Years ago you couldn’t click on the internet, pick up a phone/pda, or switch on a TV for instant news. Information wasn’t as readily available as today. People awaited a ‘Town crier” to give them the time & news. The crier would call out, “7 o’clock and all is well” or something like that. Matter of fact, he was often the emissary of the king going forth giving news. He was the ‘king’s voice.’ Thus came the phrase, “Don’t kill the messenger.”
Not sure where you go for information: CNN, FOX, HLN, MSNBC, etc. Each of these are dedicated to news and information. Problem is that they are run by humans with human foibles & frailties. Thus, they are often biased to the feelings & beliefs of the editors & producers. What about a search engine? Which do you use: Yahoo, Google, Webcrawler, Lycos, etc? What about weather info? Do you use: the Weather Channel, Googleearth, National Weather Service, Accuweather, NASA, Intellicast, etc? Wouldn’t it be sweet if there were ONE source to go for everything?
If you take a minute to search, you’ll find many ‘onesource’ pages on the internet. There is a ‘onesource’ for business news & info. There is a ‘onesource’ for military members & their families. There are sites for ‘onesource’: talent, credit union, each military branch, rental, weddings, …the list goes on and on.
There are several sources for networking & social pages. Which, if any, do you use: Twitter, Facebook, Myspace, or Bebo? Go to Youtube & you can see or upload vids of yourself or find about anything imaginable from old rock to stupid commercials. There is even a site called Godtube or Tangle for Christian vids (kind of like a Christian Youtube).
There are many resources for maps, definitions/spelling, research, etc. Word of caution: be careful if you use Wikipedia as a ‘source’ for information. While it can be handy, it is not definitely the last word on a subject. Many can add to or even invent information on this site.
There are even scores of religions & claims of folks who have the last word on how to get to heaven or how you should live. There are churches on almost every corner in the south & no shortage of preachers & TV channels & web sites that proclaim they have the truth. It’s enough to make your head swim.
“I am the LORD God. I created the heavens like an open tent above. I made the earth and everything that grows on it. I am the source of life for all who live on this earth, so listen to what I say.”
Isaiah 42:5 CEV
So with all the room for human error, is there any one site or source for concrete information & truth? Is there a ‘Onesource’ for answers, info and direction? I, like millions of others, have found that “OneSource” to be God. I serve a big God! I trust that if you truly seek God you will find Him! He even said, “If you look for me wholeheartedly, you will find me.” Jer. 29:13 NLT.
I also strongly encourage you to seek His word, the bible. Don’t just ‘check your brains at the door.’ Don’t swallow what anyone says as pure truth. I don’t care who they are. Many of us strive to be trustworthy but we are human. Check out God’s word for the final word on truth.
If you take the time to search a bible concordance or online bible like biblegateway.com you’ll find that God is the ‘OneSource’ for everything! He is the source of: Light, Life, Joy, Hope, Righteousness, Strength, Peace, Blessing, Spiritual Gifts, Comfort, Wisdom, but most importantly the Eternal Salvation.
As Campus Minister I’ll do my best to encourage you, pray for you, and help you in any way I can. Feel free to call or contact me anytime. Unfortunately, I am a man. I may fail you. I may not be immediately accessible. Know this: God is always trustworthy. He will never fail you or be inaccessible. He is the “OneSource” for all you need.
As always, I’ll pray for you & please return the favor. Morning Fuel begins next Wednesday on campus. I’ll be in the Student Center from 8:30-11:00am with free breakfast, devotion & info. Don’t forget to sign up for the prize drawings we do each semester. With the contact info I will put you on the email devotion list to directly receive it each week unless you specify you don’t want it. At BCM we partner with ASU-Newport as a “Great Place To Start.”
Check out all the sites & contact info & connect.
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, August 25, 2009
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
-"Cristo me ama"-(Jesus Loves Me)
One of the first “church songs” I learned as a child was “Jesus Loves Me.” Musically, it is a simple song, making it easy for children to sing. Lyrically, very simplistic & easy to learn. Theologically, though simple, it is profound. All over the world Christian churches teach this simple song to children with the powerful message that Jesus loves them. The world may be harsh & unforgiving but God’s love is sure & true. If you were to see it written out in a variety of languages it would look something like this: "Cristo me ama", "Yesu Mfumu antemwa","YehSou ngoi ngoh","Jesu-Kristo amas min","Jesus m'aime","Jesus liebt mich","Cristo munawan","Yeh Su Ai Wa","Yesu anipenda","Yesu rak chun." I’m sure the God Who created each of these tiny little lives relishes in the knowledge they learn of His great love.
