Wars and Rumors of Wars . . .

In the latter days of his earthly ministry, Jesus preached his second longest sermon (second only to his Sermon on the Mount as recorded in Matthew chapters 5 through 7). This sermon, known as The Olivet Discourse (he preached from the top of the Mt. of Olives which overlooks the city of Jerusalem) is recorded for us in Matthew chapters 24 and 25. Jesus preached this lengthy message in response to this question offered up by his disciples: "when will this happen, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?" (See Matthew 24:1-3 for the question and its context). So the disciples were thinking about the end times of human history when God would restore his kingdom rule in all of its glory. Therefore, as we read this marvelous teaching of Jesus, we must keep in mind that he is answering this specific question of his disciples.

Early into this message, Jesus makes these comments: "You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom . . . all these are the beginning of birth pains" (Matthew 24:6-8). Wars and rumors of war. When I read that I thought to myself -"Boy does that describe our world today or what?" With the two Koreas on the brink of war (earlier this morning, North Korea warned the South of the outbreak of a "full blown war" if the U.S. and South Korea violated its territory during the war games the two allies are now conducting) and other wars and skirmishes ongoing across our globe - there is no doubt we are hearing of "wars and rumors of wars!"

So what should be our response to these troubling events? Jesus answers this question by telling us that we are not to be alarmed. Why should we not be alarmed? Because in God's providential plan for our world, these things "must happen" ... they are the "beginning of birth pains." Now that is a telling metaphor. Just as a woman must go through the pain of labor ... that pain is just a means to a greater end - the birth of a child. And so all the strife we see in our world today are labor pains that the human race must go through before the birth of God's full blown eternal kingdom.

So don't be alarmed. God is still on his throne. He has a plan. He's working that plan. And at the end of the day --- God will triumph over sin and evil .... forever and ever ... AMEN!

Thanks for stopping by . . .

pj

Celebrate Thanksgiving Day tomorrow .... and Everyday!

Tomorrow is one of my favorite days of the year. I just love Thanksgiving Day. I love being with family .... the delicious food my wife prepares ... the time we pause and as a group offer up to God our heartfelt thanks. We have SO MUCH to be thankful for!

I must admit that I am probably not as thankful as I should and could be. Frankly put, every day should be THANKSGIVING DAY. Not only is the giving of thanks to God commanded of His people all throughout Scripture (Psalm 100:4-5; Philippians 4:6; Colossians 3:17; 1 Thessalonians 5:18), but consider the following comments concerning the importance of cultivating a grateful spirit:

"Cultivating a grateful heart is not just an add-on nicety, a civil tip of the hat to God as we steamroll through our day. A posture of purposeful, perpetual thanks to God is absolutely central to Christian character. It gives glory to Him. It is the key defense against Satan's temptations to despair, distrust, dysfunction. It protects us from sin and self. It is the hallmark of heaven. it does not exist in hell." (Ellen Vaughn, Radical Grattitude: Discovering Joy through Everyday Thankfulness, p. 51).

Thanks, Ellen! I for one needed that reminder of just how important it is to cultivate an attitude of gratitude!

Thanks for stopping by . . .

pj

A La Carte

Again, I offer up some other sites worthy of a "hit":

1. You want to see a cute little story teller re-tell the story of the prophet of Jonah? Check this out and be prepared to smile!

2. Now that the onset of meterological winter is only 8 days away, you may want to check out Accuweather's forecast for this upcoming winter (their forecast for last winter was right on target). So if you are wondering what may lay ahead of us, click here. And remember, God is sovereign even over snow falls (see Job 37:6).

3. Here is quite the prayer to pray. Take some time to read it through ... then pray it through.

Thanks for stopping by . . .

pj

The Saddest Day of Human History

I have experienced some sad days in my earthly journey of 54 years. I recall the day I found out that my grandmother died. When my mom told me the news, I broke down and wept. I was twelve. When I was 24 our oldest daughter came very close to dying due to seizures. That was a sad (and scary) day. Then there were the days my father-in-law (August 18, 1994), my dad (August 15, 2003) and my mom (October 2, 2003) died. Those were sad days (and I have endured a number of others). And I know you have had your share of sad days as well. As long as we continue on this earth - there will be more sad days ahead.

