When Brokenness Is a Good Thing. . .

The other night I picked up my phone (my land line phone) to make a call. Instead of hearing a dial tone, all I heard was silence. So I placed the phone back in its cradle, then picked it up again to make the call. This time it was not silence that I heard, but a loud screech! At that point I began to go through the process of resetting our phone line (something Verizon walked me through a couple of years ago). After two futile attempts at doing so, I just gave up - totally frustrated and made a mental note to call the phone company the next day.

The following morning, after pouring my first cup of coffee I picked up the phone. Voila - to my surprise there was a dial tone. Later that morning, I called the house from the office and voila - my wife picked up and we had a pleasant conversation. "Hmm, what is going on here?" I remembered thinking. "Not working last night and OK today? Go figure!" Now I wasn't complaining - just confused but glad to know our land line phones were no longer broken!

Rarely do we rejoice when something is broken. Broken things are never good things ... well almost never. The Bible does talk about a broken something in a very positive light. In Psalm 51:17 we read, "The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise." Spiritual brokenness is a good thing. Please take a moment to read what Nancy DeMoss has to say about this concept of spiritual brokenness:

"Brokenness does not mean, as some think, having a sad, gloomy, downcast countenance--never smiling or laughing. It does not mean always being morbidly introspective. Nor can it be equated with deeply emotional experiences. It is possible to shed buckets full of tears, without ever experiencing a moment of brokenness. Further, brokenness is not the same as being deeply hurt by tragic circumstances. A person may have experienced many deep hurts and tragedies, but never have been broken.

Brokenness is not a feeling; rather, it is a choice, an act of the will. It is not primarily a one-time experience or crisis (though there may be crisis points in the process of brokenness); rather, it is an ongoing, continual lifestyle.

Brokenness is a lifestyle of agreeing with God about the true condition of my heart and life, as He sees it. It is a lifestyle of unconditional, absolute surrender of my will to the will of God--a heart attitude that says, “Yes, Lord!” to whatever God says. Brokenness means the shattering of my self-will, so that the life and Spirit of the Lord Jesus may be released through me. Brokenness is my response of humility and obedience to the conviction of the Word and the Spirit of God. And as the conviction is continuous, so must the brokenness be continuous.

True brokenness has both a vertical and a horizontal dimension: it is demonstrated in a willingness to live with the “roof off ” in my relationship with God, and the “walls down” in my relationships with others."

Thanks for stopping by . . .

pj

God's Word

Much of my life revolves around the Bible. I read it daily. I strive to obey it consistently (and some days are better than others!). I teach it regularly. Numerous versions of it litter both my church and home offices. Bottom line - I love God's Word (and desire to love it more - see Psalm 119:97, 127). Because I love the Word of God, I found the following quote of John Piper to be a quote that just really got me salivating to get into the Scripture. The quote concerns the phrase "living and active" from Hebrews 4:12 which reads, "For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart."

"The Word of God is not a dead word or an ineffective word. It has life in it. And because it has life in it, it produces effects. There is something about the Truth, as God has revealed it, that connects it to God as a source of all life and power. God loves His Word. He is partial to His Word. He honors His Word with his presence and His power. If we want our teaching or witness to have power and produce effects, let us stay close to the revealed Word of God" (John Piper in Pierced by the Word).

Thanks for stopping by . . .

pj

Forward or Backwards? Which Way Are You Going in Your Journey of Grace?

The emu is the largest bird native to Australia. It can reach a height of 6 1/2 feet. And like its cousin the better known ostrich, it too does not fly. Imagine ... birds that don't fly! But there is something else odd about this strange looking feathery bird -- the emu cannot walk backwards!

Now I don't know about you ... but when it comes to my spiritual journey of grace - I sure wish I could not walk backwards! But far too often it seems like I am taking a step or two backwards when I should be (and want to be) going forward! As I thought about why this is so, I came up with a short (not meant to be an exhaustive list) as to why this is so.

1. I can be lazy when it comes to my spiritual journey. For example, I know I should be interacting with the Scripture more than I do ... memorizing, reading, studying ... and of course, obeying - but I find excuses not to do so. Often times its just comes down to being lazy.

2. I can be busy ... busy with urgent things but not necessarily the important things. So something like intimate times of prayer with my Savior get crowded out of my schedule.

3. I can become apathetic. For whatever reason these seasons come my way from time to time. Seasons when my relationship with God seems dry and God himself seems distant. Certainly these times have nothing to do with God and everything to do with me.

4. And then there is sin. Sin is always the great divider. Whenever we allow sin in whatever form to fester in our souls, we will find ourselves going backwards in our walk with God.

So .... if you find yourself walking backwards (because unlike the emu - you can walk backwards in your spiritual journey), stop and seek to find the reason. Then do whatever you have to do to change direction (by the way, the biblical word for changing direction from moving backwards to forward is REPENTANCE).

