Do Not Love the World! (1 John 2:15)

In his excellent book, Respectable Sins: Confronting the Sins We Tolerate, Jerry Bridges defines the sin of "worldliness" as "being attached to, engrossed in, or preoccupied with the things of this temporal life" (he references in connection with this definition 1 Corinthians 7:31). Later in his discussion of this "respectable" sin, he makes this penetrating statement: "I believe the key to our tendencies toward worldliness lies primarily in two words, 'going along.' We simply go along and accept the values and practices of society around us without thought as to whether those values and practices are biblical."

I have thought a lot about this sin of worldliness since preaching on it two Sundays ago. We live in such an affluent and materialistic society. There are many things all around us into which we can invest both our time and our money. We must resist the temptation to just "go along" with our neighbors and pursue the stuff of this world. Instead, we must obey the Scripture which commands us, "Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things" (Colossians 3:2). So instead of spending so many of the resources that God gives us on ourselves for mere temporal gratification - we should be spending these resources on the needy world of people around us and doing what we can to show people the love of Jesus, for without him and the Good News concerning his substitutionary death on the cross, people will be lost forever.

Thanks for stopping by . . .

pj

Difficult People?

I originally posted the following on July 27 of 2007. Considering that we all have people in our lives that we consider "difficult" - I thought this posting was worthy of another "read."

Difficult People?
July 27, 2007

This morning I googled the phrase "dealing with difficult people" and got over 16 million hits! Ouch - but not all that surprising. We ALL deal with difficult people. They might work along side us at our workplace or they might sit behind us in a classroom at school. They might even eat at our own dining room table at home. Difficult people are everywhere. Even sitting in the pew at church right next to us! AND -- are you ready -- EVEN STARING BACK AT YOU FROM THE BATHROOM MIRROR! That's right! Difficult people populate our world -- and even populate the church. (Yesterday I was talking with a mail carrier about problems that have arisen in his church. At the end of the conversation, he reminded me that problems in churches can and should be expected because, after all, churches are FULL of IMPERFECT people. And he is right!)

So, how do we deal with difficult people? Here are a couple of thoughts. To begin with, work on your own heart. Jesus tells us that this is where we MUST start. In Matthew 7:3-5 he says, "Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye."

You see, Jesus does not forbid us from trying to help someone who has a problem - but he tells us that we need to start "at home" first! So if you want to deal with difficult people, start with yourself. Humble yourself to admit that you are more of a difficult person than you realize. And then work at becoming a person of grace (the first step toward this is to daily "preach the gospel" to your self. Remind yourself that you are totally and absolutely underserving of the salvation God has lavished upon you in Christ!). As you become more humble and gracious, I am going to speculate that you will begin to find the number of difficult people in your life decreasing in number (and probably significantly so!).

Secondly, learn to give the difficult people in your life the "benefit of the doubt." They just may be difficult because of some pain they are experiencing that you know nothing about. Learn to bear with others and patiently love them (even if they are proving to be difficult). If ALL of us would learn to practice the following Scripture, the Church would be a far better community: "Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity" (Colossians 3:12-14).


Thanks for listening,

pj

God's Workmanship

During our drive to Ocean City, Maryland last week, we stopped for lunch at a Subway®. As we walked up to the door, we were greeted by a life sized poster of Jarod Fogel. Everyone knows Jared Fogle! Jared tipped the scales at 425 pounds while a student at Indiana University. After unsuccessfully attempting numerous diets, Jared grabbed a nutritional information brochure at his local SUBWAY® restaurant and started a reduced calorie diet by eating two SUBWAY® submarine sandwiches a day. In a year’s time, and by incorporating exercise into his daily routine, Jared lost 245 pounds. Since that success, Jarod has appeared in numerous advertisements for SUBWAY® as the fast-food restaurant promotes itself as the heathy choice among fast-food chains.

I think we would all agree that what Jared accomplished was phenomenal. What a transformation! In the spiritual realm, God wants to transform all of us. In fact, in Ephesians 2:10 we are told that for those among us who have made a faith commitment to follow Jesus Christ we are truly "God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works which God prepared for us in advance to do." God is at work shaping us so that we can fulfill his plan for our lives. Part of this molding process occurs when His Holy Spirit imparts to us spirtual gifts. These gifts are listed for us in Romans 12, 1 Corinthians 12, and 1 Peter 4. The key to understanding the gifts is to understand their purpose. They are given to "do the good works which God has prepared for us in advance to do." So whether your spiritual gift is teaching, showing mercy, helps, administration or whatever - you are to use your gift to do what God has laid before you to do ... all by HIS grace and for HIS glory!

