A Prayer for Your Weekend

O God Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth,
I thank you that you are also my Father,
A Father who so loved the world that
YOU sent your one and only Son,
To this earth, to die and to die in my place.
I praise you that on the cross Jesus willingly faced your wrath
So that
I would not have to ever do so ... ever!

Thank you for loving me when I was,
indeed, UNLOVEABLE!

Thank you for your AMAZING grace that saved me,
And that now keeps me securely in YOUR hand.

Father, help me this day (and everyday)
To live out my life's routine in a way that
Brings honor to you, advances your kingdom
And declares to anyone and everyone who
Happens to be watching
That I belong to YOU!

In the name of your Son, my Savior,
Amen


Thanks for stopping by . . .
pj

Thank God ... Jesus Paid It All!

Typically my day off is Monday. But this week, due to some scheduling issues, I took yesterday (Thursday) off instead. One of my "to dos" to get done was to call about a needed update to my heating/cooling system in my house. Since this update is a rather costly one, once I had the rough price quote in hand, I began to work on my plan to finance this need.

With that on my mind, I happened to read through the classic hymn, Jesus Paid It All this morning (this in preparation for our upcoming Sunday evening communion service). And it struck me that unlike my planning to fund this house project (moving funds from this account to that account, figuring out whether a small short-term loan might be needed, etc.), the debt I owe God has been paid for IN FULL! I don't have to worry if I have done enough good ... or avoided enough bad so that heaven's balance sheet weighs in on my favor! Nope. No worries there. Because Jesus paid it all, I am guaranteed entrance into heaven. Nothing to do with me ... EVERYTHING to do with him! All I must do is receive his gift! Do yourself a favor and take a moment and read the lyrics of the last stanza of this wonderful, heart warming, faith strengthening, God honoring hymn. 

Jesus Paid it All 

And when before the throne I stand in him complete, 

'Jesus died my soul to save,' my lips shall still repeat. 

Jesus paid it ALL, ALL to him I owe, 

Sin had left a crimson stain, He washed it white as snow!

Thanks for stopping by ... and if  you are part of our Grace family, I hope you join us for our communion service on Sunday (6 PM in our Family Life Center) . . . 

pj

In the Aftermath of THE STORM . . .

Superstorm, Hurricane, Frankenstorm ... whatever label you choose to hang on the storm "Sandy" which roared into our area last week ... all would agree that it was quite the monster. Parts of the afflicted area will be digging out for weeks and months ... others will never be the same. Countless people have experienced loss in so many different ways. No doubt, it was a tragic weather event.

This morning in my devotional reading, I ran across something written by J.I. Packer that could not be any more appropriate in the aftermath of the storm. Please take a moment and read what he has to say.

"Of all the evils that infect God's world (moral and spiritual perversity, waste of good, and the physical disorders and disruptions of a spoiled cosmos), it can summarily be said: God permits evil; he punishes evil with evil; he brings good out of evil; he uses evil to test and discipline those he loves; and one day he will redeem his people from the power and presence of evil altogether. 

The doctrine of providence teaches Christians that they are never in the grip of blind forces (fortune, chance, luck, fate); all that happens to them is divinely planned, and each event comes as a new summons to trust, obey, and rejoice, knowing that all is for one's spiritual and eternal good (Romans 8:29)." 

Once again J.I. hits the proverbial nail squarely on the head!

Thanks for stopping by . . .
pj

Get Out and VOTE!

Just a brief word of encouragement: If you are registered to vote ... PLEASE exercise your freedom to vote tomorrow at the polls. This election is crucial to the future of our country. Religious freedoms are increasingly being infringed upon. If the people of faith do not take a stand, this erosion will continue.

In yesterday's Lancaster paper .... the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association ran a full page ad. Here is what the Rev. Graham had to say:

"I believe it is vitally important that we cast our ballots for candidates who base their decisions on biblical principles and support the nation of Israel. I urge you to vote for those who protect the sanctity of life and support the biblical definition of marriage between a man and a woman. Vote for biblical values this November 6, and pray with me that America will remain one nation under God."

Thanks, Billy, for reminding us of the importance of our vote.

Thanks for stopping by . . .
pj

To Indiana and Back

Well I made it ... to Indiana this past week. With Sandy throwing air travel into major disarray, I had some doubts, but my flight was one of just a handful of flights that did make it out of Harrisburg International Airport on Tuesday morning (flying west vs. east helped, I am quite sure!).

Once in Winona Lake, I had a great week of meetings as part of the Grace College and Seminary Board. We discussed a lot of tough issues facing the schools (which is true of EVERY educational institution trying to provide students with a quality and affordable education). We also made some difficult decisions. But I walked away from the meetings VERY encouraged about the future of Grace!

That reminds me a bit of life in general. We face tough issues. We make difficult decisions. But at the end of the day we can be optimistic about our future. How so? For those of us who have chosen to follow Jesus Christ, He holds our future in HIS hands. So no matter what the future eventually brings our way, we can rest assured that future first passed through the hands of the one who loved us enough to die for us! And you know ... that's enough for me to say, "It is well with my soul ... today, tomorrow, forever!

Thanks for stopping by . . .
pj

Hello Sandy!

Today Lancaster County, along with much of the East Coast is shut down. Even as I type these words, the sounds of rain tapping on my windows and the winds howling as they blow through my back yard remind me that Sandy is no average woman. In fact, she's no woman at all! Hurricane (or is it Frankenstorm?) Sandy is still churning about 150 miles off the coast of Atlantic City, NJ. It is projected to make landfall about 8 PM this evening .... and from there make a bee line for southern PA. Yahoo!  But with all the rain and wind that it is bringing ... it is effectively shutting down life as we know it ... malls, schools, businesses, airports ... and the list goes on and on. And as Sandy continues her march westward, we all hold our breath .... will the power stay on? Will my roof stay on?  Time will tell. Tomorrow I am scheduled to catch a flight out of Harrisburg to head to Indiana for several days. Hmm. Maybe ... maybe not!

All I can say ... is that I am glad that my God is a rock!  No matter what storm blows through - we can anchor ourselves to our God and know that we will never be moved (Psalm 62:6-7).

Thanks for stopping by . . .
pj

PS - If you do not hear from me the rest of the week it is because I was able to make my way to Indiana.

Thursday's Offerings

Here are this week's offerings of a little bit of this and a little of that . . .

1. With the big election less than two weeks away . . . here is a summary of an excellent sermon by Mark Dever of Capitol Hill Baptist Church on the the Christian's responsibility to government.

2. Ever get to the point where you find yourself mired in the pit of discontentment? You know you should be content ... but you just don't know how to get there. Here is an insightful and helpful post on the topic.

3. We just celebrated children this past Sunday at Grace. Why? Well if children mattered to Jesus, then they had better matter to us (see Mark 10:13-15)! Thinking of children reminded me of this brief devo from Chuck Swindoll, Everybody "Act Medium." 

4. Hmm. Ever wish you had that voice of the soloist who just rocked the room with her song? Or perhaps the skill of the IT guy who knows how to fix every single computer problem this world has ever seen? But if you don't have the voice to be the next American Idol winner or if your computer skills are not really all that skillful ... will that keep you from being all that God wants you to be?  Check out Ray Ortland's thoughts on this right here. 

5. What does it mean to be created in the image of God? Ed Welch has some great insights right here. 

6. With Halloween less than a week away, how should Christians respond to this holiday? Here is a thorough and though provoking article from Grace to You. 

7. On a lighter note . . . 

Thanks for stopping by . . .
pj