Thanks for stopping by . . .

pj

Some Random Thoughts . . .

Now that I am back in the office after my trip to Columbus, Ohio (which was a great time for the board of Grace College and Seminary) ... here are some random thoughts for you to think about:

1. Saying "good bye" to a departed loved one is never "good bye" in a final sense for believers in Jesus Christ. This morning I will conduct my second funeral in the past nine days. This one, like the last, is for a wonderful woman who loved God and followed Jesus. So when her husband says his final "good bye" today at the cemetery, it will not be "good bye" in a final sense. For his wife is not dead - but alive! In fact, she is more alive than she has ever been! This woman lives because Jesus Christ lives and therefore can deliver on His promises to those who choose to believe and follow Him (see John 11:25-26; 14:1-4).

2. Time continues its relentless and rapid onward march! Friday evening I went to bed and fell asleep very quickly (driving almost 450 miles tends to tire a person out!). When I awoke on Saturday morning, I looked at the morning paper and was reminded that as I slept the month turned over from July to August. Questions flooded my mind. August? This is the final month of the summer? Where has the summer gone? And my trip to the Central African Republic is now only a few weeks away - will I be able to get everything done in time for this trip (PLEASE PRAY FOR ME!)? Friends, this rapid passing of time will continue. So be intentional and DON'T WASTE YOUR LIFE! (see Ephesians 5:15-16).

3. Older saints have a lot to offer those of us who are younger. When I drove out to Columbus, I did not drive alone. I took along with me an 88 year old member of the Grace board who happens to live here in Lancaster County. For much of our 14 hour drive I asked him questions and then I would listen to his stories. He had a lot to say ... and a lot of it was good stuff. Stuff that one learns from the trenches of life. And at 88, this man has been in a lot of trenches. In our fast paced, youth oriented culture, we can miss out on the wealth that exists in the lives of our senior population. If you have not done so lately, plan a visit with an older person. Ask them to tell you their story. You may just find some nuggets of truth that will help you as you live in the trenches today (see Psalm 71:18)!

Thanks for stopping by . . .

pj

Off to Columbus...

I will be leaving first thing tomorrow morning (sometime shortly after 5:00) to drive to Columbus, Ohio for two intensive days of Grace College and Seminary board meetings. So I don't think I will be posting to my blog any more this week. But before I "sign off" - here is a quote from the pen of Charles Spurgeon, a London pastor in the 1800's who is known as "the Prince of Preachers" (it is estimated that he preached live to over 10 million people during his ministry!):

"Because God is gracious, therefore sinful men are forgiven, converted, purified, and saved. It is not because of anything in them, or that ever can be in them that they are saved; but because of the boundless love, goodness, pity, compassion, mercy, and grace of God." (Spurgeon, All of Grace)

Take a moment and drink deeply of the grace of our God! Then worship Him!

Thanks for stopping by . . .

pj

The Airline that Is Going to the Dogs!

Move over USAirways and Southwest. There's a new airline in town. And a very specialized airline at that. Earlier this month, Pet Airways departed from Farmingdale, NY on its inaugural flight, and as you can guess by the name, it caters to pets. It will eventually fly between five major U.S. cities: New York, Washington, Chicago, Denver and Los Angeles with an average fare costing about $250. Now why an airline for our four legged friends? Here is an excerpt from a recent AP story that answers the question quite well:

"For owners, the big difference is service. Dogs and cats will fly in the main cabin of a Suburban Air Freight plane, retooled and lined with carriers in place of seats. Pets (about 50 on each flight) will be escorted to the plane by attendants who will check on the animals every 15 minutes during flight. Pets are given pre-boarding walks and bathroom breaks. And at each of the five airports it serves, the company has created a Pet Lounge for future fliers to wait and sniff before flights."

Take a moment and watch Pet Airways first commercial:




I don't know about you ... but I just had to laugh when I read (and watched) this (and please, for all you dog and cat lovers out there, I have NOTHING against dogs and cats!). And what amazes me is that in spite of launching its services in the midst of a major recession, Pet Airways' first two months of flights are allegedly booked solid!

This shows us that people will spend money on what they really care about (in this case their pets). Hmm. Perhaps this is why our checkbook is a good place to look to see what we truly value in life. If you have not done so lately, take some time to evaluate how you are spending your money. Then ask yourself, "What is this saying about me?" My guess is that far too many of us are spending far too little on the things that really matter to God!

Thanks for stopping by . . .

pj

Beware of Information Overload!

Please take a moment and watch this humorous video about a common problem in today's high tech, instant info society in which we live.



I wonder -- how much of the information that we know do we really NEED to know? And does all this info crammed into our brains leave us less room for thoughts of God and His Word? Hmmm. Good questions to think about -- that is, if there's any room left in your head for more thoughts!

Thanks for stopping by . . .

pj