Faith

The Goodness Of God

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“Great is the Lord and most worthy of praise;
    his greatness no one can fathom.
4 One generation commends your works to another;
    they tell of your mighty acts.
5 They speak of the glorious splendor of your majesty—
    and I will meditate on your wonderful works.[b]
6 They tell of the power of your awesome works—
    and I will proclaim your great deeds.
7 They celebrate your abundant goodness
    and joyfully sing of your righteousness.

8 The Lord is gracious and compassionate,
    slow to anger and rich in love.

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

Psalm 145:3-9 NIV

God is good.  The reason sin and evil are in the world is because of us.  We have pain and suffering and we ask God why…yet we are the ones who have drifted away from Him.  No matter what, God is patient with us and is always ready for us to turn towards Him and come near to Him.  He knows us, He knows everything about us and yet He still sent He Son to die on the Cross to save us.

God is good and He is with you and He is for you, every day, all the time.  Thanks be to God for His Goodness!

Goodness Of God by Jenn Johnson

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“I remain confident of this:
    I will see the goodness of the Lord
    in the land of the living.
14 Wait for the Lord;
    be strong and take heart
    and wait for the Lord.”

Psalm 27:13-14 NIV

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

The Voice of Truth

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“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

In this world that is fallen and filled with sin and lies we have many thoughts and opinions speaking to us through many forms of communication.  Yet while Jesus walked on earth he taught using the phrase “I tell you the truth…”  He spoke this phrase more than 75 times as recorded in the New Testament.  With so much input coming at us in the world from so many sources it is important to seek the One voice of truth.

This is not always easy…in fact when Jesus spoke he knew not everybody would openly accept the truth.  In our lives, the hardest things to do are often really the right thing to do.  Truth takes courage, truth takes trusting that no matter what happens God has got you in the palm of his hand.  He knows what you are facing, He knows your fears and the temptations pressuring you…open your heart, mind and soul to Him.  He has the truth and His Son delivered the message of truth personally to us.

Voice Of Truth by Casting Crowns

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“To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, ‘If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples.  Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free’.“

John 8:31-32 NIV

(This photo was taken in the summer of 2013 at Falls Park on the Big Sioux River in South Dakota)

Seek God’s Will

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“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. 12 Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. 13 You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.”

Jeremiah 29:11-13 NIV

God has given us the gift of free will.  It is up to us to choose how we will live each day…seeking Him and His Word or following the ways of this fallen world?  God tells us the truth in the Bible.  He lays out what will happen based on what we choose to believe and do.

So what do you believe?  What will you choose to do today?  I encourage you to seek Him and seek Him with all of your heart.  May God’s peace wash over you.  Amen.

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“Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. 2 Do not conform 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 12:1-2 NIV

(This photo was taken in July of 2018 at a park near Bayfield, Wisconsin)

Teach Me Your Way

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“Show me your ways, Lord,
    teach me your paths.
5 Guide me in your truth and teach me,
    for you are God my Savior,
    and my hope is in you all day long.”

Psalm 25:4-5 NIV

God invites us into a relationship with Him through Jesus Christ.  It is up to us to respond to that invitation.  If we ignore God’s call and go our own way we will bring about more pain and suffering without God’s presence and guidance.

We need to be willing to open ourselves up to God’s way and His plan, that happens with His timing.  It is a willingness and an ability to surrender our self-centered ways to Him…God is not in a hurry, like we typically are in this world.  God is faithful and will guide you and lead you if you are willing to put your faith and trust in Him and His Way.

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“I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go;
    I will counsel you with my loving eye on you.“

Psalm 32:8 NIV

(This photo was taken in May of 2020 along the North Shore of Lake Superior in northern Minnesota)

Do Your Best, Wherever You Are

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“Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. 13 Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. 14 And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.”

Colossians 3:12-14 NIV

Live out your day today…what is the next right thing to do?  Live in the present day, right where you are.  God is with you there…if we are always looking towards some where else or when this or that happens we may miss what is right in front of us now.  Do you best for God today, wherever you are.

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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. 16 Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts. 17 And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.“

Colossians 3:15-17 NIV

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

Give Thanks…His Love Endures Forever

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“Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth.
2     Worship the Lord with gladness;
    come before him with joyful songs.
3 Know that the Lord is God.
    It is he who made us, and we are his[a];
    we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.“

Psalm 100:1-3 NIV

Take time to reflect on your life and remember what God has done for you.  Think about the storms you have already come through…how He protected you or guided you safely.  Remember that no matter what God loves you…He is with you and within you.

Jesus left the comfort of heaven to come down and live as one of us…He sacrificed Himself to be beaten and crucified and to pay the penalty for our sin so that we could have a relationship with God.  God will do for you that which you can’t do for yourself…put your trust in the Lord and give thanks to Him.

Forever by Michael W Smith

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“Enter his gates with thanksgiving
    and his courts with praise;
    give thanks to him and praise his name.
5 For the Lord is good and his love endures forever;
    his faithfulness continues through all generations.“

Psalm 100:4-5 NIV

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

Gratitude

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“Rejoice always, 17 pray continually, 18 give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 NIV

What are you thankful for?  This is not something to consider only once a year at Thanksgiving…it is an everyday prayer and worship attitude.  What do you find yourself focusing your thoughts on each day…negativity?  What is wrong or could be better?  Why isn’t this working?  When did this break or stop happening?  Problems? Frustrations? Disappointments?

It can easily become overwhelming…the Good News is we have the opportunity to change our perspective and our attitude without any of the external factors being different!  How?  Through a relationship with Jesus Christ.

Spending time daily with God’s Word, taking time to sit quietly and pray…these are the keys to building our daily life on a foundation of positivity and living your best with whatever happens.  Seek the Lord and shift your attitude to be one of gratitude.  Give thanks to the Lord!

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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 in September of 2022 at Jenny Lake in Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming)

Grace…Love…Hope

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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.”

Ephesians 2:8-9 NIV

“Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. 8 Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. 9 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. 10 This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. 11 Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. 12 No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.”

1 John 4:7-12 NIV

God gives us blessings for every part or our lives…

God gives us Grace for our past

God gives us Love for the present

God gives us Hope for the future

Thanks be to God for all that He is and all that He does for us.  Amen.

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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 NIV

(This photo was taken in May of 2023 along the North Shore of Lake Superior)

Spirit of Truth

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“But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come.”

John 16:13 NIV

The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of Truth.  Put your trust in the Lord and His will for your life…it may not be what you have always thought about your life yet God is the Creator and knows what is best for you.  Stay close to the Lord and spend time with Him, be in His Word and the Spirit of Truth will guide you.  Amen.

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“If you love me, you will obey what I command.  And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever – the Spirit of truth.  The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him.  But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you.”

John 14:15-17 NIV

(This photo was taken in August of 2016 at Old Faithful in Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming)

Saved By Grace

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“As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, 2 in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. 3 All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our flesh[a] and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature deserving of wrath. 4 But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, 5 made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. 6 And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, 7 in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus.”

Ephesians 2:1-7 NIV

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8 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 in August of 2016 in Mount Rainier National Park in Washington)