You have probably heard the story floating around the emails about the professor who challenged his student’s with what’s really important in life. In case you haven’t, humor me for a minute. Story, whether true or not I’m not sure, has a strong dose of truth.
The professor came to class with a large jar filled with large rocks. He simply asked the class “Is the jar full?” Someone responded, “Sure.” He then proceeded to pour a jar of small pebbles into the jar, shaking them into the crevices between the rocks. He then asked, “Is it full now?” A little less confident, but still a positive response. The professor then poured a small jar of sand into the mix, shaking them into the last available spaces. He again asked, “Is it full?” This time the class enthusiastically said, “Sure, no more room left!” He simply walked to a faucet & poured water into the last remaining miniscule air pockets. “Now,” he said, “you can be sure it’s full.”
Now follow me here, as the story goes, the professor was trying to prove a point more about our lives than physical science. The large stones represent things most important in life, the rest in order of importance.
Jesus told His followers on a hillside a couple of thousand years again, somewhat the same message. He confronted a simple group of people who spent a good deal of time trying to address the basic needs of life. They were concerned about their leaders, their economy, the religious system, whatever dreams they were chasing, etc. They may have been wearing tunics & sandals but deep down much like people today. He said: “Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and He will give you everything you need.” Matthew 6:33 NLT
So, the obvious meaning is keeping the things important first. The things God considers important first, His Kingdom. The challenge is: what are the large stones? What are the most important things? We have a saying in religious circles, “Keep the main thing, the main thing.” The question I struggle with, and the question I leave you to wrestle with is, “What are the large stones in your life?” What’s really important to you, but more importantly what’s important to God? I suppose we can’t wait for a highly creative professor to spell it out for us. The text book was handed out long ago, God’s word. So, the only way we can expect to get the order of the stones right is following the handbook.
www.myspace.com/davejacksonnewport.
Dave Jackson on facebook
ASUN website www.bcmasunewport.org
Dave Jackson-Campus Minister djackson@absc.org
Cell: 870-217-9376 Dave’s Desk - http://bcmasunewport.blogspot.com
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
I'm Good
My son & I were rolling laughing at a commercial by Pepsi Max. Here’s the link to Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qUZaSf7T7ig
Of course, if you’re ADHD & won’t take the time to look it up, the premise is this: guys are involved in ‘guy stuff’ & someone does something really stupid & whacks someone else. The whackee grimaces & says, “I’m good!” So funny ‘cause it’s TRUE. Guys pretty much try to ‘cowboy up’ anytime & not admit we’ve got any problems. After all, no one wants to hear a ‘whiner,’ right? We may get smacked in the head with a bowling ball (or a brick in my case), shocked with a 220 power-line (don’t get any ideas lineman school!), or popped with a board, but we’ll hobble away & put on a good face. I’ve seen it MANY times as I grew up around a construction job site. Guys trying to ‘shake it off’ while they had a nail from a nail gun shot through their thumb!
OK, so there’s something to be said for not bawling about every little thing. We all know people who you really DON’T want to ask how they’re doing ‘cause they’ll tell you! Every LITTLE detail & hangnail they’ve had, or thought of having in the past three years. Believe me I’m not insensitive, just realistic.
Sadly, we tend to lean that way in our Christian lives also. We either whine about every little bump in the road or, more often, try to put on the plastic smile & play act. We throw out the ‘church language’ & say, “Bless God, this is the day the Lord hath made.” Never even mentioning that we just lost our job, we don’t have money for rent or tuition, our family & relationships are a mess. We even do God the same way. We either try to play act like everything’s all ‘nicey-nicey’ or whine about every blemish & rough spot.
Did you know that the word ‘prayer’ is mentioned 365 times in the bible? That’s one for every day. We are challenged, no COMMANDED, to pray for each other. That’s partly why I’m here on campus. There is not a day goes by in ministry that I’m not asked to pray for someone. I take it seriously. I care. If I care, just a bumbling guy, how much MORE does God care & want to hear our prayer. I can only care as He cares through me. When we are facing tough times & indecision, call out to God. When things are going great call out & thank God. When someone you love is hurting, call out to God on their behalf. Here’s a great reminder:
“…humble yourselves under the mighty power of God, and at the right time he will lift you up in honor. Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you.” I Pet. 5:6-7 NLT
I regularly get calls, requests & emails for prayer needs. I’m here & would love to pray for you. Just remember, I can’t pray if I don’t know.
www.myspace.com/davejacksonnewport.
