Daily devotion

Jesus Returns at Dawn!

/ pastorpete51 / 4 Comments

 Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ Titus 2:13

My wife had always dreamed about us relaxing and enjoying a few days on a carefree cruise. Since I was afraid of being out on the ocean that didn’t sound at all relaxing to me, but I finally agreed and we booked a four-day cruise to Cozumel Mexico. Strangely the tension and nervousness I felt as we boarded the ship gradually subsided. As we began to experience life aboard the beautiful ship, Nancy was delighted with the delicious food, friendly staff and the romantic music in the ballroom.

But above anything I found on the ship, the most amazing thing to me was the sunrise at sea. I suppose for those who have been on ships the sight of the first rays of dawn streaking across dark waves is ordinary. But as I held on to the railing with one hand, while, clutching my camera in the other I was stunned by the beauty of an endless ocean painted with the colors of dawn.  

In the same way, the Christian life is something like a cruise though not without its storms and trials. Often God blesses us way beyond anything we expect or deserve along the way but we must never forget that we have an invitation to the most amazing event of history – the return of Jesus Christ. Just as the sky had already brightened and the sea begun to shimmer with the approach of the dawn, so also we already have some of God’s light beginning to shine in our lives. But we have a blessed hope and a longing in our hearts for something more. That is a hope which will carry us through every dark night and every violent storm. Our hope and His promise is that one day Jesus will return. We can choose to either live our life fearfully huddled below or we can go out onto the deck with the hope of catching the first gleam of dawn!  

A Bridge of Mercy

/ pastorpete51 / 5 Comments

Forgive us our debts and we forgive our debtors    Matthew 6:12 ESV

I like the idea that if I am merciful to people; I can count on God forgiving my sins. But we can’t just close our eyes and say, “God I forgive everyone.” God wants us to forgive actual hurtful things people have done. Several years ago I worked for a man who was well liked in our community though he always paid his bills late. But one year after I had worked for Bob several times without getting paid I began to get upset. Thanksgiving came and went with no check. Then Christmas and New Years passed with the same result. I was angry. Bob had promised payment for my hard work but it never came. Then one day as I was praying God spoke to me. “Pete; you’ve got to let this go.”Oh I hated doing that! I had trusted Bob and worse yet most people thought he was a great guy!! But I knew God was right. At first I told God I would forgive and even threw the bill away. But whenever I passed Bob at the store I would remember his bill. Then God spoke to me again and asked; “Are you as happy to see Bob as I am to see you after your sins have been forgiven?” I bowed my head in shame. I saw that forgiving meant treating Bob, like Jesus treated me. Stepping away from demanding my money set me free to really forgive. Giving mercy means building a bridge of forgiveness for others to cross back to you, just as God built a bridge at Calvary for everyone. He freely forgives! What about you? I am ending today’s devotion with some of my favorite songs about mercy. Have a wonderful and merciful day!