Heaven

A New Song

/ pastorpete51 / 3 Comments 
And they were singing a new song before the throne and before the four living creatures and before the elders. No one could learn that song except the 144,000 who had been redeemed from the earth Revelation 14:3 ESV

Many years ago, I used to stop on Wednesday afternoons to visit an elderly couple, and I brought my guitar along to sing them a few songs. Though they only had a tiny apartment, the way they welcomed me made me feel as if I were visiting a palace. For companionship my friends kept two little parakeets in a cage by the front window. Whether rays of sunshine or raindrops were on that windowpane, those two always had a song, but their gentle tweeting picked up a notch or two when I started strumming my guitar.

Sometimes they would leave the cage door open and on rare occasions, they would decide to fly out and pass by so close to my head that I felt the brush of wings as they flew past. Then they would swoop up to the highest point above the kitchen cabinets where they would perch and watch the show from their balcony seats!

My two elderly friends have now taken their own places in a heavenly choir, but some days I imagine them standing there with their two little parakeets close by, waiting for me to join them one day with my guitar. And I won’t at all be surprised, if that day I feel the brush of wings on my face as two little birds pass by on their way to their balcony seats to join us as together, we join that great new song above!

Photo by Bruna Finelli on Pexels.com

Don’t Miss the Adventure!

/ pastorpete51 / 1 Comment 
Just as I try to please everyone in everything I do, not seeking my own advantage, but that of many that they may be saved. 1 Corinthians 1:10:33 ESV

Do you ever struggle with wondering who to trust in a world in which we are constantly being bombarded by junk mail, telephone solicitors or even neighbors trying to sell us stuff? As I have grown older, I have developed the tendency of being skeptical of almost everyone. But then I remember Melissa. She was the daughter of one of our friends at church. When she was just about thirteen, Melissa caught me one day just as we were leaving church. “So, Mr. Caligiuri, how are you today?” she asked flashing what seemed like a sincere smile. Now I liked all the Newell kids, but I knew that something was up, so I asked her in return, “That depends on how much it’s going to cost me” “Weeeeeell,” she confessed with a sheepish grin. “If you buy a box of candy from this catalogue it will help me to go to youth camp!”

Now, you might think that she was taking advantage of our families’ friendship, but today I am delighted that I bought that candy because she not only made it to youth camp, but she and her husband now serve as missionaries in Japan. They also have a couple of sweet little girls who I bet can sell all the candy they can get their hands on! Too often we miss opportunities to bless others because we build walls to protect ourselves from everyone. But choosing to always play it safe means missing the adventure of opening our hearts in ways that reap eternal rewards, both for us and for people we may never meet on this side of eternity!

Our Hope of Heaven

/ pastorpete51 / 2 Comments 
Whom have I in heaven but you? And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides Thee. 
Psalm 73:25 KJV

Hoping for heaven has sometimes been given a bad rap, because many of the old hymns and sermons of yesteryear focused exclusively on heavenly bliss, while ignoring the importance of our time on earth. But the Bible says that neither our greatest victories nor our worst failures can compare with what lies ahead for us in heaven. It reminds me of when our boys were teenagers. In shop class they made themselves wooden plaques with their names carved on them to hang over the doorways to their rooms. Though no one had any doubts as to whose room was whose, they simply felt they needed to stake out their own personal territory. In the same way God has staked out a territory in heaven for everyone who has put their hope in Jesus Christ. God has personally engraved our names over the doorways of our rooms. So don’t worry. There is nothing wrong with a joyful longing to be together forever with Jesus in the place He has prepared for us. We need to be able to say, “Whom have I in heaven but you? And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides Thee.” Then our hope of heaven can strengthen our hearts in the storms that come our way today and lighten our load so we can carry the burdens of others. This hope comes from God and will shine through any dark night and will light our paths all the way to our Heavenly home!