Step by Step

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“Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand.  And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God.

Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope.  And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.”

Romans 5:1-5

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

Hope Because of God’s Mercy and Grace

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Paul writes in a 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.

He saved us through the washing of re-birth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life.”

Titus 3:4-7

(This photo was taken in July of 2016 in Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming)

Thank You God!

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So I have aged another year and as I reflect I think about my physical age and my faith journey…I am still a child in spiritual growth but so grateful for the opportunity to grow by reading God’s Word, praying and fellowship and I am thankful for the Holy Spirit’s presence!

On this day I thank you and praise you God for all you have blessed me with in life and I pray for my interactions with others that they can see you presence in my life and my actions.

“Finally, all of you, live in harmony with one another; be sympathetic, love as brothers, be compassionate and humble.  Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult, but with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing.”

1 Peter 3:8-9

(This photo was taken in October of 2014 at Kaanapali beach on Maui)

The Holy Spirit Comes

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The words of Jesus written by Luke in the Book of Acts…

“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

Acts 1:8

(This photo was taken in August of 2016 at Sapphire Point near Dillon, Colorado)

He Lives In You

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“I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me.  The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”

Galatians 2:20

(This photo was taken in July of 2016 on a lake in central Minnesota)

In Our Hearts

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“I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith.  And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge – that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.”

Ephesians 3:16-19

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

Within Us

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“Those who obey his commands live in him, and he in them.  And this is how we know that he lives in us:  We know it by the Spirit he gave us.”

1 John 3:24

(This photo was taken in June of 2013 at the Garden of the Gods Park near Colorado Springs, Colorado)

Hope

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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

(This photo was taken in July of 2016 in Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming)