When Life Does Not Work As Advertised!

Yesterday, I went to see the Pittsburgh Pirates play ... yes in Pittsburgh. Some might say that is a long way to go to see a baseball game. I agree. 225 miles and four hours of driving is quite the distance. That is why I don't do it very often (if twice in four years qualifies as "not very often.") But we had a great time, in spite of the mid-ninety degree temperatures (we managed to sit in the shade as did most of the other fans in attendance). And what made the trip so noteworthy - the Pirates won the game, rattling future hall of a famer, Randy Johnson in the process! So all in all ... it was a relaxing way to spend my day off.

On the way home, we stopped to grab a quick dinner at a new rest stop on the PA Turnpike. As we scoped out our options in the food court, we decided on Burger King, figuring we could grab a quick sandwich and drink and be on our way. So I walked up to the register (they were not busy at all) and placed our order for two whopper juniors, one chicken sandwich and three small drinks. Simple. Cheap. After filling our cups, I returned to the counter to pick up the order while my two companions found a seat (which was not very hard to do!). Now remember, BK is advertised as a "fast food" restaurant. But for some reason, last evening - our order was filled in any way BUT fast! It took almost 20 minutes for the BK crew to fill our order of three sandwiches. When the manager finally realized what was going on, she threw in two large order of fries for us to "ease our pain" (and I am sure, "expand our waistlines!). So what we had hoped would have been a 10-15 minute turned into a stop of just over 30 minutes!

OK - so what do you do when life does not work as advertised. Things don't always work the way we think they should. And often, we encounter life in all of its painful brokenness. How should we respond? Let me suggest one thing you can do. Instead of focusing on how life is NOT working for you at the moment, think about what God has done, is doing AND has promised to do for you for all of eternity! This will help you get "life" into perspective and bring a certain joy to your heart. In Psalm 126:3 the writer declares, "The LORD had done great things for us; we are glad!"

Thanks for stopping by . . .

pj

Hmm ... Richard Dawkins on Evolution

I've always known that Darwinists take a huge LEAP of faith in embracing the theory of evolution - but when I saw the following video of Richard Dawkins doing his best to answer a rather simple question, it struck me at how huge a leap it actually is. His answer to the question makes no sense at all. Evolution teaches that through slow and gradual change across billions of years, new species arise from older species. If this is indeed the case, we should see evidence of this process (and lots of it) in the fossil record. However, the fossil record shows NO evidence at all of these alleged intermediate creatures that are in the midst of evolving from say reptiles into birds. Sorry, Mr. Dawkins - nice try but the total inadequacy of your theory is clear to see in your rambling answer to the question.

Watch ... and then pray for this man that perhaps he will one day "see the light" and bow before the God who made him.




Thanks for stopping by . . .

pj

Clay Pots and the Power of God!

2 Corinthians 4:7

But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us.

The "treasure" Paul is referring to here is what he just mentioned in verse 6 - "the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ."

The "jars of clay" in this verse were cheap and breakable clay pots most often used in Paul's day to hold garbage or human waste. So what Paul is telling us here is that in the whole process of salvation, it is not us who through our power can save ourselves or anyone else - but rather salvation is only and totally the work of God! It is through HIS power that the gospel advances. And incredibly he does it through us clay pots!

Thanks for stopping by . . .

pj

Why Do Doughnuts Have Holes?

Today, believe it or not, is National Doughnut Day (do you ever wonder who decides these things? I mean, why couldn't today be National Plant a Tree Day or National Hug Your Child Day? - both of which I think would be a better thing to do than eating a doughnut or two!).

As I got to thinking about doughnuts, I got to wondering why doughnuts have holes. I did a little research (about 2 minutes worth!) and came up with two interesting theories. The first states that bakers discovered that in frying up these pastry delights, it was difficult to get them to cook evenly throughout. But some baker somewhere learned that he could solve this problem by removing the center. Voila! The doughnut was born.

A second theory goes back to life on the high seas. Allegedly, a certain sea captain named Hanson Gregory, while manning his post one stormy night, found it impossible both to steer his vessel and to eat his fried cake. In frustration he took his cake and impaled it over one of the spokes of the ship's wheel. When he finally got back to his cake, he realized he had created a nice little finger hole that helped him grip his cake so he could eat it. Pleased with his spark of "ingenuity," Mr. Gregory ordered the galley's cook to fry the cakes with the hole in them from that point onward. And so the doughnut was born.

Now, if you ask me, the first of these theories sounds a lot more credible than the second. But whatever the case, doughnuts have holes. Without the hole, it would no longer be a doughnut. And what would this world be without doughnuts to dunk in your coffee (perhaps a slimmer world?)?

What is true of doughnuts, is also true of Christians. There are a number of things that are true of us -without which we would no longer be Christians. I could go on and on about this - but let me cite just one: compassion for people in need. Of all the major world faiths, Christianity is the one that has done the most for the needy people's of the world. I saw this clearly while in India. The leper hospital we visited for example was started by Christian missionaries. All the orphanages in the area were again Christian. Everywhere we went, the vast majority of humanitarian aid was being administered by Christian groups. Not surprising, given the compassion for needy people that Jesus demonstrated when he was on earth. So as followers of Jesus, we must continue to reach out to those in need (my wife and I have been supporting two children through Children's Fellowship of India (http://www.cfindia.org/) for a number of years as we seek to imitate Jesus in this regard). But as we do, we must never lose sight of the gospel. Alleviating suffering for this life only is not enough. We must prepare the needy for eternity.

To sum it all up ... let me ask you two questions. If you are committed to following Jesus, what are YOU doing to help the needy of this world? And if you are giving to some sort of aid organization, are you sure they are giving out the GOSPEL along with the food, clothing, medicine, etc. that they are distributing?

