Month: January 2019

Good morning everyone!  We had a blizzard come through last night, so my wife and kids have a snow day.  We are staying warm and cozy and enjoying the day off!  I was very blessed and encouraged to do my first ever podcast interview this morning with BottomlessCoffee007!  He has a great format that is off the cuff and free flowing and it was a lot of fun.  We had a cool conversation and I had a great time talking with him!  Thanks again brother!!!

Here is the link to his blog and our conversation.  Thank You Jesus for the great opportunity to speak about You and what You’ve done in my life!

Author Ryan Callahan Talks Faith and Coeliac Disease: The Voice Behind the KeyBoard, TidePodcast Epic-sode 43

Grace and peace to you all!

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”

Jesus speaking in John 3:16

That is a bold and amazing statement!  Jesus is the only One who ever claimed to be the resurrection and the life.  He is the only One who ever died for our sins to be forgiven.  That is also a very serious question He asked Martha and His statement and question are still valid for all of us in our time.  I am here to testify that Jesus is alive and everything in the Bible is true!  That statement and question that Jesus spoke have the power to change your life and your eternity!  He makes beauty from ashes and His light defeats darkness!  Jesus truly is the resurrection and the life!  He proved that to me in the most miraculous of ways!  If you believe in Him, you will have eternal life!  Wherever you live in the world, please consider these powerful words of Jesus and ponder His question with all of your soul.  God is love and He loves you!  He does not want you to perish!  It all comes down to faith and it is through faith in Jesus that we are saved!  What an awesome gift of amazing grace!

Grace and peace to you all in the Name of Jesus!

 

 

I would like to thank my friend and sister in Christ Dee at Sealed In Christ for nominating me for the Mystery Blogger Award!  I dedicate this award to Jesus!  He deserves all the glory and praise and He is the sole reason for my blog!  Definitely check out Dee’s blog!  She preaches the truth with joy and you will be encouraged and blessed!  God bless you Dee!

The creator of this award is Okoto Enigma.

“The Mystery Blogger Award is an award for amazing bloggers with ingenious posts. Their blog not only captivates; it inspires and motivates. They are one of the best out there, and they deserve every recognition they get. This award is also for bloggers who find fun and inspiration in blogging, and they do it with so much love and passion.”

-Okoto Enigma

Rules

Put the award logo on your blog.

List the rules.

Thank whoever nominated you and include a link to their blog.

Mention the creator of the award and provide a link to their blog as well.

Tell your readers 3 things about yourself.

Nominate 10-20 people.

Notify your nominees.

Ask your nominees any 5 questions of your choice, specifying one weird/funny question.

Share a link to your best post(s).

Three Things About Myself

I love Jesus with all my heart!

If I were a food, I would be considered sweet and spicy.

I love being a husband and father and I love my wife and kids with all my heart!

Dee’s Questions

Q: What advice would you like to give to your 10 year old self?

A: Yes, God is real!  Jesus really does exist, He is alive, and He loves you!  Receive Him now, so you can rebuke that demon the very second you move into your new home in Illinois in 3 years.  Yes, that move will be hard, but when you know Jesus you will have the power to have victory over your challenges.  It will make it much easier not living with a demon, so be sure to know Jesus and rebuke that evil out of the house in the Name of Jesus!  Don’t live with it all through high school!  One more thing, stop hanging out with thugs and do the right thing.  You have friends that care about you who want to do good.  Go hang out with them.  Also, keep your eyes on Jesus.  He loves you and He is going to work everything out for your good.  One more thing, I love you!

Q: What is your goal in life?

A: To be a faithful soldier for Jesus by submitting to His will to fulfill the Great Commission, a faithful husband to my wife, and a faithful father to my children.

Q: If they produced the story of your life, what genre would it be?

A: Man, my life has been crazy!  Angels, demons, Holy Spirit miracles, and more!  The genre would be part supernatural thriller part action film and part drama with a little romance!  Yep, thank You Jesus, amen!

Q: Are you happy with what’s happened in your life so far?

