In Spite of Us!

This morning, as I was reading in J.I. Packer's Classic Collection, J.I. really got me thinking. Here's what he wrote:

"God does use us. He uses us right now in spite of our flaws. he is a kindly God and uses flawed people as a part of his regular agenda. No matter how conscious we are of our own limitations, shortcomings, and sins, we may look to God to make us of us again - and in his great mercy he will." 

Packer is right on the mark! God does use us, warts and all, as he carries out HIS plan! Wow! What a God! Indeed, this truth should be a great encouragement to us all as we seek to live for HIM. However, if we are not careful, this reality could become a "cop-out" to striving to live a holy life. After all, if God is going to use me in spite of my shortcomings and sin . . . then do I really need to strive for personal holiness? The answer: ABSOLUTELY! As Packer points out, "we must seek to get and keep our lives in a shape that will glorify God. That's not easy. It means fighting our sins, disciplining our thoughts, changing our attitudes, and critiquing our desires." 

So this week ... as you rejoice in knowing God can and WILL use you to honor and glorify himself IN SPITE OF your flaws ... also determine to trust God to continue to mold you increasingly into the image of Christ as you "strive for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord" (Hebrews 12:14).

Thanks for stopping by . . .
pj

Back from Vacation!

I don't know about you ... but I am not a huge "game" person. That can cause some moments of conflict in our house when my wife (who IS a huge game "game" person) says, "Let's play a game!" So ... I have decided to try and be more "game-ready!" To help me do that, I invite you to play a game right now. Can you name the place this photo was taken last week on our vacation? And if you have already seen this on Facebook, then hopefully you know the answer!

At first glance, most of you would guess that it was taken down at the beach. Ocean City? Rehoboth or Cape May? Virginia Beach? If you guessed beach .... you are right. But if you guessed a beach anywhere along the mid-Atlantic coast you would be wrong. This pic was taken on Beach #11 in Presque Isle State Park in Erie, PA. That's right -that's not salt water in the background! And really ... if this were one of the beaches most people around here frequent ... the background would be littered with umbrellas and people!

All of us have a tendency to "jump to conclusions." We make snap judgments about situations and people that miss the mark. Jesus warns us about this in the opening verses of Matthew chapter seven (Matthew 7:1-6). I encourage you to be slow to judge others (in the critical, jump to conclusions sort of way) . . . instead, exercise what is often called "the judgment of charity." By this he means ... GIVE OTHERS THE BENEFIT OF THE DOUBT! (BTW - we are so quick to give OURSELVES the benefit of the doubt ... but so reluctant to do so with others!).

SOOO ... today ... as you work through your day's agenda and encounter people ... practice this "judgment of charity." You (and others) will be better for doing so!

Thanks for stopping by . . .
pj

PS -- for an excellent article on this topic of judging charitably .... click here! 

Got Zeal?

I know I am on vacation ( and loving it!),  but I read some words of J.I. Packer that I want you to hear, too.  In writing about zeal (Psalm 69:9; Numbers 25:11-13) he defines it as "a humble, reverent, businesslike, single-minded commitment to the hallowing of God's name and the doing of his an will." With this definition in hand,  examine yourself. Got zeal?

Thanks for stopping by . . .
pj

On Vacation!

On vacation this week! Will get back to posting NEXT week!  Have a good day and a great week as you seek to walk in a manner worthy of God! (1 Thessalonians 2:12)

Thanks for stopping by . . .
pj

Friday Coffee with PJ

Hey ... it's Friday. So if you have some time, grab that breakfast beverage (I hope its coffee!) and take some time to "hear me out!"

1. Recently I said to someone, "Doesn't it seem like time moves so much faster during the summer months than it does during the winter?"  I don't know how you would answer that question . . . but it sure seems so to me. I am still trying to figure out where the month of June went and here we are over halfway through July! Now we know that time moves at the same constant rate whether it's August or January. However, our perspective might be that summer time passes by much more rapidly than winter time. Perhaps that is due to a greater fondness for summer (over winter) or maybe because vacations tend to fall in the summer season more often than winter (and of course we ALL know that vacation time moves faster than any other time on the planet!). All this to say that our view of the speed of time comes down to a matter of perspective. And when it comes to the matter of time, the most important perspective that a follower of Jesus Christ can cultivate is that of an ETERNAL PERSPECTIVE. It is vital that we live this life against the backdrop of eternity! In spite of the great importance of doing so, most of us fall woefully short in doing so! I encourage you to check out Randy Alcorn's website, Eternal Perspective Ministries. There you will find some helpful resources that will help you to keep focused on eternity (which is God's desire for us: 2 Corinthians 4:17-18; Colossians 3:1-2). You might also want to view this 6 minute video clip of Francis Chan. 

2. With the push by the homosexual community to continue to see more and more states legitimize gay "marriage," I keep thinking of how Jesus himself defined marriage. The text is found in Matthew chapter nineteen and reads as follows: "And Pharisees came up to him and tested him by asking, “Is it lawful to divorce one's wife for any cause?” He answered, “Have you not read that he who created them from the beginning made them male and female, and said, ‘Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’? So they are no longer two but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate.”  In his words, Jesus makes it clear that from the very dawn of human history, marriage has been one man .... one woman ... one flesh .... for life! Any other arrangement (whether it be gay "marriage" or divorce and remarriage of heterosexual couples) falls short of his plan for the marriage relationship. And any attempts to redefine marriage is terribly wrong. I realize this view is not a popular one to hold to these days . . . but that's OK. I would rather side with Jesus any day . . . on any issue!  

By the way ... for a compelling article written by a former atheistic lesbian now disciple of Jesus Christ .... click here! 

Thanks for stopping by . . . 
pj

PS --- PLEASE continue to pray for the many students who are attending the Momentum youth conference on the campus of Indiana Wesleyan University. The conference ends tomorrow (Saturday) night. Thanks! 

Indiana's Calling My Name!

Today I am leaving for Indiana .... specifically Indiana Wesleyan University. That's where our Momentum Youth Conference is being held. The last Momentum conference that I was involved with was back in 2007. So it will be good to go back. Please pray for our students and all the other students who will be present. Ask God to do HIS work in them .... a work that only HIS Spirit can do. And ask God to graciously work through the many adults who will be there to minister to the students. I know from past experience that Momentum is often a place where the Spirit does HIS lifechanging, life transforming work!

Thanks for praying!

And thanks for stopping by . . .
pj

The New and Improved Gospel? Hardly!

Across the course of the past several decades, the church has ... in the words of J.I. Packer, "bartered the gospel for a substitute product which, though similar enough in points of detail, is as a whole a decidedly different thing." He continues to point out the heart of this difference when he writes, "Whereas the chief aim of the old (gospel) was to teach men to worship God, the concern of the new seems limited to making them feel better. The subject of the old gospel was God and his ways with men; the subject of the new is man and the help God gives him. There is a world of difference between the two."  

Hmm. J.I. is onto something here. All one has to do is spend some time parousing the shelves of a Christian bookstore or search through the offerings for Amazon's Kindle or Barnes and Nobles' Nook and you will see that this is true. Be honest. What title do you find more attractive: How to Raise Your Kids without Raising Your Blood Pressure or Searching the Mysteries of the Triune God?

I encourage you to go back and re-read the words of J.I. quoted above. Then take a look within. When it comes to YOUR faith ... is it more about what God can do for you or what you can do for God?

Thanks for stopping by . . .
pj