Faith

Presidential Pardons

/ pastorpete51 / Leave a comment 
He has shown you, O man, what is good; And what does the Lord require of you
But to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God. MIcah 6:8 NKJV

On January 20, 1977, President Jimmy Carter was sworn into office. One of the moments that I most fondly remember from that day was when our new president opened his Bible and read this verse from the book of Micah. Today I was reminded of those words by the reactions of political commentators from both the left and right. Strangely enough just about everyone seems to be angry about mercy. Some are incensed by President Trump pardoning 1,500 folks from the January 6th event, and others are angry about President Biden’s pardoning of a variety of people including his family. Almost everyone is demanding justice, few are remembering mercy. Today’s verse reminds us that God requires justice, but he loves mercy. On the day that the Pharisees brought the woman caught in adultery to Jesus, they were pretty intent on justice. Yet while they were busy making their demands known, Jesus simply stooped down and began writing in the dust. I bet that made them even madder! When no one seemed to take the hint, Jesus finally stood up and said, “Let he who is without sin cast the first stone.” (John 8:7)

That really got their attention and then things got really quiet. Finally, one by one, beginning with the oldest (Yup that’s me!) they began to drop their rocks and head home. Then Jesus turned to the woman and gave her a pathway to justice by telling her, “Neither do I condemn you. Go and sin no more.” (John 8:11b) God loves mercy, Jesus loves mercy, and we Christians ought to love mercy more than anyone else. We are all just like that woman, because we have received the most. So, why not put our stones, and begin loving mercy, practicing forgiveness and praying for our nation and its leaders to do the same!

Amazing Grace

/ pastorpete51 / 1 Comment 
Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.
Ephesians 4:32 ESV

Singing the song Amazing Grace should be more than just a celebration of what we have received from God. Instead, it can be an opportunity to express the unlocking of God’s grace in our hearts in a way that makes it known to others: especially those who are hardest to love. It is easy to be gracious for those we like and who have blessed our lives. But it is even easier to make excuses for complaining about folks who have treated us badly. We forget that Jesus forgave us and loved us while He was nailed to the cross and we didn’t even know Him or care about Him at all. But grace means that when we are hurt by others God wants us to allow Him to pour HIs Calvary love out through us to them. Then, through the radical forgiveness of Jesus we can together experience and give God all the praise for His wonderful and truly amazing grace! I hope you might enjoy listening to us singing this wonderful hymn at Discovery Villages this past Sunday.

Abba Father!

/ pastorpete51 / 2 Comments 
So you have not received a spirit that makes you fearful slaves. Instead, you received God’s Spirit when he adopted you as his own children. Now we call him, “Abba, Father. Romans 8:15 NLT

Call me old fashioned, but nothing irks me more than to hear people call their parents by their first names. According to recent estimates, there are eight billion folks on earth who can call them “Bob,” or “Barbara,” but only their children can call out “Mom!” or “Dad!” Today’s verse reminds us that as God’s adopted children, we receive the privilege to call Him “Abba, Father.” God has many names in the Bible like “Mighty God” “Prince of Peace” and Wonderful Counselor,” and these all tell us what He does. But we who have been adopted into His family, can call Him “Abba.” Because of who He is to us.

Fifty years ago, I walked into a hospital room and saw my wife holding our newborn son. As I looked in amazement at his tiny, wrinkled face, God gave me much more than a new job: He gave me a new name: “Dad” When we put our faith in Jesus as Savior and Lord, we are adopted into God’s family and can begin to call Him: “Abba Father.” But in that very same instant, as God looks down at our faces, He also gives us new names and calls out “Welcome home son.” and “Welcome Home daughter!”

Have you been adopted into God’s family? You can be today! The Bible says, "But to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God." John 1:12 NLT
Believe in Him and accept Him as Lord and you too can call Him "ABBA!"