Faith

Reflect And Recharge

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When our hope is in the Lord, we will see goodness and blessings.  When our focus is on living our life through our faith in Jesus Christ, we tend to be able to see with new eyes on old or familiar situations.  When we walk daily with the Lord our perspective improves from worldly to heavenly.  In the New Testament is states…“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!”  (2 Corinthians 5:17)  With the Lord we have hope, we can trust in goodness and righteousness and we can have faith that we will be able to see our way through anything.  May God’s love, joy and peace be with you.

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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 everything, by 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

(This photo was taken in August of 2016 at Sapphire Point near Dillon, Colorado)

Wisdom From Above

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I don’t know…I’m not sure…I don’t understand…Can you help me…I need help.  Statements like these make us vulnerable, they open us up, they make us humble.  To the world these phrases can be seen as weak and needy.  More importantly than just the words are the attitudes and behaviors that you show along with these statements.  If we learn wisdom from God we will gain wisdom like this…“But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere.”  (James 3:17)  Wisdom from the world is self-focused, gain more oriented, no time for losers, me first mentality.  The most significant thing about choosing the wisdom of the world is we can lose the opportunity to pursue relationships with others.  God our Creator, Jesus Christ our Savior and the Holy Spirit as our guide have the all the wisdom that is so desperately needed in this world.  May the peace and joy of the Lord be with you.

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“For the foolishness of God is wiser than man’s wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than man’s strength.”

1 Corinthians 1:25

(This photo was taken in August of 2016 in Mount Rainier National Park in Washington)

The Holy Spirit Within Us

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When we turn in faith to God and strengthen our relationship with Him, evil and darkness will increase its attacks on us.  The primary goal of this darkness is to have us turn away from God.  To distract us, to keep us focused on worldly values of wealth and possessions and a self-serving mentality.  Evil wants us to stir up anger, hatred, dissension and all the things we were not made to do.  God knows these will come, Jesus experienced these attacks personally when He was in the desert.  Knowing this God has provided us with the Holy Spirit.  In the Bible it says…“For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline.”  (2 Timothy 1:7)  When we stay focused on God and His Word, when we put our relationship with Jesus Christ first with devotions and prayers then we are equipped to fend off darkness.  Take courage in your faith and trust in God.  May the wisdom and peace of the Lord be with you.

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“In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.”

Ephesians 6:16

(This photo was taken in June of 2013 at the Garden of Gods near Colorado Springs, Colorado)

All That Is Good Comes From God

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Nothing is more refreshing for the mind and spirit than to take some time to sit peacefully, with nothing but the sounds of the world going on around you and to be with God.  I hope you have a time like that in your life, no matter if it is in the morning, midday or in the evening.  Whatever may work for your life, I can’t emphasize enough the difference it will make in every aspect of your life…it is something you must experience to understand…for me it is the single most important thing I have done to strengthen my faith and to change my life.  Our lives are about our experiences and learning and passing on that experience to others to help them.  Ask Jesus Christ to come into your heart and mind, again and again and again and let the Holy Spirit be your guide.  If you are looking for goodness, kindness and compassion…all that is good comes from God.  May the love, joy and peace of the Lord be with you.

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“The Lord is good to all; he has compassion on all he has made.”

Psalm 145:9

(This photo was taken in March of 2013 in the Botanical Garden at the Bellagio in Las Vegas, Neveda)

Learn To Be Content

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The apostle Paul writes about this in his letter to the Philippians.  As I read this and other parts of the bible about contentment, I believe the message is intended for us when we are looking at ourselves.  When we are reflecting on the me, my life, my surroundings we need to learn to be content and know that no matter what our circumstances we will always have the strength to continue because God is our source of strength.  When we look at others, we should be looking at how we can be generous in all ways…spiritually, emotionally, physically, with our time and resources.  We must work hard to avoid the worldly perspective of always comparing ourselves to what others have and acting self-focused to try and change that comparison, this is a path to evil and dark behavior.  Be thankful for the blessings you have received and have faith in God to provide what you need.  May God’s mercy and grace be with you.

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“I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty.  I have learned the secret to being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want.  I can do everything through him who gives me strength.”

