Peter’s Posts

Mary and Joseph were young folks with their first baby. They couldn’t find a room in a hotel, let alone a hospital. They ended up in a barn. I would imagine it was drafty and cold. But this is where the King of the universe chose to be born, humbly, in  a barn, in a little tiny town in a little tiny country that was at that time, under the rulership of a foreign nation.

How do you get a baby to sleep? My wife Mary and I have had four babies and we have been blessed with 10, soon to be 11 grandbabies and we have found one of the best ways to get a baby to sleep is to snuggle them, rock them and sing to them.

I believe the writer of the Christmas hymn had all of this in mind as he wrote the song Taladh Chriosda. It is a lullaby sung from the viewpoint of the mother, Mary. When my wife Mary recorded it, she decided to learn the first verse in the original Gaelic and that’s what we did.

I hope that you will click on the link and listen. If you like the song, please share it with your friends and family.

May this season be blessed for you and your family. May you see the baby Jesus with fresh eyes, may his purpose in coming to redeem the lost, find renewed meaning in your lives this Christmas.

Hebrews 2

The writer compels us to remember Jesus message and ministry. A ministry that was affirmed by miracles. Blind men seeing, lame men walking, the dead being brought back to life.

Jesus is Lord of all creation, and Lord over all creation. The title Lord means he is the boss. He is the boss of me.

“In putting everything under him, God left nothing that is not subject to him. Yet at present we do not see everything subject to him. 9 But we do see Jesus, who was made lower than the angels for a little while, now crowned with glory and honor because he suffered death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone.”

Jesus, the only Son of God took on human form so that he might experience life like we live it. He suffered, he was tempted and yet he didn’t sin.

“Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might break the power of him who holds the power of death—that is, the devil— 15 and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death. 16 For surely it is not angels he helps, but Abraham’s descendants. 17 For this reason he had to be made like them,[k] fully human in every way, in order that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, and that he might make atonement for the sins of the people. 18 Because he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.”

We have a savior who can sympathize with us. He is God and yet he became a man. He suffered through temptation, he suffered death all to give us a way out of our slavery to sin and death.

Jesus loves us. He loves me. He loves you. He loves us. How will we respond to this great love?

(Originally posted 12/03/15)

The thrill of the first snow, it is exhilarating. I remember the thrill as a kid but even as an older adult, a grandpa even, I was looking out my window yesterday a watched with childlike glee, the sparkling white flakes, dance gracefully to the ground. We finally got our first real snow. It is a late one this year, usually we get snow towards the end of October but this year we had to wait until the first day of December.

Snow for us can be like a salve. It covers over the drab and dreary landscape that fall leaves us with, all the greys and browns get covered with a sparkling white sheet of snow.

Our granddaughter Molly wrote a little song that shares the joy of that first snow of winter. Mary added some verses and then had Molly help her sing the song on her CD.

Please click on the link and enjoy the thrill of the first snow of winter. If you like the song, please share it with your family and friends.

 

I’m shopping. It’s the season right? I’m shopping for which book of the bible to read next. I’ve read the first chapter of Titus, Hebrews and 1 Thessalonians. I’m hoping for a spiritual nudge but so far none has come.

I’m leaning towards 1 Thessalonians but I wonder if a day or two on vocabulary would be helpful?

The bible and those who live by its texts use words that are unfamiliar to our culture. The most basic Christian principle and word that is misunderstood and misused and maligned is sin.

I am not a theologian so check what I say out. Don’t take my word for it. Investigate.

This is what I’ve been taught and how I understand it. Sin is anything less than perfection. The word means Missing the mark. In other words, Not a bullseye. If we shoot a million arrows at a target and miss one, it doesn’t matter if we shoot another million arrows and hit bullseyes every time. We missed one. We are not perfect. We sinned. We can’t erase our bad shot with more good shots. Like that, Our spiritual record is based on our lifetime encompassing all our actions and thoughts over our entire life.

