Friday Coffee with PJ

This week, I was given quite a gift - a box containing 10 k-cups of Starbucks Pike Place Roast (which happens to be a favorite of mine!). I have already enjoyed one cup and am eyeing up another! So pour yourself a cup of your favorite blend and join me for a couple of random thoughts. 

1. Mark in his gospel tells of an interesting story about Jesus and his family. The story begins with an individual informing Jesus that his mother and brothers had come looking for him (Jesus was inside teaching a houseful of people). Jesus asked the man, “Who are my mother and my brothers?” Then he looked at those seated in a circle around him and said, “Here are my mother and my brothers!  Whoever does God’s will is my brother and sister and mother” (Mark 3:33-35).

Wow! Isn’t that an incredible thought! You and I – if we are following Jesus – WE are a part of HIS family! The Creator-God of this vast universe is our Father. Jesus, God’s Son and our Savior is our brother. This realization is both comforting and sobering. Comforting to know that in this troubled and often painful world, we don’t have to go it alone!  We are part of a divine family. And as part of HIS family, God will take care of us! But this truth is also sobering. Since we are part of God’s family, we must ask ourselves if others see in us “the family resemblance.” When my two oldest children worked as servers at the local Red Lobster, my wife and I would often stop in when they were working and request to be seated at one of their tables (it felt good being served by our kids!). They would often tell us later how many of their co-workers commented on how much they looked like us (not really what two twenty-something young adults wanted to necessarily hear!). But neither our kids nor my wife and I were surprised. They should look something like us – after all we are family!  How about YOU?  Do you resemble your Father and Brother?  Make spending time with Him a priority. As you do, you will grow increasingly like Him! 

2. Another Valentine's Day has come and gone. I took my wife to dinner and we had a wonderful time going through the Drive thru at the nearby McDonald's! Ha! Not really. We went out to a much nicer restaurant, requested a table close to the fireplace and enjoyed some quiet time together. Valentine's Day is a good time to let your special someone know just how special they are. But it's also a wonderful day to remind ourselves of just how much God loves us. And how much does he love us? Enough to give us the very life of his son ... who died on a cross some 2000 years ago to pay in full  the penalty for our sin that a just God requires. How thankful I am EVERYDAY for the love of God in Christ! 

Thanks for stopping by . . .

pj

Friday Coffee with PJ

As I was leaving one of our local hospitals this week, I could not keep from stopping at the Skylight Cafe for a coffee to take on the road. As I stepped up to order, Rosa, the barista, greeted me with a smile and words which pleased my taste buds, "We are brewing Costa Rica today." Ahhh. One of my favorite coffee blends by Peet's Coffee. If you get the chance to try a cup, I highly recommend it. SO all that to say, please pour yourself a cup of your favorite roast ... and join me for a couple of random thoughts. 

1. In addition to Peet's Costa Rica coffee, here's another recommendation for you. Let me preface this with a statement. If you are anything like me, you wish you would be praying better and praying more. In fact, I would guess that the average Christian if asked to draw up a list of things they would like to improve in their walk with God, "my prayer life" would be somewhere near the top. With that said, here's a suggestion about a tool which I have found very helpful. It's a series of little books published by the Good Book Company.  The book I have been using the past month or so is 5 Things to Pray for Your Church.  I have found this book to be an excellent help in guiding my prayers. It is very life practical and solidly grounded in Scripture! This leads to praying with more confidence, knowing we are praying according to the will of God (1 John 5:14). The result of this being that I have found myself praying better .... and praying more (by the way, I have been so helped by this book, I have ordered two additional books in this  series). So check out the book. It is also available on Amazon in both paperback and kindle versions. 

2. This past Sunday evening, I tuned in to watch the Super Bowl along with over 100 million other viewers. Now I am not the football fan I once was. But I still enjoy watching a good game. And the game between the Eagles and Patriots was just that. The second half in particular went back and forth, with the final outcome in doubt until the final play ("Hail Mary" passes are successful about 3-5% of the time). I am sure fans on both sides were on edge as Tom Brady reared back and threw. Moments after the ball fell harmlessly to the turf, I heard loud bangs coming from outside. The Eagle fans in my neighborhood had begun their celebration! A celebration which culminated with a parade yesterday morning through my old turf of Center City Philly (attended by some 2 million ecstatic Eagle fans). 

