13 Ways to Ruin Your Life, the FREE book from Jarrod Jones

(In no particular order…)

• A pure conscience is one of the greatest joys of life.

• Physical health matters.

• Emotional health is as important as physical health, and the two are intertwined.

• Nothing is as bad as it seems, nothing is as good as it seems.

• The reality of heaven is sweeter and more real than ever.

• Pain is the best teacher.

• Only Christ satisfies, still.

• Cynicism lurks to dominate my heart as I age.

• The gospel through the local Biblical Church is God’s only plan to redeem the world.

• I am not the Messiah (can’t do everything and can’t help everybody).

• Truth and Authority matter.

• All people are “sheep” w/ fractured souls. No longer surprised at how easily people can be deceived.

• Don’t take anything personal.

• The Bible is True.

• No matter what, some people won’t like me or trust me. And that’s okay. (See first point).

• Mentoring others is more powerful, impactful, and far-reaching than speaking from a platform to multitudes.

• Social media is as much a curse as a blessing.

• All Secular and ALL Christian media should be eyed with skepticism.

• 80’s-90’s Music is the greatest.

• Bring back the Magic, Bird, Worthy, McHale, Bird, Ewing, and Abdul Jabaar of old!

• Television is a soul stealer.

• Eat for energy not for pleasure (except once a week J).

• Continue to refuse to shift blame or play a victim.

• Fashion is overrated.

• Money and possessions are tools only.

• The Great commandment is the rule of life in all dealings of life.

• Solitude is a gift.

• There is no spiritual maturity without emotional maturity.

• Allow people to help me. Don’t steal their joy.

• Rest is a non-negotiable.

• Live and work and play and behave like I’m 40, not 20.

• It truly is more of a blessing to give than to receive.

• Identity in Christ is pivotal as I age.

• My wife is for me and doesn’t have a conspiracy against me. J

• Solitude with Christ is the food for my soul, character, holiness, strength, and love.

• Tell people you love and appreciate them often.

• What comes around goes around. (What you sow, you will reap).

• The easiest way is rarely, very rarely, the right way. (The path of least resistance has usually been the wrong path.)

• Growth in faith comes through risk, sacrifice, pain, struggle, and mission, primarily.

• Not about what happens to you in life, but how you respond to it.

• Under promise, over deliver.

• Work according to strengths instead of spending time on bettering weaknesses.

• Strong and healthy marriage makes for a strong and healthy man.

• Conversations without depth are frustrating and feel like a waste of time.

• Authenticity and transparency are beneficial to all of life and work.

• I never would have chosen some of the life experiences to 40, but I would take nothing in exchange for them now.

What are the top three that spoke to you? What else would you add at this stage in YOUR journey?

I originally posted this in December of 2008. Still today, a telling clip. I love this guy. For years I’ve been fascinated by his giftedness, his creative genius, his perspectives and views, his “what you see is what you get,” his outspokenness, his political incorrectness, and his passionate atheism. When I came across this video four years ago I was moved by what he shared. Still am. He’s one of those guys I’d love to just hang out with over coffee to learn more about him personally.

I shared about this clip with the Grace folks this past weekend. My question to all of us was if we truly believe what we believe how could we not be lovingly bold to share the gospel of Jesus with our lives AND our lips. Note Penn’s line: “How much do you have to hate someone to not tell them how to have eternal life…”

Sowing Lesson #5 (Finale): TRADING YOUR FEARS (2/12/2012) If we cannot ever lose what is sacrificially given to God’s eternal work, and if God is committed to the financial lives of those who sacrificially give, then we must fear not that we give too much, but that we give too little

Sowing Lesson #4: PLANNING YOUR JOY (2/5/2012)If sacrificial giving is to flow from joy and pleasure, instead of bitter feelings of guilt or pressure, then we must prayerfully and thoughtfully develop and follow a plan of sacrificial giving in light of God’s promises and our life circumstances.

Sowing Lesson #3: SERVING LEFTOVERS (1/29/2012)
If we want to experience God’s financial peace, joy, and security, we must sacrificially give to HIM first, and then live on the leftovers.

Lesson #2: ENDING DELUSIONS (1/15/2012)
God is the true owner of my money and possessions and I will be free to give sacrificially, at peace financially, and secure in accountability before Him, when I see myself as His manager of money and stuff.

——-

Sowing Lesson #1: FACING YOUR FEARS (1/8/2012)
If I want confidence and peace that God will meet my financial needs, then I must involve Him in my financial life by seeking Him first through sacrificial generosity toward His Kingdom work.

