RUSSJONES.US

I've heard people tell me, "But God said . . . " Now to be honest with you - I usually take that as a caution sign.  When people use God as an excuse to get what THEY want - trouble is going to follow.  There is a simple process that you can use to determine if what they said is what God said. #1 - What they say lines up with God's Word.  God will never contradict Himself.  So if a person says, "God told me that He is going to heal me."  I'll agree, because the Bible supports it.  But if what they say doesn't line up with God's Word, then I know that God didn't say it. #2 - What they say honors God and His will.   There are some things that the Bible doesn't specifically talk about.  But if we know His Word and His Character - it usually isn't very hard to discover His will.  I'll go along with it because it honors God. #3 - They are willing to allow what they say to be tested by others of faith.  Thi

Years ago a pastor older and wiser than I said, "I'm never transparent, it scares people away." That's true, transparency will scare people away.  But my response to him was simple.  "You don't have a choice, if you're not real - then your people can't believe in you or the message that you preach." Now let me say that confession is good for the soul, but hard on your reputation.  By no means am I advocating that you dig every skeleton out of your closet and irresponsibly toss them into the middle of your congregation.  I've seen some pastors do this with a "gotta love me" attitude.  The people will love you - as they leave.  Don't cause confusion. Here is the problem. We live in a day when people still stereotype pastors.  You know.  The stogy type that have no sense of humor.  They can face a tsunami and never get their suit wrinkled.  They are in the presence of God at all times and they never suffer from any malady. We

This message is nothing new to Christians.  The Human Rights Commission in Lexington, Kentucky has recently declared that Christian business owners who refuse service to LGBT organization will find themselves in a huge amount of legal trouble.  You can read about it  here .   Well, my first question is who is this Human Rights Commission?  Apparently they have been around for a long time  (50 years ).  And from their website they declare:  It is the purpose of the Lexington-Fayette Urban County Human Rights Commission to safeguard all individuals within Lexington-Fayette County from discrimination because of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, age, disability, familial status and sexual orientation/gender identity in connection with employment, housing and public accommodations. Just so that you understand the problem here, a Christian T-Shirt business owner refused to print some t-shirts for the Lexington Pride Festival.  The organization that ordered the t-sh

The headline reads "29 year old cancer patient seeks to control her own death." A young woman has declared that two days after her husband's birthday, she will commit suicide (physician assisted). (FYI - This is legal in Oregon, where they live.) She has stage 4 glioblastoma, a malignant brain tumor. First AND MOST IMPORTANTLY! I am praying for her. I hope that you will join with me too. However, I cannot agree with what she is doing. I'm sure that she has already heard all of this and has made up her mind. But I'm not writing this to her - I am writing to you! First of all she says that this isn't suicide. That is it death with dignity. I disagree. According to the dictionary (Merriam-Webster), suicide is the act or an instance of taking one's own life voluntarily and intentionally especially by a person of years of discretion and of sound mind. On November 1st she plans on taking her own life - that is by definition - suicide. I cringe at the