Tag Archives: Reset

April 25, 2012

But Even If He Does Not…I Will Still Praise Him

By Jones

Daniel 3:17-18

“If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to deliver us from it, and he will deliver us from Your Majesty’s hand.  But even if he does not, we want you to know, Your Majesty, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up.”

Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego stood before King Nebuchadnezzar, refusing to worship the idol that had been set up.  They were risking certain death, but were unwavering in their faith in God’s ability to rescue them.  They were willing to lay everything they had on the line, believing that God could save them, if it was His Will.  But even if He did not, they were prepared to die while still praising Him.

There are times in life when everything and everyone around us is saying, “Just give up!”, times when it would be so easy to quit, to just go along and bow down.  Those are the times that test your faith, that question your willingness to stand in the face of adversity.  Those are the times that reveal the strength of your Father…and your faith in Him.

Faith is NOT just saying, “I believe in Jesus” or “I believe in heaven.”

  • Faith is saying, “I believe God will provide for my family, but even if He does not, I will still praise Him.”
  • Faith is saying, “I believe God will heal my wife, but even if He does not, I will still praise Him.”
  • Faith is saying, “I believe God will save my job, but even if He does not, I will still praise Him.”
  • Faith is saying, “I believe God will rescue my marriage, but even if He does not, I will still praise Him.”

Faith is believing in God’s power, while trusting in His Will.  Faith is knowing that God can work a miracle, while trusting that He is far wiser than us, that His timing is perfect and mine is human. 

Faith is saying, “I believe God…but even if He does not, I will still praise Him.”

4 comments   |  tags: , , , , , , , | posted in Devotion, Uncategorized

April 23, 2012

God Never Forgets…No Matter What

By Jones

God makes promises…

  • You will be my people and I will be your God.
  • I will never leave you or forsake you.
  • I have plans for you, plans to give you hope and a future.

…and He never forgets them.

In Genesis, Abram and Lot part ways and God promises to give Lot the land of his choosing.  Fast forward a few hundred years and Moses leads the Israelites out of Egyptian slavery into the desert.  They wander for four decades and then the Lord tells them to turn north toward the Promised Land.

So they roll on, business as usual, along the Arabah Road, past the descendants of Esau, until they came to the desert road of Moab.  Then, the Lord speaks to Moses…

“Do not harass the Moabites or provoke them to war, for I will not give you any part of their land.  I have given Ar to the descendants of Lot as a possession.”     -Deuteronomy 2:9

God makes promises…and He never forgets them.  He promised land to Lot and He wasn’t going to forget, no matter what.  Hundreds of years later, Moses and the Israelites had no way of knowing that they were coming up on the descendants of Lot.  They would have never known that this land was given as a promise.  They would have rolled through, treating the Moabites like every other place they’d come to, but God knew.  God remembered.  And God is faithful.

God has called you by His Name and He has welcomed you into His Kingdom.  He has promised to be your God, to never leave you, to give you a future in His Will.  And He hasn’t forgotten that promise.

You may have forgotten it and you may have questioned it but God hasn’t.  No matter what has happened in your life, God is faithful to His Word.  No matter how much time has passed in your life, God is faithful to His Word.  No matter what choices you have made, God is faithful to His Word.

He has promised to provide the sacrifice to rescue you and bring you home.  He has been faithful on the cross and in the tomb and now He is being vigilant, waiting for you to remember the promise.

God makes promises…and He never forgets…no matter what. 

2 comments   |  tags: , , , , , , | posted in Devotion, Uncategorized

April 19, 2012

What Are You Willing To Say “No” To?

By Jones

At Soma, we believe that every single person is a minister.  A week ago, I wrote a post here sharing 6 core values that drive us.  But, underneath those 6 values, we believe that every single person who’s been Called by Jesus into a relationship and adopted into the Kingdom is a minister.  They have a role to play in the Kingdom and a function to fulfill in the body.

We are not building a culture of consumers, but rather a culture of disciplers.

If you’re going to be a part of the Soma culture, what is your ministry?

