Who...Me???

D.L. Moody was a man God used in a mighty way. Not because he had money. Not because he had a stellar education (he never progressed past the fifth grade). Not because of family connections (his father, who died when Moody was four, was a poor farmer). No ... God used D.L. Moody because D.L. Moody made himself available to God. In what may be the most well known quotes attributed to Moody, the evangelist described his life's goal:

“The world has yet to see what God can do with a man fully consecrated to him. By God’s help, I aim to be that man.”

A look at his life shows that he did his best to live this out. But that does not mean he did not struggle in his lifelong attempt! Below is a graphic containing another Moody quote. This one really resonated with me. I could not have said it better myself about myself! 

Ahh .... thank God for HIS grace the Holy Spirit brings to me. A grace that continues to mold and make me into the image of His Son (Philippians 1:6; 1 Corinthians 15:10). 

Thanks for stopping by . . . 

pj

Friday Coffee with PJ ... Special Weekend Edition

The title of today's blog is my attempt of putting a positive spin on running behind schedule this week. One reason for this is that I actually took two days off (my regular day off on Monday ... and since Monday was a holiday, I relaxed a bit and took Thursday off as well). As a result, I am running about a day late! So ... pour yourself a cup of your favorite brew and join me for a few random thoughts.

1. Back on August 28th, celebrity Joan Rivers underwent surgery on her vocal chords. This past Thursday she died from complications of that surgery. Her death, coming on the heels of the death of comedian and actor Robin Williams, reminds us that death will one day come calling for all of us. It doesn't matter how much money or fame one might possess. Death is no respecter of persons. The Bible makes it clear that all of us will one day exit through that same door (compare Ezekiel 18:4, 20 with Romans 3:23). The Bible is equally clear that death is not the end of our existence. But there is an "after" to death. In addition to teaching that all of us will one day die, Hebrews 9:27 teaches us that a judgment follows death. Scripture makes reference to two judgments, One is for those who are not followers of Jesus Christ. This judgment is described in Revelation 20 and is often referred to as the Great White Throne Judgment. Those whose names are not found in the Lamb's Book of Life will be cast into what the Bible calls "the lake of fire." The second judgment found in the New Testament is mentioned in 2 Corinthians 5:9-10. This "bema seat" judgment is for believers. That's right! We who have chosen to follow Jesus will stand before him to give an account for how we have lived our lives since coming to faith in Christ. SOOO ... all this to ask ... are YOU ready to stand before God? If you have not made a faith commitment to Jesus Christ, it is never too late to do so! Check out Two Ways to Live: The Choice We All Face.  And if you have committed  your life, soul and eternal welfare to Christ, then are you living your life in such a way that he would be able to say to you when you stand before him, "Well done my good and faithful servant?" How you answer both of those questions will have HUGE implications for your eternal welfare!

2. On Thursday of this week, I read an article on Lancaster Online about a Great Dane whose owner (or is it master ... or Dad ... not sure of the term of choice dog owners prefer) had to rush the dog to the vets. It was vomiting and showing other signs of being very, very sick. A quick x-ray revealed a large amount of foreign substance in the dog's stomach. Surgery revealed that the foreign matter consisted of 43 1/2 socks that the Dane had eaten. Now that's quite the pile of socks! No wonder the canine was so ill! Great Danes are big dogs. And as such they need to eat a lot. But they must eat the right stuff ... And somehow, socks just don't fit in that category ... no matter how tasty they might be! So with us, my friends. Not only do we need to feed our bodies healthy foods, we also must be intentional about feeding our minds and souls healthy food as well (I am guessing you know where I am going with this!) ... Of course, soul-food doesn't get any healthier than the Bible! After all, it is the very word of the One who designed, created and even now sustains us. So given this ... how much time do you spend in God's Word each week? Your answer to that question will go a long way toward revealing the health of your mind and your soul.

3, In just five days I will be undergoing surgery (repair of a torn distal biceps tendon). This will leave me without the use of my left arm for a longer period of time than I would like. So even though I am right-handed, I will be limited in the performance of certain activities ... one of which is typing! Therefore, you will see a fall off of the number of posts that I will be posting. And I would appreciate your prayers that all goes well on Thursday!

Thanks for stopping by . . .
pj

"John, Are You in the Cookie Jar Again?"

