Me and My Fish Pond

Back in April of 2004, I began a sabbatical leave that was graciously given to me by my church. The previous year proved to be a difficult one for me for a number of reasons. High on the list was the death of both of my parents a mere six weeks apart. I needed some time "off" to renew and re-energize my spiritual batteries.

One of the first things I did while on sabbatical was to put in a small garden pond adjacent to our front porch. I had done this in the back yard of our previous house, and really wanted to do the same at our current house. I thoroughly enjoy sitting by the pond, listening to the water fall from the barrel into the pond and watching the gold fish lazily swim about. I also enjoy feeding my gold fish. For three years now I have been feeding them twice a day. Instead of the more expensive fish food, I feed them oatmeal. It's a lot cheaper and my fish are growing and healthy! And they LOVE it! (I think I would grow tired of a twice-a-day diet of only oatmeal - but then again, I am not a gold fish!)

Now suppose for whatever reason, I stopped feeding my fish. All of a sudden, their food supply would be greatly diminished. And if I continued to not feed them for a long period of time, my guess is that soon some would start to die (or at the very least stop growing and become sickly). Gold fish, like any creature, must eat in order to survive - and grow.

Guess what? We are no different from gold fish. We must eat if we want to maintain healthy bodies (do I need to remind you that we must eat HEALTHY!). What is true of our bodies is also true of our souls. If we want to grow and maintain a healthy soul - we must feed our souls. And the food that God provides for our souls is HIS WORD! So if we want to grow in our journey's of grace - then we must be REGULARLY interacting with the Bible. But, regrettably this is not the experience of many Christians today. Survey after survey shows that biblical illiteracy is up over a generation ago ... in some cases dramatically so. God's people just don't know God's Word as they should! The result? A floundering Church, dysfunctional families, personal sin and addictions that "cannot" be broken.

My friends, if the only regular interaction you have with God's Word is on Sunday's at church - that is NOT enough. What would happen if you only ate dinner on Sunday? Let's all purpose together to get into God's Word in a more consistent manner. That's the path toward spiritual growth and health!

Thanks for listening,

pj

"Discipline Yourself for Godliness" (The Apostle Paul to young Timothy)

Discipline is something that we American Christians find tough to cultivate. We live in a very self-indulgent culture. A culture that without let up screams at us, "If it feels good, do it!" But this is NOT the path to spiritual maturity that God has laid out for us. In 1 Timothy 4:7b-8, Paul tells Timothy (and by extension us, too!), "train yourself to be godly. For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come." If we want to be godly - it will only happen as we train to be so. Merely TRYING is not enough - not nearly so!

In another passage, Paul as he so often does, refers to the athletic arena as he communicates to us a vital spiritual life truth. In 1 Corinthians 9:24-27 he writes, "Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. Therefore I do not run like a man running aimlessly; I do not fight like a man beating the air. No, I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize." Chuck Swindoll makes some great comments on this passage. Listen to his insights . . .

"Those who run to win exercise restraint over their impulses and emotions and desires. Olympic hopefuls are this very day watching their diet, getting sufficient sleep, and training their bodies in just the right way for just the right amount of time. they are not fudging on anything that might hedge their performance on the track, on the bike, in the pool, or in the ring. And they measure the consequences of every impulse to judge whether it will assist them or hinder them from fulfilling the purpose of competition: winning the gold" (Strength of Character: 7 Essential Traits of a Remarkable Life, p. 43).


Let's purpose to be more disciplined as we all go for "the gold" - that of growing more like Jesus!

Thanks for listening,


pj

Another "Blog Flashback!"

The following thoughts I originally posted on my blog in March of 2006. This "blog flashback" is well worth a second read (and a first read if you have never read it before!).

You Really Can’t Judge a Book by Its Cover

The book arrived via UPS. It had an attractive cover. The title was intriguing. It looked like a book that would provide what I call a “good read.” And if the read was good enough, I would bump it up to a “must read.” However, when I opened the book, I encountered a problem. There was no title page. No page with all the publisher info and date of publication. No table of contents. No preface or introduction. The very first page was page 25. Starting from there the book contained up to page 48 and then started all over again with page 25 (and from there was OK). When I realized I had a defective book in my hands, the book slipped from the “good read” category to the “no read” category. I notified the book seller and they have promised to replace the book.

We can be a lot like this book. Others look at us and they see us with attractive “covers” and intriguing “titles.” But on the inside – in the depths of our hearts and the secret corners of our minds – we harbor sin. Sin such as envy, jealousy, greed, lust, anger, discontentment, ingratitude, prejudice and hatred. Friends, we can hide our sins from others. We can apply the paint and trim and wear attractive “covers” but God sees our hearts. He knows our thoughts. Let’s come clean with Him. On a regular basis let’s grab hold of the promise of 1 John 1:9, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” Let’s strive to be holy!

Thanks for listening,

pj

Sprint or Marathon?

As a student at Melrose Elementary School in Harrisburg, I was always one of the fastest (if not the fastest) kids in my class (I do not mean to brag here. The kids in my classes were always "slow of foot". Even a turtle would appear speedy if racing a snail!). By the time I reached high school and went out for the track team, my 100 yard (yes, we ran yards, not meters in my day!) time was only middle of the pack at best. So not being content with that, I decided to try my hand ("my feet?") at the longer distances. That proved to be a winner for me as I went on to star (OK, a bit of an exaggeration here - but I can dream, can't I?) at the half mile run. Now the half mile is quite a bit different from the 100 yard dash. In the 100, you go all out for the entire 100 yards. In mere seconds, the race is over. But if you are going to run the half mile, you have pace yourself. If you try to run the half like you run the 100 - you will burn out before the race is barely started.

