The Gospel Recall!

Check this out, it's provokes some thought!

RECALL NOTICE
The Maker of all human beings is recalling all units manufactured, regardless of make or year, due to a serious defect in the primary and central component of the heart. This is due to a malfunction in the original prototype units, code named Adam and Eve, resulting in the reproduction of the same defect in all subsequent units. This defect has been technically termed "Subsequential Internal Non-Morality," or more commonly known as S.I.N., as it is primarily expressed.

Some other symptoms include:1. Loss of direction 2. Foul vocal emissions 3. Amnesia of origin 4. Lack of peace and joy 5. Selfish or violent behavior 6. Depression or confusion in the mental component 7. Fearfulness 8. Idolatry 9. Rebellion

The Manufacturer, who is neither liable nor at fault for this defect, is providing factory-authorized repair and service free of charge to correct this SIN defect. The Repair Technician, Jesus, has most generously offered to bear the entire burden of the staggering cost of these repairs. There is no additional fee required.

The number to call for repair in all areas is:P-R-A-Y-E-R.

Once connected, please upload your burden of SIN through the REPENTANCE procedure.
Next, download ATONEMENT from the Repair Technician, Jesus, into the heart component.
No matter how big or small the SIN defect is, Jesus will! replace it with:1. Love 2. Joy 3. Peace 4. Patience 5. Kindness 6. Goodness 7. Faithfulness 8. Gentleness 9. Self control
Please see the operating manual, the B.I.B.L.E. (Believers' Instructions Before Leaving Earth) for further details on the use of these fixes.

WARNING: Continuing to operate the human being unit without correction voids any manufacturer warranties, exposing the unit to dangers and problems too numerous to list and will result in the human unit being permanently impounded. DANGER: The human being units not responding to this recall action will have to be scrapped in the furnace. The SIN defect will not be permitted to enter Heaven so as to prevent contamination of that facility.
Thank you for your attention.

GOD
Please assist where possible by notifying others of this important recall notice, and you may contact the Father any time by "kneemail" - I AM available 24-7, no voice-mail, no waiting.

Make sure you take care of your heart!!

PJ

Learning to Commit

Today is a very cold day. Officially it is the coldest day of the year. When it get's this cold it reminds me of my favorite winter pass time - Snowboarding - I used to do alot of snowboarding an I even was put on a team at one time. I have some great memories, good friends and good times. My favorite memory was when I was at Whiteface mountain in New York state. We had gone off trial as we usually did and we found ourselves in a tight spot. The only way we could continue our journey down the path that we were on was to jump a 11 foot cliff. There as no other way,(except to walk back up the trail). We had a choice to make, we had to decide to commit to running this trail all the way down the mountain, because once you start going you can't stop. So with a deep breathe we hit it. It was scary, exciting, difficult and wonderful all at the same time. I'll never forget the moment we arrived at the end of the trail. We looked back at what we just rode, and then screamed about how awesome it was. We felt so powerful because we had conquered the Mountian, we took a chance and we were victorious.

Listen to this quote from a playwright named Johann Wolfgang von Goethe;

Until one is committed, there is hesitancy, the chance to draw back. always ineffectiveness. Concerning all acts of initiative and creation, there is one elementary truth the ignorance of which kills countless ideas and splendid plans; that the moment one definitely commits oneself, then providence moves too. All sorts of things occur to help one that would never otherwise have occurred. A whole stream of events issues from the decision, raising one's favor all manner of unforeseen incidents, meetings and material assistance which no man could have dreamed would have come his way, Whatever you can do or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, power ... in it. Begin it now.

Don't let your dream stay in the inactive world of good intentions. Even if you fail you will have tried and that is what life is all about. The journey.

If I hadn't gone down that ski path. I would never have had that awesome moment!

Live it, act on it, do it.

PJ <><

Soak yourself!

