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Our Time With Jesus

Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we should walk in the newness of life. Romans 5:4

In the brief period of time that the sum of our years spans, the moments we spend with Jesus will be treasured above all others

No other thought or reflection will be as filled with the meaning, or endowed with value, as those times when we draw close to the Lord

When we speak to Him in the quiet times of prayer, we are actually talking to the creator of all the universe

No other companion is as high. Nor, does any dwell beyond the boundary of the created. Yet with love, He comes to us and dwells richly with those who trust in Him

There is no other like our God. None that acts on behalf of those who believe in Him. Or any that can save us and carry us upon His salvation to life eternal

How great is our God! And what joy there is in knowing His Son. He is God’s personality manifested unto us

He is our savior. The one who knew us long before we were born and who cares for us even to this day

How blessed it is to know our Lord, Jesus Christ, and to walk with Him each day

How strengthening is His Spirit within us. What health it gives to our heart and perfect wisdom it provides for the foundation of our minds

We only walk upon this earth for so many years. Each of our days is numbered. How great then is the gift of His life to us

Our lives are of great value. But this value is only made real by the power of Christ in us

Only as we live before Him in faith and humble ourselves in His presence, do we begin to release that treasure that He has place within us

No other experience or sentimental moment; No pinnicle of earthly acheivement, or reward of great success apart from God, is as filled with such richness, truth, and life; As those times spent in the holy presence of Jesus 

For He alone is preparing us for that day. That glorious day when He returns again and brings us into His presence within the Kingdom of God. Amen.  11/8/2006

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Bareroots

Many plants have an amazing ability to survive and regenerate even after extremely traumatic events. They can get uprooted, torn into pieces, or have every part broken off and carried away. Even through all of this, they can sprout anew, sometimes stronger than before. Plants that grow along rivers and streams which frequently flood, are especially adapted to regenerate. When high waters come through and tear and break up everything in its path, the pieces of plants that come to rest in the mud and debris sprout roots and grow in their new home. Gardeners have learned to take advantage of this trait to propagate almost every plant under the sun. 

Sometimes in our our own live’s we may experience our own uprooting. We may experience a quick change that pulls us clean out of where we’ve been that places into an entirely new situation. We can get torn loose from a job, experience a sudden loss; or, are stunned by a new medical diagnosis. It might be something completely unexpected and it leaves us struggling to adapt into a whole new situation.

Or maybe God has strongly showed you His will, and He is encouraging you to make a big change in your life. It may be that He is encouraging you to give up something that is at odds with living a Christian life. God’s leading, through His Spirit will do that sometimes and it is up to us to take a deep breath and follow His lead. After all, who knows better than our God at what’s best for us.

Remember those examples you have read in the Bible. When Paul had plans to go and continue to spread the gospel in familiar parts of Greece. He was instead, led by the Spirit to go into Macedonia. It was there that he was given the opportunity to minister to the people in Eastern Europe for the first time. Or when Esther, found herself in an extremely difficult situation that threatened her life and the lives of millions of her people. She decided to take a risk, plant herself in front of the king and plead her cause. It saved her people, and exposed an evil and racist plot. The Bible is full of such historic stories, and I know that similar things are happening all the time, at every scale, even today.

Life is full of surprises, and many times they can be difficult to overcome. But take heart, who can predict what God may do in our lives after they have been disrupted. I know that it could seem like a disaster, but God always intends things for our good. We might become more stressed than we thought we could endure. But be confident, God is continually watching out for us. He will be with you in every situation. God will see you through this time and care for you as your roots become established again. 

Can I give you some encouragement? Go where God leads you. It is human nature to resist change and cling with all our might to the past and what we have. But our God looks with eyes that view far beyond what our dim sight can see. They see the future and the ripples that grow outward from our lives. He sees how we can affect many different people for good. People we may never have heard of, or perhaps never know. So try to let go of your tight grip on things that aren’t really ours to begin with. Be strong, and know that He has a purpose and plan for every change that comes into our life.

