God’s faithfulness

Grateful For God’s Presence

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“So do not fear, for I am with you;
    do not be dismayed, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you and help you;
    I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.”

Isaiah 41:10 NIV

God’s Presence restores and renews us, it comforts us

He provides for us even when we are not paying attention to Him

God meets all our basic needs…our role is to believe in Him and obey His Word

His Word is not a burden or only a bunch of rules to follow…

His Word and His Presence give life, comfort, peace and hope

Think about circumstances and events in your life that have occurred in the last few days, weeks, months and in the past year…

Throught it all, God was with you…so where did you see Him?

Give thanks and trust in the Lord…

Remember He provides for you with His Presence every day, all the time

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“Praise the Lord.[a]

Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;
    his love endures forever.”

Psalm 106:1 NIV

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

Love And Faithfulness

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“All the ways of the Lord are loving and faithful
    toward those who keep the demands of his covenant.”

Psalm 25:10 NIV

When we are able to surrender ourselves to God and His plan and we follow Jesus as our Savior and Lord

We will grow and mature spiritually

We may believe we know a great deal about love and faithfulness and yet there is so much more God wants to show us

It will not be easy and we should take nothing for granted

Living in this world where sin and selfishness run wild and where temptations are lurking…

We will never be perfect

We need to be careful not to become the judge of others

Love and faithfulness are characteristics of the new creation God is guiding us to become

These are some of the Fruit of the Spirit

Seek the Lord and His ways

He created you for a purpose and has a life He planned for you

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“Let love and faithfulness never leave you; bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart.  Then you will win favor and a good name in the sight of God and man.”

Proverbs 3:3-4 NIV

(This photo was taken at sunrise on the island of Maui, Hawaii)

Reflect with Gratitude and Go Forward with Hope

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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

“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

Father God, thank You for being faithful

Thank You for making a way for us in this life

When we reflect on past events give us an eye for gratitude in all circumstances

Please show us how You are at work in our lives

We want to choose to patiently wait on You

Becasue we know that You will finish the work You have started in us

In Jesus name, Amen

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“I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.”

John 15:5 NIV

(This photo was taken at sunset by a lake in Plymouth, Minnesota)

Persevere

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“Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters,[a] whenever you face trials of many kinds, 3 because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. 4 Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.”

James 1:2-4 NIV

Father God, please give us strength to run the race of faith

Often times darkness in this world will bring us many forms of struggle and we are easily distracted and drift away from You

Fill us with courage to stay close to You and trust in Your promises…even when…especially when we can’t see clearly

You are the source of our endurance to keep going, when we get knocked back or pushed down we know we can trust in You and keep running the race of faith

Thank You for all You do for us

In Jesus name, Amen

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“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.”

Hebrews 12:1 NIV

(This photo was taken along Beartooth Pass in Montana)

Ask…Believe…Receive

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“But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. 7 And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. 8 Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.”

Matthew 6:6-8 NIV

“Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. 13 And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 14 You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.”

John 14:12-14 NIV

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“Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.”

Mark 11:24 NIV

(This photo was taken in Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado)

Overcome Trouble And Sorrow

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“Our days may come to seventy years,
    or eighty, if our strength endures;
yet the best of them are but trouble and sorrow,
    for they quickly pass, and we fly away.”

Psalm 90:10 NIV

The Bible tells us in this life we will have trouble and sorrow…

It states very clearly that life is hard

Yet we still have hope and can be encouraged because Jesus Christ came into this world and sacrificed Himself to assure that we can have a relationship with God

Do not be overcome by trouble and sorrow…

Overcome these things with faith and trust in the Lord

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“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 16:33 NIV

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

Patience And Persistence

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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

“Let your eyes look straight ahead;
    fix your gaze directly before you.
26 Give careful thought to the[c] paths for your feet
    and be steadfast in all your ways.
27 Do not turn to the right or the left;
    keep your foot from evil.”

Proverbs 4:25-27 NIV

Father God, we know You have a plan for our lives, and that You want to bless us

Help us lean into that promise!

Sometimes it is hard to see past our present struggles

Thank You for loving us even when we have doubts and fears

Fill each of us with Your hope and give us courage to carry on

In Jesus name, Amen

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“The Lord is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and rich in love.  The Lord is good to all; he has compassion on all he has made.”

Psalm 145:8-9 NIV

(This photo was taken in Theodore Roosevelt National Park in North Dakota)

Contentment…Gratitude

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“Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said,

“Never will I leave you;
    never will I forsake you.”[a]

6 So we say with confidence,

“The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid.
    What can mere mortals do to me?”[b]

Hebrews 13:5-6 NIV

God is always with us…

If God feels distant, it typically is because we have wandered off and away from Him

Believe in Jesus, confess your sin and invite Him into your life daily

He will be with you and He will lead and guide you forever

Thanks be to God

Forever by Michael W. Smith

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“Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good.
His love endures forever.”

Psalm 136:1 NIV

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

Our Plans…His Plan

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“Many are the plans in a person’s heart,
    but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails.”

Proverbs 19:21 NIV

The faith journey can feel like a repetitive cycle

We read God’s Word, we go to worship, we listen and learn

We believe we understand and will now go and live according to what we have learned…then as humans tend to do, we try to take control and go off our own way and end up frustrated and wonder what happened?

Then it’s back to God’s Word and going to worship and drawing closer to God

And then off the rails again and again…

How can this cycle be broken?

When we get to a point where we are about to take some form of action or control, we need to pause, step aside and pray about it

Ask God what do you want me to do here?

Ask Him to give you wisdom according to His plan and then wait, watch and listen

If we don’t we could end up spending a siginificant amount of our time on something God never intended for us to be doing

The only way to find out is between you and Him

Seek the will of the Lord for your life and live your best for Him

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“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord.  As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.”

Isaiah 55:8-9 NIV

(This photo was taken near Arches National Park in Utah)

Believe

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“The Lord will rescue me from every evil attack and will bring me safely to his heavenly kingdom. To him be glory for ever and ever. Amen.”

2 Timothy 4:18 NIV

Believe in the power of God…

He is our Creator…He is our Savior…He will guide us with the Holy Spirit

God can and will rescue you

Don’t give up hope…don’t keep doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result

Believe in God’s saving grace, believe in God’s love for you

Trust in the Lord…He will rescue you

Rescue by Lauren Daigle

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“Because he loves me,” says the Lord, “I will rescue him;
    I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name.
15 He will call on me, and I will answer him;
    I will be with him in trouble,
    I will deliver him and honor him.
16 With long life I will satisfy him
    and show him my salvation.”

Psalm 91:14-16

(This photo was taken along Beartooth Pass near the Montana and Wyoming border)