Thanks for stopping by . . .

pj

PS - If you are looking for a wonderful organization to support, stop by Children's Fellowship of India's web site. Check it out. CFI is adding about 20-25 more children this month and is in need of additional sponsors. For a mere $30 a month, you can sign on as a sponsor. And be assured that along with the food, education, clothing, shelter and health care that these boys receive, they also receive the gospel!

Pass the SPAM, Please?

As fuel prices rise, people are making a number of changes. For one, they are driving less. Gas sales in the U.S. have been in decline in recent weeks and urban centers around the country are reporting a significant upswing in the number of people using mass transit. In addition, Americans are switching from gas guzzling SUV's to smaller, more fuel efficient cars. But all of this is not surprising. But what might surprise you is that SPAM is on the increase. Now I am not talking about the cyberspace version of junk mail - but rather the mystery meat product put out by the Hormel Food Corporation.

Hormel recently reported that the sale of SPAM is up some 14% over the last year. That surprises me. I don't know about you, but I have a lot of questions about SPAM. Like, for starters, what exactly is it? Some say the word SPAM stands for "Something Posing As Meat." OK. I think I'll buy that (the explanation for the meaning of the name that is - certainly not the product itself!). I think the name originally came from picking out the first two and the last two letters from the description of the product (being "SPiced hAM."). Of course, it may have started out as spiced ham ... but now you can get a variety of SPAM, including "SPAM Classic," "SPAM Oven Roasted Turkey," SPAM Hot and Spicy," "SPAM with Bacon," "SPAM Lite" and "SPAM Golden Honey Grail." And did you know that SPAM is so popular in Hawaii that the MacDonald's and Burger King franchises there offer it as a menu item right along with their Big Macs and Whoppers!

Now I don't think we will be seeing SPAM on the menu at the MacDonald's next door to the church facility anytime soon. But if you are like many trying to stretch your food dollars, you may very well find yourself bringing home one or two cans of SPAM. My wife has not done so (at least not yet!). And if she did - I would eat it (OK, I am going to get transparent here -- I actually enjoy the stuff - that is if I don't take the time to start thinking about just what it is that I might be eating!).

SPAM is one of those things that people like to joke about (GI's in WW II referred to the SPAM they were given to eat as "ham that didn't pass its physical" and "meatloaf without basic training.") And it does appear to be one of those things in life that you either love it or hate it! It seems that very few people are "lukewarm" about their take on SPAM.

However, when it comes to living out the Christian Faith, my observation is that there are far too many Christians who are "lukewarm" about their faith. These believers are very casual about their approach to living out their faith. If you look at these Christ followers, it may prove difficult to see just who it is they are following!

How about YOU? Are you casual about your faith? Lukewarm about your relationship to Jesus Christ? Or when it comes to loving God, loving others, and impacting our world for the King are you passionate? Enthusiastic? Prepared to give your ALL? Give it some thought. Jesus deserves nothing less than all that we have and all that we are!

Thanks for stopping by . . .

pj

Let the Little Children Come!

Mark 10:13-16 People were bringing little children to Jesus to have him touch them, but the disciples rebuked them. When Jesus saw this, he was indignant. He said to them, "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it." And he took the children in his arms, put his hands on them and blessed them.

You got to love this little one!




Thanks for stopping by. . .

pj

I Can't Believe It Happened to Us!

Last Wednesday evening as I was reading the back page of the Lancaster New Era, the following article caught my eye:

Thieves drill into cars for 'liquid gold'

The Associated Press

DETROIT -- Dale Fortin is getting a new kind of customer at his Detroit auto repair shop, customers who have not just been in a fender-bender or had a windshield smashed by a rock. The soaring price of crude oil has turned gas tanks into a cache of valuable booty, and Fortin has replaced several tanks punctured or drilled by thieves thirsting for the nearly $4-a-gallon fuel inside. "That's the new fad," said the co-owner of Dearborn Auto Tech in Detroit. "I'd never seen it before gas got up this high."

While gas station drive-offs and siphoning are far more common methods of stealing gas, reports of tank and line puncturing are starting to trickle into police departments and repair shops across the country. Some veteran mechanics and law enforcement officers say it's an unwelcome return of a crime they first saw during the Middle East oil embargo of the early 1970s.


Little did I realize as I was reading that article that our church would become a victim of this very crime. The crime was discovered early this past Sunday morning when one of our staff went to move one of our church vans. It was parked near the main entrance of the church and he was moving it to a more "remote" location in our parking area. Smelling gasoline, he looked under the van only to see a screwdriver protruding from the gas tank. Someone had punctured the tank with the tool and attempted to collect the gasoline that flowed from the hole.

This criminal act is just a reminder of the sinful nature of humanity. Not only did these thieves steal they vandalized AND they did it against a church! A non profit organization that seeks to give back to the community. As a result of their actions, we are not only "out" the gas that was stolen, we must also pay to have the gas tank repaired or replaced.

But before I get all bent out of shape about the sinfulness of the perpetrator(s) - I must look into the mirror of the Word of God myself. Even though God in Christ has saved me from the penalty of sin, the presence of sin is still with me. I still sin in what I say (and sometime what I fail to say!) and in what I do (and why I do what I do) and what I don't do. Every follower of Christ must realize when we are victimized by the sins of others - that we also victimize those around us with our sin. But praise God that we are FORGIVEN. And because the Holy Spirit is now living with us, He can (and WILL) enable us to rid ourselves of sin as we prayerfully depend upon Him. We will never be totally sinless in this world ... but we can be more holy tomorrow than we are today ... all by HIS grace and for HIS glory!

Thanks for stopping by . . .

pj