Month: April 2018

Rejoice-Pray-Give Thanks

/ pastorpete51 / 1 Comment

Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.
1 Thessalonians 5:16‭-‬18

When I worked as a tree climber years ago I learned that my life depended on my rope. Our ropes in those days were generally three separate cords woven together. Each cord could have held our weight but in the case of a sudden fall the breaking point of that strand was only one tenth of its load capacity. By having a rope of three woven strands we were assured that in any situation we would be held safely. In the same way God has woven together a three stranded lifeline to hold us. In the past I always carved up these verses into three separate commands, but as I read this morning I realized they are in fact three strands of just one cord in Jesus Christ.

We must rejoice because by His amazing grace He has chosen to come to us no matter how humble our place. The Bible tells us that He is not ashamed to call us brothers. He is willing to include us in His family.

We should always pray, because our Lord like a brother will always listen. There is nothing that affects our life that does not concern Him. Since He has taken the time to count the hairs on our head how can we doubt that He will help us in even our smallest struggles? Remember that He said. “Without me you can do nothing!” John 15:5

Give thanks. Ingratitude will not undo the miracle of God’s healing, but it will keep us from a close relationship with Jesus. In Luke’s gospel we see that one day Jesus healed ten lepers. They had all prayed and all rejoiced but only one remembered to say thanks.

He threw himself at Jesus’ feet and thanked him—and he was a Samaritan. Luke 17:16

The bible does not say that the other nine lost their healing or that they had sinned. But the man who was thankful was the only one who worshipped at the feet of Jesus. The three stranded rope of this man’s faith brought him all the way to an intimate relationship with Christ. Today we are just the same as any of these lepers. We all have a need for a miracle and we all can rejoice in His amazing grace, but only when we are truly grateful will we know how to worship God. He is so kind and good to us all. Will we be found at His feet today?

Midnight Message

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Sorry it’s a day late but still appropriate for this time in our nation’s history. Where are the Paul Revere voices and the listening ears?

So through the night rode Paul Revere

And so through the night went his cry of alarm
To every Middlesex village and farm, —
A cry of defiance and not of fear,
A voice in the darkness, a knock at the door,
And a word that shall echo forevermore!
For, borne on the night-wind of the Past,
Through all our history, to the last,
In the hour of darkness and peril and need,
The people will waken and listen to hear
The hurrying hoof-beats of that steed,
And the midnight message of Paul Revere

God’s GPS

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 For we walk by faith, not by sight 2 Corinthians 5:7

When God calls us to follow, Christ many of us eagerly jump up and try running to catch up with Jesus. But sometimes it seems that the harder we try the farther behind we get. One reason may be because we are trying to live for Jesus but we still keep the same familiar goals of our past life. Until we see the new goals that Jesus has for us we will just keep going the wrong way.

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So God gives us a new GPS system for our spirits. God’s system is the WBF-walking by faith system.  Our old GPS won’t work anymore because our new path is invisible to our natural eyes. Jesus says odd things like, “Come to me out on the waters” when we are in a nice safe boat. Jesus tells us to feed five thousand when we only have five loaves and two fish.

As we walk the faith journey God’s satellite system (the Bible) points out exactly where we are. God’s GPS acquires our location and begins to call out when to turn, and when to keep going straight. If we keep walking in faith, the new system works perfectly. We see the old goals for the empty promises they are. But getting used to God’s way will take time. We make some mistakes along the way, turn up a wrong path or two or even fall to old temptations. But God’s GPS also carries with it a wonderful roadside assistance program called mercy. If we get off track, head off into a field or get stuck in the mud there is still hope. We just need to stop, ask for God’s mercy, and listen. God’s GPS will re-acquire our position then lead us by faith one step at a time to His destination!