Feast or Famine!

Recently, every time I turned on the evening news, there was video footage of yet another western wild fire consuming trees and homes and everything else in its path. These fires were being fueled by extremely dry and windy conditions. At the same time, every time I viewed a local weather forecast, the words "showers and thunderstorms" were more often than not a part of the forecast. And with the recent rains, the landscape of Lancaster County is looking quite green and lush! So as I think of the variety of weather being experienced in our country these days ... the expression, "feast or famine" comes to mind. We are feasting on the benefits of adequate (to almost too adequate!) amounts of rainfall while much of the western United States is suffering from a famine of beneficial rains! 

Life in general can be a lot like that.  Feast or famine.  We experience a time when life is “going well.”  The kids are doing super at school, our marriage is vibrant, the job is going great, our health is good and our walk with God is strong.  Then suddenly we find ourselves enduring a famine.  The kids are misbehaving, our marriage seems stale, the job is frustrating, our health is fragile and our walk with God almost non-existent.  Feast or famine.  Most of us, I would guess, handle the feast times pretty well.  I mean, who doesn't like a feast?  But we all struggle with the times of famine.  Let me suggest something that I always find helpful when I face times of famine in my own life.  I take a trip.  A long trip.  Really?  Yep.  But I don’t book any airline tickets or pack any bags.  All I do is pull out my Bible and take a trip back in time some 3000 years to the Old Testament book of Psalms.  In this intensely personal writings I find the words of individuals who are in the midst of feast ... and in the midst of famine.  Their experience resonates with my soul.  And as they work through their famine times – I find hope for me. So the next time you feel yourself in a time of famine, open to the book of psalms.  For there you will find fellow travelers who work through their famine as they move ever closer to God!

Thanks for stopping by . . . 

pj

Beautiful People ... Or Are They?

The Lancaster newspaper runs a column on their back page under the heading "People." Today's column featured three brief articles. One sketched country singer Randy Travis' serious heart condition. He is currently listed in critical condition in a Texas hospital. The second story was all about recording artist Elton John's diagnosis of appendicitis. The third featured 27 year old actress Amanda Byne's court appearance on allegations that she threw a marijuana bong out of her 36th floor Manhattan apartment (why throw anything out of a 36 floor apartment, let alone a marijuana bong!). Did you catch the common denominator of these three people? They are all "rich and famous." Not surprising, though! Why would anyone want to read about Joe Plumber's ailing kidney? I mean .... could you imagine a television show featuring the guy at Walmart who greets you as you enter the store? Hardly! We are a culture that is mesmerized by the celebrities in our midst. And that, quite frankly, is sad!

God does not view celebrities in the same way as we do. In fact, he looks at people in general very differently than we do. In the Old Testament book of 1 Samuel, the prophet Samuel was sent to the house of Jesse to anoint the man who was to follow Saul as Israel's king. When Eliab, Jesses' oldest son passed in front of the prophet, Samuel was convinced that Eliab was God's man. But God had other ideas as he said to Samuel,  “Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For the Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.” (1 Samuel 16:7). 

When God looks at people, he does not see rich or poor, famous or obscure, tall or short, educated or uneducated. Rather he looks at our hearts! SOOO ... with that in mind, when God looks at your heart, what does he see? It may be that you need to do some summer "heart" cleaning. Spend some time before God. Ask him to search your heart and show you what needs to change. Follow David's practice as revealed in Psalm 139:23-24 (David was chosen, by the way to follow King Saul on Israel's throne because he had a heart that hungered for God [Acts 13:22]). Then claim God's promise as stated in 1 John 1:9. You and those around you will be better for it! And God will be glorified (Joshua 7:19).

Thanks for stopping by . . .
pj

The Bible, Our Authority

"The Bible, Our Authority" is one of four core values that we embrace at Grace Church at Willow Valley. Concerning this value, well known writer-theologian, J. I. Packer, writes:

Thanks for stopping by . . .
pj

Friday Coffee with PJ

Well its the day after the Fourth . . . and many of you may very well be off from work again today. Whether you are working today or kicking back . . . here are a few thoughts to go with your morning cup of joe!

