relationship with god

Stay Committed to Faith

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Success in life is most often tied to commitment…when you learn the details of a success story there is always a moment or moments along the way that a person had to make a choice to be committed to a vision or mission in order to see it through.  Our military personnel make a commitment to defend the flag and all that it stands for in this country.  It is commitment that leads to success in relationships and our everyday life.  When we reflect on our lives we all are committed to something right now…the question becomes how does that commitment tie into our faith and our relationship with God?

“Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be people of courage; be strong.  Do everything in love.”

1 Corinthians 16:13-14

Life and Living by Faith

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“Love must be sincere.  Hate what is evil; cling to what is good.  Be devoted to one another in brotherly love.  Honor one another above yourselves.  Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord.  Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.”

Romans 12:9-12

The New Has Come…

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It is a new day, a new month and a new year.  Be transformed…love God, love who he has made you to be and share His love with others.

Paul writes…

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!  All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men’s sins against them.  And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation.  We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us.  We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God.”

2 Corinthians 5:17-20

Be Open to Spirit Living

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“Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe 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.  And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.”

Colossians 3:12-14

It is Starting to Sink in…

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This is really happening…in two days we are leaving to take our first born, our daughter, to college for her freshman year.  Does she have everything she needs?  Have we taught her all the lessons she needs to survive?  Who will she be able to trust?  Maybe she’s not ready, or worse…maybe we are not ready?

There are moments in every life where we are faced with choices.  The roots of these choices are usually found in a few words.  Faith or fear…Courage or hesitation…Trust or control.

This is one of those moments for our family.  I have mainly positive thoughts and expectations for our daughter…my own college experience was one of the greatest periods of growth in my young life.  My faith journey gives me confidence that no matter what God will be with her, he will be watching over her.  The same worrisome things that could happen there could happen here in our hometown.

The biggest change may be the one taking place in our own home.  We are a very close family and one of the four of us will be gone on a day to day basis.  This will be a big change for us.  It is most important for us and our faith to focus on what God is asking us to do with our lives.  For so many years the message has been teach your children to love the Lord, to provide an example of an adult who loves God…that still doesn’t change.  We still have our son at home with 4 years of high school ahead of him and we still can show our daughter how to love the Lord through Faith, Courage and Trust as an adult.  This is why it is called a faith journey…there may be several stops or points of achievement along the way but as long as there is life the journey continues.  We must continue to seek Him and help others to know Him.

I pray as we go into and through this change in our family we will focus on…

Faith in God the Creator and our Father who loves us

Courage to face the challenges just as Jesus faced challenges on earth

Trust in the Holy Spirit to guide us each day

Whenever a choice is approaching your life or the life of someone you love look to God the Father, Jesus his Son and the Holy Spirit.  Look to them with Faith, Courage and Trust and you will find peace.

It is not about you…

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It’s not about you…I have seen and read this message many times while reading a devotional or some other faith based writing.  When I was reading this morning it struck me differently…it spoke to me about sowing a seed with the hope of changing a life.  It made me think…how have I been blessed and how can I share that with others?  I know that God created me…I know that God has given me certain gifts.  My job is to discover my gifts and use them to help others…and it is the same for you.

Today as I was reading from a daily devotional written by John C Maxwell the words that struck me hard and fast were these…a quote from entertainer Danny Thomas…”All of us are born for a reason, but all of us don’t discover why.  Success in life has nothing to do with what you gain in life or accomplish for yourself.  It’s what you do for others.”

It doesn’t have to be as hard as we make it to be in our heads…start today…start focusing on your gifts and start using them to help others.  If you are unsure of what your gifts are then ask God in prayer to help you identify those gifts so you can begin to sow seeds in your daily life.

It’s not about you…it’s about how you have been blessed and how you can use those blessings to help others.

Peace be with you.

Faith is a Journey

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Faith is an endless journey not a destination.  There are times of pain and sorrow and struggle…there are also times of joy and peace and comfort in ways you could have never imagined.  There are many who will assist as guides on this journey and be thankful for them while always remembering that there is only one leader to follow on this journey…Jesus.

When times are tough and it feels like God is so far away don’t quit seeking, don’t quit asking questions…pick up a bible…listen to some music…do whatever you do to meet with God.  Even when things are good and you feel blessed, go to that place or do the things you do to meet with our Lord and Savior to give him praise and thanksgiving.  The journey of faith and the journey of life do not have to be separate pursuits…life is temporary…but faith is eternal.  Put your faith first.  The world you tell you different things…the prince of this world wants you to only believe what you see and hear while you are here.  When things become overwhelming remember the words of Jesus…

“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

Peace be with you on the journey.

More than feelings…

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Your faith is based on more than just feelings…it is about connecting with the living God.  When we pursue faith based on feelings often times the good feelings go away after something changes for us; so typically we will quit or stop pursuing it because it doesn’t feel good anymore.

When you seek to connect and engage with the presence of God in your life and you continue to grow your faith in that way…you won’t stop when things don’t feel good in life.  In fact you will find yourself seeking your relationship with God in more ways and at more times than you ever have before.  I have found that growth in faith is strongest when I pursue something that makes me a little uncomfortable or is slightly outside of my comfort zone.  It takes courage and a willingness to open yourself up and trust that God who is right by your side will be with you no matter what happens.

“Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be people of courage; be strong.  Do everything in love.”

                                                                                                1 Corinthians 16:13-14

I have also learned that to grow in faith it is important to connect with community.  Your community could be a few people that you gather with for a meal on a regular basis or it could be large gathering at worship service.   Maybe your community is in your neighborhood…the important thing is to find your communities of people that can help provide an environment that nurtures faith and walks the journey of faith in life with you.  Jesus said…

“For where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them.”

                                                                                                Matthew 18:20

Your feelings are an important part of who you are, they are just not the only thing involved in developing your faith and relationship with God.  As I have said before we were never promised that life would be easy or free from pain.  Pain and suffering is present in the world because of sin and sin is present because we were promised free will.  In the end your faith and life come back to that…free will.  We have a God that loves us and wants to have a relationship with us…we just have to choose to pursue that relationship on a daily basis…using more than just our feelings.

May God’s peace be with you.