Earthquakes are pretty common experiences in Alaska, but have you ever paused to consider why some quakes are so much more devastating than others?  The Great San Francisco Earthquake was so devastating because about 1/3 of the city was built over an old lake bed that had been filled with debris. As a result, the homes that were built on that lake bed had the illusion that they had a good foundation. But unseen, 60 feet below, was a water saturated subsoil that once shaken would multiply the effect of an earthquake by 10 times. Everything that once stood on that filled-in lake bed collapsed, like building blocks on jello.

That is the danger of building a life on a lie.  Everything else, no matter how well constructed, how true or how strong will collapse if the first things are not true.

What we believe about God is foundational to our entire belief system.  If we have wrong thinking about God we will have wrong thinking about everything else.

What we believe about God determines how we live.

This past Sunday we looked at lies people believe about God and how those lies shape how we think and how we live.  The World wants you to believe that there are MANY ways to God; Jesus said there is ONLY One (John 14:6).  The World wants you to believe that the God of the Old Testament has “changed” and He is now more tolerant of sin and more focused on grace and mercy.  God said, “I am the Lord, I do not change.” (Malachi 3:6).  The World wants you to believe that “a loving God would not send people to Hell.”  Scripture says that God provided to EVERYONE the opportunity to choose to go to Heaven by accepting the free gift of salvation through Jesus Christ (John 3:16) and that God desires that NONE perish (2 Peter 3:9).  Since the Serpent first deceived Eve in the Garden, Satan has been practicing his lying.  He specializes in slandering God by trying to make us believe that God really isn’t all that good; that He doesn’t have our best interests at heart.  The truth is that God is Good – All the time (Psalms 119:68).

What we must understand and accept is that TRUTH IS EXCLUSIVE!  Either you believe the Bible or you don’t.  Each one of us has to make a personal decision: upon what foundation am I going to build my life?  The Firm foundation of the Exclusive truth of Scripture or the flawed foundation of the lies of Satan and the World.  Choose wisely – the consequences are eternal.

-Pastor Dave Jones

This week we started a new study titled, “Lies We Buy.”  The purpose of this series is to gain understanding about the Psychology of  lies (why we believe them) and the impact which believing lies has on our lives.  As Solomon stated, “There is nothing new under the sun.”  Man (and woman) has bought into lies since the Fall recorded in Genesis 3.  Eve initially defended God against the Serpent’s accusations, but she quickly lost traction and fell prey to his deceptive speech and his appeal to her human pride (to be “like God”).  What caused Eve to buy into Satan’s lies?  The same thing that causes us to do it today.  We are enamored with the idea of being “our own god.”  We want to be the one in charge of deciding good and evil, right and wrong, moral and immoral.  We want to believe that there will be no  negative consequences to disobeying God’s truth. 

Eve fell victim to one of  Satan’s most powerful weapons – casting doubt in our minds.  Satan doesn’t usually practice a frontal assault kind of warfare – his preferred tactic is subtle, sneaky, and sly manipulation.  He first caused Eve to doubt what God actually said then to doubt God’s motive for saying it. This led to Eve’s downfall as Satan struck  his knock-out punch – an appeal to  Eve’s desire to be her own god (deciding good and evil).  Generations later, Satan hasn’t changed his spots.  He still works much of  his destructive tactics through subtle manipulation of the truth and an appeal to the  human desire for pride.  As we continue in this study of the perils of believing lies, I challenge you to prepare to defend yourself by spending more time with the One True God.  Read your Bible every day, pray without ceasing, come to Worship service and  Bible study every week so you will be ready to defend the truth of the Gospel.  Satan knows too well that if you don’t stand for something, you’ll fall for anything.  Join the ranks of the overcomers – Jesus has already won the war for us.

-Pastor Dave Jones

This is a big election year in our country.  Politicians are making speeches and giving interviews to convince the public that they are the best candidate for elected office.  Many promises are made and statements about positions on critical issues are affirmed…but, how do we KNOW if what the candidate said was true or if he/she was lying?  Recognizing a lie is a tricky thing if you don’t know what it  looks like.  Webster’s dictionary defines truth as: Conformity to fact or reality; exact accordance with that which is, or has been, or shall be.  This seems pretty straightforward – the problem is that man has decided that he can create his own reality so the truth is ultimately whatever man believes to be so.  That which supports his lifestyle, beliefs, and values.  In short, the truth has become whatever you want it to be!  This makes life very comfortable for us since we can now justify our morals, values and behaviors by simply creating our own reality and conforming to whatever we have said is good, true, and right.  The obvious problem with this philosophy is that every person has the  ability to create their own reality and thus there is no set standard for right and wrong, good and bad, truth and lies.