Sin is anything less than a perfect score. A sinner is one with a score anything less than perfect. Perfect in thought word and deed. Things we have done- and things we have left undone.

I’m out. Out of perfection. I’m in the group called sinners.

In contrast:

God is absolutely perfect. We have trouble conceiving that. Nothing around us is perfect or pure. I think about it this way; God is like a diamond. He has many facets but no matter how I turn and twist Him it’s still him, solid, pure, transparent, dazzling.

God cannot associate with sin but he loves us sinners. What to do?

He sacrificed his only son, whose perfect life and undeserved death covered over, paid for, redeemed, forgave our sin. God sees us now through the lens of Jesus substitutionary death. He sees us as perfect. All we have to do is accept Gods gift of Jesus and we are made clean.

Sin: it’s ugly. It’s pervasive, everybody has it and does it. Jesus death, his blood that he shed washes us, all of of us who have accepted it, clean.

“Doctor God, report to surgery. Doctor God, report to surgery. ”

Every time I read Gods word I open myself up for him to do spiritual surgery on my hidden parts, my heart, soul mind and spirit.

I read parts of the Bible most every day. The i share what I’ve read. I quote large chunks of scripture when I post. I want to show what I’m reading so it can be seen in context.

The Bible is no ordinary book. It is the very words of God. It is alive and powerful. It can heal. It can save.

“For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. 13 Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account.”

By reading his word we open ourselves up to being changed by them, changed by him, made better, healed and repaired by God as we read his word.

The Bible is all about Jesus. In the Old Testament it points to him in the future. The Gospels tells about his life, and the rest of the New Testament show us how to live as a follower of Jesus. Who is this Jesus? He is both fully God and fully man. In the Christmas season we will sing about Emanuel, which means God with us. This God whose words can heal us has sent his son to us to be with us, live as one of us, experience our life, and live it without sinning, and then die for us to pay for all of our mistakes, misdeeds and failures.

“Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has ascended into heaven,[f] Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. 15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin. 16 Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.”

So far I’ve only read four chapters of Hebrews and the writer has already quoted Psalm 97 3 times. It may be become my anthem.

““Today, if you hear his voice,

do not harden your hearts.”

Guess what day it is? Correct! It’s Today. What will we decide to do about Jesus today? Will we accept his gift of forgiveness today?

(Originally posted 11/29/16)

God with us.

My son Aaron was our first born child. He was an early talker. Once when he was about 18 months old we were visiting his grandma and grandpa Ledgerwood and while walking through grandma’s garden, he pulled up a tomato stake, using it as a pretend microphone said to his audience, “Christmas is for Jesus! Everybody sing!” and then proceeded to sing a carol.

Fast forward 36 years, when Mary was pulling together the talented folks to help us with her Christmas album, we leaned pretty hard on family, especially our son Aaron. He is a gifted singer and can fill in harmonies just by listening and singing it.

This song is one of my top 3 favorites of Mary’s album. It starts out with four of our grandchildren singing away in a manger and then Mary sings a verse, then Mary and Aaron sing a duet and then Aaron takes a verse. I get weepy every time I listen.

Please click on the link and listen for free. I hope that you enjoy this song. If you do enjoy it, please share it with your family and friends.

Is it safe to say it now? We are officially in the Christmas season, so… Merry Christmas!

Forgiveness. That is Gods main business. Yes he is creator. Yes he is sustainer. Yes he is Judge. But primarily he is our forgiver.

Psalm 130

“1 Out of the depths I cry to you, Lord;

2 Lord, hear my voice.

Let your ears be attentive

to my cry for mercy.

3 If you, Lord, kept a record of sins,

Lord, who could stand?

4 But with you there is forgiveness,

so that we can, with reverence, serve you.

5 I wait for the Lord, my whole being waits,

and in his word I put my hope.

6 I wait for the Lord

more than watchmen wait for the morning,

more than watchmen wait for the morning.

7 Israel, put your hope in the Lord,

for with the Lord is unfailing love

and with him is full redemption.

