An Open Door

April 24, 2021 / pastorpete51 / 4 Comments

I am so excited today to tell you that two of the long term care facilities where I visited have invited me to return the first week of May! It has been over 13 months of talking through closed doors (how does that work at your house?) Please pray that God holds this door open and that we all learn how this new opportunity will work.

For anyone interested in visiting in your community be sure to start by getting vaccinated and then gently and humbly asking the activities department how you may serve as a volunteer. These folks on staff have been through the mill over the last year and need plenty of encouragement and praise.

Devote yourselves to prayer, being thankful and watchful. And pray for us too that God may open a door to our message so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ for which I am in chains. Colossians 4:2-3 NIV

https://youtu.be/hAP0p25O1ng

Shrouded in Mystery

April 23, 2021April 23, 2021 / pastorpete51 / 3 Comments

To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. Colossians 1:27 KJV

One of the greatest religious mysteries of modern times is the story of the shroud of Turin. The shroud’s history is a bit uncertain though its present location in Turin Italy since 1578 is fairly well accepted. That the shroud carried the images which we know of today was not commonly known till the late 1800’s. There have been films, treatises and television reports made supporting various conclusions about the origins, authenticity and meaning of the shroud. One thing is clear however from the debate: no one’s mind will be easily changed about who Jesus truly is, simply by an historical artifact. Just before He went to the cross, Jesus rose from the Last Supper table and began to wash His disciples’ feet saying:

If I then, your Lord and Master, have washed your feet; ye also ought to wash one another’s feet. John 13:14 KJV

Yes Jesus did leave us a living artifact behind: and it wasn’t an article of clothing. He left us His spirit to live on the inside us, where it could never grow old, be destroyed or forgotten. Yes there is a great biblical mystery on display today. But this mystery is not whether the face of Jesus can be seen in the shroud of Turin but rather that His face can be seen in us!