Comments for Jon's Blog http://www.abundanthopeonline.com/blog One pastor, one church, one life at a time. Mon, 23 Apr 2012 14:42:49 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 Comment on Who You Should Vote For! by Cindy http://www.abundanthopeonline.com/blog/?p=404#comment-4802 Cindy Mon, 23 Apr 2012 14:42:49 +0000 http://www.abundanthopeonline.com/blog/?p=404#comment-4802 I am not a huge fan of Mitt Romney's. However, this story http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2012/jan/30/chain-email/viral-internet-story-says-mitt-romney-helped-locat/ has made me think quite differently about him. If there are other stories like this about our current president, I'd love to read them. Daniel 2:21 He controls the course of world events; he removes kings and sets up other kings. He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to the scholars. So no matter what, Our great God is in control! I am not a huge fan of Mitt Romney’s. However, this story http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2012/jan/30/chain-email/viral-internet-story-says-mitt-romney-helped-locat/ has made me think quite differently about him. If there are other stories like this about our current president, I’d love to read them.

Daniel 2:21 He controls the course of world events; he removes kings and sets up other kings. He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to the scholars. So no matter what, Our great God is in control!

]]> Comment on My Prayer For The Church! by John and Shirley Brown http://www.abundanthopeonline.com/blog/?p=383#comment-4383 John and Shirley Brown Wed, 15 Feb 2012 14:22:41 +0000 http://www.abundanthopeonline.com/blog/?p=383#comment-4383 Pastor Jon, we are so Blessed to have you as our leader and teacher, We will commit to Praying these requests in our daily devotions, and also when we have our alone time with God! We know that there is power in Prayer and talking to God, thank you for being a committed servant. we ask God's Blessings on you and your family. We love you! The Browns Pastor Jon, we are so Blessed to have you as our leader and teacher, We will commit to Praying these requests in our daily devotions, and also when we have our alone time with God! We know that there is power in Prayer and talking to God, thank you for being a committed servant. we ask God’s Blessings on you and your family. We love you! The Browns

]]> Comment on Why Is The Church Needed For A Wedding But No Other Time? by jriss321 http://www.abundanthopeonline.com/blog/?p=371#comment-4278 jriss321 Thu, 09 Feb 2012 10:45:37 +0000 http://www.abundanthopeonline.com/blog/?p=371#comment-4278 Alan, I concur that many ladies do dream of having a wedding in the church. I realize that people, including me, make mistakes and sin. I know too that we as Christians need to give forgiveness to people when they do sin. I expect others to do this in my life. I have learned to take it on a case by case basis. This in and of itself is very difficult to do. Doing a wedding can indeed be a form of outreach or ministering to the couple. It does get to be a difficult situation sometimes and even disheartening. But we trudge on in doing the best we can do. Thanks for your comments. Alan, I concur that many ladies do dream of having a wedding in the church. I realize that people, including me, make mistakes and sin. I know too that we as Christians need to give forgiveness to people when they do sin. I expect others to do this in my life. I have learned to take it on a case by case basis. This in and of itself is very difficult to do.
Doing a wedding can indeed be a form of outreach or ministering to the couple. It does get to be a difficult situation sometimes and even disheartening. But we trudge on in doing the best we can do.
Thanks for your comments.