So we have started our once a month SOAK prayer times here at Life Church and the first one was great! However people have been asking me what they should do until the next one. Because SOAK is only once a month, it isn't frequent enough to be your only prayer time. (That's the point) SOAK is designed to add to your already existent prayer life, not to be your prayer life. So this morning I wanted to give you some tips on how to have your own personal SOAKing time everyday:

- Find a quiet place - A peaceful environment helps you to become peaceful on the inside.
-Listen to worship music - You may want to use quiet instrumental or quiet worship music.
-Quiet down your busy thoughts - Initially your thoughts can be racing all over, but know that the Lord is with you. Turn your attention to Him. Wait for your thoughts to settle.
-Invite the Holy Spirit to come and soak you in His presence - Surrender your mind, body and soul in prayer to the Holy Spirit. Humble yourself before Him.
-Focus on the Lord’s presence - Open your heart to God. You are learning to abide in Him. You are learning to focus on Him and His presence.
-Rest in faith and believe that God is working within you - It isn’t about what you can accomplish through your efforts; it’s about what God is doing in you.
-Give time to soaking in God’s presence - The more time you can spend in His presence, the better. Start with 20 minutes in His presence. You will find as you do this, in a very short time you will want to spend more time in His presence.
-Watch as God changes you - You will leave refreshed and full of the Holy Spirit. Your life will be different because God is changing you through soaking in His presence. You will have an impact on the world around you as you carry God’s presence with you wherever you go.

If you spend time SOAKing in God everyday it will transform you:
“Intimacy with God is the key to fruitfulness in every area of our lives. As we become more aware of His presence in us… so do other people. As we become more affected by His presence in us… so do those around us. By taking time in the secret place with God, we start to walk by the spirit in everyday life. We find that rather than striving to achieve things for God, He is building His kingdom through us.” CTF ministries

So what's stopping you? Go ahead and have your own time with God, it really is life Changing. Oh and by the way, our next Life Church SOAK prayer is February 25th at 6:30pm with the worship team from Mondays in Hamilton.

PJ <><

A Lesson From Lightning McQueen

OK I'm a Dad, and my son loves the movie Cars. Alright so it's not just him, I love it too. Even though this movie is incredibly entertaining there are some good life lessons in the movie as well.
If you've seen the movie, you know that the movie is set in the little town of Radiator Springs, this little town a one time was busy because it was located on the famous route 66. But an innerstate had been built near the town and so they lost the traffic and now the town is basically a ghost town, except for a few locals.
This is where Lightning McQueen gets stuck and he has to learn how to live in this small town environment. At first he hates it because he has his eyes only on one thing Winning the Piston Cup. But over time the local personalities grow on him and soon he learns to live and love in Radiator Springs.
Do you know how to live and love. Do you know how to embrace you life now, rather than always trying to look for the next win. Before you know it, you may miss your life. John 10:10 says "Jesus came so you can have life to the fullest..."

Slow down and smell the roses before they are gone, Maybe you need to get off the Highway and take route 66. Live and Love now because you never know if you have tomorrow.

Kur-Pow!!!!!

PJ

Why Men Hate Church.

This week I'm doing a lot of reading, on the topic of Why Men hate Church!. In Canada my experience has been that Church is something that is popular with Women and children but not really with the Man of the house. The Last Church I was at was over 70% female.
The story is all too common. Mom gets up on Sunday morning and gets the kid's ready for Church while Dad stays home and watches football. Even if you watch TV shows like the Simpsons or That 70's Show, Marg and Kitty are taking the kids to church while Homer and Red stay home because that's what REAL MEN do?
Now a lot of the reason why men don't go to church is in them. Rebellion, laziness, as well as apathy are personal issues that men need to overcome. However there are some other reasons why men don't like to go to church.
In the church we have become quite a feminine culture. We have implied that the most spiritual men in the church are the nice guys. You know the guys that don't cause any trouble, they are humble and patient, and loving. Yes it's true, all those those attributes are important, but we leave out the other half. When was the last time you went to church and heard a sermon on how to be bold, courageous, How to take risks or how to be tough for God. We have feminized our faith, in fact we have even feminized Jesus. We have shown the gentle Jesus meek and mild, but we often leave out the masculine Jesus that has moments of anger and is even sarcastic at times.
If you want to teach a pure gospel, then you need to show all the sides of Christ.
One of the books I'm reading is called "No more Christian Nice Guy", by Paul Coughlin he says this:
"When we are free from the myths that Jesus was the Supreme Nice Guy, that the Father is a cosmic teddy bear, and that the Holy Spirit is a docile, breezy presence, men will find the church more compelling and relevant."
So over the next few weeks we are going to look at Jesus, our theology, and even church culture and we are going to examine the masculine side of Christianity. So that we can have a Church full of Good guys that live for and love Jesus. Oh and by the way for all the ladies at Life Church, this series will help your marriage, (if you are married), and your view of what a man of God should be. Sound interesting? Check it out this Sunday at 10:30.

