RUSSJONES.US

Well, some change is painful.  Changing my socks isn't painful, and it is deeply appreciated by my family. There is a good change that can happen in life.  However, it can be painful.  When your child marries and moves away.  When the first born child arrives.  When you buy your first house.  All of these things are good, but they bring about a change in life that can seriously change our routines and lifestyle. There is a bad change that can happen too.  Some of these things are out of our control. When there is a death in the family.  A serious accident or disease strikes suddenly.  Some change is of our own design.  An unwise decision can cause pain.  Our selfishness can cause pain. God never changes. Hebrews 13:8  Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever. This is excellent news.  You and I change every day.  The world changes every minute.  But God is reliable.  Meaning that His character and His promises never change.  This is the key to a solid fou

It's late.  I took Betty and Anneka out this evening to see Pirates of the Caribbean 5.  It was a good movie.  There was a villain, a plot, a hero, a twist and a happy ending. If life were only scripted like a movie.  We would know what would happen next.  Do a scene over if we got it wrong.  Change the dialogue a bit to make the scene better.  But life isn't that way.  We got up this morning with an idea for what we will do and only one chance to get it right.  No pressure! Romans 5:8 But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. God is the God of second chances.   Today is our day for a second chance.  We're going to need one.  We're not acting and we're not perfect.  We are going to make mistakes.  We are going to need Jesus.  Seek Him and you will know His presence today.   PRAY:  Dear Jesus, I'm going to need some second chances today.  I'm going to need You.  AMEN

Tonight, in youth group, I taught on taking the initiative. I concluded by asking, "Have you ever heard anyone say, 'You know, I might mess this up, so just to be safe, I won’t do it.'"? The point being, Doing nothing is worse than failing. Our fear of failure can be so overpowering that we live our life frozen in - nothing.   - We accomplish nothing.  - We do nothing.  - We discover nothing.  He prayed more fervently, and he was in such agony of spirit that his sweat fell to the ground like great drops of blood (Luke 22:44). Jesus, in the Garden of Gethsemane, prayed in earnest for what was about to happen.  His crucifixion.  But what if He hadn't taken the initiative?  What if Jesus had said, "You know, I might mess this up, so just to be safe, I won’t do it."?  What would our world be like today?  The youth group said, overwhelmingly, that our lives would be so different and not in a good way!  Their right!   Don't be afra

This is Eric.  He graduated from High School today.  It was an honor to watch him walk the line. While I enjoyed the moment, I watched as his mom and dad hugged each other.  They earned it.  They took him to grade school.  They invested in him during middle school.  They encouraged him through high school.  I really couldn't tell who was prouder, Eric or his parents. But this illustrates a significant point.  Investing your life into someone is always worth it. Now good works will not get you into heaven.  But good works will be rewarded.  Giving is its own reward.  I have no doubt that Eric will go on to do great things in his life. Romans 2:6 - 11 6 He will render to each one according to his works: 7 to those who by patience in well-doing seek for glory and honor and immortality, he will give eternal life; 8 but for those who are self-seeking and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, there will be wrath and fury. 9 There will be tribulation and distress for

Joshua 4: 20 - 24 And those twelve stones, which they took out of the Jordan, Joshua set up at Gilgal. 21 And he said to the people of Israel, “When your children ask their fathers in times to come, ‘What do these stones mean?’ 22 then you shall let your children know, ‘Israel passed over this Jordan on dry ground.’ 23 For the Lord your God dried up the waters of the Jordan for you until you passed over, as the Lord your God did to the Red Sea, which he dried up for us until we passed over, 24 so that all the peoples of the earth may know that the hand of the Lord is mighty, that you may fear the Lord your God forever.” If you don't know the story, the Israelites are about to enter the Promised Land for the first time.  One problem, the Jordan River is in flood stage, and they cannot cross.  So God instructs Joshua to take the Ark of the Covenant and march into the river.  When the sandals of the priests carrying the Ark touched the water, the river stopped flowing.  This all

There came a time today when we all looked at each other and said, "It's time to go home." While it was fun to see good friends. While it was nice to have someone clean my room every day. It was nice to have someone else cook for me. But's it's good to be home. James 3:17  But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere. Did you know that we feel before we think? That if our emotions don't have boundaries they will always lead us to wrong conclusions.  Goals without morals will always hurt others.   God gives us wisdom so that on our own we will not destroy ourselves or worse, those closest to us. Wisdom isn't always the easiest to follow. Wisdom asks you to do the hard thing over the convenient thing. Wisdom rules over our selfishness, that's what protects us above all. Home is the safe place we go to.  Wisdom is always home. PRAY:  Dear Je

