Daily devotion

That’s Why We Came Here

/ pastorpete51 / 3 Comments

By faith he went to live in the land of promise, as in a foreign land, living in tents with Isaac and Jacob, heirs with him of the same promise. Hebrews 11:9 ESV

On election day, my wife and I arrived at our polling place by 5:45 a.m. “Now that’s an early hour to be voting,” you might exclaim. But we weren’t there to vote. we showed up because it was our job as poll workers. If you came in yesterday, you would have seen my wife Nancy, with a friendly smile, gently showing each person how to put their ballots into the machine. Since I cannot stand for long hours, I sit at a table, hand out the ballots and then explain how to fill them out. As people turn to go to the voting booths, I often add, “Thanks for voting!” After saying this for hundreds of times yesterday, I rarely listened for their replies, until one young Latino, turned to me with a big smile and responded, “That’s why we came here!”

After all the anger, arguing and overall hooting and hollering that goes on every election, we often lose sight of the privilege we have as Americans just to vote. We forget that having the chance to freely vote for our leaders, is a rare commodity in today’s world. Like Abraham, many have left homes, family, and familiar surroundings and by faith have settled here. With Veteran’s Day right around the corner, we need to not only be thankful to God for our blessings, but we should also be grateful for the veterans who have sacrificed and sometimes even given their lives for that blessing. Generation after generation of people have come from all around the world with the phrase, “That’s why I came here!” So, let’s be thankful for that right and ask God how we may use our freedom to share the message of the love of Christ with someone else today!

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Daniel Still Prayed

/ pastorpete51 / 7 Comments

When Daniel knew that the document had been signed, he went to his house where he had windows in his upper chamber open toward Jerusalem. He got down on his knees three times a day and prayed and gave thanks before his God, as he had done previously. Daniel 6:10 ESV

Unless you have been living in a cave for the last two years, you know that there is an important election tomorrow. Whatever the outcome, there will be a lot of unhappy people on Wednesday morning. As I thought over the various outcomes for both the presidency as well as both houses of Congress I was drawn to this verse from Daniel and have been encouraged by his example. When Daniel woke up the morning after the election, he found out that his party was the loser. His prayer life had been declared illegal, and there were deadly consequences for him if he continued to pray. But none of these facts seemed to bother Daniel. When he learned the news, he didn’t kick the cat, throw the coffee pot or run over to his neighbors to complain. Instead, the Bible tells us that Daniel woke up, had his morning coffee, opened his window, just as he always did and got down on his knees to pray! No that’s an example worth following!

When I get so drawn into the political and social storms that are raging all around, I need to remind myself that not every day will be sunny, and the roses cannot always be in bloom. Being faithful to Christ will rarely be applauded by the world we live in, and that only when we follow Jesus, can we discover that his grace and strength can carry us through whatever lies ahead. So, this morning I pray that each one of us can keep Daniel’s perspective. Pray for our nation, we certainly need it! Trust that whatever the outcome, God remains the ruler of the universe: His term will never expire, and He loved us enough to send His one and only Son, to suffer and die for our sins. Now that is good news worth living for, and it is also good news worth dying for!

I Have Decided to Follow Jesus

/ pastorpete51 / 7 Comments

Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. Matthew 16:24 KJV

The words to this hymn were the last words of Sadhu Singh as he and his family were martyred for Christ in India in the 1800’s. Though not all of us will die a martyr’s death, we must all follow Jesus, wherever he leads us to go. When He made this call to his disciples, they didn’t know all the answers, or what the future would hold. If that is where you are, do not give up or turn back. Christ never asked us to understand, to always keep a smile or to succeed at everything we do. He asks us to follow so that we may be with Him when He leads us all the way home!