I can still see it sitting on our kitchen counter – an olive green ceramic cookie jar.  My mom always made sure it was stuffed full of cookies (which was not easy with me, my twin brother and a little brother running around the house!).  Now there was THE RULE (and it was the ONLY rule) regarding the cookie jar.  We could not grab a cookie or two (or three or four) just any time we wanted. We had to have permission first.  I want you to know that I tried to stick by THE RULE.  But that cookie jar had a powerful pull on my little hands.  It seems like any time I walked near it, my hands were drawn to it, like a piece of iron to a powerful magnet.  When this happened, I just went with the flow.  I would carefully lift the ceramic top, reach in and grab the loot, and then as quietly as possible, set the lid back on the cookie jar.  Almost without exception, the noise of ceramic on ceramic alerted my mom that someone was in the cookie jar. (How she could hear that from halfway down the block was beyond me! Perhaps she was a super hero in hiding!). 

This memory came to mind as I was read 1 John 2:28 recently in our Carpe Diem reading.  In this verse we read, “And now, dear children, continue in him, so that when he appears we may be confident and unashamed before him at his coming.”  I wonder.  How many of us will be caught with our hands in the “cookie jar” of sin when Jesus returns?  Let’s pay close attention to John’s exhortation here and strive to stay in step with Jesus.  Being embarrassed is never pleasant – and how much more so when it will be before the One who gave His life for us! 

Thanks for listening,

pj

An Open Letter to the Church Family at Grace Church of Willow Valley

Twenty-five years ago, I entered the pulpit (and it was a fairly large pulpit back then) at Grace Church to begin what I was hoping would be a long and fruitful ministry (by long I was thinking ten years or so). Obviously, God had other plans. The years have been far more than ten. As for being fruitful, I defer to God on that call.

To mark this occasion ... here is a letter for my family at Grace Church at Willow Valley. If you are not part of our church family, feel free to read the letter, too. These twenty-five years have passed quickly. But my resolve to glorify God as I serve Jesus Christ in this place has not. I hope it has only grown.

September 1, 2014

 Dear Grace Family,                                                                                          

In Psalm 16:6, King David wrote the following words: “The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; surely I have a delightful inheritance.” The boundary lines he has in mind here are not the boundary lines of a piece of land, but rather the boundary lines of his life. David believed God had placed him in the place where he was (King of Israel), and he was rejoicing in God’s providence and the blessings he enjoyed as a result.

I can definitely relate to David. I also believe that “the boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; surely I have a delightful inheritance.” It has been twenty-five years this day since God in His providence led me and my family here to Lancaster County and Grace Church. When I first arrived, I asked the Lord for a ministry here that would last ten years (after serving a church for three years and another for five, I was looking for a pastorate of a little longer tenure). Little did I realize that God would more than honor that desire with a ministry that is at twenty-five years and counting!

In writing this letter to you, my family at Grace, it's my desire to let you know that there is no other place on this planet that I would rather be serving Jesus Christ than right here! You are a special group of people whom I have grown to love dearly across the years. I thank you for all of your loving support that you have given to me and my family. My prayer is that God will continue to allow us to deepen our love for God, nurture our love for others and address our world’s need for Christ – TOGETHER – for yet a few more years!

Together (you, me and God) we can do much!

pj 

Pastor John 

Friday Coffee with PJ

Another Friday morning ... another cup of rich, steamy coffee! Yum! Pour yourself a cup (of coffee or whatever it is you drink in the morning) and join me for a few random thoughts.

1. Church growth, Chinese style! Reports coming out of Communist governed China indicate that the church there is doing much more than merely surviving - it is thriving! Check out this report and then take a moment and praise and pray ... for what God is doing in the world's most populated country!

2. During last winter's destructive ice storm, the five birch trees that line the back of my yard took a major hit. Clean up from the storm has taken two visits by two different tree outfits (and a major hit on my bank account!). During those visits, using their power saws and other equipment, the arborists removed a lot of broken, twisted limbs. Now, even with the damage cleaned up, the trees still bear the "scars" of the winter's wrath! But, these tree experts assured me that the trees should make a strong comeback in the next couple of years.

What the heavy ice accumulation did to my trees reminds me of what sin does to all of us. It twists us. It distorts us. It bends and even sometimes breaks us. All of us. No exceptions (I recently said to my wife that all of us are dysfunctional ... its just that some of us are more dysfunctional than others!). Therefore, all of us are in need of the hand of the divine "tree surgeon" to come and prune out the broken and twisted limbs (John 15:1-11). Only as the Master prunes us will we be in a position to bear much fruit for him (AND experience the JOY that comes from doing so!).

