Daily Verse

The Desires of My Heart

/ pastorpete51 / 4 Comments 
Delight thyself also in the Lord: and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart. Psalm 37:4 KJV

Often, I have taken this to simply mean that, if I make God my greatest desire, then He will give me anything else that I want. While this may be partly true, it misses the beauty which another translation reveals when it says, “Let your happiness be in the Lord”. In other words, when, the Lord is our greatest delight and happiness, then He makes a way for us to find Him!

Picture a young couple in love. One evening at a fancy restaurant, the man puts his plan into motion. After enjoying a delicious dinner and once the waiter has cleared the table, he falls to his knees, pulls a diamond ring from his pocket, and with tears streaming down his face he publicly proposes to the love of his life. At that moment, he has made her, his greatest delight. Now, hopefully, the lovely young lady responds with a joyful yes, and seeing that touching moment and the other diners erupt into applause. Yet our young friend has not yet reached his goal. Instead, plans are set in motion, invitations must be sent, a hall rented, and a date agreed upon by their parents, pastor and families. By faith, both of these people in our story are incredibly happy as they anticipate their wedding, But, when that day arrives, they will say their vows, exchange rings, kiss and walk out of the church for the first time as husband and wife.

Their joy is just a tiny picture of all that God has in store for us. For of course, Jesus is the groom in our story. He has publicly displayed His love, not at a 5-star restaurant, but on the cross. He has fallen to His knees, washed our feet and pledged all He is and all He has to us for all eternity. If we will say yes, then plans will be put into motion, guests invited, and a date set on which will be joined together forever. In our daily lives, we have a joy, because we trust that He is a good and loving God. He is our most valuable treasure and the ultimate love of our lives. Even better than this, we eagerly look forward to when all we have longed for will come to pass. Vows will be fulfilled, and a celebration like no other will happen on that day at His side when He will fully grant us the desires of our hearts!

Hurricane Peace

/ pastorpete51 / 19 Comments

Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid. John 14:27 ESV

Though we lost power last night at around 7 pm, we made it through the night safe and sound. It’s funny how without lights or television that we were able to get to sleep early with no problems! Rather than being a fearful situation it was actually kind of peaceful. Of course we spent the time to text our kids and keep our close friends updated but then we just packed all our essential food in our big cooler with lots of icepacks and went to bed. Thank God also for our Youversion app on our phones that allowed us to read our Bibles in the dark, before praying and then peacefully drifting off to sleep.

Yes, Jesus left us peace…His peace and He adds to the promise a challenge. That is to not let our hearts be troubled. Notice, He gives the peace unconditionally, but He tells us that it is our job to manage our emotions. He will keep us always safely in His hands…no strings attached….but for us to enjoy the full benefit of His gift our part is to guard against fear. “Don’t let your hearts be troubled!” Like the command that stills winds and waves (and we had plenty in Florida yesterday!), the words of Jesus will calm our hearts. He has promised that when we ask, seek and knock, that He will give us all we need. Now Jesus is asking, seeking and knocking at our hearts. We mustn’t allow fear to keep the door bolted! If we just trust the voice that is asking for us to open, if we allow the one who is seeking after us to find us and when we open our door, He has promised that His peace will carry us through whatever Hurricane is shaking our world. Now that’s a peace we can use, not only in hurricanes but every day in everything we face. Have a blessed day all. Now if I could just find a way to make coffee!

God’s Promise of Hope

/ pastorpete51 / 1 Comment 
I wait for the Lord, my soul doth wait, and in his word do I hope. Psalm 130:5 KJV

Whether looking out the window at a nursing home or looking out the window at work or school, we all sometimes wonder how we will make it. We ask ourselves where we will get the strength to just keep putting one foot in front of the other. When we face outward conflicts, at least we can see the enemy we are fighting. But when things seem dark and confusing on the inside sometimes, we feel totally hopeless.

If that is your situation today, then listen to the way King David found hope when He was in a dark place. He discovered in a moment of failure that his greatest enemies were actually far bigger than Goliath. David’s fall into sin, left Him so ashamed that he wondered how he could face his family, his friends and responsibilities as a leader. Then, at his darkest moment, David remembered that the same God who had given him hope when he fought the giant had also promised him forgiveness and restoration after he had sinned. God’s word was not weakened by his failure and there was no limit to how much God could restore when he turned his heart towards Him. Just as with King David, God offers us hope and His promise does not have an expiration date. We have not missed our chance to ask God for His help.  Right now, even if we feel we are at the end of our rope, it is the right time to put our hope in His word. Ask God for His help because today is the perfect day in all eternity to put our hope in His word!