PJ's Journal

"Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God." Eph. 5:1-2 I remember working as a camp counselor years ago and during staff training we were given the low down of what was termed as "Hero Worship". Hero worship was a term that described how some of the kids would respond to you as you loved them and showed them worth and value. They would think the world of you and want to be like you. Those of us with kids can identify with that as well. My son, Caleb, wants to be like me... He thinks of me as a hero and desires to be like me. It actually is humbling, because I don't want him to be like me, I want him to be like Christ. It's a challenge for me to be like Christ as well! Paul challenges us to be imitators of God! God has shown us worth (we are His children) and value (we are dearly loved), so that our natural respon

"6 Paul and his companions traveled throughout the region of Phrygia and Galatia, having been kept by the Holy Spirit from preaching the word in the province of Asia. 7 When they came to the border of Mysia, they tried to enter Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus would not allow them to. 8 So they passed by Mysia and went down to Troas. 9 During the night Paul had a vision of a man of Macedonia standing and begging him, "Come over to Macedonia and help us." 10 After Paul had seen the vision, we got ready at once to leave for Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them." Acts 16:6-10 There is ambivalence in my heart this morning. I have two very different and opposite emotions in my heart. I had found out yesterday that I was not going to be asked to candidate for a position at the church that I love, meaning that my time at First Baptist will end i

"22 You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; 23 to be made new in the attitude of your minds; 24 and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness. 25 Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to his neighbor, for we are all members of one body. 26 "In your anger do not sin" : Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, 27 and do not give the devil a foothold. 28 He who has been stealing must steal no longer, but must work, doing something useful with his own hands, that he may have something to share with those in need. 29 Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it

Yesterday I watched Rob Bell's video that introduces his book "Love Wins", and I have to be honest, I was a little unsettled. I don't want to fully weigh in about the book until I read it, but there was a question Rob asks in the video that lit a fire underneath me. I thought about not posting the video, because I don't want to "help spread the word" about his book, but since I am blogging about something he said then I feel compelled for you to hear it from the horses mouth. There are many questions that flood to my mind about what Rob says in this video, but I will focus on one that I can't ignore. He says that the what has been taught about the Gospel is that, at its core, God will send people to hell unless they believe in Jesus. His question becomes... does God have to send Jesus to rescue people from Himself? What kind of God is that? Here is my contention with his line of reasoning. It goes back to the premise... Does God send you to hel

"22 You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; 23 to be made new in the attitude of your minds; 24 and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness. 25 Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to his neighbor, for we are all members of one body. 26 "In your anger do not sin" : Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, 27 and do not give the devil a foothold. 28 He who has been stealing must steal no longer, but must work, doing something useful with his own hands, that he may have something to share with those in need. 29 Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it

"22 You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; 23 to be made new in the attitude of your minds; 24 and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness. 25 Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to his neighbor, for we are all members of one body. 26 "In your anger do not sin" : Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, 27 and do not give the devil a foothold. 28 He who has been stealing must steal no longer, but must work, doing something useful with his own hands, that he may have something to share with those in need. 29 Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it

"22 You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; 23 to be made new in the attitude of your minds; 24 and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness. 25 Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to his neighbor, for we are all members of one body. 26 "In your anger do not sin" : Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, 27 and do not give the devil a foothold. 28 He who has been stealing must steal no longer, but must work, doing something useful with his own hands, that he may have something to share with those in need. 29 Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it

"22 You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; 23 to be made new in the attitude of your minds; 24 and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness. 25 Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to his neighbor, for we are all members of one body. 26 "In your anger do not sin" : Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, 27 and do not give the devil a foothold. 28 He who has been stealing must steal no longer, but must work, doing something useful with his own hands, that he may have something to share with those in need. 29 Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it

