I don’t care who you are, where you come from, or what your religious
affiliation may be, if you’ve been around for any time at all, then
there is one thing about you that I can tell you (even if I’ve never
seen you before in my life), and that is this: “Somewhere in your ‘not
too distant past’ you have been deeply wounded, and if it hasn’t
happened to you yet, don’t worry, in due time, you will be!”
Perhaps you are one of the silent sufferers (who number in the millions) who were molested when you were young…
Possibly you’ve been in a long-term marriage relationship that you
have worked so hard to nurture, only to find out that your spouse has
been having an affair and is now ready to throw everything away…
Or perhaps you’re the teenager who just found out that you are pregnant,
it was just a “one time fling” and you are wondering, "How could this
possibly be happening to me?" Or maybe it’s worse…
You may be
the one that just got the results of all those medical tests that you’ve
been taking, and it has the word “terminal” in it…
Or
nightmare of all nightmares, you could well be the soul that just got
the news that all parents fear above all else (for no parent is ever
supposed to outlive their child) and now suddenly your whole world has
just been shattered into a thousand tiny little pieces that you cannot
put back together again...
Yes, your “Wound” could be any one of
these (or a million others just like them), situations that come our
way and suddenly our entire world seems to disintegrate, right before
our very eyes. Only when that wound that so deeply pierces us comes our
way, how are we going to handle it?
I wish I could tell you
that bad things do not happen to good people, but if I did, I would be
telling you a lie. Because bad things happen to good people every
single day; and it still rains on the just, just as much as it does on
the unjust.
In John 10:10, Jesus says, concerning Satan: “THE
THIEF COMETH NOT BUT FOR TO STEAL, KILL, AND TO DESTROY…” But Jesus
didn’t stop there; He doesn’t leave the body of Christ helpless and
without hope, for He finishes the rest of that verse by telling us this:
“… I (Jesus) HAVE COME THAT YE MIGHT HAVE LIFE AND HAVE IT
ABUNDANTLY!”
Now the question that we must address is, “Which
part of this passage are we going to choose to live our lives by? When
we are wounded are we going to allow ourselves to drown in our own
self-pity? Are we going to live out the rest of our days as "Broken
Believers" all because we have chosen to accept for ourselves a “Victim
Mentality?” Are we going to allow the devil to steal from us, to
destroy us, and eventually to finish us off completely?
Or,
are we going to “CHOOSE” (for it is our choice you know) the promise of
the latter part of that Scripture…to live our lives to their fullest and
in the midst of God’s abundant blessings, and with those blessings
raining down upon us continually?
Maybe you are one of God’s
children who still hasn’t gotten over your own wounds yet. Could it
just be that you never will...not until you begin to release towards
others exactly what it is that you need God to release to you?
And could it just be that God allowed “our wounds” to come our way (not
because He was trying to destroy us but...) because He loved and trusted
us so?
He trusted us to deal with all that hurt and all that
pain, so that “WE” just might be able to help someone else in need of
the same healing process. Someone who may been wounded with the same
wounds that we suffered; only they weren’t as near to God as we were,
and they just don’t know how to get over their wounds…but we know how to
help them, because we’ve been there before!
Even in the worse
times of our live (in those times when Satan had his sights set on
utterly destroying us) God in the greatness of His goodness, knew how to
take the deepest wounds of our lives and turn them around to be used
for His glory!
So if, right now, you’re in the midst of the
darkest day of your life, you take heart oh saint of God. For the
Father will not allow your suffering to be in vain. Thank the Lord that
Christ still knows how to “Take what Satan sent our way for evil and to
use it for ‘His’ good!” Yes, it still is always the darkest before the
dawn. So you take heart my wounded friend, for soon the “SON” shall
shine in your life once again!
Food for Thought,
Pastor Ken Jones
Wednesday, July 29, 2015
Thursday, July 23, 2015
The Cure…Fresh Fire
What will turn our nation around? One does not have to be a Bible
theologian to readily take note that when it comes to the issues of
morality, integrity, and godliness that America has become much like an
airplane who has just had both its engines to shut down in mid flight.
Presently, our nation is spiraling wildly out of control at breakneck speed. And unless the miraculous takes place, and unless some “ONE” (that can only be God) is able to cause our nation to regain its power and re-establish its course, its doom and utter destruction are all but guaranteed. Above all else, what America needs today is: “True and Genuine Revival!”
It would be real easy for most Christians to readily blame the homosexual community (or the 5 activist Supreme Court judges) for the dilemma that our nation now finds herself in concerning the dismantling of Traditional Marriage. But let’s be totally honest here, the Church is not as pure and as innocent as she might wish to make herself out to be concerning this matter.
The dismantling of Traditional Marriage did not start in the gay community. It’s been a long time in coming, and one can trace its roots back to when men and women quit seeing marriage as a “binding covenant made before God” and began viewing it rather as a “quick claim contract” that could be broken for the slightest of infractions.
Whatever happened to “For better and for worse” and “until death do us part?” Let’s face it; divorce is just as rampant amongst those who claim to know Christ as it is amongst those who don’t know Him at all! The dismantling of Traditional Marriage has been in motion for a long time—and we, the Christian community, are as guilty as anybody else for its present demise.
We’ve allowed the feminists to convince our daughters that a woman doesn’t need a man anymore. And as concerning dads, far too many have been “MIA” for way too long. And because of so many fathers have become so disconnected from their own children (especially their sons) society has redefined the role of “True Biblical Manhood” and is rapidly succeeding in feminizing our own sons.
