Month: January 2018

Commitment

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Do what you say you would do…stay true to your word…demonstrate a willingness to be responsible…show integrity.   When you read these phrases and think about them none of them say this is going to be all about ‘fun’ or ‘personally convenient’ or ‘this is all about being happy all the time.’  Commitment is hard and it takes dedication, it takes time and it doesn’t always serve personal desires.

That is the point about commitment…it is not about you!  That is exactly why we need to build our personal relationship with Jesus, he knows what it means to be committed to something that is hard, not fun and not about him…yet he spoke openly with his father to help him keep moving forward and complete the task given to him…and he did it for you and me.  May God’s peace be with you.

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“Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and your plans will succeed.”

Proverbs 16:3

(This photo was taken in April of 2016 at sunrise on a lake in central Minnesota)

A Purpose For Everything

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As I have traveled on this faith journey I have on occasion asked, ‘Why God?’  ‘Why is this happening?’ and through the reading of the Word and in the quiet of my time with God an answer sometimes is revealed.  Maybe through the words of a song that comes to mind out of nowhere or in certain verses I am reflecting on.  To me to trust in the Lord means I don’t have to get an answer to all my questions because I trust he is working for good in my life and if I am truly honest as I look at my life I have many blessings and just need to focus on gratitude.  Eventually I come back to my purpose…To know Him and to make Him known…that is what I believe He has asked of me.  May God’s peace be with you.

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“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.”

Romans 15:13

(This photo was taken in June of 2016 at a lake near Minneapolis, Minnesota)

In God’s Hands

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The bible often makes references to God the Creator as the potter and we are the clay.  I tend to forget that we are in his hands every day and he is working for the good in our lives and even when things are marred and scratched or broken, God is still at the wheel and has re-creative power to help shape and mold us into something better.  We were not made to formed once and put on a shelf…God wants us to be engaged in spreading the Good News of Jesus Christ…and not to worry because He is holding us in His hands.  May God’s peace be with you.

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“Yet, O Lord, you are our Father.  We are the clay, you are the potter; we are all the work of your hand.”

Isaiah 64:8

(This photo was taken in August of 2016 in Arches National Park in Utah)

His Sacrifice For Us

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How often is it that we come across someone who literally has everything they need and everything they could want…a person that willingly decides I am ready to give up everything I have to help others?  It has happened and there are people in the world who have sold everything they own and gone overseas as a missionary.  I am pretty certain that is not what God has planned for me and my life…but to stop and think about the fact that Jesus was literally sitting at the right hand of God and came down to be born as a baby…to become one of us, in order to save us because of his love for us…that someone would willingly give up everything to help save you and me…I am eternally grateful for Him.  May God’s peace be with you.

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“The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us.  We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.”

John 1:14

(This photo was taken in July of 2016 in Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming)

Choose Holy Living

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With each day the gift of free will means we can choose our attitude toward everything…we can choose our attitude towards what other people think, say or do.  We can choose to be kind and compassionate or we can respond with vicious words and wrath…nobody can make you do this, it is up to you how you respond even if you don’t take the time to think about your response you are still accountable for your behavior every day.  Choose patience…choose kindness and compassion…be forgiving and most of all no matter what choose to respond with love…after all that is what Jesus did for us.  May God’s peace be with you.

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“Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.  Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another.  Forgive as the Lord forgave you.  And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.”

Colossians 3:12-14

(This photo was taken in June of 2016 at a lake near Minneapolis, Minnesota)

Once For All

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Never give up hope.  Out of the most tragic circumstances can come the greatest peace and the greatest joy.  Look at the people alive when Jesus was here on earth.  They believed in him as the one person who was going to save them from corrupt government and tyranny.  Then the most tragic set of events occurred…he died…he was crucified even though he was with out sin.  For three days they mourned and were very frightened for there own lives.  Then the most amazing and unexpected thing happened next…he was raised from the dead.  Can you imagine the unbelievable joy they sensed when they were speaking with him?  Incredible…yet without his death and the death of our sins there could be no resurrection.  May God’s peace be with you.

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“For we know that since Christ was raised from the dead, he cannot die again; death no longer has mastery over him.  The death he died, he died to sin once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God.  In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus.”

Romans 6:9-11

(This photo was taken in June of 2016 at a lake near Minneapolis, Minnesota)

Faithfulness

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Every generation of people has struggles and suffering…God wants to help us and guide us through the struggles.  We suffer because humans beings invited evil into the world… God never said come follow me and life will be easy.  If fact the bible states…“In this world you will have trouble, but take heart I have overcome this world” (John 16:33).  He knows what you are facing every single day of your life, he knew it before you were born and he sent His One and Only Son to show us how much he loves us.  Trust God’s plan by spending time with him each day, read the bible and you will see God’s faithfulness surround you.  May God’s peace be with you!

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“For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”

Ephesians 2:10

(This photo was taken in August of 2016 near Arches National Park in Utah)

Perspective

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When you focus a portion of time each day communing with the Lord and reading the Scriptures you will begin to feed and develop your faith foundation.  This foundation can become what you stand on whenever you are faced with difficulties and challenges in everyday life.  We learn from the teachings in the bible that God is love and he loves us and he wants to have a personal relationship with us.

Seek to get to know God…just you and Him and that relationship will give you a new and refreshed perspective on your everyday existence.  May God’s peace be with you!

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“And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.”

Romans 8:28

(This photo was taken in June of 2013 while traveling through northern Colorado)

Living By The Spirit

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We receive messages all day long about “how we are to live”…”what we are to want”…as if we are missing out on something from this world if we don’t do or want the same things everyone else desires.  The Christian life is not better than others but rather different.  Dare to be different and trust God to guide your way.

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“Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.  Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is – his good, pleasing and perfect will.”

Romans 12:2

(This photo was taken in April of 2016 at a lake place in central Minnesota)

God Wants To Hear From You…

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When I first started my devotion time I had heard about and knew about God the Father, Jesus Christ his only Son and the Holy Spirit…I didn’t really know them or what a personal relationship with The Savior was all about.  I am realizing there is so much to learn and experience in growing and developing a relationship with them…God the Creator loves me unconditionally and Jesus his Son is the one person who sacrificed everything in order to save me.  And the Holy Spirit can be my guide through the ups and downs of life in a fallen world.

One of the hardest lessons is not to judge your relationship with God based on what you see in human relationships…all of us on earth are broken, even the people you think “have it all” and the sooner we can admit we need God the sooner we may find peace in our lives.  May God’s peace be with you!

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“The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness.  He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.”

2 Peter 3:9

(This photo was taken in August of 2012 while hiking on the north shore of Lake Superior in Minnesota)