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Gratitude for the Eyes of Friends

/ pastorpete51 / 2 Comments 
 First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because your faith is being reported all over the world.
Romans 1:8 NIV

I love photography of, mountains, rivers and open prairies., but due to the aches and pains of advancing age I cannot get out into the wilds of nature these days. But we have been blessed by what the eyes of our friends have seen, in their many spectacular photos. Neither of them writes much, and their favorite reading is usually about the campsites at the next national park they plan to visit. But when they take shots from the ridge of a mountain range or zoom in on a wolf crossing their trail it generates a special artwork that communicates something more than any words. Today’s brief post is simply an expression of my gratitude for them generously sharing the special moments that they have experienced. I hope you will enjoy this montage of the last few years of their adventures.

God is Listening!

/ pastorpete51 / 4 Comments 
So they took away the stone. Then Jesus looked up and said, 
“Father, I thank you that you have heard me. John 11:41 NIV

Notice how Jesus teaches us to pray, by praying, and His prayer begins by publicly thanking the Father that He was listening. “Listening to what?” we might ask. The answer must be, that Jesus had already taken time privately to pray and learn exactly what was the Father’s will about Lazarus.

Jesus reminds us that no book, no class, or sermon can replace our own private hour of prayer. That is the only place that we can find the peace and confidence to act or speak for Jesus. Then Jesus shows us that even knowing that his prayers were heard was not enough. Before doing anything else, He first gave thanks to His Father. Jesus models for us His own gratitude that His Father had taken the time to listen to His prayer. Only after that does Jesus confidently call Lazarus back from the grave. The public power Jesus had to say, Lazarus come forth!” came from His unseen hours of prayer. So today, before complaining to God about our situation or trying to command for things to be different, let’s be like Jesus and learn the timing and details of our Father’s will, and then thank Him in advance for listening. What could be more amazing than that the Creator of the universe would take time to listen to us, even weep with us and then in His perfect timing send His answer to our prayers?

Thank you Jesus for taking time to do more than miracles. 
Thank you for teaching us to pray. Amen!

Breakfast With Jesus – Live

/ pastorpete51 / 1 Comment

Jesus said to them, “Come and have breakfast.” Now none of the disciples dared ask him, “Who are you?” They knew it was the Lord.  John 21:12 ESV

This Sunday at Discovery Villages assisted living, I shared for the second time this message that God has put on my heart. It is about people, just like us, who fished all night, without results. Life, especially as we enter our later chapters is not all sunshine, rainbows and lollipops. Some days include losing our closest friends, family members and an ever-increasing battle with our own physical weaknesses. Yes, we who know Christ do carry with us the blessings of His presence, yet often it feels as if many things that we have hoped and prayed for all night have simply resulted in empty nets at dawn. But the good news is that Jesus has gone ahead of us. He is standing at the shore calling, while we were catching nothing, Jesus already has bread and fish on the fire waiting. After His ascension, Jesus did not go to Heaven to retire. No! He is watching over us. He is praying for us, and He has promised that He has gone to prepare a place for us. Just as He spent all night preparing for the disciples., so, when our night is over and our first day in Heaven dawns, maybe we will hear the invitation that Peter and John did, “Come and have breakfast with Me!”