Dave Jackson on facebook ASUN website www.bcmasunewport.org
Dave Jackson-Campus Minister djackson@absc.org
Cell: 870-217-9376 Dave’s Desk - http://bcmasunewport.blogspot.com
Of course, if you’re ADHD & won’t take the time to look it up, the premise is this: guys are involved in ‘guy stuff’ & someone does something really stupid & whacks someone else. The whackee grimaces & says, “I’m good!” So funny ‘cause it’s TRUE. Guys pretty much try to ‘cowboy up’ anytime & not admit we’ve got any problems. After all, no one wants to hear a ‘whiner,’ right? We may get smacked in the head with a bowling ball (or a brick in my case), shocked with a 220 power-line (don’t get any ideas lineman school!), or popped with a board, but we’ll hobble away & put on a good face. I’ve seen it MANY times as I grew up around a construction job site. Guys trying to ‘shake it off’ while they had a nail from a nail gun shot through their thumb!
OK, so there’s something to be said for not bawling about every little thing. We all know people who you really DON’T want to ask how they’re doing ‘cause they’ll tell you! Every LITTLE detail & hangnail they’ve had, or thought of having in the past three years. Believe me I’m not insensitive, just realistic.
Sadly, we tend to lean that way in our Christian lives also. We either whine about every little bump in the road or, more often, try to put on the plastic smile & play act. We throw out the ‘church language’ & say, “Bless God, this is the day the Lord hath made.” Never even mentioning that we just lost our job, we don’t have money for rent or tuition, our family & relationships are a mess. We even do God the same way. We either try to play act like everything’s all ‘nicey-nicey’ or whine about every blemish & rough spot.
Did you know that the word ‘prayer’ is mentioned 365 times in the bible? That’s one for every day. We are challenged, no COMMANDED, to pray for each other. That’s partly why I’m here on campus. There is not a day goes by in ministry that I’m not asked to pray for someone. I take it seriously. I care. If I care, just a bumbling guy, how much MORE does God care & want to hear our prayer. I can only care as He cares through me. When we are facing tough times & indecision, call out to God. When things are going great call out & thank God. When someone you love is hurting, call out to God on their behalf. Here’s a great reminder:
“…humble yourselves under the mighty power of God, and at the right time he will lift you up in honor. Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you.” I Pet. 5:6-7 NLT
I regularly get calls, requests & emails for prayer needs. I’m here & would love to pray for you. Just remember, I can’t pray if I don’t know.
www.myspace.com/davejacksonnewport.
Dave Jackson on facebook ASUN website www.bcmasunewport.org
Dave Jackson-Campus Minister djackson@absc.org
Cell: 870-217-9376 Dave’s Desk - http://bcmasunewport.blogspot.com
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
The Kept
Ever lost anything? Stupid question, hunh? Everyone has lost something at one time. If you’ve ever seen my office you could possibly understand how I might misplace a few things! OK, so what’s the most valuable thing you’ve ever lost? A ring, earrings, your wallet? How about your car? “Dude, where’s my car?” I’ve lost mine several times in amusement parking lots or at malls, but thankfully found it! Isn’t it really cool to stumble across something you thought was long gone? It happens every so often for me (especially when I clean my office!).
It might be easier to ask, ‘What is something you have kept for years?’ We often sell, trade, give away, garage sale, re-gift things. Few things in life hold so much value that we keep them perpetually. Bet you could kick yourself for getting rid of that Reggie Jackson or Mickey Mantle card. Maybe it was an old G.I. Joe or Barbie. Could have really been worth something now on ebay. Could have paid off college maybe!!
Someone may actually steal that valuable item, sell it or give it away by mistake. As a teen I had a jar full of ‘Indian’ arrowheads & mini balls from the Civil War. I grew up in the Helena, AR area where a Civil War battle was fought. I went to my friend’s house one day, coming home I found my Mom had a garage sale. She was somewhat fed up with my messy room & helped me ‘clean it up’ with the sale! She didn’t know (or perhaps didn’t really care) that the items of said jar were valuable. I took the hint anyway & tried to keep a slightly neater room.
My wife has many keepsakes dating back to her early childhood. She’s kept them in pristine condition, that is until me or our son gets hold of them. I collect some things but not like her. She’s about the queen of keepsakes!
I suppose it’s a given it’s hard to hold onto things. That’s why antiques are valuable! But the crux of all this ‘hang on to your hats’ talk is really about us. God considers us His most prized possession. Enough so that He would allow Jesus to invade our darkness to bring us His light. He had to stand by while the vile sin of the world was dumped on His perfect, precious Son. “Good Friday” paved the path to the grave abandoned on Easter morn. With that act He bought us back from death.
