PJ's Journal

One of the toughest realities of being a pastor is watching the destructive choices that people make that lead to an unhealthy relationship with Jesus, fractured relationships with others who love him or her, or self-destruction.  A common denominator of the carnage left in the wake of these decisions is the failure to take personal responsibility for the choices he or she has made or refuse to make.  Let me explain...  I have a passion to know Jesus more and to commune with Him at a soul level.  This does not just automatically happen, I must choose to engage in certain disciplines for this to happen.  If I do not choose to read and study my Bible, then I have no one to blame but myself.  If I do not intentionally carve out time to pray, I have no one to blame but myself.  If I am not actively involved in God's mission then I can only blame myself for not engaging in His mission.  On the flip side, if I choose to distance myself from people, I ha...

Perhaps one of the hardest things to do in a believer's life is to open up with others about the gospel.  It is interesting that many of us would claim to love the Gospel, but baulk at the idea of sharing the good news of a rescuer with someone else.  Research seems to indicate that less than 5% of Christians actively share the message of the Gospel with someone.  Further research seems to indicate that a person generally hears the gospel a tad less than eight times before responding to the Gospel. What is the Gospel?  Simply put, it is the good news that God sent His Son, Jesus, down to earth to rescue people from their state of condemnation, and bring them into a reconciled relationship with God through His death on a cross and resurrection from the grave.  It is impossible for man to get to God, and so God came to us... bore the penalty for our sin... and defeated death!  People can be free from condemnation, not on the basis of the good they have done,...

Allow me to be real for a moment with you... there exists within me a tension that is very difficult to navigate.  It is the tension between when to speak out against the moral decay I see unfolding around me and when to shut up and pray.  I had this conversation earlier today with my two teenagers.  One of them said, "Dad, trying to fight for traditional marriage is a lost cause."  There was something about that tone of surrender that did not sit well with me.  Now, they were not saying that traditional marriage was old fashion and should be given up on, but rather that gay marriage will inevitably be legalized in every state.  Additionally, our culture is all hyped up to see the book turned movie, "Fifty-Shades of Grey."  I have seen many posts about it and have been guilty of reading the comments.  One comment made my heart sink further into grieving.  The comment simply said, "People, it's just a movie... geeez."  As I unpack these e...

I will say that I absolutely love what I do.  I love to study, teach, counsel, encourage, and lead the church toward a particular vision.  There are things in ministry that energize me more or less, but I love it all.  Yet, I feel at times that I am unqualified to do what I do.  Here are a few reasons that periodically run through my head. I feel as if I let people down way too often, and I hate doing that.  I know that I cannot do everything or even be everywhere, and letting people down comes with the position.  People have their own idea of what your job ought to be and where your time ought to be spent without seeing the totality of your responsibilities.  Yet, why do I feel this way?  It reveals to me one of my insecurities...  I would not say I am a people pleaser, but rather afraid to fail.  All my life I have been performance driven.  I seek after the A, and desire to do things well.  There is nothing wrong with th...

Wow!  There is so much happening in this country sparked by the grand jury deciding not to take action on officer Darren Wilson in Ferguson a few weeks ago.  There has been rioting, looting, people blocking major highways in protest, and many other actions.  The media has covered this, distorted aspects of this story, and have kept it at the forefront of America's attention.  There has been outrage on both sides of this event.  There has been responses from church leaders, media members, talk show hosts, and many more.  Perhaps the most revealing narrative has been that which has taken place in the comment sections of news articles and social media sites.  Injustice based on race has been the idea that all of this seems to circle around...  Can I share with you what I think is at the heart of most of this?  I cannot speak to all of it because there are ALWAYS exceptions.  There will always be ignorant people who say and do hurtful things...

Pride... it shows its face in a plethora of ways that can be seen in daily life.  I see it in my life and I see it in many, many other situations.  From stubbornness to out right defiance, pride can creep into our lives and destroys how we were designed to thrive.  We were designed to thrive in a relationship with God!  It is true that we live in a fallen world, and the moment Adam sinned against God, was the moment the relationship was radically affected.  Death, or shall I say separation, became humanity's new reality.  God, in His grace, promised a redeemer in Gen. 3, which was fulfilled in Christ, crucified and risen.  Humanity has a redeemer, if they would humble themselves, let go of self, and turn the deed of their heart over to Christ.  To redeem means to "buy back".  Christ, through His death paid a redeemers price to buy humanity back... but from what?  From death!  Yes, His death can bring you and I life... or rather a re...