Philippians 4:12-13

(This photo was taken in May of 2013 in a lake in northwestern Wisconsin)

Community

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I am late in posting today because I went out for breakfast with two men who are my closest friends in the world.  Our time together on life’s journey began 30 years ago this fall when we all lived together when we were starting college.  We are all married, we all are Fathers and we all love the Lord.  We have grown and developed a deep love and respect for each other and we meet together to share stories, ask questions or just laugh about the things that have happened when we have been together.  The three of us are community for each other.  We all believe firmly that God brought us together to share this thing called life and we are all very thankful for our brotherhood.  It is so important to find your community whether it is big or small, to me it is a group of people where you give what you can and you receive what you need and it restores your soul to be apart of that group of people.  Thank you God for all the people that are community in my life.  May God’s peace and joy be with you.

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“And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds.  Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another – and all the more as you see the Day approaching.”

Hebrews 10:24-25

(This photo was taken in March of 2013 at the Botanical Garden in the Bellagio in Las Vegas, Neveda)

God’s Peace

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There will be times in life when we will be faced with our broken humanness.  It is unavoidable in this world.  We will be very conscious and aware of our inability to bring about change or peace.  These are the natural limits of our existence.  What we are not made to be able to accomplish can easily be handled by God.  The only way to achieve the peace our soul desires is to put our trust, our hope and our faith in the Lord.  Only God can provide true peace.  When we cannot see our way through or know what may or may not happen…true faith pushes on, not recklessly but faithfully in this darkness knowing that God will be there to lift us up.  Pray for God’s peace to be in your heart and continue to push on in faith.  May God’s peace and joy be with you.

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“Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace.  And be thankful.”

Colossians 3:15

(This photo was taken in August of 2016 in Glacier National Park in Montana)

Walking In The Light

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Getting out of the cycle of pray-commit sin-repent-repeat means changing our behavior and our attitude.  It says in many places in the bible the path to peace is to humble your self before God (James 4:10, 1 Peter 5:6) and admit you are a sinner who is unable to improve yourself alone.  This is true humility.  It is very far cry from what the self-serving world is telling us we should be doing.  We must learn to walk in the light of Christ…to me this means not judging others, not holding on to anger, offering to help those in need and spreading the Good News of Jesus Christ and His redeeming grace.  To walk in the light is to trust and know that no matter what you encounter, God is good, He loves you and He will guide you if you are willing to follow Him.  May the grace and peace of God be with you.

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“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, purifies us from all sin.”

1 John 1:7

(This photo was taken in June of 2012 at sunset in northwestern Wisconsin)

The Conclusion

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In the Book of Ecclesiastes, the Teacher explores several aspects of life on earth searching for meaning.  The word ‘meaningless’ is used repeatedly in this book.  The Teacher reviews wisdom, pleasures, time, toil, advancement, riches and often states similar phrases like‘…it is good and proper for a man to eat and drink, and to find satisfaction in his toilsome labor under the sun during the few days of life God has given him – for this is his lot.” (Ecclesiastes 5:18)  Finally after thorough discussion is complete in Ecclesiastes 12 a conclusion is reached…this is a lesson that every person can learn from, this is a lesson that keeps the values of eternity in view for all of us.  To summarize what the verses below state: Life without God is meaningless.  May you find peace and joy in the glory of God this day.

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“Now all has been heard; here is the conclusion of the matter:  Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man.  For God will bring every deed into judgment, including every hidden thing, whether it is good or evil.”

Ecclesiastes 12:13-14

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

Give Good Fruit

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Our lives are filled with choices and decisions.  We are the ones responsible for the attitudes and behaviors we present to the world.  We are blessed with the redeeming blood of Christ.  We have been forgiven for our sins.  Let’s go out and give good fruit.  No matter what your circumstances or your place in life today you can give the good fruit we receive from the Holy Spirit.  It doesn’t take money and it doesn’t take a certain level of influence in society.  The Fruit of the Spirit is all about making the choice to behave as we have been instructed to.  We should not expect the world to always be kind and generous to us as it is broken, however, we know that no matter what, God is with us and He is holding us.  May we share the blessings the Lord has given to us with others.

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“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.  Against such things there is no law.”

Galatians 5:22-23

(This photo was taken in March of 2018 while traveling through southern New Mexico)