When Restitution Just Doesn't Seem to Add Up!

Calvin C. Cox of Frederick County, Maryland, stole a plane last winter. Why? Because he was homeless and cold (that's the reason he gave authorities). He should have first thought about whether or not he could fly the plane. As it turns out, he got it up and running -- on the ground that is. By the time he was done, the plane had suffered over $12,000 in damages. He was sentenced to serve time in the county jail and to pay restitution to the owners of the plane. When all the dust settled his restitution payment amounted to $40! That was the deductible on the insurance policy that the owner of the plane carried. So in effect, the policy holders of that particular insurance company are the ones who actually footed the bill. Now does that seem right to you?

Now please, before you think I am cold-hearted in coming down on some homeless man please hear me out. Yes, it is true that I don't know the circumstances of Mr. Cox and what led to him being homeless. But even so, I believe he should be held more responsible (if it is even to pay something back to the insurance company who paid the claim). But holding people responsible is not something we do very well in our society. People are always looking for someone to blame for everything and anything that goes wrong. Perhaps that's one reason our world is such a mess. So here's a piece of advice for all of us .... "If the shoe fits, wear it!"

Thanks for stopping by . . .

pj

The Al and Tipper Affair

Al and Tipper Gore have been front and center in the news of late. Al Gore, of course served as Vice President under President Bill Clinton, and then ran against George W. Bush in the 2000 presidential election. Tipper is Al's wife of 40 years. I am sure you have heard by now that after 4 decades of marriage they are going their separate ways. Unlike a number of recent political marriages which have ended due to affairs and scandals, the Gore's marriage seemed to be doing OK. So why the split? This is what the couple had to say, "We are announcing today that after a great deal of thought and discussion, we have decided to separate. This is very much a mutual and mutually supportive decision that we have made together following a process of long and careful consideration. We ask for respect for our privacy and that of our family, and we do not intend to comment further." 

Did you notice in the statement that they did not say WHY they are splitting up. All they said was that whatever the reason (and they aren't telling) it is mutual. This, of course, has left the door open for others to supply the reason. Most just seem to think that they have grown apart over the years. What they once held in common, they no longer do. Sooo ... divorce seems like the best option. But is it? What about those words of promise spoken to one another before God and the assembled witnesses? You know ... vows that go something like, "I, Al, promise to take you, Tipper, to be my lawfully wedded wife. To to have and to hold from this day forward, for better or for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish; from this day forward until death do us part or Christ our Lord shall return." 

Over 32 years ago I made such a vow to a young woman named Sharon Pietrowski. For over 32 years I have kept that vow as best as I could (with God's help) ... and I plan to keep this vow for the rest of my earthly life. How about YOU? Given much thought to the vow you made to your spouse on your wedding day? And what are you doing to live out that vow?

Thanks for stopping by . . .

pj

Killing Lust - A.S.A.P.! (continued)

I've been talking about how we can slay the dragon of sexual lust. Given our sex-saturated society, this is not an easy thing to do. It will require all the spiritual strength and spiritual energy we can muster. And it demands that we lean heavily on the Everlasting Arms of our Father in Heaven. But just because this is a hard thing to do ... to say "no!" to sexual temptation, it is not impossible. Remember, "nothing is impossible with God" (Luke 1:37).

Now in addition to the first two steps I mentioned last week (see posting of last Friday) here are two more for your consideration (and I trust, PRACTICE!):

Apply the Philippians 4:8 Test to your thought life!  In Philippians 4:8, we read these words: "Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things." Via the pen of the Apostle Paul, God gives us the criteria of healthy thoughts. And if the thoughts that fill our minds fit the criteria given here (i.e. they are true, noble, pure, etc.) - then we are to allow those thought to fill our minds. But if the thoughts don't measure up to this list, Paul implies that we are to get rid of them. Now, let me ask you this: do lustful thoughts fit these criteria for the kind of thoughts that are to fill our minds? Some men have tried to defend their pursuit of porn by telling me that God made women's bodies beautiful. So they are just admiring God's handiwork as they look at pornography. Hmm. That sounds like a lame rationalization for sin if I ever heard one!  I encourage you to memorize ... and then apply Philippians 4:8 to your thought life. It will help you overcome the sin of lust!


