Got Zeal?

"Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord" (Romans 12:11).

When the apostle Paul tells us "do not be slothful in zeal," he is encouraging us to be filled with zeal ... to be zealous in our faith and allegiance to Jesus Christ. But what is zeal? To answer this question, consider these words from  the pen of J. I. Packer who has a great insight into the nature of zeal:

"Are you clear what zeal is? It is not fanaticism; it is not wildness,; it is not irresponsible enthusiasm; it is not any form of posh egoism. It is, rather, a humble, reverent, businesslike, single-minded commitment to the hallowing of God's name and the doing of his will" 

(J. I. Packer, A Passion for Faithfulness). 

Thanks for stopping by . . . 

pj

Thursday A La Carte

Here are Thursday's a la carte offerings. Enjoy!

1. Just how big is our universe?  Check out this BBC infographic! (and to think, God spoke it all into existence!)

2. Here is an interesting article from the New York Times about Tim Tebow's trade to the NY Jets. 


3. A World Magazine article talks about how an affair begins. 


4. Check out PluggedIn's review of the new movie, October Baby and World Magazine's review of the new film, Hunger Games. 

5. An inspiring performance by Jonathan and Charlotte on Britian's Got Talent.

6. On a lighter note ....  

Thanks for stopping by . . .
pj

Are You Ready?

Yesterday I talked about being prepared to meet God. I did so because yesterday's paper's obituary reminded me that death could come knocking at my door at ANY time! That's true for me ... that's equally true for you. So we must be ready to meet God ... NOT on our terms ... but HIS! So again I ask you ... have you made a faith commitment to Jesus Christ, turning from your sin and rebellion and turning to HIM ... trusting Him as your savior? I hope you have!

 Now ... as promised ... a word to those who claim to be a follower of Jesus Christ: You must be ready to stand before Christ. In 2 Corinthians 5 ... the apostle Paul writes, "For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil" (verse 9). Note that at this judgment, it is not our eternal destiny that is at stake. For the believer in Christ, that was cared for at the cross. What IS in view here is how we have lived our lives since becoming a Christian. Many Christians have either never been taught that this judgment is coming OR have forgotten about it (out of sight ... out of mind sort of thing). But friends, this judgment is real. It's on God's calendar. It will happen. We will be called to give an account for both the good and the bad that we have done (and the good we have not done)!

So ... given the reality of this impending "judgment seat of Christ," have you paused to evaluate your life recently? Let me ask you just a few questions to help you do so:

1. How do you spend your time? How much of your time can you honestly say is spent on kingdom-advancing activities? How much time do you spend strengthening your soul? Encouraging others (in either word or deed)? Reaching out to the poor? How much of your time is wasted on temporal pursuits like television, video games, and the like? (There is value to recreational activities ... but we live in a culture in which these take "center stage." Therefore we as Christ-followers must beware lest we lose sight of God's calling on our lives!)

2. How do you spend your money? How much have you given of late to your church? To missions? To others in need? If you have to put a percentage on the amount of your annual income that you give to God .... what would it be? (One of my seminary profs told me that tithing our income (10%) is a good place to start but a poor place to stop when it comes to giving to God! My wife and I have followed his advice and have never regretted it.)

3. What is the quality of your relationships with others? Husbands, are you loving your wives as Christ loved the church and gave his life for her? Wives, are you showing respect to your husbands? Parents are you striving to raise your children in the way of the Lord (and what are you doing that would lead you to answer "Yes")? Children, are  you honoring your father and mother? Do you seek to give more or get more from your relationships?

I could go on ... but I don't want to ask you questions that I will not take the time to answer for myself. So ... all this to say: There is coming a day when you and I (if we are true followers of Jesus Christ) will stand before Him to give account. Let's live life NOW in light of THEN! 

Thanks for stopping by . . .
pj

Who Is That Knocking at My Door?

If you are anything like me (and I believe many of you are), then you know what it's like to have visitors stop by your house. Usually these visitors are welcome. Often they are family. But sometimes a visitor shows up at your door and you secretly wish you weren't home (be honest ... I am sure you know what I am talking about!).

There is one visitor that will most definitely come knocking at our door. There will be no avoiding this. You could secretly change your address every day ... and he would still know where you live. Of whom am I referring? The Grim Reaper of Death, of course. The Bible puts it this way, "And just as it is appointed for man to die once . . . " (Hebrews 9:27). That's quite clear. All of us will one day die. Every single one of us. There is no avoiding the statistic that "one out of every one will die." But our "lives" don't end with death (profound thought!) ... for Hebrews 9:27 goes on to say ... "and after THAT comes judgment." After WHAT? After death!  So there is an "after that" to death. 

