THE DUCK AND THE DEVIL - Heart Talk

There was a little boy visiting his grandparents on their farm. He was given a slingshot to play with out in the woods. He practiced in the woods, but could never hit the target. Getting a little discouraged, he headed back for dinner. As he was walking back he saw Grandma’s pet duck. On an impulse, he let the slingshot fly, hit the duck square in the head and killed it. He was shocked and grieved.
In a panic, he hid the dead duck in the wood pile, only to see his sister watching! Sally had seen it all, but she said nothing.
After lunch the next day Grandma said, “Sally, let’s wash the dishes.” But Sally said, “Grandma, Johnny told me he wanted to help in the kitchen. Then she whispered to him, “Remember the duck?” So Johnny did the dishes.
Later that day, Grandpa asked if the children wanted to go fishing and Grandma said, “I’m sorry but I need Sally to help me make supper.” Sally just smiled and said, “Well, that’s all right because Johnny told me he wanted to help.” She whispered again, “Remember the duck?”
After several days of Johnny doing both his chores and Sally’s he finally couldn’t stand it any longer. He came to Grandma and confessed that he had killed the duck. Grandma knelt down, gave him a hug and said, “Sweetheart, I know. You see, I was standing at the window and I saw the whole thing, but because I love you, I forgave you. I was just wondering how long you would let Sally make a slave of you.”
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY AND EVERY DAY HEREAFTER: Whatever is in your past, whatever you have done, and whatever the devil keeps throwing in your face (lying, cheating, debt, fear, bad habits, hatred, anger, bitterness, etc.) whatever it is, you need to know that God was standing at the window and He saw the whole thing. He has seen your whole life. He wants you to know that He loves you and that you are forgiven. He’s just wondering how long you will let the devil make a slave of you. How long will the devil’s “Sally” hurl what God has forgiven in your face? Sometimes the devil comes in human form (more often than not, actually). And, I wonder how long Christians will unwittingly allow Satan to use them in this unforgiving way. When will be love as HE loves, forgive as HE forgives, and forget as HE forgets? Just musing, that’s all.
The great thing about God is that when you ask for forgiveness, He not only forgives you, but He forgets. It is by God’s grace and mercy that we are saved. WHEN HE DIED ON THE CROSS HE WAS THINKING OF YOU.

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DR. & MRS. JERRY A. JONES
For information about the caring ministry of these retired pastors:
Post Office Box 6986
Burbank, California 91510-6986
e-mail: his2u@charter.net

Spit out the Shell - HEART TALK

Great lessons are often learned from unusual things that happen in our life. Such is the case with a half dozen squirrels that hang out around our home. I’m not quite sure how it happened, but I have managed to become friends with these little creatures, so much so that they come looking for me. They love salted peanuts. They now eat out of my hand. Mrs. Jones, on a few occasions, has come into our kitchen and found one of my little friends looking for me (the kitchen door being open on a warm day). And, on one occasion, one of my little friends crept into my office in our garage, looking for me. They have even learned where I keep them and I have heard them rummaging in the peanut bag.
These are my friends. I have gained their trust. But, more important than the great pleasure I get from feeding them salted peanuts is a lesson that I have learned from them as I have watched them up close. The picture above is a true representation of these cute little critters eating the peanut. I watch them as they begin the process of GETTING TO THE PEANUT. They spit out the shell. They know where the peanut is. They also know the difference between the shell and the peanut. They simply spit out the shell and eat the peanuts one by one. As soon as they are finished they begin swishing their bushy tail, their nose twitches, their eyes sparkle, and it is clear that they are ready for another round. THEY SPIT OUT THE SHELL IN ORDER TO GET TO THE PEANUT. Oh, they create a mess (the shells always do), but they have brought me so much pleasure that I don’t mind cleaning up their mess.
There is another of God’s creatures that provides further impetus to the lesson that I hope will come through loud and clear. This comes from my growing up in the Deep South in a rural environment. Did you know that you can throw corn in gravel and a goose will scoop up both gravel and corn. The lesson here is that the goose has the ability to know the difference between gravel and corn. He will spit out the gravel and swallow the corn…naturally.
The spiritual lesson here is that every person who names the name of Christ needs to pray for these same God-given instincts. We need to realize that in order to get to the peanut we will have to spit out the shell. There is no food value in the shell. Yes, the peanut needed the shell in which to grow and be preserved. And, inside this shell that we call our body there is something of value…our soul. There is within each of us a yen for God, a hunger for better things, a desire to one day lay aside this old house of clay and present to God that which His Son died to redeem.
And, there is certainly a lesson to be learned from the goose. Are we as smart as a goose? Not always! We lack discernment when it comes to what is gravel and what is corn…what to swallow and what to spit out. There are many voices. There is every wind of doctrine blowing. We need to be careful when it comes to what we swallow and what we spit out. Nobody is all together right in his/her doctrine (philosophy or opinion). As God’s Word tells us, we need to use caution. We need to “prove all things” (1 Thessalonians 5:21), and we need to follow the instruction given by John in his first epistle: “Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try (m. examine) the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world” (1 John 4:1).
Pray for wisdom! Get understanding, Solomon wrote. The human spirit is gullible. It judges books by the cover. It so easily gets caught up in the “hype” that prevails on television and in many pulpits today. Where I was raised, I often heard the old-timers say, “never buy a pig in a poke.”
In closing, let me challenge you to realize that the shell – if you hope to get the benefit of the nut inside, and your spiritual man is going to be fed – must be spit out. Paul spoke of it as crucifying the flesh with the lusts thereof. There is value inside of you. Cater not to the shell – the external – the carnal man. Life is like a gravel road. There is good and bad. The gravel is often mixed with the corn. Pray for the wisdom to know the difference. SPIT OUT THE GRAVEL!

