Friday Coffee with PJ

Yet another Friday has arrived! Ouch. This summer is going way too fast for my liking! How is it that the weeks during the winter seem to crawl by in comparison? Oh well, I invite you to pour yourself a cup of coffee and join me for a few random thoughts.

1. As I was doing some devotional study in Psalm 7, I ran across the following verse: "God is a just judge, and God is angry with the wicked every day" (vs. 7 - NKJV). As I reflected upon that, I wrote this comment in the margin: "Really? God is angry? All we hear about today is that God is love!" Of course, God is angry. He is angry with a world of rebels. And he has every right to be angry. Understanding his anger and wrath make his love and grace even more amazing! Knowing that I love God only because he first loved me (1 John 4:19) is truly an incredible, mind boggling, heart stirring thought! That God would love a rebel like me! Wow! I am grateful. How about you?


2. This past year I have been examined by more doctors than in all the years of the last decade combined. And even though these examinations were sometimes painful, I endured them because I knew they were in my best interest. What doctors do for our bodies, we must also do for our souls. We need to make the time .... from time to time ... to do some self evaluation. If we don't, we will never progress in our spiritual journey as we could! To help you do a self evaluation, here is a list of Ten Questions for a Six Month Spiritual Checkup.  And if you want to go deeper, here is another list of Twelve Questions for a Six Month Spiritual Checkup. I plan to use them to see how I am doing. I encourage you to do the same!


3. The adjacent photo shows my grandson Nolan patiently waiting for a snack shop at a nearby
campground to open so he could get a snack. Hmmm. Reminds me of my post of the other day. In our fast paced world, we must make time to unplug and spend some alone time, WAITING upon God. For it is in waiting upon the Lord that we will gain the courage to meet the demands of each day (Psalm 27:14; Isaiah 40:31). And given the turbulent, ever-changing world in which we live, who among us doesn't need courage?

Thanks for stopping by . . .
pj

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