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The Power Of Faith

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The blessings that come from our faith in the Lord Jesus Christ are so great it is hard to fully appreciate.  We should be careful not to underestimate the gifts God has given us.  Each and every one of us has been created and blessed with special talents and our role in life is to learn about those gifts and talents and then to use them to do good things in and around our community, to help others and to spread the Good News of Jesus.  Our actions and the things we choose to do and say are a good indication of where we are in our personal faith journey.  For myself, I did not understand or spend much time thinking about such things until about 8 years ago and in the last 8 years I have experienced events of all kinds in life, pain and suffering as well as joy and contentment…most importantly I have been learning to be more open to putting my relationship with God first…I have been learning gratitude and thankfulness…I also know I still have a lot of learning left to do as I still mess things up frequently.  The best part of my journey so far…I know more about who God has made me to be and I know He is always with me no matter what…I know because He told me so in His instruction manual for life…the Bible.  May God’s love, joy and peace be with you.

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“For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline.”

2 Timothy 1:7

(This photo was taken in April of 2016 during the sunrise at a lake place in central Minnesota)

The Joy Of The Lord

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We live and we work, we eat and we drink, we move from one activity to the next day by day.  We face decisions and choices day after day, big decisions, little choices and through it all God calls to us to live life to the fullest.  What does that mean for you?  What is living to the fullest?  It all depends on the perspective you choose to look from…if you choose to view life through the eyes of the world measuring success by possessions, material things and number of likes on social media then you will find much disappointment.  If you choose to look at life through the spiritual perspective, with a daily connection with God, praying for and helping others, serving those in need and living life filled with the fruits of the spirit…you will find joy.  True joy is found only in a relationship with Jesus Christ.  May God’s love and joy be with you.

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“I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.”

John 15:11

(This photo was taken in July of 2016 in Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming)

Do You Not Know? Have You Not Heard?

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There are so many different verses in the bible that can become a connection point for us.  God’s Word is filled with life application instructions and teachings.  I have heard people say I son’t know what to do, or all I can do is pray…the power of scripture and prayer should not be underestimated.  If you haven’t seen it or you are unsure if God is present in your life…give this a try.  Pick up a bible and find words that may apply to your situation…not sure what part of the book to go to…go out onto the internet and type ‘bible verses about (insert your topic here).’  The world is filled with darkness, evil and suffering…choose to follow the light that has been given to us and see what God has planned for you.  May God’s peace be with you.

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“Do you not know?  Have you not heard?  The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth.  He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom.

He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak.  Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength.

They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.”

Isaiah 40:28-31

(This photo was taken in July of 2016 while driving along Beartooth Pass in Montana)

Anything Is Possible

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Why do we doubt so much?  Why is it so hard for us to believe what may be possible with God?  When we are willing to surrender to His plan and His way in His time, there’s no telling what can happen.  Look at the stories in the bible…Abraham and Sarah had a child they had so longed for when Sarah was 90…the 5000 were fed when all that was available to eat was a few fish and some bread…Lazarus is raised from the dead after being gone for a few days…and there are so many more examples.  When God is involved in a situation anything is possible.  We must turn to Him first with whatever we are facing and remember He is not a genie in a bottle who sometimes grants wishes…He is our creator, our savior and our guide who always has good things in store for us.  Trust in the Lord and watch to see what He has in store for you.  May the joy of the Lord be with you.

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“For nothing is impossible with God.”

Luke 1:37

(This photo was taken in July of 2016 in Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming)

Walking In The Light

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Actions speak louder than words…words are an introduction, actions are the full story.  In the life of Jesus we learn that He taught the people with His words and He showed the people the truth with His actions.  Being true to our word is a characteristic that seems to be fading away in this ‘me’ first world.  Living life by walking in the light is being very aware of what we say we will or won’t do and then following through with what we said…if we say, I will call you later, we need to be sure to do it…if we say I will pray for you, we need to offer an honest to goodness true prayer to God regarding that person.  The concept in words is simple…the execution in daily life is the next step in our faith journey.  May God’s peace be with you.

