Sunsets

Welcome Home

/ pastorpete51 / 1 Comment

Even though I walk through the valley of death I will fear no evil for you are with me. Your rod and your staff they comfort me. Psalm 23:4 ESV

During times of crisis, it is natural to be fearful. Our airwaves are filled with the constant reports of sickness, quarantines and businesses shutting down. There has never been anything like this in our lifetimes and we wonder what trouble still lies ahead; and not just for ourselves but for our children and grandchildren. But in the valley of the shadow of death we have a hope that is greater than any disease, and stronger than any hardship. We have the presence of the good shepherd; Jesus Christ; who gave His life for us.

Outside of the city where I was born there was a long valley called Sugar Hollow. It was a notch between the hills through which the main road from the South ran into the city. One interesting thing about Sugar Hollow was that as you drove into it at evening rush hour, darkness fell early. Everyone began to flick on their headlights as the shadows of the surrounding hills blocked out the sun. In the Hollow it looked as if night had fallen; but when you rounded the final bend that led out of the valley, the shadows drew back and the sun reappeared as if saying “I left the light on for you, welcome home!” 

Prayer: When fears are all around us like a deep valley help us remember Lord that You are always with us. Remind us that we can trust You to lead us through this valley and all the way home!

God’s Unchanging Grace

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God's Unchanging Grace
 Did you wake up early
 To see the morning light
 Eager to jump out of bed
 And see the new day bright?
  
 Or did you at the mid-day tire
 As rushing hours race
 Before the dusk shuts down the day
 And sunset takes its place
 .
 Then as darkness gently comes
 Will your eyes begin to trace
 Wondering at the silent stars
 And God’s unchanging grace? 

God's Unchanging Grace by Peter Caligiuri
copyright 2020 all rights reserved

From the rising of the sun unto the going down of the same the Lord’s name is to be praised. Psalm 113:3 KJV

God’s Wide Angle Lens

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In all my prayers for all of you I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. Philippians 1:4-6

One thing I love about going to the beach is taking photographs from the edge of the water that take in the wide expanse of the Gulf of Mexico – especially at sunset! There is something both overwhelming and at the same time assuring about being one tiny part of that enormous expanse. But to catch the magnitude of that scene I have to switch my camera from the portrait setting to a wide angle lens.

That reminds me of a song we like to sing at church with the line, “I know breakthrough is coming.” Usually while I am heartily belting out the lyrics I am thinking of some issue that I am hoping God will help me or maybe someone in our family with. Now it is true that God does want to meet our personal needs, but the amazing thing about the Apostle Paul’s prayer is that it is completely focused on others. He wasn’t only clinging on to that hope that God wasn’t finished with him yet (Remember Paul is sitting in prison while he is writing). No! In fact Paul writes to encourage the Philippian church not to give up on what God has started with them. He is trusting the God of breakthrough, but not just for himself to get out of jail. He is believing that God has great things in store for His friends back in Macedonia.

Praying like Paul is like switching from looking down at our feet while we stand on the seashore, to looking at the people around us through God’s wide angle lens. That is not to say that our own battles are insignificant, but that the breakthroughs which God has in store include far more than just us. We are one small part of God’s big plan. His amazing love includes so much more than we can imagine and so many more people than we could ever dream of. So in switching over to using God’s wide angle lens, think about who you can pray for this morning. Maybe that someone else needs a breakthrough that only you can ask God for today.