Nursing Home Ministry

Come Thou Fount

/ pastorpete51 / Leave a comment

For by grace you have been saved, through faith, and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God. Not as the result of works so that no one may boast. Ephesians 2:8-9 ESV

Maybe the reason this now ancient hymn strikes a chord in my heart is that the tumultuous life of young Robert Robertson was a lot like my own. Wandering far from the fold of God, was an understatement in both our lives. But into the middle of my mess, and on a collision course with disaster, God intervened, when someone offered me a ride while hitchhiking if I would just go to church. In Robert’s case, he and some ne’er-do-well friends, made plans to go to laugh and mock at a meeting where the famous evangelist George Whitefield was speaking. God must have chuckled, because there Robertson fell under the conviction of the Holy Spirit under Whitefield’s preaching, and not long afterward, committed His life to Jesu Christ. Then, just two years later, at the age of 22, the wonderful lyrics, of Come Thou Fount were born as Robert wrote:

O to grace how great a debtor
Daily I’m constrained to me
Let Thy goodness like a fetter
Bind my wandering soul to Thee
Prone to wander, Lord I feel it
Prone to leave the God I love
Here’s my heart O take and seal it
Seal it for Thy courts above

That great debt of grace, only paid by the precious blood of Jesus is what binds us in love to Him forever, if we give our hearts to Jesus Christ. I pray that our simple rendering of this wonderful hymn, will be a blessing to you all this Sunday. Have a wonderful Sunday, and may you find rest and peace in His grace.

Why Should We Care About Memory Care?

/ pastorpete51 / 4 Comments

Now the eyes of Israel were dim with age, so that he could not see. So Joseph brought them near him, and he kissed them and embraced them. Genesis 48:10 ESV

They barely remember our name and struggle to recall where they are. The hands, once strong and able that provided for us, protected us and even at times disciplined us now hang limply at their sides. What is the use of visiting, when they will not remember it an hour from now? Those are hard but very real questions we may struggle with if we have a parent in memory care.

Genesis 48:10 ESV  Now the eyes of Israel were dim with age, so that he could not see. So Joseph brought them near him, and he kissed them and embraced them.

https://bible.com/bible/59/gen.48.10.ESV

But God remembers them and like Jacob, they still hold the blessings for our children in their hands. Rather than simply pity them, or stay away in discouragement and sorrow, let us go remembering that God has designed this chapter in their lives to still have purpose. Remember that after Jesus was born, he was brought by Mary and Joseph to the temple.  There Jesus received blessings from, Simeon and Anna, the two oldest members of the community.

Those who are least respected by a society weary of caring for its elderly, are highly honored by God. These weakened by infirmity and age have been entrusted with the blessing for our children. Why should we care about memory care? Because Jesus does and He remembers them and sees when each one falls.

God Loves Ordinary People!

/ pastorpete51 / 6 Comments

And Elisha said to her, “What shall I do for you? Tell me what have you in the house?” And she said, “Your servant has nothing in the house except a jar of oil.” 2 Kings 4:2 ESV

Often when we face problems, we wonder if we should pray. After all, we reason, why would God be concerned with our needs, when there are other far greater needs in the world all around us? We wonder why a big God, would be concerned with our ordinary needs. But in this brief story in the book of second Kings, we meet a poor and rather unimportant widow, whose debts mattered to God. Just as her scenario though scarcely remarkable, mattered to God, so God is interested in our needs today. Though there were certainly many other needy widows at that time, and we don’t know why God didn’t send Elisha to others, what we do know is that this lady asked for help. Maybe we are too embarrassed by our problems to ask for help, but God isn’t ashamed of us or our needs. He may simply be waiting for us to ask so that we can be ready for the answer He sends.

Sometimes we don’t ask God’s help, not only because we think that our issue isn’t important enough, but also because we think we aren’t important enough. Yet, despite what the media, our neighbors or even our family think or say, the Bible tell us that we are made in God’s image. All of us in some way are a reflection of the Creator of this entire universe., Though no one else may think much of us, God thinks the world of us, and He cares so much for our needs, that He sent His only Son to die in our place. To God, there are no big and little people. no big or small needs. We all are precious to Him and the one who watches sparrows and widows, also cares about us today!