God’s grace

Only Grace

/ pastorpete51 / 2 Comments

As Paul McCartney once sang, “When I was younger so much younger than today. I never needed anybody’s help in any way.”

With independent assurance of youth fleeing fast over my horizon I am suddenly faced with a weakness that reminds me that Jesus is a friend closer than anyone on this planet. He alone has the numbers of my days written in a book. How wonderful to know that He has not only visited me in this orphanage called the world but He has decided to adopt me into His own family.

And now I know more than ever that I need all of God’s grace all of the time. He has in His mysterious and Holy way watched over me and will continue to watch till dawn!

For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God,
Ephesians 2:8 NKJV

Finding Grace

/ pastorpete51 / 1 Comment

All through the Bible are people whose lives are woven together by grace. Some like Noah felt alone or like Hannah rejected. Some suffered abuse like Hagar others shame like the woman caught in the act of adultery. What we share with each and every one of them is our hope in God’s great grace. It reaches to our deepest hurts and washes clean our darkest sin. No matter what anyone thinks including ourselves, God has an open door and place at the cross. His grace is eternal love in action without any fear of our failures or impatience with our weakness. In all the universe we will never go anywhere that His grace cannot find!

But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord . Genesis 6:8 NKJV

Gone Fishing

/ pastorpete51 / 1 Comment

Simon Peter said to them, “I am going fishing.” They said to him, “We are going with you also.” They went out and immediately got into the boat, and that night they caught nothing. But when the morning had now come, Jesus stood on the shore; yet the disciples did not know that it was Jesus. John 21:3-4

We used to live in a very small town. There was a store, a gas station, and a tiny post office. Moving there from the city was for us something of a culture shock. One of the most intriguing discoveries was to come to the store and find it closed during normal business hours. Usually there was a hand written sign with an explanation such as, “Open Monday, Tuesday and Thursday 12-3 PM: or “gone fishing”.

In the same way the when disciples didn’t know where to begin with what Jesus had called them to do they decided that going fishing was as good an idea as any. You might think that Jesus would show up and give them a long lecture. But instead of treating the disciples the way any “normal boss” would do He chose instead to show up and cook them all breakfast! Can you imagine the conversation around the breakfast table that morning?

The good news for us is that even when we like the disciples decide to go out fishing, Jesus comes to us with grace. He doesn’t wait for us to get everything just right. So why not remember to share His message of love with the same grace which he gave us when He waited all night for us to come home.

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