Easter

He Arose at Life Care

/ pastorpete51 / 2 Comments

Jesus said to him, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” John 20:29 ESV

Sometimes I try to imagine, what t would have been like on that first resurrection morning and wish I had been able to see Jesus with my own eyes and hear HIs voice, saying, “Fear not.” Thomas wished the very same thing, and eight days later, Jesus obliged that wish and showed Himself to Thomas and invited him to come and touch His wounds. What a privilege Thomas had to be able to see and touch Jesus, but how humbling that must have been for him to also hear, “More blessed are those who have not seen, and yet believed.” So, on those days when, like me, you wish you had been there, remember that you are more blessed than even those eleven disciples, and have an opportunity for an even greater joy. In singing Robert Lowry’s rousing hymn, “He Arose”, it gives us me the sense of what it must have been like to rejoice in seeing Jesus just like the first believers. We get to lift our voices with such a joyful uncompromising praise that my heart is filled to the brim. The most amazing miracle of all time – the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead changes both all of history and the history of our lives, because we believe in Him. I hope that you will enjoy seeing the many faces of our special friends in assisted living as they joined with us today. But no matter whether you sit in a wheelchair in a long term care facility or in the corner office of a giant corporation, there is no greater hope that you can have, than to know Jesus. He rose from the dead and has come to offer us eternal life, if we will put our trust in Him. “He arose! He arose! Hallelujah, Christ arose!”

To Hear the Church Bells Ring

/ pastorpete51 / 4 Comments 
After fingers of the rain reach down
Pulling frost out from the ground
And the cold relentless wind grows still
And I hear the gentle sound

Of a robin singing at my door
And distant thunder in the sky
Then I look out of my window
And watch children splashing by

Then I wonder at the changing world
As snowdrifts melt in Spring
And my sleeping faith sits up in bed
To hear the church bells ring


To Hear the Church Bells Ring
By Peter Caligiuri
Copyright © 2024
All rights reserved

Photo by Luke Webb on Pexels.com

Resurrection Joy

/ pastorpete51 / 6 Comments

Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?” Supposing him to be the gardener, she said to him, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away.” Jesus said to her, “Mary.” She turned and said to him in Aramaic, “Rabboni!” (which means Teacher). John 20:15-16 ESV

When Charles Wesley penned these words back in 1739, he put into song, the joy that Mary Magdalene must have felt on that first resurrection morning. Remember that she had come to anoint the body of Jesus, not meet with Him. Her main concern had revolved around the question of who would roll back the stone, so she could get in to pay her last respects. Little did she realize that Jesus had chosen her to be the very first person to see Him after He had risen from the dead. Sometimes our biggest worries must seem awfully small to Jesus, and yet He takes time to come where we are, call us by name and is willing to show Himself to us as well. Will we only dare to believe?