Daily Verse

Shelter of the Most High

/ pastorpete51 / 5 Comments

He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. Psalms 91:1 NIV

Last year our church received a call from a single mother, named Darla, who was being evicted from her apartment. Through a friend she had been able to find temporary housing for herself and her two young boys, but she needed to get her things moved so I went over with some others to help. Her predicament made me stop and think about today’s verse in a new way. It begins by saying, “He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High.” Just as in Darla’s situation, the place of shelter that we need isn’t anything we can provide for ourselves. Just as with her, we need to find a new home and the good news is that God has already built one for us! Whether we are struggling with fears, sickness, or a personal crisis, God offers rest and a safe shelter in His shadow. All the protection, acceptance, and blessing we need can be found right now, wherever we are, in the shadow of the cross of Jesus Christ!

Prayer: Father, I come to you humbly today asking for you to take me in just as I am and hide me in the shadow of the cross of Jesus.

Shelter of the Most High, along with 364 other daily meditations is now available on the Amazon Marketplace and Kindle books. These short readings are meant to start your morning with God’s word, and a short story of study, that makes it practical and applicable to ordinary people just like you and me. As a small bonus, each month also begins with a poem, so that sounds of the rhythm of the year are echoed in verse along the way.

God is Listening!

/ pastorpete51 / 4 Comments 
So they took away the stone. Then Jesus looked up and said, 
“Father, I thank you that you have heard me. John 11:41 NIV

Notice how Jesus teaches us to pray, by praying, and His prayer begins by publicly thanking the Father that He was listening. “Listening to what?” we might ask. The answer must be, that Jesus had already taken time privately to pray and learn exactly what was the Father’s will about Lazarus.

Jesus reminds us that no book, no class, or sermon can replace our own private hour of prayer. That is the only place that we can find the peace and confidence to act or speak for Jesus. Then Jesus shows us that even knowing that his prayers were heard was not enough. Before doing anything else, He first gave thanks to His Father. Jesus models for us His own gratitude that His Father had taken the time to listen to His prayer. Only after that does Jesus confidently call Lazarus back from the grave. The public power Jesus had to say, Lazarus come forth!” came from His unseen hours of prayer. So today, before complaining to God about our situation or trying to command for things to be different, let’s be like Jesus and learn the timing and details of our Father’s will, and then thank Him in advance for listening. What could be more amazing than that the Creator of the universe would take time to listen to us, even weep with us and then in His perfect timing send His answer to our prayers?

Thank you Jesus for taking time to do more than miracles. 
Thank you for teaching us to pray. Amen!

Am I a Signpost or a Destination?

/ pastorpete51 / 3 Comments

So we may boldly say: “The Lord is my helper; I will not fear. What can man do to me?” Hebrews 13:6 NKJV

Imagine that you are headed for Niagara Falls. You can’t wait to get there, because, though you have never been there before, you have heard from others about its amazing beauty and power. Along the way you see a signpost ahead, “Niagara Falls, 30 miles.” Though, you get excited to see the sign, and grateful that your destination is close, you do not pull over, get out of your car and set up camp. No! You have not traveled to see the signpost. You want to see the real thing!

Photo by Alexander Kovalev on Pexels.com

That is a funny thought, but strange as it may sound, we who have been Christians for a while, can easily begin to think that we are the destination instead of the signpost, and we forget that our only job is to point the way to Jesus.

In today’s verse, the phrase, “The Lord is my helper,” is such a curious term that, since I didn’t understand it, I mentally filed it away under the heading, “Check back later.” It felt awkward because Jesus was certainly not under my command. I knew that He was far more than a good handyman to call when the kitchen sink springs a leak. But when I looked it up, I discovered that the Greek word here does not mean that God is our servant. Instead, it says that He is someone who shows up when I am in a fight with someone stronger than me and chases them off. But unfortunately, it is our tendency to take credit for what God has done, forgetting that we are just supposed to be the signpost. There is nothing amazing about a signpost. No one puts a parking area around a sign or builds a 5-star hotel for people to stay overnight there. As signposts we simply point to Jesus and His amazing power, love, and mercy. And He promises us that if we are faithful, one day we will do more than point the way to Him: We will arrive in Heaven, see Him face to face and worship at the feet of Jesus Christ!