faith

Jesus is Never Late

/ pastorpete51 / Leave a comment

But I know, that even now, whatsoever thou wilt ask of God, God will give it thee. John 11:22 KJV

On the verge of celebrating 68 Easter seasons I look back with nostalgia mixed with some regrets. It is too late for some of the career choices I had hoped to make. It is too late for some of the ministry I hoped I would do. It is too late for another talk with my Dad, a kinder way I could have treated my family or even better stewardship of the money that has passed through my hands. But Martha’s encounter with Jesus at the edge of Bethany that morning gives me hope because:

It is never too late for Jesus to come. It is never too late to hear His word. Even when we were unaware He has been with us for every hour of our lives. This morning He is here to share this day with us.

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Right now; tombs can be opened, grave clothes removed and life renewed at the sound of His voice! No matter the moment, no matter the hour it is never too late for Jesus!

God’s Open Door

/ pastorpete51 / 3 Comments

 

1554975554024_image.jpgIn the ancient Macedonian city of Philippi, Paul and Silas found themselves at the epicenter of an earthquake that changed not only their own his lives; but the future of Christianity in the West. Previous to their travel there; Paul had a dream of a Macedonian man calling for help and so had obediently left a successful work  of planting churches throughout Asia minor, Cyprus and Syria. But not long after going to Macedonia, Paul and Silas were arrested, beaten and thrown into prison.

If you are anything like me, you might have started moaning or at best patiently enduring the pain and humiliation of that day. Should I have been in Paul’s place I could have complained saying; “God: You called me here and this is the thanks I get!” But no! …In fact Paul and Silas were singing hymns at midnight when suddenly an earthquake shook the prison so hard that the doors swung open and their chains fell to the ground. Often we pray for an open door and in my mind that is most definitely an open door!

If that had happened to me while chained in a dungeon I am pretty sure that I along with most of you would have been half-way home before slowing down long enough to catch our breath. But the funniest thing about that night is that the open door let the jailer in; not the prisoner out!

So no matter the problem or situation we find ourselves in today may this remind us that God’s doors are more about entrances than exits. God is working not so much to get us out of things as He is bringing others to us so that we can point them to Him and together go out through His open door!

Falling Asleep on Take-Off

/ pastorpete51 / 2 Comments

I am not a big fan of flying though I have flown extensively. I like to joke that I can’t fall asleep even on long flights because the pilot may need my help. In fact travel of just about any kind tends to keep me on edge. I was so surprised when I accompanied my pastor Joliam Sampaio on an overseas mission’s trip to find out that he is so used to flying that sometimes he falls asleep before take-off!

In this passage he disciples were about to leave on a mission’s trip of their own. Their pastor; Jesus Christ decided that they needed to go across the sea of Galilee. Matthew’s gospel tells us that Jesus was the first into the boat and then worn out from a long day of ministering to the multitudes he fell asleep. While the boat they were traveling approached the halfway point of their journey a wild storm blew in. The waves sloshed over the sides and the wind tossed them around so violently that the experiences fishermen piloting the boat that night began to think they might be on their way to the bottom and yet Jesus slept on. I imagine the conversations among them went something like this;

“We need a miracle Peter and since you are the oldest; you wake Him up!” shouted Peter’s younger brother Andrew over the howling of the wind.

“No way Andy!” Peter replied. “Ask John. Jesus likes Him better.”

“Me!” John answered in surprise.. “Why do you always have me ask Him all the questions. It’s Phillip’s turn this time!”

Finally as terror set in with the worsening of the state of the ship they decided it to make it  joint effort, and the shouted in unison. “Master ! Wake up! Are you so sleepy that you aren’t even worried if we all die?!”

If this sounds anything like your situation today welcome to the club. Like me you may have the tendency to stay awake in case the pilot needs help. We may fret over details; so much that any holdup or unpleasant change in our plans makes us feel that everything if falling apart. Events that we were certain we were in charge of are suddenly spinning out of control and it seems like God is either unaware or unconcerned with our panic. But the good news is that we are still in the boat with Jesus. We have 24/7 access to Him and we don’t even need to wait for an emergency to ask for His help. He is simply waiting for us to call for His help. When the Lord is in our boat He guarantees us that we will get to the destination He has determined.  There is nothing that takes Him by surprise and no opposition that can prevent us from reaching the other shore.

 

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