Friday Coffee with PJ

It's Friday and time for another brief addition of Friday Coffee with PJ. So brew yourself a cup of your fav java ... and join me for some random thought which I hope will help you in your spiritual walk with Jesus! 

This week I had the opportunity to visit Fremont, Ohio. Now I am guessing most of you have never been to Fremont, and if given a map of Ohio would have no clue as to where to find it. Fremont is the county seat of Sandusky County. It sits about 40 miles southeast of Toledo. As of the 2010 census, just under 17,000 people lived in Fremont. Now some of you history buffs might know of Fremont, for it hosts the Presidential Library and Museum of former President Rutherford B. Hayes (the 19th president of the United States). But beyond this interesting site (I am a history buff), there's not much to see in Fremont (following Haye's Library, Trip Advisor lists the Sandusky River and the Sandusky Jail as the next best "things to do" in Fremont!). 

So you might be wondering what took me to Fremont (if not, feel free to sign off now). I was there to take in part of our Charis Fellowship of Churches Access 2018 Conference. It was well worth the drive (about 8 hours with stops ... and of course, with Starbucks to be found in the Turnpike rest plazas, we had to make just a few stops!) 😉  The conference is designed to give "access" to others who are serving within our Charis Fellowship so that we might learn from one another. And it delivered on that promise! "As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another" (Proverbs 27:17). 

God never intended his people to walk the Christian life alone. So he gave us the church. Spiritual communities of believers who commit to one another to follow Jesus. And for us in the Charis Fellowship, he gave us our fellowship of churches so we can learn from one another and encourage one another in our pursuit of truth, relationship, and mission. At the center of this pursuit is our commitment to Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior! 

When I walked in my front door upon my return from Fremont, I hope I returned a changed man. A better man. A man more in tune with God and more intent on the mission he has given to us. How about you? Are you seeking to live your life on mission for Christ? Do you even know Jesus? If you have any questions about what this all means, please take a moment to check out Two Ways to Live: The Choice We All Face. 

Thanks for stopping by . . . 
pj

Friday Coffee with PJ

Amazon was in the news this week as its web site was overwhelmed during its Prime Day Sale. I ordered two items. Any guess? Well, I'll confess. I ordered 200 k-cups of coffee (two different roasts) at a really, really good price! With our family beach trip just around the corner, it thought I could buy enough to get us thru the week (our family drinks a lot of coffee - guess the beans didn't fall far from the tree!) 😎  Speaking of coffee ... I invite you to pour yourself a cup and join me for a few random thoughts. 

I just saw an article about a certain house for sale in Los Angeles. The listing for the house boasts that it is the "second most photographed house in the United States behind the White House." The asking price is just under $2 million. Any guess? 

The Brady Bunch House

The house was used for the exterior shots of the family's home on the classic sitcom, The Brady Bunch (the interior scenes were filmed in a studio). The current owners are hoping to sell to someone who will preserve the house's legacy. 

Hmm. A house's legacy? Let's talk a moment about a person's legacy. A legacy is something we leave behind once our earthly pilgrimage is over. Often this takes the form of some sort of inheritance. Perhaps a house, bank accounts, or some other piece of personal property. But there is something far more important that we can leave behind, especially for those of us who have chosen to follow Jesus Christ. Here is what I am hoping to leave behind. People. Family, friends, neighbors, colleagues, and others of whom I have had the privilege of knowing. I pray that as I have interacted with these people (and continue to do so as long as my journey goes on), they will see in me the love of my Savior. If even a small handful of these go on to love Jesus more because of my impact upon them - that is the legacy that I most want to leave behind! People more in love with Jesus Christ because of something I said or did. 

How about you? What legacy are you hoping to leave behind when your earthly journey is done? 

Thanks for stopping by . . . 
pj

Friday Coffee with PJ

Friday morning means COFFEE! (frankly, every morning means coffee for me)! So why not pour yourself a cup of your favorite brew and join me for a couple of random thoughts?

1. The dictionary defines empty nester as a parent whose children have grown and moved away from home. My wife and I have been empty nesters for the past ten years. But that doesn't mean that we have been alone in the house during that time. We have enjoyed having a couple of college students live with us (one I had the privilege of marrying in our back yard!) and another stayed with us for all four years of her college career. In addition we have hosted several missionary friends, family members ... and of course, our grandkids. This past week our house has been hopping with friends from France who are here in the States on their "home ministries" tour and our one daughter and family sleeping over (as they are showing their house - and it's a lot easier to do that when you are not living in the house!) 

We enjoy hosting people. My wife and I believe this is why God gave us the house he did. Hospitality is a way for us to share with others what God has given to us. And in giving we receive far more in return! How about you? What are you sharing with others?

2. As part of my devotional reading this year, I have been going through Tim Keller's book on Proverbs, God's Wisdom for Navigating Life. Recently I read the following which really got me thinking about my own talk: 

You must ask yourself why you are telling the truth. Is it to win an argument? To punish or pay back by embarrassing the other person? To undermine something true that the person is saying but you don’t want to hear? To defend your pride? To complain? To make yourself look good to others? St. Paul says every word must pass this test—“that it may benefit those who listen . . . according to their needs” (Ephesians 4:29). When you tell the truth, you should always have a “ministry motive.”

