writing

I Still Hate to Edit!

/ pastorpete51 / 1 Comment

Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God. Hebrews 12:2 KJV

I love to write (usually) but oh how I hate to edit (Always!) Writing fulfills a basic longing to try communicating with others things that are precious to me. Editing on the other hand simply reminds me detail by painful detail how I have fallen short. Maybe when God created us He feels a bit the same way. Do you remember how back in the garden of Eden God said, “Let us make man in our own image.” and then He formed and breathed life into Adam? At the end of the day He stepped back and maybe even smiled and said, “It was good!”

But soon after God began writing the story of Adam’s life, Adam and Eve sinned. From that very moment God’s editing work began. How it must have pained the heart of God to see His perfect children darkened by selfishness, rebellion and pride. But thankfully God does not hate editing like I do. In fact the greatest expression of His love came on the day of His harshest edit yet. That happened on a hill called Calvary where on the cross Jesus erased all the crimes of my previous chapters and then wrote in His blood the new and amazing story of His grace! Oh how thankful I am that Jesus is not only the author of my faith; but He is also the finisher (editor). He rewrites the final chapter of every one of our lives when we put our faith in Him and then turns out a masterpiece that will never need editing again!

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The Lord is My Editor

The Lord is my editor – He checks every word

He calls me to follow ‘cause I’m seen not just heard

He leads me through valleys with shadows and strife

And comforts my fears with His promise of life

He makes me a banquet though my enemy knows

Then He fills up my cup till His grace overflows

When I look back behind me I see mercy and care

In His every correction He gave hope I could share

Then he left me a note,

“Why not stay at my home

When you come to my city

And your writing’s all done?”

The Lord is My Editor by Peter Caligiuri © 2020 All rights reserved

Our Chief Editor

/ pastorpete51 / Leave a comment

Looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Hebrews 12:2 NKJV

Today I have small confession to make. I love to write but I hate to edit! I still remember the editing of Sister Mary Friel in my Child Psychology class. If she found a single error on our daily writing assignment she would give it a big red check mark and return our paper with a provisional F. If we corrected and resubmitted our work by the following class our grade would be redone: if not the failing grade became ours!

This method led me to carefully inspect my work. I checked for spelling errors, footnote placement and grammatical nuance. Seeing the large red slashes across my writing bruised my ego but it trained me to become a better writer.

I love the quote from Hebrew about Jesus being the author and finisher of our faith. However Jesus also wants to become the Senior editor of our hearts. He is waiting for us to submit our plans for final revisions to Him. If this morning we put our plans on His desk, He promises to lovingly correct us and help us turn in an A paper for the day!

Father before I begin this morning, I confess to you my inability to write a single line without your editorial assistance. Help me to be honest with others. Correct my easy tendency to self-serving motivations. Teach me how to use words as a healing balm not a knife of sarcasm that cuts with a smile. Help me to remember that the only article worth publishing today is the Good News of Salvation and hope through the cross. In the name of Jesus I pray. Amen

person in gray jacket holding pen

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Thank You!

/ pastorpete51 / 1 Comment

Today Praise2worship reached the milestone of 500 followers. Though I have never actually set goals to have any certain number of readers I do want to take a moment to say thanks to all. After spending days week or months at various writing projects from which I share bits and pieces it is nice to hear from some of you out there. Thanks for taking the time to read (I do try to be brief!). Thanks for encouraging words and for your own insights, photos (Oh I love the flowers and children). My small insight for your day is this. Live and write what you have learned to be true in your own real life at the feet of Jesus Christ!

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