]]> Comment on Why Is The Church Needed For A Wedding But No Other Time? by Alan Sims http://www.abundanthopeonline.com/blog/?p=371#comment-4270 Alan Sims Wed, 08 Feb 2012 16:57:54 +0000 http://www.abundanthopeonline.com/blog/?p=371#comment-4270 Message flagged Monday, January 30, 2012 11:31 AM Well, I will step out of the boat, and hopefully, not into the deep end of the pond. Before I do though, please keep in mind that I am from the Baby Boomer generation, so my traditional roots probably run more deeply than younger Generation X'ers which followed the Baby Boomers, and the subsequent generations that followed the X'ers. Okay, it's time to get my feet wet. I think most people, well no offense ladies, but this thought applies mostly to the ladies . . . I think most ladies dream of a church wedding from very early on in their lives. Call it tradition, or call it whatever, but young girls start dreaming of their Knight in shining armor, a church wedding, wearing white as a sign of purity, being carried across the threshold, and living happily ever after. I think the tradition of a church wedding has been passed down from generation to generation so far. To some, this may be the only knowledge of a church in their formative years, too As our world gets more ungodly though, this tradition is in danger of going by the way. I had penned some other thoughts, but when I tried to post them previously, I guess divine intervention prevented them from making their way through cyberspace. So I will simply close by saying that although you may be outnumbered by your peers, I commend you, Pastor Jon, for standing by your convictions of requiring couples to meet certain criteria before you will agree to join them in holy matrimony. Bravo, and amen! Message flagged Monday, January 30, 2012 11:31 AM
Well, I will step out of the boat, and hopefully, not into the deep end of the pond. Before I do though, please keep in mind that I am from the Baby Boomer generation, so my traditional roots probably run more deeply than younger Generation X’ers which followed the Baby Boomers, and the subsequent generations that followed the X’ers.
Okay, it’s time to get my feet wet. I think most people, well no offense ladies, but this thought applies mostly to the ladies . . . I think most ladies dream of a church wedding from very early on in their lives. Call it tradition, or call it whatever, but young girls start dreaming of their Knight in shining armor, a church wedding, wearing white as a sign of purity, being carried across the threshold, and living happily ever after. I think the tradition of a church wedding has been passed down from generation to generation so far. To some, this may be the only knowledge of a church in their formative years, too As our world gets more ungodly though, this tradition is in danger of going by the way.
I had penned some other thoughts, but when I tried to post them previously, I guess divine intervention prevented them from making their way through cyberspace. So I will simply close by saying that although you may be outnumbered by your peers, I commend you, Pastor Jon, for standing by your convictions of requiring couples to meet certain criteria before you will agree to join them in holy matrimony. Bravo, and amen!

]]> Comment on Don’t Worry? by Alan Sims http://www.abundanthopeonline.com/blog/?p=379#comment-4268 Alan Sims Wed, 08 Feb 2012 16:53:16 +0000 http://www.abundanthopeonline.com/blog/?p=379#comment-4268 Although you were speaking about your own worries, one worry that should be included in this discussion is a mother's worry. I know that this worry is developed from the womb, too. My mother, bless her heart, worried about me constantly. I did my best to conveniently forget to tell her about all of my exploits especially when I was a rough and tumble kid growing up. If she knew that I had climbed 60' pine trees that lined the edge of our Navy housing playground in Groton, CT when I was seven, or traipsed through the mountainous woods of West Virginia armed with my Daisy Red Ryder bb rifle hunting a black bear when I was nine. . . well, let's just say that I might have aged her somewhat prematurely. To put it in perspective, she was there for me when I split my left thumb open with a Jim Bowie hunting knife trying to make arrows for my hickory bow, and when I was hit by a car on my bicycle. Although I bounced off the hood of that '55 Ford and landed on the pavement some ten feet away, I came away from this experience with only a sore bottom. The Ford lost its hood ornament which I now regret that I didn't get as a souvenir. About a month after I had my bicycle repaired, the fork of the handle bars broke, and I was pitched forward, and the stub of this fork opened my abdomen like a knife through butter. Since my dad was on a Med cruise at the time, my mother, bless her heart, had to take me to the Navy hospital where a Navy corpsman patched me up with thirteen stitches. He should have put another thirteen in at least, but that's another story; but the point is that it was just another day in the life of my mother. As I grew older, and maybe a little wiser, I started telling my mother that worry was like a rocking chair . . . it kept you busy, but it never got you anywhere. I'm sure that others have independently thought of this same expression, too. The word "if" is right in the middle of "life" which is an indication that life itself is full of unknowns. We can make our choices which will hopefully make the path of life that we travel less bumpier, but again, we do not know what is around the next bend in this path. Although I am concerned about the outcome of certain aspects of my life, and concerned about the future of the economy as well as scores of other things; I can honestly say that I let God do my "worrying". I had a quadruple coronary by-pass back in '98, and the last thought I had before" going under" was asking God to have his will with me, and if He wanted to call me home, then all I ask was for Him to take care of my loved ones. When I awoke some eleven hours later, my very first thought was to thank Him for allowing me to stay on his earth a little while longer. My mother told me that my doctor had told her that I was the calmest patient he had ever performed open heart surgery on. In summation, the Serenity Prayer is great for dealing with the unknowns in our lives: God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change; courage to change the things I can; and wisdom to know the difference. Although you were speaking about your own worries, one worry that should be included in this discussion is a mother’s worry. I know that this worry is developed from the womb, too. My mother, bless her heart, worried about me constantly. I did my best to conveniently forget to tell her about all of my exploits especially when I was a rough and tumble kid growing up. If she knew that I had climbed 60′ pine trees that lined the edge of our Navy housing playground in Groton, CT when I was seven, or traipsed through the mountainous woods of West Virginia armed with my Daisy Red Ryder bb rifle hunting a black bear when I was nine. . . well, let’s just say that I might have aged her somewhat prematurely. To put it in perspective, she was there for me when I split my left thumb open with a Jim Bowie hunting knife trying to make arrows for my hickory bow, and when I was hit by a car on my bicycle. Although I bounced off the hood of that ’55 Ford and landed on the pavement some ten feet away, I came away from this experience with only a sore bottom. The Ford lost its hood ornament which I now regret that I didn’t get as a souvenir. About a month after I had my bicycle repaired, the fork of the handle bars broke, and I was pitched forward, and the stub of this fork opened my abdomen like a knife through butter. Since my dad was on a Med cruise at the time, my mother, bless her heart, had to take me to the Navy hospital where a Navy corpsman patched me up with thirteen stitches. He should have put another thirteen in at least, but that’s another story; but the point is that it was just another day in the life of my mother.
As I grew older, and maybe a little wiser, I started telling my mother that worry was like a rocking chair . . . it kept you busy, but it never got you anywhere. I’m sure that others have independently thought of this same expression, too.
The word “if” is right in the middle of “life” which is an indication that life itself is full of unknowns. We can make our choices which will hopefully make the path of life that we travel less bumpier, but again, we do not know what is around the next bend in this path.
Although I am concerned about the outcome of certain aspects of my life, and concerned about the future of the economy as well as scores of other things; I can honestly say that I let God do my “worrying”. I had a quadruple coronary by-pass back in ’98, and the last thought I had before” going under” was asking God to have his will with me, and if He wanted to call me home, then all I ask was for Him to take care of my loved ones. When I awoke some eleven hours later, my very first thought was to thank Him for allowing me to stay on his earth a little while longer. My mother told me that my doctor had told her that I was the calmest patient he had ever performed open heart surgery on.
In summation, the Serenity Prayer is great for dealing with the unknowns in our lives:
God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change; courage to change the things I can; and wisdom to know the difference.

