Bible

Rejoice-Pray-Give Thanks

/ pastorpete51 / 1 Comment

Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.
1 Thessalonians 5:16‭-‬18

When I worked as a tree climber years ago I learned that my life depended on my rope. Our ropes in those days were generally three separate cords woven together. Each cord could have held our weight but in the case of a sudden fall the breaking point of that strand was only one tenth of its load capacity. By having a rope of three woven strands we were assured that in any situation we would be held safely. In the same way God has woven together a three stranded lifeline to hold us. In the past I always carved up these verses into three separate commands, but as I read this morning I realized they are in fact three strands of just one cord in Jesus Christ.

We must rejoice because by His amazing grace He has chosen to come to us no matter how humble our place. The Bible tells us that He is not ashamed to call us brothers. He is willing to include us in His family.

We should always pray, because our Lord like a brother will always listen. There is nothing that affects our life that does not concern Him. Since He has taken the time to count the hairs on our head how can we doubt that He will help us in even our smallest struggles? Remember that He said. “Without me you can do nothing!” John 15:5

Give thanks. Ingratitude will not undo the miracle of God’s healing, but it will keep us from a close relationship with Jesus. In Luke’s gospel we see that one day Jesus healed ten lepers. They had all prayed and all rejoiced but only one remembered to say thanks.

He threw himself at Jesus’ feet and thanked him—and he was a Samaritan. Luke 17:16

The bible does not say that the other nine lost their healing or that they had sinned. But the man who was thankful was the only one who worshipped at the feet of Jesus. The three stranded rope of this man’s faith brought him all the way to an intimate relationship with Christ. Today we are just the same as any of these lepers. We all have a need for a miracle and we all can rejoice in His amazing grace, but only when we are truly grateful will we know how to worship God. He is so kind and good to us all. Will we be found at His feet today?

Review- Lumo visual Gospel

/ pastorpete51 / Leave a comment

My wife and I are lovers of the old classic movies going back as far as Rudolf Valentino on The Sheik. Besides Wonderful Life, Yours Mine and Ours and The Bishop’s Wife, we have watched most of the faith based epics. Some were long but poignant and if slightly inaccurate they stayed with the idea of keeping things close to the biblical account. Among the greats we loved The Robe, Ben Hur and of course The Ten Commandments. The modern films trying to appeal to the same audiences have tended to wander farther from scripture with each new big budget production.

How refreshing it was then to finish the abbreviated version of Mark offered up as The Teachings of Jesus from Lumo productions on the Youversion bible app. It is not only 100% scripture but it is beautifully filmed in Morocco. The actors are speaking in Aramaic but the script is dubbed over so you barely hear what they are saying. This creates a pseudo-silent film with wonderful attention given to facial expressions, costume and interesting camera angles. All in all I would give this a 5 star rating and now can’t wait to get hold of some of the full length gospels. These are well worth watching and remain astonishingly faithful to God’s word. I suppose my only concern would be for those who would use this in place of their own bible reading rather than as an inspirational supplement. I would love to hear any feedback from my readers. What do you think?

Never too late to Leave a Legacy

/ pastorpete51 / Leave a comment

“If we knew how great the grandkids would be we’d have had them first!” some people say. For a parent exhausted and discouraged by years of struggling with just getting it right for a day, even one hour of grandparenting can feel lile the balm of Gilead! What can be more refreshing than pushing your granddaughter on a swing or holding your grandson’s hand as you crunch through Autumn leaves? But unlike the sense of never ending and overwhelming responsibility that being a parent brings; grandparenting comes wrapped in the sweet sadness of knowing it may not be for long.

I have lived enough to know that one day this time will pass and I will no longer be here with them. No amount of hugs or kisses can change the calendar or slow the pendulum of life’s clock. But what I can do today is to be sure of what legacy I leave behind. Will I leave them a list of my fears and frustrations or will I pass on to them my faith? Will they weep and say, “Grand-dad went to be with the Lord” or will they have His peace knowing that my life has been wholly His? What a great hope lies before us! We can still leave behind a great legacy…not that we lived trouble free but that through every mighty storm He has been our mighty Savior!