Prayer

Coming to the Throne of Grace

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And behold, a woman of the city, who was a sinner, when she learned that he was reclining at table in the Pharisee’s house, brought an alabaster flask of ointment, and standing behind him at his feet, weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears and wiped them with the hair of her head and kissed his feet and anointed them with the ointment. Luke 7:37-38 ESV

Luke doesn’t try to put a positive spin on the fact that this woman was a sinner. Actually, this story hinges on the sinfulness of the woman and the grace of God. Many of us are like this woman except that we wear 21st century clothes. What has not changed is that we have exactly the same problem. If we follow this woman’s example, we will find that Jesus has exactly the same solution!

Are we willing to go into the Pharisees house and put ourselves in a vulnerable position before Jesus Christ? Are we ready to go into a place where we might be criticized, ostracized or tossed out? This woman came and wasted no time going to Jesus. She must have decided that if she was going to be tossed out at least she would have time to pour out her alabaster flask. Yet as she drew close to Jesus something unexpected happened.  She began to weep for her sins and the tears fell on His feet. Then seeing the tears coursing through the dust on His feet she knelt and began to wipe them with her hair and kissed them and anointed them with her oil. She might not have understood what was happening and the Pharisee certainly had no clue.  The throne of grace is an awesome place. We never know what will happen when we get there.  What we can know is that when we get there Jesus is ready to receive us and forgive our every sin!

Trusting the Engineer

/ pastorpete51 / 5 Comments

Do not be anxious about anything but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God that surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:6-7 ESV

Worrying over our grandchildren’s relationship with Jesus has been a recurring theme for me lately. Now I can hardly believe that I first wrote that opening line two years ago. Things with our grandchildren have gotten easier with some and harder with others. Some days it feels as if our hearts are being pulling in opposite directions, and I need that peace that is waaaaay beyond anything I can understand sometimes! When they were small, everything seemed pretty simple. We took them to church; prayed with them and made sure they had plenty of cookies. But now they are older, some days it feels as if I am slogging through a mud bog trying to communicate even the basics of what it means to be a Christian. As I tossed and turned through another middle of the night worry the Holy Spirit tapped me on the shoulder and reminded me that I was not alone. I was forgetting that ultimately that job is His and that He loves them way more than I do. It is hard to trust God with people who are the closest to us. Yielding control over our spouse, a child a grandchild or a friend means letting God take over. Back in 2005 Carrie Underwood recorded a song called, “Jesus Take the Wheel!” and its message was exactly what we need in our most anxious moments. We need to let go of our grip so that God can steer. Jesus won’t just rip the steering wheel away. He will allow us as many nights as we wish to toss and turn. But when we are worn out with worry and fed up with fear God is waiting and even longing for us to trust that He knows how to fix things better than we do. Only He has the strength to carry our worries and has promised a peace that stretches from our anxious hour all the way to heaven!

When a train goes through a tunnel and it gets dark, you don’t throw away the ticket and jump off. You sit still and trust the engineer!  - Corrie Ten Boom
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My Hope For America

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https://wouldyoudoitforone.wordpress.com/2022/06/11/my-hope-for-america/

As we met this Friday at Life Care Center the news continues to be filled with mass shootings, the January 6th fiasco and the war in Ukraine. There aren’t a lot of happy stories out there, and yet as we sang you can hear both the unfaltering faith and hope for our nation. I pray you would be blessed as you listen, not to the professional quality of the recording but the sound of voices who still ask God to bless America with His grace from sea to shining sea!

This post originated on my other blog, Walking With Lambs. That site is created as a forum and a place of refreshing for those of the long term care community. I will continue reposting from there for a while longer, but if you would like to join us and comment respond or contribute please subscribe there. Have a blessed weekend all!