(To listen to podcast teachings, click on titles)

Thanks for taking the journey with us at Grace Community Church for the teaching series, “7 Truths That Will Change Your Marriage.” On this blog post, I give bonus content about good communication between husband and wife too. Enjoy.

Truth #4: You Had Me At Hello. For audio teaching (10/23/11) and content (as well as review of the other Marriage Truths), go HERE

I’ve heard men, even Christian men, say, while staring at an attractive woman, “I can look at the menu as long as I don’t order from it.” When I look at restaurant menus and a dinner grabs my eye, I start thinking about it arriving on the plate and how it might smell, and the taste that will sweep me away. Looking at women as if they are “menus” takes you down the same path. Sexually speaking, that path is called lust. And if you look at the menu long enough, eventually you will eat.

So what should we do in the fight against pornography in immorality?

Pray for Power

Men, the battle is already lost if you don’t make sexual temptation a focus of prayer. The first thing that ought to hit the floor in the morning is your knees in pleas to God to keep you alert to sexual sin and empowered to flee it.

Wives, pray for your husband’s victory over the daily bombardment of sexual temptations hurled at him by the culture. Pray for him to be alert, convicted, empowered and pro-active to flee sexual immorality.

Repent of Sin

One of the most gripping words in Scripture is repent. King David, a man after God’s own heart, committed sexual sin with a married woman and had her husband killed. Though he lived with the consequences, what set Him apart and kept him close to God’s heart was that he repented of his sin.

Men, sorrow over your sin coupled with repentance moves the heart of God. Through repentance comes reconciliation with Him and restoration by Him. If you have committed sexual sin, sorrow and repentance will be that which is more likely to bring reconciliation and restoration with your family also.

Wives, I encourage you to show grace if his heart is sorrowful and if he is making efforts to conquer sexual sin in his life. You will rejoice over the fruit that will come from his repentance.

Get Help

In some ways, getting help is repentance in action. Men, you need to admit your sexual sin to a brother in Christ whom you regard highly. You need to share it with your pastor. You and your pastor might need to go together and confess to your wife. Marital counseling might be in order. I would recommend you get personal, Biblical, professional, Christian counseling.

Wives, I encourage you to be openhearted and gracious if or when your husband sits before you and confesses sexual sin in his life. Out of his love for Christ, and his love for you and his family, he is taking steps of repentance to victory. Likewise, may the love of Christ and your love for Christ and family empower you to grant grace, forgive, and press on in your marriage.

–Jarrod

According to one survey, half of all Christian men struggle with pornography. Over the next few weeks I will offer some recommendations to help in this battle:

Take God Seriously

There’s no rationalizing it. Pornography is sexual sin. Jesus and Paul use the word porneia for sexual immorality in Scripture. Porneia is a catch-all word that includes any sexual sin, from lust to adultery and everything in between, including pornography.

God means what He says about sexual sin — porneia. Through King Solomon in Proverbs 7, God says that a man in sexual sin is “like an ox going to the slaughter….little knowing it will cost him his life” (Proverbs 7:21-23). In other words, sexual sin can potentially ruin a man’s marriage, family, career, relationships, indeed his very life.

Fear Sexual Sin

My pastor once told me that men should put as many obstacles between themselves and sexual sin as possible.

The Apostle Paul put it this way, “Flee immorality!” (1 Corinthians 6:18). But do we take this seriously? I fear succumbing to sexual sin. I am so fearful in fact that I go to great lengths to guard my life. Here are a few safeguards I have put in place:

My wife has full reign over my computer. She checks my e-mail. She views my Facebook. She has access to my mobile phone text messages.

One of my ministry assistants can log into my computer from Nashville and surf my hard-drive and Internet history.

I don’t allow myself to be in a room alone with another woman. I don’t have “intimate” conversations with other women (even if they’re friends) about my life’s struggles, nor do I offer an ear to their struggles. In other words I keep an emotional desk between us.

Sometimes I unplug my hotel TV or have the hotel cut off cable capabilities. At the least, I might set two channels on the remote — ESPN and a news channel.

While traveling, I have a friend who calls me to basically say, “Jarrod, you have a wife who loves you and two precious boys. You have a beautiful family. Don’t ruin it.”

I repeat the following mantra to myself when lust creeps within me, “Lust never satisfies!” When the girl appears on the billboard, or in the magazine, newspaper, or coffee shop and her clothes are just too tight or too short or too bare, I close my eyes, repeat the mantra and either turn away or walk away.

Often I reflect on how I don’t want to pass any generational sexual sin on to my sons through what I do in my own life.

–Jarrod