A: There are things I would like to do over, but I have learned from all of my mistakes and grown from them.  I have been married for 17 years to the same woman I fell in love with in college.  We have two awesome kids who are having a great time growing up in a peaceful neighborhood, and we are very thankful to God for it all.  Of course I didn’t like being diagnosed with Celiac seven years ago and there are days I still struggle with the disease, but God has been so good and faithful to me and my family and He always lifts us up.  He has brought great healing to my body from where I was on 1-6-12, and He has given us peace and blessing after seeing us through terrible suffering.  Thank You Lord!  I am so thankful that He chose to use me to share my testimony and publish a book through me (One Man’s Very Strange Supernatural Life) and I am so thankful for this blog!  So, yeah, looking back on all my amazing memories of growing up in Colorado, my time in college where I accepted Jesus, preached on campus, and met my wife, outdoor adventures like climbing mountains and snowboarding, starting a family (seeing our daughter and son born was amazing), all the supernatural experiences, and everything that has happened in the last 22 years following Jesus, I would say I’m happy with what’s happened in my life so far.  Thank You Jesus for everything you have done for me in my 40 years on earth!

Q: What Marvel superhero would you love to be?

A: I absolutely loved Spider-Man when I was a kid!  I had a Spider-Man chair and a Spider-Man big wheel.  I still love that character, so I’m stickin’ with good ol’ Spider-Man!  It would be awesome to climb and swing through buildings like that!  I would have a lot of fun fighting crime and protecting people in that rad suit!  So cool!

My Nominees

Fractured Faith Blog

Beauty Beyond Bones

Becoming His Tapestry

Daily Hopeful

Benjamin Moore Blog

Melissa McLaughlin

Sister Betty Jo

Mitch Teemley

Michelle at Blessings by Me

Nicole at Trophy Of Grace

I like these 5 questions (orginally from Racheal’s Novels).  Have fun answering them!

Link To My Best Post or Posts

That is a hard one.  Not sure which I would consider the best, but if you would like to know about my testimony of the supernatural way I came to know Jesus and why I love Him so much, then please check out the links below.

Heart Poured Out

Real Talk

My Lazarus Moment

Remember that time when…

A lot of people liked this one too: My Friend Bill & The Holy Spirit

A lot of my favorite posts are also listed on the “My Beliefs” page.

Thanks again Dee for the nomination! 

Grace and peace to you all!

“Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death.”

Romans 8:1-2

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Over the last couple days I have had a recurring thought in my mind.  If you met someone who had never heard of Jesus or the Bible, but you could only share 3 verses with them, which 3 would they be?  Tough thought from the Lord, so I have been praying over it.  I am not including the Scripture pin verse in my choice of 3, but that verse is my focus for the 3 verses I chose.  The whole Bible is summed up in what Jesus Christ did for mankind at the cross.  It is through faith in Him alone that we are saved because He is the only One who died to forgive our sins.  It is His blood that washes away our scarlet sins, so they are white as snow (Isaiah 1:18)!  Thank You Jesus for paying the price for our sins in full (John 19:30)!  Thank You for Your forgiveness and love!

I was also thinking about how a person who had never heard of Jesus or any of the verses in the Bible might not understand words like “sanctification” and other Christian lingo we believers get used to saying.  If I was given the opportunity to share Christ with someone like that and only use 3 verses while I share, then I would want to go back to the basics and make it as simple as possible.  It’s all about what God did for us in Jesus Christ in His love, grace, mercy, and forgiveness for all of us!  It is simply our calling to share what He did with the world (Matthew 28:18-20).  It is every believer’s great honor and blessing to share that great news in the power of the Holy Spirit!  God does not want anyone to perish, but for all of us to come to repentance (2 Peter 3:9)!  That is the best news anyone in the whole world could ever hear!

Here are the 3 verses that have been on my heart.  I use them a lot on my blog because they are foundational to the Gospel of Jesus Christ, which is that we are saved by God’s grace through faith in Jesus Christ alone.  To be saved means that our sins are forgiven and we are given eternal life in Heaven through faith in Jesus!  This salvation is a gift from God that we could never earn.  He gives us this awesome gift because He loves us and it must be received by faith.  There is no boasting in Heaven.  We are NOT saved by works as if we are on some kind of point system or as if God owes us something.  Our salvation is secured and guaranteed through faith in Jesus alone.

#1: Back to the foundational verse of the entire Bible.  Every prophecy and everything that is written from Genesis to Revelation all points to Jesus and this verse sums it up beautifully!

