My Two Cents on Mowing the Lawn!

I posted these thoughts back on September 22, 2006. Thought I would revisit them ... been a bit busy the past few days! 

Did you ever wonder where the expression “to offer one’s two cents worth” came from? I did some research, and there are two dominant theories. The first dates back to the years 1883 – 1932.  During this time, a first class stamp cost two cents (Can you believe it? No price increases for almost 40 years!  You talk about “the good old days!”). So if a person wrote a letter to the editor to express his or her opinion it would cost two cents to do so. Hence he was offering his two cents! The other theory states that the expression “two cents worth” arose to simply mean “of little worth.” When a writer stated he was offering his two cents it was his humble way of saying what he had to offer might not be all that valuable a contribution. So bottom line – you can take your pick.  Either one makes “cents” to me!  

This is basically what I do on my blog - offer you my two cents on some random topics. It may not be worth a whole lot – but I hope I get you to think.Today consider mowing the lawn. If you have ever had the pleasure of keeping up with growing grass (it is amazing how FAST grass can grow!), you know that no sooner do you get it cut, you are back at it again!  It grows, we cut it back. It grows more. We cut it back. It grows again. We cut it back. Sometimes I wish I could buy a spray that would keep my grass at the perfect height!  But cutting the lawn is just part of the package of home ownership. So instead of griping about cutting the lawn again (and again and again) – we should be filled with gratitude for a number of things. Such as having a lawn to mow (lots of people don’t) and being blessed with the good health to push a mower (not everyone can) – just for starters. You see, all too often we grip and complain when in reality we should be giving thanks to the One who blesses us with every good gift. And that’s my two cents!

Thanks for stopping by . . .

pj

No Greater Love

The Apostle John recorded the following words of Jesus, "Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends" (John 15:13).  So on this Memorial Day, pause to give thanks for the following who have demonstrated "no greater love:" 

- The men and women of our armed forces who have died fighting for our country
- The men and women of our law enforcement community who have died to keep us safe
- The Lord Jesus Christ who died that we might never have to!

Have a great holiday! 


Thanks for stopping by . . . 
pj

When It Rains . . . It Sometimes Pours!

Given the choice, I would choose a bright sunny day over a dreary rainy day every time! And I am guessing, you would most likely do the same. Yet, what would life be without the rain. For starters, what would we drink and eat? Without a good supply of clean drinking water, life is hard at best and impossible at worst. Our food supply is totally dependent upon receiving an adequate amount of rain. When a drought raises up its ugly head, famine and death are sure to follow. So we might complain about the rain ... but without it we would be doomed.

So it is with life. I'm sure we would all love to enjoy a continual string of "sunny days." But life is not like that. This world is a broken one. As a result, some days it rains. Sometimes the rain that falls is nothing more than an irritating off and on drizzle. At other times, the rain is more steady and more persistent. And then there are those days that the dark storm clouds roll in, the heavens open and we are drenched to the bone.

Right now, my family is experiencing the latter with the impending surgery (scheduled for later today) of our three week old grandson. Earlier this week an ultrasound revealed a tumor on his kidney. Therefore the need for surgery. Now we could choose to respond to this situation out of fear. Fearful of what could happen to the baby as the doctors perform the needed surgery. Fearful of possible complications. Fearful of what lies beyond the surgery. Or we could choose to respond in faith. Faith in our God who unlike us was not caught by surprise by all of this. Faith in our God who we know loves us and loves baby Nolan. Faith in our God who works all things together for the good of those who love him (Romans 8:28). Faith that in this difficulty, as in all of life's trials, God is at work, fashioning us into the people he desires for us to be (Romans 5:3-5; James 1:2-4).

Please pray for my family, especially baby Nolan and his mom and dad (my daughter and son-in-law). Ask God to give us the grace to respond to this storm in faith. Pray that his Spirit would help us to choose faith over fear. To believe that even in the midst of this storm, God's hand is upon us all.

Thanks for stopping by . . .

pj

Thursday A La Carte

A happy Thursday to you all. Enjoy!

1. Nancy DeMoss (of Revive Our Hearts Ministry) writes on the importance of starting your day off with a time of personal devotions with God (on a personal note - during my freshmen year in college I sang in the college chorale. Nancy was the pianist).