8 He himself will redeem Israel

from all their sins.”

I personally have no need of a God who rewards perfection. I need a God who forgives me and cleans me up when I fall, when I sin. Not if I sin. When I sin. In Jesus I have that.

Jesus is my hope.

(Originally posted 11/28/19)

The door was closed.

She couldn’t get on her flight.

She missed and no one could or would help her.

I was at Seatac. I was at my gate early. Not bragging, just saying I was there early. Next to my gate was another gate flying somewhere far away, Texas maybe? I had seen this lady on the other side,the main terminal. She was being seated in a wheelchair by an airport worker. When she showed up at her gate she was walking. Earlier I had seen the airlines hostesses walking the length of the terminal calling out names of missing passengers and heard multiple announcements asking for passengers to go to the desk, announcing boarding and then final boarding. Then they closed up the desk, walked through the doors and boarded the plane. After all of that happened the lady showed up. She was at the right gate but she was late. She couldn’t find anyone to help her. She walked through the seats asking for help, loudly asking for someone, anyone from her airline to help but they were all in the plane already.

She tried crashing the door. She could see her plane still parked at the gate but she couldn’t get on.

When she crashed the door an alarm sounded and security personnel arrived rather quickly. But they couldn’t get her on the plane either. It didn’t seem to make any difference why she was late or how loud she got with her protests. She could not ride that plane. Even with a boarding pass she could not get aboard the plane.

It was a scene that played out in my life that I️ watched like it was a performance for me. It made me wonder and now over 2 weeks later I am still pondering it. As the character Scrooge says in the Christmas Carol, “why was I privy to this conversation?”.

At the same time I have Been reading 2 Peter. In chapter 2, Peter mentions some times when God’s timing and the peoples time ran out.

“For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but sent them to hell, putting them in chains of darkness to be held for judgment; if he did not spare the ancient world when he brought the flood on its ungodly people, but protected Noah, a preacher of righteousness, and seven others; if he condemned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah by burning them to ashes, and made them an example of what is going to happen to the ungodly; and if he rescued Lot, a righteous man, who was distressed by the depraved conduct of the lawless (for that righteous man, living among them day after day, was tormented in his righteous soul by the lawless deeds he saw and heard)— if this is so, then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials and to hold the unrighteous for punishment on the day of judgment. This is especially true of those who follow the corrupt desire of the flesh and despise authority. Bold and arrogant, they are not afraid to heap abuse on celestial beings;”

2 Peter 2:4-10

So did God show me this so that I would present it as a cautionary tale? As a culture we are constantly exposed to and driven by schedules and time tables. Is it a surprise that God also has a schedule and a time table for his plan for us. None of us knows his time table and schedule. Not even Jesus knew when the end would be. Can we say that God is a meany head for having a schedule? Or can we say thank you to him for his patience with us thus far?

Further into his letter Peter had this to say,

“Above all, you must understand that in the last days scoffers will come, scoffing and following their own evil desires. They will say, “Where is this ‘coming’ he promised? Ever since our ancestors died, everything goes on as it has since the beginning of creation.” But they deliberately forget that long ago by God’s word the heavens came into being and the earth was formed out of water and by water. By these waters also the world of that time was deluged and destroyed. By the same word the present heavens and earth are reserved for fire, being kept for the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly. But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day. The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.”

2 Peter 3:3-9

Mary calls me Debbie Downer because I see the dark side of things, I really don’t want this to be that.

God loves us. He sent Jesus to us not Just to say I love you, but to do I love you. Jesus came to die for sins we cannot pay for or erase. Then he rose from the dead to lead us into God’s heaven. He made a way for us.

We get today. We have today to choose.

I don’t know the outcome for the poor lady who missed her plane. I do know the outcome of everyone who missed Noah’s boat. I do know the outcome for everyone who misses God’s grace in Jesus but I would rather talk about the splendor waiting for those who receive God’s great gift of forgiveness in Jesus.

