PETER’S PRIORITIES
Today’s Reading: 1 Peter 1-2
Click scripture link to read online or HERE to listen online (then click the symbol of the audio speaker above the scripture portion).
The Church of St. Anne (the mother of Mary) is located at the start of the Via Dolorosa, near the Lions’ Gate in the Muslim Quarter of the Old City of Jerusalem. The current church is erected near the remains of an earlier Byzantine basilica. There is a tradition which claims that this was the site of the home of the parents of the Virgin Mary, and that she was born here and grew up here. The sculptor has offered us this depiction of a mother and a young girl.
GOOGLE MAPS – To see where the photo was taken, click HERE.
Key Verses: 1 Peter 1:5, 2:2
…who are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.…As newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the word, that you may grow thereby.
“Kept by the power of God!” What a confidence-building statement! Can it be any better than that? Add to that the amazing privilege of growth through the Word of God! We’ve been reading daily the Prophets. We are encouraged to learn a most important lesson from them. They “inquired and searched diligently!” (1:10). We are given clear instructions as to how to do this: “Gird up the loins of your mind” (1:13). That picturesque language helps us understand the process. We could put it differently, like, “Take yourself by the scruff of the neck and partake daily of all the spiritual nutrients we need to grow and thrive.” As a hungry baby desires mother’s milk, so we should hunger and thirst, eating and drinking God’s Word!!! A baby’s whole world is all about survival and growth.
In Peter’s writing he sounds a lot like he did when he delivered the very first sermon on the birthday of the Church (Read Acts 2:22-24). Peter quotes from his Hebrew Bible from Isaiah 53. Compare 1 Peter 2:24 & 25 with Isaiah 53:5 & 6. All the Apostles were “Word of God” preachers and teachers.
PRAYER FOR TODAY:
Lord God, I pray for the grace of consistency in my reading and my meditating on and in Your Holy Word. I ask that Your Spirit will impart to me a greater comprehension and practical application of Your Word. May I, like the Apostles, have a strong ministry to others by skillfully, and with wisdom, sharing Your Word with others. In the Name of the “Living Word,” Jesus Christ I pray. Amen!!!
100 PERSONAL WORDS:
I believe that when the second two-year journey through the Bible with this blog is completed this June 2nd, I want to try to write Bible stories for children which a Dad, Mom, or others could read to their kids as possible bedtime stories. Please pray for me. Recently I spoke about the DNA of the Crossroads Ministry. I took “Uncle Jasper” and “Caspar the Cop” with me to illustrate the commitment Crossroads has had to children’s ministry since the beginning of the TV ministry back in 1962 (photo below). I used these same puppets to help me grab the attention of the children in a Sunday School I started in Chalk River, Ontario, when I was 18 back in 1954. Most of the time there has been a children’s component to the Crossroads ministry.
Yours for getting the attention of the children so that they will drink the “pure milk of the Word” and “grow thereby!”
David
P.S. Jasper and Caspar are pictured below. Notice the copy of a Bible under the wooden shoes. The symbolism is that we stand on the solid foundation of the Scriptures. The Word of God is over and above all the other books in my library! The wooden shoes were a gift from the Netherlands when I travelled to that country speaking about the dangers of euthanasia in the great reformed churches of that land. To the dismay of historical Christians, the government passed a bill allowing the killing of the elderly. I weep now because Belgium, where two of my grandchildren were born, has passed legislation by which children can be euthanized. May God have mercy on His human family!!!
Dear Pastor David, I will pray fervently for you to be able to accomplish writing those children’s stories. Jesus loved the little children and wanted them to come to Him. This new venture of yours is desperately needed in these trying times.
Writing children’s stories fits in so perfectly with your spiritual giftedness, David! Your imagination and expansive Christian knowledge will make for wonderful and meaningful stories that will shape the minds of children everywhere! My prayers are with you!
Amen!
What a wonderful and much needed Ministry to take on for today’s children. May GOD bless you with continued good health and give you the time to get this Children’s Ministry going ! I thank GOD, in advance, for how HE bring this ministry to fruition !!
I was in the Netherlands with a very special lady who passed away on Thursday at the age of 91. It was the first time I attended a Catholic service with a female priest because there are no men to take over. My point is.. that we need you, we need you to wake up our ‘parents’ so that they can be role models for their children as Maria was although she disagreed with Dutch ‘practices’ she loved family. So, yes write books, blog… whatever it takes to ‘wake people up’. Blessings
So many parent are busy with work, as a grandma I would love the children stories. My little grandson loves to learn electronically. I was teaching him words and showed him the word calm. He said nanny you spelled that wrong! You spell it .com,
I sure thought that was true to his nature. He is 5 years old. Your children blog would sure be apart of his learning about our wonderful Lord Jesus.