Let the Good Guy Revolution begin!

PJ

A Life Church Manifesto

Often in Church we talk about Vision statement. These are phrases we come up with that describe a goal or a dream that we have. That's cool but often we never get there. Today I want to provide you with something different, I want to provide you with a manifesto to live by. What is a manifesto you ask? A manifesto is a publicly printed declaration of intent. This is something you can start today and it can change your life. I'm calling this the Life Church Manifesto. (A lot of it is taken from the book Chasing the Lion by Mark Batterson)
Quit living as if the purpose of life is to arrive safely at death. Set God-sized goals. Pursue God-ordained passions. Grab life by the horns. Go after a dream that is destined to fail without divine intervention. Keep asking questions. Keep making mistakes. Keep seeking God. Stop pointing out problems and become part of the solution. Stop repeating the past and start creating the future. Stop playing it safe and start taking risks. Expand your horizons. Accumulate experiences. Consider the lilies. Enjoy the journey. Find every excuse you can to celebrate everything you can. Live like today is the first day and last day of your life. Don't let what's wrong with you keep you from worshipping what's right with God. Burn sinful bridges. Blaze a new trail. Criticize by creating. Worry less about what people think and more about what God thinks. Don't try to be who you're not. Be yourself. Laugh at yourself. Quit holding out. Quit holding back. Quit running away. Live your life to fullest today!!

I encourage you to print this off and read it everyday, to remind yourself that you have today to live.

Be Blessed!

PJ

Just Checking

Hi everybody, it's great to be back from Christmas holidays. We had a great time and lot's of R&R. This week I'm doing a Blogotional check. From time to time we want to see who's out there reading our blog, and hear some comments on how we could improve it. There are two ways that you can help us.

1. Please leave a small comment if you are reading this post on the blogotional. The reason why we are asking you to do that is because we want to know how many people are still reading this blog.

2. If you can think of any way to improve the blog and don't mind sharing it with everyone, you can just leave it in the comments section. If you have a comment but you don't want everyone to read it you can email me at jmcmillan_life@rogers.com.

Thanks for you help everyone, we want to make sure that we are using our time as your pastors efficiently.

Happy 2007

PJ

You thought you were busy

I know that I said I wouldn't blog again this year but I couldn't resist showing everyone this:Santa According to An Engineer

There are approximately 378 million Christian children in the world according to the Population Reference Bureau. At an average census rate of 3.5 children per household that comes to 108 million homes, presuming that there is at least one good child in each.

Santa has about 31 hours of Christmas to work with, thanks to the different time zones and the rotation of the earth, assuming he travels east to west. This works out to 967.7 visits per second. This is to say that for each household with a good child, Santa has around 1/1000th of a second to park the sleigh; hop out; jump down the chimney; fill the stockings; distribute the remaining presents under the tree; eat whatever snacks have been left for him; get back up the chimney; jump into the sleigh; and get on to the next house.

Assuming that each of these 108 million stops is evenly distributed around the earth which, of course, we know to be false, but will accept for the purposes of our calculations, we are now talking about 0.78 miles per household--a total trip of 75.5 million miles, not counting bathroom stops or breaks. This means Santa's sleigh is moving at 650 miles per second--3,000 times the speed of sound. For purposes of comparison, the fastest man-made vehicle, the Ulysses space probe, moves at a poky 27.4 miles per second, and a conventional reindeer can run at best 15 miles per hour.

The payload of the sleigh adds another interesting element. Assuming that each child gets nothing more than a medium sized Lego set weighing two pounds, the sleigh is carrying over 500,000 tons, not counting Santa himself. On land, a conventional reindeer can pull no more than 300 pounds. Even granting that the flying reindeer could pull ten times the normal amount, the job can't be done with nine of them--Santa would need 360,000 of them. This increases the payload, not counting the weight of the sleigh, another 54,000 tons, or roughly seven times the weight of the Queen Elizabeth, the ship not the monarch.

