Light is a wonderful thing. Without it we would stumble and fall. Recently I went back into a darkened room to retrieve something I had forgotten. I didn't bother to turn on the light. I knew where the object was. I realized I had forgotten about something that lay on the floor as I began to trip and scramble to stay on my feet. Light is useful, but only if we use it. We need light. Have you ever driven down a dark road and turned off the car headlights? Fun and dangerous come to mind. Fun quickly fades if we drive into a tree or off the road. Without light we would be in peril. Light enables us to go about our lives in darkness. If you have ever gone on a night hike with a flashlight, you know it is best to walk within the light. If you shine the light in a different direction than you are walking, you might stumble. How good it is to have the light guiding you along the path, making you aware of the obstacles and curves. As Christians, we are given a marvelous light. Psalm 119.105 states, "Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path." God has given us His Word to light our path, to guide and protect us along the path of life. As long as we stay within the light, we are good. For it is God's will that we walk in his light. I have found that the paths of life take us to many different destinations. I've lived in Los Angeles, Phoenix, Hayward, Castro Valley, San Jose, La Mirada, Tustin, San Bernardino, Santa Rosa and Sebastopol. I've also had a variety of jobs: Jack in the Box as a high school kid, Mervyn's warehouse, UPS, Gene's Office Supply, Mt. Gilead, Security Guard, Evangelical Free Church of Orange, Harris and Frank Men's Apparel, Calvary Baptist Church, Occidental Community Church and Buchanan Food Service. I'm realizing that I have quite a resume of experiences. In addition to these, there are more important things, such as where I met my wife and when we were married and our children. Each of our stories continue as does our journey. I have found that the one constant throughout my life is the Lord Jesus who is the Living Word and Emmanuel. As long as I stay in the Word I am staying in the light. When I disobey the Lord and go my own way, I step out of the light and I find myself in danger. Jesus said, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life." John 8.12 Where have your feet taken you? Where are your feet taking you now? Are you walking within the light of God's Word or have you veered down a rabbit trail? The challenge is to follow Jesus and keep within His light. In 2015 we'll explore the challenge of staying in the light while the world around us is in darkness. Prayer: Lord Jesus, thank you for being the true light and for guiding me along my way. Shine your light for my feet and for my path, that I may walk confidently with you. Take my hand Lord, stay with me and help me to stay within your light. Blessings, Pastor Pete

A Life Well Lived

Each of us has a story. The story is our life. In a sense, each of us has been given a life sentence. From the moment we are born to the day that we die has already been determined and ordained by God. People do all sorts of things in order to live longer and look better, from eating healthy to exercise, from going to bed early and taking daily vitamins. Even modern medicine and technology is enhancing our lives and extending them way beyond that of previous generations. Yet, no matter how hard we try, we cannot exceed the limits that God has imposed nor can we put off the inevitable, that one day we shall die. At a funeral service I heard someone read a poem. I think it was entitled, “The Dash.” The birthday and death day are recorded, but it is the dash that is in between the two dates that counts. The dash, short and small in font size, yet it represents the whole of a life once lived. A life that was either lived well or not so well. What we do with our lives matters. The Bible says that if we strive to keep our lives intact according to the way that we wish, that we will lose it. However, if we are willing to give it up for God that we will find it. Each choice impacts us greatly. One leads to despair and the other to a discovery of an abundant life worth living. God knows the needs we have. He has reached out to us in love, providing us acceptance, joy and peace, in order to make our dash…our life…our story meaningful. Some become mistaken thinking that in yielding our lives to God that somehow God will protect us and keep us from all harm or evil. However, Jesus promised that we would have tribulation, not the absence of it. Instead, Jesus said to keep our focus on Him, for He has overcome the world. Too often we focus on what we think we need, whether it is circumstances going our way or longing for the feeling of comfort and security. This leads us to mourn our losses rather than rejoicing in the gain that is ours in Christ Jesus. Instead of counting losses, try counting your blessings, for blessings certainly outnumber our losses. In gratitude, we accept the victory that is ours through faith in the Lord Jesus. By faith we look forward to the day when God will make all things right, our hope will be realized and our faith will be sight. Until that day, live the dash for His glory and it will be a life well lived. Blessings, Pastor Pete

