Tag: faith

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The Two Paths We Take

Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we boast in the hope of the glory of God. Romans 5:8

All those who trust in the Lord shall find abundant help during their life

Our God will lift them up when they have fallen and comfort their every sorrow. He will direct their steps to safety and fill their lives with goodness and blessing

But to those who choose not to seek their God, He will continue to call out to them and not withhold any of the blessings common to life

In patience, He will place His message before them, even for as long as all the days of their life

The believer always has fellowship with God. They will be as close companions with Him each day. He will fill their lives with His presence and give to them His wisdom and mercy

But to those who choose not to believe and walk away from the path of God, they will draw near to perilous places, and there they will become easy prey

By their own choices, they will take dangerous paths as they seek their own glory. They will follow after empty pleasures and reap shallow rewards

The just in God will gladly accept the wisdom of His Word and learn great truths that will direct them.

They will find safety in the way that they go. Honor will find them, and hope, when there might not seem to be a way

But the person who shuns God, will not clearly see the dangers that surround them. They will be blinded by a false sense of security. Ultimately, it will be their ruin, and an end that will have no way to sustain them

In every place that the believer may go, God will call to them. He will not stop loving them even though they may feel like giving up

The wonder of the truth of God is before all people, but the faithless ignore Him each day. The evidence of His truth, power, goodness, and mercy is there before all our senses, but many will refuse to believe

In the end God will not force them, even though they will die without hope, separated from the only thing that could have saved them. 1/10/2010

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Rejoice in Christ

Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you will abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. Romans 15:13
Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you will abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. Romans 15:13

Holy is the Lord, our God, and Savior; justness and righteousness flow out from His throne. Great is His love and grace towards us, goodness and mercy abound in all that He does

We, who trust and believe in Him are made new and alive, the lamp of our lives is renewed day by day. It will never go out

Sing praises to the God of all creation. Lift up His name with all your strength, for He knows those who place their faith in Him, He loves those who consider Him their God

Rejoice in the Spirit of our Lord Jesus Christ, believe in the man who came to us from God. Even before the dawn of creation, He was one with Him

Speak His name in love, for He is the Christ, God’s incredible gift, our Lord and savior who reigns above all the earth

Christ died to remove our deadly burden of sin. He was raised to life again, to reign as one with God in heaven

Jesus opened the door for God’s grace and mercy to pour out upon us, so that we who believe and trust in Him could have everlasting life 

Our Lord, Jesus Christ, atoned for the burden of all our sin when He gave up His life for us upon the cross. By the same power that raised Him to life again, He rendered death powerless over those who put their faith in Him

Cry out to God, for His mercy is given freely. Lift your praises unto Him,  because His forgiveness is poured out to all who trust in Him

For we, who are imperfect and burdened with sin, have now been pardoned of our sentence of death through Christ and we will dwell in purity and wonder with God forever more

God reigns in power, He is at work this very day and hour

Christ Jesus is seated with Him in heaven, He rules above all the earth. They are one and the same power, sovereign over us

Give thanks this day and forever more, never forget or take it for granted, that you are a child of God

You, who call yourself believers, never stop praising His Name, for you were once dead in your sins, mortally wounded in transgressions, but now you are alive in Him

You see and know that He is the light and life that dwells within you

Brothers and sisters in Christ, don’t turn away or rest easy as a Christian, for we have all been called to serve, and to put our faith in action

Christ calls us to always be ready for His return, because we neither know the year, day, or hour when He will come again. Run the long race, renew your faith each day

Rejoice in God always, for you have been forgiven, you are children of the one true King, Jesus Christ, our God. 2/14/2022

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Faith is Connection

Blessed is the person who listens to Me, watching daily at my doors, waiting at my doorway. For whoever finds Me finds life and receives favor from the Lord. Proverbs 8:34-35

Life is more difficult when we find ourselves disconnected from God, when the magic of our experience of living becomes lost and the Lord is absent from our daily walk

Where are you this day?

How well are you connected through your faith with your Maker?