And just where have been the preachers who have been commissioned by God to sound the alarm and be the “Watchmen on the Walls”? Could it be that far too many are more concerned about personal prestige and job security than they are about the welfare of mankind’s eternal souls?
And then we must ask, “Where have been "the Christians" while all of this mess has been going on? Have we allowed ourselves to become so anesthetized by spiritual and political correctness until we now will accept only “Real good, feel good sermons” that are guaranteed to cause us to experience “goose bumps” and “the warm fuzzies all over” rather than allowing anyone to preach to us the “Truth of the Gospel of Jesus Christ?”
Yea, I know these are some hard things, but it is my prayer that God will get somebody’s attention. For as tough as things may look presently in our world, we must remember: “As long as there is a God in heaven…ALL IS NOT LOST…for there is nothing going on in our world that has taken our God by surprise!”
Yes, it is true that God’s Word warns us that, “In the Last days that men will call good evil and evil good” (and we are presently seeing that all around us even as I speak). And it is also true that His Word establishes the fact that, “In the Last Days there shall be a great falling away.”
But let’s not stop there, because God’s Word also affirms to us that, “In the Last Days, (says the Lord) I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh!”—Now that’s the promise of a “Last Day’s Revival” if ever I have heard of one!
God longs to revive this lethargic, anemic, 21st century Church that seems to be only hanging on by a thread, as it clings to life support. He longs to re-empower His Church in these Last Days so that when we make our departure, we will leave this world with a “BANG!”
God earnestly desires to restore His Holy Spirit power in our lives, to renew our minds in Him, all in order so that we might be empowered to live victorious for Him in the midst of a world that is without hope. And God wants to “Restore the Fires of Our Souls” and set us ablaze once more with a zealous, fervent, burning passion to “Win the Lost at Any Cost!”
It is my earnest prayer that God will help each of us to be “Kindling” willing to be used by Him as our Lord seeks to ignite this “Fresh Fire” in the midst of a lost and dying world. May Christ help each of us to spiritually prepare ourselves so that He can use “US” in becoming a part of His great, End Times Revival!
Just a Thought,
Pastor ken Jones
Presently, our nation is spiraling wildly out of control at breakneck speed. And unless the miraculous takes place, and unless some “ONE” (that can only be God) is able to cause our nation to regain its power and re-establish its course, its doom and utter destruction are all but guaranteed. Above all else, what America needs today is: “True and Genuine Revival!”
It would be real easy for most Christians to readily blame the homosexual community (or the 5 activist Supreme Court judges) for the dilemma that our nation now finds herself in concerning the dismantling of Traditional Marriage. But let’s be totally honest here, the Church is not as pure and as innocent as she might wish to make herself out to be concerning this matter.
The dismantling of Traditional Marriage did not start in the gay community. It’s been a long time in coming, and one can trace its roots back to when men and women quit seeing marriage as a “binding covenant made before God” and began viewing it rather as a “quick claim contract” that could be broken for the slightest of infractions.
Whatever happened to “For better and for worse” and “until death do us part?” Let’s face it; divorce is just as rampant amongst those who claim to know Christ as it is amongst those who don’t know Him at all! The dismantling of Traditional Marriage has been in motion for a long time—and we, the Christian community, are as guilty as anybody else for its present demise.
We’ve allowed the feminists to convince our daughters that a woman doesn’t need a man anymore. And as concerning dads, far too many have been “MIA” for way too long. And because of so many fathers have become so disconnected from their own children (especially their sons) society has redefined the role of “True Biblical Manhood” and is rapidly succeeding in feminizing our own sons.
And just where have been the preachers who have been commissioned by God to sound the alarm and be the “Watchmen on the Walls”? Could it be that far too many are more concerned about personal prestige and job security than they are about the welfare of mankind’s eternal souls?
And then we must ask, “Where have been "the Christians" while all of this mess has been going on? Have we allowed ourselves to become so anesthetized by spiritual and political correctness until we now will accept only “Real good, feel good sermons” that are guaranteed to cause us to experience “goose bumps” and “the warm fuzzies all over” rather than allowing anyone to preach to us the “Truth of the Gospel of Jesus Christ?”
Yea, I know these are some hard things, but it is my prayer that God will get somebody’s attention. For as tough as things may look presently in our world, we must remember: “As long as there is a God in heaven…ALL IS NOT LOST…for there is nothing going on in our world that has taken our God by surprise!”
Yes, it is true that God’s Word warns us that, “In the Last days that men will call good evil and evil good” (and we are presently seeing that all around us even as I speak). And it is also true that His Word establishes the fact that, “In the Last Days there shall be a great falling away.”
But let’s not stop there, because God’s Word also affirms to us that, “In the Last Days, (says the Lord) I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh!”—Now that’s the promise of a “Last Day’s Revival” if ever I have heard of one!
God longs to revive this lethargic, anemic, 21st century Church that seems to be only hanging on by a thread, as it clings to life support. He longs to re-empower His Church in these Last Days so that when we make our departure, we will leave this world with a “BANG!”
God earnestly desires to restore His Holy Spirit power in our lives, to renew our minds in Him, all in order so that we might be empowered to live victorious for Him in the midst of a world that is without hope. And God wants to “Restore the Fires of Our Souls” and set us ablaze once more with a zealous, fervent, burning passion to “Win the Lost at Any Cost!”
It is my earnest prayer that God will help each of us to be “Kindling” willing to be used by Him as our Lord seeks to ignite this “Fresh Fire” in the midst of a lost and dying world. May Christ help each of us to spiritually prepare ourselves so that He can use “US” in becoming a part of His great, End Times Revival!
Just a Thought,
Pastor ken Jones
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