But can He keep us? What a stupid question, right? We often live like we believe He can’t. You know, we all blow it. I fail regularly. My life, and maybe yours’, is often like a kite on an April afternoon. It soars high in the wind, climbing to great altitudes. Then the winds shift & the kite dips madly. We pull the string taught & the kite climbs again. Our Father holds fast. When the winds shift & we spiral down, He pulls tight & we climb again.
There was a great old African-American preacher named E.V. Hill. He had a great message called, “The Kept.” That message came to me the other day. No matter how much I falter or fail, it’s such a comfort to know God holds us in the palm of His hand. The late, great preacher was quoting I Peter when he described us as ‘the kept.’
“All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. It is by His great mercy that we have been born again, because God raised Jesus Christ from the dead. Now we live with great expectation, and we have a priceless inheritance—an inheritance that is kept in heaven for you, pure and undefiled, beyond the reach of change and decay. And through your faith, God is protecting you by his power until you receive this salvation, which is ready to be revealed on the last day for all to see.”
I Peter 1:3-5 NLT
As Dr. Hill referred to saints as ‘the kept’ he was using the King James Version. It says, "Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time." God holds us as a prize possession, unlike our earthly efforts to hold valuables. We lose, sell or give away items only to wish we’d held on. God? Well, He’s God. No mistakes or thrown away treasures.
It all really boils down to the fact, are you ‘the kept.’ Have you trusted Him to hold your life? If not, then your life is worse than the kite bouncing in the Spring wind. Trust His heart then ‘live with great expectation.’
www.myspace.com/davejacksonnewport.
Dave Jackson on facebook
ASUN website www.bcmasunewport.org
Dave Jackson-Campus Minister djackson@absc.org
Cell: 870-217-9376
Dave’s Desk -http://bcmasunewport.blogspot.com
It might be easier to ask, ‘What is something you have kept for years?’ We often sell, trade, give away, garage sale, re-gift things. Few things in life hold so much value that we keep them perpetually. Bet you could kick yourself for getting rid of that Reggie Jackson or Mickey Mantle card. Maybe it was an old G.I. Joe or Barbie. Could have really been worth something now on ebay. Could have paid off college maybe!!
Someone may actually steal that valuable item, sell it or give it away by mistake. As a teen I had a jar full of ‘Indian’ arrowheads & mini balls from the Civil War. I grew up in the Helena, AR area where a Civil War battle was fought. I went to my friend’s house one day, coming home I found my Mom had a garage sale. She was somewhat fed up with my messy room & helped me ‘clean it up’ with the sale! She didn’t know (or perhaps didn’t really care) that the items of said jar were valuable. I took the hint anyway & tried to keep a slightly neater room.
My wife has many keepsakes dating back to her early childhood. She’s kept them in pristine condition, that is until me or our son gets hold of them. I collect some things but not like her. She’s about the queen of keepsakes!
I suppose it’s a given it’s hard to hold onto things. That’s why antiques are valuable! But the crux of all this ‘hang on to your hats’ talk is really about us. God considers us His most prized possession. Enough so that He would allow Jesus to invade our darkness to bring us His light. He had to stand by while the vile sin of the world was dumped on His perfect, precious Son. “Good Friday” paved the path to the grave abandoned on Easter morn. With that act He bought us back from death.
But can He keep us? What a stupid question, right? We often live like we believe He can’t. You know, we all blow it. I fail regularly. My life, and maybe yours’, is often like a kite on an April afternoon. It soars high in the wind, climbing to great altitudes. Then the winds shift & the kite dips madly. We pull the string taught & the kite climbs again. Our Father holds fast. When the winds shift & we spiral down, He pulls tight & we climb again.
There was a great old African-American preacher named E.V. Hill. He had a great message called, “The Kept.” That message came to me the other day. No matter how much I falter or fail, it’s such a comfort to know God holds us in the palm of His hand. The late, great preacher was quoting I Peter when he described us as ‘the kept.’
“All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. It is by His great mercy that we have been born again, because God raised Jesus Christ from the dead. Now we live with great expectation, and we have a priceless inheritance—an inheritance that is kept in heaven for you, pure and undefiled, beyond the reach of change and decay. And through your faith, God is protecting you by his power until you receive this salvation, which is ready to be revealed on the last day for all to see.”