Given this untenable position of multiple realities, how can one recognize a lie?  The  only solution to this problem is that there must be a universal standard for truth, morality,  and  righteousness.  Luckily, God not only provided that standard in His 66 chapter love letter to us, He IS that standard for all eternity.  God is truth and everything which is contrary to His nature or His Word is a lie.  When U.S. Treasury agents are trained to identify counterfeit money, they do so by studying only REAL currency to memorize what the truth looks like.  After they have become experts in recognizing truth, it is easy to spot a lie.  Good counterfeiters make their false currency look as much like the truth as they can, but there is always some flaw which is recognizable to the truth-trained eye.  As children of God, we need to immerse ourselves in the truth of His being and His Word and dedicate our lives to conforming to the FACT that God’s Word is the only reality in this world.
Learn to recognize a lie by studying The Truth.  As Jesus said, “If you hold to My teaching, you are really My disciples.  Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” (John 8:31-32)

Pray for discernment in your life and for the needs of others.

-Pastor Dave Jones

Yesterday I spoke about a topic which makes most people feel uncomfortable and causes everyone to ponder their own view of the world – the concept of absolute truth.  Our society has, for decades, morphed toward a more comfortable truth which doesn’t offend anyone and allows us to feel good about our values and actions.  While there is merit in  not unnecessarily offending people and wanting to maintain our self-esteem, the issue is that we are doing so at the expense of the truth.  Truth has become a subjective entity which can be conformed to fit our lifestyle and justify our beliefs.  “Moral Relativism” (the philosophy that morality is subjective and not standardized nor inclusive for everyone) has become the hallmark of our society.  This thinking allows each person  to determine, according to their own personal beliefs and values, what constitutes moral or  immoral actions.  According to Moral Relativism, child pornography, abortion, infidelity, homosexuality, lying, cheating, and a host  of other actions are not “wrong,” they are simply “choices” like deciding which shoes to wear today.  Moral Relativism does not allow anyone to be “judged” for their actions because there is no set standard for right or wrong.  Everyone is allowed the privilege of determining their  own reality and living their lives according to their own moral code.  

It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to see the glaring flaw in  this concept – if everyone can  determine their  own code of conduct, how can we live in a peaceful and organized society?  If no one can be “wrong,” how can we have laws and rules to govern conduct?  This indefensible philosophy has developed under the banner of “tolerance, unity, and political correctness.”  It is  causing increasing immorality and dissension in our society as people become frustrated with each other because there is no consensus as to what values and actions should be deemed acceptable.  Your opinion about right and  wrong is just as valid as mine so how do we settle disputes? One example of this problem is the recent demonstrations and violence against law enforcement officers.  Under the guise of racism, police officers are being targeted for extermination.  Is this really caused by racism?  Ask the family of the Black Baton Rouge Police Officer who was gunned down in an ambush last week.  

This protest against police officers is not a matter of racism, but rather a matter of anarchy as frustrated citizens lash out against anything which they feel impinges on  their “rights.”  

Our society is spiraling into a death spin because we have forgotten one thing – We are not in charge, God is.  He knows our weaknesses and faults and He knows we need rules and order to exist peacefully.  He created us, He gave us His commandments, He gave us His Word as the absolute truth on which we can base our lives and, most importantly, He gave us His Son to provide the way for us to live in eternal peace.  Do not be deceived by the opinions of man – there is only one truth which is universal to all mankind for all time.  That truth is Jesus and His Holy Scriptures.  There are two passages of Scripture which I would like you to ponder:

John 8:31-32,  [Jesus speaking]  If you hold to My teaching, you are really My disciples.  Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.

John 14:6,  [Jesus speaking]  I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.

Do you know The Truth?  Have you been set free?  Are you absolutely sure?

-Pastor Dave Jones

In the aftermath of last week’s mass shooting of Dallas Police officers followed by more violent protests in Minnesota, a Facebook posting showed a local black man holding a sign which read “All Lives Matter, Support APD.”  I do not know this man and have no idea of his faith, but I admire his courage and applaud his efforts to be a peacemaker.  As Satan continues his attack against God’s people by fanning the flames of bigotry, racism, and hatred in our Country, we, as Christians, have an obligation to just say NO to discrimination and to fight back with the most powerful weapon ever created – Love.  

