RUSSJONES.US

I'm going to take a few days off from blogging - but I am doing so with a purpose. #1 I want to redesign this site.  That usually take a couple of days (working in between other projects) #2 I want to finish updating mine and Bettys website GODCHANGE.ME #3 I am going to focus RUSSJONES.US on personal things happing in my life and on personal leadership/teamwork principles and current events. #4 I am finishing up my book HOW TO MINISTER TO ZOMBIES which I hope to have ready to release the first of October. So with all that said, keep checking up on my progress and I look forward to revealing a whole new look to you soon.

Believe it or not, this is a morality question. Would you change religions?  Would you star in a porn film? Would you sell you child? Would you abandon your family for the rest of your life? Would you commit murder? These, and questions like these, can make us question our belief system.  We say that we would do these things.  But for a million dollars?  (Million not enough, ok 100 million dollars).  Now the chances of something like this happening are, let’s be honest here, none!  But what would you do?  Do you have a price? For some the temptation would be great - for others - not so much.   But what is of greater value than money?  Any amount of money?  All the money in the world?  The price for your soul.  Jesus gave His life - ALL of it - for you.  He gave His time.  He gave His money.  He gave His skills and talents.  He gave His heart, His life and His blood.   Today people are asking what the does the church have to offer me?  The answer is everyt

Yesterday was a total surprise to everyone on the Treasure Coast.  This image isn't far from my house.  Reports of around 11 inches within a few hours are VERY common.   Our associate pastors wife thought she was driving into the parking lot at her work and found the retention pond instead.  They had to pull her out through the window of the car.  It's drying out now, but it's going to need a supernatural healing after this one.  Or if you have a car to give away - CALL ME!   So for those of you who are not familiar with driving in this kind of weather in S. Florida (And I saw MANY of you yesterday)  here are a few tips.  When driving through deep water - watch the car in front of you.  If its to high - DON'T go through.   If you do get in trouble - DON'T STOP.  Keep your foot on the accelerator and drive through.  If you let off the gas, the engine will suck water up the tail pipe.  Engine ruined.  If you are going through deep water -

I read an article recently about all the things you learn at the movies.  - All telephone numbers in American begin with the digits 555 - Most dogs are immortal.  - If being chased through town, you can take cover in a passing St. Patrick’s Day parade - at any time of the year.  - A man will show no pain while taking the most ferocious beating but will wince when a woman tries to clean his wounds.  Theres more but I’ll save them for later.  But what do we really know?  In a world that confuses fact with fantasy, right with wrong, good for evil, one has to wonder what we really do believe in.  I hear people today tell me about what they don’t believe in (government - education and humanity to name a few) but I rarely hear about what they believe in.   There comes a point in time when follower of Jesus just have to be different.  Not necessarily opposite - just different.  There is a time and place for us to begin to declare what we do believe.  What we do stand f

Well, it’s Sunday evening and I am listening to the subtle sounds of Issac as he delivers his wet, rainy self to our doorsteps.  Rest assured that your commute this morning is going to be a little wet.  But as I reflect on the last few days, I am encouraged by what I have seen and experienced.  There is no doubt in my mind that the church of Jesus Christ is alive and well today.  Even though this world would do all that it can to discount and discredit the church - in the end it belongs to God.  He will always get the last word.  Koinonia is the greek work which translates fellowship or communion.  However, neither of these words essentially communicate what koinonia means.  It means to be of such deep community that people care for each other.   All through the Bible we are commanded to be hospitable, kind, helpful, serving, caring and so much more.  But in a world that is so full of pain and anguish, we tend to turn that part of ourselves off.  We neither have the tim

I really don’t like that word.  When it comes to my time, it gets expensive.  When it comes to my finances - OUCH!  When it comes to my patience - well let’s not go there.   Much of what you are doing today may be the result of being overextended.  Finances, time and energy are just a few I can mention.  I also understand that employers are asking more from us (but not paying more).  I know that our families expect more from us and our schedules.  True, the fact that we are overextended may be the result of poor management or wishful thinking.  But the reality is - we are beyond what we feel we can do.   Now one might think that God would never overextend our faith.  Ask more from us than we can offer.  But that simply isn’t true.  Most of the great faithful people we read about in the Bible got that way because God pushed their faith beyond their limits.  Sometimes it was painful.  Other times it was costly.  But God never failed them, gave up on them or quit.   Your f