From the moment we are born to the day that we die, we are on an adventure called life. In the movie "Forest Gump", Tom Hanks portrayed Forest who said, "Mama always said life was like a box of chocolates. You never know what you're gonna get." Maybe that is what makes life an adventure. There are lots of surprises, from being in the right place at the right time or being rewarded for hard work or finding new friends or falling in love or discovering a new hobby. I suppose each of us has expectations of what life should bring. We want each piece to be our favorite flavor. However, life isn’t like that. Sometimes life dishes out pieces that go well beyond our expectations and at other times falls far short. Sometimes we work hard at making a living in order to ensure each piece in our box of life is just how we want it. Work takes precedence, often overshadowing family, friends and God. Somewhere along the way the least important becomes the most important, and with priorities upside down we struggle for meaning while striving to make a living. If this is true, we must ask ourselves, "What do we want? To make a living or make a life?" Jesus offers us something better. He said in John 10.10 “I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.” This isn’t offering a sequel that should never have been made nor is it a "make over"- same you but with an improved image. Instead, God is offering something new and refreshing. The Bible says, “If we are in Christ we are a new creation. All things are new” (2 Corinthians 5.17). By faith we grab hold of God who is able to truly make our life new with new meaning and purpose. Consider Ephesians 2.10 “For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” Discovering the purpose filled life that Jesus offers fulfills the unmet longing of each of our hearts. By accepting God’s life and purpose for our own, we discover a satisfying fullness that nothing else can come close to, and in the process points others to the One who is the Life. If you want to be miserable, try living the new life in your own effort or embrace Jesus yet continue to live in your own way. It doesn’t work and you’ll never be happy until you settle the issue once and for all. Either we are His by faith and yield to His purpose for us, or we go it alone and try to fill our life with good things but not the best things. In the end, our way will never lead to the fullness of life that Jesus spoke of and we’ll be disappointed with each piece of chocolate…I mean life. If we exhale all of the things we thought so dear and breathe in the life God, we allow God to fill us with His life, a life full of satisfaction and meaning that we never dreamed possible. We may never know what the box of life will bring, but we do know that God is a God of surprises and whatever may come, we know that He will be with us. Prayer: Lord, breathe Your life into mine and make my life into what You want it to be- full and abundant, fulfilling Your holy purpose in me that others may see and glorify You.

The Great Divide

Last summer while traveling with my son Matt, we crossed over the continental divide. The watershed on the east flows into the great Mississippi. The watershed on the west flows to the Pacific. It is a dividing line. Our society has many dividing lines. Politically, our country is divided. Economically there are those who have plenty and those who are in need. It seems the divide is getting harder to cross. We see division in social realms, moral values and spiritual issues. There seems to be no end to that which divides us. Division often finds its way into the church. In Paul's time, some said that they were of Apollos, others Peter and still others Paul. Somehow, through association they became spiritually better than others. A childhood friend attends a church in Santa Rosa which teaches that it is the right church and all the others, including our church, are in error. Another friend attends a church that only uses the King James Bible because it is the only authorized version. Division exists, yet God has provided a way for us to be as one. The world has its idea of oneness. John Lennon wrote the song "Imagine" which captures the essense of it. He wrote, "Imagine no heaven...no hell...no country...and we'll all be one." It sounds like Utopia on earth, but in reality it is a thought that leads to hell. Jesus is the only one who can tear down the great divide. The Bible states that sin separates us from God, but through Jesus, the separation is removed and we have peace with God. Jesus destroyed the distinctions of His day by hanging around with sinners (tax collectors and a known prostitute) and told stories like the Good Samaritan which caused people to ponder who really was the true neighbor. In Ephesians 2.14 we see that Jesus has torn down the dividing walls between the greatest division in the Jewish mindset-the division between Jew and Gentile. God's purpose was to create one new man out of the two. Think of the distinctions we have today: differences in gender, wealth, ethnic back ground and social status. Jesus has torn down these divisions and have made us truly one. Galatians 3.28 states that there is neither Jew nor Greek, male or female, slave or free, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. What we see then is that sin divides, but Jesus unites. Is there a great divide between you and God? Then come to Jesus have have peace with God. Is there a great divide in your relationships? Commit them to Jesus and trust Him to do the impossible, for truly He can bring healing and wholeness to anyone who comes to Him in faith. Don't let sin keep you on the wrong side of the dividing line. We must cross over and put our trust in Jesus and in Him alone. Which side are you on? Blessings, Pastor Pete

What Is It That Guides You?

Perhaps you let your conscience guide you. If it feel's right or if others are doing it. I suppose each of us has a sense of what is right or wrong. But how do we know if what we think is right is really right? The Bible book of Hebrews tells us in 6.17-18 "...God wanted to make the unchanging nature of his purpose very clear... it is impossible for God to lie..." When it says that God doesn't change, the Bible isn't refering to the changing of His mind, but the unchanging essence of His nature. God's nature does not change..."like shifting shadows.." as James 1.17 puts it. God cannot lie because His very nature is truth (Titus 1.2). God has given us His promises and revealed His heart for us in His Word. It is signed, sealed and delivered through the Holy Spirit. God keeps His promises. How do I know that? Because it is contrary to the very nature of God to lie. Since God cannot lie, nor change His purpose or Word, then who can change it? The rhetorical answer is no one can alter what God says. Yet there is one who tries to change it through deception. Of course I am speaking the devil. Jesus said in John 8.44 that he "was a murderer from the very beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies." The Apostle Paul described him as the "ruler of the kingdom of the air, who is at work iin those who are disobedient." (Ephesians 2.2) Satan is working in those who do not hold to the truths of God. Its not that they are bad people, because all of us are bad due to sin. But they are being deceived so that the truths of God are considered false or at best out-dated and irrelevant. So we see our present day world, deceived by the Father of all Lies, holding onto things that sound so good and sophisticated, yet contradict our Creator's design and plan. As a believer in Jesus, hold onto the truths of God. If science contradicts the Bible, wait and see, for time after time science has changed, yet the Word of God is eternal and unchanging. Do the cultural norms and values we live with in this world contradict the truths of God? Hold onto the Word of God, for it will guide you through each step of your life. Keep your eyes on Jesus and on the promises of God, for God will certainly keep His Word and will deliver us in due time. For all those that hold on to God and obey His Word, it is to them that God has promised eternal life. My friends, hold on for we are in the middle of a time of deception which has not seen its equal in some time. But if we hold on to God's Word, it becomes our guide, a light for our path, giving us direction and helping us not to misstep along the way. We have His promise that if we trust Him with all of our heart He will make our paths straight (Proverbs 3.5-6). I'm holding on, are you? Blessings, Pastor Pete Blessings, Pastor Pete

