Why Read the Bible?

As you slowly get back into this week's routine, here's a quote from the pen of A.W. Tozer that struck a chord deep within my heart. Enjoy!

"The Bible is not an end in itself, but a means to bring men to an intimate and satisfying knowledge of God, that they may enter into Him, that they may delight in His Presence, may taste and know the inner sweetness of the very God Himself in the core and center of their hearts."

Tozer's words make a lot of sense when you consider that the Bible is the revelation of the person, nature, character, works and will of the God who designed us, made us and even now sustains us. Thank God for his incredible gift of this Book of books to us! 

Thanks for stopping by . . .

pj

A Sermon Jam to Start Your Week.

As you begin your work week out in your mission field, here is a sermon jam that I found to be quite challenging. I hope you do too!



Thanks for stopping by!

pj

We Say "God Answers Prayer" but Do We Really Believe It?

One story in the book of Acts (Acts 12) has always fascinated me. The story begins with King Herod on an anti-Christian crusade. He arrested many Christ followers and even had the Apostle James (brother of John) put to death. When he saw that his execution of James pleased the Jews, he ordered the arrest of the Apostle Peter.

As Peter languished in jail, wondering if he was on death row, the church "was earnestly praying to God for him."  Now as I put myself in the sandals of those first century believers who were praying for Peter, I can't help but think I am praying for his release. The fledgling church had just suffered the loss of one of it's pillars (the Apostle James). Another loss of such magnitude would be a difficult blow to take. So ... bottom line ... I am convinced that the church was asking God, pleading with God, to free Peter.

God answered this prayer. In the middle of the night, through the work of an angel, Peter was miraculously set free! After Peter was led out of the prison by his angelic deliverer, it took him a few moments to realize he was not dreaming! When he did, he made a bee line for the home of Mary, the mother of Mark (author of the gospel by his name). He knew he would find Christians there praying for him. When he knocked on the door, a servant girl by the name of Rhoda was so excited to hear his voice, she forgot to let him in! Instead, she ran to tell the others. Their response? "You're out of your mind!" But when Rhoda kept insisting Peter was indeed at the door, they told her, "It must be his angel!"  While this back and forth was going on, Peter was at the door, continuing to knock (I am guessing he wanted to get out of sight before Herod's soldiers came looking for him). Finally, the group heard his knocking and opened the door. When they saw Peter, "they were astonished."

Now, as I think of how this group of believers responded, I want to point a finger at them and say, "Look. Why were you so surprised? Isn't this what you were praying for? Peter's release?"  Granted, the manner of his release was certainly miraculous. But the point is ... God heard their prayers and responded to their prayers! This is what he promises to do!

I wonder. How often do we pray as these early believers prayed ... and when God answers, we are astonished just as they were? Perhaps a better response to answered prayer would be to praise God for the faithfulness to his promises and rejoice in the grace he showers upon us when he does answer! IF we are to be amazed at anything ... let it be that we, as sinful human beings, can have such an intimate relationship with the God who made us and against whom we sinned. Wow! That's something to be astonished about!

Thanks for stopping by . . .

pj

Thursday A La Carte

Today is, once again, Thursday (and therefore, a la carte day!). 

1. Here's a prayer about finishing well in the Gospel. A good read ... and a better pray!

2.  If you ever struggle to really believe deep down inside that the God who made and rules the universe loves you, you may just want to read what blogger Bob Glenn has to say in his post, "Do you struggle to believe God loves you?"

3. Someone set me the following link to a remarkable video on the recent Japanese tsunami. I was amazed at how the water kept coming and coming and coming. It brought to my mind the coming wrath of God. One day, when God pours out His wrath upon sinful humanity, people will seek to hide from God's wrath (Revelation 6:15-17) but will not be able to do so. Quite sobering!

4. Here is a look at the our economic problems from Calvin and Hobbes. Laughable, yet though provoking!

Thanks for stopping by . . . 

pj

Motivation to Pray ... and to Pray MORE!

 I ran across the following "sermon jam" (brings sermons and music together) on prayer. I found it to be be a fascinating view! I trust you will be encouraged, motivated, convicted by it! 



Thanks for stopping by . . .

pj

Just Too Many Mosquitoes!

Here's a bit of trivia for you: Do you know how many mosquitoes there are in the world per person (Keep in mind that there are almost 7 billion people on our planet)? 100?  1000? 10,000?  Nope! There are a whopping 144,000 of these blood-sucking insects for every man, woman and child on earth! That's more than "one-too-many" of these nagging pests!

Now when it comes to the difficulties that we must face in life, mosquitoes, as irritating as they can be at times, they can be managed. But what of those much larger troubles that come our way? How do we handle them? And, if we are going to truly love our neighbor as we love ourselves, how do we help others to endure the tough times?  Much too often, we tend to avoid those who are suffering. Why? Because we just don't know what to say ... or we are afraid of saying the wrong thing. If this is true of you, let me suggest you take a minute or two to read an excellent article by Ed Welch titled, "What not to say to those who are suffering." It's a good read!

Thanks for stopping by . . .

pj

The Delay of Spring

It's Tuesday, March 29th at 12:48 pm as I write this posting. It's currently 40 degrees outside and forecast to peak in the mid 40's. Typically on this date we should be peaking in the mid 50's. With the exception of a couple of days two weeks ago ... we have been averaging much below normal when it comes to our daily temperatures. And I see snow in the forecast for Friday April 1st (Is this come cruel April Fool's Day joke?). I can't speak for you but I can speak for myself. "Please, Lord, send some weather to match the season!"

Now I must admit that I have grumbled more than once today about the weather. But then I got to thinking about the people in Japan. Especially the several hundred thousand that are still in evacuation centers. Many of these have no realistic hope of ever returning home ... if they even have a home still standing. In light of that kind of suffering, what's a few colder than normal days? Really - NO BIG DEAL! At least I can go home and walk into my nice warm house and sleep tonight in my nice warm bed! 

Friends, thankfulness is something that all of us need to be intentionally cultivating in our lives. It is so easy to focus on what we do not have (warm spring breezes) and lose sight of what we do have (homes, clothing, food, clean water, and most importantly - hope in Jesus Christ!). Psalm 100 stresses the importance of a thankful spirit. Take a moment and reflect on its words. Then take some time and thank God for the many ways he has blessed you!

Thanks for stopping by . . .

pj