2. Times are changing - Amazon announces that recently its e-book sales have topped its print books sales!

3. Do you need some help to teach your children to pray? Here's a helpful article from the Gospel Coalition, Teaching Children to Pray: Guiding Principles.

4. Ed Welch of the Christian and Counseling Educational Foundation offers some interesting insights on depression in his article, Does Depression Look the Same Around the World?

5. And finally, for a bit of humor (1:48).

Thanks for stopping by . . .

pj

Putting on the "Spin!"

Judgment Day,  May 21, 2011 - came and went with no judgment. Or did it? According to Family Radio's Harold Camping, judgment did occur on Saturday. We just could not see it! Really? According to comments Mr. Camping made on his Monday evening broadcast, the judgment of God that took place on Saturday was invisible because it was spiritual in nature.Here's what he had to say:

"On May 21, this last weekend, this is where the spiritual aspect of it really comes through. God again brought judgment on the world. We didn't see any difference but God brought Judgment Day to bear upon the whole world. The whole world is under Judgment Day and it will continue right up until Oct. 21, 2011 and by that time the whole world will be destroyed."

As far as I know, Camping did not elaborate on just what this "spiritual judgment" entails. Nor did he explain the rationale behind the new date of October 21. In my opinion, he is just trying to put a positive spin on his very bad theology! 

What saddens me most about all of this is that Camping's Judgment Day crusade is this. Many unbelievers view Camping as some doomsday crackpot. So all of  his talk about a coming Judgment Day is just that ... talk. And crazy talk at that. As a result, when they encounter true biblical teaching about a coming Judgment Day (and one is coming - see 2 Thessalonians 1:5-10 and Revelation 20:11-15) - they dismiss it as being irrelevant at best or downright lunacy at worst! . 

Reader. Please do not throw out the baby (the biblical truth about a coming judgment) with the bath water (Camping's crazy predictions). Instead, study the Bible to see what it says ... and then prepare to one day meet the God who made you! 

Thanks for stopping by . . . 

pj

What SHAPE are you in?

Today I received an email from someone who asked me this question: "How does a person know if he is called by God to serve as a pastor or a chaplain?" That's a great question. And it is a question that all of us ask at various times in our faith journey. God places opportunities to serve him before us, and we wonder if God is actually calling us to serve in that particular capacity.

Here is what I in essence said in my response. God takes all of us who have chosen to follow Jesus and shapes us to do good works - works that he has chosen in advance for us to do (Ephesians 2:10 makes this clear). He does this through his Holy Spirit, who gives us each certain spiritual gifts (see Romans 12; 1 Corinthians 12; Ephesians 4). He also does this through His works of creation (for example, each of us are wired by God with a certain personality temperament) and providence (in which God orchestrates the details and situations of our lives so that we gain valuable experience to later use in our service for him).

Given all of this, whenever we are considering an opportunity to serve, we need to examine how God has shaped us. What are our spiritual gifts? What am I truly passionate about (in regards to becoming a pastor/elder, I believe one must have the strong desire to become one - a desire I believe is place on one's heart by God - see 1 Timothy 3:1)? What experiences have I had that could help me in this particular ministry? Does the strengths of my personality temperament lend itself serve in this capacity? Am I spiritually at a maturity level demanded by the ministry opportunity (in the case of pastors/elders - the qualifications are quite high!).

So it all comes down to ... "What shape are you in?"

Thanks for stopping by . . .

pj

Amazing Grace!

In his book, By Grace Alone: How the Grace of God Amazes Me, Sinclair Ferguson writes the following sobering and compelling words:

"A chief reason for the weakness of the Christian church in the West, for the poverty of our witness and any lack of vitality in our worship, probably lies here: we sing about 'amazing grace' and speak of 'amazing grace,' but far too often it has ceased to amaze us. Sadly, we might more truthfully sing of 'accustomed grace.' We have lost the joy and energy that are experienced when grace seems truly amazing."

Does God's grace amaze you? Or has it become something you take for granted? Something more or less routine? My friends, Ferguson is so right on with this thoughts. When we are no longer astonished when we think of God's grace, we have lost a grip on the very thing that makes our faith vibrant and alive. So ... how about YOU? Does God's grace still amaze you? 

Thanks for stopping by . . . 

pj