Thanks for stopping by . . .

pj

Back from the Beach. . .

OK. Why does "Vacation Time" pass by so much more quickly than "Standard Time" or "Daylight Savings Time?" Well, here I am back in my office after four great days at the shore with the fam. We had a great time! Bonding time with family cannot be overestimated! If you have not spent some quality time with your family lately - I highly recommend you stop whatever it is you are doing and get something on your calendar! My wife and I, our son and daughter and their spouses simply put "had a blast!"

In fact, there were only two real "downers" during our time. The first was missing our oldest daughter and her fiance who were unable to be with us this time around. It would have been all the better if the whole family could have been together. The second downer occurred during the first hour we were on the beach on Friday. My son dove into a wave and in the process, the turbulent ocean waters ripped his wedding ring off his finger and swallowed it. Despite immediate and extensive efforts on our part, I am sure you are not surprised that our search came up empty-handed.

I am sure my son is not the first to have lost a wedding band in the waters of the Atlantic. But knowing that brought little comfort to him. But all in all, he handled the loss very well as did his wife. There marriage is strong and growing - and at the end of the day that is really what matters most! If you are married, how is your marriage? Too many marriages are stale at best and on the verge of divorce at worst. I hope this is not true of yours. Remember to keep Jesus Christ at the center of your marriage and make your relationship with your spouse THE priority relationship in your life (after your relationship with God, of course).

Thanks for stopping by . . .

pj

Off to the Beach!

I and the fam will be heading to Ocean City, MD just a little later this morning for a few days of sun, sand and surf! I'll be back "blogging" early next week. Until then, I encourage you to give your best to God and don't sweat the little stuff!



Thanks for stopping by . . .

pj

God Calls Us to Get Intentional about THINKING!

There are times when I look at what people do and I ask myself, “WHAT were they thinking?” That question popped into my mind as I was reading the newspaper one evening. A guy named Gary Brunner went to the local police station and to inquire if there were any outstanding warrants on him. The answer? Yep! He was arrested on the spot (for drug possession, Carmel, N.Y.)! Then there’s the case of Bryan Palmer, 21, and Peggy Casey, 31. Police were investigating a burglary in South Windsor, Connecticut. The couple were questioned and released. As the investigation progressed, the detectives changed their minds about Palmer and Casey and began a futile search for them. But they should not have wasted their time and effort. The couple showed up back at the station to check on the status of the investigation. I guess they found out when they were read their rights!

Many people today just don’t think (OK, perhaps their situation is not as extreme as the two above – but people would rather be entertained and amused today than think). God calls His people to THINK! In 1 Peter 1:13, Peter tells us to “prepare your MINDS for action.” Jesus Himself told us we are to love the Lord our God “with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your MIND” (Matthew 22:37). So God calls out to all of us, “Let my people think!” If you need some guidance on what you need to think about, open your Bible and read Philippians 4:8 and THINK!

Thanks for stopping by. . .

Pastor John

Are You Driven?

Driven people? They are easy to spot. Always on the go. Blackberry in hand. Propelled forward (fast-forward that is) by their various agendas and to do lists. Always pushing to do that "little bit more" that it will take to get ahead in this existence we know as the Great American Rat Race. I hate to admit it, but I am far too often a "driven" person!

This tendency in me toward "drivenness" comes out most often when I am behind the wheel. I get behind an Amish buggy or stopped by a traffic light - and I can often at these times start to fume inside. My wife, who knows me oh so well - knows when I am fuming inside and will be quick to point out that these delays are minor ... very minor when considered in the grand scheme of all things. And she is right! I mean, what does getting where I am going sixty seconds later really matter? Not much!

My guess is that many of you are also driven (some more than me - some less). Most of us could probably benefit by just pausing, taking a deep breath, and relaxing a little. So, in the midst of the busyness of life -- and the agendas and to do lists that tend to drive us - let's all take time out to "be still and know that the Lord is God" (See Psalm 46). Let's focus on HIS call on our lives. Let's spend more time getting to know God and less time trying to "get ahead." Life's too short to waste it on stuff that really doesn't matter!

Thanks for listening,

pj