But the saddest day ever experienced by any person was the day when our first parents, Adam and Eve rebelled against the Creator. Suddenly the beauty of the created realm was marred .... twisted, distorted, and broken by humanity's sin. Ever since, all of us are broken and life around us is broken. Scripture makes it clear that all of us enter this world as sinful human beings (see Psalm 51:5; Romans 3;23; Romans 5:12). And this whole world is "under bondage to decay" (Romans 8:21) waiting to be set free from its bondage.

When one fully understands all the consequences of this saddest day, one can't help but rejoice when confronted with the good news of the sacrificial death of Jesus Christ for us ... and his subsequent resurrection. You see my friends, even though we might be broken people, we can be made whole when we by faith embrace Jesus Christ (see 2 Corinthians 5:21). Have YOU ever made the decision to turn from your sin ... and turn to Jesus Christ - trusting Him and Him alone for the salvation of your soul? I sure hope you have met the God who loved us so much that He sent us His Son! (John 3:16)

Thanks for stopping by . . .

pj

PS - Some of you might be wondering why I chose a sad looking Panda for my photo. Humanity's rebellion not only brought about severe consequences for the human race ... but the entire created realm has been impacted (again see Romans 8:21).

Life's Milestones

Life has many milestones .... birth (of course!), education accomplishments, marriage, starting a family, etc. This past Friday evening, my oldest daughter achieved a milestone. After 18 grueling months of going to class every Wednesday (and then doing all the work involved in each course), she graduated with a Bachelor's of Science in Nursing from Eastern Mennonite University's Degree Completion Program. Having taught in Lancaster Bible College's DCP for the past 15 years, I know the hard work and discipline it takes to finish the course. So I want to go on record to say congrats to my daughter Emily .... and congrats to all of you who are arriving at one of life's many milestones! And don't forget to thank God for HIS enablement!

Thanks for stopping by . . .

pj

Losing One's Cool!

Steven N. Cowan, 66 of Vermont, Wisconsin was in the news this week for all-the-wrong reasons. On Monday evening Cowan was watching the hit show, "Dancing with the Stars." He became quite agitated at the fact that Bristol Palin (daughter of former Alaskan governor, Sarah Palin) was still on the show despite the fact that Cowan thought she was a lousy dancer (he blamed it all on what he saw as "politics"). How upset was he? He grabbed his shotgun, slid in a shell and proceeded to blow out his television. And when he reloaded and took aim at his wife, she fled, drove to a nearby town and called 911. When police arrived at Cowan's house, he barricaded himself in and refused to come out. The standoff finally ended without incident early Tuesday morning when Cowan surrendered to sheriff's deputies.

Obviously this man had some issues. In fact, according to documents filled in the county circuit court, Cowan was stressed from financial matters and under care for a mental health condition. So given his state of mind, a small irritant took on a far greater significance than it normally would have done - to the point that Cowan snapped and went for his gun.

What happened to Cowan can, quite frankly, happen to us. Probably not to that extreme - but yes, we can "lose it," "blow up," "rant and rave." And when we do lose our cool, we leave a lot of collateral damage behind (see Proverbs 14:17; Proverbs 14:29; Proverbs 29:22). So all this to say, if you have an anger problem, do something about it. Seek some help. Refusing to do so will only lead to pain ... both for yourself and those around you.

Thanks for stopping by . . .

pj

Santa Has Arrived!

Usually I take Monday's off. I find that I can disengage from my work and ministry on Mondays better than any other day of the week. So it works well for me. This past Monday, my wife and I made a quick stop at Park City Mall. Walking through one of the department stores, I noted Christmas decorations were already up (and frankly did not think too much about it). Then when we arrived at the mall's center court, lo and behold who did I see? Santa Clause! I quickly looked at my watch to check the date (as I could not believe I was seeing who I was seeing!). There was a time when St. Nick did not show up at the mall until Thanksgiving weekend. But apparently no more. What's next? Santa in July????

Now I am guessing Santa's early arrival is all part of the mall's plan to get people in an early holiday buying mood. After all, retail establishments spend a lot of money and effort on marketing strategies, all designed to manipulate you and me (the consumer) into buying a lot of stuff that we don't really need with money we don't really have (often to impress people that we don't really like!).

As I got to thinking about this .... I got to thinking that far too often I am guilty of doing much the same thing. Manipulating others to get what I want! But that is not what I am supposed to be doing, is it. Jesus Christ calls me not to manipulate others to meet my needs, but rather to minister to others to meet their needs! (see Philippians 2:3-4; Galatians 5:13) And if you are a follower of Jesus, he calls you to do the same! So with that said, who are you going to serve today?

Thanks for stopping by . . .

pj