Mistaken Identity - God knows my name!

Have you even been mistaken for someone else? My wife and her three sisters resemble one another and their mother so some people get them mixed up. I knew her long before we were anything more than fellow church members and I never thought they looked that much alike; apparently they do to some. As for me, I can't think of but one time that I was mistaken for  someone else.

A guy had just moved to our church from somewhere in west Texas.We met on his first Sunday at the church out in the foyer.  He walked up, lit up in a smile and asked, "when did you get here?" I must have looked confused because I didn't remember ever meeting him. After a minute he turned red and said, "I think I've mistaken you for someone else. Is your name _________?" After learning I was not a friend he had made at camp he explained that "the resemblance was remarkable." That was a first for me though they say everyone has a twin.

One thing I am glad about is that our heavenly father does not get us confused. Have you ever wondered how he keeps us all straight? With all the billions of people on the planet he knows each of us by name. Not only that, he knows the number of the hairs on our heads daily. Amazing! He also knows which of us are his children and which aren't. The scriptures tell us that he has a book, called the book of life, and that the names of the redeemed are written in that book. One day we will all stand before him to be judged. He will open the book (whether literally or figuratively it doesn't matter) and search for our names. If my name, Sullivan Jones, is not written there I will not enter into that heavenly paradise he has prepared for his redeemed. I will be separated from him forever and sent into everlasting sorrow.

Since I know my name is there I have no need to fear. I am His and He is mine. The scripture says that no one or nothing can talk me out of the palm of His hand (John 10:28.) Just to make it clear I don't believe in eternal security no matter how much I sin, but I do believe that my God is big enough to keep me. Isn't it a comforting thought! The God who holds the heavens and the earth spellbound by His words knows my name and will never mistake me for another. When I need him, He will be near. And most of all, on that day when he gathers his sheep unto himself, I will not have to fear being forgotten for God knows my name!

Trusting Securely in Him,

Sullivan Jones

Thy Kingdom Come, Thy Will Be Done

Pray then in this way . . . Your kingdom come,  your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. 
Matthew 6: 9-10 

The words above come from the most famous prayer in Christendom, The Lord's Prayer.  Millions of people across the world will collectively pray the Lord's Prayer ever Sunday. But how many will stop to consider what it really means? Do we really understand the words we speak when we ask God to let his will be done on earth as it is in heaven? The word kingdom gives us a key to this verse. Kingdom is a political term referring to the way society is governed. This verse has several implications.

1. First it could be looking forward to that time when Jesus will come and establish his kingdom fully on earth. So the prayer is a vision of the future. Jesus was reminding his disciples that he would return and set things right in this world. It was a promise to hold on in the difficult times.

2. At a second level it is a vision of how a Christian should live his life. Jesus gives us direction in the sermon on the mount as to how we should live. In 1896 Charles Sheldon published his classic "In His Steps" in which a pastor challenged his congregation not to do anything Jesus wouldn't do. He asked the newspaper to report only what Jesus would report and leave out the gossip. He challenged the stores to sell only what Jesus would sell, etc. In a short time the entire town was in an upheaval because they realized how many of their daily activities went against "what Jesus would do." It is worth thinking about.

3. On a third level, I see the prayer as a petition for God to intervene in the lives of men. Often we find ourselves in situations that we feel powerless to change. As much as we know would like our situations to be different, we don't see how they could be. This part of the prayer reminds us that God is a king. If we ask him to, He will come into our situations and make changes that we can not make. When we pray for God to be King in our situation there is nothing that can stand in the way. He is a King and He will show his power when one of His children asks him too. The only stipulation is that we must be willing to surrender control to Him. If he asks us to make some changes so He can work, we have to obey. If you have a problem you can't fix, start by asking Jesus to be King. You might be surprised how quickly your situation turns around.

God is a King, but He is also a gentleman. One day Jesus will come back and set everything right in this world. But I am convinced that He wants us to allow Him to be King our individual lives now. None of us can right all the world's wrong but we can start with ourselves by praying,

"Let your will be done in me as it is in heaven."

Blessings,

Sullivan Jones 

Do I look like my father?

