Month: March 2021

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Rejoice! The Season of Renewal

Create in me a pure heart, Oh God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Psalms 51:10

Rejoice, all you who believe in Christ. Lift up your eyes towards heaven and be glad, for your redeemer lives and watches over you in love

The days of Spring and its promise of renewal have come. When the passion of our Christ overflowed upon the Earth, and changed our world forever

Rejoice, sing with all your heart, for His abundant love. Be glad, for you are the children of the living God. Brighter days await, they lie just ahead of you

Look unto the mountains, turn your gaze unto the heavens, fix your eyes upon Jesus, for He is your help and your savior

Let your joy burst out like the flowers of Spring, for He is for you in every way. With new eyes, look upon your King, Jesus Christ, and He will reintroduce you to His glory in surprising ways

He is our God, our creator, the one who knows us best of all. Jesus has walked with us through the darkness of recent times, and watched over us, to help us overcome every hardship

Seek Him, and be lifted up. Let His hands pull you up from the mud and the mire. Give to Him all the glory He so richly deserves

Renew your life, make this Spring a time to flourish and grow. Allow yourself to be overwhelmed by the greatness of God. Soak in the brightness of His Spirit, as you become more grounded in His truth

Jesus walks before us this day. He carries the banner of His Kingdom, and reigns victorious over all evil, darkness, even death

Rejoice, be exceedingly glad, all you who have faith in Him, for your inheritance lies in the Kingdom of God

Be consoled, all you who have mourned and suffered loss, because you will find comfort from the God of the universe. He will not forget or ever forsake you

Renew yourself each day that you live before Him. Turn towards Christ and He will be there beside you. Follow in His ways, through the leading of the Spirit and by the power of His Word. They will be as life to You

Our God will come to you and lift you up. He will give new wings to those who follow and seek His goodness and mercy, who humble themselves before Him

For these will become as living lights shining forth His truth and righteousness, as they live out a life manifested by their faith in our savior, Jesus Christ

Rejoice, all you who believe in the one true God. Lift up your spirit and be glad, for our redeemer, Jesus Christ, reigns above all the earth.  3/13/2021

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God’s Honest Reminders

For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared for us in advance to do. Ephesians 2:10

I was created by the God of the universe. What He made in me was more than what I’ve made of myself

I sulk and waver, procrastinate and seek after things with no meaning. My purpose is often lost on the wrong things. But, God still loves me

He gently nudges me and shows me the way I should go. In prayer He inspires me, showing what we could accomplish together; marvelous things in His name

Yet, I hesitate and stumble. My walk becomes a crawl, then I slumber

Thankfully, God has been patient with me. He has forgiven me a thousand thousand times, and lovingly forgot my wrongs and the things I have neglected, while encouraging me daily to do my best in love for others

He is honest enough to remind me what could have been if I listened to Him and followed the course He had laid. In kindness, God tells me there are still great things to do

His path is not like mine. It is like traveling upon a stream of the purest water to places of beauty and inspiration. Where life becomes a wonderful adventure

But, I have travelled the rutted and worn dirt roads. The trails of false hope and empty promise, where I labor without adequate reward

Lord, when will I ever learn to trust in Your judgement? When will I understand that Your ways bring life, but mine continually lead me to bitterness and despair?

When will I begin to live up to what You created in me? Such potential, and yet I have manifested mediocrity?

When I feel this way, Lord, I feel as if I’ve failed You, and yet You only send encouraging words back to me. You remind me that You love me, that I am on track, and to never let go of the bond of love between us

So I press on, imperfect as I am, yet made new in the power of our Lord Jesus Christ

Praise God for this incredible gift and for His Spirit that leads us; for His Son who has saved us, and for His love and forgiveness that transcends all of our wrongs and shortcomings, continually leading us forward on the paths of eternal life   3/27/2001

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The Precious Fabric of Life

Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Lord is an everlasting God, the creator of the ends of the Earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and His understanding no one can fathom. Isaiah 40:26

The God of all that is, clothed the Earth with a precious fabric. He made this world with materials of many colors, textures, forms, and patterns

It fits perfectly upon this world, and is unlike anything we have ever known or observed

It is incredible how it persists, adapts, and repairs itself even when damaged. It is woven with such exquisite complexity, that we can barely understand how it works

Our God in heaven created something amazing and beautiful. Perhaps the most surprising thing about it is that it also lives and breathes

This fabric that covers our Earth, our home, is not something to be taken for granted. For we are dependent on the health of every part of it for our very existence

It lies in a balance within all of its workings, so that our life, and all life that dwells on Earth may  persist safely for eons of time

Oh God of the heavens and of the Earth, humble us, and make us to know your love for us. May we recognize that You alone have made this place for us to live, and it is marvelous in every way

We cheapen our lives when we take all this for granted. It shows our lack of reverence for God, who has given us all things

Blessed are we to be given life here in this place, and to be loved, for God has given us all we need. But, we curse ourselves by our unthankful actions, when we conceive in our minds to exploit God’s gift to us.

In recent times we have grown to fill the entire Earth. We have crowded in to every part of this life giving fabric. Our sin is that we do not appreciate this wonder that we live within, and that we give in to the selfish power of our greed and lust for things

Through our actions, we have increasingly desecrated the very fabric of God’s world, and now weaken, even threaten our own existence by the runaway momentum of our destructive pursuits

God’s amazing creation, the fabric he placed here for life, even our lives, is being strained. Its threads are being stretched and torn. Our climate is changing in dangerous ways

We must thoughtfully renew a vital commitment to this sacred place we call home and humbly revive our faith in our God. So that through this we might chart a new path away from the course we take now, and live as a species that values and nurtures the health of our natural world. 2/28/2021