Month: October 2025

Our Blessed Hope

/ pastorpete51 / 1 Comment 
 Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ 
Titus 2:13 KJV

For years, my wife dreamed about us going on a cruise. Though bobbing around on the ocean, trapped on a boat, did not sound appealing to me, I finally agreed to a short cruise. Though I was a little apprehensive, after we found our stateroom and had eaten a delicious supper in the dining room, I began to think that this was not so bad. The next day, we had a great time, roaming around Cozumel and soaking in the hot tub at night. But what I loved most of all were the sunrises. I suppose for folks who have been on many cruises, the sight of the sun rising may be ordinary, but as I held on with one hand to the railing while, clutching my camera in the other, the beauty of the first rays of the sun shimmering over the waves took my breath away.

Yet, as lovely as that moment was, the Bible tells us of a far more beautiful event – The return of Jesus Christ. Just as the sky slowly brightened as dawn approached that morning on the ship, so also, we who are Christians have a little of God’s light beginning to shine in our hearts right now. But one day the Bible says that when Jesus returns this tiny light of ours will be eclipsed by the brightness of the light of Jesus at His return. In today’s verse, the Apostle Paul calls this, “That blessed hope.” and it is the gift that God gives, to carry us through our darkest nights and wildest storms. The blessed hope of Jesus’ return calls us to come out of our cabins, walk out on the top deck of our faith, and look out over the sea, watching for the eternal dawn at the return of Jesus Christ!

Prayer: Father thank you that no matter what we are going through we have a blessed hope as we wait for Jesus to return!

The Lord is Near

/ pastorpete51 / 11 Comments

 The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:5b-7

In my lifetime there have been times that we prayed, and God miraculously answered, by healing my back so that I could return to work, blessing our children and grandchildren, so that nine out of ten are still serving the Lord and attending church regularly. But I have also begged for a daughter-in-law to be healed and yet she died, prayed for a son’s marriage, yet it still ended in divorce. At those moments, the promise of today’s Bible reading and God’s peace felt far away. But as I was listening to this chapter the other night, I noticed something which I had missed all these years. I missed it because I forgot that when Paul wrote his letter, he did not use chapters and verses. Now, usually those nifty divisions give us a great way to find a passage, but as I listened to the chapter being read, I realized that the end of verse five, gives us the reason we should have hope. He is at hand! (or in other translations, “He is near.”).

Paul urges us to pray with confidence, but not because we have great faith. Yes, faith was and always will be important, but not everyone that Jesus healed had a lot of faith. He raised a widow’s son from the dead, and we can be sure that fellow had zero faith because he was dead! But something else was at play even greater than our faith or our lack thereof. Jesus came so close to where they were that He could reach out and touch the funeral bier. Or, remember on the road to Emmaus, when two of the disciples were walking along, talking about the death of Jesus and strange reports they had heard about his resurrection. They had a lot of questions and doubts, but the Bible tells us, that Jesus came and walked along with them. We also see Mary standing outside the empty tomb weeping and asking the “gardener” where the body of Jesus was. Did Jesus show up and try to make her feel terrible about her doubts or ignore her tears? No! Jesus drew near. Do I understand all of what these passages mean? No! But they give me a peace that reaches far beyond anything that I understand. I remember that the Lord is near; He won’t allow hopes to be buried forever, he walks with us when we struggle with doubts, and he stands nearest when tears stream down our cheeks and He calls us by name!

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Richard’s Special Day

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This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it. Psalm 118:24 ESV

Just as I walked up, the front door opened, and one of the staff wheeled my friend out onto the front patio. “Do you want me to bring you further?” the lady asked.

It was one of those rare fall days in Florida, when the humidity has finally fled back to the tropics, and the temps hover in the low seventies. Richard looked out admiring the beauty of the moment and replied “No, I think I’ll just, work my own way along from here.” He answered smiling.

“Hi Richard” I called out, as the nurse turned to go back inside. “Isn’t this a beautiful day?!”

Richard looked up at me smiling, then began quietly singing, “This is the day, this is the day…” Sensing this was something special, I joined in and together we went on, “I will rejoice! I will rejoice and be glad in it and be glad in it!”

When we had finished, Richard looked up into the sky, and with the rock-solid certainty of his faith, said, “One day Jesus is going to come back on those clouds, and every eye will see Him. What a day that will be!”

In the nursing home ministry that I am involved in most days are actually pretty ordinary. A small number of us meet in a dining room, we sing some songs, and talk about a Bible story, but nothing spectacular happens. But there are those moments, when it seems that Jesus cracks open a window, and the sweetness of Heaven’s atmosphere comes to us on a puff of wind. It is as if He is saying, “What you can see here isn’t all there is. The aging, the aches and pains, the loneliness, and the tears one day will be left behind. There is so much more that I have waiting for you. Be patient. Be faithful.”

I am so grateful for my friend Richard and all the others like him. God has put them in my path to remind me of the things that really matter. Though they don’t realize it, God has chosen them as His ambassadors, and if we spend a little time with them, on special days, Jesus will open Heaven’s window and pour His blessing out because, “This is the day that the Lord has made. Let us be glad and rejoice in it!”

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