Wednesday, October 24, 2007

Perspective

WOW!
That was my thought as I watched the sun come this morning over the hillside looking down on the Lake of the Ozarks. I have been blessed the last couple of days to be there with my friend Norm, fishing. He owns a cabin and a boat there that we spent our time on catching white bass. Notice I didn't say fishing for, but catching! There is a difference, and it was great!
Last night, as we catching them, God gave us a really special moment. To the one side of us, about 100 feet away, there were 3 deer grazing. Off to our left, there appears a bald eagle, circling for a catch himself. He drops from the sky, not more than 40 or 50 feet from us; but comes away empty taloned, and then flies directly overhead of us, not more than 20 feet off the ground. At that moment, the biggest catch of the day struck my line. All this while the sun is beginning to set in the west. It was too awesome for words! Minutes later we decide to head in for the night, with the nearly full moon shimmering across the lake ahead of us. I am not sure it gets any better than that!

But I had to pause and put it into perspective for myself. You see, the day, as great as it was, was quite cool and windy. We fished with parkas and gloves on most of the day. As we headed in, I pulled my hood down tight and bent my head to keep the bite of the wind off my face. On most days I'm pretty sure I would whined a bit about the cold and wind, even if just to myself, and yet I thought the day was spectacular. The reason is that the day before, it rained all day and was even more windy and colder than yesterday. That made yesterday seem so much more bearable and reminded me that so much is determined by perspective.

Therefore, decide today, this morning, or better yet the night before just what kind of a day you're going to have; and then watch for God to bless it!

PJ

Friday, October 19, 2007

Yes And No

The other day I wrote about how I must choose the attitude of my everyday life, no matter the circumstances. I know that is true. But what about when we are overcome with fear? Is it the same? Can overcoming our fears be as simple as the choices we make? I think that answer to that is both yes and no.

I have spent a lot of my adult life dealing with my childhood fears, struggling at times not to give in; even to the point of having to endure panic attacks. Will a simple decision on my part to not be afraid or to not allow those fears to rule me win the battle? So far, I would have to say for me the answer has been no. In and of myself, I haven't been able to do it.

But when I take the time to realize just where those fears stem from. That they are not from God, but from actions of myself or others under the influence of the enemy of my soul. That inside my heart reigns the King of kings and the Lord of lords that has already defeated that lying rascal. That Jesus has told me again and again that He is for me and not against me, and that He has made available to me all the power of heaven. That in Christ, I can do all things. Then at that moment, when I take the time to consider what is really truly true and truth; I can overcome those fears, and the answer is yes. But it's not me doing it; it is Jesus in me that enables me to make the right choice.
And what is available in Christ Jesus to me, is available to you as well.

PJ

Wednesday, October 17, 2007

This Idea Called Prayer

We who believe in God, believe in prayer; but have you ever just listened to someone pray? I mean truly listen, because most of the time we really are off thinking about something else, or what we're going to pray, thoughts like, "Is God hearing this?". Better yet, tape record yourself praying sometime and then ask yourself, "If you were God, would you be listening to this?" When we pray, I truly believe we spend way too much of our time telling God what it is exactly He is to do for us, when, and how. You have to admit, that is sort of arrogant of us, isn't it. Or maybe it's just a testimony of our own self-centeredness.
Take some time to read what was going on in Jerusalem those 10 days leading up to Pentecost (Acts 2). They, being the disciples, were before God in fasting and prayer. Not telling God what He ought to do, because not a one of them woke up on Pentecost morning thinking to themselves, 'Today I think I'll speak in a foreign language to some folks who are far from God so they can understand how awesome Jesus is and be saved.' Peter wasn't ready with any 3 point sermon on why they needed Jesus. And they weren't making plans on how to disciple 3000 people to be ready to go home and share about Jesus in the next couple of days. Nope, they were spending those 10 days fasting and praying that God would show up in their lives and reveal to them what He wanted them to do next!
Could it be that is what we are missing in our prayer times? An earnest seeking of God to come and reveal to us Himself, His purpose, and His ways. I believe maybe it is. So give it a try and let me know what happens. Spend 10 days fasting and seeking God's ways and see if Pentecost doesn't happen for you like it did back then!
PJ

Saturday, October 13, 2007

JOY!!

