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Monthly Archives: November 2014

Even fear cannot keep us away from God

30 Nov
Advent 1

Advent 1

Lord of all, Your grace covers all things and You make all things new. As another year slips away, show us how to stop obsessing over things that we can’t take with us to heaven because all we leave behind is the impact that we had on the lives of others.

In the absence of so many things, we can be God’s light and love on this earth so give us the strength to push through the fear so that we can touch and change lives as Your Son did with us. The birth of the Son of God, His life, death and resurrection tells us the truth that fear cannot keep us away from the presence of God. Nothing can.

Lord, just “give us enough light to see the next step” (Vicky Beeching) for “many are the plans in a person’s heart but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails” (Proverbs 19:21). Center us now to step back into the story of “how God so loved the world that He sent His only Son” (John 3:16) to be the eternal living truth for all generations to know that “hate cannot drive out hate. Only love can.” (Martin Luther King) and Love won over death and sin and will continue to do so forever and ever. Amen.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
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Posted by on November 30, 2014 in Conversations with God

 

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We have to be Your light

23 Nov
Cross at St. John's Lutheran Church in Mounds, Minnesota

Cross at St. John’s Lutheran Church in Mounds, Minnesota

Lord of all, fill our minds with Your truth
and our hearts with Your love so that
we may be bonded together by faith. Today will never come again so “tune our hearts to sing Your grace” (ELW 807), and open the doors that shut us out from experiencing the presence of God.

Help us to understand how to live by loving ourselves so that we can live in the truth that You gave us. Don’t let our challenges push us away from Your hope because “we have to be Your light” (Matthew 5:16).  For there is only one foundation to build our life upon that will not falter and that is a relationship with the Son of God, Jesus Christ, the One who turns tragedy into triumph.

But we need to be His body, His hands and His feet. Our eyes can see with His compassion, our feet can walk in His righteousness and our hands can bless with His mercy.  And in case we forget the truth of our salvation, let us remember that the way in which we live our lives may be the only gospel or church that the people around us will ever experience.

 

 
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Posted by on November 23, 2014 in Conversations with God

 

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Challenge us

16 Nov
My friend's car decal

My friend’s car decal

“Lord, You have been our dwelling place in all generations,” (Psalm 90:1) show us how to break the habit of the typical because it’s easy for us to hide from the things that we can make a difference in.   It’s hard to trust what we don’t understand. It’s easy to run from obstacles than to face them. And it’s challenging to stand up for our faith in a world that doesn’t believe.

But “we can do all things through Christ who strengthens us” (Phillipians 4:13) because “our mission isn’t to compete, but to complete” (Tony Gaskin) the purpose that God has destined for us. So let us not do what we think we should do, but let us do what we have to do in order to truly love our neighbor as ourselves. “Let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth” (1 John 3:18) for “if we continue in God’s word, we are truly God’s disciples; and we will know the truth, and the truth will make us free.” (John 8: 31-32)

 

 

 
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Posted by on November 16, 2014 in Conversations with God

 

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Let hope stare us in the face

09 Nov
Painting inside St. John's Lutheran Church in Mounds, Minnesota

Painting inside St. John’s Lutheran Church in Mounds, Minnesota

Almighty God, “You are the Lord and You will never change.” (Malachi 3:6) In this shell of a body, is a dream that can unite all people. The dream of a better world where everyone will know the love of God, so don’t let anything take away that dream.

And when the gravity of our situations work against us and holds us down, let hope stare us in the face and keep us in God’s light.   For You are not afraid of our storms, and our faith rests not upon who we are but in who Christ is, in His life, and in what He continues to do for all of us so “that we can know truth, and that truth will set us free.” (John 8:32)

“In any given moment we have two options; to step forward into growth or to step back into safety.” (Abraham Maslow) So “may the light of God illumine the heart of our soul. May the flame of Christ kindle us to love. May the fire of the Holy Spirit free us to live this day, tonight and forever.” (Celtic Benediction)

 

 

 

 
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Posted by on November 9, 2014 in Conversations with God

 

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Do all that God has planned for us

02 Nov
St. James Lutheran Church in Crystal Minnesota

St. James Lutheran Church in Crystal Minnesota

Lord, every good gift comes from You. “Direct our footsteps according to Your word, and let no sin rule over us.” (Psalm 119: 133) Push us out into the world of the living and push life back into us. Let our faith be bigger than our fears, so that we can represent You and glorify You in all that we do, because we only get this one life to make a difference.

Because of You, we are strong enough to carry each other through the long twisted turns of life.   So take our faith to another level. A level of doing, and not just empty words, because what we allow is what will continue but “where the Spirit of the Lord is there is freedom” (2 Corinthians 3:17) to do all that God has planned for us.

“In the blink of an eye everything can change…Life is short” (Zig Ziglar) so let us truly live it. Because “when we leave this earth, we can take with us nothing that we have received (and) only (carry) what we have given: (so let us continue to give) a heart enriched by honest service, love, sacrifice and courage.” (St. Francis of Assisi)

 

 
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Posted by on November 2, 2014 in Conversations with God

 

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