Posts Tagged ‘ a simple man of God ’
And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.
John 1:14, ESV
Regardless of what skeptics may say, God has revealed Himself to us, through Scripture and by coming to live as one of us to bring truth and grace.
Give us this day our daily bread,
Matthew 6:11, ESV
God is our source of all that we need. He cares for us and provides for us, most importantly through the Bread of Life, Jesus.
Seek Him first, and all our deepest needs are met.
But he answered, “It is written, “‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”
Matthew 4:4, ESV
Without the Word of God (both Scripture and Jesus), our life is ultimately meaningless, and loving out His commands fulfills us in ways we may never fully understand.
I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.
John 15:5, ESV
Any good works we donare meaningless without Christ. We cannot earn our way to heaven with good works or being good enough.
Only in Jesus are we guaranteed eternal life and do our good works have real impact.
“Be strong and courageous. Do not fear or be in dread of them, for it is the Lord your God who goes with you. He will not leave you or forsake you.”
Deuteronomy 31:6, ESV
God is with us, so no matter what happens in this life we can be strong and know God will get us through until Christ’s return.
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.
2 Corinthians 5:17, ESV
The new has come already, yet we await what we do not yet have. We have hope in Christ that our renewed souls will be joined with our Glorified bodies in eternity.
Let me hear in the morning of your steadfast love, for in you I trust. Make me know the way I should go, for to you I lift up my soul.
Psalm 143:8, ESV
The only hope we have in this world and for the next is Jesus Christ, the only way to eternal life and forgiveness for our sins.
Apparently stuff happened this year. (*sarcasm)
We will avoid the political stuff for now, some the results of media drama, and much of the sadness, stupidness, and crazy surrounding … 2020.
On some positive notes, my wife finished her Masters degree in May! She has been utterly amazing in the current state of education, teaching English Language learners in the very much upturned education landscape this year.
My friend’s coffee shop – Third Shot Coffee – definitely defied the trend of many businesses this year to thrive amidst shutdowns, lock-downs, and distancing. That is pretty cool.
Overall, we had a good year. Yes, we went through the ‘rona things, being secluded for a few weeks with very mild symptoms; but we also did a lot of upgrades around the house, got much of our debt under control, and otherwise have done many things we wanted/needed to do.
And God is still good and in control.
This next year will definitely be … 2021.
In any event, may you receive an abundance of bunches of blessings this year. And though life may take some effort to trudge through, fall on the promises of God, this year and always.
The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you; the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.
Numbers 6:24-26 ESV
In His Love,
Daniel
As I will share briefly tomorrow, 2020 was certainly a year.
But it ends today. (Why are so many people shouting “Amen!”? ;p)
Yet, overall, it was pretty good in my little sphere.
I personally stepped back from most of social media. It seems most people could not handle civil discourse. I was blocked and unfriended by people for merely offering reasonable/simple thoughts. I had to block and unfriend a few people for crossing too many lines. (And all of those attend church, for what it’s worth. I did not have to block or unfriend any of my non-Christian friends.)
In terms of this blog, things went really well. Many new followers have come to the blog, for starters.
I could have said last year that it was the best year. In 2018 I began posting daily thoughts on a verse(s) of the day. 2018 saw the number of visits for the year hit about 2,000. I was stoked. Then, in 2019, the number of posts doubled, but the number of visits more than quintupled to more than 10,000!
If a few more people stop by today (December 31, 2020), a simple man of God will break 11,000 views with fewer overall posts! (But just a few fewer … like 20. Ha!) That is maintaining posting VerseD posts and sharing from several friends and a few other places.
So, thank you, dear readers, for helping this be a good year for the blog.
As I have said all along, regardless of the year that came or went, we should remember that God is in control. Nothing happens outside of His will or sight.
He does not condone everything that happens. He does not like everything that happens.
But God has it all under control. We are working toward the end of this world, so we should not be surprised by craziness, stupidity, sinfulness, or sadness. God warned us it would all come, for one reason or another, even if not specifically called out.
(But it does look a lot like 2020 brought us that much closer to His return than much of history has done! And, no, I am not setting any dates or saying that 2020 definitely set the stage for one End-Time scenario or another. Just that it became very clear His return is closer than ever this year. As His return is every year.)
Did anything good or even great happen to you this year? Has God blessed you in unexpected ways, or are you simply ready for this year to be gone?
In His Love,
Daniel
But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you
Matthew 5:44, ESV
Our hope in Christ pushes us to emulate Him, and, just like He prayed for and loved those persecuting Him, we win over others by praying for and showing love to those who despise us.
a simple man of God 