One of my all time favorite verses is Ps. 51:10-12 which has this line tucked into the middle of it, "Restore onto me the JOY of my salvation." I share that with you because I've begun to look at that prayer request in a little different light these days. I have always simply thought of it as a request of me to God to remind me of that moment I first encountered and embraced Jesus as my personal Savior and Lord. (I had encountered Him plenty of times, but never embraced Him; and embracing Him makes all the difference!) But lately, I'm coming around to seeing it as more of a request of me to God to help me live in the present and to see the world and people as He does. Maybe this popular song lyric says it best, 'Open the eyes of my heart, that I may see You'.
When we in South Carolina, Carole took a walk with some folks that are dear friends to our sister-in-law, Kelly. Carole came away from that experience overwhelmed by the way in which Kelly's friends embraced the simple pleasures of life and their surroundings. She told me over and over how much joy they found in the things of life we normally overlook. They truly were living in the present, and loving it. Now, since AIDS is a ever present reality for them, I found this to be quite remarkable. But as I thought more about it, and prayed about it as I sat in the deer stand watching corn, I began to entertain the thought that so much of how we live this life in the everyday really comes down to the choices we make.
Way too often, my circumstances dictate my moods and thoughts and attitudes of my heart. When in truth it doesn't have to. I can choose to live in the now and in the JOY that God has already promised me for the moments in which I find myself. So much of how this life effects us all is really our choice. Love, JOY, peace, patience, kindness, gentleness, goodness, faithfulness, and self-control that the Scriptures refers to as the Fruit of the Spirit is readily available to each of us; but we MUST choose to embrace it and live it in every moment of this life today. And the moment we choose to do that, God's Spirit jumps into action and fills us up with it until it's running over and effecting everyone around us! Now, to me, that's learning to live the prayer, restore me unto the JOY of my salvation!

PJ

Friday, October 12, 2007

Shades of Grey

Last week I was in South Carolina visiting a brother-in-law and his wife, and taking a break. He loves to hunt, so we went almost every morning and evening. Now hunting in SC, according to my wife, is more like fishing than hunting. You go before dawn, climb up into a deer stand, and wait for the deer to appear on the pile of corn you put out about 70 yards away, so you can slaughter them while they eat. Unfortunately, we were unable to entice any deer to come to our corn pile. But it was a great opportunity for me to sit quietly before God and listen to what He may have to say to me.
What I discovered is that there is a period of time every morning, just as the the first rays of light are beginning to overcome the darkness of night, and every evening when the last ray of light is fading into night that the world around you is actually grey. Color seems to fade into nothingness and all around was just the shade of grey.
At first I was amazed when I realized this simple truth; but then I became quite sad. It saddened me because so many people live their life in that shade of grey. Jesus said, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life." John 8:12. So many folks have heard about Jesus, even believe Jesus is who he says he is; but have never embraced his love, and chosen to walk in his light. Darkness is always right there around them, with the light of Christ just beginning to shine into them, be it ever so dim; and their world is the shade of grey. Then there are others, who have indeed embraced His light and love, and for a while it drove darkness totally away. But then circumstance and choice, which we all must deal with, has beaten back the light of life and darkness once more encroaches on their soul; and they too live in that shade of grey.
I write this as one who is looking outward and watching and hearing from God. In truth, I write this as one who knows, because it is more about my own journey of life then anyone else. I existed in the grey, knowing about Christ, but not really knowing Christ. Then one miraculous day I met Him face-to-face, and his light flooded my soul and heart. Then came that time of grey again because of circumstances and choices I made to get through the moment. That is what God chose to reveal to me as I watched day fade to night and grey envelope the pile of corn. It is no place to live, those shades of grey, when light and love are only a decision away.
PJ

Wednesday, October 3, 2007

What are we waiting for?

I started to read a book titled 'In A Pit With a Lion On A Snowy Day' by Mark Batterson. Mark raises some pretty interesting questions, like: Who in there right mind would chase a lion into a pit; especially on a snowy day when the footing would be less than desirable? The answer of course is found in the Bible in 2 Chronicles 11, beginning at verse 22. Take the time to read it, it won't take too long. But then ask yourself, 'Why?' And 'Would I chase after the lion, or flee for my life?' Because Mark raise another great question in his book. Maybe it is better stated he makes a really great observation I will ponder the entire time I am on vacation. Here it goes: "Is anybody else tired of reactive Christianity that is more known for what it's against than what it's for?" I AM!! I AM!! I AM!!
We think that being holy and godly is obtained by abstaining from. What if we're all wrong it's really accomplished by multiplication! You can do nothing wrong and still do nothing right in the current system. Jesus never ran away from wrong or hid out in the church from anything. He went straight at it! And I think that's what we're missing in life! We're called to be lion chasers, to live proactive, take God-size risk for Him EVERY TIME He presents us with a God-ordained opportunity, to live on the edge of a snowy pit; and sometimes jump right in and take on the lion. Now gnaw on that for a while!

PJ

Monday, October 1, 2007

'PJ, Where Are You?'

Hey everyone, I'm still around! I have been playing the part of the 'traveling man', and I'm not done yet. On Thursday Carole and I take off for SC and a much needed rest. So, it's 'on the road again' for me.
I've really had quite the last couple of weeks. I've been challenged by God in several areas of my life to take our relationship to a deeper level. Which really thrills me when I think that the God of all creation wants me to know Him better. That He wants to hang out with me is totally mind boggling and sort of scary all at the same time. He wants to change the way I preach and open my eyes to His world even more. He asked me to return to my 1st love, which causes me to weep even as I write it. Not that he asked, but that He had to; because He is to be my 1st love, and that meant I had drifted from that truth, and that hurts. He has again and again and again said this to me in last 2 weeks. 'Love God, love others, live it out!' I have it written on my desk in front of my computer screen, so even as I write it to you now, it's before me. Because my friends, I never ever want to hear Him tell me to return to my 1st love again.
PJ