Daily Bread

Is Jesus the Light of Your World?

/ pastorpete51 / Leave a comment

Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” John 8:12 ESV

I rolled over in bed slapping at the alarm clock and then throwing off my blanket and sitting up. It was 4:45 a.m. again and time for me to begin milking the cow. I stumbled upstairs, found the milk bucket then filled the bottom few inches with warm water for washing the cow’s udder. Then I’d grab a clean cloth and step out the door with our cat  following close behind. At five a.m. no matter what time of year it was always still dark, but with the beam of my flashlight I could find my way; step by step across the dirt road to the barn where our cow Blossom waited for me.

India and Nepal 121

When we think of Jesus being “The Light of the World” we might picture him rising like the sun in the morning and making everything in life clear. But I think it might be a bit closer to those early mornings when I was crossing the road to the barn. When Jesus promise is that we won’t walk in darkness when we follow Him. It is as if He is holding the flashlight so that if we stay close to Him, it will shine ahead just enough for us to take our next step. We don’t need to know every twist and turn that lies on the road ahead. All we need to do is trust that Jesus knows the way and that He will lead us all the way to His Father’s house!

Joseph Chose Faith

/ pastorpete51 / Leave a comment

But as he considered these things behold an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream saying, “Joseph son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit.” Matthew 1:20 ESV

And Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the town of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David.   Luke 2:4 ESV

Sometimes I lie awake the night before a trip, turning over in my mind whether we have enough food, clothing, and money for the days ahead. On those nights I remember the story of Joseph the carpenter and husband of Mary.

Imported from phone 1273

  1. In spite of the hardships he trusted instead of complained

Amazingly in spite of so many things Joseph might have worried about, we don’t hear one single complaint from him.  The Bible is quite clear that Mary and Joseph were not super-heroes. They just trusted God.

 

  1. No matter what anybody thought Joseph chose God’s plan over his own

But Joseph also had to choose to say yes.  He had to decide if he would accept the angel’s message and accept Mary as his wife.

 

  1. When change was difficult and painful he traveled in Faith instead of fear

Later as he and Mary prepared to go to Bethlehem, he also had to trust God to protect them along the road where thieves often lay in wait. Where would they stay? Should they return to Nazareth or make a new life in Bethlehem? But he traveled in complete trust that God would handle all the details.

As Christmas approaches and this year draws to a close do you some fears about your future? Do you wrestle with doubts about God’s plan for your life? If we want to travel on in confidence then we need to bring all our questions to God; just like Joseph and then trust Him for the answers. God knows the road ahead just as He understands our doubts and fears. God has not chosen us to become super-heroes out to save the day. He has chosen us because we are ordinary and God loves to save every plain ordinary person who will trust Him with all our hearts!

KIMG1825

Re-Gifting

/ pastorpete51 / Leave a comment

They said to him, “We have only five loaves here and two fish.” And he said, “Bring them here to me.”          Matthew 14:17 ESV

At Christmas-time probably more of us than would like to admit practice the art of re-gifting. We feel mildly guilty because the practice is usually associated with someone who is either a cheap-skate or an ingrate. However, in the Bible Jesus often practiced re-gifting. When we look at the story of Jesus multiplying the bread we see that He took the five loaves from the disciples, who in turn got them from a small boy and then gave them to five thousand hungry people.

Imported from phone 796

In our lives we are all “gifted” with time, talent and treasure. None of these things belong to us; they only pass through our hands. God is watching to see how we will re-gift what we have received. Will we feed the hungry; and bring comfort, shelter and friendship to those in need around us? What will we re-gift to someone today? And when we do remember the great re-gifting when Jesus took the life that the Father had given Him and gave it to us on the cross.

Christmas Cross

Prayer: Father, help me not to cling so tightly to the things you have given me. Give me the heart of Jesus Christ who loved me and gave himself for me!