Local Art Sculpture at Village Square Las Vegas
Lord Jesus, thank You for this life. This journey that started at the foot of the cross: the place where darkness lost to the light of God’s amazing love. You gave us more than just words on a page, You gave us a new life. You gave us hope. You gave us love. And because You live, we will live in the Love of God forever and ever.
“Nothing is permanent in this world, not even our troubles” (Charlie Chaplin), so we need to stop looking at our problems and start looking at our God because in Christ there are no good byes and in Christ there is no end. Because of His sacrifice on the cross, we are free from sin and death. The battle is won. God is with us…always. Christ is risen, He is risen indeed. Hallelujah!!
Tags: Charlie Chaplin, Church, Easter, ELCA, Jesus, lutheran, Prayer
I saw this picture at an office complex. You can see my reflection behind Jesus. I kinda like that.
We welcome You Messiah and we also walk in the shadow of Your cross. We pray for wisdom to see beyond the cheers of the crowd demanding an instant miracle. If we build our faith on the crowd, then we build on a sinking foundation. So instead of empty words, let’s build on the solid rock of Christ and live out our faith in the One who paid the price so that we would know that God is always with us.
“We’re not saved because we’re good. We’re good because we are saved” (Rich Mullins). So when the Hosanna’s fade, let us not be moved but instead let us hold on to the truth. The truth that “Love is always going to be far more dangerous than power” (Jeff Hood). The truth that Jesus died for us so that there would be no emptiness between us, and the love of God. Lead us to the cross Lord, where Your love is and will always be…one scarred hand to the other.
Tags: Christ, Christian, Church, ELCA, Jeff Hood, Jesus, lutheran, Palm Sunday, Prayer, Rich Mullins
Original Painting by Jason Manlapaz
Lord, “because You bend down to listen, as long as we have breath, we will pray (Psalm 116:2).” “Guard our speech from evil and our lips from deception (by) open(ing) our hearts to Your word (Episcopal Church).” Guide us through these questions and doubts that are rooted in the gravity of our human brokenness.
As sinners we all have a past, but as saints we also have a future to fully live in the experience that is Jesus Christ who is the truest expression of God’s love for all of us. It is Jesus, and Jesus alone, who goes before us and takes our place on the cross so that we can know that God is always for us, no matter what.
We are here today because “our conscience is captive to the Word of God (Martin Luther)” and it shocks us and it frees us each time we confront the cross. Lord, we look for You, we reach for You but most of all we simply seek to know You, to really know You.
Tags: Christian, Church, ELCA, Episcopal Church, Jesus, lutheran, Martin Luther, psalm 116, Word of God
Cross at Community Lutheran Church, Las Vegas NV
Lord, we come into Your presence today with all of the joys and sorrows that come with this life. Open our hearts so that we can talk with You about the intimate feelings of our heart. Let the prayers and questions that need to be said rise up to You like incense. Silence the whispers of ego and self-righteousness. Help us to forgive what needs to be forgiven and to let go of whatever holds us back from receiving and reflecting Your love. Give us the faith to know that You will “restore what is broken and change it into something amazing” (Joel 2:25)
“Faith is not believing in (our) own unshakable belief. Faith is believing in an unshakable God when everything in (us) trembles and quakes” (Beth Moore). There are no easy answers in this life but there is a God who will not forsake us. There is the Word of God that will not return void. And there is the love of God that knows no end. So Lord, give us the wisdom to be able to preach the gospel with our life and not our lips.
Tags: Beth Moore, bible, Christian, Church, ELCA, Jesus Christ, Joel 2:25, lutheran, Prayer, Son of God
St. Joseph Catholic Church, Las Vegas, NV
Lord we come into Your presence as “citizens of a kingdom that cannot be shaken and as children of the (One who knows) no limitations” (Godfruits). We lay down our burdens at Your altar for we all come with scars of a broken heart or of regrets of the things we did or didn’t do. We release all these things to You because You are “merciful towards our iniquities, and (because of the intercession of Your Son) You will remember our sins no more” (Hebrews 8:10). We’ve failed a thousand times and will fail again but You’re always there to pick us back up to face the world knowing that our mistakes do not define us: our salvation does.
