Devotional

Whatever Happened to Christmas?

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I know it might seem early but before you know it the holiday season will arrive, and the release date for this year’s Christmas devotional “Whatever happened to Christmas?” is here. This thirty day walk from Thanksgiving to the manger takes a few peeks back at Christmas memories because in a world at war with Corona Virus, we desperately need to recall the peace of Christmas.  Does anyone still remember that wondrous sense of timelessness that Christmas day once held? Today, are we constantly running due to necessity or are we just staying busy because it helps make us to feel important? When Jesus was wrapped in swaddling clothes and laid in a humble manger shepherds left their flocks in the fields to see Him, the Wise Men left their homes to worship and even angels stood breathlessly on tiptoes to watch.

God now invites us to join them in knowing that no matter what is happening around us Jesus Christ is worthy of our worship. Christmas means listening again to the amazing story of the child of Bethlehem whose name is Everlasting Father, the Prince of peace and the Savior of our crazy world.

Whatever happened to Christmas is in both standard and large print, while the e-book version will be available starting on Saturday 10-24-20. So, whatever happened to Christmas? The answer is nothing! By His grace it remains forever the same!

Here are the links

Regular Print: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08KTJKPP3

Large Print: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08L2LL1YY

Walking With The Invisible God

/ pastorpete51 / 5 Comments

This post is from a devotional book I wrote a while back but I posted it today because it is so much like the battles many of us are going through today. It is a reminder that when our spiritual walk seems more like a spiritual trudge we need to remember who we are trudging with! We walk with an invisible God on an invisible road to an invisible destination! What a totally insane thing it is to live by faith – and yet – God delights in exactly that. The apostle Peter puts this crazy walk of faith in different words, 

Whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory 1 Peter 1:8

If your walk of faith feels like you are wading through mud, remember that God has chosen those times for us to have opportunity to know Him better. Wouldn’t it be wonderful to find a mysterious letter written from the future as happened in the film “The Lake House”? If you haven’t seen the film it has an odd twist of two people from different times who have never met yet through their letters they come to know each other and fall in love. That is in some ways like our own mysterious love letter “The Bible”! 

We would love to know more details but by God’s design we are given His word. It is our staircase to heaven. The word of God is a light that shines in our dark place and it is our shelter from the storm. God’s word is a treasure hidden in a field and it is our pearl of greatest price. The more we don’t know or understand the more precious the riches of God’s eternal word become. I don’t understand this plan God has chosen yet by faith I am walking with my invisible God on His invisible road to His invisible destination!

Though I did not write this post to promote this book, ff you would like to order a copy you can find it here _ God bless and have a great week

Caregiver Devotional Give-away

/ pastorpete51 / 5 Comments

With this Covid-19 crisis now dragging on into mid-July the issues for those in Long Term care have changed from being a temporary adjustment to a near permanent situation. Visits through the window, masks and tearful good-byes are what is now accepted as the new normal. These emotional, physical and spiritual challenges on those who are caregivers and staff are equal to or in some cases even greater than on those in need of care.

I wrote Grace For the Road as a devotional first aid kit to encourage and point you to Jesus Christ the healer and caregiver of us all. Drawing on my three decades of service as a volunteer chaplain I have included as many real life stories as I can. This Monday through Friday you can download the e-book format at the low low price of free! You may follow the link below or search for it on Amazon.com under Grace for the Road: Devotions for Caregivers by Peter Caligiuri.

May God bless you and keep you safe in the palm of His hands!

The Lord bless you and keep you;  the Lord make his face shine on you
 and be gracious to you;  the Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace. Numbers 6:24-25 NIV