jon mark

sooo, it’s that time of year again…everyone dresses up in some sort of costume and begs for candy…i must say it’s just quite annoying to me…especially when you have so many LAZY parents that drive from house to house as opposed to walking with their kids…i saw quite a bit of that last night!!!

but that’s not the point of this post…so i’m moving on…

in addition to the costumes…some various places will invite you spend money and walk through their “haunted” house, cornfield, or woods…and i’ve done that once or twice in my life…it can be quite the adrenaline rush!!!

but then there are religious organizations that do this as well…they get your adrenaline flowing…manipulate your emotions just a bit…and then they play the trump card…they try to…

scare the HELL out of you?!?

they present the Gospel…they tell you how Christ died for you and give you the opportunity to make Him your Savior…that way you will get to spend eternity in heaven…right!?!

i’ll be honest and say that this leaves a real akward taste in my mouth…i’m not so sure that i agree with the concept…but that’s just me…i mean i was even a part of a ministry team in college, where this was a BIG deal each year…SCAREMARE…and churches would bring their teens from all over…thousands would come through…it was insane!!!

but, it just doesn’t sit right with me…i think that is because we are called to make “disciples”…not just to get people to make a one time decision…not to mention that they are doing so while their emotions and mind have just been severely manipulated…but again, that’s just me…

sooo, i would be interested in hearing from you…what is your take on this…is it something that religious organizations should be taking part in…is it a tool for ministry???

can they really…

scare the HELL out of you?!?

sooo this morning i was reminded of something that i do…without really paying much attention…

i have this “thing” that i do every time i get a  cup of BEAN…i have to line things up…i line up the logo on the java jacket with the logo on the cup…then i line up the lid as well and make sure the hole i’m drinking from is directly above the center of the logos below…

odd…strange…maybe quirky!?!

my question is…what is it that you do…maybe on a daily basis…that is…

odd…strange…maybe quirky!?!

(YOU MIGHT NOT WANT TO READ THIS IF YOU HAVE A WEAK STOMACH!!!)

sooo, this week one of my co-workers has been off…i’ve been sort of overseeing anything that comes up on with her caseload…as a part of that, i took part in a sentencing hearing yesterday…when i got to work i wanted to read through her report, just in case the judge or either attorney had any questions…within seconds of starting to read the report that she had typed up, i had a HUGE knot in my stomach…

no SERIOUSLY!!!

the case involved a 21 yr old man who decided that he would have intercourse with a 12 yr old girl…this all happened while his mom, grandmother, and grandfather were all in the kitchen and he was in the living room with the girl…the family admitted to being aware that this was taking place…but the man and everyone in his family claimed they thought the 12 yr old girl was 18…of course this same family has already taught the 2 yr old to go get the gun when someone knocks on the door…

no SERIOUSLY!!!

now the young girl is 13 yr old and ready to give birth at any moment…this is all taking place right here in my hometown…this is all taking place right here in the united states of america…not some third world country…

i wish the story ended there, but it doesn’t…the young man must have assumed that he was heading to jail, because he was prepared…he had brought some pills with him in his pocket…after he was sentenced and taken into custody he thought it would be a good idea to take all of those pills at once…that way he would have to be taken to the hospital and not to the jail…which of course is what happened…the man is doing fine and is now serving his sentence…

yet the story continues…see the 12 yr old girl was “sexting” the 21 yr old…not to mention the fact that he was not her first “partner”…she is now facing charges as well for those messages that she was sending out…this is all taking place right here in my hometown…this is all taking place right here in the united states of america…not some third world country…

no SERIOUSLY!!!

as the sentence was announced by the judge, you could hear the man’s grandmother in the back of the courtroom…she had been coughing up until the judge began to speak…there was dead silence at that point…until he gave the actual sentence…then grandma spoke up with a, “Jesus Christ”…the only thing that was running through my mind was that if Jesus Christ had been a part of any of this story, a part of any of their lives…this could have been avoided all together!!!

no SERIOUSLY!!!

missions is a calling…it’s something the church has to be doing…but it’s not always across the world…many times it’s just across the street…there are sooo many people that need Jesus Christ in their lives…some of those lives haven’t even breathed their first breath…

i think that’s my biggest struggle with this…i have two beautiful children that i would do anything for…there isn’t a day that goes by that i don’t thank God for them and for all of the joy and blessing they bring to my life…there isn’t a dime that i wouldn’t spend or an hour of sleep that i wouldn’t miss, to see that their needs are met…but what kind of life with this new baby have, as he or she is brought into the world…mommy is only 13 and can’t take care of herself…how will this new life be cared for???

that HUGE knot is still in my stomach today…in a way i hope it stays there, so i don’t forget that sooo many people need Jesus Christ in their lives…they don’t need pretty churches and feel good sermons…people don’t need music that sounds great on sunday mornings…people don’t need me to know what i believe and tell them all about it…they need Jesus Christ…

no SERIOUSLY!!!