A tricky reality of ministry is good opportunity after good opportunity will pile up in front of you, all begging to be chosen and pursued by…you.  Every opportunity will be “perfect” for you, no one else could possibly fulfill it as well as you.  Every opportunity you don’t choose will result in an “end of the world” scenario for someone, somewhere.

So…  As you begin to pick up ministries, you discover two things… 

  1. Ministry is a blast, serving is fun and you’ve got unique gifts and talents that no one else has.
  2. Ministry can consume you, drain you of energy and leave you feeling dry and empty.

If you’re going to fully be a part of the Soma culture, you’re going to be a minister.  But we do not want you to feel abandoned, stressed and helpless in a sea of needs.

To be a minister, thriving in a joy-filled, Spirit-led environment, you have to learn how to say one little word…  “NO.”

There will be opportunities piling up all around you, especially as you grow in your gifts and people notice your talents.  Opportunities will flood in and you’ll have to decide what you’ll say “no” to.  That word, when used with wisdom, will set you up for success and years of joy as a minister in the body.

  • Maybe your love for children and talent in teaching them means you have to say “no” to singing with the worship band, even though you love to sing.
  • Maybe your gift for working with electronics behind-the-scenes of worship means you have to say “no” to coaching a basketball team, even though you love the sport.
  • Maybe your unique ability to connect with elderly shut-ins means you have to say “no” to working with the youth ministry, even though you love teens.

If you’re going to thrive as a minister in the body, you have to be prepared to say “no” to the things you’re not uniquely gifted to do, even if you really enjoy them.

So, what are you willing to say “no” to?

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April 18, 2012

“More Than Just A Guy Who Goes To Work And Goes Home”

By Jones

A while back, I had a friend say to me, “I want to be more than just a guy who goes to work and goes home.”

And I know exactly what he means…  There’s nothing inherently wrong with going to work and going home.  You’re making an honest living, you’re providing for your family and you’re being faithful to your call to be a husband and a father.

But, if we’re honest with ourselves, somewhere, deep down inside us, there’s a need for…something more.

We were created to love our families and provide for their needs, but we were also created to be a part of something so much bigger than that.  Ecclesiastes 3 says, “He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end.”

We were made to be a part of a story that launched in the Garden of Eden, wandered through the desert to the Promised Land, climbed the hill of Calvary, spread throughout the Roman Empire and culminates at the throne of God on the Day of Judgement.  It’s an awesome story and it’s OUR story. 

You’ve got a part in it and it’s more than just going to work and going home.  It’s passionately spreading the name of Jesus.  It’s bringing justice to a desperate culture.  It’s welcoming unloved and unwanted people.  It’s answering the Call to be Jesus.  You have been rescued from death so that you can rescue others, not so you can bask in your good fortune.

Are you living the Story you were made for?  Or are you going to work and going home?

Don’t settle for “good enough.”  Step up and claim your spot in the Story.

1 comment   |  tags: , , , , , | posted in Devotion, Uncategorized

April 17, 2012

Laughter Makes Everything Better

By Jones

When everything falls apart, it can be hard to believe that things will ever get better.

You try to look at the glass as “half full,” but if you’re completely honest, your glass isn’t even “half empty.”  Your glass is just broken…

  • When you lose your job…
  • When someone dies…
  • When you get sick…
  • When you’re completely stressed out…
  • When creditors just won’t stop calling…
  • When your kids pull away…
  • When your friend betrays you…
  • When your house is falling apart…
  • When your husband/wife leaves you…

We’re living in a broken world and nothing will change that.  I wish following Jesus was like pushing an “easy button” on life, but it’s not.  Bad things still happen to Christian people.

And when those “bad things” happen, there’s only one response you should consider…  LAUGH.

Laughter makes everything better.  It might not fix the problem, but it makes everything so much easier to face.

In life, people do what they know.  If they’ve always known anger and violence, that’s how they react to pressure.  If they’ve always known depression and pity, that’s how they react to pressure.  If they’ve always known hatred and obscenities, that’s how they react to pressure.

Bad things still happen to Christian people but followers of Jesus know something new.  We’re not conformed to the culture around us, but transformed in our minds and so we know something new to react with…  JOY.

