Winter

Whiter than Snow

/ pastorpete51 / 1 Comment

Many year back I heard this ending of a long poem that an evangelist read at the close of his service It has always stayed with me. When I stand in the midst of a farm field filled with snow it feels for the moment like a barren place, forsaken by all life and hope. Winter in all its harshness has covered everything that was once green and growing. But God in His goodness and wonderful love knows exactly where we are. He has not lost track of our whereabouts. He is close by calling us to the warm fire of His home. There He will gently welcome us, wrap us in the covering of His love and comfort our hearts. There we will not be white like the snow -we will be washed and by made His blood…even whiter than snow

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Filthy and black as the old trampled snow,
Sinner, despair not! for Christ has stooped low
To rescue the soul that is lost in its sin,
And raise it to life and enjoyment again;
Groaning—
Bleeding—
Dying for thee,
The Crucified hung on th’ accursed tree!
His voice full of mercy falls now on your ear:
“There is mercy for you”—He will hear your weak prayer:
“O God, in the blood that for sinners did flow,
Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.”                                   Anonymous

Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean;Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. Psalm 51:7

The Grace of Gratefulness Day Three Challenge

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When I was small my mother always made me wait till after we had said grace before we ate. In Spanish we would say muchas gracias (much grace).  In my little mind I didn’t quite grasp why, but in the passing years I am learning that the word grace really is at the center of gratefulness. Yesterday was a complete failure for me in the gratefulness challenge. I found though that as I genuinely confessed my own failures at ceasing my complaining and faced my own lack of gratitude, a real sense of God’s peace and mercy came to me.

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David gives a glimpse of this mercy

Psalm 103:11-13 For as high as the heavens are above the earth,
    so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him;
12 as far as the east is from the west,
    so far does he remove our transgressions from us.
13 As a father shows compassion to his children,
    so the Lord shows compassion to those who fear him.

      How wonderful it is to know and experience the real grace of God. We will never really become grateful or stop our complaining until the cross of Jesus Christ (The center of God’s grace) becomes the center of our thoughts and attitudes.

At the cross at the cross where I first saw the light

And the burdens of my heart rolled away

It was there by faith I received my sight

And now I am happy all the day                 Isaac Watts

Today

/ pastorpete51 / Leave a comment

This is the day the Lord has made;
We will rejoice and be glad in it. Psalm 118:24

I part the curtain and look out the window again to see snow, not flowers and grass. As I breathe a longing sigh there stirs in me the familiar complaint that I hate the cold and wish it were Summer. But then today I realized that when I woke up and looked out the window God had given me an unimaginably valuable gift. No matter that my eyes see snow drifts and everything stands frozen – God is at work. He has fashioned today and placed it into my hands.

Though you may be facing circumstances, both physical and spiritual that are worse than bad weather, God is at work for you as well. Today was His before it was ours. It isn’t Spring yet because God has chosen Winter. In spite of my own struggles I have decidedKIMG0581 to be glad. One thing is for sure – today will never come again and tomorrow will grow better when it has its roots in the joy of the Lord…