Friday Coffee with PJ

Recently I enjoyed a cup of Tanzanian coffee making a WAWA pit stop. I enjoyed it so much I stopped at another WAWA store to grab another cup. All this to say if you see a WAWA, be sure to stop and try this coffee. You will NOT be disappointed! Thanks again for joining me for a quick edition of Friday Coffee with PJ. 

1. You all know what it is like to wish for some extra hours in your day or even a few extra days in your week to wrap up your never ending, always growing to do list! All too often it seems like there’s WAY too much to do and WAY too little time in which to get it all done! Oh the tyranny of the urgent!

This reminds me of a story I once heard. Long ago when Africa was still relatively unknown to the outside world, a European explorer was taking a group into the African interior. He had hired a native guide along with a number of other natives to help carry the supplies. After a mid-morning break on the third day of a fast-paced march, the Africans refused to resume their trek. When the European explorer asked the guide the reason for their refusal, the guide told him, “They just need a little more time to allow their souls to catch up to their bodies.” 

I think all of us could learn a lesson from these guys. Just as Jesus would get away to be alone with his Father (Mark 1:35) – we too need to be sure to do the same. As fast-paced as 21^st century American life can be at times – we all need to take time to allow our souls to catch up to our bodies. So why not today take your Bible and unplug from the world around you (You mean like my phone? Yes! Exactly what I mean). It will be time well spent! 

2. I have been gleaning a lot of insights and help for living out my faith through the use of Tim Keller's devotional on Proverbs, God's Wisdom for Navigating Life. In his reading for April 22nd, he offered up the following insights on Proverbs 18:14:

"There’s nothing more important than maintaining your inward, spiritual life. A broken body can be sustained with difficulty by a strong spirit, but a broken spirit cannot be sustained by even the physically strongest person in the world. We are taught that our happiness is based on external things such as beauty, health, money, and status. Here we are being told, 'No, it has nothing to do with your outward circumstances. Happiness is determined by how you deal with your circumstances from inside, how you process, how you address, and how you view them.' Is there anything that is crushing your spirit?"

His question is one worth pondering! 

Thanks for stopping by . . . 

pj

Friday Coffee with PJ

Friday. Coffee. Blog post. Thanks for stopping by! As you enjoy a cup of your favorite morning brew, here are a couple of random thoughts that I hope you will find helpful as you seek to walk with God. 

1.  My apologies for not being present last Friday with a post. I was out of the office enjoying a week of vacation time. Even though my wife and I did not venture far from home, we did enjoy some time away. Last Friday morning we left home for Arneytown, NJ (15 miles southeast of Trenton, NJ). What is in Arneytown, you might be wondering? Brigadier General William C. Doyle Memorial Cemetery.  This is the veterans cemetery where my wife's father was buried when he died in August of 1994. Sharon's mom was buried there in October of 2016. My wife wanted to see the grave site with its new grave marker which included her mom's name. As we stood over their graves, we watered their grave as we recalled their lives. At some point during those moments, I happened to look at the adjacent grave. "Ah, Pete was buried next to another Polish-American! And he died the same day that Pete died - August 15 1994." I then turned back and looked at Pete's and Bessie's plaque. In seconds I noticed a glaring mistake. Instead of listing Pete's date of death as Aug 15 1994, the plaque read, "Jan 15 1994!" I quickly pointed out the mistake to Sharon. So on our way out of the cemetery, we 

stopped by the administrative office. After explaining the situation, one of the office workers pulled the paper work. The correct date was there. But at some time during the ordering process, the date was changed to January 15th! The woman apologized and assured us that a new plaque would be in place within a month or so. Content that the error would be fixed, we departed for our next stop. 

Now as you can imagine, we were very surprised that this mistake had been made. We could have gone in to the cemetery office all bent out of shape, griping and complaining about the mistake. But we did not. You see, we know ourselves too well. We understand what Alexander Pope, an 18th century British poet wrote in his day is still true to this day ... "to err is human." We as humans make our share of mistakes! But the second half of Pope's oft quoted statement reads, "But to forgive, divine." You see, what he was getting at here is that when we forgive others we are acting like God. Indeed, God in Christ has forgiven those of us who have come to him on his terms ... repenting of our sins and believing the gospel (good news) of Jesus Christ (Mark 1:15). And so when we are gracious to others, forgiving those who don't deserve our forgiveness, we are acting like God! So let me ask you . . . is there someone(s) in your life against whom you carry a grudge? Whom you refuse to forgive? I encourage you to pull open a Bible (print or digital) and turn to the story Jesus tells in Matthew 18:21-35. Then ask God to work in your heart to enable you to do the hard thing ... answer Jesus' call to forgive! 

