Jesus said to the disciples…
“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome this world.”
John 16:33
Faith
When We Fall
We will all encounter moments when we fall down while on our faith journey. This was true for the most familiar names in the bible…Noah, Abraham, Moses, David, Joseph etc.
We all fall down along the way…the key is not the fall or why we fall, what is most important is how we respond when we do fall down. Do not turn away from God in shame…turn towards God, pray, confess and get back up again. He knows our struggles and He will always be with us. Psalm 51:1-17 is a great place to begin to get back up, here is a sample from that passage.
“Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.”
Psalm 51:10-12
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Trust, Learn and Grow
“But blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in him. He will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit.”
Jeremiah 17:7-8
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The New Has Come…
It is a new day, a new month and a new year. Be transformed…love God, love who he has made you to be and share His love with others.
Paul writes…
“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God.”
2 Corinthians 5:17-20
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Living By Faith
“Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls.”
1 Peter 1:8-9
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Be Open to Spirit Living
“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
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Fruit From the Vine
Jesus said…
“I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.”
John 15:5
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To Live by the Spirit
“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
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He Is With You
“Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.”
Deuteronomy 31:6
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It is Starting to Sink in…
This is really happening…in two days we are leaving to take our first born, our daughter, to college for her freshman year. Does she have everything she needs? Have we taught her all the lessons she needs to survive? Who will she be able to trust? Maybe she’s not ready, or worse…maybe we are not ready?
There are moments in every life where we are faced with choices. The roots of these choices are usually found in a few words. Faith or fear…Courage or hesitation…Trust or control.
This is one of those moments for our family. I have mainly positive thoughts and expectations for our daughter…my own college experience was one of the greatest periods of growth in my young life. My faith journey gives me confidence that no matter what God will be with her, he will be watching over her. The same worrisome things that could happen there could happen here in our hometown.
The biggest change may be the one taking place in our own home. We are a very close family and one of the four of us will be gone on a day to day basis. This will be a big change for us. It is most important for us and our faith to focus on what God is asking us to do with our lives. For so many years the message has been teach your children to love the Lord, to provide an example of an adult who loves God…that still doesn’t change. We still have our son at home with 4 years of high school ahead of him and we still can show our daughter how to love the Lord through Faith, Courage and Trust as an adult. This is why it is called a faith journey…there may be several stops or points of achievement along the way but as long as there is life the journey continues. We must continue to seek Him and help others to know Him.
I pray as we go into and through this change in our family we will focus on…
Faith in God the Creator and our Father who loves us
Courage to face the challenges just as Jesus faced challenges on earth
Trust in the Holy Spirit to guide us each day
Whenever a choice is approaching your life or the life of someone you love look to God the Father, Jesus his Son and the Holy Spirit. Look to them with Faith, Courage and Trust and you will find peace.
