Back After a Few Days Off . . . with a Special Edition of Friday Coffee with PJ

The past few days I took some needed time off to get some things done around the house, to spend some time with my wife and to simply get some rest. November sped by (primarily due to my short term mission trip to India, followed by the Thanksgiving holiday less than a week after my return). With vacation days still remaining ... I decided to take a few. I am now ready to move forward (I hope) with a renewed passion and joy in Christ (and a lot less coughing!).  So ... pour your cup of favorite hot brew (which is especially good on a frigid day like this!) and enjoy some random thoughts I want to put before you.

1. During our "staycation" this week, we did some shopping, ran other errands, and took one day trip up to the Hershey area. So we spent a lot of time in the car. During this time, we had the car radio on, listening to so called Christmas music. At one point, when the strains of a familiar carol began to fill the car, I said to my wife, "Well, it only took six songs to get to one that mentions Jesus Christ!" Yep. Six songs. The first five dealt with Santa, Rudolph, Frosty, snow, Santa, and a white Christmas ... or something along that line. Increasingly Jesus Christ is being systematically removed from HIS holiday! That means those of us who claim allegiance to him must be even more intentional about keeping Christ in CHRISTmas! So ... let me ask you, what are YOU doing to do so? What steps is your family taking to be sure Christ is at the center of your Christmas celebration? 

2. There's been a lot of talk about the decline in church attendance in the United States in the past decade or two. Thom Rainer, a Christian researcher and author suggests that one of the primary factors is that people who do attend church, do so with a lot less consistency. Kevin DeYoung has some thoughts on this on an insightful posting on his blog, The Scandal of the Semi-Churched. It's a good read! 

3. PLEASE CONTINUE TO PRAY FOR THE SITUATION IN THE CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC. I got word yesterday that all of our Grace Brethren (Encompass World Partners) were evacuated safely out of the country. But many dear brothers and sisters in Christ remain behind. This impoverished country, made even more so by months of violence, is in the midst of a huge humanitarian crisis. Please pray for the church ... and for my friend, Augustin Hibaile and his family.

4. Snow! Looks like more is coming tomorrow. I believe with tomorrow's snow we will easily surpass the total amount of snow we received ALL of last winter. And as I look at the calendar, winter has not even officially begun! I sure hope this is not a sign of things to come!!! In the midst of all this snow and cold, I am so thankful to my God to have a warm house for shelter. How about YOU? 

5. Stop by tomorrow for a special prayer that spoke to me . . . it will give you something to do while you are stuck at home as the snow falls outside! 

Thanks for stopping by . . . 

pj

Carpe Diem ... Seize the Day 2024!

Here is the PowerPoint from Sunday, December 8th's sermon. Life Journals will be available for the next several Sundays.

Carpe diem challenge sunday dec 8, 2014 from John Smith

Thanks for stopping by . . .
pj

Pray for the Church in the Central African Republic!

The conditions continue to deteriorate in the Central African Republic. Renewed fighting has caused Encompass World Partners to evacuate the remaining missionaries within the capital city of Bangui. Please pray that they can safely leave. In addition, Cami Robbins reports that a long term Central African Rebpublic Bible translator that they have worked with for years (the Robbins serve with Wycliffe) was killed in the recent fighting.

Here is a link to a Times article about the situation. Be sure to watch the video. It will show you just how desperate the situation has grown. Even the UN is evacuating personnel!

Again, I ask you to pray especially for my friend, Augustin Hibaile and his family.

Thanks for stopping by . . .
pj

Friday Coffee with PJ

Sorry for the late posting. I am just finishing up my last (and fourth) cup of coffee for the day. But if you are still drinking ... please pour yourself a fresh cup and join me for a couple of random thoughts.

1. Yesterday as I stood in front of my bathroom mirror (to comb my beautiful head of hair ----- well I can dream, can't I?), I head the ticking of a small clock. It struck me that with each tick, one second was here and gone ... never to return. What is true of a second, is also true of a minute, an hour, a day, a week. Time spent ... is gone forever. Because life is so brief and passes so quickly (James 4:14), we need to strive not to waste our time. Let's make the most of every opportunity (Ephesians 5:15-17)... seeking to live each minute, hour, day for Jesus Christ!

