I Believe in a Hill Called Mt. Calvary

Just before I awoke this morning I was dreaming that I was singing "I believe in a hill called Mt. Calvary." When I awoke I looked the song up on you tube and listened to it. It is a beautiful song and conveys my beliefs exactly. If there was ever anything worth believing in, it is Calvary. The fact that the God of all the universe robed himself  in flesh and died a cruel death for you and me is the most beautiful story every told. It never gets old and it never looses the power to change lives.

Although the cross was a bloody, gory place of death, to the Christian it represents life. It is truly the greatest story ever told. Though it may seem foolish to men, the Apostle Paul said that it is the power of God unto salvation (I Corinthians 1:18, Romans 1:16). The blood of Jesus will lever lose its power and the message of the cross will never get old!

A few points about Calvary:

1. You can not truly understand Calvary and wonder if God still loves you.
2. You can not truly look at Calvary and struggle with feelings of insecurity, inferiority, or lack of self worth.
3. You can not understand the spirit of Calvary and refuse to forgive someone else.
4. You can not embrace the message of  the Cross and live in fear, depression, and loneliness.
5. You can not understand Calvary and wonder if your life is worth living.
6. You can not truly understand Calvary and still fear for your salvation. You will understand that the God who saved is able to keep you.
7. You can not truly understand Calvary without being gripped with a love for souls. You will want to share the gospel story with everyone you meet.
8. When you truly understand Calvary nothing you are asked to do for God will seem to hard.
9. When you truly understand Calvary you will want to live Holy because you will not want Christ's death to be in vain.
10.Only when you get a true glimpse of Calvary will you understand unconditional love.

And when time has surrendered and earth is no more

 

I'll still cling to the old rugged Cross.

 

 

 

In Christ's Love,

 

Spanish Pastor Jones 

Do I really make a difference?

Whoever will be great among you, let him be your minister. And whoever will be chief among you, let him be your servant. Matthew 20:26-27

Recently a lady asked me if I thought that anything she did made a real difference. I understood her question. I have asked myself the same question many times. Perhaps we all have. I was able to answer her by sharing what I believe God has put in my heart for such times.

Everyday I ask God to direct my steps. I ask him to let me be used of him that day. I believe he hears. I also believe what the scripture says about God ordering mys steps. The problem is that I don't always see and understand God's ways. We are probably the most benefit to others when we are not aware of it.

Some days we enjoy what we do and it seems like we float through the day. Other days, no matter our job titles, it is just work. We are doing it because it needs doing or because we are getting paid to do so. For the Christian, there should be another reason. We should be doing everything we do as a service to God. What service? That's the point. Everything that we do, even the seemingly mundane, unimportant things, are done in service unto him. The things that I do are important to someone and if I wasn't doing them they wouldn't get done. I can't do them because I want thanks from men. Sometimes even my closest friends and companions will not understand why I do what I do. But I keep on because I don't do any of it for men but for God.

So my answer to this lady, and to all of us, is Yes! Yes, what you are doing makes a difference. More than you will ever know. Some of the things you do may not make sense until eternity but they will make sense. If you are feeling frustrated and don't know what to do, just keep doing what you are doing. Do it with all your heart. Do it well! To someone it may mean the world!

Serving Joyfully,

Spanish Pastor Jones

Daily Benefits

Psalm 68:19 - Blessed be the Lord who daily loads us with benefits, the God of our salvation. 

The benefits of serving God are not always physical. Though God does bless us financially, etc., this should not be our primary reason for serving him. The benefit of knowing Jesus is our salvation. The fact that we are saved through the atoning blood of Jesus Christ is the greatest blessing of all. When we remember that we were bound with sin and destined to spend eternity in hell we must surely be grateful for salvation.

What exactly is salvation, one might ask. Salvation is literally a rescue from the path we were one. If one is slipping and about to fall over a cliff and another grabs the back of his shirt just in time, this is salvation. If a car is driving toward a washed out bridge and another driver warns him, this is salvation. This is the picture of what Jesus Christ did for us on Calvary. He gave his life so that you and I could be eternally diverted from the road to hell.

When we begin to consider this, the benefits are innumerable. The fact that the Son of God was willing to die for me and for you. The fact that he sits eternally in the presence of the Father making intercession for us. I almost can't imagine it. When I consider it all I can do is rejoice. This is the true benefit of being a Christian. If I die rich or poor it makes no difference. If I die young of a terminal disease or an old man in my bed it makes no difference. The best benefit is yet to come; I will get to spend eternity with the one who died for me and I'll do it in a glorified, perfect body free from all heartache, pain, and worry.

Who wouldn't want to serve a God who gives his children benefits like that!

Rejoicing Daily,

Spanish Pastor Jones