All if this reminds me of human history. Often it seems like evil has the upper hand (think of the world wars of the last century or the increasing moral confusion of today). But then there are those times when God breaks through and his goodness and righteousness is exalted (think of the Great Awakening of the 16th century and the growth of the church in China across the course of the past several decades). But unlike the back-and-forth Super Bowl contest, the contest between God and evil has an outcome that you can be sure of! God is the God of history (a story which is HIS-story!). And the day is surely coming as described in the closing chapters of the Bible's final book (Revelation) when the Sovereign God will bring history as we know it to an end. This will happen when the Lord Jesus Christ returns to this earth (see John 14:3 and Revelation 22:12-13 ... these are just two of many verses in the Bible which tell of the return of Christ). Bottom line, in this cosmic battle between God and Evil ... God is going to win! Knowing that, let me ask you a question. If Jesus were to return tonight, would you be ready? No one knows the time of his return (Matthew 24:36). But this does negate the fact that one day (and I believe that day is sooner rather than later) he will no doubt split the sky as he returns to planet earth. If you have any questions, doubts, etc. - please take a moment to check out Two Ways to Live: The Choice We All Face. 

Thanks for stopping by . . . 
pj

Friday Coffee with PJ

Hey you all ... it's Friday and that means another edition of "Friday Coffee with PJ." So take a moment and brew yourself up a cup of your favorite coffee and join me for a couple of random thoughts that I hope you find just a bit worth thinking about! 

1. Happy Groundhog Day! Yup! Today is the day that our pudgy and furry groundhog friends get to make their prognostication concerning the impending arrival of spring. Of course, whether Punxsutawney Phil or Octoraro Orphie see their shadows or not, one look at the calendar shows to any sane individual that winter is not over ... not by a long shot! So bottom line, when it comes to forecasting the weather, these groundhogs are absolutely clueless! 

Obviously, if we want to find a more accurate weather forecast, we will go to the so called "experts." And as one who follows weather forecasting closely, I must say that meteorologists are getting better at doing so. And what about forecasting other things ... say, like the stock market, housing costs, or the price of milk? Again, we turn to the professionals who track such things. You certainly aren't going to go and ask a fifth grader if you should buy or sell your Apple stock (even if they are smarter than you)! 

And what of life in general? To whom should we turn for the forecast for our world? Hmmm. Perhaps the Creator of our world? Yup. That seems to make a lot of sense. After all, no one knows us and the world we live in as well as the one who made us and the universe! I encourage you to open your Bible (and if you don't have one, download the ESV Bible App on your phone or tablet ... or go buy a print Bible) ... and begin to read about the Creator's plan for us and the world we live in. Unlike the gophers who have no idea why they are awakened early every February 2nd and thrust into the spotlight, God KNOWS all there is to know about everything! And he has revealed all we need to know about making life work. Have you read from the Bible lately? 

2. Yale University is offering a course on happiness this semester (Psych 157). Over 1200 students have registered for the course (which is roughly one quarter of the undergraduate enrollment). Now this is telling, is it not? Happiness is something the human heart craves ... but all too often lacks (a 2013 report revealed that over half of undergrad students at Yale had sought out mental health care during their time at the university). 

Al Mohler, in his Daily briefing of yesterday, makes reference to this pursuit of happiness and how it relates to a Christian world view. He notes, 

"The Christian worldview notably doesn't promise happiness, at least not happiness as may be defined here (at Yale University) in emotional terms. The Christian worldview as we see in the Gospel of Jesus Christ promises us joy rather than happiness, and joy is a very different reality than mere happiness.

Happiness is an effective emotional state. Joy is an assurance, the knowledge of who God is and what he has done for us in Christ, the knowledge that nothing can separate us from the love of God. There is a joy in the Christian life even in the absence of what the world would define as happiness or any reasonable expectation of happiness. I'm not saying that Christians shouldn’t be concerned about happiness and shouldn't allow themselves at times to feel happy. But we can't allow ourselves to set happiness as our ultimate goal, and furthermore in an age well described in this article just seeing it as an illustration, we can't fall into the false promise of believing that if we just made some minor tweaks in our life or just adopted some principles of positive psychology we can all of a sudden find happiness. It's not going to come that way. Ultimately, any happiness that human beings will know is not going to last in emotional terms. That's not reality, but joy and Christian assurance and confidence, yes. That is the promise of the Gospel, and it's something infinitely more real than mere happiness."