All of us lose sight of Him sometimes, as we live our lives. We leave Him off somewhere along the way

Let’s face it, living during these times is one gigantic distraction. It is challenging each day. There are an endless number of things that clamor and overtake us, which prevent us from refocusing upon our God

Perhaps you have never experienced a faith relationship with Him. We all start from that point during the course of our life

It begins in us from our deep need to believe in something more. To anchor on to something solid in this universe so vast and uncaring

Connection always starts at some place. It meets us where we are

God dwells all around us, He is near, yet unseen. Therefore, we must take action and move our life towards His presence

We must seek Him, for He can be found. When we draw closer to Him, He will draw near to us, and we will begin to experience a life of faith

If you feel disconnected to God, or you just are not experiencing His life moving inside you, call out to Him from your heart in prayer 

Ask Him back into your life, humble yourself before Him and ask for forgiveness, then ask God to reveal His Son, Jesus Christ, in your life

Find a quiet place without distractions, take a walk, sit in a garden, or visit a sanctuary

Read God’s Word, as He has spoken to us through the Bible and let the message soak into you. Apply His Words to your life, let them have meaning in what you have been experiencing this day

Take time to do these things each day and you will reconnect to your God. It may take some time, or it might happen abruptly

As you prepare your mind, heart, and soul; reach out to Him in faith and listed to what His Word reveals to you

God is more real than the air we breath. He is like light and life unto us, for He created us, and we were made to live before Him

I pray this day for you, my friend. That you would draw closer to God and that He would reach out with His hand and touch your life, so that You might become whole in Him again. 2/8/2022

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The Spirit of Praise

I will extol the Lord at all times; His praise will always be on my lips. Psalm 34:1

Give thanks to our God in heaven. Praise His holy name which is above all that we know. For He is our savior, the great Creator, the one who holds and keeps our fragile lives in safety

We should give thanks to Him who made us, and sing praises from our heart in deep appreciation

For He is good and honorable, glorious above all description. Come before Him each day with a spirit of thanksgiving. Begin each morning singing praises for His goodness, and live out each hour, giving thanks for all that He has done

Oh, if we only knew how wonderful God has been to us. If only the shades upon our eyes were removed and we could see Him how He truly is, we would bow and tremble in His presence and be astonished at how little we had thanked our Lord

Each one of us neglects to give appropriate honor to God and we’re often unthankful for the incredible blessings we have received. Instead, we cast our eyes upon lesser things, which have no glory compared to His

Grow closer to God through a thankful spirit. Open the eyes of your heart through a deeper faith and praise Him. Then you will see anew, the measure of His goodness and love

Renew your faith when you wake in the morning, and give honor to Him. Be thankful for the blessing of a daily provision and give thanks for everything that comes your way

For they are all gifts from God above, poured out for our lives, to build us up, that keep us strong

Don’t despair in the trials and afflictions that effect us, but rejoice in the love and salvation that comes only from God which far surpass the brief afflictions that effect us

Draw near to His side, sing praises to His name, begin again to consider all of the wonderful things He does. Be filled with a spirit of thanksgiving, and be transformed and renewed by the power of His love

We have such a great salvation through the work of Jesus Christ. How could we let a day go by without giving Him our deepest thanks?

For once we were dead in our sins, but now are alive through Him. We had no hope for our future, but now have the gift of eternal life

Strive to give God that which He so richly deserves. Fill your life with a spirit of love and honor for Him by giving the Lord your honest praises in a spirit of thanksgiving. 2/1998

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Faith

For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. Ephesians 2:8-9

Faith is a both a living and active force in our life. It swells within us as we begin to believe in God and grows stronger as we come to trust in His Word, realize His great love for us, and begin to experience His grace and forgiveness

Sometimes, when we first come to believe, He fills us to the brim as His Spirit flows into us. It overwhelms our consciousness with an abiding sense of His presence. With His Spirit comes a knowledge of God’s truth, goodness, and love

As we come to know these things, we place our full trust in Him. Even during those difficult days of unending pressures and doubt, we can harken back to our faith in Him, to the truth of His Word, and sense His love, and then we are assured that God is good, and that He loves us without measure

No believer is immune to those days when we don’t feel God near us. Reach then into your toolbox and select a time for prayer, read a chapter in the Bible, or praise Him for something good in your life. Acknowledge Him in everything that you are given in life

Faith is both a living and active force in our life. It is an adventure we must take each day and precious beyond any earthly measure

That is why we cannot allow ourselves to store our faith in a safe place. We can’t keep it locked up like a treasure in our safety deposit box. Like we would with a piece of jewelry, or an important document

Faith is something that must live and breathe. It is active by nature, a reaching out to God, a quiet conversation with our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, or a living out of His truth and goodness in our lives before the world

Faith is precious, it is real, it must be lived out in the moments of our life

Faith can be quiet in a moment of prayer, or, sometimes a bold and loud profession of faith in sermon or song. It can be our day-to-day soundtrack, our inner conversation, a calm response

But it is never present when we lock it away

Life in these times is full of distractions. There are a million pressing things that surround us each day that can distract us away from our faith and leave us empty

Faith cannot exist in us if we lock it in our safety deposit box. It cannot link us with our God, if we set it aside so that we deal with something, or focus on what is demanding our immediate attention now

How many times do these things take over our days and nights, so that we lose sight of Him, and get cast adrift in worries and stress?

