. In David's day worship to Jehovah required much more than it does today, at least in a physical sense. The position of servant was not the most prestigious in the temple.

Now to dwell in the tents of the wicked, that is another story. When I think of a tent, I think of camping but this is not what David meant. The Ark of the Lord in his time was housed in a tent. (Later Solomon built the temple after the layout of this tent.) The priest were allowed to go into the first section of the tent, called the Holy place. Beyond that, behind a heavy veil, was the Holy of Holies which contained the ark of the covenant. For all intents and purposes, this Holy of Holies was the only place where one could commune with God on a "face to face" basis and it was off limits to everyone but the High Priest of Israel. The high priest could only enter this Holy of Holies once a year.  Even David as King could not go into the Holy Place. The priesthood to Jehovah was limited to the tribe of Levi and the high priest had to be a direct descendant of Aaron, Moses' brother. This certainly excluded David since he was from the tribe of Judah.

Contrast this with being a pagan priest. Almost anyone could become a priest to a religion other than Jehovah. In fact, kings were often the high priest's to pagan religions. Many times pagan tribes worshipped not only the god their king represented but the king himself. No doubt David knew this. He could have become a king-priest to another other god and not have to depend on a priest. But he knew that it would profit nothing because the presence of Jehovah could be found in no other place than the tabernacle of the Lord. In light of this David's words take on much more significance. He was saying that he would rather worship on the outskirts of the temple dedicated to the one true God than to be in a place of honor to a false god.

There are those who love to ridicule Christian worship. It doesn't make sense to bow down to a God I can't see or sing praises to a God I can't physically touch. Many things about our worship style defy the logical mind. It would sometimes seem easier to seek another way to worship, one that leans more to gratification of fleshly desires. It would certainly be more popular,  for in our day fundamental Christianity is less popular everyday. Yet the presence of God is what draws me back to God's house to worship every time. We don't have to have the best choir; the pastor doesn't need to be the most educated or the finest orator. My fellow church members don't have to be the most prestigious in the community. As long as I can feel God's presence as I worship I will say like David, "I would rather be a servant in God's house than to be in a place of honor where His spirit isn't found." Wouldn't you?

In Christ's Service,

Rev. Sullivan Jones
 

Behold He Comes

Sometime after I dozed off to sleep I had a rather strange dream. In it I saw thousands of people lying  face-up as if they were asleep, superimposed over a globe. I began to see these people do the opposite of a shooting star. They would literally burst into a stream of light and stream up into the heavens. I knew that I was looking at the rapture. I knew these people were being caught up in the twinkling of an eye and I knew that they all had the Holy Ghost. I said Lord what about the people who have the Holy Ghost who have not been baptized in Jesus name. The next moment I saw another person "shoot off." Then I heard the Lord say, "there are so many people that are going to be baptized in my name before my coming. They are going to receive this revelation." When I awoke, the words, "behold he comes" were going through my head. 

I believe the coming of the Lord Jesus is so close upon us. There are so many who do not realize how close we are to the rapture of the church. God is about to take his church out of this world. The things that are about to come upon this world are frightening and yet so many are so oblivious. We who are a part of the the church of the living God are so prosperous compared to every generation before us. We live in nice houses and have good educations. Very few people look down us for speaking in tongues anymore. We are caught up with technology and Facebook. Our lives are filled with entertainment and gadgets. There is very little that we really need. If there are difficult times ahead of us I pray that we would be ready for them. The coming of the Lord is so soon. 

Behold He comes! 

Prayerfully, 

Sullivan Jones 

Innocent Until Proven Guilty

If you have ever talked to someone who has been in jail you know that they probably didn't do the crime. They were framed. Someone else set them up or they took the rap for a friend, etc. Even if they did commit the crime the law was probably unjust anyway. After all, "a man should be able to have a little fun without the law interfering", right? I promise that if you were to interview the population of any prison you would get the same results. Framed!It is in the fallen nature of humanity to try and protect ourselves. We will justify almost any kind of wrongdoing, often by pointing out the wrongdoings of others. Well, what I did wasn't any worse than what someone else did. You know the drill.

