IN – Everything Give Thanks

/ pastorpete51 / 2 Comments

In everything give thanks for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you. 1 Thessalonians 5:18 KJV

The Apostle Paul, who wrote these words to the Thessalonians, was an expert on giving thanks in everything. When Paul and Silas had first arrived there, they were still healing from the beating they had received in Phillipi, not to mention spending the entire night hey had spent in the jail. In Thessalonica things were going a bit better for the first three weeks, but then some people began stirring up trouble there also and they ended up leaving town just ahead of an unruly mob. I imagine that when the church gathered to listen to Paul’s letter read publicly, many of these new Christians nodded their heads in agreement. “Oh yeah! We definitely know what Paul means by “giving thanks in everything.” They had witnessed Paul thanking God while still in some terrible situations. Paul thanked God when he arrived in Thessalonica and was gladly received, and he thanked God when he had to head on to the next town because of persecution. So, this morning I ask myself, “Am I being thankful while still in this situation, or am I waiting for everything to work out first”?

The beauty and the adventure of this Christian walk is not only about the victorious outcome, but in the rejoicing, praying and giving thanks to God, while all we can see is suffering, unanswered questions and problems we cannot solve. On this earth we will not see every issue resolved, every injustice made right, or every wound healed. Instead, on this side of Heaven there are tears, doubts and frustrations, but God gives us the choice of complaining about everything or giving thanks in the middle of the mess. The verse urges us to do this because it is the will of God in Christ Jesus for us. It is His will in Christ Jesus, who gave thanks for the bread on the night He was betrayed, and later prayed for His enemies to be forgiven, while He was on the Cross. God’s will in Christ Jesus is the same for us, right here, right now, in the middle of everything, we are to give Him thanks!

Fresh Baked Bread

/ pastorpete51 / 4 Comments

Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst. John 6:35 ESV

When I was a boy, my friends and I used to play baseball in our shared backyards. No matter what the score, we would keep at it, unless a parent called us in, or we smelled the aroma of my mom’s fresh baked bread, wafting out through the kitchen window. Then like thieves rushing to a bank robbery, we would hurry in letting the screen door slam behind us and stand anxiously watching my mother. “What is it you all want?” she would ask us with a smile, before going back to popping those loaves out of the bread pans onto the counter. Then she would always nicely add, “You do know, hot bread is bad for your stomach. It has to cool for at least five minutes.” I think mom just made us wait because she loved to watch us hop from one foot to the other, while our eyes stayed glued to the hands on the clock just above the stove. She must have chuckled watching our twitching faces as the seconds ticked away, but true to her word, at the five-minute mark, mom would put a loaf onto the bread board and begin slicing. Then after slathering it with butter, mom would hand each one of us a slice., while asking, “Now, what do you say?”

“Thank you!” we’d all shout as we ran back outside to play with the last of her bread still in our mouths. When people met Jesus, they may not have been able to put their finger on why, but there was something familiar about Him that stirred a hunger in their hearts, just like the aroma of mom’s bread did for hungry boys. And what about you today? Are you standing outside Heaven’s door, enjoying the aroma of God’s fresh baked bread? Maybe you have come into the kitchen but are still shifting from one foot to the other, thinking you still have to wait your turn. Or have you finally found your seat at God’s kitchen table, and are hungrily gulping down that first buttery slice? Jesus tells us that we don’t have to wait any longer. Fresh bread is God’s promise to everyone who is hungry. But we must choose to come, and ask, and then don’t forget to say thank you!

Where is Jesus?

/ pastorpete51 / 1 Comment

Finally the temple guards went back to the chief priests and the Pharisees, who asked them, “Why didn’t you bring him in?” “No one ever spoke the way this man does,” the guards replied. John 7:45-46 NIV

Can you imagine the scene of today’s verse? Here was a squad of trained, professional soldiers, coming back from their assignment, which had been to arrest Jesus. But instead of bringing in the Rabbi they had been authorized to detain, they show up on the doorstep empty handed. “Where is Jesus?” their commanders asked. “Why are the handcuffs empty?”

“You don’t understand sir,: the captain of the detachment replies. “No one ever spoke like this man!” You see, it isn’t just during our worship time, that the things of earth can grow strangely dim. This little story tells us that when Jesus was seen for who He truly is, even His enemies weren’t sure what to do with Him. We may try to look away, but His eyes hold ours, His words penetrate our hearts and the power of His presence is more than we know how to deal with. Today it is two thousand years later, but people are still asking, “Just who is this Jesus?” The answer of our faith is that, He is the King of kings and the Lamb of God. He is the carpenter from Nazareth and the Word of God in human form. Jesus is the beginning and the end. He is the bright and morning star. Jesus is the Holy Son of the Living God and the Savior of the world. He humbly rode in on a donkey, but one day He will victoriously return on a white horse. Are you ready for all of who Jesus is? Am I? Why not turn our eyes upon Jesus this morning? Let’s look full in His wonderful face, before we go out to face the world, so that we will be empowered to report to others, “No one ever spoke like this man!” I pray you will be blessed by this simple version of the old hymn, along with the short message, from our Sunday service at Watermark.