I'm a Soldier in the Army of the Lord

I awoke this morning with the words to a Sunday School song going through my mind.

I may never march in the infantry, ride in the Calvary, shoot the artillery,
I may never zoom over the enemy, but I'm in the Lord's army.

Little boys often dream of growing up to be war heroes, much like little girls dream of being princesses. To a six year old singing that song in Sunday School war just seems like an adventure. He has no idea what war is all about. What he is really saying is, "I want to grow up and do something important." Something important seems like sinking enemy submarines or capturing a mountain for the Fatherland. Yet, these things are not what most of us experience. Although I highly respect our men and women in uniform, I am thankful that most of us are spared the atrocities of war.

Yet all of us are in a warfare everyday. The Bible tells us that we do not fight against flesh and blood .... but against spiritual wickedness in high places (Ephesians 6:12). This battle that we are fighting is largely a battle for control of our minds and our spirits. It is a battle to see who will be in charge that day, the enemy of our souls or our Lord Jesus Christ. This is real warfare and the outcome is far more important, eternally speaking, than any human battle. 

The idea of war strikes fear into the hearts of many. Yet the Christian need never fear. We are promised the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ (I Corinthians 15:57.) We have an armor that is impenetrable when applied everyday in prayer. We have the Holy Spirit who lives inside of us and gives us strength to fight. We have a God who hears every prayer that we pray. We are on the winning side. 

This battle is real, but GREATER IS HE THAT IS IN ME THAN HE THAT IS IN THE WORLD. 

I am a soldier in God's army and HE always wins his battles. 

Victoriously,

Sullivan Jones 

The quality of mercy

The quality of mercy is not strain'd,
It droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven
Upon the place beneath. It is twice blest:
It blesseth him that gives and him that takes.

Shakespeare

All of us like the idea of receiving mercy. We like to talk about mercy until we are the one who needs to give it to someone else. Mercy, in a nutshell, is forgiveness. It is not giving someone the punishment they deserve. Mercy is letting a past wrong go or being kind and gentle when someone is less than perfect. All of us have needed mercy at some point in our lives and I'm sure we will need it again eventually, some sooner than others. Lamentations 3:22 says that it is because of God's tender mercies that we are not consumed. If God were to give us all what we really deserve, none of us would be here. But he gives us new grace every morning. Should we not show the same quality of mercy to others. In the words of Shakespeare, let mercy drop as the gentle rain from heaven. It will bless both the one who gives and the one who receives. 

Thankful for his Mercy,

Sullivan Jones 

The Narrow Way

Jesus said, "Wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it. - Matthew 7: 13 -14

To many, Christianity seems to be too confining. Life is full of choices and human nature says to live life to the fullest. It is a big world out there. How can you know what you are missing unless you sample all of it. Live and let live is the cry of the day. But like the Leprechaun who knows he has found the rainbow with the real pot of gold, so is the Christian who has discovered the real source of joy. The path that we are on may be narrow and confining but it leads to Jesus and he is the source of eternal life. Once I consider that, everything else pales in comparison. There may be wider roads that offer more in this life, but the one I'm on leads to Jesus. Won't you come along? You'll never be sorry you did. 

Following Jesus,

Sullivan Jones