Every Effort

14 03 2014

West Angeles COGICIn view of all this, make every effort to respond to God’s promises. Supplement your faith with a generous provision of moral excellence, and moral excellence with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with patient endurance, and patient endurance with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love for everyone. The more you grow like this, the more productive and useful you will be in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 2 Peter 1:5-8 NLT

The Lord has blessed us with so much.  He has forgiven our sins and allowed us to walk this journey of faith in Him.  We are thankful for this ultimate blessing that gives us eternal hope and promise.   Our daily living is an opportunity to respond to His goodness with our best effort to live a life that reflects His living inside of us.  This passage emphasizes the importance of living with moral excellence, increased knowledge, discipline, patient endurance, godliness and love for one of another.  As His children, we can commit to nurturing and developing these qualities in our daily decisions, big and small.  These are powerful characteristics that we all can strive to achieve, making every effort to build on our faith.  The result is a stronger, more productive and useful child of God that strengthens our lives, our families and our communities exemplifying Him. 


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Mustard Seed Faith

12 03 2014

seedlingYou don’t have enough faith,” Jesus told them. ”I tell you the truth, if you had faith even as small as a mustard seed, you could say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it would move. Nothing would be impossible.” Matthew 17:20 NLT

God requires us to put our trust fully in Him. Filling our hearts and minds with His promises of love, protection and provision leaves no space for doubt to take root and to thrive. Our scripture describes faith, even the size of a mustard seed as extremely powerful. I have seen a mustard seed, which is round, yellow and incredibly small. It is also hard and seemingly impenetrable. It is solid. I think about the message of this passage concerning the capacity of the power within us. If we have solid faith, even on a small scale we can have powerful results.


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First

11 03 2014

crocus snowSeek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need. Matthew 6:33 NLT

Putting our Heavenly Father first is the key to a blessed life. Making God our first priority in our daily living – His Word, His teachings and His ways – is the compass we need each day. His way is higher ground that will keep us from things that don’t reflect His righteousness or His plan or purpose for our lives. Serving God and His Kingdom is our first priority. Pursuing Him and His will first, organizes our decisions to align with the wonderful journey He has planned for us. Putting Him first is a pathway for receiving everything that we need. We need His peace, His direction and His righteousness to abide in our hearts as we put Him first.

“So don’t worry at all about having enough food and clothing. Why be like the heathen? For they take pride in all these things and are deeply concerned about them. But your heavenly Father already knows perfectly well that you need them, and he will give them to you if you give him first place in your life and live as he wants you to. Matthew 6:32-33 TLB


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Pressing

10 03 2014

Shadows and LightI press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. Philippians 3:12

Your goal is ahead. It is not behind you and it won’t be found on the sidelines of procrastination or weariness. We have to press forward. We can take every experience that has helped us to reach where we are now to muster courage and to take the next step. This is a time of confidence and knowing that God is working all things together for our good. Our faith is steadfast and firm. We believe in God and where He is leading. He is leading us into our purpose. He is empowering our steps today with His direction and His wisdom. He has blessed us with the added gifts of peace and joy along the way. We are thankful and pressing on.

I’m not saying that I have this all together, that I have it made. But I am well on my way, reaching out for Christ, who has so wondrously reached out for me. Friends, don’t get me wrong: By no means do I count myself an expert in all of this, but I’ve got my eye on the goal, where God is beckoning us onward—to Jesus. I’m off and running, and I’m not turning back. Philippians 3:12-14 MSG


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His Goodness

7 03 2014

Crew (48 of 86)Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. Psalm 23:5-6

My heart is full this morning thinking about God’s goodness. Just thinking about God’s mercy and His unconditional love for me gives me such joy and a heart of gratitude. Since I started this journey in relationship with the Father through His son Jesus Christ, my life has been truly blessed. Even when I have fallen short of my best for Him, He has shown me mercy in ways that I could not imagine. At times, I thought I had “problems” but everything is relative. He has turned those problems into stepping stones of my faith. I am thankful.

I have a blessed life. My family is blessed and it is all due to His goodness and mercy toward me. Today, I want to dwell on His eternal blessings on my life and keep His joy in my heart and His praises on my lips.


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He’s Here

6 03 2014

Barcelona 2013 084

 

Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have; for he has said, “I will never fail you nor forsake you.” Hebrews 13:5 RSV

Even when we can’t feel Him, even when we can’t see Him, Our Heavenly Father is here. He is omnipresent. He is in multiple places at one time on behalf of His people. He is present on our perceptions of good, bad and busy days. He is here and we are never alone. He hears our prayers and He knows our heart. He knows all about our petitions, our needs and dreams and the desires of our hearts. He is God. We are not able to add to His knowledge of us and what we are facing. He is all knowing and He loves His children. He desires for us to put our trust in Him. He desires for us to be close and to live in relationship with Him through His Son Jesus Christ. Our place is to earnestly seek Him, putting Him first in our lives. Our faith and our trust are planted confidently in Him. He gives us the direction and strength to live in our purpose. His love gives us the peace and joy to continue on our path. He is here and we are never alone.

