jon mark

sooo, in preparation for this weekend’s services at church, i’ve been studying revelation 4…

¹ Then as I looked, I saw a door standing open in heaven, and the same voice I had heard before spoke to me like a trumpet blast. The voice said, “Come up here, and I will show you what must happen after this.” ² And instantly I was in the Spirit, and I saw a throne in heaven and someone sitting on it. ³ The one sitting on the throne was as brilliant as gemstones—like jasper and carnelian. And the glow of an emerald circled his throne like a rainbow. ⁴ Twenty-four thrones surrounded him, and twenty-four elders sat on them. They were all clothed in white and had gold crowns on their heads. ⁵ From the throne came flashes of lightning and the rumble of thunder. And in front of the throne were seven torches with burning flames. This is the sevenfold Spirit of God. ⁶ In front of the throne was a shiny sea of glass, sparkling like crystal. In the center and around the throne were four living beings, each covered with eyes, front and back. ⁷ The first of these living beings was like a lion; the second was like an ox; the third had a human face; and the fourth was like an eagle in flight. ⁸ Each of these living beings had six wings, and their wings were covered all over with eyes, inside and out. Day after day and night after night they keep on saying,

“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God, the Almighty—
the one who always was, who is, and who is still to come.”

⁹ Whenever the living beings give glory and honor and thanks to the one sitting on the throne (the one who lives forever and ever), ¹⁰ the twenty-four elders fall down and worship the one sitting on the throne (the one who lives forever and ever). And they lay their crowns before the throne and say,

¹¹ “You are worthy, O Lord our God,
to receive glory and honor and power.
For you created all things,
and they exist because you created what you pleased.” (NLT)

i’ve read through this passage numerous times this week…and there are two things that are really sticking out to me right now…the first thing that sticks out is what the voice says…”I will show  you what might, could, should, may, MUST happen after this.”…there doesn’t exactly appear to be a choice in this one…sounds pretty absolute to me!!!

the second thing that sticks out is how the author describes everything that he is seeing…we are not given a great deal of detail on all that he sees, but a fair amount…but we are told one detail about each thing he sees…where it is in reference to the throne…that really got me thinking!?!

where am i in reference to the throne??? if someone were to get a “behind the scenes” look at me, how would they describe my position in reference to the throne??? would they see me worshiping the One who sits on the throne, day and night??? am i causing others to worship the One who sits on the throne???

some tough questions…and so i ask…

where are you???

sooo, back in january God was trying to tell me something…it made absolutely NO sense to me what-so-ever…i even had a post that included it…but i dismissed the thought…i started telling myself all of the reasons it couldn’t work…

there’s no way!!!

then a few short weeks ago God was telling me again…fortunately this time i actually listened…ok, i at least gave it a second thought…and at the same time i gave it a second thought i was reading this book…and was told not to settle, but to be a “heretic”…

sooo, i decided to do what God was telling me no matter how rediculous it sounded to me…

see there was a pastor at our church, who was taking a lead pastor role at another church…he was taking his wife and two boys and moving them up north a little ways…the youngest of them was just weeks old…this couple is AMAZING…they have these HUGE hearts to just serve God and do whatever He calls them to do…even if it didn’t make sense…

God was telling me that our journey community (mid-sized group) needed to send them off in God-like fashion…we needed to take on something that only God could make happen…we needed to send them off in a “new” vehicle…

it didn’t make sense…our journey community is comprised mainly of people in their 20′s and 30′s…most of them have at least one child…most have more…this isn’t exactly a great time financially for anyone…and we only had two weeks until they were moving away…

there’s no way!!!

we picked out a van at a local dealer…our goal was $7,500…and in 7 days…7 DAYS…i had $7,750…we underestimated God…just a TAD!!!

back to the drawing board…this time we let God draw the picture…it was a BIG picture…He came up with over $11,500 in a matter of 11 days…11 DAYS…and we were able to purchase a 2008 Dodge Grand Caravan with just over 15,000 miles on it…DVD player…stow-n-go…the whole nine yards…and we sent them on their way in God-like fashion…

we had a big party…they had NO CLUE…until the owner of the dealership came to the party…(he is well known in the community)…he gave a quick speech and handed them a new set of keys…afterward all they could say was…

there’s no way!!!
(well, my pastor friend also called me a bad name…can’t share that with you…)

it was amazing to see what God is capable of doing…when we are quiet long enough to hear Him…and when we hear Him to trust Him…to just get out of the way and be a part of what He wants to do…to see the effect that it has on people…it AWESOME to see Him work when…

there’s no way!!!

sooo, there’s this song that i can’t get out of my head…i get JACKED UP every time i hear it…i wanted to share it with you and let those of you who attend lima community church that this is…

coming soon!!!

i have watched this over and over…it’s amazing what can be done with instruments, sound, lighting…but no matter how exciting it may be to sing this song with all that added…it CAN NOT compare to what it’s going to be like one day to sing these words in God’s presence…to hear every being in heaven sing these words…

that’s why i can’t wait…it’s…

coming soon!!!

sooo, this weekend people all over the united states will be celebrating a holiday…memorial day…a chance for everyone to show their patriotism…but i have a question…something for you to chew on…maybe something to get you fired up…who knows???

what role (if any) should this play in a church service???

last week i received an e-mail asking me what my thoughts were for service planning the weekend of memorial day…

what are your thoughts?…

for me…i grew up in a church where various patriotic holidays were highly celebrated…the 4th of july had it’s own service called the living flag…and looking back i am sad to say that took part in them…bow tie…cumberbund…the whole nine yards…but now i have a whole different perspective on things…

i’m convinced that each and every weekend we have one shot…some people in attendance at church will never be back…we have one shot to share Jesus with them…and i want to use every last second of our service to do that…in addition to that i want every aspect of our service to be pointing to God…not me…not the pastor who is speaking…not to a flag…not to a country(that isn’t so hot at honoring God)…but to ONE person…GOD…

sooo this was my response…

when it comes to things like memorial day…i’m of the view that God wasn’t from the US…Jesus wouldn’t have celebrated it in the temple…so i’m not one to get all patriotic, i just don’t think the church is the place for that…

so i would put mention of it during the benediction and leave it at that…

those are my thoughts on it…

this does not mean i don’t respect those who serve our country…or the long standing history behind it all…i just don’t think that church is the place to celebrate it…especially if it’s done for the simple reason of “we’ve always done it that way”…

i know that some of you may be offended by this…some may be shocked…some may be laughing…i don’t know and don’t really care at this point…but i would like to get your take on it…maybe share how your church handles situations like this…or how you view this situation…

what are your thoughts?…