Daily devotion

RSVP

/ pastorpete51 / 2 Comments

Jesus turned and saw them following and said to them, “What are you seeking?” And they said to him, “Rabbi” (which means Teacher), “where are you staying?” He said to them, “Come and you will see.”  John 1:38-39a

RSVP comes from the French phrase; “Répondez, S’il Vous Plaît” It is great a way of organizing an elaborate event so that the host knows how many people to prepare for. Now we have always loved parties but since we aren’t used to formalities we hadn’t considered using such a system for the special event we held for a few friends and family. We had reserved a room at a restaurant and invited a specific list of people. But the day of our event came and we were sad to see that some guests who we had counted on seeing had to work late and then embarrassingly some who we had forgotten to invite showed up! But when God plans a party He is way more organized than we were. His event in heaven is for everyone but when we receive our invitation we will find that inside the envelope Jesus has included a spiritual RSVP. Before showing up at Heaven’s door we will need to fill it out and send it in to be included on His list. (In the Bible called the book of life)

God’s invitation to come to Jesus is for you. The Bible tells us that God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son to pay for our invitation. Just like the disciples, we are welcome to come and see Jesus. God wants businessmen, nurses, teachers, ladies of the night and even politicians to be there! The blood of Jesus was shed to pay for us all to be there, but the question today is: What is your answer to Him?

Wait for the Lord – Not Everyone else!

/ pastorpete51 / 2 Comments

Have you ever noticed how much we allow our decisions to be based on what other people are doing? Now some things should be based on others such as not snapping the ball till the quarterback tells you.

But what about our spiritual life? I thought a few stories from the Bible might illustrate the point. David didn’t wait for his family’s permission to fight Goliath. Mary didn’t check in with Joseph before saying yes to the angel. John the Baptist certainly wasn’t chilling out until Herod gave him a parade permit to hold his meetings and Jesus wouldn’t wait for His disciples to understand before He went to the cross.

Part of our problem is that for the big and eternally important choices in life we wait on every one but God. We ask our friends, family and neighbors what they think about a project but how often have we stayed on our knees waiting on God’s opinion? We boldly sail off to the horizon but end up paddling as fast as we can for home at the first sign of trouble. We lack the courage David speaks of in the second half of the verse because God was not the architect of our planning session. But when we have waited on Jesus He will give us joy for the journey He is sending us on. No matter the storm the hour or the current public opinion, it is always the right time to do His will!

I so loved this simple hymn by Brackin and Lindsay with their boys. It is in that quietness and simplicity that God most often speaks if we will take the time to wait.

Meditations on Psalm 25 Part 2

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Remember your mercy, O Lord, and your steadfast love, for they have been from of old.  Remember not the sins of my youth or my transgressions; according to your steadfast love remember me, for the sake of your goodness, O Lord! Psalm 25:6-7 ESV

Does it strike you strange that David asks God to remember mercy as if he were shaking God by the shoulder to wake Him, and remind Him of His love? But as if that wasn’t odd enough, consider David’s next request. “And by the way God while you are remembering mercy just please be sure to NOT remember my sins!” But before dismissing David’s seemingly impertinent request, remember that the Holy Spirit inspired his prayer. Here He is showing us the mystery of balancing God’s capacity to remember even the most intimate details about us with His choosing to forget our sin. Right now He is inviting you to ask Him both to remember and forget. What once was a mystery is now called the gospel of His steadfast love and mercy which He offers through the cross of Jesus to all who will dare to believe!