I Peter 1:3-5 NLT
As Dr. Hill referred to saints as ‘the kept’ he was using the King James Version. It says, "Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time." God holds us as a prize possession, unlike our earthly efforts to hold valuables. We lose, sell or give away items only to wish we’d held on. God? Well, He’s God. No mistakes or thrown away treasures.
It all really boils down to the fact, are you ‘the kept.’ Have you trusted Him to hold your life? If not, then your life is worse than the kite bouncing in the Spring wind. Trust His heart then ‘live with great expectation.’
www.myspace.com/davejacksonnewport.
Dave Jackson on facebook
ASUN website www.bcmasunewport.org
Dave Jackson-Campus Minister djackson@absc.org
Cell: 870-217-9376
Dave’s Desk -http://bcmasunewport.blogspot.com
Tuesday, April 7, 2009
-Empty and Full-
All of life comes down to this week. That’s right, this week we celebrate an event that happened over 2,000 years ago, yet everything rests on this balance. All of the spiritual talk, church jargon, & religious mumbo jumbo is meaningless without this one event: the resurrection of Jesus.
In life & ministry I have witnessed & experienced so many crushing blows that make religious talk EMPTY. Early in ministry one of my youth accidentally ran over & killed her friend. All the church language in the world cannot console families in that kind of tragedy. Another family, with which I worked, was heavily involved in the great Passion Play, yet never had time to actually attend & serve in church. Actually, they had an EMPTY witness but a FULL schedule. It all became meaningless the night their 4 year old was killed in a car accident. They were EMPTY of answers & peace & FULL of grief and pain.
Another family had multiple crises. Their farm was lost in one accident, followed by the diagnosis of their daughter’s leukemia. The last invitation verse of the last night of a revival, that daughter came forward & received Christ into her heart. In one moment she went from an EMPTY, hopeless life to a life FULL of hope & joy. The next day, while traveling to her cancer treatment, she & a brother & sister were tragically killed in a train accident. Their lives became EMPTY of time & opportunity & FULL of eternity in a split second.
I could fill volumes with stories of families & lives that encountered such obstacles & challenges. On the 15 days of the *Cross Walk alone, I saw hundreds that I prayed with, spoke to, or shared with in a service, which came EMPTY handed & broken hearted but left FULL of hope & life.
Again, it’s far more than religious talk & ritual people are interested in that changes life. It’s a real encounter with a living Lord. The simple, historic fact that Jesus of Nazareth lived & was crucified around 36 A.D. means little to a man EMPTY of hope & FULL of despair. What’s truly important is that on that cross Jesus cried out, “It is finished!” It was actually one word that Jesus cried out, “Tetelestai.” It means, even more accurately, “Paid in Full.” (Love to share more with you if interested.) What was paid? The price of our forgiveness & redemption.
While that event is crucial, it would almost be hollow & EMPTY without the event that took place the following Sunday morning. Jesus was placed in a borrowed tomb & when the women came to finish his burial preparation they found the tomb EMPTY. They were FULL of despair until an angel reminded them that it was His plan all along. He FULLY intended to rise again. He had conquered the grave & death. The EMPTY tomb leads to FULL joy.
What a message FULL of promise & hope. When all of our lives & dreams seem so EMPTY, we can find our hearts rise & fill with hope to the point we are truly FULL. I can’t think of a better time to think about spiritual things than this week. All of Christianity & life is wrapped up in the events we celebrate & commemorate this week. The day Jesus laid down His life to pay for our sins & the day He arose to free us from death.
The Apostle Peter, a close friend of Jesus, wrote this challenge: “You call out to God for help and He helps—he's a good Father that way. But don't forget, He's also a responsible Father, and won't let you get by with sloppy living. Your life is a journey you must travel with a deep consciousness of God. It cost God plenty to get you out of that dead-end, empty-headed life you grew up in. He paid with Christ's sacred blood, you know. He died like an unblemished, sacrificial lamb. And this was no afterthought. Even though it has only lately—at the end of the ages—become public knowledge, God always knew He was going to do this for you. It's because of this sacrificed Messiah, Whom God then raised from the dead and glorified, that you trust God, that you know you have a future in God.”
1 Peter 1:17-21 The Message
So it all boils down to this, if your life is EMPTY today, you can have a life that is FULL. Not simply full of religious do’s & don’t, but FULL of meaning & hope. If you simply have EMPTY, dead-end religion; why not call out to God to give you a heart FULL of meaning & purpose? Don’t let another moment pass by. If you experience this FULL life, treasure & be thankful this ‘resurrection Sunday’ for all that God has done in the EMPTY tomb.
