Daily Bread

In the Beloved

/ pastorpete51 / Leave a comment

To the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved             Ephesians 1:6

Suk* sat quietly in the front of the small church with just a worn carpet separating her from the dirt floor. The volunteer dental hygienist was explaining by use of a giant set of dentures how to brush her teeth. All the children laughed as he passed over the funny teeth with the large toothbrush. As he finished speaking their pastor helped to hand out a toothbrush and two pencils to each of the children. She tightly held her new prize possession for a moment then hid it beneath a corner of the rug to be sure no one would snatch it away as the program continued with a song that required her to clap her hands together.

india-and-nepal-102

To us it was just a one dollar toothbrush, but to Suk the toothbrush meant that she was important. No westerner had ever come to her village. In fact almost no one from the outside world showed up for any reason except to carry away the bags and bags of tea leaves. The smallest of gifts meant to her that someone remembered, someone accepted and someone cared about her.

We have received a far more valuable and eternal gift in the love and forgiveness to be found in Jesus Christ. He came to our village from heaven and gave not just a toothbrush, but His own life for us. He knows all that we need and more importantly He has come so that no matter the value the outside world places on our life, we are loved remembered and accepted in the beloved – Jesus Christ.

Gone Fishing

/ pastorpete51 / Leave a comment

Simon Peter said to them, “I am going fishing.” They said to him, “We are going with you also.” They went out and immediately got into the boat, and that night they caught nothing. But when the morning had now come, Jesus stood on the shore; yet the disciples did not know that it was Jesus         John 21:3-4

 We used to live in a very small town. There was one store, a gas station, and a post office the size of a large bedroom. Moving there from the city was something of a culture shock and one of the most intriguing discoveries was to come to a small store in the area and find it closed during business p1020212hours. Usually there was a sign reading, “Open Monday, Tuesday and Thursday 12-3PM: or “gone fishing”. In the city it was unheard of to close down when there was business to be done, but not in farm country.

In the same way the disciples chose to be laid back about the things that Jesus had called them to do. They didn’t know where to begin, so going fishing seemed like as good an idea as any. You might think that Jesus would show up and give them a long lecture. But instead of treating the disciples the way any “normal boss” would do He chose instead to show up and cook them all breakfast! Can you imagine the conversation around the breakfast table that morning?

The good news for us is that even when we act a lot like the disciples by “going fishing” Jesus comes where we are with grace. He doesn’t wait for us to get everything just right. So once we finish the breakfast He stayed up all night to cook, let’s remember to share His message of love with the same grace which he gave when He waited all night for us to come to shore.

Follow Me!

/ pastorpete51 / Leave a comment

Peter asked Jesus, “What about him, Lord?”        John 21:21

As Jesus and Peter walked along the beach in conversation about God’s will, Peter turned around and saw his friend John following close behind. Maybe John just wanted to see if Jesus would talk with him also or maybe like a younger sibling he was simply eavesdropping!

img_5152

When Peter saw John suddenly the question came to him that often comes to us all: “What about him? Why won’t he have to experience the same things I do? ” Lovingly Jesus turned Peter’s focus back to where it needed to be: “Follow Me!

As Americans we are raised on fairness. We grow up with it in the home, we hear and see it in the media and it is almost written into our DNA! But our God in his grace does much better than being fair with us: He gives us His grace. What a wonderful rest will enter into the DNA of our soul once we settle the matter of His grace and His will. What others will or won’t have to do will fade away and the eyes of our heart will begin to see Jesus clearly as we hear His plain message; “Follow Me!”