Today, all aboard.

(Originally posted 11/28/17)

Sometimes we get blessed by having a trait or physical feature passed on into the next generation. Mary and I have 4 kids, Aaron, Rachel, Elizabeth and Hannah. None of them strongly resemble either one of us. Aaron has Mary’s blue eyes and curly hair, the girls all have brown eyes like me. In 2009 we were blessed with the birth of our first grandchild, a little girl and her parents named her Molly, Molly Joy.

From birth we noticed a deep connection between Molly and Mary. (The name Molly is a form of the name Mary). First off there is her physical features, she is blond and blue eyed, she looks like Mary did as a child. Molly also has a deep love of music. She has been Mary’s piano student since she could sit at the bench. As Molly grew up we saw in her an uncanny ability to mimic songs, to figure out melodies and plunk them out on the piano, but then she also started creating her own songs.  When Molly was seven she wrote a little song and called it “White Sheet of Snow”. When Mary’s second CD was coming together Mary wanted to include Molly’s song so Mary added some verses. I think the end result is magical. Kind of like the magic of the first snow of winter, which is what the song is all about. It is pretty exciting to so see part of ones self live on in the next generation and that is what we are seeing in Molly, Mary’s little mini-me.

Please click on the link and listen and if you like the song, please share it with friends and family.

Happy Thanksgiving. May this years celebration bring joy and thankfulness for the bounty God has provided, including his great love and mercy in sending his son Jesus to restore us back to relationship with him and with his family.

It’s cyber Monday. (Posted in 2017). A busy day for shopping. Mary has been asking me what I want for Christmas and I I’ve been humbly replying “I am content with life, I want for nothing” but then I went to Home Depot with my son in law Michael. SO much stuff, so many tools and gadgets that I don’t have yet. It’s all so shiny and new and exciting!

But I caution myself with what the apostle Peter says in his second letter.

“But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day. The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance. But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything done in it will be laid bare. Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming. That day will bring about the destruction of the heavens by fire, and the elements will melt in the heat. But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, where righteousness dwells.”

2 Peter 3:8-13

Everything we see and know will eventually be destroyed by God as he prepares a new heaven and a new earth. All of those widgets and gadgets and hobbies and must haves. Even my beloved 57 Chevy truck that I named Rusty. What? Even Rusty? Yes even old Rusty. Only two things will remain, the word of God and the souls of men. We are created to live forever. And we will, but where will we spend eternity?

God loves us and longs to spend eternity with us but our sins separate us from him. He knew that and prepared a way for us to be forgiven and cleansed from our sin through his only son Jesus. By accepting Jesus death as payment and believing in his resurrection we can spend eternity with our Heavenly father.

I’m going to try to not let this holiday season be about the stuff of life in stores but about hastening the return of Jesus by expanding his kingdom through sharing the story of a God who loves me enough to die in my place. A baby who came to save me, save us. He doesn’t want to have anyone die without knowing about his free gift of salvation. He is waiting to return until the last person who ever will believe in him, gets to hear the story and chooses to believe.

Who can I tell about Jesus today?

It has been said of my wife Mary that she is the Queen of Christmas. (Ok, it was me, I was the one that said it). Even queens have a childhood, I guess in childhood they are called Princess. Princess Mary’s childhood took place in Ephrata Washington, a tiny little town in the center of Washington state. Ephrata is to Seattle like a saltine cracker is to a wet sponge. The city Washington state is famous for, Seattle,  gets on average 37.5 inches of rain, in 2017 it got 47 inches. Ephrata gets 8 inches of precipitation per year. Seattle gets rain and rarely gets snow but that’s okay because of all the rain it is green all of the time. Ephrata in contrast, is dry, and grey, and drab. In summer we get the green of irrigated crops and orchards, watered trees, grass and flowers. But winter is different. Winter can be monotone. Winter can be drab. Winter can be long and boring. One of the blessings we receive in winter because it is colder here than in Seattle,  is that some of that precipitation falls in the form of snow.

