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Honor the King

/ pastorpete51 / 3 Comments

Honor all people. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the king ! 1 Peter 2:17

We hosted an exchange student from Eastern Europe several years ago. He arrived in September to begin school and landed right in the middle of a bitterly election fight for governor akin to our present presidential race. I had become deaf to the ads stating that this man was a liar and the other a thief but our student had not. “Wow!” he said one day. “They couldn’t say those things back in my country! They would arrest you or someone would come and beat you up!”  “They always do that here” I explained. It is just part of any election.” Whether or not insulting and rude behavior has always been this way is a debate for the historians but what is not in question is God’s attitude toward our disrespect of those in authority.

Photo by Tove Liu on Pexels.com

“You don’t know how bad these politicians are today!” you might say. But the rulers in the days of the early church were kings like Herod, governors like Pontius Pilate and Emperors like Titus (Who burned Jerusalem to the ground, crucified thousands of people and had their fields plowed with salt) In other words those rulers whom Peter told us to honor were sometimes violent and ruthless people, Yet the honor we give as Christians is not really just to them but to God who has given them authority. Honoring them has nothing to do with agreeing with or even obeying their commands – Check out Daniel in the lions’ den!  When we honor the king we are saying, “I trust that God is still in control!” God is giving us the chance to show the world God’s way. As followers of Jesus Christ we should respect everyone even those politicians we do not like. Remember that they are all made in the image of God! 

Did you ever Wonder Whatever Happened to Sunday?

/ pastorpete51 / 6 Comments

In this busy angry confused world I sometimes wonder: whatever happened to Sunday.  I fondly remember walks I took with my Grandfather early on Sunday mornings. He would hold my small hand as we walked the two blocks from his house to pick up his paper at the drug store which in those times was the only establishment open on Sundays.

It was always such an amazingly quiet morning with hardly a car passing even on Main Street. Even though I was so small I felt a wonderful sense of awe in that quiet pause between Saturday and Monday. It felt strangely comforting to know that no one’s affairs were so urgent that they couldn’t be put on hold for a day. Usually after church my grandmother would make us a lunch of pancakes and sausage followed by a whole afternoon of doing nothing but playing in the back yard with my cousins. The Bible talks about the Sabbath but I am afraid that today even within the church we have forgotten it.

Keep the Sabbath day holy. Don’t pursue your own interests on that day, but enjoy the Sabbath and speak of it with delight as the Lord’s holy day. Isaiah 58:13

Today in most states in the U.S. there is a chain of convenience stores called 7/11. The store was so named because it used to be open from 7 AM to 11 PM. But, today those stores are open 24/7 and 365 days per year. The 23rd Psalm tells us why God gives us rest, “He makes me lie down in green pastures, He leads me beside quiet waters, He restores my soul.” In the beginning God didn’t rest on the seventh day because He was tired. No! God rested to paint us a picture of His restoring grace!

It was as if when God finished creating the world He just took time to enjoy it and then He blessed the Sabbath and made it holy. God rested because He was finished and spending time resting with us was the most important thing He could do. But according to the world’s way of thinking all that matters is work – work – work. But God heart is all about quiet delight, and rest. We all need that moment when like the dove that Noah sent out from the ark, we also find a place to rest. Only then will we will be able to carry in our hearts the Olive branch of God’s  peace and find again what happened to Sunday!

All He Has is Ours!

/ pastorpete51 / 1 Comment

And he said to him, ‘Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours. Luke 15:31

What most of us love about the parable of the prodigal son is the love and acceptance he receives when he returns home. His father had the servants bring him the best robe, sandals and a ring, and then ordered a celebration with music, dancing and lots of food!

When his older brother heard the news he didn’t exactly rejoice. In fact he refused to go even in and instead complained bitterly to his father, “Look, these many years I have served you, and I never disobeyed your command” This morning, listen to the father’s reply, “You are always with me and all that is mine is yours.” You see what the older brother hadn’t realized was that he had access to all that his father possessed. He had not received that position because of his years of work. After all there had been servants in the household who had worked harder and longer but were still not owners of anything. The reality was that just like his younger brother he had missed out on his relationship with his dad all those long years.

Though it is easy for us to criticize the older brother’s hard hearted response, we aren’t really that much different than he was. We attend church, read our Bible, go to work, and try to be good neighbors. Yet God doesn’t love us because of our hard work. He accepts us because of His grace. So today, whether you are far away or right in the same house, you will still be missing out until you begin to embrace Him like a son and not simply work like a servant.  Why waste one more day ? Our Father is waiting for us to join Him for a celebration knowing that all He has is ours!