Friday Coffee with PJ

It's Friday!!! So pour yourself a cup of java and join me for a few random thoughts which I hope will help you walk closer to Jesus! 

If you read my blog post of last Friday, you would know that last week my wife and I spent time away. Our first stop was Ocean City, Maryland. We actually enjoyed a sunny and warm afternoon sitting on the beach (temperature about 79 degrees). That was a bonus that we did not expect! After two days there, we then drove on to Williamsburg, Virginia (with a brief stop to enjoy lunch with some friends in Virginia Beach). Our four days in Williamsburg were a boatload of fun and learning (we are both history buffs). As we walked down the historic Duke of Gloucester Street, we had to pinch ourselves as this was the fourth time in the past two years we had planned a vacation to Williamsburg. Serious circumstances had arisen that kept us from traveling there the previous three times. So all in all we were very grateful God allowed us in his providence to get there and, for the vast majority of the time, enjoy sunshine and light breezes while there. 

I find much comfort in God's providence. And just what is this "providence?" The Bible teaches that God is sovereign over all things (Ephesians 1:11). For example in the book of Daniel, we find an ancient king who knew something about exercising authority (his authority would have been absolute). The Babylonian king, Nebuchadnezzar, had a pride problem (Daniel 4:29-30). And so God cut him down to size by afflicting him with some sort of mental disorder (see Daniel 4:31-33). After a period of time, the king's sanity was restored and he understood a fundamental principle that we all must not only understand but also choose to live by: God is sovereign over all and "none can stay his hand." Nebuchadnezzar learned the hard way this vital truth about the world we live in . . . "Many are the plans in the mind of a man, but it is the purpose of the Lord that will stand" (Proverbs 19:21). 

So when we speak of God's providence, we are simply speaking of the reality that the God who is sovereign over all has a plan and he is working that plan for our world and for each and every one of us. And as we know from Romans 8:28-29, God is working all things (the good, the bad and the ugly) together for our God to ultimately to make us more like His Son. Wow! To look like Jesus? It doesn't get any better than that! 

Thanks for stopping by . . . 
pj 

Friday Coffee with PJ

It's Friday so please pour yourself a cup of coffee (or your favorite "get me started in the morning" beverage) and join me for a few random thoughts from which I hope you can glean some inspiration for your walk with God. 

First, my apologies for missing a Friday post the past two Fridays. The week of October 1st I traveled to Winona Lake, Indiana to attend the Board of Trustees meetings of Grace College and Seminary. The meetings were great and the travel uneventful (oh, except for a flat tire on my rental car). But being tied up all week meant I had no time to write a blog post. Then last week, I spent time catching up from being away AND working ahead since I will be out this upcoming week (I am writing this on Sunday October 14th) enjoying a week of vacation with my wife. I am not stating an excuse here. Just want you to know why I have been "missing in action!" 

Speaking of vacation, our plans are to leave Monday morning and travel south. First to the Maryland shore and then on to Williamsburg, VA. Included in our time away, we are planning to stop and see some friends and family who live down that way. Sharon and I are looking forward to reconnecting with these people we love (and reconnecting with each other, away from the pressures of routine life and ministry). 

As I think about our plans, I am struck with just how important life’s relationships are. Whether it is blood family or the family of God (which is also blood family – Christ’s blood that is!), relationships should be at the top of our priority list. Jesus makes it quite clear that love for others should be one of our top goals in life (he placed it right behind our love for God - see Matthew 22:36-40). The New Testament letters are full of admonitions for us to "one another one another" (Romans 12:10; Galatians 5:13; Hebrews 10:24-25). 

So given the weight placed upon relationships by God's Word, how about YOU?  Are you so caught up in the Great American “Rat Race” that you find little time to cultivate meaningful relationships in your life?  If so – it may be time for you to make some needed changes. You (and those around you) will be better for it! 

Thanks for stopping by . . . 

pj

Friday Coffee with PJ

Yet another Friday. So pour yourself a cup of coffee (or your morning beverage of choice) and join me for a few random thoughts which I hope will help you in your faith walk with God. 

