Category: faith

Two simple (not simple or rules) rules

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God always required something deeper than religious legalism.—-Eric Metaxas in Bonhoeffer.

In Christianity we have many different denominations. I grew up in several of them. I was expected to learn about each and understand what I had to do to be a part of the belief. As a youth I saw them as the rules of belonging. Unfortunately, it seemed to me that many of these tenets were created to keep the lines of a certain denomination clear….to set it apart from the others. This gave me difficulty.

As an adult, the rules I want to follow are not really rules but a way of life. The life that Jesus led and the one that he wants us to follow. He told us how..Love the Lord your God with all your heart and all your soul and all your mind. …Love your neighbor as yourself. These are the only ones we must try our best to follow.

James-Robison-Quote-Jesus-has-given-you-the-power-to-live-as-He

Discerning God, help us to live as you would have us live..to follow your example in all that we do. AMEN

How big is God?

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If you can’t believe in God the chances are that your God is too small. —J.B. Phillips

infiniteintimate-800x480

We are so good at creating in our minds a God who is like us. We need for God to be reasonable and make everything work out the right way. That is our right way. This is not God. God is infinite. We will never understand him. Any image we have is not big enough. God is intimate. God came near in the presence of Christ to help us understand. We missed most of it. God is unreadable, beyond understanding, way bigger than our minds can comprehend. Just accept it.

Unimaginable God, you have tried everything to help us see your greatness. Give us the wisdom to accept you as you are. AMEN

Science and ethics: listen for God

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quote-we-can-t-simply-do-our-science-and-not-worry-about-the-ethical-issues-bill-joy-133-50-02The ethical results of current research is staring us in the face. We don’t always think about this as being connected with our faith. However, it is critical to our belief system. I am thinking way beyond abortion and gay marriage. I am considering choosing the characteristics of our children, immortality for those who can pay, who can have access to healthcare, when do we let people die to husband our resources?

These are questions that we have to consider now and ones that we must lean on our core ethics, our faith and our God. We must listen for God’s voice to discern how to move forward. Begin to pray about these things and listen for God now!

Infinite, intimate God, the issues before us are way beyond our understanding. Guide us in your wisdom to do your will. AMEN

God is in control

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Romans 8:28
And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.
This was one of my grandmother’s favorite verses. On the surface it sounds easy but maybe not. God does work for our good at all times but he does want something in return. He wants us to love Him. He wants us to fulfill the purpose that he has called us to do.
That is not easy. It requires us to do our best to follow him each day and listen for His voice in all things. To do this we have to take the time to listen and then to act. Do we do this?
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Forgiving God, we know that we don’t listen all the time or follow through with your desires. Help us to see more clearly the way we should go. AMEN

There will be a new day

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eleanor

Sometimes things do go well. Bad things happen. We can’t see our way through. There seems to be no hope. But God is with us and will bring us to a new day. He will help us find a path, another solution. Trust God. His love for us never fails.

Loving God, remind us that you are with us every moment and a new day will come. AMEN

We come from God

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Life–to think, to experience, to feel –how did it happen?

Where did it come from?

Where does it take us?

Forward to some unknown?

or back where we began

and where was that? ——————————–Suzanne Boyd

end of ourselves

As a Christian I believe that I came from God. That God dwells within in me and is part of my life. In the big scheme of things does it matter where I am going as long as it is to God. If I keep my eye on Him nothing else is important. I came from Him, I go back to Him. That is all.

Omnipotent God, you created us all. Help us to seek you in all that we do and return to you at our end. AMEN

I don’t know

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I am not young enough to know everything. ————-Oscar Wilde

This “tongue in cheek” quote by Wilde is completely true. When we are young we think that we know everything. It is a shock when we discover that we know nothing. Science would like us to think that we can know everything but even science is not omnipotent. Science scoff at those of us who want to believe more but it is what I choose. God is omnipotent. He does know everything. His wisdom is beyond our understanding.

knowledge speaks

 

Omnipotent God, remind us that it is not necessary to know everything. AMEN

Fear not

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Fear is not an unknown emotion to us. —–Neil Armstrong

All of us have known fear and we will know it again until life ends. It is what we do with the fear that matters. We may not be able to think it away or push it down into some dark place. The trick is to keep on in spite of it and hold on to God for support. I love the part of the 23rd psalm that says “thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.” Comfort is available to us. We just have to ask.

fear not

Ever present God, you are there waiting on us to call. Comfort us in our times of fear. AMEN

No answers

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We need the company of other seekers–not answers-————-unknown

Too often we want the answers. Why do bad things happen? Why isn’t the world a better place? I could go on forever.

We have to learn that we don’t need the answers. We probably wouldn’t understand them anyway. Instead we need to be with others who are seeking God. We need to share our stories of “God moments” and hear theirs. That is what will feed our faith.

You-get-old-and-you-realize-there-are-no-answers-just-stories.-Garrison-Keillor

Infinite God, you are beyond our understanding. Help us to find you in communion with others. AMEN

Forget rules

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The truth is a person not a set of rules.————–unknown

god-is-truth

The truth is a person and that person is Jesus. Jesus is not a set of rules. We humans have tried to turn our faith, our belief, our Christianity into a set of rules. A set of do’s and don’ts. Jesus said love one another. Love God and your neighbor. That’s all it takes. If we could just do those things life would be amazing.

Extraordinary God, help us to see the truth and follow it. AMEN