James 1:2 says, “Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds…”

When everything falls apart, try something new…  Try laughing instead of reacting.  It’ll make everything more bearable.

Laugh at yourself, laugh at your memories, laugh with your kids, laugh with your spouse or even just laugh at the circumstance you found yourself in.  Let yourself experience joy and then let the Spirit guide you through the darkness.

Laughter makes everything better.

1 comment   |  tags: , , , , , , | posted in Devotion, Uncategorized

April 16, 2012

Dress For Where You’re Going…Not For Where You Are.

By Jones

Jack Welch, CEO of GE, said, “If you want to rise to the top, the first thing you must understand is the importance of getting out of the pile.”

Your environment influences everything about you.  Your attitude, your compassion, your patience, your temper, your love, your speech…  Everything hinges on what – and who – you’re surrounding yourself with.

If you’re always around people who are putting crud into your head, then crud is what will come out in your life.  If, however, you’re around people who are putting love and compassion into your head, then that’s likely what comes out in your relationships, job and family.

The HARDEST thing to do in life is orienting your life around people who are headed the same direction you are.  If the people surrounding you aren’t in the same place, headed the same direction, at the same speed as you are, you MUST take a long, hard look at why you’re letting them so close to your heart.

As long as you’re stuck right there in the middle of the pile, you’re just wallering in the muck and not doing yourself or anyone else any good.  You HAVE to get out of the pile so you can turn around, love the people in the pile and be an agent in their transformation.

Jesus spoke right to this with a parable in Matthew 22…

“The kingdom of heaven is like a king who prepared a wedding banquet for his son…

“But when the king came in to see the guests, he noticed a man there who was not wearing wedding clothes.  ‘Friend,’ he asked, ‘how did you get in here without wedding clothes?’  The man was speechless.

“Then the king told the attendants, ‘Tie him hand and foot, and throw him outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’

Somehow, some way, the man got into a party that he wasn’t dressed for.  He snuck in and was quickly discovered.  He was trying to fit in somewhere he didn’t belong and it didn’t last long.  He had been wallering in the muck of the pile, all the while pretending that he was above the crud.

What are you dressing for?  Are you dressed for the wedding?  Or are you dressed for the pile?

We live in a broken, desperate world, but we’re called to dress our hearts and minds for the wedding that is to come.  The HARDEST thing to do in life is remembering to surround us with people, experiences and opportunities that allow us to dress for where we’re going…not for where we are.

What are you dressing for?

2 comments   |  tags: , , , , , , | posted in Devotion, Uncategorized

April 14, 2012

Proud To Be A Part Of GCC!

By Jones

The past couple weeks have been like none I’ve ever experienced…

A week ago last Monday, I went in for a 4-5 hour back surgery that ended up lasting 10-11 hours.  After surgery, I “enjoyed” a three night stay in the hospital, during which I was tortured mercilessly.  (well, not maybe not torture, but it certainly wasn’t pleasant)  I was able to come home on Thursday of last week and I haven’t left my house since.

Recovery has been a rather trying experience for me, as I’m used to living a fast-paced life and seldom have even 1 day to just sit around my house.  Suddenly, I’m strapped in a back brace, hobbling around at a snail’s pace and counting down the clock till I can take my next pain pill.

It’s been somewhat…frustrating…to say the least.  I sense that it would be easy for me to slip into bitterness or depression or just plain grouchiness, but I’ve committed myself to seeing the positives that my situation offers me.

Earlier this week, I wrote here about some of those blessings, but I’ve been convicted again and again about the incredible support our community has shown my family.  I’ve been humbled by the number of callers, visitors, cards, meals and prayers that have been given on my behalf.  We’ve been served in some pretty cool ways and I’m eternally grateful to you all.

Thank you all so much…  I’m so incredibly proud to be a part of GCC!