There is a Facebook app I have seen the last few days called the Like Parent app. It is supposed to show which parent you look like. Perhaps because of this, and because Father's day is approaching, I have been thinking about my dad. My dad has been with the Lord for more than 20 years now and I don't think of Him everyday.  But there are days ... When I do something that reminds my sister of him and she says, "you are acting like Hubert." Or when I need someone to work on a vehicle I think of him. He was one of the best mechanics I ever knew. I am told I look like my father (forgive me for bragging but he was a handsome man) and I'm told I act like him at times. So this got me to thinkin'. How much do I remind people of my heavenly father?

The born again child of God has a heavenly Father as well as an earthly father. So I wonder, do I remind other people of my heavenly father the way I remind them of my earthly father? The Bible gives us a list of the characteristics of God in Galatians 5:22-23. They are called the fruit of the Spirit. Here are a few of them.

Love
Joy
Peace
Gentleness
Kindness
Patience
Self-Control

These are things I hope people can see in me. In fact, Jesus said that others would know we were Christ's disciples by our love for each other. I think what he was trying to tell us is that the child of God should have some characteristics of the Father. The more we walk with God the more like him we will become. We tend to be more patient, more understanding, more compassionate when we spend time with God in prayer and in his word.

There is another father the Bible talks about. He is the father none of us want to be like. The Bible calls Satan the father of lies among other things. In John 8:44 Jesus tells the Pharisees that they are of their father the devil? How could he say this? Because they were showing the fruits of their father. These are listed in the same chapter of Galatians. They are called the works of the flesh.

                                  Hatred, jealousy, murder, envy, just to name a few...

 This is the default setting of humanity. We are born with these things in us. We don't have to learn them. They just come naturally. But the Spirit of God has a way of remaking us into His image. Little by little, as we yield to Him, His Spirit softens us and we begin to show God's traits rather than the traits of the enemy.

As father day approaches I hope I am reminding others of my father. I know I will never be just like Him on this earth. There is always something else He has to work out of me. But I pray everyday that I can at least remind someone of Him so that they can get to know Him as I do.

Sincerely,

Sullivan Jones

Carrying the Ark in the Desert

Does the world ever seem to big? Life's troubles seem to mount up until there is just no end to the frustration? Maybe it is because we are trying to carry our problems on our own. Allow me to relate a story from the Old Testament.

Many of us know the story of the children of Israel wondering around in the desert for forty years. They lived as Nomads with tents, camels, etc. They also had a special tent that was reserved for the worship of Jehovah. There was a special box called the Ark of the Covenant that went with them wherever they roamed. It was kept veiled behind a curtain until it was time to move. Then there were special instructions about how to carry it. The priests had to carry it by hand. There were rings on the Ark and poles inserted through these rings. Four priests would gather around this ark and carry it on their shoulders.

I heard this story all my life in Sunday School but never realized the miracle behind it until I heard someone explain it. The box was only about 3ft 9 in by 2 ft 3 in. It wasn't that big. But there was a solid gold lid on this ark. There are different estimates but some say that the lid alone weighed several hundred lbs. So imagine this - four men carrying a big wooden box, covered in gold, with a solid gold top through the desert heat. How utterly impossible! How could four men carry a box weighing between three hundred fifty and six hundred lbs on their shoulders at all, let alone in the desert heat. But this is where the miracle comes in.

You see the presence of God surrounded the Ark of the Convenant. When the camp was set up the cloud representing God's glory hovered over the Ark. When it was moved, the presence of God was with it. The answer to the riddle is in the presence of God. When the priests, acting according to God's command, stepped up and picked up the box, it lifted. The presence of God made the Ark light enough for those four men to carry it.

The application for us today is simple. If you feel you have a burden to big to carry, give it to Jesus. His presence will make your burden light. He is big enough to carry both you and your burden and never get tired. When you are going through a battle you might have to have a few more prayer meetings but that is what trials are for - to make us spiritually stronger. The extra prayer will serve you well. On the other side of the trial you will realize God carried you the whole way through.

He is a big God! Give him your burdens today and just see how much better you feel!

Trusting Jesus Daily,

Sullivan Jones