I am praising the scripture readings, this morning. Yes, by His stripes we are healed, hallelujah! “All people are like grass, and all their glory is like the flowers of the field; the grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of the Lord endures forever” 1 Pt 1:24-25. Such wisdom in the Word! Such reassurance from Peter! Amen!How blessed we are to be saints in the world, spreading His seed with love. Children’s books are a blessing, David. Writing a new series of them is a wonderful idea. God bless you and your family this morning, fine sir. Stay safe, today, dear ones!
There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear. 1 Jn 4:18 Nothing will be impossible for you. Mt 17:20
I Could Sing Of Your Love Forever
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zeCwwaciAA8
Amen, Beverlee!!
Thank you for the song!
“It is the branch that bears the fruit,
That feels the knife,
To prune it for a larger growth,
A fuller life.
Though every budding twig be lopped,
And every grace
Of swaying tendril, springing leaf,
Be lost a space.
O thou whose life of joy seems reft,
Of beauty shorn;
Whose aspirations lie in dust,
All bruised and torn,
Rejoice, tho’ each desire, each dream,
Each hope of thine
Shall fall and fade; it is the hand
Of Love Divine
That holds the knife, that cuts and breaks
With tenderest touch,
That thou, whose life has borne some fruit
May’st now bear much.”
–Annie Johnson Flint
from Streams in the Desert
Spent the night in “the cardiac suite” in hospital. Could not use electrical devices there. I am so happy to be feeling better & being able to get the blog. Messages for children are a wonderful idea. May Father God inspire you, David, as you give the message to His little lambs.
Doreen, dear sister-in-Christ, soak in His Presence and love for you. Holding you in prayer that God shields your heart with a mighty protection and strengthening and that your body is shed from all that is pulling on you. May saints and pastors from your church pray over, and anoint you. In Jesus’ precious Name, amen, amen, and amen.
Yes, Amen…total healing for you Doreen, in Jesus Christ Our Lord!
In agreement with Beverlee and others as we bring Doreen before God’s healing power to give assurance of His presence. Rest in His Loving Arms Doreen and find peace. Catherine
Doreen, I pray for GOD’s hand to be on you as HE brings you thru what could be a difficult time.
We are blessed I will pray for you David children need to God’s word . I know
you can do it
I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me Phil 4:13
Amen,Amen.!
Jesus loves the little children…Pastor David,I pray in the Name of Jesus, that your desire to start a ministry for children, come to full fruition. Thank you Jesus for answered prayer. Amen!!
Thank you David for your ministry to us every morning!!!
Writing children’s Bible stories is an excellent idea Pastor Mainse.
It is important for little ones to learm about Jesus Christ’s love for them.
May the Lord Jesus empower you to achieve this task, in His Precious Name. Amen!
Remembering all the people mentioned in need of prayer that God would be
merciful to them, Amen!
Blessings on your desire to write children’s stories David even though I am sad to think your daily input with 100words.com is coming to an end. In my diligent search of the Word, I have noticed how many times the truth,” fear God” appears; twice in the first two chapters of 1 Peter; fear meaning, reverence, respect and awe, and sometimes just fear as God is a consuming fire, amen? The Lord bless you Doreen and give you peace in this troubled world. Sat with my friend all day yesterday in the hospital and visited someone in palliative care.
Dear Pastor David:
2 years ago you told us that you were going to do bible stories for children. It did not happen. Why? I was so llooking forward to it. I know things happen but an explanation of why it did not happen in June of 2014 would be nice. I have been on this journey since the very beginning in June of 2012 and enjoy it so much. It is part of my daily routine now. God bless all of you.
Ruby
Hmmm. Maybe David already has a collection …
Blessings and prayers on you Pastor David as you contemplate on writing stories for the precious little ones. I can’t wait!!!
Yes healed by the Saviour’s wounds. Thank you Jesus.
WAIT A MINUTE! I have a BIG problem with the word “story” The Bible is not a book of stories! It is the Word of God! Stories start “once upon a time” and that is not the case with the Word of God!
Please try and find another word! Writing the Word of God for children is fine, but it is not a “story” It is the real Living Word of God for all people!
“Stories” can behold biblical “truth.” Much easier to communicate than reading the NKV or NIV to a five year old