PJ's Journal

Trip Report Well, I am back home today and its Tuesday morning around 5am. Got plenty of sleep last night so I hope that curves the jet lag a little. This really is the first opportunity I have had to blog about the last two days of the Philippines trip. If you had family on the trip I am sure you have heard all about our experiences, but here are a few highlights that stuck out in my mind. Saturday, we went to a beach resort on the Island of Lapu-Lapu, and it was very relaxing and fun. We invited those that volunteered with us throughout the week and the leadership of the church. We rented Jet-Ski's, a banana boat thing, and some went para-sailing. This was a once in a lifetime deal for those 16, 17, and 18 year old students who helped us out. Most, if not all, of the students have grown up in the church through the compassion ministry. They are very poor, but have faithfully been participating at MCBC and servign the King, so to do this for them was so much fun!!! They w

Trip Report Well, I am up late this morning (6:30), and just enough time to give you a snippet of yesterday. It was a good day of ministry and certainly a day that we began to mentally shift our hearts towards home. At least I can say that about myself. I certainly miss my family even though I can communicate with them often through Skype. I want to bring them over here sooooo bad! Jenny and I had our last day of camp! The students had so much fun playing games and spending moments together on the final day of camp. We had our closing program at 4 in the afternoon. 98% of the students came back for the experience and awards were given out. It was fun to watch them come forward for their awards and certificates. Affirming these kids is so important. We gave each person a basketball at the end of camp and I went outside with my sharpie ready. Student after student wanted me to sign their ball. It was quite fun! The students were teaching me some Cebuano today, and laughing a

"For He has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the son He loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins." Colossians 1:13-14 Devotional Thought When I read these few verses I cannot help but to reflect on my own rescue story! He rescued me from the dominion of darkness and brought me into the kingdom of His Son! It is Jesus who has redeemed me from my bondage to sin and death... it is Jesus who has forgiven my sin! I was 17 years old when I surrendered my life to Jesus Christ. God rescued me from a dangerous path in life and gave me a new direction. Honestly, growing up I had no desire for the Lord, and pretty much did what ever I wanted. I longed for everything the world had to offer. I sought after what the world had to offer, and yet, if I am honest with myself, all I found was bondage... nothing satisfied that emptiness I had inside. I had heard about Jesus before. I knew He died for our sin and rose from the

"For this reason since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you and asking God to fill you with the knowledge of His will though all spiritual wisdom and understanding. And we pray this in order that you may live live a life worthy of the Lord and may please Him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, being strengthen with His power according to His glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, and joyfully giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light." Colossians 1:9-12 Devotional Thought What is it that we can pray for that has real depth and meaning. Many times when we pray, we pray for the sick and the hurting. If we are not sick or hurting we usually think we don't need prayer, but Paul had a different approach. His prayer for the believers in Colosse was intentional and very specific. It was focused on what

"All over the world this gospel is bearing fruit and growing, just as it has been doing among you since the day you heard it and understood God's grace in all its truth." Colossians 1:6 Devotional Thought Paul calls this gospel "the word of truth" ! It is the gospel that tells them about "the faith and love that spring from the hope that is stored up for you in heaven and that you already heard about..." It communicates to us God's perfect plan for salvation! It tells how God intends to rescue and restore an undeserving people (you and me)! It is the gospel that frees us from the bondage of sin and death! And it's this gospel that is bearing fruit and growing all over the world. Aside from the whole persecution thing, it would have been great to live during the days of Paul and watch how the gospel began to transform the world! People coming to Christ and experiencing a hope that is beyond words! The hope of experiencing life the way i

"And my God will meet all your needs according to His glorious riches in Christ Jesus." Philippians 4:19 Devotional Thought Paul was thanking the Philippian church for their generosity in supplying him with the things that he needed for ministry. Their kindness and gifts continued to allow him to focus on the ministry God had given him. He calls their gifts "a fragrant offering, an acceptable sacrifice, pleasing to God." With their generosity in mind, he encoourages them with this truth... "And my God WILL meet ALL your NEEDS according to His glorious riches in Christ Jesus." He was reminding them that their sacrifice was an act of worship and faith, and that God would continue to meet all their needs. Two things come to my mind about this. First, this is a promise! Paul says God WILL ... this is a promise. Of course, he is simply repeating the words of Jesus in Matthew 6. The second thing is that the promise is that God will meet all our NEEDS .

"I know what its like to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do everything through Him who gives me strength." Philippians 4:12-13 Devotional Thought What is Paul saying? Simply he is saying that he has been on both sides of the economic fence. He knows what its like to have a lot and he knows what its like to have nothing, but there is one thing that matters... Christ! Our circumstances in life don't matter when it comes to the strength God gives. He is all we need, so it doesn't matter what end of the social-economic scale that we are in. He is sufficient! Many times we will quote the verse Phil. 4:13 in a context of saying we can accomplish anything with God's help. Why that might be true, it is interesting that Paul uses these words in the context of being content with what he has. We need to be p

"Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your request to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus." Philippians 4:4-7 Devotional Thought: This passage is a promise! The promise is that the peace of God would guard our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. That sounds great to me! How often do our hearts wander away from God? How often are our minds dwelling on the things of this earth rather than on the things of God? We need God's protection! We need His help in guarding our hearts and mind! So how do we become recipients of the promise? Well Paul lays out three things: 1. Rejoice - There is much to rejoice about when we grasp the depth of God's love! His love and grace have taken me to places that I do not deserve. They have

"For, as I have often told you before and now say again even with tears, many live as enemies to the cross of Christ. Their destiny is destruction, their god is their stomach, and their glory is their shame. Their mind is on earthly things. But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ." Philippians 3:18-20 Devotional Thought So often we live our lives with our mind on earthly things. We have a hard time with things such as death, our social status, our circumstances in this life, and much more because our mind is on earthly things. What matters is eternity! Why? Because that is really our home! That is where our citizenship is as followers of Christ. I don't have to worry about such things as earthly success as defined by our world, or whether I have the latest and greatest stuff, and frankly if I die, because my view of life is not limited to the days I spend on this earth. This is not my home anyway, so wh