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”

Jesus speaking in John 3:16

That is powerful truth straight from Jesus!  If that was the only verse that a person ever heard, it would be enough to lead them to faith in Jesus and be saved!  God loves us and if you believe in God’s Son Jesus Christ, you will not perish but have eternal life!  To perish means to die in your sins.  We all need forgiveness and if you believe in Jesus, then God will forgive all of your sins and you will not perish!  You will be saved and have eternal life!  May that verse go out and bear fruit as we know it always does Lord Jesus, Amen!

#2: How do we receive this gift of salvation by faith?

“That if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.”

Romans 10:9

That is THE answer to that question folks!  This is where I would explain sin and how we need forgiveness and why Jesus died for us.  I would explain that God is holy and perfect and because of our sin we miss the mark of His perfection.  How nothing we could ever do in our own efforts to get to Heaven would bridge that gap, so God became a man and died for us to forgive our sins and give us eternal life.

#3: I would want the person to understand that salvation is a gift from God that could never be earned by works.  I would explain that no amount of sacrificing of animals or chanting or meditating or burning of incense or offerings or good works or any other effort of man would ever be enough to pay the price for their sins.  I would explain that Jesus Christ died for us, so that all of mankind would be completely forgiven and there is no longer anymore need for sacrifice or any other kind of sin cleansing ritual.  I would explain that the God of all creation took care of that Himself and it is through the blood of Jesus Christ that we are forgiven and saved.  And God did it all because He loves each and everyone one of us!

“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith–and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God–not by works, so that no one can boast.”

Ephesians 2:8-9

There are so many other verses I could have used (Romans 3:23, 5:8, and 6:23 for example), but these would be the 3 that I would use if I found myself ministering to a secluded tribe in the Amazon or something and I could only use 3 verses for some reason.  My heart is filled with so many verses of God’s truth and I would want to say so much more, but even if all I had was John 3:16 it would be enough.  All I have to do is get out of the way and introduce them to Jesus.  His Word is powerful enough!

Which 3 verses would you choose?  Let me know in the comments!

May we all focus on Jesus in all things at all times in all seasons of life!  Amen!

Grace and peace to you all!

Hello everyone!  God bless you all!  Many of you know that I like using my good Canon PowerShot camera and I take a lot of photos just about every day.  At times, I’m kind of like a photography blogger.  I suppose I’m a writing, picture taking, Gospel preaching blogger for Jesus!  My Mom was really into photography when I was growing up and she would always take us up to cool places in the mountains to take pictures.  She is still really into photography and she is great at it on a professional level!  Those of you who read my post about our sledding day Saturday know that we had a great weekend.  We also had a lot of fun on Sunday!  The kids made their snowmen and we also took them to see the new “Mary Poppins Returns” movie.  The movie was actually quite good.  Cute and clean with a good message about faith.  Cool message about believing and not giving up hope.  The songs and dancing were good too.  I promised the kids that I would do a post showing their snowman and snowgirl, so here you go kids, I love you!  I also want to share some other photos I took from Sunday and a few from Monday and today.

First, check out this cool hawk that was just chillin’ on our back fence Sunday morning.  The hawks love to hunt the open space behind our house.  We are very thankful for them because they eat the mice and snakes of which we have dealt with both.  I chased a little mouse out of the garage a couple months ago and I’ve killed snakes in the backyard and even the garage.  One hissed and lunged at my wife’s legs as we were coming into the garage a couple summers ago.  Thankfully it missed her.  I chopped it with a shovel and that was that.  I prefer the hawks get them!

Look at those eyes!  Such a cool bird of prey!  Praise God!

Here is what it looked like that morning around 8:42 a.m. just after I took the pictures of the hawk:

Okay kids, here come your pictures!  The next photos were taken between 11 a.m. and 12 noon Sunday.  The sun is so bright here and the skies are so blue because we live at high altitude.  Denver sits at 5,280 feet hence the name “Mile High City.”  Our home sits at 6,115 feet about 20 minutes southeast of the city.  The air is thinner here in Colorado.  That’s why everyone is so chill.  It’s just like the Sherpa folks in Nepal.  You adapt to the thin air and your body chills out to conserve oxygen.  Also, when we get fresh snow, it is incredible how bright the reflection is.  It is blinding and you have to wear dark sunglasses.  With or without snow you need sunglasses here every day.  My kids wear their snowboard gear and goggles when playing in the snow.  We get serious UV rays here and I have seen many vacationers with sun burns because they didn’t put any sunscreen on while skiing.  Big tip: When coming to Colorado to ski or ride, please bring sunglasses and sunscreen!  And drink plenty of water!  The high altitude and dry air are hard on your body when you are not used to it (just watch the opposing team on the sidelines huffing oxygen when they play the Broncos here in Denver).  You’ll thank me later!