Every Thursday morning at 6:30 I meet with a small group of men to pray. When I started this practice over twenty years ago, I opted to call the group the Brothers of Aaron and Hur. I chose this name based on an incident recorded in Exodus 17. Joshua led the army of Israel to fight against the Amalekites who had come against the Israelites as they marched out of Egypt. Here is what Moses wrote about the battle: 

Joshua did as Moses had told him, and fought against Amalek, while Moses, Aaron, and Hur went up to the top of the hill. While Moses held up his hand, Israel prevailed, but whenever he put his hand down, Amalek prevailed. When Moses’s hands grew heavy, they took a stone and put it under him, and he sat down on it. Then Aaron and Hur supported his hands, one on one side and one on the other so that his hands remained steady until the sun went down. So Joshua defeated Amalek and his army with the sword.

I think you probably see where I am going with the choice of the name for the group. As a pastor, with each passing year, I realize how dependent I am upon others coming alongside of me to support my ministry in prayer. I cannot tell you how much I have appreciated these men who have joined with me to pray each Thursday morning. It is always a highlight of my week!

Yesterday morning (being Thursday) brought a small group of us (brothers of Aaron and Hur) together. I often open with a verse or two from Scripture which reminds us of some truth about God. Yesterday I chose James 1:17 which reads:

Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. 

Here James refers to God as "the Father of lights," a reference to the fact that God is the creator of the sun, moon, and stars. And unlike the shadows created by these heavenly bodies (which shift in relation to the movement of these sources of light), God never changes! This is of utmost importance to us, given what James states in the beginning of the verse - that EVERY good and perfect gift is from him. You see, if God could change, perhaps he would grow tired of giving so much to so many and therefore stop giving. Or maybe he would "wake up" one morning, grumpy and unwilling to give good gifts to his creatures. Or it might happen that his knowledge of what we might need most would become distorted and therefore the "good and perfect gift" he gives us wouldn't really be "good or perfect" for us! 

All this to say isn't it a great comfort to know that our God (so UNLIKE us) never changes! That he is the same yesterday, today, and forever (Hebrews 13: 8). As such, he is indeed a God worthy of our trust, obedience, worship, and love. 

Thanks for stopping by . . . 

pj

Friday Coffee with PJ

Friday has once again rolled around (amazing how quickly this happens!). So please pour yourself a cup of your favorite java and join me for a couple of random thoughts. 

One of my ministry tasks at my church finds my wife and I leading a Life Group. Our group consists of 13 adults, most of whom are in my age group. Some are a tad older, some the same age, and a some a few years younger. Let's just say all of us have been sent AARP membership applications in the mail! Given where we are in life, I suggested to my wife that we lead our group through a book just published in 2017 and already gone through a reprint in 2018. The book is titled, A Good Old Age. The author is Derek Prime, author of numerous books and a retired Scottish pastor. I was first introduced to Prime's book this past May at Alistair Begg's Basics Conference for Pastors. During the sessions, Alistair highlighted only three or four books. A Good Old Age was the first. On my next stop in the conference bookstore, I picked up a copy of the book and read the intro and first chapter (very readable ... in style, brevity, and large print!). I then proceeded to the checkout line with two copies in hand. 

In the book, the author begins with the letter A and then proceeds to work his way through the alphabet (same here in the United States as it is in Scotland, by the way!). The twenty-six principles are spot on. Concerning them (and the book as a whole), Alistair Begg writes the following in his foreword: 

"My only concern in reading this material is that it will be housed in the wrong section of the library – geriatric studies. It needs to be read long before we find ourselves in the senior citizens seats on the train. We want to be like those who were 'still living by faith when they died' (Hebrews 11:13). In other words, those people of faith were still doing in the closing chapter what they had been doing throughout the course of their lives.  They had not adopted a new pattern at the end, driven by guilt or fear; instead, seeing the finishing line in view, they had picked up the pace. Surely it is a life of humble dependency and steady consistency that paves the way to a good old age." 

If you are in my age bracket (or close), then I would highly recommend you order yourself a copy of Prime's book. And if you are still young and robust, you would also benefit from his wisdom - for both living out your life AND to minister better to those you love who are closing in on the finish line! 

Thanks for stopping by . . . 

pj

Friday Coffee with PJ

Friday is here! You know the routine. Coffee (I prefer mine bold and black). And just a few minutes of your time for a few random thoughts to help you, I trust, in your spiritual pilgrimage through this life. 