Six hundred thousand tons traveling at 650 miles per second creates enormous air resistance--this would heat up the reindeer in the same fashion as a spacecraft re-entering the earth's atmosphere. The lead pair of reindeer would absorb 14.3 quintillion joules of energy per second each. In short, they would burst into flames almost instantaneously. The entire reindeer team would be vaporized within 4.26 thousandths of a second, or right about the time Santa reached the fifth house on his trip.

Not that it matters, however, since Santa, as a result of acceleration from a dead stop to 650 miles per second in one-thousandth of a second, would be subjected to centrifugal forces of 17,500 g's. A 250 pound Santa which seems ludicrously slim would be pinned to the back of the sleigh by 4.3 millions pounds of force, instantly crushing his bones and organs and reducing him to a quivering blob of pink goo.

Therefore, if Santa did exist, he's dead now.

Merry Christmas!

I know Dan Sawyer would enjoy this!

PJ

Merry Christmas Everyone!

Well today is the last day I will Blog until 2007. It has been an amazing year at Life Church. When I look at what God has done in only one year around here, I'm humbled by His goodness. I'm not just talking about having a new building although that's great. But I'm talking about all the new people that God has brought into the life of our church. It says in The Bible that God will build His church and He has truly done that this year. I love the fact that I look forward to seeing everyone every week, it really feels like family at Life Church.
To all those who have served so faithfully this past year, I say thank you, because without your help and vision this could not have happened.

I want to tell you one story that will highlite the goodness of God in our church. On Monday I received a phone call form Colette Myers who works at Tribute communities. The folks at Tribute had a Gift exchange They were supposed to buy each other toys, and then donate the toys to charity. Well after they were done exchanging gifts the person in charge of the gift exchange asked if anyone knew of a charity that they could donate the toys to. Colette suggested Life Church. To make along story short we had hundreds of dollars worth of toys dropped off at the church on Monday (see pic).
Last night Christa and I had the privledge of dropping off some those toys to families that could use the help. It was awesome. We also got to donate a lot of the toys to Roy and Jen Hyde. They are going to deliver those toys to the children that go to Glen St. School. (the poorest school in Durham). What an awesome Christmas opportunity this has turned into. All because the folks at Life Church are willing to partner together to see great things happen.

This Christmas I want to wish all of our Blog-nation a very Merry Christmas. Make sure you show the love of Christ to those you meet this year.

Merry Christmas

PJ

Pic's with Santa

Well, we are down to the crunch time of Christmas, and I know that we are all really busy probably too busy to be reading blogs. So today for your enjoyment I have put our kids picture with Santa up for display. This one turned out OK! If you have any pictures with Santa, feel free to post them on our Flickr photopage!

Merry Christmas from Abbi, Andrew, and Aiden

PJ

Getting the point!

I had this story given to me the other day I think it's makes the point of Christmas very clear.

A woman was out Christmas shopping with her two children. After two
hours of looking at row after row of toys and hearing them ask for everything
they saw on those many shelves, she was feeling the overwhelming pressure
that so many of us feel during this holiday season, and was relieved when she
finally made it to the elevator.

When the elevator doors opened, there was already a crowd of people in
it.But determined to get this day over with, she pushed her way into the
elevator dragging her kids and packages.

When the doors closed she couldn't take it anymore and stated, "Whoever
started this whole Christmas thing should be found, strung up, and
shot."

From the back of the elevator everyone heard a quiet calm voice
respond, "Don't worry, we already crucified him." For the rest of the trip down,
the elevator was so quiet you could have heard a pin drop.

Don't forget this year to keep the One who started this whole Christmas
thing in your every thought, deed, purchase, and word. If we all did
it, just think of how different this whole world would be.

Don't lose the purpose of Christmas in the preparation for Christmas!!

PJ

Christmas Spam!