Mary wrote about a Christmas from her childhood where the magic happened, there was a Christmas snow.

Please listen to Mary’s song Merry Mary and enjoy a peek into princess Mary’s Christmas memories. If you like the song, please share it with your family and friends. You folks that read my posts have been deputized into being our distribution system  for Mary’s Christmas album. Please help us spread these free samples of a Christmas filled with joy, joy because God remembered our need and sent a savior, Jesus.

Mary recorded this song to honor her Scottish heritage. It is a hymn traditionally sung on during midnight mass on Christmas Eve. Mary sings the first verse in Gaelic. I like to use my imagination as I listen. I try to go back in my mind to when the song was new. It was written in the mid 1800s, when it was first sung the sanctuary would have been lit by candle light. The room was probably cold and everyone would’ve been bundled against it and snuggling as much as possible to stay warm. The hymn has 29 verses, it took a while to sing. No one was in a hurry to go anywhere, the room was filled with people who were there for one purpose, to worship a king, a king who entered our world as a baby. This was no ordinary king, this king was not a king of city or country or a land mass, he was THE king, the king over all of it, all of us over all of creation. He didn’t get crowned as king, he was born the king. this little baby was God in the flesh.

The song touches on the mix of the mother and baby, but the baby was the savior and king. He was (and is) fully God, but he was also fully a human baby and he still needed his mother and needed a soft lullaby to sleep.

Please click on the link to listen. If you like the song, please share with your friends and family.

James 5.

Riches. Having some makes us want more. On the eve of the day we as a nation give thanks for Gods abundance that he has given to us, James has this to say to us.

“And a final word to you arrogant rich: Take some lessons in lament. You’ll need buckets for the tears when the crash comes upon you. Your money is corrupt and your fine clothes stink. Your greedy luxuries are a cancer in your gut, destroying your life from within. You thought you were piling up wealth. What you’ve piled up is judgment.

4-6 All the workers you’ve exploited and cheated cry out for judgment. The groans of the workers you used and abused are a roar in the ears of the Master Avenger. You’ve looted the earth and lived it up. But all you’ll have to show for it is a fatter than usual corpse. In fact, what you’ve done is condemn and murder perfectly good persons, who stand there and take it.”

Will our fattened corpse that we leave behind testify against our indulgent lifestyle? How much is enough? What have we done to earn what we have? Is having more our goal or is having enough and sharing the rest?

“7-8 Meanwhile, friends, wait patiently for the Master’s Arrival. You see farmers do this all the time, waiting for their valuable crops to mature, patiently letting the rain do its slow but sure work. Be patient like that. Stay steady and strong. The Master could arrive at any time.

9 Friends, don’t complain about each other. A far greater complaint could be lodged against you, you know. The Judge is standing just around the corner.”

Patience, waiting, delayed gratification. Those are not popular practices in our culture. We are not of this culture. Christians have been waiting for the return of our messiah for 2 thousand years. He is closer now then he has ever been and each day is closer still. We Look around, we watch and wait, we stay busy building the kingdom planting the flag in a heart here or there. Gods kingdom doesn’t exist on the soil, it exists in the hearts of people. We can’t claim America for Jesus but we can claim Americans for Jesus.

Pray. Pray for Americans, pray for each other, pray for the sick. Pray for needs to be met. Prayer works because God is all powerful and He works. Not like a genie but like an all knowing, all powerful God.

Sing praise to our great God because no matter what situation we are in, he is worth praising. There is none other like him.

“19-20 My dear friends, if you know people who have wandered off from God’s truth, don’t write them off. Go after them. Get them back and you will have rescued precious lives from destruction and prevented an epidemic of wandering away from God.”

(Originally posted 11/25/15)

James 4

I abruptly left off in verse 6 yesterday. It was an unusual morning, there was a baby asleep in the bedroom off the kitchen and my truck was on loan so I scrambled for a ride and for food and for the liquid of life, (aka coffee) and for quiet, for me and the sleeping baby.

