I’ve put a lot of thought into this idea

Recently, since I’ve found a new job, I’ve had the opportunity to share the Gospel a LOT! This is awesome! I never expected to be able to talk about Jesus and the Scriptures so much in my new workplace. What makes this even more interesting is that I had determined to not just bring up the topic of Jesus right away to new people I haven’t met. It turns out, though, that they are the ones who brought it up to me.

This seems very suspicious.

I wonder if God is doing this. I mean, come on… I resolve not to saturate my co-workers with Jesus, and they end up being the ones who ask me about it—all the time! I have no idea why these people would think I would have some kind of answer or insight to spiritual things, but for some reason they ask me questions. Most of them are not Christian and are opposed to the Bible, and one of them is actually a word-of-faith guy. All of them really need a better understanding of Jesus and the message of the Bible. I hope God does something through my brokenness to bring about change and influence in their lives.

But today has topped out all other days.

I got to work with a guy all day long in the Dayton area. On our way out this morning (around 7:30 PM) he began asking me questions about life, God, the Bible, and my thoughts on them. I was kind of taken back because he had so many questions. His first being, “So, I understand you want to buy churches. Are you in church real estate?” I almost fell over in my seat from laughter. This was great. “Church real estate.” Ha! I still laugh at it.

I guess what happened is that through a conversation I had with some other guy, I was asked why I was going to school, and I most likely answered that I would like to plant churches. Obviously, the dude misunderstood. Believe me, if you’re getting into ministry for the money, you’re in the wrong field.

Then came the tough questions.

From that point on my new friend asked me just about everything he could think about regarding life, aliens, the Bible, Jesus, 2012, the human soul, the difference in the Old Testament and the New Testament, what kind of shape is God, and on and on it went. I was a bit overwhelmed, but I loved it! God’s grace was upon me because I was able to win him over as a friend, while making clear and distinct statements about the exclusivity of Jesus and my faith in Him. Oh, he disagreed with almost EVERYTHING I believe in, but he said that he really enjoyed talking to me about it, and felt like I respected what he believed.

Shew, I was really wondering how that was going to go. And I was really concerned that I would totally lose credibility with him and the chance to be his friend. One thing he asked me was to do was tell him how something in the New Testament related with the Old Testament. So, I thought that if this was my only chance, I was going to share the Gospel. So I used the text in Matthew 5:17: “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.” Then I talked about how the Old Testament was climaxing and anticipating this moment in history, and how Jesus did just that—He fulfilled the law. Then the part I was concerned would turn him away is the part where Jesus calls the “good” people to repent, because this guy plainly and confidently told me that he thinks because of his own goodness he will be in a good place when he dies.

So, I take a deep breath, and tell the truth.

I told him that Jesus calls ALL people to repent and follow him, and that there is no goodness we can do of ourselves that will grant us good standing with God. This is why Jesus calls the Pharisees sons of the Devil, because they were teaching that men could earn salvation by works—and I told him that too. I was really concerned I’d loose him, but I figured I’ll let God have responsibility for that. It turns out that I didn’t loose him, and he even opened up MORE than before! Astonishing!

All this to say one thing, really.

It’s amazing what will happen when we let the Word of God do what it is supposed to do. We are actually engaging in spiritual warfare whenever we preach, or witness to others about Jesus Christ. Is talking with someone in this manner preaching? I really don’t know, and there’s a lot of debate as to whether or not it is considered preaching. What ever the verdict on that is, it doesn’t matter in this situation, because the Word of God was being exposed and I saw a hard heart begin to soften. This did not happen by being easy with Scripture, or not telling the whole truth for the sake of making believing in Jesus easy, or to avoid being rejected and laughed at. No. It happened by letting the Word of God do what it does, everything else is in God’s hands. He’s sovereign, and He will soften hearts as He makes them ready.

I thank God for being used and praise Him for His amazing love and grace.

Do you have some stories to tell? Please do. I would love to hear!

—Jonathan
Photo by fourbyfourblazer

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And hurry up, will ya!

