Salvation

To Know Him

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As it has been said, faith is a journey not a destination.  So what does that mean?  For me it is about making progress, every day.  We learn, we pray, we live, we give thanks, we cry for help, we forgive others and we learn some more.  We are human, we live in a broken and fallen world.  Nobody is perfect, even if their social media profiles try to project it.  We are not made to do this life alone.  We need to know Him, Jesus Christ our Savior and Lord.  He gave His life to save us and to reconcile us to God.  Give faith a chance, spend time learning about Jesus Christ and His birth, His life, His teachings, His death and His resurrection.  Pickup God’s Word and seek Him daily, you have nothing to lose and everything to gain.  Amen.

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“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.”

Proverbs 9:10

(This photo was taken in October of 2018 at a lake near Plymouth, Minnesota)

Savior

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His mercy…His grace…His forgiveness…His sacrifice…His death…His resurrection and His love. All of this and more means Jesus Christ has fought the battle and won. He has saved us and we can be reconciled with God. Seek Him and the message of Good News in God’s Word. He gave His all to save you because He loves you just the way you are. May the love of Christ comfort you and encourage you this day. Amen.

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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, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.”

John 1:14

(This photo was taken in July of 2016 on a lake in central Minnesota)

The Grace Of God

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We have been saved…the battle has been won.  Jesus Christ gave of Himself to save us and to reconcile us back to God.  We are not made to do life alone, God our Creator made us out of His love and His Son sacrificed His life because of His love for us and the Holy Spirit is guiding us through our days with God’s love.  We haven’t earned it, we don’t deserve it.  It has occured because of the mercy and grace of God our Father.  He is not a distant figure in the sky looking for ways to punish us for every mistake, He is doing everything for our good, not according to our plans rather according to His.  We would do well to turn towards God and thank Him and seek to grow our relationship with Jesus Christ.  Amen.

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“But God demonstrates his own love for us in this:  While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

Romans 5:8

(This photo was taken in June of 2013 while traveling through northern Colorado)

How Deep Is Our Faith?

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I have heard the faith journey described as a process of working from the inside, out.  The first part of the journey is transforming and changing the inside of ourselves…our thoughts, our beliefs, our attitude and our behaviors…removing the focus on sinful desires and self-centeredness as we learn and grow in our personal relationship with Christ.  As the inside changes we become better equipped to share what we have learned and to provide encouragement to others on the journey, just as we have been and will be given assistance on our own journey.  The question today is regarding that inside part of the process…the learning and growing and the depth of our inside transformation is not to reach a destination.  The more we learn and grow and spend time in our reltionship with the Lord the deeper and stronger that relationship becomes.  As discussed yesterday the battles will come at us in this life and a deep, strong relationship with Christ is the most powerful weapon we have when it comes to fighting evil in this world.  Continue to strengthen and grow your relationship with Jesus Christ.  Amen.

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“But blessed in the one who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in him.  They will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream.  It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green,  It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit.”

Jeremiah 17:7-8

(This photo was taken in July of 2012 while walking on a trail in the North Shore of Lake Superior)

The Gift

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We have been given the greatest gift ever…the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.  Nothing compares to it.  He sacrificed His life in heaven to come down to earth and to be like one of us, He was beaten, tortured, spit on and crucified…then God did what only God can do…out of the worst of tragedies He brought about the most incredible joy.  Jesus Christ is alive and He lives today.  Don’t put off your relationship with Jesus, spend time with Him everyday, the Gift of Him is one that keeps on giving to you forever.  Amen.

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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, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.”

John 1:14

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

His Sacrifice = Grace

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We can have a personal relationship with our Creator.  We are redeemed.  We have been saved from wrath.  The punishment we all deserve has been delivered onto Jesus Christ.  We are forgiven.  All of this has been completed because of the grace of God and His love for us.  Jesus gave up everything and suffered the worst things this world can deliver…to save us.  Let us give thanks to Jesus for His incredible sacrifice and let us live our lives in pursuit of the Fruits of the Spirit in our thoughts, our words and our actions.  Amen.

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“For is is by grace you have been saved, through faith – and this not from yourselves, it is a gift of God – not by works, so that no one can boast.”

Ephesians 2:8-9

(This photo was taken in October of 2018 at a lake near Plymouth, Minnesota)

 

God Is Love

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I am reminded this morning of this statement.  When we fix our eyes on Jesus and not on the pain, struggle and our self-serving desires, we are able to rise above those things carried by the love of God.  If we allow the hurt and pain of the past to rule our present day then we are missing out on so many opportunities to know joy and peace, to be thankful for what is good.  If we desire forgiveness for our sins, we need to be just as willing to forgive others.  The sacrifice has already been made for us, the race is already been won, death is defeated and Christ lives.  Let us turn towards God in prayer and thanksgiving for His everlasting love.  Amen.

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“If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in him and he in God.  And so we know and rely on the love God has for us.  God is love.  Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him.”

1 John 4:15-16

(This photo was taken in April of 2016 on a lake in central Minnesota)

Forgiveness

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To begin to seek a new nature, to desire to be different than we have been, to seek kindness and compassion and a servant attitude…first we must turn toward Jesus Christ on the Cross and confess our sins.  Be humbled and speak the wrongs we have committed against others, in our thoughts, our actions and our words.  We all have to go through this step on our faith journey and more than one time…we live in a fallen and broken world filled with sin and evil and none of us can stand up to it alone.  God knows this and He sent His Son to take the judgement we all deserve so that we can be reconciled to Him when we are willing to admit our faults.  Confess and be forgiven, this is part of God’s plan for you.  Amen.

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“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.”

1 John 1:9

(This photo was taken in August of 2016 in Mount Rainier National Park in Washington)

Why Did Jesus Come?

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He came down from heaven and into this world.  God had a plan and Jesus knew exactly what He was getting into…so why do it?  He did because He loves you, He cares for you and He wants only the best for you.  The answer to this question and so many others have been given to us in God’s Word.  It’s not complicated, it is simple and yet the human race seems bent on making things much more difficult and complicated then they need to be.  Jesus came to save us because He loves us and even though we don’t deserve it, He loves us anyways.  Let us be thankful for Jesus Christ and His saving grace.  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 April of 2016 on a lake in central Minnesota)

Our Living Hope

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One of the greatest strengths of our faith is the hope we have because of Jesus Christ.  When we read from God’s Word about the life, death and resurrection of Jesus, the way He lived when He was here on earth, we find there were many times when circumstances looked really bad and the people seemed to have very few choices of how to respond.  Yet Jesus would help and find new ways to work things out…not necessarily the way the people wanted but in a way that was better for everyone involved.  Just because we cannot see the way forward during trails and suffering does not mean the situation is hopeless, it just means we are not putting our trust in the Lord.  Look to Jesus in all situations good and bad and there we will find our Hope.  Amen.

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“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ!  In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead…”

1 Peter 1:3

(This photo was taken in October of 2014 on the north shore of the island of Maui, Hawaii)