Poetry

Sabbath Gift of Grace

/ pastorpete51 / 1 Comment 

The Sabbath is a Gift of Grace

It’s not a law we must obey
 Or just some answer on a test
 But it began at the creation
 That God made a day for rest
  
 Just as the sun was going down
 And as His children lay to sleep
 He gently covered them with night
 And then bowed low so they could meet
  
 And in the morning walk the path
 And tell them how His hand had traced
 The course of daybreak and the stars
 Then gave a Sabbath gift of grace 

The Sabbath is a Gift of Grace by Peter Caligiuri
Copyright 2021 all rights reserved

So God blessed the seventh day and made it Holy, because on it God rested from all His work that He had done in creation. Genesis 2:3 ESV

Where is Our Hope?

/ pastorpete51 / 3 Comments 
Who has seen the wind?
Neither you nor I
But when the trees bow down their heads
The wind is passing by          
Excerpt from Who Has Seen the Wind? by Christina Rossetti

I’m not much for remembering long pages of flowing verse from Dylan Thomas or T.S. Elliott, but what stays with me are tiny snippets of poetry that take quiet walks with me when I am alone. This week as I was struggling though some personal issues I remembered Christina Rossetti’s line, “But when the trees bow down their heads” and God gently quieted by heart. I had been making a fuss about things I could not understand like a crying child who refuses to take his afternoon nap. But like the perfect Father that He is, God comforted me with the reminder that faith is the way He chooses for everyone to walk with Him.

Sure, Moses saw the burning bush and Peter got to see Jesus transformed on the mountain. But for the vast majority of us, our faith is built on somewhat less spectacular experiences. In fact Peter himself points out that our hope and joy is based on a Jesus who we have never seen.

 And though you have never seen him, yet I know that you love him. At present you trust him without being able to see him, and even now he brings you a joy that words cannot express and which has in it a hint of the glories of Heaven; 1 Peter 1:8 Phillips Version

Some of you are probably struggling with loneliness, sickness or heartache, wishing that Jesus would just show up and fix things. It would be great to see God swing into action like Spiderman, just as our enemies close in, but He has a better way! His solution does not depend on anything we can see, but on the unseen love of Jesus Christ. We believe not because we have seen, but because we have experienced God’s gift of joy by means of a faith that gives with us, “A hint of heaven” and God’s Spirit whispers, “That hint is more than enough! “

All Our Needs in His Own Way

/ pastorpete51 / 2 Comments

For even when I was in Thessalonica, you sent me aid more than once when I was in need... And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:16 & 19 ESV

As I read my bible this morning, I was excited to see how the story of Paul’s missionary work is woven together with the little church in Philippi. When God first sent a vision to Paul to leave for Europe- he saw a man from Macedonia calling for help. So Paul went and bought a ticket, got on a boat and sailed across to Philippi. Rather surprisingly after obeying God’s call, Paul was promptly thrown in prison. But, on that famous night in the jail, while Paul and Silas sang hymns, God sent an earthquake and the church of Philippi was founded – with the jailer possibly becoming the first deacon! Now, many years later, Paul finds himself sitting in a Roman prison, but he was still concerned about the needs of that church in Philippi. All through the time Paul was establishing churches in Macedonia, Greece and Asia Minor, the Philippians had stayed in touch with him. Their leader Epaphroditus even visited Paul regularly, both bringing offerings and staying with him to help out. We do not hear of even one of the large rich churches sending help to Paul, but the Philippians continued doing all they could, because they considered Paul to be more than just an apostle. He was a part of their family. And just like when we send care packages to a son off in college, they were determined that as much as they were able they would take care of Paul.

Sure, God could have used larger churches or he could even have sent an angel with anything that Paul needed. But God chooses to use his people to take care of each other, so that we can experience the life of Christ for ourselves – and that experience begins with our learning how to give. Learning to give means learning to love and our greatest need of all is always love!

All Our Needs in His Own Way

All our needs in His own way
Jesus promises to meet
But He often uses hands of clay
To give the things we seek

So when God chooses us to lift
A load from off our brother
Remember it was from His cross
He showed how to love each other

All Our Needs in His Own Way by Peter Caligiuri 
copyright 2021 all rights reserved