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Work In Progress

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Each day we live means God is still working on us.  He knows the number of our days and He is with us for each and every one of them.  It is up to us to seek Him…to acknowledge Him and His Presence…we have the task of learning, growing and sharing as we go…it doesn’t have to be perfect and it never will be.  God tells us we are His work in progress and if we live our lives trusting and believing and spending time with Him good things will come.  Amen.

God’s Not Done With You by Tauren Wells

“In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy 5 because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, 6 being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.”

Philippians 1:4-6

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“For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”

Ephesians 2:10

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

 

An Encounter

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The difference between faith and religion…faith is about trust and belief because we have experienced the Presence of God in our lives.  Has it happened to you?  It is hard to put into words…unexplainable…a time for me was putting together and delivering the eulogy at my father’s funeral.  Not something I ever could have done alone…when I think about that time words are few, yet the ones that come to mind are comfort, unusual peace, clear thinking…that doesn’t fully cover it but what I can come up with…in the book of Exodus Moses was up on the mountain for 40 days with God without food or water, yet it does not say he felt hunger or thirst.  An encounter with the Presence of God is unlike anything else in life.  May His Peace be with you.  Amen.

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“The Lord replied, “My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.”

Exodus 33:14

(This photo was taken in September of 2014 on a walk near Plymouth, Minnesota)

Holy Spirit

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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

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“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)

 

Nobody Like You

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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

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“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)

The Way Home

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We all have choices and decisions to make in life and each one leads us either closer to or further away from God.  God provides all that we need, an instruction manual for life…the Bible…He has provided the One who can lead us…Jesus Christ.  Meet with Jesus regarding the path you are on and follow Him…He is the only Way home.  Amen.

Home by Chris Tomlin

“Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”

John 14:6

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“He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’[a] or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”

Revelation 21:4

(This photo was taken in April of 2020 at a lake near Plymouth, Minnesota)

The Lord Is Near

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He is closer than you think…He knows what is on your mind.  Take your thoughts, your gratitude and your worries and your burdens to God in prayer.  Be patient and persistent…pay attention to His responses in the many ways He speaks to us.  Trust in the Lord.  Amen.

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“Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! 5 Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. 6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

Philippians 4:4-7

(This photo was taken in April of 2020 at a lake near Plymouth, Minnesota)

Praise The Lord

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Thanks be to God and Jesus Christ His only Son our Lord.  We are forgiven and we are renewed…our purpose now is to love the Lord with all that we are and share the Good News of the Gospel with others.  We are to praise the Lord.  Amen.

“Let everything that has breath praise the Lord.

Praise the Lord.”

Psalm 150:6

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“I love you, Lord, my strength.

2 The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer;
    my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge,
    my shield[b] and the horn[c] of my salvation, my stronghold.”

Psalm 18:1-2

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

He Has Risen!

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He has risen, indeed!  Hallelujah!  Jesus Christ has defeated Satan and He has defeated death.  Trust in Him for everything, every day…He lives in you.  Amen.

The Same Jesus by Matt Redman

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“They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, 3 but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. 4 While they were wondering about this, suddenly two men in clothes that gleamed like lightning stood beside them. 5 In their fright the women bowed down with their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, “Why do you look for the living among the dead? 6 He is not here; he has risen! Remember how he told you, while he was still with you in Galilee: 7 ‘The Son of Man must be delivered over to the hands of sinners, be crucified and on the third day be raised again.’ ” 8 Then they remembered his words.”

Luke 24:2-8

(This photo was taken in October of 2018 at a park in Winterset, Iowa)

The End Of The Beginning…

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Just when we think all is lost and we are struggling to know what to do…imagine how His disciples felt the day after He was crucified and before the resurrection…we must remember that with God all things are possible and if we wait and trust in Him, He will do good things, things we never thought were possible in our lives.  Amen.

End of the Beginning by David Phelps

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“Now there was a man named Joseph, a member of the Council, a good and upright man, 51 who had not consented to their decision and action. He came from the Judean town of Arimathea, and he himself was waiting for the kingdom of God. 52 Going to Pilate, he asked for Jesus’ body. 53 Then he took it down, wrapped it in linen cloth and placed it in a tomb cut in the rock, one in which no one had yet been laid. 54 It was Preparation Day, and the Sabbath was about to begin.”

Luke 23:50-54

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