2. Philadelphia is looking like a championship city this year. First it was the Eagles winning the Super Bowl. Then Villanova winning the NCAA basketball national championship. At present the Flyers are in the National Hockey League playoffs (although not playing so well against the mighty Penguins of Pittsburgh) AND the 76ers look to have a legitimate shot at the National Basketball Association title. Could the Phillies make a run at the World Series? Hmm. That might be too much of a reach! 

People in Philly are feeling good about their hometown. And those from the outside looking in understand why. They would also be feeling good if their hometown teams were winning! 

We as Christians have a home. But our hometown is not Philadelphia (or in my case, Lancaster ... or in your case whatever your zip code happens to be). As followers of Jesus we will one day follow him to our true home - the eternal heaven. And we can find great encouragement in the midst of all the turbulence and trouble of this life knowing that our "hometown team" is winning! God is on his throne. And one day Jesus Christ will return to this earth and make every wrong right (see the final four chapters of the Bible's last book, Revelation). 

So the next time you get discouraged about what is unfolding all around you, stop and remind yourself of the words of the hymn penned by Isaac Watts, 

Jesus shall reign where'er the sun

does its successive journeys run,

his kingdom stretch from shore to shore,

till moons shall wax and wane no more.

Thanks for stopping by . . . 
pj

Friday Coffee with PJ

Time to once again pour yourself a cup of hot java and join me for a couple of random thoughts which, I hope, will help you in your faith journey with Christ. 

Even though today is the 17th day of spring, winter continues to refuse to release its grip on us. In fact, if we see more than one inch of snow this spring, we will have had more snow since the first day of spring than all three months of winter put together! I am guessing even snow lovers are beginning to say, "enough is enough!" But we can take heart because we know that July is coming!!!  

Just as the four seasons come and go, so do the seasons of life. There are times we find ourselves in seasons where much of life is good ... sometimes very good. Then there are other seasons in which life hurts ... often a lot. Both seasons have their unique challenges when it comes to our relationship with God. 

During the tough times, it is very easy to become bitter toward God. "Why am I going through this? So many of my friends have it so easy. Why do I have it so tough?" During these times we must work hard at reminding ourselves of the very clear teaching of God's word when it comes to suffering. According to the Scriptures, suffering is not something to stir up anger in us. Rather we are to rejoice (James 1:2-4; Romans 5:3-5). For it is in our suffering, that God is at work, refining our faith and conforming us to the image of His Son (1 Peter 1:6-7; Romans 8:28-29). So when situations and circumstances arise which cause us pain, we need to remember that it is during these seasons that we are most prone to reach out to grab his helping hand. I know as I look back at my life, times of suffering have also been times of accelerated spiritual growth. 

On the flip side, when the good times roll, it is very easy to forget God. Before God's people Israel entered the promised land, God warned them, "When the LORD brings you into the land . . . and you eat and are satisfied, be careful not to forget the LORD who brought you out of Egypt, out of the place of slavery . . ." (Deuteronomy 6:10-12). When we are abundantly reaping the blessings of God's hand, we must remind ourselves of just where we once were before God rescued us. We were dead in our sin and objects of God's wrath (Ephesians 2:1-3). But God in his rich  mercy has caused us to be born again into a living hope (1 Peter 1:3; Ephesians 2:4-9). We have been blessed spiritually through the gospel, and every other good gift (material, financial, relational, physical, etc.) is also from his hand (James 1:7). We must intentionally preach this truth to ourselves in times of prosperity lest we forget God! 

All this said, if you find yourself in a season of suffering right now, be assured you are not alone. God is with you. He is working in you to make you more like Jesus. So TRUST him! And if you are in a season of prosperity then you need to THANK him. Why so? Because all that you enjoy is from him (and that means even the ability you have to work to earn your pay to buy the things you need and enjoy - Deuteronomy 8:17-18). 

Thanks for stopping by . . . 
pj