Scripture tells us that God does not favor any one race or ethnicity.  Genesis 1:26 records God as saying, “Let us make man in our own image, in our own likeness, and  let them rule over the fish of the sea and the  birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.”  The Hebrew word used for “man” here is “adam” which is literally translated as “Man” or “Mankind” and is used as an all-encompassing term for human beings.  For those of you who may have not given it much thought, Adam, the original man, was not a Caucasian Anglo-Saxon Protestant…he wasn’t even an American!!  🙂

God’s original plan was for all mankind to have eternal life.  There was no design for any one particular race or ethnicity to be superior to another.  God, in His Sovereign Grace, chose Abraham to be the Father of the nation of Israel, a people God would use to bless all nations of the earth (c.f., Gen. 12:1-3).  Jesus repeats the admonition to equality among peoples when He instructs His disciples to “go and make disciples of all nations…” in Matthew 28:19.  

 Scripture is replete with God’s emphasis on His love for the whole world (see John 3:16).  As Christ-followers we must do everything within our power to show His love and His saving power to a dark and lost world.  ALL lives matter to God and we need to be out there proclaiming His message and living out His love.  Let’s start with prayer.

-Pastor Dave Jones

As we celebrate America’s 240^th Birthday this week, we should be ever-mindful of the abundant blessings which God has so graciously provided us.  Although our country has many problems and, like Israel, has wandered far from God, we are still blessed with one of the world’s highest standards of living and enjoy freedoms unknown to most of the world.  It is important that we remember that God alone is the source of our blessings and praise Him with grateful hearts for all His goodness.  Please continue to pray for our country, our elected leaders, our service members, and, most importantly, revival for our nation.

-Pastor Dave Jones

Yesterday we celebrated Memorial Day – a day set aside to remember our fallen veterans who made the ultimate sacrifice defending our Country and our way of life.  As I said from the pulpit Sunday, many of us have known this loss personally as we have experienced grieving over the loss of a personal friend or relative in war. Sadly, most people think of Memorial Day as the “beginning of Summer” rather than as a day of solemn remembrance and gratitude.  This speaks to the fact that, for better or worse, we have short memories about the really important issues in life.  We tend to live in the moment and pay little attention to the consequences of our actions or what they bode for our future.

This is all too true when it comes to the biggest decision you will ever make – whether or not you will become a follower of Christ.  The world tells us to “grab the gusto,” “eat, drink, and be Merry,” and “live and let live.”  What the world does not encourage us to do is to remember the true source of our liberty (Jesus) and give Him the honor and respect He deserves.  You see, if we were to take the time to memorialize Jesus and truly consider what He has done for us, we would be faced with the unpleasant dilemma of acknowledging Him as our Lord and Savior or living the way the world wants us to live.  No, the world wants us to believe it is much safer to just not think about Jesus and focus on the pleasures of the day.  This “safe” approach avoids confrontations with others and lets everyone “get along.”  This “safe” approach is based on “relative truth” which the world likes to promote as being peaceful and harmonious.  The problem is that the real definition of “relative truth” is a “lie.”  There is only one truth and it is absolute and it comes from the One Sovereign God.  

As we continue to study “wisdom living,” I encourage you to practice remembering where you came from, where you are, where you are headed, and most importantly, the One who will be there through it all and forevermore.

-Pastor Dave Jones

Human Beings make thousands of decisions every day.  Some of these decisions, like the color of the shirt we put on, seem trivial while others, like choosing a vocation, are life-altering.  Some of our choices work out well for us and others bring us pain, unhappiness, and trouble.  So, how do we develop the skill of making good choices which will bring us lives filled with joy and satisfaction?  God, in His infinite wisdom, tells us the answer to this question in Proverbs 3:5-6 : “Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek His will in all you do, and He will show you which path to take.”

The secret to making good choices in our lives is boiled down to three actions on our part:

1. Trust in the Lord with all your heart.  “Trust” means we have to rely on God.  We must put our full confidence in the fact that He will never fail us and that He will always keep His promises.
2. Do not depend on your own understanding.  Many of us are inclined to think too highly of our own opinions.  When faced with a life-altering choice we say, “God would never ask me to do that!”  God just may ask us to do things that are not within our understanding or comfort zone. But there is always purpose to His requests.
3. Seek His will in all you do.  Do we seek His will in all we do? Do we even consider it? Do we seek His will in how we can serve others? Do we seek His will about our finances?  Luke 3:11 reads “If you have two shirts, give one to the poor. If you have food, share it with those who are hungry.” It doesn’t say if your shirt is worn out, give it away. It doesn’t say give people your scraps. This is God’s will. Do you ever consider it?

The good news for us is that once we have truly taken these three actions, God will show us which decisions to make, “…and He will show you which path to take.”