I must admit when I speak I don't always have a "ministry motive" behind what I am saying. How about you? 

Thanks for stopping by . . . 
pj

Friday Coffee with PJ

It's Friday! So pour yourself a cup of your favorite java and join me of a couple of random thoughts. 

1. This past week, my wife and I traveled to Pittsburgh, Shanksville, and Bedford (all in Pennsylvania for those unfamiliar with the geography of the keystone state). We had a wonderful 6 days and 5 nights away. We reconnected with friends in Pittsburgh, with the events of September 11, 2001 in Shanksville, and with God and one another in Bedford (at the Bedford Springs Resort). 

Upon our arrival home, feeling refreshed and glad to be home, we walked into the house and greeted our missionary friends who are staying with us for much of the month of July. Then in the process of unpacking our car, we discovered that our toilet in the bathroom adjacent to our bedroom had leaked, leaving our bathroom floor and the carpet just outside the bathroom covered with water. The water also found its way to our lower level, causing a couple of saturated ceiling tiles to collapse onto our basement floor. Thankfully, I was able to care for the leak. And thankfully I own a wet vac. So with not all that much work, we are well on the way to drying everything out! 

This problem was relatively easy to fix. Not all problems are. In fact, many are not. Since we are a broken people living in a broken world, difficulties far more than we like crash into our lives, uninvited and unwelcome. But there is coming a day when, according to the Bible, God will wipe away every tear and make everything new (Revelation 21:4-5). But the Scripture is clear. Only those who thirst and come to Christ who offers living water (John 4:14) will experience the glories and grace of heaven as described in the Bible's two closing chapters. So my question to all who might read this post ... are you ready to meet God? If you are uncertain or have any questions about this, please check out Two Ways to Live: The Choice We All Face. 

2. I never played soccer as a kid. Certainly don't play it now. I don't even watch a lot ... that is until the World Cup rolls around as it does every four years. One game I watched while on vacation was Japan vs. Belgium. The Japanese team gave Belgium all they could handle (surprising because Belgium is the 3rd ranked team in the world and Japan is the 62nd ranked team!). Belgium fell behind 2-0 with only 25 minutes left in the game (akin to an NFL team behind its opponent by three touchdowns going into the fourth quarter). Belgium went on to score three goals in those final 25 minutes (the last coming on what proved to be the last play of regulation!). Talk about the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat! As the victorious Belgians celebrated both on the field and in the stands, the losing Japanese hung their heads, many in the

Japanese locker room after the team departed!

stands openly weeping. Yet, in spite of a loss which will no doubt sting for years to come, the Japanese soccer team showed real class as they departed. They left behind a spotless locker room with a note written in Russian which simply read, "Thank you!" (see adjacent picture). 

Now that is quite the example, don't you agree? They could have easily trashed the locker room and left without leaving any note of appreciation. Yet they didn't. They showed the world how to win even when losing! This got me to thinking about the example I leave for others. And more often than I would like to admit, my example is not worth a second look, let alone imitating. The Apostle Paul in writing to the church in Corinth urged his readers to "Imitate me as I imitate Christ" (1 Corinthians 11:1). Hmm. Is my life really worth imitating? It will be only in as far as I am imitating Christ. How about you? What kind of example are you setting for others?

Thanks for stopping by . . . 

pj

Friday Coffee with PJ

It's Friday and I am enjoying some vacation time. In fact, as you read this we are on day one of our five night, six day road trip to western Pennsylvania. But we are not leaving an empty house behind! Our precious friends, Paul and Louise Klawitter will be staying with us for the next several weeks (they arrived healthy but exhausted this past Tuesday evening. Close to twenty four hours of navigating long security lines and trying to sleep in an overstuffed economy section on the plane have a way of wringing a person out!). Paul and Louise have been serving as missionaries in France (and now literally around the world) and we are honored to serve them now. 

So in their honor (and since I am on vacation and really don't want to write a new post - just being gut honest with you) I am posting a today something I blogged after returning from a trip to France back at the end of 2006 and the beginning of 2007. Enjoy! 

Merci pour les escargots! (Thursday, January, 2007)

Thanks for the snails? I wasn't so sure. I had never tried to eat a snail before. But I had heard that people did eat them. And our friends assured us that they ate them (and lived) and actually enjoyed them. So much so that they always feasted on snails during the holidays. So when they brought out a plateful of steamed snails, I knew I would have to be brave. I sure did not want to appear cowardly before a sixteen year old girl! 

As I scooped the snail out of its shell, I was hoping it would fall on the floor so that Marcel the dog would gobble it up. When that did not happen, I realized I had to go through with it. But there was something about eating a snail that just would not allow me to place this creature in my mouth. So, sixteen year old Elise came to the rescue. She took my fork, and pretending to be an airplane - she flew that snail right into my mouth (If you are a parent, you can remember those days when you tried that trick to get your kids to eat their creamed carrots or stewed green beans!). As soon as I tasted the snail (dripping with garlic and butter) I thought, "Wow! This is good!" So good that
the second (and third) snail followed quite quickly after that.