A couple of weeks ago I shared this quote.  "Our vertical "worship" relationship with Jesus rules our "horizontal" relationship with others." Colossians 3:17 And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. If you want a better marriage - work on your worship.  If you want a better friendship - work on your worship.  If you want a better family - work on your worship.  If you want a better church - work on your worship.   If you want a better ministry - work on your worship.  Why?   Because anything else is idolatry.  Allowing a relationship to overrule Christ's guidance puts someone else in charge of your life.  Someone who isn't all knowing, all powerful and ever present.  Someone who isn't God.   Even the best intentions can lead to the worst of results if Jesus isn't leading the way.  Remember, the better way isn't always the ri

I am at the 92nd Peninsular Florida District Council of the Assemblies of God.  This will be my 32nd council I have attended.  Now I have, to be honest with you, I've never counted before.  So when I thought about this today, it actually shocked me. Over the last 32 years, I have seen so many lives changed because of a vote or a simple statement made at the opportune time. I am reminded of Matthew 26:49, And he came up to Jesus at once and said, “Greetings, Rabbi!” And he kissed him.  In one moment, Judas' life pivoted.  It changed and it wasn't good.   But I am also reminded what happened in Acts 2:4 And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance. What's the difference? When mankind makes important decisions without God's direction, disaster will follow. When mankind makes a powerful decision with God's direction, His blessing will follow. I cannot stress more now than ever, fo

My head hit the pillow last night at midnight.  Wow!  Was I tired. Yesterday (Sunday) was a great day with missionary Jeff Staudte.  I was so glad that he got the chance to share his heart for the youth of Europe with us. After service yesterday the leadership team met to answer the question.  "What's Next?"  It was one of the best discussions I can remember having in quite some time.  There is a focus on vision and commitment of the heart. That's why I love this church!  That's why I buy into its future.  Why you may ask?  Because the church is people.  When you buy into the vision of the church, you are actually buying into the people who make it all possible. Romans 15:13 “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.” There is a hope that God gives us.  There is a hope that we receive from His Word.  There is a hope that we know through the Holy Spirit.  But have yo

Who is your favorite character?  I know some of you may not know them very well.  Power Rangers, the Avengers and Star Wars characters are more your speed.  But anyone who knows anything about cartooning will tell you, the classic rivalry has been and always will be Daffy vs. Bugs. Daffy was a kind of carefree, happy go lucky type of character.  He would be the life of the party and the one who would drive you crazy.  His main character flaw was his greed.  If he saw gold, look out. His impetuous personality would always defeat him, and Daffy would be his own worst enemy. Bugs, on the other hand, was the smart, sarcastic, level headed one who always saved the day.  Whether it was Daffy or Elmer Fudd they couldn't get the best of ol'Bugs, usually.  His character flaw?  He always had to be in control.  He would manipulate physics if necessary, to get his way. All of it was slapstick, sarcastic humor that would cause kids to chuckle every Saturday morning. Proverbs 23:7

A friend of mine said this to me a little while ago.  "I wonder how much data is flying through the air?" Honestly, I don't know, but I bet it's more than either one of us know.   Knowledge is valuable.  Without knowledge, you wouldn't be able to appreciate what you see or have.  You can apply this to marriage, family, God and life.  When you look up in the sky can you enjoy the billions of stars and galaxies that exist?  Do you appreciate the God who made them?  When you listen to a beautiful song, do you enjoy the nuances of the voices or the masterful presentation of the instruments?   Stopping and learning is an important part of our lives.   Proverbs 1:5 Let the wise hear and increase in learning, and the one who understands obtain guidance, PRAY: Dear Jesus, I want to learn more about You.  Give me the wisdom to understand.  AMEN

Today Betty had her semi-annual appointment with her pulmonary doctor.   She got an excellent report which is a testimony to God's miracle healing power. Her doctor is in Tamarac Fl. which is 80 miles away.  After her doctor's appointment, we ran a few errands and ate lunch.  On the way out of town, we notice a couple of helicopters hovering overhead.  Wondering what this was all about I turned down a street in their general direction.  I completely misjudged their location because in a minute I was in the middle of a traffic jam.  A local high school was on lockdown, and every parent, policeman, fireman and news reporter was there.  Bad idea. It made a quick turn and got out of that mess and headed to the nearest exit to the Sawgrass Expressway.  Only to find another police officer blocking the exit ramp.  There was an accident on the Expressway shutting it down.  So a quick U-Turn and back into town. For the next 20 minutes, I am driving in the wrong direction.  Away

Isn't that the truth and while I knew this truth, it still hit me as if I had heard it for the first time.   How many times have you hesitated from making the right decision?  How many times have you missed out on a great opportunity?  How many times have you been left behind?  How long did it take?  Probably about five seconds.   Feelings of self-doubt and fear of failure can flood our souls like a tsunami.  Before we know it, we are back peddling from something we've always wanted or desired.  All because of our feelings.   Ephesians 5:15 - 18 15 Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, 16 making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. 17 Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. 18 And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit, 1 Peter 1:13 Therefore, preparing your minds for action, and being sober-minded, set your hope fully on the grace that will