I hate spam! I get at least one hundred spam emails a day! Now I must admit that most of those emails go to my bulk box and I never see them, but once and a while they get through. I think my least favorite type of spam is the bate and switch spam. The ones that when you first open them they look like an email, but then they switch to an advertisement about stock. Honestly why would someone do this as a form of advertising? Who in their right mind would want to invest their money into a stock option that was advertised through spam? Even if the product was legitimate, the advertising would make it seem fake.

Sometimes in the church we have been guilty of spam marketing. We have been masters of the Bait and Switch method. We put on an event and advertise it as a fun event with free food and lots of fun. So people come expecting that, but then once we get people in the doors, we tell them about how they need God or else they are going to hell.

Now the gospel is the greatest truth that could ever be shared, but sometimes we cheapen it and even cause mistrust towards Christianity by our spam!

Make sure that you share the truth in love this Christmas. The best way to share the gospel with people is through relationships. So have someone to your house this year, not to convert them, but simply to love them. Someday you will have the opportunity to share your faith, but don't force it, let the Holy Spirit do His work.

Don't send out spam this Christmas!

PJ

High Definition Faith

Last week Shannon and I bought our Christmas gift for each other. We decided to purchase a new High Definition Television. Now this TV is extremely cool, because the picture is so clear you can see every detail on the screen. When your watching football you can see the blades of grass, hockey, the scares in the ice from skates. It's really cool.

It's funny but I never knew how unclear my picture on my old TV was until I saw a High Definition TV.

I think my faith journey is similar to shopping for TV's. You think that you have it all figured out. You think that you finally have a clear picture of who God is and then something will happen, and you realize that your knowledge is still so limited and there is so much more to know. Even David knew that God was so big he could never grasp all of him.

I look behind me and you're there,
then up ahead and you're there,
your reassuring presence, coming and going.
This is too much, too wonderful
I can't take it all in! Psalms 139:5-6

So Maybe the point isn't to have the whole picture but just to allow the picture to get better all the time.

I want to know God in High Definition!

PJ

Finding truth in Jazz

Last week I went to see Rob Brown play with his jazz band called Rinsethealgorithm. If you want to check out their music go to : www.myspace.com/rinsethealgorithm.
It was a little Jazz club in Toronto and the atmosphere was really cool. The band began to play and I was amazed. Now I'm not a huge jazz fan, but I think I can appreciate good music and this band kicked.
Their was lots of solos and the talent was amazing. The neat thing about Jazz is that you have a lot of freedom to improvise and create. Their is a basic musical outline that the band follows but when you are playing you can create new flows and solos within that basic structure of the song. So although their is a definite song being played their is still the freedom to improvise within that song.
The leader of the band was Rich Brown, Robs big brother (I bet that wasn't a quiet house growing up). He would give the band subtle cues when to go to a bridge or come to a close. It was really cool to see how the whole thing came to create an amazing song that may never be played the exact same way again.
It reminded me a lot of my life. God is the one directing the band, he will give me cues of which direction I should go in, when I should go in this direction or not in this one. The melody is laid out in the Bible, and I have all the freedom in the world to create and explore as long as I stay with in the framework of the scripture. My song is unique and beautiful to God, and the really cool thing is that my life is lived only once and it cannot be played again.

Yeah Wednesday night was a great musical and cultural experience for me, but on some level I discovered more truth about how great God is. So I had a spiritual experience too, while listening to Jazz.

Keep up the great work Rob and Rich, you never know what God will do with your talent.

PJ

I'm back from my Ho, Ho, Holidays

Hi everybody! We just got back from a week of vacation and it was great! We got all of our Christmas shopping done, and we are close to being ready to celebrate Christmas. It took a whole week! We are really busy today at the church because we are decorating the church for Christmas. Man Christmas is alot of work. I'm sure you are in the middle of your Christmas time crunch as well.
Today I just want to encourage you to slow down and enjoy Christmas this year. I have been known in the past to be a bit of a grinch at Christmas. It's so busy and so expensive that you can begin to detest it. However this year I vowed not to do that and so far so good. Remember it's not about the presents and it's not about getting the nicest Christmas tree (and then seeing it on sale somewhere else). It's about celebrating the mercy of God to us. He loved us so much that he sent his only son, to live as an example of what God is like and then die as a sacrifice for our sin. That's really what it's all about!

