Light

Now More Than Ever!

/ pastorpete51 / 4 Comments

The Lord is my light and my salvation. Whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life. Of whom then shall I be afraid? Psalm 27:1 KJV

When I go for a quiet walk in the park or wade in the waves at the beach, peace seems an easy concept to get a hold of. But with our nation in crisis, and people lining up for miles just hoping for a plane ride out of Afghanistan, peace sounds more like a fairy tale than a reality. In Psalm twenty-seven, King David found himself in a similar circumstance, surrounded by an army, as powerful and deadly as the Taliban. His enemies had already wiped out nearly every man woman and child in the town of Anathoth, for simply giving him and his men a few loaves of bread and a single sword. But on that evening as David looked down at the encampment of blood thirsty men, God asked Him what he was afraid of and on David’s darkest night, the answer came. “The Lord is my light and my salvation. Why should we be afraid?” Just as in David’s day, the Lord remains our light and the only one We can depend on to help us through. Our current state of helplessness does us the favor of reminding us that He alone is true strength!

So what are you facing? What challenge is on your path this morning? God has allowed this situation. At times like these people often say, “God is still in control.”. While that of course is true, it would be even more accurate to say that, “God is more in control now than ever: because we are not!”  He wants us to see that now more than ever, He is our hope and our salvation and we don’t ever need to be afraid!

Step by Step into 21

/ pastorpete51 / 2 Comments

From milking the cows to following the light of God’s word into 2021; this week’s video shares memories and encouragement for our New Year. Songs included today are God Leads His Dear Children Along and Higher Ground. After all we have been through in 2020 I pray God to help all of us step into 2021 with greater faith and hope for all He has in store in the year ahead.

Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light to my path. Psalm 119:105

The Pathway to the Barn

/ pastorpete51 / 5 Comments

Thy word is lamp unto my feet and a light to my path. Psalm 119:105

When I was a teenager I lived for a few years on a farm in Southern Missouri. Each of us had our own chores and mine was to milk the cow. It would have been far easier to run across the road to the milk barn when it was light out, but in order to be ready to leave for work on time, I needed to get out of my nice warm bed and get started by 4:45. If the moon was full, it wasn’t hard to see and I could easily pick my way up the familiar path. But on dark moonless mornings, though I knew the way by heart, I needed the beam from my flashlight to find where to place my feet for each step.

Now fifty years later, I am still getting up long before daybreak but the pathway of 2021 feels far darker than any of those walks to the barn. Our own family’s issues, the ever changing national health crisis along with my own personal struggles loom on the horizon feeling like the shadows of a massive mountain range. Fears and doubts, decisions and demands lie waiting to be confronted, decided and met full on. But there is hope because God has given us a promise that He will light the path. We may not see well enough to run ahead, but His word will show us the way to take the next step. Then, even more amazingly He adds the even greater promise that He will not only light our path but that He will walk with us on it ,step by step, all the way to the barn.

God bless you each of you and Happy New Year. May you find the next step that He has reserved for you in this year that lies ahead!