Prayer

So Many Whatsoever’s!

/ pastorpete51 / 1 Comment

After sharing our family’s prayer request for our daughter-in-law Melinda yesterday I was overwhelmed with people offering encouragement and prayers. Thank you for the verses, songs, and personal insights. I thought I would share a blessing of how they are facing the situation.

Yesterday, instead of staying home and moping, they took advantage of a rare warm November day to head over to Melinda’s favorite hangout – The miniature Horse farm in Strassburg. We all love the place where you can feed miniature horses, llamas, goats and chickens. Then there are the whoopie pies, home-made apple butter and lots of Amish handcrafts in their store. It reminded me of the verse that the Apostle Paul wrote while sitting in prison. He didn’t say, “Woe is me! The Romans are corrupt, please get me out of here!” Instead he encouraged his friends to be grateful for every good thing -no matter how small.

Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.
Philippians 4:8 KJV

It makes me ask myself, “How thankful have I been today for every detail of the blessing of life that God has granted me. In fact remembering and celebrating the good in spite of the bad is even what Jesus told us to do every time we receive communion. It is all part of His plan and at the end is joy in His presence and peace beyond anything we will ever understand!

Prayer Request

/ pastorpete51 / 27 Comments

I don’t often share personal things about our family, both due to my own reticence along with the desire to protect their privacy. However, this week we really need your prayers for our daughter-in-law Melinda. Last year Melinda was diagnosed with ovarian cancer exactly as my wife had been five years ago. She went through the same chemo regimen as Nancy and seemed equally to have beaten this terrible disease up until this Monday. That was when a scan revealed the beginnings of cancer on the lining of her stomach. Her doctor has already scheduled for Melinda to start another 6 rounds of chemo on Tuesday. This has been devastating emotionally for all of us. I would so appreciate your prayers as we begin yet another journey into the unknown. Please ask especially that the Lord would encourage, heal strengthen and give direction, especially for Chris and Melinda. Thanks so much!

Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, 
that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working. 
James 5:16 ESV

Quiet Sunday Thoughts

/ pastorpete51 / 4 Comments

For thus said the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel, “In returning and rest you shall be saved; in quietness and in trust shall be your strength.” But you were unwilling, Isaiah 30:15 ESV

Why is it that we have such a difficult time being quiet? Even when we have nothing to do, we fill our time with loud activities, that easily drown out the still small voice of Jesus. But God’s promise is that in quietness and rest we will be saved. We need to be in church on Sunday, but we also need time to rest. Why not set aside even half an hour to close the door and listen to music, or worship and pray alone? Unless we plan times of quietness, before we know it our day will pass in a busyness and miss the most precious moments of all – our time alone with God. I do hope you enjoy this new rendition of the classic Hymn, I Need Thee Every Hour. Sometimes we get too busy trying to fix things and forget to simply cry out to God for help.

Humility is perfect quietness of heart. It is to expect nothing, to wonder at nothing that is done to me, to feel nothing done against me. It is to be at rest when nobody praises me, and when I am blamed or despised. It is to have a blessed home in the Lord, where I can go in and shut the door, and kneel to my Father in secret, and am at peace as in a deep sea of calmness, when all around and above is trouble. Andrew Murray