2 comments   |  tags: , , , , | posted in Uncategorized

April 13, 2012

Soma: DNA Of The Body

By Jones

This weekend is the 14th gathering for Soma!  The first 13 have been an awesome experience in “the body” and I’m pumped to see where God is leading us over the next 13 weeks.  I’ve learned and planned enough to be absolutely confident of two things:  It will be unexpected and it will be led by the Spirit.  If God has reinforced anything in my mind over the past 13 weeks, it’s been this…  Plans are made to be changed and the Holy Spirit is a MUCH better leader than I am!

As we head into this next season as Soma, I want to publicly share the DNA that has been directing who we are.  Remember, Soma means “the body” in Greek and just like a physical body, it needs a set of core DNA to survive and thrive in the way it was created to be.  So, here’s the 6 DNA of Soma…

1. We are fine dining, not a cheap buffet. 

  • Our gatherings should be done with the utmost planning, quality and excellence.
  • The church should be the most creative place on the planet.

2. We are laser-focused. 

  • Our #1 goal is to reproduce disciples – not merely attenders – who love God with all they have.
  • Our #2 goal is to be a beacon of light and justice in a broken world. 
  • ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’  This is the first and greatest commandment.  And the second is like it:  ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’  (Mt 22)

3. We are known for what we are FOR. 

  • We should be known for what we are FOR…not what we are AGAINST.
  • Paul walked into the Areopagus in Athens, in the middle of a corrupt, idol-worshiping culture and preached what he was FOR – Jesus – instead of condemning what he was AGAINST.  (Acts 17)

4. We are all about the numbers. 

  • Every number has a name and every name desperately needs God.
  • Growing numbers don’t increase our prestige, they increase God’s glory in His Kingdom.  We count the numbers so we can celebrate the growth of the Kingdom!

5. We are a generation of honor. 

  • We freely and humbly give honor to those above us, beside us and under us.
  • We will NOT attack other churches, leaders or ministries.

6. We are not done. 

  • There are ways of “doing” church that no one has thought of yet.
  • Culture is still changing…and, therefore, our methods are too.

4 comments   |  tags: , , , , , | posted in Ministry, Uncategorized

April 12, 2012

Why I Do Student Ministry…

By Jones

I don’t do student ministry for the fun and games.  I don’t do it for all the late nights and teenage drama.  I don’t do it for all the trips and traveling.  I don’t even do it for the pizza.  :)

I do student ministry because of the future.

Students are the church of today but they’re the leaders of tomorrow.  By doing student ministry, I get to shepherd hearts for today and mold leaders for tomorrow.  Reproduction is vision for the future and student ministry is daily reproducing myself in the leaders of tomorrow.

When Paul invited Timothy along with him, that’s exactly what he was doing.  While Paul was preaching sermons, planting churches and shepherding hearts around the world, he was molding Timothy to lead tomorrow.

The greatest joy of my student ministry life is watching students move from being “kids” to being “partners.”  Every Sunday morning at Soma, I get to be led in worship by former students and it’s one of the sweetest experiences of my life.  Every Sunday night at Youth Group, I get to serve alongside some former students who are now molding the next generation.  Occasionally, I get phone calls and messages from former students who have moved away and now they’re leading in worship, children and student ministry and hearing their stories swells my heart with pride.

I love students and I enjoy hanging out with them.  But that’s not why I do student ministry.

I do student ministry because I believe in the potential of their future and it’s the most worthwhile investment I can imagine making.

Who’s future are you investing in?

4 comments   |  tags: , , , , , | posted in Devotion, Ministry, Personal

April 11, 2012

When Everything Seems Broken…

By Jones

When everything seems broken, it’s hard to see past the pain…

  • It’s easy to believe you’ve just traded one kind of pain for a different one.
  • It’s easy to bring your focus inward until the edges of your pain become the edges of your horizon.
  • It’s easy to let depression and self-pity rule today and dictate tomorrow.

When everything seems broken, it’s hard to see past the pain…  But GOD says…

When everything seems broken, it’s hard to see past the pain…  But that’s exactly where God has promised His comfort, His joy, His harvest and His beauty.

Live in the promise that’s coming to lift you up.  Not in the problem that’s working to destroy you.

4 comments   |  tags: , , , , , , , , | posted in Devotion, Uncategorized

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