]]> Comment on Marriage Is No Longer Sacred! by jriss321 http://www.abundanthopeonline.com/blog/?p=376#comment-4264 jriss321 Wed, 01 Feb 2012 16:39:45 +0000 http://www.abundanthopeonline.com/blog/?p=376#comment-4264 Hello everyone, you should be able to post comments and reply's now. It appears to be fixed. Thanks for getting it right Bob. Hello everyone, you should be able to post comments and reply’s now. It appears to be fixed. Thanks for getting it right Bob.

]]> Comment on Living Modestly In An Immodest World – Part III by Kelly http://www.abundanthopeonline.com/blog/?p=367#comment-4242 Kelly Tue, 17 Jan 2012 20:47:29 +0000 http://www.abundanthopeonline.com/blog/?p=367#comment-4242 Thank you so much for taking the time to blog about this very important family and Society issue. Devin & Kaylee have been very attentive and interested in the Modesty Blogs. Your Godly words and details make it easy for them to understand and how refreshing it is to see them "get it"! I pray daily that my kids will find a Godly lifemate and will raise Godly children. I also pray that God instills in Joe & I all the right words, actions and qualities to raise them as God desires for us to do. This is a topic that we have to see and deal with very often and I appreciate your Godly words. God Bless you Brother. Kelly Sister In Christ Thank you so much for taking the time to blog about this very important family and Society issue. Devin & Kaylee have been very attentive and interested in the Modesty Blogs. Your Godly words and details make it easy for them to understand and how refreshing it is to see them “get it”! I pray daily that my kids will find a Godly lifemate and will raise Godly children. I also pray that God instills in Joe & I all the right words, actions and qualities to raise them as God desires for us to do. This is a topic that we have to see and deal with very often and I appreciate your Godly words.

God Bless you Brother.

Kelly
Sister In Christ

]]> Comment on Theology Vs. Practice! by Vicki Brown http://www.abundanthopeonline.com/blog/?p=339#comment-3065 Vicki Brown Wed, 30 Nov 2011 18:01:56 +0000 http://www.abundanthopeonline.com/blog/?p=339#comment-3065 Wow, wow, wow Jon....this is some good stuff. I'm not a big reader other than the Bible but I think I'll invest in this one...thanks, God Bless! Wow, wow, wow Jon….this is some good stuff. I’m not a big reader other than the Bible but I think I’ll invest in this one…thanks, God Bless!

