RUSSJONES.US

Wow! In just a few weeks we will celebrate the death and resurrection of our Savior and Lord Jesus. The miracle of His resurrection is the miracle of our salvation. The tomb is empty and our hearts are empty of sin. He lives in heaven, there interceding for you and me. He live in our hearts everyday, where He is a close as the mention of His name! Does that touch your heart? Does it cause you to take a moment to say, "Thank You Jesus!" Does this put a smile on your face? It should!! But do you know someone who doesn't know why this matters to you? Do you know someone whose hopes are crushed, whose life is in shambles? Do you know someone who heart is confused, without purpose, without a plan for a future beyond this life? Take a moment to text them, email them or call them right now. Encourage them - love them - give them some hope! Listen to them - be there for them. Invite them to Easter service with you and your family. Not for the purpose of "getti

These 300 knew that they were were part of something that was bigger than themselves. There is a song by Cindy Cruse Ratcliff entitled, “All About You”. Of course the song is meant to be sung to Jesus. But I have to wonder if some people don’t think that church is all about them. Now I am not purposing that church should be a legalistic, cold harden organization that simply tells you what is right and wrong. Gideons 300 were there to do the will of their Father in Heaven. They were not there for their own selfish reasons, (obviously because this was a suicide mission). They were not there because Gideon was an inspiring leader (we will get to that later). How we serve one another in the church has been determined by people. I have gone to dinner with lots of people who work in the restaurant industry. It’s an interesting experience to say the least. They critique EVERYTHING about the restaurant and it’s staff. When they get what THEY want out the eating experience, they ar

Tim Keller in his book, COUNTERFEIT GODS defines 'Idolatry' as...anything more important to you than God, anything that absorbs your heart & imagination more than God; anything you seek to give you what only God can give.  A counterfeit god (idol) is anything so central and essential to your life, that should you lose it, your life would feel hardly worth living. So what are the idols that you are fighting today? Don’t say that you don’t have any, that’s not possible. Everyday is a new opportunity to be tempted. That is why Jesus taught us in Matthew 6:13 to pray that we would not be lead into temptation, and delivered from Satan and his evil minions. What is in your life today, if you were to lose it, would make life hardly worth living? I have to tell you that I have lived long enough to see people make their careers, drugs, personality quirks, money, their status, their spouse and family and so much more an idol. Oh but Pastor, God wouldn’t take “those” things away

For the last few weeks I have been teaching about Gideons army of 300. What kind of men that they were and what it took for them to be one of the 300. After careful consideration, I concluded that what it takes to be one of Gideons men is what it takes to be a Christian, serving in the church of Jesus Christ today. So with that said, let’s take look at a few of the wonderful (and sometimes down right scary) qualities of these 300. Judges 6:1 says The Israelites did evil in the eyes of the LORD, and for seven years he gave them into the hands of the Midianites. (NIV) The greatest threats to the nation of Israel had overrun them. Moses had warned them in Deut 4:15 - 31 not to have anything to do with idolatry. But there they were, worshipping Baal and Asherah. What is so surprising about this is that the Israelites didn’t even know it. They thought that the problem was the Midianites, not their false worship of Ball and Asherah. Obviously, as we will see later, Gideon and his 300

So this pops up today on the web. A) This is the college I graduated from. B) I remember Coach Hanson C) I knew the guy who donated those handbells to CBC and finally - I am glad to see God getting the glory through Buckets and Bells. Congrates Coach on being the 2nd most winningest coach in Missouri.

What are you passionate about? The answer doesn't really expose itself in what you say - but in what you do? The better question one might ask is - who do you serve? That is what you are really passionate about. If you serve yourself, then all you say and do is center around you know who! YOU! But if your passion is to serve others - then their needs are more important than yours. After being to the doctor enough times I can tell you which ones are there for the money and which ones are there to serve the patient. You can say this about police officers, politicians and ministers. When our passions are about ourselves, then we have to be on top of the world. We have to be better, richer, fasting, brighter than everyone else. We are not successful or significant unless our pride is satisfied with where we are at. The problem is, pride is NEVER satisfied. You have to have more money, more compliments, more awards, more work, more - more - more. When our passions are abou

Do you remember when you first accepted Jesus into your life and it changed your life? Do you remember when God first spoke into your life and it changed your life? Do you remember the first time God did something supernatural in or through your life? Do you remember the first time your read the Bible and a Scripture jumped off the page at your and it changed your life? Do you remember the first time you share your story about what Jesus has done for you with someone? Do you remember the first time you led someone to accept Jesus into their life. Do you remember (if your Pentecostal) when your were first baptized in the Holy Spirit and spoke in other tongues? Do you remember when God called you to do something specific for Him - and it changed your life? What did you feel like? Did you appreciate what God was or is doing in your life? Do you remember and let that passion drive your today. Because your passion in Him isn't based on what might happen. You have plenty of history to

All of us have to fight this. A future that doesn't look good. We need to remember a few things about our future. 1 - Our future isn't our own. When we gave our life to Jesus, we also gave Him our future. 2 - There are short term events that can be painful. But Jesus said He would never leave us nor abandon us. 3 - Long term issues are only long term from our point of view. Eternity is a LOT longer than a handful of years. 4 - What is fair or not fair is up to God. Our definition of fairness isn't necessarily God's definition. 5 - A don't forget - We win!!! WATCH BELOW!