There is coming a day, however, when all of us will have to confess to the sins we have committed. II Corinthians 5:10 says that we must all stand before the judgment seat of Christ. On that day the books of our lives will be opened (Revelation 20:12.) Everything we have ever done or thought will be recorded there for all the world to see. (Just the thought of that once made me want to run and hide. What about you?) But then another book will be opened called the book of life. This book of life contains the names of all who have been born again of water and Spirit. Those who have had their sins washed away by repentance and baptism in Jesus name and who have been filled with God's spirit will find their names in this book. And I am convinced that once our names have been written in the book of life, the pages where our sins were written down have been blotted out forever. They will not be held against us because they will be covered by the blood of Jesus Christ.

All of us are guilty before a Holy God. We can make excuses of our sins down here on this earth but excuses do not work in heaven. When you stand in court on that day you had better have a good lawyer that is willing to take your case. There is only one lawyer who meets the qualifications to plead our cause before God and that is Jesus Christ. I John 2:1 says that if we sin we have an advocate (lawyer) with the father, the Lord Jesus Christ. If you know you have sinned you can come to Jesus and confess your sin. He will be faithful and just to forgive your sin and to cleanse you from all unrighteousness.

There are some who think that they will be able to plead ignorance on the day of judgment. They will say they were never taught what God's word had to say about salvation. (Some think that those in heathen lands will be exempt from the requirements of scripture). Yet all of us know that ignorance of the law is no excuse in any courtroom in the world. When anyone decides to live in a certain place it is his responsibility to learn the law of the land and abide by it. Well, our God owns this whole earth and he has set certain laws in his word that are required of us all. It is each person's individual responsibility to find out what that law says and obey it. Certainly, it is not our responsibility to be the judge for God will be the judge on that day. But it is our responsibility as Christians to warn the lost (and one another) about what the law says so that each one will have the chance to obey it.

If you know you have broken the law there is a penalty to be paid. In our human courts the penalty for each crime is different. But in God's court, he that is guilty of breaking one commandment is guilty of breaking them all (James 2:10). As hard as it is to imagine, the one who tells a little white lie is just as guilty before God as the rapist and the murderer. The penalty for all sin is eternal separation from God in a place of torment with fire and brimstone forever. It may sound harsh but it is the law and who among us can tell God, the creator of the universe, that his laws are too harsh.

The only escape from this day of judgment is the refuge that we find in Jesus. He has provided a plan of salvation in his word that will pay the penalty for our sins and alleviate our debt to God for breaking his word. If you are worried about the state of your soul today you have a chance to make it right with God. According to the Bible this plan includes repentance for our sins (asking God to forgive us), baptism in the name of Jesus Christ for the washing away of those sins, and being born again by the infilling of the Holy Ghost. If you already a Christian and know that some things in  your life are not right, you can repent of those things and God will put them under the blood of Jesus.

Don't take a chance with your soul today. It isn't worth the price. Know the law and obey it. It is the only thing that will stand up on that day when excuses won't do!

In Christ's Love,

Rev. Sullivan Jones 

How Many Languages are There in the World?

Psalm 65:2 - O you who answer prayer, to you will all people come.

There are by some estimates about 6,500 spoken languages in the world. Some of them have many millions of speakers and some have less than a 1,000 speakers still living. Those of us who believe the Bible story of Genesis 11 understand that there was a time when everyone on earth spoke the same language. Because of man's disobedience to him, God confounded their language and sent confusion among them. Out of the languages God created at the tower of Babel (however many there were) have evolved the thousands of languages known today. I am a linguist and love the study of languages. Yet the intriguing part to me is not that there are so many languages but that God understands every one.

No matter the amount of education or the lack thereof, God understands our speech. He understand Chinese, English, and Papua New Guinea pigeon equally well.  He hears and understand the cry of the PHD candidate and the prayer of the illiterate as equal. Flowery words are not as important to him as the tune the heart sings. The sincere prayer made in imperfect jargon will reach God quicker than a dissertation from a heart that is far from him. If you feel you don't have the right words to express yourself to God, just use the words you have. I promise He will understand them and he will respond to your prayer.

No matter your need today, God sees and hears and knows what you need.

God bless,

Sullivan Jones