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“But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.”

1 John 1:7

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

Free Will

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One of the most sacred aspects regarding the creation of humans is free will.  We are given the gift of free will by God to decide and to choose our behavior and attitude each day.  How we choose to live is our responsibility and no one else’s.  We choose to do good or to do wrong or we choose to do nothing.  Everybody in the world is fighting a battle of some kind, real life is not what people are posting on social media, that is merely the book cover that people want to present to the world.  We should not take our free will for granted, use the power to choose how you will live to do good for others, just as Christ did to save you.  May God’s peace be with you.

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“You, my brothers, were called to be free.  But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather, serve one another in love.  The entire law is  summed up in a single command:  “Love your neighbor as yourself.”  If you keep on biting and devouring each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other.”

Galatians 5:13-15

(This photo was taken in March of 2018 while traveling through southern New Mexico)

Change Happens When You Truly Pray

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How many times have we said, I will pray for you or I am praying for you…and then we never do it.  We never sit quietly with God and discuss the specific concern or topic with Him.  I know I am guilty of that and I am working really hard on not saying I will pray for you with out doing so the next morning during my daily devotions.  I am really working on praying for people in situations in my morning time and telling them afterwords, I have been praying for you when I know it is true.  When the words, my thoughts and prayers are with you, become just that a bunch of nice words with no action, we have really disgraced and disrespected the true power of prayer.  The recent protests and marches have shown me that we have turned the power and privilege of prayer into a trite saying that causes anger and does not bring peace.  True and honest prayer between you and God is powerful and it is one of the strongest weapons we have against evil and darkness…even the people that made the movie “Bruce Almighty” understand that, watch the scene near the end when Bruce is offering his prayer.  My last thought for you…every morning just before I hit publish on these posts I pray for you as I pray for anyone who reads my post each day…May God’s love, joy and peace be with you.

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“Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send?  And who will go for us?”  And I said, “Here am I.  Send me!”

Isaiah 6:8

(This photo was taken in March of 2018 while driving through southern New Mexico)

Rest For The Weary

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Each day brings us choices, decisions, questions and some answers.  On some occasions these can pile up on us pretty fast and become a burden to wade through.  When the way forward is blurry or getting difficult to understand we need to take sometime and be with Jesus.  He set the example…several times you can read in the bible that Jesus would go off on His own or with one or two of the disciples to pray.  To be with His Father in heaven in nature and stillness.  We are not made to “on” all the time 24-7, we need better balance.  Make your rest time with Jesus a priority at whatever point in a day makes sense for you.  Make God’s peace and joy be with you.

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“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.  Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.”

Matthew 11:28-29

(This photo was taken in March of 2018 while driving through New Mexico)

The Light

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The Bible talks about Light in many ways.  When we believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and that He is our Savior and Lord, we begin to get a sense of this Light as we study the Word of God.  When the Light of Christ shines in us we look different, we act different and we feel different than we use to.  Acknowledging the Light is a shift in perspective, it is purposefully looking for the goodness, kindness and love in our actions and in the actions of others.  It is being self-less, working for the good of others, it is coming along side someone and walking with them rather then trying to knock them down or push them aside to advance our own ideas.  Seek this Light and shine it out to others and you will find peace.  May God’s Light be with you.

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“For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” made his light shine in our hearts to give us the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.”

2 Corinthians 4:6

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

The Message

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We can bring the light of Christ to the world several ways.  We can use more than words as actions are often more powerful then words alone.  How we conduct ourselves in our everyday life tells a great deal about what we believe.  How we react to both success and failure will tell others about what is deep in our hearts.  Our attitude and the characteristics of our personality and how we apply them to helping others in need will tell a story about who has saved us.  As we grow in our faith we learn from our past, we are thankful for the present and we know our future is secure with God.  Share Jesus Christ with another person when the opportunity presents itself in your life.  May God’s peace be with you.

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“For Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God.  He was put to death in the body but made alive by the Spirit…”

1 Peter 3:18

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