Month: January 2021

What’s Your Red Sea?

/ pastorpete51 / 1 Comment

Moses answered the people, “Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the Lord will bring you today. The Egyptians you see today you will never see again. The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still.” Exodus 14:13-14 ESV

One of my professors at Bible college often said that the Christian life wasn’t just hard to live, it was impossible! The Red Sea for Moses was his place of impossibility. His story of Moses and the experience of the children of Israel leaves us an encouragement that God choses to work the impossible by His miracle grace.

Maybe an impossible situation is looming on your horizon like a dark cloud. Maybe right now you feel like you are facing the Red Sea ahead and are hearing the footsteps of your enemies right behind. Naturally we all begin to panic, but in that in that moment we it is vital to remind ourselves that God Himself has led us to that shore. One of the fears we face is the the unknown. We can’t imagine how our life will be if x, y or z happens. But God specializes in doing his best work in our hearts when we don’t understand (Which in my case is often!). So if it helps think of this test of faith like surgery. Usually during an operation we will be asleep and our confidence in the outcome doesn’t lie in being able to direct the surgeon’s hands. We are simply satisfied that he is operating for our good. In fact, we will never have a greater opportunity to trust God than at the shore of our Red Sea. Nothing has happened to us by chance in the battle we are in. We haven’t taken a wrong turn and this is not a dead end. We are in exactly the right place because God has brought us here. It is impossible for us to accomplish anything without the miraculous grace of God, so stand strong with expectancy and discover what only God can do!

God’s Simple Plan

/ pastorpete51 / 1 Comment 
 
 
 
 God's Simple Plan

 Not silver or even a big heap of gold
 Not fancy homes
 Or just stuff that grows old
  
 Not applause and awards
 Or a wall full of trophies
 Saying, “You a great guy!”
 Turn waves to calm seas
  
 But the cry in the night by a babe in a manger
 Was God’s simple plan to deliver from danger
 And the cross and the nails
 And the spear and a crown
 And the stone rolled away 
 From the tomb 
 Before dawn 

God's Simple Plan by Peter Caligiuri
Copyright 2021 All rights reserved

The Hem of His Garment

/ pastorpete51 / 1 Comment

And suddenly, a woman who had a flow of blood for twelve years came from behind and touched the hem of His garment. Matthew 9:20 ESV

My wife has completed many a long sewing project by placing a hem on the material she is working on. In a traditional men’s shirt there are a least a dozen hems, but on the garment of Christ there was only one. We know this because the soldiers gambled to see who would get his robe because it was all one piece. The only hem available for this woman to touch was the very lowest point of the robe of Jesus Christ.

Like this woman in the crowd, our own needs may have dominated our focus for years. Friends, family, and even her ability to enter a place or worship all were affected by that need, until the day Jesus passed by in the crowd. We are not told if she had listened to Jesus’ words herself or if she had simply believed what others had told her about him. What we do know is that the message she had heard about Jesus Christ was enough for her to determine that she would do anything to get to Him. For that one single moment, the power of her need had no ability to prevent her from pressing through the crowd and falling to her knees to reach up and touch the hem of His robe. The miraculous healing and acceptance of Christ was the good news for her that day. The good news for us, is that our invisible God gives us a visible point of contact but it is often only found in the lowest of places. When we are ready and willing to kneel down to touch the hem of His garment He will pass by and give us a visible point of contact to His invisible power and grace!

Therefore He says: “God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble James 4:6