Certainly I have seen multiple posts about depression because of the suicidal death of Robin Williams.  I have seen some that paint it as purely a spiritual issue and some who say faith plays no role in overcoming depression.  This is a difficult issue for me to write about because I do not think I can fully understand the effects of depression.  Sure there have been times that I shut down mentally and emotionally from life and feel alone, but I have always been able to embrace truth about my identity, purpose, and value to sort of re-center myself.  It is entirely possible that I have no idea what I am talking about, but there is just something in me that struggles with the idea that faith plays no role in overcoming depression as a believer. Now before I go further, I want to say that I think medication plays a role in helping an individual to think better.  I do believe there are such things as chemical imbalances.  I also believe that medication does n...

Over the past week, John Balyo, a morning host for wcsg out of Grand Rapids, was arrested for alleged criminal sexual conduct involving a minor.  After he was arrested there was a buzz in the local news and many began talking about it in their homes.  Last night I saw on the news that Baylo had allegedly admitted guilt to having sex with a 12 year-old boy.  There is a huge pit in my stomach as I think about how anyone could do this, much less a man that would speak against such things as rape, adultery, sexual fornication, homosexuality, and sex trafficking.  I have a son who is now 15 years old, and I can't imagine what it would have done to him to have something like that happen.  I don't understand this.  Another angst I have right now is how the Name of Christ is being trampled upon by those that now have more fuel for their fire... but part of me understands where they are coming from.  It is news such as this that sends me into a state of confusi...

" Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult.  On the contrary, repay evil with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing (1 Peter 3:9 - NIV)." What is your response when people treat you wrong?  It is in our nature to defend ourselves and strike back... to repay evil with evil or insult with insult.  We just cannot let someone else "win"!  We cannot let them have the last laugh.  There is another way that we typically respond and that is to do nothing.  This response certainly does not stir up unnecessary trouble, although it certainly can lead to more, but it also does nothing to demonstrate a genuine love for our "enemy".  Jesus tells us to love our neighbor, and just in case we want to define neighbor as those we get along with, He gets more specific by telling us to love our enemy (Matthew 5:43-44).  We are called by our Savior and Lord to love even our enemy!  That is a radical calling! ...

I have to be honest with you... I have been preaching through the book of 1 Peter for some time and this week I am tackling Peter's message to wives to function within the Greco-Roman system of Household Codes in a way that brings the favor of God and may lead to the salvation of their husband. Anytime I have to teach a passage specifically geared to women, I feel a bit awkward. What qualifies me to have a voice in their life? Sure, I am their pastor, but when I try to put myself in a woman's shoes... I find that my feet do not fit. Peter encourages wives to submit themselves to their husbands within the system of Household Codes. This could not have been easy for Peter to do as a man. Does he know what it is like to be taken advantage of by a spouse that is not pulling their weight? Does he know what it is like for his dignity to be in question every single day of his life? Certainly, the view of women within Greco-Roman Household Codes was not very favorable. They w...

I have been preaching through 1 Peter over the last several months and there has been a consistent theme that just keeps emerging... as a Christ-follower we are to live out our lives in the reverent fear of God.  What does that even mean?  Who wants to constantly live their life in fear all the time?  Is this where Peter is going with all of this talk?  The answer is no, mainly because we have a warped view of what it means to fear.  Fear is often thought of as an emotional state that is many times debilitating.  This is not meant by the use of fear in 1 Peter.  Let me give you an example of healthy fear from the natural world.  Fear can be a friend... it raises our  awareness , much like a deer who senses the present of danger.  The ears are more attentive and the eyes are focused.  The deer is trying to identify the source of their "fear" and when they discover it, they flee from it.  Living in the fear of God means that we a...

I have not blogged in quite some time.  I have been writing paper after paper over the past few years as I have been working toward a Masters in Divinity.  I will be honest... it feels a bit freeing just to write without the boundaries of being totally objective without interjecting personal insight.  So what is on my mind???  Probably too much to process all at once, but I want to write about being a father. Though I was an expert on parenting before I had kids (sarcasm inserted), I now have a 17 year old girl and a 15 year old boy, and I seem to be at a loss at times.  My kids are far from being problem children!  As a matter of fact, it is an absolute blessing to be their dad, but am I preparing them to launch into a world that will challenge their faith at every turn?  I am excited about the challenge this next year presents, yet I am scared at the same time.  My daughter will be a senior, so what that means is that time is getting short. ...

Often times we hear the word balance in relation to how we live.  We tend to avoid extremes and label those who go to extremes as extremists.  But how does this work as a follower of Christ?  As I read about the Apostle Paul, he was a pretty extreme dude (I hope it ok to call Paul "dude").  Here is a guy who went through extreme suffering and imprisonment for the sake of the Gospel.  He writes to the churches in Galatia that he has been crucified with Christ, so his life is no longer under his authority.  He has relinquished control to the One he places his faith in... Jesus.  To the church in Philippi he assures them that he is ready to exalt Christ in life or by death.  He is one who gave up all for the sake of the Gospel.  We are inspired by Paul's example and place him on a pedestal, but we resist the idea of our life looking like his.  Paul simply took the command to follow Jesus seriously!  Do we?  Do we look at our lives...

