Thurday's A La Carte

Here are this week's a la carte offerings . . .

1. With Mormonism being in the news lately (due to Mitch Romney's Mormon faith), here is a great article on how to engage Mormons. 

2. In light of our Sunday morning study of the book of Revelation, I thought these insights from Randy Alcorn on tying current events with prophetic claims is timely.

3. Tim Challies weighs in on the discussion on the "right" age at which to baptize children. 

4. Ed Welch on when it feels like God has pulled out the rug from beneath us.

5. Should we ... as we share the gospel ... really do our best to "keep it simple?" Randy Newman thinks keeping it complicated is the better way to go! 

6. And finally ... on a lighter note ... 

Thanks for stopping by . . .
pj

A Prayer for Your Midweek

As I was praying through and meditating upon one of the prayers from the book, The Valley of Vision: A Collection of Puritan Prayers and Devotions, I was really struck by the first section of the prayer. The opening words of Hebrews chapter 12 talks about the race God has set before us. He wants us to run this race with perseverance (i.e. - to keep on running even when the terrain gets rough or we feel that growing pain in our sides). The key to doing this is to keep our eyes on Jesus (Hebrews 12:1-2). The prayer I read today .... helps, I believe, us to do just this. I encourage you to take a moment and make this prayer of yesteryear ... your prayer for today.

Thou God of all grace, 

Thou has given me a Saviour, 

Produce in me a faith to live by him, 

To make him all my desire, all my hope, all my glory. 

May I enter him as my refuge, 

     build on him as my foundation, 

     walk in him as my way, 

     follow him as my guide, 

     conform to him as my example, 

     receive his instructions as my prophet, 

     rely on his intercession as my high priest, 

     obey him as my king.

And whatsoever I do today, 

May it be done in the Saviour's name. 

Amen. 

Thanks for stopping by . . .
pj

Digging that Yields Treasure!

Peter Kirk takes the old saying that "someone's trash is someone else's treasure" - just a bit further than I am guessing most of us would. Pete spends a good bit of his time in digging through Lancaster city's old outhouses. In doing so, he has found quite the array of unusual items. Now if you think that's a pretty disgusting hobby, I would agree. But, according to Kirk, it's really not that bad: "It's 100 years old. Everything has rotted away, so you're not playing in poo. It's a little gross, but once you make your first find, you forget about it."  A "little" gross? Maybe by his standards ... but certainly not by mine! (to read more about this man and the finds that people of yesteryear left "behind", you can read the article here on Lancasteronline). 

As I thought of this guy's determination to mine treasures from ... well .. you know ... I thought of my often lack of determination to mine treasures from God's Word. As a result, I don't dig into Scripture as I should. In failing to do this ... I hurt not only myself, but all those in my network of relationships. How so? If it is true that the Word of God will equip me for every good work (2 Timothy 3:16-17), then when I fail to dig into it and then put what I find into practice (Matthew 7:24-27), then I am not being equipped for every good work. And what does "every good work" entail? For me it would include my pastoral ministry, my roles as a husband, father and grandfather, my work of being a good friend and neighbor, my ministry as a police chaplain, etc., etc., etc.. 

Friends ... all of us could stand to follow Peter Kirk's example of determined digging. So join me in taking some time to take stock of how your digging into the Bible is coming along. If you need to make some changes ... do so. You and those around you will be better for it! 

Thanks for stopping by . . . 
pj

We Are All Beggars!

The J.I. Packer Classic Collection is a delightful book that I would highly recommend to anyone who wants to find some encouragement for their faith journey with Christ. Concerning this book, Jerry Bridges, bestselling author of such gems as Respectable Sins, The Pursuit of Holiness and Trusting God, writes, "I have been a fan of J.I. Packer and his writings for almost fifty years and have read most, if not all, of his books. Therefore, I am delighted to see the 'best of J.I. Packer' being made available in one volume."  And Eugene Peterson, translator for the popular Bible version, The Message, adds, "Always wise, always reverent, J. I. Packer's words can be depended on to provide accurate guidance to our responses to Jesus and Scripture. A truly classic theologian." This book is a great addition to anyone's library!

