Amazing Grace - Amazing Movie!

You need a lift? A bit of inspiration? I suggest you grab a friend and head for the movies. That's what I did on Monday. With my wife Sharon at my side, I viewed with delight the new movie, Amazing Grace. It is the true tale of how a Christian by the name of William Wilberforce successfully led the movement to abolish the British slave trade in the late 1700's and early 1800's.

Wilberforce faced huge opposition in his crusade to outlaw slavery. The trading companies who depended on slave labor to plant, cultivate and harvest their sugar (and other) crops exerted much influence in the British parlimant and on the British crown. But Wilberforce, whose compassion for the slaves drove him tirelessly on their behalf, would not give up. Finally, after years of defeat, Wilberforce's efforts were rewarded when in 1807 Parliment enacted the Slave Trade Act which abolished the slave trade throughout the British Empire. For Wilberforce, this was just the beginning. He fought on until, just three days before his death in 1833, slavery itself was outlawed and slaves throughtout the British Empire were emancipated. Wilberforce's tale is a wonderful story of Christ-like compassion and bull-dog persistence.

Now you might be wondering at this point why the movie's title, Amazing Grace. In 1785 Wilberforce had a spiritual encounter that he described as a conversion experience. As a result he committed his life to the service of Christ. Shortly thereafter, John Newton, the former slave trader turned preacher, became one of Wilberforce's spiritual mentors. Newton is best known as the writer of the hymn, Amazing Grace. At one point in the film, Wilberforce visits Newton. Newton is now well advanced in years and blind from cataracts. In the scene, Newton is preparing his memoirs concerning his slave trading days for Wilberforce to use in his battle to outlaw slavery. During their conversation, Newton says to Wilberforce, "I have two strong memories of my life. One that I was a great sinner and second that Christ is a great Savior!" Wow! I found myself rejoicing with Newton in God's amazing grace!

There's not a lot of movies that I am so quick to recommend. But I think this one is worth your money and your time!

Thanks for listening,

pj

The Fading Applause of Oscar Night

Sunday night all the stars met in Hollywood for the Oscars. Maybe you watched. I did not. I had other things I wanted to do. But as I heard about who won what Oscar, I thought about just how fleeting fame can be. Think about it. Can you name who won the Oscar for best actress in 1954? Or how about best actor in 1981? Best director in 1995? Best film in 2001? I must admit that I can't even name who won an Oscar last year!

These movie stars crave an award that brings applause for the moment. However, we as Christ-followers, pursue rewards that will last for eternity! That's right, the applause of heaven never echoes into the silence. The crown we strive for "will last forever." (See 1 Corinthians 9:25). So when you get to the end of your day today, take a look back. What did you attempt for God's Kingdom? It is as we "seek first his (God's) kingdom and his righteousness" (see Matthew 6:33) that we add to to the jewels of our crown. I hope you added a diamond today!

Thanks for listening,

pj

Pinocchio, Proverbs and Truth Telling!

I often see the words “This Day in History” on my home page when I connect to the Internet. But I don’t often notice them. But today when I saw them and noticed them I decided to click. In doing so I discovered that it was on this date in 1940 that Disney released the animated classic film, Pinocchio. The story is all about a wooden puppet who longs to become a real human boy. In his journey toward his dream, a huge flaw is revealed. Pinocchio has a problem telling the truth. And every time he lies, his nose grows!

As I thought of that, I tried to imagine what our world would be like if that really happened. I mean, could you imagine if every time we told a lie, our noses would grow? None of us could probably drive our cars because we would not be able to sit in the driver’s seat – our noses would be too big!!! Jimmy Durante – move aside!

We find it so easy to stretch the truth, distort the truth, or downright contradict the truth. We know it’s wrong (for the most part) so we have developed a lingo that softens the harshness of lying. We say things like “Oh, I was only fibbing.” Or, “That was just a white lie.” But God has a different perspective on lying. Are you ready for this? In Proverbs 12:22 we read that “The LORD detests lying lips.” Hmmm . . . that word “detests” is an awfully strong word. It means “to feel intense hatred for.” So God intensely hates lying – no matter what nice little name we might have for it! What God loves is truth telling! The second half of Proverbs 12:22 reads, “But he delights in men who are truthful.” Let’s determine that today . . . and tomorrow . . . and the next day – we will be men and women who tell the truth, both in word and deed! For when we do this, the God who made us delights in us! Now there’s a thought for you!

Thanks for listening,

pj

Hiccups, Hiccups, and More Hiccups!

All of us can recall the times when suddenly, out of nowhere, we get struck by a case of hiccups. Usually they end up disappearing in a matter of a few moments. But then there are other times they prove more persistent. So we go through all the remedies: holding our breath, breathing into a paper bag, putting sugar under our tongue and of course, the one I hated, having someone scare the living daylights out of us!