I know this is kind of a cheesy keep the Christ in Christmas thing, but although the saying is way over played, it is true and it's help's us keep perspective when were standing in the line at Toy's r Us.

Merry Christmas?

PJ

Miracles for $49.95

Last night was a rough night. Aiden decided to wake up to eat at 3:30am. So we fed him and then put him back to bed. However seeing he had slept for most of the evening he was up and ready to party. (this is what you have to look forward to Jeff and Cydele!!) Anyway, seeing I was wide-awake with my buddy at 4:30am we decided to watch some TV. Have you ever seen what’s on TV at 4:30am? Basically TV consists of 2 things at that time: infomercials and TV evangelists. So I watched them for a while. First there’s a guy selling a real estate course. He promises that if you will send him four easy payments of only $49.95, this course will train you how to make big bucks in real estate. Then come the testimonies of all the people who have made thousands of dollars through this life-changing course. One thing I noticed was the little legal line in fine print that was displayed during the testimony time that said results not typical.
After a few minutes of this commercial I turned the channel and caught a late night TV evangelist. So I decided to watch him. He was telling people the promises of God’s Word to heal them through prayer. He said that if you were willing to give a gift to his ministry of $50.00 or more then he would send you a vile of miracle spring water. This was special water that he and his team had prayed over and when you receive it you could dip your finger in it or pour it all over yourself and you could receive a miracle. Then came the testimonies of people that had been in this man’s services. They were testifying to how God had healed them and touched them in that service. (No legal line this time, I think there should be one)
Both the infomercial and the evangelist promised miracles that would change your life, if you would send them a mere $49.95. It’s interesting that both of them promised miracles for money. I have to admit I turned off the TV and felt rather ill. I hate it when I see these Jesus infomercials. First off Jesus didn’t die so a man like this could make money. In fact he didn’t die simply to provide miracles for $49.95. He gave his life so that we can have relationship with God and walk with him.
Don’t get sucked into this world, so many people do. Be wise and discern what is real and what is not. The miracles that Jesus can do for you are not for sale, all you have to is give him your life

When I was watching the evangelist I wished I had a Magic Bullet. (Ha, Ha)

PJ

Obsession for Men

So last week I saw the movie "The Prestige" Great Film! It was about two magicians that compete against each other and spend there lives in seach of the greatest trick. The moral of the story is that the greatest trick was the fact that they wasted their lives in pursuit of a trick, instead of living them. (there's alot more to the movie then that).
Good point! It really makes you think about what is important enough to spend your life pursuing. Money, education, fame, power, what about happiness?
The reality is that all these things may come and go, but there is one thing that is constant and only one thing GOD. We are designed to spend our lives pursuing after Him.
Romans 9:17 "I raised you up for this very purpose, that I might display my power in you and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth"

We can chase after many things in life, but if we don't chase after God all those other things will disappear.
In the final scene of The Prestige, the magicians are finally face to face and one of them has been shot, and is about to die. At that point he realizes that he had been tricked and then dies. Some day we will be standing before God. I hope that you will read his word and chase him now, or you will be like that other magicain that found out the truth too late!

PJ

I had a picture and everything but it doesn't seem to be working today!
Sorry, no spell check either:(

The Lie of Perfection

The last thing that I want to do is another blog about Ted Haggard! It seems that everywhere on the internet and in the media everybody is talking about Ted's indiscretion. Although I'm saddened by the news, I'm more saddened by the reaction of the Christian community, however I must admit the we do set ourselves up for it. As a Pastor I'm a professional Christian, you could almost say I'm paid to be good! So what happens if a pastor isn't good, well first thing we do is fire him! Why? Because he's not perfect like we made him out to be. I have lived through some tough stuff with pastor's that have been let go of their positions due to "immorality" and it's a really harsh reality. What other job can you lose if you sin? Sometimes you don't just lose your job, but you lose your reputation, and possibly your family. Wow! You can even be the president of the United states and get away with more.
Now with that said, I do think that as a spiritual leader I need to practice what I preach. I think that if I was struggling with some major sin issue in my life I would need to take time off to get things back together in my life. But don't think for one second that the image pastor's sometimes are forced to portray of perfection is true, because it's not. We all struggle with stuff and we all have sinned and gone astray. I love Life Church because I can be real with you, we believe in authenticity and that is something I value. In a book called Making Sense of Church the author Spencer Burk says this:
The church has trouble admitting we're sinners:
"As a culture, we've long since abandoned the idea of perfect leaders and perfect plans. When we see individuals and ideas presented in neat, airbrushed packages, we're cynical. ... The church, however, has been reluctant to admit this reality. Despite all our talk of sin and needing a Savior, we insist on looking like the exception. By fixing our attention on tightly worded tracts, well-executed programs, and other people's problems, we avoid having to see ourselves as we really are. People attending church today, however, have little patience for this kind of sanctified denial. Instead, we hunger for a place where honesty and authenticity are embraced." (37)

