Count Your Blessings

I Thessalonians 5:18 - Be thankful in all circumstances.

Life can be a struggle. None of us is exempt. Flat tires, dead batteries, and the like happen to all without discrimination. If we allow them to, these things can drain our energy and purpose. Sometimes the simplest things can make the whole world sour. We can began to think that everything is wrong when so much is right. Sometimes we just have to stop and look at life from a new perspective.

There is an old song that says, "when you're worried and you can't sleep, count your blessings instead of sheep." There is always something to be thankful for. And truthfully most of us have far more to be thankful for than to complain about. Be thankful! It's free and it never hurt anyone!

Thankfully,

Sullivan Jones

What is the Biggest Problem in our World?

At the moment I am taking a class called "Understanding Contemporary Society." It is one of those sociology classes where one discusses all the social ills of the world and the different proposed answers to society's problems. This week one of my discussion questions went like this:

a. W. E. B. DuBois saw the color line as the foremost problem of the 20th century. What did he mean by the color line?
b. In your opinion, is the color line still the foremost problem? Why or why not?

This question was not easy to answer because it stirs up passionate feelings in many of us, and not always for the same reason. But my answer would be no. The biggest problem in our world is not color or racism. The biggest problem in our world is the sin of selfishness. I could argue that this sin is what Paul meant by the love of money being the root of all evil.

You see sin is a desire to do what I want to do no matter who it displeases or hurts. We call it selfishness but really it is sin. That was Eve's problem in the very beginning. She wanted to have the glory that belonged to God so she ate the fruit that she thought would make her equal with God. The same problem is present today.

Our society is consumed with "me-ism". It's all about me. Whatever makes me feel good is the best thing for everyone else. None of us is exempt. We have a natural default to be selfish. Every other ill in our society, e.g., crime, racism, sexual abuse, human trafficking, you name it, is an offspring of our natural default to think only of what makes us feel good.

The only antidote to this selfish disease it to be filled with the love of Jesus. The love of Jesus can take the most hard-hearted individual and make him/her as meek as a lamb. The love of Jesus will cause people of different skin colors to worship together, cry on each other's shoulders, and eat in one another's homes. It will cause formerly bitter enemies to come together as true friends.

Some might say that I am taking about an ideal that can not be reached. While it is true that some will never accept Jesus as Lord this does not stop us from preaching. In the same sense we should not be hindered from spreading the love of Jesus because of the callousness and indifference of the world around us.

The Bible says that the love of God is poured out into our hearts by the Holy Ghost. What this world needs is an old-fashioned Holy Ghost revival that will fill us all with the love of God. That will take care of more of society's problems than all the social programs in the world.

Sincerely,

Rev. Sullivan Jones

How Accurate is the Bible?

There has been much said in the last few decades about the validity of the Bible. Many books have been written to try and discredit the Bible. Movies have been made that make the Bible seem like a fairy tale. So can we believe the Bible? Can we have confidence that the New Testament we hold in our hands is the Bible that the Apostles wrote? Is our Old Testament the same as it was in the time of Jesus. I believe the answer to be yes. The following excerpt from a classmate's blog explains why I believe this.

The Accuracy of Scripture

All New Testament copies have a whopping 99.5% accuracy rate. Although there are about 300,000 individual variations of the text of the New Testament, this number is very misleading. Most of the differences are completely inconsequential-spelling errors, inverted phrases and the like. A side-by-side comparison between the two main text families, that is, the majority text and the modern critical text shows agreement a full 98% of the time. Of the remaining differences, virtually all yield to vigorous textual criticism. This means that our New Testament is 99.5% textually pure. In the entire text of 200,000 lines, only 40 lines are in doubt which equals about 400 words, and none affects any significant doctrine. We can have confidence that the Bible we hold in our hands is accurate.

The Bible has withstood the test of time from critics. Its prophecies have proved to be true. It is scientifically and historically accurate. Its teachings are affective in any culture and any timeframe in history. The Bible is truly the word of God and we can have confidence in it! Do you need an answer? Searching for peace? Struggling with a relationship? Open your Bible and you will find the answers you need. God's word works every time!

Blessings,
Sullivan Jones

Healing Rain is Falling Down

I John 4:18 - There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out all fear; because fear has torment. He who fears is not made perfect in love.

Fear is a very real thing. Sometimes it is almost tangible. All of us have experienced it at some point in our lives. Whether it be anxiety about an upcoming meeting or fear of disease, fear is real. It can paralyze our faith in God and cause us to make foolish decisions. The person who is afraid does not think rationally. Fear is an ugly thing but there is an antidote: Faith

Faith is the "knowing" that God loves me and will take care of my situation. Faith is rooted in love. When I understand how important I am to God then I understand that He will do everything in His power to make sure I am cared for. Zechariah 2:8 lets us know that we are the apple of God's eyes.  Imagine that! A God who can do anything and all of His attention and love is focused on me!

Lately I have been experiencing some medical, um "difficulties", shall we say?   The worst part of feeling any kind of undiagnosed pain is the not knowing. Our imaginations run wild with us. We always tend to think the worst. I suppose it is just hard wired in our DNA to always imagine the worst possible scenario. But situations are rarely as bad as they seem. Our adversary, the devil, would like to convince us that things are much worse than they are. Yet God is bigger than our obstacles and He knows how to see us through every situation.

This morning I awake with a song in my mind. The lyrics are

"Healing rain is falling down, Healing rain is falling down.
I'm not afraid, I'm not afraid."

I realized suddenly how true this is. God is a healer and I choose to believe in his ability to heal rather than in my irrational fear of what might be wrong with me. If you need a healing today (whether physically, emotionally, or otherwise) why not sing this with me as an expression of your faith in God. It will also serve as a sign to the nagging enemy of fear to back off and leave you alone.

"Healing rain is falling down ..... I'm not afraid."

Psalm 23: 4 - I will fear no evil for thou are with me.