Sometimes all it takes is a taste. Les escargots taste good. Maybe that is why they are such a culinary delight to our friends. The book of Psalms urges us to "Taste and see that the LORD is good!"  (Psalm 34:8). 

Indeed the LORD is good - He is very good! I trust that today you will “taste” HIS goodness in a powerful way!

Thanks for stopping by . . . 
pj

Friday Coffee with PJ

We are in the midst of our Vacation Bible School this week ... what we like to call "the best week of the year!" It's been quite the week with the facility full of kids and staff. What a privilege it is to introduce these children to Jesus! Today is the final morning (followed by a closing program this evening). I am always ready for the end while at the same time looking ahead to doing it all over again next summer (God willing)! So in the midst of a very busy week ... I managed to put together a post for today. So pour yourself a cup of your favorite brew and join me for a random thought or two. 

1. First as a parent, and now as a grandparent, I am amazed at how different our kids (and their kids) are from one another. For example our first granddaughter was speaking complete sentences well before she turned two. Our youngest grandson, now 2 1/2, is still content to speak one or two words at a time. He would much rather be jumping off furniture or running (and far too quickly for my taste!) down a flight of stairs. My wife likes to sing to him a line from an old rock song, "Wild thing! You make my heart sing!" Ha! But even though all of our grandkids are so very different, we love them all the same! As followers of Jesus, our Master calls us to love our neighbors as we love ourselves (in Matthew 22:39 Jesus identifies it as the second "great commandment" preceded only by the command to love God). Bottom line, Jesus is not merely calling us ... but he is commanding us to love those we interact with, no matter the color of their skin or the country of their origin or in any other way they might be different from us. And we are to love them as we love ourselves! That's a high calling and a high privilege. So look around at your "neighbors" today and ask God to show you how you can love them in Jesus' name! You may just make their heart sing! 

2. Speaking of grandkids, we are hoping to take our oldest granddaughter to the Maryland zoo (in Baltimore) next week as her birthday gift. She LOOOOVVVEESSS animals! This will be our second trip to this particular zoo. My wife and I love zoos as well. One of the highlights of my sabbatical last summer was a day spent at the Cleveland zoo. We enjoy learning about the great variety of animals which show just how imaginative our Creator is! To think that even before God created this vast universe and its vast array of animals, he first designed each and every one of them. And he did so without any PHD's in microbiology, physics, biochemistry, anatomy, etc! Wow! What a God! He is indeed worthy of our adoration and praise! 

Thanks for stopping by . . . 
pj

Friday Coffee with PJ

I just love my coffee. And for the past two months I have been drinking it black and enjoying it more than ever! And apparently my liver has been enjoying it too! So pour yourself a cup of your favorite java and read on, my friends. 

1. The past four Tuesday evenings I have been teaching a class at Lancaster Bible College in their AUD program. This particular class (which ends next Tuesday - that's why it's called "accelerated") is an exploration of the Bible's first five books known as the Pentateuch. I was struck again in the reading of the book of Numbers at how God instructed the various 12 tribes of Israel to encamp in a prescribed order with the Tabernacle (in which God's glory dwelt) in the very center of their camp. What a beautiful reminder for us! This is how God desires us (in fact commands us) to arrange our lives - with God himself at the very center. Yet all too often we have other things at our life's core. It could be self, it could be family, it could be money and the stuff money buys, or a host of other things. But doing so is like replacing the world's most brilliant diamond on display in our living room with a barrel of manure from farmer Jones' barn (and even this comparison is woefully lacking). King David, who wrote half of the book of Psalms, in Psalm 27:4 wrote, 

I have asked one thing from the Lord;

it is what I desire:

to dwell in the house of the Lord

all the days of my life,

gazing on the beauty of the Lord

and seeking him in his temple.

Oh that we would have that same desire ... to become so enamored with the beauty of God that we would strive to keep him where he belongs ... at the very center of our lives! 

 

2. With all the rain that has been falling the past 2 months, my grass is growing at an incredible rate. Cutting it once a week is not enough! So to keep ahead of the growth, I have found myself mowing my lawn about every 4-5 days! Now this doesn't surprise me. That is what  a lot of rain will do. It waters the soil which allows the grass to get more than enough H2O to grow ... no, to REALLY grow! Thinking about this brought the following Scripture from Isaiah the prophet to mind: 

For just as rain and snow fall from heaven

and do not return there

without saturating the earth

and making it germinate and sprout,

and providing seed to sow

and food to eat,

11 

so my word that comes from my mouth

will not return to me empty,

but it will accomplish what I please

and will prosper in what I send it to do.

(Isaiah 55:10-11)

Are you allowing God's Word to water the soil of your soul? If not, then don't expect to grow in your faith. But if you really want to grow . . . then commit to getting into the Bible every day (Psalm 1:1-3). If you are feeling spiritually dry, then the water of the Word is just what you need! 

Thanks for stopping by . . . 

pj