Tag: gospel

Are You Running a Marathon or a Sprint

- dannalundstrom

Psalm 66:16 says, come and listen all you who fear God, and I will tell you all He did for me.
We need to be encouraging one another with our experiences with The Lord and with His word.  The beauty of God’s word is how it imprints our hearts and ministers to us in our times of need. 
The truth is, whether we are running life as a marathon, renewing and committing ourselves to God daily or running as a sprint under our authority and sufficiency; both are challenging.    What the first gives us that the latter does not is perseverance and the ability to reflect the character of our Savior not the chaos of our situations.  We can fall in all the pot holes along the race, only to rise, dust ourselves off and keep running. 

When we are right with God, the circumstances and conditions of our race do not define us, but they depict Who lives inside of us.  I would much rather be eternally equipped for the marathon of life, than dependent on myself or someone other than Jesus, to run this race with me. 

When I fail to present myself consistently before The Father, renewing my mind daily, life gets messier than usual.  

Are you pacing yourself for the marathon or sprinting towards the next check off the list?  I often need to remembered , repent and rest.

He is Soverign Over Us

- dannalundstrom 5 Comments

We all have circumstances in our lives that we wish were different, and this reality is one of the easiest places the enemy entangles us. You may be in an unstable marriage, parenting a prodigal child, facing addiction, disease or significant loss. Whatever the challenge you have been given may be, it may not have come from God’s hands, but it did go through His hands.  It is hard to live amidst our struggles and remain joyful when we traverse difficult paths. The great danger is that as we walk our routes, it is tempting to compare our journey to another’s. Comparison tricks us into thinking others have it easier or have been given favor. Comparison is a liar, and we believe her far too quickly. Observing others casts darkness into our lives, and it is easy to begin fantasizing about a more comfortable life.  We must recognize fantasy for what it is; a fraud who draws you into his web with unrealistic thoughts of “better things.” In the life of a believer, there ought to be nothing better than walking well in obedience the road our Master has assigned us. Perseverance is not possible if we are self-focused. It is impossible if we are contrasting our journey with someone else’s. It is when we fix our eyes on Jesus, insulate our hearts with His Word, and our desire to please our Savior overshadows that of pleasing our self, that we endure and our weeping is joined by worship, purpose enters our pain and joy joins our journey. Consider 1 Corinthians 7:17~And don’t be wishing you were someplace else or with someone else. Where you are right now is God’s place for you. Live and obey and love and believe right there. God, not your marital status, defines your life. Don’t think I’m being harder on you than on the others. I give this same counsel in all the churches. (The Message). I pray today, friend, that you and I believe in the plan of our good and faithful Provider as hard as it may be. He is in the midst of every heartache. Fight to be still and know that He is God, and He is good. When we live as though He is sovereign over us, His strength and peace will equip us as we travel. You are loved!

One Nation Under God, Not a Woman or Man

- dannalundstrom

012bedcc37f3e8f99f23027d41ebae3cLet there be peace in our great land and let it begin with me. Let love ignite every heart and shine for all to see. Let there be one race, with no divisive mutiny. May we all respect the multitude of opinions with quiet dignity. Let us pray for our country in committed unity. No eye has seen; no ear has heard the breadth of His love for you and me. We are all called to one thing, love one another as our God loves you, me and our neighbor, Republican, and Democrat, all three. Let the violence end, hatred cease, and peace and harmony reign free. I pledge allegiance to one nation under God, not a woman or man, and it is in He where my security will stand. Please, Father calm restless, weary souls and whisper in our ears until it flows from our heart’s, let there be peace and love on earth and let it begin with me. Amen.

Where Are You

- dannalundstrom

We each are a micro part of a macro world; but even in our smallness, God calls to us like he did to Adam in the garden in Genesis 3:9~Then the Lord God called to the man, “where are you?” He is not asking about our coordinates but our condition. He loves us so much that even as we are one person in a sea of millions standing small against backdrops of majestic mountains, lush lakes, towering trees that seem to reach the Heavens and all His glorious creations, He still cares about the condition of our one broken heart. No matter how small you feel today, and how overwhelming that crushing circumstance you are facing appears, can you listen to your Father calling you today? Where are you, D’Anna (insert your name); and with a confident heart reply with raw honesty because He already knows, and He wants to be the soother of your searching, sleepy soul. Will you answer Him today? Will you let God be your rescuer instead of the things of this world? We do not have to be victims because we belong to the ultimate victor who calls us his beloved, his child, his chosen one. He has ransomed me and you from yesterday, today and tomorrow shall she come to be. Unlock the bars and walk out, friend. You are a His, and He delights in you! You are loved!

