RUSSJONES.US

I said cursing - not cussing. There is a difference. Many people confuse life with curses. Life isn't fair and it isn't going to treat you fairly. That is a fact and you can't change that. (Hint: It's a Garden of Eden problem.) So when life treats us unfairly - we think that God is cursing us. Now I am here to tell you that you are at least going to think this. After all, God promised right? Right! But what did He promise? That is what confuses a lot of folk. God promised to be there for us when life wasn't fair. He sent His Son to die on the cross for our sins and to provide for our needs. If life isn't hurting us - if Satan isn't trying to destroy us - if sin isn't eating away at our lives, then we think that we are blessed! Really! All I would call that is a coffee break. When life and hell are doing it's best against you - that's when the blessings of God will come through for you. God provides because there is a need. Beca

Blessedness isn't a state of mind nor your position in life. Too many people measure their "blessedness" to determine whether they are blessed. When they come up short, they complain to God. When they determine they are too blessed - ahhh, well that never happens. Blessedness is a byproduct of ones relationship with Jesus. In the Old Testament the people lived under the law. In the New Testament we live under grace. So what does that mean? If you are driving down the road at 110 miles an hour in a 45 mph speed zone. Sooner or later you will see blue lights. You will get pulled over and you will get a ticket. Why? You broke the law. The law doesn't care why you were speeding, you were doing it. Under grace, you can drive 110 mph in a 45 and get away with it. Doesn't seem fair? Well here is the difference. Under the law you had to - Under grace you choose to. At the end of your run - you either pay the fine (Oh it's a fiery one). Or because yo

Are you blessed? Of course you are!! But blessing the way you see it and the way God sees it may vary. People think that if they have fulfilled the American Dream, if their peers crown them successful, if they are healthy and living in the right community with the right job and the right friends that they are "blessed". Well, to be quite honest, you are probably not blessed. Behind closed doors there are addictions, divorce, rebellion and pain. Bankruptcy lurks around the house every month. The simple things in life like joy, happiness and hope are all but a distant dream. Now am I saying that well to do people cannot have a blessed life? Absolutely not! But don't stereotype people. The rich and the poor have the same problems. The difference is, one is rich and one is poor. Deep - I know. When we live under God's blessings, life takes on a whole new meaning. Blessing isn't about status nor comfort. Blessing is doing God's will in your life. Hol

My wife and staff have been telling me for weeks to take some time off. Wish they would have said it sometime during the summer, that would have been easier. But none the less, I was thinking about it. Then a small revolt came to my attention last weekend. Because it was my birthday week, take Mon - Thurs off. Again, a nice idea - but practically it just wasn't possible. I hadn't felt good during the Experience Conf, or weekend services. But I muscled my way through it and took Monday off. Then it started. The pain in my back. I know this pain. Oh no! Well I laid down and the pain stopped. God had answered my prayer. Got up Tuesday morning and discover God hadn't answered my prayer, but instead I needed to go to the ER. Kidney Stone #4. Now Kidney Stones 1 - 3 were passed in hours. But number 4? Well it took me on a trip through Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. Hmmm! Do you see the similarities here? Now I am not accusing my wife or my staff of collusion

The BGMC banquet was awesome!! The Texas Cattle Steak company cooks great steaks! God is doing some great things for the Muslim world through BGMC Got to meet LOTS of missionaries. Got to see my friend and USA Missionary Bob Aston. God is doing GREAT, AWESOME, POWERFUL, MIGHTY did I say GREAT things through our kids for missions and the Kingdom of God. Workshops have been great!! Great attendance at the conference. Robert Morris did an awesome job on Friday and Saturday For those of you who were there, that was some of my church that was talking to him during his sermon. Victory music team dn teh District music team lead some AWESOME Praise and Worship services. People are really excited here!! They can tell!! I AM EXHAUSTED I will see you all Sunday and we are going to have a great time together in Christ!!