Pursue a life of good works! Good works will never save anyone. But good works should follow everyone who is saved. In Ephesians 2:8-10, the Apostle Paul spells this out for us very clearly: "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do."  God is busy shaping His followers to do the good works he has laid out for us to do. And as we get busy doing these good works, we won't have time to pursue those things which will arouse our lust. John Piper puts it this way, "Lust grows fast in the garden of leisure." 

There you have it, friends. Kill lust --- before it kills you ... your marriage ... your children ... your soul!

Thanks for stopping by . . .

pj

Killing Lust - A.S.A.P.!

Yesterday I discussed how the Seventh Commandment ("You shall not commit adultery") is being demolished in our society today. Sexual purity is considered a thing of the past. But sexual purity for the follower of Jesus is not simply an option to take or leave at one's pleasure. In 1 Thessalonians 4:3 we read, "It is God's will that you should be sanctified: that you should avoid sexual immorality." Could God have made His will for us in the sexual arena any plainer than that?

So, in this sex-saturated culture in which we live, how can we slay the dragon of sexual lust? Today, I want to give you two steps you can take to do so. Then in my next post, I will finish my thoughts with two more. I will use an acrostic to help you remember these. Because we must get serious and intentional about our battle against sexual temptation, I am going to use the acrostic ... A.S.A.P. (As Soon As Possible) - this to remind us that we must fight off any and all sexual temptation as soon as possible - without delay, without hesitation!

Avoid (as much as possible) situations and circumstances that arouse lust. In Romans 13:14 we read, "But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh in regard to its lusts." Our sinful flesh does not need any help when it comes to its sinful passions. Therefore, we need to be careful what we feed it! So don't go watching Victoria Secrets commercials or hang a Sports Illustrated Swimsuit calendar on your wall. Don't watch suggestive movies or read seductive novels. And DO NOT sit down at your computer and start checking out porn sites! If you want to slay the dragon of lust, you must avoid situations and circumstances that arouse your lust! Jesus puts it strongly when he says, "You have heard that it was said, 'Do not commit adultery.' But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart. If your right eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell" (Matthew 5:27-29).

Stop any lustful thought from implanting itself in your mind - and stop it within the first 5 seconds! The battlefield upon which we fight against sexual temptation is our mind. This is why it is so vital that when a lustful thought arises in your mind - you need to kill it and kill it quickly. Otherwise you will be overpowered by its alluring strength. A verse that has always encouraged me in this battle against temptation is 1 Corinthians 10:13. There we read, "No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it." I believe the "way out" (a.k.a. "exit") that God provides for us is at the front end of the temptation. The moment you begin to consider saying "yes" to sexual temptation will most likely be the moment you have lost the battle. So ... say "No!" and then run! That's what God tells us to do in 1 Corinthians 6:18 where we read, "Flee from sexual immorality." A pastor from yesteryear put it this way, "Be killing sin or it will be killing YOU!" (John Owen)

Thanks for stopping by . . .

pj

The Demise of the Seventh Commandment

When God gave Moses the Ten Commandments at the Summit of Mt. Sinai, He knew that humanity would fail in the keeping of them. So why did He give them to us? For two reasons. First, God gave us His law to restrain wickedness and evil. Proverbs 29:18 tells us that "Where there is no revelation, the people cast off restraint; but blessed is he who keeps the law." God's revelation of his law is meant to curb our tendency to move toward sin. So even though we fail and fail miserably in obeying His commandments, they still restrain us from sinning to our fullest capacity! Secondly, God gave us His law to show us our sin and lead us to Christ. The Apostle Paul referred to this purpose behind the law when he wrote, "What shall we say, then? Is the law sin? Certainly not! Indeed I would not have known what sin was except through the law. For I would not have known what coveting really was if the law had not said, 'Do not covet'" (Romans 7:7). When seen in this light, we can heartily say that the God-given law that we have in the Scriptures is good!

Now when I read through the list of the Ten Commandments, I must admit that I struggle with each and every one of them (with perhaps the exception of the Fifth - and this ONLY because my mother and father both moved on to Eternity 7 years ago). But if I had to pick one of these ten that is being readily dismissed by many today (even among professing Christians) - it would have to be the Seventh. This commandment reads, "You shall not commit adultery." Kevin DeYoung, in his book The Good News We Almost Forgot wrote the following about the Seventh Commandment. His words are worth considering.