If Mohler's words have stirred in you a desire to learn more about the Gospel of Jesus Christ, please take a moment to check out Two Ways to Live: The Choice We All Face. It may prove to be the most important five minutes of your life! 

Thanks for stopping by . . . 
pj

Friday Coffee with PJ

It's Friday, so please pour yourself a cup of your favorite java and join me for a few random thoughts. 

1. The first has to do with the consumption of coffee. I saw on the news yesterday a report of a case that is proceeding through a California court. A non profit group wants to see a label on coffee (wherever it is sold in the state) to warn consumers that drinking coffee increases the risk of cancer. How so? It appears that a certain chemical (acrylamide) appears in coffee, and acrylamide has been linked to cancer. Those opposing this push to label coffee as a cause of cancer point to the fact that acrylamide (a byproduct of the roasting process) consists of only 6 parts per billion. This minute amount is far too small to be a serious cancer threat. Others opposing the drive to label coffee with a warning also reference all the benefits to drinking coffee which recent studies have revealed (in the television report I saw, a USC cancer geneticist referenced studies that have shown moderate coffee consumption actually decreases the risk of certain kinds of cancer (the two he specifically mentioned were colon and rectal cancer). 

Bottom line, it will be interesting to see how the court rules in this case. My read? There are a lot more things we consume that are far less healthy than a cup of joe! Perhaps if we start by eating a more balanced healthy diet and get more regular exercise ... we will be on path to a healthier future than we would by merely giving up coffee! After all ... what would a morning be without the wake up cup of my favorite brew (which is San Francisco Bay Fog Chaser in case you are wondering!)? I shudder to think! 

I also wonder what will be next on the list of cancer causing agents to avoid. Air? Water? What is driving this desire to remove all risk from our lives? Is that even possible? I am all for being responsible. But sometimes we go over the top when it comes to this sort of thing. Let's not throw out the baby with the bathwater! 

2. On a more spiritual note, one of the tools I have been using this new year to enrich my quiet time with God is Tim Keller's excellent devotional book, God's Wisdom for Navigating Life: A Year of Daily Devotions in the Book of Proverbs. He suggests that in chapter three of Proverbs, we find "six things that can serve as the marks of a wise person and at the same time are the means for growing in wisdom."  The first of these is trust in the Lord (Proverbs 3:5). Here is a portion of what he writes concerning this: 

"You can believe in God yet still trust something else for your real significance and happiness—which is therefore your real God. We hide how we do this from ourselves, and it is only when something goes wrong with, say, your career or your family, that you realize it is much more important to you than the Lord himself." 

So all of us must be asking ourselves what we are truly trusting for our fulfillment and happiness in life. For whatever we are trusting is nothing more than an idol (unless, of course, that something is the God who made us!). As Keller points out, "Idolatries of the heart lead to foolishness in the life." 

The remedy for idolatry and the foolishness it brings is the gospel of Jesus Christ. For only when we realize just who we are "in Christ" (an often occurring phrase in the Bible's newer testament) will we be free from the bondage to the idols that our hearts so easily manufacture! So let's heed the words with which the Apostle John closes his first letter: "Little children, guard yourself from idols" (1 John 5:22).

Thanks for stopping by . . . 

pj

Friday Coffee with PJ

Friday ... wait a minute. Wasn't yesterday Friday? Ahhhh. Time's a flying! And since it's Friday, I invite you to pour yourself a cup of the black elixir of life and join me for a couple or random thoughts that I hope will stimulate you to love and good works (Hebrews 10:24-25). 

