Some Random Midweek Thoughts

As we hit the midweek, with the July 4th holiday inviting us forward, here are two random thoughts floating around my head this morning . . .

1. I really don't like flying! Flying certainly is not what it used to be. With increased security, decreased flights, it requires a lot of patience to fly the skies today (what ever happened to the "Friendly Skies?"). And on top of all the inconvenience, there's the airlines seeking any and every way to cut cost and raise revenue. Let me give you just one example I experienced on my way home on Monday. I arrived at the South Bend airport early ... early enough to catch the earlier flight to Chicago's O'hare airport where I was to connect for my flight to Harrisburg. So I asked at the gate if there was room on the flight. I was told to wait until the passengers had boarded. At that point the gate agent would check and, if someone did not show (the flight was oversold as so many are these days), I could get on. Sure enough, someone did not show and I was able to catch the earlier flight. So, when I arrived in Chicago, I sought out the gate where the earlier flight to Harrisburg was due to depart. I asked the gate agent there if there was any room. She told me (somewhat gruffly), "Sir, if you want to fly standby, it will cost you an additional $50!" Now since I had not paid extra to just fly standby from South Bend, you can imagine my surprise. But I was not about to pay $50 for the opportunity to arrive home about 2 hours earlier than scheduled ... even though I really, really wanted to get home! (as it turned out, due to weather, the earlier Harrisburg flight was delayed over an hour ... and my flight was on time - so the difference in arrival time into Harrisburg was not all that much!). I guess you can see why I don't really like to fly.

2. God's love for us is AWESOME! As I sat and watched last night's excellent production of Phantom at the Fulton Theater, I was struck by the unconditional love of the mother of the character, Eric (who became the phantom of the opera). Eric was born with a horribly disfigured face. To hide his breathtaking ugliness from others, he wore a mask. Yet, when he was born, his mother accepted him totally - disfigured face and all. In fact, when she looked at him she saw only beauty. As I thought about that, it reminded me of Christians and our relationship with God. When we are born into this world, each and every one of us is horribly disfigured, broken, distorted by sin. Yet in spite of this, God pursues us in love. The Apostle Paul reminds us that "God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us" (Romans 5:8). And once we place our faith in Jesus Christ as our Savior, repenting of our sin and rebellion against God and calling on Him for the forgiveness of our sin, he gloriously saves us! And he places upon us the righteousness of His own Son! So now, when God looks down upon His own from heaven, He no longer sees the distortion, brokenness, disfigurement caused by our sin. Instead, He sees the beauty of His Son in us! WOW! Praise God today for HIS awesome, unconditional love!

Thanks for stopping by . . .

pj

Flight Delayed

"Flight Delayed." No air traveler wants to see those words, but they are the words that I saw staring back at me when I checked the status of my flight. I am due to fly to Detroit and there connect with a flight to South Bend, Indiana. At the airport I will then rent a car and drive to my final destination - Winona Lake, IN - that is provided I ever leave Harrisburg. I am heading to WL for another Grace College Board matter. I am due to return home tomorrow evening. Oh, they just called my flight. Looks like we are about to board. I will wrap this up later.

Well, here I am at the Comfort Inn in Warsaw, Indiana (which is adjacent to Winona Lake). As it turned out, both of my flights were delayed about an hour each. But that's OK. Better delayed than cancelled. Yet delays are something we are not particularly fond of. Especially when we are facing some sort of need and we want God to act like yesterday! But God works on a different timetable. And given that he is a God of infinite wisdom, his timetable is a lot better than ours. So even in the face of what are unwelcome delays to us, we must be patient, knowing that God "does all things beautiful in his time!" (see Ecclesiastes chapter 3)

Thanks for stopping by . . .

pj

Now That's Just Not Right!

A Treasury Department inspector general reports that 4,608 people have claimed the homebuyer tax credit even though their primary (and only) place of residence is a prison. Now granted, most of these filed jointly with spouses "on the outside," the inspection did show that over 700 filed on their own ... and these 700 were in prison for life! The end result? You and I who are honest taxpayers have been scammed for millions of dollars! Now that's just not right! Where's the whole idea that "honesty is the best policy?" Unfortunately in our society, that policy has been replaced with a "What's-best-for-me-no-matter-how-I-must-get-it is the best policy!" Dishonesty for so many people today has become "second nature." Integrity has been thrown out the window. So if you have to stretch the truth or even manufacture the truth - as long as it's in your benefit - go for it!

This is a far cry from the biblical teaching on the topic. God calls us to live honest and upright lives. Jesus tells us that we need to "Simply let your 'Yes' be 'Yes,' and your 'No,' 'No'" (Matthew 5:37) and the Apostle Paul instructs us that we must "put off falsehood and speak truthfully to his neighbor" (Ephesians 4:25). For the follower of Jesus Christ, honesty is not merely the "best" policy, it's the ONLY policy!

Thanks for stopping by . . .

pj

Sir, May I Marry Your Daughter?

Adoniram Judson and his wife set sail from the United States for Burma in 1812. They were among the first protestant missionaries to go into Burma. Adoniram served in Burma for forty years. However, his wife Ann died in 1826 at the age of 37. Their story is a striking one, as God used them in a tremendous wave to spread the gospel in that dark land. Adoniram's greatest work was to translate the Bible into Burmese. Ann's was the work she was able to do with young girls and women - in a culture where women were very much "second class citizens."