Thank You Jesus for shining on us with all your awesome blessings!  You are Lord!  Thank you for my wife and kids!  I love you guys with all my heart!

A few minutes later, our daughter added one more thing to her snowgirl…

A smile!  I love it!  Awesome job kids!  I love you with all my heart!  That was such a fun weekend and I am looking forward to our 4 day weekend this weekend!

Oh, and one more thing!  I’m glad you guys enjoyed the Mary Poppins Returns movie.  That was fun!  Here is a movie poster for you!  Love, Dad

Now I would like to show you some pictures I took on Monday and this morning.  The first set are of the local family of deer that live in our neighborhood.  Can you guess why they call the open space Spring Fawn Park?  I took these photos around 7:28 a.m on Monday morning.

Look at those thick winter coats.  They stay nice and warm because the Lord cares for them too.

He’s having a little pine needle snack.  We love those deer!

The next set of photos I took this morning between 7:36 and 7:48 a.m. as the sun was coming up.

Pike’s Peak shrouded in God’s glory!

The sun is up now and shining brightly in the bright blue sky.  Here is what it looks like right now from our back deck (looks like it did on Sunday).  I just took this photo at 11:13 a.m, Mountain time of course.

I truly hope and pray you are blessed and encouraged in this beautiful day the Lord has made and I pray we would all rejoice and be glad in it!

Grace and peace to you all!

“Trust in the Lord and do

good;

dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture.”

Psalm 37:3

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I want to take a moment and apologize to all my friends and family and to all my friends here on WordPress.  This blog is supposed to be a place of encouragement where I help people come to Jesus and minister to people in love.  I don’t ever want to push anyone away from God!  I am truly sorry if I have ever discouraged or disappointed you.  That is not my intention on this blog.  You expect more from me and I expect more from me.  I want to always speak the truth, but I need to do that in love with gentleness and respect.  I want to walk humbly with God.  He has been so merciful and forgiving to me!

I can’t remember which blog I learned this phrase from, but I agree with him that I don’t need to be having what he called “man baby fits.”  It’s so true and so funny!  I watched a John Wayne movie (I love those) the other day, and it reminded me that I need to man up regarding Celiac and constantly give it to God.  I am here to preach the Gospel and help people because that is what the Lord told me to do.  Despite the thorn in my flesh, this blog is for Jesus and Jesus has all authority over this blog.  He has all authority over my entire life!  I am here to do His will, so may His will be done!

Just like Paul said, I am not perfect.  I am a sinner saved by grace and I desperately need the Lord’s grace and mercy every day.

“Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me.  Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it.  But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.”

Philippians 3:12-14

Thank You Jesus for your mercy and grace!  Thank You that You never stop pursuing us!  Thank You that You never give up on us and nothing can snatch us out of Your hand!

We all stumble at times.  Just get back up in the Lord’s grace, brush the dirt off, and keep on going!  Never give up!

I love you all in the powerful love of Jesus!

Grace and peace to you all!

P.S.

Here is one of my favorite Lecrae songs.  It is called “Get Back Right” off of his new album “Let The Trap Say Amen.”  I know not everybody likes rap or hip-hop, but this brother loves Jesus and his ministry is awesome.  He plays skillfully to the Lord as he uses his gift for God’s glory.  This song is about how we all fall off and lose our cool sometimes, but when you have real power you can’t lose!  Fun fact: By God’s grace I can keep up and rap along with just about all of Lecrae’s songs and I also like to beat box.  Enjoy this Holy Spirit anointed song!  Turn it up, the bass is strong in this one!  God bless!

