faith

A Heritage of Prayer

/ pastorpete51 / 6 Comments

And he told them a parable to the effect that they ought always to pray and not lose heart. Luke 18:1 ESV

Some of you have noticed that I love to write devotionals. The truth is I also love to read devotional collections. Oswald Chambers, Joni Eareckson Tada, Charles Swindoll and Rick Warren have become friends whose example and teachings have encouraged me through some of the darkest times of my life. About a month ago, my wife, knowing my love of devotional writing brought me home a Beverly Lewis book titled, “Amish Prayers.” In it the author has compiled a selection of prayers translated from a German prayer book dating back to 1708. What a special blessing this little book has become to me!

The book, “Amish Prayers” in many ways reminded me of the book of Psalms. Then as I looked closely, I discovered that the Psalms are as much a book of prayers as an ancient Hebrew collection of hymns. That inspired me to begin looking through the Bible for other prayers and I discovered them everywhere! In fact, the Bible could just as well be called, God’s Prayer Book, because at the heart of the stories of the men and women of scripture is the heritage of their prayers. Some of those prayers are questions, some complaints, some cries for mercy and others simply times of praise. If you will join me, over the next week we are going to listen in to a few of those prayers and then bow our heads and pray along with them!

Verses for Easter – Week 4

/ pastorpete51 / 2 Comments 
In the Wounds Doubt Disappeared

 In the garden at the dawn
In darkness doubt and tears
He called Mary first and then
To the others He appeared

But Thomas was not there
And said “I won’t believe
That Jesus is alive
Till I can touch his scars and see”

He kept doubting till the day
At his table Christ appeared
And called him come to touch His wounds
And in those wounds doubt disappeared


In the Wounds Doubt Disappeared 
by Peter Caligiuri
copyright 2022 all rights reserved

Invisible Footprints

/ pastorpete51 / 2 Comments

Your way was through the sea, your path through the great waters; yet your footprints were unseen. Psalm 77:19 ESV

Once when I was a teenager, I was wondering what it must have been like for Peter to walk on the water, so I dangled my foot over the edge of a pool and put it lightly on the surface. Immediately I decided that his faith must have been a lot stronger than mine! When I read about God’s footprints, I am always reminded of that moment. Interestingly, the idea of going across water is repeated three times in the Bible. First, we see this when the Israelites were cornered with their back to the Red Sea and the Egyptian army in hot pursuit, God had Moses lift His staff over the waters and He sent a wind to blow till the sea parted till in the morning His people were able to cross on dry ground. With soldiers chasing them on chariots, this seemed an obvious choice! Then, forty years the children of Israel came to another water crossing. It was at the Jordan River, and this time they needed to cross if they were to enter the promised land. At the Red Sea, God parted the waters for them, but this time the priests had to walk down to the water’s edge and actually get their feet wet. Then, the water suddenly stopped flowing and everyone crossed. Though this challenged the faith of the priests, it was still a pretty easy choice for everyone else. But the third time we see God’s footprints is an entirely different affair. This time we find the disciples in a boat being tossed on rough seas on a dark night. Suddenly out on top of the dark waters they see someone walking across the waves coming towards them. These guys were all terrified. Then, Jesus called out, “Don’t be afraid, it is I” Sure we know that Peter made a stab at some water walking himself that night. What amazes me most is not Peter’s ability to defy gravity, but that he left an example for us to follow if we are to walk by faith with a God who leaves His invisible footprints in the sea!