Daily Verse

Thanksgiving

/ pastorpete51 / 2 Comments 
  Rejoice always and delight in your faith; be unceasing and persistent in prayer; in every situation [no matter what the circumstances] be thankful and continually give thanks to God; for this is the will of God for you in Christ Jesus. 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 Amp

My sister keeps a jar on her shelf filled with little slips of paper on which are written things for which she is grateful, then on Thanksgiving, she pours them out and reads them, as a reminder of the things that she can be thankful for. In today’s verse, the Apostle Paul, has a similar idea, but he goes one radical step beyond gratitude for blessings. Instead, Paul tells us that in every situation, no matter the circumstances, we are to rejoice, delight in our faith and give thanks. To be honest, I have not learned how can how to do that all the time, but I have picked up a few clues along the pathway as I have followed Jesus. God has shown me that the rejoicing, thankfulness and prayer Paul talks about isn’t about me: it is about Jesus. He reminds me that when Jesus suffered terribly on the cross for us, He endured it all, because pleasing His Father was His greatest joy. The joy that Jesus had, certainly had nothing to do with his situation. He was nailed to rough wooden beams, between two others, who were likewise dying in agony, just a few feet away. He heard the soldiers mocking him and saw them gambling for his last bits of clothing. Yet Jesus had the strength to forgive His enemies, see to the care of His mother and to give the promise of paradise to a thief. Jesus had joy, in spite of His situation, because He loved those around Him, till the very end. This Thanksgiving, whether we sit at a table, surrounded by our family, are alone at home, or even confined to a hospital bed, there is always someone we can love. There is always at least one person, who we can forgive, one who we can encourage or one who we can pray for.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! May God watch over you, keep you close to His heart and draw you closer to Himself this year in the precious Holy name of Jesus I ask His blessing. Amen!

Faith goes up the stairway that love has built and looks out the window that hope has opened. Charles Spurgeon

His Footsteps

/ pastorpete51 / 2 Comments 
When my work is feeling endless
And my hope is growing stale
While others run ahead of me
And it seems my dreams have failed

I remember in the garden
While His friends were fast sleep
 Jesus wept for me and prayed
His Father’s will to keep

Now, I will thank Him as He gives
New strength to me each day
And as His footsteps light my path
I will walk His narrow way

Thy way is in the sea, and thy path in the great waters, and thy footsteps are not known. 
Psalm 77:19 KJV

His Footsteps - by Peter Caligiuri
Copyright © 2023 - All rights reserved

Great is Thy Faithfulness

/ pastorpete51 / 1 Comment

The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. “The Lord is my portion,” says my soul, “therefore I will hope in him.” Lamentations 3:22-24 ESV

I love singing “Great is Thy Faithfulness”, when I sense the peace and contentment of God’s care at Thanksgiving, Yet, both the writer of Lamentations as well as Thomas Chisolm, the hymn writer, were going through difficulties and trials when they wrote these words. They remind us that if rejoicing in God’s faithfulness, has to wait for everything be going right, then we would be an ungrateful people much of the time. But today’s verse and the hymn, “Great is Thy Faithfulness”, draw their power from the triumph of God’s grace when everything is going wrong. While composing these lyrics, Thomas Chisolm suffered from such ill health that he was forced to leave the pastoral ministry, and he wrote the lyrics as a poem, reflecting his trust in God in spite of his problems. Later, he sent his friend William Runyan, the poem and Runyan when on to write the melody we sing today. In the Bible, the prophet Jeremiah tells us of God’s great faithfulness and love after his nation had been conquered, Jerusalem lay in ruins, and Solomon’s temple had been robbed of its treasures. With nothing left to show for the centuries of Israel’s glory, power and success, Jeremiah finds the steadfast love and mercy of God are an unshakeable hope that is new every morning. So, whatever you are facing this Thanksgiving, allow God to gently remind you that His mercies never fail, they are new every morning, because His faithfulness and love will never come to an end!