“Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
Matthew 28:19-20
(This photo was taken in June of 2013 in Badlands National Park in South Dakota)
“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 June of 2013 while visiting with friends in Denver, Colorado)
“Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls.”
1 Peter 1:8-9
(This photo was taken in the spring of 2008 in central Minnesota)
“Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.”
Colossians 3:1-2
(This photo was taken in the fall of 2014 at Kaanapali Beach on Maui)
“Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.”
Joshua 1:9
(This photo was taken during August of 2015 on a lake in central Minnesota)
“Jesus looked at them and said, ‘With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible’.”
Matthew 19:26
(This photo was taken in March of 2014 in California near San Diego)
“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
Hope, Peace, Joy, Love and Christ
As I sit in the glow of lights from our tree I think back to Christmas time when I was a child. As a kid I enjoyed the lights, the music and family gatherings and of course, the presents. As I and my faith have grown I realize that Christmas is the time of year that I really began to connect with my faith. As an adult in the mind and a kid at heart I still enjoy the lights, the music and the family gatherings…I now enjoy the giving of gifts far more than receiving. Where we live I enjoy the snow (most years) and even the cold. The change of season is natural, to me it is God showing us his love using nature. All that was alive in summer has passed on but it will all be reborn in springtime. The world is covered in fresh new snow and we see angels in different forms everywhere. Most of all it seems to be the one time of year that people actually live life at a slower pace and often take time to recognize Jesus Christ and his coming into the world.
At Christmas time I pray we see and feel a sense of…
Hope – God made a promise to you and everyone to love you and to never leave you…believe him and trust him with every area of your life.
Peace – Be content when your basic needs are fulfilled and share with others if you have been blessed with abundance…practice patience.
Joy – Wear a smile more often and make an effort to help others find their smile…focus on the positive as often as you can.
Love – Life is more about how you treat others than how they treat you…you can’t control what others will think, say or do so why waste time worrying about it…do all that you can do with love.
At Christmas time this year put Christ in the center of your life…with Christ you will know Hope, you will know Peace, you will know Joy and you will know that the Love of Christ in your heart will help you overcome anything this world can throw at you.
May we all see and know God’s blessings in our lives this Christmas and carry them with us all through the New Year!
Merry Christmas!
Life is full of choices and decisions. We all have been given the gift of free will. The hardest part of this isn’t necessarily making a decision, rather it is holding yourself accountable for what happens after your decision and being open to changing things as you move forward in life.
Look around you…take inventory. How are things going in your life? If it is not good from your perspective…look in a mirror…that is the best place to start to make a change in your life, start with you. On the other hand, if things look ok or pretty good from your perspective, give thanks and praise and begin to think about how you can share and support others.
No matter what your result, good or bad, we all have made decisions in our past that have led to where we are today…right now. I encourage you to think about what those decisions have been so you can identify what has put you on this path. If it has been bad look for ways to improve on your current situation…I caution you here, do not believe you can go back to change a decision that occurred in the past to make things better now…instead, live in the present, learn from the poor decision and make new decisions to improve things going forward. If you can identify decisions in the past that have been good and led to great things learn what you can and share to help others.
This reflection can be helpful because sometimes when we look back things have changed and what we thought was a good or bad decision at the time it was made might be different now and we can learn things for life going forward. None of this is easy…we were never promised easy…we have always been promised Hope…and you can have Hope every day, if you choose to believe and follow Jesus. As always the bible provides instructions in this matter…
“Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.”
Matthew 7:13-14
I pray we all ask for wisdom so we can make decisions that will lead to Life.
Peace.
Reflecting on the season and all that goes on in our lives…I have always been a Christmas guy. As a kid I enjoyed the lights, the music and family gatherings and of course the presents. As I and my faith have grown I realize that Christmas was the starting point for me to really deepen my faith. As an adult in mind and a kid at heart I still enjoy the lights, the music and the family gatherings…I now enjoy the giving far more than any receiving of presents. Where we live I enjoy the snow and even the cold. The change of season is natural to me it is God showing us his love using nature. All that was alive in summer has passed on but it will all be reborn in springtime. With the shorten daylight we set up lights to add color to the white world. But most of all it seems to be the one time of year that the most people in the world actually recognizes Jesus Christ and his coming into the world.
At Christmas time I pray you see and feel a sense of…
Hope – God made a promise to you and everyone to love you and to never leave you…believe him and trust him with every area of your life.
Peace – Be content when your basic needs are fulfilled and share with others if you have been blessed with abundance…practice patience.
Joy – Wear a smile more often and make an effort to help others find their smile…focus on the positive in any situation.
Love – Life is more about how you treat others than how they treat you…you can’t control what others will think, say or do so don’t waste time worrying about it…do all that you do with love.
At Christmas time put Christ in the center of your life…with Christ you will know Hope, you will know Peace, you will know Joy and you will know that the Love of Christ in your heart will help you overcome anything this world can throw at you.
May you see and know God’s blessings in your life this Christmas and carry them with you all through the New Year!
Merry Christmas!
Take Your Faith With You 