Madder than a Wet Hen!

The expression "Madder than a wet hen" comes from the fact that chickens in no way like to find themselves in water. And if they do happen to fall into the drink, they flap and cluck, doing all they can to get out (to say chickens don't swim very well would be an understatement!).

Earlier this week, 34 year old Omar S. Thornton was called into a meeting with his employer. Thornton had been caught on video tape stealing beer from the company. At this particular meeting, he was given the choice of resigning his job or being fired. He chose the former. Then on his way out, he pulled a couple of handguns out of his lunch box and opened fire. His rampage led to the deaths of 9 people, including himself (he committed suicide).

In the aftermath of this horrendous act, questions have been raised as to the motives of the shooter. According to his own testimony (recorded on a 911 call he made after shooting his victims and just prior to the taking of his own life), Thornton claimed that he had been the victim of racial harassment (he is African American) and so he wanted to fix the problem. So bottom line ... Thorton was "madder than a wet hen."

Now I don't know if Thorton was a victim of racial harassment as he claims (it certainly is possible as racial prejudice is not by any means dead in this country). But I do know he was very troubled and very angry! And this tragedy illustrates just how destructive anger can be. It hurts those around us ... and it hurts us, too! This is why the Bible is very explicit on how we are to handle our anger. In Ephesians 4:26 the Apostle Paul tells us how God wants us to handle anger: "In your anger do not sin; Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry." We are going to get angry. But when we do we are to be careful not to sin. We are to deal with our anger when it arises, not allowing it to simmer and smolder until it reaches the boiling point (which is what Thorton allowed to happen!). I tell people who have anger problems to look beneath the anger and identify the reason for the anger. Only then can one begin to get a handle on one's temper.

Thanks for stopping by . . .

pj

Are Our Prayers Really All That Important?

I don't know how it is with you, but all too often I find that my "prayer life" stinks. Really. I know I should pray. I know I should pray more. But the urgent tasks of my busy life will often crowd out the truly important activities - one the most important being that of communing with my Father in heaven (for more on this "tyranny of the urgent" I encourage you to pick up and read the little booklet by that name written by Charles E. Hummel - it's a great read!).

This morning as I was reading through 1 Peter, I was convicted of my "prayerlessness." In particular it was the following verse that the Spirit of God used to get my attention:

"The end of all things is near. Therefore be clear minded and self-controlled so that you can pray" (1 Peter 4:7)

When Peter mentions that the "end of all things is near," he is referring to the return of Christ and the end of this world as we know it now. In light of the fact that Christ's return is imminent (i.e. - it could happen at any time!), we need to work at thinking clearly and living holy. And the reason he gives for this is not that we would be able to point people more effectively to Christ. Nor is it that we would be in a better position to encourage our fellow Christians in their journeys of grace. Rather the reason we are to think clearly and live holy in the face of Christ's imminent return is so that we can pray! Wow! Peter thought prayer was important (and since what Peter wrote here was via the inspiration of the Holy Spirit we can say God views prayer as important!).

"Father, help me to become the man of prayer you want me to be ... and those around me need me to be!"

Thanks for stopping by . . .

pj

P.S. As you pray today, please pray for me as I continue to work on some messages I will be preaching during my upcoming trip to India. Thanks!

One Way to Make a Point!

All of us have been in either a store, a restaurant or some other public place when a young child(ren) have run wild! When I see that, I feel sorry for these kids. If they don't learn self control when they are young there are heading for nothing but trouble later in life.

I am sure that retailers and restaurant managers grow weary of asking parents to "corral " their out-of-control offspring. But one restaurant management of an eatery I recently visited sought to be proactive from the moment people walked in their door. Hanging prominently adjacent to their front reception desk was a cute sign that read, "Unattended children will be given an espresso and a free puppy." The sign, meant to be humorous, was this restaurants way of saying, "Parents, please keep your child in check!"

Parenting has always been challenging ... perhaps never more than it is today. But it is a challenge worth "grabbing by the horns!" Children are a gift from God (see Psalm 127:3). So parents, no matter how weary they might be from the demands of a busy routine, must treat their kids the gifts that they are (vs. just another burden to bear!).

Parents, let me encourage you to do something that will be the very best thing you could ever do if you want to be the kind of parent that your kids need you to be. Make your relationship with God the #1 priority in your life! Seek Him. Get into His Word - and then seek, with HIS help to "put it into practice!" The more you love God, the better equipped you will be to love your children!

Thanks for stopping by . . .

pj

Talk about Greed!