Soon after Adoniram and Ann met, Adoniram sent a letter to Ann's father, John Hasseltine, asking him for permission to marry his daughter. Read on ... and as you do, try to put yourself in John Hasseltine's shoes. Would you say yes to such a request as the one he received from Adoniram?

"I have now to ask, whether you can consent to part with your daughter early next spring, to see her no more in this world; whether you can consent to her departure, and her subjection to the hardships and sufferings of a missionary life; whether you can consent to her exposure to the dangers of the ocean; to the fatal influence of the southern climate of India; to every kind of want and distress; to degradation, insult, persecution, and perhaps a violent death. Can you consent to all this, for the sake of him who left his heavenly home, and died for her and for you; for the sake of perishing, immortal souls; for the sake of Zion and the glory of God? Can you consent to all this, in hope of soon meeting your daughter in the world of glory, with the crown of righteousness, brightened with the acclamations of praise which shall redound to her Savior from heathens saved, through her means, from eternal woe and despair?"

Wow! How far I must still travel in my own commitment to Christ! 

Thanks for stopping by . . . 

pj

A Lesson from the Mouth of a Child . . .

We are in the middle of our Vacation Bible School here at Grace. So each morning (Monday through Friday) we run our VBS from 9 to noon. On our first two days, we have had approximately 200 children (preschool through elementary) present, along with the 50 or so staff. So things are hopping! My role in this year's VBS is to play the role of "Pizza Man." During each morning's opening and closing, we do a three person skit to either introduce or review the theme of the morning (the other two characters in case  you are wondering are "Mac the Maintenance Man" and "Water Woman"). It's been fun!

As part of the morning rotation, each group spends time on a missions theme. This year they are learning about our Hand-in-Hand orphan school that we sponsor. The school is located in Bangui, the capital of the Central African Republic. Last September when I was there, I met the teacher of our school and some of the students (the school year had not yet started). I tell you that because on Monday we showed the kids a video that Grace Brethren International Mission produced on our school. .They included a photo of me standing next to our teacher. Some of the younger kids responded with, "Wow! The Pizza Man even went to Africa!"  Young kids can be very easily impressed!  :)

As I thought about that, I thought about the fact that Our God is EVERYWHERE! He is right here in Lancaster, PA ... but he is every bit as much present in Bangui, C.A.R.! The psalmist put it this way, "If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there. If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast" (Psalm 139:8-10).

Always remember that there is no where that you can go that God won't already be there waiting for you! Now that's a comfort!!!

Thanks for stopping by . . .

pj

Living Life as a Practicing Atheist

You are driving down the Interstate, when suddenly you see brake lights ahead of you. Traffic slows, but does not stop. What's up? Soon up ahead you spot the reason for the slow down. A police car is sitting on the shoulder of the highway, a radar gun sticking out of the window. But as soon as the police cruiser is a distant object in the rear view mirror, the traffic flow picks up its speed. Hmm. We all drive differently when we know the police are present.

And, regrettably, we do the very same thing as Christians. We all live differently when we know God is present. The key word in that last sentence is the word "know." Because God is ALWAYS present. But all too often we live as if He were not! This struck me this morning as I read one of the prayers from the book, The Valley of Vision: A Collection of Puritan Prayers and Devotions (a book I highly recommend!). Please take a moment an read the following lines from a prayer titled, Divine Promises:

"Glorious Jehovah, my covenant God, 

All thy promises in Christ Jesus are "yes" and "amen," and all shall be fulfilled. 

Thou has spoken them, and they shall be done, commanded, and they shall come to pass.

Yet I have often doubted them, have lived as if there were no God."

Ouch! Those last words in bold really struck home! I don't want to live as a practicing atheist. Yet all too often that's just what I am. May God grant us all the grace to live each day, each moment KNOWING that there is a God and He will back EVERY SINGLE ONE of the promises that He has ever given to us! 

Thanks for stopping by . . . 

pj

Cheering for the Other Guy!

One of the surprise entries in this year's World Cup is the soccer team from North Korea. This is only the second time that a team from North Korea has qualified to play in soccer's premier event. So, given the rarity of the opportunity to cheer for your own team, have North Koreans traveled to South Africa in droves? No. When the cost of the air fare alone is about 100 times what the average North Korean makes in a year and when it is almost next to impossible to get permission to leave the communist country, few North Koreans will be in the stands to cheer the boys on. So who will? The Chinese! The Associated Press reports that North Korean officials have offered most of their allocated tickets for each game to neighboring China, which does not have a team in the tournament. So according to the AP report, "about 1,000 Chinese dancers and musicians are among fans recruited to cheer for North Korea, according to China's state-run Xinhua News Agency." So if you are wondering who's tooting the vuvuzellas for North Korea, think "Chinese!"

As I was reflecting on this rather odd situation, the following verse from the book of Romans came to mind: "Honor one another above yourselves" (Romans 12:10). Now I don't know the motivation of these Chinese who are in the stands cheering on the North Koreans, but it is a good picture of what we all should be doing as local churches. Far too often, local churches see themselves in competition with other local churches. Instead of competing with one another and being envious when another local church is growing in its mission and ministry impact, we should celebrate when the gospel is advancing. And this is also true for us as individual believers (who grow jealous when God uses someone else in a "greater" way than He appears to be using us).  Let's put aside the petty envy and jealousy. Let's determine to "cheer on the other guy!"

Thanks for stopping by . . .

pj