Plus I kinda chickened out of the next verses. I will quote them using the message because it makes more sense to me. Besides it uses the word graffiti. First we’ll talk about how to deal with temptation.

“7-10 So let God work his will in you. Yell a loud no to the Devil and watch him scamper. Say a quiet yes to God and he’ll be there in no time. Quit dabbling in sin. Purify your inner life. Quit playing the field. Hit bottom, and cry your eyes out. The fun and games are over. Get serious, really serious. Get down on your knees before the Master; it’s the only way you’ll get on your feet.”

Say no. Yell no, then run. Do not run away, but run to God. I tried this the other day. I told God exactly what I was being tempted by. And then I napped. That is not a practical way to live my life 98% of the time but that day? It was just what I needed.

“11-12 Don’t bad-mouth each other, friends. It’s God’s Word, his Message, his Royal Rule, that takes a beating in that kind of talk. You’re supposed to be honoring the Message, not writing graffiti all over it. God is in charge of deciding human destiny. Who do you think you are to meddle in the destiny of others?”

I was driving home last night and some one to my left didn’t yield to my right of way, then didn’t signal or stop at the stop sign. I didn’t either but this is not about me, or is it. How many times have I pronounced judgement on the terrible driver in front of me while being guilty of the same mistakes? What if I take s broader picture of my life? Can I condemn someone when I am guilty of the same or worse? I will try to leave the condemning to our gracious and merciful God, who knows men’s hearts.

“13-15 And now I have a word for you who brashly announce, “Today—at the latest, tomorrow—we’re off to such and such a city for the year. We’re going to start a business and make a lot of money.” You don’t know the first thing about tomorrow. You’re nothing but a wisp of fog, catching a brief bit of sun before disappearing. Instead, make it a habit to say, “If the Master wills it and we’re still alive, we’ll do this or that.”

16-17 As it is, you are full of your grandiose selves. All such vaunting self-importance is evil. In fact, if you know the right thing to do and don’t do it, that, for you, is evil.”

Who knows what a day will bring forth? No one. No one except God. Honor God in our plans and in our speech.

Knowing the right thing to do and not doing it? That’s just as wrong as doing wrong thing. Sin. Sinning and repenting and being forgiven. That is the Christian Life.

(Originally posted 11/24/15)

James 4

This book is really about practical living as a Christian.

“You do not have because you do not ask God. 3 When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.”

Just because I’m a Christian doesn’t mean I now need or want for nothing. We live in a world of stuff and we actually need some of it to survive. How many of my needs are just wants with my Sunday suit draped over them?

“4 You adulterous people,[a] don’t you know that friendship with the world means enmity against God? Therefore, anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God.”

Friendship with the world, the systems and cultures, makes us enemies to God. The world and its systems run counter to the way the Christian system works. In order to be great in Gods kingdom we must become servants, slaves.

We can’t have dual citizenship. We are either a displaced citizen of heaven living in the world or we are a citizen of the world with no access or entrance to heaven.

Citizenship is about loyalty and allegiances. Whose am I? Who is my master? Who can tell me what to do? Sometimes it’s not by a direct order but by cultural influence.

Jesus is my Lord if he can say go and I go, do and I do, stay and I stay don’t do that and I stop doing that. How am I doing with this? I fail sometimes. Grace, Jesus forgiveness covers over my failures.

(Originally posted 11/23/15)

I finished reading through the Psalms. I actually finished yesterday but I read through the last 3 again today.

148 is great because it reminds all of Gods creation from sea creatures to stars to praise the Lord.

Why?

“13 Let them praise the name of the Lord,

for his name alone is exalted;

his splendor is above the earth and the heavens.

14 And he has raised up for his people a horn,[b]

the praise of all his faithful servants,

of Israel, the people close to his heart.

Praise the Lord.”

