I just got these in my email box! I’m missing my kids today! They have been in NJ for a LONG time! I can’t wait for Tiffany and the kids to come back! But these were too cute not to share.
Lost in thoughts!
~Peter
“How faint the whisper we hear of Him! Who then can understand the thunder of His power?” – Job 26:14
WOW! This one cut me to the quick. We often will sit and wonder why God hasn’t done more… Why didn’t God protect me from this… Why didn’t He spare me? All that kind of stuff? Do you ever feel that way? Why is my family the way it is, or why is my job so terrible? These are the types of questions that plague the minds of so many of us.
This was a great reminder to me. The little bit that I know and understand of God, is just a faint whisper. Imagine when the day comes when we see, and understand the power of God? WHEW! That is going to be amazing!
In light of this…
- Live with your eyes peeled for what God is doing in your life. Look for everything that God is doing! Rejoice and give God praise!
- Step out in faith that the God of all that is, was, and will be holds you firmly in His hand!
~Peter
Have you realized yet that you interact with hundreds and thousands of people a year? Dependent upon your job, you may meet and greet several thousand people a year. If you live in a neighborhood, or development. If you live in what we have commonly called a town, city, or village… likely you will run into people. And here’s the deal. People are messy. People are really dirty. They have problems. They have issues! BOY DO THEY HAVE ISSUES! Everyone has issues but me. (Ever find yourself saying that?) What do we do with all of these dirty, messy, smelly, people filled with issues when we run into them. You know, the kind that barge into your life with all kinds of problems. How do you and I handle these moments? What is it that we will do?
We have started a new teaching series here with both of our groups, Junior High & Senior High. We’re calling it “Reflect Christ”. We are looking at how Christ showed compassion on the people He found surrounding Him. There were thousands of people and hundreds of thousands of interactions that Jesus had with people. The question of a good disciple should be, when I run into people how should I interact with them? Better yet, how would my Rabbi, my discipler, my Lord, my teacher interact with this person? How can I reflect the teacher? How can I reflect Christ? We are looking at three different examples of how Christ dealt with three different groups of people. They are:
- The Person I don’t know
- The Person I know
- The Person I know the best
What do you think compassion really is? How can we show compassion to those around us? Whoever they may be… No matter what category they fit into.
I just can’t stop thinking about this question: “How are we going to deal with those we find ourselves surrounded with?”
Thoughts?
~Peter
What has God done in 2008? (in no particular order)
God Has…
- settled Tiffany and I here in Doylestown.
- broken my heart for the need’s of people.
- poured out blessing after blessing during times of serious financial need
- kept each one of us safe and healthy
- seen us through the creation of a Junior High and Senior High Youth Group.
- grew those groups spiritually
- grew those groups numerically
- worked in the lives of over a hundred teenagers here at FBC
- placed a burden on the hearts of people to give over $20,000 to the youth ministry
- cultivated rich friendships in my life
- grown my relationship with my wife to the degree that I didn’t know was possible
- stretched Tiffany and I in ways we couldn’t have imagined
- freed my dad from the limitations of sickness, disease, & brought him to the place of wholeness, and perfection
- allowed me some very special and intimate moments with my dad in the last few days
- gave me the strength to give testimony at my Dad’s funeral of not only who Dad was but who the very God that Dad served is
- given our youth ministry 21 solid youth leaders who not only love God with all their hearts, but also have a passion for students
- given me an anxious anticipation for the ministry that is to come in 2009!
What has God done in your life in 2008? It has been pretty quiet around here lately, through the holiday’s I have been spending extra time with my family and loving it! Let’s keep up the conversation in 2009! Thanks to each one of you who come back and read everyday! HAPPY NEW YEAR…
~Peter
I know that I promised a list of what I am thankful for, and what God has done in 2008… It will come. Later today Lord willing… But for now, here is a picture of Grace, yomping on a Christmas cookie!
Well today is December 29th. Can you believe that? Today I spent the morning with my wife and kids on the beaches of LBI and driving around looking at all the old familiar spots. We went to our second apartment, we went to the different places we loved. Then we met a friend for lunch. It was great. It felt like old times.
After all this nostalgic reminiscing, it made me think… “what has God done in the last year?” So, I’m challenging myself to take a look at the last year, and analyize it. I want to look back and see what God has done in my life over the last year. I want to take some time to think about it, but then I will share some of it with you.
So I challenge you with this question… “What has God done in your life this last year?”
Share with us! Let’s give God some praise…
~Peter
Silent night, holy night,
All is calm, all is bright
Round yon virgin mother and Child.