]]> Comment on Are You Making Choices Motivated By Fear? by jriss321 http://www.abundanthopeonline.com/blog/?p=333#comment-2928 jriss321 Wed, 23 Nov 2011 16:06:24 +0000 http://www.abundanthopeonline.com/blog/?p=333#comment-2928 Bill, I had responded to this the other day but I am not sure what happened. SORRY! So let me answer your question and ensure it gets posted. The Bible NEVER comes out to say how much we are to save and "store" up. Proverbs speaks of a prudent man leaving an inheritance to his children's children. Also it also speaks of saving elsewhere in Proverbs. Then you come to a passage like we find in Matthew that tells us to store up treasures in heaven. Other places tell us to give to the poor. So what are we to do? I will tell you what the my family is striving for after much prayer and fasting many years ago. We strive to have 3 to 6 months money saved up to cover our regular monthly bills (electricity, food, mortgage, etc...). We are no where close to this goal but are working toward it. We also strive to give more and more away each year as an investment in the Kingdom of God. We started when we were just married giving 10% and have increased it over the years. At this point we are well over 10% of our annual package. We strive to live off of 10% and give away 90% but due to disobedience and poor choices we have not come close to this goal. We are working hard right now to reduce our debt - even getting rid of our mortgage (which some say is an unwise tax move) So how did we come to this conclusion? We PRAYED! PRAYED! PRAYED! and FASTED! FASTED! FASTED! We have tested God in our finances as Malachi commands. We strive to honor God with every penny we earn, giving on everything we receive. We are striving to have a 3 to 6 month "emergency" fund in place but this is not just in case we loose my job. We would use this to support someone else who is struggling financially or to help someone go on a missions trip. Now a lot of financial people would disagree with this but that is what we do as a family are striving for! I hope this helps but in the end you and your wife need to PRAY! PRAY! PRAY! Bill, I had responded to this the other day but I am not sure what happened. SORRY! So let me answer your question and ensure it gets posted. The Bible NEVER comes out to say how much we are to save and “store” up. Proverbs speaks of a prudent man leaving an inheritance to his children’s children. Also it also speaks of saving elsewhere in Proverbs. Then you come to a passage like we find in Matthew that tells us to store up treasures in heaven. Other places tell us to give to the poor. So what are we to do? I will tell you what the my family is striving for after much prayer and fasting many years ago. We strive to have 3 to 6 months money saved up to cover our regular monthly bills (electricity, food, mortgage, etc…). We are no where close to this goal but are working toward it. We also strive to give more and more away each year as an investment in the Kingdom of God. We started when we were just married giving 10% and have increased it over the years. At this point we are well over 10% of our annual package. We strive to live off of 10% and give away 90% but due to disobedience and poor choices we have not come close to this goal. We are working hard right now to reduce our debt – even getting rid of our mortgage (which some say is an unwise tax move) So how did we come to this conclusion? We PRAYED! PRAYED! PRAYED! and FASTED! FASTED! FASTED! We have tested God in our finances as Malachi commands. We strive to honor God with every penny we earn, giving on everything we receive. We are striving to have a 3 to 6 month “emergency” fund in place but this is not just in case we loose my job. We would use this to support someone else who is struggling financially or to help someone go on a missions trip. Now a lot of financial people would disagree with this but that is what we do as a family are striving for! I hope this helps but in the end you and your wife need to PRAY! PRAY! PRAY!

]]> Comment on Are You Making Choices Motivated By Fear? by Bill http://www.abundanthopeonline.com/blog/?p=333#comment-2898 Bill Tue, 22 Nov 2011 11:36:06 +0000 http://www.abundanthopeonline.com/blog/?p=333#comment-2898 How do we know when we are suppose to store up money(savings) or give it all away I cant find the straight answer in the bible to this. Especially when we have the Dave Ramsey course that tells us how to live responsibly not in debt and to put money aside for emergencies. How much is too much and what is not enough?It seems like the bible says to give up everything and trust In GOD for everything? I am having hard time dealing with the boundarys here. He wants us to double and triple our money not just horde it away but we all try to keep some emergency money. HELP!!!!!!!! How do we know when we are suppose to store up money(savings) or give it all away I cant find the straight answer in the bible to this. Especially when we have the Dave Ramsey course that tells us how to live responsibly not in debt and to put money aside for emergencies. How much is too much and what is not enough?It seems like the bible says to give up everything and trust In GOD for everything? I am having hard time dealing with the boundarys here. He wants us to double and triple our money not just horde it away but we all try to keep some emergency money. HELP!!!!!!!!

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