Friday Coffee with PJ

It's Friday!!! So pour yourself a cup of java and join me for a few random thoughts which I hope will help you walk closer to Jesus! 

If you read my blog post of last Friday, you would know that last week my wife and I spent time away. Our first stop was Ocean City, Maryland. We actually enjoyed a sunny and warm afternoon sitting on the beach (temperature about 79 degrees). That was a bonus that we did not expect! After two days there, we then drove on to Williamsburg, Virginia (with a brief stop to enjoy lunch with some friends in Virginia Beach). Our four days in Williamsburg were a boatload of fun and learning (we are both history buffs). As we walked down the historic Duke of Gloucester Street, we had to pinch ourselves as this was the fourth time in the past two years we had planned a vacation to Williamsburg. Serious circumstances had arisen that kept us from traveling there the previous three times. So all in all we were very grateful God allowed us in his providence to get there and, for the vast majority of the time, enjoy sunshine and light breezes while there. 

I find much comfort in God's providence. And just what is this "providence?" The Bible teaches that God is sovereign over all things (Ephesians 1:11). For example in the book of Daniel, we find an ancient king who knew something about exercising authority (his authority would have been absolute). The Babylonian king, Nebuchadnezzar, had a pride problem (Daniel 4:29-30). And so God cut him down to size by afflicting him with some sort of mental disorder (see Daniel 4:31-33). After a period of time, the king's sanity was restored and he understood a fundamental principle that we all must not only understand but also choose to live by: God is sovereign over all and "none can stay his hand." Nebuchadnezzar learned the hard way this vital truth about the world we live in . . . "Many are the plans in the mind of a man, but it is the purpose of the Lord that will stand" (Proverbs 19:21). 

So when we speak of God's providence, we are simply speaking of the reality that the God who is sovereign over all has a plan and he is working that plan for our world and for each and every one of us. And as we know from Romans 8:28-29, God is working all things (the good, the bad and the ugly) together for our God to ultimately to make us more like His Son. Wow! To look like Jesus? It doesn't get any better than that! 

Thanks for stopping by . . . 
pj