Daily Verse

Right on Target!

/ pastorpete51 / 8 Comments 
Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old they he will not depart from it.
Proverbs 22:6 ESV

The old dead elm tree crashed to the ground, right on target, and I shouted, “Praise the Lord!”

The customer, who had been watching us, shouted back, “What do you mean ‘Praise the Lord?’ Didn’t you know where the tree was going to fall?”

“Oh, we did everything to make sure it would fall that way.” I said with a chuckle, “But it sure felt good to see it happen!”

In some ways, raising children is like felling trees. Before we cut a tree, we put a rope in the top to give us the leverage to pull it the right way. To have leverage in our children’s lives we must take advantage of all the ordinary moments to show them, God’s love and what it means to follow the Bible. Now, those moments don’t look very special to us at the time, but one day they will help our kids when they are in danger of falling the wrong way.

Photo by Helena

Secondly, before cutting a tree, we make a pie-shaped directional cut that aims it where we choose. In life, that directional cut is determined by decisions that we make. If we skip church to go to the beach or run up large credit card debts with frivolous spending, we are making a directional cut that, no rope pulling can undo later in life. But if our children see us apologize when we are wrong, help a friend when it really costs us something and forgive people who have hurt us, they learn more about being a Christian than anything they will hear in church.

Last of all, we make a back cut that slices away the wood until the tree begins to fall. This is the scariest part, both with children and trees. That is when we lose control, and change, for better or worse is upon us. That is when our children make adult decisions that will change their lives forever. We have given them God’s guidelines, loved them through the ups and downs of life, but as we cut them loose, we close our eyes and pray urgently! For one terrifying instant, they hang between heaven and earth, and we know that even if we could have done everything right, there are no guarantees. Remember that God did everything perfectly in Eden and His children still went the wrong way. But, oh there is rejoicing in those wonderful moments when open our eyes and see our kids land right on target and then we shout with joy, “Praise the Lord!”

Saving the Best for Last

/ pastorpete51 / 4 Comments

And Last He took the Cup

In the same way also he took the cup, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.” For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes. 1 Corinthians 11:25-26 ESV

While we listened to quiet music, preparing to receive communion last Sunday, my mind turned back fifty years to memories of a farm where we once lived. In those days, my mornings began at a quarter to five. In the chilly darkness, I would stumble out to the barn where, our cow Blondie waited for me to bring her ground corn and hay. As I went about my work, she contentedly munched on ground corn and Kansas City, our cat watched expectantly hoping for the few drops of milk I sometimes sent her way. Twenty minutes later I would return with a bucket of warm fresh milk. This was poured through cheese cloth and allowed to settle, till the cream rose to the top. That cream we skimmed off and set aside. That very best part of the milk we saved for last.

And saving the best for last, is exactly what Jesus did at the very first communion table. While the disciples were still arguing over which of them was most important, Christ took the precious bread and the cup to try and show them what must soon happen on a terrible cross, waiting just up the road for Him. After three years, during which they had shared countless adventures, sailed through storms and seen miracles, the disciples still had much to learn. So, as they sat together at the Last Supper, Jesus gave thanks, then took the bread saying, “This is my body,” and then the cup, saying, “This is the new covenant in my blood.”

Two thousand years later it is no different. We still have the privilege with uncounted millions of others who have believed before us, to drink His cup, and remember that for Jesus, it meant the cross. For Him that cup was filled with suffering, but He drank off its bitterness and left for us the sweetness of the best for last. This New Covenant cup, bought with His blood, for us is filled with mercy, love and eternal life. All that Jesus asks us is that as we receive, we remember Him – until He comes again!

Not a Very Good Waiter!

/ pastorpete51 / 8 Comments 
I’m not a very good waiter
I just hate to be standing around!
But I’ve learned that the times when I wait on the Lord
That in Him joy and strength can be found

But when I complain that it's going too slow
Then He waits for me to quiet down
For Jesus gives His grace to the meek
With His promise of life that abounds

Then after all has been said in my day
When I finally trust He knows best
He comes and He carries me on eagle’s wings
To His mountain where eagles can rest!
______________________________________________
But they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength;
    they shall mount up with wings like eagles;
they shall run and not be weary;
 they shall walk and not faint.
Isaiah 40:31 ESV


Not a Very Good Waiter by Peter Caligiuri
Copyright © 2022 all rights reserved