That's a good question.  Have you ever thought about it? When Abraham asked God, "What's next?" God told him to move. When Noah asked God, "What's next?" God told him to build an ark. When Moses asked God, "What's next?' God told him to lead the nation of Israel out of slavery. Romans 12:2 Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. First of all, the question, "What's Next?" is a spiritual question.  Paul said,  Do not be conformed to this world...   The answer to your question isn't from worldly wisdom, but Godly wisdom.  Secondly, Paul says,  be transformed by the renewal of your mind,...   Allowing the Holy Spirit, through the Word of God, to give you a Godly worldview helps you to make wise decisions about your future.  Thirdly, ...  that by testing you may discern

"But God said!" I've heard people use God to justify their actions on more than one occasion. "God wants me to be happy." "But's that's what the Bible says," while brow beating one verse of the Bible into someone. "This is what God told me to do." There can be some truth to each of these statements.  But they are NOT reasons to force your will on someone. Proverbs 21:2 Every way of a man is right in his own eyes, but the Lord weighs the heart. Using God to justify your actions and make someone do what YOU want them to do isn't treating that someone with love.  It's called manipulation.  That isn't fair.   "God wants me to be happy."  Says the spouse who is asking for a divorce.  FYI - God's goal for your life is joy, not happiness.  Do you think that everything the patriarchs, prophets, and apostles went through made them "happy?" "But's that's what the Bible says,&

It has been a week for me. - Bought a car Monday. - Mono relapse on Tuesday (no I'm not contagious) - Prep for Mothers Day Service. (It's gonna be a good one.) - Dance week started Thursday (Rehearsal) Friday (Rehearsal) - Came home Friday night to find the AC had died. - Saturday morning, fix AC. - Go to church to prep for the first show at 1 pm. - Go back to the house to get Betty's breather (meds - she forgot it.) - Out to South Fork (drop them off) back to church (upload the rest of the photos from Friday) - Back out to South Fork and shoot photos for the first show. - Back to church to prep for tomorrow. - AHHHHHHHH! Oh, the picture? That's Jan Lewan, he's the Polka King. Gal. 6:9 And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up. Everything has a reason and sometimes it isn't what we think.   While my schedule has been a little on the busy side this week, I've learned a lot about mysel

Recently someone made this cup to me.  If you're not a Star Wars fan then the fact that they gave it to me on May the 4th may go over your head.  Again, if you are not a Star Wars fan the words, "choose wisely" will not have much meaning.   But for the last few months my prayer has been, "God, please grant me wisdom."   Proverbs 16:16 says   How much better to get wisdom than gold! To get understanding is to be chosen rather than silver. Most of us out there can recall some time in our life when we made a foolish decision.  Those usually turn out to be the most expensive of our lives.  We kick ourselves for not knowing better or listen to bad counsel.   God knows that you need direction and guidance.  Every one of us is dependent on His will.  Without it, we have no hope.    Solomon, the guy who wrote that verse above, was considered to be one of the wisest men who ever lived, and he still needed more.   Today, listen to God's direction

First of all, my apologies for not blogging for the last couple of days.  Last week I caught whatever, "bug" Anneka had.  It wasn't that bad, but I had an unexpected reaction to it.  It set off my mono.  I caught mono about 20 years ago.  If you have it, you know that you never get rid of it.  It knocked me out.  I lost all my energy.  Well, I'm on the mend, but I'm not out of the woods yet.  I'm increasing my calorie intake along with my vitamin intake.  This usually puts the mono back into remission.  So your prayers are greatly appreciated. I noticed that while I felt, "lousy" I was very prone to feeling worthless, hopeless and helpless.  It was an irritating and defeating feeling, to say the least.  While laying on the couch, I couldn't help but think the worst about my situation.  Painful as it was, I just didn't have the strength to fight back. I read the Bible.  That didn't help.  I prayed, and that didn't help (or so I t

A couple of weeks ago the transmission in my car began to slip. I knew that the inevitable was about to happen. I was going to have to buy a car.   The car with a slipping transmission had over 192,000 miles on it.   Any major repair was going to be more than what the car was worth. Even worse I knew that I could not trust anymore. So I began to pray.   I have to be honest I wasn't looking forward to this. As I began to pray for God's wisdom and direction he directed me to do two specific things.  1 -  contact the salesman that I had purchased my previous two cars to cars from.   However, longer in the car business.   2 - Trade my car off today.  I wanted to know more. What about the financing? What about the style of car? But nothing. Proverbs 3:5-6. 5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. 6 In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths. Not only did God provide the right people for us to meet with tod