Faith is not a natural part of this world we live in. It is the light and life that connects us with the God of the universe

Faith takes effort sometimes to continually come back to Him and acknowledge His presence and imminence within all that happens

It is vitally important for every believer, because it makes real our friendship we have with our creator and opens all the possibilities that He so generously offers, so that we might live a full and realized life for all our days.   9/20/2021

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Our Home, Earth

Blessed are all those who dwell in Your house; they are forever praising You.    Psalms 84:4

Blessed are we who live in this sanctuary called Earth, and those able to see and experience all its boundless wonders

It is of God’s own making, and He made it exceedingly well

How fortunate is the family of mankind to dwell in this house, and to have been born into this place of beauty and comfort

It is a temple of God’s creation fashioned for us to live in, along with all the multitudes of life

Blessed is the entire family of plants and creatures that dwells here. We are all a part of earth’s character, born of this creation

Each of us are linked together as a family in this world, sprouting forth on the surface of this planet

We are cast into orbit around our star, the Sun;

Lost among a million stars, but not unknown, as we swirl within our Milky Way

And rise outward, along with an untold numbers of other galaxies, within this universe of unsearchable length, depth, and time

It is all His making

It is all that we know of

Even if we could think of what lies beyond the distant boundaries of all we know, He would be there, as its creator and as it’s Spirit

Blessed are we who have life, how lucky indeed, are we to experience this miracle and see, touch, and feel all the wonders that life allows

Praise God, for His infinitely grand creation. Commend Him, for this crazy thing called life. It exists here on earth in all its incredible depth and complexity

Glorify our God, because we have life amidst this beautiful world

Life is precious, it is fragile, and exceedingly rare. There is no other place that we know of where it even exists

We believe some simple primitive forms may possibly live somewhere else, but we have not seen them yet, despite all our searching

The universe is wondrous, but it is also an exceedingly harsh place, to find somewhere else that is as soft and hospitable as earth may never happen

How far away will such a place be if one even exists?

God sent His own Son into this place as a gift to Earth’s current apex species, so that we might not die, as every form of life eventually does, but that we might have eternal life

And so that we could have a pathway through faith in Jesus Christ to live on past our present life, the miracle that it is, and live in the presence of God, the very maker of all we know that exists

It begins through faith in Him who made us and by our love and praise for all that He has done

It comes by glorifying Our God and His Son through the very expression of our life

For He is worthy, because there is nothing that is greater than Him

Praise God for His creation and for the gift of salvation through our faith in Him.  9/17/2021

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Seek Forgiveness

Bee on Poison Oak
But there is forgiveness with You, that You may be awed. Psalms 130:4

The past is fixed in stone, it cannot be moved. What has been done and what has been said can never be changed

No amount of worry can ever alter the past, but, love and a righteous way can heal many wounds and bind up that which has been injured

Scars may remain, but God will forgive all who are faithful, and pour out new life into those who are broken

We fail, and often fall along the way. Our righteousness is never good enough. But, in Christ we are made new each day. No form of transgression that overcomes us, will cause us to lose our position in Christ

We sin, get back upon your feet. Our faith is found lacking, return to God with a humble spirit

Confess your sins before Him. Ask of His forgiveness. Repent, and pour your heart out to Him and He will be just to forgive you

Truly, our God is full of love for His children, and though every believer will sometimes fail, in Christ we are made victorious

Resist sin, cleanse yourself from all unrighteousness. Do not allow yourself to become its slave, but seek God’s forgiveness so that you might be restored to health again. For all who sin must pay a severe price.

Remember, judgement begins within the house of God. We who are faithful, will not be spared the direct negative effects of sin, because our physical  past is fixed in stone.

How unpleasant is the withdrawing of God’s sweet presence to all those who have known communion with Him, and how great is the sense of guilt, when we realize our sins have been done against our Lord

The one who has given us all good things, even eternal life, Our savior Jesus Christ, went to the cross and suffered incalculable pain, so that our sins might be taken away

How great then, is the destructive weight of our sin. What complete displeasure our God must feel, that He would go so far as to offer up His Son on our behalf

We cannot do anything about the past, but we can resolve each day to live an obedient life unto Him, and to take up our own cross in respect, awe, and in faith. 10/27/2006

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Turn Towards God

Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord. Acts 3:19

Turn towards the Lord and He will direct your path. Turn towards Him with every choice you make and He will make your life sound.

Cease from listening to lies and from giving in to destructive behavior. Let God heal you from the inside out, so that you might be made complete in every way

There exists a din of persuasive noise that tries to lure us with deception, so that we might be swept from His way.

