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So good to Be in the Arms

/ pastorpete51 / 2 Comments

There is no one like the God of Israel. He rides across the heavens to help you, across the skies in majestic splendor. The eternal God is your refuge, and his everlasting arms are under you. Deuteronomy 33:26-27a NLT

When our grandchildren were small, we used to bring them to church. Often, my wife would be up front with the worship team, which left me (Poppy) alone in the pew with a two-year old and a four-year old. Now the older boy was quite content to sit quietly during the song service, but the younger one wanted to see what was going on, especially since Nana was up on the altar singing with other people. So that meant Poppy had to pick him and hold him so that he could look over the adults’ heads. While rocking him back and forth in time to the music was kind of cute for the first song, by the second number that little tyke felt like he weighed a hundred pounds! What a blessing it was when one of the ladies sitting nearby would offer to hold onto him for a while! Whenever I sing this little chorus about God’s everlasting arms, I think back to those times. God offers to pick us up, to carry us and to hold us close. He never gets tired or hopes to pawn us off on somebody else. God has promised, that if we trust in Him, then He will carry us keep us forever in His arms!

Photo by Iqram-O-dowla Shawon on Pexels.com

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!