gifts

12 Gifts of Christmas / 9th Gift -Mercy

/ pastorpete51 / 1 Comment

 But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him. Luke 15:10

Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy! Matthew 5:7 

As we’ve looked at gifts both given and received; no list could be complete without mercy. Grace sometimes gets bigger headlines in the Sunday sermons, but comparing the two as if one were greater misses the point. Mercy is God’s forgiveness by which we receive eternal life. Grace is God’s amazing delivery system that brings His gift to places we least expect and to the most unlikely people. (Like me!) I hope my little poem this morning will simply be a reminder that we are each given this day, so that we can pass God’s mercy on to others in a thousand little acts of grace. 

 Mercy's Gifts

 It's a pint of blood needed
To someone we don’t know
 Or handful of tissues when their tears start to flow

 A quiet embrace when their world falls apart
And a light at the door when they come after dark

 It's that kiss of forgiveness when we still feel the hurt
 Or a check in the mail when they’ve been out of work

 Angel songs after midnight when we’re up watching sheep
 And a Babe in a manger On a night that's so deep! 

Mercy's Gifts by Peter Caligiuri
Copyright 2020
All rights reserved

12 Gifts of Christmas / 7th Gift – Rest

/ pastorpete51 / 3 Comments

 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. Matthew 11:29

Our plane had finished climbing to 30,000 feet and the pilot quietly announced that we were now free to move about the cabin, but my eyes were still tightly closed in prayer. No – I wasn’t just being religious – I was really terrified of flying! But on a six hour flight it is hard to pretend that you are sleeping for very long. When eventually, I opened my eyes, I noticed a young Chinese man seated across from me, gazing out his window in delight. We struck up a conversation and I learned that he was coming from Hong Kong to the United States and that this was his first time on a plane. The difference between His joy of watching the clouds and the scenery lay in stark contrast to my dark fears. Though I truly believed that if I died I would be with Jesus, I was still gripped by anxiety and my neighbor’s obvious joy made me feel ashamed.

He was enjoying the kind of rest that in our hurry towards Christmas, we all need to remember. Maybe we miss God’s purpose of rest because we feel that with any sort of inactivity we might be missing out. But God is at the controls of our lives and has given us complete freedom to move about the cabin and find rest as we delight in seeing where God is taking us on our journey.

We would be a lot more at ease if we remembered that Jesus patiently lingered nine unhurried months in the waiting room of Mary’s womb. Shepherds learned the Good News of great joy as they rested with their flocks. Even after Jesus was born, He rested in the place the Father had put Him while He was growing up in the tiny village of Nazareth.

In fact, Jesus had brothers and sisters with whom He had to share a straw mattress on the floor and eat the same simple family meals that Mary cooked. Never once does the Bible record a complaint, or reveal an attitude of impatience with him. Jesus simply waited for the day when His Father’s work would begin and He rested in the place where he was. Maybe it was there in Nazareth where He was taught to give thanks for bread and fish. While taking care of his chores He learned to wash feet for visitors, celebrate weddings and handle wood and nails. Then He patiently and painfully endured the cross for us, all the while resting in the thought that the end of hIS journey would be perfect. then before the resurrection Jesus rested three long days in the tomb. That same Jesus who could take a nap in a boat in a storm now invites us to also come, put our trust in Him and celebrate rest for our souls forever!

12 Gifts of Christmas / Day 3- Prayer

/ pastorpete51 / 1 Comment

But I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned again, strengthen your brothers.” Luke 22:32 ESV

Can you remember a single time in the life of Jesus when he said, “I’ll be praying for you!”? He prayed when He was woken from sleep in a storm and He prayed in the desert for forty days. He prayed when people were hungry to multiply bread and He prayed for God to forgive His enemies from the cross. Everywhere and always Jesus prayed because He knew that His Father was listening. We probably already knew about those prayers of Jesus but did you ever stop to think that Christmas is in fact, the ultimate answer to every person’s prayer. God heard and He sent us His Son.

Prayer is also the greatest gift we can give to anyone this Christmas, every needs Jesus and anything is possible when we pray. Those who feel alone can experience His presence; He came as Immanuel – God with us. For friends who have lost their way, the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem answers their prayers for forgiveness because He came as God’s sacrifice for sin. For the friends or family who feel life is very dark with this pandemic, He is the light of the world.

For those feel week, He came as to be our strength. For those of us who know we have done things wrong and hurt others, Jesus shows Himself as the friend of sinners. no matter our need, Jesus is the answer to our prayers . What greater gift we could give to someone else is there than to be able to honestly say “but I have prayed for you”