Abiding in Christ

Abiding After the Storm

/ pastorpete51 / 2 Comments 
When the rain was raging
And the storm knocked at my door
Abiding meant still resting
In God’s Word and nothing more

After hours of cleanup
In the sunset’s fading light
Abiding was still walking
On with Christ throughout the night

In the middle of destruction
With debris now piled deep
Abiding is still trusting
God our hearts will daily keep!

Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, 
neither can you, unless you abide in Me. 
John 15:4 NKJV

Abiding After the Storm
by Peter Caligiuri
Copyright © 2024
All rights reserved

Author's note: Though we personally were spared during this storm, many of our friends were caught in the worst of it. What little ways we are able to help, barely make a dent in the work that lies ahead, but as God's family we are trusting Him to get us through this together.

Shelter From the Storm

/ pastorpete51 / Leave a comment 
Whether by day while working away
With the heat of the sun overhead
Or the pit of despair
In the darkness and gloom
With lightening crashing down everywhere

Still He's holding my hand
As God walks by my side
And Jesus fills me with His peace

He's our shelter in storms
By His grace and His power
And our refuge in darkness and night
He's a friend who stays true
As He leads us all through
To His Heaven and a placed filled with light

I loved the peace of this violin rendition of In Christ Alone by Stuart Townend and Keith Getty. For those unfamiliar with the lyrics here is the first verse.

In Christ alone my hope is found
He is my light, my strength, my song
This cornerstone, this solid ground
Firm through the fiercest drought and storm
What heights of love, what depths of peace
When fears are stilled, when strivings cease
My comforter, my all in all
Here, in the love of Christ, I stand

A 2 Way Street

/ pastorpete51 / Leave a comment

In our backyard is a lemon tree that loves to give fruit. Every year right after Christmas you will find it loaded with hundreds of lemons. No one has ever done any pruning spraying or fertilizing. It loves where it lives. I have discovered that its secret is in its flowers. Each year in early March when the weather turns warm it is covered with the sweetest smelling blossoms this side of heaven. Every bee in the county knows where our tree lives and lends its help in making sure next year will be a bang up harvest again.

Have you stoped lately to check if the sweet aroma of a relationship with Christ is in our attitudes and words? Is there anemic looking fruit on our branches? Jesus isn’t trying to whip us into action to produce a better crop. He is appealing tp us to just learn to love where we live in Him. If we will delight in the backyard He has planted us in, He promises to fill us with fruit. But without Him there won’t be a single lemon on our tree!