 

Hello everyone!  It has been a busy day and I am finally able to sit down and write a post, praise God!  I want to share some photos with you of the sledding day our family had on Saturday.  It was awesome!  The sun came out and it was a beautiful day with all the fresh snow.  I had been wanting to try out this hill for years.  It is on the other side of our neighborhood in the next subdivision just north of us.  We ended up nicknaming it “Wipeout Hill” because it was way steeper and faster than I thought and it was gnarly!  I should have brought my snowboard.  One of these days I’m hittin’ this hill on my old school Never Summer Legacy!  You’ll see why we named it the way we did in the pictures.  Enjoy and God bless you all!

Our daughter was great at slowing herself down, so she stayed in control.  My son and I on the other hand just went straight down!  Here is our son comin’ in hot…backwards!

Nice one son, you went all out!  He wasn’t hurt by the way.  We had a blast!  Even I gave it a try, and on my first and only run of the day I went big and for a moment I got the same stoke (that means rad encouraging feeling) that I get when I’m snowboarding.  Smiles all day brah!

I was aiming for the little jump and I leaned into it and that’s where it started to go sideways on me.

And here we go…

Check it out, I’m still holding the sled!  I’m used to being attached to my board.  I figured I would roll out of it easier if I just stuck with it.

Laughing all the way as I got slammed after doing a back flip down the hill.  Not bad for a 40 year old dude, thank You Jesus!

My little sweetie made sure I was okay.  Our kids thought my wipeout was pretty sweet, so that was a great run!  Shaka!

 

Here is my wife and son going down together.  They didn’t wipeout.  Just a nice final ride down Wipeout Hill.

Somebody in the neighborhood has a good sense of humor.

Back home we enjoyed a perfect sunset to end a perfect Saturday full of the Lord’s blessings.  I just want to say that I am so thankful for my wife and kids!  I love them so much and I am so thankful to be alive!  Take time to enjoy the ones you love and cherish every moment.  Thank You Jesus for loving us so much!

May the Lord bless you all abundantly in all things!

Grace and peace friends!

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”

John 3:16 (Jesus speaking)

 

 

 

Hello everyone, God bless you all!  I hope you are enjoying a peaceful Saturday full of joy and rest.  I am resting now, but I have been shoveling snow all morning.  Man my back is sore!  It snowed a lot more last night.  I was looking forward to using my snowblower, but it wouldn’t start.  It has to be something with the carburetor or the spark plug and I wasn’t about to take the carburetor apart today.  I use Stabil in the fuel, so it should be clean.  I don’t know why it wouldn’t start, but it wouldn’t.  I was not happy about that, but I gave it to God, grabbed my shovel, and got to work.  When I was all finished and got a chance to catch my breath, I looked out one of the back windows in our kitchen and the above picture is what I saw.  It was very encouraging!  It doesn’t take long for the sun to come back here in Colorado.  All of this snow will be gone real soon.  That’s how it goes here.  We get most of our snow in March, April, and even May.  We have a saying here, “April showers bring May blizzards.”  Those Spring blizzards coming down out of the Rockies can be intense!  I love Spring!  Just a few more months friends!

Seeing the sun breaking through the clouds reminded me of Psalm 19.  I would like to share that with you today.  Take a look at that photo one more time and please consider the truth in this Psalm.

“The heavens declare the

glory of God;

the skies proclaim the

work of his hands.

Day after day they pour

forth speech;

night after night they

display knowledge.

There is no speech or

language

where their voice is not

heard.

Their voice goes out into

all the earth,

their words to the ends of

the world.

In the heavens he has

pitched a tent for the

sun,

which is like a bridegroom

coming forth from his

pavilion,

like a champion rejoicing

to run his course.

It rises at one end of the

heavens

and makes its circuit to

the other;

nothing is hidden from its

heat.

The law of the Lord is

perfect,

reviving the soul.

The statutes of the Lord

are trustworthy,

making wise the simple.

The precepts of the Lord

are right,

giving joy to the heart.

The commands of the Lord

are radiant,

giving light to the eyes.

The fear of the Lord is

pure,

enduring forever.

The ordinances of the Lord

are sure

and altogether righteous.

They are more precious

than gold,

than much pure gold;

they are sweeter than

honey,

than honey from the comb.

By them is your servant

warned;

in keeping them there is

great reward.

Who can discern his errors?

Forgive my hidden faults.