As a small child I didn’t fully comprehend the scope of Christ. As an aging adult, I still don’t fully understand the scope of Christ! It’s a challenge to rectify the two extremes of Christ. The jealous passion He has for His children that caused Him to braid a whip & drive our money changers from the temple as they robbed His children trying to sacrifice to Him & the gentle Savior Who held children in His arms & healed the weak & sick. The Son of God Who called out religious leaders ‘on the carpet’ & the Son of Man Who wept over the crowds that were ‘harassed and helpless like sheep having no shepherd.’ The Master Teacher Who turned the hearts of men to God, & the God Who mastered the winds & sea. The Savior Who willingly lay down on the sacrificial altar of the cross as He was torn & tortured for our sins & the Conquering Lord Who will come again to come for His chosen ones. Yes, Jesus loves me!
The bible is one long love letter exposing God’s great love in saving no cost to provide a remedy for our sin & guilt. From the garden fall to the last chapter of the book it spells out the love Christ has for us. Not a reasonable love. Let’s face it, none of us are deserving of the kind of love He showed us. I can’t begin to wrap my mind around a love that willingly endured torture & humiliation to free the very haters who impaled Him. But it’s there in black & white (unless of course you have a red letter addition bible!). “The bible tells me so.”
I’m not sure where you find yourself tonight. I don’t know the course this day or week has held for you. Somehow I think you, and most of us, need to be reminded of that simple, child-like refrain of “Jesus Loves Me.” When our lives get complicated & confused we need that simple song. When we are pensive & worried, when we are grieving & our hearts are rent, when our ‘religion’ is muddled, and when our relationships are shattered, “Jesus loves me this I know.”
“Glory and strength to Christ, who loves us, Who blood-washed our sins from our lives, Who made us a Kingdom, Priests for His Father, forever—and yes, He's on His way! Riding the clouds, He'll be seen by every eye, those who mocked and killed Him will see Him, People from all nations and all times will tear their clothes in lament. Oh, Yes.” Rev. 1:5-7 The Message
With the cross death & the empty tomb blasted by the resurrection, He graphically showed all creation His great love. My prayer is you accept that love as much as your mind & heart can. We reach out in believing faith & He takes care of the rest. We may never fully grasp the scope of Christ until we see Him split the sky on that white horse, but it’s somehow in that blind faith that He shines!
This hour, find some peace in that thought: “Jesus loves me, this I know; for the bible tells me so. Little ones to Him belong, they are weak but He is strong. Yes, Jesus loves me. Yes, Jesus loves me. Yes, Jesus loves me, the bible tells me so.” If you’ve forgotten, take a minute & sing it to yourself. If you don’t really know, I’d love to share with you. Try to get that beautiful picture of His soon triumphant return in your mind. As the old hymn says, then ‘the things of earth will grow strangely dim in the light of His glory and grace.”
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
As a small child I didn’t fully comprehend the scope of Christ. As an aging adult, I still don’t fully understand the scope of Christ! It’s a challenge to rectify the two extremes of Christ. The jealous passion He has for His children that caused Him to braid a whip & drive our money changers from the temple as they robbed His children trying to sacrifice to Him & the gentle Savior Who held children in His arms & healed the weak & sick. The Son of God Who called out religious leaders ‘on the carpet’ & the Son of Man Who wept over the crowds that were ‘harassed and helpless like sheep having no shepherd.’ The Master Teacher Who turned the hearts of men to God, & the God Who mastered the winds & sea. The Savior Who willingly lay down on the sacrificial altar of the cross as He was torn & tortured for our sins & the Conquering Lord Who will come again to come for His chosen ones. Yes, Jesus loves me!
The bible is one long love letter exposing God’s great love in saving no cost to provide a remedy for our sin & guilt. From the garden fall to the last chapter of the book it spells out the love Christ has for us. Not a reasonable love. Let’s face it, none of us are deserving of the kind of love He showed us. I can’t begin to wrap my mind around a love that willingly endured torture & humiliation to free the very haters who impaled Him. But it’s there in black & white (unless of course you have a red letter addition bible!). “The bible tells me so.”
I’m not sure where you find yourself tonight. I don’t know the course this day or week has held for you. Somehow I think you, and most of us, need to be reminded of that simple, child-like refrain of “Jesus Loves Me.” When our lives get complicated & confused we need that simple song. When we are pensive & worried, when we are grieving & our hearts are rent, when our ‘religion’ is muddled, and when our relationships are shattered, “Jesus loves me this I know.”
“Glory and strength to Christ, who loves us, Who blood-washed our sins from our lives, Who made us a Kingdom, Priests for His Father, forever—and yes, He's on His way! Riding the clouds, He'll be seen by every eye, those who mocked and killed Him will see Him, People from all nations and all times will tear their clothes in lament. Oh, Yes.” Rev. 1:5-7 The Message
With the cross death & the empty tomb blasted by the resurrection, He graphically showed all creation His great love. My prayer is you accept that love as much as your mind & heart can. We reach out in believing faith & He takes care of the rest. We may never fully grasp the scope of Christ until we see Him split the sky on that white horse, but it’s somehow in that blind faith that He shines!