A number of years ago, the local Lancaster newspaper reported on an incident which occurred at the Three Mile Island nuclear facility located near Harrisburg. The story told of a security guard who was so absorbed in playing his hand-held video game that he failed to notice an inspector approaching on a surprise inspection!  (I’m glad it was an inspector approaching and not a would-be terrorist!)  As if that weren’t sad enough – the article went on to cite the state Department of Environmental Protection’s read on the incident.  According to the department, the employee broke no work rules for guards are encouraged to engage in mind-stimulating activities!  OK.  Does this make sense to you?  Or is it just me having a grumpy morning? 

The New Testament in a number of different places tells us that we must always be on the alert – watching for the return of Jesus Christ (Mark 13:33); being alert in prayer (Ephesians 6:18); staying alert lest we fall asleep amidst the darkness of this age (1 Thessalonians 5:6); keeping alert for the advances against us of our Enemy (1 Peter 5:8).  Let’s purpose in our hearts that we will not be like this guard at TMI who got so absorbed in his video game that he was caught off guard.  Don’t allow the distractions of this world to diminish your readiness. Life is too short and the opportunities around us too great to fail in this area.  Jesus urges us, “Be on guard!  Be alert!” (Mark 13:33).  That’s good advice.

Thanks for stopping by . . . 

pj

Friday Coffee with PJ

Friday yet again! So pour yourself a cup of your favorite brew and reflect on some random thoughts which I hope will help you in your journey with Jesus Christ! 

Today is the final day of meteorological summer (June, July, August). And what a summer it has been here in Lancaster County! We perspired through a record heat wave in late June into early July which saw the mercury rise to an average high of 95.3 on six consecutive days! That's quite the heat (not to mention it piled up a lot of extra clothes needing washed)! In addition, the month of July was the wettest on record (we picked up 9 inches of rain in our rain gauge in a five day span!). Overall, the summer has been the second wettest on record, which in turn has led to a record number of times I have had to mow my lawn! And even though meteorological fall begins tomorrow, summer is not showing any signs of going away as the extended weather forecast for next week is showing several days with highs near 90 degrees! This is fine by me, for I will take 90 degrees over 20 degrees any day of the week and twice on Sunday! 

All this said, we know that real autumn weather is coming, followed by the season that features that white stuff (just can't bring myself to write the "s" word!). How do we know this? From our experience. We live in an area of the world that consists of four seasons. Winter, spring, summer, fall. Always in that order. Always the same months of the calendar. Farmers know when to plant, water, cultivate, and harvest. Road crews know when they can pave a new road, and when it's time to put their paving operations on hold. Retailers know when it's time to replace fall clothing with winter attire (although sometimes I think they get ahead of the game here!). 

Now we can explain this consistency of the changing seasons in a totally naturalistic way ... that seasons change in certain parts of the world due to the tilt of the earth. But for me, I see a greater hand guiding the earth's movement. In Genesis 8:22 we have the promise that as long as the earth endures, the seasons will come and go (Genesis 8:22). Hebrews 1:3 informs us that the Son himself sustains all things (which would include the earth's movement which leads to the seasons). Seasons come, seasons go. This is an evidence of God's faithful oversight of his creation, the work of HIS hand! 

So today, as you prepare yourself to say goodbye to the lazy, hazy days of summer and welcome the soon to come crispness of an autumn evening, stop what you are doing. Lift your eyes toward heaven. Thank our Father above for his faithful care of this world ... and of you! 

Thanks for stopping by . . . 
pj

Friday Coffee with PJ

Good morning one and all! It's time to pour yourself a cup of your favorite coffee and join me for a few random thoughts. 

Not sure if you saw this in the news ... but here is something that will wow you (it surely did me!). This past July at the Cube National Championship, Max Park, was crowned the national champion. Moving his hands at the speed of light, he solved the puzzle in a stunning 7.26 seconds! Wow! I think the last time I had my hands on a Rubick’s Cube, I took a sledge hammer to it after failing to solve the thing after 3 ½ months of trying (that’s a slight exaggeration – but not by much)! What Max Park accomplished is truly amazing!  

But even more amazing is what God did for us. When we were hopelessly lost in our sin and stubbornly defiant in our rebellion against Him, God showed us just how much he loved us. He did so by sending His Son, Jesus Christ, to die on the cross for us (Romans 5:8). Nothing required God to do this. He just did. All because He loves us – unconditionally and sacrificially. Take a moment and rejoice in God’s love for you.  And if you have never reached out to God with the empty hands of faith, consider doing so now! The eternal welfare of your soul is at stake (see Two Ways to Live: The Choice We All Face). 

Thanks for stopping by . . . 
pj