It may be hard, but try to keep a positve attitude towards the new things God is doing in your life. Be patient and in time your own roots will sink down around you and secure you. Stay close to God throughout these times. Pray and read His Word each day. Immerse your life in God’s way and He will show you the best path forward. Learn to be thankful in all things, for God can make any situation like a gift for our lives. Remember, God is working out some sublime and marvelous plan that will eventually take root and bear fruit. In time may you rejoice in the changes that God has brought. May it open up a whole new range of possibilities for your life.

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Follow The Way of The Lord

The way of life winds upward for the wise, that they may turn away from hell below. Proverbs 15:24

Be obedient unto the Lord, Jesus Christ, even if the way ahead is unclear

Follow His way, and you will not fall, or be confused through deceit or lies

For our God upholds His children. He casts a fence of protection around His own

Learn to follow the lead of our Lord. Listen to His Words and be attentive to His Spirit

Do not discount the voice of God, or, you will be weighed down with many troubles

Look not at the sparkle cast off from this world. Or, be decieved by the allures of sin. For it will only lead towards the destruction of your relationship with God. Which will weigh you down with ills, pain, and disharmony

Turn then, towards the Lord, our God. Look intently upon Him. Cast yourself on His path, and set all your ways upon Him

For He is good and full of mercy. He will not lead you astray, or disown you. But, will surely watch over you with might, to protect and guide you

Be strong, don’t give up because of small difficulties

Be brave, never give in to sin, or, allow yourself to be decieved. For you know the way to go

You have followed His Word and obeyed His Spirit. You have tasted and know that the Lord is good. So never turn back. Don’t even allow yourself a glance to the left or right

Look steadfast upon the Lord, Jesus Christ. For He is our hope

He is the savior of all mankind

Rest upon His Word. Meditate upon all His goodness and love for us. Sing praises unto Him and rely on Him. For our God is incredibly great far beyond our understanding

Obey Him and never give in to the temptation of lesser things. Take the high road.

For only in God are we made whole and complete, and only through Him can we be saved

12/17/2007

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The Miracle of Our Life

Those who heeds the Word wisely, will find good, and whoever trusts in the Lord, happy are they.  Proverbs 16:20

Lord, You have blessed me all the days of my life. Even when I was at my lowest, You came beside me and lifted me up

I thank you Lord, for You have been good to me. My soul is lifted up, When I think about how your love saved and guided me throughout my life

On this day, when my life has been challenged by illness, I remember the beautiful things You have shown me

There are memories of my mother and father,  who’s love and care helped me each day

God, You blessed me, You created me with eyes that could look intently upon this world, and see deeply into its wonder and beauty

You bore me into a world of Your own creation. A place made for me and all the life that resides here

I can almost feel those cool refreshing breezes, as I recall a view up into the sky when I was a child. When I was in awe of the sight of puffy white clouds, like popcorn, floating by on a fresh spring day

And the wonder I felt when I saw a large butterfly land on a nearby flower. Its bright yellow wings glowing bright in our garden on an April day

I remember the first time I saw granite cliffs towering above me in the valley of Yosemite. And on another day many years later, the view I saw from one of its highest peaks

In this place of wonder I learned about You. From my early days I knew that You were God. I came to know that You were just and good in all of Your ways, and that You had made all that is

My life took a lot of twists and turns over my years. But, the knowledge that You were God stayed with me. Sometimes it was faint, almost absent; sometimes powerful and filling me 

My faith has been a journey. I learned the hard lessons of sin many times over, yet, I always returned to You, for what else could I do?