How much do you think a city manager of a 36,000 resident city should be paid? Before answering this question, consider these figures: The President of the United States (population 350 million) is paid $400,000 per year. The salary level of the Mayor of New York City (population 8.3 million) is set at $195,000 per year (although billionaire Mayor Bloomberg receives only $1.00 per year in salary as he declines the city's salary). The city manager of Los Angeles (population over 4 million) earns a $200,000 salary. Now, given these figures back to my original question: How much do you think a city manager of a 36,000 resident city should be paid? I hope you are sitting down for this answer. Robert Rizzo, the city manager of Bell, California (population 36,522 - 2009 estimate), makes an astonishing $787,637 a year! That's right! He makes $387, 637 more than the President! And his salary level is set at over $500,000 above the salary levels of the Mayor of NYC and the City Manager of nearby LA! When news of his outlandish salary (and those of other Bell government officials) became public - the outcry was so loud and strong that Rizzo (and several other resigned). My guess is that they will also have to move to another state!

How did all this happen (Rizzo started as Bell's City Manager in 1993 at a salary of $72,000. By the time he resigned 17 years later his salary had increased over 1000%!!!)? I am not sure all the ins and outs of how it was done. But I do have a good idea behind the motivation of it all - GREED! That's right! Simple, unadulterated greed!

Greed is something we must all guard against - and I don't care if you have little or much in terms of money (Billionaire J.Paul Getty was once asked, "How much is enough?" He replied, "Just a little bit more!"). Now the problem is not with money per se. Some people misquote Scripture when they say, "Money is the root of all evil." But that is NOT what the Bible states. Here is what the Apostle Paul had to say about money and ALL of us would benefit from taking heed to what he says!

"But godliness with contentment is great gain. ⁷For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. ⁸But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that. ⁹People who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction. ¹⁰For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs." (1 Timothy 6:6-10)

My friends --- did you "hear" that? The answer to greed (the love of money which is the root of ALL kinds of evil) is godliness with contentment! Are you pursuing godliness? Are you content with God's provision of your needs? Not easy to do in our consumeristic culture ... but by God's grace - we can learn the secret of being content!

Thanks for stopping by. . .

pj

Worship the Resurrected Christ!

If you have a few minutes ... or even if you don't ... I would encourage you to watch this video. World renown artist, Ron DiCianni talks about his two year project of painting the largest mural in the world of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Wow! This is incredible! Praise God we serve, love, trust, obey and worship a LIVING SAVIOR!







Thanks for stopping by . . .

pj

"Daddy, Not So Far Out!"

Earlier this week I took a glance at the comics section of the daily newspaper (which I rarely do). On this particular day (which happened to be the day after I got back from our beach vacation), the Family Circus comic was about ... of all things ... the beach! It pictured little P.J. (the youngest of the clan) standing in toe-deep water. His father, is standing on P.J.'s ocean side in perhaps ankle deep water. As P.J. looks at his father, he says, "Not so far out, Daddy. Not so far out!"

This made my heart smile. I thought back to a few days earlier when our granddaughter Ella (a tad younger than P.J. and still not grunting out much more than a few basic "words") was walking very tentatively in the surf. And when the waves began to roll in ... she wanted up! As long as she was in my arms, she did not mind if I waded out into the surf. The waves did not appear nearly as big to her as she was held in my embrace.

Just as P.J. looked for safety and security from his daddy ... and just as Ella felt safe in my arms - so we must look to our God when the waves of trouble begin to crash against us. In Him we can find safety and security. He has promised to care for us. And that's a promise He is more than willing and able to deliver on!

Thanks for stopping by . . .

pj

Poison Ivy, Bed Bugs and Our Walk with God

Two stories in the local paper today caught my attention. The first was a story about the rise of poison ivy cases here in Lancaster County. It seems that doctors and health care workers are seeing a significant increase this year in the numbers of people they are treating for this nuisance. Experts are offering numerous factors behind the increase. But no matter the reasons, since 85% of us are sensitive to the resin found in poison ivy, here's the bottom line: "Leaves of three, let it be!" (or pay the price which won't be nice!).

The second story detailed New York City's recently declared war on bed bugs! As a result of a recent survey of NYC residents, one out of every 15 New Yorker admitted to battling bed bugs last year. In raw numbers that's about 400,000 people! Ouch! And these nasty little critters, whose nocturnal biting leaves itchy red welts, are showing up in all sorts of places: hotel rooms, theaters, clothing stores, office buildings, housing projects and luxury apartments. As a result, officials in the the Big Apple have announced a plan to fight the spread of these little insects. That's good, because I would hate to bring any of these unwanted creatures home with me after my next NYC visit!

As nasty as poison ivy and bed bugs can be (from personal experience I can only vouch for the former!) - there are other things against which we need to be "waging war!" I am thinking of what the Apostle Paul urges us to do in Colossians 3:5-10.

"Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry. ⁶Because of these, the wrath of God is coming. ⁷You used to walk in these ways, in the life you once lived. ⁸But now you must rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips. ⁹Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices ¹⁰and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator."

Note the things that he tells us that we must "put to death" (strong words, yes?). Take a moment and look over this list. Then take out an ax and begin to "put to death" the items on Paul's list that you see in your life. Do so ... or pay the regretable price that sin brings!

Thanks for stopping by . . .

pj