I just received this magazine in the mail yesterday. I have no idea how these people got my address. I have been to no Church of God, and have not signed up for any of their literature. I simply checked the mail, and one of the first things I saw was this magazine with the huge wording: “Good News: Bringing up a Moral Child.”

Sometimes I think non-Christians have it more right than Christians do

To be honest, this magazine offended me. Almost everything about it offended me. Don’t get me wrong, I believe in objective morality, and I will affirm the need for moral behavior, but come on folks, let’s not get that confused with the gospel! YOU DIDN’T GET YOUR TICKET OUT OF HELL BECAUSE OF YOUR MORAL GOODNESS!

Or maybe I’m just being a Pharisee to the Pharisees

Don’t get me wrong. I have my fare share of pharisaical moments. Heck, even to this day I am, at times, pharisaical. I know this, that’s why I know I need Jesus. But listen, the Gospel goes WAY further than being a MORAL person. Why not just become a Buddhist? Shoot, I could even create myself a god that more suits my own selfish nature!

Listen. I understand the whole idea of getting the truth out. Believe me. I am the type of person who finds himself in debates about truth. I love truth. Actually, my love for truth sometimes gets in the way of my love for compassion. It doesn’t take much energy for me to call Benny Hinn a heretic. But here’s my point. This happy-go-lucky Christian family—smiles and all—projecting the gospel to be something that if you’ll just learn how to be moral, you’ll have a happy life.

But Jesus didn’t come to make you happy

That’s right. Jesus’ purpose supersedes our desire for perfect happy lives. As a matter of fact, if you want to follow Jesus, you’re going to carry a cross. Try on that happy suite. This doesn’t mean we cannot have joy. It just means that sacrifice is inevitable—an no one is happy about sacrifice. I enjoyed drugs; I enjoyed premarital sex; I enjoyed breaking the law; I enjoyed stealing; I enjoyed damage and destruction; but this is before I knew Christ. I had to give all that up.

Did that make me a “good” person? Did my moral shift gain me repute with God? No! As a matter of fact, it was a little while after I made a moral shift did I turn to Jesus.

But this is not about me

What’s the point of the Gospel message if we sustain it through our moral goodness?

There is none.

I was recently involved in a discussion via email.

Ultimately, it was over the topic of the purpose of the Gospel, the New Covenant. The way it lead into a conversation-debate was because the other party asserted that refraining from pork was an absolute necessity for honoring, thus maintaining, the New Covenant. The outcome of this perspective is seriously disturbing—not because I simply don’t like it, but because it stands in stark contrast to the message and promise of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. What is the outcome—according to this other party—for eating pork unrepentantly?

You go to hell

And I am not just talking about Sheol, or the “common grave.” I am talking about the Lake of Fire. That’s right, eternal separation from the Father.

I received an email with a document about this teaching, and I responded to all who the document was forwarded to. Thus, my contact with the document’s originator began. I was encouraged to contact this person personally, so I did. The emails proceeding were engaging, but I was shocked to see the kind of connections this person was making to support his assertion to honor the Mosaic Law for sustaining salvation. He then asked me the question: “A Covenant is a contract between two parties. Tell me, who is this contract of the New Covenant between.”

Obviously, he was trying to set me up

So, I tried to be as much like Jesus . . . and respond with a question to him! My question was: “I will answer your question if you first tell me what the purpose of the New Covenant is.” I never got a clear answer, instead, it was a lengthly article. Nonetheless, I honored my part of the deal and told him who I believe this “contract” was between. It follows:

“It would seem as though the contract of the new Covenant is between YHWH and man—being that man is the sufficient recipient. History, however, proves that a God-man contract cannot be accomplished due to the depravity of the human heart (Jer. 17:9; Rom. 10:23). Therefore, the contract, as it were, of the new Covenant is bound in YHWH Himself (Eze. 36, esp. 22-28; Rom. 9:16), with Jesus as the fulfiller (Matt. 5:17-18) AND sustainer (Hosea provides a good type), in spite of man’s unfaithfulness and self-righteousness (Isa. 64:6; Rom. 7:18; Rom. 4:1-8; Rom. 9:11-13, 31-33).”