"18 Yet what we suffer now is nothing compared to the glory he will give us later. 19 For all creation is waiting eagerly for that future day when God will reveal who his children really are. 20 Against its will, everything on earth was subjected to God's curse. 21 All creation anticipates the day when it will join God's children in glorious freedom from death and decay. 22 For we know that all creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time." Romans 8:18-22 What has happened over in Japan is a tragic event, one that just breaks your heart. I have seen so many different responses on the internet about this tragedy and it has moved me to blog about what our response should be as Christ-followers. I have seen responses from Christians who immediately project the wrath of God onto the situation, proclaiming that God is somehow punishing the Japanese pe

"22 You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; 23 to be made new in the attitude of your minds; 24 and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness. 25 Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to his neighbor, for we are all members of one body. 26 "In your anger do not sin" : Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, 27 and do not give the devil a foothold. 28 He who has been stealing must steal no longer, but must work, doing something useful with his own hands, that he may have something to share with those in need. 29 Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it

" 14 Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming. 15 Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ. 16 From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work." Eph. 4:14-16 So often I hear people say that they don't really need to know what the Bible has to say, they just love Jesus. This sounds very appealing to many because of the sharp disagreements that have been used only to divide Christians who squabble about non-essential teachings. But if I can't help but disagree with such thinking when I read this passage. First of all, this passage is a response to the previous passage speaking about attaining unity in the chur

"17 So I tell you this, and insist on it in the Lord, that you must no longer live as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their thinking. 18 They are darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardening of their hearts. 19 Having lost all sensitivity, they have given themselves over to sensuality so as to indulge in every kind of impurity, with a continual lust for more. 20 You, however, did not come to know Christ that way. 21 Surely you heard of him and were taught in him in accordance with the truth that is in Jesus. 22 You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; 23 to be made new in the attitude of your minds; 24 and to put on the new self, created to be like God i

"God, bring me clarity." That has been my prayer as of late, and it certainly has been consuming! I have been asking God for clear direction as I wait to see if I am the person God wants at First Baptist Church in the position of Pastor of Spiritual Formation. I have been at FBC for 6 1/2 years as the Pastor of Student Ministries, but have been undergoing a mental shift that started nearly two years ago. God has been clearly moving me in the direction of adult discipleship because I have determined it would have a greater impact on students than what I am currently doing. I don't know if I am going to be at FBC in the role of Pastor of Spiritual Formation. I have applied other places, and I know that the latest I will have been at FBC is late August. I have felt the weight of this over the last several weeks and have had the ugly fears of... "Will I be able to provide for my family!", "Do I have what it takes!", and even entertained the thought

"18 Once when Jesus was praying in private and his disciples were with him, he asked them, 'Who do the crowds say I am?' 19 They replied, 'Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, that one of the prophets of long ago has come back to life.' 20 'But what about you?' he asked. 'Who do you say I am?' Peter answered, 'The Christ of God.' 21 Jesus strictly warned them not to tell this to anyone. 22 And he said, 'The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, chief priests and teachers of the law, and he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life.' 23 Then he said to them all: 'If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.' " Luke 9:18-23 The most fundamental question in life has to do with the identity of Jesu

" 11 It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, 12 to prepare God's people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up 13 until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ." Eph. 4:11-13 One of the most fascinating things about being a kid is that everything is new, which leads to that wonderful and sometimes annoying question... Why? They just want to know why, so they constantly ask the question. Now admit it... it gets a little annoying, especially if your working on something, trying to concentrate and you are bombarded with not just one or two "why" questions but a whole regiment of them. You feel like you're attacked, so you resort to the answer... "just because." We ask th

"1 As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. 2 Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. 3 Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. 4 There is one body and one Spirit --just as you were called to one hope when you were called -- 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism; 6 one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. " Eph. 4:1-6 Has anyone rubbed you the wrong way? Let me be more specific... Do you have a wall up in your relationship with another believer? When you look at them, there is a thought that forms in the back of your mind that just isn't right. You hope to avoid this person at all costs, because it just seems to ruin your day. I would venture to guess that we all have those relationships from time to