Especially in the time that we live in - believing in anything seems to imply that you’re an idiot!  How can you believe in that?  How could you believe in them?  What make you believe that you can believe in anything?   My initial thought.  How sad.  A generation that can’t believe in anything will accomplish nothing.  But then, it’s all smoke and mirrors isn’t it.  To say that one doesn’t believe in anything is to say that you believe in nothing.  That’s worse!  I believe that nothing exists.  But I don’t put my faith in nothing.   I think that there are a lot of people who go to church, read their Bible, pray but down deep in their heart they doubt.  They doubt God, they doubt His church and they doubt their value to Him.  But when it comes to faith what else is there?  Everything in this world is nothing more than a counterfeit of the original.  Placing your faith in Jesus gives you the best that He has to offer - and you don’t have to doubt it.

I have worked with prisoners, drug addicts, alcoholics, convicted felons and other masters of criminal activity.  You might think that these people are nothing more than the product of their environment.  That they are, for some reason, mentally unbalanced.  You might think that they need to be locked up forever, or that they just need the right environment to change in.  Regardless - you’re wrong.  They need Jesus.  Being raised on a farm I know a few things about farm animals.  So if I take a beautiful dress and put it on a pig.  All I have is a pig in a dress.  But if I take that same dress and put it on a beautiful woman - well that’s a lot better don’t you think?   Jesus came to reach sinners.  He knew that simple making sinners religious wasn’t going to do the job.  He had to do something that would change everything.  So He gave His life for those sins.  People who are messed up and in trouble need what Jesus did for them more than they need another program.  They

Years ago I discovered that someone in my church was going to be alone for Christmas.  Now if that’s your choice, I’m ok with that.  But I don’t think that anybody should be alone on Christmas Day.  If you don’t have any relatives to celebrate it with, you should have a church family that will fill in the the gap.  But I was thinking, what would Christmas be like alone.   You bought yourself presents, that you wrapped and put under the tree for you to open on Christmas day.   You decorated a tree that only you will see, then put it away.  (Probably 5 minutes after opening gifts) You work in the kitchen for hours to prepare a meal that you eat in minutes - alone.  You sing Christmas songs, to yourself.  Depressing isn’t it? That’s the difference between being a Lone Ranger Christian and being part of the Body of Christ.  You can celebrate Christmas alone, but it’s a whole lot better with family and friends.  You can be a Christian by yourself (I have no i

So I did a little research and discovered where we get the name Tuesday from. It’s an old English word that a god from Norse mythology.  In some traditions Tuesday is Wednesday and Wednesday, well, I don’t know where they put it.  That might have been because for a little while there were 8 days in a week instead of 7.  Now in most other culture Tuesday is named after Mars, the Roman god of war.  In Japanese the word means ‘fire day’.  In other languages it means ‘one who is red in colour’.  You know Mars is red and, well, you can connect the dots.  In the Eastern Orthodox Church Tuesday is dedicated to John the Baptist.   In the Greek world, Tuesday is considered unlucky.  Some Spanish speaking cultures think that too, especially if it falls on the 13th.  Jews consider Tuesday to be lucky because in Genesis 1 God said it was a good day - twice.  Well that’s got to mean something - right?   In the folk rhyme Monday’s Child, “Tuesday child is full of grace.” Confused?  I

