I Am Thankful...

As Thanksgiving approaches, I have been thinking about just how blessed I am. God has given me much more than I deserve.

I am thankful for my incredible wife. She encourages me when I am tired, cheers me up when I am sad, brings me back down to earth when my head is in the clouds, hugs me when I am depressed, cries with me when I mourn, and is always at my side. She strives hard to be a Biblical wife. She is my helpmate, my desire, my love, my support, and even at times my protector. I am thankful for my wife.

I am thankful for my son. His laugh can bring joy to the most rainy day. His playfulness allows me to be 5 years old again. He depends on my wife and I for food, clothes, shelter, and love. What he doesn't realize is the joy it brings us to give him his needs and show love to him. God has taught me more about Himself through my son in the past 5 years than I had learned about God the first 23 years of my life. I am thankful for my son.

I am thankful for my church. Crossroads, I have been with you for 3 years this coming Easter. You have welcomed me and my family in, nurtured us to grow, and been a source of support when we need it. You have given me the opportunity to begin to fulfill God's call on my life to preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ and do my best to give the youth a firm foundation on which to stand. You are truly a people who are about the business of Christ Jesus. To the close friends I have made on whom I have called for advice, help, guidance, and friendship, an extra thanks. I am thankful for my church.

Most of all, I am thankful for my Savior, Jesus Christ. Without Your love, I would be lost. Without Your mercy, I would be punished. Without Your grace, I would have no hope. Without Your blood, I would be condemned. I am thankful for my Savior.

May God bless you, your family, and friends this year. May you seek Jesus Christ as you make your way through this life, and as you seek, may you find.

In Christ,

jon walton

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Available To All.

I live in a very rural area. In fact, besides family the closest neighbor I have is about a mile away. It is a great place to live, its quiet and beautiful. We have lots of room for the kids to play, ride our ATV's, camp out, and generally enjoy God's creation. We don't have to worry about the neighbor looking in our windows or getting too close to our yard, it is pretty peaceful where we live.

However, I do have one complaint: There is no access to high speed internet where I live. Does that sound crazy? I thought everyone had that access! For crying out loud, there is even high-speed WiFi offered on airplanes flying thousands of miles above us! Never the less, no high speed option(except for satellite which will not work with what I want) is available to me. Why? Because there is not enough demand for it in my area. The houses are too far apart, it would be too difficult or take too long for a company to make money running the lines or setting up the equipment to make it available. Bummer.

Is Jesus like that? Did Jesus say, "Sure I'll give my life as long as at least 10 million people will accept me."? Did Jesus say, "Sure you can go to heaven, as long as you complete enough good works."? Did Jesus say, "When enough people are ready, then I will allow salvation."? Absolutely not! In fact, Jesus' desire and the truth is the direct opposite!

The Lord does not delay His promise, as some understand delay, but is patient with you, not wanting any to perish, but all to come to repentance.

-2 Peter 3:9

"Thank you Jesus, that your salvation is available to all. You do not restrict your coverage. Your love knows no boundaries. You are available to all."

In Christ,

jon walton

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My First Ministry...

I have the opportunity to preach this Sunday again and with that comes preparation time. I know of pastors and preachers that get up in front of a congregation without notes or even really preparing a sermon, yet when they preach it is good and from God. I think that is awesome that they can do that, but God doesn't work that way for me. I'll just be honest, I start preparing the minute I know I am going to be preaching.

As I was preparing for this sermon, I kept getting interrupted by various things. First off, I have been sick for a week now. I hate being sick. Not only have I been sick, but Missy(my wife) and Isaiah(my son) have been as well. Its nothing that bad, but I can bet that the stock market value on tissues have gone up this week. Seriously, the trash can looks like the Kleenex factory exploded! Missy is going back to school for her master's degree which means I am taking care of Isaiah as much as possible so she can study and go to class. As I am reading, taking notes, and looking up the meanings of words last night, my son says, "Dad, will you play Xbox with me?" A few games later I tell him, "I really need to study now." He plays for a bit by himself, then asks, "Dad, can you play Lego's with me?" A few built airplanes and cars later I am back to studying. I check the clock, 8:00pm. "Isaiah, time for your bath" I told him as I got up heading to the bathroom to start the bath water. After his bath and I got him to bed, I was ready to buckle down and finish out my sermon. That's when Missy walked in from class, her head sunk low. She came in and started to tell me about her day. I glanced at the clock as she started, 9:30pm.

It was about that time I remembered something that Dr. David Jeremiah had said. He was trying to finish a book and faced a series of interruptions similar to mine. His son wanted to play catch and David told him, "Not now, I need to finish this, there is a deadline coming up." His wife, overhearing the conversation came in as his son left and told him, "David, there will always be another deadline to meet, sermon to prepare, or book to write, but your son will only be 13 for one year, then it will be gone." David's prayer has stuck with me ever since I heard it, and I silently prayed it while Missy told me about her day:

"Dear God, help me. Let me not put anything before my first ministry ever again. My first ministry is my family."

Are there relationships in your family that are broken? Have you been putting other things before you family like work, play, or even yourself? Now is the time to start repairing your first ministry. Now is the time to make your family your first ministry. They need you and you need them. Don't let them be last in line.

In Christ,

jon walton

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No, No, Don't Do That.

Yesterday I called up a friend and invited him out to lunch. To my surprise, when we got ready to pay he said, "I got this." My natural response was the same when I have offered to buy his, "No, no, don't do that."

This is an odd custom we have in America. Maybe it's just in the south, i'm not sure, but this refusal of a gift. It's weird when you think about it. Why are we so hesitant, or even standoffish, when someone wants to do something nice for us? I think it comes from the feeling of "If they do something nice for me, I HAVE to do something nice for them." When did that start? I thought a gift was something FREELY given. When I went to Brazil on a mission trip a few years ago, one of the things they told us was, "If someone offers you something, do not refuse it. Take it and say 'Thank you.' The take offense to someone refusing a gift."

This Sunday we are putting our Faith into Act!on. We are canceling our 11:00 AM service and serving the community. We will be handing out food boxes, cutting hair, giving medical exams, and more. I can promise you no one showing up for help will be saying "No, no, don't do that." These people will be taking everything we are willing to give. You know what the incredible thing about that is? When we give because of the love we have for Jesus, we are the ones who get blessed. So many people don't get that, but when you do you start looking for ways to help others out.

May your gifts be given freely with no expection of something in return. And may others bless you without your refusal.

In Christ,
jon walton

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