“Finally, all of you, live in harmony with one another; be sympathetic, love as brothers, be compassionate and humble. Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult, but with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing.”
1 Peter 3:8-9
(This photo was taken in March of 2013 at the Botanical Gardens in the Bellagio Hotel in Las Vegas)
“Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”
Philippians 4:6-7
(This photo was taken in August of 2014 on a lake in central Minnesota)
“All this I have spoken while still with you. But the Counselor, 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. 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 14:25-27
(This photo was taken in the summer of 2013 at Badlands National Park in South Dakota)
“Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 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 June of 2013 while traveling through Colorado)
When Jesus was speaking to his disciples about the Holy Spirit…
“All this I have spoken while still with you. But the Counselor, 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. 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 14:25-27
(This photo was taken at Kanapaali beach while on the island of Maui)
“Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”
Philippians 4:4-7
Hope, Peace, Joy, Love and Christ
As I sit in the glow of lights from our tree I think back to Christmas time when I was a child. As a kid I enjoyed the lights, the music and family gatherings and of course, the presents. As I and my faith have grown I realize that Christmas is the time of year that I really began to connect with my faith. As an adult in the mind and a kid at heart I still enjoy the lights, the music and the family gatherings…I now enjoy the giving of gifts far more than receiving. Where we live I enjoy the snow (most years) and even the cold. The change of season is natural, to me it is God showing us his love using nature. All that was alive in summer has passed on but it will all be reborn in springtime. The world is covered in fresh new snow and we see angels in different forms everywhere. Most of all it seems to be the one time of year that people actually live life at a slower pace and often take time to recognize Jesus Christ and his coming into the world.
At Christmas time I pray we see and feel a sense of…
Hope – God made a promise to you and everyone to love you and to never leave you…believe him and trust him with every area of your life.
Peace – Be content when your basic needs are fulfilled and share with others if you have been blessed with abundance…practice patience.
Joy – Wear a smile more often and make an effort to help others find their smile…focus on the positive as often as you can.
Love – Life is more about how you treat others than how they treat you…you can’t control what others will think, say or do so why waste time worrying about it…do all that you can do with love.
At Christmas time this year put Christ in the center of your life…with Christ you will know Hope, you will know Peace, you will know Joy and you will know that the Love of Christ in your heart will help you overcome anything this world can throw at you.
May we all see and know God’s blessings in our lives this Christmas and carry them with us all through the New Year!
Merry Christmas!
We see and hear so much negativity, hopelessness and violence in this world every day. Sometimes I think the media forgets about all the good people and positive things that happen each day. I am not saying we should ignore talking about the bad things…we just need some balance in the distribution of information. I have read a quote in a few different places recently that speaks to the attitude of kindness we all need to remember…
“Every person you encounter every day is fighting a battle that you know nothing about.”
I understand that to say, don’t be so quick to judge another person without knowing all the facts and do not trust any form of media to provide all the information necessary to be informed about an event or issue. I have stated in the past the Bible is a great instruction manual for life and here are a few encouraging verses…
“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
“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”
John 16:33
May we all find peace and a positive outlook today.
Reflecting on the season and all that goes on in our lives…I have always been a Christmas guy. As a kid I enjoyed the lights, the music and family gatherings and of course the presents. As I and my faith have grown I realize that Christmas was the starting point for me to really deepen my faith. As an adult in mind and a kid at heart I still enjoy the lights, the music and the family gatherings…I now enjoy the giving far more than any receiving of presents. Where we live I enjoy the snow and even the cold. The change of season is natural to me it is God showing us his love using nature. All that was alive in summer has passed on but it will all be reborn in springtime. With the shorten daylight we set up lights to add color to the white world. But most of all it seems to be the one time of year that the most people in the world actually recognizes Jesus Christ and his coming into the world.
At Christmas time I pray you see and feel a sense of…
Hope – God made a promise to you and everyone to love you and to never leave you…believe him and trust him with every area of your life.
Peace – Be content when your basic needs are fulfilled and share with others if you have been blessed with abundance…practice patience.
Joy – Wear a smile more often and make an effort to help others find their smile…focus on the positive in any situation.
Love – Life is more about how you treat others than how they treat you…you can’t control what others will think, say or do so don’t waste time worrying about it…do all that you do with love.
At Christmas time put Christ in the center of your life…with Christ you will know Hope, you will know Peace, you will know Joy and you will know that the Love of Christ in your heart will help you overcome anything this world can throw at you.
May you see and know God’s blessings in your life this Christmas and carry them with you all through the New Year!
Merry Christmas!
It does not surprise me that this is the last thing listed in the Galatians 5:22-23 writing about the Fruit of the Spirit…why? Because as with all aspects of faith it all comes back to us…our attitude, our perspective and most of all our choices. We are blessed with free will, free to choose how we will act in this world.
Free to choose Love or hate
Free to choose Joy or sadness
Free to choose Peace or fighting
Free to choose Patience or hurriedness
Free to choose Kindness or be mean
Free to choose Goodness or cruelty
Free to choose Faithfulness or distraction
Free to choose Gentleness or be unbalanced
Free to choose to use the Fruits of the Spirit using Self-Control
Our guide for all of this is Jesus. God sent him so that reconciliation with God is always available. He loves us and wants us to choose to love him. Self-Control is not easy, I know from experience and I struggle with it as much as anyone.
Getting better at Self-Control is a choice in itself…it is choosing to live a healthy life style. Start by doing devotions in the morning and/or at night every day. Make those 5-10 minutes a priority and be quiet and calm with the Word every day. Given time it will help…then look at how you are physically caring for yourself…be sure you are eating regularly, getting rest and sleep and take a walk for exercise. When you feel things are out of control stop and pray. All of this is possible for anyone; it does not take a large financial investment just commitment. I know how the world we live in will try to distract and dissuade you from continuing…don’t quit. Even when you fall down and feel like you are failing, God is still right there saying “I understand, my own Son experienced frustration and temptation in the world. You are forgiven.”
“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. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other.”
Galatians 5:22-26
I pray we all we seek to live using the Fruits of the Spirit in all we do every day.
Take a look at the picture above one more time…choose to see what is on the other side through that opening…
May God’s Peace be with you
Take Your Faith With You 