You were always just to forgive me, though sometimes it took a long time for me to accept the gift of Your incredible mercy

Truly God, You have blessed my life

Even now, and especially now, because of my weakness, I have run back to You. Yet, this illness has become my renewed strength in You

My condition has cleared my eyes and sharpened my mind as to what really matters in life. Things that had occupied my time and attention don’t seem to mean as much now

My life, in relation to You, has come into a sharper focus. It is a source of strength and assurance to me in these days

Your Words are true, Lord; They have spoken to me throughout my life. I cherish all of Your Words, and the revelations You bring through Your Spirit

How amazing is this life You have given us; How incalcuably magnificant is our life

They are gifts from Your loving hands to each of us

Yet, how weak and small are we; For a great part of our lives we think we are in control, that we know best, but God has the final answer

God’s way is always good. His Word directs us towards strength of life and wisdom. They protect us from every kind of danger

Learn to appreciate this life you have been given; It is a miracle…

Learn to appreciate how amazing each and every gift of life is. Be thankful for all that you have and all that you are. 7/5/2026

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An Evening Service

Thus says the Lord, our God, “Who created the heavens and stretched them out, who spread forth the Earth and that which comes from it, who gives breath to the people on it, and spirit to those who walk on it?”  Isaiah 42:5

One recent evening, I took a twilight walk out through my garden. The stars were just beginning to shine and there was a new cresent moon hanging low in the western sky. It was one of those balmy late summer evenings and the scent of herbs and rich soil graced the soft night breeze. I thought, what a tremendous blessing we have been given in this natural world. Each day we come in contact with so many treasures, wonders from this creation, that we can see, smell, and taste. Things that enrich all of our senses. I am continually in awe at what our God has done through His creative work. Evenings such as these humble me, but at the same time lift my spirits. For I know that even within this vast and complex universe, He knows my name. He cares about my life.

As I looked at the rows of flowers and vegetables, I could almost imagine them at a worship service giving praise to God. Each was standing up tall and straight with their leaves uplifted towards the heavens above. At this time of year they appeared so strong, filled with flower and fruit. There was such abundance being produced here, and I could not possibly use it all. I would need to give much away. What joy was being produced here. I felt just like a guest of this congregation that night, so I raised my arms in praise, too.

As the last twilight dimmed, the sky became inky black. Many distant stars shined brilliantly from horizon to horizon. There, above me was the Milky Way, our galaxy, with its hundreds of billions of stars tracing itself from north to south across the heavens. How profound all this starlight is. Each point another sun, a new and unique place created by our Father in heaven. What wonders lie in these other worlds? Will God allow us to venture out from here and visit them someday? In times like these I can hear the voice of God speak, not audibly, but perceptually, and it echoes throughout all of creation. They are His quiet words that speak of the glory of His power and creative ability.

As I walked down towards the far end of the garden, I could hear the sounds of a hundred Crickets playing their unique song in the Fruit trees. It seemed they had been enjoying this beautiful evening as much as I had. Perhaps, in their own way, they were giving glory to God, too. I could not help, but join them in giving thanks to our great and glorious God. For He has given me an entire lifetime to glorify Him amidst this great congregation of amazing things.

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The Empowered Life

For it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure. Philippians 2:13

May the Lord meet you where your at this day, and His Spirit meet with your spirit

So that you might begin to know the depth of His goodness, and the magnitude of His mercy and grace

May He come to your place in time, and into the situation you find yourself in

So that He can begin to work in your life.; To mend everything that may be broken and heal long open wounds

For our Lord, Jesus Christ, is purely good. Great is His love for all the people of His creation

May the Father of all blessing come to you in the wonder of His goodness and love. So that you might rightly know your place within the Kingdom of God, as His own child

May your heart be filled and your mind struck with awe, as you see the depth of His love for you

So that you might cast out all fear and doubt, and so that He might fill your heart with joy, in great abundance.

Surely, the Lord pours out His Spirit upon His Children. Those that trust in Him, shall surely see His glory

They will leap up from off the ground, where they had once laid broken, and run in strength again, by His power

May the Lord come near to you this day, and come so close as to fill your life

So that your faith might be made complete and His love would pour out through your life as living water

There, your life will become as a blessing. Like a precious gift to be given as an offering for the benefit of many

May the Lord so so take hold of your life, that His life lives through you

So that the body of Christ, the church, may be built up and made stronger, through the outworking of His love in you

May the Spirit of Jesus Christ live abundantly in you, and heal every broken place

