How to Eat an Elephant

How does one eat an elephant? One bite at a time. Or so the old saying goes. Personally, I've never wanted to eat an elephant but we all get the point. It basically means that we have to start somewhere. Personal goals are attainable if we take it nice and slow. Easier said than done, right? Right!

Are we wanting to lose weight? Many of us are? Perhaps you want to develop a better prayer life. Maybe you want to write that book you've always dreamed of righting. It will not happen overnight but you can start with 10 minutes of prayer in the morning and you can write one paragraph at a time. You might think that it seems too simple. "He's just trying to motivate me" might be your first thought. With most of us, the problem isn't diligence. We know how to be diligent. We work hard, take care of a house (and kids for some), and pay bills. Life is busy. For most of us, we just don't know where to start. How can we accomplish the dreams that God has put in our hearts. And for all of us the answer is the same as eating the elephant: one bite at a time. 

Are we afraid of failure. We must adopt the attitude of Thomas Edison and the light bulb. We might find 99 things that don't work but eventually something will work. We just have to try and see. I am firmly convinced that if we take the first step, God will lead us the rest of the way. We just have to have the confidence to try. 

So get up ten minutes early and read your Bible. Before you know it you might be reading whole chapters every week. Walk on the tread mill for ten minutes. Eventually it will be an hour. Write a few lines on a notepad and see where it takes you. It can't hurt to try. Some day you'll be glad you did. 

I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength! - Philipians 4:13 

What is tolerance?

Tolerance is not the highest virtue; love is the highest virtue. Tolerance is presented in our world as a way to make everyone agree with a certain position. This is not tolerance. To tolerate, by its very definition, means that I don't agree with something. If I agree with something then it is not something I have to tolerate. I can tolerate my neighbor being Catholic if I am Protestant. This means that I don't agree with his position; I don't agree with Catholicism. It also means that I will allow him to continue to be Catholic while I continue to preach what I preach. We will be civil to one another and may even be friends because that is the true definition of tolerance. Tolerance is a good thing when seen in the right light.

There are some things I should not have to tolerate. Any parent knows that they will not tolerate their child coming in after curfew without asking where they have been. They will not tolerate a child smoking or drinking behind the parent's back. This is just common sense. As a Christian, there are some things my belief system will not allow me to tolerate, no matter who is offended by it. I will still be civil to everyone but I will still continue to preach that the things they are doing are wrong.

There are certain sexual behaviors that our government does not tolerate such as polygamy, child -adult relationships, and incest. These are deemed harmful to both the individual and society as a whole. Not that long ago homosexuality was on this list. Then it became tolerated. Now it is more than tolerated; it is being promoted. When our government begins to demand that a Christian businessman do business with someone against his own conscience, this is no longer tolerance. It is promoting one religious belief system over another and demanding that everyone adhere to it. This goes against the very reason our country was founded - to give us freedom of religion. Our country is in upheaval but we as the true church of the living God must be anchored in the truth and not swayed by this so-called spirit of tolerance. It is tolerant to everything but Christianity and we can not afford to tolerate that mindset.

God Bless, 

The Righteous and the Wicked

Proverbs 4: 14, 16
Enter not into the path of the wicked, and go not in the way of evil men. 
For they sleep not, except they have done mischief; and their sleep is taken away, unless they cause some to fall. 

The above verse paints a pretty gruesome picture  of the mindset of some people. There are people in this world who live to do wickedness. If they have not caused heartache to someone that day then they can't sleep at night. The very thought of it makes me shudder. But more than the thought of how evil some people can be, it gives me a picture of the distinction God makes between the righteous and the wicked.

Proverbs 24:16 says, "For a righteous man may fall seven times and rise again, but the wicked shall fall by calamity. 

Without a doubt, none of us is perfect. Those who don't want to do what is right often point to the faults of the Christian to justify their own sins. The prevailing thought seems to be, if the Christian is not perfect, then why do I have to worry about how I live. And that is the demarcation line between the righteous and the wicked.

The righteous may fall down but he keeps getting back up and trying to do better. He is aware of his humanity but does not make excuses for his sin. He is constantly in a state of growth. He does have a struggle but it is probably not the same thing he struggled with last year or two years ago at this time. Why? Because God has helped him to overcome some things. He is maturing and everyone around him can see the difference in his life.

The wicked, on the other hand, does not concern himself with growth. He lives for what satisfies his own desires for the moment. He is not concerned about the feelings of others nor with what God thinks. He justifies his sins by pointing to the struggles of the righteous; he absolutely never repents of his sins. He delights when he sees someone else fall down because it gives strength to his creed that no one can live any better than he does.

The fine line of demarcation between the righteous and the wicked is two-fold: attitude and growth. If someone is struggling and trying to do better, God sees that man in the category of the righteous. He may not have it all together but he will overcome his struggles as long as he doesn't give up. If someone is justifying their own sin with no desire to change, that man is in the category of the wicked. Where are we today? Do we earnestly want to do God's will or do we just want to see someone else fall so that we  can justify our own sin? The difference may determine how God sees and deals with us!

God help me never to rejoice when someone else falls but to pray for him that he might be restored to God. After all, it could be me that falls the next time and I would want God to have mercy on me and someone to pray for me.

In Christ's Love,

Rev. Sullivan Jones