God’s promises

No Such Thing as Bad Ice Cream!

/ pastorpete51 / 5 Comments

I will delight myself in Your statutes; I will not forget Your word. Psalm 119:16 NKJV

“There’s no such thing as bad ice cream!” is our friend George’s favorite saying (and he stays skinny!). On any given day, George will take chocolate, vanilla, strawberry, or peach, whether in a cone or a cup, and is ready to sit down and take a moment to enjoy it. I think it would be safe to say that George delights in ice cream.

When the writer of today’s verse tells us that he delights in God’s word, he reminds me of George. He is saying, that, just like the flavors of ice cream, no matter the situation handed to us this morning, we can choose to continue delighting in the promises of God. Just as with George’s ice cream, there is no such thing as a bad promise of God. Every promise is perfect, pure, eternal, and though sometimes hard to swallow; always sweet! What special promises has God given you? Do you have a favorite? So, as you head out today, try to remember that there’s no such thing as bad ice cream, and no such thing as a bad promise of God!

For all the promises of God in Him are Yes, and in Him Amen, to the glory of God through us. 
2 Corinthians 1:20
Photo by Kevin Malik on Pexels.com

Promises to Come

/ pastorpete51 / 3 Comments 
In early Spring while frost still holds
The apple tree prepares
in and sun and warming soil
To shed its Winter cares

And soon its sleeping flowers wake
To peek out of their beds
Then dress with blossoms white and pink
They show their little heads

Deep in those fragile petals hide
The promises to come
Of apples ripe at harvesttime
That bow the branches down

And in the deep of winter’s grip
While wild winds still blow 
I trust that He who tends the trees
Will keep me through the snow 

And that in Spring He’ll send for me
Dear Jesus lead me home
For now I wait in hopes of all
Your promises to come

Promises to Come
By Peter Caligiuri
Copyright © 2025
All rights reserved



Don’t Just Settle! – Part 1

/ pastorpete51 / 3 Comments 
Terah took Abram his son and Lot the son of Haran, his grandson and Sarai his daughter-in-law, his son Abram's wife, and they went forth from Ur of the Chaldeans to go into the land of Canaan, but when they came to Haran, they settled there. Genesis 11:31 ESV

I used to think that God called Abram to go to the land of Canaan, as if it were just a lightning bolt out of the blue. It seemed that when God said, “Go to a place I will show you.”, it was if it were a place totally unknown and unfamiliar to Abram. But in today’s reading, we discover that actually Abram’s father, Terah, had set out from Ur to go to Canaan years before: but he never finished the journey. Terah did leave behind his home country. He left behind the land of idolatry, his familiar surroundings and friends, but when he got to the town of Haran, Terah decided to settle. Of course, God doesn’t give us all the particulars, of Terah’s motives, but whatever they were, they caused him to give up on his goal.

Photo by Bich Tran on Pexels.com

Now Terah started in the right direction but never made it all the way, because he settled. But the good news for us today, is that even though Terah settled for less, God didn’t He hadn’t changed His mind, and unlike any of us, God has all the time in the universe to bring His plans to pass. So, God waited. He waited a generation as Terah grew old and died in the safe little village of Haran. They must have lived there for many years during that waiting time, because by the time chapter twelve starts, Abram is already seventy-five years old. But God’s call never grows old, He never gives up and God never settles for less. Instead, God came and called again, but this time HIs call was to Abram:

“And the Lord said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred, and your father’s house to the land that I will show you – And Abram took Sarai his wife and Lot, his brother’s son, and all their possessions that they had gathered, and the people that they had acquired in Haran, and they set out to go to the land of CANAAN...” 
Genesis 12 1; 5a ESV