Word of God

God’s Critical Updates

/ pastorpete51 / Leave a comment

Show me Your ways, O Lord; Teach me Your paths. Lead me in Your truth and teach me, For You are the God of my salvation; On You I wait all the day.           Psalm 25:4-5 NKJV

Have you ever turned on your computer and discovered that you need to download the most recent critical updates? I confess that sometimes I hurry on, and out of impatience begin work  hoping that nothing will go wrong. In the same way God offers each of us daily the guidance and protection we need to walk with Him. He is trying to protect me from my spiritual enemy in the same way as my software is alerting me to the dangers of malware, viruses or other electronic ne’er do wells.

kimg0032

The Bible tells us to download God’s latest spiritual updates to help us navigate today’s pathway. Sometimes it is the malware of our own ways that pops up in the operating system of our minds. Sometimes it is the temptation to fit in with the world around that is shouting  for our attention. But no matter the source of the malware we have the opportunity to ask God to overwrite it with a download of His truth.

Our daily spiritual battles will no more disappear from our  lives than will spam from our e-mail accounts. But every day we can make a new determination that since God alone is our salvation then we will wait take the time to download His updates and call Him up on His customer support line called prayer. He is eager to hear from us and He wants to walk with us through every valley no matter how dark! imported from phone 157

God’s Reason for Christmas

/ pastorpete51 / Leave a comment

And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. John 1:14 ESV

Long before I became a Christian I was once stopped on the streets of Boston by a preacher who had a very simple message for me. He said, “I want to tell you about Jesus: That’s J-E-S-U-S Jesus!” he shouted, but I didn’t know why I couldn’t understand how God could love me and even less why this man was almost shouting as he told me. But now, almost 50 years later, the lines that penetrated my heart that night remain lodged wonderfully in my memory. Sometimes around Christmas I hear, “Jesus is the reason for the season.”  But is Jesus, really God’s reason for your Christmas?

1545647807091_image.jpg

In the Gospel of John we do not hear a traditional telling of the birth of Jesus. His story begins far earlier than Bethlehem. John looks back to before the dawn of time. He tells us of when Jesus, the Word of God, was already with the Father. Then he says that the first Bethlehem night was special because in the manger, God’s Word became flesh.

If Jesus had never come He would have only been the word not spoken. If no child was laid in the manger that night we could never see God’s glory. If no news from angels had been given to shepherds how would we have ever known the grace and the truth He came to bring? But God did speak. Jesus did come! He came to be with us and die for our sins so that we could have eternal life!

God’s Greatest Gift

/ pastorpete51 / Leave a comment

God could give us silver or gold. He could make us famous, talented or politically powerful. God could allow us to live in a palace a mansion or even a paradise island. But instead of any of the gifts that we might see on our favorite game show He gave us His word. God considers nothing if higher or enduring value than His own word. Consider that all we know of God is because He chose to send us His amazing, astonishing and undeserved gift.

The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. John 1:14

Receiving God’s greatest gift means we are saved and forgiven. Living out His gift is eternal and abundant life. Guarding His gift means that one day we will find our treasure waiting where no thief can break in and steal or moth and rust destroy. What will we do with this great gift of Jesus Christ today?