“For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved.”
Romans 10:10
“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.”
John 3:16
(This photo was taken in July of 2019 at a lake near Plymouth, Minnesota)
Each of us can do good work that helps at least one other person in need. We can’t be everything to everybody…yet we can be somebody who helps another. Turn towards God in prayer and ask Him how you can help someone today…then pay attention to each part of your day and He will show you where you are needed. God’s peace be with you. Amen.
“And God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.”
2 Corinthians 9:8
“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. 10 For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”
Ephesians 2:8-10
(This photo was taken in May of 2020 at the High Falls in Tettegouche State Park in northern Minnesota)
“And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who[a] have been called according to his purpose.”
Romans 8:28
“What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? 32 He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? 33 Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. 34 Who then is the one who condemns? No one. Christ Jesus who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. 35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword?”
Romans 8:31-35
“No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38 For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons,[c] neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, 39 neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
Romans 8:37-39
(This photo was taken in May of 2020 on the North Shore of Lake Superior)
We are all the same…we are all human. We all were born and we all will die. Yet we are all different. We are individuals…we are not groups. We all are created by God. We are all responsible for our actions and behaviors and we will be held accountable for our individual actions when we die and leave this world. The answer to all our worries, our fears and our burdens is Jesus Christ. If you believe in Him…turn towards Him in faith…pray with conviction…trust in Him and treat all other people with kindness, goodness, gentleness, patience and with love…the same love He has shown you we He died to save you. Amen.
“Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. 30 And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. 31 Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. 32 Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.”
Ephesians 4:29-32
“Create in me a pure heart, O God,
and renew a steadfast spirit within me.
11 Do not cast me from your presence
or take your Holy Spirit from me.
12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation
and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.”
Psalm 51:10.12
(This photo was taken in May of 2020 at Palisade Head on the North Shore of Lake Superior)
“Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. 8 Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. 9 This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him.”
1 John 4:7-9
“You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.”
1 John 4:4
(This photo was taken yesterday at Palisade Head on the North Shore of Lake Superior)
Love God. Love People. Too often we seek power or control over situations and people. That’s what gets us into trouble. For some of us we are protecting ourselves because we have been hurt in our past…the longer we proceed carrying around the hurts of the past the longer they will damage our future. Life is not about what others do to us…it is about how do we choose to respond? Choose God, choose love…Love God. Love People. Amen.
Love God Love People by Danny Gokey
“One of the teachers of the law came and heard them debating. Noticing that Jesus had given them a good answer, he asked him, “Of all the commandments, which is the most important?”
29 “The most important one,” answered Jesus, “is this: ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.[a] 30 Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’[b] 31 The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’[c] There is no commandment greater than these.”
Mark 12:28-31
(This photo was taken in April of 2020 at a lake near Plymouth, Minnesota)
As we live and learn and grow on our spiritual journey, we slowly gain a greater understanding of God’s love. It is one thing to hear about it, read about it and know it in your head and it is something much greater to experience it and know it in your heart. God is love, He loves you and His love will never let you down. Amen.
“Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.”
1 John 4:8
“This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. 10 This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. 11 Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. 12 No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.”
1 John 4:9-12
(This photo was taken in June of 2018 near the border of Minnesota and South Dakota)
Who we are in our daily lives says a great deal about our relationship with God. What we value and how we treat each other says more about us than our job title or the company we work for ever could. Cherish each day and the people in your life that mean the most to you. Live in God’s love. Amen.
“Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. 10 Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves. 11 Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. 12 Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. 13 Share with the Lord’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality.”
Romans 12:9-13
(This photo was taken in March of 2013 at the Botanical Gardens at the Bellagio in Las Vegas, Nevada)
Our Guide…our Advocate…our Counselor…the very presence of God. Amen.
Holy Spirit by Francesca Battistelli
“But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.”
John 14:26
“In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans.”
Romans 8:26
“For God did not give us a spirit of timidity but one of power, love, and self-discipline.[a]”
2 Timothy 1:7
(This photo was taken in April of 2016 at a lake in central Minnesota)
Good morning. This morning has started as one of those days that I can’t stop hearing the words of a song playing over and over in my mind. The message in the words is clear…listen to the words of this song. I believe that God speaks to us in many different ways and it is up to us to listen. May peace and comfort be with you through the love of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Nobody Loves Me Like You by Chris Tomlin
“Show me your ways, Lord,
teach me your paths.
5 Guide me in your truth and teach me,
for you are God my Savior,
and my hope is in you all day long.”
Psalm 25:4-5
(This photo was taken in April of 2020 at a lake near Plymouth, Minnesota)
