A New Way

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“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

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“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)

Give Thanks and Praise

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“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

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“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)

He Did It All For You

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“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!

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“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)

Put Your Hope In God

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“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)

Fruit Of The Spirit…Faithfulness

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“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

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“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)

God Is Love

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“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

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“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)

A Light In The Darkness

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“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

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“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)

Peace

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 “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.”

John 14:27 NIV

Peace

Peace that surpasses all understanding

Peace

Peace when the unexpected happens

Peace when life is going off the rails and we don’t know what to do

Peace when we start to compare ourselves and our lives to others

Peace when we get hurt by others words or actions

Peace when money is tight

Peace

Peace when we are enjoying the moment

Peace when the outcome goes our way

Peace when we focus on gratitude

Peace…His peace

“…being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.”

Philippians 1:6 NIV

(This photo was taken at a lake in northwestern Wisconsin)

Believing And Seeing

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“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,
18 yet I will rejoice in the Lord,
    I will be joyful in God my Savior.

19 The Sovereign Lord is my strength;”

Habakkuk 3:17-19 NIV

Faith is about being certain of God and His love and faithfulness beyond our visible circumstances and surroundings

We Believe by Newsboys

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“We live by faith, not by sight.”

2 Corinthians 5:7 NIV

(This photo was taken at a lake near Plymouth, Minnesota)

Overcome Evil With Good

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“You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.”

1 John 4:4 NIV

The Bible tells us that we will have trouble in this world…and it states clearly that we can persevere through trials and temptations

The Bible also gives us examples of others who lived and suffered and how they interacted with God and lived their lives with faith

At times it wasn’t pretty, they didn’t live lives that were sweet and easy all the time

Read about Abraham and Sarah, read about Joseph in Genesis

Look through the pages of David’s life in 1 Samuel

Take time to read about the life of Jesus in the New Testament

Yes, there are struggles, trials and there is suffering…remember living a life of faith and in God’s love doesn’t mean these will disappear

What it does mean is you will receive the courage and the hope as God is with you to help you and guide you to get through the difficult times

Do not be overcome by darkness and evil, look to God…pray and you can find the way to overcome evil with good

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“Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.”

Romans 12:21 NIV

(This photo was taken in Mount Rainier National Park in Washington)