Across my 38 years of pastoral ministry, I have officiated many a memorial service. This week, I have the opportunity of doing two. In both of these, the departed loved one is an individual who has left a wonderful legacy behind. In many ways, these are the easier funerals to officiate. Yes, it is a bitter moment, knowing that the separation from the deceased is very real. But it's also sweet knowing that the loved one is now more alive than he or she has ever been in this life! Any time someone dies, we are reminded of our own mortality. That sooner or later, we will all follow down this same path. Death is part of the package of life. The statistics are clear and indisputable: one out of everyone one dies (see Hebrews 9:27). So how can we prepare for the inevitable? Many don't. They simply choose to ignore what will eventually be their lot. But sticking one's head in the sand is not the way to prepare oneself for the death that awaits us all. Let me offer up a few suggestions that will help you get ready for that fateful day. 

1. Face reality. We must learn to hold loosely that which God has only “loaned” to us - LIFE!  Facing reality (reality that death is coming for us all) is the first step toward preparing to deal with death. Because if we don't do this, we won't do anything else to prepare. 

2. Plan thoughtfully. Every time someone dies, plans must be made and carried out. But when are these plans usually made?  Often it is the day after the loved one dies. Now at this moment, are most people in the best frame of mind to make a lot of important decisions? Why leave these decisions to be made by your widow or children? Why not make them ahead of time? You planned your wedding, why not your burial? I am not suggesting that each month you update your pallbearers list! But is there a special song you want sung at your memorial service? A certain Bible passage read?  Significant people in your life that you would want to see involved in some way? Go ahead and write it out! It may feel morbid, but better than to leave your grieving loved ones to have to guess what you would want!  

3. Communicate clearly. This suggestion flows out of the previous. Once you plan thoughtfully, then you must communicate those plans clearly to someone else. So talk to your spouse (or children) about “what if I die?” Talk about the memorial service. Talk about remarriage. Talk about life insurance. Because there is coming a day when you won't be able to talk to those you love (at least until they arrive in heaven!). I have a friend who has some plans for his memorial service written out on a note app on his phone. But he confessed to me he hasn't told his wife, assuming she will check his phone. My guess she will. But most likely after the fact (I told him he should tell her!). 

4. Live relationally. Don’t make the pursuit of money and the stuff money buys the priority of your life. Things like houses and cars and clothes won't last. And you sure can't take these things to heaven with you! Instead, do make the pursuit of relationships a priority! When it comes to the end of your life it will be relationships with people that bring comfort - not your car, house or wardrobe! My wife often tells our grandkids when they fight over a toy - "Remember, that people are more important than things." Something even us adults need to be told! 

One final thought. As you seek to live your life relationally, be sure your most important relationship is in order. Of course, I am referring to your relationship with the God who made you. To be sure it is, I would encourage you to take a moment to check out Two Ways to Live: The Choice We All Face. 

May you live long and prosper in Christ ... and get prepared for your passage from this life to the next! 

Thanks for stopping by . . . 
pj

Friday Coffee with PJ

It's Friday again ... so please pour yourself a cup of your favorite coffee and join me for a couple of random thoughts.

This past Sunday, my smartphone had a rather unfortunate encounter with water (I will leave it at that!). I did my best to dry it out (which included leaving it in a bag of dried rice overnight). But even though it did make a come back of sorts, the display continued to flicker off and on. At that point, I knew it was time to purchase a new phone. For starters, since our provider is Consumer Cellular (no contract YES!!!), I took a look at the phones they offer. I was not about to pay full price for the latest android phones that were in their lineup (my first smartphone was an iPhone ... but when I had to retire that phone I made the switch to android phones - and am glad I did!). And the lower priced phones they were offering did nothing for me. So I did some research and landed on the Moto G5 Plus.* Many reviewers lauded it as the best budget phone you can buy (the words "best" and "budget" really caught my eye!). Adroid Central labeled it The Most Important Phone of 2017.  After deciding on the phone, I checked out Best Buy and noticed the model I was interested in was actually on sale. So, Monday morning, I walked into Best Buy, bought the phone (the sales rep inserted the SIM card from my old phone) and walked out in a matter of less than 15 minutes! Now that's service! 

As I thought of this, I thought how nice it would be if every problem we face in life could be so easily solved. But that's not how life works. So how should we approach the problems that rise up in our lives? What resources do we have available to help us 

find solutions? Let me suggest the following three principles which will go a long way toward helping you resolve difficulties that come your way. 