This hour, find some peace in that thought: “Jesus loves me, this I know; for the bible tells me so. Little ones to Him belong, they are weak but He is strong. Yes, Jesus loves me. Yes, Jesus loves me. Yes, Jesus loves me, the bible tells me so.” If you’ve forgotten, take a minute & sing it to yourself. If you don’t really know, I’d love to share with you. Try to get that beautiful picture of His soon triumphant return in your mind. As the old hymn says, then ‘the things of earth will grow strangely dim in the light of His glory and grace.”
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
Monday, August 17, 2009
-“Erased”-
We recently commemorated the 40th anniversary of the Apollo moon landing. I barely remember the event. I was a kid playing with army men & space men & thought it was cool and all but it seemed to take forever! What can I say, I was a kid & the several day trip seemed an eternity. Forget the astronauts were traveling 238,857 miles from earth & speeding at over 17,000mph. I’m not sure if I remember seeing the actual footage from the landing or later airings. Whichever, it was something hearing Neal Armstrong say, “One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.”
You probably remember the furor that ensued as some people swore it was all rigged. Some said it wasn’t possible & it was all filmed on a sound stage somewhere in Arizona or some such. The real kicker came recently when we found the original footage from the moon landing had been erased! Talk about a goof up! That’s worse than some stupid husband taping the Super Bowl over the video of his wedding tape! Seems the technicians had few tapes & didn’t see the need to hang on to the historic record!
From 4 different locations NASA scrambled & found some of the actual footage sent down. Ironically, they enlisted the help of Hollywood to enhance the footage. They took pains in not going over the top with the restoration, as some already thought Hollywood filmed it in the first place! Fortunately there was some footage to salvage.
"Now it's time to change your ways! Turn to face God so he can wipe away your sins, pour out showers of blessing to refresh you, and send you the Messiah he prepared for you, namely, Jesus."
Act 3: 19-20 The Message
We’ve all taped over, erased, or otherwise lost something very important at some time or another. In direct contract, we’ve probably WISHED we had lost, erased or otherwise not said or done something. I’m sure you’ve wished that you could wipe away the slate & start over. Maybe it was a relationship jeopardized over careless words or an action you wish you could rewind & redo!
The Apostle Peter gave a powerful message in Acts 3 where he shared the only way to be right with God was to turn to Him & let Him wipe away your sins. It’s a beautiful picture of a slate that is wiped cleaned. A fresh start is the only way to receive God’s blessings. The Apostle John also painted the same picture of forgiveness in one of his letters. He challenged that the only way to a right standing with God was to straight up admit we sin & let God make us right. He said, “if we confess our sins to Him, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness." I John 1:9 NLT
While it was a really stupid move on some technician’s part to erase the record of Neal Armstrong’s first bouncy step on our moon, at least it was somehow salvaged. Thankfully we can have our lives & relationships salvaged as God, in contrast, wipes our stupidity clean!
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
You probably remember the furor that ensued as some people swore it was all rigged. Some said it wasn’t possible & it was all filmed on a sound stage somewhere in Arizona or some such. The real kicker came recently when we found the original footage from the moon landing had been erased! Talk about a goof up! That’s worse than some stupid husband taping the Super Bowl over the video of his wedding tape! Seems the technicians had few tapes & didn’t see the need to hang on to the historic record!
From 4 different locations NASA scrambled & found some of the actual footage sent down. Ironically, they enlisted the help of Hollywood to enhance the footage. They took pains in not going over the top with the restoration, as some already thought Hollywood filmed it in the first place! Fortunately there was some footage to salvage.
"Now it's time to change your ways! Turn to face God so he can wipe away your sins, pour out showers of blessing to refresh you, and send you the Messiah he prepared for you, namely, Jesus."
Act 3: 19-20 The Message
We’ve all taped over, erased, or otherwise lost something very important at some time or another. In direct contract, we’ve probably WISHED we had lost, erased or otherwise not said or done something. I’m sure you’ve wished that you could wipe away the slate & start over. Maybe it was a relationship jeopardized over careless words or an action you wish you could rewind & redo!
The Apostle Peter gave a powerful message in Acts 3 where he shared the only way to be right with God was to turn to Him & let Him wipe away your sins. It’s a beautiful picture of a slate that is wiped cleaned. A fresh start is the only way to receive God’s blessings. The Apostle John also painted the same picture of forgiveness in one of his letters. He challenged that the only way to a right standing with God was to straight up admit we sin & let God make us right. He said, “if we confess our sins to Him, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness." I John 1:9 NLT
While it was a really stupid move on some technician’s part to erase the record of Neal Armstrong’s first bouncy step on our moon, at least it was somehow salvaged. Thankfully we can have our lives & relationships salvaged as God, in contrast, wipes our stupidity clean!
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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