Holy Infant, so tender and mild,
Sleep in heavenly peace,
Sleep in heavenly peace.
Silent night, holy night,
Shepherds quake at the sight;
Glories stream from heaven afar,
Heavenly hosts sing Alleluia!
Christ the Savior is born,
Christ the Savior is born!
Silent night, holy night,
Son of God, love’s pure light;
Radiant beams from Thy holy face
With the dawn of redeeming grace,
Jesus, Lord, at Thy birth,
Jesus, Lord, at Thy birth.
Silent night, holy night
Wondrous star, lend thy light;
With the angels let us sing,
Alleluia to our King;
Christ the Savior is born,
Christ the Savior is born!
Amen
~Peter
The Word was first, the Word present to God,
God present to the Word. The Word was God, in readiness for God from day one. Everything was created through him; nothing—not one thing!— came into being without him. What came into existence was Life, and the Life was Light to live by. The Life-Light blazed out of the darkness; the darkness couldn’t put it out. John 1:1-5
The Word became flesh and blood, and moved into the neighborhood.
We saw the glory with our own eyes,
the one-of-a-kind glory,
like Father, like Son,
Generous inside and out,
true from start to finish. John 1:14
Merry Christmas…
~Peter
Here’s a quick rant of thoughts running through my head…
- Did I pack everything?
- Glad to not be getting in trouble today… (at least not with my mom…)
- Wondering why it has to be raining today… UGH! WHY CAN’T THIS BE SNOW!
- Looking forward to announcing our Soles4Souls shoe drive this sunday in church!
- Wondering if we will meet our goal of 2000 shoes, or if we will far exceed it! Either way, I am pumped about it.
- Saw a really funny video of my friend Rob and his family… Check it out here…
- Decided that candlelight services definitely make it a special time… Better than us all holding up our Iphones…
- This guy has some really funny stuff to say about candlelight services… Read it here…
- Looking forward to getting in my car and heading over to Jersey to see the family there, and be with my wife and kids for a while… It’s gonna be great.
- Looking forward to the Wii Golf tournaments that are about to take place…
- Looking forward to playing some guitar, doing some writing, thinking, and praying…
- Missing my dad.
- Thankful that Jesus came to earth to save someone like me…
- Thankful that He came to save you too!
- Merry Christmas!!!
~Peter
Amazing isn’t it? Sometimes I think that God only chooses to work in the USA. The great United States of America. Believe me, I am as proud to be an American as you are. (as long as you are reading this here in the US.) So don’t try and hang me as someone who doesn’t love this country, or is thinking of moving to Costa Rica simply because Obama has been elected for office, or because Palin is banished back to Alaska. Ah well… But seriously, I was reading through several blogs this morning, and came across Craig Groeschel’s blog where he was writing about his recent trip to Ecuador. He posted a few pictures in order to recap the trip. I was mostly interested in the picture of Craig with the local pastor. Go here and check it out.
Here’s what I want to get at. Why is it that I was surprised to learn that 85% of this pastors village has a relationship with Christ? Why is it that I was surprised to learn that this man ministers to somewhere in the vicinity of 1200 people a week! That is absolutely incredible. In Ecuador none the less!!! The stats- incredible; my surprise- disgusting.
Why am I surprised that there can be a mega church in a poorer country? Do I think that Jesus came to seek and save the rich?
Why am I surprised that a pastor can be incredibly successful yet wildly under resourced? Do I think that Jesus was born in a premier neonatal unit? Do I think that Jesus had powerpoint, motion backgrounds, and clever video illustrations to help present his message?
Why am I surprised that God chooses to do huge things else where? Did I misunderstand the whole bit about being for all people?
No. Clearly No. NO! Without a doubt NO. Then why does it surprise me…
It is so easy to become so disillusioned to think that Jesus can and will only work through your own church. Do you ever find yourself praying for a nearby church? Not that often I imagine. What about the church down the street, or the youth group just around the corner? Do we have such ministry lust that we can’t see past our own actions and efforts to really see what God is doing?Are we so blind that we don’t/can’t see what God is doing globally?
My desire is to be pleasing to God. I want to be used by Him. I want our youth group to be used by God to make a difference in this world. I want our church to be so with it that it draws those outside of a relationship with Christ to it. Yet I know that it is up to God wether our church and youth ministry stay the size it is, or if it is to grow exponentially. It all rests on His sovereignty.
So, here is today’s question. Do you fall into the trap of thinking that God wants to only work in your church? What do you think about all this? Am I all alone on this one?
~Peter