Dan Jones

401K

Salisbury Cathedral

"I will thank you in the great congregation;
in the mighty throng I will praise you."
Psalm 35:18

I really enjoy passionate worship with large numbers of like-minded people. I love times like the Faithwalkers conference, knowing that I am praising the God of Everything. Maybe it sounds a little cheesy, but my soul just soars when praising sometimes. Tonight I've been listening to the Redemption Songs album by Jars of Clay, and I've really been diggin' it. To me, old hymns set to modern melodies really do it for me. One of my dreams is to someday have our style of church in a massive cathedral. You've got to admit that would be ridiculously amazing. Marble halls. Thick pillars. Comfortable seats. Stained glass windows. A rockin' band. (Matt and Pat, don't point out that the acoustics are terrible in a place like that. Let me have this illusion).

I've been meditating on this verse for a bit and wanted to pass along a thought or two. This verse brings up images of millions of people constituing the great congregation of Christ. I eagerly look forward to the days when I will worship God with his millions of saints forever. Don't get me wrong, this life is alright, but the life I was made for awaits me. When I'm tired and lingering on the edge of burnout it does me so good to remember the Lord and what is ahead. It gives me a desire to keep fighting and waging battle for the Lord. Some muslims give up their lives for "paradise". I don't remember all that often that heaven will be a paradise. Some days I really long for retirement. You know, easy lazy days. Relaxing. Doing what I enjoy because I don't have to do anything else. I can't help but think heaven is supposed to be my retirement. God has it in mind for me to labor in this life and to enjoy my retirement in the next. I don't know about you, but I think I could handle that. And with that in mind, I really don't mind this "working" part of eternity.

Update

Hello there. As you may have noticed I haven't posted anything in a loooong time. I think it's been like 3 months, but I'm too lazy to look and figure it out.

What have I been up to? No good! Other than that, I've been working...a lot. Some departmental changes have rearranged several meetings so that they start at 5pm. That makes for several mandatory 11-12 hour days a week. Not fun. I've been adjusting to that, and starting to think about ministry and my plan for the future again. No real thoughts to declare there...but I just thought I'd vaguely tell whoever reads this that tidbit of information.

I did actually just want to post about a thought I had from the Word, or as JR Woodward likes to call it, the Sacred Text.

Mark writes:

And a leper came to him, imploring him, and kneeling said to him, "If you will, you can make me clean." Moved with pity, he stretched out his hand and touched him and said to him, "I will; be clean." And immediately the leprosy left him, and he was made clean. And Jesus sternly charged him and sent him away at once, and said to him, "See that you say nothing to anyone, but go, show yourself to the priest and offer for your cleansing what Moses commanded, for a proof to them." But he went out and began to talk freely about it, and to spread the news, so that Jesus could no longer openly enter a town, but was out in desolate places, and people were coming to him from every quarter.

Mark 1:40-45 ESV

A few observations:

Lepers were people the Jews traditionally avoided like the plague, because lepers were sick. You didn't talk to a leper, you didn't hang out with a leper. Lepers usually formed their own bands and lived away from cities. You definately didn't touch a leper. However, Jesus did. This despised and sickly outcast came and put himself at Jesus' feet. When was the last time you saw anyone put themselves at anyone else's feet? Can you imagine a coworker getting on their knee's in front of you, or anyone else? My heart breaks when it says Jesus was "moved with pity". The NIV says Jesus had compassion on him. I can picture Jesus' face soften as his heart breaks for this needy man. Then he touches him, and heals. Now, this is the part that strikes me. Jesus then tells him not to tell anyone, but go make the traditional cleansing rites. Of course, Jesus has to know full well what the guy is going to do. Just like he knows what you and I are going to do: exactly what he told us not to do. Jesus knew the guy was going to tell everybody, and his ministry would be affected as a result, yet he still healed him. And he still told him not to tell anyone. Jesus does the exact same thing for each of us every day: he gives us the benefit of the doubt. Knowing what we're going to do, Jesus treats us and approaches us as if we are going to obey him. He's never telling himself, "Well...Dan's not going to do what I want him to anyway, so I'll just not bless him or help him."

Christ always gives us the benefit of the doubt. Always. And that's exactly why we keep on coming back, because Christ doesn't give up on us, and he always gives us the option to succeed. We just have to obey.

Update

I've been working in the real world now for a few months, and as some of you probably know my job isn't the most glamorous. I'm at work at 6:30 in the morning, which means I have to get up at 5 in the morning. I've worked as late at 8:30 at night. I've worked Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays (Labor Day). I've been yelled at by people who aren't in positions above me for things that aren't my fault. Sorry, I didn't intend on complaining that much. Recently, I began to ponder why God has me there. I definitely feel that I'm where I should be, and I felt the same way when I took the job.

In church they often give a sermon similar to "Six Steps for Determining God's Will in Your Life". [If we've actually covered that in the last year, would someone please let me know?] I've talked a little bit with my roommates and given it a great deal of thought, but it took me awhile to really come up with a reason. And it didn't take me thinking through six steps, or sitting meditating, or even talking with a friend. I'm not knocking any of those routes, but God is not limited to those routes. In fact, rarely does God speak to me that way. Usually I'll spend some quality time in the scriptures, and some time praying, AND talking with friends. Then, some time later, long or short, the answer will just pop into my head.

This is, of course, the case with why I believe God has me at my current job. I was sitting with other members of my "_______ Team" last night and it hit me. God has me there because he wants me to be disciplined. In order to be good at my job, but really more importantly, to be successful outside of work, I need to be very disciplined. It's HARD to go to bed on time when every single one of your friends can stay up several hours later. It's hard to make lunches (that is, if you bother to make your own lunch) the night before. It's hard to shave and get clothes together the night before in order to save time in the morning. It's hard to get up on time and not hit the snooze button on my cell phone so I can have time to eat breakfast and read a chapter of Proverbs. Blah, blah, blah...

The point is I really think God wants me to be much more disciplined than I am. It's pretty easy to be a college student with no discipline, but it's another story to work 45-50+ hours a week and do college ministry. But that's where I want to be. Just wanted to share something God spoke to me about this last week. Thanks for reading.