Keep your servant also

from willful sins;

may they not rule over

me.

Then will I be blameless,

innocent of great

transgression.

May the words of my

mouth and the

meditation of my heart

be pleasing in your sight,

O Lord, my Rock and my

Redeemer.”

Psalm 19:1-14

Amen in the Name of Jesus!  Have a blessed and peaceful weekend friends!

Grace and peace to you all!

Well, we are finally getting some snow here in Colorado.  It has been a very dry winter and we haven’t seen much snow yet.  We are supposed to get a few inches today.  It’s the wet heavy stuff.  I shoveled this morning and I will shovel again later this afternoon.  I don’t want ice ruts on the driveway from my wife’s Traverse.  We are pretty socked in today and we can’t see the sun or the mountains.  That is rare here.  We get sunshine pretty much every day.  Denver is second only to San Diego in having the most days of sunshine per year in America.  We get something like 330 days of sun.  It is very nice and our winters are pretty mild compared to the states in the North, Midwest, and East Coast.  I know, I’ve been through many Chicago winters that chill you to the bone!  34 degrees and snowy is pretty nice here today.  Thank you for the moisture Lord, we needed it!

Not seeing the sun today makes me think of those long days in Illinois where we didn’t see the sun all winter.  That is hard on people.  I know many of you live in states like that.  People can get depressed just from having too much gloomy weather.  Not seeing the sun also makes me think about God’s light and that we have access to that light every day no matter how bad the weather might be.

Sometimes I get down about things.  It’s like a gloomy dark cloud comes over me and it’s hard to see the light.  Through all my battles, every time I looked up and focused on Jesus, His light came pouring through those clouds and broke through the pain.  His light washes over us and His Light is in us and through us by the power of the Holy Spirit.  It is a blessing to see the sun every day, but it is His light that sustains me and gives me strength and hope!  No matter where you live on earth, you have access to His light right now!  Jesus is calling you to come out of darkness and come into His light!  Don’t be afraid.  There is no fear in His love.  His love is perfect!

“When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world.  Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”

John 8:12

Do you want to have the light of life?!  You can have that this very moment in your life!  Jesus will receive you as His own and save your soul!  He will fill you with His Holy Spirit and bring you peace!  He is the Only One who ever died to forgive all your sins.  Salvation is a free gift from God that we could never earn.  No amount of good works will ever get you into Heaven.  Our salvation comes only by God’s grace through faith in Jesus Christ.  It is what Jesus did on that cross that saves our souls!  Jesus said, “It is finished,” (John 19:30) just before He died and He meant what He said!

“And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation.  Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession–to the praise of his glory.”

Ephesians 1:13-14

Jesus paid the full price for all of our sins and He offers salvation to every single person on earth.  Jesus is the Only Way to Heaven.  Once you confess faith in Jesus Christ, you are saved and you will be filled with the Holy Spirit who is a seal on you and a deposit in you from God that guarantees your eternal life.  The Holy Spirit gives us wisdom to understand God’s Word and empowers us to live a holy life that pleases God.  God also gives us spiritual gifts through the Holy Spirit that He will use in your life to bless you and others.  Salvation is not about what we could ever do for God.  It is about what He did for us!  God has redeemed us through faith in Jesus and that gift is to the praise of His glory!

“But to each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it.  This is why it says:

“When he ascended on

high,

he led captives in his train

and gave gifts to men.”

Ephesians 4:7-8

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.  Against such things there is no law.”

Galatians 5:22-23

God has made it very simple and easy to understand.  Jesus Christ is the Only One who died for us, so we could be reconciled to God, our Father in Heaven who created all of us and all things.  His Name is I AM and He loves you more than you could ever imagine!  That is why He came and died for you.  He loves you and He does not want you to perish!  He wants all of us to be saved!

“The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness.  He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.”

2 Peter 3:9

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”

Jesus speaking in John 3:16

“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith–and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God–not by works, so that no one can boast.”

Ephesians 2:8-9

“That if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.”

Romans 10:9

“Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life.  No one comes to the Father except through me.”

John 14:6

That’s it friends!  That is the Gospel message of Jesus Christ.  We are saved by grace through faith in Jesus.  Salvation is the gift of God to the whole world and that includes you!  Will you receive His gift or reject it?  That choice is up to you.  I pray you receive His love today and live in His light forever!