So what does this mean for you and me? For starters, it means that we had better be prepared to meet God. And for ALL of us - that is a HUGE problem! "For all of us have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God"(Romans 3:23). We have rebelled against God ... insisting that we do life OUR WAY (Isaiah 53:6). God is a just and righteous God ... and there is a penalty to be paid for our rebellion against him. This is a penalty that none of us can pay for ourselves. It is too BIG! But this is where God stepped in and paid the penalty himself. He sent his Son to die for us ... to be our substitute ... to pay the penalty for our sin. Jesus Christ faced God's wrath against our sin so that we would not have to! (to see a full explanation of this good news ... the gospel ... check out Two Ways to Live: the Choice We All Face.)

Once we have prepared to meet God by making a faith commitment to the Lord Jesus Christ by trusting him as our savior ... we still must prepare to stand before Him ... but more on this tomorrow. For today ... take a moment and examine yourself to make sure you are "in the faith" (2 Corinthians 13:5). If you are confident that you know Christ ... then rejoice in the grace in which you stand through Christ and Christ alone! (take a moment and listen to this song by the Getty's). 

Thanks for stopping by . . . 

pj

PS - FYI -- I got to thinking about death when I noticed in today's paper the obituaries of FOUR individuals whose ages were all within four years of mine! 

Up, Up and Away!

I hope you are enjoying this early spring time weather as much as I am!  The only down side is that I am going to have to cut my grass today!


Tomorrow morning I fly to Indiana. I will be quite busy while there, so I will not be offering any posts for this week. But I should be right back at it next week!  So until then ...

"May The Lord bless you and keep you;

²⁵ 

the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you;

²⁶ 

the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace." (Numbers 6:24-26)

Thanks for stopping by . . . 

pj

Thursday A La Carte

Today is THURSDAY!  Enjoy!

1. For those of you who would much rather read a book on paper vs. a book in digital form ... here is some foreboding news about the Encyclopedia Britannica. 


2. Want to know the impact of the "Kony 12" video that has gone viral? Check it out here. 


3. Redeemed Reader is a great place to go for book reviews, especially if you are wondering what is appropriate reading for your kids. So how about the Hunger Games books ... that have proven wildly popular and will soon come to the silver screen? Check out Redeemed Reader's review . . .

4. Ed Welch on Fighting Sin is Tiring. A brief but good read!

5. On a lighter note . . . 

Thanks for stopping by . . .
pj

Don't Got Joy? Embrace Jesus Christ!

Jonathan Edwards was arguably the greatest theologian ever born in America. In one of his earlier sermons, he spoke these words: "It would be worth the while to be religious, if it were only for the pleasantness of it."  Of course, Edward's use of the word "religious" did not carry the baggage in his day that it often does in ours. But his point is well made. If we are truly living out our Christian faith as God intends us to do . . . we will experience his presence in our lives in a powerful way. And when we are living "in his presence" we will experience the fullness of joy (see Psalm 16:11).

Stephen Nicholls in his book, Heaven on Earth: Capturing Jonathan Edward's Vision of Living in Between, elaborates on what Edwards (and the Scripture) is teaching us:

"When we come to Christ, he gives us man wonderful things. What's more, he enables us to enjoy all of them, both spiritual and physical things. But the greatest gift God gives us is himself. He longs for us to enjoy him. This is not a gift for the future only - it's a gift we should enjoy now." 

Now this almost sounds a bit like the totally unbiblical "prosperity gospel" that is being preached today (which basically says that God has a plan for your life and that plan includes material prosperity). But Nicholls makes it clear that this is in NO WAY what Edwards was teaching. Nicholls writes,

"And lest we think Edwards is an early version of a prosperity-peddling televangelist, we must bear in mind that for him, the greatest pleasure is found in the glory and excellency of Christ. Edwards recalls the testimony of Paul from 2 Corinthians 6:10: “As sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, yet possessing everything.”

SOOO ... do you have joy? Have you found this pleasure that Edwards preached about? If not, then I invite you to visit the Two ways to live: the choice we all face web site. There is a better way to live!

Thanks for stopping by . . .
pj