*Cross Walk- In 1999 I walked across AR carrying a 10’ wooden
Cross. 1000+ people saw & heard the message on the road or in the evening services along the 280+ mile, 15 day trek. Hundreds came to know Christ, recommitted lives & surrendered to missions or service.
www.myspace.com/davejacksonnewport.
Dave Jackson on facebook
ASUN website www.bcmasunewport.org
Dave Jackson-Campus Minister djackson@absc.org
Cell: 870-217-9376
Dave’s Desk -http://bcmasunewport.blogspot.com
In life & ministry I have witnessed & experienced so many crushing blows that make religious talk EMPTY. Early in ministry one of my youth accidentally ran over & killed her friend. All the church language in the world cannot console families in that kind of tragedy. Another family, with which I worked, was heavily involved in the great Passion Play, yet never had time to actually attend & serve in church. Actually, they had an EMPTY witness but a FULL schedule. It all became meaningless the night their 4 year old was killed in a car accident. They were EMPTY of answers & peace & FULL of grief and pain.
Another family had multiple crises. Their farm was lost in one accident, followed by the diagnosis of their daughter’s leukemia. The last invitation verse of the last night of a revival, that daughter came forward & received Christ into her heart. In one moment she went from an EMPTY, hopeless life to a life FULL of hope & joy. The next day, while traveling to her cancer treatment, she & a brother & sister were tragically killed in a train accident. Their lives became EMPTY of time & opportunity & FULL of eternity in a split second.
I could fill volumes with stories of families & lives that encountered such obstacles & challenges. On the 15 days of the *Cross Walk alone, I saw hundreds that I prayed with, spoke to, or shared with in a service, which came EMPTY handed & broken hearted but left FULL of hope & life.
Again, it’s far more than religious talk & ritual people are interested in that changes life. It’s a real encounter with a living Lord. The simple, historic fact that Jesus of Nazareth lived & was crucified around 36 A.D. means little to a man EMPTY of hope & FULL of despair. What’s truly important is that on that cross Jesus cried out, “It is finished!” It was actually one word that Jesus cried out, “Tetelestai.” It means, even more accurately, “Paid in Full.” (Love to share more with you if interested.) What was paid? The price of our forgiveness & redemption.
While that event is crucial, it would almost be hollow & EMPTY without the event that took place the following Sunday morning. Jesus was placed in a borrowed tomb & when the women came to finish his burial preparation they found the tomb EMPTY. They were FULL of despair until an angel reminded them that it was His plan all along. He FULLY intended to rise again. He had conquered the grave & death. The EMPTY tomb leads to FULL joy.
What a message FULL of promise & hope. When all of our lives & dreams seem so EMPTY, we can find our hearts rise & fill with hope to the point we are truly FULL. I can’t think of a better time to think about spiritual things than this week. All of Christianity & life is wrapped up in the events we celebrate & commemorate this week. The day Jesus laid down His life to pay for our sins & the day He arose to free us from death.
The Apostle Peter, a close friend of Jesus, wrote this challenge: “You call out to God for help and He helps—he's a good Father that way. But don't forget, He's also a responsible Father, and won't let you get by with sloppy living. Your life is a journey you must travel with a deep consciousness of God. It cost God plenty to get you out of that dead-end, empty-headed life you grew up in. He paid with Christ's sacred blood, you know. He died like an unblemished, sacrificial lamb. And this was no afterthought. Even though it has only lately—at the end of the ages—become public knowledge, God always knew He was going to do this for you. It's because of this sacrificed Messiah, Whom God then raised from the dead and glorified, that you trust God, that you know you have a future in God.”
1 Peter 1:17-21 The Message
So it all boils down to this, if your life is EMPTY today, you can have a life that is FULL. Not simply full of religious do’s & don’t, but FULL of meaning & hope. If you simply have EMPTY, dead-end religion; why not call out to God to give you a heart FULL of meaning & purpose? Don’t let another moment pass by. If you experience this FULL life, treasure & be thankful this ‘resurrection Sunday’ for all that God has done in the EMPTY tomb.
*Cross Walk- In 1999 I walked across AR carrying a 10’ wooden
Cross. 1000+ people saw & heard the message on the road or in the evening services along the 280+ mile, 15 day trek. Hundreds came to know Christ, recommitted lives & surrendered to missions or service.
www.myspace.com/davejacksonnewport.
Dave Jackson on facebook
ASUN website www.bcmasunewport.org
Dave Jackson-Campus Minister djackson@absc.org
Cell: 870-217-9376
Dave’s Desk -http://bcmasunewport.blogspot.com
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