Prayer

Finding Grace

/ pastorpete51 / 2 Comments

Going to visit people living in memory-care can be strange, uncomfortable, and even difficult, but it is rarely boring. It seems that every day, someone has a problem. No two days, no two people and no two problems are the alike. Just when things seem to be going smoothly, new challenges unexpectedly appear: The memory care wing is on lockdown, a person we counted on to help with the service is out sick or a resident we have grown to love has passed away. How does God expect us to cope with all of this? I believe that the answer is: He doesn’t! Now, I have experienced a lot of problems over the years at nursing homes and in my personal life, but none of them can compare with the kinds of issues that the Apostle Paul experienced. Shipwreck, beatings, prison and death threats were regularly on his itinerary. As Paul faced all of these bravely, we find him singing in prison with Silas, returning to the town where he was stoned and left for dead and even writing a letter to encourage Timothy while he himself faced the death sentence. But of all these problems, the one Paul faced when he wrote a letter to the Corinthian church was different. This time Paul when pleaded with God to take a problem away from him, God spoke to him about grace:

But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness. ”Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. 2 Corinthians 12:9 ESV

This time God didn’t send an earthquake to change Paul’s situation, give him some new strategy to escape, or promise that things would get better. Instead, God promised Paul what He promises you and me: “My grace is sufficient for you…” God won’t give us the ability to follow Him without grace. He has designed us, not with an inner ability to succeed at anything we hope to do, but with a weakness that will drive us to depend on Him. There in our desperate moment, God comes, restores our hope, and pours His strength into our weakness. So, pray, pray, pray. Pray for God’s grace and then buckle your seat belts. You just may be amazed at what God can do!

National Day of Prayer

/ pastorpete51 / 2 Comments

Our American national prayer day was established in 1952 and signed into law by President Harry Truman in his final year in office. In the Bible Jesus teaches us to pray, not just for our friends, but even our enemies.  When Paul wrote these words, the king he urged Christians to pray for was Nero, the same king who later executed him. Imagine what God might do if today we prayed for all kinds of people, and not just those we like. Imagine how God could move if we spent more time on our knees than at our television sets, laptops and phones. God changes neighborhoods and nations by transforming hearts and healing lives, one person at a time.

Only by His Wounds

/ pastorpete51 / 1 Comment

But I say to you who hear, “Love your enemies, do good for those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you. Luke 6:27-28 ESV

Trying to love real enemies, is neither easy nor normal. It’s one of those commands that Jesus gave that we like to put on the back burner. But God loves our enemies, cares about our persecutors. He blesses those who scam us, cheat us and lie about us. Sometimes we secretly wonder, “What is wrong with God? Why would He do that?”

We can squirm, and make excuses for ignoring Jesus’s command as long as we like, but the Bible points us to the cross. There at the cross is the place where Jesus showed God’s love for us – while we were still His enemies! So, this morning in a world filled with violence, terrorism, political power plays and media manipulation of truth, only that kind of loving enemies can still work a miracle. Only radical love, the true love of Christ, turns enemies into brothers and haters to a loving Savior who still changes hearts and nations. And this morning  He reminds us that, it was not only by His power, but by His wounds that we are healed.