There are a lot of things that people put their faith in.  Education, government, church, justice system, family and so much more.  While I don't think that we should get rid of these things, there is something that as a Christian you need to consider. Is it Godly?  I know that we live in a culture where everything is done to separate church from state.  Statements of faith are restricted from government property, anything that receives government money and so on.  Families are encouraged to let children make their own decisions about their faith.  Workplaces are being designed to be a politically correct as possible.  Wearing a cross or reading a Bible during you lunch break now constitutes harassment. But as long as any of these institutions are allowed to operate without the influence of God - they are a zombie institution.  I'm not trying to be insulting here but the fact of the matter is this.  As long as we separate God from anything we automatically surrender it to

Reboot defined is to shut down and restart.  It’s computer term if you don’t know.  If things are not going well, just shut down and start over.  The reason for this is simple.  Sometimes, in the start up process, you miss a line of code or a third party software doesn’t come on line.  As a result, the whole computer doesn’t operate properly.  Oh it’s on and it might even be surfing the web or running another program - but when you go to play some music or try to find an address, whoops!   The same is true of churches, families, marriages and our personal life.  We are operating and doing a lot of things, until . . .   We wonder, why can’t I get my finances in order?  Why do my children hate me?  Why can’t I defeat this temptation in my life?  Why do I lose my temper so often?  Well, you missed a line of code somewhere.   Someone once said that BIBLE stands for “Basic Instructions before Leaving Earth”  Others call it the handbook for life.  I don’t disagree with it, but le

If you don't know that - it happened a long time ago.  Now it is almost expected of any person, especially if they are an entrepreneur or have any kind of enterprising spirit about them.  Rebel against the norm if you want people to pay attention to you. Rebellion is used to help people make money. Rebellion is used to push others to change their mind. Rebellion is used to give people a sense of purpose and identity. The problem with all of this is - with each act of rebellion one must raise the bar to achieve the same success next time.  Dr. Kevorkian didn't just talk about assisted suicide, he helped people do it.  Madonna didn't just talk about being being free from censorship, she took her clothes off and had someone take pictures of her around Miami.  Well whether or not you agree or disagree with their opinions on these issues you have to take into account the effect this has on our culture. There are men (and women) who say that as an adult they have the ri

1 Corinthians 12 talks about the gifts of the spirit.  You can read it here. The Holy Spirit empowers each of us with abilities above and beyond anything that we can believe or conceive.  But the question is, For what purpose? I own a hammer, but that doesn’t make me a carpenter.  I own a pipe wrench, but that doesn’t make me a plumber.  When we are empowered by the Holy Spirit we are given tools that will help us be who God wants us to be and do what God wants us to do.   So let’s answer this question.  What isn’t the gifts of the Spirit for? They are not for our selfish, self serving purposes.  That isn’t to say that we cannot pray for our healing or provision.  But when we get greedy with our requests, when we think that it’s all about us, when we think that Church and God are here to make our life more comfortable.  Then these gifts will never work in our lives.  The gifts of the Spirit are given in order to building the Body of Christ, His Church.  To help

Ephesians 2:1-5   1 As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins , 2 in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. 3 All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature objects of wrath. 4 But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, 5 made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions —it is by grace you have been saved.   (NIV1984) Dead in your sins!   That was rather blunt!  Paul had a knack for that though.  (Ever read 1st Corinthians?)  People who are living in sin are dead people walking around thinking that they are alive!   When you think about it, the fantasy story lines from zombie movies really does parallel everyday life!   - Zombies are dead people walking around.  - Sinners ar

. . .  But you can’t make him drink!  The old adage is simple.  You can lead people but that doesn’t mean they will do what you want them to do.   I know, the world would be a better place if everyone did what you said.  I can honestly say that there are a number of people who would be better off today if they would have followed some good counsel.  But with that said,  What about you? Does Jesus lead you to a place in your life where He wants you to do something for Him, but . . . ?    The Gifts of the Spirit (1 Cor 12) are given to us to help us do what Jesus asks of us.  Whether it is to pastor, lead, witness, pray, work, help, serve, give, encourage, teach or whatever!  These gifts are from God and are to help us do something great for the Kingdom of God.   But if you’re not willing to do what He asks of you -  will He will give you these gifts?  Well, think of it this way.  If someone gives you a new car and you park it in your driveway.  But you never start it

