THE WAY OF BELIEF

BELIEVE ON THE LORD JESUS CHRIST AND YOU WILL BE SAVED.

THE WAY OF FAITH
God is fair, just, righteous. God is good, kind, loving. God is faithful, relational, active. God's Word is true, right, unchanging. These are always true. We may not understand aspects of faith or why bad things happen. We may get stuck and even rail at God. But God is who He is.

Some people reject God. Some hate God. Some don't believe God exists. Some couldn't care less. Some are blind to the concept of a creator, living, redeeming, almighty Being. My desire is that all could see and know God IS real. When God is known--the soul awakens--redemption is nigh.

To the unbeliever the belief of a believer doesn't make sense. If only they could know the beauty of a relationship with God. The way of belief, of faith, is a deep, penetrating, life-changing, redemptive journey. God loves--they KNOW His love. God forgives--they KNOW His forgiveness. God enlivens the soul--they KNOW His quickening as beloved, new creatures.

WELCOME 2020

HERE WE GO, HAPPY NEW YEAR! 

Welcome, 2020!

Pause & Consider

 

A perfect year for listening, learning, and loving. Carry on. . .

Out with the old, in with the new. Kinda nice how that works. New beginnings -- fresh starts -- give us a zip, like we're hitting a refresh button. With mental energy . spontaneous ideas . creative fusion . goal setting, we boldly move forward: undeterred, undaunted, resilient in heart.

I am grateful for all my blessings. Grateful to God for taking care of me. Grateful for you, my faithful followers. Grateful for the grace that gets me through each day. Grateful to be alive.

I am so glad God is a God of second chances. He offers grace, forgiveness, and life to all who believe. Across the spectrum those in the faith experience restorative spiritual life. Life is complicated. We can derail with this or that misguided notion, but God guides us back.

Awareness of nature's wonders lifts the spirits. Delight in looking closely at the natural world: Delicate flower petals, fluffy cumulus clouds, sparkling fresh-fallen snow, glorious firs and stately pines, mountain peaks rising to greet the sky. See its breathtaking loveliness.

'The Love of God' is an old song that is a song of the heart from the heart. We could never pen the magnitude of God's love. Truly impossible. My brother plays 'The Love of God' on the harmonica. The song is incredibly beautiful to listen to.

O love of God, how rich and pure!
How measureless and strong!
It shall forevermore endure
The saints' and angels' song.

 

God’s best to you and yours as we enter a new decade.

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Photo: Unsplash Collections, Kelly Sikkema
Content from @nlbrumbaugh on Twitter

BEAUTIFUL THOUGHTS

 KINDNESS . LOVE . PEACE

Where do we get kindness from? Where do we get love from? Where do we get peace from? We could say they originate in us, but the answer is incomplete. We could say they just are, but the answer is incomplete.

We could say they originate in God, then we'd have the true answer.

Love, kindness, peace speak their truth wherever they may be found. Those whose lives are full of love, kindness, and peace show remarkable facility for caring, giving, and gentleness. I love how these individuals demonstrate in their beings (without saying it) their walk with God.

My grandma walked with God. Her very essence exuded love, kindness, and peace. In the midst of distress, sorrow and suffering Grandma's inner light still continued to glow. She had worries, yes, but the Source of peacefulness lived within her, the light of life, the Lord Jesus.

Grandma trusted God, and He took care of her.

What made my grandma into the faithful servant she became? I assume it was because she chose to trust in God. She also had a dear neighbor friend. They prayed together and supported each other, especially when the burdens were heaviest.

Grandma prayed and talked to God as she gardened. She told me it was while she was gardening that she felt closest to God. Her spiritual garden grew at the same time. In it she cultivated kindness, love, and peace. Her garden grew as it was nurtured by her Father God and her own careful tending. Over the years she harvested crop after crop of kindness, love, and peace. All who knew her were blessed when they were in her presence.

Like Grandma, we all can grow in kindness, love, and peace and harvest a bumper crop of blessings.

WHAT'S ON THE OTHER SIDE

 

WHAT HAPPENED

I stepped away from teaching seven years ago. I stepped away from teaching children in church three years ago. I stepped away from leading women's ministry two years ago. In each case there were compelling reasons. None were done without a great deal of consideration and agony.

When you step away from something you love, it leaves a void, an emptiness. You can question whether anyone cares. Doubt has colored your self assessment. But this is a wrong way of thinking.

You eventually come to the realization that it doesn't really matter what people think. You did what seemed wise and best according to the circumstances. You sought God's help and leading and then pursued the next best thing.

WHAT'S NEXT

You know, it is not wrong to miss what used to be. You gave a lot of yourself, you sweat the hard stuff, you gave and gave, you cared and helped. Those were all good things, and they mattered. But now life is different. Nothing ever stays the same. You have to work at what is now your new normal. This is right thinking.

We all have a responsibility to fulfill our calling, whatever that may be. Situations that stretch us serve as a function to keep us on track. In our humanness it can seem like too much for us to handle. I look back and see how it has a domino effect; one thing leads to another. Each new hill to climb brings its own perspective, an expanding outlook, a greater understanding. We as people are ever-growing, ever-learning, ever-evolving. That is the way it should be.

Be at peace.