The Good News

- dannalundstrom

You may have a prodigal child, be in the middle of a messy divorce, enduring anxiety or suffering from a deep depression because life is just not going as planned.  The good news is, it is still possible to hear your Father say; job well done daughter/son.  He loves you that much!

I Am A Sinner

- dannalundstrom 2 Comments

It is not until I fully grasp the depth of my sin that I can be forgiving of the sins of others, and I tend to forget and need reminding of that. Forgiveness in some cases does not look like best friends or even a relationship, but it is the freeing of our hearts from the bondage of resentment, ill-will, revenge and all their destructive relatives. Do I do this perfectly? No, but I am seeking progress, not perfection.

I prayed A LOT leading up to last night’s debate. To be honest, there were moments I wanted to throw something at the television. However, those moments were less than the first debate, and this is why. My sins though they look different, at the root, they are the same. I have lied. I have been a hypocrite. I have said things I would not want other people to hear. I make mistakes every day. You might say, but you are not running for President, (and praise God for that!). Even if we had two different candidates to choose from, not one of them would be justified in picking up, much less cast a stone; and neither am I!

It is so easy for me to become a Pharisee by traveling this road, “well, at least I haven’t done what he/she has done.” That is the slogan for self-righteousness at its best, and I have been there. Jesus said, “I have come to call not those who think they are righteous, but those who know they are sinners and need to repent.” Luke 5:32.

My prayer is that we can all lay down our stones and turn our prosecution into prayers. Unless The Lord acts in a mighty way, and He may, one of these two candidates will become the next president. We need to be accepting of that and fight in those difficult moments to remember that God will still be on the throne on election night.

Yes, both DJT and HC are very imperfect, but so am I. They are both sinners, but so am I. Here is the good news for me, and I hope for them and you, there is no sin too big that the grace of God does not cover in a heart in which He dwells.

Also, we can take ourselves off duty right now because we are not the judge of the state of one’s heart today, tomorrow or ever.

As our pastor told us if you cannot vote for a candidate, vote for a platform; the one that most aligns with your views. I am praying for our country, and you are all loved by me!

Anyway

- dannalundstrom


Life will give us more than we can handle, but we were never meant to handle it alone anyway.

Life will give us more than we can understand, but we were never intended to understand everything anyway.

Life will take us places we don’t want to go, but we were never meant to travel alone anyway.

Life will cause us to question, forget, take for granted, disobey, offend and sometimes be angry at God, but Jesus died for us anyway.

Life will cause us to succumb to this world, but all God’s children are eternal survivors anyway.

You are never alone, and no matter what has happened or you have done, a repentant heart is loved anyway.

(1 Peter 5:7, Matthew 11:28)

(Deuteronomy 29:29, Proverbs 3:5)

(Matthew 11:28, Isaiah 42:16)

(Jeremiah 22:21, Romans 2:23)

He Chose Life For Us

- dannalundstrom 1 Comment

7112e3e711238044def57b2f7aeefc8bThis is heavy on my heart this morning and I believe God calls us to be courageous about our convictions.  I know I have friends who will disagree.  I am not asking for a debate or argument.  I am not endorsing a party, but a person—Jesus Christ.  I do respect your right to have your own opinion.  That being said, I have been very bothered by a statement I heard in the VP debate the other night.  Having the right to choose to terminate the life of a baby is no different than having the right to choose to take the life of a person walking down the street.  As a country do we believe ALL lives matter or just the convenient ones? We are all orphans adopted by a merciful and loving Father.  I am so thankful He chose life for me!  Jeremiah 1:5 ~“I knew you before I formed you in your mother’s womb.”

You Do Not Have to Be Perfect Today

- dannalundstrom

Good morning, friend.  You do not have to be perfect today.  You are only called to be who God has created you to be in each circumstance He places you.  Sometimes that looks messy and sometimes manageable.  It may look like wrestling and it may look like rest, but always fighting to honor the hope we have in the One who sees, knows and loves you just as much at your worst as He does your best.  You are loved!