Life

Here I Am To Worship

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Wherever you are, whatever is going on in your life, take time for worship.  God is with you and He is waiting to hear from you.  Nothing that the world offers can compare with the blessings we receive from God.  It is never too late to turn back to God, no matter how far off you have wandered, God still loves you and will forgive you…turn towards Jesus and renew your relationship with Him.  May the peace of God be with you.  Amen.

Here I Am To Worship by Michael W. Smith

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“Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me.”

Revelation 3:20

(This photo was taken in July of 2019 at a lake near Plymouth, Minnesota)

Strength For The Weary

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One of the amazing things about faith is its power to give us the courage, the endurance, the patience and the perseverance to keep trying, to keep learning and to keep believing in hope.  Out of the most tragic circumstances that happen because of sin…God can bring about the greatest good.  Do you believe it?  No matter where you are, no matter what the struggle is in your life, right now…turn towards Jesus in prayer, seek Him and believe in the Him.  Do it every day and you will find courage, you will find patience, you will persevere and you will find peace.  May we all be strengthened by our relationship with Jesus Christ.  Amen.

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“Do you not know?  Have you not heard?  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.  He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak.”

Isaiah 40:28-29

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

Gratitude

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There was only one way for sin to be properly punished and for the human race to have the opportunity for salvation.  When Jesus went to the Garden of Gethsemane with His disciples, He hit a very low point as a human…He knew what was about to happen worse yet He knew it was the only way to salvation for the world.  Jesus knows what it is like to struggle and suffer in this world and He prayed that God would remove Him from the situation…yet then He prayed something very few of us have ever prayed…He said, …“My Father, if it is not possible for this cup to be taken away unless I drink it, may your will be done.”  (Matthew 26:42) He offered Himself to God and God’s plan, for that we can have nothing but gratitude for Jesus Christ and His willingness to die for us.  Amen.

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“But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

Romans 5:8

(This photo was taken in July of 2019 at a lake near Plymouth, Minnesota)

The Truth Is In God’s Word

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We can search the whole world over and never find the happiness that the human race is searching to discover…what we seek in not of this world.  True joy, love, peace and contentment can only be found with Jesus Christ.  The Bible has stood the ultimate test…the test of time.  It is based on truth and actual events in history…it is the unchanging Word of God.  It is given to us so that we can learn and live our lives centered on Christ and not ourselves or our personal agendas.  Read God’s Word daily and seek Him, for He is with you every step of the way.  Amen.

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“All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God  may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.”

2 Timothy 3:16-17

(This photo was taken last night at sunset at a lake near Plymouth, Minnesota)

It Was Love…

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When we look around the world today and we look at how people treat each other, what do we see?  Quite often we see selfishness, hatred, anger, a lack of respect for human life, an unrepentant and unforgiving society.  As a human race we have free will and this is how we have chosen to live?  This isn’t new, as you can read in the Old Testament the exact same behaviors were happening in a different time…so what could we possibly do to change this?  What can we do to try to make things different?  Better?  We can look to the One who was tortured in every way possible and follow His example…the man who did no wrong and was sentenced to die on a Cross…and after He was flogged, beaten, He had thorns pushed into His head and after He was hung on that Cross to die in a horrible way…He asked God His Father to forgive them?  How in the world could He do that?  It was love…Amen.

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“Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.”

Luke 23:34

(This photo was taken in March of 2013 at the Botanical Gardens at the Bellagio in Las Vegas, Nevada)

He Lives In You

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Jesus Christ is the foundation of our faith.  Not only because of what He did when He was human on earth and not only because He sacrificed Himself for us and died on a cross or because He rose…He is the foundation of our faith today because of all these things and the fact that He Lives in us.  Before He ascended, He promised the Holy Spirit would come to those who love Him and do as He commands.  In the Gospel of John 14, Jesus promises the Holy Spirit and explains our connection to Him through the Spirit.  The love of God can be found in the hearts of people and can be shared with others…it is up to each of us to seek Him and trust in His way rather than our own.  May you be encouraged by the Holy Spirit within you today.  Amen.

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“On that day you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you.  Whoever has my commands and keeps them is the one who loves me. The one who loves me will be loved by my Father,and I too will love them and show myself to them.”

John 14:20-21

(This photo was taken last weekend at a lake place in northwestern Wisconsin)

How We Spend Time

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None of us knows the time we have and yet we easily take it for granted.  The people in our lives and our relationships with them will end up meaning more than anything else in this world.  As each generation lives through the phases of life, we all have different experiences and opportunities to share with each other.  We eventually will get the opportunity to share with the next generation and that is what we truly will leave behind when we go home to the Lord.  If you are thinking about your time, turn towards Jesus in prayer and ask Him to guide you to living your life more closely aligned to God’s plan.  May the peace and joy of the Lord be with you.  Amen.

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“Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil.  Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is.”

Ephesians 5:15-17

(This photo was taken last weekend at a lake place in northwestern Wisconsin)

Relationships

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The attitudes and behaviors we choose to use towards each other are significant factors in our relationships.  If we are self-focused, we will have many difficulties in our relationships or if we over extend ourselves in serving others and we lack self-care we can become unable to help anyone.  Our guide for daily living is found by spending time with Jesus and reading God’s Word.  Feeding our faith and doing it daily is the best thing we can do to influence all other areas of our lives.  The most important relationship we will ever have is with our Lord and Savior, when we start with that and stick to it, everything else will get better.  May you be comforted by God’s love today.  Amen.

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“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, that person is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.”

2 Corinthians 5:17

(This photo was taken in July of 2014 at a lake place in central Minnesota)

Wisdom

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Intelligence…understanding…insight…perception…discernment.  Wisdom is developed through experience and learning.  Intelligence without common sense is not wisdom.  When we can see beyond the current moment and not have ourselves as the center of everything then we are wise.  True wisdom takes humility and a willingness to learn from others, above all else we should remember that any wisdom we have can’t be compared to God’s wisdom and God’s plan.  It is up to us to seek Him and His Word to truly learn and grow throughout our lives.  We will never know all the answers while we are here and that can be frustrating…but we have every opportunity to seek and to know the One who is and always will be the answer…Jesus.  May the peace of the Lord be with you.  Amen.

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“For the foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than human strength.”

1 Corinthians 1:25

(This photo was taken in October of 2018 while on a walk in northwestern Wisconsin)

The Fruit Of The Spirit

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When we come to Christ and seek Him, we are renewed.  The Holy Spirit within us encourages us to live by the Fruit of the Spirit more and more and to leave the evil, anger, hatred and darkness behind.  The more we use the Fruit of the Spirit when thinking about ourselves and while helping others the better our life will be.  Most of us are too hard on ourselves and too hard on others…things can be different.  Pick up God’s Word and read about it, pray and ask for forgiveness of your sins and to have the Fruit of the Spirit stirred up in you.  May God’s love, joy and peace be with you.  Amen.

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“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.  Against such things there is no law.”

Galatians 5:22-23

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