God’s faithfulness

Pray

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When wondering about prayer, Jesus set the example for us.  He not only gave us the words of the Lord’s prayer…He lived it in His actions and behaviors.  Prayer works…true, sincere, honest and from the heart prayer works.  It is not about granting you what you want, when you want it.  It is about your relationship with God.  If you struggle with prayer…think about when a child is learning to talk…they don’t use the right words the right way when they first speak, yet it gets better over time.  They also do not get everything they ask for but the communication is still very important for their relationships.  Dedicate time to prayer every day.  Amen.

“But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed.”

Luke 5:16

“One of those days Jesus went out to a mountainside to pray, and spent the night praying to God.”

Luke 6:12

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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

(This photo was taken in June of 2016 at a lake near Plymouth, Minnesota)

Today

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“God again set a certain day, calling it “Today.” This he did when a long time later he spoke through David, as in the passage already quoted:

“Today, if you hear his voice,
    do not harden your hearts.”[a]

Hebrews 4:7

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“For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. 13 Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account.”

Hebrews 4:12-13

(This photo was taken in April of 2016 at a lake in central Minnesota)

The Message

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“…but we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, 24 but to those whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.”

1 Corinthians 1:23-24

“Who has believed our message
    and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?
2 He grew up before him like a tender shoot,
    and like a root out of dry ground.
He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him,
    nothing in his appearance that we should desire him.
3 He was despised and rejected by mankind,
    a man of suffering, and familiar with pain.
Like one from whom people hide their faces
    he was despised, and we held him in low esteem.

4 Surely he took up our pain
    and bore our suffering,
yet we considered him punished by God,
    stricken by him, and afflicted.
5 But he was pierced for our transgressions,
    he was crushed for our iniquities;
the punishment that brought us peace was on him,
    and by his wounds we are healed.”

Isaiah 53:1-5

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“Do you now believe?” Jesus replied. 32 “A time is coming and in fact has come when you will be scattered, each to your own home. You will leave me all alone. Yet I am not alone, for my Father is with me.

33 “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 the world.”

John 16:31-33

(This photo was taken in July of 2015 at a lake in central Minnesota)

Gratitude

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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

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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

(This photo was taken in June of 2018 at a lake near Plymouth, Minnesota)

God Is Love

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“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.”

1 John 4:8-10

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“We love because he first loved us. 20 Whoever claims to love God yet hates a brother or sister is a liar. For whoever does not love their brother and sister, whom they have seen, cannot love God, whom they have not seen. 21 And he has given us this command: Anyone who loves God must also love their brother and sister.”

1 John 4:19-21

(This photo was taken in October of 2014 at the Nakalele Blowhole on the island of Maui, Hawaii)

To Know Him And To Make Him Known

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Our purpose…our ministry.  Amen.

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“This is what the Lord says:

“Let not the wise boast of their wisdom
    or the strong boast of their strength
    or the rich boast of their riches,
24 but let the one who boasts boast about this:
    that they have the understanding to know me,
that I am the Lord, who exercises kindness,
    justice and righteousness on earth,
    for in these I delight,”
declares the Lord.”

Jeremiah 9:23-24

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

Greater Is He

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Make it a priority in your life to spend time with Jesus Christ your Savior and Lord.  He has conquered all things and nothing you are facing or will face in your life is greater then Him and His saving grace.  Amen.

“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

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“He must become greater; I must become less.”

John 3:30

(This photo was taken in September of 2020 at sunrise by a lake in northwestern Wisconsin)

Trust And You Will Have Peace

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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

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“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. 18 Peacemakers who sow in peace reap a harvest of righteousness.”

James 3:17-18

(This photo was taken in July of 2019 at a lake near Plymouth, Minnesota)

A Light In The Darkness

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“The Lord is my light and my salvation—
    whom shall I fear?
The Lord is the stronghold of my life—
    of whom shall I be afraid?”

Psalm 27:1

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“For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,”[a] 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

(This photo was taken this morning at sunrise over a lake in northwestern Wisconsin)