Thanks for stopping by . . .
pj

Robbing the Amish? Really?

The headline of today's Lancaster newspaper's front page reads: "Police search for buggy bandit." The story went on to detail the holdup at gunpoint of three Amish who were heading home. He demanded their money. They threw their wallets to him and as he stooped down to pick them up ... they turned the horse into the adjacent field and off they went (pretty quick thinking on their part). The thug who robbed them, apparently satisfied with his take, climbed back in his van and took off. 

This incident brought to my mind a couple of thing, the first being the expression, "stealing candy from a baby." Surely if this guy knew anything about the Amish ... he would have known that they are a very peaceful people who believe in nonresistance. In other words, they were an easy mark. In addition, this whole incident reminded me that no one is exempt from being victimized by others. Not the Amish ... not you and not me. We live in a broken and twisted world ... populated with broken and twisted people (which, by the way, includes you and me!). This is not God's doing. It's ours. All the evil, the brokenness, the pain and heartache is all the result of our rebellion against the God who made us. And the only solution to this dilemma is found in the greatest act of evil ever perpetuated by man: the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. Really? How so? I have heard it said that evil committed suicide on the day of Christ's murder. For when evil men fueled by the evil powers of the unseen world nailed Christ to the cross, they were nailing their own death sentence on that cross (Colossians 2:13-15). But what was a death sentence for evil brought for humanity the hope of forgiveness and new life (Ephesians 1:7; 2 Corinthians 5:17). This promise becomes a reality for us when we by faith embrace the gospel of Jesus Christ! My friend, if you have never done so, let me encourage you to check out this message of hope: Two Ways to Live: The Choice We All Face. 

Thanks for stopping by . . . 

pj

Please continue to Pray for the Central African Republic - God Is at Work!

The new transitional government of the Central African Republic is doing its best to move forward. But the obstacles in its path are many and great. In light of this, I am so thankful for my friend and colleague, Dr. Augustin Hibaile and his work among government officials. Please take a moment to read his most recent email (dated August 24th) and then PRAY for him. God is opening doors to him and I am sure, knowing this man as I do, that his greatest desire is to serve them by pointing them to Jesus Christ. Thanks for caring enough to pray.

Greetings from Bangui,

We prayed for news members of the transition Government of the Central African Republic to be appointed. Almost 13 days after the New Prime Minister was appointed by the President of the State, 30 men and women were appointed last Friday to lead the different departments of the Government until a democratic election in 2015.

Among those Ministers of the Government, five are known to me. I just called two of them, one who is a Professor of the University is now the Minister of Higher Education and Chancellor of the University of Bangui. He was pleased to receive my congratulation. Than he said to me, "I am sure that you put me on the list of your prayer, because I need wisdom to lead the department I am in charge. I will use the leadership principles you and Pointman Leadership Institute have taught me. My cabinet is wide open for you to come and strengthen my skill in leadership." He even reminded me on the example of me showing the picture of my wife on the screen during the Pointman leadership explaining my engagement in

marriage, where I said that I always has the picture of my wife in my wallet and think of her often when I travel. He said that he never forget that example and want to follow my example.

The second one I taught with today is an  Inspector of Finance former General Director of the Departement of Finance. He is a Deacon of one of our Grace Brethren Churches. He asked me to go and pray with him just after he will begin his new role.

Please pray that doors will be opened for me to minister to those key leaders in this critical time our country is going through. Those Ministers will be in favor of the Government leadership seminar I would like to organize before the élections.

Last Friday, I met with the faculty of the University to set a date for the ceremony where my organization will honor some students who have been in small groups to learn on developing their habitude and attitude of leadership through the book of Dr Tim Elmore, President of Growing Leaders who have been one of our speakers during the students leadership conference in Bangui in 2012. September 27 will be a great day for that event. Please pray that the ceremony will bring a great impact on the students and give my organization to create more small groups.

Thanks for partnership with me in the great ministry God calls me to do even in a very difficult environment.

Together

Dr. Augustin Hibaile 


To stay connected with Augustin's ministry, visit the Friends of CIDEL website. 

Thanks for stopping by . . .
pj