1. Back in 2004, while traveling with my son in Arizona, we spent a night in a small town called Prescott. Earlier this week, that little town was in the national headlines . . . and not for reasons the town would have chosen! Unless you have been off the planet, you know what I am talking about. Earlier this week, nineteen elite firefighters from Prescott were killed when the blaze they were battling turned on them. USA Today calls it "one of the worst wildfire disasters in history." Our hearts go out to the families of these firefighters ... many of whom left wives with young children behind. We also remember the wider community of Prescott, which is reeling from this loss. One reality that this tragedy should drive home to us is that none of us know how much time we have left on this earth. These guys were highly trained and very experienced. No one saw this coming. Yes, one or two deaths perhaps. But nineteen?  So, friends, please remember to pray for the families that these brave men have left behind and the community of Prescott, but also take some time to evaluate your own life. Are you ready to meet God? If you have any doubts, check out Two Ways to Live: The Choice We All Face. 


2. This weekend we are welcoming a group of 31 high schoolers known as Operation Barnabas. OB is a summer ministry sponsored and coordinated by our Fellowship of Grace Brethren Churches, and more specifically, C E National (the CE standing for Church Effectiveness). Once the team arrives, they will hit the road running! Friday evening they, along with our students, will be doing street evangelism in downtown Lancaster (this Friday is a "First Friday" event). On Saturday they will be doing some work on our facility, visiting a nearby retirement community and conducting a children's program at a nearby campground. Then on Sunday morning, they will be heavily involved in leading our two worship services. So when you think of Grace Church at Willow Valley this weekend, I would appreciate prayer for the ministry of the Operation Barnabas Team as they come to town!  Thanks!

3. Finally ... a quote that seems appropriate as we head into the weekend.

"The Christian's life should put his minister's sermon in print." (William Gurnall)

Thanks for stopping by . . .
pj

Happy Fourth of July!

I hope you have a great day off from your job! Enjoy some extra time with your family and friends. And as you go about having FUN . . . take a moment to check out this article from the folks at the National Day of Prayer. It will remind you as to why we get this day off in the first place!

HAVE A GREAT HOLIDAY!

Thanks for stopping by . . .
pj

Doing It Half Way!

If you live in the same neck of the woods as I do, you know it's been quite tropical of late. Lots of heat.
Lot's of humidity. And lots of downpours (for example, the storms that rumbled through in the early morning hours of Monday left about 2 inches in my rain gauge). Now with all the warmth and moisture you can just imagine how fast the grass is growing (and if you live in these parts you don't have to imagine - just take a look!). Yesterday, it was evident my lawn could stand a shearing! But with storms threatening, I knew I would not have time to do it all. So, I did the next best thing. I mowed the front lawn. After all, everyone who passes my house sees the front yard. Whereas very few (if any) see the lawn behind my house. I figure, I will get to that eventually ... but at least for now, the front lawn is presentable!

Hmm. Isn't this the way we often deal with our spiritual lives? We seek to work on the areas that are most visible. But the less visible .... well that's easy to let slide. The problem with this approach is that it is the least visible that is often the most important. Here's just one example. Arguably, one of the most vital of the spiritual disciplines that we must cultivate and practice is that of prayer. But, if I am not praying as I should, I can get by with not doing so and you might never know it! It's like not cutting my back lawn.

So .... let me ask you: how is your private prayer life these days? Are you seeking God's face in prayer? Asking on behalf of your family, friends, and church? Thanking God for His many blessings? Worshiping him for awesome God that he is? Confessing your sins? Begging for his help?

You might be able to get by for a while with allowing prayer (and other less visible faith practices) slide. But in the long run, you will be a lot worse for it!

Thanks for stopping by . . .
pj

God-Shrinkers!

In my daily devotional reading today of The J.I. Packer Classic Collection, he writes of one of his greatest laments of the past few decades. As I read .... I thought to myself ... "Stop hammering me with that sledge hammer, J.I.!" But ... there are times a good whack or two on the head is good for our souls! Here's what he wrote:

"Often in recent decades I have found myself publicly lamenting the way in which our Western culture has indulged unwarrantably great thoughts of humanity and scandalously small thoughts of God. Our time will surely go down in history as the age of the God-shrinkers. The result is that belief in God's sovereignty and omniscience, the majesty of his moral law and the terror of his judgment, the retributive consequences of the life we live here and the endlessness of the eternity in which we will experience them, along with belief in the intrinsic triunity of God and the divinity and personal return of Jesus Christ, is nowadays so eroded as to be hardly discernible. For many in our day, God is not more than a smudge." 

What J.I. writes here is something that is little, if ever heard in our "God is love" day and age (and I am talking about within the evangelical church!). Yes, God is indeed love ... but he is also HOLY, HOLY, HOLY (Isaiah 6:3; Revelation 4:8). We can ill afford to lose sight of that!

Thanks for stopping by . . .
pj