So that you may run with endurance. Not growing faint in your own strength, but able to continue on in the power of God

Truly, our God is filled with incredible love for us. His care for our lives, knows no boundary

As we meet with Him each day, and serve Him in faith, our Lord will enpower us through His Spirit to help others and share His message of love to all people. 10/28/2006

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We Ran The Stop Sign

“That you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes the sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on just and on the unjust.”  Matthew 5:45

I pray for all the people of the earth that have been affected by the excessive heat this year

For those who have been sickened or suffered loss in Europe this summer; and for those in India, Pakistan, and Southeast Asia who endured extreme heat and humidity that lasted for many weeks

It is saddening to hear of the thousands who have died. The hundreds of millions who have suffered. The losses they have faced and will continue to

It is frustrating to know, that to a large part, we are doing this to ourselves

Many are ignoring the evidence and don’t agree that we are changing our climate. Some say it is necessary. That we need to actually increase our actions that have caused this.

But at what cost does this become unacceptable?

It’s like we have run a stop sign while driving too fast down a busy road and have caused a serious accident at an intersection

But we deny we are guilty. We deny we did anything wrong, and argue that we needed to quickly get on with our business down the road. That it was important to run the stop sign and boost our income to higher record levels

The heat is drying out our planet

Making agriculture more difficult and costly.

Deserts are advancing thoughout the world 

Prime growing regions are facing drought, water shortages, and crop damage

People are starving in high numbers in Africa and other parts of the globe

And it will likely continue to grow worse

God is surely looking down from the heavens above and sees the iniquity of all this going on

He sees the poor suffering, because they don’t have the means to escape. They try, but tolerence is growing thin. The pressure will only grow worse as it gets warmer

Our creator, the God of all the heavens and the earth sees what is happening here

He is not blind to the harm we are doing to His earth and to all the life that lives here

God surely hears the cry of the poor and listens to their plea for help and mercy

The world is growing hotter

Ice is melting at the fastest rate in our history

Oceans are rising. They’re flooding coasts and islands. Small nations are being lost to the waves

Glaciers are shrinking, collapsing, or disappearing altogether, and with their loss, drought will strike those who live below

Storms are being supercharged, flash flooding is becoming frequent, some are unbelievably disastrous and deadly

It is all because we have run through the stop sign

We did not take the time or have the patience to tap the brakes and slow down. All the signs were posted, we saw this coming decades ago

What is going to be the cost of this in lives, suffering, displacement, and in the wars it produces? How can we continue on like we are?

There are answers and solutions to this problem. But the longer we wait to act, the more generations of us will have to deal with this world wide problem.

How will God look upon all those who are damaging this precious Earth?   8/27/2026

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A Message To The Church

And may the Lord make you increase and abound in love to one another and to all, just as we do to you. 1 Thessalonians 4:12

On this day I give praise to our God for His goodness and love towards us, His Holy Church, the fellowship of believers thoughout this entire world. 

We are all connected through our belief in Him and united by our trust in the saving work of our Lord Jesus Christ. 

We believe in Him who died upon the cross as an offering, so that we might recieve forgiveness from our sins; Even the gift of eternal life in God’s presence, forever. Amen

May our faith unite us and help us work together in the Spirit of Christ Jesus. Though we may be distant and unable to worship together, Let us be joined in Spirit, praying for one another.

Though we might live in different countries and have different cultures, may we share in the comfort of knowing that we are all children of the same God. 

Rejoice, that we each fall under the same mercy and grace, given to us by His Son, Jesus Christ.

In these difficult times, may our faith remain strong and our trust in God’s love for us through Christ Jesus be the foundation which we stand upon

Let us praise the name of our God, the one who reigns above all the earth. Singing out songs of praise to Him, for we are the ones He calls His beloved sons and daughters. Let His name be honored above all.

May we give thanks for the gift of our families and towards the great fellowship of believers within His Church. That we might remember more deeply, and be assured of the love and caring Spirit of our God towards us.