Don’t be obsessed with getting more material things. Be relaxed with what you have. Since God assured us, “I’ll never let you down, never walk off and leave you,” we can boldly quote, God is there, ready to help; I’m fearless no matter what. Who or what can get to me?
Hebrews 13:5-6


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Detours and Rest Areas

4 03 2014

winter road

 

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. Hebrews 12:1 NLT

Sometimes we get off track for achieving our life goals. We may have been making good progress on our commitment to our health, our work and our prayer life and a crisis or some other distraction arrives and we suddenly lose focus on what we were doing. It can easily happen when we live in a world where many are tethered to their smart phones and breaking news arrives on the bottom of our TV screens. It is easy to get off track. Others may be still on the same path to progress but weariness has set in. Gathering enough strength to keep moving forward seems too difficult. In either case, whether you are on a detour or if you are parked at a rest area, it is time to get moving on the right track. It is time to refocus on what the Lord has called us to do. We can unpack any distractions that keep us from returning to the right path. We need resiliency and stamina to run the race before us. If we need direction or strength, the Lord will provide. We can step out on faith today and get back on track.


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What’s Ahead

3 03 2014

winter clear road

 

And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them. Romans 8:28 NLT

We can trust God for what is ahead for us in our lives. The next step, the next endeavor, even the appointment we have this week are opportunities for us to stand firm in our faith. We can stand on the solid ground of trusting Him. Following His lead, walking in full faith gives us the confidence to move forward. We are listening carefully for the what, where, how and when from His Holy Spirit. Hearing Him, we can step out on faith and we can be certain that He is there with us. He empowers our journey to walk into our purpose. The different aspects of our lives may seem disjointed, unconnected and even undesirable but He is working everything together for our good. We can stand firm in faith and continue to trust Him for what’s ahead.


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Wherever you are

28 02 2014

Beach walk

So he returned home to his father. And while he was still a long way off, his father saw him coming. Filled with love and compassion, he ran to his son, embraced him, and kissed him. His son said to him, Father, I have sinned against both heaven and you, and I am no longer worthy of being called your son. But his father said to the servants, Quick! Bring the finest robe in the house and put it on him. Get a ring for his finger and sandals for his feet. And kill the calf we have been fattening. We must celebrate with a feast, for this son of mine was dead and has now returned to life. He was lost, but now he is found. St. Luke 15 20-24

At different junctures in my life, I have found myself in places or situations where I knew in my heart I did not belong. I am so thankful for God’s mercy and love that even when we are running from what we know to be true as soon as we acknowledge and turn to Him, He is there with open arms. Some of us are initially runners – think about Jonah or the parable of the Prodigal’s son, which applies to many of us in some way. But even if we find ourselves in the belly of a whale or eating with swine, God’s love for us is extended to us wherever we are. I have heard so many stories where people feel disconnected from God. They felt their circumstances were too hard, or too bad for God to handle or to accept. But as soon as they took a step of faith toward Him and turned their hearts toward Him, God’s a transformation began that reflected His Holy will for our lives. Wherever you are on the journey – God is available to provide peace, healing and deliverance once we turn our hearts and our will to Him. We can take a step of faith today toward Him. He is waiting with open arms.


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I was an Apple Pie

25 02 2014

apple pieHow wonderful and pleasant it is when brothers live together in harmony! Psalms 133:1

One of my first (and last) acting debuts was to play the “apple pie” role in my elementary school’s production of “Johnny Appleseed”.  It was conservatively a few decades ago, but I had forgotten all about this chapter of my life until recently.  In wishing a childhood friend happy birthday, I discovered a picture on social media with me in my apple pie costume and the whole class cast.  Viewing the picture, transported me back in time to my elementary school auditorium and the crazy costume that I wore to tout the many contributions of Mr. Appleseed to our country.  I laughed as I looked at the familiar but now distant faces of friends that I walked to school with or ate lunch with or simply shared a classroom with over the seven years I spent there.  I remarkably remembered everyone’s name in the picture and had some estimate of where our childhood houses stood.  I remember nicknames, some family history but most of all the strong sense of community that I shared with them.  It was seven blocks from my school to my house.  I can recall crossing street names and Mr. Bell who served as a community crossing guard.  I remember houses that had a yellow and green “H” in the window that stood for helping hand.  These were safe places were students could stop and get help if needed.  It was truly a community.  I am thankful for these memories and for the person who posted the picture online.  It was a reminder of a blessed upbringing and motivation to learn about the neighbors in my present community. 


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