Many Christians, I believe, approach their faith journey more like a sprint. They begin with a burst of speed, only to burn out a short distance down the path. The Christian life is far more like a distance run (think "marathon" (26+ miles) and not merely the half mile). In a distant run, stamina and perseverance are the key to victory. What is true in running is true for our faith journey. We must persevere day in and day out. My prayer for you and for me is that one day, when we are in the twilight of our lives, we will be able to take a look back and say with the Apostle Paul, "I have finished the race" (2 Timothy 4:7).

Thanks for listening,

pj

Father's Day Gifts That I've Been Enjoying!

On June 17th we celebrated Father's Day. This is the day in which dads of all sizes and shapes are supposed to be shown by their children just how much they are loved. One way to express love in our culture is by giving gifts. My kids did not disappoint me. My oldest daughter gave me a couple of shirts, my son a couple of books, and my youngest daughter went in with my wife to buy me a nifty lawn chair that allows me to get almost entirely horizontal! I was pleased. I have worn the shirts, read the books, and spent several afternoons in my back yard lounging and napping on my new chair. And guess what? My kids are pleased! As they see me use their gifts it brings them pleasure!

In a similar way, God our heavenly Father gives gifts to us! We often refer to them as spiritual gifts (to see a list of these gifts, go to 1 Corinthians 12; Romans 12; 1 Peter 4). And when we use these spiritual gifts, it brings pleasure to our God, the giver of these gifts. He gives us these gifts for us to use them. But unlike the gifts my kids gave to me which I use for myself, God's gifts are meant to be used in HIS service. God makes us and shapes us (one way he does this is by gifting us!) so that HE may use us for HIS kingdom! Now that is something to get excited about!

Thanks for listening,

pj

A Blog Flash Back . . .

The following thoughts I originally posted on my blog last October. As I read through some old postings last night, the message of this posting was something I needed to hear. And I figured if I needed to hear it, maybe someone else does, too. So, here is what I call a "blog flashback!"

SLOW DOWN!

The first automobile race in America occurred on Nov. 28, 1895. Six of these new “horseless carriages” traveled from Jackson Park in Chicago to Evanston, Illinois, about 54 miles. J. Frank Duryea won with a time of 7 hrs. 53 minutes. Now if you do the math, you will discover that Duryea averaged about 7 mph across the course of the race (which makes you wonder what the other five drivers averaged!). Today we laugh at that kind of speed (or should I say “lack" of speed!). NASCAR races feature speeds well over 100 mph with the fastest track being the Talladega Super speedway where the record race average speed is 188 mph (and with a record qualifying lap of 212.809 mph!). Now that is fast! Far faster than Duryea’s then record setting 7 mph!

Speed is something that we have come to expect. Life here in 21st century America is fast. And with each passing year it seems to accelerate in speed! This is why it is absolutely vital for us to regularly make some time to disengage from the proverbial rat race around us. We must do this so we can engage God in a time of connection with Him. Jesus did this on a regular basis. He often got up before the sun and went out to a solitary (read QUIET, STILL) place to be with His Father (see Mark 1:35; Luke 4:42). We need to follow the Master’s example. So let me encourage you to take some time TODAY to disengage from the noise of the world around you (i.e. – turn off the TV, put down the newspaper and take a walk or even sit in closet if you have to!). At the end of your day – you will be glad that you did!

Thanks for listening (for some of you, again!),

pj

Hey I Think I Will Sit Down and Read a Book! - Maybe , but Then Again, Maybe Not!

Despite the success of book stores like Borders and Barnes & Nobles AND online sites like Amazon.com - reading is on the decline. In fact, according to some recently released statistics, reading as declined over 7% in the last decade. But among 18-24 year olds, the decline is a whopping 28%! Hmm...I wonder why? Let me think ... there are the increasing numbers of high tech video games, the IPod and now the IPhone, instant messaging, Internet surfing .... I guess some people just don't have any time left at the end of the day to sit down and do some good old-fashioned, low tech reading. And I for one think it's a shame!

Gordon MacDonald, in his book, Ordering Your Private World (if you have never read this book, you should - it's a classic!) writes, "Nothing substitutes for what can be found when we embrace the world of books." He's right. There is so much information and knowledge available to us through reading. But it is a discipline that needs to be acquired. In today's NOISY world - there are many voices that cry out for our time. Books, however, just silently sit on a shelf or table, just waiting to be picked up and read. Unfortunately, all too often, they are left unread.

I would encourage you to get into reading. Read for pleasure. Read for fun. Read to attain knowledge. Read to grow! I am always reading a number of books at any one time. For example, right now I am reading non-fiction works on the history of World War 2 and another on Ancient Egypt. I am also reading one of Edward Rutherford's historical novels, The Rebels of Ireland. In addition to these, I am doing a second read on J.I. Packer's and Carol Nystrom's book, Praying. Finally, I am working my way through a book for pastoral ministry titled, Ten Things Every Minister Needs to Know (by Ronnie Floyd).

Now you might think from this list I am a "bookaholic!" Not true! I just make time (and it is really not as much as you might think) to read. So instead of watching a mindless sit-com on TV (OK - so I do like to watch an occasional episode of The Office), I read instead. And I believe at the end of the day, my life is far richer for it!

Thanks for listening,

pj