Thursday A La Carte

Here are this week's offerings with a hope that you will be inspired, encouraged, stretched in your journey of faith!

1. Did you ever wonder what the teaching known as "The Prosperity Gospel" does to the true biblical gospel? Here's a short but insightful answer. 

2. Here's a thought provoking article from the gospel coalition site on why we should still sing hymns in our worship services today.

3. Here is a video that reveals what an astronaut sees at night while orbiting the earth. I found this fascinating!

4.  All of us have friends who are struggling in their marriages. So ... what can you do? Here is a helpful article from Focus on the Family listing ten ways to help such a couple.

5.  Are you a "radical," "passionate," "edgy" Christian? Hmm. Here's an interesting article from David Powlison discussing the need for a moderate makeover (vs. an extreme one).

6.  And on a lighter note . . . 

Thanks for stopping by . . .
pj

Pursuing Holiness

Personal holiness. Now there are two words that we don't hear all that much about in the Church of today. And that is unfortunate .... VERY unfortunate. Perhaps it is why the Church today in America is miles and miles wide and inches (at best) deep! 

You see, personal holiness should be an urgent priority of Christians. The Apostle Paul urged the Corinthian believers to bring holiness in their lives to completion (2 Corinthians 7:1) and the writer of the book of Hebrews encouraged his readers to strive for holiness for without it they would not see God (Hebrews 12:14). 

Given the importance of personal holiness, here is an excerpt for Kevin DeYoung's excellent new book, The Hole in our Holiness: Filling the Gap between Gospel Passion and the Pursuit of Godliness. But a word of caution ... what he says here might be convicting to your soul!

"Christians often equate holiness with activism and spiritual disciplines. And while it’s true that activism is often the outgrowth of holiness and spiritual disciplines are necessary for the cultivation of holiness, the pattern of piety in the Scripture is more explicitly about our character. We put off sin and put on righteousness. We put to death the deeds of the flesh and put on Christ. To use the older language, we pursue the mortification of the old man and the vivification of the new. 

You can think of holiness, to employ a metaphor, as the sanctification of your body. The mind is filled with the knowledge of God and fixed on what is good. The eyes turn away from sensuality and shudder at the sight of evil. The mouth tells the truth and refuses to gossip, slander, or speak what is coarse or obscene. The spirit is earnest, steadfast, and gentle. The heart is full of joy instead of hopelessness, patience instead of irritability, kindness instead of anger, humility instead of pride, and thankfulness instead of envy. The sexual organs are pure, being reserved for the privacy of marriage between one man and one woman. The feet move toward the lowly and away from senseless conflict, divisions, and wild parties. The hands are quick to help those in need and ready to fold in prayer. This is the anatomy of holiness."

Oh that we would pursue personal holiness in this unholy world with a passion!

Thanks for stopping by . . .
pj

Back with a Thought from Vacation

Hard to believe that last week during our Ocean City, MD vacation I was swimming in the Atlantic Ocean. Had never done that at OCMD in October before! Had not planned on going into the water. Did not even bother to pack my swim trunks. Yet as we sat there on the beach, basking (or was it baking?) in the warm early autumn sun, the ocean was calling my name! So I just had to jump in! And since I wanted to towel off afterwards so that I was not soaking wet when we climbed into the car, I ran up to the boardwalk to buy the cheapest towel I could find. I came back with a yellow and pink flowered rag of some sort (which normally I would never have thought of buying!) - but for my purposes it filled the bill! And since the air was warm and the water temps comfortable - I immensely enjoyed my time of being tossed by the waves.

But there are other times in life (many, in fact) that I do NOT enjoy being tossed by the waves of life. If you are anything like me, I am sure you would much prefer that the waters upon which we sail through life would always be peacefully calm (picture the surface of a lake that looks like a sheet of glass). But as we both know, that is not life (at least not THIS life). Our journey here on earth has lots of waves (or to switch metaphors), many speed bumps and pot holes (and at times, much worse).

So how should we respond to the waves that our generated by the storms of life? Run and hide (which many do by immersing themselves in video games, movies, and other forms of entertainment)? Escape the pain (which others do via drug and alcohol consumption OR by spending lots of money on stuff they really do not need and can ill afford)? Nope! Rather God tells us that when we face the trials of life we must take courage (John 16:33) and by faith trust God to do HIS work IN us THRU these painful times of life (Romans 5:3-5; James 1:2-4).