Today I read the following challenging words from Packer's pen:

"Martin Luther's last written words were 'We are all beggars. That is true.' Two days later he died. He was right, of course. If we think of ourselves as achievers, creators, reformers, innovators, movers and shakers, healers, educators, benefactors of society in any way at all, we are at the deepest level kidding ourselves. We have nothing and have never had anything that we have not received, nor have we done anything good apart from God who did ti through us. In ourselves we are destitute, bankrupt, and impotent, totally dependent on God in every respect. This is true, as Luther constantly insisted, with regard to the pardon of our sins and the justification of our person. And it is equally true of life, health, food, clothing, a job, a home, a family, a car, a bank balance in the black, and every other good thing that comes our way. So before God's throne we are all beggars, and begging good gifts from God is what petitionary prayer is all about." 

Wow! Right on Martin and J.I.! Now let's be sure to spend some time begging today!

Thanks for stopping by . . .
pj

Thursday A La Carte

Hey ... it's Thursday ... SO here are this week's a la carte offerings . . .

1. With the start of the NFL this week (that's National Football League for you non-football fans!) ... we should expect to be hearing about Tim Tebow. Tebow, though not the most gifted athlete in the NFL was certainly the most talked about athlete last season. This season finds him on a new team (NY Jets) and in a new role (backup quarterback). Here is an interesting article on Tim

2.  The Gospel in Seven Words is an interesting take on how to share the essence of the gospel message in a mere seven words. Worth a read.

3. If you have a college student in your life ... you might just want to take a moment to read, Ten Things I Wish They Told Me at College Orientation.

4. Texting. I find myself doing it more and more. But is that a good thing? Here is a CNN article that suggests that it probably isn't. (You might also want to check out this video by psychologist Sherry Turkle: Connected but Alone).

5. Here's a great description of the gospel from an Anglican church website (in that great city of Pittsburgh!).

6. On a lighter side . . . 

Thanks for stopping by . . .
pj

Integrity?

I just got done reading about a group of best selling authors who engaged in ... well let's say ... a rather questionable activity. In an order to boost the sale of their own books, they would register on a site such as Amazon under a pseudonym. Then they would proceed to write glowing reviews of their own works while offering harsh criticism of the books of their rivals (If you want to read more about this, click here).

This, of course, is an obvious lack of integrity. But it does not really surprise me. For integrity is a rapidly diminishing virtue in our world today. But for those of us who follow Jesus, we must buck this trend. We must strive (by God's grace) to be men and women whose walk matches their talk. People who are honest and authentic. Not perfect, of course ... but consistent! And when we make integrity a goal of our lives, God promises blessing (Proverbs 10:9, 11:3, 20:7, 28:6).

How about you? Are you seeking to be a man or woman of integrity? I hope you are. Our world could use a bigger dose of it!

Thanks for stopping by . . .
pj

Some Thoughts this Labor Day Weekend

As I reflected on the fact that today is the first day of our Labor Day weekend, a couple of thoughts ran through my mind.

1. Hmm. Labor Day is the "official" end of summer (I guess vs. the calendar end of summer which this year falls on September 21st). Where did the summer go? It seems like yesterday I was cooking out on Memorial Day and learning my lines for our June Vacation Bible School. Time flies. So we must learn to make our days count (see Psalm 90:12 and Ephesians 5:15-16) for Christ and HIS kingdom!

2. Hmm. How many people who get a paid day off to celebrate the Labor Day holiday even know what the holiday is all about?  Babies maybe? After all, what women go through to birth a child is certainly worthy of a holiday! Labor Day became a national holiday in 1894, being established to commemorate the accomplishments of the American worker (for more background, click here). Since this is the case, allow me to suggest you take some time to reflect on your job. Are you thankful for it? Do you work for the glory of God? Do you pray for those who are out of work?  Always remember that there are many on this planet that are far worse off than you! So let's be sure to remember to give generously to the work of God ... and to those in need (see Ephesians 4:28).

Thanks for stopping by . . .
pj