classic Hymns

Then Sings My Soul

/ pastorpete51 / 6 Comments

I will be your God throughout your lifetime— until your hair is white with age. I made you, and I will care for you. I will carry you along and save you. Isaiah 46:4 NLT

It is hard to believe that it has now been almost six months since were able to sing the hymns together at the nursing home. The wing where we held our services has been converted to a Covid-19 isolation ward for those coming back from hospitals throughout our area who are in recovery. Amazingly as of two weeks ago not a single one of the original residents has died. The reopening of nursing homes here in Florida is supposedly on the horizon and though some of my friends may no longer remember me I will wager dollars to donuts that they still remember the words; “Then sings my soul; My Savior God to Thee.” It is one of God’s special miracles that as we sing those old familiar choruses; most have little trouble remembering the hymns as we lift up our voices in praise.

As the last notes fade away remember that what really matters is not how smart we are, how much money we have in the bank; but in how much we matter to God. He has given us His promise to carry us not only during our years of beauty and youth but on through white hair and failing memory. His love is His eternal and unchanging commitment. Even if everyone else forgets us, Jesus remembers. He has promised to carry us for a lifetime no matter where we live and for that we can still sing to Him today! I pray this family version of How Great Thou Art with the Gettys will lift your day and renew your hopes for the time when as God’s family we can share it together again!

Surrender to the Potter

/ pastorpete51 / 1 Comment

Have you ever worked with clay? Probably Jeremiah had not, so when God wanted to explain His will He invited the prophet to take a walk with him down to the potter’s house.

The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord: “Arise, and go down to the potter’s house, and there I will let you hear Or will cause you to hear my words.” So I went down to the potter’s house, and there he was working at his wheel.  And the vessel he was making of clay was ch. spoiled in the potter’s hand, and he reworked it into another vessel, as it seemed good to the potter to do. Jeremiah 18:1-4 ESV

Photo by Quang Nguyen Vinh on Pexels.com

If you are like me there are days when you feel as helpless as clay in the grip of events far beyond your control. “Have Thine Own Way” sung by Deborah Kim reminds me of the comfort He gives when I realize that it is God who is in control of the potter’s wheel. God doesn’t expect me to understand all the details of His plan. He doesn’t ask me to form the pattern of my future. He only waits for me to humbly surrender His almighty hands. So whether we are in the middle of a hurricane or simply drifting through unknown waters we need to ask; “Have I surrendered my heart and will to Jesus today?” At that moment of yielding to His hands He becomes my potter and more wonderfully still – we become His clay!

“While I am waiting – Yielded and still.”

Our Friend Jesus

/ pastorpete51 / 2 Comments

“This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.  Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you. John 15:12-14

There is no friend we could have who is like Jesus. But being His friend is not about going on vacation with Jesus; hanging out with him at our favorite restaurant or having Him over for Thanksgiving. Being the friend of the man of the cross means taking up ours and following him. It means loving one another and standing by them even in the face of danger. The deeper the waters we pass through with Him, the more we learn to lay down our lives; the closer our heart comes to His.