But you, stand strong. Live in opposition to that which wars against God. Make a stand, when sin tries to persuade you from the truth. Grind sin beneath your feet, as you walk in the ways of the righteous

Let the love of God be your guide, not the selfishness of sin; which will drag you down, and also, those around you

There is great hope for those who follow the Lord, and goodness will bless those who trust in His will for their life; but to those who fall into the ways of sin, great trouble will surround them.

Trust in God. Turn to Him at every fork in the road. For He knows the way in which you should go

God will bless your life through His wisdom and by His love, but sin, will make you an embarrassment, it will leave you weak and full of doubts

Turn again and again towards God, for He alone holds your life in His hand. Believe in Him, because He is the only one worthy of our faith

Return to His way each day. Do not grow weary, or think that your faith does not matter. But be renewed each day as you seek Him in prayer and in study. Be guided by His Word, and by His righteousness

When I have sought my own way, I found my life filled with trouble and turmoil. But, as I learned to trust in God’s will for my life I found great peace, understanding, and blessing. 12/29/2006

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Our Incredible God

Tenaya Canyon, Yosemite Park

Our God dwells above all the heavens and Earth. He stretches His hands and they reach beyond the universe; From one side to another

His presence fills every part of this marvelous creation, so that there is no place that He does not know

How awesome is our God, who was before time, and gave birth to this creation. Who thought of it long before it came to be

He has known each moment in history, so that nothing that has happened has ever escaped His eyes

God knows where every string of time is destined. He is as familiar with the future as He is of the past

How blind we are to the ways of God, and limited in our senses, of His glory and power. We see upwards and out, and strive to make sense of it all

But God fills every dimension, He holds them all in the palm of His hand

Glorious father in heaven, we seek You. Because You placed it in our hearts to do so. We are in awe of all Your wonderful works, and of the love You have for us

Our God dwells in unapproachable light, He is a consuming fire. The most solid things in nature, vaporize in His presence. Nothing can stand before Him

He shields Himself with darkness, yet His light shines forth and illuminates all there is

Everything God has done in creation is good, because it all originated from His perfect design. A plan that is still unfolding before us

We strain our minds to make sense of what we see and feel, so that we might understand the answer to our deepest questions.

The answers rest in God

Awesome God, King over all creation, we seek You, because You fill our needful hearts. Come and reveal to us Your glorious Word, so that we might begin to know the truth that will set us free

The God of infinite wisdom once set aside His glory and power, and came to this earth as a man, Jesus Christ

He walked amongst us, our mighty creator, holy and true, yet gentle, filled with a great love and compassion for us

In histories darkest moment, we put to death the author of life. Yet, it pleased our God to suffer and die for us, for our sins had overtaken us, and death ruled over our lives

When He died and was raise to life again, He removed death’s power, and made a safe pathway for us to follow after Him; So that we could have eternal life and dwell with Him, forever

Our God is truly awesome, yet filled with great love for us   2/2/2006

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The Value of God’s Path

Many are the plans of a person’s heart, but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails. Proverbs 19:21

Our lives occur along the long trail of life, that winds and curves, which trudges over vast expanses, and lingers at times, sometimes stuck, sometimes mired

We scale great mountains, and enjoy the views, and dance across beautiful meadows and windswept beaches.

Sometimes we find ourselves entering a battlefield, or come to a place as aliens, refugees, the displaced

Oh, this life we live. We have so much hope and so much struggle. How we choose to see our path makes all the difference

The Lord, our God, has helped me greatly. He has helped guide my soul and my being. He watches over me by night and by day, so that I might see my way through life safely

There are no guarantees, except that our God loves us. No easy ways to go, but God makes my steps lighter. He gives sight to my eyes where they can’t see and strength to my steps, so that I can overcome

He shows me a more excellent path, so that I can know right from left, and right from wrong

Our Lord shows me wisdom, so that I can choose to love, instead of acting out of anger. Or to give from myself, instead of hording things to my own peril

The paths that God leads me down bring health to my life. They open to me choices that create peace with my enemies and love between my neighbors

His wisdom gives me a greater understanding,  so that I have a greater chance of success and a better way to escape danger

Blessed are the paths that God leads me down, and joyful, the places He leads me to

When I become forgetful and less connected to Our Lord, I begin to stray on to difficult paths. Tracks that lead towards troubled places. And it can take effort and trial to get back upon the best way

How easy it is for us to stray from God; To leave Him behind, as we seek something shiny in the distance

But these things are just mirages. They are empty and false and leave us in places of despair

How good it is then, to find God; To reach out to Him and pray with all your heart

For He will always restore us

He will pick us up and place us back on His path that leads us in all the ways of goodness. So that we can be whole once again       12/17/2019