"Is there any command more ridiculed in our culture than the Seventh Commandment? Adultery is a joke; homosexuality is a right; sex before marriage is the norm; no-fault divorce and remarriage is assumed; bestiality is increasingly considered avant garde. This is the world we live in. Sex has always been a leading vote-getter in the most popular sin contest, but never before in this country has so much sexual deviance been made to look so normal and God's standard made to look so obscene. Our lives are awash in sexuality." 

DeYoung goes on to cite the following statistics concerning sex and the Internet:
- Pornography and sex-related sites make up 60% of daily web traffic!
- Of Internet users in the U.S., 40% visit porn cites at least once a month (this % skyrockets among 18 - 34 year old males).
- Among children ages 8 to 16, 90% have viewed Internet porn.

And friends, just being a Christian does not make one immune to the sexual temptations around us (research shows that the % of professing Christians involved in porn is substantial). So all this to say ... the Seventh Commandment is not merely being broken in our country - it is being obliterated!

So ... given that sex drips from everything around us (from TV commercials to films, from billboards to Internet sites and even unsolicited emails), how can a Christian slay the dragon of lust? In tomorrow's post, I plan to list some steps toward doing just that.

Thanks for stopping by . . .

pj

Let it Rain!

Memorial Day afternoon (at least at my house) ended with a drenching T-Storm that just did not seem to want to end. We picked up a good two inches of rain in about an hour and a half. If this were winter and all that rain would have been snow, at a ten inches of snow for an inch of liquid -- we would have had over a foot and half of snow in that small amount of time! Ouch! I'm guessing even snow lovers would struggle with that! But since Monday's precipitation was rain, it does not have the "Wow" impact that a snow event would have had!

Now some of you who live outside of the Willow Street area here in Lancaster County might be wondering, "What rain is PJ talking about? We didn't get any rain and I only live a few miles south of Willow Street." Welcome to summer time precipitation events. Whereas in the winter months, precipitation events tend to be more widespread, during summer months, T-Storms can drop buckets of rain on one street and two streets away nothing!

As I reflected on the rainfall we had, I thought about God's Word. The Bible likens the ministry of the Word to rain falling from the clouds. In Isaiah 55:10-11, we read the following words of God:

"As the rain and the snow, come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire  and achieve the purpose for which I sent it."

That's quite the promise! 

Thanks for stopping by . . . 

pj

Now That's Perfection!

This past Saturday evening, Phillie's pitching ace, Roy Halladay threw a perfect game. For you non-baseball people that means 27 batters came up to bat against him and 27 batters went down (i.e. not a single batter made it to first base either via a walk, hit or error). That is such an accomplishment that in all the years of Major League Baseball there have only been 20 such masterpieces. And when you consider there are 5,184 games played each season (not including the post season playoffs) AND when you consider that MLB has been around since the late 1800's - there have been a pile of games played. Only 20 of them were perfect!  That puts Halladay's performance in perspective, doesn't it?

Halladay is the second Phillie's pitcher to accomplish this feat. The first to do so was Jim Bunning back on Father's Day in 1964. Unfortunately I missed watching Halladay's gem on Saturday. However, I did see Bunning hurl his perfect game! Yep. I was 8 years old and watching the game on television with my dad and twin brother. Although I did not totally appreciate Bunning's perfect game when he recorded the final out - I did realize it must be special from the way my father was shouting (and he was, on the whole, a quiet man!).

Now a MLB hurler might have the ability to throw a perfect game (Halladay's was the second this season!), but when it comes to living a perfect life - that is beyond every single one of us. And that's a problem. If we want to enter heaven, the entrance requirements set by God himself is a perfect life. So are we doomed to an eternal existence outside of heaven in that place the Bible calls hell? NO!!! And this is the good news of the gospel. Jesus Christ lived the perfect life that God requires. A life we could never live. When Jesus Christ died on the cross, he took our sin upon himself and paid the penalty that a just God demands. And when we place our faith and trust in Christ (his death, burial and resurrection), God credits to our account Christ's perfection. The Scripture speaks of this "Great Exchange" in the following verse:

"God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God" (2 Corinthians 5:21). 

Have YOU placed your faith and trust in Jesus Christ, asking him for the forgiveness of sins that only He can give and the new life that only He can offer? 

Thanks for stopping by . . .

pj