Our “faith (in God), is the strength by which a shattered world shall emerge into the light” (Helen Keller). “So (let us) be careful how we live. Don’t let us live like fools, but (let us be) wise (so that we can) make the most of every opportunity… Don’t (allow us to) act thoughtlessly, but (allow us to) understand what (it is that) You want us to do” (Ephesians 5:15-17)
Tags: Christian, Church, ELCA, Ephesians 5:15-17, Godfruits, Hebrews 8:10, Helen Keller, Jesus Christ, lutheran, Prayer, Son of God
Poster at VerveLV
“Because You turn Your ear to us, we will call on You for as long as we live.” (Psalms 116:2) You alone can see into the window of our minds and understand the snapshots of our life. You see the joys and the fears, along with all of the victories and the losses. “Though our feelings come and go. God’s love for us does not.” (CS Lewis) So when everything we know falls down to the ground, let us remember the hand that will pull us back into the possibilities that God has planned for all of us.
In a world gridlocked with fear and confusion “we need to be brave with our stories so that other people can be brave with theirs.” (Katherine Center) Reveal to us just how much of an impact our lives are to others. Because “now is the chance to choose the right side. (For You, Lord,) give us that chance…(but) we must take it.” (C.S. Lewis)
Tags: bible, C.S. Lewis, Christ, Christian, Church, ELCA, Jesus, Katherine Center, lutheran, Prayer, Psalms, Son of God
A text book that my Pastor, Reverend David Poling-Goldenne, wrote for seminary students. We will honor his life and ministry today at his memorial service.
Lord God, “the earth is Yours and “You have made everything beautiful in it’s time.” (Ecclesiastes 3:11). Usher us into Your presence and shield us from a world of easy answers and false solutions.
Present the hard truths of this life so that we can think, ponder and dwell in the Word of God and it’s meaning in our lives. Our life is our message to the world just as the life of Your Son is Your message to us: Love all and love God.
Our faith does not rest upon on who or what we are, but in who Jesus is, what He has done and in what He is doing now. So Lord, guide us to wherever You are and “if we can’t fly, then let’s run, if we can’t run, then walk, if we can’t walk, then crawl, but whatever we do, we have to keep moving forward” (Martin Luther King, Jr.) into the future that God has planned for us.
Tags: Christian, Church, Ecclesiastes, Jesus Christ, Jr., lutheran, Martin Luther King, Prayer, Son of God
Artwork at St. James Lutheran Church in MN
Lord God, we stand at a new doorway with new possibilities and challenges. Help us to start believing in Hope again so that we can do what You have written on our hearts. As we leave yesterday behind, remind us that “Your mercies are new every morning” (Lamentations 3:22-24) and that You hear more than we say.
Everything changes all around us except You. You are the constant, so quietly descend into our hearts and give us the courage to face these giants that our fears create. Remind us that “the giant in front of us is never bigger than the God who lives (with)in us.” (Christin Caine)
Let everything we do lead others to the cross and to the path of grace, mercy and love. “Yesterday is gone. Tomorrow has not yet come. We have only today. (So) Let us begin.” (Mother Teresa)
Tags: Christian, Christin Caine, Church, ELCA, Jesus Christ, Lamentations, lutheran, Mother Teresa, Prayer, Son of God
Stained Glass from St. James Lutheran Church in Mounds, MN
Eternal One, because “Your love is better than life, we glorify You” (Psalm 63:3) and lean on Your compassion. Guide us so that we may “move from illusion to truth, from darkness to light, (and) from ignorance to wisdom…” (Varun Soni). Lead us and we will follow.
For wherever we go, wherever we are…it is You who goes with us. It is You who provides rest. It is You who soothes our fears. You make us complete again by restoring us through Your grace, mercy and love. Our faith in You, Lord, doesn’t just change our reality. It reveals it.
You enthrone the truth of our lives in the person of Jesus Christ. The truth that You compare us to no one else and that our mistakes have been paid for in the life of the Son of God. “Despite all (our) flaws, (it is God who) continues to write (our) story. (And) it’s beautiful (Rochelle Griffin).
Tags: Christian, Church, ELCA, Jesus Christ, lutheran, Prayer, Psalm, Rochelle Griffin, Son of God, Varun Soni
Lord God, “You are near to all who call on You” (Psalm 145:18). And we will sing of Your love from one generation to the next. (Psalm 89:1). So many memories flood our minds as another year closes and a new one begins. We pray that You would continue to bless us beyond imagination.
Don’t let us stare too long at doors that have been closed, but instead prepare us for the doors that will be opened to us because “we will not find peace by rearranging the circumstances of our lives…” (Eckhart Tolle) We have peace because Love found us right where we are, and God was born as one of us.
Faith tells us that no matter what lies ahead, God is already there. “Love has a name; Jesus. Love has a place; our hearts. Love has a story and it’s not finished yet.” (DAYSTAR)
Tags: Christian, Church, DAYSTAR, Eckhart Tolle, ELCA, Faith, Jesus Christ, lutheran, Prayer, Psalm 145:18, Psalm 89:1, Son of God
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