No Mountain Too High

I have to admit that there are some books of the Bible that I'll often read while skipping over others. Some of the Old Testament books like Leviticus are skipped for more exciting books like the gospels. I recently read the book of Habakkuk and was amazed at the faith of Habakkuk. God had brought hard times upon Israel as judgment for sin and to draw them back into right relationship. Habakkuk begins with a prayer, "Lord, how long must I pray and you do not listen?" Have you ever felt like you hit a brick wall that you cannot go through? Perhaps circumstances of mountainous portions that you cannot go through? If so, you can identify with Habakkuk. While the whole book is worthy of reading and meditating on, I want to draw your attention to the last few verses of Habakkuk. Judgment came on Israel in the form of another nation's rampage. Habakkuk found himself waiting for the day judgment would be over and God would make all things right. Habakkuk had patience (3.16). He waited for God to do what only God can do. Patience. So often we speak and act too soon. If only we could be patient and wait on God, for He will speak and act in His timing, and when He does, it will be bring life and hope. Due to the invading nation, Israel was devastated. Crops failed, flocks and herds gone. Homes destroyed. Businesses gone. Notice what Habakkuk says in 3.17-18 "Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the Lord. I will be joyful in God my Savior." What is the root of your joy? If it is in anything of the world- food on the table and pantry full, homes to sleep in and clothes in your closet, cars in the garage and gas in the tanks, jobs to go to and money in the bank, kids all accounted for and dog in the pen. Yet all of these things can be taken away, and someday will be. If our joy comes from our possessions, we'll be devastated when they disappear. Habakkuk saw it all disappear, yet he wasn't in despair nor did he lose his joy, for his joy was in the Lord God. God is good all the time, and all the time, God is good. We can rejoice in who God is or we can complain about what we have or do not have in life. Joy is a choice, and when everything is taken away, we can still choose to rejoice in our God. Verse 19 "The Sovereign Lord is my strength; he makes my feet like the feet of a deer, he enables me to go on the heights." We can pray for God to move mountains but sometimes God doesn't remove the mountains. In those times when God leaves the mountains, He gives us His strength and He enables us to go over the mountains instead. Sometimes the things we learn about God and faith are learned best when we have to go up and over the mountains of life. God is faithful and He is our help, our strength and He will see us through to the peaceful valley on the other side. Keep praying and waiting, rejoicing and climbing, for we belong to the Lord God who helps us and will one day make all things right. Blessings, Pastor Pete

Our Words...for better or worse?

Have you ever said something and then wished you could take it back? Whether its something you said or an email or text you send, there are times that we wish we could just take it all back and start over. If only we could. The late Peter Marshall once said, "the solemn things about words is that before you speak them, you are their master. After you speak then they are your master." If only we could learn to control our mouths. The Bible speaks of words that are like diamonds set in jewelry; beautiful and fitting. Words build others up or they tear them down. How beautiful it is when our words lift others up. In the Bible book of James, we are told that with our words we bless God yet curse our fellow man. We may not use any four letter adjectives but if our words tear down, put down or destroy someone else, it might as well be a four letter word. The next time you are tempted to speak your mind, try to think about how your words will be interpreted and received. Perhaps just thinking about this might temper what you say and how you say it. The good Lord gave us two ears and one mouth. If only we could learn to listen first before we speak, perhaps there would be a lot less stress in this world, and certainly in our own lives. The Clippers basketball team owner is in hot water for saying some racial remarks in private, yet recorded for the world to hear. One thing we can learn from this is not to be two faced, but to be in private what we are in public. If we wouldn't say something publicly, perhaps we shouldn't say it in private either. If the damage is done, you cannot take back your words. But you can offer apologies and strive, with God's help to not repeat it again. And that is the key, asking God to help you and then use you for His glory. May your words be as diamonds, set in place, beautiful and fitting for every circumstance you find yourself in. Blessings, Pastor Pete