Daily Verse

Don’t Stop Praying!

/ pastorpete51 / 4 Comments 
Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up. 
Luke 18:1 NIV

God knows that some days we feel like giving up on prayer. Maybe we think that there are bigger problems in the world or that God isn’t interested. Yet, instead of just lecturing us, Jesus tells us a story about a widow and a judge. This widow wasn’t politically connected, or rich and she had an someone harassing her. We aren’t told exactly the issue: only that the one person she could turn to for help was a corrupt judge. Yet she didn’t give up, run away, or complain to her neighbors. Instead, every morning she walked down to the judge’s house. I can just picture him looking out his window, as he heard her knock, muttering, “Oh no! Not her again!”

Maybe she was driving him crazy, but all she really wanted was for him to do his job. Finally, the judge threw up his hands, and said something like, “All right! I’ll do it! Just please leave me alone!” Then, Jesus reminds us that God is not even a little bit like that judge. God wants to hear our prayers. God loves us, wants the best for us, and since He is so good, we should never give up. God is listening, and if we keep on praying and believing, we can trust that one day He is sure to answer!

“I have abandoned all particular forms of devotion, all prayer techniques. My only prayer practice is attention. I carry on a habitual, silent, and secret conversation with God that fills me with overwhelming joy.” 
Brother Lawrence

The Aftermath of Helene

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The stories are all different but the results are equally life changing here for so many of our friends. But one dear sister in our small group shared this verse from Habakkuk that encouraged her this morning.

Though the fig tree should not blossom nor fruit be on the vines, the produce of the olive fail and the fields yield no food, and there be no herd in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation. Habakkuk 3:17-18 Esv

Habakkuk sees trouble everywhere he looks, and since he is surrounded by problems he looks up and sees the Lord. We are so blessed to be on the edge of the devastation untouched, but our hearts go out to so many who are struggling today. We do not know the answers or have the solutions, but we can have hope and even joy because our Lord remains the God of our salvation, our helper and friend in time of trouble!

Everyone Can Be a Volunteer

/ pastorpete51 / 1 Comment 
He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, brought him to an inn and took care of him. Luke 10:34 NIV

My volunteering in nursing homes began with a friend named Darryl, who with his wife Beverly went to church with us. Then one day Darryl had a massive stroke and ended up in a nursing home about thirty minutes away from where we lived. Since my job was in that city, Beverly would often ask if I could stop by some day after work to visit him. Though that sounded like a nice idea, but I procrastinated because I knew how tired I was at the end of the workday. Every week I made another excuse, but every week Beverly persistently asked (and the Holy Spirit was convicting me!) Finally, I decided to at least give it a try, and that visit, some thirty-four years ago, opened the way to becoming a volunteer chaplain, which has been of the greatest blessings of my life.

But being a volunteer goes far beyond the walls of long-term care facilities. For example, we have friends with three daughters, ages 10-17. Their youngest is named Laura and Laura is a down’s syndrome child. Raising their girls with equal love has been a tough balancing act because sometimes Laura requires so much time and energy that the other two have had to put their own time with mom and dad on hold. Then there is my good friend Rob in our men’s group who has multiple sclerosis. Rob struggles just to stand up and get a grip on his walker, at the end of each meeting, and yet he is there most weeks, in part because his wife Lisa helps him to get ready. If you think that these people are the exception, you would be correct. But the story of the Good Samaritan shows us, that God has strategically placed people in all our lives, to give us the opportunity to be what Jesus would call a volunteer – a good neighbor! As a neighbor we all know a Laura, a Rob or a Darryl and what we decide to do can change their lives and ours forever.

I once heard someone say that “If you can get paid for what you love to do then you will never work a day in your life.” But as a volunteer I like to think that “If we just love for free, the people God has put in our path, then one day we will discover treasures in Heaven that will last forever! “