In moments of laughter, we ran out to see Like children wondering all that might be Hiding in secret down under old logs In treetops or ponds where we used to catch frogs
And when day was done, our dads started calling āCome in for the night, for the darkness is falling!ā We came traipsing home telling all we had done Our adventures with spiders and races we won
And mom in the doorway would patiently listen Then say, āGo scrub those hands till I see them glisten!ā And Dad picked us up to come sit in His chair For that time which was best was our moment in prayer
Moments of Laughter by Peter Caligiuri Copyright 2025 all rights reserved
Shepherd the flock of God that is among you, exercising oversight, not under compulsion, but willingly, as God would have you; not for shameful gain, but eagerly. 1 Peter 5:2 ESV
This is National Volunteer Week, and I want to shout out, “Thank you!” to all you who volunteer, especially those who do so in the name of the greatest volunteer of all – Jesus Christ! Though some people may refer to you as caregivers, the Bible calls you shepherds and shepherdesses. God has given you the special gift of helping to watch over one or more of His sheep. Today, I was invited to the volunteer’s brunch at Sunshine Christian Home and was blessed to hang out with people who give of their time and talents in so many different ways. Just as Jesus came willingly, so He sends us out to willingly go to others in His name. Rather than reel off a bunch of biblical lessons on why we do this, I thought today, I would simply share the faces of some folks who God has blessed me to serve or serve with over the years.
He that dwelleth in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. Psalm 91:1 KJV
I love hiking up into the woods, and finding a quiet spot to just sit, and listen to the songs of the birds, the buzz of a stray bee or the rustle of small animals in the brush. For me that is my secret place, but on the day that Jesus died, the kind of secret place that needed to be found, was not a wooded glen, but rather place for Him to be buried. So, Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus took down the body of our Savior and wrapped Him in linen cloths. Then they carried Him to a tomb cut out of a rocky hillside and gently laid Him on a stone shelf. They hurried to finish before sunset, because by the Jewish law they must finish before the Sabbath began. Last of all they quickly rolled a stone over the entrance and headed home. But that was not the end of the story. Jesus wasnāt placed in His tomb because He had failed, Death had not defeated Him, neither had sin won. Instead, behind that stone, in the secret place, He rested in the shadow of the Almighty. He had given His life into the hands of His Father, and now He simply rested until the moment when the stone would be rolled away. Maybe, the shadow of death has fallen across your path today, and you feel forgotten, broken and defeated. But just as the darkness of the tomb was not the end of the story for Jesus, so it is also not the end for anyone who will put their trust in Him. He has chosen a Secret Place for us for a season, so that in its quietness we may hear HIs voice, inviting us to trust Him and to rest in His shadow.
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