This World is lost without Jesus!  There I said it!  Now, MORE than ever before, people need Jesus.  But how do we reach them? With the Love of God. We show them God’s love in REAL and PRACTICAL ways.  With the Word of God. We tell them the truth.  The truth will really set them free, but who will tell them? With the Power of God.  When the love of God and His truth is presented through our lives in the power of the Holy Spirit - anything is possible! Just ask Peter.  In Acts 2, 3000 were saved Ask Paul, He raised a young boy from the dead.  Acts 20 Ask Philip.  He was suddenly translated from one place to another. Acts 8 Ask Silas.  Jailbreak! Acts 16 Ask the centurion.  He survived a hurricane and a shipwreck.  Acts 27 And the list goes on.   We are to reach our world!  They did 2,000 years ago and we can do it today! 

If you don’t know - I am starting my new series, “How to Minister To Zombies!” this Sunday.  You see dead people everyday!  You might be standing next to one right now!  Yikes!  Well the first thing that I want you to know is - don’t be afraid!   In Eph. 2 Paul tells us that we were dead in sin.  As long as someone is living in sin - they are dead.  Dead as a doornail dead.  Now obviously I’m not talking about physically, but I am speaking of the spiritual.  But to be honest with you, being spiritually dead is much worse than being physically dead.  Why? You cannot enjoy the life that you have if your not connect to the Creator who made it.   It’s like owning a car, but not knowing how to drive it.  It looks good, but completely useless.  Now I know people who would probably argue with me about this.  They would quote to me all of their adventures and accomplishments.  All the exciting things they have done.  Here is the question that I would like to ask.  “What are you

I've always had a problem calling some kids "gifted".  That implies that other children are not.  No. I'm not being politically correct here.  I just think that all children are great and that everyone one of them should be treated as such.  But here is the good news.  You’re gifted!  God has gifted you with special skills and abilities that can do some amazing things just for Him.  Some of them come naturally, others are supernatural.  Regardless, God has given them to you - they are a gift.  Now I think that most of us understand the word gift.  So let’s do some comparisons here.   #1 - Gifts are a surprise.  We like surprises.  So don’t be shocked when you discover what gift God has give you!  God did it!! #2 - Gifts are usually something that is beyond what we expected.  Sure all of us have got underwear at one time or another but God gifts don’t disappoint.  In fact we should be overwhelmed by them.  #3 - Gifts are expressions of love and appreciat

Well, yesterday went quite well I think. There were no violent protests or any other negative actions that I know of at any Chick-Fil-A. I understand that some gay activities are planning a nation wide protest against the restaurant tomorrow. We'll see - and they have the right to do so. I did get defriended on Facebook by a homosexual acquaintance of mine. He wasn't very happy that I was in Chick-Fil-A buying sandwiches for our Wednesday night Bible Study. I'm ok with that. Not because I'm being flippant about is - it's his Facebook page, he can do with it as he pleases. So what did I learn through my experience yesterday? The issue about Freedom of Speech is very important. If people wanted to complain to Dan Cathy about his stance on marriage. I'm ok with that. It doesn't mean I have to agree with them - but they have the right to say so. When leading politicians begin to say that they are never going to let Chick-Fil-A build another store in

I read this on Facebook. Am I homophobic?  (unreasonable fear of homosexuals )  NO! Do I agree with homosexuality?  No Why?  Because The Bible says that it is a sin - and as such - these people are doomed to spend eternity in hell for this decision.   What do I do?  I welcome homosexuals to attend church with me - they will not find themselves in a hostile environment.  I welcome their friendship.   Why would I do that?  I love them so much that I want to get to know them and for them to know me.  Before I say anything about their lifestyle I want them to know who I am - for my words to mean something - for my actions to have the opportunity to prove what I say.  Will I eat more chicken today at Chick- Fil- A?  Yes.  Why?  Because I believe that any person in this country has the right to say that they are a homosexual and that any person in the country has the right to disagree with that statement.  I’m not eating chicken to send a message to the homosexual c