Sing a familiar song of joy in the Spirit and power of Jesus Christ. Praise His gift to the church, the precious offering that He gave us upon the cross

I pray that we would feel encouraged to pray for our brothers and sisters in need this day. Both, for those in our own congregations, and those in need in difficult places throughout the world

May you pray that Christ, through His Spirit, would also come to you this day, and show you a need that you might fill

Let us cry out to God that He would help bring peace, where there is now war. And that by His power He would bring people who now stand divided, back together, that God’s love might abound and His church, strengthened

May God’s Spirit work within each of you this week, to show you a new message from His Word. That you would become more assured of His love for you, and gain God’s gift of peace and comfort in these days

Share the gospel message with others. Tell the good news of Jesus Christ, our savior, and the reason for our hope as believers

Finally, may God richly bless you and the church you belong to. Continue to grow in your faith and abound in love and good works towards eachother. 8/23/2026

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Grateful For Your Mercy

The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in mercy.  Psalm 103:8

Lord Jesus, full of mercy and grace, I thank you this day for looking out for me

Though I am not feeling good, You placed me into the hands of skilled and caring people and they put me on to a strong path for healing

I am grateful for all the care I have recieved

Lord you have blessed my life for good. Even though I have not always deserved it, Still You have cared for me and formed a shield of protection all around my life. 

What could I ever have done to deserve this?

How could I ever thank you enough for blessing my life?

In so many ways your mercy has reached out and surrounded me. It has stepped in and saved me through illness and injury and brought protection when difficult situations suddenly came upon me

When I look back I can see your hands at work in my life and the love that you had for me

And I am grateful Lord, for You have been so good

I see the people you brought near to me. Those who knew and loved me and others who showed up at the right times. They helped show me the way, mended my hurts, and healed my wounds

Each one somehow found the time to help me. Even when their lives were busy and they were dealing with their own things

I see how You hands were at work then, Lord. They are still busy to this day

But, I have not always been thankful, Jesus, and there were times when I took things for granted

Now, I clearly see on this day how You have watched over my life with care

Thank you, Jesus

Your mercy saved my life and healed me

Blessed Savior, I am in awe of Your love and mercy. I am grateful beyond words at how you have cared for me

Life is a journey filled with all the experiences common to life. Yet, it is Your love, mercy, and grace that help carry us through all the hard times

Isn’t it sad that during the good times we may come to forget; And we who have been so blessed by You, fail to remember who has been so good to them each and every day of their life

Oh Lord, you freely give to us each day in full measure

How great is our God, in Jesus Christ. I remember You this day and give thanks

And though I can not even comprehend the depth and width and height of your love, I sense it, feel its power, and understand how it has worked in my life

May I always be thankful, and remember how good you have been to me and be ever grateful for the blessings you have freely given to one so small.  8/21/2026

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Wait Upon The Lord

Wait for the Lord; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the Lord! Psalm 27:14

I will wait upon the Lord and serve Him all of my days

Though trial and difficulty come upon me, I will trust in Him

My faith will be secure, a priceless possession I will guard. Though many may come against me, I will remain true to God

For He does battle for me and watches over my life to protect it. He defends my soul and casts a barrier all around me

God lifts me up when I become weak. He strengthens me, and readies me for the fight. Every day He stands watch to guard me from every sort of evil.

Great is our God. He dwells above all and steers the procession of time. Even the movements of the entire universe is set in motion by His hand.

Yet He considers those who love Him, He does not ignore their cries

I will wait upon the Lord each day, even when I do not hear His voice

I will wait and pray and cleanse myself before Him

When He does not make His presence known; Still, I will wait, until that day when He may be found

Panic will not overcome me. Or, worries, cloud my vision. I will remain calm and wait upon the Lord. For He is always close at hand

As a good servant continues on in their duties, I will be patient and serve Him. I will do His will as long as I have breath

There are times when God is quiet. When we cannot hear or detect His presence. But, He is always there besides us. Surrounding us as a shield

He will continually uphold us. So never lose heart or diminish in faith.

For our God goes before us and will stand with us always. Even to the end of all time. 12/29/2006