Gods horn was the psalmists’ hope. That “horn” we know today is Jesus. Our hope is in Gods son Jesus. Our hope for forgiveness, for freedom, for life both here and in eternity is all in Jesus. This hope is not disappointed.

psalm 149 has a different reason to praise God, still valid but not as light and hopeful.

“6 May the praise of God be in their mouths

and a double-edged sword in their hands,

7 to inflict vengeance on the nations

and punishment on the peoples,

8 to bind their kings with fetters,

their nobles with shackles of iron,

9 to carry out the sentence written against them—

this is the glory of all his faithful people.

Praise the Lord.”

There is a day coming when evil will be punished. God will set things right. Injustice will be punished. God is watching everyone and everything. The pain that I have caused, the rules that I have broken, the people that I have hurt, the damage I have done? All these things are under the covering of Jesus’ forgiveness. Somehow God will set it right and I will not be punished because Jesus took my punishment upon himself. His beating and death on a cross should have been mine. But he loved me enough, loved us enough, to die in my, in our place.

Psalm 150 ends with an admonition.

“Praise God in his sanctuary;

praise him in his mighty heavens.

2 Praise him for his acts of power;

praise him for his surpassing greatness.

3 Praise him with the sounding of the trumpet,

praise him with the harp and lyre,

4 praise him with timbrel and dancing,

praise him with the strings and pipe,

5 praise him with the clash of cymbals,

praise him with resounding cymbals.

6 Let everything that has breath praise the Lord.

Praise the Lord.”

If I am breathing? I should be praising. God is always, eternally and in each moment of my life, worth praise.

(Originally posted 11/23/16)

My wife Mary is the queen of Christmas. You need not bow, she is very humble and discreet about her royal personhood. I say that facetiously, what I mean is that she loves Christmas. Our sons-in-law have been blessed and surprised by experiencing a Mary Loeffelbein Christmas. They thought they had celebrated Christmas before they married into our lives but then they joined us for our celebration and each one has said that Mary takes celebrating Christmas to a new level.  Every year our tree is spectacular. Every space is filled with beauty but it never looks overdone. Our house gets decorated so that no matter where you look, there is a sparkle and a reminder that this season is special, that we are about to celebrate a very big event. When gifts come out her generosity and thoughtfulness can sometimes be life altering.

Mary loves Christmas because Mary loves Jesus. Mary loves Jesus because he gave himself for us. He came to earth to give himself as a gift, as a ransom for us all. So what happens to all the love and joy and sparkle after Christmas? In Mary’s heart and in our home, even when we stuff the christmas tree back into its box, and all the bits and baubles get put away, the love and joy stay. Even after all of the presents are unwrapped and used up, His presence, his Spirit, are present. It was because of this that Mary wrote her song “The Whole Year Long”.

Please click on the link and listen. If you like the song, please share it wherever and whenever you can. We want the world to hear the message, that Jesus came not just for a Christmas holiday, but to be with us the whole year long.

 

I am a sinner.

I am a Christian.

I still occasionally sin.

I believe in Jesus, I believe in the Bible and try to follow God. Jesus summed up the rules. 1- Love the Lord your God with all of your heart, all your soul, all of your mind and all of your strength and 2- love your neighbor as yourself.

I fail in various and numerous ways.

Yesterday I really wanted to beat someone up. There’s a person in my life who behaves in a way that is like fingernails on the chalkboard of my soul. I wanted to slug, slap, hit, kick and beat that person until they stopped behaving in the way that was annoying me.

I did not do it but it was in my heart to do it. I even briefly fantasized about how it would feel. I guess you could say that I hated them. Jesus said that hating someone in my head is the same as killing them because it comes from the same place in the heart. Hating someone breaks rule number two.

What am I to do?

Psalm 51 discusses sin and repentance. I was prompted to read it today in my devotional guide.