We are getting ready to welcome 1,200+ people to an AWESOME conference here in Lakeland. Robert Morris is speaking tomorrow night and Saturday morning. 325 people are coming to the BGMC Banquet tonight. The vendors are here - AG Healthy Church is set up with some GREAT deals for the conference (i.e. Faith Case). The BGMC Booth is huge! Missionaries - pastors and more are here as well. I believe this one is going to be one of the best ever!!

Church was awesome today! The church looks great when 80 people attend. It was great to have all those vets on the platform with us. The Martin County JROTC performed perfectly. Betty sang the Star Spangled Banner and knocked it out of the park. Praise and Worship was fun. I usually don't say that. Joe did a great job with his message this morning. Elevate 1 is growing and doing great. Why don't you find out what is so great next Sunday @ 9:30 a.m.? Youth Service was GREAT tonight. Really got to enjoy some great time with the youth. Looking forward to what God is going to do this week at the Experience Conf. w/ Robert Morris.

It was a Tuesday morning and I was running late to go to church for the day. Betty was staying home that morning, doing laundry and cleaning house. I heard her from the living room say that a plane had just flew into the World Trade Center. I thought that was very odd, so I stopped and watched. The newscaster said that he thought it was a DC - 9 or something that had hit the tower. I knew immediately that he was wrong - the crash was too large. I was confused and concerned. The first thought that ran through my mind was . . . this isn't an accident. In a few minutes I watched as the second place struck the second tower. Horrified I knew that we were under attack. Where were you on 9/11? Let us know.

This Sunday is 9/11. It was 10 years ago on this day that all our lives changed. We were reeling from what had happened. We didn't understand it and we didn't know what to do. 10 years later - we have learned a lot and done even more. So this Sunday isn't just remember what happened - it is about what we are going to do. We have discovered how to recover from adversity, terror and death. We have discovered our resolve to press on, even in the face of evil. This Sunday we will enjoy the ministry of Lt. Col. Ret. Joe Gibilisco, US Army. Betty Jones, who will sing the Star Spangled Banner (believe me you don't want to miss this). And the flag core from Martin County High School JROTC - Air Force. Bring and friend and remember where we have come from - but also remember that from great tragedy can come a great recovery.

Ok - so this is what I did. Last Thursday I worked 13 hours. Friday about 10 and another 14 on Saturday. Stayed up till 1:30 a.m. (working) and then taught Sunday morning, led worship and preached. After service I couldn't figure out why the world was spinning and I wanted to throw up. Stupid, I know. Really, really stupid! I had eaten lunch on Saturday and then snacked my way through dinner. Add a breakfast bar in the morning and you have a recipe for disaster. Blood sugar hit a all time low and I was going down. Rather than go ahead and collapse then go to the hospital - I just sat down and let the rest of the day take care of itself. Today (Tuesday) I am back to about 90% with a few waves of weakness that just seem to come out of no where. So what is this all about? Me practicing what I preach. I absolutely am kicking myself for preaching about stewardship and not practicing it. I would think that I would know better, but like all people who struggle with stewa

This weekend kicks off ELEVATE 1 Sunday @ 9:30 a.m. Randy Shurr and I will be leading you to discover a new and better relationship with Jesus. We are going to start from the beginning. Whether your a new Christian, or if you need to refresh your relationship with Jesus, you need to know, WHO IS JESUS? What are we starting here? Your understanding of Jesus determines your commitment level. If you have a casual understanding of Jesus - you will have a casual relationship with Him. If you think that Jesus is a social reformer, then your relationship with Him will be about social reform. If you think that Jesus is mean spirited and out to get you, then your relationship with Him will be one filled with anger and resentment. Get it? Jesus asked the disciples who they thought He was, you can read about this in Mark 8, and Peter said that He was the Christ, the Son of the Living God. Good answer!! But then in a few verses, when Jesus tells them that He has to give His life