What does it look like to live a Christ-centered life?  I would bet that many immediately start thinking about outward activities that a person might do in order to look as if Christ is the center of their life.  For example, one might look at their Bible and think, "Well, if I read this book today then I will be living a Christ-centered life!"  We think too often in terms of doing, and we miss out on fostering what really matters... the heart and mind!  I was reminded of this as I spent some time interacting with Philippians 1:20-24.  The question is a matter of cart and horse.  Which one is pulling the other?  Which one comes first?  I look at Paul's life and see a man who is in prison, and while in prison he is discipling the believers at Philippi through a letter that is deeply personal and transparent. "20 I eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be ashamed, but will have sufficient courage so that now as always Christ will be ...

So I have not blogged in quite awhile, yet the Lord impressed on me something that needs to be journaled.  As I was preparing for my Sunday evening sermon, I was struck by some very thought provoking ideas that seemed to jump of the page to me.  I was reading Acts 4:1-31, which is the account of Peter and John before the religious elite of their day.  They were there because they had healed a 40+ year old cripple beggar.  These religious leaders demanded to know what name (or better yet "by whose authority") did they heal this man.  They courageously declared that it was by the authority of Jesus that this man was healed.  So what exactly jumped off the page?  It was the thought that this was the same group of men that Peter acted like a coward in front of just months earlier.  How does one go from being a coward who denied the Lord three times to being a man of courage proclaiming the Name of Jesus as the only one possessing the authority to save...

"Be careful not to do your 'acts of righteousness' before men to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven." Matthew 6:1 Like most things in life, it is not what you do that is important but why you do it in the first place. This applies to things that most would consider good and things that most would consider bad. The hidden agenda is what Jesus asks us to evaluate. In Matthew 6:1, Jesus issues a warning to his disciples during the Sermon on the Mount. He tells them to be careful! Jesus is asking them to devote thought as to why they are doing their "acts of righteousness". Jesus will go on to talk about a few such acts, like giving to the poor, fasting, and praying. I think all of us can agree that these are good things, and in no way is Jesus telling His disciples to cease doing them. He simply wants them to give thought as to why they are doing what they are doing. I don't know about you, but there are t...

As I was reading this week, I could not help but think about the similarities of Jewish religious thought and worldview to that of my own; however, there is a huge difference relative to receiving salvation. First let’s take a look at Jewish religious thought during the Intertestamental time period. Jews had a very high view of God. It starts with His name. They held the name of God in such reverence that they “put a fence around” His name by refusing to say YHWH for fear that they might mispronounce His name, and therefore, misuse His name breaking the third commandment. 1 The Jews had an elitist attitude toward the rest of the world. The considered themselves to be the elect of God through the covenant relationship they had with Him. The law played a special part in this relationship. Scott says, “Through the requirements of the law Israel was constantly reminded of her inclusion in the covenant.” 2 This provides the backdrop to the huge difference relative...

I read one of the more fascinating letters written by a second century apologist named Justin (given the title of Martyr because that is how his life ended). In the following post I describe 2nd century apologetics and what the church can learn from it. Apologetics is a defense of one's belief system. In the second century, as a result of persecution by the state, Christians began to defend their faith by incorporating their culture into their defense. Apologists, like Justin Martyr, were defending the faith on several fronts: pagan intellectuals, the state, the Jews, and heretics within the church. 1 Rome was accusing Christians of atheism, cannibalism, and incest. 2 The accusation of atheism is not what you or I immediately think of. According to Ferguson "An atheist was someone who did not observe the traditional religious practices, regardless of what faith he professed." 3 Christianity was not thought of as a traditional religion, but rather a new one... one ...

During the time of the New Testament, there were three major religious and political sects of Judaism. They were the Sadducees, the Pharisees, and the Essenes. Two key issues defined each of these groups: religious philosophy and practice, and social and political philosophy. First, let us look at their religious philosophy and practice. The Sadducees were generally men associated with the priesthood probably as a carry over from their association with the priestly Hasmonean rulers. 1 However, Scott says, “it must not be assumed that all Sadducees were priest nor that all priest were Saducees.” 2 They did control the operations of the Temple. Their authoritative source for religious philosophy and practice was the Old Testament law. They rejected the oral law of the Pharisees in favor of the written law of the Old Testament. Scott says, “The Sadducees were conservative and literalistic in handling the Old Testament law as they resisted the new i...