“Purify me from my sins, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow. Oh, give me back my joy again; you have broken me— now let me rejoice. Don’t keep looking at my sins. Remove the stain of my guilt. Create in me a clean heart, O God. Renew a loyal spirit within me. Do not banish me from your presence, and don’t take your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and make me willing to obey you. Then I will teach your ways to rebels, and they will return to you. Forgive me for shedding blood, O God who saves; then I will joyfully sing of your forgiveness. Unseal my lips, O Lord, that my mouth may praise you. You do not desire a sacrifice, or I would offer one. You do not want a burnt offering. The sacrifice you desire is a broken spirit. You will not reject a broken and repentant heart, O God.”

Psalm 51:7-17 NLT

If My heart is repentant this morning, God will wash away the stain of my sin. He will create in me a clean heart. He will restore my relationship with him, he will refresh his presence in my life with his Holy Spirit.

God I repent of my anger and ask you to forgive me. Clean my heart, that place where I plotted evil, clean that out and fill up the space with you, your Holy Spirit. I want to tell others about your goodness so restore me to right standing with you and with that person that yesterday I wanted to hurt. May I see them as you see them. I forgive their fallenness because you have forgiven mine.

Mary’s Dad Harold Ledgerwood was Mary’s second biggest fan, (second only to me) although he was her first and biggest supporter, (until I came along). Her Dad loved a song that Mary wrote a long time ago. The song is called “Glory”. It was on the list to be recorded on her first album but got bumped by others on the list. Harold was a little miffed that his favorite song didn’t make it onto the CD so we made a half hearted promise that if we record another album, it will be on there. Harold passed away before we got the recording done. We are confident that Harold is now in God’s presence surrounded by His Glory.

If you have a couple of minutes to spare, please click on the link and listen to Mary’s song Glory, the reason we started the recording that ended up being called “The Whole Year Long”. If you like the song, please share this. You folks are our sound sample distribution network and we so appreciate all of you who listen and share these links.

For all of you you listen, like and share, Thank you.

This morning I read Psalm 146. The psalms even cover and/or apply to post election pre-holiday America.

“1 Praise the Lord.[a]

Praise the Lord, my soul.

2 I will praise the Lord all my life;

I will sing praise to my God as long as I live.

3 Do not put your trust in princes,

in human beings, who cannot save.

4 When their spirit departs, they return to the ground;

on that very day their plans come to nothing.

5 Blessed are those whose help is the God of Jacob,

whose hope is in the Lord their God.

6 He is the Maker of heaven and earth,

the sea, and everything in them—

he remains faithful forever.

7 He upholds the cause of the oppressed

and gives food to the hungry.

The Lord sets prisoners free,

8 the Lord gives sight to the blind,

the Lord lifts up those who are bowed down,

the Lord loves the righteous.

9 The Lord watches over the foreigner

and sustains the fatherless and the widow,

but he frustrates the ways of the wicked.

10 The Lord reigns forever,

your God, O Zion, for all generations.

Praise the Lord.”

As christians, We have a mission. It hasn’t changed since Jesus left to prepare a place for us. We are to let the world know about Him.

After Jesus rose from the grave and before he ascended into heaven he left us with these words, “4 On one occasion, while he was eating with them, he gave them this command: “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. 5 For John baptized with[a] water, but in a few days you will be baptized with[b] the Holy Spirit.”

6 Then they gathered around him and asked him, “Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?”

7 He said to them: “It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. 8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

In light of the election don’t lose hope. In light of the election don’t put your hope in the wrong person. In light of the fact that we are alive today let’s remind ourselves of who is King no matter who is president and let’s get on with our mission. Who can I tell about What Jesus has done in my life? How can I live to best show the change in my heart? Remember that we can be empowered to be his witnesses.

Just a reminder about how we should treat our leaders, Paul wrote this to his young pastor friend Timothy: “I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people— for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. This is good, and pleases God our Savior, who wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth. For there is one God and one mediator between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all people. This has now been witnessed to at the proper time.”

1 Timothy 2:1-6 -NIV

And as the psalmist started and ended his song, Praise the Lord!

(Originally posted 11/21/16)