“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith – and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God – not by works, so that no one can boast.
For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”
Ephesians 2:8-10
(This photo was taken in July of 2016 on Beartooth Pass in Montana)
“Let everything that has breath praise the Lord. Praise the Lord.”
Psalm 150:6
(This photo was taken in August of 2016 while traveling through Utah)
“Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.”
James 4:10
(This photo was taken in August of 2016 in Glacier National Park in Montana)
“Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has gone through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are – yet was without sin.
Let us then approach the the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.”
Hebrews 4:14-16
(This photo was taken in July of 2012 while on a walk in northwestern Wisconsin)
The words written by the Apostle Paul in his letter to Titus, a pastor serving in Crete…
“But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy.”
Titus 3:4
(This photo was taken in June of 2016 at a lake near Minneapolis, Minnesota)
“But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions – it is by grace you have been saved. And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, 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. For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith – and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God – not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”
Ephesians 2:4-10
(This photo was taken in October of 2014 at Kaanapali Beach on Maui)
“Above all , love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins. Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling. Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God’s grace in its various forms. If anyone speaks, he should do it as one speaking the very words of God. If anyone serves, he should do it with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To him be the glory and the power for ever and ever. Amen.”
1 Peter 4:8-11
(This photo was taken two days ago on a lake in northwestern Wisconsin)
The following is taken from my Devotional bible and was written by a man named Bob Benson. I share it because it is an excellent summary regarding the presence of God in our lives. Also, because Bob Benson who was one of the Christian world’s leading publishing executives and the author of six books, he succumbed to cancer in March of…..1986. Yet here I am in August of 2013 and his words still provide a blessing to me this day…maybe they will to you to. Well done Bob Benson…Well done.
When life caves in, you do not need reasons, you need comfort. You do not need some answers; you need someone. And Jesus does not come to us with an explanation; he comes to us with his presence.
We are always seeking the reason. We want to know why. Like Job, we finally want God to tell us just what is going on….
But God does not reveal his plan, he reveals himself. He comes to us as warmth when we are cold, fellowship when we are alone, strength when we are weak, peace when we are troubled, courage when we are afraid, songs when we are sad, and bread when we are hungry.
He is with us on our journeys. He is there when we are home. He sits with us at our table. He knows about funerals and weddings and commencements and hospitals and jails and unemployment and labor and laughter and rest and tears. He knows because he is with us. He comes to us again and again.
– Bob Benson
Peace to you today.
While I was thinking about starting to write this blog, I often thought, “What could I have to offer?” or “Why would God want me to speak about him to others?” This kind of thinking is exactly what the Evil in the world wants us to believe. Then I read about people in the Bible or I read what authors like Max Lucado, Charles Swindoll or Rick Warren and Billy Graham have to say about the people God uses and I begin to realize this is exactly what God wants me to do.
As we learn about faith and God’s love for each and every person in the world through life experiences and through the experiences others have written about, it turns out we all have something to offer the world. We all have our own life. We all have had an experience or heard about someone’s experience that was horrific and then it became extraordinary. It all depends on your perspective.
From the Bible we have the stories of…
Noah
Abraham
Moses
David
Joseph
Plus many more….
All of these people had suffered through some tragedy of sin and had extraordinary things occur afterward because of God’s love and God’s grace. Through some of my own life experiences that I have mentioned in earlier posts I have learned to ask, “What does God want me to learn?” or “How does God want me to use this experience to help others?” Rather than asking “Why is God doing this to me?”
God doesn’t “do” sinful things to us…the human race has created and brought about sin all by ourselves. It was our choice. God knew we aren’t strong enough to overcome sin so he did the one thing he could…he sent us his Son. The human race killed him…so God resurrected him to save us all.
So if you are wondering “What do I have to offer anyone?” try asking God and be patient for his answer….he created you, he knows the gifts he gave you. You could start by reflecting on events in your life and this time when you think about them ask yourself, “What did God want me to learn from that experience?” Remember he is about love, grace, mercy and forgiveness.
Peace.
Living in the Present. What does that mean? I think it begins with making sure you are “present” in whatever you are doing.
To me, being “present” means focused attention. The world is filled with distractions and when we choose to allow those distractions to take our attention away from everything else by trying to change the past or worrying too much about the future we end up missing what is right in front of us…..the beauty of creation, a child smiling and laughing or a child who needs help, a friend who encourages us or a stranger who we should pray for. We should stop replaying what happened yesterday or what might occur tomorrow in our minds and live today to the fullest.
So how do we get there?
Answer….The Word of God.
I have struggled for many years concerned about what I should have said in a previous conversation or worrying about how I would handle things in a future interaction. I would beat myself up for not doing something or worry constantly about what was to come…..as if I really was the one in control of such things.
Then during a difficult time in our life financially, about 3-4 years ago, I was really down about the way things were going and when I thought they were just about to drop off a cliff completely…we were saved by the Grace of God. My wife and I had completed all the paperwork to file for bankruptcy and left it with a lawyer…..we thought this was our only option…we thought we might lose our home we really didn’t know how things would turn out…meanwhile I had been looking for work. One promising position was progressing well and they needed to complete the background check……if that report showed a bankruptcy I would not get the job….a few days had passed since we left the attorney’s office. I figured I would call the lawyer to see if by chance he had not yet filed the papers, I figured there was no chance….and then God stepped in…..I called and asked “have you filed our papers with the court?”, he responded… “No not yet”……..oh my goodness, I couldn’t believe it. I immediately put a stop to the process and I got the job and we have been working our way to the best financial position we have ever been in. After that phone call and seeing the grace of God in our life, I decided I needed to start dedicating some time every morning to devotions and the Bible…..my reasoning, if I have time to read the newspaper I better have time to spend with God every day.
This was something I needed to commit to priority wise so I bought a Billy Graham devotional book and put it with my devotional bible I received from my parents 16 years prior and I began reading and praying for a few minutes every day I could. This time has become something I look forward to each day…it sets my mind and thoughts up with an encouraging perspective, mindful of how God wants us to think and act and the more I stay focused on that the more peace and contentment I find in life.
For me, the hardest part and the biggest obstacle in becoming a man of faith has been ME! Once I confess to God that I am only human, I am a sinner and I trust him because as it says in the gospel of John 3:16….For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. After reading so many different parts of the Bible about God’s grace, God’s love and God’s mercy I am so thankful for all that he has done for me that I have to do my best to live for Him.
Peace.
Take Your Faith With You 