Sacrifice

God’s Promises

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God has made many promises and He keeps His word.  Too often we think God has failed because we expect Him to work on our timeline, when we want or we believe is the right time or way for something to happen.  That is our mistake not God’s.  We are not in control; humankind did not create the world and we do not determine its outcome.  What God has asked us to do is to trust Him and to care for one another.  Read God’s word and learn about His promises, they are the only promises you know will be kept.  Amen.

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“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”

Jeremiah 29:11

(This photo was taken in August of 2016 while traveling through Utah)

Trust

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God knows you…He knows what is happening in your life…He cares for you…He knows the pain, He knows the struggle, He knows about the battle you think nobody else knows about…He knows because Jesus Christ lived as a man on earth and experienced pain and suffering and temptation and He died…but then something wonderful happened…God raised Him from death to life and claimed victory over evil.  Trouble will come to all of us and we have a Savior who is Christ the Lord who can lead us and guide through the difficult times in our lives.  May the peace of the Lord be with you.  Amen.

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“Trust in the Lord with all your heart
    and lean not on your own understanding;
6 in all your ways submit to him,
    and he will make your paths straight.”

Proverbs 3:5-6

(This photo was taken in June of 2018 near the border of Minnesota and South Dakota)

God’s Formula

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In the Gospel of John chapter 10 we are given an answer to a question.  Many of us haven’t even asked the question because we haven’t gotten very far in our faith journey, yet God knows there will be a time when we will want to know.  That’s the thing about the bible, it really does have all the answers, that doesn’t mean we are going to like all the answers or that the answers are going to always be what we want them to be…still they are in there and it is up to us to choose to learn them.  From my perspsective God’s formula is this (You + A relationship with Jesus = A full life) It’s simple but nobody ever said it was going to be easy.  Peace be with you.  Amen.

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“…I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.”

John 10:10

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

Jesus

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Immanuel…Light of the World…King of Kings…Lord of Lords…The Good Shepard…Bread of Life…Living Water…Prince of Peace…Wonderful Counselor…Lamb of God…The Truth…The Way…The Savior of the World.  Amen.

Give Me Jesus by Jeremy Camp

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“The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.”

John 1:14

(This photo was taken in June of 2016 at a lake near Plymouth, Minnesota)

Lay Down Your Burden

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We have a Savior, born in barn over 2,000 years ago, because there was no room for Him in the world.  Yet He came to save us…He loves us, He forgives us and He will carry us through anything we are facing.  Turn to Jesus Christ and lay down your burden and trust in Him.  Amen.

Carry You by Amy Grant

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“Cast your burden on the Lord,
    and he will sustain you;
he will never permit
    the righteous to be moved.”

Psalm 55:22

(This photo was taken in Augus tof 2016 in Glacier National Park in Montana)

The New Has Come

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There is always hope for a new way and it begins by having a new attitude or new perspective.  If you wish things to be different or you believe there is something missing in your life and you are not sure how to find it…you must begin by changing you.  There is a phrase/quote that is used by some groups that sums this up really well…’the definition of insanity is doing the same things over and over again and expecting a different result.’  The bible also tells us this, we must become new again and see things with new eyes and a new attitude.  We don’t have to do this alone; we can begin by turning towards Jesus Christ and inviting Him into our hearts and minds.  May the peace and joy of the Lord be with you.  Amen.

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

2 Corinthians 5:17

(This photo was taken in February of 2013 in a neighborhood near Plymouth, Minnesota)

Give Thanks To God

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Happy Thanksgiving!  Take time today to give your thanks to God.  Amen.

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“Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth.

2     Worship the Lord with gladness;
    come before him with joyful songs.
3 Know that the Lord is God.
    It is he who made us, and we are his;
    we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.

4 Enter his gates with thanksgiving
    and his courts with praise;
    give thanks to him and praise his name.
5 For the Lord is good and his love endures forever;
    his faithfulness continues through all generations.”

Psalm 100

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

Come Near To God

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He is with you…He knows everything about you and your life…He knows the struggles, the sorrows, the celebrations, the grief and mourning, the joyful gatherings, He knows the desires of your heart.  To draw near to God is to seek Him daily, to turn away from sin and our sinful behaviors and to trust in Him…this is not a slick, quick, fast-food process…it is a journey, a journey filled with questions, doubts, sacrifice, repentance, surrender, peace, joy and love.  And if you wonder why…the answer is found in His love.  Amen.

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“Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 8 Come near to God and he will come near to you…”

James 4:7-8

(This photo was taken in June of 2013 at the Corn Palace in Mitchell, South Dakota)

An Invitation

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Jesus invites us to follow Him.  God’s love gives us the opportunity to choose to follow Christ and to live eternally in heaven and God’s gift of free will means we have a responsibility to own our choices.  God wants a relationship with each one of us and a relationship is a two-way connection.  He wants to be in relationship so much that He sacrificed His one and only Son to provide The Way.  Take a look at Luke 5:27-28, Mark 10:17-31 as examples of Jesus extending an invitation to follow Him.  No matter where you are or what your life circumstances are, you are invited to follow Jesus Christ.  How will you choose to respond to His invitation?  Amen.

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“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

(This photo was taken in June of 2013 in Badlands National Park in South Dakota)

He Will Come Back

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Jesus Christ will come again.  We read about this is several places in the bible.  It is His final promise and He has kept every single promise He ever made.  Trust in God and trust in His Son, Jesus Christ who died to save you…who is the risen Lord and who is coming back to take us to be with Him, forever.  Amen.

Give Me Jesus by Jeremy Camp

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“Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me.  My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you?  And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.”

John 14:1-3

(This photo was taken in June of 2016 at a lake near Plymouth, Minnesota)