2. The Christmas holiday appears to be coming at me out of nowhere this year. Is that true of you? I am guessing it is due to a couple of things. First, I spent almost half of my November either preparing to travel to India, traveling to India, serving in India, traveling back home, and then recovering from the trip! Add to this the lateness of the Thanksgiving holiday (Thanksgiving fell on the latest possible date this year), and voila ... Christmas is a coming and it's a coming quick. So ... all that to say, let's make sure in the midst of all the busyness of the season that we don't miss what Christmas is really all about. If you are looking for a good advent devotional ... you might want to check out this free devotional which you can download from Desiring God Ministries.


Thanks for stopping by . . .
pj

God Thinks Differently!

This morning, I spent some time meditating on the following familiar verses from Isaiah chapter fifty-five (vv. 8-9):

"For my thoughts are not your thoughts,

    neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord.

9 

For as the heavens are higher than the earth,

    so are my ways higher than your ways    and my thoughts than your thoughts."

These two verses are very powerful! They remind us that God's way of thinking is way (and I do mean WAAAAAYYYY above ours)! Of course, this makes all the sense in the world when one considers that God is infinite (without limit) and we are finite (limited). Yet, in spite of what the Scripture so clearly teaches, we in our arrogance are always seeking answers from God, especially when life does not unfold as we think it should! 

As evidence that God's thoughts are not our thoughts nor his ways our ways .... consider the following quote from one of my favorite devotional books, The Valley of Vision. As you read this portion of the opening prayer of the book, take a few moments and consider these "paradoxes" of our faith. They certainly do show that God thinks differently (and, since he is perfect, we can also say that he thinks perfectly!).

"Let me learn by paradox,
   that the way down is up,
   that to be low is to be high,
   that the broken heart is the healed heart,
   that the contrite spirit is the rejoicing spirit,
   that the repenting soul is the victorious soul,
   that to have nothing is to possess all,
   that to bear the cross is to wear the crown,
   that to give is to receive,
   that the valley is the place of vision.

Let me find they light in my darkness,
   thy life in my death,
   thy joy in my sorrow,
   thy grace in my sin,
   thy riches in my poverty,
   thy glory in my valley."

Amen.

Thanks for stopping by . . .
pj

Out of the Mouth of Babes!

Earlier today, I drove two of my grandchildren to my house after their morning preschool was over. During the ride home (all of about 3 minutes), I asked my four year old if she knew which holiday was fast approaching. She replied, "Christmas." I then asked her if she knew why we celebrated Christmas. "It's Jesus' birthday." I then asked, "If it's Jesus' birthday, why do you get presents?" She said, "Because Jesus died." "Because Jesus died?" I asked. "Yes. Jesus died so children could get presents." "Ohhhh," I responded. "Did he die for any other reason?" "Oh yes," she said, "He died for our sins AND so that we could get presents."  Well, she got it half right!

As you give and receive gifts this Christmas season ... keep in mind that we have already been given the greatest gift we could ever hope for: eternal life in Christ Jesus (Romans 6:23). This gift is offered to us out of the love of our Father in heaven, who "so loved the world that he gave his one and only son" (John 3:16). So this gift of eternal life is on the table ... have you reached out by faith and received it? If you have any questions about how to do so, I encourage you to check out Two Ways to Live: The Choice We All Face. 

Thanks for stopping by . . .
pj

Black Friday . . . Cyber Monday

We have just come through what has to be the most hyped shopping extended weekend of the entire year. Every where I looked (newspaper, internet, television, etc.) I was being bombarded with info about sales, sales and more sales. And this year ... the weekend actually got off to an even earlier start with many stores actually opening up Thanksgiving evening.  All this shows just how "consumer-driven" we have become! If you ask me ... I find it all a bit disturbing.

Well ... with that said, I must confess that I did do quite a bit of shopping - I mean, if you can't fight them ... then why not join them? Yes? (I know, some of you are thinking right now, "PJ, you are such a hypocrite!"). Now ... let me say a couple of things in my defense. First off, I did not do any shopping on Thanksgiving Day! In addition, I let my fingers to all the walking as I shopped (i.e. - I did cyber shopping only, not that this is better ... just the way I decided to go). Finally, I did not buy one item for myself or any family members. Every purchase I made I plan to donate to our church's student ministries' auction which will be held on March 1st. I bought them now because I got some really good deals. And you know ... I was really getting excited about some of the great deals I was buying. The Lord Jesus was right on the mark (which he always was and is!) when he said, "It is more blessed to give than receive!" (Acts 20:25).  I cannot tell you how blessed I felt buying in order to give it all away!

In this season of giving and receiving .... look for a ministry to bless with a gift. They will be benefited and YOU will be blessed!

Thanks for stopping by . . .
pj