Kingdom Come !

    From the garden of Eden forward God's people have been looking to when God's promised Messiah would rule the earth as king in truth and justice. There has always been a spiritual representation of God's kingdom on earth..Those who did not deny God's existence and sought to know and please Him.. From the time of Seth, Adam's son, through to the time of John the Baptist, that kingdom was hid in the hearts of God's people..John began to preach that the promised Messiah and King had come to earth..The kingdom or ruler had come and was manifested to the world. Mankind then proceeded in squandering a unique once in a life time opportunity.
    The prophet Malachi in the last two verses of the Old Testament warned us; " Behold I will send you Elijah, the prophet, before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the lord; And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse."  Jesus told his disciples John the Baptist was the promised Elijah..The curse I believe was a time of wrath the Bible calls the "great tribulation". If John the Baptist's message had been heeded Christ would have set up His kingdom then and there. There would have been no need of a time of wrath and tribulation. But John was beheaded and our king and Christ was crucified. The curse lies before us...
     There is still hope for those who have submitted to Christ and entered into His spiritual kingdom..We are promised we will be kept from that terrible time if we remain faithful until Jesus returns...The curse all of mankind could have avoided, if only they would have heeded the words of John the Baptist, has been set in stone and looms before us..For seven years a dreadful curse will afflict mankind, afterwards Jesus Christ will return with the people who made up His spiritual kingdom through the ages and we will rule and reign with Him forevermore..
     Because Christ said that only His Father knows the hour of His return our duties as Christians are both short and long term.. Our job until Christ returns is to try and get as many people as we can into the spiritual kingdom of Jesus Christ..That is best achieved in societies based upon liberty and justice. The apostles taught that it is God's will that all of mankind come to the knowledge of truth..They also taught our duty is not limited to making life better for only Christians, but our duty while we wait for Christ is to make the world a better place for all of mankind in anyway possible..

                                  Wesley Jones

Why I Am Certain Jesus Christ Is The Messiah

    I have studied many if not most of the world's religions in some detail.. What sets Jesus Christ apart from the rest of humanity can be summed up in one word, Mercy! Not only does the Biblical Jesus offer mercy equally to all. He teaches his followers to be merciful as well ( not all who claim to be his followers live by this unfortunately). There is no other act more beneficial and comforting to the soul of man than receiving, or extending mercy..Nothing is so antithetical to our nature as forgiveness without reparation..The mercy taught and offered by Christ is beyond ordinary man's ability to construct or invent. It is of divine origin there is no other example of it in all of human history.
    The number of Old Testament prophecies Jesus of Nazareth fulfilled is astounding. If one were to reject the New Testament account of Jesus as prejudicial. The amount of secular evidence we have regarding His life is beyond reasonable debate; Jesus is the Messiah prophesied hundreds of years before His appearance in the historical record..( Since the discovery of the Dead Sea scrolls the age of those prophesies and the time Jesus lived are no longer in doubt.) Isaiah Chapter 53 and the 22nd Psalm alone give a detailed account of the life, suffering and death of the historical Jesus..
     I believe Jesus performed all the miracles attributed to Him in the New testament. But even if He had not done one of them His teachings are so profound and beyond human ability. I would still believe He is the promised Messiah..I also know from personal experience. There was a time I had nothing invested personally in Jesus Christ. I had only heard of Him. In a time of great trouble and anguish of soul I cried out for Him to forgive and save me. He heard me, forgave me, restored my soul and saved me out of all my troubles..This alone is more evidence than I need to believe that He indeed is all He and the Bible claim Him to be..Beyond any doubt whatsoever, I believe the Biblical  Jesus Christ is God's Messiah, and the only begotten Son of the living God..
                           Wesley Jones

I Would Be Thy Friend.

If rhetoric were carefully weighed.
And reason heard above the din.
If hate human bonds not frayed.
Despite all, I would be thy friend.

My children laugh, cry, same as thine.
We love and toil for much the same end.
Thy heart aches at loss same as mine.
If you knew me, I would be thy friend.

Mad agendas, cruel words litter our path.
Lunatics proclaim, to love would be the end.
Blinded by the insanity of anger and wrath.
But given a choice, I would  be thy friend...

        Wesley Jones
.

The Holy Bible And Politics..This may surprise you !

    The Bible does not give us a detailed political treatise on which we can govern ourselves.. It does however give us moral principles and God's view of government..It also gives us a few commands we are to obey when dealing with government..One of the most detailed references to our responsibility towards political leadership can be found in the book of 1st Timothy chapter 2, " I exhort, therefore, that first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men..For kings, and for all that are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty...For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God, our savior..Who will have all men to be saved, and come to the knowledge of the truth"...
    There will never be a time; short of when Christ reigns on earth, when we will agree with everything those in authority promote or do.. We can constantly try to over throw authority that is not in 100% agreement with us, or we can work within the system and pray for those who hold power..God has promised us He is in control when He gave us this verse in Proverbs 21, " The king's heart is in the hand of the Lord, like the rivers of water; He turneth it withersoever He will ".. Aberrations like the dictators Hitler and Stalin are a result of the people turning to their own devices to settle old scores and to throw off all restraint..
      Our prayers for our leaders to make wise, honest and effective decisions are not only encouraged by God, but they carry a lot of weight with Him also..The alternative is unremitting political turmoil and civil war..When the electorate makes a poor decision and elects candidates unqualified; either intellectually or morally, it is because the populace is either in need of knowledge, or in defiance of God, and  trying thwart His revealed will.. Both can bring about incredible human suffering..Either way once someone is in power it behooves us to pray that God enlightens and guides them whether they were our choice or not...
    Those who have served in the military during, or lived through a civil war, will tell you the toll in human suffering and the injustices visited upon ordinary citizens are monstrous...I don't fear when my choice for a political office is defeated because I know God hears and considers my prayers for the winner..When politics become all about party, ethnic, and sectarian  religious views, and not about sound governance, effective policy and moral principle..People become impatient and unreasonable.. Politics becomes about personality, style and charisma. The Bible teaches; My people perish for the lack of knowledge..Our job as citizens is to promote sound policy backed by moral principle..This takes hard work in acquiring knowledge and wisdom needed for discernment..
   Policy and governance are intricate science..None of us are all knowing experts..Our politicians need our prayers because their job is crucial and full of repercussions..In a nation built around individual liberty none of us are going to always get our way politically..Everyone has the right to criticize politicians in any way they choose..I have found more often then not most issues are about ideas not individuals..It is far more effective to take on ideas rather than people. (It is also more work)..Every person who occupies an official position of political leadership has my sincere prayers..I pray they will stay the course when their cause is just, and will be flexible in areas of doubt..
    If we were to become a nation of people who passionately prayed for our leaders, and our leaders sought to govern according to the moral principles found in the Holy Bible. Our nation would not only be more just and stable but also more prosperous and of greater help to other nations..Solutions to our political problems are not outside of God's purview or our ability to address in prayer.. Respect for God's Holy written word is needed by not only those doing the governing but also by the governed..Rather than trying to tear down individual politicians I try my best to pray for them and teach  solid Biblical principles that I believe could help and heal my country..

                                          Wesley Jones

     

Lay Me gently At Heaven's Door

If my tears do no good, nor water a greater plan.
If my struggles benefit not me, nor my fellowman.
If my suffering helps no one in life's troubled span.
Wipe my mother's tears, and lay me gently at heavens door.

If love of God and  friend hath no earthly pay.
If here faith hath no reward, in this dark day.
If wisdom sought, and  hard work hath no sway.
All memory of me bury, and lay me gently at heaven's door.

    Wesley Jones