Jennifer Mee is a 15 year old Floridian who has been in the vise like grip of a case of hiccups since January 23rd. She hiccups about 50 times a minute and the hiccups stop only when she is asleep. She has tried all the remedies (and more) that I mentioned above and none have worked. She has had lots of blood work done, a CT Scan and a MRI. All have come back negative, leaving doctors puzzled and Jennifer in pain. She is now receiving lots of national attention (just the other day her plight was featured on NBC's Today Show). Hopefully, any day now, her hiccups will go away -- just as mysteriously as they arrived!

Hiccups are a part of life. And sometimes, in a figurative sense, we face hiccups in our daily routines. Our computer gives us an error message. Our car stalls out. A friend forgets to return a call. Just as physical hiccups irritate us, so do these figurative hiccups. And if we are not careful, as the hiccups pile up and the irritation builds, we can become angry people. DON'T allow this to happen. Learn to roll with the hiccups that WILL come your way. Life is too short to let the small stuff get to you!


Thanks for listening,

pj

How Much Is Enough?

I just read an Internet article that pointed out the fact that 14% of the American population possesses MORE THAN 10 credit cards! More than 10 credit cards! What do you do with more than 10 credit cards? As I thought of the answer to this, it hit me that this is a symptom of a huge problem in our society - the problem of materialism. So in a materialistic society the answer to the question, "How much is enough?" is "Just a little bit more!"

The Bible warns us against loving money. In fact, in 1 Timothy 6:10 we read that "the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs." Greed will only lead to misery and unhappiness. But on the flip side, "godliness with CONTENTMENT is great gain" (1 Timothy 6:6).

So, instead of chasing after the almighty American dollar - let's pursue godliness with contentment. Only then will we find the satisfaction that lasts!

Thanks for listening,

pj

Who Brews the Best Cup of Java?

According to the March issue of Consumer Reports, the answer to the above question is MacDonalds! As a result of taste tests conducted by a panel of "trained testers," the fast food giant's Premium Roast was tagged by the magazine as “cheapest and best.” It was awarded the magazine's coveted "Best Buy" label. All of this to the dismay of cofffee giants Starbucks, Seattle's Best and Dunkin Donuts!

Now I know what some of you are thinking right now - "Who cares?!!?" You don't care for coffee and don't even have the slightest clue how anyone with active taste buds could like the stuff! I must admit - I was once there. There was a time I hated the coffee! Even during my college years when I worked the graveyard shift (overnight that is!) - I refused to drink coffee to stay awake and alert. But shortly after college, I worked on a church staff and the senior pastor would always pour me a cup of coffee at our weekly staff meetings. I figured since he was the boss, I should drink it! And so I did. That began what has become for me - a love affair with coffee! All this to say - coffee enjoyment is an acquired taste. I enjoy it today, not because I was born with a taste for coffee, but because over the years I drank it and the more I drank it the more I liked it!

Our love affair with God sort of works in a similar way. When we are born into this world, we have no taste for God. In fact, when we enter this world it is with an ingrained hatred for God. We are born rebels. But when we arrive at the point in our lives when we make a faith commitment to Jesus Christ, a taste for God is born in our hearts. And the more we taste Him, the more we desire Him. That is why the Bible urges us to "Taste and see that the LORD is good" (Psalm 34:8). I have been tasting God for years - and it is true. The more I taste of Him, the more I want of him! I hope you are tasting Him on a regular basis, too!

Thanks for listening,

pj

Two Black Eyes!

This weeks' winter storm brought more than just my (and yours?) aching back and stiff muscles. For some travelers it brought one big nightmare. A Jet Blue flight to Aruba departed from the terminal at around 8:30 in the MORNING. After moving from the terminal, it was put in a weather-related hold. The hold lasted all day. Finally, after cancelling the flight, the plane was brought back to a gate (first they had to free the plane from the tarmac as it sat so long that it actually froze in place!) and the passengers deplaned, grumbling and growling as they did (it WAS after 9:00 in the EVENING!). Jet Blue apologized and offered refunds and free tickets in an attempt to placate their angry (and rightly so!!!) customers! Chalk up a black eye for air travel in general and Jet Blue specifically.

Add to that the debacle in our very own state of Pennsylvania. With the snow changing to sleet and freezing rain, Penn Dot thought it best not to remove all the snow from its interstate highways. They figured having the snow down would help with traction. This was a big mistake. All it took was a couple of big rigs to get stuck on hills -- and a massive traffic jam was born. On I-78 it was especially bad. The backup stretched upwards of 50 miles, involving thousands of stranded motorists in vans, cars, buses and trucks! Some were stuck in their vehicles for over a day and a half. The National Guard was called in to deliver supplies (And I guess when "nature called" .... well, I think you can guess!). Ring up another black eye - for Pennsylvania in general and Penn Dot specifically.

So both Jet Blue and Penn Dot got hammered. Both are showing off nice "shiners!" It will take a while for both to recover from this hit to their reputations. And reputations matter! As the Book of Proverbs reminds us, "A good name is more desirable than great riches; to be esteemed is better than silver or gold" (22:1). I hope your reputation is a good one! But if not - it is never too late to start working on it. Live with integrity and a good rep will follow!


Thanks for listening,


pj