I thank God for my Church, and I thank God for his grace on all of us!

Jesus said "If any one of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her." Again he stooped down and wrote on the ground.

At this, those who heard began to go away one at a time, the older ones first, until only Jesus was left, with the woman still standing there. Jesus straightened up and asked her, "Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?"

"No one, sir," she said.
"Then neither do I condemn you," Jesus declared. "Go now and leave your life of sin." John 6
Let's all work at abandoning our lives of sin, but let's not throw stones either!

PJ

Dancing with the Stars

Lately I have been watching the show Dancing with the Stars. Maybe you've seen it. I'm cheering for Joey Lawrence. (You know Joey from Blossom). Anyway I got this email from Jeff Marchant the other day and it made me think. Read this:

Dancing with God
When I meditated on the word GUIDANCE, I was drawn to "dance" at the end of the word. I reflected upon how doing God's will is a lot like dancing. When two people try to lead, nothing feels right. The movement doesn't flow with the music, and everything is quite uncomfortable and jerky. When one person realizes this and lets the other lead, both bodies begin to flow with the music.


One gives gentle cues, perhaps with a nudge to the back or by pressing lightly in one direction or another. It's as if two become one body, moving beautifully. The dance takes surrender, willingness, and attentiveness from one person and gentle guidance and skill from the other. My eyes drew back to the word GUIDANCE. When I saw "G," I thought of God, followed by "u" and "I." "God, "u" and "I" dance" . God, you, and I dance.

When we let God take the lead in our lives, the dance turns out beautiful. When we try and take the lead it becomes awkward, uncomfortable and messy. Jerry Springer was one of the dancers on show. He admitted that he can't dance but yet he made it into the top 5 teams, his secret was letting his professional dance partner lead.

Let me encourage you today to let God take the lead your life, then you're not just dancing with the stars, now you're dancing with the creator of the universe. How awesome is that!

PJ

Staying on Track

Sometimes you think about useless things. For me I have the most useless thoughts while I'm driving. Last week I was waiting for a train (tracks near the church), and I had this thought why did they make trains roll on two tracks instead of one. In fact the only train I know of that rolls on one track is the monorail at Disneyland. The reason for two tracks is balance, the weight of the train is balanced on two rails.
It makes me think about a verse I was reading in the Bible yesterday. One that I never really noticed before.
John 17:15 - My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one.
Jesus was praying for his followers because he was leaving earth soon. He knew that people would have a problem with his followers because they would follow kingdom principles instead of the worlds, yet he prays that we would remain in the world.
For us to be relevant Christians in 2006 we need to be in the culture of the world, we need to be able to relate to people in everyday life. As Pentecostals we have a tendency to separate ourselves in the name of holiness, but sometimes all that does is separate us from the people we are supposed to reach. The word for this fundamentalist behavior is sectarianism. Not allowing yourself to be involved in anything secular.
Jesus also prays that we would be protected from the evil one. Sometimes believers will become so immersed in the world that there is no difference between their lifestyle and the lifestyle of a non-believer. That is called syncretism.
Jesus prays that we would become neither a sectarian or a syncretist, he wants us to be real people that don't disengage from culture but yet stay away from sin.
If we don't, we either become irrelevant or we fall into a destructive lifestyle and either is a train wreck.

Just some thoughts to help keep our lives on track. I hope this blog helps you not get derailed (I had to say it)

PJ