- The sufficiency of Scripture: The Bible is sufficient in providing help for every problem we may ever face. In 2 Peter 1:3, the Apostle Peter tells us that we have everything we need for life and godliness in the knowledge we have of God (which comes to us through the pages of the Bible). Both King David (Psalm 19:1-6) and the Apostle Paul (2 Timothy 3:15-17) also express a very high regard for what the Scripture is able to do. 

- The centrality of Christ: Christ must be at the center of the resolutions of your problems. In Philippians 4:13, Paul talks about how Christ enables him to do "all things." In contrast, Jesus in John 15:5, tells us that we can do "nothing" apart from him. As can readily been seen from this, Jesus Christ must be at the very center of our attempts to resolve the problems we face. 

- The necessity of community: Your involvement in a community of Christ -followers is essential if you are going to overcome life's never-ending problems (which are never-ending because we are broken people living in a broken world). In both Hebrews 3:12-13 and Hebrews 10:24-25, the writer of this letter reminds us of just how much we need each other! God never intended us to walk through this life on our own. We need other fellow travelers to lean on (and vice-versa). 

Three principles to grip and to apply as we go through life, for if you aren't dealing with a problem today, you will tomorrow! 

Thanks for stopping by . . . 
pj

*To be fair to Consumer Cellular ... they did offer the 2GB/32MG model of this phone, but for an slightly more money I had my eye on the 4GB/64MG model. 

Friday Coffee with PJ

Can you believe today is the first Friday of 2018? The New Testament letter writer James was spot on when he said our lives are like mist that is here for a moment and then gone! (James 4:14). So as you contemplate just how quick your life is passing, pour yourself a cup of coffee and spend just a few of your valuable minutes reading a couple random thoughts that, I hope, will help you in your spiritual journey! 

1. On New Year's Day we celebrated my youngest grandson's 2nd birthday. All was going well between the grandkids UNTIL it came time for the presents. One of the first gifts little Lucas opened was a little train set. His cousin, Logan, who had just turned two on November 1st, received the same train set for his birthday. So when he saw it ... he made a play for it. "Mine!" he shouted as he grabbed the train. But Lucas was in no mood to share his brand new train. "Mine!" he shouted back, clinging to his new toy. At this point, parents got involved and restored order and the party went on.

As you well know, little children do not need to be taught to be self-centered (as this incident and so many others reveal). Rather parents must teach them to share and think about others rather than thinking about themselves. Why is this? Because all of us are born into this world as sinners. We are broken people right from the start. So we need fixing. And ultimately the only one who can fix us is the one who made us, God himself! Wonderfully and gloriously God provides the fix we all need. He does so in His Son, Jesus Christ. The Apostle Paul writes that anyone who is in Christ is a new creation (2 Corinthians 7:17). And he tells us in his letter to the church in Philippi that the "fix" God started in us is not done yet  - but he will one day finish what he has begun! (Philippians 1:6). 

My friend, has God started his work in you? Are you numbered among those who are "in Christ?" If you are not sure ... if you have any question about this ... please take a moment to check out Two Ways to Live: The Choice We All Face.  It could prove to be the most important few minutes of your life! 

2. Last Friday (the 29th), I noticed that my sister Bev's birthday popped up on my Facebook birthday feed. It caught me off guard, as my sister passed away four Christmases ago. Once I gathered my thoughts, I reflected a bit on her life. About 7 years or so before her death, she had moved to North Carolina to be near her daughter. Since she did not drive and had poor health, our time together was via phone calls and text messages. In the August prior to her passing, at the prompting of my wife (and the Spirit of God) I offered to drive my other sister down to NC to visit Bev. We had a brief, but good visit. Little did we know as we waved good bye we would never see our sister again (at least in this life). 

All of this reminds me of just how important relationships are. My sister and I did not always see "eye to eye" and our sister-brother relationship could have been a lot better. But at the end of the day she was (and always will be) my sister. I am so grateful to God that he (and my wife) encouraged me to clear a few days from my busy schedule to make that drive south. Otherwise, I would have regretted not doing so to this day. 

How about you? Is there a family member or close friend you need to reach out to? My wife always tells our grandkids, "People are more important than things." Good advice for them. Good counsel for us! 

Thanks for stopping by . . . 
pj