Author: pastorpete51

I Hate to Edit!

/ pastorpete51 / 12 Comments 
For the Lord disciplines the one He loves, and chastises every son whom He receives. Hebrews 12:6

I enjoy writing poetry, prose or even an occasional song because I love putting into words the emotions and ideas that come bubbling up in my heart. But just as much as I enjoy putting words together, I hate and despise having to edit them. While editing I feel as if the joy of writing gets lost in the weeds of parsing sentence structure, checking for misspelled words or switching adjectives. There are even days, when I just feel like deleting everything and starting over! But I have learned that unless I stick with the annoyances of editing. I will face the embarrassment of discovering my mistakes in print, after my article is published!

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A few verses before today’s passage, God is named as the author of our salvation, and here we are reminded that He is also the editor of our daily lives. I am so glad that God does not hate to edit. He doesn’t just wad us up and toss us in the waste basket when we sin, He lovingly edits and corrects all His children. Some days I feel as if everything needs to be deleted and my plans redrawn. But the Bible reminds me that changes and corrections are a normal part of the life of all God’s children. None of us gets to go to heaven unedited. The author of our salvation knows best how every line of our story should be written and He has an amazing ending in mind. So, let’s put our manuscript on our editor’s desk and ask Him to rewrite it His way, all the way to the end!

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For the Birds

/ pastorpete51 / 3 Comments 
Consider the ravens, they neither sow nor reap, they have neither storehouse nor barn, and yet God feeds them. Of how much more value are you than the birds. Luke 12:24 ESV

It is interesting that Jesus chose ravens to illustrate God’s love and care for us. Ravens have no song, or beautiful plumage, and are not even useful for food. In fact, though a few complimentary phrases are used about birds, such as “soaring like an eagle, being compared to one our feather friends is rarely a compliment. After all, who wants to be told they have a “Bird brained idea, or are “as Crazy a Loon?” Even less do we wish to be told we are acting like “Silly Geese” or possibly worse, are, “Chicken Hearted.”

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The list seems almost endless, as we recall how we felt when someone said we were, “Sticking our head in the sand, like an ostrich.” Or “Going the way of the Do-Do bird.” Yet, despite all the negative press, God not only cares about the birds, but He also feeds them.

What wonderful comfort and encouragement, when we are floundering around like Turkeys, it is to know that God cares covers us with His feathers and lifts us up on eagle wings, and that the one who watches sparrows, is watching over us!

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At the Foot of the Cross

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Our part is to listen
His is to speak
For the words that He says
Will be heard by the meek

While His ways seem a mystery and not understood
God works in Heaven through it all for our good
When fears of dark nights seem to stand in our way
He sticks close by our side till the first light of day

And He calls us to follow
In both joy and through loss
For we come nearest to Him
At the foot of His Cross

At the Foot of the Cross
by Peter Caligiuri
Copyright ©  2023 
All Rights reserved

 When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to his mother, “Woman, behold, your son!” Then he said to the disciple, “Behold, your mother!” And from that hour the disciple took her to his own home.  John 19:26-27 ESV