Friday Coffee with PJ

It's Friday ... so grab a cup of coffee and join me for a couple of random thoughts.

1. This morning I walked into Darrenkamps Market, a grocery store that sits adjacent to our church. The place was mobbed. At first I was quite puzzled. Darrenkamps does a solid business, but the only time I usually see it as packed is the day before a holiday or a snow storm! Then I recalled that Darrenkamps was holding their Spring Food Festival. As their flyer for the event proclaimed, "Over 30 stations for sampling a wide variety of products including Darrenkamp's signature items. Come hungry, we will have plenty of great food samples."  Certainly a great marketing move by the store. If you offer something for nothing, people will come! In reality, these food samples are not "free." Someone is picking up the cost of the food. And so it is with the gospel. The gospel offers us something that is indeed FREE to us: the forgiveness of sin and a restored relationship with the God of the universe. But someone payed the price to make that possible. And that someone is Jesus Christ. He paid for our sin and rebellion with his own blood. So although our salvation is free to us it cost God dearly. Have YOU accepted this free gift that he offers (Romans 3:23, Romans 6:23)? If you have not and need some clarification, please take a moment and check out Two Ways to Live: The Choice We All Face. 

2, When we arrived at our resort in Aruba, our room was not ready. So we checked our bag with the bell hops and decided to take a walk to check things out. We were not very far into our walk when we were startled by a large iguana that crossed or path. Now if you have ever had this occur, you know iguanas are fear inspiring creatures (see picture). So as it scurried in front of us ... we stopped  ... and waited ... until it was gone. As we proceeded, we were watching from side to side to make sure we were not attacked by one. Fast forward to our last day in Aruba. By this time, we were looking for the

iguanas. We were no longer afraid of them ... rather we had become enamored by them and their behaviors. The resort actually threw out lettuce leaves in particular places around noon each day. This would draw in quite a few iguanas ... for apparently, they really like lettuce! All this to say ... we went from being fearful of these creatures to becoming quite comfortable with them. Reminds me of how we respond to sin. Early in our faith walk, we can be very sensitive to sin and it's "ugliness." But if we are not careful, if we allow sin to go unchecked in our lives, we can become quite comfortable with it. And that is NOT a good thing! I encourage you to prayerfully read the two psalms of confession written by King David (Psalm 32 and Psalm 51). Ask God to give you David's perspective on sin. You will be better for it.

Thanks for stopping by . . .
pj