Thursday Morning Sunshine is a revised version of our free weekly newsletter called The Sunshine Newsletter and distributed to a growing number of long-term care facilities. The staff consists of Pastor Janice Burnett, Rob Keller and myself – Peter Caligiuri. We believe that Jesus remembers and values people in every chapter of their lives. If you would like to receive a free pdf version contact me at revpete51@gmail.com We purposefully have not copyrighted the material so you may pass the pdf edition on to anyone who could use a bit of Sunshine.

He Watches Sparrows by Peter Caligiuri

Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? And not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. Matthew 10:29

In Jesus’ day sparrows were common and held value only for what brief use anyone might have of them. Sometimes I have wondered, why Jesus tells us that God watches sparrows. After all God is everywhere and He also watches eagles, lions and even alligators (We have 1.3 million of them in Florida)! But unlike animals with talons, claws and teeth, sparrows have no offensive weapons. Instead their only hope is that in the moment of danger they will fly to safety. 

Have you ever felt like a sparrow? Apparently, many of Jesus’ listeners did. They had been oppressed by Romans, exploited by their own religious leaders and despised by the rich. But when Jesus came, they hung on His every word because He was someone who loved to spend time with them and who invited them to come to Him. Have you ever considered that God also loves spending time with you so much that He sent His own Son with the invitation to share eternity with Him? That is an invitation without an expiration date because the God who watches sparrows also watches you and me.

A single sunbeam is enough to drive away many shadows – Saint Francis

Time is not measured by the years that you live but by the deeds that you do and the joy that you give - Helen Steiner Rice

                                                                           Are You Thirsty? By Pastor Janice Burnett

                                                        If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. John 7:37b NIV

When you are thirsty – I mean REALLY THIRSTY – what satisfies your thirst in the middle of a hot summer day? Or if you wake up in the morning and your mouth is cottony dry, and you realize that you just have to drink something, do you like lemonade or iced tea? For me, there’s nothing that will quench that kind of thirst like ice cold water! Jesus was on a long journey with his disciples as they walked through Samaria. The Jews disliked Samaritans, but Jesus thought differently. He had a plan – He wanted to meet a lady with a different kind of thirst.
Just as we would be worn out from a long uphill walk, Jesus was also tired, hot, and thirsty, so He stopped to rest. He was sitting by a well but he didn’t have a bucket to get any water out so when a Samaritan woman came for her water, Jesus asked her for a drink. It’s funny but as we read this story we see that Jesus never got His cup of water! He knew His physical thirst was less important the woman’s spiritual thirst. In fact, she was shocked that He would even talk with her. Yet she was fascinated by His offer of a living water that anyone could drink and never get thirsty again. Then Jesus asked the woman to go and get her husband (even though He knew she had five previous husbands, and the man she was living with was not her husband.) His knowledge of her personal life convinced her that He was the promised Messiah who was offering Himself as a well of living water that would never dry. Jesus still offers everyone this same living water today. Drinking of this water means never thirsting spiritually again. Are you thirsty? The Living Water Jesus gives is waiting for you today! 

God’s way of dealing with us is to throw us into situations over our depth, then supply us with the necessary ability to swim – Catherine Marshall