Jesus

Holy Living

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To know Him and to make Him known.  Love…Joy…Peace…Patience…Kindness…Goodness…Faithfulness…Gentleness…Self-Control.  These are all ways we can live a holy life.  We do not need to pound on people with bible verses as if they are the law.  God gave everyone free will, each person will either turn towards God or turn away from God by how they choose to live.  The attitude and behaviors they exhibit in everyday life.  I usually try to pick one of the nine fruits of the Spirit and make myself more aware of how am I practicing patience or how am I showing faithfulness and one of the hard ones for me…how am I doing with self-control.  The more we spend time with Jesus and the Word of God the better we get at holy living and the more prepared we become to share the Good News.  May you find joy and comfort in your faith.

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“Therefore, as God’s chosen people holy and dearly loved, cloth yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.  Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another.  Forgive as the Lord forgave you.”

Colossians 3:12-13

(This photo was taken in August of 2016 in Mount Rainier National Park in Washington)

Joyful, Patient, Faithful

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Happy Friday…you know when you are having one of those times when it feels like something is going wrong with everything?  When you are able to take a step back and review you often find the one common thing is your perspective…I know, I know not what you wanted to read.  When things seem to pile up like this I have learned to immediately turn to prayer…stop what ever you are doing and ask God to intervene, to guide you and to cleanse your perspective.  Maybe it’s time for a new approach to something, to look at it differently or just to open your mind to new possibilities to old issues.  Whatever it is we don’t have to do it alone.  May God be with you and provide you comfort.

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“Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.”

Romans 12:12

(This photo was taken in June of 2016 on a lake in northwestern Wisconsin)

Give Thanks

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Grateful…to show appreciation…gratitude…content with what you have…to recognize others.  It is important to pause and to give thanks for what is good, for what we have been given or for what someone else has done for our benefit.  It is a choice of attitude to be thankful instead of feeling you deserve somethings or demand and expect things.  Choosing an attitude of gratitude focuses our thoughts the positive, the good and helps to drive a feeling of greater appreciation for something or someone.  Take a moment to look around you and around your life…who needs to know you appreciate them, who are you thankful for in your life.  Tell them, and remember Jesus Christ and what He did for you so that you could be reconciled with God…and tell Him how thankful you are for what He did and is doing.  May the Word of the Lord be planted in you.

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“Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name.  For the Lord is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations.”

Psalm 100:4-5

(This photo was taken in March of 2018 in southern New Mexico)

The Road That Leads To Life

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We all have different lives and different choices to make in our lives.  Depending on where we live, what the weather is like, the environment of our home and where we spend our days.  This can be all different…what is common among all people?  The place in our hearts that is made to be filled by God.  He is the Creator and He made us with this special space that can only be filled properly by companionship with Him.  Now that certainly hasn’t stopped the human race from trying to fill it with just about anything other than God.  If anything other than God is in that space you will not feel complete, content or know true peace.  Make time to be alone with God and invite Jesus into the place reserved for Him every day.  May you know God’s comfort and God’s faithfulness.

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“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

(This photo was taken in March of 2018 in Madison County, Iowa)

Cast All Your Cares On Him

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We are all searching for something or someone in life.  A way to know the answers to some of the most difficult questions.  We look to archaeologists and historians to tell us about the past, we look to leaders in business, technology and politics to inform us about the present and we look to scientists and other predictors to provide information about the possibilities in the future.  Through it all we take on worries, anxiety and frustration about all of these things…the past, the present and the future.  Yet here sits God the Father, Jesus Christ our Savior and Lord with the Holy Spirit and they have a handle on all of it.  God has forgiven us our sins of the past, Jesus Christ has reconciled us with God for our present day and the Holy Spirit will guide us to live with eternal values for life in the future.  Take your worries, your fears, your burdens and all your frustrations to Christ, He will gladly carry the load if you are willing to trust in Him.  May you sense comfort and peace trusting in our Lord.

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“Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.”

1 Peter 5:7

(This photo was taken in August of 2016 in Glacier National Park in Montana)

Take Some Rest

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We can’t keep running at top speed in our minds or in our daily lives.  We must plan down time.  To fill every moment with activity and planning and scheduling will lead to exhaustion.  Mental exhaustion, physical exhaustion and spiritual exhaustion.  We all need time to recharge, to be restored and renewed.  When Jesus was here on earth He often would go off alone to pray.  Before feeding the five thousand He told the disciples…“Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest.”  (Mark 6:31)  In order to be at our best we need to plan time to rest and that means resting our minds as well as our bodies.  If you are someone who always has to be busy, plan some quiet time in small increments to get started.  We all should pray about it as that time in prayer can be restful too.  May the love, joy and peace of the Lord be with you.

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“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.”

Matthew 11:28

(This photo was taken in August of 2016 near Arches National Park in Utah)

God’s Presence

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It is true…He is with you…He gives to you…He holds you…He comforts you…He blesses you…He guides you…God is always with you.  There will often be times in this world when you will feel like you are alone, that God has somehow left you.  It is not true, when that happens take a moment to reflect on what you have been focusing on.  I have found in my own life that usually means I have turned away from God for some reason, not the other way around.  We can’t always expect the miracle event to prove that God is with us, let’s face it even people who lived to witness the miracles in person struggled to believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.  It is a matter of faith to know and believe that God is with us.  He did not bring sin into the world and the bad things that happen are from evil and darkness in the world and they want you to blame God for everything.  God made sure you know that He created you, He loves you and He is with you…it is all written down for you to read for yourself.  Trust in God and you will see the good things too.  May the presence of God surround you and what you see today.

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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

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

Truth

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On our faith journey there is so much conflict with what the world is telling us and what our readings and spiritual life teach us about how to to live.  This is the result of the spiritual battle going on all around us.  We are created by God and He loves us and longs to have a relationship with us.  And the forces of darkness and evil are doing everything they can to keep our attention on other things, any other thing than God.  There is peace, and it can be found in a daily connection with Jesus Christ our Savior and Lord.  The simplicity of doing good things and helping others where you can is the path towards hope.  Take refuge in God and you will have your peace.  May God’s joy be with you.

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“So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.”

Matthew 7:12

(This photo was taken in July of 2016 on Beartooth Pass in Montana)

Commitment

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Not giving up…to honor…responsibility…respect for…trust.  The way of truth means doing what you said you would do.  Our true character shows through to others when they see our commitment to something.  The greatest example of commitment to completing something that was more difficult than anything we will face in our lives was the example Jesus set when He honored a commitment to saving us from our sins.  He endured physical and mental suffering for something He didn’t do.  He is innocent, He has no sin…and yet He took on the sin of all of us and paid the price so that we could be reconciled to God.  He is our Savior and our Salvation will only come from a relationship with Him.  May God’s love and faithfulness be with you.

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“Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and your plans will succeed.”

Proverbs 16:3

(This photo was taken in July of 2018 in the Apostle Islands on Lake Superior)

He Knows You

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That’s not what I meant…I wish they knew me better…I don’t feel like I fit in…Nobody understands me…have you had moments like this?  I know I have.  You can be surrounded by people but feel like you are isolated.  God knows who you are, He knows what you can do, He knows how you think and He cares for you.  If you feel like you are off the rails in your life, it is time to get back to God.  He is waiting to hear from you.  He is the Creator, the one who formed you and has been right there with you every step of the way in life.  Turn towards God.  Trust in Him.  May you see the blessings from God in your life each day.

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“Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts.  See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.”

Psalm 139:23-24

(This photo was taken in July of 2018 on the shore of Lake Superior in Ashland, Wisconsin)