When The Creator and Ruler of the Universe offers us His personal guarantee of a successful, joy-filled life, wouldn’t we be foolish to reject His offer?  As Jesus said, “Seek first His Kingdom and His righteousness…”

If you want to make good choices in your life, start by putting God first and trusting Him to care for you.

-Pastor Dave Jones

It is safe to say that most of us have never seriously thought of ourselves as slaves.  After all, we are Americans and live in the “land of the free and the home of the brave.”  Furthermore, our narcissist society permeates us with the belief that life is “all about me.”  We are taught from an early age that “success” is achieved by accumulating stuff and indulging our every whim.  Our society values competition and praises “winners” who become rich and powerful.  When we consider who is being held up as popular role models, it would seem that morality is the sworn enemy of  popularity.  In this sea of self-glorification, it is easy to understand why we do not take kindly to the truth that we are really slaves.

Many people (including Christians) will argue against this assertion claiming (rightfully) that we have  “freewill.”  And since we have freewill, we are not slaves.  We do, indeed, possess freewill; however the problem is that our freewill is not all-powerful and that, while we are able to make certain choices, those choices are limited by circumstances beyond our control and EVERY choice we make (or don’t make) comes with a natural consequence.  For example, you can choose to quit  your job and earn no income – you  have freewill to make that choice.  However, since you don’t control the freewill of other people, the natural consequence of your action is  that you  will soon be poor, homeless, and hungry.  If no one has pity on  you, you will become  completely destitute and  die.  The  “choice” you made with your freewill has placed you at the mercy of  others.  In other words, you have become their “slave” in that you must comply with whatever directives they demand of you in order to obtain the resources you need to remain alive.  

While we may not like the label “slave,” the fact of the matter is that we are all slaves to something or  someone.  Being a “slave” simply means that we are admitting that we are not in complete control of our lives and our destiny – that EVERY ONE of us has a “Master” of some sort.  This is a very difficult admission as it hits at the core of our prideful human nature.  However, there is  good news for  us – we can choose our Master.  The apostle Paul tells us in Romans 6 that the work of Jesus Christ has forever broken the power of sin to be our master.  Without placing our  faith and trust in Jesus, we are slaves to sin and destined to suffer the terrible consequences of our selfish actions.  For those of us who do accept and follow Jesus, a new Master is available in Christ our King.  As we choose to obey the Lordship of Jesus Christ in our lives, we will reap the benefits of His protection, grace, mercy, and eternal life.

As we continue our  studies in Proverbs and contemplate living lives of wisdom, I encourage you to consider the benefits of slavery and praise God Almighty that you are a servant of The King!

-Pastor Dave Jones

Human beings are born with an innate desire to communicate our feelings and have our needs met.  As babies, we cry to communicate our need for  food, affection, comfort, and relief of pain.  As we learn “toddler talk,” words (and then, frequently, screams) are used to express those same needs.  While our communications skills may become more refined as we mature, the need to communicate our feelings never leaves us.  That fact is clearly evidenced by the voluminous number of “talk shows,” counselors, therapists, and plethora of social media which thrive in our culture.  We seem incapable of  keeping our feelings to ourselves so we freely share them with friends, relatives, co-workers and total strangers in some odd hope that someone will help us with our problems.  The reason I call this an “odd” hope is that, for someone to help us, they must have both the ability and desire to do so.  While it is true that, on occasion, someone to whom we cry out may be able and willing to meet some of our needs temporarily, it is equally true that NO human being is capable (or willing) to fully meet our needs.  

Simple logic would then tell us that placing our hope in the hands of other people (who are just as incapable of meeting their own needs as we are) is really quite a foolish endeavor.  If you were physically ill, would you seek out the help of a plumber?  If your car would not run, would you call your piano teacher for assistance?  Of course not!  Yet, we continually pour out our hearts’ greatest desires and most passionate needs to a variety of sources which CANNOT possibly relieve our burdens.  Given an objective and honest look, it is clear to see that this practice is sheer folly.  The book of Proverbs reminds us that there will be temptations, trials, and problems in  our lives, and that we have the freewill to choose how we react to them.  It really boils down to one of two choices.  We can follow God’s ABSOULUTE TRUTH laid out in the practical life guidance of Proverbs and live in  the joy of wisdom, OR we can listen to the World’s advice and fall prey to the Great Deceiver resulting in empty, meaningless lives leading only to eternal suffering.

When faced with this  choice, doesn’t it make sense for us to exercise our supreme privilege to Speak to The ONE who can (and wants to) bring peace and  joy to our lives?  Choose wisely and petition the God of the Universe with all your concerns and decisions.  HE is the ONLY ONE who both CAN and WILL help you.

-Pastor Dave Jones