Month: February 2019

Listening

/ pastorpete51 / 1 Comment

Pain is an effective teacher when it comes to listening. All the braggadocio kind of vanishes in the midst of the moment by moment struggle to get through. Know it all attitudes like mine evaporate and a longing for hearing wise counsel bursts up through the rock like soil of a proud heart.

My recent eye surgery and the terrible recovery period I have already begun remind me of the Apostle Paul’s blindness. Paul had proudly set off for Damascus with all of the answers and no questions at all. But his encounter on the road with Jesus left him in a state of helplessness. He learned he needed to listen and be willing to accept counsel from whoever God chose to send.

How good it is of our Lord to share with us in His fellowship of suffering. We draw nearer to His bleeding side and become ready to listen to anyone he sends with wise counsel.

Living Connection

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Our real connection to Jesus Christ must always lead to our true connection to one another. Division points to a brokenness in some aspect of our relationship with God.

Division in our hearts or in our relationships is a signpost pointing to a break in our connection to our Heavenly Father. But He is always standing by with His door open for our return and ready to receive us into His presence. We must be prepared then to leave our own doors open for restored relationships to those around us. An open door means no demands or expectations but rather a reflection of the grace by which Jesus Himself has accepted us.

White as Snow

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Why is snow so white? Maybe because it has fallen from the sky and has never been mixed with the colors of earth.

It is not like the memory of our sin which tinges everything it touches. That reminder clings to our attitudes and mixes with our words. No matter how we try we cannot remove its indelible deep red stain.

But God offers a way to exchange that sin for forgiveness. He sent us the reddest blood of Jesus to wash us clean. It washes with a purity that comes only from heaven. His is the gift that alone can make our hearts as white as snow.

“Come now, and let us reason together,” Says the Lord , “Though your sins are like scarlet, They shall be as white as snow; Though they are red like crimson, They shall be as wool. Isaiah 1:18 NKJV