“In a loud voice they were saying:
“Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain,
to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength
and honor and glory and praise!”
Revelation 5:12
(This photo was taken in July of 2016 in Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming)
If you are looking for peace in your life turn towards the One who brings peace to all who follow Him…Jesus Christ. Amen.
“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.”
John 14:27
“For to us a child is born,
to us a son is given,
and the government will be on his shoulders.
And he will be called
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.”
Isaiah 9:6
(This photo was taken in April of 2020 at a laek near Plymouth, Minnesota)
“The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.”
John 1:14
“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. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.”
John 3:16-17
(This photo was taken in December of 2018 on Paradise Island in the Bahamas)
It is so easy to fill all our time with this and that, going here and there especially at this time of the year…even during a pandemic. We can be so busy that we hardly spend any time in the moment during this season. The bible has several reminders that we need to spend time alone with God in peaceful quietness. Jesus often went off alone to pray…give yourself time to renew your mind, body and spirit. Spend time alone with God and you will find peace. Amen.
“The Lord is the everlasting God,
the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He will not grow tired or weary,
and his understanding no one can fathom.
29 He gives strength to the weary
and increases the power of the weak.
30 Even youths grow tired and weary,
and young men stumble and fall;
31 but those who hope in the Lord
will renew their strength. “
Isaiah 40:28-31
“Come near to God and he will come near to you…”
James 4:8
(This photo was taken in July of 2019 at a lake in northwestern Wisconsin)
“Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.”
John 15:4
“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. 6 If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. 7 If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. 8 This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.”
John 15:5-8
(This photo was taken in February of 2013 in a neighborhood near Plymouth, Minnesota)
“For this is the message you heard from the beginning: We should love one another.”
1 John 3:11
“This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters. 17 If anyone has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need but has no pity on them, how can the love of God be in that person? 18 Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth.”
1 John 3:16-18
“And this is his command: to believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and to love one another as he commanded us. 24 The one who keeps God’s commands lives 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 3:23-24
(This photo was taken in March of 2013 at the Botanical Gardens in the Bellagio in Las Vegas, Nevada)
“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9 not by works, so that no one can boast.”
Ephesians 2:8-9
“Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.”
Hebrews 4:16
(This photo was taken in September of 2020 at sunrise by a lake in northwestern Wisconsin)
The one most important thing we need, is a personal relationship with Jesus Christ our Savior and Lord more than anything else in our life. From that relationship all other aspects of our lives will be impacted…that is the one thing everyone needs. Amen.
“There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called; 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism; 6 one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.”
Ephesians 4:4-6
“…I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.”
John 10:10
“Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.”
Romans 12:12
(This photo was taken in October of 2018 at a park near Winterset, Iowa)
“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. This inheritance is kept in heaven for you, 5 who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. 6 In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. 7 These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. 8 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, 9 for you are receiving the end result of your faith, the salvation of your souls.”
1 Peter 1:3-9
“So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.”
John 8:36
(This photo was taken in March of 2018 while traveling in southern New Mexico)
God’s story and God’s plan is greater than our self-oriented desires…we are a part of His story, not the other way around. We all have been given certain gifts to use while we are here…our job is to recognize the gifts we have been given and to use them to help others. We are to do our part to Prepare the Way for the coming of the Lord when He returns. Amen.
“…as it is written in Isaiah the prophet:
“I will send my messenger ahead of you,
who will prepare your way”[a]—
3 “a voice of one calling in the wilderness,
‘Prepare the way for the Lord,
make straight paths for him.’”[b]
Mark 1:2-3
“Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on them.”
John 3:36
(This photo was taken in October 0f 2014 at sunrise on the island of Maui, Hawaii)
Take Your Faith With You 