Look up today, the Light of Jesus is always shining on us!

Grace and peace to you all!

“But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.”

1 Peter 2:9

 

Hello everyone and God bless you all!  I took that photo with my phone last night when I was at our neighborhood mailbox at the top of our street.  I loved the hazy glow as the sunset emerged from the cloud cover.  So cool what God does in the sky every night!  We always read to our kids before putting them to bed, and last night I read the Bible to my son.  He is 8 years old and he and our 11 year old daughter love to read.  I turned to the Book of Psalms and read Psalm 86 to him.  I pray Psalm 86:11 for my family every day and I ask the Lord to give us all an undivided heart like that.  Psalm 86 is a prayer of David who was King of Israel.  He speaks of God’s character in his prayer and it is important to emphasize that God’s character never changes.  These attributes of God that David talks about are who God is and how He loves us.  God will not be anything less and He will always be this way throughout all generations.

I can relate to this Psalm deeply as I’m sure many of you can.  Let the words describing God’s character and love wash over you.  We can trust Him even when we don’t understand.  We can trust Him because of who He is.

“Hear, O Lord, and answer me, for I am poor and needy.  Guard my life, for I am devoted to you.  You are my God; save your servant who trusts in you.  Have mercy on me, O Lord, for I call to you all day long.  Bring joy to your servant, for to you, O Lord, I lift up my soul.  You are forgiving and good, O Lord, abounding in love to all who call to you.  Hear my prayer, O Lord; listen to my cry for mercy.  In the day of my trouble I will call to you, for you will answer me.  Among the gods there is none like you, O Lord; no deeds can compare with yours.  All the nations you have made will come and worship before you, O Lord; they will bring glory to your name.  For you are great and do marvelous deeds; you alone are God.  Teach me your way, O Lord, and I will walk in your truth; give me an undivided heart, that I may fear your name.  I will praise you, O Lord my God, with all my heart; I will glorify your name forever.  For great is your love toward me; you have delivered me from the depths of the grave.  The arrogant are attacking me, O God; a band of ruthless men seeks my life–men without regard for you.  But you, O Lord, are a compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness.  Turn to me and have mercy on me; grant your strength to your servant and save the son of your maidservant.  Give me a sign of your goodness, that my enemies may see it and be put to shame, for you, O Lord, have helped me and comforted me.”

Psalm 86:1-17

Psalm 86:11 is the verse that says, “Teach me your way, O Lord, and I will walk in your truth; give me an undivided heart, that I may fear your name.”  I have prayed that for years over my children and my wife and I.  I ask the Lord to give us an undivided heart that we may fear His Name and love Him first.  That is what I want most for my children.  I want them to follow Jesus with an undivided heart.  To fear the Lord does not mean to be afraid of Him.  His love drives out that kind of fear.  It means to have a great respect, reverence, and awe of Him.  We can have that in greater measure when we understand God’s character.

What do we learn from Psalm 86 about God’s character?

God guards our lives and brings us joy.

God is forgiving and good and abounding in love to all who call on Him.

He alone is God and there is no other.

God has mercy on us and will answer us.

God helps us in our times of trouble.

God is great and He does marvelous deeds that have no comparison.

God’s love toward us is great and He delivers us from the grave.

God is compassionate and gracious.

God is slow to anger.

God is abounding in love and faithfulness.

God protects us from our enemies.

God gives us His strength, and He helps us and comforts us.

That my friends is a God you can trust!  Thank You Lord that you are forgiving and good!  Thank You for your abounding love, compassion, and grace!  Thank You for being patient with us and being slow to anger!  Thank You for loving us so deeply even when we don’t deserve it Lord!  Thank You for saving us!  You alone are worthy of praise!

We can rest in His love today and every day.  God will not be changing.  That is who He is.  God is love and He will always be love!  Remember, fearing the Lord means to revere the Lord.  There is no fear in His love!

“We know that we live in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit.  And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world.  If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in him and he in God.  And so we know and rely on the love God has for us.

God is love.  Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him.  In this way, love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment, because in this world we are like him.  There is no fear in love.  But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment.  The one who fears is not made perfect in love.”

1 John 4:13-18

Grace and peace to you all in the perfect love of Jesus Christ!