In response to this he called the Church a prostitute daughter of the Great Harlot

This ended my conversation. I immediately withdrew, as it was very disturbing for me to hear someone who says they love the Father and the Son to call the Church of Christ a prostitute of the Harlot.

If you came in my church and told me that, I would kick you out

I post this because I want people to know how important it is to identify heresy (see also this link)—false teaching. The Church of Jesus—Yeshua ha Masheach (Jesus the Messiah)—is the vehicle by which the Kingdom of God will advance on earth, and I intend to help it advance.

Doctrine is important. There are some we need not to divide over, then there are others. One of my life prayers has been from Philippines 1:9-11,

“And it is my prayer that your love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment, so that you may approve what is excellent, and so be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.”

Isn’t this a major deal of our faith—discernment? I think this heresy that I had encountered bothered me so much because I desire to see people grow and mature in their faith.

I will end with this thought: “This Jesus is the stone that was rejected by you, the builders, which has become the cornerstone. And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:10-12)—not MY own name, not YOUR name, NOT THE NAME OF WORKS, but the name of JESUS.

Hold fast to it, it is mighty to save.



—Jonathan



Photo by Julishannon

So, I met with a Pastor
This morning, at a whopping 8:30 am, I met with a pastor who has been pastoring for over 30 years. He has pastored several churches and has been in many places. His first church pastoring experience was at the age of 29 years old. We talked for a while about what it takes to pastor and what preaching is all about.

Why Preach?
The conversation started out with him asking me how I prepare my sermons. A bit odd, I thought, but I shared. He then shared with me how he prepares his sermons. That was neat. He shared with me an effective way to get meaning out of text and how to apply it to people’s life. It felt very kind and loving and encouraging.

After that, he asked the question, “Why Preach?” At first, I think, “I’m being tested.” Then, I figured I should answer, so I did by saying “Preaching is one of the main ways we are to be sanctified and to evangelize.” To this he asked “what do you mean sanctified?” I said, “The gospel that saves you is the gospel that sanctifies you, so the preaching of it is a way in which the church is sanctified by the encouraging, equipping, and challenging them into a deeper relationship with Jesus Christ.” To this he mentioned a few other things, while affirming what I said.

He mentioned that we must make it applicable to the people in the church so that it is relevant to their life. Also, he encouraged me to have a picture formulated of what kind of people I want the church to be. By having this mental picture, I will know more of how I want to deliver my sermons and move my people from one stage to the next.

I liked that, because he mentioned that preaching is in some ways a part of discipleship, to which I agree. While it is not discipleship in its most adequate form, it is an aspect of discipleship in a way that it encourages people to move in a direction of growth in Christ and gives them tools to get there.

The meeting ended well and we have scheduled another one for next week where I will probe him of his pastoring experiences. As for now, I have been left with challenges to schedule my life revolving around the following concerns:

- Prayer
- Bible reading
- Family time
- Serving in the church
- Serving the people outside church
- Witnessing for Christ

- Jonathan J.

Arminian Today did it, why can’t I?

Below is a sermon I preached this past weekend. It’s on the topic: Jesus is Unfair.

Many times we look at the world and see unfairness happening all over the place. We then equate this unfairness with the person of God, because if God was good and fair, he wouldn’t let these type of things happen to good people – so we tend o think. In this message, I tackle 3 myths of fairness and touch on the issue of salvation. How can we change our perspective to look beyond what we perceive as fair and unfair?

Enjoy your listen. Be blessed.

—Jonathan J.

This Video seems to never get old.

Below is a sermon
Given by Marc Driscoll at Mars Hill Church. He speaks about how to persevere through trials. A powerful and straight forward message. I promise you will not get some self-help message and a three step process on how to make your life better – or to become a better you (umm). Good stuff.

For those of you who have no way of listening, sorry. I could not find a transcript to direct you to. However, if you follow the link on the video player, there are options to download the study guide. Do it!

Be a little patient to sit through a few minutes of announcements. Be edified!