Daily devotion

Living Through the Covid Blues

/ pastorpete51 / 3 Comments

Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things. Philippians 4:8 NKJV

With the death of a close friend, and both of us battling Covid (Thankfully not at the same time) the last seven days have begun to blur together. With hours of time and not a lot of energy, I have gone back to the project of digitizing our old family photos. First, comes the sorting process and deciding which of these can simply be retired. Then, I photograph each photo with our canon, upload and enhance those thousands of photos (Why did we take so many!?). By now I am up to the late 90’s and early 2000’s and the baby photos of our grandchildren are sweet. But as I see the thousands of faces, I also know the sad, sometimes tragic stories that replaced the smiles with tears. Some I simply delete, as the memories are too painful, others I preserve, because for better or worse these are the people who are part of our history. In a bout of depression, the other night, my mind turned back to the verse that has helped me so many times before. Our old friend, the Apostle Paul, sitting in his prison cell, writes to encourage his friends that when they face hardships, they need to remember the good things that God has done. No matter how low things appear, there are still things and people around us who have noble hearts. No matter how unfairly and selfishly people treat each other, there still remain things of true purity, loveliness and grace. As long as God sits on Heaven’s throne (Which is a long-long time!) – alongside the evil in this world and ruling over it are God’s goodness and glory. He is still good. He sees the whole picture and still loves and cares for each of us. It is up to me and you to decide what we allow our hearts and minds to dwell on and we can do this because our true life is in Christ and is hidden with Him in God.

One of the sisters from our prayer group sent us this song from Charity Gayle, saying it would give us something to praise God about. By the end, the ice in my soul began to melt and I was really blessed. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did. There is no better way for us to set our minds on the good things God has done, that to take time out and give Him praise!

Finding Refuge

/ pastorpete51 / 7 Comments

Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good! Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him!
Psalm 34:8 ESV

Storm shelters or at least a safe room are a must in North Texas where our son and his family live. They discovered this not long after their move there last year. One night as the rain was coming down and the winds suddenly picked up their cell phones went off warning them to take cover immediately. Ben, Deb and all five of our grand kiddos huddled together in the only room without windows in the center of their home. Fortunately the worst of the weather missed them, but it taught them an important lesson. Always be on the lookout for storms, and remember where to find shelter. Today’s verse puts together those thoughts in our our relationship with Jesus. Our Lord is with us and available, just like the safe room in our family’s house. They couldn’t rush out with 2 by 4’s, nails and plywood to build it after the warning came. It needed to be a familiar place they could find easily. When we daily taste and see the goodness and mercy of Jesus, we will know immediately and without asking, where to head when storm warnings light up our world and the wind is raging outside our door. Maybe you haven’t tasted and seen God’s goodness in a long time. Today is the perfect time to spend time with Him. Get to know Him so well that when the warnings come, there will be no panic or confusion. He longs to fill with calm assurance anyone who runs to Him for refuge. Today is your day to surrender to Jesus!

I was immensely blessed and in need of this new release fron Don Moen titled, Great is Your Mercy.” I pray that it ministers peace and mercy to you this morning. Have a blessed Sunday all.

Answered Prayer

/ pastorpete51 / 6 Comments

Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. Matthew 7:7 ESV

This morning as I was beginning to pray, I realized I didn’t need to pray for my father anymore. My first prayer for my dad was answered when he received Christ as his Savior. As the years passed, I prayed for him to be guided and helped by God. As Dad grew older, I often asked for healing and strength. After my stepmom slipped into eternity, I prayed for comfort. When he chose to live alone, I prayed for him to experience God’s presence. This morning as I looked back, I suddenly realized that every prayer has been answered along the way. Dad is now healed and young again! He is no longer lonely, confused or tired. He found every answer on the other side of heaven’s door.

Today as we pray, Jesus teaches us that we can be assured that our prayers will be answered, because of God’s promise. When we ask, He promises we will receive. When we truly seek, He guarantees we will truly find. When we knock, knock eagerly, knowing that our Father in heaven already has his hand on the doorknob waiting to open! Prayer is the longing that God has put in our hearts for a world that reflects His purpose. Be faithful. Don’t give up on prayer. We may forget what we have asked, but God remembers and hears and answers prayer. It doesn’t matter what it looks like now. One day we will see that every one of our prayers has been answered: And so much more!

Make my life a prayer to You
I wanna do what You want me to
No empty words and no white lies
No token prayers, no compromise
I wanna shine the light You gave
Through Your Son You sent to save us
From ourselves and our despair
It comforts me to know
You're really there
Make My Life a Prayer by Keith Green