“So do not fear, for I am with you;
do not be dismayed, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you and help you;
I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.”
Isaiah 41:10 NIV
“For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline.”
2 Timothy 1:7 NIV
“Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be courageous; be strong. 14 Do everything in love.”
1 Corinthians 16:13-14 NIV
(This photo was taken in Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming)
“Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
8 Love never fails.”
1 Corinthians 13:4-8 NIV
“And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.”
1 Corinthians 13:13 NIV
(This photo was taken at a lake near Plymouth, Minnesota)
“Then he said to them all: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me. 24 For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will save it.”
Luke 9:23-24 NIV
Father God, I surrender my life to You
You can have it all. All my doubts, all my fears, all my worries…every insecurity, every selfish desire and past mistake…I give it all to You
Every area of my life that does not honor You…take it
Take it all and use me, change me, transform me, love me and love others through me
Take all that I am, and use it for Your glory
In Jesus name, Amen
“I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”
Galatians 2:20 NIV
(This photo was taken at a lake near Plymouth, Minnesota)
“You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; 23 to be made new in the attitude of your minds; 24 and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.“
Ephesians 4:22-24 NIV
“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come:[a] The old has gone, the new is here!“
2 Corinthians 5:17 NIV
Every day brings new possibilities
Trust the promises of God to find a New Way
Our hope is in God and His love
The Wonderful Cross by Michael W Smith
“Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. 9 Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.“
Philippians 4:8-9 NIV
(This photo was taken at sunrise at a lake in central Minnesota)
“You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. 7 Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die. 8 But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
Romans 5:6-8 NIV
It is wild how quickly we can become distracted
Today’s world is filled with so much information and so much misinformation that it is easy to get derailed or side tracked
We need to be able to be centered on something or someone to keep us level headed and not chasing every feeling and emotion
God knows everything about us
Try this brief exercise today…think about your last 24 hours
God knows about every single thing and every single thought you have experienced
Yes even that one thought
Now step back and think about the fact that this is true about every single thing and thought in your life
God knows and when we take a moment to realize that right now, knowing all those things that God knows…remember this
God forgives you and God loves you the same today as He did the day you were born
To show you how much He loves and cares for you He sent His Son to take the punishment that we all deserve so that we can still have a relationship with Him
Give thanks and praise to God our Father and Jesus Christ, His Son, our Savior and Lord
“Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”
Philippians 4:4-7 NIV
(This photo was taken in Mount Rainier National Park in Washington)
“For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in[b] Christ Jesus our Lord.”
Romans 6:23 NIV
“But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed.”
Isaiah 53:5 NIV
We didn’t earn it
We do not deserve it
Yet Jesus Christ sacrificed Himself for us
This is how much He loves us
This is how much He loves you
Remember what He did to show His love for you
Remember…He did it all for you!
“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9 not by works, so that no one can boast. 10 For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”
Ephesians 2:8-10 NIV
(This photo was taken while traveling in northern Colorado)
“Why, my soul, are you downcast?
Why so disturbed within me?
Put your hope in God,
for I will yet praise him,
my Savior and my God.”
Psalm 42:11 NIV
Find Rest by Francesca Battistelli
“Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”
John 14:6 NIV
(This photo was taken at a lake in central Minnesota)
“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.”
Galatians 5:22-23 NIV
“Know therefore that the Lord your God is God, the faithful God who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments, to a thousand generations…”
Deuteronomy 7:9 NIV
God keeps His promises
We are responsible for how we live our lives and how we treat each other
God has given us free will
If we do our part and put our trust in Him and walk in the Light of Christ
He is faithful and will forgive us our sins and restore us
“This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. 6 If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. 7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin. 8 If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
1 John 1:5-9 NIV
(This photo was taken at sunset at a lake in northwestern Wisconsin)
“So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.”
Matthew 7:12 NIV
Love is about more than words or a feeling
Love is about how we treat each other with our actions and our behaviors
In this fallen and broken world we all will make mistakes and need to be forgiven
Thankfully, God is love and put His love into the action by sending His Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins
We have been forgiven
Now it is our turn to put love into action
In what relationship or situation in your life is there a lack of love?
Who in your life needs to experience love in action?
Pray about it and ask God to guide you in love
“Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.”
1 John 4:8-10 NIV
(This photo was taken near the border between South Dakota and Minnesota)
“When Jesus spoke again to the people, he 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 NIV
The world is filled with darkness
We all are searching for a way to see more clearly
Many have been told about The Light of Life and some of us have even spent time looking for it
Yet we often get distracted and look to other things and change our focus or we let doubt and fear keep us in the dark
Believe in Him who is The Light of the world…believe in Jesus Christ
Only He can shine as The Light in this dark world…seek Him and you will see
“For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of God’s glory displayed in the face of Christ.”
2 Corinthians 4:6 NIV
(This photo was taken at a lake place in central Minnesota)
Take Your Faith With You 