Photography

Crossing From Death to Life

/ pastorpete51 / Leave a comment 
“Very truly I tell you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be judged but has crossed over from death to life. John 5:24 NIV

Before the children of Israel left Egypt, they stood on one side of the Red Sea, but as they were leaving, they crossed over to the other side. Forty years later when they came near to the border of the Promised Land, they stood on the East bank of the Jordan, but when God parted the water, of the river, they crossed over to the Western side. Throughout History we see people who have crossed over to begin new lives. Martin Luther left the Roman Catholic system on the premise that faith alone, not the church would give him eternal life.  One hundred and fifty years later, the Pilgrims, crossed the Atlantic, to what was called, “The New World”, for the freedom to worship God according to their own conscience. In the same way, Jesus has called anyone who believes in Him to cross over to eternal life. “But what does that mean? How can I cross over?” you ask. Jesus tells us that the answer is to simply believe His words more than ours. Crossing over will mean letting go of Egypt, to follow God through the wilderness, then leaving the wilderness behind to enter the Promised land. There is no crossing over, without a leaving behind. But we do not need to be afraid, because the same God who parted the Red Sea and the Jordan River, is standing before us today with an invitation to believe. Jesus is stretching out His hand and saying, “You don’t need a map of the wilderness, to get to the Promised Land, you only need to follow me. He is also calling you and me this morning. “Don’t be afraid. Trust my word. Take my hand. Leave everything in this world behind and together, let’s cross over to eternal life!”

And Yet God’s Grace

/ pastorpete51 / 6 Comments

But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness…” 2 Corinthians 12:9a

There is nothing I like about weakness, and I loathe the inabilities that have come with age. My fingers sometimes ache when I play my guitar and my voice takes time out for lunch while I am trying to finish a song. There is so much that needs to be done which requires, more strength, endurance and intelligence than I possess – and Yet God inexplicably delights in those moments. When I am no longer capable of once very ordinary things, God’s grace that lay dormant in my younger more capable days, becomes active.

I hate sitting and only listening when I feel I should speak. It is frustrating to spend nights tossing and turning over struggles which should be old hat by now and-Yet God- has promised that even when I can no longer trust myself, I can trust that He will give me grace. His grace is enough in every need. His grace is enough when I cannot understand. His grace is enough when my plans tangle like threads which His fingers alone can unknot and weave into a beautiful tapestry. His grace is enough when I cannot sing a note to give me song in the night. Oh yes – I do not love my weakness – and Yet God- has promised that in my weakness His power and strength will be made perfect, His grace will carry us through, and He will get all the glory and praise!

2 Corinthians 12:9b
Therefore, I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, 
so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.   

Word Wednesday

/ pastorpete51 / 2 Comments

We are back home after a ten day trip to visit family. What a wonderful (and exhausting!) time hanging with grandkids. It seems they have only two gears, going fast and fast asleep! So this Wednesday I thought to start something new -Word Wednesday-. I love creating verse images on my youversion app. Some are great photos but fail as decent images, so once a week I will share the one that seemed to come out best. What better word to begin with than one that reminds us of whose word stands above all others? Blessings all!