Happy New Year…Ask, Seek, Knock

It is a new day, a new time and a new year.  As you look around your life…think about when in your daily routine can you commit to spending a few minutes with God every day.  What is a comfortable place for you to sit or kneel?  What time of day is it?  Do you have a devotional book to guide you?

Make a plan to start a new daily habit.  For me it started as coffee with God each morning, because if I could spend that much effort to have coffee for myself I sure as heck better be able to spend a few minutes in the quiet of the morning with my Creator…and it has grown into a time in the morning I look forward to every day.

The best part is you can start without the plan…just find a quiet moment and ask God to help you find a way to meet with Him each day and then pay attention for the opportunities…May the peace of God be with you!

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“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.  For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.”

Matthew 7:7-8

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

A New Way To Look At Our Sufferings

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“…And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God.  Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope.

And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.”

Romans 5:2-5

(This photo was taken in August of 2016 at Sapphire Point near Dillon, Colorado)

Christmas Eve…A Silent Night

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“In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world.  (This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.)   And everyone went to his own town to register.

So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David.  He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. 

While they were there the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son.  She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.”

Luke 2:1-7

(This photo was taken in December of 2017 in a neighborhood near Plymouth, Minnesota)

Sow The Seeds Of Faith

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“Remember this:  Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously.  Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.

2 Corinthians 9:6-7

(This photo was taken in March in 2013 at the Botanical Gardens at the Bellagio in Las Vegas, Nevada)

The God Of All Comfort

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“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God.”

2 Corinthians 1:3-4

(This photo was taken in August of 2016 in Glacier National Park in Montana)

Do Your Best, Wherever You Are

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The following was written by the Apostle Paul in his letter to the Philippians…

“I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances.  I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty.

I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want.

I can do everything through him who gives me strength.”

Philippians 4:11-13

(This photo was taken in August of 2016 near Glacier National Park in Montana)

Presents Or Presence

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It is far more valuable to spend time on family and friends then money…

“Then he said to them, “Watch out!  Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.”

Luke 12:15

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

Believe

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“I am still confident of this; I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.  Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord.”

Psalm 27:13-14

(This photo was taken in July of 2016 in Theodore Roosevelt National Park in North Dakota)