Pastor Jerry Jones

A Charge Have I by Brian Becker

PRESENTED TO PASTOR JERRY JONES
on the occasion of his 40 years in ministry celebration.
December 10, 1989

The Lord our God has charged you
with the souls of many men.
The Holy Spirit comes upon you
And you speak the message He sends.

You feel our pain and sorrow,
You see the tears we cry;
You tell us ‘worry not, for tomorrow
Will wipe the tears from our eyes.

You’re the man of God, you’re on fire;
In your hand you hold a mighty sword;
You lift us up out of the mire
And set our souls upon the Lord.

To us you’re a chosen warrior,
A defender of the cross –
Preaching the Gospel of the Risen Christ,
And salvation for the lost.

We praise our Heavenly Father
For this preacher so learned and wise;
For he preaches with love, righteousness and truth,
And does battle with the father of lies.

A personal postscript:
I have no idea what ever happened to Brian. He was a struggling child of God when he wrote this. What I do know is that I am humbled by what this young man saw in this preacher. It is still the cry of my heart and my determination, after all these years, to be this…and more…to all who need me. My heart reaches out to the LOST…the LAST…and the LEAST. – For Christ…PASTOR JERRY A. JONES

PARSON TO PERSON MINISTRIES

JUST OVERLOOK IT! - Heart Talk

-Is it really that important?
-Is it worth the confusion it will cause?
-Is it worth the hurt feelings?

Someone has said, “The art of being wise is knowing WHAT to overlook.” For the sake of making the point, I would like to ask, “How much of what we don’t overlook is really important? How important is much of the trivial stuff that we make so much to do over? In my judgment, too many mole hills are turned into mountains. We react to trivial things, things that really do not amount to a hill of beans. Conversely, the important things in life are often not given the same attention, energy, or emotion.
The excuses that are given for such juvenile behavior are just that…juvenile. Unfortunately, far too many people have a very short fuse. It doesn’t take long for the fuse to hit “pay dirt” and things blow up. What follows often becomes unnecessarily hurtful. Wounds are opened that more often than not, will never heal. It is for sure that the scar tissue will always be there as an emotional reminder of the “little thing” that exploded into something destructive. Sadly, the pain will never go away. And, more often than not it is “the tongue…the little member” that kindles the fire (James 3:5). James was speaking from experience when he wrote (in the same chapter), “The tongue can no man tame; it is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison. Therewith bless we God, even the Father; and therewith curse we men, which are made after the similitude of God…these things ought not so to be” (James 3:8-10).
People spend too much time looking for something to “tick them off,” or so it seems. It would be so much better if words and deeds were deliberately chosen to build others up and encourage them. It would be so much better for all concerned if we would JUST OVERLOOK SOME THINGS…THE TRIVIAL THINGS…THE THINGS THAT ARE BEST LEFT UNSAID AND UNDONE. For many it seems that there is some personal pleasure in stirring up a stink and hurting someone, and more often than not it is someone we love.
In closing, I remind you that THE ART OF BEING WISE IS KNOWING WHAT TO OVERLOOK. We could all smarten up a bit, don’t you think? Think on these things! Act on these things!

Pastor & Mrs. Jerry A, Jones