When Jesus started His ministry, He chooses 12 men to follow Him.  These were 12 average men from average backgrounds.  For the next 3 years or so they followed Him, stayed with Him, listen to Him and learned from Him.  They didn't know it, but they were being transformed from being average men to awesome men of God who would go on to change the world. Now as they observed the confidence of Peter and John and understood that they were uneducated and untrained men, they were amazed, and began to recognize them as having been with Jesus. — Acts 4:13 When we allow the Holy Spirit to change us, it is for the purpose of making us more like Jesus.  Now was Jesus awesome?  You bet He was.  So if you're going to be more like Jesus does that make you awesome too?  Yes!  Sure I might be throwing around the word, "awesome" a little too much - but I would rather think that God is doing something great in and through my life rather than something average.  PRAY:  Dear Jes

Mark Batterson describes following the Holy Spirit like chasing a wild goose.  You never know where it is going to take you.  John 16:13 When the Spirit of truth (Holy Spirit) comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. The Baptism in the Holy Spirit, evidenced by speaking in other tongues and the Gifts of the Spirit are worthless if you're not willing to follow the Holy Spirit.  In fact, it's my personal opinion that church isn't really worth anything if it isn't willing to follow Him.  So many times in the New Testament we see Jesus, Paul, and the Apostles do something because the Holy Spirit led them to do it.  That takes some faith and trust.   - In some of those cases, they didn't know what would happen.  - In other cases, they knew they were going to get into trouble.  - Sometimes what they did pleased God

Prayer may be one of the most misunderstood aspects of one's faith in Jesus. Some people see it as a magic formula to make their life more comfortable. Some people see it as an emergency pull cord, only to be used in extreme circumstances. Some people see it a religious ritual that is performed to please God. Some people see it a way to connect to God in a meaningful way. Philippians 4:6-7 6 do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. A young husband called me one night; his wife had left him.  It was a mess.  We prayed, for one year. God did a miracle and saved the marriage.  An elderly man came forward during a church service and asked us to pray for him.  He had prostrate cancer.  We prayed and one month later he was cancer free.  A businessman asked me to

There are a lot of different definitions for faith.   One website says "Thankfully, the Bible contains a clear definition of faith in Hebrews 11:1: ' Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.'  Simply put, the biblical definition of faith is 'trusting in something you cannot explicitly prove.'" I disagree. Another website says that faith is the strong belief in God or in the doctrines of a religion, based on spiritual apprehension rather than proof. Again, I disagree.   Not that elements of these definitions don't have merit, I think of faith differently.  Faith is the foundation of what you build your life on.  I don't know anyone who builds their life on something that they cannot explicitly prove or on spiritual apprehension.   So what do I believe?  #1 - The Bible.     #2 - The Church.    #3 - God's promises.    #4 - A Risen Savior. Each on their own, may not inspir

As the story was told to me. I am from Northwest Arkansas.  Wal-mart, Tyson, Daisy and JB Hunt country.  Years ago I remembered seeing the orange and black semis that said, "Jones Trucking."  I would ask my dad, "Are we related to them?"  To which he would reply, "Unfortunately not son." Jones Trucking, at the time, was one of the biggest trucking companies in the United States.  I would see their International brand trucks pulling their cargo up and down the road every day.  One day, a Mack truck dealer decided that he wanted to sell Jones Trucking some semis.  So the salesman made an appointment with Mr. Jones, the owner. Mr. Jones was an unassuming man.  He ran his company well but dressed in bib overalls every day.  Later he upgraded from the overalls to coveralls.  So on the day, the Mack truck salesman came to the office he was approached by Mr. Jones.  Except the salesman didn't know it was him.  Mr. Jones asked if he could help him.  Th

Needing each other is a fact of life.  Sure we get aggravated with each other, we will annoy each other, we can get infuriated too.  But that doesn't change the fact, we need each other. Galatians 6:2 Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ. Jesus never intended for us to live life as a hermit.  We were designed to be a part of something that is bigger than ourselves.  It is and always has been His desire that we rely on others.  Not just anybody, but someone with like beliefs and faith.  What is that belief and faith you ask?  The law of Christ.  The law of Christ takes us back to Matthew 22:39 And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.  This is from the Great Commandment.  Specifically the part about loving one another.  But it is hard for us to love others if we do not allow others to love us.   "But Pastor, I did trust someone, and you don't know what they did to me."  This is true, but one believer

It is said that you are the average of the 5 people who hang around with. I believe it. If you hang around negative people, you too will become a negative person.  If you want to become a productive person, hang around productive people.  The idea that people's actions and attitudes affect others isn't something new to us.  We have seen it happen to our kids, our marriages and our friends.  But what about you? Here is another reason why I like Acts 2: 42 - 27  42 And they devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. 43 And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles. 44 And all who believed were together and had all things in common. 45 And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need. 46 And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with gl