Month: March 2021

The Mocking Bird Still Sings

/ pastorpete51 / 8 Comments

But we will bless the Lord from this time forth and for evermore. Praise the Lord. Psalm 115:18 KJV

A few weeks ago, we paid a man to cut the tree behind our house down to a smaller and more manageable size. Because of the small space between our home and the one behind us it had to be done, but the bare and stumpy looking limbs left behind were not so wonderful to look at. My original dismay was softened considerably yesterday when I went out to sit on our back porch and saw that the mockingbird who often chose to regularly visit our tree had come back. He was not at all disturbed by the changes to our poor tree. He just flew in, perched on one of the stumps and proceeded to sing his usual song!

I do not know what has been going on in your life during the pandemic but in mine it sometimes feels as if things have been ruthlessly chopped away just like what happened with our tree. Maybe my bird friend is teaching us all that God is still God and no matter what things look like we can sing. We can bless the Lord both in good times and in bad because He is worthy of praise. Even if we must perch on the stumpy branches left in our life to sing our melody, remember that God is listening. Just as He was the God of the pruning so He will also be the God of new life and we can praise Him because our tree will one day bud again and then flower and grow forevermore!

It’s Almost Spring!

/ pastorpete51 / 6 Comments

The flowers appear on the earth, the of singing of birds is come, and the voice of the turtle(dove) is heard in our land. Song of Solomon 2:12

While our year begins in Winter, with the month of January, you might be very surprised to learn that God’s calendar begins with a month called Abib in the Spring and coincided with the barley harvest. Spring was also when the Jewish people celebrated the Passover, their deliverance from Egypt and their beginning as a nation.

But did you know that Abib was also the month when Jesus died?  Just as the Israelites passed through the Red Sea to their freedom, so the death of Jesus on the cross means freedom from the power of sin over us as believers and the beginning of a new life.

So with Easter just two short weeks away, let’s pause and remember that our celebration of the resurrection of Jesus from the dead also means the celebration of the beginning of a new life. As we tear off the final page of our calendar every December 31st and put a new calendar on the wall, why not tear off a page this Spring and put a fresh calendar of God’s promises on the wall of your heart. You may just be amazed to watch as He parts the Red Sea and leads you into the freedom of a wonderful new life in Jesus Christ!

Jesus Loves the Little Children

/ pastorpete51 / 1 Comment

And he took a child and put him in the midst of them, and taking him in his arms, he said to them, “Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me, and whoever receives me, receives not me but him who sent me.” Mark 9:36-37 ESV

Several years ago there was a young family at church that my wife helped out by picking up the children from school and babysitting them for part of the afternoon. David, was about seven and his little sister Leticia maybe five. On Sunday mornings whenever I saw them I would smile and say “Hey guys so good to see you!” . David would wave and give me a big smile but Leticia always hid her face behind her mom. At that time I was working as a translator in our church so I was always seated in the back, speaking through a wireless headset for those who didn’t speak Portuguese. Week after week, I would smile and wave at Leticia and week after week the results were always the same. “I’m sorry pastor.” her mother would say Leticia is just so shy.”

“No problem. She’ll smile for me one day when she’s ready.” I always answered. But as months passed I figured that day would never come. Then Sunday, just as I was just getting comfortable in my seat, I noticed Leticia getting out of her pew and then she turned, looked at me with a huge smile and came running to the back and jumped up in my lap!

That scene reminded me of today’s verse. Jesus was walking down the road with his disciples who were having an argument about which one of them was the most important. And right in the middle of the action Jesus reaches out and takes a small child by the hand. we all know that kid do not hang out with people they don’t like or trust. You can lecture them all day about being polite to your guests but you can’t force them to be friendly. But Jesus always had children around him. Maybe they had heard how he raised a sick little girl from the dead, or about the boy with seizures who Jesus had healed. Then there was the day when a boy gave Jesus five loaves of bread and did a miracle. Children showed up almost everywhere Jesus went. Maybe they liked being around him not because of the miracles but because, they knew they mattered to Him. He noticed them, talked to them and on occasion even took them in His arms and blessed them. So if we need healing are lonely or even just need someone to talk to, remember that Jesus is not far away. We don’t need to convince Him that we are important. All children are important to Jesus ( no matter how old we are!) You can just run and jump up in his lap today if you’re ready. He is just waiting for you to come! I also hope you love this rendition of Jesus Loves the Little Children sung by the Wilson family. It made my day!!!