This, my friend is easier said than done. But with God's help it must (and can) be done!

Thanks for stopping by . . .
pj

UNPLUGGED!

This morning I am starting a week's vacation ... which means I will not be posting to my blog this week. In fact, I am going to attempt the unthinkable in this digital age ... and that is to do my best to unplug (for the most part) from all my TDDs (Technology Driven Devices). Therefore, no posts until I "get back in the saddle" next week.

Until then ... ."The Lord bless you and keep you (and yours), the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you; the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give your peace" (Numbers 6:23-24).

²⁶ Thanks for stopping by . . . 

pj

In the End . . .

Sharon and I watched a movie this week about a group of British pensioners who decided, independently of one another, to retire in India. Now having been to India three times, I always enjoy watching movies filmed in India. It brings back a lot of ... mostly good ... memories!

In this particular film, one of the main characters (the Indian owner of the hotel where these pensioners go to live), quotes the following old Indian saying ..."It will be all right in the end, and if it is not all right then it's not the end."  After the movie was over, my wife discussed it (as we typically do). I pointed out to her that, for the follower of Jesus, that old Indian saying is right on! It's true! And after spending several months studying the book of Revelation, I believe it more firmly than ever. That in "the end" for me and anyone else who chooses Christ over this world, it will be "all right!"  Now ... right now ... things are often NOT "all right." And this should not in any way surprise us nor discourage us! Jesus himself cautioned us that in this world we would face difficulty. But even in those tough times, Jesus told us to take courage ... for he had overcome the world (John 16:33). This was His way of saying, "in the end, it will be all right!"

How about you? Have you chosen to follow Jesus? Then don't sweat this life for IN THE END IT WILL BE ALL RIGHT .... AND IF IT IS NOT ALL RIGHT ... THEN IT IS NOT THE END! 

Thanks for stopping by . . .
pj

PS - Need to explore the good news about Jesus Christ? Click here for THE TWO WAYS TO LIVE: THE CHOICE WE ALL FACE! 

Thursday A La Carte

Enjoy this week's offerings:

1. Ed Welch on God (and us) Pursuing the Shamed. A good read! 

2. Are you a busy mom? You might want to read this! 

3. If you are a parent ... you would benefit from these thoughts from David Murray on Presumptuous or Optimistic Parenting? 

4. I am sure you have heard that there is no difference between the divorce rate inside the church from the world at large. But is this truly the case? Check out this post from the Gospel Coalition. 

5. On a lighter note . . . 

Thanks for stopping by . . . 

pj

To Obey or Disobey ... That Is the Question!

Ever since Eve took that fateful bite of the fruit of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, humanity (and that means YOU and ME) have had a thing for disobedience. Given the choice to obey authority or rebel against it, our default setting is to do the former. Any one who has ever raised children (or even worked with preschoolers in any context) know that you don't have to train a child to disobey. That comes naturally. Rather, you have to spend a lot of time and effort (and pain and anguish) to help children understand the need to listen and obey.

In this morning's daily reading from the J.I. Packer Collection, Packer discusses the need (for our own good! See Deuteronomy 6:23-25) to obey God. As he points out, "the Bible displays God as one who commands and humans as required to practice obedience" (see Genesis 2:16-17; Exodus 20:1-17; Deuteronomy 29:29; Ecclesiastes 12:13; Mark 10:17-19; John 14:15; 15:14; 1 John 5:3). He goes on to write the following:

"Little stress is laid these days, even in the church, let alone in our supposedly Christian culture, on the reality and authority of God's commands. But the fundamental dimension of being Christian people guided by God is that we labor to learn his commandments as he has revealed them and to live by them in faithful obedience just as consistently as we possibly can. When, one day, we have to give an account of ourselves to God, it will be important for us to be able to say with truth that we sought to keep all his commandments throughout our Christian lives." 

Right on J.I.! Let's passionately purse the keeping of God's commands ... all by HIS grace and for HIS glory!

Thanks for stopping by . . .
pj